tha t was a king, would not be fond o f war ? David, however,
•curfes thofe that delight in war, fays Ammoniôs. Therefore,
replied I, there muft be pleafurein it, or elfe no body would
fa ll into a fin that was difagreeable in itfelf, and at the lame
time forbidden by God. Well, well, replied Ammonios, this is
mot a time for argument, fee what a glorious Ipeétacle we
lha ll all be before funfet.
At this time Powüflèri’s whole army was diftinflly feen;
th e y came riding backwards and forwards with great violence,
more as i f they were diverting themfelves, than advancing
to attack an enemy, o f Our cônfequence, that was
waiting them. They feemed like two wings, and a main bod
y , each nearly equal in numbers, as far as I could guefs, and
are defcribed in the plan by the letters L L, but they were
fometimes all in one croud together, and in fuch perpetual
motion, that it was impollible to afcertain their precife
form.
Four men, upon unruly, high-mettled; or at leaft ill-
hroke horfes, rode galloping à fmall fpace before, conver-
fing together, as i f making their obfervations upon u s i
th e y were now arrived at about fix hundred yards diftance,
b u t it was not a time to make accurate calculation ; they
then made a flop, and began extending the left o f their
line to the weftward, as defcribed by M M. I fuppofe, too,
their horfes needed to breathe a little, after they had fo
imprudently blown them to no purpofe.
In the middle o f their cavalry, or rather a little more
towards their right, than oppofite to the place where the
k in g was, a large red flag was feen to rife, and was faluted
i by
by the drums and trumpets o f their whole army. An accident
happened at this moment, which endangered the
difcovery o f the hidden part, o f our difpofition, and which
would thereby have dellroyed the fanguine hopes .we had
o f v ifto ry , and endangered the fafety o f the whole army.
Upon difplaying the red flag, two mufquets were fired from
the poll in the face o f the hill where Guebra Mafcal lay in
ambuih. Luckily, at that very inflant, all'the k in g ’s drums
beat, and trumpets founded, a kind o f mock alarm, (fuch
as the pollute-mailers and mountebanks u fe ,) in ridicule
q f k in g Theodorus,,and his red flag then flying before
us.
I m m e d i a t e l y upon this, as on a fignal for battle, the
whole army o f Begemder fet out fu ll gallop, to charge, as
at N N, and a long hundred yards before they joined, they
received, through the very depth o f their fquadron, a clofe
well-diredied fire from the whole mufquetry o f Guebra
Mafcal, and from the k in g ’s line an inflant after, which
put them into the utmoft confufion, fo that they in parr
came reeling down upon our line, h a lf wheeled about to
the left, as men that had loft their way , with their right;
that is, their naked fides expofed as they turned, the ir
ihields being in their left. The fire from Guebra Mafcal was
the fignal for our line to charge, and the heavy- armed horfe-
ihen, with their pikes, broke thro’ them with little refinance,
the line in the mean while, with horfe and foot, clofed w ith
them, after the mufquets had given them their fire, and)
then ftaid behind to recharge. Part o f their left did not
engage-at all, but wheeled about, and fled fouthward over
the plain.: - •
Whilb