226 THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book iii.

speak of you individually, and advise you to quitthe Christians, who are the cause of this war,which you undertook with noble intentions—andrather a regard to its principle than end. They in-deed deserve their punishment. What forbids yourleaving those, who all abandoned you, and by theirtreasons produced your defeat? Why not ratherrecur to the perpetual fidelity, and favour of yourmost powerful and benign conqueror? ”

The only hypothesis that can account for fickle-ness so rapid and strangely excessive, to one un-willing to accuse him of duplicity, is, I think, thata conflict, he was unconscious of, was going onwithin him,^between his good angel, or genius, andhis bad; and that on the former’s relaxing ever solittle, the latter resumed its habitual sway, and thetyrant relapsed into his hardened and now almostnative perversity—Divine Providence at one timepulling forward by its grace, and he, at another,driven backward by his own malignant disposition.Yet the world called him Solyman the Magnificent.Did he deserve it? Let us hope he did!

Then L’lsle Adam answered thus:

“ 0 most potent, most clement of Emperors, I,amongst all these your highly illustrious and ablecaptains, am not by any means worthy of the postyou deign to offer me. Fate nor my deservings