"Effendis," he cried, turning at last to his friends, and with a joyous ring in his voice, "I thought I was ruined, but Allah has given me back my dearest treasure. Do not pity me any more, I am perfectly happy!" * * * * * We lost a great deal of our wealth by that fire. Our slaves had escaped, taking with them all our most valuable things. Mourad is quite certain that the women had set fire to the house from jealousy, but instead of regretting our former wealth, he does all in his power to make up for it by increased attention and care for me, and his only trouble is to see me waiting upon him. But whenever he says anything about that I throw my arms around his neck and whisper, "Have you forgotten, Mourad, my husband, that your Féliknaz is your slave?" _The Queer Side of Things._ or The Story of the King's Idea [Illustration] One day the Lord Chamberlain rushed into the throne-room of the palace, panting with excitement. The aristocracy assembled there crowded round him with intense interest. "The King has just got a new Idea!" he gasped, with eyes round with admiration. "Such a magnificent Idea--!" "It is indeed! Marvellous!" said the aristocracy. "By Jove--really the most brilliant Idea we ever----!" "But you haven't heard the Idea yet," said the Lord Chamberlain. "It's this," and he proceeded to tell them the Idea. They were stricken dumb with reverential admiration; it was some time before they could even coo little murmurs of inarticulate wonder. [Illustration] "The King has just got a new Idea," cried the Royal footman (who was also reporter to the Press), bursting into the office of _The Courtier_, the leading aristocratic paper, with earls for compositors, and heirs to baronetcies for devils. [Illustration] "Has he, indeed? Splendid!" cried the editor. "Here, Jones"--(the Duke of Jones, chief leader-writer)--"just let me have three columns in praise of the King's Idea. Enlarge upon the glorious results it will bring about in the direction of national glory, imperial unity, commercial prosperity, individual liberty and morality, domestic----" [Illustration] "But hadn't I better tell you the Idea?" said the reporter. "Well, you might do that perhaps," said the editor. Then the footman went off to the office of the _Immovable_--the leading paper of the Hangback party, and cried, "The King has got a new Idea!" "Ha!" said the editor. "Mr. Smith, will you kindly do me a column in support of His Majesty's new Idea?" "Hum! Well, you see," put in Mr. Smith, the eminent journalist. "How about the new contingent of readers you said you were anxious to net--the readers who are not altogether satisfied with the recent attitude of His Majesty?" "Oh! ah! I quite forgot," said the editor. "Look here, then, just do me an enigmatical and oracular article that can be read either way." "Right," replied the eminent journalist. "By the way, I didn't tell you the Idea," suggested the footman.