5
of his countenance soon returned; and stretching out his hands towards heaven. "Stranger," said he, "the knowledge which I have received from the Prophet, I will communicate to thee.
"As I was sitting once at the porch of the Temple pensive and alone mine eyes wandered among the multitude that was scattered before me; and while I remarked the warines and solicitude which was visible in every countenance, I was suddenly struck with a sense of condition. Wretched mortals, said I, to what purpose are you busy? If to produce happiness, by whom is it enjoyed? Do the linens of Egypt, and the silks of Persia, bestow felicity on those who wear them, equal to the wretchedness of yonder slaves, whom I, see leading the camels who bring them? Is the fierceness of the texture, or the splendor of the tints, regarded with delight by those to whom custom has tendered them familiar? Or, can the power of habit render others insensible of pain. who live only to traverse the Desert: a scene of dreadful uniformity, where a barren level is bounded only by the
