Arab. It rose and fell in the strangest
way. Sometimes it was the babble of a child, sometimes the incoherent
raving of a fanatic, sometimes the lofty dreams of a prophet and
philosopher. There were times when his stories of demons, of miracles,
of dreams, and of omens, were such as an old woman might tell to please
the children of an evening. There were others when, as he talked with
shining face of his converse with angels, of the intentions of the
Creator, and the end of the universe, I felt as if I were in the company
of some one more than mortal, some one who was indeed the direct
messenger of the Most High.

"There were good reasons why he should treat me with such confidence. He
saw in me a messenger to Constantinople and to the Roman Empire. Even as
Saint Paul had brought Christianity to Europe, so he hoped that I might
carry his doctrines to my native city. Alas! be the doctrines what they
may, I fear that I am not the stuff of which Pauls are made. Yet he
strove with all his heart during that long Arabian night to bring me
over to his belief. He had with him a holy book, written, as he said,
from the dictation of an angel, which he carried in tablets of bone in
the nose-bag of a camel. Some chapters of this he read me; but, though
the precepts were usually good, the language seemed wild and fanciful.
There were times when I could scarce keep my countenance as I listened
to him. He planned out his future movements, and indeed, as he spoke, it
was hard to remember that he was only the wandering leader of an Arab
caravan, and not one of the great ones of the earth.

"'When God has given me sufficient power, which will be within a few
years,' said he, 'I will unite all Arabia under my banner. Then I will
spread my doctrine over Syria and Egypt. When this has been done, I will
turn to Persia, and give them the choice of the true faith or the sword.
Having taken Persia, it will be easy then to overrun Asia Minor, and so
to make our way to Constantinople.'

"I bit my lip to keep from laughing. 'And how long will it be before
your victorious troops have reached the Bosphorus?' I asked.

"'Such things are in the hands of God, whose servants we are,' said he.
'It may be that I shall myself have passed away before these things are
accomplished, but before the days of our children are completed, all
that I have now told you will come to pass. Look at that star,' he
added, pointing to a beautiful clear planet above our