' 'Thou hast done well, O Commander of the Faithful,'
answered the merchant; 'for he is art and part of us. May God
make the best of us the orderers of our affairs! How many a
little one hath become great!' Then the Khalif wrote Alaeddin a
patent [of investiture] and gave it to the Master of Police, who
gave it to the crier and the latter made proclamation in the
Divan, saying, 'None is Provost of the merchants but Alaeddin
Abou esh Shamat, and it behoves all to give heed to his words and
pay him respect and honour and consideration!' Moreover, when the
Divan broke up, the Master of the Police took Alaeddin and
carried him through the thoroughfares of Baghdad, whilst the
crier went before him, making proclamation of his dignity. Next
day, Alaeddin opened a shop for his slave Selim and set him
therein, to buy and sell, whilst he himself rode to the palace
and took his place in the Khalif's Divan.
One day, as he sat in his place, one said to the Khalif, 'O
Commander of the Faithful, may thy head survive such an one the
boon-companion! He is gone to the mercy of God the Most High, but
may thy life be prolonged!' Quoth the Khalif, 'Where is Alaeddin
Abou esh Shamat?' So he went up to the Commander of the Faithful,
who clad him in a splendid dress of honour and made him his boon-
companion in the dead man's room, appointing him a monthly wage
of a thousand dinars.
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