world unchanged--the same in composition, in practice, in creed--only he
felt now a consciousness of understanding them as never before. Mahomet,
in his re-introduction of God to man, had imposed himself upon their
faith, its master idea, its central figure, the superior in sanctity,
the essential condition--the ONE! Knowingly or unknowingly, he left a
standard of religious excellence behind him--Himself. And by that
standard the thief in the wake of the mighty caravans robbing the dead,
the Thug strangling a victim because he was too slow in dying, were
worthy Paradise, and would attain it, for they believed in him. Faith in
the Prophet of God was more essential than faith in God. Such was the
inspiration of Islam. A sinking of spirit fell upon the unhappy man. He
felt a twinge of the bitterness always waiting on failure, where the
undertaking, whatever it be, has enlisted the whole heart. At such times
instinctively we turn here and there for help, and in its absence, for
comfort and consolation; what should he do now but advert to
Christianity? What would Christians say of his idea? Was God lost in
Christ as he was here in Mahomet?




CHAPTER VI

THE PRINCE AND THE EMIR


In the reception room of the Prince's tent the lamps are lighted; one
fastened to the stout centre pole, and five others on as many palings
planted in the ground, all burning brightly. The illumination is
enriched by the admirable blending of colors in the canopy of shawls.