Good man, replied
the servant, whence do you come, that you ask such a question?
Does not all that you see make you understand that it is the
palace of a Bermecide? [Footnote: The Bermecides were, as has
been mentioned, a noble family of persia, who settled at Bagdad.]
My brother, who very well knew the liberality and generosity of
the Bermecides, addressed himself to one of his porters, (for he
had more than one,) and prayed him to give him an alms. Go in,
said he; nobody hinders you, and address yourself to the master
of the house; he will send you back satisfied.
My brother, who expected no such civility, thanked the porter,
and with his permission entered the palace, which was so large,
that it took him a considerable time to reach the Bermecide's
apartment. At last he came to a fine square building, of
excellent architecture, and entered by a porch, through which he
saw one of the finest gardens, with gravel-walks of several
colours, extremely pleasant to the eye. The lower apartments
round this square were most of them open, and shut only with
great curtains, to keep out the sun, which were opened again when
the heat was over.
Such an agreeable place struck my brother with admiration, and
might well have done so to a man far above his quality. He went
on till he came into a hall richly furnished, and adorned with
paintings of gold and azure foliage, where he saw a venerable man
with a long white beard, sitting at the upper end of an alcove,
whence he concluded him to be the master of the house; and in
effect it was the Bermecide himself, who said to my brother, in a
very civil manner, that he was welcome, and asked him what he
wanted.
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