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der his administration the weak were protected, the learned received honour, and the diligent became rich ; Mirza, therefore, was beheld by every eye with complacency, and every tongue pronounced bleffings upon his head. But it was obferved that he derived no joy from the benefits which he diffufed: he became penfive and melancholy; he spent his leifure in folitude; in his palace he fat motionless upon a fofa; and when he went out, his walk was flow, and his eyes were fixed upon the ground: he applied to the bufinefs of state with reluctance; and refolved to relinquish the toil of government, of which he could no longer enjoy the

reward.

He, therefore, obtained permiffion to approach the throne of our fovereign; and being afked what was his request, he made this reply: "May the Lord of the "world forgive the flave whom he has honoured, if "Mirza prefume again to lay the bounty of Abbas_at "his feet. Thou haft given me the dominion of a country, fruitful as the gardens of Damafcus; and a city glorious above all others, except that only "which reflects the fplendor of thy prefence. But the

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longeft life is a period fcarce fufficient to prepare for "death all other business is vain and trivial, as the "toil of emmets in the path of the traveller, under "whose foot they perish for ever; and all enjoyment is "unfubftantial and evanefcent, as the colours of the *bow that appears in the interval of a ftorm. Suffer

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me, therefore, to prepare for the approach of eter"nity, let me give up my foul to meditation: let foli"tude and filence acquaint me with the myfteries of "devotion; let me forget the world, and by the world "be forgotten, till the moment arrives in which the "veil of eternity fhall fall, and I fhall be found at the "bar of the ALMIGHTY." Mirza then bowed himself to the earth, and stood filent.

By the command of Abbas it is recorded, that at thefe words he trembled upon the throne, at the footftool of which, the world pays homage: he looked round upon his nobles; but every countenance was

pale,

No man

pale, and every eye was upon the earth. opened his mouth; and the king firft broke filence, after it had continued near an hour.

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"Mirza, terror and doubt are come upon me, I

am alarmed as a man who fuddenly perceives that "he is near the brink of a precipice, and is urged for"ward by an irresistible force: but yet I know not, "whether my danger is a reality or a dream. I am as "thou art, a reptile of the earth; my life is a moment, "and eternity, in which days and years and ages are "nothing, eternity is before me, for which I alfo "fhould prepare: but by whom then must the Faith"ful be governed by thofe only who have no fear of judgment? by thofe only whofe life is brutal, be"caufe, like brutes, they do not confider that they “ shall die? Or who, indeed, are the Faithful? Are the bufy multitude that croud the city, in a ftate of per"dition and is the cell of the Dervife alone the gate " of Paradise ? To all, the life of a Dervise is not poffible: to all, therefore, it cannot be a duty. "Depart to the house which has in this city been pre"pared for thy refidence: I will meditate the reason "of thy requeft; and may he who illuminates the "mind of the humble enable me to determine with wifdom."

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Mirza departed, and on the third day having received no command, he again requested an audience, and it was granted. When he entered the royal prefence, his countenance appeared more chearful; he drew a letter from his bofom, and having kiffed it he prefented it with his right hand. My Lord," faid he, 66 I have learned by this letter, which I received "from Cofrou, the Iman who ftands now before thee, "in what manner life may be beft improved. I am "enabled to look back with pleasure, and forward "with hope; and I fhall now rejoice ftill to be the "fhadow of thy power at Tauris, and to keep those "honours which I fo lately wifhed to refign.' king, who had liftened to Mirza with a mixture of furprize and curiofity, immediately gave the letter to Cofrou, and commanded that it should be read. The

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The

eyes

eyes of the court were at once turned upon the hoary fage, whofe countenance was fuffufed with an honeft blush; and it was not without fome hefitation that he read these words.

"To Mirza, whom the wisdom of Abbas, our mighty "Lord, has honoured with dominion, be everlasting "health! When I heard thy purpofe to withdraw the bleflings of thy government from the thousands of "Tauris, my heart was wounded with the arrow of

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affiction, and my eyes became dim with forrow. But "who fhall fpeak before the king when he is troubled; "and who fhall boaft of knowledge, when he is dif"treffed by doubt? To thee I will relate the events "of my youth, which thou haft renewed before me'; and thofe truths which they taught me, may the Prophet multiply to thee.

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"Under the inftruction of the phyfician Aluzar, "I obtained an early knowledge of his art. To thofe "who were fmitten with difeafe, I could adminifter

plants, which the fun has impregnated with the fpi"rit of health. But the fcenes of pain, languor, and mortality, which were perpetually rifing before me, "made me often tremble for myfelf. I faw the grave

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open at my feet: I determined therefore to contem"plate only the regions beyond it, and defpife every acquifition which I could not keep. I conceived an opinion that as there was no merit but in voluntary poverty, and filent meditation, thofe who defired money were not proper objects of bounty; and that by all who were proper objects of bounty, money "was defpifed. I, therefore, buried mine in the "earth; and renouncing fociety, I wandered into a "wild and fequeftered part of the country: my dwelling was a cave by the fide of a hill, I drank the

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running water from the fpring, and eat fuch fruits "and herbs as I could find. To increafe the aufterity "of my life, I frequently watched all night, fitting at "the entrance of the cave with my face to the east, "refigning myself to the fecret influences of the Pro

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phet, and expecting illuminations from above. One "morning after my nocturnal vigil, just as I perceived

the

"the horizon glow at the approach of the fun, the power of fleep became irrefiftible, and I funk under "it. I imagined myself ftill fitting at the entrance of

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my cell; that the dawn increafed; and that as I "looked earnestly for the first beam of day, a dark fpot appeared to intercept it. I perceived that it was in motion; it encreased in fize as it drew near, " and at length I difcovered it to be an eagle. I still "kept my eye fixed ftedfaftly upon it, and faw it alight at a small distance, where I now defcried a fox whose two fore legs appeared to be broken. Before this "fox the eagle laid part of a kid, which she had "brought in her talons, and then difappeared. When I awaked I laid my forehead upon the ground, and "bleffed the Prophet for the inftruction of the morning. I reviewed my dream, and faid thus to myself : "Cofrou, thou haft done well to renounce the tumult, "the bufinefs, and the vanities of life: but thou haft

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as yet only done it in part: thou art ftill every day "bufied in the fearch of food, thy mind is not wholly "at reft, neither is this truft in PROVIDENCE complete. "What art thou taught by this vifion? If thou haft "feen an eagle commiffioned by HEAVEN to feed a "fox that is lame, fhall not the hand of HEAVEN also fupply thee with food; when that which prevents "thee from procuring it for thyfelf, is not neceffity. "but devotion? I was now fo confident of a miracu"lous fupply, that I neglected to walk out for my "repaft, which, after the firft day, I expected with an "impatience that left me little power of attending to "any other object: this impatience, however, I la"boured to fupprefs, and perfifted in my refolution ; "but my eyes at length began to fail me, and my "knees fmote each other; I threw myfelf backward, "and hoped my weakness would foon increase to in"fenfibility. But I was fuddenly roufed by the voice "of an invifible being who pronounced thefe words: Cofru, I am the angel, who by the command of the ALMIGHTY, have registered the thoughts of thy heart which I am now commiffioned to reprove. While thou waft attempting to become wife above that which

is revealed, thy folly has perverted the inftruction which was vouchfafed thee. Art thou difabled as the Fox ? haft thou not rather the powers of the Eagle? Arife, let the Eagle be the object of thy emulation. To pain and fickness, be thou again the meffenger of ease and health. Virtue is not reft, but action. If thou doft good to man as an evidence of thy love to GOD, thy virtue will be exalted from moral to divine; and that happiness which is the pledge of Paradife, will be thy reward upon earth.

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"At these words I was not lefs aftonished than if a "mountain had been overturned at my feet. I hum"bled myself in the duft; I returned to the city; I dug up my treasure; I was liberal, yet I became rich. My skill in restoring health to the body, gave me frequent opportunities of curing the difeafes of the foul. I put on the facred vestments; I grew eminent "beyond my merit; and it was the pleasure of the king "that I fhould ftand before him. Now, therefore, be "not offended; I boast of no knowledge that I have "not received; as the fands of the defart drink up "the drops of rain, or the dew of the morning, fo "do I alfo who am but duft, imbibe the inftructions of "the Prophet. Believe then that it is he who tells "thee, all knowledge is prophane, which terminates "in thyself; and by a life wafted in fpeculation, little even of this can be gained. When the gates of pa"radife are thrown open before thee, thy mind fhall be "irradiated in a moment; here thou canft little more "than pile error upon error; there thou fhalt build "truth upon truth. Wait, therefore, for the glorious vifion; and in the mean time emulate the eagle "Much is in thy power; and, therefore, much is expected of thee. Though the ALMIGHTY only "can give virtue; yet, as a prince, thou mayft ftimu"late thofe to beneficence, who act from no higher

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motive than immediate intereft: thou canst not pro"duce the principle, but mayft enforce the practice. "The relief of the poor is equal, whether they receive "it from oftentation, or charity; and the effect of

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example is the fame, whether it be intended to ob

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