Aladdin, having thus loaded himself with riches he knew not the value of, returned through the three halls with the same precaution, and made all the haste he could, that he might not make his uncle wait, and soon arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the African magician awaited him with the utmost impatience. As soon as Aladdin saw him, he cried out, “Pray, uncle, lend me your hand to help me out.” “Give me the lamp first,” replied the magician; “it will be troublesome to you.” “Indeed, uncle,” answered Aladdin, “I cannot now; it is not troublesome to me; but I will as soon as I am up.” The African magician was so obstinate, that he would have the lamp before he would help him up; and Aladdin, who had encumbered himself so much with his fruit, that he could not well get at it, refused to give him it till he was out of the cave. The African magician, provoked at this obstinate refusal of the lad, flew into a terrible passion, and threw a little of his incense into the fire, which he had taken care to keep in, and no sooner pronounced two magical words, but the stone which had closed the mouth of the cave moved into its place, with the earth over it, in the same manner as it lay at the arrival of the magician and Aladdin. This action of the African magician’s plainly shewed him to be neither Aladdin’s uncle, nor Mustapha, the tailor’s brother, but a true African, a native of that part of the world. For as Africa is a country whose inhabitants delight most in magic of any other in the whole world, he had applied himself to it from his youth; and after about forty years’ experience in enchantments, works of geomancy, fumigations, and reading of magic books, he had found out that there was in the world a wonderful lamp, the possession of which would render him more powerful than any monarch in the world, if he could obtain it; and by a late operation of geomancy, he found out that this lamp lay concealed in a subterraneous place in the midst of China, in the situation, with all the circumstances, already described. Fully persuaded of the truth of this discovery, he set out from the farthest part of Africa, and, after a long and fatiguing journey, came to the town nearest to this treasure. But though he had a certain knowledge of the place where the lamp was, he was not permitted to take it himself, nor to enter the subterraneous place where it was, but must receive it from the hands of another person. For this reason, he addressed himself to Aladdin, whom he looked upon as a young lad of no consequence, and fit to serve his purpose; resolving, as soon as he got the lamp into his hands, to sacrifice poor Aladdin to his avarice and wickedness, by making the fumigation mentioned before, and saying those two magical words, the effect of which was to remove the stone into its place again, that he might have no witness of the transaction.