fell upon all Arabia, insomuch that the caliph Omar had to call
upon him for supplies from the fertile plains of Egypt; whereupon Amru
despatched such a train of camels laden with grain that it is said, when
the first of the line had reached the city of Medina, the last had not
yet left the land of Egypt. But this mode of conveyance proving too
tardy, at the command of the Caliph he dug a canal of communication from
the Nile to the Red Sea, a distance of eighty miles, by which provisions
might be conveyed to the Arabian shores. This canal had been commenced
by Trajan, the Roman emperor.

The able and indefatigable Amru went on in this manner, executing the
commands and fulfilling the wishes of the Caliph, and governed the
country he had conquered with such sagacity and justice that he rendered
himself one of the most worthily renowned among the Moslem generals.

The life and reign of the caliph Omar, distinguished by such great and
striking events, were at length brought to a sudden and sanguinary end.
Among the Persians who had been brought as slaves to Medina, was one
named Firuz, of the sect of the Magi, or fire-worshippers. Being taxed
daily by his master two pieces of silver out of his earnings, he
complained of it to Omar as an extortion. The Caliph inquired into his
condition, and, finding that he was a carpenter, and expert in the
construction of windmills, replied that the man who excelled in such a
handicraft could well afford to pay two _dirhems_ a day. "Then,"
muttered Firuz, "I'll construct a windmill for you that shall keep
grinding until the day of judgment." Omar was struck with his menacing
air. "The slave threatens me," said he, calmly. "If I were disposed to
punish anyone on suspicion, I should take off his head"; he suffered
him, however, to depart without further notice.

Three days afterward, as he was praying in the mosque, Firuz entered
suddenly and stabbed him thrice with a dagger. The attendants rushed
upon the assassin. He made furious resistance, slew some and wounded
others, until one of his assailants threw his vest over him and seized
him, upon which he stabbed himself to the heart and expired. Religion
may have had some share in prompting this act of violence; perhaps
revenge for the ruin brought upon his native country. "God be thanked,"
said Omar, "that he by whose hand it was decreed I should fall was not a
Moslem!"

The Caliph gathered strength sufficient to finish the prayer in wh