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"Such were the events that preyed on the heart of Felix and

rendered him, when I first saw him, the most miserable of his

family. He could have endured poverty, and while this distress

had been the meed of his virtue, he gloried in it; but the

ingratitude of the Turk and the loss of his beloved Safie were

misfortunes more bitter and irreparable. The arrival of the

Arabian now infused new life into his soul.

"When the news reached Leghorn that Felix was deprived of his

wealth and rank, the merchant commanded his daughter to think no

more of her lover, but to prepare to return to her native

country. The generous nature of Safie was outraged by this

command; she attempted to expostulate with her father, but he

left her angrily, reiterating his tyrannical mandate.