goeth down? Truly man's guidance is with Us promised rewards and threatened punishments, both | And what shall his wealth avail him when he temporal and eternal; and the final object was to bring all to the obedience of Mohammed as the inspired prophet and ambassador of the Almighty. The Koran teaches that there are angels and devils, besides an intermediate order called Djinns or Genii, created of fire, and both good and evil in moral quality. Of these there are different ranks, some being Peri or fairies, some Dio Who hath called the truth a lie and turned or giants. Mohammed taught that there were four different Scriptures or revelations, the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel and the Koran. While abounding in noble and sometimes poetic sentiments, the Koran taught the doctrine of polygamy, and a sensuous Paradise. Its great merit is its rejection of idolatry, and its appeals to the high religious feeling.] SURA 93.-THE BRIGHTNESS. In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the By the noon-day Brightness, And by the night when it darkeneth! And surely the Future shall be better for thee And in the end shall thy Lord be bounteous to thee and thou be satisfied. Did he not find thee an orphan and give thee And found thee erring and guided thee, not away; his back. But the God-fearing shall escape it,- And who offereth not favours to any one for But only as seeking the face of his Lord the And surely in the end he shall be well con- Praise the name of the Lord the Most High, Who bringeth forth the pasture, Save what God pleaseth; for he knoweth Warn, therefore, for the warning is profitable: He that feareth God will receive the warning, And as for the favours of thy Lord tell them And the most reprobate only will turn aside abroad. Say: O, ye Unbelievers! I worship not that which ye worship, I shall never worship that which ye worship, To you be your religion; to me my religion. By the Night when she spreads her veil But as to him who giveth alms and feareth And yieldeth assent to the Good, from it, Who shall be exposed to the terrible fire But ye prefer this present life, This truly is in the Books of old, When the Heaven shall have split asunder And when Earth shall have been stretched out And shall have cast forth what was in her and become empty, To him will we make easy the path to happi- And duteously obeyed its Lord; ness. But as to him who is covetous and bent on riches. And calleth the Good a lie, Then verily, O man, who desirest to reach thy And he into whose right hand his Book shall To him will we make easy the path to misery: Shall be reckoned within an easy reckoning, Public Halls, Exchange, Hospitals, Monu- | the confusion there was then at that Court! ments, and ornaments, leaping after a prodi- It pleas'd his Majesty to command me among gious manner from house to house and streete the rest to looke after the quenching of Fetter to streete, at greate distances one from the other; Lane end, to preserve if possible that part of for the heate with a long set of faire and warme Holborn, whilst the rest of the gentlemen tooke weather had even ignited the aire and prepar'd their several posts, some at one part, some at the materials to conceive the fire, which de- another (for now they began to bestir themvour'd after an incredible manner houses, fur- selves, and not till now, who hitherto had niture, and every thing. Here we saw the stood as men intoxicated, with their hands Thames cover'd with goods floating, all the acrosse), and began to consider that nothing barges and boates laden with what some had was likely to put a stop but the blowing up of time and courage to save, as, on the other, the so many houses as might make a wider gap . carts, &c. carrying out to the fields, which for than any had yet ben made by the ordinary many miles were strew'd with moveables of all method of pulling them downe with engines; sorts, and tents erecting to shelter both people this some stout seamen propos'd early enough and what goods they could get away. Oh the to have sav'd nearly the whole Citty, but this miserable and calamitous spectacle! such as some tenacious and avaritious men, aldermen, happly the world had not seene the like since &c. would not permitt, because their houses the foundation of it, nor be outdon till the uni- must have ben of the first. It was therefore versal conflagration of it. All the skie was of a now commanded to be practic'd, and my confiery aspect, like the top of a burning oven, and cerne being particularly for the Hospital of St. the light seene above 40 miles round about for Bartholomew neere Smithfield, where I had many nights. God grant mine eyes may never my wounded and sick men, made me the more behold the like, who now saw above 10,000 diligent to promote it; nor was my care for houses all in one flame; the noise and crack- the Savoy lesse. It now pleas'd God by abating and thunder of the impetuous flames, the ing the wind, and by the industrie of the shreiking of women and children, the hurry of people, when almost all was lost, infusing a people, the fall of Towers, Houses and Churches, new spirit into them, that the furie of it began was like an hideous storme, and the aire all sensibly to abate about noone, so as it came no about so hot and inflam'd that at the last one farther than the Temple Westward, nor than was not able to approch it, so that they were the entrance of Smithfield North: but continu'd forc'd to stand still and let the flames burn on, all this day and night so impetuous toward which they did for neere two miles in length and Cripple-gate and the Tower as made us all one in bredth. The clowds also of smoke were despaire; it also brake out againe in the Temple, dismall, and reach'd upon computation neer 56 but the courage of the multitude persisting, miles in length. Thus I left it this afternoone and many houses being blown up, such gaps burning, a resemblance of Sodom, or the last and desolations were soone made, as with the day. It forcibly call'd to my mind that passage former three days consumption, the back fire non enim hic habemus stabilem civitatem: the did not so vehemently urge upon the rest as ruines resembling the picture of Troy. London formerly. There was yet no standing neere was, but is no more! Thus I returned home. the burning and glowing ruines by neere a Sept. 4. The burning still rages, and it furlongs space. was now gotten as far as the Inner Temple; all Fleet Streete, the Old Bailey, Ludgate Hill, Warwick Lane, Newgate, Paules Chaine, Watling Streete, now flaming, and most of it reduc'd to ashes; the stones of Paules flew like granados, the mealting lead running downe the streetes in a streame, and the very pavements glowing with fiery rednesse, so as no horse nor man was able to tread on them, and the demolition had stopp'd all the passages, so that no help could be applied. The Eastern wind still more impetuously driving the flames forward. Nothing but the Almighty power of God was able to stop them, for vaine was the help of man. 5. It crossed towards Whitehall; but oh, | The coale and wood wharfes and magazines of oyle, rosin, &c. did infinite mischeife, so as the invective which a little before I had dedicated to his Majesty and publish'd,1 giving warning what might probably be the issue of suffering those shops to be in the Citty, was look'd on as a prophecy. The poore inhabitants were dispers'd about St. George's Fields, and Moorefields, as far as Highgate, and severall miles in circle, some under tents, some under miserable hutts and hovells, many without a rag or any necessary utensills, bed or board, who from delicatenesse, riches, and easy accomodations in stately and 1 The Fumifugium. |