Page:Arabian Nights Entertainments (1728)-Vol. 3.djvu/97

hinder this young Lord to grant me the Favour ask; do not put that piece of Mortification upon me: Rather do me the Honour to walk in along with him, and by ſo doing you’ll give the World to know, that tho’ your Outſide is brown like a Cheſnut, your Inſide is as white as his: Do you know (continued he) that I am Maſter of the Secret to make you white, inſtead of being black as you are.” This ſet the Eunuch a laughing, and then he asked Bedreddin, What that ſecret was? I’ll tell it you, replied Bedreddin; and ſo he repeated ſome Verſes in praiſe of black Eunuchs, implying, that ’twas by their Miniſtry that the Honour of Princes, and of all great Men, was inſured. The Eunuch was ſo charmed with theſe Verſes, that without further Heſitation, he ſuffered Agib to go into the Shop, and went in with him himſelf.

Bedreddin Haſſan was overjoyed, in having obtained what he ſo paſſionate!y deſired, and falling about the Work he had thus diſcontinued, I was a making, ſaid he, Cream Tarts; and you muſt with ſubmiſſion, eat of ’em; I’m perſwaded you’ll find them very good; for my own Mother, who makes them incomparably well, taught me to make ’em, and the People ſend to buy them of me from all Quarters of the Town. This ſaid, he took a Cream Tart out of the Oven, and, after ſtrewing upon it ſome Pomegranate-Kernels and Sugar, ſet it before Agib, who found it very delicious.

Another was ſerved up to the Eunuch, and he gave the ſame Judgment.

While they were both eating, Bedreddin Haſſan minded Agib very attentively; and after looking upon him again and again, it came into his Mind, that, for any thing he knew, he might have ſuch a Son by his charming Wife, from whom he had been ſo ſoon and fo cruelly ſeparated; and the very Thought drew Tears from his Eyes. He was a thinking to have put ſome Queſtions to little Agib about his Journey to Damaſcus; but the Child had no time to gratify his Curioſity, for that the Eunuch, preſſing him to return to his Grand-father’s Tents, took him away as ſoon as he had done eating. Bedreddin Haſſan, not contented with looking after him, ſhut up his Shop immediately, and went after him.