The King's Talisman

About this issue

This issue of The Select Series (No. 25, August 1889) features "The King's Talisman; or, The Lion of Mount Hor," an Eastern romance by Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. The narrative opens at Mount Hor in ancient Idumea, near the fortified city of Petra. Two central characters appear: Abdah Nazor, an elderly respected Nabathean dervise and soothsayer, and his eighteen-year-old pupil Noureddin, son of a Petra corn merchant, known as "The Young Lion of Mount Hor." The excerpt shows their philosophical dialogue concerning Noureddin's completed education. Abdah explains that while he has taught the youth general principles of duty and mystical knowledge, real wisdom must come through lived experience—the encounters with both dangers and opportunities that life presents. The narrative emphasizes spiritual and moral development rather than formal instruction.