p ro sp e c t o f th e glorious p riz e. Zo b e ir, a y o u n g an d no b le arab,
ad v ised A b d a llah to re to rt th e offer on th e im p eria l p re fe c t. A t
th e same tim e h e recom men d ed , th a t a p a rt o f th e moslern forces
sh o u ld lie concealed in th e ir te n ts , w h ile th e rem a in d e r k e p t u p
th e usual m o rn in g co n te s t w ith th e en em y . W h e n th e w earied
troops o f th e em p ire h ad re tired to p rep a re for th e refre shm en t o f
th e evening, u n b rid led th e ir horses, an d laid aside th e ir arm o u r;
on a su d d en th e ch a rg e was so unded, th e arabian camp p o u red
fo rth a h o s t o f fresh a n d in trep id warriors, an d th e lo n g lin e o f
th e g re ek s an d africans was surprised, assaulted, o v e rtu rn ed . T h e
v ic to ry was complete, a n d T rip o li op en ed it’s g ates to th e co n qu
ero r. G reg o ry fell b y th e swo rd o f Z o b e ir: b u t th e e n th u s iastic
w a rrio r d isd a in ed to claim th e rew ard pro p o sed a t his own
su g g e stio n ; n o r wo u ld his a ch iev em en t h av e b e e n k n ow n , h ad
n o t th e te ars a n d exclamations o f th e captive m a id on seeing him
proclaimed, w h a t h is own mo d e sty h ad concealed.
les je u n e s A fric a in s é to ie n t e xc ité s p a r l’a p p a t de ce p rix glo rieu x . Z o b é ir, je u n e e t noble
Arab e , conse illa à Ab d a llah de fa ire u n e pa re ille offre p o u r celle d u p ré fé t impérial. Il
d o n n a en même tem p s le conse il de la isse r c a chées d ans leurs ten te s u n e p a rtie des
forc e s m oslém ite s, tan d is q ue le re s te se b a ttro it le m a tin comme d ’o rd in a ire co n tre
l'e n n em i. L o rsq u e les tro u p e s fa tigué e s de l’em p ire se fu re n t re tiré e s p o u r se p rép a re r
a u repos d u soir, q u ’elles eu re n t débridé les chev au x e t q u itté le u r a rm u re , on sonna
au s s itô t la c h a rg e ; u n e a rm é e de g u e rrie rs frais e t in trép id e s s'é lan ç a d u c amp a rabe , e t
la lo n g u e lig n e des Grecs e t des A fric a in s fu t surprise , assaillie, renversée. L a v ic toire
fu t com p lè te , e t T rip o li o u v rit ses po rte s au v a in q u eu r. G rég o ire tom b a sous les coups
de Z o b é ir; ma is l’en th o u sia ste g u e rrie r déda igna de ré c lam e r la ré compense q u ’on avoit
proposé e d 'a p rè s son conse il: e t son a c tio n n ’au ro it pa s même é té co nnue , si les pleurs
e t les c ris de la fille c ap tiv e de G régoire q u i e n fû t témoin n 'a v o it pas pro c lam é c e que
sa mode stie av o it caché.
» Il
I f il.