KALAN was one of the principal favourites of Mahmoud, of whom we have said so much in the preceding article. He had chosen him from among the number of his courtiers, to on him those favours of which was , and which he merited. He was more beholden to nature than to art for his education, which would have been sufficient to make him happy, had it been his lot to live remote from the and of a court.
An open and heart, instead of him love and , often carried him to the of ruin; for those with whom he , were artful and hypocrites, a set of vermin that every court. Though he wished to hate no man, yet he could not love those who were every day seeking his destruction.
These ungenerous attempts were so often repeated, that Kalan, fearing he should acquire a habit of despising human beings, resolved to retire from the noise and of a court. He was strengthened in this resolution by a review of his affairs, which were so much by his unbounded charity and , that he found it impossible any longer to support such expences.
Kalan, before he to enjoy a peaceful and life, left the following lines engraven on his door:
"The man who no has found,
Has never trod on courtiers' slipp'ry ground."
The calif, having one day heard these lines repeated, desired to know who was the author of them. At this time Kalan was supposed to be dead, and therefore the courtiers had nothing to fear, and no reason to the name of the author. Those people who had returned all his favours with ingratitude, now launched into high encomiums on his merit. In all this there is nothing astonishing. With respect to the arts and sciences, we see how different is the treatment the professors of them receive during their lives, and after they are no more. While living, he could perhaps hardly support his existence; when dead, and monuments are to his memory.
Kalan, having accidentally heard how much Mahmoud was pleased with the on his door, quitted his retreat, and again appeared at Ispahan, to the of his friends, and the invidious regret of the courtiers. The calif received him , and made him ample for all the neglect of his friends. Kalan was put into an office which enabled him to gratify all his beneficent wishes.
As the and the rose thrive together on the same soil, so was the of Kalan not without a weed. His too strong to women sometimes led him astray, and made him unmindful of his duty. The calif was not ignorant of this fault in Kalan, for the courtiers that surrounded him took care that this error should not remain . Mahmoud, though he pitied his weakness, did not esteem him the less on that account. "True it is," said the calif, "that an unbounded passion for women is much to be ; but this will in time him; while ambition, cruelty, and , had any such got possession of him, would grow stronger as he advanced in age."
The calif's courtiers the of this observation; but no sooner had he turned his back on them, than they such a idea. How much are courtiers to be pitied, who take so much pains to render themselves !
Some little time afterwards, the calif gave Kalan a commission to the furthest part of Persia, and even the day and hour when he should expect him back. Kalan immediately set out on his journey, discharged his duty with the strictest punctuality, and returned a day before the time allowed. He received the applause due to his diligence, and was told, that every hour he gained on the time was of the utmost service to his country.
Kalan was the more pleased with these marks of the calif's , as he received it in the presence of many courtiers, who all showed him the highest marks of applause, while in their hearts they hated and him, and envied the honours paid him by the calif.
The next day, however, one of these courtiers, deputed by the rest, approached Mahmoud, and, after bowing to the earth, thus addressed him:—"Most noble and glorious sovereign of the faithful, though I know not the nature of Kalan's late commission, yet I judge it was of the highest importance. Pardon then my if, notwithstanding the transcendent light in which I him, I am under the disagreeable necessity of informing your highness, that he presumed to pass five days of that time so precious to the state, in the of the pleasures of love."
The calif, astonished at this declaration, told the informer, that he hoped he could prove what he had asserted. " sovereign," answered he, "his own slave will prove to you, that, at Gauri, nearly a hundred miles from this capital, he loitered in the lap of pleasure. The daughter of a caravanserist had influence over him sufficient to induce him to neglect, for five days, the confidence you had in him, and the most important concerns of the state. If time should prove that I have accused him falsely, let me be the victim of your ."
Mahmoud thanked him for his information, which he presumed could arise from no other than his great attachment to his glory; and he assured him, that he would nicely search into the truth of what he had informed him. "Neither will I be forgetful," said the calif, "of the greatness of your soul, which has induced you to sacrifice to my interest the man, you say, you so much admire and ."
The courtier then bowed his head to the earth, and retired, not much pleased, however, with the last words of the calif, who, he had from thence reason to believe,............