the ground, and the purveyor redoubled his blows:  but, observing that the body did not move, he stood to consider a little; when, perceiving it was a corpse, fear succeeded his anger.  Wretched man that I am! said he; what have I done?  I have killed a man! alas, I have carried my revenge too far! good God, unless thou pityest me, my life is gone!  Cursed, ten thousand times accursed, be the fat and the oil that gave occasion to the commission of so criminal an action.  In fine, he stood pale and thunder-struck; he thought he saw the officers already come to drag him to condign punishment, and could not think what resolution to take.

The sultan of Casgar’s purveyor did not observe the little gentleman’s hunch when he was beating him, but as soon as he did, he threw out a thousand imprecations against him.  Ah, you crooked hunch-back! cried he; would to God you had robbed me of all my fat, and I had not found you here! had it been so, I would not have been now so much perplexed for the sake of you and your nasty hunch.  Oh! the stars that twinkle in the heavens give light to none but me in this dangerous Juncture!  As soon as he had uttered these words, he took the little crooked corpse upon his shoulders, and carried it out of doors to the end of the street, where he set it upright against a shop, and then trudged home again without looking behind him.

A few minutes before the break of day, a Christian merchant, who was very rich, and furnished the sultan’s palace with most things it wanted; this merchant, having sat up all night debauching, stepped out of his house to go to bathe.  Though he was drunk, he was sensible that the night was far spent, and that the people would quickly be called to the morning prayers, which begin at break of day; he therefore quickened his pace to get in time to the bath, lest a Turk, meeting him in his way to the mosque, should carry him to prison for a drunkard.  When he came to the end of the street, he stopped on some necessary occasion, and leaned against the shop where the sultan’s purveyor had put the hunch-backed corpse; but the corpse being jostled, tumbled upon the merchant’s back.  The merchant thinking it was a robber that came to attack him, knocked him down with a hearty box on the ear, and, after redoubling his blows, cried out, Thieves!  The outcry alarmed the watch, who came up immediately; and finding a Christian beating a Turk, (for crump-back was of our religion), What reason have you, said he, to abuse a Mussulman after this rate?  He would have robbed me, replied the merchant, and jumped upon my back with intent to take me by the throat.  If he did, said the watch, you have revenged yourself sufficiently; come, get off him.  At the same time he stretched out his hand to help little crump-back up:  but observing that he was dead, Ah! hey-day! said he, is it thus that a Christian dares to assassinate a Mussulman?  So he laid hold of the Christian, and carried him to the sheriff’s house, where he was kept till