126 GENTLENESS IS POWER. 
mediate necessities—which is, to assist his neighbour. Caranza 
considered all mankind as her neighbours. ‘Though a princess, 
and, as might be supposed, one who had nothing to do the whole 
day but contemplate her robes and her jewels, or ride abroad upon 
her favourite camel, surrounded with attendants, she nevertheless 
contrived very fully to occupy her time with considering the petitions 
of the unfortunate, helping the industrious but needy trader, and 
supplying the utterly destitute with means to obtain a livelihood. 
She herself was never idle ; she could, therefore, with a safe con- 
science, require that all who applied to her for relief should show 
that they were ready, by industry, to apply that relief to a worthy 
account. One of her plans was, to purchase wares from the small 
merchants and beginners in trade, and supply those who had not 
wherewith to commence as traders. When these returned to the 
princess with the produce of their little store, she rewarded them 
with the half of their industrious traffic, and supplied them again 
and again with merchandize, till they were able to become pur- 
chasers themselvers, as well as sellers ; at which period they received 
from their benefactress a public token of her approbation. Let not 
the reader smile at the thought of a princess, so many ages ago, act- 
ing in the way described. The world is not so young in wisdom as 
we wise moderns would fain believe ; the greatest and the best peo- 
ple that have lived have not had the good fortune to be recorded in 
history. 
Till the age of eighteen, Caranza had pursued this course of con- 
duct, blessing and being blest. But now the period of her trial ap- 
proached. So fair, so good a creature, should have had no trials ; 
no furnace of affliction need have been applied to test the unalloyed 
purity of that gold. Yet was it well that she suffered ; for she was 
enabled to carry her unselfish principle to its utmost extent ; a great 
reform was wrought by her example; multitudes were released 
from ignorance and suffering, and rendered happy ; while she pre- 
pared for herself a crown of honour—an amaranthine crown, woven 
with the blessings of grateful hearts, gemmed with the radiance of 
smiling eyes, and glorified with the light of celestial approbation. 
The first sorrow which smote at the door of that constant and 
loving heart, was the death of the queen-mother. Sufieka died as 
she had lived, calmly, simply, without vain-glory ; charging her 
daughter to let her funeral be conducted with no other pomp than 
the attendance of such of her subjects as loved her while living, and 
cherished her memory when dead. The only testimony of affection 
and token of remembrance that she left with her child was, a 
