At last the ingenious man of affairs, to whom the whole combination was
due, was not a little disturbed to receive from the Caliph a note
couched in the following terms:
"The Commander of the Faithful and the Servant of the Merciful whose
name be exalted, to the Nephew of Mahmoud:
"My Lord:--
"It has been the custom since the days of my grandfather (May his soul
see God!) for the more wealthy of the Faithful to be called to my
councils, and upon my summoning them thither it has not been unusual for
them to present sums varying in magnitude but always proportionate to
their total fortunes. My court will receive signal honour if you will
present yourself after the morning prayer of the day after to-morrow. My
treasurer will receive from you with gratitude and remembrance upon the
previous day and not later than noon, the sum of one million dinars."
Here, indeed, was a perplexity. The payment of the money was an easy
matter and was duly accomplished; but how should the lay figure which
did duty in such domestic scenes as the negotiation of loans, the
bullying of debtors, the purchase of options, and the cheating of the
innocent and the embarrassed, take his place in the Caliph's council and
remain undiscovered? For great as was the reputation of Mahmoud's-Nephew
for discretion and for golden silence, such as are proper to the
accumulation of great wealth, there would seem a necessity in any
political assembly to open the mouth from time to time, if only for the
giving of a vote.
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