He never troubled about his body, so far as comfort went, although he kept it in a state of perfect purity by dint of continual ablutions. He frequently slept on a rugged mat, the rough bristles deeply marking his flesh. His pillow was made of palm-fibre and his bed was a mantle folded in two. One night, when Ayishah had folded it in four, the Prophet lost his temper, found his couch too soft and ordered it to be restored to its usual state. Before dying, he freed all his slaves and distributed the small amount of property he still possessed. He deemed it unseemly to appear before the Lord with gold in his possession. In his dwelling, but thirty measures of barley were found; and to buy them, he had been forced to leave his breastplate at a usurer's as security for a loan. [Illustration: (Calligraphy) _There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah._] [Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE TENTH] [Illustration: _A Writing-lesson at a village school devoted to the Teaching of the Qur'an._] [Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Say: O my people! Act as ye best can: I verily will act my part, and hereafter shall ye know!_] CHAPTER THE TENTH [Sidenote: THE MARCH OF ISLAM] At the very moment when fate had deprived Islam of its genial founder, the organisation of this new religion was definitively and meticulously arranged even in its most humble practices. The soldiers of Allah had already conquered the whole of Arabia and the attack on the colossal empire of the Cæsars in Syria was begun. A short period of unrest, inevitable after the disappearance of the inspired guide, caused a few rebellions; but Islam was so strongly constituted, overflowing with such enthusiasm that it was about to astonish the world by its impressive forward march, unique perhaps in the annals of history. For the first time, rushing forth from their country forsaken by Nature, the proud Arabs, stirred by the miracle of Faith, were about to become masters in less than a century of the best part of the old civilised world from India to Andalusia, and that despite their extreme numerical inferiority.