ARABIC LETTERS. 393 and integrity ; and when he resolved upon his journey into your country, we gave him directions to dispatch some of our affairs. Wherefore we wrote unto thee concerning him, and said.

If thou hast any necessity or business with us, he will convey it to us from thee. And we said unto thee, Speak with him, and whatsoever thou sayest unto him, he will communicate unto us, without addition or diminution.

As for what' our servant Alkaid Ali ben Ab-' dallah did to —•——, the Christian, thy servant, by God we know nothing of it, nor gave him any permission as to any thing that passed between them ; and, at the instant that we heard that he had taken thy man, we commanded him to set him at liberty forthwith ; and since then we have never manifested any favour to Alkaid Ali, nor was our mind ever right towards him afterwards till he died.

Our Clnistian servant, the merchant, Bayly, told us, that thou hadst a mind to an ostrich, and we gave him two, a male and a female, which shall come to you, if God will. And, lo !

a secretary, our servant, (who is much esteemed by us,) when he cometh he shall bring what goods he hath collected with him, if it please God. And we are in expectation of thy messenger the ambassador; and if he comes, he shall see nothing from us but what is fair ; and we will deliver to him the Christians, and do what he pleases, if God will. Wherefore be kind to our servant, with respect. 12