er
closed to seek or reveal."

"Then," answered I, "you doubt the faithfulness of Mahoud; else why
may not I know the meaning of the wonders I have seen?"

"The age of thy friendship," said Bennaskar, "is a month, and wouldst
thou be admitted in so short a time to all the secrets of my heart?
Forbear, rash youth. A well-tried friend is Bennaskar's joy; but woes
and death are in the paths of his enemies."

As he said this, he frowned and left me, and I retired to my
apartment, irresolute in mind. As I entered my chamber, I perceived a
small book open on a desk before the burning lamps. I went up to it,
and found it was the Koran of our holy law. Being little desirous of
sleep, I sat down; and as I read, methought I saw the name of Mahoud
in the book.

Startled at the vision, I looked again, and read distinctly these
words:

"Mahoud! Mahoud! Mahoud! there is much good in the world, but there is
more evil; the good is the gift of Allah, but the evil is the choice
of His creatures. Because of man's sin, and because of the darkness of
his heart, do the evil genii and the enchantments of wickedness
prevail. Even now is Mahoud in the house of a magician, to whom he is
imprudently bound by the ties of honour: to draw back is meanness; but
to persist is sin. When men act wrong, they subject themselves to the
power of a wicked race; and we who are the guardians of mortality
cannot interpose but in proportion to their remorse. Taken by the
crafty dissimulation of Bennaskar, thy easy soul gave in to his
snares, and thy prudence was decoyed by the voice of his mouth. Thou
hast promised, at all events, not to reveal the secrets of his house,
and thou hast, unknowingly, joined thyself in the fellowship of the
wicked. But can man, who is bound to the service of Allah by an
unalterable law, dispose of himself against the will of his Maker? or
can the worm of the earth, the property of Heaven, set up itself
against the hand that formed it? Had Mahoud engaged to conceal
everything but what the law of Mahomet obliged him to reveal, he had
behaved wisely; but he who walketh in darkness will undoubtedly fall
into the pit. Past errors cannot be recalled; and Mahoud must learn
the wisdom of experience. Under the resemblance of the Koran, behold,
the genius Macoma instructs thine heart. I perceive evil will attend
thee, if thou dost attempt the enlargement of the Princess of
Cassimir; and yet, without it, thou must still continue the ser