ose title he had never deigned to
acknowledge. A list was secretly transmitted from Cufa to Medina, of one
hundred and forty thousand Moslems, who professed their attachment to
his cause, and who were eager to draw their swords so soon as he should
appear on the banks of the Euphrates. Against the advice of his wisest
friends, he resolved to trust his person and family in the hands of a
perfidious people. He traversed the desert of Arabia with a timorous
retinue of women and children; but as he approached the confines of
Irak he was alarmed by the solitary or hostile face of the country,
and suspected either the defection or ruin of his party. His fears
were just: Obeidollah, the governor of Cufa, had extinguished the first
sparks of an insurrection; and Hosein, in the plain of Kerbela, was
encompassed by a body of five thousand horse, who intercepted his
communication with the city and the river. He might still have escaped
to a fortress in the desert, that had defied the power of Caesar and
Chosroes, and confided in the fidelity of the tribe of Tai, which would
have armed ten thousand warriors in his defence. In a conference with
the chief of the enemy, he proposed the option of three honorable
conditions: that he should be allowed to return to Medina, or be
stationed in a frontier garrison against the Turks, or safely conducted
to the presence of Yezid. But the commands of the caliph, or his
lieutenant, were stern and absolute; and Hosein was informed that he
must either submit as a captive and a criminal to the commander of the
faithful, or expect the consequences of his rebellion. "Do you think,"
replied he, "to terrify me with death?" And, during the short respite of
a night, he prepared with calm and solemn resignation to encounter his
fate. He checked the lamentations of his sister Fatima, who deplored the
impending ruin of his house. "Our trust," said Hosein, "is in God alone.
All things, both in heaven and earth, must perish and return to their
Creator. My brother, my father, my mother, were better than me, and
every Mussulman has an example in the prophet." He pressed his friends
to consult their safety by a timely flight: they unanimously refused to
desert or survive their beloved master: and their courage was fortified
by a fervent prayer and the assurance of paradise. On the morning of the
fatal day, he mounted on horseback, with his sword in one hand and
the Koran in the other: his generous band of martyrs