While Sebastian discoursed of his love, and lightly touched on the sufferings which had given birth to, and nursed it, his youthful confident shed tears, and seemed to feel but too faithful a sympathy with his feelings: was it possible for one so young to have felt the master passion? it might be so: perhaps his longing after war, was only the desire of banishing from his mind some cherished image: this fancy increased Sebastian’s partiality, and half their nights were spent together in melancholy discourse. At this period the news of Prince Abbas’s defeat fell like a thunderbolt on the victorious camp of Sebastian: a courier brought the intelligence in the middle of the night; he was charged with this billet from the Prince himself. “I have lost a battle--the enemy will be at the gates of Ispahan perhaps ere you receive this.--Come brave stranger and retrieve my errors.” Tears of admiration and regret started in the eyes of Sebastian while he ran over this noble submission of a great soul: doubly roused to save Persia, he threw the silk on which the letter was written to Zaphna, while he hastily mentioned its purport, and bade him prepare for immediate departure. The dreadful danger which menaced the capital, in which probably was involved the safety of the person he loved, took so powerful an effect upon the delicate boy, that unable to speak, he motioned for his master not to follow him, and tottering to the door of their tent, hastened to get air. After some minutes’ absence, he returned with his eyes swollen, but his manner less agitated: “I have dear friends in Ispahan, you know Sir, he said timidly, I tremble for them--O let us hasten thither.” “You cannot support the fatigue of advancing as I shall do, replied his master, I must be at Ispahan ere sun set to-morrow, compose yourself--you shall follow me as safely and as swiftly as possible. My poor boy! I would not have you the prize of Ibrahim.” The King stopped not for a more particular farewel, he did not even wait for Zaphna’s answer, but hurried out to rouse his soldiers, to issue orders, to draw supplies from the different garrisons, and to march for Ispahan. On the road he encountered several fugitives from the broken army of Abbas: from them he learned that Abbas had thrown himself into the capital with a handful of men, and that doubtless ere this he must have surrendered to the Basha. At a short distance from the capital Sebastian ordered his troops to halt, in a situation which concealed them from the view of the town; he then dispatched scouts to gain information: their return confirmed his fears; Ispahan was taken; the city was filled with Turks and Syrians, and a division of their army lay encamped on the plain to the eastward.