, when beaten by their antagonist in fair argument,
they shake the chain of rancor; like Azor, the idol-maker, when he could
no longer contend with his son Abraham in words he fell upon him with
blows, as God has said in the Koran--"_If thou wilt not yield this
point, I will overwhelm thee with stones_:"--He gave me abuse, and I
retorted upon him with asperity; he tore my collar, and I plucked his
beard:--He had fallen upon me and I upon him, and a crowd had gathered
round us enjoying the sport. A whole world gnawed the finger of
astonishment when it heard and understood what had taken place between
us.

In short, we referred our dispute to the cazi, and agreed to abide by
his equitable decree: That the judge of the Mussulmans, or faithful,
might bring about a peace, and discriminate for us between the poor and
rich. After having noted our physiognomies, and listened to our
statements, the cazi rested his chin on the breast of deliberation; and,
after due consideration, raised it, and said: "Be it known to you, who
were lavish in your praise of the rich, and spoke disparagingly of the
poor, that there is no rose without its thorn; intoxication from wine is
followed by a qualm; hidden treasure has its guardian dragon; where the
imperial pearl is found, there swims the man-devouring shark; the honey
of worldly enjoyment has the sting of death in its rear; and between us
and the felicity of Paradise stands a frightful demon, namely, Satan. So
long as the charmer slew not her admirer, what could the rival's malice
avail him? The rose and thorn, the treasure and dragon, joy and sorrow,
all mingle into one.--Do you not observe that in the garden there are
the sweet-scented willows and the withered trunks; so among the classes
of the rich some are grateful and some thankless; and among the orders
of the poor some are resigned and some impatient:--Were every drop of
dew to turn into a pearl, in the market pearls would be as common as
shells. Near by the throne of a great and glorious Judge are the rich
meek in spirit, and the poor rich in resolution. And the chief of the
opulent is he who sympathizes with the sorrows of the indigent; and the
most virtuous of the indigent is he who covets not the society of the
opulent:--_God is all-sufficient for him who trusts in God_."

Then the cazi turned the face of animadversion from me towards the
dervish, and said: "O you who have charged the rich with being active in
sin, and intoxica