Abdalla

“ As a good Christian, Abdalla will doubtless rejoice to fight the infidel; and as for his boy, if there be no other cavalier willing to advance him to the honours of a page, I will myself receive him. I hear he is a good musician; and I want a playmate for my little Orteguilla, whom I left dancing boleros before the emperor Montezuma. ”

“ Renshaw could have shrieked with excitement. Dicky lighted a cigarette and tossed a comfit at a pariah dog. At last Abdalla rose. Dicky rose with him.
“Thou, too, hast a great soul, or mine eyes are liars,” Abdalla said. “Thou lovest Egypt also. This Gordon—I am not his friend. I will not go with him. But if thou goest also with Gordon, then I will go with thee. If thou dost mean well by Egypt, and thy words are true, thou also wilt go. As thou speakest, let it be.” ”

“ Our destinies are written—God will not always frown upon us!"
"Dear father!" muttered Jacinto, "we are of the Spaniards' faith, and we will go back to our country."
"It cannot be!—never can it be!" said Abdalla, in tones that were not the less impressive for being uttered in a whisper. "The hills of thy childhood, the rivers of thy love—they are passed away from thee;—think of them no more;—never more shalt thou see them! In the land of barbarians, heaven has willed that we should live and die; and be thou reconciled to thy fate, for it shall be glorious! We live not for ourselves ”

“ The fate of Don Hernan, and of all his men, is written; they are in a net from which they cannot escape; and we, who are spared, obtain our lives only at the price of expatriation. My father remembered his protector,—my lord is saved; but he shares our exile!"
At this confirmation of his worst suspicions, the countenance of Don Amador darkened with despair and horror.
"And Abdalla, thy father, has plotted this foul, traitorous, and most bloody catastrophe? ”

“ In the eleventh year of the reign of Aurungzebe, Abdalla, King of the Lesser Bucharia, a lineal descendant from the Great Zingis, having abdicated the throne in favor of his son, set out on a pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Prophet; and, passing into India through the delightful valley of Cashmere, rested for a short time at Delhi on his way. He was entertained by Aurungzebe in a style of magnificent hospitality, worthy alike of the visitor and the host, and was afterwards escorted with the same splendor to Surat, where he embarked for Arabia. ”

“ When Morgiana had sent up the supper by Abdalla, while they were eating, she made the necessary preparations for executing one of the boldest acts which could be thought of, and had just done, when Abdalla came again for the dessert. ”

“ When the cruel Abdalla had placed his nephew, Aboul-Abbas, on the throne of the Caliphs of Damascus, he formed the horrible design of exterminating the Ommiades. These princes were very numerous. With the Arabs, among whom polygamy is permitted, and where numerous offspring are regarded as the peculiar gift of Heaven, it is not unusual to find several thousand individuals belonging to the same family. ”

“ When thou fliest, the father and the son perish."
"Dost thou speak me this in good faith?" said the cavalier, greatly troubled. "God forbid I should bring harm to thee, and especially to the boy. If I give thee my gage,—thou wilt not hold me bound to refrain from joining my friends, should I be so fortunate as to see them pass by, and am persuaded, the Mexicans will not discover thou hast harboured me?"
"If they pass by, I will myself open the doors," said Abdalla; "for I protest to thee, I keep thee here only to ensure thy security."
"Hark'ee, sir Moor—Don Hernan is about to retreat. ”

“ He intends to kill him; but I will prevent him."
While they were at supper Morgiana made up her mind to do one of the boldest deeds ever conceived. She dressed herself like a dancer, girded her waist with a silver-gilt girdle, from which hung a poniard, and put a handsome mask on her face. Then, when the supper was ended, she said to Abdalla,—
"Take your tabor, and let us go and divert our master and his son's friend, as we sometimes do when he is alone."
They presented themselves at the door with a low bow, and Morgiana was bidden to enter and show Cogia Houssain how well she danced. ”

“ Sheikh Said was his clerk and constant companion, and the Tots were well fed on his goats—at my expense, however. On hearing my fix, Abdalla said I should have men; and, what's more, he would go with me as his father had promised to do; but he had a large caravan detained in Ugogo, and for that he must wait.
At that moment Manua Sera was in a boma at Kigue, in alliance with the chief of that place; but there was no hope for him now, as all the Arabs had allied themselves with the surrounding chiefs, including Kitambi ”

“ The joy of the cavalier vanished, for the maiden replied only with lamentations; while the Zegri fixed upon him an eye, in which the stony hardness of death was mingled with the fires of human passion.
"Place my head upon thine arm, cavalier!" said Abdalla, faintly, "and let me look upon him who has slain me."
"Oh, my father! my father!" cried the Moorish girl.
"God forbid that thou shouldst die, even for the sake of the maiden I love," exclaimed Amador, eagerly, supporting his head. "Thou art a Wali, a Christian, and the father of her that dwells in my heart. Live, therefore ”

“ No pilgrim, no goat, no dog was before him now, but a beautiful being whose eyes shone like stars, with wings whose golden feathers swept the dust, and whose raiment was like the full moon,—so radiant in its whiteness. Abdallah drew back in awe and was about to throw himself at the feet of the vision, but it held up a finger to check his impulse, and at the same time smiled so tenderly at him that he ceased to be afraid. ”

“ At this moment one Abdallah came running up to assist Moadh, and, overjoyed at his good fortune in stumbling over such a notorious enemy, cut off Abu Jahl’s head and carried it to Mohammed. The Prophet, who was just beginning to celebrate his victory, raised the exultant shout: “The head of the enemy of God! God! there is none other God!” “There is none other!” agreed Abdallah, dropping his gory prize before Mohammed’s feet; and Abdallah almost fainted from bliss when the Prophet continued, “It is more acceptable to me than the choicest camel in all Arabia.” ”

“ At the word, Abdallah springs forward, bounding over the sand, skimming over the thorn bushes, scattering the Jordan pilgrims right and left. He does not seem to be so much a horse as a creation of the imagination,—a Pegasus. At every leap we gain upon the feather, but it is still far ahead of us, and swirling down, down, as the air takes the plume or the weight of gravity acts upon the quill. Abdallah does not yet know the object of our fearful pace, but his docility is such that every time I speak to him he seems to shoot out of himself in sudden bursts of enthusiasm. ”

“ But dazzling and beautiful as were those who rode attendant upon him, Abdallah the fagot-maker surpassed them all as the moon dims the lustre of the stars. The people crowded around shouting with wonder, and Abdallah, in the fulness of his delight, gave orders to the slaves who bore the caskets of money to open them and to throw the gold to the people. So, with those in the streets scrambling and fighting for the money and shouting and cheering, and others gazing down at the spectacle from the windows and the house-tops, the fagot-maker and his troop rode slowly along through the town. ”

“ Thus was Abdallah punished by poverty, and almost by death, for his unreasonable ambition, which perhaps might have been pardonable, if it had not been accompanied by an ingratitude as wicked as it was audacious, since he had not so much as the resource of being able to conceal his perfidies from the too piercing eyes of his benefactor. ”

“ The magic queen did not fail to pass by the old man's shop the next day, with the same pomp as the preceding, and Abdallah waited for her with great respect. "Father," cried she, "you may judge of my impatience to have your nephew with me, by my punctually coming to remind you of your promise. I know you are a man of your word, and I cannot think you will break it with me." ”

“ Abdallah was the favorite of his parents and the idol of his kindred; his manners possessed a rare fascination; he excelled the most accomplished of his tribe in the arts of poetry and eloquence, and his manly beauty has been celebrated by the extravagant praise of his countrymen. Appalled at the prospect of losing his best-beloved child, Abd-al-Muttalib was in despair, when the shrewdness of a female diviner proposed an ingenious solution of the difficulty. The established compensation for homicide, when the injured family was willing to accept one, was ten camels ”

“ Fortunately, all parties seem agreed that Abdallah, the youngest and most favored son of Abd Al-Muttalib, was the unambiguous sire of Mohammed. The ways of Allah are not less perplexing than the ways of God, and it appears probable that, had it not been for the direct intervention of the whimsical Arabian Deity, Abdallah would have perished before he had begotten his extraordinary son. ”

“ Abdallah, Hamza, Al Abbas, Abu Taleb, Abu Laheb, Al Gidak, Al Hareth, Jahel, Al Mokawam, Dorar, Al Zobeir, Kelham, Abdal Kaaba. The eldest of them, Abdallah, who, on account of the integrity of his character and the comeliness of his person, is said to have been his father’s favourite, married Amina, of the tribe also of the Koreishites, by whom he had Mohammed. Upon the marriage of Abdallah, it is related that no fewer than two hundred young damsels, who were in love with him, died in despair. ”

“ It was past the luncheon hour now, and Abdallah had put the finishing touches to the table and stood by in grave reproach, his snowy turban already on, and his hands folded over his tunic. Abdallah was always severely white at luncheon, his costume consisting merely of a tunic and turban; but by dinner-time he had added a coloured bandana and an embroidered jacket. His motionless presence added the last irritation to her overwrought mood, and she sent him away until Captain Lewin should appear. ”

“ Moreover, they adorned the city in their honour and all the folk shouted out blessings on Abdallah, whilst he scattered gold and silver amongst them. But none took heed to his brothers; wherefore jealousy and envy entered their hearts, for all he tendered them as one tenders an ailing eye; but the more he cherished them, the more they redoubled in hatred and envy of him: and indeed it is said on the subject:
I seek to win me the good will of all folk, small and great, But hardly him who envieth me I may conciliate. ”

“ When he arrived at Magrebi, his first care was to enquire in what house, or in what convent, Abounadar lodged; he was so well known that every body told him his habitation. He repaired thither directly, and found fifty porters who kept the gate of his house, having each a staff with a head of gold in their hands: the court of this palace was filled with slaves and domestics; in fine, the residence of a prince could not expose to view greater magnificence. Abdallah, struck with astonishment and admiration, feared to proceed. ”

“ This farce was repeated by several of my eunuchs during the day, some objecting to the price, some finding fault with her person—all declining to purchase her, but all examining her and feeling her parts as to her fitness for the station she was doomed to be placed in. It was evident to Abdallah that she began to submit to her destiny, she plainly saw, however it might outrage her modesty, there was no evading the examinations which were scrupulously attended to in that most secret part for which to be touched by man is nearly a death blow to chastity. ”

“ He was in this embarrassment when a man approached him, and said to him, “Abdallah, thou art welcome; my master, Abounadar, has long expected thee.” He then conducted him to an agreeable and magnificent pavilion, where the Dervise was seated. Abdallah, struck with the riches which he beheld on all sides, would have prostrated himself at his feet, but Abounadar prevented him, and interrupted him when he would have made a merit of the candlestick, which he presented to him. “Thou art but an ungrateful wretch,” said he to him: “Dost thou imagine that thou canst impose upon me? ”

“ Our Abyssinian servant, Abdallah, is mounted, also on a pack-horse, and sits high in the air amid bags and bundles; he guides his brute only by a halter, and when the animal takes a fancy to break into a gallop, there is a rattling of dishes and kettles that sets the whole train into commotion; the boy's fez falls farther than ever back on his head, his teeth shine, and his eyes dance as he jolts into the midst of the mules and excites a panic, which starts everything into friskiness, waking up even the Soudan party, which begins to bob about and grin. ”

“ By her he had a son, Abu Abdallah, or, as he is commonly named by historians, Boabdil. The court astrologers, according to custom, cast the horoscope of the infant, but were seized with fear and trembling as they regarded it. “Allah Akbar! God is great!” exclaimed they; “he alone controls the fate of empires. It is written in the book of fate that this child will one day sit upon the throne, but that the downfall of the kingdom will be accomplished during his reign.” ”

“ Profoundly versed in all the sciences, and taught by the study of history and the dire experience of his own day, Abdallah, the son of Maimun, had sufficient opportunity to perceive the risk of declaring open war against the established religion and reigning dynasty, so long as the conscience of the people, and the military power, stood at their command. ”