Part 35 (1/2)
I took a nize me I would speak to hied my horse on, and as I approached he turned round and surveyeda, for pity?s sake,? exclaimed he, ?have coe in this world than God and you!?
I could not resist such an appeal tosilence for so what th burst into an ihter see, for he was extrean to speak, all doubts were removed, and he ran up to me with a sort of joy and ecstasy that bordered upon ht of my eyes!? said he, as he kissed my knee ?From what heaven have you dropped? What s? Do you deal with the Gins and the Dives or has fortune fallen in love, and adopted you its heir??
I continued laughing, so a: ?How comes it that you have so soon turned your mule into this fine horse? And my property, what is become of it? Have you not even savedon foot? Tell me, tell me all: by the beard of the Prophet, tell ive him a full account of ot possession of his property, and turned it into the finery which had just drawn forth his ad, but I entreated hie quantity of credulity, for what I had to say was so marvellous that he would very probably conceive it was my intention to ie, where we took up our quarters at the _enerally to be found in every hahout Persia, and there established ourselves for the night
A person ofremain unnoticed, and I was duly waited upon by the ked khoda, who supplied us with a good supper; and during the time required for its preparation I related ularity was in no manner throay upon hiht when he found that all my present prosperity was at the cost of his old ene to each other in the full confidence of our hearts (for theof themselves), I discovered that never before had I acquired an insight into the real character of my associate
?There must have been an assu as I was in your service; for how could one really proud be so amiable as you appear now??
?Ah, Hajji!? said he, ?adversity is a great alterative My life has been one eternal up and down I have often cos set up by louts in ourbetween heaven and earth Unfortunately, I am one of those who has never adopted the maxim of ?spread not your carpet in a wet place??
?Tell me,? said I, ?the history of your adventures We cannot better pass our tih now not to refusein my history but what is comgars; but since you are curious to knoill relate it with pleasure?; and he began in the folloords:--
?I am a native of Hamadan My father was athe mushtehed of Persia; but his controversies upon particular points of faith unfortunately carried hiainst hiht His most prominent quality was the hatred he bore to the Oseneral One of our ancestors is said to have first introduced into Persia a ainst them than ever before existed, by a simple innovation in the education of the shi+ah children, by which means their very first ideas were trained to be inimical to the race of Omar I mean,? said the mollah, ?that which you no doubt very well remember: when a little boy in schooltime is pressed upon certain occasions to ask his master?s leave to retire, the form of words in which he is enjoined to make his request is ?_Lahnet beh Oh life, as I have, never o that is unclean, and at least once a day to repeat the curse which you were taught at school?
I fully assented to this, and then he proceeded with his story
?My father?s hatred for the sectaries of Omar extended itself to all sorts of infidels Jews, Christians, fire-worshi+ppers, and worshi+ppers of ies, all came within the scope of his execration; and what at first he had practised fro principle of his nature His faht up in his tenets, and iether by them that we formed as it were a distinct sect,--the terror of infidels, and the most zealous upholders of the shi+ah faith
?After this you will not be surprised at the part I lately took in the destruction of the Armenian wine-jars at Tehran But that is not the only scrape my zeal has led me into Very early in life, when still a student at Hamadan, I was involved in a terrible disturbance, of which I was the principal prodad, with his suite, was quietly taking his road through our city, having sojourned there two or three days on his way to the court of the Shah, when burning to put into practicefanatics likethem an appropriate address, I so excited their passions that we resolved to perform some feat worthy of our principles
We deteruests, inforainst Omar, and invite them to become adherents to the doctrine of Ali Heedless, and, perhaps, ignorant of what is due to the character of _elchi_, or ambassador, we only saw in Sulei hi forth froathered ourselves into a body and greeted hied his domestics, who retorted the insult by blows Showers of stones ensued froeneral fray, in which the Pasha?s representative had his turban knocked from his head, his beard spit upon, and his clothes nearly torn froe of course could not be overlooked The ambassador was furious; he threatened to send off couriers to the Shah, and was even on the point of returning to his own htened at the consequences if his wrath was not appeased, proleaders of the disturbance should i topride at e had achieved, I at first eance which the Turks breathed against us; but the governor, who only contemplated the loss of his place if the news of this event reached Tehran; and caring little whether Ali was the true successor to the Prophet, or whether Osman, Omar, and Abubekr were usurpers or not, he at once ordered me to be seized, as well as two others of my companions, and forthere placed at the disposal of the enraged Os eht face to face before these objects ofwhich they had it in conteroaned under the necessity of keeping to ainst them upon the smallest provocation
?They seemed, however, quite ready to return all our hatred with interest, and did not lose this opportunity of letting us know its full extent They were not generous enough to let us off, but ordered the adious zest that I thought could never have existed in any breast except my own To be short, our feet were beat into a jelly, and our only consolation during the operation was the opportunity afforded us of giving vent to our pent-up rage The Turk, however, was revenged, and ere set free
?This adventure cooled h, in the pursuit of the distinctions which ht, I continued to addict myself to controversy When about twenty-five years old, and my beard had acquired a respectable consistency, I went to Ispahan in order to i with our celebrated doctors, and to ht take in their disputations I succeeded to the utmost of my wishes, and acquired considerable reputation I only wanted an opportunity of distinguishi+ngcircumstance
?In the time of our famous Shah Seffi; as himself half a heretic, the Franks (a sect of the Christians) had considerable establishments at Ispahan for the purposes of coed by hiion,--permitted them to build churches, to import priests, and, to the scandal of the true faith, even allowed them the use of bells to call them to prayer These Franks have a supreme head of their church--a sort of caliph, whom they call _Papa_--part of whose duty, like that of our own blessed Prophet, is to propagate his religion throughout the world Under different pretexts, convents of his dervishes were established, so the Ars fallen into decay; but one whose object ation of the Christian faith still existed, and to its destruction my endeavours and those of so the opposite views of the governe the Christians to settle in Persia, owing to the riches which they introduce by their trade
?This convent was served by two dervishes, one of as in himself a calan,--and of a wit so sharp that the shaitan in person was not fit to be his father