station. Thus was the star of his good fortune in ascension, till it
rose into the zenith of ambition; and he became the favorite of his
majesty the king, towards whom all turned for counsel, and upon whom all
eyes rested their hopes! I rejoiced at this prosperous change of his
affairs, and said:--"Repine not at thy bankrupt circumstances, nor let
thy heart despond, for the fountain of immortality has its source of
chaos.--_Take heed, O brother in affliction! and be not disheartened,
for God has in store many hidden mercies_.--Sit not down soured at the
revolutions of the times, for patience is bitter, yet it will yield
sweet fruit."

At that juncture I happened to accompany a party of friends on a journey
to Hijaz, or Arabia Petraea. On my return from the pilgrimage to Mecca,
he came out two stages to meet me. I perceived that his outward plight
was wretched, and his garb that of dervishes. I asked, "How is this?" He
replied, "Just as you said, a faction bore me a grudge and charged me
with malpractices; and the king, be his reign eternal, would not
investigate the truth of that charge, and my old and best friends stood
aloof from my defence, and overlooked my claims on our former
acquaintance.--When, through an act of God, a man has fallen, the whole
world will put their feet upon his neck; when they see that fortune has
taken him by the hand, they will put their hands upon their breasts, and
be loud in his praise.--In short, I underwent all manner of persecution
till within this week, that the tidings of the safe return of the
pilgrims reached us, when I got a release from my heavy durance and a
confiscation of my hereditary tenements." I said, "At that time you did
not listen to my admonition, when I warned you that the service of
princes is, like a voyage at sea, profitable but hazardous: you either
get a treasure or perish miserably.--The merchant gains the shore with
gold in both his hands, or a wave will one day leave him dead on its
beach."--Not deeming it generous any further to irritate a poor man's
wound with the asperity of reproach, or to sprinkle his sore with the
salt of harsh words, I made a summary conclusion in these two verses,
and said:--"Wert thou not aware that thou shouldst find fetters on thy
feet when thou wouldst not listen to the generous man's counsel? Thrust
not again thy finger into a scorpion's hole till thou canst endure the
pain of its sting."

XVII

I was the companion of a holy