Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-09-21
MahOmet,s Marriage.

Mahomet had inherited the rare
personal attractions of Abdqllah and
Amina, his parents. He was tail,
graceful. and dignifed, his counte-
nance engaging, his eyes dark and
lustrous; his thick black beard reach
ed down upon his breast; intellh
gence and a pensive melancholy
marked his carriage; he spoke sell
dom, yet always in language musical
and refined; sometimes he broke IN
to sallies of humor and loud peals of
laughter; he was passionate but for
giving, gentle yet full of dignity.
"Never did he speak to me an un-
kind word" said one of his slaves of
him. Yet his air was so command
ing and austere as at times to awak-
en- an indescribable awe. A vein IN
his forehead swelled in his moments
of excitement, and his eyes, blood
shot and restless, seldom fixed upon
any single object, but were full of
the inspiration or poetry of prophet
or a seer.
Khadiiah, who had been sought
in marriage by many noble Meceans,
had rejected every offer, and lived
in retirement, adding to her large
fortune by successful trade. Ma
homet alone had won her heart; yet
we are told, she hesitated how to
make known her preference, and a
sister or servant opportunely lent
her advent to the young man aud
said, "What is it, 0 Mahomet, that
keeps thee from marrying ?" 81 have
nothing" he replied, Gin my hands
whereWith to marry" "But what if
some beautiful and wealthy lady
should offer to place thee in affiuence,
wouldst thou have her ?" "And who
can that bp?" said the astonished Ma
homet. 'It is Khadijnh." ''But
how can l aspire to herr" "Let that
be nv care" said the confdante, 81
am ready" he said, And the serV-
ant went to tell all to Khadijah. But
one obstacle still seemed to threaten
discontinue to all their hopes; for
Khadiiah's father, a powerful and
wealthy Meccan, was certain to re-
fuse to bestow his daughter on her
poor and obscure suitor, and a lovers
stratagem was employed to deceive
the unsuspicious old man. Hanna.
Mahomet's uncle and friend, was
hidden to the wedding. Khadijah
prepared feast for her father, and
when he was overpowered by wine
cast over him the perfume of am
| bergris, and dressed him in mar,
riage garment. He woke only tc
discover that his daughter was mar
ried TO the obscure Mahomet, and
| full of rage, denounced the unequa
match. Fierce words were spoken
weapons were drawn, but the quar-
rel ended in reconciliation. Anc
thus Mahomet and Khadijah begaI
| their married life with pious fraud
The legend is told, not without re
luctance, by the prophets most &C
CuTdGo DIOSI dPHOIo'
Thus raised, Aladdin-like, to sud
den afiuence and distinction, MahO
met lived with his Khadijah in a fai
house at Mecca, the site of which /
still shown to the traveller. Faith
full and devoted to his generous wife
they dwelt in happiness together
althouoh that strange restlessnes
| and peculiar temperament Whicl
had alarmed his Bedouin nurse il
Z childhood seem never to have dese1
ted him. His busy and poetic intel
lect grew cloudy and stormy in re
pose. Often he fed from his fin
house and affiuent ease to hide in
solitary cave on one of the hill
above the city, to give himself t
fasting and meditation, and wrestl
with the evil spirits that pursued hi
path. He kept the fast of the Re-
lab with austere severity. His wife
touched by his religious feryor, G
careful of his safety, sometimes wen
with him to his cave. Yet often b
was alone, and such wild visions an
fearful anticipations came upon hir
that he was nearly driven to suicide
Harper's Magazine for August.