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I am one of thoſe rebellious Spirits, that oppos’d themſelves to the Will of Heav’n; all the other Genies own’d Solomon, the great Prophet, and ſubmitted to him. Sacar and I were the only Genies that would never be guilty of ſo mean a Thing: And to avenge himſelf, that great Monarch ſent Aſaph, the Son of Barakhia, his chief Miniſter, to apprehend me. That was accordingly done, Aſaph ſeizd my Perſon, and brought me by Force before his Maſter’s Throne.
Solomon, the Son of David, commanded me to quit my way of living, to acknowledge his Power, and to ſubmit myſelf to his Commands: I bravely refus’d to obey, and told him, I would rather expoſe my ſelf to his Reſentments, than ſwear Fealty, and ſubmit to him, as he required. To puniſh me, he ſhut me up in this Copper Veſſel; and to make ſure of me, that I ſhould not break Prifon, he ſtampt (himſelf) upon this leaden Cover, his Seal, with the great Name of God engraven upon it. Thus, he gave the Veſſel to one of the Genies who ſubmitted to him, with Orders to throw me into the Sea, which was executed, to my great Sorrow.
During the firſt hundred Years Impriſonment, I ſwore, that if any one would deliver me before the hundred Years expir’d, I would make him rich, ev’n after his Death: But that Century run out and no body did me that good Office. During the ſecond, I made an Oath, that I would open all the Treaſures of the Earth to any one that ſhould ſet me at Liberty, but with no better Succeſs. In the third, I promis’d to make my Deliverer a potent Monarch, to be always near him in a Spirit, and to grant him every Day three Demands, of what nature ſoever they might be: But this Century run out as well as the two former, and I continued in Priſon. At laſt, being angry, or rather mad, to find my ſelſ a Priſoner ſo long, I ſwore, that if afterwards any one ſhould deliver me, I would kill him without Pity, and grant him no other Favour, but to chuſe what kind of Death he would die and therefore, fince you have deliver’d me to-day, I give you that Choice.
This Diſcourſe afflicted the poor Fiſherman extreamly: I am very unfortunate, cries he, to come hither to do ſuch