10. I had always regarded as fabulous the stories told. of the valley of diamonds, and of the stratagems employed by merchants to obtain jewels there; but now I found that they had stated nothing but the truth. For the fact is, that the merchants come to the neighborhood of this valley when the eagles have young ones, and, throwing great joints of meat into the valley, the diamonds, upon whose points they fall, stick to them. Then the eagles, which are stronger in this country than anywhere else, pounce with great force upon the pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests on the precipices to feed their young. The merchants at this time run to the nests, disturb and drive off the eagles by their shouts, and take away the diamonds that stick to the meat.

11. I perceived in all this the means of my deliverance. Having collected together the largest diamonds I could find, and put them into my provision bag and secured it to my girdle, I took the largest of the pieces of meat, tied it close round me with the cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground, with my face downwards.

12. I had scarcely placed myself in this posture when one of the eagles, having taken me up with the piece of meat to which I was fastened, carried me to his nest on the top of the mountain. The merchants immediately began shouting to frighten the eagles; and when they had obliged them to quit their prey, one of them came to the nest where I was. He was much alarmed when he saw me, but, recovering himself, instead of inquiring how I came thither, began to quarrel with me, and asked why I stole his goods.

I

13. "You will treat me," replied I, "with more civil. ity when you know me better. Do not be uneasy; have diamonds enough for you and myself, more than all the other merchants together. Whatever they have, they owe to chance; but I selected for myself, in the bottom of the valley, those which you see in this bag."

14. I had scarcely done speaking when the other merchants came crowding about us, much astonished to see me; but they were still more surprised when I told them my story. They led me to their encampment, and there, having opened my bag, they were surprised at the largeness of my diamonds, and confessed that they had never seen any of such size and perfection. I prayed the merchant who claimed the nest to which I had been carried to take as many as he pleased. He contented himself with one, and that the least; and when I pressed him to take more without fear of doing me any injury, "No," said he, "I am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable enough to save me the trouble of making any more voyages, and will bring me as great a fortune as I desire."

15. We parted, perfectly satisfied with each other, and I returned by the first ship to Bagdad. Here I gave large presents to the poor, and lived honorably upon the vast riches I had gained with so much danger.

30. THE TWO ANCHORS.

1. It was a gallant sailor man,

Had just come home from sea,
And, as I passed him in the town,
He sang "Ahoy!" to me.

I stopped, and saw I knew the man,
Had known him from a boy;
And so I answered, sailor-like,
"Avast!" to his "Ahoy!"
I made a song for him one day,-
His ship was then in sight, -
"The little anchor on the left,
The great one on the right."

2. I gave his hand a hearty grip.
"So you are back again?
They say you have been pirating
Upon the Spanish Main;

Or was it some rich Indiaman

You robbed of all her pearls?

Of course you have been breaking hearts.
Kanaka 2 girls!

Of poor

3. "I heard last night that you were in:
I walked the wharves to-day,

1 avast, stop, stay.

Kanaka, belonging to the Sandwich Islands.

But saw no ship that looked like yours.
Where does the good ship lay?

I want to go on board of her."
"And so you shall," said he;
"But there are many things to do
When one comes home from sea.

The little anchor on the left,

The great one on the right."

4.

"But how's your wife and little one?"

66

Come home with me," he said.

"Go on, go on: I follow you."

I followed where he led.
He had a pleasant little house;

The door was open wide,

And at the door the dearest face,

A dearer one inside.

He hugged his wife and child; he sang,

5. 'Twas supper-time, and we sat down, The sailor's wife and child,

And he and I: he looked at them,

And, though a thousand leagues away
Am anchored here at home."

Then, giving each a kiss, he said,
"I see, in dreams at night,
This little anchor on my left,
This great one on my right."