motive for action."

"So you would argue that man is God?" queried the Rajput.

"Not so, but that the soul of man is of the essence of God, the proof of
which is this very power of searching out our own hearts and sitting in
judgment on our own failings: for the judgment seat belongs to Allah
alone."

"A subtle philosophy which I do not presume fully to understand,"
interposed the merchant from Bombay.

During the night's entertainment he had shown himself to be a man of few
words, yet an attentive listener. He was of middle age, of a mild
dignity of mien, and of robust physique, as befitted one accustomed to
long journeys through regions infested with robbers or with beasts of
prey.

"But in my practical experience of life," he proceeded, "I have come to
realize that, while I may know myself, no other man can I know.
Therefore, if it be right to be sparing of condemnation for another, it
is also wise to be chary of undue commendation. The world too often
acclaims a deed as noble when the real motive prompting it is utterly
ignoble."

"A true philosopher, despite your bales of merchandise," murmured the
hakeem, with a smiling nod of approval for the sentiments expressed.

"Well, I suppose that every one who travels becomes a philosopher, more
or less," assented the trader. "Change of scene and of companionship
stimulates new ideas. Now will I relate an actual experience which aptly
illustrates that, in our dealings with those around us, we never really
penetrate their minds. Man knows himself; he knows no one else--friend
or intimate, the child of his heart or the very wife of his bosom."

"It is more easy to discover a white crow," muttered the fakir, "than
know what a woman has in her heart."

The merchant paid no heed to the interruption. He went on:

"Each of us is an inscrutable mystery to the other. Each soul is veiled
to every other soul, and is naked to itself alone."

"O prince of philosophers in pedlar's disguise!" murmured the hakeem.

"If our souls sat naked for the common gaze," commented the Rajput, "if
we could all read each other's hearts, then indeed would life be an
abomination--an utter misery, with the twin devils of shame and disgust
seated at our elbows all the time."

"Most true," concurred the trader. "For too much knowledge of another's
inmost thoughts brings only disillusionment and regret, as my tale will
show. The story takes us among humble people, but human nature is the
sa