In process of time this grew more and more clear; till at last I almost overshot my mark by searching for something which might have been wrong.
"The disappointments I suffered, and the wild-goose chases I made, would fill a volume; but I persevered.

At last, not two months ago, I was shown by an old dealer in Mossul one lamp such as I had looked for.
I had been tracing it for nearly a year, always suffering disappointment, but always buoyed up to further endeavour by a growing hope that I was on the track.
"I do not know how I restrained myself when I realised that, at last, I was at least close to success.

I was skilled, however, in the finesse of Eastern trade; and the Jew-Arab-Portugee trader met his match.

I wanted to see all his stock before buying; and one by one he produced, amongst masses of rubbish, seven different lamps.

Each of them had a distinguishing mark; and each and all was some form of the symbol of Hathor.