o speak. He order'd his Friend _Cador_ to
be instantly call'd, and gave him the Letter the Moment he came,
without opening his Lips. _Cador_ press'd him to regard the
Contents, and to make the best of his Way to _Memphis_. If you
presume, said he, to have an Interview with her Majesty first, you
inevitably hasten her Execution; or if you wait upon the King, the
fatal Consequence will be the same: I'll prevent her unhappy Fate,
if possible; you follow but your own: I'll give it out, that you are
gone to the _Indies_: I'll wait on you as soon as the Hurricane is
blown over, and I'll let you know all that occurs material in
_Babylon_.

_Cador_, that Instant, order'd two of the fleetest Dromedaries that
could be got, to be in readiness at a private Back-Door belonging to
the Court; he help'd _Zadig_ to mount his Beast, tho' ready to drop
into the Earth. He had but one trusty Servant to attend him, and
_Cador_, overwhelm'd with Grief, soon lost Sight of his dearly
beloved Friend.

This illustrious Fugitive soon reach'd the Summit of a little Hill,
that afforded him a fair Prospect of the whole City of _Babylon_:
But turning his Eyes back towards the Queen's Palace, he fainted
away; and when he had recover'd his Senses, he drown'd his Eyes in a
Flood of Tears, and with Impatience wish'd for Death. To conclude,
after he had reflected, with Horror, on the deplorable Fate of the
most amiable Creature in the Universe, and of the most meritorious
Queen that ever liv'd; he for a Moment commanded his Passion, and
with a Sigh, made the following Exclamations: What is this mortal
Life! O Virtue, Virtue, of what Service hast thou been to me! Two
young Ladies, a Mistress, and a Wife, have prov'd false to me; a
third, who is perfectly innocent, and ten thousand Times handsomer
than either of them, has suffer'd Death, 'tis probable, before this,
on my Account! All the Acts of Benevolence which I have shewn, have
been the Foundation of my Sorrows, and I have been only rais'd to
the highest Spoke of Fortune's Wheel, for no other Purpose than to
be tumbled down with the greater Force. Had I been as abandon'd as
some Miscreants are, I had like them been happy. His Head thus
overwhelm'd with these melancholy Reflections, his Eyes thus sunk in
his Head, and his meagre Cheeks all pale and languid; and, in a
Word, his very Soul thus plung'd in the Abyss of deep Despair, he
pursu'd his Journey towards _Egypt_.

CHAP. VIII.

_The Thras