only wells; of the Prophet mounting a "kind of throne or pulpit"; of his "throwing himself upon a horse"; and of disputes about the spoil "very nearly proving fatal to the victors themselves," are altogether without foundation. An unpardonable error is that Omar was left behind to defend Medina,—the more unpardonable as the names of the famous 303 warriors are all recorded by careful tradition. The only follower who really was left behind (besides Abu Lubâba for the city's defence) was Othman; and he stayed to watch the deathbed of his wife Rockeya, the Prophet's daughter.

These errors are the more to be regretted as the Moslems regard the victory of Bedr with greater than even their usual pride. Let us now take an instance of one of their defeats. The expedition to Mûta against the Greeks, three years before the Prophet's death, is represented by the Tract Society as ending in a triumph; it is added, "The account of this victory so delighted Mohammed, that he bestowed on Khaled the title of being `One of the swords of the Lord.'" Irvine, going still further wrong, says that the Greeks "were pursued with great slaughter. Khaled then plundered their camp, in which was found great booty." But the facts of the case are, beyond question, in an entirely different direction. The defeat of the Moslems was complete, and the carnage fearful. It was only by the most masterly generalship that Khaled managed to save any portion of the army; and when the remnants that escaped returned in disgrace to Medina, the inhabitants assembled to meet them, and cast dirt in their faces, with taunts such as. these, "Ah, ye runaways! shame upon you, that ye dare to turn your backs when fighting for the Lord!" Mohammed stilled the people, and comforted the fugitives, saying, "Nay! they are not runaways: but they are men who shall return again unto the battle, if the Lord will."

Not to weary the reader with the inaccuracies which abound everywhere, let us take just one more from the closing scene:—