XIII
Being another item in the same document, and a most interesting one, as it gives some incidents in the life of one of my ancestors who was at some time a Caliph of Bagdad.
THIRD DOCUMENT—Continued
Item Sixth
MY grandfather, who was a Caliph of Bagdad, was an illustrious story-teller, and I should be doing him an injustice to omit from this narrative one or two of the most wonderful of the tales he told.
He was in the habit of indulging in practical jokes and whenever a new idea he could use for that purpose came to him he was prone to put it into operation without delay.
And so it happened a thought of this character came to him one day in midsummer and he invited all his retinue to a month of banqueting. Well knowing the lavish supply he always provided, his palace was filled to overflowing. To aid him in his joke he had employed a chemist of great learning to assist in compounding the viands, always taking care that while his portions resembled the others closely they did not contain certain ingredients present in the others.
He also arranged for games on the lawns of great expanse around about his palace, and it so occurred that while viewing these his guests were compelled to sit in the sunlight unprovided with shelter from its rays. And it also turned out all looking-glasses were secreted, which caused much dismay in the minds of the feminine guests. And each guest, owing to the brilliancy of the beams, was given colored glasses to wear.
The last half of the month contained a great novelty, so the guests thought, for during that time every window was sealed and every door closed so tightly not a ray of light penetrated anywhere, and all functions were observed in the darkness.
At the end of that time the light was one day admitted throughout the entire building and great was the consternation thereat. Husbands knew not their wives and wives disowned their husbands. Lovers were horror-stricken on the discovery by each the other was as black as the ace of spades.