beauty of
situation, salubrity of climate, and fertility of soil; for the
luxuriance of its palm-trees, and the fragrance of its shrubs and
flowers. At a short distance from the city a crowd of new proselytes to
the faith came forth in sun and dust to meet the cavalcade. Most of them
had never seen Mahomet, and paid reverence to Abu-Bekr through mistake;
but the latter put aside the screen of palm leaves, and pointed out the
real object of homage, who was greeted with loud acclamations.

In this way did Mahomet, so recently a fugitive from his native city,
with a price upon his head, enter Medina, more as a conqueror in triumph
than an exile seeking an asylum. He alighted at the house of a
Khazradite, named Abu-Ayub, a devout Moslem, to whom moreover he was
distantly related; here he was hospitably received, and took up his
abode in the basement story.

Shortly after his arrival he was joined by the faithful Ali,[53] who had
fled from Mecca, and journeyed on foot, hiding himself in the day and
travelling only at night, lest he should fall into the hands of the
Koreishites. He arrived weary and way-worn, his feet bleeding with the
roughness of the journey.

Within a few days more came Ayesha, and the rest of Abu-Bekr's
household, together with the family of Mahomet, conducted by his
faithful freedman Zeid, and by Abu-Bekr's servant Abdallah.

SIMON OCKLEY

Mahomet had hitherto propagated his religion by fair means only. During
his stay at Mecca he had declared his business was only to preach and
admonish; and that whether people believed or not was none of his
concern. He had hitherto confined himself to the arts of persuasion,
promising, on the one hand, the joys of paradise to all who should
believe in him, and who should, for the hopes of them, disregard the
things of this world, and even bear persecution with patience and
resignation; and, on the other, deterring his hearers from what he
called infidelity, by setting before them both the punishments inflicted
in this world upon Pharaoh and others, who despised the warnings of the
prophets sent to reclaim them; and also the torments of hell, which
would be their portion in the world to come. Now, however, when he had
got a considerable town at his command, and a good number of followers
firmly attached to him, he began to sing another note. Gabriel now
brings him messages from heaven to the effect that, whereas other
prophets had come with miracles and been r