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[74] and Chosroes,[75]
and confided in the fidelity of the tribe of Tai, which would have
armed ten thousand warriors in his defense. 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.[76] 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 prest 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 Koran in the other: his generous band of martyrs
consisted only of thirty-two horse and forty foot; but their flanks
and rear were secured by the tentropes, and by a deep trench which
they had filled with lighted fagots, according to the practise of the
Arabs. The enemy advanced with reluctance; and one of their chiefs
deserted, with thirty followers, to claim the partnership of
inevitable death. In every close onset, or single combat, the despair
of the Fatimites was invincible; but the surrounding multitudes galled
them from a distance with a cloud of arrows, and the horses and men
were successively slain: a truce was allowed on both sides for the
hour of prayer; and the battle at length expired by the death of the
last of the companions of Hosein. Alone, weary, and wounded, he seated
himself at the door of his ten