68 THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book IV.

eight of our own knights. Still the second madeamends by striking in the exact middle of thosechoicest Islamites, and swept away twenty of them,which was such a thunderstorm to the rest, thatthey fled, and never could be got to return. OfSpahis and maddened Delhis various parties nextflew forward; and Janissaries with reiteratedefforts, often refreshing with food and excitingdrinks, but were as often driven back. Dervishes,emirs, sheriffs, and the whole band of Santons,with the most fanatical of sectaries, the Arapies,utterly regardless of their lives, endeavoured toscale the cavalier, but were unsuccessful the same.The circles of fire rolled down on them, andseveral, by half-dozens at a time, were consumed,tearing each other, and shrieking in spasms of themost frantic torture. Lofty this mountain ! Theresparkle the waves a thousand feet below you, intothem if you can! Whirling, tossing with fieryconvulsions in every direction, rolling too wildto look at, a blazing hurricane, with a mostagonized human voice, now excruciating and loud,in various tones of intolerable pain—now so faint;at least the death they yelled for (though slow totheir impatience) came in less than half an hour.

Nevertheless, two of the very wildest of thedesperate fanatics, cheered on by Mustapha him-