His fame had
spread so far that Saladin had issued particular orders that he
should be spared and protected. He himself, and other Moslem
lords of rank, had visited the cell more than once, partly from
curiosity, partly that they expected from a man so learned as the
Christian Hamako some insight into the secrets of futurity. "He
had," continued the Saracen, "a rashid, or observatory, of great
height, contrived to view the heavenly bodies, and particularly
the planetary system--by whose movements and influences, as both
Christian and Moslem believed, the course of human events was
regulated, and might be predicted."
This was the substance of the Emir Sheerkohf's information, and
it left Sir Kenneth in doubt whether the character of insanity
arose from the occasional excessive fervour of the hermit's zeal,
or whether it was not altogether fictitious, and assumed for the
sake of the immunities which it afforded. Yet it seemed that the
infidels had carried their complaisance towards him to an
uncommon length, considering the fanaticism of the followers of
Mohammed, in the midst of whom he was living, though the
professed enemy of their faith.
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