and at the sight her husband looked as wild and astonished as she. But
Tommy went up to the man, and, taking him by the hand, said, "My good
friend, you are very welcome to this; I freely give it you; and I hope
it will enable you to pay what you owe, and to preserve these poor
little children." But the man, who had before appeared to bear his
misfortunes with silent dignity, now burst into tears and sobbed like
his wife and children; but Tommy, who now began to be pained with this
excess of gratitude, went silently out of the house, followed by Harry;
and, before the poor family perceived what had become of him, was out of
sight.
When he came back to Mr Barlow's that gentleman received him with the
greatest affection, and when he had inquired after the health of Mr and
Mrs Merton, asked Tommy whether he had forgotten the story of the
grateful Turk. Tommy told him he had not, and should now be very glad to
hear the remainder; which Mr Barlow gave him to read, and was as
follows:--
"CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE GRATEFUL TURK."
"When Hamet had thus finished his story, the Venetian was astonished at
the virtue and elevation of his mind; and after saying everything that
his gratitude and admiration suggested, he concluded with pressing him
to accept the half of his fortune, and to settle in Venice for the
remainder of his life. This offer Hamet refused with the greatest
respect, but with a generous disdain; and told his friend that, in what
he had done, he had only discharged a debt of gratitude and friendship.
'You were,' said he, 'my generous benefactor; you had a claim upon my
life by the benefit you had already conferred; that life would have been
well bestowed had it been lost in your service; but since Providence
hath otherwise decreed, it is a sufficient recompense to me to have
proved that Hamet is not ungrateful, and to have been instrumental to
the preservation of your happiness.'
"But though the disinterestedness of Hamet made him underrate his own
exertions, the merchant could not remain contented without showing his
gratitude by all the means within his power. He therefore once more
purchased the freedom of Hamet, and freighted a ship on purpose to send
him back to his own country; he and his son then embraced him with all
the affection that gratitude could inspire, and bade him, as they
thought, an eternal adieu.
"Many years had now elapsed since the departure of Hamet into his own
country, without their seeing him, or receiving any intelligence from
him. In the mean time the young Francisco, the son of the merchant, grew
up to manhood; and as he had acquired every accomplishment which tends
to improve the mind or form the manners, added to an excellent
disposition, he was generally beloved and esteemed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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