" He rode upon a dappled steed With housings richly dight, And at his left side clanking hung A scimitar of might.

My heart sank within me as I perceived the number of our enemies, thirty or forty, as I reckon (but happily not above half a dozen armed men), and Mohand ou Mohand amongst them with a scimitar in his hand; for now I foresaw the carnage which must ensue when we were boarded.

I did so, and immediately all the troops gave a shout between terror and surprise: for the sun shone clear, and the reflection dazzled their eyes, as I waved the scimitar to and fro in my hand.

And at that instant the gods of the jungle, always waiting with drawn scimitar for the unsuspecting, turned against them.

Bohannan whistled his scimitar through the air.

As far as I could see there were not more than half-a-dozen other men in the room who had rifles with them, although all had daggers, and some wore curved scimitars with gold-inlaid hilts.