it. The found of it was exceeding fweet, and wrought into a variety of tunes that were inexpreffibly melodious, and altogether different from any thing I had ever heard : they put me in mind of thofe heavenly airs that are played to the departed fouls of good men upon their firft arrival in paradife, to wear out the impreffions of their laft agonies, and qualifie them for the pleasures of that happy place. My heart melted away in fecret raptures!

I had been often told that the rock before me was the haunt of a genius; and that feveral had been entertained with mufick who had paffed by it, but never heard that the musician had before made himfelf vifible. When he had raised my thoughts by thofe tranfporting airs which he played, to tafte the pleasures of his converfation, as I looked upon him like one aftonished, he beckoned to me, and by the waving of his hand directed me to approach the place where he fat. I drew near with that reverence, which is due to a fuperior nature, and as y heart was entirely fubdued by the captivating ftrains I had heard, I fell down at his feet and wept. The genius fmiled upon me with a look of compaffion and affability that familiarized him to my imagination, and at once difpelled all the

fears

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fears and apprehenfions with which I proached him. He lifted me from the ground, and taking me by the hand, Mirzah, faid he, I have heard thee in thy foliloquies; follow me.

He then led me to the highest pinnacle of the rock, and placing me on the top of it, Caft thine eyes eastward, faid he, and tell me what thou feeft. I fee, faid I, a huge valley and a prodigious tide of water rolling thro' it. The valley that thou feeft, faid he, is the vale of mifery, and the tide of water that thou feeft is part of the great tide of eternity. What is the reafon, faid I, that the tide I fee rifes out of a thick mift at one end, and again loses itself in a thick mift at the other? What thou feeft, faid he, is that portion of eternity which is called time, measured out by the fun, and reaching fromthe beginning of the world to its confummation. Examine now, faid he, this fea that is thus bounded with darkness at both ends, and tell me what thou difcovereft in it. I fee a bridge, faid I, ftanding in the midst of the tide. The bridge thou feeft, faid he, is humane life, confider it at`tentively. Úpon a more leifurely furvey of it, I found that it confifted of threescore and ten entire arches, with feveral broken arches, which, added to thofe that were F entire

entire, made up the number about an hundred. As I was counting the arches, the genius told me that this bridge confifted at first of a thousand arches; but that a great Flood swept away the reft, and left the bridge in the ruinous condition I now beheld it. But tell me further, faid he, what thou discovereft on it. Ifee multitudes of people paffing over it, faid I, and a black cloud hanging on each end of it. As I looked more attentively, I faw feveral of the paffengers dropping thro' the bridge, into that great tide that flowed underneath it; and upon further examination, perceived there were innumerable trap-doors that lay concealed in the bridge, which the paffengers no fooner trod upon, but they fell thro' them into the tide, and immediately difappeared. Thefe hidden pit-falls were

fet

very thick at the entrance of the bridge, fo that throngs of people no fooner broke through the cloud, but many of them fell into them. They grew thinner towards the middle, but multiplied and lay closer together towards the end of the arches that were entire.

There were indeed fome perfons, but their number was very fmall, that continued a kind of hobbling march on the broken arches, but fell through one after ano

ther,

ther, being quite tired and spent with fo long a walk.

I paffed fome time in the contemplation of this wonderful ftructure, and the great variety of objects which it prefented. My heart was filled with a deep melancholy to fee several dropping unexpectedly in the midst of mirth and jollity, and catching at every thing that ftood by them to fave themfelves. Some were looking up towards the heavens in a thoughtful pofture, and in the midst of a fpeculation ftumbled and fell out of fight. Multitudes were very bufy in the purfuit of bubbles that glittered in their eyes and danced before them, but often when they thought themselves within the reach of them their footing failed and down they funk. In this confufion of objects, I obferved fome with fcymetars in their hands, and others with urinals, who ran to and fro upon the bridge, thrufting feveral perfons on trap-doors which did not feem to lie in their way, and which they might have escaped, had they not been thus forced upon them.

The genius feeing me indulge my self in this melancholy profpect, told me I had dwelt long enough upon it: Take thine eyes off the bridge, faid he, and tell me if thou yet feeft any thing thou doft not comprehend.

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prehend. Upon looking up, What mean, faid I, thofe great flights of birds that are perpetually hovering about the bridge, and fettling upon it from time to time? I fee vultures, harpyes, ravens, cormorants, and among many other feathered creatures feveral little winged boys, that perch in great numbers upon the middle arches. Thefe, faid the genius, are envy, avarice, fuperftition, defpair, love, with the like cares and paffions that infeft humane life.

I here fetched a deep figh, Alas, said I, man was made in vain; how is he given away to mifery and mortality! tortured in life, and fwallowed up in death! The genius being moved with compaffion towards me, bid me quit fo uncomfortable a profpect. Look no more, faid he, on man in the first ftage of his existence, in his fetting out for eternity; but caft thine eye on that thick mift into which the tide bears the feveral generations of mortals that fall into it. I directed my fight as I was ordered, and (whether or no the good genius ftrengthened it with any fupernatural force, or diffipated part of the mift that was before too thick for the eye to penetrate) I faw the valley opening at the further end, and spreading forth into an immenfe ocean, that had a huge rock of adamant running through

the