Page:In Spite of Epilepsy, Woods, 1913.djvu/134

126 how lovingly they regarded his every movement,—"was the most generous, his breast the most courageous, his tongue the most truthful. He was the faithful protector of those he precepted. He was the sweetest and most agreeable person in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence, and those who came near him loved him. They who described him would say, "I have never seen his like either before or after.'"

He was of great taciturnity. But when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation, and one could never forget what he said. He was, however, restless, often low-spirited and downcast as to heart and eyes. Yet he could at times break through those broodings, become gay and jocular, chiefly among his own. He would then delight, like Luther, in telling entertaining stories, fairy tales and the like, would romp with his children, play with their toys, as after his first wife's death, marking the beginning of the break-down, he was wont to play with the dolls his new wives had brought into his home.

Although he was like the Hebrew in so many tenets of his faith, yet how different he was in the desire to extend the benefit of his religion to others. The message of the Hebrew prophet was usually confined to his own people; the Arabian intended his faith for the world, to be conveyed in whatever way was thought best. The Jew might seem to be forfeiting his privileges as one of the chosen people by communicating the faith to the Gentile; the Arab came short of his duty