Page:Vision of Almet (1).pdf/13

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No LIFE PLEASING to GOD, that is not USEFUL to MAN.

AN EASTERN STORY.

It pleased the mighty sovereign Abbas Carascan, from whom the Kings of the earth derive honour and dominion to set Mirza, his servant over the province of Tauris. In the hand of Mirza, the balance of distribution was splendid with impartiality; and under his administration the weak were protected, the learned received honour, and the diligent became rich. Mirza, therefore, was beheld by every eye with complacency, while every tongue pronounced blessings on his head. But it was observed that he derived no joys, from the benefits which he diffused, he became pensive and melancholy; he spent his leisure in solitude; in his place he sat motionless upon a sofa; and when be went out, his walk was slow, and his eyes were fixed upon the ground. He applied to