lory to cause to be engraved upon
this wall the time, the year, and the reasons that obliged you to
erect it; that will be the means," said he, "of informing posterity
that you revenged yourself with a greatness of spirit."

Dakianos approved this counsel, and caused a wall to be erected as
thick and solid as those of Alexandria; but he had the precaution to
reserve one passage, of which he alone knew the entrance, in hopes of
being one day able to seize upon his slaves, and with a view of
examining the events at the cavern, which, in spite of himself,
continually took up his thoughts. He added to all these precautions
that of placing a guard of twenty thousand men, who encamped before
the wall. All his armies had orders to relieve this body of troops
every month, who were commanded to put to death all those who
endeavoured to approach a place which enclosed those whose revolt and
flight were the first misfortunes of his life; for till that moment
everything had succeeded happily to him. A desire of revenge joined
itself to the insult he had received from them, which appeared greater
to him, as nothing had ever before dared to resist him. To a man
intoxicated with his power, of which he had been himself the sole
cause, so positive an opposition to his will was a cruel situation.
Nothing could prevent him from repairing every day to the cavern in
order to make new efforts to enter it, or at least to feed his eyes
with the objects of his vengeance.

The calm which was enjoyed by those whom he still looked upon as his
slaves redoubled his fury. Their eyes, which were, as he imagined,
fixed upon him--their silence to all the reproaches and invectives
with which he loaded them--even their attitude--all were marks of the
greatest contempt of him. One day, when he had joined to his usual
speeches the blackest imprecations against Heaven, Allah permitted
Catnier, without any motion, to answer him:

"Wretch! darest thou blaspheme a God who has let thee live,
notwithstanding the crimes that thou hast been guilty of? Believest
thou that He has forgot to punish the fate of the learned Egyptian,
whom thy avarice put to death, contrary to the most sacred oaths?"

Dakianos, whose wrath was impotent there, went out, distracted and
provoked with the insulting reproaches that he received from the dog
of his slaves. What a subject of humility! But far from having
recourse to prayer, and imploring Allah's clemency, his pride
revolted,