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“By the crescent! I never remember anything like it. The dog has the mien of a demigod! I am anxious to see him more closely. Etiquette and propriety will not permit me to go to him. Namous, saddle Borak, and seek Roland. Tell him I shall have much pleasure in seeing him, and don’t fail to bring him.”
The Prophet’s horse was turned out to graze in the Milky Way. Namous called him.
“Come here, Borak. You have browsed enough here; you feed too freely, and will injure yourself. A peck of stars ought to suffice you for one feed. We have got to descend to earth, and you can hardly stir. If the Blessed Prophet knew it——” With that the angel sprang into his saddle, and began to ply his spurs. In a quarter of an hour they had left the planets behind them.
When Namous alighted, Saragossa was taken and sacked; and Roland was wondering how on earth to spend the evening. The angel approached him respectfully and said, “I am Namous, the envoy and familiar minister of the Prophet. The Lord of the Iva’abah has noted you chief among the Christians, and he desires a visit from you. Be pleased, therefore, to follow me at once.”
“Your master does me a great honour, and one of which many of my brothers in arms are more deserving than I. You must convey to him my excuses, and tell him that I lead a very quiet life; that I have my religious duties to attend to; that, in short, I don’t go much into society.”
“The Prophet will very justly feel surprised and hurt at such an answer. He will demand of me the real reason of your refusal. Are you afraid you may be led astray by the beauties of his paradise?”
“If you had known Aude, my beloved Aude, that foolish notion would never have crossed your mind.”
“Are you afraid of a trip through the air?”