subjects, were magi, worshipers of fire instead of God.
“But though I was born of an idolatrous father and mother, I had the good fortune in my youth to have a nurse who was a good Mussulman, believing in God and in His prophet. ‘Dear prince,’ would she oftentimes say, ‘there is but one true God; take heed that you do not acknowledge and adore any other.’ She died, but not before she had perfectly instructed me in the Mussulman religion. After her death, I persisted in worshiping according to its directions; and I abhor the adoration of fire.
“About three years and some months ago, a thundering voice sounded so distinctly through the whole city, that nobody could miss hearing it. The words were these: ‘Inhabitants, abandon the worship of fire, and worship the only God who shows mercy.’ This voice was heard three years successively, but no one was converted. On the last day of that year, at the break of day, all the inhabitants were changed in an instant into stone, every one in the condition and posture he happened to be in. The sultan, my father, and the queen, my mother, shared the same fate.
“I am the only person who did not suffer under that heavy judgment, and ever since I have continued to serve God with more fervency than before. I am persuaded, dear lady, that He has sent you hither for my comfort, for which I render Him infinite thanks, for I must own that I have become weary of this solitary life.”
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