In the mean time, HAMET, to whom his own safety was of no importance but
for the sake of ALMEIDA, resolved, if possible, to conceal himself near
the city. Having, therefore, reached the confines of the desert, by
which it was bounded on the east, he quitted his horse, and determined
to remain there till the multitude was dispersed; and the darkness of
the evening might conceal his return, when in less than an hour he could
reach the palace.
He sat down at the foot of the mountain Kabessed, without considering,
that in this place he was most likely to be found, as those who travel
the desert seldom fail to enter the cave that winds its way under the
mountain, to drink of the water that issues there from a clear and
copious spring.
He reviewed the scenes of the day that was now nearly passed, with a
mixture of astonishment and distress, to which no description can be
equal The sudden and amazing change that a few hours had made in his
situation, appeared like a wild and distressful dream, from which he
almost doubted whether he should not wake to the power and the felicity
that he had lost. He sat some time bewildered in the hurry and
multiplicity of his thoughts, and at length burst out into passionate
exclamations: 'What,' says he, 'and where am I? Am I, indeed, HAMET;
that son of Solyman who divided the dominion of Persia with his brother,
and who possessed the love of ALMEIDA alone? Dreadful vicissitude! I am
now an outcast, friendless and forlorn; without an associate, and
without a dwelling: for me the cup of adversity overflows, and the last
dregs of sorrow have been wrung out for my portion: the powers not only
of the earth, but of the air, have combined against me; and how can I
stand alone before them? But is there no power that will interpose in my
behalf? If He, who is supreme, is good, I shall not perish. But
wherefore am I thus? Why should the desires of vice be accomplished by
superior powers; and why should superior powers be permitted to
disappoint the expectations of virtue? Yet let me not rashly question
the ways of Him, in whose balance the world is weighed: by Him, every
evil is rendered subservient to good; and by His wisdom, the happiness
of the whole is secured. Yet I am but a part only, and for a part only I
can feel. To me, what is that goodness of which I do not partake? In my
cup the gall is unmixed; and have I not, therefore, a right to complain?
But what have I said? Let not the gloom that surrounds me, hide from me
the prospect of immortality. Shall not eternity atone for time?
Eternity, to which the duration of ages is but as an atom to a world!
Shall I not, when this momentary separation is past, again meet ALMEIDA
to part no more? and shall not a purer flame than burns upon the earth,
unite us? Even at this moment, her mind, which not the frauds of sorcery
can taint or alienate, is mine: that pleasure which she reserved for me,
cannot be taken by force; it is in the consent alone that it subsists;
and from the joy that she feels, and from that only, proceeds the joy
she can bestow.'
With these reflections he soothed the anguish of his mind, till the
dreadful moment arrived, in which the power of the talisman took place,
and the figure of ALMORAN was changed into that of HAMET, and the
figure of HAMET into that of ALMORAN.
At the moment of transformation, HAMET was seized with a sudden languor,
and his faculties were suspended as by the stroke of death. When he
recovered, his limbs still trembled, and his lips were parched with
thirst: he rose, therefore, and entering the cavern, at the mouth of
which he had been sitting, he stooped over the well to drink; but
glancing his eyes upon the water, he saw, with astonishment and horror,
that it reflected, not his own countenance, but that of his brother. He
started back from the prodigy; and supporting himself against the side
of the rock, he stood some time like a statue, without the power of
recollection: but at length the thought suddenly rushed into his mind,
that the same sorcery which had suspended his marriage, and driven him
from the throne was still practised against him; and that the change of
his figure to that of ALMORAN, was the effect of ALMORAN'S having
assumed his likeness, to obtain, in this disguise, whatever ALMEIDA
could bestow. This thought, like a whirlwind of the desert, totally
subverted his mind; his fortitude was borne down, and his hopes were
rooted up; no principles remained to regulate his conduct, but all was
phrensy, confusion, and despair. He rushed out of the cave with a
furious and distracted look; and went in haste towards the city, without
having formed any design, or considered any consequence that might
follow.
The shadows of the mountains were now lengthened by the declining sun;
and the approach of evening had invited OMAR to meditate in a grove,
that was adjacent to the gardens of the palace. From this place he was
seen at some distance by HAMET, who came up to him with a hasty and
disordered pace; and OMAR drew back with a cold and distant reverence,
which the power and the character of ALMORAN concurred to excite. HAMET,
not reflecting upon the cause of this behaviour, was offended, and
reproached him with the want of that friendship he had so often
professed: the vehemence, of his expression and demeanor, suited well
with the appearance of ALMORAN; and OMAR, as the best proof of that
friendship which had been impeached, took this opportunity to repeat his
admonitions in the behalf of HAMET: 'What ever evil,' said he, 'thou
canst bring upon HAMET, will be doubled to thyself: to his virtues, the
Power that fills infinitude is a friend, and he can be afflicted only
till they are perfect; but thy sufferings will be the punishment of
vice, and as long as thou are vicious they must increase.
HAMET, who instantly recollected for whom he was mistaken, and the
anguish of whose mind was for a moment suspended by this testimony of
esteem and kindness, which could not possibly be feigned, and which was
paid him at the risque of life, when it could not be known that he
received it; ran forward to embrace the hoary sage, who had been the
guide of his youth, and cried out, in a voice that was broken by
contending passions, 'The face is the face of ALMORAN, but the heart is
the heart of HAMET.'
OMAR was struck dumb with astonishment; and HAMET, who was impatient to
be longer mistaken, related all the circumstances of his transformation,
and reminded him of some particulars which could be known only to
themselves: 'Canst thou not yet believe,' said he, 'that I am HAMET?
when thou hast this day seen me banished from my kingdom; when thou hast
now met me a fugitive returning from the desert; and when I learnt from
thee, since the sun was risen which is not yet set, that more than
mortal powers were combined against me.' 'I now believe,' said OMAR,
'that thou, indeed, art HAMET.' 'Stay me not then,' said HAMET; 'but
come with me to revenge.' 'Beware,' said OMAR, 'lest thou endanger the
loss of more than empire and ALMEIDA.' 'If not to revenge,' said HAMET,'
I may at least be permitted to punish.' 'Thy mind,' says OMAR, 'is now
in such a state, that to punish the crimes by which thou hast been
wronged, will dip thee in the guilt of blood. Why else are we forbidden
to take vengeance for ourselves? and why is it reserved as the
prerogative of the Most High? In Him, and in Him alone, it is goodness
guided by wisdom: He approves the means, only as necessary to the end;
He wounds only to heal, and destroys only to save; He has complacence,
not in the evil, but in the good only which it is appointed to produce.
Remember, therefore, that he, to whom the punishment of another is
sweet; though his act may be just with respect to others, with respect
to himself it is a deed of darkness, and abhorred by the Almighty.'
HAMET, who had stood abstracted in the contemplation of the new injury
he had suffered, while OMAR was persuading him not to revenge it,
started from his posture in all the wildness of distraction; and
bursting away from OMAR, with an ardent and furious look hasted toward
the palace, and was soon out of sight.