PRIMITIVE INHAEITANTS OF ARABIA. 91 



by the angel they believe to be the famous Zemzem, 

 of which all pious Mussulmans drink to this day. 

 They make no allusion to his alliance with the 

 Egyptian woman, by whom he had twelve sons (Gen. 

 XXV. 12-18), the chiefs of as many nations, and the 

 possessors of separate towns; but, as polygamy 

 was common in his age and country, it is not im- 

 probable he may have had more wives than one. 



It was, say they, to commemorate the miraculous 

 preservation of Ishmael that God commanded Abra- 

 ham to build a temple, and his son to furnish the 

 necessary materials. By their joint labours the 

 Kaaba or sacred house was erected, and solemnly 

 consecrated by the Father of the Faithful, who 

 prayed fervently that they and their whole race 

 might become good Mussuh^sans. Its shape and 

 substance were an exact type of Adam's oratory, 

 which was constructed in heaven, and preserved from 

 the deluge, to be a model to the venerable architects 

 of the Kaaba. The black stone incased in the wall, 

 and still pressed with devotion by the lips of every 

 pilgrim, was that on which Abraham stood. It is 

 alleged to have descended from heaven, and served 

 him for a scaffold ; rising and falling of its own ac- 

 cord, as suited his convenience. It was at first 

 whiter than milk, but gi-ew black long ago by the 

 crimes or the kisses of so many generations of sin- 

 ful worshippers. 



The temple and the well became objects of gene- 

 ral attraction. The Arabs conceived it a duty to 

 idore Providence on the spot which bore such visi- 

 ble tokens of the Divine goodness. From the celeb- 

 rity of the place, a vast concourse of pilgrims 

 blocked to it from all quarters. vSuch was the com- 

 mencement of the city and the superstitious fame 

 of Mecca, the very name of which implies a place 

 of great resort. Whatever credit may be due to 

 these traditions, the antiquity of the Kaaba is unques- 

 tionable ; for its origin ascends far beyond the be- 



