[Footnote 3: The general independence of the Arabs, which
cannot be admitted without many limitations, is blindly
asserted in a separate dissertation of the authors of the
Universal History, vol. xx. p. 196 - 250. A perpetual
miracle is supposed to have guarded the prophecy in favor of
the posterity of Ishmael; and these learned bigots are not
afraid to risk the truth of Christianity on this frail and
slippery foundation.]