d by a forest of lances, from which there was no escape
but in breaking their ranks and seeking refuge among the rocks. A
great number of emirs, above three thousand officers, and twenty
thousand soldiers fell in the action or pursuit. Four thousand of
the Crusaders had perished, almost all in the first action. The
enemy's camp, distant two leagues from the field of battle, fell
into the hands of the Crusaders, with vast stores of provisions,
tents magnificently ornamented, immense treasures, and a vast
number of camels. The sight of these animals, which they had not
yet seen in the East, gave them as much surprise as pleasure. The
dismounted horsemen mounted the swift steeds of the Saracens to
pursue the broken remains of the enemy. Towards evening they
returned to the camp loaded with booty, and preceded by their
priests singing triumphant songs and hymns of victory. On the
following day the Christians interred their dead, shedding tears of
sorrow. The priests read prayers over them, and numbered them among
the saints in heaven."--_Hist. des Croisades_, i. 228-233.

This extract gives an idea at once of the formidable nature of the
contest which awaited the Christians in their attempts to recover the
Holy Land, of the peculiar character of the attack and defence on both
sides, and of the talent for graphic and lucid description which M.
Michaud possesses. It is curious how identical the attack of the West
and defence of the East are the same in all ages. The description of the
manner in which the Crusading warriors were here drawn into a pursuit
of, and then enveloped by the Asiatic light horse, is precisely the same
as that in which the legions of Crassus were destroyed; and might pass
for a narrative of the way in which Napoleon's European cavalry were cut
to pieces by the Arab horse at the combat at Salahout, near the Red Sea;
or Lord Lake's horse worsted in the first part of the battle of Laswaree
in India, before the infantry came up, and, by storming the batteries,
restored the combat. On the other hand, the final overthrow of the
Saracens at Dorislaus was evidently owing to their imprudence in
_standing firm_, and awaiting in that position the attack of the
Christians. They did so, trusting to the strength of the rocky ridge on
which they were posted; but that advantage, great as it was, by no means
rendered them a match in close fig