“All nodded gravely; the King gently complimented me upon my public spirit, for now (as he was good enough to say) he regarded me as a subject.
“He looked round among his councillors as though seeking a suggestion, when one of them, Tarib by name (whom I distinguished by his fine intelligent face and felt drawn towards already), said in a firm voice, ‘The Salt Tax,’ and all, including the King himself, murmured approval.
“Then did I learn that for many generations past the people of this wealthy and fortunate realm had paid to the State a fixed tax upon salt, which amounted yearly, upon the average, to the sum I had demanded. It was regularly received; for all the salt of this land came over sea and the toll was levied at the ports of entry. A Charter was drawn up by the Council in simpl
