result.'

"'Well hast thou spoken,' said the Leader of the Faithful; 'be it even
so.' Then the learned among the Resigned selected our lord Abd el
Kader of Baghdad,[8] a man renowned the world over for piety and for
the depth of his learning. Now a prayer [Fatihah] for Mulai Abd el
Kader!"

[8: So called because buried near that city. For an account of his
life, and view of his mausoleum, see "The Moors," pp. 337-339.]

Here the speaker, extending his open palms side by side before him, as
if to receive a blessing thereon, is copied by the by-standers.[9] "In
the name of God, the Pitying, the Pitiful!" All draw their hands down
their faces, and, if they boast beards, end by stroking them out.

[9: "The hands are raised in order to catch a blessing in
them, and are afterwards drawn over the face to transfer it to
every part of the body."--HUGHES, "Dictionary of Islam."]

[10: A term applied by Mohammedans to Christians on account of
a mistaken conception of the doctrine of the Trinity.]

"Then the polytheists[10] likewise chose their man, one held among them
in the highest esteem, well read and wise, a monk of monks. Between
these two, then, the controversy commenced. As already agreed, the
Nazarene was the first to question:

"'How far is it from the Earth to the first heaven?'

"'Five hundred years.'

"'And thence to the second heaven?'

"'Five hundred years.'

"'Thence to the third?'

"'Five hundred years.'

"'Thence to the fourth?'

"'Five hundred years.'

"'Thence to the fifth?'

"'Five hundred years.'

"'Thence to the sixth?'

"'Five hundred years.'

"'Thence to the seventh?'

"'Five hundred years.'

"'And from Mekka to Jerusalem?'

"'Forty days.'

"'Add up the whole.'

"'Three thousand, five hundred years, and forty days.'

"'In his famous ride on El Borak [Lightning] where did Mohammed go?'

"'From the Sacred Temple [of Mekka] to the Further Temple [of
Jerusalem], and from the Holy House [Jerusalem] to the seventh heaven,
and the presence of God.'[11]

[11: This was the occasion on which Mohammed visited the seven
heavens under the care of Gabriel, riding on an ass so restive
that he had to be bribed with a promise of Paradise.]

"'How long did this take?'

"'The tenth of one night.'

"'Did he find his bed still warm on his return?'

"'Yes.'

"'Dost thou think such a thing possible; to travel three thousand five
hundre