conversation, as I looked upon him like one astonished, he beckoned
to me, and, by the waving of his hand, directed me to approach the
place where he sat. I drew near with that reverence which is due to
a superior nature; and, as my heart was entirely subdued by the
captivating strains I had heard, I fell down at his feet and wept.
The genius smiled upon me with a look of compassion and affability
that familiarised him to my imagination, and at once dispelled all
the fears and apprehensions with which I approached him. He lifted
me from the ground, and, taking me by the hand, 'Mirza,' said he, 'I
have heard thee in thy soliloquies; follow me.'

"He then led me to the highest pinnacle of the rock, and placing me
on the top of it, 'Cast thy eyes eastward,' said he, 'and tell me
what thou seest.' 'I see,' said I, 'a huge valley, and a prodigious
tide of water rolling through it.' 'The valley that thou seest,'
said he, 'is the Vale of Misery, and the tide of water that thou
seest is part of the great tide of Eternity.' 'What is the reason,'
said I, 'that the tide I see rises out of a thick mist at one end,
and again loses itself in a thick mist at the other?' 'What thou
seest,' said he, 'is that portion of Eternity which is called Time,
measured out by the sun, and reaching from the beginning of the
world to its consummation. Examine now,' said he, 'this sea that is
bounded with darkness at both ends, and tell me what thou
discoverest in it.' 'I see a bridge,' said I, 'standing in the
midst of the tide.' 'The bridge thou seest,' said he, 'is Human
Life; consider it attentively.' Upon a more leisurely survey of it,
I found that it consisted of threescore and ten entire arches, with
several broken arches, which, added to those that were entire, made
up the number about a hundred. As I was counting the arches, the
genius told me that this bridge consisted at first of a thousand