to the prophet, till he was within two bows' length of him; 'and he revealed,' says the Koran, 'unto his servant, that which he revealed.' The angel Gabriel—for it was he—held in his hand a silken cloth covered with writing, and bade Mahomet read; but he replied that he could not. Then the angel spoke as follows: 'Read in the name of the Lord, who hath created all things. Read by the most beneficent Lord, who taught the use of the pen; who teacheth man that which he knoweth not.' Then the angel left him, with the words graven in his heart, but his mind sunk in doubt and despondency. But a second vision followed, and then the words were clearer: 'Oh, Mahomet, of a truth thou art the apostle of God, and I am Gabriel.' Then he no longer doubted, nor did those to whom he told the glad tidings. His wife Khadija, his adopted sons Ali and Zeid, his friend Abu Bekr, were his earliest converts. Others soon followed; and in the first three or four years, when his preaching was secret, probably the number of his followers increased to thirty or forty. Then came the command to preach his doctrines openly.
But let us wait for a moment to see what manner of man this was in outward appearance, who was to work so great a change in the world. Mahomet was of middling size, broad-shouldered and large-boned, fleshy but not fat. His head was immoderately large, and his hair hung in curls on either side of his face, almost to the lobes of his ears. His face was fair for an Arab, his forehead broad, his eyes black and bloodshot. Between them was a prominent vein which throbbed when he was angry. His nose was large and hooked, his mouth wide, his teeth good, but set wide
