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
her.... Thou art recognized, thou art brought to trial, and owest thy
preservation to being a Mohar. Thy girdle of the finest stuff thou
payest as the price of a worthless rag. Thou sleepest every evening with
a rug of fur over thee. Thou sleepest a deep sleep, for thou art weary.
A thief steals thy bow and thy sword from thy side; thy quiver and thy
armour are cut to pieces in the darkness; thy pair of horses run away.
The groom takes his course over a slippery path which rises before him.
He breaks thy chariot in pieces; he follows thy foot-steps. [He finds]
thy equipments which had fallen on the ground and had sunk into the
sand, leaving only an empty space.

"Prayer does not avail thee, even when thy mouth says, 'Give food in
addition to water, that I may reach my goal in safety,' they are deaf
and will not hear. They say not yes to thy words. The iron-workers enter
into the smithy; they rummage in the workshops of the carpenters; the
handicraftsmen and saddlers are at hand; they do whatever thou
requirest. They put together thy chariot; they put aside the parts of it
that are made useless; thy spokes are _faconne_ quite new; thy wheels
are put on; they put the _courroies_ on the axles and on the hinder
part; they splice thy yoke, they put on the box of thy chariot; the
[workmen] in iron forge the ...; they put the ring that is wanting on
thy whip, they replace the _lanieres_ upon it.

"Thou goest quickly onward to fight on the battle-field, to do the deeds
of a strong hand and of firm courage.

"Before I wrote I sought me out a Mohar who knows his power and leads
the _jeunesse_, a chief in the _armee_, [who travels] even to the end of
the world.

"Answer me not 'This is g