University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXXV.

In the course of a few days, after this was settled,
they received news of Prince Aswad's approach,
swearing he would not leave one of the whole tribe
of Abs alive. Confound his iniquity! cried King
Cais, in great dismay. Alas! Aswad will not leave
in our dwellings ten men to grind the wheat and
barley, or milk the sheep. He summoned Antar
and the chief warriors to his presence, and relating
to them what he had heard, he requested their advice.
O king, said Harith, may you be protected
from every peril! Know that this expedition is on
my account: I am the object, and these armies are
only advancing in quest of me. On me devolves
the duty of encountering them. It is I must patiently
endure their chastisements: but to-morrow
I will go and meet them; and by the faith of noble
Arabs, men of integrity, word, and honour, I will
not go against them but with ten men alone. I
will encounter this Aswad and his warriors, and I
will scatter them right and left. No, said Antar,
we will not go but in a body to engage Aswad, and
we will fight in thy presence with our well-tried
swords till not a breath remains. O great king,
added Antar, addressing Cais, what means this
waiting for further news? the foe is at hand. March

with us against him, that we may extirpate him,
root and branch, before the hoofs of their horses
trample down our lands. Upon this, Harith wrote
a letter to his brother Cosoorah, telling him to join
him with the warriors of the tribe of Marah; and
he despatched the letter with one of his own horsemen.
As to King Cais, he sent forward a thousand
men as the advance of his army, and also commissioned
some one to go to the tribe of Ghiftan to demand
their assistance in this crisis; and they came
with a thousand lion warriors, and Antar's nephew
Hatal, whom the king left to protect the women and
property.

As to Prince Aswad, he was marching with
armies over the desert, when a ferocious lion, of the
size of a bull and bigger, crouched among the rocks,
appeared before them, roaring and bellowing at the
troops: the men retreated from its presence, and
the warriors stood still. The troops continued at a
halt till Prince Aswad arrived with the rear of the
army, and inquired what was the matter? they told
him a lion was in front of them. Ye filth, he cried
in a violent passion, has all this consternation seized
you on account of a lion, the veriest dog of the
waste and wilds? How will you encounter men, or
contend with heroes in the field of battle? He had
not finished his harangue, when a youth, in whom
shone the tokens and evidences of intrepidity, started
forth against the lion. He was one of the sons of
Bekir, son of Wayil: he made towards the lion,
having first thrown away his armour and corslet,

till he remained in his plain clothes with short
sleeves; he tucked them up to his shoulder, and
twisting his skirts round his girdle, he unsheathed
his broad sword, and brandished it in his hand, and
stalked away towards the lion, his heart harder than
a rock of flint; and when he came nigh, he gave a
terrific shout, which the lion hearing, he opened his
mouth like a grappling iron, and clenched his fangs
like a vice, and then collecting himself, as if it were
into a third of his real size, he sprang at him like a
flash of lightning. As soon as the youth was aware
of his intent, he nerved his arm, he strengthened
his wrist, and smote the lion with his sword between
the eyes; the sword continued to work through till
it issued forth between his thighs, and the lion fell
cut in twain. The youth returned to his arms, and
put on his corslet, when lo! the satraps of Prince
Aswad encompassed him, and ordered him to appear
in his presence. Amazed at his courage, he
inquired his descent and parentage, and who were
his Arab connexions? O prince, said the youth, I
am called Jerrah, the Wayilite; and I came to
offer my services to you, hearing of your munificence,
and that you required the attendance of all
the warriors from every tribe: I am at your commands,
that I may show you what may gratify your
sight. Aswad smiled, and ordered him an honorary
robe: he also presented him some generous steeds, but
Jerrah refused the robe and horses, at which Aswad
being exceedingly moved, Eh! young man, said he,
I perceive you refuse my favours and my robe; if
you think the donation small, we will greatly enlarge
it. O noble prince, cried Jerrah, kissing the
ground, and praying for him, I shall have done nothing
in your presence to merit this bounty unless
I can hurl at your feet the head of Antar, son of
Shedad, in quest of whom these troops are marching.
But who is this camel-tender, that you should
on his account assemble these armies and warriors?
O youth, exclaimed Aswad, vastly gratified, and
smiling in joy, if you perform your engagement I
will make you a prince to rule over all your Arabs.
The youth kissed Aswad's hand and retired. O
prince, exclaimed Locait, son of Zararah, this youth
has engaged for himself to slay Antar; I engage to
kill King Cais and all his brothers. After him
came forward the Brandisher of Spears, the knight
of the tribe of Aamir, and promised to slay all the
families of Zeead and Carad. The joy and the
smiles of Prince Aswad were greatly heightened at
these words. O noble Arabs, said he, and I too engage
myself to you to give fifty dinars to every one
who shall bring me a head of those vile Absians.

Thus marched the warriors, promising and expressing
their obligations; and they continued travelling
over the country and mountains in their
way to the land of Abs, till they reached a place
called the land of Mesalik, an extensive waste, and
fraught with dangers; and when they came nigh to
the spot they beheld tents and dwellings, and spears
and swords, and horses and chargers. And these
were the heroes lying in wait for Prince Aswad;

for King Cais, when he quitted home, having sent
on forward the thousand horsemen, marched after
them, and he chanced to meet Cosoorah, Harith's
brother, on the road, who saluting him and kissing
his hand, thanked him for the protection he had
granted to his brother Harith. They continued
their march till they reached this place, where they
had remained three days, and on the fourth came
up Prince Aswad and his armies, and beheld the
Absians, who had anticipated him. He ordered his
troops to halt, saying, Let us send to the Absians
a messenger, that we may hear what King Cais has
to say for himself: if he delivers up Harith, it is
well; otherwise we will attack him with these armies,
which are like the tempestuous seas. Accordingly
he sent a letter to the Absians by a court messenger,
who repaired with it to the Absians, and the first
person he met was the Chief Antar, who conducting
him to King Cais, snatched the letter from him, and
gave it to the King, who opened it, and read it, and
it began thus: Know, O Cais, that my brother,
whose command is to be obeyed in every quarter,
and under whose subjection you have been exalted,
thus says, if you wish to accommodate this business,
and to be thanked for all your actions, deliver up
to him Harith, son of Zalim, and make the excuses
of a repentant sinner before your horsemen are
obliged to fly. Know also, that this army, with
which I am, is only the advance of the grand army,
which is following us like the gushing springs. So
agree to this proposal, and be not obstinate and refractory,
or perils will light upon you. Health to
him who obeys and is peaceable, but curses on him
who rebels and makes disturbances! Were this proposal
such as we could accept, said Cais to the messenger,
it would be well; but know, O Arab, we
are a tribe that having once given their words, follow
it up with their actions; and when we have
granted our protection to any one, we secure him
against the events of day and night. Now we have
engaged ourselves to this man, who retaliated for
us on Khalid, son of Giafer, and never can we withhold
our protection from him till our heads fly off
before him. But say to your prince, whose armies
are following him, that this is a point we fear not
and dread not. Return to him, and tell him to renounce
his rapacity, and not to expose himself to
destruction and death; and let him repent of what
he has done. When Antar heard the letter and
the answer, he repented of having let the messenger
escape in safety; but the man slunk away, his senses
in a state of bewilderment. He knew not what to
say till he stood before Aswad, where he shook
in terror, and kept looking behind, repeating to him
the words he had heard. What's behind thee? said
the prince, thou foul-mustachioed fellow! wherefore
dost thou turn about, right and left? O prince, said
he, behind me is violent death and every figured
evil, all comprised in that accursed slave Antar.
By the faith of an Arab, O prince, had not King
Cais kept him off, he would have destroyed me in
the most dreadful of deaths; and now indeed I
should say that he was close behind me listening to
my discourse. Upon this, Aswad smiled from his
heart of rage and passion. Verily, folly and rapacity
have entered these fellows' brains, he cried; remonstrance
has no effect on them, and never will
they feel the value of their lives till the chargers
play over their heads.

It was now evening; so they reposed that night
till day dawned, when the prince mounted at the
door of his pavilion; they elevated above his head
the banners and ensigns, and the armies and nations
rolled on like waves. Prince Aswad had resolved
on drawing up his troops in right and left wings,
but the rapacious Absians gave him not time, for
they had mounted before the rising of the sun, eager
for the battle and combat. Amongst the foremost
was the Chief Antar, and Harith, who was a
blazing flame, with the horsemen of Marah, and his
brother Cosoorah. March with me, said Harith to
his brother, that we may attack the left; and I, said
Antar, will assail the right. They attacked, and
their comrades cast their lives into perils and horrors.
Upon this, shouted the armies of Irak; and
the wilds and the wastes were agitated at their
clamour. The Absian army appeared contemptible
in their eyes, and their minds assured them of conquest;
so they flowed down like the tempestuous
seas, and at their head was Locait, like a hovering
eagle, with his shouts and his roars; also the Brandisher
of Spears attacked with the Aamirites. The
convulsion became more furious; the mountains

tottered; the scimitars laboured against backs and
kidnies; the doors of the sepulchres were opened,
and the decrees of the all-powerful Monarch descended
upon them; the clouds of dust mounted on
high from the trampling of hoofs; the winners were
distinguished from the losers; the portion of the
brave was the most abundant. Horsemen rushed
upon horsemen; the sword and spear were at work
amongst heads and bodies; hands were exhausted;
equals contended; heroes and warriors mangled
each other; the field was too confined; the intoxicated
were sobered; perseverance exerted itself;
artifice and fraud availed not. Fierce were the blows
of the crossing instruments; the brave were hurled
from their saddles. God prospered that memorable
day, defending those whose bodies were cased in
iron: God prospered Antar and the generous Absians
in their slaughter of hundreds and of thousands!
As to Harith, he cut through the people
and the nations, for he was a man of sorely-wounded
spirit; so he fought with the fiercest resolution; he
hacked through the armies in his highly roused
ardour. But though we have already mentioned
his intrepidity, and force, and superiority, nothing
could have carried him through those dreadful
scenes but his sword Zoolhyyat; and his brother
almost equalled him in courage and steadiness; and
had it not been for the numbers of the foe not one
could have stood firm against him, for how great
the difference between the wolf and the sheep, and
between foxes and the lions of the forests! Before
midday blood flowed and streamed; heroes complained
of calamities and sorrows, and what was
before in order was now all in confusion; the form
of death was conspicuous, and prowled about; cups
were poured out of the wine of death; the sword
continued to labour, and blood to gush forth, and
men to slay, and the fire of battle to blaze, till evening
came on; then had Antar massacred the right
with his assaults; he never flagged; and as he retired
with his uncles, his sword was drenched in the
blood of horsemen, and he had appeased his heart
among them in blows and thrusts. Thus also Oorwah,
with his firmness and superiority in arms, and
the other horsemen. Harith too, with his brother
Cosoorah, retired, making their way through the
left till they reached the tents. Darkness having
thrown its veil over the land, Prince Aswad too retired,
but he would not even look at any one, for
he had that day seen terrifying horrors; he had beheld
warriors who feared not death, and who scorned
to yield. When he alighted at his tent, he assembled
his people, and reproached them for their combat,
exclaiming, This is not the battle by which we
shall succeed in our objects; our disorders will not
thus be cured. The Absians are less than six thousand
men, and we amount to forty thousand strong-limbed
warriors; but they have routed our heroes,
and particularly that overpowering slave, whom fire
cannot effect; he alone discomfited the right, and
slew the standard-bearer, and had it not been for
the approach of night he would have assaulted me
beneath the banners; and also that Harith, whom
we are come to seek, he alone cut through the left;
and these are circumstances I did not expect. There
is that tribe of Fazarah too, on which I depended;
I have no news of them; I should say, they had
forfeited my relationship, as the Absians have forfeited
the relationship of my brother. Moreover,
if they thus resist us, they will mangle our reputation,
and will overthrow our glory; our heroes
will be slaughtered; our horsemen be scattered
over the wilds, and no one will have any respect for
us; and behold, they have not fulfilled their engagements;
those horsemen I mean, who made
such fine promises. O dread King, said Locait, be
not distressed; harass not your mind; to-morrow's
night the Absians shall not pass but as your captives.
Our projects against Antar and the dastardly
Absians must succeed, for the warriors who promised
the destruction of the tribe of Abs did not
take part in the engagement; they smote not, neither
did they thrust. Conceal your feelings till tomorrow,
and you shall see what will gratify your
heart; and when they display their courage in
your presence, they will merit your honorary robes
and your favours.

At hearing this, the heart of Aswad was consoled,
and his passion and fury relented: he dissolved
the assembly, and comforted himself. As to
the tribe of Abs and Adnan, when they returned
to the tents, they searched for the killed and
wounded; the former amounted to fifty-one, and

the latter to a hundred and seventy; but they
heard from some one, that of the armies of Irak
were slain three thousand and odd: they were delighted,
and King Cais feeling sure that he had
gained a victory: O my cousins, said he, my heart
prompts me, we shall defeat the foe were they even
as numerous as the sands of the desert, notwithstanding
the slaughter of our horsemen, whose
equals the age cannot produce. We form but a
small tribe, yet to me one of our horsemen is more
valuable than a whole tribe. O King, said Antar,
alm your mind and brighten your eye, to-morrow
I will exhibit death to them. I am aware they will
to-morrow challenge me to the fight. O Aboolfawaris,
said Harith, I will not permit you to do
any thing of the sort, till I and my brother have
drunk of the cup of death. This is a point, said
Antar, that can only be decided to-morrow, and
every one that is called out by name must start
forth to the contest. In this guise they reposed
till day dawned, when the armies being in battle
array, the first that sought the plain was Jerrah,
the Wayilite, for Prince Aswad had ordered his
officers to prevent the tribes from attacking in a
body. Jerrah charged and galloped over the field
of battle, manœuvring upon the back of his swift
horse, till the wits of the wisest were confounded;
and as he advanced towards the Absians; Tribe of
Abs, he cried out in a loud voice, by the faith of an
Arab, ye are the horsemen of destruction and instant
death; were it not so, ye would not oppose
the kings of the age, ye being so few in numbers.
Do ye intend to encounter these armies and warriors?
Foul play would proceed from a deficiency
in liberality and evil dispositions; but to attack
you is the triumph of every noble exertion for one
who aims at eminence and honour by the blow of
the sword and the thrust of the spear. Let your
black knight come forth against me, he, your illustrious
warrior, who has raised for you a strong
tower of glory. None will reproach his dark complexion,
but those who cannot cope with him, those
who hate or envy him. I think meanly of every
one, notwithstanding his forefathers and progenitors.
I acknowledge no honour, but in him who thrusts
with the long spear in the scene of action and battle.
So send forth against me Antar, that I may exhibit
through him a memorable contest; for I have promised
to slay him in the presence of Prince Aswad,
and to bring down sorrow and misery upon him;
and Jerrah thus recited:

"The parentage of the brave is his words and
his acts, his resolution in the day of encounter,
and his style of combat. Cowardice renders the
youth contemptible, although his maternal and
paternal uncles may be of the race of Hashem.
Patience in the day of spear-thrusts is the glory
that will endure, however circumstances may have
reduced him: not every one that wields a sword
in his hand, and labours for high honours, attains
them; but he who plunges into the sea of dust,
and braves the flame of the raging contest that

destroys his limbs. So soothe my heart with
the contest, and approach me, hero, whose
death is at hand; for ever will I destroy men in
the fight, and this day shall his limbs be mangled.
They have a slave indeed, whose deeds are famed,
whose acts are celebrated in every land. This
day I will erase his name with my sword, whose
terror scatters wide the crowded enemies."

Jerrah had not finished, when Antar stood before
him; he roared in his voice like thunder in a cloud,
and attacked him. Antar was about to reply to him
in some extempore lines, but his thoughts were confused,
so he rushed at him. The youth received
him as the parched earth the first of the rain.
These two fierce heroes turned upon each other
like voracious wild beasts, and a combat took place
between them that sickened the eyeballs and amazed
the stoutest hearts; whilst thick dust arose above
them, till it concealed them from the sight. When
the Brandisher of Spears saw Antar stand forth
against the youth, and occupied in the engagement,
he challenged another to the plain, and he was followed
by the other ten heroes, who had made high
promises in the presence of Aswad, thus taking advantage
of Antar's absence. When Harith saw the
Brandisher of Spears come forth, with the ten horsemen,
imagining they intended to outrage Antar,
and being afraid that some peril or accident might
befal him, he advanced also, followed by his brother
Cosoorah, like a blazing flame. He wielded Zoolhyyat
in his hand, and cried out to the Brandisher of

Spears, That is a deed of thine, son of Malik, which
will be repaid with death! How darest thou to
outrage a man engaged with his antagonist, after
he had called him out by his name? May God
curse the entrails that bore thee, and the cuckolds
of thy kindred, said the Brandisher of Spears, there
is no treachery but what proceeds from thy nature
and disposition, and wert thou not in need of the
tribe of Abs, thou wouldst have betrayed them
even yesterday, but they are not yet secure from
thy atrocities. And when thou art slain, thou wilt
ever be known to every one that moves and halts
by thy infamous deeds: for thou didst kill the
Chief of the tribe of Aamir when he was asleep;
thou didst murder Shirjibeel, King Numan's son,
quite an infant, and thy evil omen is over the high
and low; but we are come forward to execute our
promise, for which we have pledged ourselves.

And he repeated the names of the horsemen.
Harith only laughed; O Gheshm, said he, this engagement
proves thy little wit; for I do not see that
thou hast promised to slay me, knowing as thou
dost, that I am his greatest enemy; and it was in
the private apartments of his brother that I slew
Khalid, son of Giafer; and I slew also his son Shirjibeel;
but I do not know whether thou has omitted
to engage to kill me through fear of me, or out of
contempt for me. Know, O Harith, said the Brandisher
of Spears, thou didst not occur to the mind
of any one, for we did not suppose that thou wert
with the Absians; but we thought that thou wert

returned to thy desolation amongst the mountaintops.
Thou art right, replied Harith, and thou
hast not advanced but what is perfectly true. But
I intend this day to dye my sword in your blood,
and to destroy ye all, high and low, and to avert
your vexations from the tribe of Abs.

And he rushed upon the Brandisher of Spears,
and Cosoorah assailed the Aamirite horsemen. The
Semherian spears were extended; the dust sprang
up from the hoofs of the Arab steeds, and calamities
fell upon them. Antar bellowed at the horses to
drive them far from the contest; he made an assault
at the Brandisher of Spears, with the rush of an
illustrious warrior. He grasped the rings of his
corslet and breast-plate, and taking him prisoner,
threw him down to Shiboob, who bound down his
arms, and tied fast his shoulders.

The battle continued to rage, and blood to flow,
and the flame of war to burn, till evening came on,
when the armies quitted the contest. Antar had
made about two hundred prisoners that day, whom
Shiboob pinioned one after another, but those that
resisted him he slew.

When Prince Aswad alighted at his tent, behold,
a black, tall, lanky slave presented himself. He had
every appearance of having performed a long journey,
and travelled in haste; he kissed the earth, and did
obeisance. Who art thou, Arab born? asked Aswad.
My lord, said he, I am one of the slaves of
Hadifah, Chief of the tribe of Fazarah: he has sent
me to you to congratulate you on what he has done

to your enemy the tribe of Abs, and the miseries
and woes he has brought down upon them; for
after their expedition against you, he surprised
the dwellings, with the warriors of Fazarah. He
plundered their property, and slew their men, and
captured their women; and by to-morrow's dawn
he will join you. He has sent me to you with this message: disperse in separate divisions your
army now surrounding the Absians, that they may
not fly elsewhere; for he is afraid of the escape
of Antar and Harith, who hereafter may still occasion
us fresh trouble. Thus may success attend us!

The Prince jumped up, and stood erect in the
fulness of the joy he felt; but never was this incident
forgotten by him. He ordered his men to draw
off the horsemen from the tribe of Abs and Adnan
on all four sides, into the wilds and wastes, and in
less than an hour they were scattered over the desert,
and he himself mounted with those that remained
about him, and marched on till he came nigh
unto the tents of the Absians, where he concealed
himself. Return, O Arab born, to thy master, said
he to the slave-messenger, and tell him we have
obeyed his directions.

Now the slave who concerted that plan, and dispersed
the armies of Aswad over the barren waste,
was the lion Shiboob. For when the troops alighted
in the tents, O my cousins, said King Cais, my
opinion is we should surprise Aswad's army under
the night; perhaps we may disperse his army over
the desert and waste. Shiboob was present in attendance

on his brother Antar: O my brother, said
he, if you will hear what I have to say, I will most
certainly disperse the armies, mighty and extensive
as they are, and you shall catch Aswad himself in
his own pit, and defeat his troops and armies. May
God bless thee, O Shiboob! cried the Absian chiefs,
if thou canst effect such an enterprise.

At the moment, Shiboob sprang forth to his
portmanteau, and putting on some clothes suitable
to stratagem, he ran away, and in an hour returned
and told his brother and King Cais what he had
done. Now surprise Aswad, said he; he is now in
such a particular spot, and has only a small party
with him.

King Cais ordered them to prepare the warlike instruments,
and before midnight they were on horseback.
King Cais sent for Harith, and attached to
him one thousand men, and sent him to the left.
As to Oorwah, he stationed him with one thousand
men to the right: Do you, said he to Antar, assault
the centre, my cousin. The King himself mounted
with the remainder of the warriors, accompanied by
Antar's nephew, with whom he brought up the rear.
As to Aswad, he had concealed himself with his
men, and dispersed his troops, and every one dismounted
and slept near him. Suddenly screams
came upon them, and the blow of the murderous
scimitars, and the thrust of the calamitous spears
surprised them. The armies were aghast, and their
senses were disordered. Every one started from his
sleep and drew his sword; every one fell upon him

who was before him. Bewildered by sleep, and terrified
at the dreadful Antar and the noble Absians,
they attacked each other with the edge of the sword,
but they knew not whom to address, or whom to
strike. Base cowards! cried out Antar at the head
of the Absians, I am Antar, son of Shedad. No
sooner did they hear the voice of Antar, the dauntless
hero, than despair, and misery, and woe fell
upon them; brave warriors were slain in the very
spots where they fought, till every horseman thought
wherever he turned, there was the voice of the lion
Antar.

Aswad withdrew his troops; they not only withdrew,
but dispersed in confusion over the waste.
His only resource was to wheel about and fly, but
he had not proceeded far, when Oorwah and his
men encountered him, and surrounding him, were
about to kill him, but he cried out for quarter, discovering
himself to them, and demanding protection;
on which they made him dismount from the back of
his horse, and took him prisoner, dragging him along
abject and miserable.

The contest continued to rage, and blood to be
spilt, and the flame of war to blaze, till Shiboob,
seeing how easy the business had become, mounted
to the top of a sand-hill, and making himself as one
of Aswad's followers, cried out with a loud voice,
O Absians, grant us quarter and protection; withdraw
from us the blow of the sword: no one but
Aswad forced us against ye, and him ye have taken
prisoner. Let us retire; relieve us from this fear

and tribulation. On hearing these words, Aswad's
troops dispersed among the wastes; and there was
not one who looked at another whilst Antar and
Harith pursued them, till they had cleared the whole
country of them, when they returned to the scattered
horses and dispersed arms: and having collected
the tents and property, they halted, exulting
in their victory and conquest.

The next day they assembled the prisoners,
amongst whom were Locait, and the Brandisher of
Spears—in all, about fifty of the most celebrated
Arab leaders, and their most renowned knights, with
whom they set out on their return home, rejoicing
in the defeat of the enemy, and their dispersion over
the wilderness.

They travelled on till the following morning, and
about mid-day there appeared some of their own
friends, advancing from the direction of their country,
and hastening over the plain in the most miserable
plight, their ears cut off, their bodies besmeared
with blood, and shrieking out, O by Abs! O by
Adnan! haste to us, and retaliate! till they came
into the presence of King Cais. Know, O King,
said they, that Hadifah, after your departure, surprised
us one day with five thousand horse; he not
only slew our men, plundered our property, and
rescued the hostages that were with us, but he massacred
four hundred youths of our children, from
the age of five to ten, whom he dragged forward
one after the other, as he cried out to them, Now
call out for some one to rescue you from death! and

then made each in turn a mark for his arrow. He
captured our women and our families, and is now
gone to his own country. The cause of this was
Hadifah's wife, who, observing her husband slack
in the cause of retaliation, one day appeared before
him, when he was seated with the chiefs of Fazarah.
She was bare-headed, and her hair dishevelled. Son
of Bedr, she cried, restore me to my family and my
native land, for I want no coward husband; and she
thus recited:

"May the curse of God light on the coward!
May he never give thee to drink of the moisture
of rain; may the rain-clouds never extend their
bounty to the lands of his tribe! may they never
robe his deserts in verdure! Thou hast clothed
thyself, son of Bedr, in garments of infamy, that
can never change their ignominious effect; and
were it not for this disgrace, my eyelids would
be ulcered with tears. Cais has involved us in
woe for a youth; were they to weigh all Abs
against him, he would equal them. He has
moreover slain the Chieftains of Bedr, and has
made the Semherian spears drink of their blood.
Never, never, will my tears cease; my sorrows,
my afflictions, are endless. How many miserable
women like me, in the tribe, are mourning in woe!
Rise then, seek the land of thy enemy; fear not—
their defender is absent—leave not one alive among
them, and let not their screams keep thee away from
them. The Absians have indeed spilt your blood;
so drive away their camels, and capture their

wives; for your blood is noble, and generous,
and high-priced to those that purchase it. But
ye, sons of Bedr, my cousins, ye are brave, the
most illustrious of men; be therefore like the
progenitors that are gone, the forefathers that
are passed away, and let their glory live for
ever."

These verses were called the "Exciters of Sorrow."
When Hadifah heard his wife's address,
To arms! to arms! my cousins, he cried, and before
midday, he was surrounded by five thousand well-armed
horsemen. Hadifah mounted Ghabra, and
the horsemen followed him. The Sheikhs endeavoured
to prevent this treachery and perjury; but
said Sinan, What is this? How? The Absians are
absent, the women have no protector—no one to
defend them, and this tribe are in duty bound to
wreak their vengeance. What greater advantage
can accrue from such oaths? Thus Hadifah, and
the tribe of Fazarah, travelled on till they reached
the tribe of Abs and Adnan, whom they attacked
on all sides, and when the Ghiftanians saw what the
Fazareans were doing, they plunged themselves into
corslets and breastplates, consisting, as we mentioned,
of two thousand men, all harsh-featured lions: they
fought that day, and the next, even till the fourth
day, when the tribe of Ghiftan being routed, Hadifah,
with his Fazareans, gained possession of the
Absian tents, and their property, and their daughters,
and their children, and having rescued their
hostages, they massacred four hundred children of

the tribe of Abs, all boys, from five to ten years old,
making them marks for their arrows. As he returned
home, his wife met him, and she beat the
Absian women with a whip, and abused them, thus
relieving her own heart. Hadifah put all the property
apart, saying to his surrounding warriors, We
must not divide this property yet, till we see what
Aswad will do to the tribe of Abs. But Hadifah
had scarcely finished this sentence, when lo! a dust
obscured the land, and when it cleared, there came
forth the warriors of the tribe of Abs and Adnan,
and Antar at their head, like a furious lion. The
cause of their coming was the men whom they met,
as we mentioned, who told them what Hadifah had
done. The Absians screamed, in agony of woe and
distress, for the men and children that had been
massacred. King Cais assembled the prisoners, and
delivered them over to Harith, saying, These are
thy enemies: take them, and precede us to our
country, whilst we march against the tribe of Fazarah,
for thou canst not fight Hadifah, on account of
your relationship. So he sent with him a party of
Absians, and took the remainder with him, and
departed, a flame burning in his heart, and he thus
addressed them:

"Prepare, ye heroes, implements of war; this
point can only be settled with arms; your little
ones have been massacred—it is a disgrace upon ye;
but it is unavoidable. Hadifah! mayst thou never
drink a drop of liquid! may the rains of the desert
never moisten thee! thou hast indeed made a war

against us that would choke a Sheikh, as if with
poisoned water. But I am now mounted on a
steed, that surpasses the lightning and the winds
in speed, one hindfoot white, black-haired, broad-faced,
whose forehead resembles the first burst of
dawn. O my cousins, all my joys are crushed on
your account, whilst you groan in pain of wounds.
As to my life, I regard it not, when the thick tears
of grief stream down my cheeks. Behind me are
chiefs of the race of Abs, waving long spears in
their hands—warriors irresistible—generous—in
the exposure of their lives they flinch not. Come
on then! shed the blood of the sons of Beder, with
the cleaving scimitar."

As soon as Cais had finished, pride rushed like a
blast into their heads; they hastened on, till they
came nigh to the tribe of Fazarah, who no sooner
ascertained they were Absians, than they were confounded
and bewildered. Now then, my cousins,
cried Hadifah, come on, here is your hated foe.
Spring upon them in the contest, otherwise they will
exterminate ye—they will ravage your property, and
capture your wives. Men soon met men, and warriors
warriors—blood flowed and streamed—limbs
were hewn off—horrible were the scenes of peril;
the convulsions were tremendous—men were precipitated
on the plain of battle. King Cais attacked
in person, and made the carnage rage against his
kindred. Hands were extended to grasp the objects
of their wishes, but did not all succeed. Calamities
smote the tribes of Abs and Fazarah, whilst King

Cais exclaimed, Cousins, whomsoever the hand
touches, slay not; let us deliver them all to the
mothers of the children, whom Hadifah killed with
his arrows. At that time, above four hundred
of the Fazareans had been already slain on the field
of battle; but when they heard this harangue, the
Absians only exerted themselves to take prisoners.
Antar on that day performed achievements to be
recorded, on account of the murder of his friend
Malik. At last, the Absians forced the Fazareans
into their tents; there they slaughtered about a
thousand horsemen, and took five hundred more,
rescuing their own wives, and all their property, and
they returned, exulting in having retaliated. But
when they were settled, King Cais delivered to the
mothers of the children four hundred prisoners,
taking for himself one hundred to murder, in retaliation
for his own son; and he directed all the
women, each to repair to her prisoner, and to torture
him the whole night; and, in the morning, to drag
him forth between the hostile ranks, and murder
him, in retaliation for her child. Each took charge of
her respective prisoner, and she passed the night inflicting
the severest torments, till the crow cawed.
As to the tribe of Fazarah, they retired to their tents,
repenting of what they had done. Hadifah alighted,
gnawing his hands in contrition, as he said to his
brothers, I have no other anguish in my heart, but
in not having succeeded against the Absians. Tomorrow
will I start forth to the contest, and I will
appease my whole heart among them. I will succeed
in my hopes, or I will drink of the cup of
death and perdition. Then he wept, and his brothers
too wept; and as he wept, What mean these tears
and alarms? said Sinan; soon will come the armies
of King Numan, who will extirpate the tribe of Abs.
And know, O Hadifah, the Absians have only
fought with such fury, on account of your massacre
of their children, and your plunder of their property,
and the capture of their wives and families.
Fortune consists of two days. As to the prisoners,
redeem them with cattle, or by war and battle. O
Sinan, said Hadifah, as to the prisoners, not one
will be released, but after a contest that will turn
infants gray, and frighten the stoutest warriors;
if indeed they escape beheading to-morrow. But I
should now like to know what has happened between
the Absians and Prince Aswad. He immediately
sent for one of the prisoners he had that day
taken, and to his inquiries, the Absian told him how
Aswad and fifty chiefs had been captured, and
that they were sent home with Harith. Hadifah
shuddered, and was stupefied. Disgraced are the
Arab chiefs, by the violence of this black slave,
whose obstinacy and fury are incontrollable, exclaimed
Hadifah, and by the outrages of that
treacherous tribe of Abs. Now then, the destruction
of the tribe of Fazarah is at hand. And they remained
in this state till, as the day dawned, the two armies
mounted, and the armour and brilliant mail glittered.
King Cais mounted beneath the banners and standards,
and ordered the women to appear, who came,
each dragging her prisoner by the chin. He commanded
them to slay them, and thus to wreak their
vengeance. Immediately every woman led out her
captive in front of the two armies; she made him
lie down between the two ranks, and slaughtered him,
cutting him across the jugular vein, like the slaughter
of a sheep, whilst her husband assisted her in the
deed; and when all the four hundred warriors were
massacred, King Cais ordered his slaves to murder
the hundred warriors, in retaliation for his own son.
Hadifah and the chieftains of Fazarah were on horseback,
viewing the fate of their cousins. Their
affliction was intense, and there was not one but
dismounted from his horse, and taking off his rustic
clog from his feet, dashed it down on his head, till
he shook out all his double teeth. The news reached
the wives of the murdered, and they rushed out,
overwhelmed with anguish. Upon that, the tribe of
Fazarah brandished their spears and their swords.
The Absians received them on the barbs of their
long lances, and cut through them with their
polished scimitars. It was a day to frighten the
senses—lives were dearly sold—evening and morning
appeared the same—shouts were raised on high—
the morrow and the dawn were annihilated. Lives
were plundered from bodies, and the resolute warrior
cried out, Flinch not from the battle and the contest!
All was exertion—no jest. The Absians
made one universal shout, What a glorious morn!
The Fazareans stood firm with their bold countenances.
How many heroes fled from the fight and
sought the wilds and the waste! blood streamed and
flowed—the whole army was covered with wounds,
and between them lasted an action whose like had
never occurred at that period, and amongst the many
descriptions of it are the following lines:

"I have braved fortune, experienced and wise.
I have endured calamities all my life long, but
never saw I so hostile a day. I never felt from
any one a severer misfortune than that Absian
contest, when they assaulted the sons of Beder.
The tribes were exterminated on that terrific day,
that might be considered as a thousand months of
time. I saw the cloud of their dust, and the
gleaming flash of their swords and spears. How
many heroes I beheld prostrate, struggling with
their feet as the horses passed over them! How
many youths I heard beneath the black columns
of sand, uttering groans that bewildered my faculties!
But had it not been for the Absian slave, who
encountered the Fazarean troops in every direction,
who destroyed the heroes with the Redeinian
spear, as the horses of the sons of Beder rushed
upon him, and slaughtered the enemy with the
sabres, with a heart cut out of the solid rock!!—
God prospered the noble slave, who overthrew a
thousand freeborn in the combat, and when he
wielded his sword in the day of battle, the heroes
might be seen tumbling down before him."

At the close of the day, the two parties alighted
at their respective tents. King Cais then consulted
with Antar, about sending the property and families

to the land of Shurebah and Mount Saadi. Do as
you please, O king, said Antar. Accordingly, he
gave them an escort of one hundred horsemen, under
his brother Harith. Conduct your mother, said he,
and the rest of the women home, and remain with
Harith, son of Zalim, for I will not quit the tribe of
Fazarah till I extirpate every vestige of them, and
leave no record of them. Antar, indeed, had resolved
to take charge of them, but King Cais would
not permit him; so he remained behind, that he
might incur no blame or reproach; and Harith
departed with the property and families. As to the
Fazareans, they halted at their tents, and more than
a third of them had been slain. What say you?
said Sinan to Hadifah, shall I go to your brother-in-law,
Harith, son of Zalim, and throw myself on
his mercy? Perhaps he will now fight for us, or, at
any rate, make peace for us. No, that will not
do, said Hadifah. They continued in conversation
till, the darkness having disappeared, Hadifah descended
into the plain, and as he came night to the
standards of King Cais, O son of Zoheir, he cried,
the wager was between thee and me. The affair
indeed is gone too far, and we have put on the
garments of treachery and outrage, for thou hast
slain my son, and thy slave slew my brother; I slew
thy brother, and it was I who ordered the blow against
thy horse. The other day I slew the infants, and
you, in their stead, have slain as many men. It is
not liberal, that we should permit the women to complain
of us; but let us terminate this affair with our
lives, till one of us be dead: thus will all anxiety and
doubt be at an end; one of us will succeed, and let
the survivor reign over the whole land. Come on
then, I will attack thee, and never will I desist till
thou hast destroyed me, or I have destroyed thee;
and Hadifah thus recited:

"Fortune disregards all respect and engagement;
ofttimes she cajoles us and favours the coward.
In our fathers we are glorified, and from our forefathers
we are made heirs to glory and supremacy.
I have built a mansion of glory, sublime on high,
with spears that make no distinction between
sacred and profane; with swords with which we
encounter horrors and the calamities of the age.
At all times the cleaving sword is my protection;
the sword whose edge fractures bones. I have
granted wealth to the poor, and never withheld
it, and never have I heard reproach. I have pardoned
where I have been able; in my decisions
I have been impartial; I have never broken my
engagements. But I know fortune is a niggard;
its disposition is perfidious, and it owns no nobility.
If joy has its day, and should it even last awhile, the hand of misfortune will turn it into
sorrow for a year. So be impartial to me in the
combat; charge; behold my resolution when the
battle rages, for we have left the women wild with
grief, dashing their hands against their cheeks and
sleepless."

When King Cais and his brothers heard these
verses, they were afraid the Arabs would regard

them with the eye of inferiority; so King Cais
started forth, mounted on the back of his horse, and
thus spoke:

"If thou art in want of compassion, I will confess
on some occasions I travel in the paths of
weakness. I have a steed for mercy bitted with
mercy, and I have a horse for folly saddled with
folly. With him who challenges my resolution I
am straight; and for him who would make me
swerve aside I am crooked. Thou hast outraged
us, son of Beder; and the deed by which thou
hadst conquered is more odious than all that is
most vile; taste, then, the chastisement of violence
before thou drinkest of the cup of death that is
impregnated with poison. I have taken captive
him whose aid ye required. I have returned with
him, and the flame of war increases, and is kindled
anew. We are all lion horsemen, all brave heroes
crowned with glory."

King Cais rushed upon Hadifah, who met him
as the parched earth the first of the rain, both
expressing the deep resentment rankling in their
hearts. In less than an hour they both vanished
from the sight, and the dust thickened over them.
There was not one in the two armies but prepared
for the combat, fearful lest death should overtake
their leaders. Hadifah, before he attacked King
Cais, had already enjoined his brothers, saying,
When you see me drawing King Cais towards you,
rush at him and slay him, and let the Arabs abuse
us to eternity. He thus purposely kept retiring till

he came close to his brothers, who immediately attacked,
and attempted to put Cais to death. But
when Antar saw this treason on the part of the Fazareans,
he assailed them, shouting at them in a
voice like thunder in a cloud, and they instantly
retreated from the scene of action. Antar advanced,
and thus exclaimed:

"I am the son of Shedad, truly the knight of the
Arabs, and the reliever of grievances with the
sharp edge of my sword. The atmosphere is
dust-darkened; the whole region is obscured in
sand-clouds; the light of the sun is veiled; the
dust-wave is on high; warriors charge and approach
the scene where death will be quaffed; the
horses neigh, and the horsemen charge, and the
earth is convulsed at the excess of horrors; it is
a day to turn every hero old, and no one braves
it but the valiant. I have stood firm in it with a
heart that knows no tardiness; conscious of no
fear or alarm. I have plunged into it, and the
dust of death pours over my noble steed, ambling
as he goes. Every eye beholds me and is bewildered;
they approach me, and they are repaid with
death. There is no virtue in the act where death
is not at hand, nor is there any exaltation of soul
to be recorded in history. My parentage is
known amongst the noblest of the creation, for
my resolution, my vigilance, my virtues, and my
superiority."

Having finished, he rushed upon the tribe of Fazarah;
he put them to confusion; he cleft down

their horsemen, singly and in pairs, till he came up
to King Cais and Hadifah, whom he saw clinging
to each other like one individual; he rushed at
them, and dispersing those that surrounded them,
he thrust at Hadifah with his spear, and hurled
him from the back of his horse on the ground, and
brought forth King Cais from the battle, whilst
the Absians turned upon the Fazareans, and let
down infamy and ruin upon them. They took four
hundred prisoners, and two of Hadifah's brothers;
and they continued this cruel work till evening came
on, when they retired to their tents. As soon as
darkness had veiled the earth, behold, three horsemen
arrived out of the hundred whom King Cais
had sent with Harith, son of Zalim, to guard the
prisoners.