LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 217 



grateful apostle, " there never can be a better ; she 

 believed in me vv'hen men despised me. She was 

 generous, and gave me all she possessed, when the 

 vi^orld hated and persecuted me." Misfortunes so 

 distressing and prejudicial to his interests made the 

 Mohammedans commemorate this as the Year of 

 Mourning. 



A valuable accession was about the same time 

 received to his flock in a small party of the tribes 

 of Khazraj and Aus, who dwelt at Medina, and had 

 come to Mecca on the usual pilgrimage. The secret 

 motive of their conversion was a hope that their 

 new master was the long-expected Messiah, and 

 would deliver their allies, the Jews, as he had prom- 

 ised, from the vassalage to which they had . been 

 so long subjected. On their return these deluded 

 proselytes became enthusiastic in disseminating so 

 welcome a creed among their fellow-citizens. 



Historians, or rather the lovers of the marvellous, 

 have signalized this period of Mohammed's life with 

 two remarkable events, the absurdity of which might 

 have consigned them to oblivion, had not the gravest 

 of the Moslem doctors maintained their reality. 

 Religion, whether true or false, has usually appealed 

 to the confirmation of miracles. These credentials 

 the impostor himself admitted to be authentic. Act 

 cording to Ms own doctrine, therefore, the unbelievr 

 ing Arabs might demand, and they did repeatedly 

 urge him to produce, similar evidence of- his misT 

 sion. Sensible of his weakness, he evaded the 

 force of their objections^ — appealing to the inimitaT 

 ble composition of the Koran as the greatest of all 

 miracles, and protecting himself by the obscuj-e 

 boast of vision and prophecy. 



His votaries, however, were neither so rpodest 

 nor so ingenious. Of his miraculous gifts they 

 were more confident than he was himself; an4 

 much learning has been expended, and innumerable 

 yolumes written, to convince the yvorld that hi§ 



Vol. I.— T 



