find in Ockley (Hist. of Saracens) that it
was on Monday the 6th June, 632. This is a mistake; for the 6th June of
that year was a Saturday, not a Monday; the 8th June, therefore, was a
Monday. It is easy to discover that the lunar year, in this calculation
has been confounded with the solar. St. Martin vol. xi. p. 186.--M.]

[Footnote 152: Al Jannabi enumerates (Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p.
372-391) the multifarious duties of a pilgrim who visits the tombs of
the prophet and his companions; and the learned casuist decides, that
this act of devotion is nearest in obligation and merit to a divine
precept. The doctors are divided which, of Mecca or Medina, be the most
excellent, (p. 391-394.)]

[Footnote 153: The last sickness, death, and burial of Mahomet, are
described by Abulfeda and Gagnier, (Vit. Moham. p. 133-142. --Vie
de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 220-271.) The most private and interesting
circumstances were originally received from Ayesha, Ali, the sons of
Abbas, &c.; and as they dwelt at Medina, and survived the prophet many
years, they might repeat the pious tale to a second or third generation
of pilgrims.]

At the conclusion of the life of Mahomet, it may perhaps be expected,
that I should balance his faults and virtues, that I should decide
whether the title of enthusiast or impostor more properly belongs to
that extraordinary man. Had I been intimately conversant with the son of
Abdallah, the task would still be difficult, and the success uncertain:
at the distance of twelve centuries, I darkly contemplate his shade
through a cloud of religious incense; and could I truly delineate the
portrait of an hour, the fleeting resemblance would not equally apply
to the solitary of Mount Hera, to the preacher of Mecca, and to the
conqueror of Arabia. The author of a mighty revolution appears to have
been endowed with a pious and contemplative disposition: so soon as
marriage had raised him above the pressure of want, he avoided the
paths of ambition and avarice; and till the age of forty he lived with
innocence, and would have died without a name. The unity of God is an
idea most congenial to nature and reason; and a slight conversation
with the Jews and Christians would teach him to despise and detest the
idolatry of Mecca. It was the duty of a man and a citizen to impart the
doctrine of salvation, to rescue his country from the dominion of sin
and error. The energy of a mind incessantly bent on the same object,
would