Safie was not idle, but swept the room, put every thing again in its place, snuffed the candies, and put fresh aloes and ambergris to them, and then prayed the three calenders to sit down upon the sofa on one side, and the caliph, with his companions, on the other. As to the porter, she savs to him, Get up, and prepare yourself to serve in what we are going to be about; a man like you, who is one of the family, ought not to be idle. The porter, being somewhat recovered from his wine, gets up immediately, and, having tied the sleeve of his gown to his belt, answers, Here am I, ready to obey your commands in any thing. That is very well, replied Safie; stay till you are spoken to; you shall not be idle very long. A little time after, Amine came in with a chair, which she placed in the middle of the room; and so went to a closet, which having opened, she beckoned to the porter, and says to him, Come hither and help me; which he obeying, entered the closet, and returned immediately leading two black bitches, with each of them a collar and chain; they looked as if they had been severely whipped with rods, and he brought them into the middle of the room. Then Zobeide, rising from her seat between the calenders and the caliph, marched very gravely towards the porter, Come on, says she, with a great sigh, let us perform our duty; then tucking up her sleeves above her elbows, and receiving a rod from Safie, Porter, said she, deliver one of the bitches to my sister Amine, and come to me with the other.