to an aristocracy of elders, desirous of bestowing and
resuming the sceptre by a free and frequent election: the Koreish could
never be reconciled to the proud preeminence of the line of Hashem; the
ancient discord of the tribes was rekindled, the _fugitives_ of Mecca
and the _auxiliaries_ of Medina asserted their respective merits; and
the rash proposal of choosing two independent caliphs would have crushed
in their infancy the religion and empire of the Saracens. The tumult
was appeased by the disinterested resolution of Omar, who, suddenly
renouncing his own pretensions, stretched forth his hand, and declared
himself the first subject of the mild and venerable Abubeker. The
urgency of the moment, and the acquiescence of the people, might excuse
this illegal and precipitate measure; but Omar himself confessed from
the pulpit, that if any Mussulman should hereafter presume to anticipate
the suffrage of his brethren, both the elector and the elected would
be worthy of death. After the simple inauguration of Abubeker, he was
obeyed in Medina, Mecca, and the provinces of Arabia: the Hashemites
alone declined the oath of fidelity; and their chief, in his own house,
maintained, above six months, a sullen and independent reserve; without
listening to the threats of Omar, who attempted to consume with fire the
habitation of the daughter of the apostle. The death of Fatima, and
the decline of his party, subdued the indignant spirit of Ali: he
condescended to salute the commander of the faithful, accepted his
excuse of the necessity of preventing their common enemies, and wisely
rejected his courteous offer of abdicating the government of the
Arabians. After a reign of two years, the aged caliph was summoned by
the angel of death. In his testament, with the tacit approbation of his
companions, he bequeathed the sceptre to the firm and intrepid virtue of
Omar. "I have no occasion," said the modest candidate, "for the place."
"But the place has occasion for you," replied Abubeker; who expired with
a fervent prayer, that the God of Mahomet would ratify his choice, and
direct the Mussulmans in the way of concord and obedience. The prayer
was not ineffectual, since Ali himself, in a life of privacy and prayer,
professed to revere the superior worth and dignity of his rival; who
comforted him for the loss of empire, by the most flattering marks of
confidence and esteem. In the twelfth year of his reign, Omar received
a mortal wound fro