In converting her friend from Mahometanism to Christianity, Emilia had gone back to the source whence alone man can expect to draw pure doctrine: she had taught her from the sacred book itself, such as it appears to an attentive, inquiring, and docile mind:--She had stripped herself of every prejudice, even in favor of the great Reformer to whom so many souls stand indebted for an example of mental courage; and perhaps in dictating the creed which she thus formed out of the commands of our Lord, and the exhortations of his apostles, she taught a purer religion than Luther himself. Emilia had then compared this scriptural Christianity with the monstrous system of Popery: how simple, how beautiful, how divine, was the one! how complicated, how contradictory, how merely human, the other! Kara Aziek found her hesitation and doubts vanish with the fantastic mysteries which had given them birth: her spirit prostrated itself with tears of joy, of love, of adoration, at the feet of the meek and spotless Jesus! she acknowledged her Redeemer and her divine Master, in him who spoke to the understanding as well as to the heart; and building her faith upon examination and conviction, she built it upon a rock. The readiness with which she met inquiry, and the attention she gave to argument, at first inspirited Sebastian, but he soon found that to some of her interrogatories he was unable to reply, and that several of her observations startled his own faith. Shocked, alarmed, afflicted, his soul recoiled from the sight of that precipice, to which he believed himself on the point of being hurried: he precipitately abandoned his enterprize, and for some days their conversation flowed solely upon other subjects. Vain was the attempt to banish from his mind the remembrance of those remarks which troubled him; as vain the hope of being content to see Aziek’s soul divided from his own. Tormenting apprehensions for her, or doubts for himself, by turns distracted him, poisoning the sweet hours of love and of confidence. Irresolute, fearful, virtuously fearful of sinning by presumption, he trembled to proceed in an investigation, which threatened the destruction of his long-nursed superstitions; but at length a naturally courageous mind shook off its fetters, and decided him to go on. The first advantage was gained by Aziek; Sebastian allowed the fairness of taking scripture for a guide: when he granted this to her reasoning, he knew not to what important concessions it would lead. From the instant he abandoned the popish stronghold of traditionary doctrine, Kara Aziek triumphed.