At  the  end  of  a  week,  AbdaUah — as  he  called  him-
self—was able  to  converse ;  and  Pierre  now  asked
the  particulars  of  his  disaster,  and  the  meaning  of
the  incoherent  expressions  of  wrath  which  had,  fre-
quently, escaped  from  his  lips,  during  his  late  deli-
rium. "  You  behold,"  said  Abdallah,  "  a  man  who
has  seen  the  reverses  of  fortune,  in  their  greatest
extent.  I  have  basked  in  the  smiles  of  monarchs ;
I  have  held  the  highest  posts  of  office ;  and  wealth
unbounded  has  swelled  my  coffers.  My  rmik,  how-
ever, was  unable  to  shield  me  from  malevolence ;
and  the  envy  of  one  who  had  long  hated  me
wrought  my  ruin.  I  was  disgraced,  to  make  room
for  my  rival ;  and  I  became  an  outcast  from  that
country  which  had  owed  its  prosperity  to  my  cares,
and  a  Vagabond  in  lands  that  had  lately  trembled  at
the  sound  of  my  name."


244  FORGIVENESS.
