strong against a single man!’ They were deaf to his expostulations. The servant of Saîd, endeavouring to push on, was slain by Ashtar; and Saîd himself fled back to Medîna, where he found Othmân already terrified by tidings of the outbreak, and prepared to yield whatever the insurgents might demand. [Sidenote: Abu Mûsa appointed in his room.]At their desire he appointed Abu Mûsa governor in place of Saîd. To welcome him the captains in command of the reserves and outlying garrisons came in from all quarters; and Abu Mûsa received them in the crowded Mosque of Kûfa. He first exacted from all present the pledge of loyalty to the Caliph, and then installed himself in office by leading the prayers of the great assembly. [Sidenote: Othmân’s fatal mistake.] If, instead of giving way, Othmân had inflicted on the ringleaders condign punishment, he might haply have succeeded in weathering the storm. It is true that thus he would, in all likelihood have precipitated rebellion, not only in Kûfa, but also in Bussorah and Egypt. But, sooner or later, that was inevitable; and in the struggle, he would now have had a strong support. For here the contention was between the Coreish and the nobility of Islam on the one hand, and the Arab tribes and city rabble on the other; and in this question the leaders of martial renown would all have rallied round the throne. By his pitiable weakness in yielding to the insurgents, Othmân not only courted the contempt of all around him, but lost the opportunity of placing the great controversy about to convulse the Moslem world, upon its proper issue. It fell, instead, to the level of a quarrel obscured by personal interests, and embittered by charges of tyranny and nepotism against himself. The crisis was now inevitable. Men saw that Othmân lacked the wisdom and the strength to meet it, and each looked to his own concern. Seditious letters circulated freely everywhere; and the claims began to be canvassed of successors to the irresolute and narrow-minded Caliph, who, it was foreseen, could not long retain the reins of empire in his grasp. [Sidenote: Aly expostulates with Othmân.]