Blest prince, for whom indulgent heav'n ordains, At once, the joys of paradise and empire, Now join thy people's and thy Cali's prayers; Suspend thy passage to the seats of bliss, Nor wish for houries in Irene's arms.

But now the eighteen-prayer, which no one dared neglect, was being solemnly chanted below, and the busy women hurried back to their places and offered the prayer as the rite ordains, that is, standing up with their faces turned toward the east, which is that part of the heavens where Jerusalem lies.