and the knights of the land of Egypt. Thy name becomes like that of
Qazairnai, the lord of Asel, when the lions found him in the thicket, in
the defile which is rendered dangerous by the Shasu who lie in ambush
among the trees. They measured four cubits from the nose to the heel,
they had a grim look, without softness; they cared not for caresses.

"Thou art alone, no strong one is with thee, no _armée_ is behind thee,
no _Ariel_ who prepares the way for thee, and gives thee information of
the road before thee. Thou knowest not the road. The hair on thy head
stands on end; it bristles up. Thy soul is given into thy hands. Thy
path is full of rocks and boulders, there is no outlet near, it is
overgrown with creepers and wolf's-bane. The precipice is on one side of
thee, the mountain and the wall of rock on the other. Thou drivest in
against it. The chariot jumps on which thou art. Thou art troubled to
hold up thy horses. If it falls down the precipice, the pole drags thee
down too. Thy _ceintures_ are pulled away. They fall down. Thou
shacklest the horse, because the pole is broken on the path of the
defile. Not knowing how to tie it up, thou understandest not how it is
to be repaired. The _essieu_ is left on the spot, as the load is too
heavy for the horses. Thy courage has evaporated. Thou beginnest to run.
The heaven is cloudless. Thou art thirsty; the enemy is behind thee; a
trembling seizes thee; a twig of thorny acacia worries thee; thou
thrustest it aside; the horse is scratched till at length thou findest
rest.

"Explain to me thy liking for [the life of] a Mohar!

"Thou comest into Joppa; thou findest the date-palm in full bloom in its
time. Thou openest wide thy mouth in order to eat. Thou findest that the
maid who keeps the garden is fair. She does whatever thou wantest of