'A curious feature of the Fascist movement, nominally led by Si Oswald Mosley in Great Britain and, now deserted by Viscount Rotnermere, has been its tendency to adopt Nazi formulas rather than the older; fashions of the Italian school, despite the cordiality with which Sit Oswald was received during his now almost forgotten visit to Rome. So, although the British "leader" has a national epic. He was entrusted with the task by the Sultan Mahmud who fixed the remuneration at the rate of a thousand gold pieces for every thousand verses. This generous treatment won for the monarch warm tribute in the poet's preface to the poem. Unforunately Firdausi decided to allow the payments to accumulate so that he might ultimately benefit his native town, Tus, by Providing funds for the construction of much-needed dyke, The poem took thirty-five years to complete. In the meantime jealousies weakened the poet's influence. The royal treasure took an unsympathetic view of literary values. When the time came {oF the poet to draw on the Treasury the Sultan gratefully ordered that Firdausi should be given as much fold as a single elephant could carry. The Treasurer—murmuring, no doubt, the blessed words "financial stringent ey"—varied the order by making sll-ver and not gold the standard of payment. The expectant poet was in hhis bath when the sacks arrived.
Finding how he had been cheated, he flew into a rage and divided the 60,000 silver. pieces equally between himself, the bath keeper and a beer seller (for a glass of beer). He also sent contemptuous message to the Sultan. who, worked upon by the Treasurer threatened to have the poet trampled to death by elephants. Eventually the poet fed and although Feceived some patronage in Baghdad from the ruling Caliph he fell on evil days. Mahmud's repentance came too jate, It took the form of executing the Treasurer, but Firdaus! was a sick man and the royal favour was only sufficient to permit him to die in his own home amid universal sympathy. By adding to the famous preface a satirical verse ridiewle of Mahmud's slavish origin he left on record a permanent protest against the monarch's breach of faith:
"fag Manmud's father been what be, A crown of fold had decked this aged.
Had Mahmmud's mother been of gentle'
1 heaps of atlver knee-deep had Thus, even a thousand years ago, the pen could have the last word.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.