TIMUR BEG. 
19 
cravings of a long-defrauded appetite, Timur, seizing 
the dish, began to devour its contents with incautious 
precipitation, taking them from the centre instead of 
from the sides, and thus burnt his mouth. His 
hostess, smiling at the accident, thus addressed him : 
— ■“ Be advised, prince, from the smart occasioned by 
your present hurry, to begin for the future with the 
sides of a dish of hot rice rather than the centre. 
You may learn from this trifling event a lesson not to 
be despised ; which is, that by carrying on war with 
too great eagerness into the heart of a country with- 
out having first secured the extremities, you will 
expose yourself to danger and misfortune.” 
Timur did not forget this lesson in his prosperity, 
but acted upon it in all his future enterprises. The 
rational policy which it taught could not escape the 
ready penetration of his quick and comprehensive 
mind. From this time forward he never left any- 
thing behind which might embarrass his march, ob- 
struct his retreat, or offer impediments to his progress. 
He invariably secured success by the nice precautions 
with which all his measures were taken, the extreme 
judgment with which he calculated contingencies, and 
the skilful provisions which he made against failure. 
This was his first defeat, and it served to make him 
more wary in all his subsequent expeditions. 
Though reduced to a state of extreme distress, the 
prince did not despond. The prodigious energies of 
his intellect were rather excited than cramped by 
this unexpected reverse. By degrees his dispersed 
comrades assembled, and once more rallied round 
him. Those who had escaped persuaded others of 
