Page:Ben-Hur a tale of the Christ.djvu/335

Rh far-reaching, if he would move the world from which he is so cruelly barred. I have many such, and Malluch is one of the best of them. And, sometimes&quot;—he cast a grateful glance at the sheik—&quot;sometimes I borrow from others good of heart, like Ilderim the Generous good and brave. Let him say if I either denied or forgot you.&quot;

Ben-Hur looked at the Arab.

&quot;This is he, good Ilderim, this is he who told you of me?&quot;

Ilderim’s eyes twinkled as he nodded his answer.

&quot;How, O my master,&quot; said Simonides, &quot;may we without trial tell what a man is? I knew you; I saw your father in you; but the kind of man you were I did not know. There are people to whom fortune is a curse in disguise. Were you of them? I sent Malluch to find out for me, and in the service he was my eyes and ears. Do not blame him. He brought me report of you which was all good.&quot;

&quot;I do not,&quot; said Ben-Hur, heartily.

&quot;There was wisdom in your goodness.&quot;

&quot;The words are very pleasant to me,&quot; said the merchant, with feeling, &quot;very pleasant. My fear of misunderstanding is laid. Let the rivers run on now as God may give them direction.&quot;

After an interval he continued:

&quot;I am compelled now by truth. The weaver sits weaving, and, as the shuttle flies, the cloth increases, and the figures grow, and he dreams dreams meanwhile; so to my hands the fortune grew, and I wondered at the increase, and asked myself about it many times. I could see a care not my own went with the enterprises I set going. The simooms which smote others on the desert jumped over the things which were mine. The storms which heaped the seashore with wrecks did but blow my ships the sooner into port. Strangest of all, I, so dependent upon others, fixed to a place like a dead thing, had never a loss by an agent—never. The elements stooped to serve me, and all my servants, in fact, were faithful.&quot;

&quot;It is very strange,&quot; said Ben-Hur.

&quot;So I said, and kept saying. Finally, O my master,