156 
THE ORIENTAL ANNUAL. 
Borne on the evil breeze of Indiscretion, 
Mischance blights the ripest fruit of Joy ; 
Disgusted at the heedless conduct of Folly, 
Fickle Fortune closes the gate of Prosperity. 
Patience and Circumspection are the jealous distributors of 
honour. 
When Yakoob Lais had given his captive anta- 
gonists an opportunity of ruminating, for a while, 
upon the bitters of mortification and self-reproach, 
he mounted to the top of the hill, and discovering 
himself at the aperture, assured them of their per- 
sonal safety and of hospitable treatment : “I am 
convinced,” said he sarcastically, u that there can be 
among you none of my former comrades with whom 
I have exchanged turbans; for how can a true 
soldier be false to his honour, under so solemn an 
obligation ? Yet, as I behold in your ranks at least 
a hundred countenances which are wonderfully 
familiar to me, I can only conclude that most of 
you are relations of my former friends. For their 
sake, then, I shall entertain you honourably, as 
guests, not as prisoners ; and, for this purpose, I 
have commanded my cooks to prepare for you a 
sumptuous banquet. Lest, however, there should 
be any of you whose march has not fully prepared 
him an appetite, I have provided that your feast 
shall continue a whole week ; and be assured that I 
have that confidence in your honour, that on the 
seventh day, when you have all broken my bread 
and tasted my salt, I shall not hesitate to release 
