then said to the people, Which of you will ascend this ladder, and mount upon the wall, and walk along it, and contrive means of descending into the city, that he may see how the case is, and then inform us of the mode of opening the gate?  And one of them answered, I will ascend it, O Emeer, and descend and open the gate.  The Emeer therefore replied, Mount.  God bless thee!—­Accordingly, the man ascended the ladder until he reached the top of it; when he stood, and fixed his eyes towards the city, clapped his hands, and cried out with his loudest voice, saying, Thou art beautiful!  Then he cast himself down into the city, and his flesh became mashed with his bones.  So the Emeer Moosa said, This is the action of the rational.  How then will the insane act?  If we do thus with all our companions, there will not remain of them one; and we shall be unable to accomplish our affair, and the affair of the Prince of the Faithful.  Depart ye; for we have no concern with this city.—­But one of them said, Perhaps another than this may be more steady than he.  And a second ascended, and a third, and a fourth, and a fifth; and they ceased not to ascend by that ladder to the top of the wall, one after another, until twelve men of them had gone, acting as acted the first.  Therefore the sheykh ’Abd-Es-Samad said, There is none for this affair but myself, and the experienced is not like the inexperienced.  But the Emeer Moosa said to him, Thou shalt not do that, nor will I allow thee to ascend to the top of this wall; for shouldst thou die, thou wouldst be the cause of the death of us all, and there would not remain of us one; since thou art the guide of the party.  The sheykh however replied, Perhaps the object will be accomplished by my means, through the will of God, whose name be exalted!  And thereupon all the people agreed to his ascending.

Then the sheykh ’Abd-Es-Samad arose, and encouraged himself, and having said, In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!—­he ascended the ladder, repeating the praises of God (whose name be exalted!) and reciting the Verses of Safety, until he reached the top of the wall; when he clapped his hands, and fixed his eyes.  The people therefore all called out to him, and said, O sheykh ’Abd-Es-Samad, do it not, and cast not thyself down!  And they said, Verily to God we belong, and verily unto him we return!  If the sheykh ’Abd-Es-Samad fall, we all perish!—­Then the sheykh ’Abd-Es-Samad laughed immoderately, and sat a long time repeating the praises of God, (whose name be exalted!) and reciting the Verses of Safety; after which he rose with energy, and called out with his loudest voice, O Emeer, no harm shall befall you; for God (to whom be ascribed might and glory!) hath averted from me the effect of the artifice and fraudulence of the Devil, through the blessing resulting from the utterance of the words, In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.—­So the Emeer said to him, What hast thou seen, O sheykh?