Upon turning out those articles, the enemy pledged their faith and
honor that they would not attack him. On these he relied and
therefore thought it unnecessary to be on his guard against the enemy.
But their pledges of faith and honor proved no better than those of
other unprincipled hostile nations; for a few days after a certain
relation of the king came and informed him, that the enemy who sent
terms of accommodation to him, and received tribute to their
satisfaction, yet meditated an attack on his subjects by surprise, and
that probably they would commence their attack in less than one day,
and concluded with advising him, as he was not prepared for war, to
order a speedy retreat of his family and subjects. He complied with
this advice.
The same night which was fixed upon to retreat, my father and his
family set off about break of day. The king and his two younger wives
went in one company, and my mother and her children in another. We
left our dwellings in succession, and my father's company went on
first. We directed our course for a large shrub plain, some distance
off, where we intended to conceal ourselves from the approaching
enemy, until we could refresh and rest ourselves a little. But we
presently found that our retreat was not secure. For having struck up
a little fire for purposes of cooking victuals, the enemy who happened
to be encamped a little distance off, had sent out a scouting party
which discovered us by the smoke of the fire, just as we were
extinguishing it and about to eat.
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