travelled to Mecca, to offer vows and sacrifices, return thanks, and present images, or other gifts, to the temple. They put off their garments before entering on the consecrated ground, and walked naked round the Caaba seven times, throwing a stone each time, because they believed that Abraham drove away the Devil with seven stones, when he appeared on that spot and tried to tempt him not to sacrifice Ishmael, as the Lord had commanded. They reverently touched the stone which Gabriel had brought down for Abraham to rest upon; travelled seven times to the neighbouring mountains, looking on the ground, to imitate Hagar's search for water; drank from her miraculous fountain, and carried home some of the holy water. They sacrificed goats, sheep, and camels, part of which they ate, and distributed the remainder among the poor. Before they returned home, they cut off their hair and their nails, and burned them in the sacred valley of Mina. They wore amulets to protect them from evil, and had faith in the magical power of charms and talismans.

Such was the state of things in Arabia, when the celebrated Mohammed Ben Abdallah, commonly called Mahomet, was born at Mecca, five hundred and sixty-nine years after the birth of Christ. He was a lineal descendant from Ishmael, in a straight line, from eldest son to eldest son. He belonged to the Koreish, the most eminent of all the tribes. Ten of their principal men were hereditary governors of Mecca, and guardians of the Caaba. The family of Hashem, into which Mohammed was born, belonged to that honoured class. The offices they held involved responsibility, as well as credit; not only on account of the annual concourse of pilgrims, but because Mecca was a privileged place of sanctuary, like the Cities of Refuge appointed by Moses. Abdallah, the father of Mohammed, died without property, soon after the birth of his son. His mother Aminah, who was noted for her beauty, worth, and intelligence, died when he was six years old. His father's eldest brother, Abu Taleb, became guardian of the orphan. He was an upright man, and educated the boy conscien

tiously, according to the best ideas of his age and country. He was a merchant, engaged in inland trade, and as his nephew was destined to follow the same business, he frequently took him with him on distant excursions, while he was yet a lad.

In youth Mohammed was observable for integrity, thoughtfulness, and strictness in the performance of devotional exercises. He was rather taciturn, but when he did speak, it was with earnestness and sincerity. His companions were accustomed to call him Al Amin, The Faithful. He had large dark eyes, full of feeling, his complexion was fresh and glowing, his teeth brilliantly white, his mouth finely formed, and his whole countenance luminous with an expression of intelligence and frankness. He was above the medium stature, his limbs well-proportioned, and his movements graceful. By the influence of his uncle, he became agent of a widow with considerable property in Mecca, named Khadeejah. He managed her business with .so much honesty and discretion, that he won her confidence and gratitude, which ripened into personal affection, cordially reciprocated by him. He was only twenty-five years old, and she was forty. She had been distinguished above all other women in Mecca for amiability and beauty; and though she had survived two husbands, her face was still handsome, and her figure graceful. This marriage placed Mohammed in easy circumstances. Little is recorded of him during the next fifteen years. He was constant in his affection for Khadeejah, very temperate in his habits, just in his dealings, scrupulous in keeping his word, kind and generous to his relatives, extremely liberal to the poor, and strict in the performance of religious exercises. The sacred stone, on which Abraham sat, was once stolen from the Caaba and carried off by a sect, who were in hopes of thereby attracting pilgrims to their city. They would not restore it for a long time, though the people of Mecca offered five thousand pieces of gold. But not succeeding in their project of attracting pilgrims, they finally sent it back; and the keepers of the Caaba proved its iden

tity by its peculiar property of swimming on water. A dispute arose as to who should have the honour of replacing it in the temple; but the people manifested their respect for Mohammed by unanimously deciding that he was the most worthy.

All his relatives worshipped after the manner of the Sabians. How far he conformed to it, and what influences induced him to become dissatisfied with it, are not known. Jews were numerous, and much engaged in trade. In the course of his commercial expeditions he would be very likely to meet them, and to hear them express horror of idolatry. It is said he was on terms of intimacy with a learned Jew, and with a Persian named Salman, who having been converted to Judaism, and afterward to Christianity, in some form or other, finally became a Moslem. It is not improbable that he was likewise somewhat acquainted with the Nestorian and Jacobite Christians settled in Arabia, who seem not to have been in a very enlightened condition. When he was fourteen years old, travelling with his uncle to a Fair in Syria, he lodged with Bahira, a Nestorian monk, who had been a Jew; and some say he again spent the night with him, at a later period of Whatever he learned must have been taught orally. During his lifetime, writing began to be introduced among the descendants of Ishmael; but when he was young, no Arab, not even the wealthiest and best educated, was taught to read or write; and it is supposed he always remained ignorant of those useful accomplishments. But Khadeejah had a cousin, named Warakah Ebn Nawfal, a proselyte to Christianity, who could read and write Arabic and Hebrew, and was tolerably well versed in the Scriptures. Mohammed had manifested devout tendencies from early youth; his mind was eager and inquisitive, and his memory remarkably retentive. Under such circumstances he could hardly fail to have heard much from Khadeejah's relative, which would make a deep impression on him, and form subjects of contemplation, to occupy his serious and thoughtful mind, during his jour

neys through the deserts. The Arabs were in a very rude state, and had many barbarous and superstitious customs. Those not engaged in trade were generally herdsmen. In many parts of the country, they were much addicted to robbery and marauding excursions, as their cousins the Israelites had been. Mohammed appears to have loved those wild tribes, with the old Asiatic feeling for descendants from a common ancestor. He had heard how Moses received communications from Jehovah, when he retired to the sublime solitude of a mountain; how he was divinely directed to lead the tribes of Israel away from the degrading influences of idolatry, and teach them that the One Supreme God was the only suitable object of adoration; and how those rude tribes, thus bound together by a common faith, and a central place of worship, became a wealthy and powerful nation. In this there was much to excite a fervid, energetic temperament. If God had listened to the prayers of Moses, on Mount Sinai, and commissioned him to be a great prophet to the descendants of Isaac, why should He not also listen, on Mount Hera, to the earnest entreaties of a descendant of Ishmael, who also derived his existence from Abraham, a worshipper of the One True God?

Through what states of preparation his soul passed is unknown. It is only recorded that he strictly observed the annual Arabian Lent, called the Fast of Ramadam, which continued thirty days. On such occasions, he was always accustomed to retire to a cave in Mount Hera, near Mecca, and spend the month in solitude and prayer. No one can tell whether severe fasting, and prolonged efforts to concentrate all his thoughts on spiritual subjects, so affected his nerves, as to produce vivid dreams, or apparent visions. If so, he would honestly consider them miraculous, because that was the universal faith of the age in which he lived. It was the old Sabian belief, corroborated by the testimony of every Jew and Christian, with whom he conversed.

In the fortieth year of his age, while fasting during the

month of Ramadam, in the cave on Mount Hera, he informed Khadeejah that the angel Gabriel had appeared to him, and told him he was appointed to be a prophet, to abolish idolatry, and teach the worship of One God. Previous conversations had doubtless prepared his wife for this communication. She listened with reverent joyfulness, and swore, by Him in whose hands her soul was, that she believed he was ordained to be the prophet of his people. She soon communicated the tidings to her cousin, Warakah Ebn Nawfal, who was also ready to believe. He said Moses had predicted that a prophet like unto himself would arise, and that Jesus had promised not to leave his disciples alone, but to send them a Comforter. He thought there was no reason to doubt that the same Angel, who had appeared to Moses, had been sent to Mohammed; but he did not live long to assist in propagating that belief.

From that time henceforth, Mohammed considered it his mission to destroy idolatry, and restore the worship of One God, as taught by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus; which religion he said both Jews and Christians had corrupted by their superstitions. A favourite slave, named Zaid, believed his master was divinely inspired, and his faith was rewarded by immediate emancipation. Not long after, Mohammed's cousin Ali, a fiery-hearted, spontaneous, generous lad, the son of Abu Tâleb, became a proselyte. The next convert was Abubeker, a man of high standing in the Koreish tribe, who soon gained over some other influential men in Mecca. To them Mohammed preached, according to the communications he received from the angel Gabriel. His two leading doctrines were the unity of God, and unquestioning submission to the Divine will; therefore he called his system Islam, which means submission. Things went on in a quiet and rather private way for three years, during which he had only thirteen followers, including the members of his own family; but they all prayed incessantly that the faith might be extended, and they zealously devoted themselves to its advancement, in every possible way. At the end of that time, he caused