LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 233 



what thou hast promised f ' alkiding to the celestial 

 reinforcement which he had demanded of Gabriel. 

 In this manner he continued in great perturbation 

 to uTCstle with Providence till the mantle fell from 

 his shoulders. Then starting as from a trance,— 

 " Triumph, Abu Beker ! triumph ! behold the squad- 

 rons of Heaven flying to our aid !"' It is not impro- 

 bable he had observed his little army beginning to 

 waver or give wav, and adopted this pretext for re- 

 kindling their enthusiasm. At that decisive mo- 

 ment he mounted his horse, placed himself at their 

 head, and hi a few verses of the Koran announced 

 the arrival of their celestial auxiharies. The I\Ius- 

 sulmans were inflamed with renewed ardour, and 

 imagined that the heavenly militia were to fight 

 their battles. The Korcish were dismayed and 

 fled, leaving seventy of their warriors dead on the 

 field, and seventy prisoners in the hands of the 

 Faithful. 



The glorj' of this first victory of the Moslems, the 

 Koran has more than once piously attributed to the 

 effect of Divine assistance. Their historians relate 

 that the angelic chivalry, with Gabriel at their head, 

 did fri2:htful execution with their invisible swords on 

 the terrified idolaters ; though we cannot help tliink- 

 ing a smaller number than 3000 (others say 9000) 

 might have sufficed for the destruction of threescore 

 and ten of the Koreish. vSuch stories must to us 

 Eppear idle and ridiculous ; but they ^vere the fuel 

 Avith which ]\Iohammed inflamed the martial enthu- 

 siasm of his army. . It was by fostering the idea of 

 God being their protector that he rendered them in- 

 vincible ; and such was the empire he had obtained 

 over their imagiaations, that he found it his interest 

 to attribute to miracles the remarkable success 

 which arose from the blind fanaticism wherewith he 

 had himself inspired them. 



The capture of their last caravan had determined 

 the Meccans, in their next journev to Syria, to take 



U2 



