The prince, transported with joy, immediately sent for his daughter, who soon appeared, accompanied by a numerous train of females and eunuchs; and veiled in such a manner, that her face could not be seen. The chief of the dervises made them hold a shovel over the head of the princess; and he no sooner threw the seven white hairs upon some burning coals, which he had ordered to be brought in it, than the Genius Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, uttered a violent scream, and left the princess quite at liberty. In the mean time nothing at all could be seen. The first thing she did was to put her hand to the veil, which covered her face, and lift it up to see where she was. “Where am I?” she cried; “Who has brought me here?” At these words the sultan could not conceal his joy; he embraced his daughter; he kissed her eyes: and then took the hand of the dervise and kissed that. “Give me,” said he to his officers, “your opinion; what return does he deserve, who has cured my daughter.”--They all answered that he was worthy of her hand. --“This is the very thing I was meditating,” he cried, “and from this moment I claim him for my son-in-law.”
Soon after this the first vizier died, and the sultan immediately advanced the dervise to the situation. The sultan himself afterwards dying without any male issue, this excellent man was proclaimed sultan by the general voice of the different religious and military orders.
The good dervise, being thus raised to the throne of his father-in-law, observed one day, as he was walking with his courtiers, the envious man among the crowd, who were in the road. He called one of his viziers, who accompanied him, told him in a whisper to bring that man, whom he pointed out to him, and to be sure not to alarm him. The vizier obeyed; and when the envious man was in the presence of the sultan, the latter addressed him in these words; “I am very happy, my friend, to see you: go,” said he, speaking to an officer, “and count out directly from my treasury a thousand pieces of gold. Nay more, deliver to him twenty bales of the most valuable merchandize my magazines contain; and let a sufficient guard escort him home.” After having given the officer this commission, he took his leave of the envious man, and continued his walk.