Sir, replied the fair slave, whatever the slave is, supposing her to be such as I have already mentioned to your majesty, there is no king on earth can tyrannize over her will. But, however, when you speak of a slave, mistress of charms enough to captivate a monarch, and make him adore her, provided she is of a rank infinitely below him, I am of your opinion she ought to think herself happy in her misfortune; but what happiness can it be when she considers herself only as a slave, torn from her parents’ arms, and perhaps a lover’s, for whom she has a passion that death only can extinguish? But when this very slave is nothing inferior to the king that bought her, your majesty shall then judge yourself of the rigour of her destiny, of her misery, and of her sorrow, and to what desperate attempts the anguish of despair may drive her. The king of Persia, astonished at this discourse, said, Madam, can it be possible that you are of royal blood, as by your words you seem to intimate? Explain the whole secret to me, I beseech you, and no longer augment my impatience. Ah! let me instantly know who are the happy parents of so great a prodigy of beauty, who are your brothers, your sisters, and your relations; but above all, what your name is. Sir, said the fair slave, my name is Gulnare of the sea; and my father, who is now dead, was one of the most potent monarchs of the ocean. When he died, he left his kingdom to a brother of mine, named Saleh, and to the queen my mother, who is also a princess, the daughter of another puissant monarch of the sea. We enjoyed a profound peace and tranquillity through the whole kingdom, till a neighbouring prince, an enemy to our repose, invaded our dominions with a mighty army; and, penetrating as far as our capital, made himself master of it: and we had but just time enough to save ourselves in a steep inaccessible place, with a few trusty officers, who were so generous as not to forsake us in our distress.