ALMORANANDHAMET:ANORIENTAL TALE.In TWO VOLUMES.byJohn HawkesworthMDCCLXI.VOLUME FIRST.TO THEKING.Sir,Amidst the congratulations and praises of a free, a joyful, and now united people, people, who are ambitious to express their duty andtheir wishes in their various classes; I think myself happy to haveYour Majesty'smost gracious permission to approach You, and, after the manner of the people whose character I have assumed, to bring an humble offering in my hand.As some part of my subject led me to consider the advantages of ourexcellent constitution in comparison of others; my thoughts were naturally turned toYour Majesty,as its warmest friend and most powerful protector: and as the whole is intended, to recommend the practice of virtue, as the means of happiness; to whom could I address it with so much propriety, as to aPrince, who illustrates and enforcesthe precepts of the moralist by his life.I am,May it please YourMajesty,YourMajesty'sMost faithful, most obliged,And most obedientSubject and Servant,John Hawkesworth.CONTENTSVolume FirstCHAP. I.CHAP. II.CHAP. III.CHAP. IV.CHAP. V.CHAP. VI.CHAP. VII.CHAP. VIII.CHAP. IXCHAP. X.Volume SecondCHAP. XI.CHAP. XII.CHAP. XIII.CHAP. XIV.CHAP. XV.CHAP. XVI.CHAP. XVII.CHAP. XVIII.CHAP. XIX.ALMORANANDHAMETCHAP. I.Who is he among the children of the earth, that repines at the power of the wicked? and who is he, that would change the lot of the righteous? He, who has appointed to each his portion, is God; the Omniscient and the Almighty, who fills eternity, and whose existence is from Himself!but he who murmurs, is man; who yesterday was not, and who to-morrow shall be forgotten: let him listen in silence to the voice of knowlege, and hide the blushes of confusion in the dust.Solyman, the mighty and the wife, who, in the one hundred and second year of the Hegyra, sat upon the throne of Persia, had two sons,AlmoranandHamet, and they were twins.Almoranwas the first born, but Solyman divided his affection equally between them: they were both lodged in the same part of the seraglio, both were attended by the same servants, and both received instructions from the same teacher.One of the first things thatAlmoranlearnt, was the prerogative of hisbirth; and he was taught very early to set a high value upon it, by the terms in which those about him expressed their sense of the power, the splendor, and the delights of royalty. As his mind gradually opened, he naturally considered these as the objects of universal define, and the means of supreme felicity: he was often reminded, that the time was coming, when the sole possession of sovereign power would enable him to fulfil all his wishes, to determine the fate of dependent nations with a nod, and dispense life and death, and happiness and misery, at his will: he was flattered by those who hoped to draw wealth and dignity from his favour; and interest prompted all who approached him, to administer tohis pleasures with a zeal and assiduity, which had the appearance of reverence to his merit, and affection to his person.Hamet, on the contrary, soon became sensible of a subordinate station: he was not, indeed, neglected; but he was not much caressed. When the gratification ofHametcame in competition with that ofAlmoran, he was always obliged to give it up, except when Solyman interposed: his mind was, therefore, naturally led to seek for happiness in objects very different from those which had fixed the attention ofAlmoran. As he knew not to how narrow a sphere caprice or jealousy might confine him, heconsidered what pleasures were least dependent upon external advantages; and as the first popular commotion which mould happen after his brother's accession to the throne, might probably cost him his life, he was very inquisitive about the state into which his spirit would be dismissed by the Angel of Death, and very diligent to do whatever might secure him a share of the permanent and unchangeable felicity of Paradise.This difference in the situation ofAlmoranandHamet, produced great dissimilarity in their dispositions, habits, and characters; to which, perhaps, nature might also in some degree contribute.Almoranwas haughty, vain, and voluptuous;Hametwas gentle, courteous, and temperate:Almoranwas volatile, impetuous, and irascible;Hametwas thoughtful, patient, and forbearing. Upon the heart ofHametalso were written the instructions of the Prophet; to his mind futurity was present by habitual anticipation; his pleasure, his pain, his hopes, and his fears, were perpetually referred to the Invisible and Almighty Father of Life, by sentiments of gratitude or resignation, complacency or confidence; so that his devotion was not periodical but constant.But the views ofAlmoranwere terminated by nearer objects: his mind was perpetually busied in the anticipation of pleasures and honours, whichhe supposed to be neither uncertain nor remote; these excited his hopes, with a power sufficient to fix his attention; he did not look beyond them for other objects, nor enquire how enjoyments more distant were to be acquired; and as he supposed these to be already secured to him by his birth, there was nothing he was solicitous to obtain as the reward of merit, nor any thing that he considered himself to possess as the bounty of Heaven. If the sublime and disinterested rectitude that produces and rewards itself, dwells indeed with man, it dwelt not withAlmoran: with respect to God, therefore, he was not impressed with a sense either of duty or dependence; he felt neither reverence nor love, gratitude nor resignation: in abstaining from evil, he was not intentionallygood; he practised the externals of morality without virtue, and performed the rituals of devotion without piety.Such wereAlmoranandHamet, when Solyman their father, full of days and full of honour, slept in peace the sleep of death. With this event they were immediately acquainted. The emotions ofAlmoranwere such as it was impossible to conceal: the joy that he felt in secret was so great, that the mere dread of disappointment for a moment suspended his belief of what he heard: when his fears and his doubts gave way, his cheeks were suffused with sudden blushes, and his eyes sparkled with exultation and impatience: he looked eagerly about him, as if in haste to act; yet his looks were embarrassed, and his gestures irresolute,because he knew not what to do: he uttered some incoherent sentences, which discovered at once the joy that he felt, and his sense of its impropriety; and his whole deportment expressed the utmost tumult and perturbation of mind.UponHamet, the death of his father produced a very different effect: as soon as he heard it, his lips trembled and his countenance grew pale; he flood motionless a moment, like a pilgrim transfixed by lightning in the desert; he then smote his breast, and looking upward, his eyes by degrees overflowed with tears, and they fell, like dew distilling from the mountain, in a calm and silent shower. As his grief was thus mingled with devotion, hismind in a short time recovered its tranquillity, though not its chearfulness, and he desired to be conducted to his brother.He found him surrounded by the lords of his court, his eye still restless and ardent, and his deportment elate and assuming.Hametpressed hastily through the circle, and prostrated himself before him:Almoranreceived the homage with a tumultuous pleasure; but at length raised him from the ground, and assured him of his protection, though without any expressions either of kindness or of sorrow: 'Hamet,' says he, 'if I have no cause to complain of you as a subject, you shall have no cause to complain of me as a king.'Hamet, whoseheart was again pierced by the cold and distant behaviour of his brother, suppressed the sigh that struggled in his bosom, and secretly wiped away the tear that started to his eye: he retired, with his looks fixed upon the ground, to a remote corner of the apartment; and though his heart yearned to embrace his brother, his modest diffidence restrained him from intruding upon the king.In this situation wereAlmoranandHamet, whenOmarentered the apartment.Omar, upon whose head the hand of time became heavy, had from his youth acquainted himself with wisdom: to him nature had revealed herself in the silence of the night, when his lamp was burning alone, and hiseyes only were open: to him was known the power of the Seal of Solomon; and to him the knowlege of things invisible had been revealed. Nor was the virtue ofOmarinferior to his knowlege; his heart was a fountain of good, which though it flowed through innumerable streams was never dry: yet was the virtue ofOmarcloathed with humility; and he was still pressing nearer to perfection, by a devotion which though elevated was rational, and though regular was warm. From the council ofOmar, Solyman had derived glory and strength; and to him he had committed the education of his children.When he entered the apartment, the croud, touched at once with reverenceand love, drew back; every eye was cast downward, and every tongue was silent. The full of days approached the king, and kneeling before him he put into his hand a sealed paper: the king received it with impatience, seeing it superscribed with the hand of his father; andOmarlooking round, and perceivingHamet, beckoned him to come forward.Hamet, whose obedience toOmarhad been so long habitual that it was now almost spontaneous, instantly drew near, though with a flow and irresolute pace; andAlmoran, having broken the seal of the paper, began to read it to himself, with a look that expressed the utmost anxiety and impatience.Omarkept his eye fixed upon him, and soon perceived that his countenance was disfigured byconfusion and trouble, and that he seemed preparing to put up the paper in his bosom: he then produced another paper from under his robe, and gave it toHamet: 'This,' says he, is a copy of the will of Solyman, your father; the original is in the hand ofAlmoran: read it, and you will find that he has bequeathed his kingdom between you.'The eyes of all present were now turned uponHamet, who stood silent and motionless with amazement, but was soon roused to attention by the homage that was paid him. In the mean time,Almoran'sconfusion increased every moment: his disappointment was aggravated by the sudden attention of those who were present to his brother;and his jealousy made him think himself neglected, while those acts of duty were performed toHamet, which were now known to be his right, and which he had himself received before him.Hamet, however, regarded but little what so much excited the envy ofAlmoran; his mind was employed upon superior objects, and agitated by nobler passions: the coldness of his brother's behaviour, though it had grieved had not quenched his affection; and as he was now no longer restrained by the deference due from a subject to his king, he ran to him, and catching him to his breast attempted to speak; but his heart was too full, and he could express his affection and joy only byhis tears.Almoranrather suffered than received the embrace; and after a few ceremonies, to which neither of them could much attend, they retired to separate apartments.CHAP. II.WhenAlmoranwas alone, he immediately locked the door; and throwing himself upon a sofa in an agony of vexation and disapointment, of which he was unwilling there should be any witness, he revolved in his mind all the pleasures and honours of supreme dominion which had now suddenly been snatched from him, with a degree of anguish and regret, not proportioned to their real, but their imaginary value. Of future good, that which we obtain is found to be less than our expectations; but that of which we are disappointed, we suppose would have been more: thus do the children of hopeextract evil, both from what they gain, and from what they lose. ButAlmoran, after the first tumult of his mind had subsided, began to consider as well what was left him, as what had been taken away. He was still without a superior, though he had an equal; he was still a king, though he did not govern alone: and with respect to every individual in his dominions, except one, his will would now be a law; though with respect to the public, the concurrence of his brother would be necessary to give it force. 'Let me then,' says he, 'make the most of the power that is now put into my hand, and wait till some favourable opportunity shall offer to increase it. Let me dissemble my jealousy and disappointment, that Imay not alarm suspicion, or put the virtues ofHametupon their guard against me; and let me contrive to give our joint administration such a form, as may best favour my design.'Such were the reflections, with whichAlmoransoothed the anguish of his mind; whileHametwas busied in speculations of a very different kind. If he was pleased at reflecting, that he was raised from a subject to a prince; he was pleased still more, when he considered his elevation as a test of his father's affection to his person, and approbation of his conduct: he was also delighted with the thought, that his brother was associated with him in the arduous talk which he wasnow called to perform. 'If I had been appointed to govern alone,' said he, 'I should have had no equal; and he who has no equal, though he may have faithful servants, can have no friend: there cannot be that union of interests, that equal participation of good, that unrestrained intercourse of mind, and that mutual dependence, which constitutes the pure and exalted happiness of friendship. WithAlmoran, I shall share the supreme delight of wresting the innocent and the helpless from the iron hand of oppression; of animating merit by reward, and restraining the unworthy by fear: I shall share, withAlmoran, the pleasures of governing a numerous, a powerful, and a happy people;pleasures which, however great, are, like all others, increased by participation.'WhileHametwas thus enjoying the happiness, which his virtue derived from the same source, from which the vices ofAlmoranhad filled his breast with anguish and discontent;Omarwas contriving in what manner their joint government could best be carried into execution.He knew that Solyman, having considered the dispositions of his sons, was of opinion, that if they had been blended in one person, they would have produced a character more fit to govern in his stead, than either of them alone:Almoran, he thought, wastoo volatile and warm; but he suspected, thatHametwould sink into inactivity for want of spirit: he feared alikeAlmoran'slove of enterprize, andHamet'sfondness for retirement: he observed, inHamet, a placid easiness of temper, which might suffer the reins of government to lie too loose; and, inAlmoran, a quickness of resentment, and jealousy of command, which might hold them too tight: he hoped, therefore, that by leaving them a joint dominion, he should blend their dispositions, at least in their effects, in every act of government that should take place; or that, however they should agree to administer their government, the public would derive benefit from the virtues of both, without danger of suffering from their imperfections,as their imperfections would only operate against each other, while, in whatever was right, their minds would naturally concur, as the coincidence of rectitude with rectitude is necessary and eternal. But he did not consider, that different dispositions operating separately upon two different wills, would appear in effects very unlike those, which they would concur to produce in one: that two wills, under the direction of dispositions so different, would seldom be brought to coincide; and that more mischiefs would probably arise from the contest, than from the imperfections of either alone.But Solyman had so long applauded himself for his project before he revealedit toOmar, thatOmarfound him too much displeased with any objection, to consider its weight: and knowing that peculiar notions are more rarely given up, than opinions received from others, and made our own only by adoption, he at length acquiesced, lest he should by farther opposition lose his influence, which on other occasions he might still employ to the advantage of the public; and took a solemn oath, that he would, as far as was in his power, see the will carried into execution.To this, indeed, he consented without much reluctance, as he had little less reason to fear the sole government ofAlmoran, than a joint administration; and if a struggle for superiorityshould happen, he hoped the virtuesHametwould obtain the suffrages of the people in his favour, and establish him upon the throne alone. But as change is itself an evil, and as changes in government are seldom produced without great confusion and calamity, he applied himself to consider in what manner the government ofAlmoranandHametcould be administered, so as most effectually to blend their characters in their administration, and prevent the conduct of one from exciting jealousy in the other.After much thought, he determined that a system of laws should be prepared, which the sons of Solyman should examine and alter till they perfectly approved, and to which theyshould then give the sanction of their joint authority: that when any addition or alteration should be thought necessary, it should be made in the same manner; and that when any insuperable difference of sentiment happened, either in this or in any act of prerogative independent of the laws for regulating the manners of the people, the kings should refer it to some person of approved integrity and wisdom, and abide by his determination.Omareasily foresaw, that when the opinion ofAlmoranandHametshould differ, the opinion ofAlmoranwould be established; for there were many causes that would renderAlmoraninflexible, andHametyielding:Almoranwas naturally confident and assuming,Hametdiffident and modest;Almoranwas impatient of contradiction,Hametwas attentive to argument, and felicitous only for the discovery of truth.Almoranalso conceived, that by the will of his father, he had suffered wrong;Hamet, that he had received a favour:Almoran, therefore, was disposed to resent the first appearance of opposition; andHamet, on the contrary, to acquiesce, as in his share of government, whatever it might be, he had more than was his right by birth, and his brother had less. Thus, therefore, the will ofAlmoranwould probably predominate in the state: but as the same cause which conferred this superiority, would often prevent contention,Omarconsideredit, upon the whole, rather as good than evil.When he had prepared his plan, therefore, he sent a copy of it, by different messengers at the same time, both toAlmoranandHamet, inclosed in a letter, in which he exprest his sense of obligation to their father, and his zeal and affection for them: he mentioned the promise he had made, to devote himself to their service; and the oath he had taken, to propose whatever he thought might facilitate the accomplishment of their father's design, with honour to them and happiness to their people: these motives, which he could not resist without impiety, he hopedwould absolve him from presumption; and trusting in the rectitude of his intentions, he left the issue to God.CHAP. III.The receipt of this letter threwAlmoraninto another agony of indignation: he felt again the loss of his prerogative; the offer of advice he disdained as an insult, to which he had been injuriously subjected by the will of his father; and he was disposed to reject whatever was suggested byOmar, even before his proposal was known. With this temper of mind he began to read, and at every paragraph took new offence; he determined, however, not to admitOmarto the honour of a conference upon the subject, but to settle a plan of government with his brother, without the least regard to his advice.A supercilious attention to minute formalities, is a certain indication of a little mind, conscious to the want of innate dignity, and felicitous to derive from others what it cannot supply to itself: as the scrupulous exaction of every trifling tribute discovers the weakness of the tyrant, who fears his claim should be disputed; while the prince, who is conscious of superior and indisputable power, and knows that the states he has subjugated do not dare to revolt, scarce enquires whether such testimonies of allegiance are given or not.Thus, the jealousy ofAlmoranalready enslaved him to the punctilios of state; and the most trifling circumstances involved him in perplexity,or fired him with resentment: the friendship and fidelity ofOmarstung him with rage, as insolent and intrusive; and though it determined him to an immediate interview with his brother, yet he was embarrassed how to procure it. At first he rose, and was about to go to him; but he stopped short with disdain, upon reflecting, that it was an act of condescension which might be deemed an acknowledgement of superiority: he then thought of sending forHametto come to him; but this he feared might provoke him, as implying a denial of his equality: at length he determined to propose a meeting in the chamber of council, and was just dispatching an officer with the message, whenHametentered the apartment.The countenance ofHametwas flushed with joy, and his heart was warmed with the pleasing sensations of affection and confidence, by the same letter, from whichAlmoranhad extracted the bitterness of jealousy and resentment, and as he had no idea that an act of courtesy to his brother could derogate from his own dignity or importance, he indulged the honest impatience of his heart to communicate the pleasure with which it overflowed: he was, indeed, somewhat disappointed, to find no traces of satisfaction in the countenance ofAlmoran, when he saw the same paper in his hand, which had impressed so much upon his own.He waited some time after the first salutations, without mentioning the scheme of government he was come to concert; because having observed thatAlmoranwas embarrassed and displeased, he expected that he would communicate the cause, and pleased himself with the hope that he might remove it: finding, however, that this expectation was disappointed, he addressed him to this effect:'How happy are we, my dear brother, in the wisdom and fidelity, ofOmar! how excellent is the system of government that he has proposed! how easy and honourable will it be to us that govern, and how advantageous to the people that obey!''The advantages,' saidAlmoran, 'which you seem to have discovered, are not evident to me: tell me, then, what you imagine they are, and I will afterwards give you my opinion.''By establishing a system of laws as the rule of government,' saidHamet, 'many evils will be avoided, and many benefits procured. If the law is the will only of the sovereign, it can never certainly be known to the people: many, therefore, may violate that rule of right, which the hand of the Almighty has written upon the living tablets of the heart, in the presumptuous hope, that it will not subject them to punishment; and those, by whom that rule is fulfilled, willnot enjoy that consciousness of security, which they would derive from the protection of a prescribed law, which they have never broken. Neither will those who are inclined to do evil, be equally restrained by the fear of punishment; if neither the offence is ascertained, nor the punishment prescribed. One motive to probity, therefore, will be wanting; which ought to be supplied, as well for the sake of those who may be tempted to offend, as of those who may suffer by the offence. Besides, he who governs not by a written and a public law, must either administer that government in person, or by others: if in person, he will sink under a labour which no man is able to sustain; and if by others, the inferiorityof their rank must subject them to temptations which it cannot be hoped they will always resist, and to prejudices which it will perhaps be impossible for them to surmount. But to administer government by a law which ascertains the offence, and directs the punishment, integrity alone will be sufficient; and as the perversion of justice will in this case be notorious, and depend not upon opinion but fact, it will seldom be practised, because it will be easily punished.'Almoran, who had heard the opinions ofHametwith impatience and scorn, now started from his feat with a proud and contemptuous aspect: he first glanced his eyes upon his brother;and then looking disdainfully downward, he threw back his robe, and stretching out his hand from him, 'Shall the son of Solyman,' said he, 'upon whose will the fate of nations was suspended, whose smiles and frowns were alone the criterions of right and wrong, before whom the voice of wisdom itself was silent, and the pride even of virtue humbled in the dust; shall the son of Solyman be harnessed, like a mule, in the trammels of law? shall he become a mere instrument to execute what others have devised? shall he only declare the determinations of a statute, and shall his ear be affronted by claims of right? It is the glory of a prince, to punish for what and whom he will; to be the sovereign, not only of property,but of life; and to govern alike without prescription or appeal.'Hamet, who was struck with astonishment at this declaration, and the vehemence with which it was uttered, after a short recollection made this reply: 'It is the glory of a prince, to govern others, as he is governed by Him, who is alone most merciful and almighty! It is his glory to prevent crimes, rather than to display his power in punishment; to diffuse happiness, rather than inforce subjection; and rather to animate with love, than depress by fear. Has not He that shall judge us, given us a rule of life by which we shall be judged? is not our reward and punishment alreadyset before us? are not His promises and threatenings, motives to obedience? and have we not confidence and joy, when we have obeyed? To God, His own divine perfections are a law; and these He has transcribed as a law to us. Let us, then, govern, as we are governed; let us seek our happiness in the happiness that we bestow, and our honour in emulating the benevolence of Heaven.'AsAlmoranfeared, that to proceed farther in this argument would too far disclose his sentiments, and putHamettoo much upon his guard; he determined for the present to dissemble: and as he perceived, thatHamet'sopinion, and an administration founded upon it, would render him extreamly popular,and at length possibly establish him alone; he was now felicitous only to withdraw him from public notice, and persuade him to leave the government, whatever form it should receive, to be administered by others: returning, therefore, to his seat, and assuming an appearance of complacence and tranquillity, with which he could not form his language perfectly to agree; 'Let us then,' said he, 'if a law must be set up in our stead, leave the law to be executed by our slaves: and as nothing will be left for us to do, that is worthy of us, let us devote ourselves to the pleasures of ease; and if there are any enjoyments peculiar to royalty, let us secure them as our only distinction from the multitude.''Not so,' saysHamet; 'for there is yet much for a prince to do, after the best system of laws has been established: the government of a nation as a whole, the regulation and extent of its trade, the establishment of manufactories, the encouragement of genius, the application of the revenues, and whatever can improve the arts of peace, and secure superiority in war, is the proper object of a king's attention.'But in these,' saidAlmoran, 'it will be difficult for two minds to concur; let us, then, agree to leave these also to the care of some other, whom we can continue as long as we approve, and displace when weapprove no longer: we shall, by this expedient, be able to avert the odium of any unpopular measure; and by the sacrifice of a slave, we can always satisfy the people, and silence public discontent.''To trust implicitly to another,' saysHamet, 'is to give up a prerogative, which is at once our highest duty and interest to keep; it is to betray our trust, and to sacrifice our honour to another. The prince, who leaves the government of his people implicitly to a subject, leaves it to one, who has many more temptations to betray their interest than himself: a vicegerent is in a subordinatestation; he has, therefore, much to rear, and much to hope: he may also acquire the power of obtaining what he hopes, and averting what he rears, at the public expence; he may stand in need of dependents, and may be able no otherwise to procure them, than by conniving at the fraud or the violence which they commit: he may receive, in bribes, an equivalent for his share, as an individual, in the public prosperity; for his interest is not essentially connected with that of the state; he has a separate interest; but the interest of the state, and of the king, are one: he may even be corrupted to betray the councils, and give up the interests of the nation, to a foreign power; but this is impossible to the king; for nothingequivalent to what he would give up, could be offered him. But as a king has not equal temptations to do wrong, neither is he equally exposed to opposition, when he does right: the measures of a substitute are frequently opposed, merely from interest; because the leader of a faction against him, hopes, that if he can remove him by popular clamour, he shall succeed to his power; but it can be no man's interest to oppose the measures of a king, if his measures are good, because no man can hope to supplant him. Are not these the precepts of the Prophet, whose wisdom was from above?'—"Let not the eye of expectation be raised to another, for that which thyself only should bestow: suffer not thy ownshadow to obscure thee; nor be content to derive that glory, which it is thy prerogative to impart."'But is the prince,' saidAlmoran, always the wisest man in his dominions? Can we not find, in another, abilities and experience, which we do not possess? and is it not the duty of him who presides in the ship, to, place the helm in that hand which can best steer it?''A prince,' saidHamet, 'who sincerely intends the good of his people, can scarce fail to effect it; all the wisdom of the nation will be at once turned to that object: whatever is his principal aim, will be that of all who are admitted to his council; for to concurwith his principal aim, must be the surest recommendation to his favour. Let us, then, hear others; but let us act ourselves.'AsAlmorannow perceived, that the longer this conversation continued, the more he should be embarrassed; he put an end to it, by appearing to acquiesce in whatHamethad proposed.Hametwithdrew, charmed with the candour and flexibility which he imagined he had discovered in his brother; and not without some exultation in his own rhetoric, which, he supposed had gained no inconsiderable victory.Almoran, in the mean time, applauded himself for having thus far practised the arts ofdissimulation with success; fortified himself in the resolutions he had before taken; and conceived new malevolence and jealousy againstHamet.CHAP. IV.WhileHametwas exulting in his conquest, and his heart was overflowing at once with self-complacency, and affection to his brother; he was told, thatOmarwas waiting without, and desired admittance.Hametordered that he should be immediately introduced; and whenOmarentered, and would have prostrated himself before him, he catched him in his arms in a transport of affection and esteem; and having ordered that none should interrupt them, compelled him to sit down on a sofa.He then related, with all the joy of a youthful and an ardent mind, theconversation he had had withAlmoran, intermixed with expressions of the highest praise and the most cordial esteem.Omarwas not without suspicion, that the sentiments whichAlmoranhad first expressed with such vehemence of passion, were still predominant in his mind: but of these suspicions he did not give the least hint toHamet; not only because to communicate suspicions is to accuse without proof, but because he did not think himself at liberty to make an ill report of another, though he knew it to be true. He approved the sentiments ofHamet, as they had indeed been infused by his own instructions; and some precepts and cautions were now added, which the accession ofHametto a share of the imperial power made particularly necessary.'Remember,' saidOmar, 'that the most effectual way of promoting virtue, is to prevent occasions of vice. There are, perhaps, particular situations, in which human virtue has always failed: at least, temptation often repeated, and long continued, has seldom been finally resisted. In a government so constituted as to leave the people exposed to perpetual seduction, by opportunities of dissolute pleasure or iniquitous gain, the multiplication of penal laws will only tend to depopulate the kingdom, and disgrace the state; to devote to the scymitar and the bow-string, those who might have been useful to society,and to leave the rest dissolute turbulent and factious. If the streets not only abound with women, who inflame the passenger by their appearance, their gesture, and their solicitations; but with houses, in which every desire which they kindle may be gratified with secrecy and convenience; it is in vain that "the feet of the prostitute go down to death, and that her steps take hold on hell:" what then can be hoped from any punishment, which the laws of man can superadd to disease and want, to rottenness and perdition? If you permit opium to be publickly sold at a low rate; it will be folly to hope, that the dread of punishment will render idleness and drunkenness strangers to the poor. If a tax is so collected,as to leave opportunities to procure the commodity, without paying it; the hope of gain will always surmount the fear of punishment. If, when the veteran has served you at the risque of life, you withold his hire; it will be in vain to threaten usury and extortion with imprisonment and fines. If, in your armies, you suffer it to be any man's interest, rather to preserve the life of a horse than a man; be assured, that your own sword is drawn for your enemy: for there will always be some, in whom interest is stronger than humanity and honour. Put no man's interest, therefore, in the ballance against his duty; nor hope that good can often be produced, but by preventing opportunities of evil.'To these precepts ofOmar,Hametlistened as to the instructions of a father; and having promised to keep them as the treasure of life, he dismissed him from his presence. The heart ofHametwas now expanded with the most pleasing expectations; butAlmoranwas pining with solicitude, jealousy, and distrust: he took every opportunity to avoid bothOmarandHamet; butHametstill retained his confidence, andOmarhis suspicions.CHAP. V.In the mean time, the system of government was established which had been proposed byOmar, and in whichHametconcurred from principle, andAlmoranfrom policy. The views ofAlmoranterminated in the gratification of his own appetites and passions; those ofHamet, in the discharge of his duty:Hamet, therefore, was indefatigable in the business of the state; and as his sense of honour, and his love of the public, made this the employment of his choice, it was to him the perpetual source of a generous and sublime felicity.Almoranalso was equally diligent, but from another motive: he was actuated, not by love of the public, but by jealousy of his brother; he performed his task as the drudge of necessity, with reluctance and ill will; so that to him it produced pain and anxiety, weariness and impatience.To atone for this waste of time, he determined to crowd all that remained with delight: his gardens were an epitome of all nature, and on his palace were exhausted all the treasures of art; his seraglio was filled with beauties of every nation, and his table supplied with dainties from the remotest corners of his dominions. In the songs that were repeated in his presence, he listenedat once to the voice of adulation and music; he breathed the perfumes of Arabia, and he tasted the forbidden pleasure of wine. But as every appetite is soon satiated by excess, his eagerness to accumulate pleasure deprived him of enjoyment. Among the variety of beauty that surrounded him, the passion, which, to be luxurious, must be delicate and refined, was degraded to a mere instinct, and exhausted in endless dissipation; the caress was unendeared by a consciousness of reciprocal delight, and was immediately succeeded by indifference or disgust. By the dainties that perpetually urged him to intemperance, that appetite, which alone could make even dainties tasteful, was destroyed. The splendor of his palace and the beauty of his gardens,became at length so familiar to his eye, that they were frequently before him, without being seen. Even flattery and music lost their power, by too frequent a repetition: and the broken slumbers of the night, and the languor of the morning, were more than equivalent to the transient hilarity that was inspired by wine. Thus passed the time ofAlmoran, divided between painful labours which he did not dare to shun, and the search of pleasure which he could never find.Hamet, on the contrary, did not seek pleasure, but pleasure seemed to seek him: he had a perpetual complacence and serenity of mind, which rendered him constantly susceptible of pleasing impressions; every thing thatwas prepared to refresh or entertain him in his seasons of retirement and relaxation, added something to the delight which was continually springing in his breast, when he reviewed the past, or looked forward to the future. Thus, the pleasures of sense were heightened by those of his mind, and the pleasures of the mind by those of sense: he had, indeed, as yet no wise; for as yet no woman had fixed his attention, or determined his choice.Among the ambassadors whom the monarchs of Asia sent to congratulate the sons of Solyman upon their accession to the throne, there was a native of Circassia, whose name was Abdallah. Abdallah had only one child, a daughter, in whom all his happiness and affectioncentered; he was unwilling to leave her behind, and therefore brought her to the court of Persia. Her mother died while she was yet an infant; she was now in the sixteenth year of her age, and her name wasAlmeida. She was beautiful as the daughters of Paradise, and gentle as the breezes of the spring; her mind was without stain, and her manners were without art.She was lodged with her father in a palace that joined to the gardens of the seraglio; and it happened that a lamp which had one night been left burning in a lower apartment, by some accident set fire to the net-work of cotton that surrounded a sopha, and the whole room was soon after in aflame.Almoran, who had been passing the afternoon in riot and debauchery, had been removed from his banquetting room asleep; butHametwas still in his closet, where he had been regulating some papers that were to be used the next day. The windows of this room opened towards the inner apartments of the house in which Abdallah resided; andHamet, having by accident looked that way, was alarmed by the appearance of an unusual light, and starting up to see whence it proceeded, he discovered what had happened.Having hastily ordered the guard of the night to assist in quenching the flame, and removing the furniture, he ran himself into the garden. Assoon as he was come up to the house, he was alarmed by the shrieks of a female voice; and the next moment,Almeidaappeared at the window of an apartment directly over that which was on fire.Almeidahe had till now never seen, nor did he so much as know that Abdallah had a daughter: but though her person was unknown, he was strongly interested in her danger, and called out to her to throw herself into his arms. At the sound of his voice she ran back into the room, such is the force of inviolate modesty, though the smoke was then rising in curling spires from the windows: she was, however, soon driven back; and part of the floor at the same instant giving way, she wrapther veil round her, and leaped into the garden.Hametcaught her in his arms; but though he broke her fall, he sunk down with her weight: he did not, however, quit his charge, but perceiving she had fainted, he made haste with her into his apartment, to afford her such assistance as he could procure.She was covered only with the light and loose robe in which she slept, and her veil had dropped off by the way. The moment he entered his closet, the light discovered to him such beauty as before he had never seen: she now began to revive; and before her senses returned, she pressed the prince with an involuntary embrace, which he returned by straining her closer to hisbreast, in a tumult of delight, confusion, and anxiety, which he could scarce sustain. As he still held her in his arms, and gazed silently upon her, she opened her eyes, and instantly relinquishing her hold, shrieked out, and threw herself from him. As there were no women nearer than that wing of the palace in which his brother resided, and as he had many reasons not to leave her in their charge; he was in the utmost perplexity what to do. He assured her, in some hasty and incoherent words, of her security; he told her, that she was in the royal palace, and that he who had conveyed her thither wasHamet. The habitual reverence of sovereign power, now surmounted all other passions in the bosom ofAlmeida: she was instantlycovered with new confusion; and hiding her face with her hands, threw herself at his feet: he raised her with a trepidation almost equal to her own, and endeavoured to sooth her into confidence and tranquillity.Hitherto her memory had been wholly suspended by violent passions, which had crowded upon her in a rapid and uninterrupted succession, and the first gleam of recollection threw her into a new agony; and having been silent a few moments, she suddenly smote her hands together, and bursting into tears, cried out, 'Abdallah! my father! my father!'—Hametnot only knew but felt all the meaning of the exclamation, and immediately ran again into the garden: he had advancedbut a few paces, before he discerned an old man sitting upon the ground, and looking upward in silent anguish, as if he had exhausted the power of complaint.Hamet, upon a nearer approach, perceived by the light of the flame that it was Abdallah; and instantly calling him by his name, told him, that his daughter was safe. At the name of his daughter, Abdallah suddenly started up, as if he had been roused by the voice of an angel from the sleep of death:Hametagain repeated, that his daughter was in safety; and Abdallah looking wistfully at him, knew him to be the king. He was then struck with an awe that restrained him from enquiry: butHametdirecting him where he might find her, went forward, that hemight not lessen the pleasure of their interview, nor restrain the first transports of duty and affection by his presence. He soon met with other fugitives from the fire, which had opened a communication between the gardens and the street; and among them some women belonging toAlmeida, whom, he conducted himself to their mistress. He immediately allotted to her and to her father, an apartment in his division of the palace; and the fire being now nearly extinguished, he retired to rest.CHAP. VI.Though the night was far advanced, yet the eyes ofHametwere strangers to sleep: his fancy incessantly repeated the events that had just happened; the image ofAlmeidawas ever before him; and his breast throbbed with a disquietude, which, though it prevented rest, he did not wish to lose.Almoran, in the mean time, was slumbering away the effects of his intemperance; and in the morning, when he was told what had happened, he expressed no passion but curiosity: hewent hastily into the garden; but when he had gazed upon the ruins, and enquired how the fire began, and what it had consumed, he thought of it no more.ButHametsuffered nothing that regarded himself, to exclude others from his attention: he went again to the ruins, not to gratify his curiosity, but to see what might yet be done to alleviate the misery of the sufferers, and secure for their use what had been preserved from the flames. He found that no life had been lost, but that many persons had been hurt; to these he sent the physicians of his own houshold: and having rewarded those who had assisted them in their distress, not forgetting even the soldiers who had only fulfilled his own orders, hereturned, and applied himself to dispatch the public business in the chamber of council, with the same patient and diligent attention as if nothing had happened. He had, indeed, ordered enquiry to be made afterAlmeida; and when he returned to his apartment, he found Abdallah waiting to express his gratitude for the obligations he had received.Hametaccepted his acknowledgements with a peculiar pleasure, for they had some connexion withAlmeida; after whom he again enquired, with an ardour uncommon even to the benevolence ofHamet. When all his questions had been asked and answered, he appeared still unwilling to dismiss Abdallah, though heseemed at a loss how to detain him; he wanted to know, whether his daughter had yet received an offer of marriage, though he was unwilling to discover his desire by a direct enquiry: but he soon found, that nothing could be known, which was not directly asked, from a man whom reverence and humility kept silent before him, except when something was said which amounted to a command to speak. At length, however, he said, not without some hesitation, 'Is there no one, Abdallah, who will thank me for the preservation of thy daughter, with a zeal equal to thy own?' 'Yes,' replied Abdallah, 'that daughter whom thou hast preserved.' This reply, though it was unexpected was pleasing: forHametwas not onlygratified to hear, thatAlmeidahad expressed herself warmly in his behalf, at least as a benefactor; but he judged, that if any man had been interested in her life as a lover, the answer which Abdallah had given him would not so readily have occurred to his mind.As this reflection keptHameta few moments silent, Abdallah withdrew; andHamet, as he observed some marks of haste and confusion in his countenance, was unwilling longer to continue him in a situation, which he had now reason to think gave him pain. But Abdallah, who had conceived a sudden thought thatHamet'squestion was an indirect reproach ofAlmeida, for not having herself solicited admission to his presence; wentin haste to her apartment, and ordered her immediately to make ready to attend him to the king.Almeida, from whose mind the image ofHamethad not been absent a moment since she first saw him, received this order with a mixture of pain and pleasure; of wishes, hopes, and apprehensions, that filled her bosom with emotion, and covered her face with blushes. She had not courage to ask the reason of the command, which she instantly prepared to obey; but the tenderness of Abdallah, who perceived and pitied her distress, anticipated her wish. In a short time, therefore, he returned to the chamber of presence, and having received permission, he entered withAlmeidain hishand.Hametrose in haste to receive her, with a glow of pleasure and impatience in his countenance; and having raised her from the ground, supported her in his arms, waiting to hear her voice; but though she made many attempts, she could not speak.Hamet, who knew not to what he owed this sudden and unexpected interview, which, though he wished, he could contrive no means to obtain; imagined thatAlmeidahad some request, and therefore urged her tenderly to make it: but as she still remained silent, he looked at Abdallah, as expecting to hear it from him. 'We have no wish,' said Abdallah, 'but to atone for our offence; nor any request, but that my lord would now accept the thanks ofAlmeidafor the lifewhich he has preserved, and impute the delay, not to ingratitude, but inadvertence: let me now take her back, as thy gift; and let the light of thy favour be upon us.' 'Take her then,' saidHamet; 'for I would give her only to thee.'These words ofHametdid not escape the notice either of Abdallah orAlmeida; but neither of them mentioned their conjectures to the other.Almeida, who was inclined to judge ofHamet'ssituation by her own, and who recollected many little incidents, known only to herself, which favoured her wishes; indulged the hope, that she should again hear ofHamet, with more confidence than her father; nor were her expectationsdisappointed.Hametreflected with pleasure, that he had prepared the way for a more explicit declaration; and as his impatience increased with his passion every hour, he sent for Abdallah the next morning, and told him, that he wished to be more acquainted with his daughter, with a view to make her his wife: 'As neither you nor your daughter are my subjects,' saysHamet, 'I cannot command you; and if you were, upon this occasion I would not. I do not want a slave, but a friend; not merely a woman, but a wife. If I findAlmeidasuch as my fancy has feigned her; if her mind corresponds with her form; and if I have reason to think, that she can give her heart toHamet, and not merely her hand to theking; I shall be happy.' To this declaration, Abdallah replied with expressions of the profoundest submission and gratitude; andHametdismissed him, to prepareAlmeidato receive him in the afternoon of the same day.CHAP. VII.As eight moons only had passed since the death of Solyman, and as the reverence ofHametfor the memory of his father would not suffer him to marry till the year should be completed; he determined not to mentionAlmeidato his brother, till the time when he could marry her was near. The fierce and haughty deportment ofAlmoranhad now leftHametno room to doubt of his character: and though he had no apprehension that he would make any attempts uponAlmeida, after she should be his wife; yet he did not know how much might justly be feared from his passion,if he should see her and become enamoured of her, while she was yet a virgin in the house of her father.Almeidahad not only unsullied purity of mind, but principles of refined and exalted virtue; and as the life ofHametwas an example of all that was either great or good, Abdallah felt no anxiety upon leaving them together, except what arose from his fears, that his daughter would not be able to secure the conquest she had made.As it was impossible forHametto have such an acquaintance withAlmeidaas he desired, till he could enter into conversation with her upon terms of equality; it was his first care to sooth her into confidence and familiarity,and by degrees he succeeded: he soon found, in the free intercourse of mind with mind, which he established instead of the implicit submission which only ecchoed his own voice, how little of the pleasure that women were formed to give can be enjoyed, when they are considered merely as slaves to a tyrant's will, the passive subjects of transient dalliance and casual enjoyment. The pleasure which he took in the youthful beauty ofAlmeida, was now endeared, exalted, and refined, by the tender sensibility of her heart, and by the reflexion of his own felicity from her eyes: when he admired the gracefulness of her motion, the elegance of her figure, the symmetry of her features, and the bloom of her complexion, he considered them as the decorations onlyof a mind, capable of mixing with his own in the most exquisite delight, of reciprocating all his ideas, and catching new pleasure from his pleasure. Desire was no longer appetite; it was imagination, it was reason; it included remembrance of the past, and anticipation of the future; and its object was not the sex, butAlmeida.AsHametnever witheld any pleasure that it was in his power to impart, he soon acquainted Abdallah, that he waited only for a proper time to placeAlmeidaupon the throne; but that he had some reasons for keeping a resolution, which he thought himself obliged to communicate to him, concealed from others.It happened, however, that some of the women who attended uponAlmeida, met with some female slaves belonging to the seraglio ofAlmoran, at the public baths, and related to them all the particulars ofAlmeida'spreservation byHamet; that he had first conveyed her to his own apartments, and had since been frequently with her in that which he had assigned her in his palace: they were also lavish in the praise of her beauty, and free in their conjectures what might be the issue of her intercourse withHamet.Thus the situation ofHametandAlmeidabecame the subject of conversation in the seraglio ofAlmoran, who learnt it himself in a short time from one of his women.He had hitherto professed great affection forHamet, andHametwas deceived by his professions: for notwithstanding the irregularities of his life, he did not think him capable of concealed malice; or of offering injury to another, except when he was urged by impetuous passions to immediate pleasure. As there was, therefore, an appearance of mutual affection between them,Almoran, though the report ofAlmeida'sbeauty had fired his imagination and fixed him in a resolution to see her, did not think proper to attempt it without askingHamet'sconsent, and being introduced by his order; as he made no doubt of there being a connexion between them which would make him resent a contrary conduct.He took an opportunity, therefore, when they were alone in a summer pavilion that was built on a lake behind the palace, to reproach him, with an air of mirth, for having concealed a beauty near his apartments, though he pretended to have no seraglio.Hametinstantly discovered his surprize and emotion by a blush, which the next moment left his countenance paler than the light clouds that pass by night over the moon.Almorantook no notice of his confusion; but that he might more effectually conceal his sentiments and prevent suspicion, he suddenly adverted to another subject, whileHametwas hesitating what to reply. By this artificeHametwas deceived; and concluded, that whateverAlmoranhad heard ofAlmeida, had passed slightlyover his mind, and was remembered but by chance; he, therefore, quickly recovered that ease and chearfulness, which always distinguished his conversation.Almoranobserving the success of his artifice, soon after, as if by a sudden and casual recollection, again mentioned the lady; and told him, he would congratulate Abdallah upon having resigned her to his bed. AsHametcould not bear to think ofAlmoran'smentioningAlmeidato her father as his mistress, he replied, that he had no such intimacy withAlmeidaas he supposed; and that he had so high an opinion of her virtue, as to believe, that if he should propose it she would not consent. The imagination ofAlmorancaught new fire from beauties which he found were yet unenjoyed, and virtue which stamped them with superior value by rendering them more difficult of access; and asHamethad renounced a connection with her as a mistress, he wanted only to know whether he intended her for a wife.This secret he was contriving to discover, whenHamet, having reflected, that if he concealed this particular,Almoranmight think himself at liberty to make what attempts he should think fit uponAlmeida, without being accountable to him, or giving him just cause of offence, put an end to his doubts, by telling him, he had such a design; but that it would be some time before he should carry it into execution.This declaration increasedAlmoran'simpatience: still, however, he concealed his interest in the conversation, which he now suffered to drop.He parted from his brother, without any farther mention ofAlmeidabut while he was yet near him, turned hastily back, and, as if merely to gratify his curiosity, told him with a smile, that he must indulge him with a fight of his Circassian; and desired he might accompany him in his next visit, or at some more convenient time: with this request,Hamet, as he knew, not how to refuse it, complied; but it filled his mind with anxiety and trouble.He went immediately toAlmeida, and told her all that had happened;and as she saw that he was net without apprehensions of mischief from his brother's visit, she gently reproached him for doubting the fidelity of her affection, as she supposed no power could be exerted byAlmoranto injure him, who in power was his equal.Hamet, in a transport of tenderness, assured her that he doubted neither her constancy nor her love: but as to interrupt the comfort of her mind, would only double his own distress, he did not tell her whence his apprehensions proceeded; nor indeed had they any determinate object, but arose in general from the character of his brother, and the probability of his becoming a competitor, for what was essential to the happiness of his life.But if the happiness ofHametwas lessened, the infelicity ofAlmoranwas increased. All the enjoyments that were in his power he neglected, his attention being wholly fixed upon that which was beyond his reach; he was impatient to see the beauty, who had taken intire possession of his mind; and the probability that he would be obliged to resign her toHamet, tormented him with jealousy, envy, and indignation.Hamet, however, did not long delay to fulfil his promise to his brother; but having preparedAlmeidato receive him, he conducted him to her apartment. The idea whichAlmoranhad formed in his imagination, was exceeded by the reality, and his passionwas proportionably increased; yet he found means not only to conceal it fromHamet, but fromAlmeida, by affecting an air of levity and merriment, which is not less incompatible with the pleasures than the pains of love. After they had been regaled with coffee and sherbet, they parted; andHametcongratulated himself, that his apprehensions of finding inAlmorana rival forAlmeida'slove, were now at an end.ButAlmoran, whose passions were become more violent by restraint, was in a state of mind little better than distraction: one moment he determined to seize upon the person ofAlmeidain the night, and secrete her in some place accessible only to himself; andthe next to assassinate his brother, that he might at once destroy a rival both in empire and in love. But these designs were no sooner formed by his wishes, than they were rejected by his fears: he was not ignorant, that in any contest between him andHamet, the voice of the public would be against him; especially in a contest, in which it would appear, thatHamethad suffered wrong.Many other projects, equally rash, violent, and injurious, were by turns conceived and rejected: and he came at last to no other determination, than still carefully to conceal his passion, till he should think of some expedient to gratify it; lestHametshould have ajust reason for refusing to let him see the lady again, and remove her to some place which he might never be able to discover.
Sir,
Amidst the congratulations and praises of a free, a joyful, and now united people, people, who are ambitious to express their duty andtheir wishes in their various classes; I think myself happy to haveYour Majesty'smost gracious permission to approach You, and, after the manner of the people whose character I have assumed, to bring an humble offering in my hand.
As some part of my subject led me to consider the advantages of ourexcellent constitution in comparison of others; my thoughts were naturally turned toYour Majesty,as its warmest friend and most powerful protector: and as the whole is intended, to recommend the practice of virtue, as the means of happiness; to whom could I address it with so much propriety, as to aPrince, who illustrates and enforcesthe precepts of the moralist by his life.
John Hawkesworth.
Who is he among the children of the earth, that repines at the power of the wicked? and who is he, that would change the lot of the righteous? He, who has appointed to each his portion, is God; the Omniscient and the Almighty, who fills eternity, and whose existence is from Himself!but he who murmurs, is man; who yesterday was not, and who to-morrow shall be forgotten: let him listen in silence to the voice of knowlege, and hide the blushes of confusion in the dust.
Solyman, the mighty and the wife, who, in the one hundred and second year of the Hegyra, sat upon the throne of Persia, had two sons,AlmoranandHamet, and they were twins.Almoranwas the first born, but Solyman divided his affection equally between them: they were both lodged in the same part of the seraglio, both were attended by the same servants, and both received instructions from the same teacher.
One of the first things thatAlmoranlearnt, was the prerogative of hisbirth; and he was taught very early to set a high value upon it, by the terms in which those about him expressed their sense of the power, the splendor, and the delights of royalty. As his mind gradually opened, he naturally considered these as the objects of universal define, and the means of supreme felicity: he was often reminded, that the time was coming, when the sole possession of sovereign power would enable him to fulfil all his wishes, to determine the fate of dependent nations with a nod, and dispense life and death, and happiness and misery, at his will: he was flattered by those who hoped to draw wealth and dignity from his favour; and interest prompted all who approached him, to administer tohis pleasures with a zeal and assiduity, which had the appearance of reverence to his merit, and affection to his person.
Hamet, on the contrary, soon became sensible of a subordinate station: he was not, indeed, neglected; but he was not much caressed. When the gratification ofHametcame in competition with that ofAlmoran, he was always obliged to give it up, except when Solyman interposed: his mind was, therefore, naturally led to seek for happiness in objects very different from those which had fixed the attention ofAlmoran. As he knew not to how narrow a sphere caprice or jealousy might confine him, heconsidered what pleasures were least dependent upon external advantages; and as the first popular commotion which mould happen after his brother's accession to the throne, might probably cost him his life, he was very inquisitive about the state into which his spirit would be dismissed by the Angel of Death, and very diligent to do whatever might secure him a share of the permanent and unchangeable felicity of Paradise.
This difference in the situation ofAlmoranandHamet, produced great dissimilarity in their dispositions, habits, and characters; to which, perhaps, nature might also in some degree contribute.Almoranwas haughty, vain, and voluptuous;Hametwas gentle, courteous, and temperate:Almoranwas volatile, impetuous, and irascible;Hametwas thoughtful, patient, and forbearing. Upon the heart ofHametalso were written the instructions of the Prophet; to his mind futurity was present by habitual anticipation; his pleasure, his pain, his hopes, and his fears, were perpetually referred to the Invisible and Almighty Father of Life, by sentiments of gratitude or resignation, complacency or confidence; so that his devotion was not periodical but constant.
But the views ofAlmoranwere terminated by nearer objects: his mind was perpetually busied in the anticipation of pleasures and honours, whichhe supposed to be neither uncertain nor remote; these excited his hopes, with a power sufficient to fix his attention; he did not look beyond them for other objects, nor enquire how enjoyments more distant were to be acquired; and as he supposed these to be already secured to him by his birth, there was nothing he was solicitous to obtain as the reward of merit, nor any thing that he considered himself to possess as the bounty of Heaven. If the sublime and disinterested rectitude that produces and rewards itself, dwells indeed with man, it dwelt not withAlmoran: with respect to God, therefore, he was not impressed with a sense either of duty or dependence; he felt neither reverence nor love, gratitude nor resignation: in abstaining from evil, he was not intentionallygood; he practised the externals of morality without virtue, and performed the rituals of devotion without piety.
Such wereAlmoranandHamet, when Solyman their father, full of days and full of honour, slept in peace the sleep of death. With this event they were immediately acquainted. The emotions ofAlmoranwere such as it was impossible to conceal: the joy that he felt in secret was so great, that the mere dread of disappointment for a moment suspended his belief of what he heard: when his fears and his doubts gave way, his cheeks were suffused with sudden blushes, and his eyes sparkled with exultation and impatience: he looked eagerly about him, as if in haste to act; yet his looks were embarrassed, and his gestures irresolute,because he knew not what to do: he uttered some incoherent sentences, which discovered at once the joy that he felt, and his sense of its impropriety; and his whole deportment expressed the utmost tumult and perturbation of mind.
UponHamet, the death of his father produced a very different effect: as soon as he heard it, his lips trembled and his countenance grew pale; he flood motionless a moment, like a pilgrim transfixed by lightning in the desert; he then smote his breast, and looking upward, his eyes by degrees overflowed with tears, and they fell, like dew distilling from the mountain, in a calm and silent shower. As his grief was thus mingled with devotion, hismind in a short time recovered its tranquillity, though not its chearfulness, and he desired to be conducted to his brother.
He found him surrounded by the lords of his court, his eye still restless and ardent, and his deportment elate and assuming.Hametpressed hastily through the circle, and prostrated himself before him:Almoranreceived the homage with a tumultuous pleasure; but at length raised him from the ground, and assured him of his protection, though without any expressions either of kindness or of sorrow: 'Hamet,' says he, 'if I have no cause to complain of you as a subject, you shall have no cause to complain of me as a king.'Hamet, whoseheart was again pierced by the cold and distant behaviour of his brother, suppressed the sigh that struggled in his bosom, and secretly wiped away the tear that started to his eye: he retired, with his looks fixed upon the ground, to a remote corner of the apartment; and though his heart yearned to embrace his brother, his modest diffidence restrained him from intruding upon the king.
In this situation wereAlmoranandHamet, whenOmarentered the apartment.Omar, upon whose head the hand of time became heavy, had from his youth acquainted himself with wisdom: to him nature had revealed herself in the silence of the night, when his lamp was burning alone, and hiseyes only were open: to him was known the power of the Seal of Solomon; and to him the knowlege of things invisible had been revealed. Nor was the virtue ofOmarinferior to his knowlege; his heart was a fountain of good, which though it flowed through innumerable streams was never dry: yet was the virtue ofOmarcloathed with humility; and he was still pressing nearer to perfection, by a devotion which though elevated was rational, and though regular was warm. From the council ofOmar, Solyman had derived glory and strength; and to him he had committed the education of his children.
When he entered the apartment, the croud, touched at once with reverenceand love, drew back; every eye was cast downward, and every tongue was silent. The full of days approached the king, and kneeling before him he put into his hand a sealed paper: the king received it with impatience, seeing it superscribed with the hand of his father; andOmarlooking round, and perceivingHamet, beckoned him to come forward.Hamet, whose obedience toOmarhad been so long habitual that it was now almost spontaneous, instantly drew near, though with a flow and irresolute pace; andAlmoran, having broken the seal of the paper, began to read it to himself, with a look that expressed the utmost anxiety and impatience.Omarkept his eye fixed upon him, and soon perceived that his countenance was disfigured byconfusion and trouble, and that he seemed preparing to put up the paper in his bosom: he then produced another paper from under his robe, and gave it toHamet: 'This,' says he, is a copy of the will of Solyman, your father; the original is in the hand ofAlmoran: read it, and you will find that he has bequeathed his kingdom between you.'
The eyes of all present were now turned uponHamet, who stood silent and motionless with amazement, but was soon roused to attention by the homage that was paid him. In the mean time,Almoran'sconfusion increased every moment: his disappointment was aggravated by the sudden attention of those who were present to his brother;and his jealousy made him think himself neglected, while those acts of duty were performed toHamet, which were now known to be his right, and which he had himself received before him.
Hamet, however, regarded but little what so much excited the envy ofAlmoran; his mind was employed upon superior objects, and agitated by nobler passions: the coldness of his brother's behaviour, though it had grieved had not quenched his affection; and as he was now no longer restrained by the deference due from a subject to his king, he ran to him, and catching him to his breast attempted to speak; but his heart was too full, and he could express his affection and joy only byhis tears.Almoranrather suffered than received the embrace; and after a few ceremonies, to which neither of them could much attend, they retired to separate apartments.
WhenAlmoranwas alone, he immediately locked the door; and throwing himself upon a sofa in an agony of vexation and disapointment, of which he was unwilling there should be any witness, he revolved in his mind all the pleasures and honours of supreme dominion which had now suddenly been snatched from him, with a degree of anguish and regret, not proportioned to their real, but their imaginary value. Of future good, that which we obtain is found to be less than our expectations; but that of which we are disappointed, we suppose would have been more: thus do the children of hopeextract evil, both from what they gain, and from what they lose. ButAlmoran, after the first tumult of his mind had subsided, began to consider as well what was left him, as what had been taken away. He was still without a superior, though he had an equal; he was still a king, though he did not govern alone: and with respect to every individual in his dominions, except one, his will would now be a law; though with respect to the public, the concurrence of his brother would be necessary to give it force. 'Let me then,' says he, 'make the most of the power that is now put into my hand, and wait till some favourable opportunity shall offer to increase it. Let me dissemble my jealousy and disappointment, that Imay not alarm suspicion, or put the virtues ofHametupon their guard against me; and let me contrive to give our joint administration such a form, as may best favour my design.'
Such were the reflections, with whichAlmoransoothed the anguish of his mind; whileHametwas busied in speculations of a very different kind. If he was pleased at reflecting, that he was raised from a subject to a prince; he was pleased still more, when he considered his elevation as a test of his father's affection to his person, and approbation of his conduct: he was also delighted with the thought, that his brother was associated with him in the arduous talk which he wasnow called to perform. 'If I had been appointed to govern alone,' said he, 'I should have had no equal; and he who has no equal, though he may have faithful servants, can have no friend: there cannot be that union of interests, that equal participation of good, that unrestrained intercourse of mind, and that mutual dependence, which constitutes the pure and exalted happiness of friendship. WithAlmoran, I shall share the supreme delight of wresting the innocent and the helpless from the iron hand of oppression; of animating merit by reward, and restraining the unworthy by fear: I shall share, withAlmoran, the pleasures of governing a numerous, a powerful, and a happy people;pleasures which, however great, are, like all others, increased by participation.'
WhileHametwas thus enjoying the happiness, which his virtue derived from the same source, from which the vices ofAlmoranhad filled his breast with anguish and discontent;Omarwas contriving in what manner their joint government could best be carried into execution.
He knew that Solyman, having considered the dispositions of his sons, was of opinion, that if they had been blended in one person, they would have produced a character more fit to govern in his stead, than either of them alone:Almoran, he thought, wastoo volatile and warm; but he suspected, thatHametwould sink into inactivity for want of spirit: he feared alikeAlmoran'slove of enterprize, andHamet'sfondness for retirement: he observed, inHamet, a placid easiness of temper, which might suffer the reins of government to lie too loose; and, inAlmoran, a quickness of resentment, and jealousy of command, which might hold them too tight: he hoped, therefore, that by leaving them a joint dominion, he should blend their dispositions, at least in their effects, in every act of government that should take place; or that, however they should agree to administer their government, the public would derive benefit from the virtues of both, without danger of suffering from their imperfections,as their imperfections would only operate against each other, while, in whatever was right, their minds would naturally concur, as the coincidence of rectitude with rectitude is necessary and eternal. But he did not consider, that different dispositions operating separately upon two different wills, would appear in effects very unlike those, which they would concur to produce in one: that two wills, under the direction of dispositions so different, would seldom be brought to coincide; and that more mischiefs would probably arise from the contest, than from the imperfections of either alone.
But Solyman had so long applauded himself for his project before he revealedit toOmar, thatOmarfound him too much displeased with any objection, to consider its weight: and knowing that peculiar notions are more rarely given up, than opinions received from others, and made our own only by adoption, he at length acquiesced, lest he should by farther opposition lose his influence, which on other occasions he might still employ to the advantage of the public; and took a solemn oath, that he would, as far as was in his power, see the will carried into execution.
To this, indeed, he consented without much reluctance, as he had little less reason to fear the sole government ofAlmoran, than a joint administration; and if a struggle for superiorityshould happen, he hoped the virtuesHametwould obtain the suffrages of the people in his favour, and establish him upon the throne alone. But as change is itself an evil, and as changes in government are seldom produced without great confusion and calamity, he applied himself to consider in what manner the government ofAlmoranandHametcould be administered, so as most effectually to blend their characters in their administration, and prevent the conduct of one from exciting jealousy in the other.
After much thought, he determined that a system of laws should be prepared, which the sons of Solyman should examine and alter till they perfectly approved, and to which theyshould then give the sanction of their joint authority: that when any addition or alteration should be thought necessary, it should be made in the same manner; and that when any insuperable difference of sentiment happened, either in this or in any act of prerogative independent of the laws for regulating the manners of the people, the kings should refer it to some person of approved integrity and wisdom, and abide by his determination.Omareasily foresaw, that when the opinion ofAlmoranandHametshould differ, the opinion ofAlmoranwould be established; for there were many causes that would renderAlmoraninflexible, andHametyielding:Almoranwas naturally confident and assuming,Hametdiffident and modest;Almoranwas impatient of contradiction,Hametwas attentive to argument, and felicitous only for the discovery of truth.Almoranalso conceived, that by the will of his father, he had suffered wrong;Hamet, that he had received a favour:Almoran, therefore, was disposed to resent the first appearance of opposition; andHamet, on the contrary, to acquiesce, as in his share of government, whatever it might be, he had more than was his right by birth, and his brother had less. Thus, therefore, the will ofAlmoranwould probably predominate in the state: but as the same cause which conferred this superiority, would often prevent contention,Omarconsideredit, upon the whole, rather as good than evil.
When he had prepared his plan, therefore, he sent a copy of it, by different messengers at the same time, both toAlmoranandHamet, inclosed in a letter, in which he exprest his sense of obligation to their father, and his zeal and affection for them: he mentioned the promise he had made, to devote himself to their service; and the oath he had taken, to propose whatever he thought might facilitate the accomplishment of their father's design, with honour to them and happiness to their people: these motives, which he could not resist without impiety, he hopedwould absolve him from presumption; and trusting in the rectitude of his intentions, he left the issue to God.
The receipt of this letter threwAlmoraninto another agony of indignation: he felt again the loss of his prerogative; the offer of advice he disdained as an insult, to which he had been injuriously subjected by the will of his father; and he was disposed to reject whatever was suggested byOmar, even before his proposal was known. With this temper of mind he began to read, and at every paragraph took new offence; he determined, however, not to admitOmarto the honour of a conference upon the subject, but to settle a plan of government with his brother, without the least regard to his advice.
A supercilious attention to minute formalities, is a certain indication of a little mind, conscious to the want of innate dignity, and felicitous to derive from others what it cannot supply to itself: as the scrupulous exaction of every trifling tribute discovers the weakness of the tyrant, who fears his claim should be disputed; while the prince, who is conscious of superior and indisputable power, and knows that the states he has subjugated do not dare to revolt, scarce enquires whether such testimonies of allegiance are given or not.
Thus, the jealousy ofAlmoranalready enslaved him to the punctilios of state; and the most trifling circumstances involved him in perplexity,or fired him with resentment: the friendship and fidelity ofOmarstung him with rage, as insolent and intrusive; and though it determined him to an immediate interview with his brother, yet he was embarrassed how to procure it. At first he rose, and was about to go to him; but he stopped short with disdain, upon reflecting, that it was an act of condescension which might be deemed an acknowledgement of superiority: he then thought of sending forHametto come to him; but this he feared might provoke him, as implying a denial of his equality: at length he determined to propose a meeting in the chamber of council, and was just dispatching an officer with the message, whenHametentered the apartment.
The countenance ofHametwas flushed with joy, and his heart was warmed with the pleasing sensations of affection and confidence, by the same letter, from whichAlmoranhad extracted the bitterness of jealousy and resentment, and as he had no idea that an act of courtesy to his brother could derogate from his own dignity or importance, he indulged the honest impatience of his heart to communicate the pleasure with which it overflowed: he was, indeed, somewhat disappointed, to find no traces of satisfaction in the countenance ofAlmoran, when he saw the same paper in his hand, which had impressed so much upon his own.
He waited some time after the first salutations, without mentioning the scheme of government he was come to concert; because having observed thatAlmoranwas embarrassed and displeased, he expected that he would communicate the cause, and pleased himself with the hope that he might remove it: finding, however, that this expectation was disappointed, he addressed him to this effect:
'How happy are we, my dear brother, in the wisdom and fidelity, ofOmar! how excellent is the system of government that he has proposed! how easy and honourable will it be to us that govern, and how advantageous to the people that obey!'
'The advantages,' saidAlmoran, 'which you seem to have discovered, are not evident to me: tell me, then, what you imagine they are, and I will afterwards give you my opinion.'
'By establishing a system of laws as the rule of government,' saidHamet, 'many evils will be avoided, and many benefits procured. If the law is the will only of the sovereign, it can never certainly be known to the people: many, therefore, may violate that rule of right, which the hand of the Almighty has written upon the living tablets of the heart, in the presumptuous hope, that it will not subject them to punishment; and those, by whom that rule is fulfilled, willnot enjoy that consciousness of security, which they would derive from the protection of a prescribed law, which they have never broken. Neither will those who are inclined to do evil, be equally restrained by the fear of punishment; if neither the offence is ascertained, nor the punishment prescribed. One motive to probity, therefore, will be wanting; which ought to be supplied, as well for the sake of those who may be tempted to offend, as of those who may suffer by the offence. Besides, he who governs not by a written and a public law, must either administer that government in person, or by others: if in person, he will sink under a labour which no man is able to sustain; and if by others, the inferiorityof their rank must subject them to temptations which it cannot be hoped they will always resist, and to prejudices which it will perhaps be impossible for them to surmount. But to administer government by a law which ascertains the offence, and directs the punishment, integrity alone will be sufficient; and as the perversion of justice will in this case be notorious, and depend not upon opinion but fact, it will seldom be practised, because it will be easily punished.'
Almoran, who had heard the opinions ofHametwith impatience and scorn, now started from his feat with a proud and contemptuous aspect: he first glanced his eyes upon his brother;and then looking disdainfully downward, he threw back his robe, and stretching out his hand from him, 'Shall the son of Solyman,' said he, 'upon whose will the fate of nations was suspended, whose smiles and frowns were alone the criterions of right and wrong, before whom the voice of wisdom itself was silent, and the pride even of virtue humbled in the dust; shall the son of Solyman be harnessed, like a mule, in the trammels of law? shall he become a mere instrument to execute what others have devised? shall he only declare the determinations of a statute, and shall his ear be affronted by claims of right? It is the glory of a prince, to punish for what and whom he will; to be the sovereign, not only of property,but of life; and to govern alike without prescription or appeal.'
Hamet, who was struck with astonishment at this declaration, and the vehemence with which it was uttered, after a short recollection made this reply: 'It is the glory of a prince, to govern others, as he is governed by Him, who is alone most merciful and almighty! It is his glory to prevent crimes, rather than to display his power in punishment; to diffuse happiness, rather than inforce subjection; and rather to animate with love, than depress by fear. Has not He that shall judge us, given us a rule of life by which we shall be judged? is not our reward and punishment alreadyset before us? are not His promises and threatenings, motives to obedience? and have we not confidence and joy, when we have obeyed? To God, His own divine perfections are a law; and these He has transcribed as a law to us. Let us, then, govern, as we are governed; let us seek our happiness in the happiness that we bestow, and our honour in emulating the benevolence of Heaven.'
AsAlmoranfeared, that to proceed farther in this argument would too far disclose his sentiments, and putHamettoo much upon his guard; he determined for the present to dissemble: and as he perceived, thatHamet'sopinion, and an administration founded upon it, would render him extreamly popular,and at length possibly establish him alone; he was now felicitous only to withdraw him from public notice, and persuade him to leave the government, whatever form it should receive, to be administered by others: returning, therefore, to his seat, and assuming an appearance of complacence and tranquillity, with which he could not form his language perfectly to agree; 'Let us then,' said he, 'if a law must be set up in our stead, leave the law to be executed by our slaves: and as nothing will be left for us to do, that is worthy of us, let us devote ourselves to the pleasures of ease; and if there are any enjoyments peculiar to royalty, let us secure them as our only distinction from the multitude.'
'Not so,' saysHamet; 'for there is yet much for a prince to do, after the best system of laws has been established: the government of a nation as a whole, the regulation and extent of its trade, the establishment of manufactories, the encouragement of genius, the application of the revenues, and whatever can improve the arts of peace, and secure superiority in war, is the proper object of a king's attention.
'But in these,' saidAlmoran, 'it will be difficult for two minds to concur; let us, then, agree to leave these also to the care of some other, whom we can continue as long as we approve, and displace when weapprove no longer: we shall, by this expedient, be able to avert the odium of any unpopular measure; and by the sacrifice of a slave, we can always satisfy the people, and silence public discontent.'
'To trust implicitly to another,' saysHamet, 'is to give up a prerogative, which is at once our highest duty and interest to keep; it is to betray our trust, and to sacrifice our honour to another. The prince, who leaves the government of his people implicitly to a subject, leaves it to one, who has many more temptations to betray their interest than himself: a vicegerent is in a subordinatestation; he has, therefore, much to rear, and much to hope: he may also acquire the power of obtaining what he hopes, and averting what he rears, at the public expence; he may stand in need of dependents, and may be able no otherwise to procure them, than by conniving at the fraud or the violence which they commit: he may receive, in bribes, an equivalent for his share, as an individual, in the public prosperity; for his interest is not essentially connected with that of the state; he has a separate interest; but the interest of the state, and of the king, are one: he may even be corrupted to betray the councils, and give up the interests of the nation, to a foreign power; but this is impossible to the king; for nothingequivalent to what he would give up, could be offered him. But as a king has not equal temptations to do wrong, neither is he equally exposed to opposition, when he does right: the measures of a substitute are frequently opposed, merely from interest; because the leader of a faction against him, hopes, that if he can remove him by popular clamour, he shall succeed to his power; but it can be no man's interest to oppose the measures of a king, if his measures are good, because no man can hope to supplant him. Are not these the precepts of the Prophet, whose wisdom was from above?'—"Let not the eye of expectation be raised to another, for that which thyself only should bestow: suffer not thy ownshadow to obscure thee; nor be content to derive that glory, which it is thy prerogative to impart."
'But is the prince,' saidAlmoran, always the wisest man in his dominions? Can we not find, in another, abilities and experience, which we do not possess? and is it not the duty of him who presides in the ship, to, place the helm in that hand which can best steer it?'
'A prince,' saidHamet, 'who sincerely intends the good of his people, can scarce fail to effect it; all the wisdom of the nation will be at once turned to that object: whatever is his principal aim, will be that of all who are admitted to his council; for to concurwith his principal aim, must be the surest recommendation to his favour. Let us, then, hear others; but let us act ourselves.'
AsAlmorannow perceived, that the longer this conversation continued, the more he should be embarrassed; he put an end to it, by appearing to acquiesce in whatHamethad proposed.Hametwithdrew, charmed with the candour and flexibility which he imagined he had discovered in his brother; and not without some exultation in his own rhetoric, which, he supposed had gained no inconsiderable victory.Almoran, in the mean time, applauded himself for having thus far practised the arts ofdissimulation with success; fortified himself in the resolutions he had before taken; and conceived new malevolence and jealousy againstHamet.
WhileHametwas exulting in his conquest, and his heart was overflowing at once with self-complacency, and affection to his brother; he was told, thatOmarwas waiting without, and desired admittance.Hametordered that he should be immediately introduced; and whenOmarentered, and would have prostrated himself before him, he catched him in his arms in a transport of affection and esteem; and having ordered that none should interrupt them, compelled him to sit down on a sofa.
He then related, with all the joy of a youthful and an ardent mind, theconversation he had had withAlmoran, intermixed with expressions of the highest praise and the most cordial esteem.Omarwas not without suspicion, that the sentiments whichAlmoranhad first expressed with such vehemence of passion, were still predominant in his mind: but of these suspicions he did not give the least hint toHamet; not only because to communicate suspicions is to accuse without proof, but because he did not think himself at liberty to make an ill report of another, though he knew it to be true. He approved the sentiments ofHamet, as they had indeed been infused by his own instructions; and some precepts and cautions were now added, which the accession ofHametto a share of the imperial power made particularly necessary.
'Remember,' saidOmar, 'that the most effectual way of promoting virtue, is to prevent occasions of vice. There are, perhaps, particular situations, in which human virtue has always failed: at least, temptation often repeated, and long continued, has seldom been finally resisted. In a government so constituted as to leave the people exposed to perpetual seduction, by opportunities of dissolute pleasure or iniquitous gain, the multiplication of penal laws will only tend to depopulate the kingdom, and disgrace the state; to devote to the scymitar and the bow-string, those who might have been useful to society,and to leave the rest dissolute turbulent and factious. If the streets not only abound with women, who inflame the passenger by their appearance, their gesture, and their solicitations; but with houses, in which every desire which they kindle may be gratified with secrecy and convenience; it is in vain that "the feet of the prostitute go down to death, and that her steps take hold on hell:" what then can be hoped from any punishment, which the laws of man can superadd to disease and want, to rottenness and perdition? If you permit opium to be publickly sold at a low rate; it will be folly to hope, that the dread of punishment will render idleness and drunkenness strangers to the poor. If a tax is so collected,as to leave opportunities to procure the commodity, without paying it; the hope of gain will always surmount the fear of punishment. If, when the veteran has served you at the risque of life, you withold his hire; it will be in vain to threaten usury and extortion with imprisonment and fines. If, in your armies, you suffer it to be any man's interest, rather to preserve the life of a horse than a man; be assured, that your own sword is drawn for your enemy: for there will always be some, in whom interest is stronger than humanity and honour. Put no man's interest, therefore, in the ballance against his duty; nor hope that good can often be produced, but by preventing opportunities of evil.'
To these precepts ofOmar,Hametlistened as to the instructions of a father; and having promised to keep them as the treasure of life, he dismissed him from his presence. The heart ofHametwas now expanded with the most pleasing expectations; butAlmoranwas pining with solicitude, jealousy, and distrust: he took every opportunity to avoid bothOmarandHamet; butHametstill retained his confidence, andOmarhis suspicions.
In the mean time, the system of government was established which had been proposed byOmar, and in whichHametconcurred from principle, andAlmoranfrom policy. The views ofAlmoranterminated in the gratification of his own appetites and passions; those ofHamet, in the discharge of his duty:Hamet, therefore, was indefatigable in the business of the state; and as his sense of honour, and his love of the public, made this the employment of his choice, it was to him the perpetual source of a generous and sublime felicity.Almoranalso was equally diligent, but from another motive: he was actuated, not by love of the public, but by jealousy of his brother; he performed his task as the drudge of necessity, with reluctance and ill will; so that to him it produced pain and anxiety, weariness and impatience.
To atone for this waste of time, he determined to crowd all that remained with delight: his gardens were an epitome of all nature, and on his palace were exhausted all the treasures of art; his seraglio was filled with beauties of every nation, and his table supplied with dainties from the remotest corners of his dominions. In the songs that were repeated in his presence, he listenedat once to the voice of adulation and music; he breathed the perfumes of Arabia, and he tasted the forbidden pleasure of wine. But as every appetite is soon satiated by excess, his eagerness to accumulate pleasure deprived him of enjoyment. Among the variety of beauty that surrounded him, the passion, which, to be luxurious, must be delicate and refined, was degraded to a mere instinct, and exhausted in endless dissipation; the caress was unendeared by a consciousness of reciprocal delight, and was immediately succeeded by indifference or disgust. By the dainties that perpetually urged him to intemperance, that appetite, which alone could make even dainties tasteful, was destroyed. The splendor of his palace and the beauty of his gardens,became at length so familiar to his eye, that they were frequently before him, without being seen. Even flattery and music lost their power, by too frequent a repetition: and the broken slumbers of the night, and the languor of the morning, were more than equivalent to the transient hilarity that was inspired by wine. Thus passed the time ofAlmoran, divided between painful labours which he did not dare to shun, and the search of pleasure which he could never find.
Hamet, on the contrary, did not seek pleasure, but pleasure seemed to seek him: he had a perpetual complacence and serenity of mind, which rendered him constantly susceptible of pleasing impressions; every thing thatwas prepared to refresh or entertain him in his seasons of retirement and relaxation, added something to the delight which was continually springing in his breast, when he reviewed the past, or looked forward to the future. Thus, the pleasures of sense were heightened by those of his mind, and the pleasures of the mind by those of sense: he had, indeed, as yet no wise; for as yet no woman had fixed his attention, or determined his choice.
Among the ambassadors whom the monarchs of Asia sent to congratulate the sons of Solyman upon their accession to the throne, there was a native of Circassia, whose name was Abdallah. Abdallah had only one child, a daughter, in whom all his happiness and affectioncentered; he was unwilling to leave her behind, and therefore brought her to the court of Persia. Her mother died while she was yet an infant; she was now in the sixteenth year of her age, and her name wasAlmeida. She was beautiful as the daughters of Paradise, and gentle as the breezes of the spring; her mind was without stain, and her manners were without art.
She was lodged with her father in a palace that joined to the gardens of the seraglio; and it happened that a lamp which had one night been left burning in a lower apartment, by some accident set fire to the net-work of cotton that surrounded a sopha, and the whole room was soon after in aflame.Almoran, who had been passing the afternoon in riot and debauchery, had been removed from his banquetting room asleep; butHametwas still in his closet, where he had been regulating some papers that were to be used the next day. The windows of this room opened towards the inner apartments of the house in which Abdallah resided; andHamet, having by accident looked that way, was alarmed by the appearance of an unusual light, and starting up to see whence it proceeded, he discovered what had happened.
Having hastily ordered the guard of the night to assist in quenching the flame, and removing the furniture, he ran himself into the garden. Assoon as he was come up to the house, he was alarmed by the shrieks of a female voice; and the next moment,Almeidaappeared at the window of an apartment directly over that which was on fire.Almeidahe had till now never seen, nor did he so much as know that Abdallah had a daughter: but though her person was unknown, he was strongly interested in her danger, and called out to her to throw herself into his arms. At the sound of his voice she ran back into the room, such is the force of inviolate modesty, though the smoke was then rising in curling spires from the windows: she was, however, soon driven back; and part of the floor at the same instant giving way, she wrapther veil round her, and leaped into the garden.Hametcaught her in his arms; but though he broke her fall, he sunk down with her weight: he did not, however, quit his charge, but perceiving she had fainted, he made haste with her into his apartment, to afford her such assistance as he could procure.
She was covered only with the light and loose robe in which she slept, and her veil had dropped off by the way. The moment he entered his closet, the light discovered to him such beauty as before he had never seen: she now began to revive; and before her senses returned, she pressed the prince with an involuntary embrace, which he returned by straining her closer to hisbreast, in a tumult of delight, confusion, and anxiety, which he could scarce sustain. As he still held her in his arms, and gazed silently upon her, she opened her eyes, and instantly relinquishing her hold, shrieked out, and threw herself from him. As there were no women nearer than that wing of the palace in which his brother resided, and as he had many reasons not to leave her in their charge; he was in the utmost perplexity what to do. He assured her, in some hasty and incoherent words, of her security; he told her, that she was in the royal palace, and that he who had conveyed her thither wasHamet. The habitual reverence of sovereign power, now surmounted all other passions in the bosom ofAlmeida: she was instantlycovered with new confusion; and hiding her face with her hands, threw herself at his feet: he raised her with a trepidation almost equal to her own, and endeavoured to sooth her into confidence and tranquillity.
Hitherto her memory had been wholly suspended by violent passions, which had crowded upon her in a rapid and uninterrupted succession, and the first gleam of recollection threw her into a new agony; and having been silent a few moments, she suddenly smote her hands together, and bursting into tears, cried out, 'Abdallah! my father! my father!'—Hametnot only knew but felt all the meaning of the exclamation, and immediately ran again into the garden: he had advancedbut a few paces, before he discerned an old man sitting upon the ground, and looking upward in silent anguish, as if he had exhausted the power of complaint.Hamet, upon a nearer approach, perceived by the light of the flame that it was Abdallah; and instantly calling him by his name, told him, that his daughter was safe. At the name of his daughter, Abdallah suddenly started up, as if he had been roused by the voice of an angel from the sleep of death:Hametagain repeated, that his daughter was in safety; and Abdallah looking wistfully at him, knew him to be the king. He was then struck with an awe that restrained him from enquiry: butHametdirecting him where he might find her, went forward, that hemight not lessen the pleasure of their interview, nor restrain the first transports of duty and affection by his presence. He soon met with other fugitives from the fire, which had opened a communication between the gardens and the street; and among them some women belonging toAlmeida, whom, he conducted himself to their mistress. He immediately allotted to her and to her father, an apartment in his division of the palace; and the fire being now nearly extinguished, he retired to rest.
Though the night was far advanced, yet the eyes ofHametwere strangers to sleep: his fancy incessantly repeated the events that had just happened; the image ofAlmeidawas ever before him; and his breast throbbed with a disquietude, which, though it prevented rest, he did not wish to lose.
Almoran, in the mean time, was slumbering away the effects of his intemperance; and in the morning, when he was told what had happened, he expressed no passion but curiosity: hewent hastily into the garden; but when he had gazed upon the ruins, and enquired how the fire began, and what it had consumed, he thought of it no more.
ButHametsuffered nothing that regarded himself, to exclude others from his attention: he went again to the ruins, not to gratify his curiosity, but to see what might yet be done to alleviate the misery of the sufferers, and secure for their use what had been preserved from the flames. He found that no life had been lost, but that many persons had been hurt; to these he sent the physicians of his own houshold: and having rewarded those who had assisted them in their distress, not forgetting even the soldiers who had only fulfilled his own orders, hereturned, and applied himself to dispatch the public business in the chamber of council, with the same patient and diligent attention as if nothing had happened. He had, indeed, ordered enquiry to be made afterAlmeida; and when he returned to his apartment, he found Abdallah waiting to express his gratitude for the obligations he had received.
Hametaccepted his acknowledgements with a peculiar pleasure, for they had some connexion withAlmeida; after whom he again enquired, with an ardour uncommon even to the benevolence ofHamet. When all his questions had been asked and answered, he appeared still unwilling to dismiss Abdallah, though heseemed at a loss how to detain him; he wanted to know, whether his daughter had yet received an offer of marriage, though he was unwilling to discover his desire by a direct enquiry: but he soon found, that nothing could be known, which was not directly asked, from a man whom reverence and humility kept silent before him, except when something was said which amounted to a command to speak. At length, however, he said, not without some hesitation, 'Is there no one, Abdallah, who will thank me for the preservation of thy daughter, with a zeal equal to thy own?' 'Yes,' replied Abdallah, 'that daughter whom thou hast preserved.' This reply, though it was unexpected was pleasing: forHametwas not onlygratified to hear, thatAlmeidahad expressed herself warmly in his behalf, at least as a benefactor; but he judged, that if any man had been interested in her life as a lover, the answer which Abdallah had given him would not so readily have occurred to his mind.
As this reflection keptHameta few moments silent, Abdallah withdrew; andHamet, as he observed some marks of haste and confusion in his countenance, was unwilling longer to continue him in a situation, which he had now reason to think gave him pain. But Abdallah, who had conceived a sudden thought thatHamet'squestion was an indirect reproach ofAlmeida, for not having herself solicited admission to his presence; wentin haste to her apartment, and ordered her immediately to make ready to attend him to the king.
Almeida, from whose mind the image ofHamethad not been absent a moment since she first saw him, received this order with a mixture of pain and pleasure; of wishes, hopes, and apprehensions, that filled her bosom with emotion, and covered her face with blushes. She had not courage to ask the reason of the command, which she instantly prepared to obey; but the tenderness of Abdallah, who perceived and pitied her distress, anticipated her wish. In a short time, therefore, he returned to the chamber of presence, and having received permission, he entered withAlmeidain hishand.Hametrose in haste to receive her, with a glow of pleasure and impatience in his countenance; and having raised her from the ground, supported her in his arms, waiting to hear her voice; but though she made many attempts, she could not speak.Hamet, who knew not to what he owed this sudden and unexpected interview, which, though he wished, he could contrive no means to obtain; imagined thatAlmeidahad some request, and therefore urged her tenderly to make it: but as she still remained silent, he looked at Abdallah, as expecting to hear it from him. 'We have no wish,' said Abdallah, 'but to atone for our offence; nor any request, but that my lord would now accept the thanks ofAlmeidafor the lifewhich he has preserved, and impute the delay, not to ingratitude, but inadvertence: let me now take her back, as thy gift; and let the light of thy favour be upon us.' 'Take her then,' saidHamet; 'for I would give her only to thee.'
These words ofHametdid not escape the notice either of Abdallah orAlmeida; but neither of them mentioned their conjectures to the other.Almeida, who was inclined to judge ofHamet'ssituation by her own, and who recollected many little incidents, known only to herself, which favoured her wishes; indulged the hope, that she should again hear ofHamet, with more confidence than her father; nor were her expectationsdisappointed.Hametreflected with pleasure, that he had prepared the way for a more explicit declaration; and as his impatience increased with his passion every hour, he sent for Abdallah the next morning, and told him, that he wished to be more acquainted with his daughter, with a view to make her his wife: 'As neither you nor your daughter are my subjects,' saysHamet, 'I cannot command you; and if you were, upon this occasion I would not. I do not want a slave, but a friend; not merely a woman, but a wife. If I findAlmeidasuch as my fancy has feigned her; if her mind corresponds with her form; and if I have reason to think, that she can give her heart toHamet, and not merely her hand to theking; I shall be happy.' To this declaration, Abdallah replied with expressions of the profoundest submission and gratitude; andHametdismissed him, to prepareAlmeidato receive him in the afternoon of the same day.
As eight moons only had passed since the death of Solyman, and as the reverence ofHametfor the memory of his father would not suffer him to marry till the year should be completed; he determined not to mentionAlmeidato his brother, till the time when he could marry her was near. The fierce and haughty deportment ofAlmoranhad now leftHametno room to doubt of his character: and though he had no apprehension that he would make any attempts uponAlmeida, after she should be his wife; yet he did not know how much might justly be feared from his passion,if he should see her and become enamoured of her, while she was yet a virgin in the house of her father.
Almeidahad not only unsullied purity of mind, but principles of refined and exalted virtue; and as the life ofHametwas an example of all that was either great or good, Abdallah felt no anxiety upon leaving them together, except what arose from his fears, that his daughter would not be able to secure the conquest she had made.
As it was impossible forHametto have such an acquaintance withAlmeidaas he desired, till he could enter into conversation with her upon terms of equality; it was his first care to sooth her into confidence and familiarity,and by degrees he succeeded: he soon found, in the free intercourse of mind with mind, which he established instead of the implicit submission which only ecchoed his own voice, how little of the pleasure that women were formed to give can be enjoyed, when they are considered merely as slaves to a tyrant's will, the passive subjects of transient dalliance and casual enjoyment. The pleasure which he took in the youthful beauty ofAlmeida, was now endeared, exalted, and refined, by the tender sensibility of her heart, and by the reflexion of his own felicity from her eyes: when he admired the gracefulness of her motion, the elegance of her figure, the symmetry of her features, and the bloom of her complexion, he considered them as the decorations onlyof a mind, capable of mixing with his own in the most exquisite delight, of reciprocating all his ideas, and catching new pleasure from his pleasure. Desire was no longer appetite; it was imagination, it was reason; it included remembrance of the past, and anticipation of the future; and its object was not the sex, butAlmeida.
AsHametnever witheld any pleasure that it was in his power to impart, he soon acquainted Abdallah, that he waited only for a proper time to placeAlmeidaupon the throne; but that he had some reasons for keeping a resolution, which he thought himself obliged to communicate to him, concealed from others.
It happened, however, that some of the women who attended uponAlmeida, met with some female slaves belonging to the seraglio ofAlmoran, at the public baths, and related to them all the particulars ofAlmeida'spreservation byHamet; that he had first conveyed her to his own apartments, and had since been frequently with her in that which he had assigned her in his palace: they were also lavish in the praise of her beauty, and free in their conjectures what might be the issue of her intercourse withHamet.
Thus the situation ofHametandAlmeidabecame the subject of conversation in the seraglio ofAlmoran, who learnt it himself in a short time from one of his women.
He had hitherto professed great affection forHamet, andHametwas deceived by his professions: for notwithstanding the irregularities of his life, he did not think him capable of concealed malice; or of offering injury to another, except when he was urged by impetuous passions to immediate pleasure. As there was, therefore, an appearance of mutual affection between them,Almoran, though the report ofAlmeida'sbeauty had fired his imagination and fixed him in a resolution to see her, did not think proper to attempt it without askingHamet'sconsent, and being introduced by his order; as he made no doubt of there being a connexion between them which would make him resent a contrary conduct.
He took an opportunity, therefore, when they were alone in a summer pavilion that was built on a lake behind the palace, to reproach him, with an air of mirth, for having concealed a beauty near his apartments, though he pretended to have no seraglio.Hametinstantly discovered his surprize and emotion by a blush, which the next moment left his countenance paler than the light clouds that pass by night over the moon.Almorantook no notice of his confusion; but that he might more effectually conceal his sentiments and prevent suspicion, he suddenly adverted to another subject, whileHametwas hesitating what to reply. By this artificeHametwas deceived; and concluded, that whateverAlmoranhad heard ofAlmeida, had passed slightlyover his mind, and was remembered but by chance; he, therefore, quickly recovered that ease and chearfulness, which always distinguished his conversation.
Almoranobserving the success of his artifice, soon after, as if by a sudden and casual recollection, again mentioned the lady; and told him, he would congratulate Abdallah upon having resigned her to his bed. AsHametcould not bear to think ofAlmoran'smentioningAlmeidato her father as his mistress, he replied, that he had no such intimacy withAlmeidaas he supposed; and that he had so high an opinion of her virtue, as to believe, that if he should propose it she would not consent. The imagination ofAlmorancaught new fire from beauties which he found were yet unenjoyed, and virtue which stamped them with superior value by rendering them more difficult of access; and asHamethad renounced a connection with her as a mistress, he wanted only to know whether he intended her for a wife.
This secret he was contriving to discover, whenHamet, having reflected, that if he concealed this particular,Almoranmight think himself at liberty to make what attempts he should think fit uponAlmeida, without being accountable to him, or giving him just cause of offence, put an end to his doubts, by telling him, he had such a design; but that it would be some time before he should carry it into execution.This declaration increasedAlmoran'simpatience: still, however, he concealed his interest in the conversation, which he now suffered to drop.
He parted from his brother, without any farther mention ofAlmeidabut while he was yet near him, turned hastily back, and, as if merely to gratify his curiosity, told him with a smile, that he must indulge him with a fight of his Circassian; and desired he might accompany him in his next visit, or at some more convenient time: with this request,Hamet, as he knew, not how to refuse it, complied; but it filled his mind with anxiety and trouble.
He went immediately toAlmeida, and told her all that had happened;and as she saw that he was net without apprehensions of mischief from his brother's visit, she gently reproached him for doubting the fidelity of her affection, as she supposed no power could be exerted byAlmoranto injure him, who in power was his equal.Hamet, in a transport of tenderness, assured her that he doubted neither her constancy nor her love: but as to interrupt the comfort of her mind, would only double his own distress, he did not tell her whence his apprehensions proceeded; nor indeed had they any determinate object, but arose in general from the character of his brother, and the probability of his becoming a competitor, for what was essential to the happiness of his life.
But if the happiness ofHametwas lessened, the infelicity ofAlmoranwas increased. All the enjoyments that were in his power he neglected, his attention being wholly fixed upon that which was beyond his reach; he was impatient to see the beauty, who had taken intire possession of his mind; and the probability that he would be obliged to resign her toHamet, tormented him with jealousy, envy, and indignation.
Hamet, however, did not long delay to fulfil his promise to his brother; but having preparedAlmeidato receive him, he conducted him to her apartment. The idea whichAlmoranhad formed in his imagination, was exceeded by the reality, and his passionwas proportionably increased; yet he found means not only to conceal it fromHamet, but fromAlmeida, by affecting an air of levity and merriment, which is not less incompatible with the pleasures than the pains of love. After they had been regaled with coffee and sherbet, they parted; andHametcongratulated himself, that his apprehensions of finding inAlmorana rival forAlmeida'slove, were now at an end.
ButAlmoran, whose passions were become more violent by restraint, was in a state of mind little better than distraction: one moment he determined to seize upon the person ofAlmeidain the night, and secrete her in some place accessible only to himself; andthe next to assassinate his brother, that he might at once destroy a rival both in empire and in love. But these designs were no sooner formed by his wishes, than they were rejected by his fears: he was not ignorant, that in any contest between him andHamet, the voice of the public would be against him; especially in a contest, in which it would appear, thatHamethad suffered wrong.
Many other projects, equally rash, violent, and injurious, were by turns conceived and rejected: and he came at last to no other determination, than still carefully to conceal his passion, till he should think of some expedient to gratify it; lestHametshould have ajust reason for refusing to let him see the lady again, and remove her to some place which he might never be able to discover.