Mussulmauns, had come with offers of grace and pardon to men: "More especially," added the Sheik, "Huzrut Esau, Ali Ol Salam, whose offers of pardon and peace were free to all such as came to him. But," continued he, "the wicked idolaters and Jews rejected these offers, and put the last of these messengers of peace to an ignominious and painful death: wherefore, God being wearied with the obstinacy of mankind, sent Huzrut Mahommed, Ali Ol Salam, with a conquering sword, communicating to him power sufficient to enforce obedience. And now, acting under the same divine authority, we hold it to be a high and religious duty, as devoted followers of our great prophet, to compel all infidels, idolaters, Jews, and Christians, to embrace the true religion; using such coercive means as arc in our power, to reclaim mankind from their errors."

"I perceive, my Lord, by what you say," answered Goonah Purist, "that you believe God to be angry with all mankind: nay, I do not know how it can be otherwise than that we should lie under the displeasure of God; seeing that we are all sinners, and that God, from the universal perfection of his nature, must be

infinitely pure and holy. But this being the case, how can I, who know myself to be one of the chief of sinners, make my peace with Him? Are the terms of salvation pointed out in your holy book?"

Sheik Olislam.-Are you willing to confess that there is no god but God, and that Huzrut Mahommed is his prophet?

Goonah Purist.-May I be so bold, my Lord, as to inquire, of what avail this confession will be with regard to the forgiveness of sins; and whether I may thereby hope to fare better in the world to come? For I am as a man condemned to death, and under the horrors of eternal condemnation. I am even now as one sinking into a bottomless pit: and in these circumstances I seek a hope to rest upon, which will not forsake me when the elements are dissolved, and when the stars shall fall from their orbits.

I saw, in my dream, that, upon this, the Sheik Olislam and his disciples expressed their contempt of the ignorance of Goonah Purist; nevertheless, the Sheik answered his question. "You desire to know," said he, "how a true faith may profit you after death. To throw

light, therefore, upon your dark and benighted mind, I will explain these things to you. In the first place, I would have you to understand, that when a corpse is laid in the grave, it is visited by a Divine messenger, who gives it notice of the approach of two black and livid angels; which angels, on their arrival, cause the dead person to sit upright, and examine him concerning his faith, and his opinions relative to the unity of God, and the divine mission of Huzrut Mahommed, Ali Ol Salam. If he can answer satisfactorily," continued the Sheik, "they suffer his body to rest in peace, and it is refreshed by the air of Paradise: if not, they beat upon his temples with iron maces till he roars out for anguish so loud as to be heard from east to west by all created beings except men and beasts. Then is the earth pressed on him, and he is gnawed by venomous creatures till the resurrection. Tell me, then, Goonah Purist," asked the Sheik, "whether a right faith will not avail thee much on this occasion-this horrible examination of the tomb?"

I perceived then that Goonah Purist began to tremble; nevertheless, he continued to

question the Sheik, and would know of him, what he could relate concerning the state of believers in the prophet Mahommed in the future world.

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Know, O Goonah Purist," replied the Sheik, "that as the bodies of all men and beasts will be raised from the dust, and those of men be reunited to their souls at a certain season; so, many wonderful signs will forerun that last day, or day of judgment. The chief of these will be the sounding of the great trumpet, the blasts of which will be heard three several times, filling all heaven and earth with consternation: and at the sound of the last dreadful blast, every particular body will spring forth from its grave, and be reunited to its soul. That great and terrible day of judgment, when all mankind will be assembled before the Almighty Judge, will last a thousand years. At that time will Huzrut Esau descend to judge the world, and to commit idolaters to hell-fire, from which they will never be delivered. But he will give up the faithful to our holy prophet, Ali Ol Salam, who will mediate between them and God. Then will all mankind," added the Sheik Olislam, "stand

assembled, some say a thousand, some fifty thousand, years, looking up to heaven, but without receiving any information from thence. And, in the mean time, the torments of the just and of the unjust will be very grievous; but those of the former will be most terrible."

Now I saw in my dream, that, when Goonah Purist heard this terrible account of the last day, he groaned within himself. Moreover, the burden on his back began to press more heavily upon him, while the leprosy in his body caused him to appear more and more foul in his own eyes; yet he spake not.

So the Sheik Olislam proceeded in his discourse, and spake thus :-"When all mankind assembled have waited the appointed time, then will God appear to judge them. He will be surrounded by his angels, and will produce the books wherein the actions of every person stand recorded by their guardian angels. Then every one will be examined according to his works; and every man shall give an account to God of the manner in which he spent his time on earth: of his riches, how he gathered and how he employed them; of his body, how he

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