Till, at the Day of Judgment, he shall see
The Mercy-Gates unfold?"

31.

The astonished man stood gazing as he spake; At length his heart was softened, and the tears Gushed, and he sobbed aloud.

Then suddenly was heard

The all-beholding Prophet's voice divine:
"Thou hast done well, my Servant!
Ask and receive thy reward!"

32.

A deep and awful joy

Seemed to dilate the heart of Thalaba; With arms in reverence crossed upon his breast, Upseeking eyes suffused with tears devout, He answered to the Voice: " Prophet of God, Holy and good and bountiful!

One only earthly wish have I, to work Thy will; and thy protection grants me that. Look on this Sorcerer! heavy are his crimes, But infinite is mercy. If thy servant Have now found favor in the sight of God, Let him be touched with penitence, and save His soul from utter death."

33.

"The groans of penitence," replied the Voice, "Never arise unheard.

But for thyself prefer the prayer:
The treasure-house of Heaven
Is open to thy will.”

34.

"Prophet of God!" then answered Thalaba, "I am alone on earth;

Thou know'st the secret wishes of my heart! Do with me as thou wilt! Thy will is best."

35.

There issued forth no Voice to answer him; But, lo! Hodeirah's Spirit comes to see His vengeance, and beside him, a pure form Of roseate light, his Angel mother hung. "My Child, my dear, my glorious, blessed Child! My promise is performed, fulfil thy work!"

36.

Thalaba knew that his death-hour was come; And on he leaped, and, springing up, Into the Idol's heart

Hilt-deep he plunged the Sword.

The Ocean-vault fell in, and all were crushed.
In the same moment, at the gate

Of Paradise, Oneiza's Houri form
Welcomed her Husband to eternal bliss.

One of these evil Genii is thus described in the Bahar Danush: "On his entrance, he beheld a black demon heaped on the ground like a mountain, with two large horns upon his head, and a long proboscis, fast asleep. In his head the Divine Creator had joined the likenesses of the elephant and the wild bull. His teeth grew out as the tusks of a boar; and all over his monstrous carcass hung shaggy hairs, like those of the bear. The eye of mortal-born was dimmed at his appearance; and the mind, at his horrible form and frightful figure, was confounded.

"He was an Afreet, created from mouth to foot by the wrath of God.

"His hair like a bear's, his teeth like a boar's. No one ever beheld such a monster.

"Crook-backed and crabbed-faced; he might be scented at the distance of a thousand fersungs.

"His nostrils were like the ovens of brick-burners, and his mouth resembled the vat of the dyer.

"When his breath came forth, from its vehemence the dust rose up as in a whirlwind, so as to leave a chasm in the earth; and, when he drew it in, chaff, sand, and pebbles, from the distance of some yards, were attracted to his nostrils."

Al-Araf, in his wisdom, &c.—30, p. 340.

"Araf is a place between the Paradise and the Hell of the Mahominedans: some deem it a veil of separation, some a strong wall. Others hold it to be a Purgatory, in which those

believers will remain whose good and evil works have been so equal that they were neither virtuous enough to enter Paradise, nor guilty enough to be condemned to the fire of Hell From whence they see the glory of the blessed, and are near enough to congratulate them; but their ardent desire to partake the same happiness becomes a great pain. At length, at the day of judgment, when all men, before they are judged, shall be cited to render homage to their Creator, those who are here confined shall prostrate themselves before the face of the Lord in adoration; and by this act of religion, which shall be accounted a merit, the number of their good works will exceed their evil ones, and they will enter into glory.

"Saadi says that Araf appears a Hell to the happy, and a Paradise to the damned." - D'Herbelot.

END OF VOL. IV.