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126 
—"What is it?" — "You have intrusted to that trai- 
tor Ginnan the days and hours on which the eclipses of 
the sun and moon will take place, and he has given 
those communications to the sultan, as if they had been 
calculated by himself, without mentioning the merit 
which is due to you." — " Poor devil!" said I, "how I 
pity him!" — " But why?" - — " Neither him nor any 
body but myself at Fez knows the days and hours at 
which the eclipses will take place?" — »" How is it pos- 
sible? you have informed him of it." — " No," said I; 
" from the first moment, I knew the fellow; and for 
that reason I did not tell him one true word of all these 
astronomical communications; his prognostications will, 
therefore, be false." — I hardly had uttered these words, 
when all the company fell over me, and, kissing my hands 
and my beard, they lifted me in their arms, and declared 
that I was superior to all other men. 
The following Friday, Sidi Ginnan, affecting to know 
nothing of what had happened, came to accompany me 
to the palace. I made him wait above half an hour, 
and, getting on horseback, I told him to follow me. We 
entered into one of the interior chapels, where directly 
after one of the sultan's sons arrived to keep me com- 
pany; and a few minutes afterwards I was summoned 
to the sultan. 
I went to him accompanied by two officers, according 
to custom, who presented me to him. He was in the 
small wooden house of the third yard. As soon as I 
entered his room, he bade me sit down on a small mat- 
trass. Amongst other questions which he put to me, he 
asked me whether 1 was pleased with the country, and, 
if the climate agreed with me. He called me his son, 
and added several other honourable names, and said at 
various times that he was my father. I was going to 
