that the coneys, which the rain had driven from their burrows, had
taken shelter among the bushes, and formed holes behind them

tending upwards" target="_blank" title="ad.=upward">upwards in an oblique line. "It has been the opinion of
antiquity," said Imlac, "that human reason borrowed many arts from

the instinct of animals; let us, therefore, not think ourselves
degraded by learning from the coney. We may escape by piercing the

mountain in the same direction. We will begin where the summit
hangs over the middle part, and labour upward till we shall issue

out beyond the prominence."
The eyes of the Prince, when he heard this proposal, sparkled with

joy. The execution was easy and the success certain.
No time was now lost. They hastened early in the morning to choose

a place proper for their mine. They clambered with great fatigue
among crags and brambles, and returned without having discovered

any part that favoured their design. The second and the third day
were spent in the same manner, and with the same frustration; but

on the fourth day they found a small cavernconcealed by a thicket,
where they resolved to make their experiment.

Imlac procured instruments proper to hew stone and remove earth,
and they fell to their work on the next day with more eagerness

than vigour. They were presently exhausted by their efforts, and
sat down to pant upon the grass. The Prince for a moment appeared

to be discouraged. "Sir," said his companion, "practice will
enable us to continue our labour for a longer time. Mark, however,

how far we have advanced, and ye will find that our toil will some
time have an end. Great works are performed not by strength, but

perseverance; yonder palace was raised by single stones, yet you
see its height and spaciousness. He that shall walk with vigour

three hours a day, will pass in seven years a space equal to the
circumference of the globe."

They returned to their work day after day, and in a short time
found a fissure in the rock, which enabled them to pass far with

very little obstruction. This Rasselas considered as a good omen.
"Do not disturb your mind," said Imlac, "with other hopes or fears

than reason may suggest; if you are pleased with the prognostics of
good, you will be terrified likewise with tokens of evil, and your

whole life will be a prey to superstition. Whatever facilitates
our work is more than an omen; it is a cause of success. This is

one of those pleasing surprises which often happen to active
resolution. Many things difficult to design prove easy to

performance."
CHAPTER XIV - RASSELAS AND IMLAC RECEIVE AN UNEXPECTED VISIT.

THEY had now wrought their way to the middle, and solaced their
toil with the approach of liberty, when the Prince, coming down to

refresh himself with air, found his sister Nekayah standing at the
mouth of the cavity. He started, and stood confused, afraid to

tell his design, and yet hopeless to conceal it. A few moments
determined him to repose on her fidelity, and secure her secrecy by

a declaration without reserve.
"Do not imagine," said the Princess, "that I came hither as a spy.

I had long observed from my window that you and Imlac directed your
walk every day towards the same point, but I did not suppose you

had any better reason for the preference than a cooler shade or
more fragrant bank, nor followed you with any other design than to

partake of your conversation. Since, then, not suspicion, but
fondness, has detected you, let me not lose the advantage of my

discovery. I am equally weary of confinement with yourself, and
not less desirous of knowing what is done or suffered in the world.

Permit me to fly with you from this tasteless tranquillity, which
will yet grow more loathsome when you have left me. You may deny

me to accompany you, but cannot hinder me from following."
The Prince, who loved Nekayah above his other sisters, had no

inclination to refuse her request, and grieved that he had lost an
opportunity of showing his confidence by a voluntary communication.

It was, therefore, agreed that she should leave the valley with
them; and that in the meantime she should watch, lest any other

straggler should, by chance or curiosity, follow them to the
mountain.

At length their labour was at an end. They saw light beyond the
prominence, and, issuing to the top of the mountain, beheld the

Nile, yet a narrow current, wandering beneath them.
The Prince looked round with rapture, anticipated all the pleasures

of travel, and in thought was already transported beyond his
father's dominions. Imlac, though very joyful at his escape, had

less expectation of pleasure in the world, which he had before
tried and of which he had been weary.

Rasselas was so much delighted with a wider horizon, that he could
not soon be persuaded to return into the valley. He informed his

sister that the way was now open, and that nothing now remained but
to prepare for their departure.

CHAPTER XV - THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS LEAVE THE VALLEY, AND SEE MANY
WONDERS.

THE Prince and Princess had jewels sufficient to make them rich
whenever they came into a place of commerce, which, by Imlac's

direction, they hid in their clothes, and on the night of the next
full moon all left the valley. The Princess was followed only by a

single favourite, who did not know whither she was going.
They clambered through the cavity, and began to go down on the

other side. The Princess and her maid turned their eyes toward
every part, and seeing nothing to bound their prospect, considered

themselves in danger of being lost in a dreary vacuity. They
stopped and trembled. "I am almost afraid," said the Princess, "to

begin a journey of which I cannot perceive an end, and to venture
into this immense plain where I may be approached on every side by

men whom I never saw." The Prince felt nearly the same emotions,
though he thought it more manly to conceal them.

Imlac smiled at their terrors, and encouraged them to proceed. But
the Princess continued irresolute till she had been imperceptibly

drawn forward too far to return.
In the morning they found some shepherds in the field, who set some

milk and fruits before them. The Princess wondered that she did
not see a palace ready for her reception and a table spread with

delicacies; but being faint and hungry, she drank the milk and ate
the fruits, and thought them of a higher flavour than the products

of the valley.
They travelled forward by easy journeys, being all unaccustomed to

toil and difficulty, and knowing that, though they might be missed,
they could not be pursued. In a few days they came into a more

populous region, where Imlac was diverted with the admiration which
his companions expressed at the diversity of manners, stations, and

employments. Their dress was such as might not bring upon them the
suspicion of having anything to conceal; yet the Prince, wherever

he came, expected to be obeyed, and the Princess was frighted
because those who came into her presence did not prostrate

themselves. Imlac was forced to observe them with great vigilance,
lest they should betray their rank by their unusual behaviour, and

detained them several weeks in the first village to accustom them
to the sight of common mortals.

By degrees the royal wanderers were taught to understand that they
had for a time laid aside their dignity, and were to expect only

such regard as liberality and courtesy could procure. And Imlac
having by many admonitions prepared them to endure the tumults of a

port and the ruggedness of the commercial race, brought them down
to the sea-coast.

The Prince and his sister, to whom everything was new, were
gratified equally at all places, and therefore remained for some

months at the port without any inclination to pass further. Imlac
was content with their stay, because he did not think it safe to

expose them, unpractised in the world, to the hazards of a foreign
country.

At last he began to fear lest they should be discovered, and
proposed to fix a day for their departure. They had no pretensions

to judge for themselves, and referred the whole scheme to his
direction. He therefore took passage in a ship to Suez, and, when

the time came, with great difficulty prevailed on the Princess to
enter the vessel.

They had a quick and prosperousvoyage, and from Suez travelled by
land to Cairo.

CHAPTER XVI - THEY ENTER CAIRO, AND FIND EVERY MAN HAPPY.
AS they approached the city, which filled the strangers with

astonishment, "This," said Imlac to the Prince, "is the place where
travellers and merchants assemble from all corners of the earth.