The
master of this wretched place, who was named Mehdad, agreed to accept my
services. I prepared a bottle of the liquor for which the good genius
had given me the receipt, but the ingredients of which, although cheap,
I had not before been able to purchase, and soon I found an immense
company crowding to Mehdad's cafe. The rich people also would take no
other; and Mehdad soon had before him the prospect of becoming opulent.
"He had a daughter; she was young and beautiful; I became enamoured of
her, and ventured to ask her hand. I had preserved the secret of my
receipt. Mehdad was ignorant that he owed his good fortune to me, and
believed that it was through his own talent. He rejected my offer with
disdain, and drove me from his house. Poor fellow! he was not the first
who, without knowing it, had driven good luck from his home.
"I had gained some money in his service; and I employed the fruit of my
economy in forming for myself an establishment in one of the public
gardens of Teflis, on the banks of the charming river Khur. Here I
erected a small, but elegant pavilion, and I sold my Sherbet to all the
promenaders of the garden. In a short time Mehdad, and all the cafes of
Teflis, were abandoned for my little pavilion.
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