ALMORAN was now left alone; and throwing himself upon a sofa, he sat
some time motionless and silent, as if all his faculties had been
suspended in the stupefaction of despair. He revolved in his mind the
wishes that had been gratified, and the happiness of which he had been
disappointed: 'I desired,' said he, 'the pomp and power of undivided
dominion; and HAMET was driven from the throne which he shared with me,
by a voice from heaven: I desired to break off his marriage with
ALMEIDA; and it was broken off by a prodigy, when no human power could
have accomplished my desire. It was my wish also to have the person of
ALMEIDA in my power, and this wish also has been gratified; yet I am
still wretched. But I am wretched, only because the means have not been
adequate to the end: what I have hitherto obtained, I have not desired
for itself; and of that, for which I desired it, I am not possessed: I
am, therefore, still wretched, because I am weak. With the soul of
ALMORAN, I should have the form of HAMET: then my wishes would indeed be
filled; then would ALMEIDA bless me with consenting beauty, and the
splendor of my power should distinguish only the intervals of my love;
my enjoyments would then be certain and permanent, neither blasted by
disappointment, nor withered by satiety.' When he had uttered these
reflections with the utmost vehemence and agitation, his face was again
obscured by gloom and despair; his posture was again fixed; and he was
falling back into his former state of silent abstraction, when he was
suddenly roused by the appearance of the Genius, the sincerity of whose
friendship he began to distrust.
'ALMORAN,' said the Genius, 'if thou art not yet happy, know that my
powers are not yet exhausted: fear me not, but let thine ear be
attentive to my voice.' The Genius then stretched out his hand towards
him, in which there was an emerald of great lustre, cut into a figure
that had four and twenty sides, on each of which was engraven a
different letter. 'Thou seest,' said he, 'this talisman: on each side of
it is engraven one of those mysterious characters, of which are formed
all the words of all the languages that are spoken by angels, genii, and
men. This shall enable thee to change thy figure: and what, under the
form of ALMORAN, thou canst not accomplish; thou shalt still be able to
effect, if it can be effected by thee, in the form of any other. Point
only to the letters that compose the name of him whose appearance thou
wouldst assume, and it is done. Remember only, that upon him, whose
appearance thou shalt assume, thine shall be imprest, till thou
restorest his own. Hide the charm in thy bosom, and avail thyself of
its power.' ALMORAN received the talisman in a transport of gratitude
and joy, and the Genius immediately disappeared.
The use of this talisman was so obvious, that it was impossible to
overlook it. ALMORAN instantly conceived the design with which it was
given, and determined instantly to put it in execution: 'I will now,'
said he, 'assume the figure of HAMET; and my love, in all its ardour,
shall be returned by ALMEIDA.' As his fancy kindled at the anticipation
of his happiness, he stood musing in a pleasing suspense, and indulged
himself in the contemplation of the several gradations, by which he
would ascend to the summit of his wishes.
Just at this moment, Osmyn, whom he had commanded to attend him at this
hour, approached his apartment: ALMORAN was roused by the sound of his
foot, and supposed it to be OMAR, who had again intruded upon his
privacy; he was enraged at the interruption which had broken a series of
imaginations so flattering and luxurious; he snatched out his poignard,
and lifting up his arm for the stroke, hastily turned round to have
stabbed him; but seeing Osmyn, he discovered his mistake just in time to
prevent the blow.
Osmyn, who was not conscious of any crime, nor indeed of any act that
could have given occasion of offence; started back terrified and
amazed, and stood trembling in suspense whether to remain or to
withdraw. ALMORAN, in the mean time, sheathed the instrument of death,
and bid him fear nothing, for he should not be hurt. He then turned
about; and putting, his hand to his forehead, stood again, silent in a
musing posture: he recollected, that if he assumed the figure of HAMET,
it was necessary he should give orders for HAMET to be admitted to
ALMEIDA, as he would otherwise be excluded by the delegates of his own
authority; turning, therefore, to Osmyn, 'Remember,' said he, 'that
whenever HAMET shall return, it is my command, that he be admitted to
ALMEIDA.'
Osmyn; who was pleased with an opportunity of recommending himself to
ALMORAN, by praising an act of generous virtue which he supposed him now
to exert in favour of his brother, received the command with a look,
that expressed not only approbation but joy: 'Let the sword of
destruction,' said he, 'be the guard of the tyrant; the strength of my
lord shall be the bonds of love: those, who honour thee as ALMORAN,
shall rejoice in thee as the friend of HAMET.' To ALMORAN, who was
conscious to no kindness for his brother, the praise of Osmyn was a
reproach: he was offended at the joy which he saw kindled in his
countenance, by a command to shew favour to HAMET; and was fired with
sudden rage at that condemnation of his real conduct, which was implied
by an encomium on the generosity of which he assumed the appearance for
a malevolent and perfidious purpose: his brow was contracted, his lip
quivered, and the hilt of his dagger was again grasped in his hand.
Osmyn was again overwhelmed with terror and confusion; he had again
offended, but knew not his offence. In the mean time, ALMORAN
recollecting that to express displeasure against Osmyn was to betray his
own secret, endeavoured to suppress his anger; but his anger was
succeeded by remorse, regret, and disappointment. The anguish of his
mind broke out in imperfect murmurs: 'What I am, said, he, 'is, to this
wretch, the object not only of hatred but of scorn; and he commends
only what I am not, in what to him I would seem to be.
These sounds, which, tho' not articulate, were yet uttered with great
emotion, were still mistaken by Osmyn for the overflowings of capricious
and causeless anger: 'My life,' says he to himself, 'is even now
suspended in a doubtful balance. Whenever I approach this tyrant, I
tread the borders of destruction: like a hood-winked wretch, who is left
to wander near the brink of a precipice, I know my danger; but which way
soever I turn, I know not whether I shall incur or avoid it.'
In these reflections, did the reign and the slave pass those moments in
which the sovereign intended to render the slave subservient to his
pleasure or his security, and the slave intended to express a zeal which
he really felt, and a homage which his heart had already paid. Osmyn was
at length, however, dismissed with an assurance, that all was well; and
ALMORAN was again left to reflect with anguish upon the past, to regret
the present, and to anticipate the future with solicitude, anxiety, and
perturbation.
He was, however, determined to assume the figure of his brother, by the
talisman which had been put into his power by the Genius: but just as he
was about to form the spell, he recollected, that by the same act he
would impress his own likeness upon HAMET who would consequently be
invested with his power, and might use it to his destruction. This held
him some time in suspense: but reflecting that HAMET might not, perhaps,
be apprized of his advantage, till it was too late to improve it; that
he was now a fugitive, and probably alone, leaving Persia behind him
with all the speed he could make; and that, at the worst, if he should
be still near, if he should know the transformation as soon as it should
be made, and should instantly take the most effectual measures to
improve it; yet as he could dissolve the charm in a moment, whenever it
should be necessary for his safety, no formidable danger could be
incurred by the experiment, to which he, therefore, proceeded without
delay.