nor did any
turn round. Each fell, and none raised himself up again."

The temporary isolation of the monarch, which is the main point of the
heroic poem of Pentaour, and which Ramesses himself recorded over and
over again upon the walls of his magnificent constructions, must no
doubt be regarded as a fact; but it is not likely to have continued for
more than a few minutes. The minutes may have seemed as hours to the
king; and there may have been time for him to perform several exploits.
But we may be sure that, when his companions found that he was lost to
their sight, they at once made frantic efforts to recover him, dead or
alive; they forced openings in the first Hittite chariot line, and sped
to the rescue of their sovereign. He had, perhaps, already emptied many
chariots of the second line, which was paralysed by his audacity; and
his companions found it easy to complete the work which he had begun.
The broken second line turned and fled; the confusion became general; a
headlong flight carried the entire host to the banks of the Orontes,
into which some precipitated themselves, while others were forced into
the water by their pursuers. The king of Khirabu (Aleppo) was among
these, and was with great difficulty drawn out by his friends, exhausted
and half dead, when he reached the eastern shore. But the great bulk of
the Hittite army perished, either in the battle or in the river. Among
the killed and wounded were Grabatasa, the charioteer of Khitasir;
Tarakennas, the commander of the cavalry; Rabsuna, another general;
Khirapusar, a royal secretary; and Matsurama, a brother of the Hittite
king.

On the next day the battle was renewed; but, after a short time,
Khitasir retired, and sent a humble embassy to the camp of his adversary
to implore for peace. Ramesses held a council of war with his generals,
and by their advice agreed to accept the submission made to him, and,
without entering into any formal engagement, to withdraw his army and
return to Egypt. It seems probable that his victory had cost him dear,
and that he was not in a condition to venture further from his
resources, or to affront new dangers in a difficult, and to him unknown,
region.

Experience tells us that it is one thing to gain a battle, quite another
to be successful in the result of a long war. Whatever glory Ramesses
obtained by the battle of Kadesh, and the other victories which he
claims to have won in the Syrian campaigns of several s