The writing was azure, and the contents as
follows:--
'The king of the Indies, before whom march a hundred elephants,
who lives in a palace that shines with a hundred thousand rubies,
and who has in his treasury twenty thousand crowns enriched with
diamonds, to Caliph Haroun Alraschid:
'Though the present we send you be inconsiderable, receive it as a
brother and a friend, in consideration of the hearty friendship
which we bear to you, and of which we are willing to give you
proof. We desire the same part in your friendship, considering that
we believe it to be our merit, being of the same dignity with
yourself. We conjure you this in the rank of a brother. Farewell.'
The present consisted first, of one single ruby made into a cup,
about half a foot high, an inch thick, and filled with round
pearls. Secondly, the skin of a serpent, whose scales were as large
as an ordinary piece of gold, and had the virtue to preserve from
sickness those who lay upon it. Thirdly, fifty thousand drachms of
the best wood of aloes, with thirty grains of camphor as big as
pistachios. And fourthly, a she-slave of ravishing beauty, whose
apparel was covered all over with jewels.
The ship set sail, and after a very long and successful voyage, we
landed at Balsora; from thence I went to Bagdad, where the first
thing I did was to acquit myself of my commission.
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