verts in seven years must have been considerable, judging from the absence of eightythree men and eighteen women, who retired to Ethiopia: his party was further fortified by the accession of his uncle Hamza, and Omar, who afterwards signalized himself so much in the cause of Islamism. Notwithstanding every attempt of the Koreish to crush the obnoxious sect, it increased under opposition.

An event occurred in the tenth year of his mission, likely to prove of serious consequence to Mohammed and his followers, and this was the demise of his kind friend and patron, Abu-Taleb, at the advanced age of four-score years: the afflicting blow was succeeded by the death of his wife Khadijah. The Koreish, free from restraint, used every effort to crush the rising sect, but the fame and pretensions of Mohammed had gained ground not only at Mecca, but Me

dina, where a strong impression had been created in his favour by some converts.

In the twelfth year, the singular story was fabricated of his pretended' journey from

Not having Abul-feda's work to refer to, I am indebted to Dr. Prideaux for the following account of the Night Journey. Gibbon says Abul-feda wishes to think it a vision, that Prideaux aggravates the absurdities, and Gagnier declares from the zealous Al Jannabi, that to deny this journey, is to disbelieve the Koran.

In the 12th year of his pretended mission, is placed the Mesra, that is, his famous night-journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and from thence to Heaven, of which he tells us in the 17th chapter of his Alcoran. For the people calling on him for miracles to prove his mission, and he being able to work none, to solve the matter, he invents this story of his journey to Heaven, which must be acknowledged to have miracle enough in it, by all those who have faith to believe it. His relation of it is as followeth. At night, as he lay in his bed with his best beloved wife Ayesha, he heard a knocking at his door, whereon arising, he found there the angel Gabriel with seventy pair of wings expanded from his sides, whiter than snow and clearer than crystal, and the beast Alborak standing by him, which they say is the beast on which the prophets used to ride, when they were carried from one place to another, upon the execution of any Divine command. Mahomet describes it to be a beast as white as milk, and of a mixed nature between an ass and a mule, and also of a size between both, and of that extraordinary swiftness, that his passing from

Mecca to Jerusalem, on a mysterious animal

one place to another was as quick as that of lightning, and from thence it is that he had the name of Alborak, that word signifying lightning in the Arabic tongue. As soon as Mahomet appeared at the door, the angel Gabriel most kindly embracing him, did with a very sweet and pleasing countenance salute him in the name of God, and told him that he was sent to bring him unto God into heaven, where he should see strange mysteries, which were not lawful to be seen by any other man, and then bid him get upon the Alborak. But the beast, it seems, having long lain idle from the time of Christ till Mahomet (there having been no prophet in all that interval to employ him) was grown so resty and skittish, that he would not stand still for Mahomet to get up upon him, till at length he was forced to bribe him to it, by promising him a place in Paradise; whereon having quietly taken him on his back, the angel Gabriel leading the way with the bridle of the beast in his hand, he carried him from Mecca to Jerusalem in the twinkling of an eye. On his coming thither, all the prophets and saints departed, appeared at the gate of the Temple to salute him, and from thence attending him into the chief oratory, desired him to pray for them, and then departed. Whereupon Mahomet with the angel Gabriel going out of the Temple, found there a ladder of light ready fixed for them, which they immediately ascended, leaving the Alborak there tied to a rock till their return. On their arrival at the first heaven, the angel Gabriel knocked at the gate, and having informed the porter who he was, and that he brought Mahomet, the friend of God, with him by the Divine command, the gates were immediately opened, which he describes to be of a prodigious largeness. This first heaven, he tells us, was all of

called Al-borek, and from thence in the com

pure silver, and that he there saw the stars hanging from it by chains of gold, each being of the bigness of Mount No-ho, near Mecca in Arabia; and that in these stars angels kept watch and ward for the guard of heaven, to keep off the devils from approaching near it, lest they should overhear and know what was there done. On his first entering into this heaven, be saith, he met an old, decrepit man, and this was our first father Adam, who immediately embraced him, giving God thanks for so great a son, and then recommended himself to his prayers. As he entered further, he saw a multitude of angels of all manner of shapes; some in that of men, others in that of birds, and others in that of beasts of all manner of sorts. And among those who appeared in the several shapes of birds, he there saw a cock of colour as white as snow, and of so prodigious a bigness, that his feet standing upon the first heaven, his head reached up to the second, which was at the distance of five hundred years' journey from it, according to the rate we usually travel here on earth. But others among them, as they relate this matter from their prophet, hyperbolize much higher concerning it, telling us that the head of this cock reacheth up through all the seven heavens, as far as the throne of God, which is above seven times higher; and in the description of him say, that his wings are all over decked with carbuncles and pearls, and that he extends the one of them to the east, and the other to the west, at a distance proportionable to his height. Concerning all these the Impostor tells us, the angel Gabriel informed him, that they were angels which did from thence intercede with God for all living creatures on the earth. That those who interceded for men had there the shape of men; that those who in

pany of Gabriel to heaven, where being ad

terceded for beasts, the shape of beasts; and those who interceded for birds, the shape of birds, according to their several kinds. And that as to the great cock, that he was the chief angel of the cocks; that every morning God singing an holy hymn, this cock constantly joined with him in it by his crowing, which is so loud, that all hear it that are in heaven and earth, except men and fairies, and then all the other cocks that are in heaven and earth crow also. But when the day of judg ment draws near, then God shall command him to draw in his wings and crow no more, which shall be a sign that that day is at hand, to all that are in heaven and earth, except men and fairies, who being afore deaf to his crowing, shall not then be sensible of his silence from it. And this cock the Mahometans look on to be in that great favour with God, that whereas it is a common saying among them, that there are three voices which God always hears; they reckon the first the voice of him that is constant in reading the Alcoran; the second, the voice of him that early every morning prayeth for the pardon of his sins; and the third, the voice of this cock when he croweth, which they say is ever most acceptable unto him. All this stuff of the cock Abdallah helped Mahomet to, out of the Talmudists. For it is all borrowed from them with some little variation only, to make it look not totally the same, For in the tract, Bava Bathra, of the Babylonish Talmud, we have a story of such a prodigious bird, called Ziz, which standing with his feet upon the earth, reacheth up unto the heavens with his head, and with the spreading of his wings darkeneth the whole orb of the sun, and causeth a total eclipse thereof. This bird the Chaldee Paraphrast on the Psalms says, is a cock, which he describes of the same bigness, and