ood the charioteer, who
drove it in battle, and the groom, whose business it was to ward off
with the shield the blows aimed at the combatant, while the latter
discharged the arrows or threw the javelins which he took from the
quivers on either side of the car.

In the wake of the princes followed the chariots, the Egyptian
cavalry, twenty thousand in number, each drawn by two horses and
holding three men. They advanced ten in a line, the axletrees
perilously near together, but never coming in contact with each other,
so great was the address of the drivers.

Several lighter chariots, used for skirmishing and reconnoitring,
marched at the head and carried one warrior only, who in order to
leave his hands free for fighting wound the reins around his body: by
bending to the right or the left, or backwards, he guided or stopped
his horses; and it was really wonderful to see the noble animals,
apparently left to themselves, but governed by imperceptible
movements, keep up an undisturbedly regular pace....

The stamping of the horses, held in with difficulty, the thundering of
the bronze-covered wheels, the metallic clash of weapons, gave to this
line something formidable and imposing enough to raise terror in the
most intrepid bosoms. The helmets, plumes, and breastplates dotted
with red, green, and yellow, the gilded bows and brass swords,
glittered and blazed terribly in the light of the sun, open in the
sky, above the Libyan chain, like a great Osirian eye; and it was felt
that the onslaught of such an army must sweep away the nations like a
whirlwind which drives a light straw before it.

Beneath these innumerable wheels the earth resounded and trembled, as
if it had been moved by some convulsion of nature.

To the chariots succeeded the battalions of infantry, marching in
order, their shields on the left arm; in the right hand the lance,
curved club, bow, sling, or axe, according as they were armed; the
heads of these soldiers were covered with helmets, adorned with two
horsehair tails, their bodies girded with a cuirass belt of crocodile
skin. Their impassible look, the perfect regularity of their
movements, their reddish copper complexions, deepened by a recent
expedition to the burning regions of Upper Ethiopia, their clothing
powdered with the desert sand, they awoke admiration by their
discipline and courage. With soldiers like these, Egypt could conquer
the world. After them came the allied troops, recogniz