4:00 
[December, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
the “ Gate of Happiness,” in Stamboul. The poor bread 
seller begged for mercy, protested that he was innocent 
of crime, asked what he had done, but to no purpose. 
He must go to the Grand Vizier. Trembling, with sink¬ 
ing heart, without bidding adieu to wife or children, 
amid the lamentations of all 'the shopmen, he was taken 
away. Hours of agony he had in the court of the palace, 
awaiting his fate. At last he was taken before the 
Grand Vizier; he fell upon the floor and plead for life. 
Then the Grand Vizier approaching him raised him from 
the floor, saying: “I am Ibrakam, your friend. I have 
heard of you, that you are *nn honest man, and now I 
want you to be my banker.” Let imagination fill up 
what I have not space for narrating; the surprise of 
Johannes; the talk between the two; Johannes protest¬ 
ing that he could not fill the place; the Grand Vizier 
saying: “When you get into trouble come to me and 
never say a word to any body else ;” how Johannes went 
out from the palace in a robe of purple, wearing a mag¬ 
nificent green turban, seated on a white horse with trap¬ 
pings of gold; guards around him; the people bowing 
before him, going down to his house—to his weeping 
wife and children who thought him dead ; how he pros¬ 
pered in his new position, dealing honestly and fairly; 
how he came to his dying bed full of years, and, like 
Jacob, calling his sons to receive his benediction, say¬ 
ing, “ I never have given nor taken a bribe, and I shall 
die in peace, while every other servant of the Grand 
Vizier who has taken bribes, has found death by the 
sword or bow-string. My sons, remember my words— 
never give nor take a bribe.” 
I have only given you an outline of the story; but sit¬ 
ting there in the house that Johannes built, and where 
he lived and died, looking at the curiously carved wood¬ 
work, and the small panes of glass in the windows, and 
being assured that the story was true, I thought it quite 
as good and almost as romantic as any thing in the 
Arabian Nights. 
You will see by the accompanying engraving that the 
story-teller is getting quite excited, nis countenance is 
animated, lie is gesticulating with his hands, and the 
listeners arc getting interested. The follow' who collects 
the money has seizod the opportunity, and is passing 
through the crowd to take whatever the people have a 
mind to give, just as the Italian organ grinders with 
their monkeys do in our own streets. 
Sometimes when the story is tragic and full of horror, 
or when the teller wants to excite his hearers to a pitch 
of frenzy he beats his breast and tears his hair, and utters 
such wild cries that the old Turks arc wrought tip to a 
high degree of excitement, just as audiences are convulsed 
with laughter, or arc melted to tears, or roused to do 
daring deeds by the great dramatists and orators of our 
own country.—Take him all in all, the Eastern story¬ 
teller is an interesting character; for he not only amuses 
but instructs the people, and many of the stories, like the 
one I have given, have an excellent moral, which I hope 
wc shall all keep in mind. 
JFimtliMg; Ulie Oanptci*. 
It will not be hard for any of our boys and girls to un¬ 
derstand this picture. It tells its story at a glance. Do 
you remember the first time you went to church ? Did 
you laugh, or cry, or “talk in meeting,” or do any thing 
else that made people smile and that has been told you 
very often since ? Little Miss Lively is at church with 
her father and brother. Don’t you think this is the first 
time she has ever been ? She is quiet enough just now r . 
The apple in her hand very likely has something to do 
with it, though the finger at her mouth tells us that she 
hardly wants Jo wait longer before eating it. The father 
is glad to have his little daughter with him, and the bright 
young boy at his side seems interested in the service. 
The good man’s eyes are dim, but he means to “find 
the chapter,” and to keep the place in the Good Dook 
where the minister is reading. It is a pleasant picture, 
and one that will remind many of our readers of similar 
scenes in which they themselves have acted, 
