[399]
As soon as I had gotten intelligence of this, I sent two thousand
armed men, and a captain over them, whose name was Jeremiah, who raised
a bank a furlong off Julias, near to the river Jordan, and did no more
than skirmish with the enemy; till I took three thousand soldiers myself,
and came to them. But on the next day, when I had laid an ambush in a certain
valley, not far from the banks, I provoked those that belonged to the king
to come to a battle, and gave orders to my own soldiers to turn their backs
upon them, until they should have drawn the enemy away from their camp,
and brought them out into the field, which was done accordingly; for Sylla,
supposing that our party did really run away, was ready to pursue them,
when our soldiers that lay in ambush took them on their backs, and put
them all into great disorder. I also immediately made a sudden turn with
my own forces, and met those of the king's party, and put them to flight.
And I had performed great things that day, if a certain fate had not been
my hinderance; for the horse on which I rode, and upon whose back I fought,
fell into a quagmire, and threw me on the ground, and I was bruised on
my wrist, and carried into a village named Cepharnome, or Capernaum. When
my soldiers heard of this, they were afraid I had been worse hurt than
I was; and so they did not go on with their pursuit any further, but returned
in very great concern for me. I therefore sent for the physicians, and
while I was under their hands, I continued feverish that day; and as the
physicians directed, I was that night removed to Taricheee.
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