Ganem inquired after the mosque where the ceremony was to be performed, and whence the body was to be conducted to the grave; and having been told it, sent back his slaves with the goods, and walked towards the mosque. He got thither before the prayers were ended, which were said in a hall hung with black satin. The corpse was taken up and followed by the kindred, the merchants, and Ganem, to the place of burial, which was at a great distance without the city. It was a stone structure, like a dome, purposely built to receive the bodies of all the family of the deceased, and, being very small, they had pitched tents all about it, that all the company might be sheltered during the ceremony. The monument was opened, and the corpse laid into it, after which it was shut up again. Then the iman, and other ministers of the mosque, sat down in a ring on carpets, in the largest tent, and said the rest of the prayers. They also read the chapters of the Alcoran appointed for the burial of the dead. The kindred and merchants sat round in the same manner behind the ministers. It was near night before the whole was ended. Ganem, who had not expected such a long ceremony, began to be uneasy; and was the more so, when he saw meat served up in memory of the deceased, according to the custom of Bagdad. He was also told that the tents had been set up, not only against the heat of the sun, but also against the evening dew, because they should not return to the city before the next morning. These words perplexed Ganem: I am a stranger, said he to himself, and have the reputation of being a rich merchant: thieves may take this opportunity of my absence, and go rob my house: my very slaves may be tempted to make their advantage of so convenient a time; they may run away with all the gold I have received for my goods; and whither shall I look for them? His head being full of these thoughts, he ate a few mouthfuls hastily, and dexterously slipped away from the company.