ow long he
might have been descending he could not tell, as his self-possession
had entirely deserted him; and when he recovered himself, he seemed to
be just awakening out of a sound sleep. This commotion was suspended
for a moment, and he felt the spot on which he was seated rising up
again; but it soon descended, and continued to ascend and descend with
unceasing force and rapidity. But at times he lost all consciousness,
and recovered his recollection again as the motion changed and
proceeded downwards. In this manner was he driven from sleeping to
waking, overcome with exhaustion and perplexed with the darksomeness
of his journey. How long he was in this gloomy passage he knew not: at
one time he thought that the journey had been one of several days; but
then this could not be so, as he had not even once experienced the
cravings of hunger or thirst: as he had not suffered in this
particular, he felt convinced that the time that had elapsed was much
less, and that it must have appeared so from his total abstinence.

At length he perceived a small gleam of light at the farther end of
this way, and by it he observed that he was in a narrow part of a
subterranean chamber, which seemed scarcely large enough to admit his
body. His movements, however, were so quick that he brought himself
nearer and nearer to the light at every step, till at last he
succeeded in extricating himself. He found himself standing upon a
mount on a spot hitherto unknown to him, which was illumined by the
sun from the opposite horizon. Here he remained, gazing joyously
around, and breathing now for the first time the pure fresh air.

On a sudden he heard a loud warlike sound at the foot of the hill;
and, on a closer inspection, he discovered several companies, ranged
in battle order half-way up the hill, and preparing for the attack.
Without allowing himself time for reflection, he threw the lion's tail
and eagle's wing to the ground, exclaiming at the same time in a loud
voice the names of the three genii of Mount Massis, "Arjeh, Neschar,
Mana-Guma!"

Scarcely had he uttered the last word, when he found himself mounted
upon a noble white steed with a black tail, the arrow in his left
hand, and the spear in his right; and without his taking hold of the
reins, which were ornamented with gold and precious stones, the
tractable steed flew along the hill rapidly, and bore him safely
between the two contending factions.

"What are you doing?" ex