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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Crusaders, by John G. Edgar
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Boy Crusaders
+       A Story of the Days of Louis IX.
+
+Author: John G. Edgar
+
+Release Date: September 19, 2008 [EBook #26671]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY CRUSADERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was made using scans of public domain works in the
+International Children's Digital Library.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+          Presented to Master
+          Thomas St. Lawrence
+          Stephenson as a Birthday
+          present from the Crew
+          of the yacht "Northumbria"
+
+               Sept. 12th 1841[1]
+
+[Illustration: In vain were all attempts to drag him from his steed;
+before his mighty battle-axe the Saracens seemed to fall as corn before
+the reaper.--p. 169.]
+
+
+
+
+THE
+
+BOY CRUSADERS:
+
+=A Story of the Days of Louis IX.=
+
+BY
+
+J. G. EDGAR,
+
+AUTHOR OF 'THE BOY PRINCES,' ETC.
+
+=Eight Full Page Illustrations.=
+
+=Edinburgh:=
+
+GALL & INGLIS, 6 GEORGE STREET.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+AMONG the many adventurous enterprises which rendered the age of
+feudalism and chain-armour memorable in history, none were more
+remarkable or important than the 'armed pilgrimages' popularly known as
+the Crusades; and, among the expeditions which the warriors of mediaeval
+Europe undertook with the view of rescuing the Holy Sepulchre from the
+Saracens, hardly one is so interesting as that which had Louis IX. for
+its chief and Joinville for its chronicler.
+
+In this volume I have related the adventures of two striplings, who,
+after serving their apprenticeship to chivalry in a feudal castle in the
+north of England, assumed the cross, embarked for the East, took part in
+the crusade headed by the saint-King of France, and participated in the
+glory and disaster which attended the Christian army, after landing at
+Damietta--including the carnage of Mansourah, and the massacre of
+Minieh.
+
+In writing the 'Boy Crusaders' for juvenile readers, my object has
+been--while endeavouring to give those, for whose perusal the work is
+intended, as faithful a picture as possible of the events which
+Joinville has recorded--to convey, at the same time, as clear an idea as
+my limits would permit, of the career and character of the renowned
+French monarch who, in peril and perplexity, in captivity and chains, so
+eminently signalised his valour and his piety.
+
+                                                   J. G. E.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                  PAGE
+        I. A FEUDAL CASTLE                    9
+       II. THE BROTHERS-IN-ARMS              14
+      III. THE HEIRS OF THE ESPECS           21
+       IV. ST. LOUIS                         28
+        V. TAKING THE CROSS                  36
+       VI. EMBARKING FOR THE EAST            41
+      VII. THE ARMED PILGRIMS AT CYPRUS      45
+     VIII. EASTWARD                          49
+       IX. AN ADVENTURE                      55
+        X. ON THE LADDER OF LIFE             60
+       XI. THE VOYAGE                        68
+      XII. AT DAMIETTA                       74
+     XIII. INCURSIONS                        82
+      XIV. A RENEGADE                        88
+       XV. CAPTURE OF A CARAVAN              96
+      XVI. A COUNCIL OF WAR                 103
+     XVII. FACE TO FACE                     109
+    XVIII. DELAY AND DANGER                 113
+      XIX. THE CAPTIVE                      119
+       XX. PASSING THE ACHMOUN              124
+      XXI. THE CARNAGE OF MANSOURAH         128
+     XXII. THE BATTLE                       136
+    XXIII. HOW JOINVILLE KEPT THE BRIDGE    142
+     XXIV. THE FIRST FRIDAY IN LENT         150
+      XXV. MORTIFICATIONS AND MISERIES      158
+     XXVI. THE MASSACRE OF MINIEH           165
+    XXVII. JOINVILLE IN PERIL               173
+   XXVIII. NEWS OF DISASTER                 181
+     XXIX. A WOUNDED PILGRIM                185
+      XXX. ST. LOUIS IN CHAINS              191
+     XXXI. THE TRAGEDY OF PHARESCOUR        199
+    XXXII. PERILS AND SUSPENSE              204
+   XXXIII. ACRE                             210
+    XXXIV. A RESCUE                         214
+     XXXV. MISSION TO BAGDAD                222
+    XXXVI. THE LAST OF THE CALIPHS          229
+   XXXVII. A RECOGNITION                    234
+  XXXVIII. WOE TO THE CALIPH                240
+    XXXIX. IN THE LION'S MOUTH              246
+       XL. END OF THE ARMED PILGRIMAGE      253
+      XLI. A SUDDEN DISCOVERY               260
+     XLII. HOMEWARD BOUND                   266
+    XLIII. A ROYAL VISIT                    272
+     XLIV. THE FEAST OF KINGS               279
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY CRUSADERS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+A FEUDAL CASTLE.
+
+
+IT was the age of chain armour and tournaments--of iron barons and
+barons' wars--of pilgrims and armed pilgrimages--of forests and forest
+outlaws--when Henry III. reigned as King of England, and the feudal
+system, though no longer rampant, was still full of life and energy;
+when Louis King of France, afterwards canonised as St. Louis, undertook
+one of the last and most celebrated of those expeditions known as the
+Crusades, and described as 'feudalism's great adventure, and popular
+glory.'
+
+At the time when Henry was King of England and when Louis of France was
+about to embark for the East, with the object of rescuing the Holy
+Sepulchre from the Saracens, there stood on the very verge of
+Northumberland a strong baronial edifice, known as the Castle of Wark,
+occupying a circular eminence, visible from a great distance, and
+commanding such an extensive view to the north as seemed to ensure the
+garrison against any sudden inroad on the part of the restless and
+refractory Scots. On the north the foundations were washed by the waters
+of the Tweed, here broad and deep; and on the south were a little town,
+which had risen under the protection of the castle, and,--stretching
+away towards the hills of Cheviot,--an extensive park or chase,
+abounding with wild cattle and deer and beasts of game. At an earlier
+period this castle had been a possession of the famous house of Espec;
+and, when in after days it came into the hands of the Montacute Earls of
+Salisbury, Edward III. was inspired within its walls with that romantic
+admiration of the Countess of Salisbury which resulted in the
+institution of the Order of the Garter. During the fifth decade of the
+thirteenth century, however, it was the chief seat of Robert, Lord de
+Roos, a powerful Anglo-Norman noble, whose father had been one of the
+barons of Runnymede and one of the conservators of the Great Charter.
+
+Like most of the fortresses built by the Norman conquerors of England,
+Wark consisted of a base-court, a keep, and a barbican in front of the
+base-court. The sides of the walls were fortified with innumerable
+angles, towers, and buttresses, and surmounted with strong battlements
+and hornworks. For greater security the castle was encompassed, save
+towards the Tweed, with a moat or deep ditch, filled with water, and
+fortified with strong palisades, and sharp stakes set thick all around
+the walls. Over the moat, at the principal gate, was the drawbridge,
+which was almost always raised, and the gate-house, a square building,
+having strong towers at each corner. Over the entrance and within the
+square of the gate-house was an arched vault, and over it was a chamber
+with apertures, through which, on occasion of an assault, the garrison,
+unseen the whilst, could watch the operations of the foe, and pour
+boiling water or melted lead on the foremost assailants. On the west
+side were the outworks, consisting of a platform with a trench half a
+mile in length, and breastworks, and covered ways, and mounds. The roofs
+of the building were bordered with parapets, guard walks, and sentry
+boxes.
+
+But the whole space was not appropriated to works intended to ensure the
+stronghold against the assault of foes. Near the mound was the chapel
+dedicated to St. Giles. Under the outer wall was a military walk, five
+yards wide, and forty-eight yards in length. Underneath the walls, on
+the brink of the river, was a beautiful terrace, called the Maiden's
+Walk, where the lady of the castle and her damsels, after their labours
+at the loom, were wont to take air and exercise on a summer evening, ere
+the vesper bell rang, and the bat began to hunt the moth. Within the
+precincts of the building was the tiltyard, a broad space enclosed with
+rails, and covered with sawdust, where young men of gentle blood, in the
+capacity of pages and squires, acquired the chivalrous accomplishments
+which the age prized so highly.
+
+In fact, the castle of Wark, like most feudal castles of that century,
+was a school of chivalry, whither the sons of nobles and knights were
+sent to serve their apprenticeship as warriors, taught their duty to God
+and the ladies, and trained to the skill in arms which enabled them to
+compel the respect of one sex and influence the hearts of the other.
+
+First, on foot, they were taught to attack the pel, an imaginary
+adversary, which was simply the stump of a tree six feet in height;
+then, on horseback, they were made to charge the quintain, a wooden
+figure in the form of a Saracen, armed in mail and holding a sabre in
+one hand and a shield in the other, and so constructed to move on a
+pivot that, unless the youth was dexterous enough to strike the face or
+breast, it revolved rapidly, and dealt him a heavy blow on the back as
+he was retiring. As the lads became more expert they tilted at each
+other with blunt lances, practised riding at the ring, and learned to
+excel as equestrians by riding in a circle, vaulting from their steeds
+in the course of their career, and mounting again while they galloped.
+
+At the same time they were trained to acquit themselves with credit in
+those encounters celebrated as combats at the barriers. At the sieges of
+cities, during the middle ages, knights of the besieging army were in
+the habit of going to the barriers, or grated palisades of the fortress,
+and defying the garrison to break a lance for the honour of their
+ladies. Indeed, this was so fashionable, that an army could hardly
+appear before a town without the siege giving rise to a variety of such
+combats, which were generally conducted with fairness on both sides.
+This mode of attack was early taught to the apprentice to chivalry, and
+assiduously practised by all who were ambitious of knightly honour.
+
+Nor did the exercises of the tiltyard end at this stage. At the time of
+which I write, the name of Richard Coeur de Lion was famous in Europe
+and Asia; and his feats in arms were on every tongue. One of his great
+exploits at the battle of Joppa was especially the admiration of the
+brave. It seems that, when the Crusaders were surrounded and almost
+overwhelmed by the swarming host of Saladin, Richard, who, up to that
+moment, had neither given nor received a wound, suddenly sprang on his
+charger, drew his sword, laid his lance in rest, and with his sword in
+one hand, and his lance in the other, spurred against the Saracens,
+striking sparks from their helmets and armour, and inspiring such terror
+that his foes were completely routed. Naturally such an exploit made a
+strong impression on the imagination of aspirants to warlike fame, and
+the youth who had the dexterity and the equestrian skill to imitate it
+in mimic fray was regarded with admiration and envy.
+
+Now our concern with Wark, and its tiltyard, is simply this--that,
+within the castle, there were trained in the exercises of chivalry, and
+qualified for its honours, two striplings, who, when St. Louis took the
+Cross, and undertook a holy war, embarked for the East, and figured,
+during a memorable expedition, as the Boy Crusaders.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE BROTHERS-IN-ARMS.
+
+
+ON the last Wednesday of the month of July, in the year 1248, the castle
+of Wark reposed in the sunshine and warmth of a bright merry summer's
+day; and, the exercises in the tiltyard being over for the morning, two
+of the apprentices to chivalry, whose dress indicated that they had
+attained the rank of squires, strolled slowly along the green border of
+the Tweed. Neither of them had passed the age of seventeen, but both
+were tall and strong and handsome for their years; and both had the fair
+hair, blue eyes, aquiline features, and air of authority which
+distinguished the descendants of the valiant Northmen who accompanied
+Rollo when he left Norway, sailed up the Seine, and seized on Neustria.
+But in one rather important respect there was a remarkable difference.
+One had a countenance which expressed gaiety of heart; the other had a
+countenance which expressed sadness of spirit. One bore the name of Guy
+Muschamp; the other the still greater name of Walter Espec.
+
+'And so, good Walter, we are actually soldiers of the Cross, and vowed
+to combat the Saracens,' said Guy, as they walked along the grassy
+margin of the river, which flowed tranquilly on, while the salmon leaped
+in its silver tide, and the trouts glided like silver darts through the
+clear stream, and the white and brindled cows cooled their hoofs in the
+water; 'and yet I know not how it comes to pass, good Walter; but
+beshrew me if, at times, I do not fancy that it is a dream of the
+night.'
+
+'In truth, brave Guy,' replied the other, 'I comprehend not how you can
+have any doubts on the subject, when you see the sacred badge on our
+shoulders, and when we have, even within the hour, learned that the
+ships of the great Saxon earl, in which we are to embark for the Holy
+Land, are now riding at anchor before the town of Berwick.'
+
+'You are right, good Walter,' said Guy, quickly; 'and marry! worse than
+an infidel am I to have a doubt; and yet when I think of all the marvels
+we are likely to behold, I can scarce credit my good fortune. Just
+imagine, Walter Espec, the picturesque scenery--the palm-trees, the
+fig-trees, the gardens with flowers, and vines, and citrons, and
+pomegranates; the Saracenic castles, the long caravans of camels, and
+the Eastern women veiled in white, standing at fountains, and all the
+wonders that palmers and pilgrims tell of! Oh! the adventure appears so
+grand, that I now begin to dread lest some mischance should come to
+prevent us going.'
+
+[Illustration: "I will go straightway with you, Walter," said Guy, "to
+the palace of the Caliph; and if he refuses to render you justice, I
+will challenge him to mortal combat on the spot."--p. 16.]
+
+'And I,' observed Walter, calmly, 'have no dread of the kind; and I am,
+heart and soul, bent on the holy enterprise; albeit, I reck little of
+caravans of camels, or veiled women. But my heart yearns for that far
+land; for there it is that I am like to hear tidings of him I have lost.
+Ah! credit me, brave Guy, that you, and such as you, little know what it
+is to be alone in this world, without kith or kindred, or home, and how
+saddening is the thought, ever crossing my mind, that one, near and
+dear, does live; and--and--'
+
+He paused, bent his brow, clenched his hand, and cast his eyes on the
+ground, as tears streamed down his cheek.
+
+'Good Walter, dear Walter,' said Guy, yielding to sympathy till he was
+almost equally affected; 'droop not, but be of good cheer. Forget not
+that we are brothers-in-arms, that I am your friend, your true and sworn
+friend; and I will aid your search. Nay, I know what you are going to
+say; but you do me wrong. I will not waste time in looking at the camels
+and the veiled women, of whom palmer and pilgrim tell; but I will go
+straightway with you to the palace of the caliph; and, if he refuse to
+render you justice, I will challenge him to mortal combat on the spot.
+So again I say, be of good cheer.'
+
+Walter Espec smiled mournfully. His enthusiasm was not, in reality, less
+than that of his companion. But he had none of the gaiety, and little of
+the buoyant spirit, which enabled Guy Muschamp to make himself, at all
+times and seasons, a favourite in castle hall and lady's bower. 'I fear
+me, brave Guy,' said Walter, after a brief silence, 'that the caliph is
+too great a potentate to be dealt with as you would wish. But, come what
+may, I am sworn to laugh at danger in the performance of a duty. My
+dreams, awake and asleep, are of him who is lost; and I fantasied last
+night,' added he, lowering his voice, 'that my mother stood before me,
+as I last saw her when living, and implored me, in the name of St.
+Katherine, the patron saint of the Especs, to fulfil my vow of rescuing
+her lost son from captivity and from the enemies of Christ.'
+
+'Oh, fear not, doubt not, good Walter,' cried Guy, with enthusiasm; 'it
+must, it shall, be done; and then we can go and conquer a principality,
+like Tancred, or Bohemund of Tarentum, or Count Raymond of St. Giles,
+and other old heroes.'
+
+'Even the crown of Jerusalem may not be beyond our grasp, if fortune
+favour us,' said Walter, with a calm smile.
+
+'Oh, fortune ever favours the brave,' exclaimed Guy; 'and I hold that
+nothing is impossible to men who are brave and ambitious; and no squire
+of your years is braver or more ambitious than you, Walter, or more
+expert in arms; albeit you never utter a boast as to your own feats,
+while no one is more ready to praise the actions of others.'
+
+'Even if I had anything to boast of,' replied Walter, 'I should refrain
+from so doing; and therein I should only be acting according to the
+maxims of chivalry; for you know we are admonished to be dumb as to our
+own deeds, and eloquent in praise of others; and, moreover, that if the
+squire is vainglorious, he is not worthy to become a knight, and that he
+who is silent as to the valour of others is a thief and a robber.'
+
+And thus conversing, the brothers-in-arms returned to the castle, and
+entered the great hall, which was so spacious and so high in the roof
+that a man on horseback might have turned a spear in it with all the
+ease imaginable. It was, indeed, a stately apartment; the ceiling
+consisting of a smooth vault of ashlar-work, the stones being curiously
+joined and fitted together; and the walls and roof decorated by some of
+those great painters who flourished in England under the patronage of
+King Henry and his fair and accomplished queen, Eleanor of Provence.
+Here was represented the battle of Hastings; there the siege of
+Jerusalem by the Crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon and Robert
+Curthose; here the battle of the Standard; there the signing of the
+Great Charter by King John, under the oak of Runnymede. Around the hall
+might be traced the armorial bearings of the lord of the castle and the
+chief families with whom the lord of the castle was allied by blood--the
+three water-budgets of De Roos; the three Katherine-wheels of Espec; the
+engrailed cross of De Vesci; the seven blackbirds of Merley; the lion
+argent of Dunbar in its field of gules; and the ruddy lion of Scotland,
+ramping in gold; while on the roof was depicted the castle itself, with
+gates, and battlements, and pinnacles, and towers; and there also, very
+conspicuous, was the form of a rose, and around it was inscribed in
+Gothic letters the legend--
+
+          He who doth secrets reveal,
+          Beneath my roof shall never live.
+
+It was ten o'clock--in that age the hour of dinner--when Walter Espec
+and Guy Muschamp entered the great hall of the castle, and, the
+household having assembled for that important meal, a huge oaken table,
+which in shape resembled the letter T, groaned under massive sirloins.
+Attended by his jesters, the lord of the castle took his seat on the
+dais, which was reserved for his family and his guests of high rank;
+while the knights, squires, pages, and retainers ranged themselves above
+and below the salt, according to their claims to precedence; and hawks
+stood around on perches, and hounds lay stretched on the rushy floor,
+waiting their turn to be fed.
+
+Much ceremony was of course observed. The sirloins were succeeded by
+fish and fowl, and dishes curiously compounded; and, as was the fashion
+of that feudal age, the dinner lasted three hours. But, notwithstanding
+the pride and pomp exhibited, the meal was by no means dull. The jesters
+and minstrels did their work. During the intervals the jesters exercised
+all their wit to divert the lord and his friends; and the minstrels, in
+the gallery set apart for their accommodation, discoursed flourishes of
+music, borrowed from the Saracens and brought from the East, for the
+gratification of the company, or roused the aspirations of the youthful
+warriors by some such spirit-stirring strain as the battle-hymn of
+Rollo.
+
+'I marvel much, good Walter,' said Guy Muschamp to his brother-in-arms,
+'I marvel much where we are destined to dine this day next year.'
+
+'Beshrew me if I can even form a guess,' replied Walter Espec,
+thoughtfully; 'methinks no seer less potent than the Knight of
+Ercildoune, whom the vulgar call "True Thomas," could on such a point do
+aught to satisfy your curiosity.'
+
+'Mayhap at Acre or Jerusalem,' suggested Guy, after a pause.
+
+'By Holy Katherine,' exclaimed Walter, 'ere you named Acre and
+Jerusalem, my imagination had carried me to the palace of the caliph at
+Bagdad.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE HEIRS OF THE ESPECS.
+
+
+IN the days when the Norman kings reigned in England, the Especs were of
+high account among the Anglo-Norman barons. Many were the brave and
+pious men who bore the name; but the bravest and most pious of them all
+was that Walter Espec, a great noble of the north, who maintained high
+feudal state at the castles of Wark, Helmsley, and Kirkham, and who
+figured so conspicuously as chief of the English at the battle of the
+Standard, and harangued the soldiers before the battle from the chariot
+from which the standard was displayed.
+
+But not only as a warrior was Walter Espec known to fame. As a
+benefactor to religion, his name was held in honour and his memory
+regarded with veneration.
+
+It seems that Walter Espec had, by his wife Adeline, an only son, who
+was a youth of great promise, and much beloved by his parents. Nothing,
+however, pleased him more than a swift horse; and he was so bold a rider
+that he would not have feared to mount Bucephalus, in spite of heels and
+horns. Leaping into the saddle one day, at the castle of Kirkham, and
+scorning the thought of danger, he spurred his charger beyond its
+strength, and, while galloping towards Frithby, had a fall at the stone
+cross, and was killed on the spot. Much afflicted at his son's death,
+Walter Espec sent for his brother, who was a priest and a rector.
+
+'My son being, alas! dead,' said he, 'I know not who should be my heir.'
+
+'Brother mine,' replied the priest, 'your duty is clear. Make Christ
+your heir.'
+
+Now Walter Espec relished the advice, and proceeded to act on it
+forthwith. He founded three religious houses, one at Warden, a second at
+Kirkham, a third at Rievalle; and, having been a disciple of Harding,
+and much attached to the Cistercian order, he planted at each place a
+colony of monks, sent him from beyond the sea by the great St. Bernard;
+and, having further signalised his piety by becoming a monk in the abbey
+of Rievalle, he died, full of years and honours, and was buried in that
+religious house; while his territorial possessions passed to the Lord de
+Roos, as husband of his sister.
+
+Nevertheless, the family of Espec was not yet extinct. A branch still
+survived and flourished in the north; and, as time passed over, a
+kinsman of the great Walter won distinction in war, and, though a knight
+of small estate, wedded a daughter of that Anglo-Saxon race the
+Icinglas, once so great in England, but of whom now almost everything is
+forgotten but the name. And this Espec, who had lived as a soldier, died
+a soldier's death; falling bravely with his feet to the foe, on that day
+in 1242 when the English under King Henry fought against such fearful
+odds, at the-village of Saintonge. But even now the Especs were not
+without representatives; for, by his Anglo-Saxon spouse Algitha, the
+Anglo-Norman warrior who fell in Gascony left two sons, and of the two
+one was named Walter, the other Osbert.
+
+While Dame Algitha Espec lived, the young Especs scarcely felt the loss
+they had sustained in the death of their father. Nothing, indeed, could
+have been more exemplary than the care which the Anglo-Saxon dame
+bestowed on her sons. In a conversation which Walter Espec held on the
+battlements of the castle of Wark, with his brother-in-arms Guy
+Muschamp, the heir of an Anglo-Norman baron of Northumberland, he lauded
+her excellence as a woman, and her tenderness as a mother.
+
+'I was in my tenth year,' said Walter, 'when my father, after having
+served King Henry as a knight in Gascony, fell in battle; and, albeit my
+mother, when she became a widow, was still fair and of fresh age, a
+widow she resolved to remain; and she adhered firmly to her purpose. In
+truth, her mouth was so accustomed to repeat the name of her dead
+husband that it seemed as if his memory had possession of her whole
+heart and soul; for whether in praying or giving alms, and even in the
+most ordinary acts of life, she continually pronounced his name.
+
+'My mother brought up my brother and myself with the most tender care.
+Living at our castellated house of Heckspeth, in the Wansbeck, and hard
+by the abbey of Newminster, she lived in great fear of the Lord, and
+with an equal love for her neighbours, especially such as were poor; and
+she prudently managed us and our property. Scarcely had we learned the
+first elements of letters, which she herself, being convent-bred, taught
+us, when, eager to have us instructed, she confided us to a master of
+grammar, who incited us to work, and taught us to recite verses and
+compose them according to rule.'
+
+It was while the brothers Espec were studying under this master of
+grammar, and indulging with spirit and energy in the sports and
+recreations fashionable among the boys of the thirteenth century--such
+as playing with whirligigs and paper windmills, and mimic engines of
+war, and trundling hoops, and shooting with bows and arrows, and
+learning to swim on bladders, that Dame Algitha followed her husband to
+a better world, and they found themselves orphans and unprotected. For
+both, however, Providence raised up friends in the day of need.
+Remembering what he owed to his connection with the Especs, the Lord de
+Roos received Walter into his castle of Wark, to be trained to arms; and
+another kinsman, who was a prior in France, received Osbert into his
+convent, to be reared as a monk. The orphans, who had never before been
+separated, and who were fondly attached, parted after many embraces, and
+many tears; and, with as little knowledge of the world into which they
+were entering as fishes have of the sea in which they swim, each went
+where destiny seemed to point the way.
+
+On reaching the castle of Wark, Walter Espec felt delighted with the
+novelty of the scene, and entered with enthusiasm upon his duties as an
+aspirant to the honours of chivalry. Besides learning to carve, to sing,
+and to take part in that exciting sport which has been described as 'the
+image of war'--such as hawking, and hunting the hare, the deer, the
+boar, and the wolf--he ere long signalised himself in the tiltyard by
+the facility which he displayed in acquiring skill in arms, and in
+chivalrous exercises. Indeed, whether in assailing the pel, or charging
+the quintain on horseback, or riding at the ring, or in the combat at
+the barriers, Walter had hardly a rival among the youths of his own age;
+and, after being advanced to the rank of squire, he crowned his triumphs
+in the tiltyard by successfully charging on horseback, _a la_ Coeur de
+Lion, with a sword in one hand and a lance in the other.
+
+But still Walter Espec was unhappy; and, even when his dexterity and
+prowess in arms moved the envy or admiration of his youthful compeers,
+his heart was sad and his smile mournful.
+
+And why was the brave boy so sad?
+
+At the time when Walter was winning such reputation at the castle of
+Wark, Jerusalem was sacked by the Karismians. A cry of distress came
+from the Christians in the East; and the warriors of the West were
+implored to undertake a new crusade, to rescue the Holy Sepulchre and
+save the kingdom founded by Godfrey and the Baldwins. The warriors of
+the West, however, showed no inclination to leave their homes; and the
+pope was lamenting the absence of Christian zeal, when a boy went about
+France, singing in his native tongue--
+
+          Jesus, Lord, repair our loss,
+          Restore to us thy blessed cross;
+
+and met with much sympathy from those of his own age. Multitudes of
+children crowded round him as their leader, and followed his footsteps
+wherever he went. Nothing could restrain their enthusiasm; and,
+assembling in crowds in the environs of Paris, they prepared to cross
+Burgundy and make for Marseilles.
+
+'And whither are you going, children?' people asked.
+
+'We are going to Jerusalem, to deliver the Holy Sepulchre,' answered
+they.
+
+'But how are you to get there?' was the next question.
+
+'Oh,' replied they, 'you seem not to know how it has been prophesied
+that this year the drought will be very great, that the sun will
+dissipate all the waters, and that the abysses of the sea will be dry;
+and that an easy road will lie open to us across the bed of the
+Mediterranean.'
+
+On reaching Marseilles, however, the young pilgrims discovered that they
+had been deluded. Some of them returned to their homes; but the majority
+were not so fortunate. Many lost themselves in the forests which then
+covered the country, and died of hunger and fatigue; and the others
+became objects of speculation to two merchants of Marseilles, who
+carried on trade with the Saracens. Affecting to act from motives of
+piety, the two merchants tempted the boy-pilgrims by offering to convey
+them, without charge, to the Holy Land; and, the offer having been
+joyfully accepted, seven vessels, with children on board, sailed from
+Marseilles. But the voyage was not prosperous. At the end of two days,
+when the ships were off the isle of St. Peter, near the rock of the
+Recluse, a tempest arose, and the wind blew so violently that two of
+them went down with all on board. The five others, however, weathered
+the storm, and reached Bugia and Alexandria. And now the young Crusaders
+discovered to their consternation how they had been deceived and
+betrayed. Without delay they were sold by the merchants to the
+slave-dealers, and by the slave-dealers to the Saracens. Forty of them
+were purchased for the caliph and carried to Bagdad, where they were
+forced to abjure Christianity, and brought up as slaves.
+
+Now, among the boys who had yielded to the prevailing excitement, and
+repaired to Marseilles to embark for Syria, was Osbert Espec; and ever
+since Walter received from his kinsman, the prior, intelligence of his
+brother's disappearance, and heard the rumours of what had befallen the
+young pilgrims on their arrival in the East, his memory had brooded over
+the misfortune, and his imagination, which was constantly at work,
+pictured Osbert in the caliph's prison, laden with chains, and forced to
+forswear the God of his fathers; and the thought of his lost brother was
+ever present to his mind. And therefore was Walter Espec's heart sad,
+and therefore was his smile mournful.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ST. LOUIS.
+
+
+AMONG the names of the European princes associated with the history of
+the Holy War, that of St. Louis is one of the most renowned. Although
+flourishing in a century which produced personages like Frederick,
+Emperor of Germany, and our first great Edward, who far excelled him in
+genius and prowess--as wise rulers in peace and mighty chiefs in
+war--his saintliness, his patience in affliction, his respect for
+justice and the rights of his neighbours, entitle him to a high place
+among the men of the age which could boast of so many royal heroes. In
+order to comprehend the crusade, of which he was leader, it is necessary
+to refer briefly to the character and career of the good and pious king,
+who, in the midst of disaster and danger, exhibited the courage of a
+hero and the resignation of a martyr.
+
+It was on the day of the Festival of St. Mark, in the year 1215, that
+Blanche of Castille, wife of the eighth Louis of France, gave birth, at
+Poissy, to an heir to the crown, which Hugh Capet had, three centuries
+earlier, taken from the feeble heir of Charlemagne. On the death of his
+father, Louis, then in his twelfth year, became King of France, at a
+time when it required a man with a strong hand to maintain the
+privileges of the crown against the great nobles of the kingdom.
+Fortunately for the young monarch Providence had blessed him with a
+mother, who, whatever her faults and failings--and chroniclers have not
+spared her reputation--brought to the terrible task of governing in a
+feudal age a high spirit and a strong will, and applied herself
+earnestly to the duty of bringing up her son in the way in which he
+should walk, and educating him in such a manner as to prepare him for
+executing the high functions which he was destined to fulfil. While,
+with the aid of her chivalrous admirer, the Count of Champagne, and the
+counsel of a cardinal-legate--with whom, by-the-bye, she was accused of
+being somewhat too familiar--Blanche of Castille maintained the rights
+of the French monarchy against the great vassals of France, she reared
+her son with the utmost care. She entrusted his education to excellent
+masters, appointed persons eminent for piety to attend to his religious
+instruction, and evinced profound anxiety that he should lead a virtuous
+and holy life.
+
+'Rather,' she once said, 'would I see my son in his grave, than learn
+that he had committed a mortal sin.'
+
+As time passed on, Blanche of Castille had the gratification of finding
+that her toil and her anxiety were not in vain. Lotus, indeed, was a
+model whom other princes, in their teens, would have done well to copy.
+His piety, and his eagerness to do what was right and to avoid what was
+wrong, raised the wonder of his contemporaries. He passed much of his
+time in devotional exercises, and, when not occupied with religious
+duties, ever conducted himself as if with a consciousness that the eye
+of his Maker was upon him, and that he would one day have to give a
+strict account of all his actions. Every morning he went to hear prayers
+chanted, and mass and the service of the day sung; every afternoon he
+reclined on his couch, and listened while one of his chaplains repeated
+prayers for the dead; and every evening he heard complines.
+
+Nevertheless, Louis did not, like such royal personages as our Henry
+VI., allow his religious exercises so wholly to monopolise his time or
+attention as to neglect the duties which devolved upon him as king. The
+reverse was the case. After arriving at manhood he convinced the world
+that he was well qualified to lead men in war, and to govern them in
+peace.
+
+It happened that, in the year 1242, Henry King of England, who was
+several years older than Louis, became ambitious of regaining the
+continental territory wrested from his father, John, by Philip Augustus;
+and the Count de la Marche, growing malecontent with the government of
+France, formed a confederacy against the throne, and invited Henry to
+conduct an army to the Continent. Everything seemed so promising, and
+the confederacy so formidable, that Henry, unable to resist the
+temptation of recovering Normandy and Anjou, crossed the sea, landed at
+Bordeaux, and prepared for hostilities. At first, the confederates were
+confident of succeeding in their objects; but, ere long, they discovered
+that they had mistaken their position, and the character of the prince
+whom they were defying.
+
+In fact, Louis soon proved that he was no 'carpet knight.' Assembling an
+army, he buckled on his mail, mounted his charger; and placing himself
+at the head of his forces, marched to encounter his enemies. Reaching
+the banks of the Charente, he offered the confederates battle, near the
+bridge of Taillebourg; but his challenge was not accepted. By this time
+the confederates had lost faith in their enterprise; and while De la
+Marche was meditating a reconciliation with Louis, Henry, accusing the
+count of having deceived, and being about to betray, him, retreated
+precipitately, and never drew rein till he reached the village of
+Saintonge.
+
+But Louis was unwilling to allow his royal foe to escape so easily. Nor,
+indeed, could Henry without reluctance fly from the peril he had
+provoked. At all events, on reaching Saintonge, the English turned to
+bay, and a battle began. But the odds were overwhelming; and, though the
+Anglo-Norman barons fought with characteristic courage, they were
+speedily worsted, and under the necessity of making for Bordeaux.
+
+From the day on which this battle was fought, it was no longer doubtful
+that Louis was quite able to hold his own; and neither foreign kings nor
+continental counts cared to disturb his government or defy his power. In
+fact, the fame of the King of France became great throughout
+Christendom, and inspired the hopes of the Christians of the East.
+
+Nor was it merely as a warrior that Louis signalised himself among his
+contemporaries. At the time when he was attending, with exemplary
+regularity, to his religious devotions, and keeping watch over the
+security of his dominions, he was devoting himself assiduously to his
+duties as sovereign and to the administration of justice.
+
+One day, when Louis was at the castle of Hieros, in Provence, a
+Cordelier friar approached.
+
+'Sire,' said the friar, 'I have read of unbelieving princes in the Bible
+and other good books; yet I have never read of a kingdom of believers or
+unbelievers being ruined, but from want of justice being duly
+administered. Now,' continued the friar, 'I perceive the king is going
+to France; let him administer justice with care, that our Lord may
+suffer him to enjoy his kingdom, and that it may remain in peace and
+tranquillity all the days of his life, and that God may not deprive him
+of it with shame and dishonour.'
+
+Louis listened attentively to the Cordelier, and the friar's words sank
+deep into his mind. From that date he gave much attention to the
+administration of justice, and took especial care to prevent the poor
+being wronged by their more powerful neighbours. On summer days, after
+hearing mass, he was in the habit of repairing to the gardens of his
+palace, seating himself on a carpet, and listening to such as wished to
+appeal to him; at other times he went to the wood of Vincennes, and
+there, sitting under an oak, listened to their statements with
+attention and patience. No ceremony was allowed to keep the poor man
+from the king's justice-seat.
+
+'Whoever has a complaint to make,' Louis was wont to say, 'let him now
+make it;' and when there were several who wished to be heard, he would
+add, 'My friends, be silent for awhile, and your causes shall be
+despatched one after another.'
+
+When Louis was in his nineteenth year, Blanche of Castille recognised
+the expediency of uniting him to a princess worthy of sharing the French
+throne, and bethought her of the family of Raymond Berenger, Count of
+Provence, one of the most accomplished men in Europe, and whose
+countess, Beatrice of Savoy, was even more accomplished than her
+husband; Raymond and Beatrice had four daughters, all remarkable for
+their wit and beauty, and all destined to be queens. Of these four
+daughters, the eldest, Margaret of Provence, who was then thirteen, was
+selected as the bride of Louis; and, about two years before her younger
+sister, Eleanor, was conducted to England to be espoused by King Henry,
+Margaret arrived in Paris, and began to figure as Queen of France.
+
+The two princesses of Provence who had the fortune to form such high
+alliances found themselves in very different positions. Eleanor did just
+as she pleased, ruled her husband, and acted as if everything in England
+had been created for her gratification. Margaret's situation, though
+more safe, was much less pleasant. In her husband's palace she could not
+boast of being in the enjoyment even of personal liberty. In fact,
+Queen Blanche was too fond of power to allow that which she had acquired
+to be needlessly imperilled; and, apprehensive that the young queen
+should gain too much influence with the king, she deliberately kept the
+royal pair separate. Nothing, indeed, could exceed the domestic tyranny
+under which they suffered. When Louis and Margaret made royal
+progresses, Blanche of Castille took care that her son and
+daughter-in-law were lodged in separate houses. Even in cases of
+sickness the queen-mother did not relent. On one occasion, when Margaret
+was ill and in the utmost danger, Louis stole to her chamber. While he
+was there, Blanche entered, and he endeavoured to conceal himself.
+Blanche, however, detected him, shook her head, and forcibly pushed him
+out of the door.
+
+'Be off, sir,' said she, sternly; 'you have no right here.'
+
+'Madam, madam,' exclaimed Margaret, in despair, 'will you not allow me
+to see my husband, either when I am living, or when I am dying?' and the
+poor queen fainted away.
+
+It was while the young saint-king and his fair Provencal spouse were
+enduring this treatment at the hands of the old queen-mother that events
+occurred which fired Louis with the idea of undertaking a crusade, and
+gave Margaret an excellent excuse for escaping from the society of the
+despotic dowager who had embittered her life, and almost broken her
+heart.
+
+One day, when Louis was recovering from the effects of a fever, which
+had so thoroughly prostrated him, that at times his attendants believed
+he was dead, he ordered a Cross to be stitched to his garments.
+
+'How is this,' asked Blanche of Castille, when she came to visit her son
+on his sick bed.
+
+'Madam,' whispered the attendants, 'the king has, out of gratitude for
+his recovery, taken the Cross, and vowed to combat the infidel.'
+
+'Alas! alas!' exclaimed Blanche, terrified, 'I am struck as fearfully as
+if I had seen him dead.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+TAKING THE CROSS.
+
+
+A CENTURY and a half had elapsed since Peter the Hermit roused
+Christendom to rescue the Holy Sepulchre, and since Godfrey and the
+Baldwins established the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem; and in the
+interval, many valiant warriors--including Richard Coeur de Lion, and
+Philip Augustus, and Frederick Barbarossa--had gone forth to light in
+its defence; and the orders of military monks--the Knights of the
+Temple, the Knights of St. John, the Knights of St. Katherine of Sinai,
+and the Teutonic Knights, had risen to keep watch over the safety of the
+Holy Sepulchre. But the kingdom of Jerusalem, constantly exposed to rude
+shocks, far from prospering, was always in danger of ruin; and in 1244
+the Holy City, its capital, was taken and sacked by a wild race, without
+a country, known as the Karismians, who, at the sultan's instance,
+slaughtered the inhabitants, opened the tombs, burnt the bodies of
+heroes, scattered the relics of saints and martyrs to the wind, and
+perpetrated such enormities as Jerusalem, in her varying fortunes, had
+never before witnessed.
+
+When this event occurred, the Christians of the East, more loudly than
+ever, implored the warriors of Europe to come to their rescue. But, as
+it happened, most of the princes of Christendom were in too much trouble
+at home to attend to the affairs of Jerusalem. Baldwin Courtenay,
+Emperor of Constantinople, was constantly threatened with expulsion by
+the Greeks; Frederick, Emperor of Germany, was at war with the Pope; the
+King of Castille was fighting with the Moors; the King of Poland was
+fully occupied with the Tartars; the King of Denmark had to defend his
+throne against his own brother; the King of Sweden had to defend his
+throne against the Tolekungers. As for Henry King of England, he was
+already involved in those disputes with the Anglo-Norman barons which
+ultimately led to the Barons' War. One kingdom alone was at peace; and
+it was France, then ruled by Louis IX., since celebrated as St. Louis,
+that listened to the cry of distress.
+
+At that time Louis King of France, then not more than thirty, but
+already, as we have seen, noted for piety and valour, was stretched on a
+bed of sickness, and so utterly prostrate that, at times, as has been
+related, he was thought to be dead. Nevertheless, he did recover; and,
+snatched as if by miracle from the gates of death, he evinced his
+gratitude to Heaven by ordering the Cross to be fixed to his vestments,
+and vowing to undertake an expedition for the rescue of the Holy
+Sepulchre.
+
+The resolution of the saintly monarch was not quite agreeable to his
+family or his subjects, any more than to his mother, Blanche of
+Castille; and many of his lords made earnest efforts to divert him from
+his purpose. But remonstrance proved unavailing. Clinging steadfastly to
+his resolution, Louis summoned a Parliament at Paris, induced the
+assembled magnates to take the Cross, occupied three years with
+preparations on a great scale, and ultimately, having repaired to St.
+Denis, and received from the hands of the papal legate the famous
+standard known as the oriflamme of France, embarked at Aigues Mortes,
+and sailed for Cyprus, with his queen, Margaret of Provence, his
+brothers, the Counts of Artois, Poictiers, and Anjou, and many of the
+greatest lords of his kingdom.
+
+Meanwhile, the barons of England were not indifferent to what was
+passing on the Continent. Many of them, indeed, were desirous to take
+part in the expedition. But King Henry not only forbade them to assume
+the Cross, but would not allow a crusade to be preached in his
+dominions. No general movement was therefore made in England.
+Nevertheless, William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, grandson of the
+second Henry and Rosamond Clifford, determined on an 'armed pilgrimage,'
+and, in company with Lord Robert de Vere and others, vowed to join the
+French Crusaders and combat the Saracens. Henry, enraged at his mandate
+being disregarded, seized Salisbury's manors and castles; but the earl,
+faithful to his vow, embarked, with De Vere as his standard-bearer, and
+with two hundred English knights of noble name and dauntless courage,
+sworn to bring the standard back with glory, or dye it with their
+hearts' blood.
+
+At the same time Patrick, Earl of March, the most illustrious noble who
+sprang from the Anglo-Saxon race, announced his intention of
+accompanying King Louis to the East. Earl Patrick had seen more than
+threescore years, and his hair was white, and his limbs stiff; but his
+head was still as clear, and his heart was still as courageous, as in
+the days when he had dyed his lance in Celtic blood, vanquished the
+great Somerled, and carried the Bastard of Galloway in chains to
+Edinburgh; and, with an earnest desire to couch against the enemies of
+Christianity the lance which he had often couched against the enemies of
+civilisation, he took the Cross, sold his stud on the Leader Haughs to
+pay his expenses, bade a last farewell to Euphemia Stewart, his aged
+countess, received the pilgrim's staff and scrip from the Abbot of
+Melrose, and left his castle to embark with his knights and kinsmen.
+
+'I was young, and now I am old,' said Earl Patrick, with enthusiasm. 'In
+my youth I fought with the foes of my race. In my old age I will fare
+forth and combat the foes of my religion.'
+
+It was under the banner of this aged hero that Guy Muschamp and Walter
+Espec were about to embark for the East; and, on the evening of the day
+preceding that on which they were to set out, they were conducted to the
+presence of the mother of the lord of the castle, who was the daughter
+of a Scottish king, that they might receive her blessing.
+
+'My children,' said she, as they knelt before her, and she laid her
+hands on their heads, 'do not forget, when among strangers and exposed
+to temptation, the lessons of piety and chivalry which you have learned
+within these walls. Fear God, and He will support you in all dangers. Be
+frank and courteous, but not servile, to the rich and powerful; kind and
+helpful to the poor and afflicted. Beware of meriting the reproaches of
+the brave; and ever bear in mind that evil befalls him who proves false
+to his promises to his God, his country, and his lady. Be brave in war;
+in peace, loyal and true in thought and word; and Heaven will bless you,
+and men will hold your names in honour, and you will be dreaded in
+battle and loved in hall.'
+
+Next morning the brothers-in-arms rose betimes; and, all preparations
+for their departure having been previously made, they mounted at
+daybreak, and leaving the castle of Wark, and riding through the great
+park that lay around it, startling the deer and the wild cattle as they
+went, took their way towards Berwick, before which rode the ships
+destined to convey them from their native shores.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+EMBARKING FOR THE EAST.
+
+
+IT was Saturday; and the sun shone brightly on pool and stream, and even
+lighted up the dingy corners of walled cities, as the Earl of March
+proceeded on foot from the castle to the port of Berwick, and embarked
+with his knights and kinsmen.
+
+The event created much excitement in the town. In fact, though the
+princes and nobles of Europe were weary of enterprises that had ruined
+so many great houses, the people still thought of the crusades with
+interest, and talked of them with enthusiasm. The very name of Palestine
+exercised a magical influence on the European Christians of that
+generation. At the mention of the Holy Land, their imagination conjured
+up the most picturesque scenery; Saracenic castles stored with gold and
+jewels; cities the names of which were recorded in the sacred book which
+the poorest knew by picture; and they listened earnestly as palmer or
+pilgrim told of Sharon with its roses without thorns; Lebanon with its
+cedars and vines; and Carmel with its solitary convent, and its summit
+covered with thyme, and haunted by the eagle and the boar, till their
+fancy pictured 'a land flowing with milk and honey,' by repairing to
+which sinners could secure pardon without penance in this world, and
+happiness without purgatory in the next.
+
+It is not wonderful that, when such sentiments prevailed, the
+embarkation of a great noble for the Holy Land should have excited much
+interest; and, as Guy Muschamp and Walter Espec took their way from the
+castle to the port, crowded with ships, and passed warehouses stored
+with merchandise, the Red Hall of the Flemings resounding with the noise
+of artificers, the wealthy religious houses which kept alive the flame
+of ancient learning, and dispensed befitting charities, the streets
+presented a motley assemblage of seafaring men, monks, warriors, and
+soldiers; the wives and daughters of the burghers, all in holiday
+attire, crowded the housetops or gazed from the windows and balconies;
+and the burghers themselves, leaving their booths and warehouses,
+flocked to the port to gossip with each other, and to witness the
+departure of the armed pilgrims.
+
+'Oh, good Walter,' exclaimed Guy Muschamp, whose spirit rose with the
+excitement, 'is not this a stirring scene? By St. John of Beverley, what
+rich armour! what gallant ships! what stately churches! And yet I would
+wager my basinet to a prentice's flat cap that it is not, for a moment,
+to be compared to Acre.'
+
+'I deem that it can hardly be,' replied Walter, calmly; 'and, in truth,
+I am in no mood to look upon life with joyous emotions. But, brave Guy,
+I am pleased to see you pleased; albeit, I own frankly that I should be
+more than human did I not somewhat envy you your gaiety.'
+
+'Be gay, good Walter.'
+
+Walter shook his head.
+
+'Vain would be the effort,' he replied, sadly; 'I can only pray to God
+and Holy Katherine to grant that I may return with a lighter heart.'
+
+'As for me,' continued Guy, 'I am ever gay--gay as the lark; gay in the
+morning, gay at eve. It is my nature so to be. My mother is a
+Frenchwoman--a kinswoman of the Lord of Joinville--and scarce knows what
+sadness is. I inherit her spirit; and I doubt not that, if I am slain by
+the Saracens, I shall die laughing.'
+
+With this conversation they reached the quay, just as Earl Patrick was
+stepping on board his ship, the 'Hilda,' which, if less graceful and
+elegant than the vessels of modern times, was imposing to look upon.
+Adorned with painting and gilding, it had armorial bearings and badges
+embroidered on various parts; banners of gay and brilliant colours
+floated from the masts; and the sails of azure and purple shone with
+work of gold. Armour glittered on deck; and martial music was not
+wanting to give variety to the display.
+
+Meanwhile, amidst the bustle and shouts of the crew, the ports of the
+vessel were opened to allow the horses of the armed pilgrims to enter;
+and, as the ports were under water when the vessel was at sea, they were
+caulked and stopped up as close as a tun of wine. This operation over,
+and all the adventurers embarked, the skipper raised his hand for
+silence.
+
+'My men, is your work done?' cried he to his people in the prow; 'are
+you ready?'
+
+'Yes, in truth, we are ready,' answered the seamen.
+
+And now, the priests who accompanied Earl Patrick having embarked, the
+captain made them mount to the castle of the ship, and chant psalms in
+praise of God, and to pray that He might be pleased to grant a
+prosperous voyage; and they, having ascended, sang the beautiful hymn of
+'Veni, Creator' from beginning to end. While the priests sang, the
+mariners set their sails, and the skipper ordered them to haul up the
+anchor; and instantly a breeze filled the sails, and the ships moved
+slowly but proudly away from the shore.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE ARMED PILGRIMS AT CYPRUS.
+
+
+NOT with the very best grace did the King of France come to the
+resolution of sailing for Cyprus. Indeed, the safety of his army
+depended, in some degree, on the route selected; and the safest way to
+the Holy Land was understood to be by Sicily. Unluckily, however, Sicily
+was subject to the Emperor Frederick; and Frederick and his dominions
+had been excommunicated by the Pope; and Louis, with his peculiar
+notions, feared to set foot on a soil that was under the ban of the
+Church. At Lyons, where he received the papal blessing, he endeavoured
+to reconcile the Emperor and the Pope; but his Holiness declined to
+listen to mediation; and the saint-king, yielding to conscientious
+scruples, determined, without further hesitation, to sacrifice his plan
+of passing through Sicily to Syria, and announced his intention of
+proceeding by way of Cyprus to Egypt.
+
+At that time the King of Cyprus was Henry de Lusignan, to whose family
+Richard Coeur de Lion had, in the twelfth century, given the throne,
+from which he dragged the Emperor Isaac; and no sooner did Louis reach
+the port of Limisso, than Henry, accompanied by nobles and clergy,
+appeared to bid him welcome. Nothing, indeed, could have exceeded the
+enthusiasm with which the French Crusaders were received; and when Louis
+was conducted with much ceremony to Nicosia, and entered that city, the
+capital of the island, the populace cheered loudly, and the clergy met
+him, singing 'Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.'
+
+The glory of Nicosia has long since departed. Situated in the centre of
+Cyprus, on the river Pedia, in a low fertile plain, near the base of a
+range of mountains that intersects the island, and surrounded by walls,
+in the form of a hexagon, flanked with bastions, the capital has many
+fine houses; but these are mostly in ruins, and the inhabitants occupy
+tenements reared of mud and brick, and rather repulsive in appearance.
+At that time, however, the state of Nicosia was very different. As the
+capital of the Lusignans, the city exhibited the pomp and pride of
+feudal chivalry, with much of the splendour of oriental courts, and
+boasted of its palaces, castles, churches, and convents, and chapelries,
+and gardens, and vineyards, and pleasant places, and all the luxuries
+likely to render mediaeval life enviable.
+
+Now, when Louis landed at Limisso, and entered Nicosia, he had no
+intention of wintering in Cyprus. In fact, the saint-king was all
+eagerness to push forward and combat the Saracens. But circumstances
+proved stronger than his will. The Crusaders were highly captivated with
+all that they saw and heard. The aspect of the island was enchanting;
+the wine, which even Solomon has deigned to celebrate, was to their
+taste: the dark-eyed Greek women, who perhaps knew that the island had
+anciently been the favourite seat, of Venus, and who, in any case,
+enjoyed the reputation of being devoted to the worship of the goddess,
+were doubtless fascinating; and almost every one of the days that
+succeeded Louis's arrival was devoted to rejoicings and feastings. Not
+unnaturally, but most unfortunately, the Crusaders yielded to the
+fascinations of an existence which at first they all enjoyed, heart and
+soul; and with one accord they cried out, 'We must tarry here till
+spring. Let us eat, drink, and be merry.'
+
+Accordingly the Crusaders did winter in Cyprus; and the consequences
+were most disastrous. Enervated by luxury, they soon forgot their vows,
+and rushed into every kind of extravagance and dissipation. Of course,
+their recklessness soon brought its own punishment. As time passed on,
+and winter set in, rain fell daily, and the intemperance, the strange
+climate, and the weather soon did their work. By-and-by, a pestilential
+disease made its appearance in the camp of the pilgrims, and carried off
+thousands of victims, including two hundred and fifty knights. Moreover,
+there was much discord and dissension. The Greek clergy and the Latin
+clergy began to quarrel; the Templars and the Knights of St. John began
+to fight; and the saint-king found his position the very reverse of
+satisfactory or agreeable.
+
+By the time that the little fleet, on board of which were Guy Muschamp
+and Walter Espec, reached Cyprus, matters were not what they should
+have been; and the wise and prudent shook their heads, and predicted
+that an expedition conducted in such a fashion was too likely to end in
+disaster and ruin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+EASTWARD.
+
+
+IT was July, as I have intimated, when the ship 'Hilda,' which carried
+Walter Espec and Guy Muschamp, left the shores of England; and, soon
+after having lost sight of land, both began to experience a little of
+that vague fear of 'the blue above and the blue below,' which, in the
+thirteenth century, made some of the boldest feudal warriors, when they
+embarked, invoke the protection of the saints in Paradise.
+
+'On my faith, good Walter,' remarked Guy, with less than his wonted
+gaiety, for the ship was beginning to toss, and he was beginning to feel
+rather sea sick, 'I cannot but think that the man is a great fool, who,
+having wronged any of his neighbours, or having any mortal sin on his
+conscience, puts himself in such peril as this; for, when he goes to
+sleep at night, he knows not if in the morning he may not find himself
+under the waves.'
+
+'May the saints preserve us from such a fate,' replied Walter,
+thoughtfully; 'yet I own I feel so uneasy that I can hardly believe
+myself a descendant of the kings of the north who made the ocean their
+home, and called the tempest their servant, and never felt so joyous as
+when they were treading the pine plank, and giving the reins to their
+great sea horses.'
+
+'On my faith,' said Guy, who was every moment becoming more
+uncomfortable,'I cannot but marvel much at the eccentricity of their
+tastes, and could almost wish myself back to the castle of Wark.'
+
+'Nevertheless,' replied Walter, 'we must bear in mind that, having taken
+the Cross and vowed to combat the Saracens, it beseems us not, as
+Christians and gentlemen, to look backward.'
+
+At the time when this conversation took place, the sea was comparatively
+calm, and the weather most favourable; and the skipper, naturally
+overjoyed with his good fortune in both respects, predicted a speedy
+voyage. In this, however, he was in some measure disappointed. Many
+circumstances occurred to retard the progress of the Saxon Earl and his
+companions towards Cyprus; and, what with prolonged calms, and contrary
+winds, and foul weather, it was late in autumn ere they neared the
+island where the King of France and his chivalry had, for their
+misfortune, resolved on passing the winter.
+
+So far all was well, and the Boy Crusaders, now recovered from their
+sickness, rejoiced in the anticipation of soon reaching Cyprus. But the
+dangers of the voyage were not yet over, and one evening, about vespers,
+while Walter and Guy were regaling their imaginations with the prospect
+of being speedily in the company of the warriors of France, the mariners
+found that they were unpleasantly close to a great mountain of Barbary.
+Not relishing their position--for they had the fear of the Saracens of
+Barbary before their eyes--the mariners pressed on, and during the night
+made all the sail they could, and flattered themselves that they had run
+at least fifty leagues. But what was their surprise when day broke, to
+find that they were still off the mountain which they fancied they must
+have left behind. Great, moreover, was their alarm as they thought of
+the piratical natives; and, albeit they laboured hard all that day and
+all that night to make sail, when the sun rose next morning--it was
+Saturday--the mountain, from which they were so anxious to escape, was
+still near at hand. All on board expressed their alarm on discovering
+that the mariners deemed their position perilous; and the Earl, on
+learning how matters stood, appeared on deck, and summoned the master of
+the ship.
+
+'In wonder's name, skipper,' said he, sternly, 'how happens this?'
+
+'In truth, my lord earl,' replied the skipper, much perplexed, 'I cannot
+tell how it happens; but this I know, that we all run great risk of our
+lives.'
+
+'In what way?'
+
+'From the Saracens of Barbary, who are cruel and savage, and who are as
+likely as not to come down in swarms and attack us.'
+
+The idea of captivity and chains occurred to every one who listened, and
+even the Earl changed countenance. At that moment, however, one of the
+chaplains stepped forward. He was a discreet churchman, and his words
+were ever treated with high respect.
+
+'My lord earl and gentlemen,' said the chaplain; 'I never remember any
+distress in our parish, either from too much abundance or from want of
+rain, or from any other plague, but that God delivered us from it, and
+caused everything to happen as well as could have been wished, when a
+procession had been made three times with devotion on a Saturday.'
+
+'Wherefore,' suggested the Earl, 'you would have us do likewise, as
+deeming the ceremony likely to deliver us from our peril?'
+
+'Even so,' continued the churchman. 'I recommend, noble Earl, that, as
+this day is Saturday, we instantly commence walking in procession round
+the masts of the ship.'
+
+'By all means,' replied the Earl, 'let us forthwith walk in procession
+as you recommend. Worse than foolish would it be on our parts to neglect
+such a ceremony. A simple remedy, on my faith, for such an evil.'
+
+Accordingly, the skipper issued orders through the ship; and all on
+board were assembled on deck, and, headed by the priests, solemnly
+walked in procession round the masts, singing as they walked; and,
+however it came to pass, the ceremony seemed to have the effect which
+the chaplain had prognosticated. From that moment everything went
+smoothly. Almost immediately afterwards they lost sight of the mountain,
+and cast all fear of the Saracens of Barbary to the winds; and ere long
+they had the gratification of hearing the cry of 'Land,' and of seeing
+before their eyes the far-famed island of Cyprus.
+
+It was latest autumn, however; and Cyprus did not look by any means so
+bright and beautiful as the Boy Crusaders had, during the voyage,
+anticipated. Indeed, clouds rested over the range of mountains that
+intersects the island lengthways. The rain had fallen somewhat heavily,
+and the aspect of the place was so decidedly dismal and disheartening,
+that, as the two squires landed, their countenances expressed much
+disappointment.
+
+'Now, by St. John of Beverley,' exclaimed Guy, giving expression to his
+feelings, 'I marvel much that this lovely queen, Venus, of whom
+minstrels have sung so much, should, when she doubtless had her free
+choice as to a residence, have so highly favoured this place.
+
+'Tastes differ,' replied Walter, rather gloomily. 'Certainly, had I my
+choice of a residence, I should fix my abode elsewhere.'
+
+'But what have we here?' cried Guy, as he pointed to countless casks of
+wine piled high, one on the other, and to huge heaps of wheat, barley,
+and other grains, which the purveyors of King Louis had some time before
+prepared for his grand enterprise. 'Beshrew me, if, at a distance, I did
+not imagine the casks of wine to be houses, and the heaps of corn
+mountains.'
+
+'Anyhow,' observed Walter, 'the sight of the wine and the corn should
+give us comfort; for it is clear that the King of France, however
+saintly, does not forget that men have mouths, nor mean his army to die
+of hunger or thirst.'
+
+'On my faith,' said Guy, 'I have a strong desire to catch a glance of
+this miracle of saintliness. I marvel if he rides about Cyprus on a
+Spanish steed, magnificently harnessed, as chronicles tell of Richard
+Coeur de Lion doing, dressed in a tunic of rose-coloured satin, and a
+mantle of striped and silver tissue, brocaded with half moons, and a
+scarlet bonnet brocaded with gold, and wearing a Damascus blade with a
+golden hilt in a silver sheath--oh, what a fine figure the English king
+must have cut!'
+
+'However,' said Walter, 'I fancy King Louis is not quite so splendid in
+his appearance as Coeur de Lion was. But we shall see him ere long.'
+
+'Ay,' cried Guy; 'we must have a peep at the royal saint. Meanwhile,
+good Walter, one thing is certain--that we are in Cyprus.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+AN ADVENTURE.
+
+
+IT was not the good fortune of all the warriors who had taken the Cross
+to escape the perils of the deep, and reach Cyprus in safety.
+
+About a month after Guy Muschamp and Walter Espec had reached Limisso, a
+tall ship bearing a Crusader of noble name, who had left Constantinople
+to combat the Saracens under the banner of St. Denis, was sailing
+gallantly towards Cyprus, when a violent storm arose, and threatened her
+with destruction. The wind blew fiercely; the sea ran mountains high;
+and, though the ship for a time struggled sturdily with the elements,
+she could not resist her fate. Her cordage creaked, and her timbers
+groaned dismally; and, as she was by turns borne aloft on the waves
+crested with foam and precipitated headlong into the gulphs that yawned
+between, great was the terror, loud the wailing, and frightful the
+turmoil. In vain the mariners exerted their strength and skill. No
+efforts on their part could enable the vessel to resist the fury of the
+tempest.
+
+Every minute matters became more desperate. The sea, recently calm,
+seemed to boil from its very depths; and the ship, incessantly tossed to
+and fro by the roaring billows, appeared, every moment, on the point of
+being engulphed. The skipper was lost in consternation; the Crusaders
+gave way to despair; and with death staring them in the face they ceased
+to hope for safety, and, kneeling, confessed to each other, and prayed
+aloud that their sins might be forgiven. At length, in spite of the
+efforts made by the mariners to resist the winds and waves, the ship,
+driven on the rocks near the island, filled with water, went to pieces,
+leaving those on board to struggle as they best might to escape a watery
+grave. The struggle was vain. Many, indeed, caught hold of the vessel's
+timbers with a vague hope of reaching the shore; but, unable to contend
+with the elements, they, one after another, disappeared and sank to rise
+no more.
+
+Now this terrible shipwreck was not without witnesses. On that part of
+the coast of Cyprus where it occurred was a rude hamlet chiefly tenanted
+by fishermen; and men, women, and children crowded the beach, uttering
+loud cries, and highly excited, but unable to render any assistance. It
+seemed that no boat could live in such a sea; and the fishermen could
+only gaze mournfully on the heartrending scene, as the waves sprang up
+and rapaciously claimed their prey.
+
+It was while the sea, agitated by the gale, was still running high;
+while the waves were leaping, and tearing, and dashing against the
+rocks; and while flocks of sea birds wheeled and screamed over the
+troubled waters, that a knight and two squires, who, having been caught
+in the storm, while riding towards Limisso, reined up, and not without
+difficulty learned from the natives, whose language they scarcely
+comprehended, the nature and extent of the disaster. The knight was an
+English Crusader, named Bisset, who had taken service with King Louis;
+the squires were Walter Espec and Guy Muschamp. All three, as they
+became aware of what had happened, crossed themselves and breathed a
+prayer for the souls of those who had gone to their account.
+
+'We may as well ride on,'said Guy Muschamp, who, like his companions,
+was very much affected; 'all of them have perished, and are now beyond
+the reach of human aid.'
+
+'Not all of them,' exclaimed Walter Espec, suddenly, as he sprang from
+his horse, and, with out-stretched arm, pointed to a white object which
+was carried hither and thither by the waves.
+
+'By the might of Henry, sir squire, you are right,' cried the English
+knight, highly excited; 'it is a woman, as I live, and she is clinging
+to one of the ship's timbers.'
+
+'And she may yet be saved,' said Walter, calmly; 'and by the Holy Cross
+the attempt must be made, if we are to escape the reproach of inhumanity
+and cowardice.'
+
+And now the men, women, and children on the beach became much excited,
+and shouted loudly. No one, however, volunteered to go to the rescue. In
+fact, the aspect of the sea was so menacing and terrible, that the
+boldest and hardiest of the seafaring men felt that an attempt could
+only end in the destruction of those making it, and shook their heads
+with a significance there was no misunderstanding.
+
+'It seems,' said the knight, mournfully, 'that the business is
+desperate; and yet----'
+
+'And yet,' said Walter, taking up the word as the knight hesitated and
+paused, 'it shall never be told that a woman perished before my eyes,
+and that I stood looking on, without making an effort to save her.'
+
+'He is mad,' muttered the fishermen, as they first eyed the English
+squire, and then exchanged glances with each other, and shrugged their
+shoulders.
+
+But Walter Espec did not ponder or pause. Throwing his bridle-rein to
+Guy Muschamp, whose countenance expressed grave alarm, he quickly
+divested himself of his mantle and the belt bearing his sword, committed
+himself to the protection of Holy Katherine, the patron saint of his
+house, plunged into the water, and next moment was battling manfully
+with the waves. But everything was against him, even the tide; and, in
+spite of his skill as a swimmer, his efforts were at first abortive. But
+it was not his nature to yield easily; and, as he put forth all his
+strength, and made a desperate struggle, the affair began to wear
+another face.
+
+'Good Walter,' murmured Guy, who stood, pale as death, watching the
+swimmer. 'Brave Walter!'
+
+'Now, may our lady, the Virgin, aid and prosper him,' exclaimed the
+knight. 'Never have I witnessed a bolder attempt.'
+
+As the knight spoke, a loud cheer burst from the crowd; and then there
+was silence. Walter drew nearer and nearer to the woman, for whose life
+he was freely venturing his own. In another minute he clutched her with
+one hand, turned towards the shore, and, favoured by the tide, came
+sailing towards the spot which the crowd occupied.
+
+A dozen of the men dashed knee-deep into the water to relieve Walter of
+his burden; and as they did so, a dozen of the women stretched out their
+hands, and received the still unconscious form of her who had been
+rescued; meanwhile the knight and Guy Muschamp caught hold of Walter,
+who, fatigued and overcome with his almost superhuman exertions, would
+otherwise have fallen to the ground. However they laid him down
+carefully to rest; and, while Guy stood watching over him, Bisset went
+to look to the safety of the damsel who had been rescued.
+
+'Sir squire,' said he, with enthusiasm, as he returned, 'you have done
+as noble a deed as it has ever been my fate to witness, and the King of
+France shall hear of it, as I am a living man; and,' continued he, in a
+whisper, 'hearken! you may at the same time congratulate yourself on
+having had the good luck to save a woman well worth saving.'
+
+'What mean you, sir knight,' asked Walter, faintly.
+
+'Simply this--that she is young, fair to behold, and evidently of high
+lineage.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+ON THE LADDER OF LIFE.
+
+
+FOUR days passed over, and Walter Espec, quite recovered from the
+effects of his struggle with the waves, and of the salt water he had
+involuntarily imbibed during his perilous adventure on the coast of
+Cyprus, was at Nicosia, and engaged in chivalrous exercises, in the
+courtyard of the house occupied by the Earl of March; when he was
+accosted by Bisset, the English knight, who had been a witness of his
+daring exploit, and requested to repair to the presence of the King of
+France.
+
+Walter was somewhat taken by surprise and startled by the summons.
+Recovering his serenity, however, as well as he could, he intimated his
+readiness; and with the air befitting a Norman gentleman who had existed
+from childhood in the consciousness that his name was known to fame, and
+who did not forget that he had noble blood of Icinglas in his veins, he
+accompanied the knight to the palace in which the saint-king was lodged.
+
+At that time, Louis, not much satisfied with himself for having
+consented to winter in Cyprus, though little dreaming of the terrible
+misfortunes that awaited his army in the land for which he was bound,
+was seated at table and endeavouring to forget his cares, while
+conversing familiarly with a young and noble-looking personage of great
+strength and stature, with a head of immense size, and a countenance
+beaming with sagacity. In truth this was a very remarkable personage. He
+was then known as John, Lord of Joinville, and seneschal of Champagne;
+and he has since been famous as the chronicler of the triumphs and
+disasters of the Crusade in which he acted a conspicuous part.
+
+'Seneschal,' said Louis, addressing Joinville, 'I marvel much that you
+do not mix water with your wine.'
+
+'In truth, sire,' replied Joinville, half jocularly, 'I fear so to do;
+for physicians have told me I have so large a head, and so cold a
+stomach, that water might prove most injurious.'
+
+'Nevertheless,' said Louis, earnestly, 'be advised by me, and do not
+allow yourself to be deceived. If you do not drink water till you are in
+the decline of life, you will then increase any disorders you may have.'
+
+'But, sire,' asked Joinville, innocently, 'why should I drink water then
+more than now?'
+
+'Ah,' answered Louis, 'simply because if you take pure wine in your old
+age, you will be frequently intoxicated; and verily it is a beastly
+thing for an honourable man to make himself drunk.'
+
+'I acknowledge that it is very wrong, sire,' said Joinville; 'but I am
+one of those who endeavour to practise moderation in the use of the
+wine-cup.'
+
+'And pray, seneschal,' asked Louis, after a pause, 'may I ask if you
+ever wash the feet of the poor?'
+
+'Oh, sire, no,' answered Joinville, not without evincing surprise. 'I
+hardly deem that it would become such a person as I am.'
+
+'In truth, seneschal,' exclaimed Louis, 'this is very ill said. You
+ought not to think that unbecoming which He, who was their Lord and
+Master, did for our example when He washed the feet of His apostles. I
+doubt not you would very unwillingly perform what the King of England
+does; for on Holy Thursday he washes the feet of lepers.'
+
+'Oh, sire,' cried Joinville, in a conclusive tone, 'never will I wash
+the feet of such fellows.'
+
+'Now, seneschal,' resumed Louis, still more seriously, 'let me ask you
+another question. Whether would you be a leper, or have committed a
+deadly sin?'
+
+'Sire,' answered Joinville, frankly, 'rather than be a leper, I would
+have committed thirty deadly sins.'
+
+'How could you make such an answer?' said Louis, reproachfully.
+
+'Sire,' exclaimed Joinville, with decision, 'if I were to answer again,
+I should repeat the same thing.'
+
+'Nevertheless,' urged Louis, with earnestness, 'you deceive yourself on
+the subject; for no leprosy can be so awful as deadly sin, and the soul
+that is guilty of such is like the devil in hell.'
+
+It was when the conversation between the King of France and the Lord of
+Joinville had reached this stage, that Walter Espec, guided by the
+English knight, made his appearance, not without exhibiting symptoms of
+agitation when he found himself face to face with the monarch, who, of
+all the princes of Christendom, enjoyed, at that period, the highest
+reputation in Europe and the East.
+
+But the appearance and aspect of Louis were not such as to daunt or
+dismay.
+
+Nothing could have been more plain and simple than the dress worn by the
+royal chief of the crusaders. Indeed it was plain and simple to
+affectation; and the coat of camlet, the surcoat of tyretaine, the
+mantle of black sandal, contrasted remarkably with the splendid garments
+of princes who were his contemporaries, especially Henry, King of
+England, who, like most of the Plantagenets, was given to magnificence
+of attire, and generally regarded as by far the greatest dandy in his
+dominions. Nor had Louis been endowed by nature with the qualities which
+please the eye and impress the imagination. His figure, it is true, was
+tall and well proportioned; but his face and features were not
+calculated to dazzle. When compared with men of such noble presence and
+regal air as our English Edwards and Henrys, he was decidedly plain. He
+had the peculiar face and slanting features which distinguished so many
+of the descendants of Hugh Capet, and that large long straight nose,
+which, instead of keeping the Greek facial line, inclined forward, and
+hung slightly over the short upper lip. Not even flattery could have
+described the saint-king as a model of manly beauty.
+
+[Illustration: "Young gentleman," said King Louis, "it has come to my
+knowledge that you have performed an action noble in itself, and worthy
+of the praises of the valiant."--p. 64.]
+
+Now it happened that Walter Espec had never before seen a king, and was
+prepared to behold something very grand, like Coeur de Lion, with his
+scarlet bonnet, his rose-coloured tunic, and his mantle of striped
+silver tissue, and his Damascus blade with a golden hilt in a silver
+sheath. Naturally, therefore, he was at the first glance somewhat
+disappointed with the appearance of the monarch in whose presence he
+stood. But as Louis turned upon him a countenance which, albeit not
+beautiful, denoted energy and decision of character, and expressed at
+once goodness and good-nature, and high moral and intellectual
+superiority, the youth, whose instincts were strong, felt that he was in
+the presence of a man who was worthy of reigning.
+
+'Young gentleman,' said Louis, mildly, as Walter bent his knee, 'it has
+come to my knowledge that you have performed an action noble in itself,
+and worthy of the praises of the valiant.'
+
+'Sire,' replied Walter, colouring, and speaking with less than his
+wonted confidence, 'I scarce know to what your highness is pleased to
+refer.'
+
+'Ah,' said Louis, glancing towards the Lord of Joinville, 'I can hardly
+credit your words. But such modesty is becoming in youth. However, I
+mean that, four days since, as I learn, you saved a noble demoiselle
+from the sea, at the most manifest peril to your own life.'
+
+Walter bowed in acknowledgement of the compliment, but did not speak.
+
+'Not,' continued Louis hastily, 'not that you should therefore be
+vainglorious, or puffed up with vanity, or think more highly of
+yourself than you ought to think on account of your achievement, however
+honourable; for I trust you know and feel that, before our Maker, we are
+all but as potter's clay.'
+
+'My lord,' replied Walter, pausing in some perplexity, 'I would fain
+hope my ideas on the subject will ever be such as befit a Christian and
+a gentleman.'
+
+'Well, well,' said Louis, hastily, 'on that point I meant not to express
+a doubt, and,' added he, 'seeing that you give promise of being a
+preuhomme, I pray God, out of His goodness, that you may prove a
+preudhomme as well as a preuhomme.'
+
+'Sire,' said Walter, looking puzzled, 'you must pardon me when I confess
+that I comprehend not clearly the distinction.'
+
+'Ah,' replied Louis, smiling, and shaking his head gravely, 'the
+distinction is of much consequence; for know that by preuhomme I mean a
+man who is valiant and bold in person, whereas by preudhomme I signify
+one who is prudent, discreet, and who fears God, and has a good
+conscience.'
+
+Walter bowed again; and, being at a loss for words to answer, took
+refuge in silence. In fact, he began to feel so awkward that he wished
+nothing so fervently as that the interview would come to an end; and
+Louis, after condescending to ask some more questions, and inculcate
+some more lessons, dismissed him with words of encouragement, and gifted
+him with an amulet in the form of a ring, which bore on it this
+inscription--
+
+          Who wears me shall perform exploits,
+            And with great joy return.
+
+As Walter left the king's presence to depart from the palace, he turned
+to the knight who had been his conductor.
+
+'On my faith, sir knight,' said he laughing, but rather nervously, 'this
+reminds me more of the adventures which in childhood I have heard
+related by pilgrims and pedlars at the chimney-corner, than aught I ever
+expected to meet with in the real breathing busy world.'
+
+'Indeed,' said Bisset, quietly; 'methinks there is nothing so very
+wondrous about the business. It only seems to me that you have been born
+with luck on your side--not my own case--and that you have, without
+hazarding more than you are likely to do in the first battle with the
+Saracens, gained the privilege of climbing some steps up the ladder that
+leads to fortune and fame.'
+
+'And yet,' observed Walter, as he laughed and looked at the ring which
+Louis had bestowed on him, 'beshrew me if I have had the courage to ask
+either the rank or name of the demoiselle to whom I had the fortune to
+render the service that has made my existence known to this good and
+pious king.'
+
+'By the might of Mary,' exclaimed the knight, 'there is no reason why
+you should remain in ignorance who the demoiselle is, or what is her
+name. She is kinswoman of John de Brienne, who, in his day, figured as
+King of Jerusalem, and kinswoman also of Baldwin de Courtenay, who now
+reigns at Constantinople as Emperor of the East; and her name is Adeline
+de Brienne.'
+
+'Holy Katherine,' muttered Walter, again looking closely at the
+inscription on the ring, as if for evidence that the whole was not a
+dream, 'I begin to think that I must assuredly have been born with luck
+on my side, as you say; and, with such luck on my side, I need not even
+despair of finding the brother I have lost.'
+
+'Credit me, at all events,' said Bisset, looking wise, 'when I tell you
+that you have got upon the ladder of life.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE VOYAGE.
+
+
+IT was the Saturday before Pentecost, in the year 1249, when the fleet
+of King Louis and the armed pilgrims, consisting of no fewer than
+eighteen hundred vessels, great and small, issued gallantly from the
+port of Limisso, and steered towards Egypt.
+
+At first nothing could have been more gay and pleasant than the voyage
+of the Crusaders. It seemed as if the whole sea, so far as the eye could
+reach, was covered with cloth and with banners of bright colours.
+Everything appeared promising. The voyage, however, was not destined to
+prove prosperous. Suddenly the wind, which had been favourable, changed,
+and blew violently from the coast of Egypt. Great confusion was the
+consequence; and, though the Genoese mariners exerted all their skill,
+the fleet was utterly dispersed. Indeed, when King Louis, having put
+back, reached Limisso, he found, to his horror, that not more than
+two-thirds of the armed pilgrims remained in his company. Concluding
+that his companions had been drowned, the saintly monarch was grieved
+beyond measure, and on the point of giving way to despair.
+
+It happened, however, that while Louis was mourning over the mishap,
+William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, arrived at Cyprus with the English
+Crusaders, and administered some degree of consolation. In truth,
+Longsword was just the man to explain all in the most satisfactory
+manner. Having been accustomed from his youth to cross the narrow seas,
+he felt none of that vague terror of the ocean which made the French
+knights, when they embarked, invoke the protection of the saints; and he
+expressed his opinion that, in all probability, the missing vessels were
+safe on the Syrian coast. But the indifference which the earl showed for
+dangers at which the French trembled had the effect of making him many
+enemies, and arousing the natural jealousies which afterwards proved so
+baneful to the expedition.
+
+It ought to be borne in mind, that at the period of St. Louis's crusade
+there existed no love between the nobles of France and the nobles of
+England; and it appears that the French were in the habit of treating
+the English with some degree of scorn. Nor was it unnatural that such
+should have been the case; for, during half a century, in almost every
+struggle between the kingdoms, the French had been victorious. Philip
+Augustus, after holding his own against Richard Coeur de Lion, had
+succeeded in driving John from the continent; and Louis, when forced to
+take the field against Henry, had pursued his royal brother-in-law from
+the bridge of Taillebourg to the gates of Bordeaux. Remembering such
+triumphs, the French, who have in all ages been vain and boastful, were
+continually vaunting about their prowess, and repeating the story of
+some Englishman having cut off the tail of Thomas a Becket's horse, and
+of Englishmen having ever after that outrage been born with tails like
+horses.
+
+Such being the state of affairs, the Earl of Salisbury did not inspire
+the French nobles with any particular affection for him and his
+countrymen who had arrived at Cyprus, when they heard him speaking
+lightly of the dangers of the sea. In fact, the French lords, who a few
+hours earlier had been sinking under sea-sickness, trembling at the
+sound of raging billows, and wishing themselves safely in their own
+castles, cursed 'Longsword,' as the worst of 'English tails.'
+
+But the King of France did not share the malice of his countrymen; and,
+much comforted by the words of the English earl, he resolved on again
+tempting the sea. Accordingly, on Monday morning, he ordered the
+mariners to spread their sails to the wind. The weather proving
+favourable, the fleet made gallantly for the shores of Egypt; and on the
+morning of Thursday, about sunrise, the watch on deck of the vessel that
+led the van, shouted 'Land!'
+
+'Surely, not yet,' exclaimed several voices; but the pilot to make
+certain ascended to the round-top of the vessel.
+
+'Gentlemen,' cried the pilot, 'it is all right. We are before Damietta,
+so you have nothing to do but to recommend yourselves to God.'
+
+'Hurrah!' shouted the mariners; and from ship to ship the tidings
+passed; and, as the words of the pilot flew from deck to deck, a cry of
+joy burst from thousands of lips. Great was the excitement that
+prevailed; and the chiefs of the expedition hastily arrayed themselves
+to go on board the king's ship and hold a council of war.
+
+And now all eyes were turned towards the shore; and it seemed that the
+Crusaders were likely to encounter a desperate resistance in any attempt
+to land. A fleet and formidable engines of war defended the mouth of the
+Nile. A numerous army of horse and foot appeared on the beach, as if
+bent on contesting every inch of ground. At the head of this mighty
+host, wearing armour of burnished gold, figured the Emir Fakreddin, one
+of the foremost of Saracen warriors. From the midst trumpets and drums
+sounded a stern defiance to the armament of the Christians. But,
+undaunted by the aspect of affairs, the armed pilgrims steadily pursued
+their course; and ship after ship, moving calmly forward, anchored
+within a mile of the shore.
+
+Meanwhile, the pilgrims, princes, and nobles, had reached the king's
+ship; and Louis, leaning on his sword, received them with satisfaction
+on his countenance.
+
+'Gentlemen,' said he, 'our voyage has not been without its perils, but
+let us be thankful that we are at length face to face with the enemies
+of Christ.'
+
+'Yes, sire,' said the chiefs, 'and it is therefore expedient to form
+some plan of action.'
+
+'And, under the circumstances,' added several, 'it will be prudent to
+await our comrades who have been separated from us by the tempest.'
+
+It soon appeared that among the chiefs there was a general wish to await
+the coming of their missing comrades; but the king was young, and the
+drums and horns of the Saracens had so chafed his pride that he would
+not hear of delay.
+
+'We have not come hither,' said he, excitedly, 'to listen to the insults
+of our enemies; nor have we any port in which to shelter from the wind.
+A second tempest may disperse what remains of our fleet. To-day God
+offers us a victory; another day He may punish us for having neglected
+to conquer.'
+
+'Sire, be it as you will,' replied the assembled chiefs, not caring to
+debate the point with their king.
+
+And so, with much less deliberation than was necessary under the
+circumstances, and without duly considering the resources of the enemy
+whom they had to combat, King Louis and the chief Crusaders resolved to
+disembark on the morrow and give battle. Meantime a strict watch was
+maintained, and several swift vessels were despatched towards the mouth
+of the Nile to observe the motions of the Saracens.
+
+It happened that the Saracens, in spite of their dauntless show, were by
+no means in the best mood to make an obstinate resistance, nor were they
+in any sanguine mood as to the result of their preparations. At such a
+crisis, the presence of the sultan was necessary to sustain their
+spirits, and stimulate their fanaticism.
+
+Now at that time Melikul Salih was Sultan of Egypt; but he was not at
+Damietta, and his absence caused much uncertainty and dismay among the
+warriors assembled to defend his dominions. Melikul Salih was then at
+Cairo; and almost every man in Fakreddin's army knew that Melikul Salih
+was dying.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+AT DAMIETTA.
+
+
+ABOUT a mile from the sea, on the northern bank of the second mouth of
+the Nile, stood the city of Damietta, with its mosques, and palaces, and
+towers, and warehouses, defended on the river side by a double rampart,
+and on the land side by a triple wall. Fair and enchanting to the eye
+was the locality in which it was situated; and as the Crusaders directed
+their gaze towards the groves of oranges and citrons, loaded with
+flowers and fruit, the woods of palms and sycamores, the thickets of
+jasmines and odoriferous shrubs, the vast plains, with pools and lakes
+well stocked with fish, the thousand canals intersecting the land, and
+crowned with papyrus and reeds, they, feeling the influence of a rich
+climate and a beautiful sky, could not find words sufficiently strong to
+express their admiration and delight.
+
+'Now, good Walter,' said Guy Muschamp, as the brothers-in-arms, having
+ascended to the castle of the 'Hilda,' looked earnestly towards the
+shore, 'who can deny that such a land is worth fighting to conquer?'
+
+'On my faith,' exclaimed Walter Espec, with enthusiasm, 'it is so
+pleasant to the eye, that I could almost persuade myself I am looking
+upon that terrestrial paradise in which the father and mother of mankind
+lived so happily before eating the fatal apple.'
+
+No wonder, when such was the aspect of the country around Damietta, that
+the armed pilgrims were impatient to land.
+
+And no time was lost; for, of all the armed pilgrims, King Louis was
+perhaps the most eager to encounter the enemies of his religion; and,
+soon after daybreak, on the morning of Friday, a signal was given for
+the fleet to weigh anchor and draw near to the shore.
+
+Meanwhile the Saracens, under the Emir Fakreddin, were on the alert; and
+while a bell, that had remained in the great mosque of Damietta ever
+since John de Brienne seized the city in 1217, tolled loudly to warn the
+inhabitants of the danger, the Moslem warriors got under arms, and with
+cavalry and infantry occupied the whole of that part of the strand at
+which the Crusaders had resolved to disembark.
+
+But the armed pilgrims were nothing daunted by the sight of the
+formidable preparations made to oppose their landing. Getting into
+barques which had been provided for the purpose, they prepared to fight
+their way ashore, in defiance of all dangers. Ranging themselves in two
+lines, with their lances in their hands, and their horses by their
+sides, the knights and nobles stood erect in their boats, while in
+front, and on the wings of the armament, were placed crossbowmen to
+harass and keep off the foe. Nor did Louis in that hour appear in any
+way unworthy to be the leader of brave men. Attended by his brothers and
+his knights, the King of France, arrayed in chain-mail, with his helmet
+on his brow, his shield on his neck, and his lance in his hand, figured
+prominently on the right of his array. By his side stood the cardinal
+legate; and in front of him was a boat in which the oriflamme, brought
+from the abbey of St. Denis, was proudly displayed.
+
+It was an exciting occasion, and the hearts of the saint-king and his
+mailed comrades beat high as the barques moved onward to the Egyptian
+strand. The warriors, standing steady and silent as graven images, gazed
+earnestly on their multitudinous foes. For a time no attempt was made to
+oppose their progress. No sooner, however, were they within bowshot,
+than a shower of arrows and javelins rattled against the mail of the
+Crusaders. For a moment the ranks of the Christian warriors were shaken.
+But the crossbowmen, without the delay of an instant, retaliated with
+damaging effect; and while their shafts carried death into the Saracen
+host, the rowers redoubled their efforts to reach the shore, and bring
+Christian and Moslem hand to hand and foot to foot.
+
+Again the silence was unbroken, save by the plashing of oars and the
+tumultuous shock of the barques pressing on in disorder. Ere long,
+however, there was a loud shout. The Lord of Joinville, closely followed
+by Baldwin de Rheims, had reached the shore; and they were setting
+their men in battle order, and covering themselves with their shields,
+and presenting the points of their lances to check the impetuosity of
+the enemy.
+
+And now King Louis lost all patience; and deeming it no time to stand on
+his regal dignity, he leaped from his barge, and plunging up to his
+shoulders in the water, struggled towards the shore. Inspired by his
+example, the Crusaders threw themselves into the sea in a body, and
+pressed eagerly onward, with cries of 'Montjoie! St. Denis!' Again the
+silence was unbroken, save by the clash of mail, the noise of a dense
+crowd of armed men struggling with the waves, which were so elevated by
+the rush, that they fell and broke at the feet of the Saracens. In a few
+moments, however, the oriflamme was landed, and the saint-king, with the
+salt water running off his armour, was on his knees giving thanks to God
+for having preserved him and his companions from the perils of the deep.
+
+'And now, gentlemen,' said Louis, as he rose and looked excitedly around
+him, 'let us forthwith charge our enemies in the name of God.'
+
+'Be patient, sire,' replied the knights, interfering; 'it is better to
+await the landing of our comrades, that we may fight with advantage.'
+
+Louis allowed himself to be persuaded; and it speedily appeared that
+caution was necessary; for, while the Crusaders were still struggling
+ashore in disorder, the Saracen cavalry came down upon them with an
+impetuosity which convinced the French that their adversaries were not
+to be despised. But Joinville and Baldwin of Rheims rendered their
+comrades good service. Hastily closing their ranks, they contrived not
+only to stay the rush, but to present so impenetrable a front, that the
+Saracens retired baffled to prepare for a fresh spring.
+
+And again, with an enthusiastic energy which would have struck terror
+into antagonists less bold, the Saracens under Fakreddin charged down
+upon the Crusaders; and then began, all along the coast, a confused
+conflict which raged for hours--Christian and Moslem fighting hand to
+hand; while the two fleets engaged at the mouth of the Nile; and the
+Queen of France and the Countess of Anjou, and other ladies of high
+rank, who remained on board at a distance, awaited the issue of the
+contest with terrible anxiety, and, with priests around them, sang
+psalms and prayed fervently for the aid and protection of the God of
+battles. At length the conflict came to an end. Both on the water and on
+the land the Crusaders were victorious. The Saracen fleet, after getting
+decidedly the worst of the combat, escaped up the Nile; and the Saracen
+soldiers, beaten and dispersed, retired precipitately, and flying in
+confusion towards Damietta, abandoned their camp, and left several of
+their emirs dead on the field.
+
+After witnessing the flight of the Saracens, Louis ordered his pavilion,
+which was of bright scarlet, to be pitched on the ground where he had
+conquered, and caused the clergy to sing the Te Deum. The Crusaders then
+set up their tents around that of the king, and passed the night in
+rejoicing over the victory they had won.
+
+Next day the Crusaders had still stronger reason to congratulate
+themselves on the good fortune which had attended their arms. At
+daybreak, looking towards Damietta, they observed that columns of smoke
+were rising from the bosom of the city, and that the whole horizon was
+on fire. Without delay the King of France sent one of his knights and a
+body of cavalry to ascertain the cause; and, on reaching Damietta, the
+knight found the gates open, and learned on entering that the Saracens,
+after setting fire to that part called the Fonde, which was a row of
+shops and warehouses, had abandoned the city. Returning to the camp at a
+gallop, while his men remained to extinguish the fire, the knight
+announced the glad tidings to the saint-king.
+
+'Sire,' said he, 'I bring good news; Damietta may be taken possession of
+without striking a blow.'
+
+It was not very easy, even after hearing all, to credit this knight's
+report; and Louis was somewhat suspicious of a stratagem. However, he
+gave orders for marching towards the gates, and moving slowly, and with
+much caution, took possession. It was clear that the city had been
+abandoned by its defenders; and the king, the cardinal legate, and the
+clergy, having formed in procession, walked to the grand mosque, which
+was speedily converted into a Christian church, and sang psalms of
+praise and thanksgiving.
+
+And now the Crusaders, with Damietta in their possession, were indeed
+elate, and rather inclined to magnify their successes; and the Queen of
+France and the Countess of Anjou, and the other ladies were brought
+ashore and lodged in the palaces of the city; and five hundred knights
+were charged with the duty of guarding the ramparts and towers; and the
+warriors of the Cross, encamping in the plain outside the gates, gave
+themselves up to dissipation, and deluded themselves with the idea that
+no enterprise was too difficult for them to accomplish.
+
+'Now,' said the French, as they quaffed the red wine and rattled the
+dice-box, 'we have only to await the coming of our companions from the
+coast of Syria, and of the Count of Poictiers, with the _arriere ban_ of
+France, to undertake the conquest of Egypt.'
+
+'Ay,' said others, 'and then let the Saracens and their sultan tremble.'
+
+'Nothing,' echoed a third party, 'can withstand the warriors of France,
+when animated by the presence and example of their king.'
+
+'I dislike all this boasting,' remarked Bisset, the English knight, to
+Walter Espec and Guy Muschamp, 'and, albeit I wish not to be thought a
+prophet of evil, I predict that it will end in mischief and disaster.'
+
+'The saints forbid,' exclaimed Guy, gaily. 'For my part I dread nothing
+but the thought of being devoured by some of the crocodiles which, men
+say, are hatched in the waters of the Nile.'
+
+'Nevertheless, mark my words,' said Bisset, more gravely than it was his
+wont to speak. 'At present the Frenchmen believe that, because they have
+plied their swords with some effect, that henceforth the Saracens will
+fly before their scabbards. Now they are all singing songs of triumph;
+ere long, if you and I live, we'll hear them singing to a very different
+tune.'
+
+'Ah, sir knight,' said Walter, smiling, 'you say this from national
+jealousy, and because they call us "English tails."'
+
+'"English tails!"' repeated Bisset, scornfully; 'I tell you, for your
+comfort, that when the hour of real danger arrives, we "English tails"
+are likely to find our way so deep into the Saracens' ranks, that not a
+bragging Frenchman will venture to come nigh the tails of our
+war-steeds.'
+
+'By St. John of Beverley,' exclaimed Guy, laughing merrily, 'I cannot
+but think that the French and English Crusaders are already inclined to
+hate each other much more than either French or English hate the
+Saracens.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+INCURSIONS.
+
+
+AND what were the sultan and the Saracens saying and doing while the
+Crusaders were establishing themselves at Damietta, and delighting their
+souls with visions of the conquest of Egypt?
+
+In order to ascertain we must, in imagination, pass from the camp at
+Damietta to the palace of Cairo.
+
+Melikul Salih was under the influence of a malady which his physicians
+pronounced to be incurable. On that point there was no mistake.
+Nevertheless, when pigeons carried to Cairo intelligence of the French
+king's victory and Fakreddin's defeat, the sultan roused himself to
+energy, and, after having sentenced fifty of the principal fugitives to
+execution, and taken Fakreddin severely to task for allowing his men to
+be vanquished, he caused himself to be removed to Mansourah. On reaching
+that city, Melikul Salih expended his remaining strength in rallying his
+army and strengthening the fortifications, and at the same time sent men
+to attack the Crusaders in their camp, to kill the Franks and cut off
+their heads,--promising a golden besant for every head brought to him.
+
+The Arab cavalry of the Desert, and bands of horsemen belonging to that
+wild nation known as the Karismians, were employed on this service; and
+the Crusaders found themselves exposed to dangers against which it
+seemed impossible to guard. As wild animals prowl around the habitations
+of men on the watch for prey, so around the Christian camp prowled the
+Arabs and Karismians by day and by night. If even at noon a soldier
+wandered from the camp he was lost; and, in hours of darkness, sentinel
+after sentinel disappeared, and knight after knight was struck dead, as
+if by invisible hands. Every morning the Crusaders had to listen to some
+new tale of horror which made their blood run cold.
+
+Ere the Arabs and Karismians had carried alarm into the camp of the
+Crusaders, many of the warriors of the West had begun to suffer from the
+climate of Egypt; and among others who were prostrated, was the old Earl
+of March. For a time he seemed likely to fall a victim to the malady;
+but the natural vigour of his constitution at length prevailed; and he
+had almost recovered, when a sudden inroad of the enemy exposed him to a
+new peril.
+
+It was the afternoon of an August day; and Earl Patrick was arraying
+himself to ride into Damietta to attend a council of war. His white
+charger stood at the entrance of his pavilion, and there sat Walter
+Espec, looking somewhat gloomy, as many of the armed pilgrims were
+already doing, when Guy Muschamp approached with a countenance from
+which much of the habitual gaiety had vanished.
+
+'What tidings?' asked Walter, eagerly.
+
+'On my faith, good Walter,' answered Guy, shaking his head, 'I now know
+of a truth that this Damietta is not quite such a paradise as we fancied
+when gazing at it from the sea.'
+
+'Serpents often lurk where flowers grow,' said Walter; 'but what new
+tidings of mishap have clouded your brow?'
+
+'Nothing less,' replied Guy, 'than that these foul Saracens have been
+marvellously near us. No later than last night they entered the camp,
+surprised the watch of Lord Courtenay, and this morning his body was
+found on the table; his head was gone.'
+
+'By the saints!' exclaimed Walter, 'such warfare, waged by invisible
+foes, may well daunt the bravest; and albeit I trust much from the
+protection of the Holy Katherine, yet I at times feel a vague dread of
+being the next victim.'
+
+At that moment, and almost ere Walter had spoken, there arose loud and
+shrill cries, and then loud shouts of alarm.
+
+'By good St. George!' shouted Hugh Bisset, rushing in, 'the Saracens are
+upon us; they are carrying off the Lord Perron, and his brother the Lord
+Duval. Arm, arm, brave squires. To the rescue! to the rescue!'
+
+As Bisset gave the alarm, the Earl of March came forth. He was arrayed
+in chain-mail, and his helmet was on his brow.
+
+'What, ho!' cried the earl, with lofty indignation; 'do the sons of
+darkness, who worship Mahound and Termagaunt, venture where my white
+lion ramps in his field of red? Out upon them! My axe and shield.'
+
+Mounting his white steed, the earl caused one of the sides of his
+pavilion to be raised, and issuing forth, spurred against the foe with
+shouts of 'Let him who loves me follow me! Holy Cross! Holy Cross!' Nor
+did the aged warrior confine his hostility to words. Encountering the
+leader of the Saracens face to face, he bravely commenced the attack,
+and, after a brief conflict, with his heavy axe cleft the infidel from
+the crown almost to the chest.
+
+'Pagan dog!' exclaimed the earl, as the Saracen fell lifeless to the
+ground; 'I devote thine impure soul to the powers of hell.'
+
+But this achievement was the last which Earl Patrick was destined to
+perform. As he spurred forward to pursue his success, his steed became
+refractory, and he was flung violently to the ground. Ere his friends
+could come to his aid, the Saracens gave him several blows with their
+clubs, and he would have been killed on the spot but for the arrival of
+Bisset, with Guy Muschamp and Walter Espec, who, having mounted, now
+came with a rush to the rescue. A sharp conflict then took place. Guy,
+advancing as gaily as if he had been in the tiltyard at Wark, gallantly
+unhorsed one Saracen with the point of his lance. Walter, going more
+gravely into the combat, killed another with his falchion, at the use of
+which he was expert. After much trouble the French lords were rescued;
+and such of the Saracens as had not fallen, fled, and galloped along the
+banks of the Nile.
+
+Meanwhile the squires and grooms of the Earl of March raised him from
+the ground; and, supported by them, he contrived to reach his tent; but
+he was much bruised, and so exhausted that he could not muster voice to
+speak. When, however, surgeons and physicians were called, they
+expressed themselves hopefully, and, not comprehending his dangerous
+state, bled him freely in the arm, and then administering a composing
+draught, left him under the charge of the squires.
+
+As evening was falling, the Earl of Salisbury, after a long conference
+with King Louis, during which the unfortunate quarrel of the English and
+French Crusaders were discussed with a view of averting fatal
+consequences, left the royal quarters, in company with the Lord of
+Joinville.
+
+'Seneschal,' said Salisbury, 'I would fain visit the Earl of March; and
+I pray you to bear me company.'
+
+'Right willingly,' replied Joinville; 'for he is a man of great valour
+and renown, and wise in council; and it were ill for our expedition if
+his wounds should prove fatal.'
+
+'And how fares the earl?' asked Salisbury, as they reached the tent over
+which ramped that ancient lion argent, so terrible on many a foughten
+field.
+
+'My lord,' said Walter Espec, in a hushed voice, as they came to the
+entrance, 'the earl sleeps; so pray tread softly, lest you should
+disturb his repose.'
+
+They did so, and entering, found the earl lying on his mantle of
+minever, which covered him.
+
+'He sleeps soundly,' whispered Walter, looking up.
+
+'Boy,' said Salisbury, solemnly, 'he sleeps the sleep that knows no
+waking.'
+
+Walter stooped down, and perceived that Salisbury was right. The earl
+was dead.
+
+'May paradise be open to him,' said Salisbury, crossing himself with
+pious fervour.
+
+'Amen,' said Joinville. 'May his soul repose in holy flowers.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+A RENEGADE.
+
+
+IT was a sad day for Guy Muschamp and Walter Espec, when they suddenly
+found themselves deprived of the protection of the aged war-chief under
+whose banner they had embarked for the East. However, they were not long
+without patrons. Guy attached himself to the Lord of Joinville, who was
+his mother's kinsman. Walter became squire to the Earl of Salisbury, and
+in that capacity joined the English Crusaders. In fact, Longsword,
+having heard from Joinville of Walter's adventure at Cyprus, took a
+decided liking to the young northern man, examined him as to his
+lineage, his parentage, and his education, heard the sad story of his
+brother's disappearance, and spoke words of such kind encouragement,
+that the tears started to Walter's eyes, and his brave heart was quite
+won.
+
+One day, soon after entering Longsword's service, Walter was standing at
+the entrance of the tent occupied by the chief of the English Crusaders,
+now thinking somewhat sadly of the green fields and oak forests of his
+native land, now longing to behold some of the wonders of the Nile, when
+a man of forty or thereabouts, handsome and well-dressed as a Frank,
+presented himself, and bowed low.
+
+'You are of the English nation?' said he, in French.
+
+'Yes,' replied Walter, examining him with curiosity.
+
+'And you serve the great English lord, who is called Longsword?'
+
+'It is my pride to serve that famous warrior,' replied Walter, quietly.
+
+'And I would fain speak with him if you could obtain me a hearing.'
+
+Walter shook his head significantly.
+
+'Before I can make such an attempt,' said he, 'I must learn who you are,
+and what you want.'
+
+'My name is Beltran. I am a Frank by birth, but for nine years I have
+been an inhabitant of Egypt.'
+
+'Nine years!' exclaimed Walter. 'By the Holy Cross, you must know the
+country well-nigh as intimately as the Egyptians themselves.'
+
+'Much knowledge I do possess of the country, and of the wonders it
+contains.'
+
+'Well,' said Walter, 'I will put your knowledge to the test. Whence
+comes this river, the Nile, of which so many stories are told? Is it
+true that it takes its rise in the terrestrial paradise?'
+
+'In truth,' replied Beltran, 'I would I could answer your question to
+your satisfaction. It is the report of the country that the Nile does
+come from the terrestrial paradise. But nothing certain is known on the
+subject. I have heard that the sultan has attempted to learn whence it
+came, by sending experienced persons to follow the course of it.'
+
+'Yes,' said Walter, eagerly.
+
+'These persons, on their return,' continued Beltran, 'reported that they
+had followed the river till they came to a large mountain of
+perpendicular rocks, which it was impossible to climb, and over these
+rocks fell the water. And it seemed to them that on the top of this
+mountain were many trees; and they saw strange wild beasts, such as
+lions, elephants, and other sorts, which came to gaze at them. And, not
+daring to advance further, they returned to the sultan.'
+
+'And this is all that is known?' said Walter.
+
+'Yes,' replied Beltran. 'Where the Nile enters Egypt, it spreads in
+branches over the plain. One of them flows to Damietta; a second to
+Alexandria; a third to Tunis; and a fourth to Rexi. About St. Remy's Day
+it expands itself into seven branches, and thence flows over the plains.
+When the waters retire, the labourers appear and till the ground with
+ploughs without wheels, and then sow wheat, barley, rice, and cumin,
+which succeed so well that nowhere are finer crops.'
+
+'And whence,' asked Walter, 'comes this yearly increase of water?'
+
+'I cannot tell, except that it comes from God's mercy. Some say that
+this overflowing is caused by heavy rains in Abyssinia; but many Arabs
+believe that a drop of dew falls into the river, and causes the
+inundation; and some declare they have seen it fall, like a star. The
+night when it falls is called the "drop-night." But certain it is that,
+were it not to happen, Egypt, from the great heat, would produce
+nothing; for, being near the rising sun, it scarcely ever rains, save at
+very long intervals.'
+
+'Of a truth,' observed Walter, 'all this sounds strange to English
+ears.'
+
+'Where the river enters Egypt,' continued Beltran, 'there are expert
+persons, who may be called the fishermen of this stream, and who, in the
+evening, cast their nets into the water, and in the morning frequently
+find many spices in them, such as ginger, cinnamon, rhubarb, cloves,
+lignum-aloes, and other good things, which they sell by weight.'
+
+'But how come the spices into the water?' enquired Walter.
+
+'Well, it is the belief of the country that they come from the
+terrestrial paradise, and that the wind blows them down from these fine
+trees, as, in your forests, the wind blows down the old dry wood. But
+such is mere surmise, albeit widely credited.'
+
+'And the water of the Nile is deemed sweet to the taste?' said Walter.
+
+'None in the world more sweet. The Arabs hold that, if Mahomet had once
+tasted it, he would have prayed that he might live for ever, so as
+unceasingly to enjoy its sweetness.'
+
+'And yet it seems so turbid to the eye?'
+
+'True; but, when the natives drink of it, it is clear as crystal.
+Towards evening, crowds come down to get water, and especially women,
+who, on such occasions, are decorated with all the ornaments they
+possess. You must understand that they come in companies, because it is
+not deemed decorous for a woman to go alone. And marvellous it is to see
+how they balance the water-pots on their head, and walk gracefully up
+steep banks which even you--agile as you may be--might have some
+difficulty in clambering up without any burden. Then they put into their
+vessels almonds or beans, which they shake well; and on the morrow the
+water is wondrous clear, and more refreshing than the daintiest wine.'
+
+'On my faith!' said Walter, 'all this is so curious that, were it a time
+of truce, I should be tempted to adventure up this river and behold some
+of the strange things of which you tell. But here comes my lord.' And,
+as he spoke, the Earl of Salisbury rode up, and, while Walter held the
+stirrup, dismounted.
+
+Immediately the stranger stepped forward, and, humbling himself, with
+respect offered Salisbury some lard in pots, and a variety of
+sweet-smelling flowers.
+
+'I bring them to you, noble earl,' said the man, in French, 'because you
+are cousin of Prince Richard, who is called Earl of Cornwall, and
+because you are nephew of the Crusader whose memory is held in most
+respect and dread by the Saracens.'
+
+'Of whom speak you?' asked Salisbury, a little surprised.
+
+'I speak of King Richard of England,' was the reply; 'for he performed
+such deeds when he was in the Holy Land that the Saracens, when their
+horses are frightened at a bush or a shadow, cry out, "What! dost think
+King Richard is there?" In like manner, when their children cry, their
+mothers say to them, "Hush, hush! or I will bring King Richard of
+England to you."'
+
+'On my faith!' said the earl, looking more and more surprised, 'I cannot
+comprehend you; for, albeit speaking French, and wearing the dress of a
+Frank, you seem from your words to be an inhabitant of this country.'
+
+'It is true,' replied the man, slowly. 'You must know that I am a
+Christian renegade.'
+
+'A Christian renegade!' exclaimed Salisbury, with pious horror. And then
+asked, 'But who are you, and why became you a renegade?'
+
+'Well, it came to pass in this wise,' answered the man, frankly. 'I was
+born in Poictiers, whence I followed Richard, Earl of Cornwall, to the
+East, and found my way to Egypt, where I have acquired some wealth.'
+
+'But,' demanded the earl, indignantly, 'know you not that if you were to
+die while leading your present life, you would descend straight to hell,
+and be for ever damned?'
+
+'In truth,' replied the man, 'I know full well that there is not a
+better religion than that of the Christians. But what can I do? Suppose
+I returned to it and had to go back to France, I should assuredly suffer
+great poverty, and be continually reproached all my days, and be called
+"Renegado! renegado!"'
+
+'Even with that prospect you ought not to hesitate,' said the earl; 'for
+surely it would be much better to suffer the scorn of the world than
+await your sentence in the day of judgment, when your evil deeds will be
+made manifest, and damnation will follow.'
+
+'Nevertheless,' protested the renegade, 'I had rather live at my ease,
+as I am, like a rich man, than become an object of contempt.'
+
+'I cannot brook your presence,' said the earl, growing very indignant:
+'therefore begone; I can have no more to say to you.'
+
+'Be not over-hasty,' said the renegade; 'for be it known to you, noble
+Earl, that I have that to tell which it will profit you much to know.'
+
+'Speak, then,' said the earl, hesitating, 'but be brief; for my patience
+is not so long as was my father's sword.'
+
+'It is of a rich caravan I would speak,' said the renegade, with a
+glance and a gesture of peculiar significance.
+
+'Ah!' exclaimed the earl, pricking up his ears, and listening with
+evident interest.
+
+'It is on its way to Alexandria, and will pass within six leagues of
+Damietta within four days,' said the renegade. 'And whoever can capture
+that caravan may gain an immense booty.'
+
+'And how does this concern me?' asked the earl.
+
+'My lord,' replied the renegade, 'I see not wherefore you should not
+seize the prize as well as another.'
+
+'But how am I to trust your report? How am I to know that your intent is
+not to betray me?'
+
+'My lord,' answered the renegade, 'I am in your power. I will answer for
+the truth of my story with my head; and, I promise you, I am as yet
+neither so old nor so weary of life as to hazard it needlessly.'
+
+'One question further,' said the earl, who was by this time much excited
+with the prospect of a rich booty. 'How am I, being in a strange
+country, to find this caravan of which you speak?'
+
+'I myself will be your guide,' replied the renegade.
+
+'And wherefore do you hazard so much to put me in possession of this
+prize, when, by doing so, you expose yourself to the enmity of the
+Egyptians, among whom you have cast your lot?'
+
+'Well, my lord,' said the renegade, after a pause, 'I will be frank. I
+expect my share of the spoil; and, besides, I see very clearly that this
+army of pilgrims is likely to conquer Egypt, in spite of all the
+resistance sultans and emirs may make; and, at such a time, I would fain
+have some powerful lord among the conquerors to befriend me.'
+
+'Ha!' exclaimed Longsword, smiling grimly,'I am now convinced.'
+
+'Of what, noble earl?'
+
+'Either that I must have the caravan or your head.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+CAPTURE OF A CARAVAN.
+
+
+WHILE King Louis lay at Damietta, awaiting the arrival of Crusaders from
+France and Syria, ere venturing to march into Egypt, the utmost disorder
+began to prevail in the camp. The armed pilgrims, left to inactivity in
+a delightful climate, under a bright sky, and surrounded by beautiful
+scenery, appeared once more to forget the oaths they had taken, and
+indulged in still worse riot and debauchery than when they wintered in
+Cyprus. Gambling was their daily occupation; and the rattle of the
+dice-box was constantly heard through the camp. And men with the Cross
+of Christ upon their shoulders had the name of the devil continually on
+their tongues. Nor was this the worst. Vice reigned all around in its
+grossest form; and the saint-king complained mournfully to the Lord of
+Joinville, that, within a stone's-throw of his own pavilion, houses of
+infamous repute were kept by his personal attendants.
+
+At the same time, the jealousy between the French and English grew more
+and more intense, and threatened disastrous consequences. In vain did
+Louis exert his influence to restrain the insolence of his countrymen.
+The English were constantly reminded of their inferiority as a nation,
+and exposed to such insults as it was difficult to brook. Bitter taunts
+and insinuations of cowardice were unhesitatingly used to mortify the
+island warriors; and men who had disobeyed their king's mandate, and
+forfeited lands and living to combat the Saracens, were, day by day,
+driven nearer the conclusion that they would ere long be under the
+necessity of drawing their swords against their fellow-soldiers of the
+Cross.
+
+Of all the French Crusaders, however, none were so foolishly insolent as
+Robert, Count of Artois, brother of King Louis. From a boy the French
+prince had been remarkable for the ferocity of his temper, and had early
+signalised himself by throwing a cheese at the face of his mother's
+chivalrous admirer, Thibault of Champagne. For some reason or other, the
+Count of Artois conceived a strong aversion to the Earl of Salisbury,
+and treated Longsword with the utmost insolence. And, though the Earl
+only retaliated by glances of cold contempt, it was known that his
+patience was wearing away, and it was feared that there would yet be
+bloodshed.
+
+'By my father's sword!' said he, speaking partly to himself, partly to
+Walter Espec, one day after returning to his tent, 'I fear me that my
+spirit will not much longer brook the reproaches of that vain prince.
+Even this day, as he spoke, my hand stole to the hilt of my sword; and I
+panted to defy him to mortal combat on the spot.'
+
+'My lord,' replied Walter, gravely and cautiously, 'I perceived that,
+albeit striving to be calm, you felt your ancestral blood boiling in
+your veins. And, in truth, I marvel not that such should have been the
+case; and yet----
+
+'And yet----Well, speak freely. I listen.'
+
+'Well, my lord,' continued Walter, 'I was about to say that it seemed to
+me the part of a wise man, and one so renowned in arms, not to deign to
+answer a fool according to his folly.'
+
+'Doubtless you are right,' replied the earl. 'And sinful, I feel, and
+calculated to provoke God's vengeance, would it be to draw the sword
+against one marked with the Cross, and engaged, like ourselves, in this
+holy war. Nevertheless, my patience may come to an end, as the patience
+of better men has done in such cases. However, a truce to such talk for
+the present; and see that, at daybreak, this renegade is ready to guide
+us on our expedition after the caravan; for I am weary of inactivity,
+and eager for change of scene.'
+
+Accordingly, preparations for the expedition were made; and, next
+morning, Salisbury and his knights dashed away from Damietta to
+intercept the caravan that was reported to be on its way to Alexandria.
+For a time they waited patiently at a place where it was expected to
+pass. But this mode of spending time was not much to the taste of men
+whose spirits were raised by the novelty of everything around. Panting
+for action, Longsword left Walter Espec with a band of horse and Beltran
+the renegade to keep watch, and, at the head of his knights, went off in
+quest of adventure.
+
+[Illustration: "I cannot but think," said Walter, "our post is one of
+danger, if the guards of this caravan are so numerous as reported.
+Nevertheless, it shall never be told that, for fear of odds, I retreated
+from a post which I had been entrusted to maintain."--p. 99.]
+
+Hours passed; evening fell and deepened into night; and still neither
+the caravan nor the warriors who had determined to capture it made
+their appearance; and Walter and the renegade, for different reasons,
+began to entertain considerable alarm. As morning approached, however,
+one point was explained. In fact, a spy employed by Beltran reached the
+rendezvous, with intelligence that the Earl's intention to attack the
+caravan having been suspected, had caused the delay; but that, being
+aware that he was out of the way, its guards were preparing to hasten
+forward at dawn of day, confidently hoping to pass without being
+assailed, or to beat down any opposition that might be offered to its
+progress.
+
+'On my faith,' said Walter, as he learned how matters were, 'I cannot
+but think our post is one of danger, if the guards of this caravan are
+so numerous as reported. Nevertheless, it shall never be told that, for
+fear of odds, I retreated from a post which I had been entrusted to
+maintain.' And he proceeded to place his men in such a position that
+they might elude the observation of the Saracens till close at hand, and
+then rush out and take the guards of the caravan by surprise.
+
+Meanwhile, day was breaking; and, in the distance, Walter and his
+companions could descry the caravan, apparently guarded by a strong
+force: and gradually the white turbans and green caftans and long spears
+became more and more distinct. It was clear that, in the event of
+Salisbury not returning in time, Walter would have to fight against
+great odds; and the return of the earl in time to aid him now appeared
+so improbable that the squire ceased even to hope for his banners, and
+resolved to take what fortune might be sent him. Suddenly, however, a
+sound--a whisper on the breeze, and the heavy tread of horses--reached
+his ears; and, gazing round, he descried a body of horsemen approaching
+in the opposite direction from which the caravan came.
+
+'Now, may the saints be praised, and may we be for ever grateful!
+exclaimed Walter, with a joyful heart, as he closely examined the banner
+that approached; 'for here come my Lord of Salisbury and his men of
+might.'
+
+In a few minutes the Earl reached the spot, and, rapidly comprehending
+the situation of affairs, prepared for action. But there was hardly
+occasion to strike a blow. No sooner did the English move towards the
+caravan, and no sooner had the Saracens an opportunity of judging what
+manner of men their assailants were, than they halted in surprise, and
+gave way to terror; and when the Earl, on his bay charger, spurred
+forward, shouting his battle-cry, they only waited long enough to
+discharge a shower of arrows, and then fled like hares before the
+hounds. Routed in every direction, they left the caravan to its fate;
+and the English, pausing from the fray, found themselves in possession
+of oxen, buffaloes, camels, mules, and asses, laden with gold and
+silver, and silks and paintings.
+
+'And now for Damietta!' said Longsword; 'for this is in truth a rich
+prize; and let us not risk the loss of it by loitering on the way.'
+
+And without waste of time--for a rescue was not impossible--they secured
+their booty, and marched with what speed they could towards Damietta.
+
+'Sir squire,' said Lord Robert de Vere, riding up to Walter Espec, whose
+conduct Longsword had commended, 'your position in the earl's absence
+was not quite so pleasant as a bed of roses.'
+
+'In truth, my lord,' replied Walter, thoughtfully, 'now that the danger
+is over, I cannot but deem that you came just in time to save us from
+death or captivity.'
+
+'And you marvelled that we tarried so long?'
+
+'Much,' replied Walter; 'and had given up all hope of your return.
+However,' added he, 'I perceive that your time was by no means wasted.'
+
+'You speak truly,' said De Vere. 'Never were men more successful in an
+adventure. By accident, we found ourselves hard by the castle of some
+wealthy Saracen, and determined to seize it; so, overcoming all
+resistance, we took it by storm, and found therein much booty, and a
+bevy of Saracen ladies; and, having given them to understand that they
+were captives of our swords and lances, we are carrying them to
+Damietta.'
+
+'On my faith!' said Walter, laughing, 'Fortune seems to bestow her
+favours liberally on the pilgrims from England. No saying what great
+exploits my Lord of Salisbury and his knights may yet perform! One day
+we seize a castle and a caravan; another day it may be a kingdom.'
+
+'And yet,' observed De Vere, the tone of his voice suddenly changing as
+he spoke, 'I am seldom in solitude without experiencing a vague feeling
+that calamity is impending.'
+
+Now this adventure, successful as it appeared, involved the English
+Crusaders in serious troubles. When Salisbury, on his bay charger, rode
+into Damietta, with the captive Saracen ladies and the captured caravan,
+the French were moved with envy, and did not fail to express their
+sentiments in strong language. Perhaps the English did not bear their
+good fortune so meekly as they might have done. In any case, the French
+grew more and more exasperated; and at length the quarrel reached such a
+stage that the French, availing themselves of superior numbers, had
+recourse to violence, and forcibly carried off part of the booty which,
+at great peril and with some labour, Longsword and his men had won.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+A COUNCIL OF WAR.
+
+
+ON the morning after the return of the Earl of Salisbury to Damietta,
+and the violent proceedings of the French Crusaders against the English
+companions of their expedition, King Louis summoned a council of war to
+deliberate on the measures most likely to lead to the conquest of
+Egypt--the grand object of the saintly monarch's ambition.
+
+By this time arrivals from various quarters had swelled the army that,
+under the banner of St. Denis, lay encamped at Damietta. Thither, under
+the grand masters of their orders, had come the Templars and the
+Hospitallers, whose discipline and knowledge of the East rendered them
+such potent allies. Thither had come the Duke of Burgundy, who had
+passed the winter in the Morea; and the Prince of Achaia, who forgot the
+perils surrounding the Latin empire of Constantinople, in his eagerness
+to combat the Moslem on the banks of the Nile; thither, recovered from
+their fright, had come the Crusaders whose vessels the storm had driven
+on the Syrian coast; and thither, with the _arriere ban_ of France,
+Alphonse, Count of Poictiers--'one of that princely quaternion of
+brothers which came hither at this voyage, and exceeded each other in
+some quality--Louis the holiest, Alphonse the subtlest, Charles the
+stoutest, and Robert the proudest.' No fewer than sixty thousand
+men--twenty thousand of whom were cavalry---were now encamped around the
+oriflamme; and with such an army, led by such chiefs, the saint-king
+would have been more than mortal if he had not flattered himself with
+the hope of accomplishing something great, to be recorded by chroniclers
+and celebrated by minstrels.
+
+And the princes and nobles assembled to hold a council of war; and
+Louis, with his crown on his brow, took his place to preside, with that
+serene dignity which distinguished him. But, ere the proceedings began,
+the Earl of Salisbury rose, and intimated his desire to address the king
+on a subject of great importance. Louis immediately signified consent;
+and the earl, raising his hand to ensure silence, proceeded with a calm
+but resolute air:--
+
+'Sire,' said he, 'I crave your pardon, and that of the princes and noble
+warriors here assembled, for trespassing upon their time. But I have
+that to state which demands your attention and interference, inasmuch as
+it nearly concerns the safety and welfare and honour of the army of
+pilgrims, of which you are the recognised chief. Sire,' continued the
+earl, 'however others may plead ignorance of the circumstances, you, at
+least, are fully informed and well aware that, in taking the Cross, and
+coming from a distant land to aid you in the recovery of the Holy
+Sepulchre, I made sacrifices of no ordinary kind. My doing so exposed
+me to the wrath of King Henry, my kinsman and liege lord, who took from
+me my earldom and all my substance. This, however, he did judicially,
+not in his anger, or any violence of self-will; and I do not blame him.
+But I came hither with my countrymen, and we have fought as faithfully
+for God's cause as any man in your army. Nevertheless we have been
+exposed to insults and injuries which brave men cannot long tolerate.
+The chief offender is your brother, the Count of Artois. I lay my
+complaint before you, and I ask you to judge between us. I promise to
+abide by your decision, and, if I am found to be in the wrong, to render
+every satisfaction for my fault. So help me God, and good St. George!'
+
+Louis listened with attention to the earl's speech. Indeed, the grandeur
+of Longsword's aspect, and his eloquence, so frank and so manly,
+produced a strong impression both on the king and the assemblage, and
+many of the French, notwithstanding their prejudices, murmured
+approbation.
+
+'This English earl,' said they, 'speaks words of truth and soberness,
+and he asks nothing more than the justice that ought not to be denied to
+the meanest man in the army of pilgrims.'
+
+Louis, however, paused, and appeared to be in extreme perplexity.
+
+'William Longsword,' he said, at length, 'you have spoken boldly; and I
+do not deny that you have spoken the truth. The Lord, who is ignorant of
+nothing, is aware of the injuries you have suffered. But what can I do?
+You know how serious an affair it would be for me to offend any of my
+nobles in the position in which I now am, and it therefore becomes you
+to exercise the patience becoming a soldier of the Cross.'
+
+And now the Count of Artois started up, his face flushed and his limbs
+trembling with rage:
+
+'King,' exclaimed he, in accents of menace, 'what mean you by the words
+you have spoken? Do you defend this Englishman and take part with him
+against Frenchmen, who are of your own country and kindred?'
+
+The countenance of Louis expressed more annoyance than he was in the
+habit of exhibiting.
+
+'Now, Longsword,' said he, turning with an imploring look to the earl,
+'you see the position of affairs, and how easily a quarrel might arise;
+and God forbid it should occur in an army of Christians. At such a
+crisis it is necessary to endure much for the sake of Christendom.'
+
+'Sire,' exclaimed Longsword, giving way to his indignation, 'if this is
+the only answer you can give to my complaint, I advise you to call
+yourself no longer a king; since you have no longer the privilege of
+being obeyed, or of administering justice, or punishing offenders.' And
+rising with a dignity which awed most of those present, he left the
+council.
+
+'Frenchmen,' said Louis, reproachfully, 'why do you persecute this man?
+What madness excites you?'
+
+'I do it,' cried the Count of Artois, 'because I dislike the tailed
+English, and because I think the army of Crusaders would be well purged
+of them.'
+
+But none present ventured to give the count the support he seemed to
+expect; and the wise and prudent bent their brows, and intimated their
+disapprobation.
+
+'The matter is too serious to be lightly spoken of,' said they,
+significantly; 'and this dispute is a sad presage of future events; and
+well will it be if the anger of the Most High is not provoked by such
+offences.'
+
+'And now,' said Louis, anxious to drop the subject, 'let us to the
+business on which we assembled to deliberate. Let us consult on the line
+of march, and on the measures to be taken for completing the conquest of
+Egypt.'
+
+'Sire,' said John de Valery, a baron, whose probity and courage were the
+admiration of the army, 'it seems to me that the best and safest policy
+is to undertake the siege of Alexandria. That city has a commodious
+port, where the fleet could find shelter, and where munitions and
+provisions could be procured with facility. My voice, therefore, is for
+marching to Alexandria.'
+
+Many of those whose experience in war was greatest--among whom were the
+Master of the Temple and the Master of the Hospital---echoed John de
+Valery's opinion.
+
+'For my part,' said the Count of Artois, with his characteristic
+rashness, 'I dislike timid counsels. Why not at once attack Cairo, which
+is the capital of Egypt? When you wish to kill the serpent,' added he,
+'you ought always to endeavour to crush his head. Then, I say, let us on
+to Cairo.'
+
+A warm and somewhat angry discussion ensued; and Louis, having given his
+opinion in favour of marching to Cairo, the project was adopted: and it
+was resolved to leave Queen Margaret, with the Countesses of Artois,
+Poictiers, and Anjou, at Damietta, to send the fleet with provisions and
+engines of war up the Nile, and then to march with banners displayed
+along the banks of the river.
+
+'Gentlemen,' said Louis, as he dismissed the council, 'I feel assured
+that we shall have no reason to repent adopting the bolder of the
+projects discussed this day; for, with an army of sixty thousand men,
+and the blessing of God on our endeavours, I see no reason to despair of
+accomplishing something great against the enemies of Christ.'
+
+'Sire,' replied John de Valery, 'may God grant that your hopes be
+realised.'
+
+And the nobles and princes separated to make the necessary preparations
+for marching to Cairo.
+
+Little did they foresee the terrible circumstances under which many of
+them were to reach that city.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+FACE TO FACE.
+
+
+WHILE the Crusaders were preparing to leave Damietta, march up the Nile,
+and attack Cairo, Melikul Salih, after struggling desperately with the
+great destroyer, yielded to his fate, and breathed his last at
+Mansourah. The death of the sultan was regarded by the emirs as most
+untimely; for his son, Touran Chah, was then in Mesopotamia, and they
+were apprehensive of the most serious troubles. At this crisis, however,
+a woman, whose great ability enabled her to comprehend the emergency and
+to deal with it, suggested measures for averting the ruin with which the
+empire of Egypt was menaced.
+
+Her name was Chegger Eddour, and she is said to have been an Armenian.
+She had originally been brought to Cairo as merchandise, and purchased
+by Melikul Salih as a slave. But her wit and beauty won the sultan's
+heart, and he became so enamoured that he elevated her to the position
+of favourite sultana, and carried her about with him wherever he went.
+One son whom she had by the sultan died young. Nevertheless her
+influence daily increased; and the Arabian historians, while eloquent
+in praise of her courage, agree in saying, that 'no woman surpassed her
+in beauty, and no man excelled her in genius.'
+
+No sooner did Melikul Salih depart this life, than Chegger Eddour
+assembled the principal emirs at Mansourah, and made them acknowledge
+Touran Chah as sultan. Moreover, she impressed upon them the necessity
+of concealing the death of her husband till the arrival of his
+successor. The policy she recommended was adopted. Orders were still
+issued in Melikul Salih's name; the Mamelukes still guarded the gates of
+the palace as if he had been living; and prayers for his recovery were
+still offered up in the mosques, where the Moslems worshipped. All these
+precautions, which were the work of the sultana, were skilfully taken,
+and for a time the Saracens hoped that Melikul Salih might yet recover
+from his malady, and save them from the foe by whom they were
+threatened.
+
+Ere long, however, suspicion was aroused, and it became more and more
+difficult to conceal the truth. Of itself this was sufficient to create
+consternation; but, at the same time, rumour brought to Mansourah
+intelligence that the French, having left Damietta, and marched in
+hostile array along the banks of the Nile, had reached Pharescour; and
+the approach of the Crusaders converted the consternation into panic,
+which rapidly extended its influence to Cairo. Every cheek grew pale;
+and the Egyptians exhibited such anxiety and terror as had never before
+been felt in their cities.
+
+At this crisis, Fakreddin, to whom the sultana had entrusted the command
+of the Egyptian army, took measures to reanimate his countrymen with
+courage and confidence, and called upon them to hazard their lives
+freely for their religion.
+
+'In the name of God, and Mahomet his prophet,' said the emir, 'hasten,
+great and small--the cause of God has need of your arms and of your
+wealth; the Franks--Heaven curse them!--are arrived in our country, with
+their standards and their swords. They wish to obtain possession of our
+cities, and to ravage our provinces. What Mussulman can refuse to march
+against them, and avenge the glory of Islamism?'
+
+But, at Cairo and Mansourah, the Egyptians only answered with sighs and
+groans; and, at first, Fakreddin's appeal failed to produce the effect
+he intended. The emir, however, was not dismayed. Indeed, he showed a
+courage worthy of the fame he had won by his military exploits, and
+gradually rallied the more courageous of his countrymen around him.
+Marching from Mansourah, he encamped at Djedile, on the side of the
+canal known as the Achmoun, which has a deep bed and steep banks; and
+halted with the Nile on his left and the city in his rear.
+
+'Here,' said he, addressing his men, 'I await the invaders. Be brave; we
+will yet avenge Islamism; and on Sebastian's-day I will dine in the
+scarlet tent of the French king.'
+
+Meanwhile, the Crusaders continued their march, and they soon approached
+Mansourah. At this point, however, their progress was arrested by two
+obstacles--the canal of Achmoun, and the army of Fakreddin.
+
+'Who is the leader of that army?' asked King Louis, as he looked
+earnestly across the canal to where the Saracens were encamped.
+
+'Sire,' answered one of his knights, 'it is Fakreddin, the emir, who
+fled from Damietta; but who, nevertheless, as I learn, does not hesitate
+to boast that it is his intention to dine in your red tent on St.
+Sebastian's-day.'
+
+'Does the emir intend to dine in my tent on St. Sebastian's-day?' said
+Louis, mildly; 'however, I will take good care to prevent him.'
+
+'In truth, sire,' said the knight, smiling, 'I hold that you are much
+more likely to dine in the sultan's palace.'
+
+'Be that as it may,' replied the king, 'one thing is certain. We and our
+foes are now face to face.'
+
+And so they were. Face to face, separated only by the canal Achmoun,
+Christian and Moslem, headed by the King of France and the Emir
+Fakreddin, lay encamped and awaiting a favourable opportunity to fight,
+and to conquer or die for their countries and religions.
+
+And it speedily appeared that face to face they were for some time
+likely to remain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+DELAY AND DANGER.
+
+
+IT was January 1250, and King Louis, at the head of the Crusaders, was
+still on the banks of the Achmoun. But it was not from reluctance to
+prosecute their enterprise that the armed pilgrims submitted to delay.
+The aspect of the country through which they had passed on their way
+from Damietta had not been such as to diminish their ambition to be
+conquerors. It cannot be doubted that the fertility of the land of the
+Pharaohs must have made them more and more eager to become its masters.
+
+In truth, there cannot be a more delightful sight than Egypt at either
+of two seasons of the year. Ascend some mountain in the month of July or
+August, when the Nile has risen, and you behold a vast sea, in which
+appear numerous towns and villages, with causeways leading from place to
+place, the whole interspersed with groves and fruit-trees, of which the
+tops are only visible, and bounded by woods and mountains. But it is the
+peculiarity of the Nile, unlike other rivers, which, in overflowing
+lands, wash away and exhaust their vivific moisture, that its waters
+serve to fatten and enrich the soil. Accordingly, ascend the same
+mountain in January or February, when the waters have subsided and the
+husbandman has done his work, and the country is like one beautiful
+meadow, dotted with flocks and herds, covered with crops of corn,
+enamelled with flowers, and perfumed with the blossoms of oranges and
+lemons.
+
+Nor, considering the marvellous history of Egypt, could the imaginations
+of the Crusaders be otherwise than fascinated by the prospect of looking
+with their own eyes on its cities, its pyramids, its obelisks, its mummy
+pits, and all the relics of its ancient and mysterious civilisation.
+Persians, Macedonians, Romans, and Saracens, had come hither before them
+as conquerors. But it may be doubted whether the warriors of Cambyses,
+or Alexander, or the Caesars, or Omar, felt a more thorough confidence in
+their own prowess and destiny, than did the warriors who marched from
+Damietta under the banner of St. Denis.
+
+It was certainly mortifying to men in so elate a mood to have their
+progress arrested by a canal; and, in fact, the French warriors seem to
+have been startled out of their senses by its steep banks and deep bed.
+At all events, they, instead of looking for a ford, which was certainly
+the most natural way of getting over their difficulty, commenced the
+construction of a causeway.
+
+Now, Fakreddin no sooner observed that the Crusaders were at work, than
+he perceived his advantage, and vowed that the causeway should never be
+completed; and, while workmen, protected by machines of war and wooden
+castles, were occupied with its construction, the Saracens spared no
+pains to retard the operations. As fast as the Crusaders heaped up the
+sand and stones, the Saracens dug away the earth in front, thus removing
+the opposite bank to a greater distance; and, moreover, they incessantly
+showered arrows and javelins at the workmen. Every day brought fresh
+annoyances; and every day the Saracens became more audacious in their
+attacks. Every night brought fresh surprises; and, in the conflicts
+which took place, the Crusaders had not always the best of the struggle.
+
+'A large body of Turks,' says Joinville, 'made an attack on the Count of
+Poictiers and me. But be assured they were very well received. It was
+well for them that they found their way back as they came; but they left
+behind them great numbers of slain.'
+
+'One night the Turks brought an engine, called by them _la perriere_, a
+terrible engine to do mischief, and placed it opposite the
+chas-chateils, which Sir Walter Curel and I were guarding. From this
+engine they flung such quantities of Greek fire, that it was the most
+horrible sight I ever witnessed. When my companion, the good Sir Walter,
+saw this shower of fire, he cried out, "Gentlemen, we are all lost
+without remedy; for should they set fire to our chas-chateils we must be
+burnt, and if we quit our post we are for ever dishonoured; from which,
+therefore, I conclude that no one can possibly save us from this peril
+but God, our benignant creator. I therefore advise all of you, whenever
+they throw any of this Greek fire, to cast yourselves on your hands and
+knees and cry for mercy to our Lord, in whom alone resides all power."
+
+'As soon, therefore, as the Turks threw their fires, we flung ourselves
+on our hands and knees as the wise man had advised; and, this time, they
+fell between our two cats, into a hole in front, which our people had
+made to extinguish them; and they were instantly put out by a man
+appointed for that purpose.
+
+'Each time that our good king, St. Louis, heard them make these
+discharges of fire, he cast himself on the ground, and with extended
+arms, and eyes turned to the heavens, cried with a loud voice to our
+Lord, and shedding heavy tears, said--"Good Lord God, preserve thou me,
+and all thy people:" and, believe me, his sincere prayers were of great
+service to us. Every time the fire fell near us he sent one of his
+knights to know how we were, and if the fire had hurt us. One of the
+discharges from the Turks fell beside a chas-chateil, guarded by the men
+of the Lord of Courtenay, struck the bank of the river in front and ran
+on the ground toward them, burning with flames. One of the knights of
+his guard instantly came to me, crying out, "Help us, my lord, or we are
+burnt; for there is a long train of Greek fire, which the Saracens have
+discharged, that is running straight for our castle."
+
+'We immediately hastened thither, and good need was there, for as the
+knight had said, so it was. We extinguished the fire with much labour
+and difficulty; for the Saracens, in the meantime, kept up so brisk a
+shooting from the opposite bank, that we were covered with arrows and
+bolts.'
+
+All this time Fakreddin was diligent in procuring what intelligence he
+could as to the position and plans of the Crusaders. This, however, was
+not an easy business. Indeed, no intelligence on such subjects could be
+obtained, save from captives, and the emir, therefore, offered a high
+reward for every Frank brought to his tent. But the Crusaders, taught by
+experience, had become marvellously vigilant, and showed a decided
+aversion to be captured. A Saracen, however, who was an expert swimmer,
+vowed not to be baffled, and performed an exploit, which Arabian
+chroniclers, while omitting much more important events, have carefully
+recorded.
+
+It seems that this Saracen, having determined to carry a Christian as
+captive to Fakreddin's tent, and claim the reward, fell upon a somewhat
+whimsical plan for accomplishing his object. Having scooped out a melon,
+and thrust his head into the cavity, he threw himself into the canal,
+and swam down the stream in such a way that the melon appeared to float
+in the water. The trick succeeded in attracting the attention of the
+Crusaders, and as the melon was passing that part of the bank where the
+Lord of Joinville was encamped, there was much excitement among his men.
+
+'Let us catch the melon,' cried one.
+
+'Who is bold enough to make the attempt?' asked another.
+
+'On my faith,' said a squire, laughing, 'I see no danger to daunt the
+most timid.'
+
+[Illustration: Scarcely, indeed, had he stretched forward his hand, when
+he found himself seized by the Saracen, and dragged forcibly away in the
+direction of the camp on the opposite bank.--p. 118.]
+
+As he spoke, the squire, doffing his upper garments, rushed into the
+water, and, striking out, grasped at the melon. But the adventure did
+not end so pleasantly as he had anticipated. Scarcely, indeed, had he
+stretched forward his hand, when he found himself seized by the Saracen,
+and dragged forcibly away in the direction of the camp on the opposite
+bank.
+
+At first the Crusaders could hardly believe their eyes. But there was no
+mistake about it. Their comrade was gone, and a prisoner in the hands of
+the Saracens; and, as they considered what might be his fate, they
+raised such shouts of alarm, that their lord was attracted to the spot.
+
+'In St. Denis' name,' said Joinville, after hearing sufficient to be
+aware of what had occurred, 'tell me, I pray you, who among my fellows
+has met with this mishap?'
+
+'In truth, my lord,' replied one of the knights, 'it is the English
+squire who took service with you at Damietta.'
+
+'May the God of his fathers protect him!' exclaimed Joinville, somewhat
+sadly; 'as matters are, we can do nothing in his behalf.'
+
+And who was the squire, who had entered the service of Joinville at
+Damietta, and afterwards been taken prisoner by the Saracens?
+
+It was one of the brothers-in-arms. It was Guy Muschamp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE CAPTIVE.
+
+
+AT the time when Guy Muschamp was dragged away as a captive to the camp
+of the Saracens at Djedile, the emir Fakreddin sat in his pavilion. It
+was a marvellous tent, in the centre of the camp, and formed so as to
+resemble a fortified city, being divided into streets, flanked with
+towers, and furnished with everything likely to contribute to the luxury
+of an oriental. In an apartment, ornamented with gold and gems, the emir
+sat, face to face with a dark-browed Saracen chief, and playing at
+chess. But the game did not by any means monopolise the attention of the
+persons engaged in it; for the companion of the emir was no less
+celebrated a person than Bibars Bendocdar, the chief of the Mamelukes;
+and between him and Fakreddin there was much discussion as to the best
+mode of dealing with the enemies who menaced the empire with ruin.
+
+And who was Bibars Bendocdar? It is necessary that we should learn, in
+order to comprehend the events that were ere long to startle and terrify
+the nations of Christendom.
+
+At the time when Louis, King of France, undertook his Crusade, it was
+the custom, when two eastern potentates went to war, for the conqueror
+to sell the subjects of the vanquished enemy as slaves; and many of
+these, bought by merchants, were carried to Egypt, and sold to the
+sultan, who had them trained from boyhood to serve him as soldiers.
+Carefully were these young captives reared; and, when their beards began
+to grow, they were taught to draw the bow and wield the sword. After
+becoming expert in military exercises, they were admitted into that
+famous body, which Saladin the Great had instituted, and known as
+Mamelukes. Their privileges were many. They were highly favoured by the
+sultan, wearing his emblazonments of pure gold, only adding bars of
+vermilion, with birds or roses or griffins for difference, and acting as
+his body-guard in time of war, and watching over his safety while he
+slept.
+
+It seems that Bibars Bendocdar was originally brought to Egypt as a
+slave, and, in course of time, enrolled as one of the Mamelukes. As such
+he rose rapidly. His ambition was intense; and, being both able and
+unscrupulous, he had no reason to despair of his ambition being one day
+gratified. No position, indeed, could be more favourable to a man eager
+to emerge from obscurity to eminence, than that which he occupied; and
+he not only succeeded in winning the confidence of the sultan, but
+contrived to insinuate himself into the good graces of the soldiers. In
+truth, this with him was no difficult matter. He had profoundly studied
+human nature as it was exhibited around him; and he comprehended, above
+all things, the arts by which the hearts of fighting men are gained and
+retained, and the arts also by which military adventurers elevate
+themselves to supremacy in a state.
+
+Besides, Bibars Bendocdar had other qualities likely to render him a
+formidable foe or a dangerous rival. He was skillful as a leader in war,
+courageous in conflict, cruel in the hour of victory, and remarkable for
+his penetration, sagacity, and activity. Moreover, he professed great
+faith in the Mahometan religion, and had great faith also in his own
+destiny. Such was the man who now watched events with the eagerness of a
+gambler, and who recognised, not without satisfaction, the danger and
+disorder, from the bosom of which a leader of courage and audacity
+might, by rekindling enthusiasm and restoring order, elevate himself to
+power. He was about to prove himself one of the most formidable foes
+whom the soldiers of the Cross had ever been under the necessity of
+encountering.
+
+Into the presence of the Emir Fakreddin and Bibars Bendocdar young Guy
+Muschamp, drenched and agitated, was carried. Alarmed as he well might
+be, the squire exhibited a dauntless air and presented a bold front. In
+fact, his demeanour was such that the Saracen chiefs exchanged glances
+of surprise.
+
+'Who are you?' asked Fakreddin.
+
+'My name is Muschamp, and I am a subject of the King of England.'
+
+'And what brought you to Egypt?'
+
+'I came to fight for the Holy Sepulchre.'
+
+'And,' asked Bibars Bendocdar, sternly, 'know you not that passage in
+the Koran which says that they who make war unjustly shall perish?'
+
+'Saracen,' replied Guy, proudly, 'an Anglo-Norman gentleman does not
+regulate his conduct by the Koran.'
+
+'However,' said Fakreddin, waving his hand, 'it is needful that you
+answer some questions as to the army of Franks, and that you answer
+truly.'
+
+'Saracen,' replied Guy, resolutely, 'I will not answer a question on the
+subject.'
+
+'Fool!' exclaimed Bibars Bendocdar, impatiently; 'know you not your
+danger? Know you not that we can instantly order your head to be struck
+off?'
+
+'Doubtless,' replied Guy. 'And, in that case, I die the death of a
+martyr, and go straight to paradise.'
+
+'Infidel!' cried Bibars, loudly; 'you know not of what you speak. You
+will have to account for your faith to the angels Munkir and Nakir.'
+
+'Munkir and Nakir!' exclaimed Guy, with an air of perplexity; 'beshrew
+me if I ever before heard of their names.'
+
+'You will know them soon enough, if you act not more discreetly,' said
+Bibars; 'for they are the two angels who interrogate the dead the moment
+they are in the grave, saying, "Who is thy lord?" and, "Who is thy
+prophet?"'
+
+'On my faith, Saracen,' said Guy, compassionately, 'I marvel much that a
+man of your years can credit such pagan fables.'
+
+'Dog!' exclaimed Bibars. 'This to my beard! Ho! there, guards! Strike
+off this Christian's head, and cast his carcase to the fishes!'
+
+'No,' said Fakreddin, mildly, 'it is well that he should have time to
+reflect. Let him be kept as a prisoner till the morrow. He will then be
+more likely to answer the questions asked of him.'
+
+Accordingly Guy Muschamp was led from the presence of the Saracen chiefs
+and shut up in a small apartment in the centre of Fakreddin's tent. The
+position was the reverse of pleasant; and he almost gave himself up for
+lost. Next morning, however, after he had eaten some food brought him by
+the jailer, he was startled, first by a commotion in the camp, and then
+by such a noise and tumult as if all the fiends had come thither from
+the infernal regions to fight their battles. Gradually, through the din,
+the ear of Guy recognised the clash of weapons and the rushing of
+steeds, and his suspense was agonising. For a time he endeavoured to
+make out what was occurring; but this was in vain. At length the noise
+ceased; and Guy moved to the door with the intention of making a
+desperate effort to break it open. Somewhat to his surprise, he found
+that it did not resist. In fact, the jailer was gone and the camp
+deserted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+PASSING THE ACHMOUN.
+
+
+MORE than six weeks had passed since the Crusaders found their progress
+arrested by the Achmoun; and still the causeway by which they had hoped
+to pass the canal was not constructed. Indeed, the workmen had made very
+little progress since the first week; and Louis was despairing of seeing
+the work brought to a completion, when, much to his gratification, he
+learned that there was a prospect of crossing the canal by the simplest
+of all processes.
+
+On the day when Guy Muschamp was carried off as a captive, the Constable
+of France was surprised by a visit from a Bedouin, and demanded his
+business. The Bedouin thereupon offered, for five hundred golden
+bezants, to point out a ford by which the Crusaders might, without
+danger or difficulty, cross in safety to the opposite bank. The
+constable at once promised the required reward, in the event of the
+information proving satisfactory; but it was not till the money was told
+down that the Bedouin conducted him to the spot, and convinced him that
+the ford was there. Gladly hastening to Louis, the constable revealed
+the means of extricating the armed pilgrims from their embarrassment;
+and the king, assembling the princes and nobles, decided on leaving the
+Duke of Burgundy on the Damietta side with a sufficient force to guard
+the camp; and then, mastering their men and mounting their horses, they
+at midnight marched along the bank of the canal to the ford pointed out
+by the Bedouin, and awaited the break of day to dash through the water
+and move towards Mansourah.
+
+It was the morning of Tuesday, the 8th of February, 1250--Shrove
+Tuesday--when the armed pilgrims, under the auspices of King Louis,
+halted on the Damietta side of the Achmoun, and awaited the signal to
+pass to that on which Mansourah was situated. Everything so far had gone
+quite as smoothly as could reasonably have been expected. Some horsemen,
+indeed, rode too near the margin of the canal, and, getting on soft and
+slippery ground, they and their horses fell in and were drowned. Among
+them was Sir John of Orleans, a valiant knight, who bore the French
+banner. But this was a slight misfortune compared with that which the
+folly and presumption of one man was preparing for that ill-starred
+host.
+
+At all times, and under all circumstances, the Count of Artois was one
+of the most unreasonable of human beings; and at this moment, so
+important to Louis, to France, to the Crusaders, and to the Christian
+kingdom of Jerusalem, nothing would satisfy his ambition but being the
+first to cross. Not unaware of his brother's failings, Louis protested;
+but the count persisted; and, promising to wait with patience on the
+opposite bank for the main army, he placed himself at the head of the
+van, which was formed of the Templars, the Hospitallers, and the English
+Crusaders, and dashed into the canal.
+
+Now, at this moment the opposite bank was occupied by several hundred
+Saracen horsemen, who seemed prepared to oppose the landing of the
+Crusaders. No sooner, however, did the Saracens perceive that the
+Crusaders were fording the canal safely than they gave way, and fled
+towards the camp of the Emir Fakreddin at Djedile.
+
+It was then that, in spite of all the warnings he had received and all
+the promises he had made, the Count of Artois gave way to the
+impetuosity that was destined to lead to the ruin of the pilgrim army.
+At the sight of the flying Saracens, he threw all discretion to the
+winds, and, attended by his governor, an old deaf knight, who held his
+rein, pursued the fugitives towards the camp. In vain the Grand Masters
+of the Temple and the Hospital shouted out remonstrances. The count paid
+no attention whatever; and the aged knight, who was too deaf to hear a
+word, urged on the pursuit, crying loudly, 'Hurrah! hurrah! Upon them!
+upon them!'
+
+The Saracens who occupied the camp at Djedile were panic-stricken; and,
+supposing that the whole French army was upon them, fled in confusion
+towards Mansourah. But there was one man who did not fly; and that man
+was Fakreddin. When the camp was invaded, the emir was in his bath, and
+having his beard coloured, after the custom of the Orientals; but he
+immediately roused himself, dressed himself hastily, and, springing on
+horseback, endeavoured to rally his troops, and attempted to resist.
+Inspired by Fakreddin's example, the Saracens who had not fled offered a
+feeble resistance. But it was unavailing, and they followed the
+fugitives streaming towards Mansourah. Fakreddin, however, disdaining
+either to fly or yield, continued to struggle bravely; until, left
+almost alone, he fell in the midst of his foes, covered with wounds, and
+consoling himself, as his breath went, that his end was glorious, that
+he died a martyr for Islamism, and that he would be conveyed to the
+banks of the celestial river.
+
+'By the head of St. Anthony!' exclaimed the Count of Artois, looking
+fiercely on Fakreddin's mangled corpse, 'it was this emir who boasted
+that he would dine in the red tent of my lord the king; but now he will
+not grumble at a humbler resting-place.'
+
+'My lord count,' said Salisbury, gravely, 'the emir, had he been ten
+times a Saracen, was a brave man; and let us merit the praises of the
+valiant by showing that we know how to honour the memory of our enemies
+as well as of our friends.'
+
+'Amen,' said both the grand masters, in significant accents.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE CARNAGE OF MANSOURAH.
+
+
+IT was still early morning, and King Louis was still on the Damietta
+side of the Achmoun, when the Count of Artois, the Earl of Salisbury,
+and the Grand Masters of the Temple and the Hospital, found themselves
+victors in the camp.
+
+'Now, gentlemen,' said the Count of Artois, 'let us forward, and
+complete the rout of our foes while affairs prosper in our hands and
+they are in dismay. Speed will now avail more than strength; and the
+fewer we are the greater will be the honour of a victory. Forward then,
+and crush them at a blow!'
+
+'Forward!' shouted the old deaf knight, who held the count's rein.
+'Hurrah! hurrah! Upon them! upon them!'
+
+But the count's companions hesitated, and exchanged glances of alarm.
+
+'Noble prince,' said the Master of the Temple, after a pause, 'I give
+all praise to your valour; but I entreat you to be advised, and not to
+act rashly. Our men are weary; our horses are wounded; we are few in
+number; and we must not overvalue our victory, or suppose our enemies
+are vanquished because they have lost a handful of men. Let us,
+therefore, return to the king, that we may be strengthened by his
+counsel and aid.'
+
+'In truth,' said the Grand Master of the Hospital, 'we should be
+foolhardy to attempt aught rashly. We are in a strange country; and our
+best instructors are behind. Let us stay for our lantern and not go
+forward in the dark.'
+
+'Ah!' exclaimed the Count of Artois, swelling with pride and anger,
+'this is ever the way with military monks. But for the treachery of the
+Templars, and the sedition of the Hospitallers, the Holy Land would long
+since have been won.'
+
+'Noble count,' said the Grand Master of the Temple, reproachfully, 'you
+do us grievous wrong. Why should we take the habit of religion, and pass
+our lives in a foreign land amid perils and fatigues? Is it, think you,
+to overthrow the Church and betray the cause of Christ, that we abandon
+our homes and kindred? However,' added the Grand Master, waxing wrath,
+'let us forward, in God's name, and try all together the fortunes of
+battle. Standard-bearer, unfurl the banner of the Temple. Ha!
+Beau-seant! Beau-seant!'
+
+At this moment the Earl of Salisbury made an effort to save his comrades
+from the destruction on which they were about to rush.
+
+'My lord,' said he, addressing the Count of Artois, 'I implore you to
+listen to the wholesome counsel of the grand masters. They have been
+long in this country, and learned by experience the craft as well as the
+strength of our foes. We, being strangers, are ignorant of the perils;
+but we know that, as far as the east is from the west, so far are my
+ways different from the ways of the Orientals.'
+
+'Hearken to this Englishman!' exclaimed the count, scornfully. 'What
+cowardice there is in these English! But their timid counsel suits not
+us. Happy should I be if the Christian army were purged of the English
+tails!'
+
+A flush of rage crimsoned the earl's bronzed cheek, and his eye flashed
+fire.
+
+'Now, by my father's sword!' cried he, striving to be calm, though he
+literally quivered with indignation, 'this passes human patience! Ho!
+there, Lord Robert de Vere, raise my banner; and you, Count of Artois,
+lead on, and see if the danger of death hinders us from following. The
+touchstone must try which is gold and which is brass; and I swear, by
+good St. George, as I put on my helmet, that the English knights whom
+you have taunted with cowardice will this day penetrate farther in the
+ranks of our foes than any warrior of France--be he prince or
+paladin--will venture to do.'
+
+And the dispute having there been terminated, the Count of Artois and
+his Crusaders put on their helmets and mounted their horses. At that
+moment the eye of Salisbury alighted on Walter Espec; and his
+countenance, which had expressed the most scornful indignation, suddenly
+changed, and expressed something like pity.
+
+'Boy,' said he, in a low, kindly tone, 'fall back and wait for the
+French king. We are rushing on certain death; and you are too young to
+die.'
+
+'Nay, my good lord,' replied Walter, calmly. 'A man, whether young or
+old, can die but once: I would rather fall fighting in the cause of our
+Redeemer, and under your banner, than in a less holy cause and in meaner
+company.'
+
+'As you will,' said the earl. 'It shall never be told that I prevented
+knight or squire from dying the death of a martyr.'
+
+'By the might of Mary! Master Espec,' whispered Bisset; the English
+knight, 'were I your age, and had my choice, certes, I should think
+twice ere hazarding life against such odds. Wherefore should you fall a
+victim to the madness of my Lord of Artois, or the pride of my Lord of
+Salisbury?'
+
+'On my faith, I know not,' answered Walter, smiling. 'But this I do
+know, that a man can die but once, and that a Christian warrior who
+falls with the Cross on his shoulder is understood to win the crown of
+martyrdom.'
+
+'Nevertheless, were I you, and of your years,' argued Bisset; 'I should
+little relish the notion of being killed; for, as the Saracens say, when
+man dies there is no hope of his living again; because, as they add
+truly, man is not a water-melon; when once in the ground he cannot grow
+again.'
+
+By this time French and Templars and Hospitallers and English were
+mounted; and, without further argument, they dashed towards Mansourah.
+At first they encountered no obstacle; and, while the inhabitants fled
+in terror along the road to Cairo, the Count of Artois and his
+companions, after destroying one of the gates, so as to secure egress
+if necessary, penetrated into the city, carrying all before them; and,
+reaching the palace of the sultan, they commenced the work of pillage.
+But during this process they were rudely interrupted; for Bibars
+Bendocdar perceived the imprudence of which the Crusaders had been
+guilty, and suddenly, at the head of a Saracen army, appeared to give
+them battle.
+
+And now the Crusaders were in a fearful predicament. Ere they had time
+to rally, they were fiercely attacked. From the roofs and windows of the
+houses around, the Saracens hurled stones, and poured heated sand and
+boiling water. Before them were the Mamelukes, headed by Bibars
+Bendocdar, fiery with fanaticism, and panting for blood. It was a
+terrible situation even for brave men; and the very bravest there felt a
+thrill of awe and terror.
+
+'All is lost!' said Salisbury, in a whisper.
+
+'The King of France may hear of our peril, and come to our rescue,'
+suggested Lord Robert de Vere.
+
+'No hope of succour,' said Bisset, in a conclusive tone. 'But let us not
+droop. We can at least sell our lives dearly.'
+
+A brief and painful silence succeeded, while still upon the Crusaders
+the Saracens hurled stones and poured boiling water.
+
+'Englishmen and friends,' at length said Salisbury, raising his voice so
+as to be heard at a distance, 'it were vain at this moment to deny our
+peril. But take courage, my brave companions; and let us not faint in
+the hour of adversity. Everything, save dishonour, may be borne by
+valiant men; and adversity sheds a light upon the virtues of mankind, as
+surely as prosperity casts over them a shade. Here there is no room for
+retreat; for our enemies encompass us about; and to attempt to fly would
+be certain death. Be of good cheer, then, and let the urgency of the
+case sharpen your valour and nerve your arms. Brave men should either
+conquer nobly, or die with glory; and martyrdom is a boon which we
+should accept without reluctance. But, before we fall, let us, while we
+live, do what may avenge our deaths; and, while giving thanks to God
+that it is our lot to die as martyrs, let us, in our last efforts of
+valour and despair, prove ourselves worthy soldiers of the Cross.'
+
+'Earl William,' said the Count of Artois, riding up, and now conscious
+of his folly, 'God fights against us. Resistance is vain, but escape is
+possible. Let us consult our safety, and fly while yet our horses can
+carry us.'
+
+'Fly if you will!' answered the earl, scornfully; 'but God forbid that
+any but liars should ever have it in their power to tell that my
+father's son fled from the face of a Saracen.'
+
+And now the heavens and the earth seemed to resound with the noise of
+horns and enormous kettle-drums; and, urged on by Bibars Bendocdar, the
+Saracens rushed upon their enemies. The plight of the Crusaders was
+desperate. But, few as they were in comparison with the swarming foe,
+they fought gallantly and well; and, though wounded and exhausted,
+maintained the conflict for hours after the flight of the Count of
+Artois. But fearful in the meantime was the carnage. Full fifteen
+hundred knights had fallen; and of these, three hundred were of the
+order of the Temple. Gradually the numbers diminished, till there
+remained not a dozen of the men who had that morning invaded Fakreddin's
+camp; and among these were the Earl of Salisbury, Lord Robert de Vere,
+the Grand Masters of the Temple and the Hospital, Bisset the English
+knight, and Walter Espec, still unwounded, and fighting as if he bore a
+charmed life, and felt invulnerable to javelins or arrows.
+
+But all possibility of continuing to resist was now at an end, and every
+hope of succour had vanished. Salisbury, resolved to sell his life
+dearly, faced the Saracens with desperate valour, and used his
+battle-axe with such effect that a hundred Saracens are said to have
+fallen that day by his hand. At length his horse was killed under him;
+and, after rising to his feet, and fighting for awhile with disdain, he
+fell covered with wounds. Robert de Vere, already bleeding and
+exhausted, no sooner saw Salisbury sink than he wrapped the English
+standard round his body, and lay down to die by the great earl's side.
+Bisset, Walter Espec, and the two grand masters, found themselves
+surrounded by a host of foes, and defending themselves desperately
+against every species of assailant.
+
+'Alas!' exclaimed the grand masters of the Temple, 'we are clearly
+doomed.'
+
+'I would fain hope not,' answered Bisset, resolutely. 'Our weapons are
+not willow-wands; we can cut our way through the pagan rabble.'
+
+'Shame upon us if we hesitate!' said Walter Espec.
+
+And drawing close together, with a rush which for a time bore down
+opposition, the four survivors made a stern endeavour to reach the
+gate,--the axe of Bisset and the swords of the military monks doing
+terrible execution. Twice the Saracens formed in a mass to prevent their
+reaching the only gate which was not closed; as often Bisset,
+penetrating singly into the Saracen ranks, dealt death and destruction
+to his foes, and opened the way for his friends; till gradually, having
+by force of arm overthrown every obstacle in his path, he reached the
+gate, and, followed by the Grand Master of the Temple, dashed through
+the opening, with a shout of defiance at his assailants.
+
+But the Grand Master of the Hospital and Walter Espec had not such good
+fortune as the Templar and the English knight. Bibars Bendocdar, enraged
+at the rumour that some Christians were escaping from the carnage,
+hastened to the open gate, and, with his arrival, every chance vanished.
+Dragged from his steed, the grand master was fain to surrender himself
+prisoner. Wounded by an arrow and a javelin, but still struggling to
+fight his way out, Walter Espec cut down a Saracen soldier, and, rising
+in his stirrups and shouting, 'St. Katherine for Espec!' made a fierce
+thrust at Bendocdar. But next moment he was felled to the ground; he
+felt that his blood was flowing fast, and that horsemen were riding over
+him; and then he lost all consciousness, and lay prostrate and
+insensible among the dead and the dying.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+THE BATTLE.
+
+
+NO sooner did Guy Muschamp find the door of his prison opened, than he
+rushed out to ascertain the cause of the tumult to which he was indebted
+for liberty, and he discovered that the camp was deserted and abandoned,
+save by the wounded and the slain. However, he hastily donned his steel
+cap, possessed himself of a short sword; and having with little
+difficulty caught a stray horse, saddled and bridled, he mounted, and
+rode forth with the idea of following the Crusaders, who by this time
+were disappearing within the gates of Mansourah.
+
+Fortunately, however, for Guy, he was not destined to share the fate of
+his gallant countrymen who fell victims to the vain folly of the Count
+of Artois. Nevertheless, his danger was great. By this time the Count of
+Brittany and a multitude of warriors were riding towards Mansourah to
+aid the Count of Artois; and, as the Saracens who came out to oppose
+their progress rapidly spread over the plain, Guy began to find his
+position somewhat perilous, and to give himself up for lost. At that
+moment, however, his eye and his ear were attracted by the gleaming of
+spears and the ringing of mail to a ruined house; and, cantering
+thither, he found to his joyful surprise, that the Lord of Joinville and
+his knights had taken shelter there, to await the arrival of the king,
+who was still engaged in passing the main body of his army over the
+Achmoun.
+
+Nor had they long to wait. As with breathless anxiety they watched the
+Saracens, swarming like bees from their hives, and covering the plain,
+Louis, having at length crossed the canal, with sound of trumpets and
+clarions, rode up at the head of his cavalry, and, with a German sword
+in his hand, halted on an eminence to survey the field. And neither in
+air nor appearance did Louis, at that moment, look unworthy of the part
+he was acting as chief of the pilgrim army. His magnificent armour, his
+gilded helmet, and his noble bearing, gave him the appearance of being
+taller by the shoulders than any of his companions. As he reined up his
+white charger--the symbol of sovereignty--and, with the oriflamme
+displayed before him, endeavoured calmly to estimate the chances of the
+conflict, the Lord of Joinville and his knights, surrounded as they were
+with danger, could not but utter exclamations expressive of admiration.
+
+'By St. James,' exclaimed Joinville, 'I never in my life saw a more
+handsome man under arms.'
+
+'Certes,' replied one of the knights, 'I could almost believe that the
+angel of battles had come to our aid.'
+
+While the king was still surveying the combat, that every moment became
+more fierce and sanguinary, the Constable of France rode up to inform
+him of the peril of the Count of Artois.
+
+'Sire,' said the constable, 'your noble brother is shut up in Mansourah;
+and, albeit he and his comrades hold out gallantly, they must perish if
+not aided forthwith.'
+
+'Well, constable,' answered Louis, 'on to the rescue, in God's name, and
+I will speedily follow.'
+
+The constable, without more words, gave his horse the spur, and dashed
+towards Mansourah, whither the king and his knights also attempted to
+make their way. But this was no easy matter. Every moment the Saracens
+seemed to increase in numbers; and the Crusaders, while struggling
+bravely not to be overwhelmed by odds, were exposed to terrible hazard.
+Louis soon found himself in the thick of the fight and environed by
+foes. Nothing seemed to remain to him but to sell his life dearly; and
+six Saracens, rushing forward simultaneously, attempted to seize his
+bridle, and take him captive. But, at that moment, Louis--gentle and
+saintly as was his nature--used his German sword with a vigour and
+effect, scarcely excelled by Richard Coeur de Lion at Joppa, when he
+charged among the Mamelukes of Saladin, or by Edward Longshanks at
+Kakhow, when the sweep of his sword, and the rush of his grey steed,
+struck terror into the heart of the host of Bibars Bendocdar. Down
+before that short German sword went turban and caftan; till the French
+knights, aware of their king's danger, spurred in to his rescue, and,
+with a mighty effort, saved him from captivity.
+
+And now another attempt was made to reach Mansourah. But it was too
+late. All was over with the brave band who had followed the Count of
+Artois into the city; and every moment the aspect of affairs became more
+menacing; for Bibars Bendocdar, elate with his victory within the walls,
+issued from the gate, animating his soldiers with the words--'God is
+powerful,' and hoping to deal with the French king, as he had dealt with
+the French king's brother. Nor, at first, did it appear that the
+Crusaders could escape utter defeat. Not aware what was occurring, and
+suddenly attacked by a mighty force led by a dauntless chief, they were
+pressed and whirled about and separated from each other, and forced to
+encounter countless odds at every disadvantage. Yet even in such
+circumstances the warriors of France maintained their high reputation
+for valour; and, as the combat proceeded and became keener and keener,
+many a strong Saracen went to his account.
+
+On both sides, indeed, great was the display of personal prowess and
+courage; but there was no generalship. Amidst clouds of dust, and under
+a glowing sun, Christian and Moslem fought hand to hand, and steel to
+steel. Helmet and turban mingled confusedly in the struggle; while
+banners rose and fell, and knights were unhorsed, and saddles emptied.
+From Mansourah to Achmoun, and from the Nile to the ford pointed out by
+the Bedouin, the ground, literally covered with combatants, shook with
+the rush of their horses, and the sky was rent by the opposing war-cries
+of 'Islam! Islam!' and 'Montjoie, St. Denis!' What with the shouts of
+the living, the shrieks of the dying, and the yells of the Saracens, as
+they bore down on their adversaries like hawks on their prey, all was
+bloodshed, confusion, and clamour, and the carnage was such as few men,
+who fought on that field and survived it, ever remembered without a
+thrill of awe.
+
+And as the day sped on and the battle continued to rage all over the
+plain, and warriors fell in heaps before and around him, Louis became
+painfully aware that Mansourah could not be reached, and that the
+Crusaders were no longer fighting to conquer the Saracens but to save
+themselves. And there was considerable danger of Bibars Bendocdar
+drawing near to the Achmoun, and cutting off all communication between
+the camp of the Duke of Burgundy, and the Christian army struggling for
+existence on the plains of Mansourah. On becoming aware of the danger,
+the king decided on falling back towards the canal, and, with the
+oriflamme displayed, moved in that direction.
+
+Unfortunate were the consequences. A report immediately spread that the
+king was retreating because the Saracens were everywhere victorious, and
+immediately there was a panic, and several squadrons disbanded and
+rushed towards the canal. A terrible scene followed, and men and horses
+were drowned while struggling in the water. Nothing could have exceeded
+the disorder and dismay. Louis, indeed, made strenuous efforts to
+restore confidence, but his voice was scarcely heard in the tumult; and
+he must have rejoiced when night put an end to the conflict, and when
+Bibars Bendocdar retired to Mansourah, with the determination to attack
+the Crusaders on another day, as the tiger draws back to make a more
+terrible spring.
+
+Repairing to Djedile, Louis dismounted, and took possession of the camp
+which, at daybreak, had been occupied by the Emir Fakreddin; and when
+his red tent was pitched there, the Prior of Rosnay presented himself,
+and kissed the king's hand.
+
+'Sire,' said he, wishing to break the news gently, 'I know not if you
+have heard tidings of your noble brother, the Count of Artois?'
+
+'I know all,' answered Louis, mournfully.
+
+'Sire,' said the prior, endeavouring to administer consolation, 'no King
+of France has ever reaped such honour as you have done this day. You
+have crossed a dangerous river; you have gained a victory; you have put
+your enemies to flight; you have captured their engines of war; and now
+you are taking possession of their camp.'
+
+'May God be praised for all that I have, with His aid, been able to do
+in His cause,' said Louis, with a faltering voice, and tears rolling
+down his cheeks, as he entered his pavilion.
+
+'On my faith, sir prior,' said John de Valery, with the tone of a man
+who has a presentiment of coming calamity, 'I marvel how you can speak
+of this day's work as a triumph of our arms. Often have I fought for
+victory; but this day I have felt too surely that I was fighting not for
+victory but for life.'
+
+'In truth,' said the Lord of Joinville, who had joined them, 'I would
+fain hope for better fortune in the future; for, call this a victory if
+you will, such another victory would be worse than a defeat.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+HOW JOINVILLE KEPT THE BRIDGE.
+
+
+WHEN the Constable of France informed King Louis that the Count of
+Artois was in extreme peril, and when Louis made an effort to go to the
+rescue of his brother--the Lord of Joinville, having previously left the
+ruined house, and joined the king, endeavoured to keep in the royal
+warrior's company. But all efforts with this object proved vain. The
+Saracens, raising clouds of dust and uttering ferocious yells as they
+advanced, came down upon the Crusaders with a force that was
+irresistible. The French were scattered in all directions; and Joinville
+was separated from Louis some minutes before the person of the saintly
+monarch was in such imminent danger. But in the meantime the seneschal's
+band had been reduced to six persons, including Guy Muschamp, who
+adhered with determination to Joinville's side; and between them and the
+king, then struggling to save his liberty, intervened thousands of
+Saracens.
+
+'Impossible for us to make our way through such a crowd,' said
+Joinville; 'much better, therefore, will it be to wheel round and get on
+the other side of them.'
+
+Accordingly they wheeled round, and gained the bank of the river, and
+began to descend. But at this moment the aspect of the field became most
+alarming to the armed pilgrims. The Crusaders and Saracens met on the
+banks, and many of the French, attempting to cross and form a junction
+with the Duke of Burgundy, were drowned; and the river was covered with
+lances, pikes, shields, and horses and men struggling in vain to save
+themselves.
+
+By this time the Lord of Joinville, heading his knights, had reached a
+bridge on one of the roads to Mansourah; and on perceiving the miserable
+state of the army he halted.
+
+'It is better,' said he, after looking round, 'to remain where we are,
+and guard this bridge; for, if we leave it, the Saracens may come and
+attack the king on this side, and, if he is assaulted from two quarters,
+he will surely be discomfited.'
+
+Accordingly they posted themselves on the bridge which was between the
+canal Achmoun and the gates of Mansourah, and prepared to defend it
+against the Saracens. But such was the danger, that Joinville's heart,
+brave as it was, beat with terror, and he cried aloud for the protection
+of St. James.
+
+'Good Lord St. James,' exclaimed he; 'succour me, I beseech thee, and
+come to my aid in this hour of need.'
+
+It seemed to him and his companions that his prayer was answered. Almost
+as he uttered it, the Count of Soissons, who was his kinsman, appeared
+riding past the bridge; and Joinville hastened to secure his company.
+
+'Sir count,' said he; 'I beg you to remain with us and guard this
+bridge; for, should it be lost, the king will have his enemies upon him
+both in front and rear.'
+
+'Willingly, seneschal,' replied the count; and he placed himself on
+Joinville's right hand, while a French knight who was with him took his
+station on the left.
+
+While Joinville and his companions were seated on their horses, prepared
+to keep the bridge at all hazards against all comers, the Saracens made
+repeated efforts to drive them from their post. But they remained firm
+as rocks. Trusting to accomplish by stratagem what they could not do by
+force, the Saracens attempted to lure them from the spot; and one
+stalwart horseman, galloping suddenly forward, felled one of the French
+knights with his battle-axe, and then retreated to his own people,
+hoping that he would be followed. But Joinville, who comprehended the
+purpose, would not be decoyed, and resolutely kept his ground, though
+annoyed and wounded by a rabble of half-armed Saracens, who incessantly
+threw darts, and large stones, and hard clods.
+
+At length, however, the Saracens began to make themselves much more
+formidable, and to discharge Greek fire, which threatened to do much
+mischief, and pressed forward with savage yells.
+
+'On my faith, we must take order with this rabble,' said the Count of
+Soissons, growing angry.
+
+'As you will,' replied Joinville; and, without further hesitation, they
+charged the crowd, put them to flight, and resumed their post.
+
+But no sooner did the Saracens perceive that the immediate danger was
+over, than they turned round, and, keeping at a safe distance, yelled
+out defiance.
+
+'Heed them not, seneschal,' said the Count of Soissons, who, in the
+midst of peril, retained all the gaiety of soul which distinguished the
+French chevaliers from the thoughtful Saxon, and the haughty and
+somewhat grim Norman. 'Heed them not. Let this rascal canaille bawl and
+bray as they please. By St. Denis, you and I will live to talk of this
+day's exploits in the chambers of our ladies.'
+
+'May God and good St. James grant it,' said Joinville, gravely.
+
+'But who comes hither, and in such a plight?' asked the Count of
+Soissons, suddenly, as a Crusader, mounted on a strong horse, came
+galloping from the direction of Mansourah--his face wounded, blood
+gushing from his mouth, the reins of his bridle cut, and his hands
+resting, as if for support, on his charger's neck.
+
+'In truth,' replied Joinville, after examining the horseman, 'it is the
+Count of Brittany;' as, closely pursued by Saracens, the wounded warrior
+gained the bridge, and ever and anon turned round and shouted mockingly
+to his pursuers.
+
+'By St. Denis,' exclaimed the count, 'one thing is certain: he is not
+afraid of his pursuers.'
+
+And almost as the Count of Soissons spoke, the Count of Brittany was
+followed by two warriors, who made their way through the Saracens,
+literally smiting to the earth all who came in their way. Nothing, it
+seemed, could resist their progress; and their path was tracked with
+blood. On they came, scornfully scattering their foes till they reached
+the bridge, when reining up where the Lord of Joinville was posted, they
+stopped to take breath, after their almost superhuman exertions. One had
+in his hand a battle-axe; the other a sword. The battle-axe was stained
+red with gore; the sword was hacked till it looked 'like a saw of dark
+and purple tint.' One was Bisset, the English knight, the other was the
+Grand Master of the Temple. The horses of both were wounded all over;
+the helmets of both were deeply dinted. Bisset's mail was almost hacked
+to pieces; the Templar's vestments were torn to rags, his cuirass
+pierced, and his eye and face wounded and bleeding.
+
+'You bring tidings of woe?' said the Count of Soissons.
+
+'Woe, in truth,' answered Bisset; for the grand master could not even
+muster voice to speak; 'of all who rode into Mansourah this morning, not
+a man, save ourselves, lives to tell the tale.'
+
+'And what of the Count of Artois, sir knight?' asked Joinville.
+
+'I know not,' replied Bisset, briefly; 'the count disappeared early, and
+doubtless died with the comrades of his jeopardy.'
+
+'No,' interrupted the Count of Brittany, faintly, 'he was drowned while
+attempting to save himself by flight. At least,' added he, 'so I have
+been told.'
+
+And in truth, to this day it is somewhat uncertain what became of
+Robert, Count of Artois, though the most probable account is that,
+seeing all was lost, he turned his horse's head, with a vague hope of
+reaching the main body of the Crusaders, and, while attempting to cross
+one of the branches of the Nile, sank never more to rise.
+
+It was about this time that King Louis had moved towards the Achmoun;
+and the Constable of France, with the king's crossbowmen under his
+command, just as the sun was setting came to the bridge which had been
+so bravely defended.
+
+'Seneschal,' said he, addressing Joinville, 'you and your comrades have
+behaved well in guarding this bridge; and now, all danger being over in
+this quarter, I pray you to accompany the Lord John de Valery to the
+king, who is about to go to his pavilion.'
+
+And Joinville went as the constable requested; and while his companions
+were pursuing their way towards the king's red pavilion--that pavilion
+in which the Emir Fakreddin had boasted he would dine on the day of St.
+Sebastian--Guy Muschamp approached Bisset, the English knight, and
+entreated his attention.
+
+'Sir knight,' said he, 'I would fain enquire if you know what has
+befallen the English squire, by name Walter Espec?'
+
+'Boy,' replied Bisset, 'I know not what may have befallen him; but, if I
+were to hazard a guess, I should say that he died, and died bravely. I
+remember me that he fought to the last; and I hoped that he was destined
+to escape, as I did; but I grieve to say that he failed so to do.'
+
+'Alas! alas!' said Guy sadly, and he clasped his hands, as if muttering
+a prayer for his comrade's soul; 'woe is me, that I should live to hear
+that my brother-in-arms, the good Walter, has fallen.'
+
+'My brave youth,' urged Bisset, kindly, as he observed that the boy's
+face was suffused with tears, 'death has this day been the portion of
+many thousands of valiant men; and, for your brother-in-arms, I can
+testify for your comfort that he fought to the last with the courage of
+a hero, and I doubt not, that he faced death with the courage of a
+martyr.'
+
+'And if we are to give the faith which our fathers did to the words of
+holy men,' added Guy, solemnly, 'the souls of all such as fall, fighting
+for the Cross, are purified from sin, and admitted straight to
+Paradise.'
+
+'By the mass, I have heard priests say so,' replied Bisset, after a
+pause, during which he eyed the boy with evident surprise; 'and mayhap,'
+continued he, 'in the days of Peter the Hermit, and Godfrey of Bouillon,
+such was the case. But, credit me, in our day, armed pilgrims are guilty
+of such flagrant sins during their pilgrimage, and while decked with the
+Cross, that I hardly deem them likely to get access to Paradise on such
+easy terms.'
+
+'By St. John of Beverley,' exclaimed the squire, in great astonishment,
+'deem you that matters are so much changed, sir knight?'
+
+'So much so,' answered Bisset, shaking his head, 'that seeing, save
+myself, you are almost the only Englishman left in this army of
+pilgrims, I am free to confess to you my opinion, that for aught we are
+likely to do for the Holy Sepulchre, we might as well have stayed at
+home, and hunted, and hawked, and held our neighbours at feud. On my
+life, I have seen enough of this army to feel sure that Blacas, the
+troubadour knight, is a wise man, when on being asked whether he will go
+to the Holy Land, answers, that he loves and is beloved, and that he
+will remain at home with his ladye love.'
+
+And already, forgetting his wounds, and his bruises, his hair-breadth
+escape, and the terrible scenes in which he had that day acted a part,
+the knight, as he reached the tent of King Louis, and prepared to
+dismount, half chanted, half sung, the lines with which Blacas concludes
+his simple song:--
+
+          Je ferai ma penitence,
+          Entre mer et Durance,
+          Aupres de son manoir.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE FIRST FRIDAY IN LENT.
+
+
+ON the day when the city of Mansourah witnessed the carnage of the
+Crusaders under the Count of Artois, and a great battle shook the plain
+outside the walls, the Egyptians experienced by turns fear and hope, joy
+and sadness.
+
+On the morning when the camp at Djedile was taken, and the Emir
+Fakreddin slain, a pigeon carried intelligence of the disaster to Cairo;
+and the Egyptian capital was immediately in consternation. Believing
+that the days of Islamism were numbered, and the empire of the sultan on
+the verge of ruin, the inhabitants thought of nothing but escape from
+the danger that impended. Many departed for Upper Egypt, and sorrow
+reigned in the city--the inhabitants bewailing their misfortunes, and
+crying that the world was coming to an end. A second pigeon, however,
+carried thither tidings that the Count of Artois was defeated and slain;
+and Cairo became the scene of joy and rejoicing. Fear vanished from
+every face; and the Saracens gratefully extolled the courage of the
+Mamelukes, and of their chief, Bibars Bendocdar.
+
+At the same time, an arrival of great importance took place at
+Mansourah. While the battle was raging on the plain, Touran Chah, the
+new sultan, reached the city, and was received with acclamations by the
+populace. The emirs, however, regarded the sultan with some suspicion.
+Unfortunately, Touran Chah did not come alone; and the jealousy of the
+emirs was aroused by the presence of the favourites who accompanied him
+from Mesopotamia. If the heir of Saladin could have foreseen what a
+price he was to pay for the happiness of having his favourites with him,
+he would doubtless have been discreet enough to leave them behind.
+
+But, in the meantime, it was necessary for the safety and interests both
+of the sultan and the emirs, that the Crusaders should be destroyed; and
+Bibars Bendocdar was bent on pursuing his success. In the first place,
+he made several attempts to recapture the engines of war, and the French
+were repeatedly roused to defend them at the point of the sword. But
+these attacks led to a feeling of insecurity, and King Louis deemed it
+prudent to construct a bridge of wood over the Achmoun, so as to have
+the means of communicating readily with the Duke of Burgundy's camp. Who
+at that time could have imagined the mischief of which this bridge was
+subsequently to be the cause?
+
+Meanwhile Bibars Bendocdar was doing his best to inflame the enthusiasm
+of the Mamelukes and soldiers. Nor, with that object, was he above
+practising a little deception. A cuirass covered with fleur-de-lis was
+publicly exhibited, and declared to be that of the French king. Heralds
+proclaimed that the Christian army, deprived of its chief, was like a
+trunk without a head; and the enthusiasm of the Saracens reached a high
+pitch. At length, the soldiers began to clamour to be led against the
+enemy, and Bibars Bendocdar fixed Friday, the 11th of February, as the
+day on which he would lead them to triumph.
+
+It was the first Friday in Lent; and King Louis, having received warning
+that an attack was meditated, gave orders for fortifying the camp, and
+preparing for a conflict. At daybreak, accordingly, the Crusaders were
+under arms; and, in good time, Bibars Bendocdar appeared on the plain,
+setting his men in battle order. Placing his cavalry in the van, the
+infantry behind, and a strong reserve in the rear, the Mameluke chief
+extended his lines till his forces seemed to cover the plain. Nor was he
+sorry to observe that there was a prospect of a stern resistance; for
+the difficulties of his situation increased his importance in the eyes
+of his soldiers, and every step he took in overcoming perils, from which
+others shrank, brought him nearer to the object on which his heart was
+set--that object being neither more nor less than the throne of the
+sultans.
+
+And now, noon having come, with horns and kettle-drums sounding an
+onset, Bibars Bendocdar advanced on the Crusaders, and attacked the
+Count of Anjou, who was at the head of the camp on the side towards the
+Nile. At first, the French cavalry calmly abided the assault; but they
+soon found themselves exposed to a kind of attack which they had not
+anticipated. In fact, the Saracen infantry, moving forward, overwhelmed
+the knights with Greek fire, and threw them into confusion. Surcoats and
+caparisons blazed, and the horses plunged, broke from the control of
+their riders, and galloped to and fro. While they were in disorder,
+Bibars Bendocdar, at the head of the Mamelukes, penetrated within the
+entrenchments, and the Count of Anjou found himself surrounded by foes.
+
+Ere this, King Louis, aware of his brother's peril, despatched Bisset,
+the English knight, with a message assuring the count of speedy aid;
+but, ere the Englishman reached the Count of Anjou, he met the French
+cavalry flying in disarray. Bisset reined up, and addressed the
+fugitives.
+
+'Christian warriors,' said he, 'I come from your king to ask whither are
+you flying? See you not that the horses of the unbelievers are swifter
+than yours?'
+
+'It is too true,' replied the fugitives.
+
+'Come then,' said Bisset, 'follow me, and I will show you what your king
+deems a safer road than flight;' and charging among the Mamelukes, in
+front of the French cavalry, the English knight succeeded in maintaining
+the conflict, which had commenced so inauspiciously for the French.
+
+And aid was at hand; for Louis did not forget his promise of succour.
+Shouting his battle-cry, he spurred, lance in rest, to his brother's
+rescue, and, precipitating himself with his knights on the Moslem
+warriors, soon redeemed the disaster which had marked the opening of the
+battle. Nor did the saint-king exhibit the slightest dread of exposing
+his royal person. With a shout of 'Montjoie, St. Denis!' he charged into
+the midst of the foe--his banner flying, and his sword flashing--and by
+his example inspired the Crusaders with such courage that, after a
+sanguinary combat, they succeeded in expelling the Mamelukes from the
+camp, and driving back the infantry that threw the Greek fire.
+
+By this time the battle had become general, and everywhere the Crusaders
+fought valiantly and well, though they had not always the advantage. In
+fact, Bibars Bendocdar, as a war chief, possessed such a degree of skill
+in handling masses of fighting men as neither Louis nor any of the
+Crusaders could boast of; and the discipline of the Mamelukes was such
+as to make them terrible foes to encounter.
+
+Nevertheless the Crusaders held their ground, and performed prodigies of
+valour. At one point the warriors of Syria and Cyprus maintained their
+ground against fearful odds; at a second, the knights of Champagne and
+Flanders fought stoutly and well; at a third, such of the Templars as
+had not fallen at Mansourah, headed by their grand master who had so
+narrowly escaped the carnage, exhibited the fine spectacle of a handful
+of men baffling a multitude, and, despite the showers of Greek fire and
+missiles which fell so thick that the ground was literally covered with
+arrows and javelins, kept the enemy at bay. Even when the grand master
+fell mortally wounded, the Knights of the Temple continued to struggle;
+and when their entrenchments failed, and the Saracens rushed into the
+camp, the military monks closed their ranks and presented a front
+against which the assailants continued for hours to charge violently,
+but in vain.
+
+But meanwhile the peril of the Count of Poictiers had been great and
+alarming. Composed of infantry, his division gave way before the rush of
+the Saracen cavalry, and dispersed in consternation. Nor was this the
+worst. The count himself, while endeavouring to rally his forces, was
+seized, and experienced the mortification of finding himself dragged off
+as a prisoner. But there was succour at hand.
+
+The Lord of Joinville and his knights were luckily posted near the Count
+of Poictiers; but having all been so severely wounded in the battle of
+Shrove Tuesday as to be unable to bear their armour, they could take no
+prominent part in the conflict raging around them. No sooner, however,
+did they observe the count's predicament than they deemed themselves
+bound to interfere at all hazards; and Guy Muschamp, riding to the place
+where the sutlers and workmen and women of the army were posted, urged
+them to rouse themselves.
+
+'Good people,' cried the squire, 'the brave Count of Poictiers is being
+carried into captivity. For our Leader's sake, succour the Count of
+Poictiers. To the rescue! to the rescue!'
+
+Now the count was highly popular with the persons to whom this appeal
+was addressed; and no sooner did they learn the prince's danger than
+they displayed the utmost alacrity to aid him. Arming themselves with
+axes, and clubs, and sticks, and anything that came in their way, they
+rushed furiously forward, and, led on by the English squire, made so
+successful an attack that the Saracens were dispersed, and the count was
+rescued and carried back in triumph.
+
+'Young gentleman,' said the count, gratefully, 'I owe you my liberty. I
+pray you, tell me to whom I am so deeply indebted.'
+
+'Noble count,' replied Guy, after telling his name, 'I am a squire of
+England; and, for the present, I serve the Lord of Joinville.'
+
+'Ah,' said the count, smiling, 'the seneschal must give you to me; for I
+would fain have an opportunity of proving how I can requite such good
+service.'
+
+By this time Bibars Bendocdar perceived that he was wasting his strength
+in vain, and sounded a retreat. But the Mameluke chief was not without
+his consolation. He knew that he had ruined the enterprise of the
+Crusaders; that they were no longer in a condition to attempt a march to
+Cairo; and that they knew not on which side to turn.
+
+But when the Saracens retreated towards Damietta, and the danger was
+over for the time being, the Crusaders were inclined to talk of their
+successful resistance as a victory; and the knights and barons when
+summoned that evening to the king's pavilion, went thither with the airs
+of conquerors.
+
+'My lords and friends,' said Louis, kindly; 'we have much cause to be
+grateful to God our Creator. On Tuesday, aided by Him, we dislodged our
+enemies from their quarters, of which we gained possession. This day we
+have defended ourselves against them, though taken at advantage; many of
+us being left without arms or horses, while they were completely armed
+and on horseback, and on their own ground. And since you have all
+witnessed the grace which God our Creator has of late shown to us, and
+continues to do daily, I commend you all, as you are bounden to do, to
+return Him due thanksgiving.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+MORTIFICATIONS AND MISERIES.
+
+
+NO longer could the armed pilgrims, so recently buoyed up with the hope
+of making themselves famous as the conquerors of Egypt, delude their
+imaginations with the project of advancing to Cairo.
+
+'It is necessary to retreat to Damietta,' said the wise and prudent.
+
+'A retreat to Damietta in the face of the foe is more than our pride can
+brook,' exclaimed the haughty and obstinate.
+
+'Let us remain at Djedile, and trust to the course of events,' suggested
+the reckless and the irresolute.
+
+At Djedile, accordingly, the Crusaders remained; and ere long, their
+calamities began in earnest, and daily increased in magnitude. First
+came disease; then came famine; and death and despair soon did more than
+the Saracens could with the utmost efforts have hoped to accomplish.
+
+It appears that, after the two battles fought on the plains of
+Mansourah, the Crusaders had neglected to bury the slain; and the bodies
+thrown confusedly into the Achmoun, and floating on the water, stopped
+before the wooden bridge, and infected the atmosphere. A contagious
+disease was the consequence; and this, being increased by the abstinence
+during Lent, wrought such havoc, that nothing was heard in the camp but
+mourning and lamentation. Louis, sad, but still not in despair, exerted
+himself to mitigate the sufferings of his army. At length he also fell
+sick, and, every day, affairs wore a gloomier aspect.
+
+'It seems,' said Guy Muschamp, who lay prostrate with sickness in the
+tent of the Lord of Joinville, 'it seems that Heaven has abandoned the
+soldiers of the Cross.'
+
+'Hem,' replied Bisset, to whom this was addressed, 'I see not why Heaven
+should be blamed for the evils which men bring on themselves by their
+own folly. I warned you at Damietta what would be the end of all the
+boastings which were uttered hourly. A haughty spirit goes before a
+fall. Trust me, we have not yet seen the worst. By the might of Mary, we
+armed pilgrims may yet find ourselves under a necessity similar to that
+which made cannibals of the soldiers of King Cambyses when he made war
+in Egypt!'
+
+'King Cambyses?' repeated Guy, enquiringly.
+
+'Ay,' replied Bisset, 'he was King of Persia, and almost as great a
+monarch as King Louis; and when he was in this country his provisions
+ran short. At first his soldiers lived on herbs, roots, and leaves; when
+they could not get even these, they ate their horses and beasts of
+burden; and, when the horses and beasts of burden were finished, they
+began to devour one another; and every tenth man, on whom the lot fell,
+was doomed to serve as a meal for his companions. Marry, we are like to
+be in a similar plight; for famine begins to stare us in the face!'
+
+Guy groaned aloud, and wondered why he had left England; and, at that
+time, indeed, the new and terrible danger daunted every heart. Resolved
+to cut off all communication between Damietta and the camp of the
+Crusaders, the sultan ordered a number of galleys to be transported
+overland, to form an ambuscade; and many French vessels were
+intercepted. For a time, Louis could not comprehend how no arrivals took
+place, and felt the gravest alarm. Ere long, however, one vessel,
+belonging to the Count of Flanders, escaped the vigilance of the
+galleys, and brought tidings that the sultan's flag was displayed all
+along the Nile. The Crusaders received this intelligence with horror;
+and, in a few days, the evil of famine was added to that of pestilence.
+
+'What is to be done now?' asked they, giving way to despondency.
+
+'It is quite clear,' said Louis, 'that, in order to save ourselves, we
+must treat with our enemies.'
+
+No time was lost. Philip de Montfort, a knight of renown, was despatched
+as ambassador to the sultan, and was led to cherish hopes of success.
+The sultan not only expressed his readiness to treat, but actually
+nominated commissioners. At first everything went smoothly, and the
+Saracens appeared reasonable in their demands. But when the question of
+hostages came to be discussed, a difficulty arose.
+
+'I am empowered to offer the Counts of Poictiers and Anjou as hostages,'
+said De Montfort.
+
+'No,' replied the Saracens, 'the sultan requires the King of France.'
+
+'You ought to know Frenchmen better,' exclaimed Geoffrey de Segrines,
+one of the commissioners; 'they would rather die than leave their king
+in pledge.'
+
+After this, the negotiation was broken off; and the French prepared to
+cross the Achmoun by the bridge, and deliberate on the propriety of
+marching back to Damietta. But even the passage of the bridge was not
+effected without terrible danger and heavy loss. No sooner did the
+Crusaders begin to move, than the Saracens came down upon them, and made
+a furious attack; but Walter de Chatillon, a French baron of great fame,
+led on his companions to the encounter, and after being seconded by the
+Count of Anjou, succeeded in repulsing the foe. The Crusaders, however,
+after remaining some days in their old camp, found that they were a prey
+to the worst calamities, and, no longer hesitating, decided on a day for
+returning to Damietta.
+
+Unfortunately for the armed pilgrims, their resolution was no secret to
+the Saracens, and when Touran Chah became aware of their intended
+movement down the Nile, he devised measures to intercept them. He
+himself harangued his soldiers, distributed money and provisions,
+reinforced them with Arabs attracted to his standard by the prospect of
+booty, and ordered boats with troops on board to descend the river, and
+join the fleet already there; while bodies of light horse were placed on
+all the roads by which the Crusaders were likely to make good their
+retreat.
+
+Nevertheless, the Crusaders, finding their present position desperate,
+persevered in their resolution, and Tuesday, the 5th of April, was
+appointed for the perilous enterprise. On the arrival of that day, the
+sick, the wounded, the women, and the children, were embarked on the
+Nile, and, at the same time, several French nobles, and the papal
+legate, got on board a vessel. No doubt seems to have existed that Louis
+might have saved himself. Even the Arabian historians admit that the
+French king might have escaped, either in a boat or on horseback, if he
+would have abandoned his army. But, with characteristic generosity, he
+distinctly refused to separate his fate from theirs. Anxious about his
+safety, the soldiers ran along the bank, shouting to the boatmen not to
+set sail till the king embarked.
+
+'Wait for the king--wait for the king!' cried they.
+
+'No,' said Louis, his heart touched, but his resolution firm; 'go on. I
+will share weal or woe with my soldiers. I am not such a niggard of
+life, that I grudge to risk it in such company, and in such a cause.'
+
+And now the boats began to descend the Nile; and at the same time the
+Duke of Burgundy, having broken up his camp, about nightfall commenced a
+retreat towards Damietta. But at this stage, the French were guilty of a
+piece of negligence that was destined to cost them dear. The king had
+ordered the wooden bridge over the Achmoun to be destroyed. In their
+agitation and haste, the French paid no attention to the order. In vain
+Bisset, the English knight, protested against such insane indifference
+to a manifest peril.
+
+'My masters,' said he, bluntly, 'we can hardly be deemed otherwise than
+madmen, if we leave that bridge standing as it is, to afford the
+Saracens a safe passage over the canal, to attack us in the rear.'
+
+'Sir knight,' replied the French drily, for they did not relish an
+Englishman's interference, 'it is not from that quarter that danger is
+most to be apprehended.'
+
+'Nevertheless,' urged Bisset.
+
+'We are wasting time to no purpose,' said the French; 'and this day,
+time is more precious than your counsel.'
+
+'As you will, my masters,' replied Bisset; 'only credit me, that if you
+leave that bridge behind you to facilitate the operations of your
+enemies, you will place your army in such a predicament, that neither
+the craft of Alexander of Macedon, nor William the Norman--could either
+come from their graves to lead--would avail to save it from destruction
+ere reaching Damietta.'
+
+And having administered this warning, Bisset withdrew, with the
+consolation of a man who has done at least his duty, and with the air
+also of a man much too reckless as to his personal safety to fear much
+on his own account from the consequences of the blunders and incapacity
+of others; then, arming himself, he saddled his steed, girded on his
+sword, hung his battle-axe at his saddle-bow, and went to attend King
+Louis during the perilous enterprise of marching through a country, with
+armed foes posted at the turn of every road.
+
+'Hearken to that English tail,' said the French one to another, as
+Bisset withdrew; 'these islanders are so timid, that they will next be
+afraid of their own shadows.'
+
+'By the head of St. Anthony,' said a knight, who had been attached to
+the Count of Artois, 'I hate the tailed English so, that I would leave
+the bridge as it is, if only to mortify one of them.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE MASSACRE OF MINIEH.
+
+
+IT was already dark when the pilgrim army commenced a perilous retreat
+to Damietta, and when the King of France, surrounded by a band of brave
+knights, undertook the duty of bringing up the rear--on that occasion
+the post of honour.
+
+But Louis was in no condition to occupy such a position with advantage.
+He was not fully recovered from his sickness, and so weak, that he could
+hardly bear the weight of his armour, or support himself on his white
+charger. Neither helmet nor cuirass wore he; nor had he any weapon save
+his sword; nor had he sufficient strength to wield his sword to any
+purpose in the event of a close encounter.
+
+And, as it happened, the post of honour speedily became the post of
+danger. As Bisset had predicted, the Saracens lost not a minute in
+availing themselves of the bridge that had been left standing. In an
+incredibly brief space of time, they contrived to cross the canal in
+such numbers, that the plain on the Damietta side was covered with
+turbaned warriors, bent on the destruction of their foes; and, in the
+darkness of the night, their cavalry charged constantly, and with
+deadly effect, on the retiring and dispirited rear of the Crusaders.
+
+Of course, the plight of Louis and his comrades every hour became more
+deplorable. They fell into disorder; they ran against and impeded each
+other; and cries of anger and despair were mingled with the neighing of
+horses, and the clash of arms. Earnestly they prayed for day, that they
+might, at least, ascertain their real position; but, when day came, it
+brought no comfort. In fact, when the rising sun revealed their
+diminished and diminishing numbers, and the formidable force of enemies
+who surrounded them--here a handful of men--there a host--the very
+boldest of the Crusaders gave themselves up for lost, and a simultaneous
+cry of terror and dismay broke from their scanty ranks.
+
+'Gentlemen,' said Louis, calm in the midst of peril, 'droop not. At the
+great battle of Antioch, Godfrey of Bouillon, and his companions, had
+worse odds than we.'
+
+'And they conquered,' said Walter de Chatillon, striving to banish
+apprehension, 'and we may conquer.'
+
+'Yes,' replied Louis, 'they had faith in God's protection, and
+confidence in the holiness of their cause; and it seemed to them that
+while the struggle was well-nigh hopeless, the blessed martyrs--George,
+Demetrius, and Theodore, came to aid them, and assure them of victory.'
+
+'Ha,' said Bisset, the English knight, as if speaking to himself, 'I
+have heard that some saw St. George in the air, with an army of white
+horses; but these did no doubt look through the spectacles of fancy.'
+
+Louis turned, bent his brow, and darted upon the speaker a glance of
+keen reproach, which might have found fuller expression in words. But
+there was no time for argument or admonition; for at that moment the
+Saracens made one of their fiery charges, and though the French warriors
+defended themselves and their king with heroism, they could not hope
+that valour would ultimately save them. While Chatillon and Bisset, now
+charging singly, now side by side, did wonders in keeping a space clear
+around the king and the royal standard, Geoffrey de Segrines, adhering
+to the side of Louis, wielded his sword with such effect that he drove
+off, one by one, the horsemen who darted forth from the Saracen ranks.
+
+'In truth,' said the brave Frenchman, when complimented by Bisset on his
+exploits, 'I know not how it is; but to me, it seems that the danger of
+this day has doubled my strength.'
+
+'On my faith,' replied Bisset, 'I am at a loss whether more to admire
+your valour or your vigilance. Your care of your good king reminds me of
+the watchful servant who carefully drives away the flies from his
+master's cup.'
+
+But brief were the intervals allowed even for such an exchange of
+sentiments. Now secure of victory, and stimulated by enthusiasm and
+fanaticism, the Saracens grew bolder and more audacious in their
+attacks. Urged on by their dervishes and imaums, who had flocked to the
+host of Saracens to remind them that they were fighting in the cause of
+the prophet, they became more and more eager for carnage and blood, and
+the Crusaders less and less capable of a stubborn resistance. At length,
+on reaching the little town of Minieh, the Crusaders acknowledged that
+they could no longer continue the retreat; and, halting, they drew up in
+a body outside the town, with the simple resolution of fighting till
+they fell.
+
+But by this time Louis was utterly exhausted; and Segrines, conducting
+him into the court, lifted him from his steed, and carried him, 'weak as
+a child in its mother's lap,' into a house, expecting every moment to be
+his last. Nor did the prospects of the Crusaders outside improve in the
+king's absence. Alarming rumours, vaguely flying about the town, reached
+their ears and depressed their hearts; and, while they were still in
+panic and incertitude, the Saracens made an onset with more than their
+former ferocity. Soon all was confusion and carnage. It seemed, indeed,
+that nothing but the hearts' blood of the Crusaders would satisfy the
+vindictive cravings of their foes; and so utterly dispirited by
+adversity and defeat, and pestilence, were knights formerly renowned as
+brave among the bravest that they allowed themselves, almost without
+resisting, to be slaughtered in heaps.
+
+Naturally, however, there were striking exceptions; and none were more
+remarkable than Chatillon and Bisset; who, when Louis was conducted into
+Minieh, took up their post hard by an orange grove, and close to a wall
+at the entrance of the narrow street leading to the house into which
+Segrines had carried the king.
+
+Nothing could have exceeded Chatillon's fiery valour. At one moment he
+rushed like lightning among the Saracens, scattered them, and cut them
+down. Then after reining back to the wall to draw out the arrows and
+darts that adhered to his cuirass, he returned to the charge, rising in
+his stirrups, and shouting--'Chatillon, knights--Chatillon to the
+rescue.'
+
+Meanwhile Bisset exerted himself with no less courage and prowess.
+Scorning his danger, and scorning his foes, he charged among the
+Saracens, with shouts of--'Holy Cross, Holy Cross! Down with the pagan
+dogs! Down with the slaves of Mahound and Termagaunt!' Nothing could
+resist the vehemence of his attack. In vain were all attempts to drag
+him from his steed. Before his mighty battle-axe the Saracens seemed to
+shake and fall as corn before the reaper.
+
+At length Chatillon, mortally wounded, dropt from his horse, and the
+Saracen who had wounded him springing forward seized the French knight's
+steed, which was one sheet of blood and foam. Bisset cleft the Saracen's
+skull to the teeth, and laughed defiantly as he avenged the fall of his
+comrade-in-arms.
+
+But Bisset was now alone; and his situation was so utterly desperate,
+that any ordinary man, even in that feudal and fighting age, would have
+relinquished all hope and yielded to fate. The English knight had no
+inclination to do anything of the kind. Rapidly his eye measured the
+ground; as rapidly his brain calculated the chances of reaching the
+orange grove; and as rapidly he arrived at the conclusion that he could
+cut his way through the crowd. No sooner had he settled this than he
+wasted not a moment in hesitation. Drawing back towards the wall, and
+halting for a moment, with his face to his foes, to breathe his panting
+steed, he once more, with battle-axe in hand, charged forward upon his
+now recoiling foes, but this time not to return. Nothing daunted by the
+darts and arrows that flew around him, he deliberately pursued the
+course which his eye had marked out, literally felling to the earth all
+who attempted to stop his progress, but skillfully avoiding foes whom it
+was not necessary to encounter. Only a man of the highest courage would
+have made such an attempt: only a man of the strongest will would have
+persevered.
+
+Now Bisset had both courage and strength of will, and in spite of all
+the chances against him, he did reach the orange grove, and making his
+way through it as well as he could, found himself in the verge of a wood
+of palms and sycamores. But he himself was wounded; his horse was
+bleeding in a dozen places; and close behind him were three Saracens,
+well mounted, and thirsting for his blood. It may seem to the reader,
+that such being the circumstances, Bisset might as well have fallen at
+Mansourah or with Walter de Chatillon at the entrance to the narrow
+street leading to the house to which the king had been carried. But,
+certainly, that was by no means his view of the case; for he was one of
+those warriors who never despair; and he turned on his pursuers like a
+lion at bay.
+
+'Surely,' said he, speaking to himself, 'wounded and weary as I am, I
+should be but a poor Christian knight if I could not deal with three
+pagan dogs.'
+
+And terrible, even to brave foes, was the ferocity and fury with which
+Bisset turned upon the Saracens. Mighty was the force with which he
+swung a battle-axe, ponderous enough to have served as a weapon to Coeur
+de Lion. Crushed by one swoop of the axe fell the first of the
+pursuers--down, as it again swung on high, fell the second, who a moment
+earlier was uttering threats of vengeance. But the English knight had no
+inclination to encounter the third antagonist. His horse, as he felt,
+was sinking; he himself was weakened by loss of blood; and, quick as
+thought, he turned towards the wood of palms and sycamores.
+
+But a new difficulty presented itself. Between Bisset and the wood was a
+very deep ditch which at another time would have made him pause. Now,
+however, he did not hesitate, even for an instant. He touched his steed
+with the spur; he spoke as if imploring the noble animal to make a last
+effort; and the result was a gallant bound. But the effort was too much.
+In exerting itself to scramble up the opposite bank, the good steed
+broke its back; and the knight, freeing his limbs from its corse,
+quickly drew his dagger and relieved it from suffering.
+
+The delay, however, had proved dangerous. Even as he gained one bank of
+the ditch the Saracen was at the other, and preparing to launch a
+javelin. One moment only intervened between the Crusader and death; but
+that moment was not neglected. With his remaining strength Bisset raised
+his battle-axe, whirled it with irresistible force, and, as the weapon
+whizzed through the air, the Saracen dropped from his horse and rolled
+into the ditch, the water of which immediately became red with his
+blood.
+
+Not a moment did Bisset now waste in getting under cover of the wood.
+For full five minutes he neither halted nor looked behind. At length he
+stopped under a palm tree; and taking out one of those little crosses
+which the Crusaders carried with them for purposes of prayer, and which
+are now symbolised by figures on the shield of many a Crusader's
+descendant, he knelt before it, and invoked the protection and aid of
+God and the saints to shield him from danger and restore him to the land
+of his fathers.
+
+But almost ere the prayer was uttered, Bisset started at the sound of
+footsteps; and as he turned his head his brain reeled; and, after
+grasping at the tree for support, he sank motionless on the ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+JOINVILLE IN PERIL.
+
+
+WHILE King Louis and the brave companions of his ill-starred retreat
+were seized as captives, or mercilessly massacred by the Saracens at
+Minieh, the sick and wounded Crusaders who embarked on the Nile were not
+more fortunate. In order to understand the extent of their dangers and
+sufferings, it is necessary to refer to the chronicle of the good Lord
+of Joinville--who, still suffering from disease, embarked with his
+knights and followers, including Guy Muschamp, not yet recovered from
+the sickness by which he had been prostrated.
+
+Nor is it possible to peruse the seneschal's simple narrative without
+profound interest. In reading his account of this disastrous expedition,
+we are transported, in imagination, to the thirteenth century, and
+witness, with the mind's eye, the scenes in which he was an actor, and
+gradually come to feel as if we were not reading a chronicle penned
+centuries ago, but listening to a Crusader who, just returned from the
+East, and seated on the dais of the castle hall, tells his story over
+the wine-cup to his kinsmen and neighbours assembled at the festive
+board.
+
+It was evening; and Joinville, who was suffering fearfully from the
+prevailing malady, perceiving that everyone was preparing to depart
+towards Damietta, withdrew to his galley, with his chaplain, and such of
+his company, including Guy Muschamp, as had escaped the pestilence, and
+the swords of the Saracens; and no sooner did darkness descend over the
+hill, than he commanded his captain to raise the anchor, and float down
+the stream.
+
+'My lord,' replied the man, 'I dare not; for between us and Damietta are
+the large galleys of the Saracens, who would infallibly capture us.'
+
+And at this moment a terrible spectacle arrested Joinville's attention.
+It happened that the king's seamen were waiting to take the sick and
+wounded on board; but many of the sick and wounded were still in the
+camp on the banks of the river. Suddenly, by the light of fires which
+the sailors had lighted for the comfort of the sick, Joinville saw the
+Saracens enter the camp, and gratify their thirst for blood by a general
+massacre. In great alarm, the king's seamen cut their cables; and while
+Joinville's men were raising their anchor, the huge galleys came down
+upon them with such force, that he expected every moment to be sunk.
+However he escaped this danger, and made some way down the Nile. But it
+speedily appeared that the Crusaders who had embarked on the river were
+not to be more fortunate in their attempt to reach Damietta than were
+those who remained on shore.
+
+Joinville very soon discovered that he had scarcely a chance of escape.
+During the night, a tempest arose; and the wind blowing with great
+force towards Damietta drove the vessels of the Crusaders straight in
+the way of the sultan's fleet, and about break of day they found
+themselves close to the galleys of the Saracens. Immediately on
+observing the Crusaders approaching, the Saracens raised loud shouts,
+and shot large bolts, and threw Greek fire in such quantities, that it
+seemed as if the stars were falling from the heavens.
+
+Great, of course, was the alarm of the Crusaders. Joinville and his
+company, however, gained the current, and endeavoured to push forward;
+but the wind becoming more and more violent drove them against the
+banks, and close to the Saracens, who, having already taken several
+vessels, were murdering the crews, and throwing the dead bodies into the
+river.
+
+On seeing what was taking place, and finding that the Saracens began to
+shoot bolts at his galley, Joinville, to protect himself, put on his
+armour. He had hardly done so, when some of his people began to shout in
+great consternation.
+
+'My lord, my lord,' cried they, 'because the Saracens menace us, our
+steersman is going to run us ashore, where we shall all be murdered.'
+
+At that moment Joinville was so faint that he had seated himself, but
+instantly rising he drew his sword and advanced.
+
+'Beware what you do,' said he; 'for I vow to slay the first person who
+attempts to run us ashore.'
+
+'My lord,' said the captain in a resolute tone, 'it is impossible to
+proceed; so you must make up your mind whether you will be landed on
+shore, or stranded in the mud of the banks.'
+
+'Well,' replied Joinville, 'I choose rather to be run on a mud bank than
+to be carried ashore, where even now I see our people being
+slaughtered.'
+
+But escape proved impossible. Almost as he spoke, Joinville perceived
+four of the sultan's galleys making towards his barge; and, giving
+himself up for lost, he took a little casket containing his jewels, and
+threw it into the Nile. However, it turned out that, though he could not
+save his liberty, there was still a chance of saving his life.
+
+'My lord,' said the mariner, 'you must permit me to say you are the
+king's cousin; if not, we are as good as murdered.'
+
+'Say what you please,' replied Joinville.
+
+And now Joinville met with a protector, whose coming he attributed to
+the direct interposition of heaven. 'It was God,' says he, 'who then, as
+I verily believe, sent to my aid a Saracen, who was a subject of the
+Emperor of Germany. He wore a pair of coarse trowsers, and, swimming
+straight to me, he came into my vessel and embraced my knees. "My lord,"
+he said, "if you do not what I shall advise, you are lost. In order to
+save yourself, you must leap into the river, without being observed." He
+had a cord thrown to me, and I leaped into the river, followed by the
+Saracen, who saved me, and conducted me to a galley, wherein were
+fourteen score of men, besides those who had boarded my vessel. But this
+good Saracen held me fast in his arms.'
+
+Shortly after, Joinville with the good Saracen's aid was landed, and
+the other Saracens rushed on him to cut his throat, and he expected no
+better fate. But the Saracen who had saved him would not quit his hold.
+
+'He is the king's cousin,' shouted he; 'the king's cousin.'
+
+'I had already,' says Joinville, 'felt the knife at my throat, and cast
+myself on my knees; but, by the hands of this good Saracen, God
+delivered me from this peril; and I was led to the castle where the
+Saracen chiefs had assembled.'
+
+When Joinville was conducted with some of his company, along with the
+spoils of his barge, into the presence of the emirs, they took off his
+coat of mail; and perceiving that he was very ill, they, from pity,
+threw one of his scarlet coverlids lined with minever over him, and gave
+him a white leathern girdle, with which he girded the coverlid round
+him, and placed a small cap on his head. Nevertheless, what with his
+fright and his malady, he soon began to shake so that his teeth
+chattered, and he complained of thirst.
+
+On this the Saracens gave him some water in a cup; but he no sooner put
+it to his lips, than the water began to run back through his nostrils.
+'Having an imposthume in my throat,' says he, 'imagine what a wretched
+state I was in; and I looked more to death than life.'
+
+When Joinville's attendants saw the water running through his nostrils,
+they began to weep; and the good Saracen who had saved him asked them
+why they were so sorrowful.
+
+'Because,' they replied, 'our lord is nearly dead.'
+
+And thereupon the good Saracen, taking pity on their distress, ran to
+tell the emirs; and one of them coming, told Joinville to be of good
+cheer, for he would bring a drink that should cure him in two days.
+Under the influence of this beverage, the seneschal ere long recovered;
+and when he was well, he was sent for by the admiral, who commanded the
+sultan's galleys.
+
+'Are you,' asked the admiral, 'the king's cousin, as was reported?'
+
+'No,' answered Joinville, 'I am not;' and he informed the admiral why it
+had been stated.
+
+'You were well advised,' said the admiral; 'for otherwise you would have
+been all murdered, and cast into the river. Have you any acquaintance
+with the Emperor Frederic, or are you of his lineage?'
+
+'Truly,' replied Joinville, 'I have heard my mother say that I am the
+emperor's second cousin.'
+
+'Ah,' said the admiral, 'I rejoice to hear it; and I love you all the
+better on that account.'
+
+It appears that Joinville became quite friendly with the admiral, and
+was treated by him with kindness; and, on Sunday, when it was ordered
+that all the Crusaders who had been taken prisoners on the Nile should
+be brought to a castle on the banks, Joinville was invited to go thither
+in the admiral's company. On that occasion, the seneschal had to endure
+the horror of seeing his chaplain dragged from the hold of his galley
+and instantly killed and flung into the water; and scarcely was this
+over when the chaplain's clerk was dragged out of the hold, so weak that
+he could hardly stand, felled on the head with a mortar, and cast after
+his master. In this manner the Saracens dealt with all the captives who
+were suffering from sickness.
+
+Horrorstruck at such a destruction of human life, Joinville, by means of
+the good Saracen who had saved his life, informed them that they were
+doing very wrong; but they treated the matter lightly.
+
+'We are only destroying men who are of no use,' said they; 'for they are
+much too ill with their disorders to be of any service.'
+
+Soon after witnessing this harrowing spectacle, Joinville was requested
+by the Saracen admiral to mount a palfrey; and they rode together, over
+a bridge, to the place where the Crusaders were imprisoned. At the
+entrance of a large pavilion the good Saracen, who had been Joinville's
+preserver, and had always followed him about, stopped, and requested his
+attention.
+
+'Sir,' said he, 'you must excuse me, but I cannot come further. I
+entreat you not to quit the hand of this boy, otherwise the Saracens
+will kill him.'
+
+'Who is he?' asked Joinville.
+
+'The boy's name,' replied the good Saracen, 'is Bartholomew de Bar, and
+he is son of the Lord Montfaucon de Bar.'
+
+And now conducted by the admiral, and leading the little boy by the
+hand, Joinville entered the pavilion, where the nobles and knights of
+France, with more than ten thousand persons of inferior rank, were
+confined in a court, large in extent, and surrounded by walls of mud.
+From this court the captive Christians were led forth, one at a time,
+and asked if they would become renegades, yes or no. He who answered
+'Yes,' was put aside; but he who answered 'No,' was instantly beheaded.
+
+Such was the plight of the Christian warriors who so recently had
+boasted of being about to conquer Egypt. Already thirty thousand of the
+Crusaders had perished; and the survivors were so wretched, that they
+almost envied their comrades who had gone where the weary are at rest.
+
+Now in the midst of all this suffering and anxiety, what had become of
+Guy Muschamp? Had the gay young squire, who boasted that if killed by
+the Saracens he would die laughing, been drowned in the Nile, or was he
+a captive in that large court surrounded by walls of mud? Neither. But
+as our narrative proceeds, the reader will see that Guy Muschamp's fate
+was hardly less sad than the fate of those who had found a watery grave,
+or of those who were offered the simple choice of denying their God or
+losing their lives.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+NEWS OF DISASTER.
+
+
+WHILE Louis of France and his nobles and knights were exposed to such
+danger at the hands of their enemies, from whom they had no reason to
+expect forbearance, Queen Margaret remained at Damietta, with her
+ladies, expecting to hear of battles won and fortresses taken. At
+length, one morning about sunrise, a strange and heart-rending cry
+resounded through the city, and reached the ears of the queen in her
+palace. What was it? was it fire? No. Another and another wail of agony.
+What could it be? The approach of an enemy? No. It was merely tidings of
+the massacre of Minieh!
+
+Margaret of Provence summoned to her presence Oliver de Thermes, whom
+King Louis had left at Damietta in command of the garrison.
+
+'Sir knight,' said the queen, 'what is all that noise I hear?'
+
+The warrior hesitated.
+
+'Speak, sir,' said Margaret, losing patience; 'I command you to tell me
+what has happened.'
+
+'Madam,' replied the knight, 'the news as yet is but vague and
+uncertain.'
+
+'Answer me, directly,' said the queen, speaking in a tone of authority.
+'What of the King of France? What of the warriors who marched from
+Damietta under the banner of St. Denis?'
+
+'Alas, madam,' replied Sir Oliver, 'I would fain hope that the news is
+not true; but it certainly is bruited about that the king is a captive,
+and that the warriors of the Cross have fallen almost to a man.'
+
+Margaret did not answer; she did not even attempt to speak. Her colour
+went, she shuddered, tottered, and would have fallen to the floor had
+not her ladies rushed to her support. It was indeed a terrible situation
+for that youthful matron, and--what made matters more melancholy--she
+was about to become a mother.
+
+And now Damietta was the scene of consternation somewhat similar to that
+which pervaded Cairo, when a pigeon carried thither intelligence of the
+victory of the Count of Artois at Djedile. The ladies of the Crusaders,
+the Countesses of Poictiers and Provence, and the widowed Countess of
+Artois, among the number, bewailed the fate of their lords; the queen
+was afflicted to a terrible degree as she thought of the king's peril;
+and many people only felt concerned about their own extreme peril. Of
+course much selfishness was exhibited under the circumstances; and the
+Pisans and Genoese set a bad example by preparing to save themselves,
+and leave the city to its fate. But, on hearing of their intention, the
+queen ordered that the chief persons among them should be brought to her
+presence, and addressed them in a way likely to convince them of the
+selfishness of their conduct.
+
+'Gentlemen,' said Margaret, rousing herself from her prostration and
+raising her head; 'as you love God, do not leave this city; for if you
+do you will utterly ruin the king and his army, who are captives, and
+expose all within the walls to the vengeance of the Saracens.'
+
+'Madam,' replied the Pisans and Genoese, utterly unmoved by the loyal
+lady's distress, 'we have no provisions left, and we cannot consent to
+remain at the risk of dying of hunger.'
+
+'Be under no such apprehension,' said the queen quickly; 'you shall not
+die of hunger; I will cause all the provisions in Damietta to be bought
+in the king's name, and distributed forthwith.'
+
+The Pisans and Genoese on hearing this assurance consented to remain in
+Damietta; and, after an expenditure of three hundred and sixty thousand
+livres, Margaret provided for their subsistence. But the men who were
+thus bribed to remain as a garrison were not likely to make any very
+formidable resistance in the event of an attack taking place; and such
+an event was no longer improbable. Indeed rumours, vague but most
+alarming, reached Damietta that a Saracenic host was already on its way
+to capture the city.
+
+The rumour that the Moslems were actually coming made the bravest men in
+Damietta quake, and inspired the ladies who were in the city with
+absolute terror. Even the courage of the queen, who had just given birth
+to her son John, failed; and her faculties well-nigh deserted her. One
+moment her imagination conjured up visions of Saracens butchering her
+husband; at another she shrieked with terror at the idea that the
+Saracens had taken the city and were entering her chamber. Ever and anon
+she sank into feverish sleep, and then, wakened by some fearful dream,
+sprang up, shouting, 'Help! help! they are at hand. I hear their
+lelies.'
+
+It was while Margaret of Provence was in this unhappy state of mind,
+that a French knight, who was eighty years of age, but whose heart, in
+spite of his four score of years, still overflowed with chivalry,
+undertook the duty of guarding the door of her chamber night and day.
+
+'Madam,' said he, 'be not alarmed. I am with you. Banish your fears.'
+
+'Sir knight,' exclaimed the unhappy queen, throwing herself on her knees
+before him, 'I have a favour to ask. Promise that you will grant my
+request.'
+
+'I swear, madam, that I will comply with your wishes,' replied the aged
+knight.
+
+'Well, then,' said the queen; 'what I have to request is this, that if
+the Saracens should take the city, you, by the faith you have pledged,
+will rather cut off my head than suffer me to fall into their hands.'
+
+'Madam,' replied the veteran chevalier, 'I had already resolved on doing
+what you have asked, in case the worst should befall.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+A WOUNDED PILGRIM.
+
+
+IT was long ere Walter Espec, struck down wounded and bleeding at
+Mansourah, recovered possession of his faculties sufficiently to recall
+the scenes through which he had passed or even to understand what was
+taking place around him. As time passed over, however, consciousness
+returned; and he one day became aware that he was stretched on a bed in
+a chamber somewhat luxuriously furnished, and tended by a woman advanced
+in years, who wore a gown of russet, and a wimple which gave her a
+conventual appearance.
+
+Walter raised his head, and was about to speak, when she suddenly left
+the room, and the squire was left to guess, as he best might, where and
+under whose care he was. He attempted to rise; but the effort was in
+vain. He put his hand to his head; but he found that his long locks of
+fair hair were gone. He tried to remember how he had got there; but, try
+as he might, his memory would not bring him farther down the stream of
+time, than the hour in which he fell at Mansourah. All the rest was a
+blank or a feverish dream of being rowed on a river by Saracen boatmen,
+and left at the portal of a house which he had never seen before.
+Gradually recalling all his adventures since he left the castle of Wark,
+he remembered and felt his hand for the amulet with which he had been
+gifted by King Louis when at Cyprus. The ring was there, and as Walter
+thought of the inscription he felt something like hope.
+
+But Walter was still weak from loss of blood and the fever which had
+been the consequence of wounds and exposure, and he soon sank into a
+slumber. When he again awoke to consciousness the woman in russet was
+standing near him, and conversing with a damsel whom Walter did not at
+first see, but whose tones, sweet and soft, manifested a strong interest
+in his recovery.
+
+'He will yet live,' said the woman in russet, 'and rejoice we in it; for
+he is a young man; and to such life must needs be dear.'
+
+'He will live,' repeated the girl, 'and our lady be praised therefor;
+for it is sweet to live.'
+
+'In truth, noble demoiselle,' said the woman in russet, 'the youth owes
+much to your solicitude; but for your anxiety on his behalf, I hardly
+think he would have struggled through the fever. However, if you will
+remain and watch him for a brief space, I will attend to the commands of
+my lady the queen, and hasten to relieve you. Nay, it misbeseems not
+noble maiden to tend a wounded warrior, especially a soldier of the
+Cross; and, credit me, he will give you little trouble. He lies as quiet
+and calm as if he were in his shroud.'
+
+With these words the woman in russet departed; and the damsel, treading
+so softly that her footstep made not the slightest noise, moved about
+the room in silent thought, now turning to gaze on the wounded squire,
+now looking from the casement. Walter, now fully awake, began to
+experience a strong feeling of curiosity; and turning his head directed
+his gaze, not without interest, towards his youthful nurse. She was not
+more than sixteen, and still more beautiful than young. She had features
+exquisitely lovely in their delicacy and expression, deep blue eyes with
+long dark fringes, and dark brown hair which, according to the fashion
+of the period, was turned up behind and enclosed in a caul of network.
+Her form was already elegant in its proportions; but it inclined to be
+taller, and gave promise of great perfection. Her charms were set off by
+the mourning dress which she wore, and by the robe called the quintise,
+which was an upper tunic without sleeves, with bordered vandyking and
+scalloping worked and notched in various patterns, worn so long behind
+that it swept the floor, but in front held up gracefully with one hand
+so as not to impede the step.
+
+Walter was charmed, and a little astonished as his eye alighted on a
+face and form so fascinating; and, in spite of his prostration and utter
+weakness, he gazed on her with lively interest and some wonder.
+
+'Holy Katherine!' exclaimed he to himself; 'what a lovely vision. I
+marvel who she is, and where I am; and, as he thus soliloquised, the
+girl turned round, and not without flutter and alarm perceived that he
+was awake and watching her.
+
+'Noble demoiselle, heed me not;' said Walter earnestly, 'but rather
+tell me, since, if I understand aright, I owe my life to you--how am I
+ever sufficiently to prove my gratitude?'
+
+'Ah, sir squire,' replied she, 'you err in supposing the debt to be on
+your side. It is I who owe you a life, and not you who owe a life to me;
+and,' added she, struggling to repress tears, 'my heart fills when I
+remember how you did for me, albeit a stranger, what, under the
+circumstances, no other being on earth would have ventured to do.'
+
+'By Holy Katherine, noble demoiselle,' said Walter, wondering at her
+words; 'I should in truth deem it a high honour to have rendered such as
+you any service. But that is a merit which I cannot claim; for, until
+this hour, unless my memory deceives me, I never saw your face.'
+
+The countenance of the girl evinced disappointment, and the tears
+started to her eyes.
+
+'Ah, sir, sir,' said she, with agitation; 'I am she whom, on the coast
+of Cyprus, you saved from the waves of the sea.'
+
+Walter's heart beat rather quick as he learned that it was Adeline de
+Brienne who stood before him; for, though her very face was unknown to
+him, her name had strangely mixed up with many of his day-dreams; and it
+was not without confusion that, after a pause, he continued the
+conversation.
+
+'Pardon my ignorance, noble demoiselle,' said he, 'and vouchsafe, I pray
+you, to inform me where I now am; for I own to you that I am somewhat
+perplexed.'
+
+'You are in Damietta.'
+
+'In Damietta!' exclaimed Walter, astonished; 'and how came I to
+Damietta? My latest recollection is having been struck from my steed at
+Mansourah, after my lord, the Earl of Salisbury, and all the English
+warriors, had fallen before the weapons of the Saracens; and how I come
+to be in Damietta is more than I can guess.'
+
+'Mayhap; but I can tell you,' said a frank hearty voice; and, as Walter
+started at the sound, Bisset, the English knight, stood before him; and
+Adeline de Brienne, not without casting a kindly look behind, vanished
+from the chamber.
+
+'Wonder upon wonders,' cried Walter, as the knight took his hand; 'I am
+now more bewildered than before. Am I in Damietta, and do I see you, and
+in the body?'
+
+'Even so,' replied Bisset; 'and for both circumstances we are wholly
+indebted to Beltran, the Christian renegade. He saved you from perishing
+at Mansourah, and conveyed you down the Nile, and brought you to the
+portal of this palace; and he came to me when I was at Minieh under a
+tree, sinking with fatigue, and in danger of bleeding to death; and he
+found the means of conveying me hither also; so I say that, were he ten
+times a renegade, he merits our gratitude.'
+
+'Certes,' said Walter, 'and, methinks, also our prayers that his heart
+may be turned from the error of his ways, and that he may return to the
+faith which Christians hold.'
+
+'Amen,' replied Bisset.
+
+'But tell me, sir knight,' continued Walter, eagerly, what has
+happened, since that dreadful day, to the pilgrim army? and if you know
+aught of my brother-in-arms, Guy Muschamp?'
+
+'Sir squire,' answered Bisset, sadly; 'for your first question, I grieve
+to say, that has come to pass which I too shrewdly predicted--all the
+boasting of the French has ended in disaster--the king and his nobles
+being prisoners, and most of the other pilgrims slain or drowned; and,
+for your second, as to Guy Muschamp, the English squire, who was a brave
+and gallant youth, I own I entertain hardly a doubt that, ere this, he
+is food for worms or fishes.'
+
+Walter Espec uttered an exclamation of horror, and, without another
+word, sank back on his pillow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+ST. LOUIS IN CHAINS.
+
+
+WHEN King Louis was led away by the faithful Segrines, and when he was
+so exhausted that he had to be lifted from his steed and carried into a
+house, and when the Crusaders outside were in dismay and despair, Philip
+de Montfort entered the chamber where the saintly monarch was, and
+proposed to renew negotiations with the Saracens.
+
+'Sire,' said De Montfort, 'I have just seen the emir with whom I
+formerly treated; and, so it be your good pleasure, I will seek him out,
+and demand a cessation of hostilities.'
+
+'Go,' replied Louis; 'and, since it can no better be, promise to submit
+to the conditions on which the sultan formerly insisted.'
+
+Accordingly De Montfort went; and the Saracens, still fearing their
+foes, and remembering that the French held Damietta, agreed to treat. A
+truce was, indeed, on the point of being concluded. Montfort had given
+the emir a ring; the emir had taken off his turban, and their hands were
+about to meet; when a Frenchman, named Marcel, rushed in and spoiled
+all.
+
+'Seigneurs,' said he, interrupting the conference, 'noble knights of
+France, surrender yourselves all! The king commands you by me. Do not
+cause him to be put to death.'
+
+On hearing this message, the emir withdrew his hand, returned De
+Montfort's ring, put on his turban, and intimated that the negotiation
+was at an end.
+
+'God is powerful,' said he, 'and it is not customary to treat with
+beaten enemies.'
+
+And now it was that there ensued such a scene as Minieh had never
+witnessed. Almost as the negotiation ended, Louis was seized, violently
+handled and put in chains. Both the Count of Poictiers and the Count of
+Anjou were at the same time made prisoners; and the bulk of the warriors
+accompanying the king had scarcely the choice between surrender and
+death; for nothing, as has been said, but their hearts' blood would
+satisfy the vindictive cravings of their foes; and, when the king's
+captivity became known, many of those who had formerly been most
+intrepid, remained motionless and incapable of the slightest resistance.
+
+About the time when King Louis was put in chains, and when Bisset, the
+English knight, was endeavouring to escape death or rather captivity,
+the sultan arrived at Minieh, and, without any display of generosity for
+the vanquished, took measures for improving his victory to the utmost.
+The king and his brothers who, like himself, were bound hand and foot,
+were conducted in triumph to a boat of war. The oriflamme--that banner
+so long the pride of France--was now carried in mockery; the crosses
+and images, which the Crusaders had with them as symbols of their
+religious faith, were trampled scornfully under foot; and, with trumpets
+sounding and kettle-drums clashing, the royal captives were marched into
+Mansourah.
+
+It was to the house of Fakreddin Ben Lokman, the secretary of the
+sultan, that Louis was escorted; and, on arriving there, he was given
+into the custody of the Eunuch Sahil. But, abandoned by fortune, and in
+the power of his enemies, Louis was still himself. In chains and
+captivity he exhibited the dignity of a king and the resignation of a
+Christian, and his jailers could not refrain from expressing their
+astonishment at the serene patience with which he bore adversity. Of all
+his property, he had only saved his book of psalms; and daily, while
+consoling himself with reciting from its pages, he was inspired with
+strength and resolution to bear his misfortunes, and to raise his
+thoughts far above the malice of his foes.
+
+Meanwhile, at the court of the sultan, everything was not going
+smoothly. From the beginning, the emirs and Mamelukes had looked with
+envy and suspicion on the favourites brought by Touran Chah from
+Mesopotamia; and such feelings had not died away. Many of the favourites
+ere long were substituted for the ministers of the late sultan; and the
+emirs and Mamelukes not only complained loudly of this to Touran Chah,
+but reproached him bitterly for the way in which he disposed of the
+spoil of the Crusaders.
+
+'How is this?' asked they; 'you are bestowing the spoils of the
+vanquished Franks, not on the men who have borne the burden of the war,
+but on men whose sole merit consists in having come from the banks of
+the Euphrates to the Nile.'
+
+Now, the sultan's favourites were not unaware of the unfriendly feeling
+with which they were regarded by the Mameluke chiefs. Indeed, they saw
+all the dangers of their position, and considered it politic, under the
+circumstances, to reduce the influence of the emirs and Mamelukes by
+bringing about a treaty with the Crusaders.
+
+'In these people,' said they to the sultan, 'you have enemies far more
+dangerous than the Christians. Nothing will content them but reigning in
+your stead. They never cease to boast of their victories, as if they
+alone had conquered the Franks, and as if the God of Mahomet had not
+sent pestilence and famine to aid you in triumphing. But hasten to
+terminate the war, that you may strengthen your power within; and then
+you will be able to reign in reality.'
+
+As soon as Touran Chah was convinced that the emirs and Mamelukes
+entertained projects of ambition dangerous to his power, and that war
+was favourable to their designs, he resolved to show the chiefs how
+little he regarded their opinions; and, without even consulting them, he
+sent some of his favourites to the house of Lokman, and empowered them
+to treat with Louis.
+
+'King,' said the ambassador, 'I come from the sultan, to inform you that
+he will restore you to liberty, on condition that you surrender to him
+the cities of Palestine now held by the Franks.'
+
+'The cities of Palestine are not mine to give,' replied Louis, calmly;
+'and I cannot pretend to dispose of them.'
+
+'But beware of rashly refusing to submit to the sultan's terms,' said
+the ambassador; 'for you know not what may happen. He will send you to
+the caliph at Bagdad, who will imprison you for life; or he will cause
+you to be led throughout the East, to exhibit to all Asia a Christian
+king reduced to slavery.'
+
+'I am the sultan's prisoner,' replied Louis, unmoved, 'and he can do
+with me what he pleases.'
+
+On hearing this answer, the ambassadors intimated their intention of
+employing personal violence; and, one of them having stamped three times
+with his foot, the Eunuch Sahil entered, followed by the jailers,
+bearing that frightful instrument of torture, known as 'the bernicles.'
+
+Now this terrible engine was made of pieces of wood pierced with holes,
+into which the legs of the criminal were put; and the holes were at so
+great a distance from each other, and could be forced to so great an
+extension, that the pain was about the most horrible that could be
+produced. Moreover, the holes being at various distances, the legs of
+the victim could be inserted into those that extended them to the
+greatest distance, and while the pain inflicted was more than flesh and
+blood could bear, means were, at the same time, used to break or
+dislocate all his small bones. It was an instrument of punishment
+reserved for the worst of criminals; and no torture was deemed so awful
+as that which it was capable of inflicting.
+
+'What do you say to be put in this engine of punishment?' asked the
+ambassador, pointing significantly to the bernicles.
+
+'I have already told you,' replied Louis, unmoved, 'that I am the
+sultan's prisoner, and that he can do with me as he pleases.'
+
+In fact, the courage of Louis was proof against any danger to his own
+person; and he held all the menaces of his captors so cheap, that they
+scarcely knew how to deal with him. At length, the sultan determined to
+propose terms more likely to be acceptable to the saint-king, and again
+sent ambassadors to his prison, with the object of bringing about a
+treaty.
+
+'King,' said the ambassador, 'the sultan has sent to ask how much money
+you will give for your ransom, besides restoring Damietta?'
+
+'In truth,' replied Louis, 'I scarcely know what answer to make; but, if
+the sultan will be contented with a reasonable sum, I will write to the
+queen to pay it for myself and my army.'
+
+'But wherefore write to the queen, who is but a woman?' asked the
+ambassador somewhat surprised.
+
+'She is my lady and companion,' answered Louis, even at that moment
+mindful of the principles of chivalry; 'and it is only reasonable that
+her consent should be obtained.'
+
+'Well,' said the ambassador, 'if the queen will pay a million golden
+bezants, the sultan will set you free.'
+
+'However,' said Louis, with dignity, 'I must tell you that, as King of
+France, I cannot be redeemed by money; but a million of bezants will be
+paid as the ransom of my army, and Damietta given up in exchange for my
+own freedom.'
+
+After some negotiations the terms were agreed to; and the sultan not
+only concluded the treaty joyfully, but expressed his admiration of the
+nobility of spirit which Louis had displayed.
+
+'By my faith!' said Touran Chah to the ambassador, 'this Frenchman is
+generous and noble, seeing that he does not condescend to bargain about
+so large a sum of money, but instantly complies with the first demand.
+Go,' added the sultan, 'and tell him, from me, that I make him a present
+of a fifth of the sum, so that he will only have to pay four-fifths; and
+that I will command all the principal nobles and his great officers to
+be embarked in four of my largest galleys, and conducted safely to
+Damietta.'
+
+It was Thursday before the Feast of Ascension; and, while the King of
+France, and the Crusaders were conveyed down the Nile in galleys, Touran
+Chah travelled by land from Mansourah, in order to receive Damietta, and
+perform the conditions of peace. On reaching Pharescour, however, the
+sultan halted to dine with his chiefs; and, while the other Crusaders
+lay in their galleys on the river, the king and his brethren were
+invited to land, and received into a pavilion, where they had an
+interview with the sultan, when Saturday was appointed for the payment
+of the golden bezants and the surrender of Damietta. But long ere
+Saturday a terrible tragedy was to occur, and render Pharescour
+memorable as the scene of a deed of violence, startling both to Asia and
+Europe. Already, while the sultan held his interview with the King of
+France and the Counts of Poictiers and Anjou, everything was prepared;
+and soon after Touran Chah had left Louis and his brothers shut up in
+the pavilion, they were roused by loud shouts of distress and a mighty
+tumult; and, while they breathlessly asked each other whether the French
+captives were being massacred or Damietta taken by storm, in rushed
+twenty Saracens, their swords red and reeking with blood, and spots of
+blood on their vestments and their faces, stamping, threatening
+furiously, and uttering fierce cries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+THE TRAGEDY OF PHARESCOUR.
+
+
+AT Pharescour, on the margin of the Nile, the Sultan of Egypt had a
+remarkable palace. It appears to have been constructed of wood, and
+covered with cloth of brilliant colours. At the entrance was a pavilion,
+where the emirs and chiefs were in the habit of leaving their swords,
+when they had audience of the sultan; and beyond this pavilion was a
+handsome gateway which led to the great hall where the sultan feasted;
+and adjoining the great hall was a tower, by which the sultan ascended
+to his private apartments.
+
+Between the palace and the river was a spacious lawn, in which there was
+a tower, to which the sultan was wont to ascend when he wished to make
+observations on the surrounding country; and hard by was an alley which
+led towards the margin of the hill, and a summer-house formed of
+trellis-work and covered with Indian linen, where he frequently repaired
+for the purpose of bathing.
+
+The chroniclers of the period who write of the crusade of St. Louis
+fully describe this palace. Indeed, the appearance of the place was
+strongly impressed on the memory of the Crusaders. It was there that
+Touran Chah, when on his way from Mansourah to Damietta, halted to
+receive the congratulations of the Moslem chiefs on the victory that had
+been achieved over the Franks; there, in their company, he celebrated
+his triumph by a grand banquet; and there was enacted the terrible
+tragedy that exposed the surviving pilgrims to new dangers and fresh
+trials.
+
+By this time, indeed, the emirs and Mamelukes had become so exasperated
+at the elevation of the sultan's favourite courtiers that they vowed
+vengeance; and, in order to justify their project, they ascribed to him
+the most sinister designs. It was asserted that many of the emirs were
+doomed to die on a certain day; and that, in the midst of a nocturnal
+orgy, Touran Chah had cut off the tops of the flambeaux in his chamber,
+crying--'Thus shall fly the heads of all the Mamelukes.' In order to
+avenge herself for the neglect to which she was exposed under the new
+reign, Chegger Edour, the sultana who had played so important a part in
+the last days of Melikul Salih, exerted her eloquence to stimulate the
+discontent; and the emirs and Mamelukes, having formed a conspiracy,
+only awaited a convenient opportunity to complete their projects of
+vengeance at a blow.
+
+It was the day after his arrival at Pharescour, on which Touran Chah
+gave a banquet to the chiefs of his army; and, as it happened, the
+company comprised the Mamelukes and the emirs who were, or who deemed
+themselves, in danger. It would seem that everything went forward
+quietly and ceremoniously till the feast was ended, and the sultan rose
+to ascend to his chamber. Not a moment, however, was then lost. As soon
+as Touran Chah moved from table, Bibars Bendocdar, who carried the
+sultan's sword, struck the first blow, and instantly the others rushed
+furiously upon their destined victim. Touran Chah parried the blow of
+the Mameluke chief with his hand; but the weapon penetrated between two
+of his fingers and cut up his arm.
+
+'My lords,' said he, taken by surprise; 'I make my complaint against
+this man, who has endeavoured to kill me.'
+
+'Better that you should be slain than live to murder us, as you intend
+to do,' cried all present, with the exception of an envoy of the caliph,
+who had arrived from Bagdad, and appeared much terrified at the scene so
+suddenly presented.
+
+Touran Chah looked round him in amazement; and, as he did so, he was
+seized with terror. However, the instinct of self-preservation did not
+desert him. With a spring he bounded between the motionless guards,
+escaped into the lawn, took refuge in the tower, and looking from a
+window demanded of the conspirators what they really wanted; but they
+were not in a humour to spend time in talk.
+
+'Come down,' cried they; 'you cannot escape us.'
+
+'Assure me of safety, and I will willingly descend,' said the sultan.
+
+At this stage the envoy of the caliph, having mounted his horse, came
+forward as if to interfere; but the conspirators menaced him with
+instant death if he did not return to his tent, and, still keenly bent
+on completing their work of murder, ordered the sultan to come down.
+
+Touran Chah shook his head, as if declining the invitation.
+
+'Fool,' cried the conspirators, scornfully, 'we have the means of
+compelling you to descend, or to meet a worse fate;' and without further
+parley they commenced assailing the tower with Greek fire.
+
+The Greek fire caught the cloth and timber, and immediately the whole
+was in a blaze. Touran Chah could no longer hesitate. One hope remained
+to him, namely to rush towards the Nile, to throw himself into the
+water, and to take refuge on board one of the vessels that he saw
+anchored near the shore. Accordingly he leaped from the blazing tower,
+with the intention of rushing across the lawn. But the toils were upon
+him. A nail having caught his mantle, he, after remaining for a moment
+suspended, fell to the ground. Instantly sabres and swords waved over
+him; and he clung in a supplicating posture to Octai, one of the
+captains of his guard; but Octai repulsed him with contempt.
+Nevertheless, the conspirators hesitated; and they were still
+hesitating, when Bibars Bendocdar, who was never troubled either with
+fears or scruples, and who, indeed, had struck the first blow, made a
+thrust so stern that the sword remained sticking fast between the ribs
+of the victim. Still resisting, however, the sultan contrived to drag
+himself to the Nile, with a hope of reaching the galleys from which the
+captive Crusaders witnessed the outrage; but some of the Mamelukes
+followed him into the water; and close to the galley in which the Lord
+of Joinville was, the heir of Saladin--the last of the Eioubites--died
+miserably.
+
+It was now that the Mamelukes rushed into the tent where Louis and his
+brothers were.
+
+'King,' cried Octai, pointing to his bloody sword, 'Touran Chah is no
+more. What will you give me for having freed you from an enemy who
+meditated your destruction as well as ours?'
+
+Louis vouchsafed no reply.
+
+'What!' cried the emir, furiously presenting the point of his sword;
+'know you not that I am master of your person? Make me a knight, or thou
+art a dead man.'
+
+'Make thyself a Christian, and I will make thee a knight,' said Louis,
+calmly.
+
+Rather cowed than otherwise with his reception, and with the demeanour
+of the royal captive, Octai retired; and the French king and his
+brothers once more breathed with as much freedom as men could under the
+circumstances. But they were not long left undisturbed. Scarcely had the
+Mameluke aspirant for knighthood disappeared when the tent was crowded
+with Saracens, who brandished their sabres and threatened Louis with
+destruction.
+
+'Frenchman!' cried they, addressing the king, wildly and fiercely; 'art
+thou ignorant of thy danger, or what may be the fate that awaits thee?
+Pharescour is not Mansourah, as events may convince thee yet. Here thou
+mayest find a tomb instead of the house of Lokman, and the two terrible
+angels, Munkir and Nakir, instead of the Eunuch Sahil.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+PERILS AND SUSPENSE.
+
+
+THE Saracen chiefs, after having dyed their sabres in the blood of the
+sultan, did not confine their menaces and violent demonstrations to the
+tent in which the captive King of France was lodged. With swords drawn
+and battle-axes on their shoulders, thirty of them boarded the galley
+where Joinville was with the Count of Brittany, Sir Baldwin d'Ebelin,
+and the Constable of Cyprus, and menaced them with gestures and furious
+imprecations.
+
+'I asked Sir Baldwin d'Ebelin,' writes Joinville, 'what they were
+saying; and he, understanding Saracenic, replied that they were come to
+cut off our heads, and shortly after I saw a large body of our men on
+board confessing themselves to a monk of La Trinite, who had accompanied
+the Count of Flanders. I no longer thought of any sin or evil I had
+done, but that I was about to receive my death. In consequence, I fell
+on my knees at the feet of one of them, and making the sign of the
+cross, said "Thus died St. Agnes." The Constable of Cyprus knelt beside
+me, and confessed himself to me, and I gave him such absolution as god
+was pleased to grant me the power of bestowing. But of all the things
+he had said to me, when I rose up I could not remember one of them.'
+
+'We were confined in the hold of the galleys,' continues the chronicler,
+'and laid heads and heels together. We thought it had been so ordered
+because they were afraid of attacking us in a body, and that they would
+destroy us one at a time. This danger lasted the whole night. I had my
+feet right on the face of the Count of Brittany, whose feet, in return,
+were beside my face. On the morrow we were taken out of the hold, and
+the emirs sent to inform us that we might renew the treaties we had made
+with the sultan.'
+
+'So far, all seemed well. But the danger was not yet over, as the
+Crusaders were destined to feel. At first the form of the oaths to be
+taken by the king and the emirs presented much difficulty; and, even
+when it was settled, the emirs in council gravely discussed the
+propriety of putting the French king and his barons to death. Only one
+of them pleaded for keeping faith; and his voice would have been drowned
+in the clamour, but fortunately he used an argument which appealed
+irresistibly to their cupidity.'
+
+'You may put these Franks to death if you will,' said he; 'but reflect
+ere doing so that dead men pay no ransom.'
+
+Nevertheless, it really seemed that after all the Crusaders were doomed;
+and while they were on board the galleys, and this discussion was
+proceeding, an incident occurred which caused them to give themselves up
+for lost.
+
+'One of the emirs that were against us,' says Joinville, 'threatening we
+were to be slain, came to the bank of the river, and shouted out in
+Saracen to those who were on board our galley, and, taking off his
+turban, made signs, and told them they were to carry us back to Babylon.
+The anchors were instantly raised, and we were carried a good league up
+the river. This caused great grief to all of us, and many tears fell
+from our eyes, for we now expected nothing but death.'
+
+And what in the meantime was taking place in Damietta?
+
+Nothing in truth could have exceeded the anxiety which prevailed within
+the walls of that city, when thither were carried tidings of the
+assassination of the Sultan of Egypt, and of the new danger to which the
+King of France and the captive Crusaders were exposed.
+
+The aspect of affairs was indeed menacing; and it was not till
+messengers from King Louis came to announce that the treaty was to be
+maintained and the city evacuated, that something like confidence was
+restored. On the evening of Friday, Queen Margaret, with the Countesses
+of Anjou, Poictiers, and Artois, and the other ladies, went on board a
+Genoese vessel. As night advanced, Oliver de Thermes and all the
+Crusaders who had garrisoned Damietta embarked on the Nile, and Geoffrey
+de Segrines, having brought the keys to the emirs, the Saracens took
+possession. Next morning at daybreak the Moslem standards were floating
+over tower and turret. But still King Louis was in the hands of his
+enemies, and still the emirs were debating whether or not they ought to
+put him and the companions of his captivity to death.
+
+At the mouth of the Nile, a Genoese galley awaited the king; and, while
+every eye was strained towards the shore with an anxiety which was not
+without cause, Walter Espec and Bisset, the English knight, stood on
+deck in no enviable frame of mind.
+
+'I mislike all this delay,' said Walter, more agitated than he was wont
+to appear. 'What if, after all, these emirs should prove false to their
+covenant?'
+
+'In truth,' replied Bisset, 'it would not amaze me so much as many
+things that have come to pass of late; and both the king and his nobles
+may yet find to their cost that their hopes of freedom are dashed; for
+we all know the truth of the proverb as to there being so much between
+the cup and the lip.'
+
+At this moment they observed the galleys, on board of which Joinville
+and other captive Crusaders were, move up the Nile, and each uttered an
+exclamation of horror.
+
+'Now may Holy Katherine be our aid,' cried Walter, 'for our worst
+anticipations are like to be realised.'
+
+'The saints forbid,' replied Bisset; 'and yet I am not so hopeful as I
+might be, for I have long since learned not to holloa till out of the
+wood.'
+
+It was indeed a critical moment for Louis and his nobles; but in the
+council of the emirs the milder views ultimately prevailed, and Bisset
+and Walter Espec observed with delight that the galleys which had moved
+up the Nile were brought back towards Damietta, and that Louis,
+attended by a multitude of Saracens who watched his movements in
+silence, was approaching. Immediately the Genoese galley moved towards
+the shore, and Louis, having been joined by the Count of Anjou and the
+Lord of Joinville, stepped on board, while the other knights and nobles
+hastened to embark in the vessels that lay in wait for them. As soon as
+the king was on board, Bisset made a signal; and, as he did so, eighty
+archers with their crossbows strung appeared on deck so suddenly that
+the crowd of Saracens who had been pressing forward immediately
+dispersed in alarm, and the galley moved from the shore. Ere long, the
+Count of Poictiers, who had remained as a hostage in Damietta till the
+ransom of the Crusaders was paid, came on board; and, all being now in
+readiness for leaving the place where he had experienced so many
+misfortunes and so much misery, the saint-king made a sign to the
+mariners, the sails were given to the wind, and the fleet of the armed
+pilgrims--the wreck of a brilliant army--glided away towards Syria. But
+thousands of the survivors still remained in captivity, and, albeit
+Louis was conscientiously bent on ransoming them, their prospect was
+gloomy, and the thought of their unhappy plight clouded the saint-king's
+brow.
+
+And sad was the heart of Walter Espec, as he recalled the day when he
+landed at Damietta side by side with Guy Muschamp; and for the hundredth
+time asked himself mournfully whether his brother-in-arms had died for
+his faith, or whether a worse fate had befallen him.
+
+But why linger on the Egyptian shore amid scenes suggestive of
+reminiscences so melancholy and so dismal--reminiscences of misfortunes
+and calamities and losses not to be repaired? Let us on to the Syrian
+coast, and gladden our eyes with a sight of the white walls of Acre,
+washed by the blue waters of the Mediterranean.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+ACRE.
+
+
+AT the time when King Louis, sad but unsubdued, left Damietta and
+steered for the Syrian coast, Acre, situated on a promontory at the foot
+of Mount Carmel and washed by the blue waters of the Mediterranean, was
+a place of great strength, and renowned throughout Christendom for
+riches and splendour. For a long period previous to its destruction by
+the Mameluke Sultan--indeed, from the time of the seizure of Jerusalem
+by Saladin the Great--Acre was regarded as of higher importance than any
+city in the Christian kingdom of which Jerusalem had been the
+metropolis; and thither, when driven from other towns which they had
+called their own in the days of Godfrey and the Baldwins, most of the
+Christians carried such wealth as they could save from the grasp of
+sultans and emirs. Acre had, in fact, come to be regarded as the capital
+of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and by far the finest of the cities in
+Syria.
+
+Naturally enough, a capital so wealthy was rather tempting to men bent
+on conquest. But Acre had the advantage of being strongly fortified. On
+the land side it was surrounded by a double wall, with towers and
+battlements, and a broad and deep ditch, which prevented access to its
+ramparts, and towards the sea by a fortress at the entrance of the
+harbour, by the castle of the Templars, and by a stronghold known as
+'The King's Tower;' and on the whole, the fortifications were such that
+no foe, not even such as Bibars Bendocdar, could have calculated on
+finding the place an easy prey.
+
+Nor could the aspect of the city seem otherwise than strange and
+picturesque to such of the armed pilgrims as landed with the saint-king
+beneath its white walls, washed by the blue waters of the Mediterranean.
+The interior was chiefly occupied by the houses of traders and artisans;
+but, between the two ramparts that defended the city on the east, stood
+the castles and palaces of the King of Cyprus, the Prince of Antioch,
+the representatives of France and Germany, and other men of high rank.
+The houses were built of square stones, all rising to an equal height;
+and most of them were surrounded with a terrace; and inside they were
+luxurious and resplendent, and lighted with windows of painted glass,
+which modified the glare of the oriental sun. Even the greatest kings in
+Europe could boast of nothing to compare with the pictures and marbles
+and rich furniture which the mansions of the magnates of Acre presented
+to the eyes of the weary and desponding Crusaders.
+
+And Acre was not without busy life and striking ceremonies to give
+variety to the scene. The port was crowded with ships from Europe and
+Asia; the warehouses were stored with merchandise; the market-place was
+lively with bustle and excitement; monks, sailors, pirates, pilgrims,
+merchants, and warriors appeared in the streets; the squares and public
+places were screened from the heat by silken coverings; and there on
+certain days the magnates of the city, wearing golden crowns and
+vestments glittering with precious stones, walked to show themselves to
+the people, attended by splendid trains composed of men varying in
+language and manners, but unfortunately separated by jealousies and
+rivalries that frequently led to riot and bloodshed.
+
+Around Acre, the country was fertile and fair to the eye of the gazer.
+Outside the walls were beautiful gardens where the citizens were wont to
+repair for recreation; and farther away groves and pleasure houses, and
+scattered villages and orchards, gave variety to the landscape.
+
+Such was Acre when King Louis landed there with his queen and the
+remains of his once brilliant army; and when Walter Espec, penniless and
+pensive, but still hoping to hear tidings of his lost brother, leapt
+ashore with Bisset the English knight, and returned thanks to heaven for
+having escaped from the power of the Saracens and the perils of the sea.
+
+'Sir knight,' said Walter, who was in a desponding mood, 'we have now,
+thanks be to God reached a place of safety; and yet, beshrew me if my
+heart does not fail me; for we are in a strange land, without money,
+without horses, almost without raiment befitting our rank.'
+
+'In truth,' replied the knight, 'I own that our plight is not enviable.
+But it is not desperate. Still I am in the service of King Louis, and
+have claims which he cannot disregard; and, credit me, a king's name is
+a tower of strength. As for you, for lack of a more potent protector,
+attach yourself to me as squire, and we can struggle together against
+adverse fortune. So droop not, but take courage, my brave Englishman;
+and we will, with the aid of God and our lady, so contrive to make the
+best of our circumstances as to turn matters to our advantage.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+A RESCUE.
+
+
+WALTER Espec, albeit since leaving England he had enacted the part of
+squire to two of the foremost earls in Christendom, was too much in need
+of a protector not to accept Bisset's offer with gratitude; and the
+English knight exercised his influence with such effect that both of
+them were soon provided with horses and raiment befitting their rank,
+and made a creditable figure among the Crusaders who thronged Acre.
+Indeed Walter, having now quite recovered from his illness, attracted
+much notice, and won the reputation of being one of the handsomest
+Englishmen who had ever appeared in the Syrian city.
+
+Nevertheless, Walter was gloomy and despondent. All his enquiries after
+Osbert, his lost brother, resulted in disappointment. Guy Muschamp he
+regarded as one to be numbered with the dead; and Adeline de Brienne,
+who since their unexpected meeting at Damietta, where in days of dismay
+and danger they had conversed on equal terms, was now, as the
+grand-daughter of a King of Jerusalem, treated as a princess, and moved
+in too high a sphere to be approached by a simple squire. At first he
+was astonished to find that they were separated by so wide a gulf, and
+the Espec pride made him almost disdainful. Still, the fair demoiselle
+was present in all his visions by day and his dreams by night; and while
+consoling himself with building castles in the air when he was to reside
+in baronial state with her as his 'lady and companion,' he was under the
+necessity of contenting himself in the meantime with worshipping at a
+distance, as an Indian pays homage to his star. Ere long, however,
+fortune, which had ever been friendly to Walter, gave him an opportunity
+of acquiring a new claim on Adeline's gratitude.
+
+It was about St. John the Baptist's day, in the year 1251, and the King
+of France, having undertaken an expedition against the Saracens, was at
+Joppa, while the queen and the ladies of the Crusade remained at Acre,
+which was garrisoned by a large body of infantry under the command of
+the Constable of Jerusalem, and a small party of cavalry under Bisset,
+whose courage and prowess still, in spite of his recklessness, made him
+a favourite with the royal saint. No danger, however, appeared to
+threaten the city. The citizens were occupying themselves as usual; and
+some of the ladies had gone to walk in the gardens outside the gate,
+when suddenly a body of Saracens, who had marched from Joppa, presented
+themselves before the walls, and sent to inform the constable that if he
+did not give them fifty thousand bezants by way of tribute, they would
+destroy the gardens. The threat was alarming, but the constable replied
+that he would give them nothing; and having sent a young knight of Genoa
+to order them off, he left the city and marched to the mount, where was
+the churchyard of St. Nicholas, to defend the gardens; while bowmen
+posted between them and the town kept up a brisk discharge of arrows,
+and Bisset at the head of a band of horsemen, attended by Walter Espec,
+charged forward and skirmished with the Saracens so as to retard their
+approach. Nevertheless, the Saracens continued to advance, and the
+Christian magnates who had been walking in the squares came to the
+battlements, and with anxiety on their faces watched the feats of arms
+that were performed, and especially those wrought by the young knight of
+Genoa.
+
+Meanwhile Bisset and Walter Espec, while skirmishing with the Saracens,
+skirted their lines and made a circuit of the garden with the object of
+defending a gate by which it was feared an entrance might be effected.
+And in truth they found they had come too late to prevent the evil that
+was apprehended. Just as they approached their ears were hailed with
+loud cries of 'Help! help!' and to their horror they perceived that ten
+or twelve Saracens, well mounted, were issuing from the garden, one of
+whom was forcibly carrying off a lady without regard to her screams or
+her struggles.
+
+'In the name of wonder!' said Bisset, staring in amaze, 'what is this I
+see?'
+
+'By Holy Katherine!' exclaimed Walter wildly, 'the pagan dogs are
+carrying off a lady, and she is no other than Adeline de Brienne. To the
+rescue, sir knight! to the rescue!'
+
+'Hold,' cried Bisset, 'or you will ruin all. See you not that their
+horses are swifter than ours, and we must go cunningly to work?
+Patience, Walter, patience. We must make a circuit and intercept them,
+without their being aware that we are in pursuit.'
+
+Walter's blood boiled; his head seemed about to turn; and, in spite of
+the knight's admonition, he could hardly restrain his impetuosity as he
+saw the Saracens making off with their prize. Bisset, however, was calm,
+but, as usual, resolute; and it was not till he had posted part of his
+cavalry at the gate to prevent further intrusions that, at the head of
+half-a-dozen horsemen, he deliberately went in pursuit, and in such a
+direction that the Saracens had no suspicions that they were pursued.
+Indeed, they deemed themselves so secure that they gradually slackened
+their pace, and at length halted while two of their number rode back to
+ascertain the result of the combat that was taking place before Acre.
+
+And what was the state of affairs before the city?
+
+'As the Genoese knight was retiring with his body of infantry,' says
+Joinville, 'a Saracen suddenly moved by his courage came boldly up to
+him, and said in his Saracenic tongue that if he pleased he would tilt
+with him. The knight answered with pride that he would receive him; but,
+when he was on the point of beginning his course, he perceived on his
+left hand eight or nine Saracens, who had halted there to see the event
+of the tournament. The knight, therefore, instead of directing his
+course towards the Saracen who had offered to tilt with him, made for
+this troop, and, striking one of them with his lance, pierced his body
+through and killed him on the spot. He then retreated to our men,
+pursued by the other Saracens, one of whom gave him a heavy blow on his
+helmet with a battle-axe. In return, the knight struck the Saracen so
+severely on the head that he made his turban fly off. Another Saracen
+thought to give the knight a mortal blow with his Turkish blade, but he
+twisted his body in such wise that it missed him, and the knight, by a
+back-hand blow on the Saracen's arm, made his sword fall to the ground,
+and then made a good retreat with the infantry. These three famous
+actions did the Genoese knight perform in the presence of the constable,
+and before all the principal persons of the town who were assembled on
+the battlements.'
+
+Nevertheless, the Saracens advanced with 'fierce faces threatening war,'
+when suddenly a band of those military monks who at the cry of battle
+armed 'with faith within and steel without,' and long white mantles over
+their chain mail, spurred with lances erect from the Castle of St.
+Katherine near the gate of St. Anthony, and, interposing between the
+Saracens and the city, formed a barrier that seemed impenetrable. They
+were the knights of the Order of St. Katherine of Mount Sinai, an Order
+instituted in honour of that saint in 1063, and bearing on their snowy
+mantles the instruments by which she suffered martyrdom--the half were
+armed with spikes and traversed by a sword stained with blood.
+
+The Saracens halted in surprise at the sight of the Knights of St.
+Katherine, who were supposed at the time to be at the Castle of Kakhow;
+and, as if to provoke a conflict that they might have the satisfaction
+of conquering, one of the warrior monks, who seemed very young, at a
+signal from the marshal of the Order left his companions, and spurring
+gallantly forward, with marvellous skill unhorsed two of the Saracens
+without breaking his lance. On this, the leader of the Saracens,
+perceiving that the knight was alone, rode forward to meet him; but the
+youth charged him so fiercely that he was fain to retreat desperately
+wounded, and then returned leisurely to his comrades.
+
+After some hesitation the Saracens withdrew, and the Knights of St.
+Katherine rode calmly back to their castle.
+
+And now let us follow Bisset and Walter Espec.
+
+About the distance of a league from Acre is a place which was then known
+as Passe-Poulain, where, shaded by foliage, were many beautiful springs
+of water, with which the sugar-canes were irrigated. It was at
+Passe-Poulain that the Saracens who carried off Adeline de Brienne
+halted to await the report of their comrades, and, little thinking of
+their danger, dismounted to quench their thirst and rest their steeds;
+the Saracen who had charge of the damsel alone remaining on horseback,
+and tenaciously keeping hold of his prize.
+
+Suddenly all of them started in surprise; for one of the horses raised
+his head and neighed; and the Saracens had scarcely ceased their
+conversation and begun to listen, when, with loud shouts of 'Holy
+cross!' Bisset and his riders emerged from the foliage and dashed in
+amongst them. Resistance was vain, but the Saracens turned to bay, and a
+bloody fray, in which Bisset's axe did terrible execution, was the
+consequence. Only one attempted to escape,--he who had before him on his
+saddle the almost lifeless form of Adeline de Brienne; and after him
+Walter Espec, his sword drawn and his spur in his horse's flank, rode
+with furious shouts.
+
+[Illustration: "Be of good cheer, noble Demoiselle," said Walter, "you
+are saved."--p. 220.]
+
+It was a keen chase, both flyer and pursuer urging their steeds to the
+utmost; and under ordinary circumstances the Saracen would have escaped;
+but, hampered with his burden, and unable to exert his equestrian skill,
+he soon found that his pursuer was gaining on him rapidly, and turned to
+take the chance of an encounter. Fearful of hurting the damsel, but
+perceiving that even this must be hazarded, Walter met him in full
+course; and, exercising all his art in arms to elude a blow fiercely
+aimed at him, he dealt one on the Saracen's turban, which stretched the
+eastern warrior lifeless on the ground, and then leaping from his steed,
+quick as thought caught the form of the half-fainting maiden just as she
+was falling.
+
+'Be of good cheer, noble demoiselle,' said Walter. 'You are saved.'
+
+But Adeline de Brienne did not reply. She had fainted; and Walter,
+taking her in his strong arms, bore her tenderly to one of the springs
+of water, and was gradually bringing her back to consciousness when
+Bisset and his riders, having routed the other Saracens, came up in
+doubt as to the issue of the chase. Having succeeded in restoring the
+damsel, they placed her on Walter's steed, and, the squire leading her
+rein, conducted her to Acre.
+
+'On my faith, sir squire,' said Bisset with a smile of peculiar
+significance, as Walter unbuckled his armour, 'I marvel at your good
+fortune in regard to the noble demoiselle, and perceive that I was right
+in saying that you had been born with luck on your side. A few more such
+exploits, and you will be known to fame.'
+
+'At all events, sir knight,' replied Walter, trying not to appear too
+much elated, 'we can lay ourselves down to rest to-night with all the
+better conscience that we have this day performed an action worthy of
+minstrels' praise.'
+
+'Marry,' exclaimed Bisset seriously, 'I look to deriving from this
+adventure some benefit more substantial than a sound sleep or minstrels'
+flattery; and, to speak truth, I am somewhat weary of this saint-king
+and this purposeless Crusade, and would fain go to aid the Emperor of
+Constantinople against the Greeks and the Turks; and Baldwin de
+Courtenay could not but accord a favourable reception to warriors who
+had saved his kinswoman from the Saracens. What thinkest thou of a
+movement to Constantinople?'
+
+Walter mused, but did not answer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+MISSION TO BAGDAD.
+
+
+AFTER the assassination of Touran Chah at Pharescour, the Mamelukes were
+very much at a loss on whom to bestow the crown so long worn by the
+chiefs of this family of Saladin. In their perplexity they elevated
+Chegger Edour to the throne, and proclaimed her 'Queen of the
+Mussulmen.' But the affairs of the sultana did not go smoothly. Moslems
+were aroused at the elevation of a woman to sovereignty; and the Caliph
+of Bagdad, when asked to send the rich robe which the caliphs were in
+the habit of sending by way of investiture to the Sultans of Egypt,
+demanded with indignation if a man capable of reigning could no longer
+be found. Every day the confusion increased and the troubles multiplied.
+
+In order to make matters more pleasant, the sultana associated a
+Mameluke named Turcoman with her in the government, and even
+condescended so far as to unite herself with him in marriage. But the
+aspect of affairs became gradually more alarming, and Chegger Edour,
+yielding to the prevailing discontent, abdicated in favour of her
+husband. Turcoman, however, found that his crown was somewhat thorny;
+and at a critical period he aroused the jealousy of his wife by aspiring
+to wed an oriental princess.
+
+The sultana vowed vengeance, and hastened to execute it by causing
+Turcoman to be assassinated in his bath. One night an emir, hastily
+summoned to the palace, found Chegger Edour seated on a couch with her
+feet resting on the dead body of her husband. The emir uttered an
+exclamation of horror; but she calmly stated that she had sent for him
+to offer her hand and her crown. The emir fled in terror, and next day
+the mother of the murdered man had the sultana put to death by her
+slaves, and caused her corpse to be thrown into a ditch.
+
+A Mameluke named Koutouz was now elevated to the throne, and signalised
+himself by a victory over the Moguls or Tartars, hordes of wandering
+warriors who were now making themselves terrible both to Europe and
+Asia. Unfortunately for Koutouz, however, he at that time renewed a
+truce with the Christians of Syria, and raised the anger of his soldiers
+to such a height that his death was decreed. Accordingly, one day, when
+he had ridden out from Sallhie to hunt, a Mameluke chief suddenly
+spurred into the camp, his garments stained with blood.
+
+'I have slain the sultan,' said he.
+
+'Well, then, reign in his stead,' replied the bystanders.
+
+The Mameluke chief was Bibars Bendocdar; and, having been proclaimed as
+successor to the man he had murdered, he ascended the throne, and, as
+sultan of Egypt and Syria, began to govern with despotic power.
+
+Meanwhile, Louis was anxious to redeem from captivity the Crusaders who
+had been left in Egypt, and sent ambassadors to Cairo with the money
+that had been agreed on as their ransom. But the ambassadors could
+hardly get a hearing. At length they did obtain the release of four
+hundred of the Christian prisoners, most of whom had paid their own
+ransom; but when they pressed for the liberation of the others, they
+were plainly told that the King of France might deem himself fortunate
+that he had regained his own liberty; and that if he gave more trouble,
+he might expect the Mamelukes to besiege him at Acre. On hearing this
+Louis was much perplexed, and consulted his nobles, especially the Lord
+of Joinville.
+
+'Sire,' said Joinville, after some consideration, 'this is a serious
+question, and one not to be hastily disposed of; for I remember that
+when I was on the eve of leaving home, my cousin, the Seigneur de
+Bollaincourt, said to me, "Now you are going beyond the seas, but take
+care how you return; no knight, either rich or poor, can come back
+without shame, if he leaves behind him, in the hands of the Saracens,
+any of the common people who leave home in his company." Now,' added the
+seneschal, 'these unhappy captives were in the service of the king, as
+well as the service of God, and never can they escape from captivity if
+the king should abandon them.'
+
+On hearing this Louis was more perplexed than ever. In his anxiety,
+however, he bethought him of the caliph, and resolved, great as was the
+distance, to send ambassadors to Bagdad, where reigned Musteazem the
+Miser, the thirty-seventh of his dynasty.
+
+Now, albeit Moslems were in the habit of paying great reverence to the
+caliph as the successor of Mahomet, he exercised very little substantial
+power over the fierce warriors who fought for Islamism. Nor, indeed, had
+the history of the caliphate been such as to add to the sacredness of
+the office, or to increase the superstitious veneration with which it
+was regarded. For several centuries, the East witnessed the spectacle of
+rival caliphs, both professing to be the representatives of the prophet,
+and each claiming all the privileges attaching to the character. The
+rivals were known as the Fatimites and the Abassides. The Fatimites
+claimed the caliphate as being the heirs of Ali, Mahomet's son-in-law,
+and established their throne at Cairo. The Abassides, who were Mahomet's
+male heirs, maintained their state at Bagdad. At length, in 1170, the
+struggle for supremacy was terminated by Saladin the Great, who killed
+the Caliph of Cairo with his mace, and rendered the Caliph of Bagdad
+undisputed chief of all Moslems; and, from that time, the Abassides,
+though sunk in effeminacy, and much given to sensual indulgences,
+continued to exercise their vague privileges and their shadowy
+authority.
+
+Nevertheless, King Louis, bent on obtaining the relief of the captive
+Crusaders, despatched ambassadors to Bagdad to treat with the caliph.
+The ambassadors were a Templar, and Bisset the English knight; and with
+them, in their train, went Walter Espec, now, at length, hopeful of
+ascertaining something about his brother's fate.
+
+It was not without encountering considerable danger, and having to
+endure much fatigue, that the Templar and the English knight, under the
+guidance of Beltran the renegade, who had opportunely appeared at Acre,
+and whom Bisset had pressed into the service, traversed the country;
+and, after many days' travel, drew nigh to the capital of the caliphate,
+which had been built, in the eighth century, by Al Mansour, one of the
+Abasside caliphs, out of the ruins of Ctesiphon, and afterwards enlarged
+and adorned by Haroun Alraschid, the great caliph of his dynasty.
+
+But the journey had not been without its novelty and excitement; and
+Walter Espec was riding by the side of Beltran the renegade, towards
+whom, in spite of his prejudices as a Crusader, he felt the gratitude
+due to a man who had saved his life, when he was cut down at Mansourah.
+At present he was much interested with the account given by the renegade
+of the ostriches or camel-birds, and eager to learn how they were
+hunted.
+
+'And so, good Beltran,' said he, 'you have actually hunted this bird,
+whose height is gigantic, whose cry at a distance resembles the lion's,
+and which is to be found in parched and desolate tracts, deserted even
+by antelopes and beasts of prey.'
+
+'In truth have I,' replied Beltran.
+
+'I envy you,' said Walter; 'nothing would please me more than such an
+enterprise.'
+
+'Nevertheless,' rejoined the renegade, 'it is somewhat irksome, and
+requires much patience. But the Arabs have a proverb, that patience is
+the price that must be paid for all success, and act accordingly. They
+have horses trained for the purpose; and, when they first start the
+ostrich, they go off at an easy gallop, so as to keep the bird in view,
+without going so near as to alarm it. On discovering that it is pursued,
+the ostrich begins to move away, gently at first, but gradually
+increasing its speed, running with wings extended, as if flying, and
+keeps doubling. It generally takes two days to run one down; but the
+hunter gets the best of the race at last; and, when the ostrich finds
+itself exhausted and beaten, it buries its head in the sand; and the
+hunters, coming up, kill it with their clubs, taking care not to spoil
+the feathers.'
+
+'On my faith,' said Walter, 'I do own that such a pursuit would be
+irksome; and I hardly think that my patience would brook so much delay.'
+
+'However,' said Beltran, suddenly raising his hand and pointing forward,
+'there lies before you the city of the caliph.'
+
+Bagdad, as the reader may be aware, is situated on the Tigris, at the
+distance of two hundred miles above the junction of that river with the
+Euphrates, and the Tigris is here about six hundred feet in breadth. The
+city, which is of an oblong shape, and of which the streets are so
+narrow that not more than two horsemen can ride abreast, is surrounded
+with a high wall, flanked with towers, some of an immense size, built by
+the early caliphs; and several old buildings remain to attest its
+ancient magnificence--such as the Gate of the Talisman, a lofty
+minaret, built in 785; the tomb of Zobeida, the most beloved of the
+wives of Haroun Alraschid; and the famous Madressa College, founded in
+1233 by the Caliph Mustenatser.
+
+No traces, however, are left of the palace so long inhabited by the
+caliphs; nor does anything mark the place where, though its glory was
+about to depart, it still stood in all its pride, with the black banner
+of the Abassides floating over its portals, when the ambassadors of St.
+Louis reached Bagdad, and craved an audience of the heir of the prophet.
+It was a sight to impress even men accustomed to the wealth and
+splendour of Acre; and they thanked God for having conducted them in
+safety to a place where there was a prospect of food and rest.
+
+But Walter Espec was not thinking of such things; his whole mind was
+occupied with the question, whether or not his lost brother was a
+captive within these walls.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+THE LAST OF THE CALIPHS.
+
+
+ASTONISHED as the Caliph Musteazem might be at the audacity which
+prompted a Frankish king to send ambassadors to the heir of the prophet,
+he did not venture to decline receiving the message of a prince who so
+recently had threatened the empire of Egypt with destruction, and might
+have the power of doing so again. Besides, Musteazem was not in the most
+celestial humour with the Mamelukes, who seemed inclined to defy his and
+every other person's authority; and, on hearing that the result of all
+the disorders and revolutions had been the elevation of Bibars Bendocdar
+to the throne of Saladin, he remarked, in homely oriental phrase, 'when
+the pot boils, the scum rises to the top.' Above all, Musteazem was a
+miser, and covetous to the last degree; and when it was explained to him
+by his grand vizier, whom the Templar had already bribed with a purse of
+gold, that the King of France was liberal in money matters, and was
+ready to pay handsomely for the ransom of his captive countrymen, the
+caliph's ruling passion prevailed--his avarice got the better of his
+dignity; and, without farther words, he consented to grant an audience
+to the Franks.
+
+Meanwhile, the ambassadors and their attendants were admitted within the
+gates of the palace, and conducted into an immense garden, there to wait
+till suitable apartments were assigned them. And this garden made them
+stare with wonder; its regal magnificence was so surprising as to make
+them start and stop simultaneously, and to make Bisset exclaim--
+
+'Of a truth, the lines of this pope of the infidels have fallen in
+pleasant places. None of King Henry's palaces can boast of anything like
+this. Surely it must be the terrestrial paradise.'
+
+Now, this garden might well surprise the ambassadors. In the centre was
+a kiosk of the richest architecture, constructed entirely of marble and
+alabaster, with an arcade composed of countless marble pillars. In the
+court was a marble reservoir, surrounded with marble balustrades, which
+at each angle opened on a flight of stairs, guarded by lions and
+crocodiles sculptured of white marble; and alabaster baths with taps of
+gold. On one side of the garden was a large aviary; on the other a huge
+elephant, chained to a tree. The walks were set in mosaic of coloured
+pebbles, in all kinds of fanciful patterns; and around were groves,
+bowers, arbours, and trellis-covered paths, with streams, fountains,
+hedges of box and myrtle, flowers, cypresses, odoriferous plants, and
+trees groaning under the weight of lemons, oranges, citrons, and fruit
+in great variety. It was more like such a scene as magicians are
+supposed to conjure up, than reality; and the Crusaders gazed for a
+while with silent admiration.
+
+'On my faith,' said Bisset, at length breaking the silence, 'this is
+marvellous to behold; and yet, had I the ear of the pope of the
+infidels, I should recommend an addition which would be to the purpose.
+I mean such a statue of the goddess Minerva as once stood in the great
+square of Constantinople.'
+
+'And wherefore?'
+
+'Because Minerva is the goddess who presides over prudence and valour;
+and my eyes have deceived me if, in this city, there is not a lack of
+both. Marked you not, as we rode along, that the place is well nigh
+without defences and fighting men; and think you that, with such spoil
+in prospect, the Mamelukes, not to mention the Moguls, would hesitate
+about seizing it?'
+
+'You err,' replied the Templar: 'the caliph, as you say, is the pope of
+the infidels, and the Mamelukes hold everything he possesses as sacred.'
+
+'So did they last century,' remarked Bisset, elevating his shoulders;
+'and yet Saladin killed a caliph with his mace; and as for the Moguls,
+you know they are almost Christians, and Father Rubruquis is now in
+Tartary, completing their conversion. Beshrew me, sir Templar, if I deem
+not this caliph foolhardy to run the risk of being attacked, without
+fighting men to defend him.'
+
+As the English knight spoke, an officer of the caliph appeared to
+conduct the ambassadors to their lodgings; and they, having refreshed
+themselves with the bath, and with food, were invited by the grand
+vizier to repair to the presence of the caliph.
+
+It was not, however, without much ceremony, and some mystery, that the
+Templar and the English knight were admitted into the interior of a
+palace within whose precincts no Christian, save as a captive, had ever
+before set foot. First, they were guided through dark passages, guarded
+by armed Ethiopians, and then into open courts so richly and beautifully
+adorned, that they could not refrain from expressing their admiration.
+
+'Certes,' exclaimed Bisset, halting, 'the caliph must, of all princes,
+be the richest; and I should not much marvel to hear that he had
+discovered the philosopher's stone, which turns everything into gold,
+and of which my countryman, Roger Bacon, is said to be in search.
+Nevertheless, he does not seem to have studied the Roman poet, who tells
+us that treasure is hardly worth having, unless it is properly used.'
+
+'In truth, sir knight,' said the Templar, 'the farther we go, the
+greater is the splendour and state.'
+
+At length the ambassadors reached a magnificent chamber, where the
+caliph awaited them. At first, however, he was concealed from them by a
+curtain wrought with pearls. But the grand vizier thrice prostrated
+himself to the ground; and, as he did so, the traverse was drawn aside,
+and the caliph appeared arrayed in gorgeous robes, seated on a throne of
+gold, and surrounded by his eunuchs, who seemed both surprised and
+grieved to see Christians in that place and presence.
+
+And now the grand vizier kissed the caliph's hand, and, presenting the
+ambassadors, explained their errand. A long conversation, which was
+carried on chiefly by the Templar and the grand vizier, followed; and
+the caliph having expressed his willingness to treat, the grand vizier
+desired him, in token of his good faith, to give the ambassadors his
+hand. Musteazem, however, shook his head, to indicate that he was not
+prepared to derogate so far from his dignity. At length, after some
+persuasion, he consented to give them his hand, gloved.
+
+'That will do,' said the grand vizier.
+
+'I fear not,' replied the Templar, hesitating.
+
+'Sir,' said Bisset, addressing the caliph--for by this time the English
+knight had recovered all his reckless audacity, and felt quite as much
+at home as if he had been in the palace of Westminster, and speaking to
+the good King Henry--'truth makes no holes to hide herself in; and
+princes, if they will covenant, must deal fairly and openly. Give us,
+therefore, your hand, if you mean to treat; we will make no bargains
+with your glove.'
+
+But the caliph, still unsatisfied, stood upon his dignity, and refused
+to be persuaded. However, at the instance of the grand vizier, he
+consented to consider the subject, and promise the ambassadors another
+audience on the morrow. But who can tell what a day may bring forth? Ere
+the morrow, an event occurred which raised more important questions than
+whether he could, without degradation, give his ungloved hand to a
+Templar and an English knight.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+A RECOGNITION.
+
+
+WHEN the Templar and the English knight left the lodgings that had been
+assigned to them in the palace of Bagdad to enter the presence of the
+caliph, and were honoured with the audience described, Walter Espec,
+excited by the novelty of his situation, thinking of his lost brother,
+and bearing in mind that he had a mission to accomplish, strolled,
+heedless of rules or regulations, into the garden of the palace, and
+took his way along one of the walks, set in mosaic-coloured pebbles,
+towards the kiosk. He had not proceeded far, however, when he perceived,
+coming from the opposite direction, six youths, apparently about his own
+age. All were so fettered as to be impeded in their walking, and seemed
+to be under the charge of an aged Saracen, who, in his turban and
+flowing robes, looked a most venerable personage.
+
+'Christian captives, as I live,' muttered Walter, compassionately.
+
+Of the six youths, five paced moodily along, with their eyes bent sadly
+on the ground; the sixth neither seemed sad, nor had his eyes bent on
+the ground, but held his head aloft with the air of one whom
+circumstances could not depress; and Walter felt his heart beat and his
+brain whirl, and stopped suddenly, with an exclamation of surprise, as
+in this youth he recognised an old acquaintance.
+
+Immediately it appeared that the recognition was mutual. Indeed, the
+captive no sooner observed Walter than, disregarding the remonstrances
+of the old Saracen, and forgetful for the moment of his chains, he broke
+away from his companions, and hobbling, not without danger of a fall,
+fairly flung himself into the Boy Crusader's arms.
+
+'Oh, good Walter,' exclaimed he, 'what a surprise! The idea of your
+being here, and at a time when they are threatening to put me to death
+because I will not embrace the filthy religion of their false prophet.
+But, thanks to our lady the Virgin, I now feel that I am saved.'
+
+'In truth, brave Guy,' replied Walter, much affected, 'you are saved, if
+my efforts can save you. I have mourned for you as for one dead; and I
+swear by holy Katherine, who hath preserved me miraculously through
+manifold dangers, that if I fail I remain to share your fate, for weal
+or for woe. But how came you hither?'
+
+'By St. John of Beverley,' answered Guy, 'not with my own goodwill, as
+you may swear on the Evangelists. I was dragged out of the galley of the
+Lord of Joinville, and, with my hands chained behind my back, I was, in
+that base, unworthy plight, led captive to Cairo; and, when the
+Mamelukes killed their sultan, and the sultana, that dark-eyed woman,
+who outdoes Jezebel in wickedness, wished to propitiate the caliph, she
+sent me and five other Christian prisoners whom you see as a
+peace-offering. And so,' added Guy, looking down at his fetters, 'here
+you see me, an Anglo-Norman gentleman, of great name, in captivity and
+chains, and threatened with a cruel death; which, however, I would fain
+escape; for, tempting as may be the prospect of the crown of martyrdom,
+beshrew me, good Walter, if at my age I deem not life too sweet to part
+with willingly.'
+
+And in spite of his fetters and his perilous plight, Guy looked as
+blithe and gay as he was wont to do in the tiltyard of the castle of
+Wark.
+
+'By the Holy Cross,' said Walter, gravely, 'I cannot pretend to make
+light of the business; and yet I am not without hope; for a Templar, and
+Bisset, the stout knight whom I now serve, have come from the good King
+Louis as ambassadors to the caliph, and they will not fail you. But
+credit this, at least, that if the worst comes to the worst I will
+remain in this place, and not leave it--save in your company--tide what
+may.'
+
+Guy was about to protest against Walter sacrificing himself to
+friendship; but further conversation was prevented by the approach of
+the aged Saracen; and Guy, however reluctant, was fain to rejoin the
+companions of his captivity. Walter, however, followed their steps, and
+watched their movements, till they disappeared in a door contiguous to
+that part of the palace in which the ambassadors were lodged with their
+train. But, warned by Beltran, the renegade, that it would be prudent
+to confine himself to the quarters assigned, he returned to his
+lodgings, and there, musing over this unexpected meeting with his
+brother-in-arms, awaited Bisset's return.
+
+At length the English knight appeared. But he did not seem quite
+himself. The frank and joyous expression which characterised him had
+deserted his countenance, and he looked a changed man. Haughty sternness
+sat on his brow; his eye-brows were elevated; his eye glanced flame; his
+nostrils breathed fire; and he clenched and opened his hand excitedly,
+as if contemplating some ruthless deed, as he strode into the apartment
+and seized Walter's arm.
+
+'Sir knight,' said Walter, amazed, and almost terrified, 'what aileth
+thee?'
+
+'By the might of Mary!' exclaimed the knight hurriedly and sternly, 'I
+have seen a sight that has roused all the Norman within me, and made me
+thirst for gold and pant for conquest.'
+
+'And what of the caliph?' asked Walter.
+
+'Tush,' answered the knight, contemptuously. 'This caliph is nobody,
+save as master of this palace and city, and the treasure they contain.
+By my father's soul! the caitiff wretch is rolling in wealth. May the
+saints grant me patience to think of it calmly! The very throne of gold
+on which he sits would, if coined into money, furnish forth an army,
+capable, under a skilful and daring leader, of conquering kingdoms. Oh,
+for five hundred brave men in mail, and the cross on their shoulders! By
+the bones of Becket, I should, ere morning, be lord of all;' and,
+torturing himself with the idea of such a prize escaping his grasp,
+Bisset sunk into silence, and indulged in reflection.
+
+'Sir knight,' said Walter, after a long pause, 'I have made a strange
+discovery. Guy Muschamp, the English squire, my brother-in-arms, is a
+captive in this palace, and in danger of death, because he will not
+abandon his faith as a Christian. I have seen him; I have spoken with
+him; I implore you to obtain his release; for,' added Walter, with tears
+in his eyes, 'I must tell you frankly, that otherwise I must remain to
+share his fate.'
+
+'Fear not, boy,' said Bisset, touched with the squire's emotion; 'I will
+see to his being ransomed. In truth, I hardly think there will be much
+difficulty; for this caliph is a miser--a mean, detestable miser--and
+would sell anything for bezants--even his soul, if he had not already
+pawned it to Satan, through his brokers Mahound and Termagaunt.' And,
+too much occupied with his dream of seizing Bagdad, and carving out a
+kingdom with his sword, the knight relapsed into silence, and scarcely
+moved till evening fell.
+
+It was just after sunset, and Bisset was rapt in thought, and Walter
+Espec perplexing his soul about Guy Muschamp, when suddenly they were
+aroused by the voice of the Muezzin, who, according to the custom of the
+Saracens, standing on the minaret of a mosque hard by, solemnly
+proclaimed three times--'There is but one God, and Mahomet is his
+prophet.'
+
+Walter sprang up, quivering with pious horror, and hastily crossed
+himself.
+
+'Sir knight,' said he, earnestly, 'I feel that this place is unholy.'
+
+'Mayhap, boy,' replied the knight. 'But patter your prayers, and no evil
+will come nigh you. For the rest, Bagdad would be holy enough were the
+walls and towers manned by Christian warriors, and the mosques converted
+into churches, and I king, with the caliph's treasures to go forth
+against the Moslem, conquering and to conquer. Oh, credit me, it is a
+glorious vision. But it cannot be realised. Marry, I spoke too truly
+when I said that I was born without luck on my side.'
+
+Night fell; the moon rose; and the Crusaders, after for a time looking
+out upon innumerable stars, glorious in the blue depths of an Asian sky,
+saw to the comfort and security of their attendants, and then stretched
+themselves to rest--Walter laying himself down at the door of the
+chamber which Bisset occupied. In spite of the knight's agitation and
+the squire's anxiety, both soon sank into sleep. But their repose was
+destined to be broken. About daybreak they were awakened by cries and
+tumult, that filled the palace of the caliph. Gradually, the noise
+increased, and was blended with strange cries, as of warriors storming
+the city. Bisset and Walter listened with breathless attention, as yell
+after yell, and whoop after whoop, intimated that some terrible
+catastrophe had occurred; and as they hearkened, the Templar, who had
+occupied an adjoining apartment, rushed in, calm, but pale as a ghost.
+
+'Gentlemen,' said he, 'we are dead men.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+WOE TO THE CALIPH.
+
+
+I HAVE mentioned that, in the middle of the thirteenth century, the
+Moguls, or Tartars, were the terror of Asia and Europe. In considering
+their energy and cruelty as warriors, is it wonderful that their
+movements should have been regarded with lively alarm? From the Yellow
+River to the banks of the Danube they had marched, conquering and
+slaughtering; marking their way with devastation, and making the two
+continents resound with the tumult of war and the crash of empires.
+
+Originally a number of hordes, inhabiting the waste regions that lie
+between ancient Emaues, Siberia, and China, and the sea of Kamschatka,
+the Tartars formed several nations of hunters and shepherds, living
+under tents, with their families subsisting on the produce of the chase
+and the flesh of their flocks, and acknowledging one God, the sovereign
+of heaven, but reserving their worship for the genii, who, as they
+believed, followed their steps, and watched over the safety of their
+families. They moved from place to place, despising agriculture, and not
+deigning to build. Even as late as the twelfth century, they had only
+one city--Karrakoroum--situated on the Orgon, in the country
+subsequently the residence of the Grand Lama. In short, they looked upon
+all the world as their own, and, disliking all neighbours and rivals,
+were frequently engaged in war, which they deemed the sole occupation
+worthy of their attention.
+
+As warriors, the Tartars early proved themselves most formidable. Their
+valour and discipline were remarkable; and they had neither baggage nor
+provisions to encumber their marches. While the skins of sheep or bears
+served them for clothing, they made a little hardened milk, diluted with
+water, suffice them for food. On horseback, they were as much at home as
+a sea king on the deck of his war-ship, and their seat was so easy and
+firm, that they were in the habit of eating, and even sleeping, without
+taking the trouble to dismount. They fought with lance and bow, reared
+machines of terrible power; and all the stratagems of war were familiar
+to them. They excelled in the art of fighting while flying; and, with
+them, retreat was often the signal for victory.
+
+It was in the twelfth century that Gheniskhan was elected by the Tartars
+as their ruler, and that, under his leadership, they struck terror into
+the surrounding nations. Under Gheniskhan, the Tartars made themselves
+masters of China, and the empire of Karismia; and, during the reign of
+his son Octai, they added Turkistan and India and Persia to their
+conquests. Moreover, at that time, they turned their eyes westward; and,
+having crossed the Volga, they overran Russia, ravaged Poland,
+desolated Hungary, devastated the frontiers of Germany, and caused such
+dread, that even England was agitated with the danger that threatened
+all Christendom.
+
+About the year 1245, however, Mango, the grandson of Gheniskhan,
+professed a desire to embrace Christianity; and Oulagon, the brother of
+Mango, espoused a Christian woman; and, when King Louis was wintering in
+Cyprus, ambassadors from Tartary reached the island, with messages to
+the effect that the great khan had been baptised, and that he would
+readily aid the Crusaders in rescuing Jerusalem from the Moslems. The
+saint-king received the ambassadors with joy, entertained them
+hospitably, conducted them to church, and, when they departed, sent two
+monks with magnificent presents to the great khan, and exhortations to
+hold fast the profession of his faith without wavering. Even when the
+Tartars menaced Bagdad, an ambassador, despatched by King Louis from
+Acre, was at the court of the great khan, with the object of converting
+the Tartars; and it appears clear that, however little they might care
+for either faith, the Tartars, in the struggle of Christian and Moslem
+in the East, were ever ready to take the side of the Christian against
+the Moslem.
+
+Such being the state of affairs, Mango sent his brother with an army to
+besiege Bagdad; and Oulagon, raising his banner, marched towards the
+city of the caliph. Now it happened that Musteazem, being at once under
+the influence of the most egregious vanity and of the most sordid
+avarice, neither believed in his danger, nor had the heart to expend
+money to provide the means of defence, but devoted to the hoarding of
+the jewels, gold, and treasures with which his palace abounded, the
+whole time that should have been employed in mustering armies and
+preparing for war.
+
+However, when the caliph learned that Oulagon was approaching to attack
+Bagdad, he partially awoke from his dream, and sent offers to treat.
+Oulagon, who either suspected, or pretended to suspect, a snare,
+thereupon proposed that a marriage should take place between the
+children of the caliph and the great khan, as the best way of preserving
+peace; and Musteazem expressed his entire satisfaction with the
+proposal.
+
+The Tartar then requested the caliph to send sixty of his chief men to
+treat of the marriage; and, when this was complied with, he demanded
+sixty more, that he might have full security for the fulfilment of the
+treaty. Not doubting Oulagon's good faith, Musteazem did as he was asked
+to do; and the royal Mogul smiled grimly.
+
+'Now,' said Oulagon to his Tartars, 'seeing that we have in our hands
+six score of the caliph's chief counsellors and most wealthy subjects, I
+cannot doubt that the remainder are very common sort of people, and not
+likely to offer much resistance. My plans have been laid with such
+secrecy and caution, that nothing is suspected. I have only to appear
+before Bagdad, and take possession.'
+
+And no time was wasted. In fact, Oulagon had no motive for sparing the
+seat of the caliphate; and no sooner did he get the six score of
+Musteazem's chief men into his hands, than he ordered them to be
+beheaded, and prepared for an attack. Nor, as he rightly anticipated,
+was there much danger of an obstinate resistance. In fact, not only was
+the city undefended by any regular force: it was divided against itself.
+The citizens were formed into various sects, all at daggers drawn, and
+much more earnest in their conflicts with each other than in resolution
+to repulse assailants.
+
+It was early morning when the inhabitants of Bagdad were aroused from
+their slumbers with loud shouts of alarm, and cries that the Tartars
+were upon them. Resistance was vain; and equally vain was any hope of
+mercy. Having set up his machines of war, Oulagon gave the word of
+command, and the Tartars rushed to the assault with all the ferocity of
+their nature. Entering the city sword in hand, Oulagon gave it up to the
+fury of his soldiers. Carnage, and all the horrors of war, followed; the
+gutters ran with blood; and the caliph who, a few hours earlier, deemed
+his person so sacred that he would not even consent to touch the hand of
+a Frank, experienced such rough treatment that he shrunk and shuddered
+and sickened.
+
+Oulagon, however, was in no mood to respect the person of the head of
+the Moslem religion. No allegiance did the grim Tartar owe to the heir
+of Mahomet. Having seized Musteazem in his palace, Oulagon, after
+severely reproaching him with meditating treachery, caused him to be
+confined in an iron cage; and, after keeping him in durance for some
+time, came to add insult to injury.
+
+But, ere relating what passed, it is necessary to return to the
+Christian ambassadors.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+IN THE LION'S MOUTH.
+
+
+IT must be admitted that the position of the ambassadors was not
+enviable; and, when the Templar hastily stated that the Tartars were
+storming Bagdad, even Bisset's bold countenance fell, and his tongue
+faltered.
+
+'I will not hide,' said he, recovering himself, 'that our doom looks
+dark; our heads are in the lion's mouth. But, as Christian warriors, we
+must trust in God and the saints; and, as brave men, we must do what we
+can to extricate ourselves.'
+
+Without wasting more time in words, Bisset proceeded to buckle on his
+chain mail, while Walter Espec also arrayed himself; and, while the
+knight armed himself with his ponderous battle-axe, the squire
+unsheathed his falchion; and both, resuming their wonted air of
+dauntless courage, prepared, in case of the worst, to sell their lives
+dearly. Meanwhile, the attendants of the ambassadors filled the chamber,
+with alarm on their faces; and thither also Guy Muschamp and his fellow
+captives found their way, closely followed by the aged Saracen, who
+bowed himself before Bisset and exclaimed--
+
+'In the name of God, save me!'
+
+'Save you, Saracen!' said Bisset. 'On my faith, I cannot but think that
+the man will do well this day who saves himself.'
+
+'But,' asked the Saracen, 'do you not believe in a God, born of a woman,
+who was crucified for the salvation of the human race, and rose again
+the third day?'
+
+'Assuredly, Saracen,' replied Bisset, regarding his questioner with a
+curious eye: 'as certainly as I believe that I am now in the palace of
+the caliph, and in greater danger than I pretend to relish.'
+
+'In that case,' said the Saracen, 'place your hopes in your God; for, if
+he was able to recall himself to life, he will not want the power to
+deliver you from the evils that now threaten you.'
+
+'On my faith,' replied Bisset, a little surprised, 'I must say that you
+speak the words of wisdom were you twenty times an infidel; and, for my
+own part, I would fain hope that God and the saints, especially good St.
+George, will befriend us in our jeopardy.'
+
+Meanwhile the noise and tumult caused by the Tartars, as they forced
+their way into Bagdad, drew nearer, and shouts and shrieks were heard,
+which left no doubt that they had entered the palace. Bisset thereupon,
+grasping his battle-axe, took his post on one side of the door: the
+Templar, sword in hand, stationed himself on the other. Neither spoke,
+and such was the silence of those who were likely to share their fate,
+that a pin might have been heard to drop. But though the carnage was
+going on around them, they were left undisturbed; and they passed a
+full hour in breathless suspense.
+
+At length a loud shout intimated that the Tartars had penetrated to the
+garden; and Bisset, wishing to tiring matters to a crisis, stepped
+forward so as to make himself visible, and then retreated to his post.
+Immediately twenty of the fierce Mogul warriors rushed towards the
+place, and with loud shouts prepared for fresh carnage. But, when they
+perceived the Templar and the English knight guarding the door with the
+air of men who could not fail to prove terrible antagonists, they
+hesitated, paused, and seemed to think that it was necessary to exercise
+caution.
+
+Now, this delay was not without an important result. In the leader of
+the Tartars, Bisset to his astonishment saw a man whom he had met under
+other circumstances, and instantly turned his discovery to account.
+
+'Hold, hold, brave warrior!' cried he, in a conciliating tone. 'With us
+you have no quarrel. We are ambassadors who were sent hither by the King
+of France to obtain the release of some captives, and in you I recognise
+one of the barons of Tartary who came to the court of the island of
+Cyprus, and to whom I myself, as a knight in the Christian king's
+service, rendered what service I could. With us, therefore, I repeat,
+you have no quarrel. Wherefore should we dye our weapons in each other's
+blood?'
+
+The Tartar remained motionless, and eyed the knight keenly, and not
+without suspicion.
+
+'It may be as you say,' replied he after some consideration; 'and yet I
+know not how I am to credit your words. Knowest thou that the Moslems
+have a proverb which says, "Hearken to a Frank, and hear a fable?"'
+
+'You do me wrong by your suspicions,' exclaimed Bisset. 'On my honour as
+a Christian knight, I tell you naught but the truth.'
+
+'Give me a token by which I may prove the truth of what you say,'
+suggested the Tartar. And Bisset forthwith related several incidents
+that had occurred during the residence of the Tartars at Nicosia.
+
+'Enough,' said the Tartar. 'I now give credit to the words you have
+spoken; therefore let there be peace between thee and me, and between
+thy people and my people. For the present I leave to take measures for
+your security; and I will conduct you to the presence of Oulagon the
+brave, brother of the great khan, and grandson of him who received the
+title of "King of Kings" from a prophet who came down from heaven on a
+white horse.'
+
+The ambassadors now breathed freely; and the attendants looked upon
+Bisset as almost more than mortal; and the knight congratulated himself
+on the prospect of getting his head out of the lion's den. It was not,
+however, till the morrow that the Templar and the English knight were
+led to the presence of Oulagon; a semi-savage warrior, with those Tartar
+features which naturally looked harsh to the eyes of men accustomed to
+the features of Norman and Saxon, and short of stature, but thickset,
+compact of body, and of prodigious strength. Bisset was at first by no
+means satisfied with Oulagon's look, but the Tartar manifested every
+disposition to treat the ambassadors as friends.
+
+'The wrath of the King of Kings,' said he, 'is like the fire of a
+conflagration, which the slightest wind may light up, but which nothing
+but blood can quench. But between the King of Kings and the King of
+France there is peace and amity and goodwill. Wherefore, friend, say
+what you desire of me, and your will shall be granted.'
+
+'Simply,' replied Bisset, 'permission to depart with my comrade and our
+train, and six Christian captives who have thrown themselves on our
+protection.'
+
+'Be it as you will, Frank,' said Oulagon. 'But not till you have had
+fitting gifts; for this is the storehouse of the treasure of the world,
+and I would fain send gifts to the King of France; nor would I like his
+ambassadors to depart empty-handed.'
+
+The knight and the Templar bowed.
+
+'But,' said Oulagon with a cunning leer, 'ere departing you must visit
+the caliph in my company, that you may relate to the King of the Franks
+how the King of Kings punishes men who are the enemies of both.'
+
+And without delay the Tartar led the ambassadors to the prison where he
+had on the previous day shut up Musteazem in an iron cage, and where he
+had since kept his captive without food.
+
+'Caliph,' asked Oulagon approaching, 'dost thou hunger?'
+
+'Yes,' answered Musteazem indignantly. 'I do hunger, and not without
+cause.'
+
+[Illustration: "Ah, Caliph," said Oulagon with bitter scorn, "thou mayst
+now see thy great fault; for if thou hadst given part of thy treasures,
+which thou lovest so dearly, thou mightest have held out against
+me."--p. 251.]
+
+'Then,' said Oulagon, 'thou shalt have that to eat which above all
+things thy heart loveth.' And the Tartar ordered a large golden platter,
+filled with jewels and precious stones, to be brought and set before the
+captive.
+
+'Knowest thou these treasures, caliph?' asked he with an affectation of
+carelessness.
+
+'Yes,' answered Musteazem sharply, 'I know them, for they are mine own.'
+
+'And dost thou dearly love thy treasures?' asked Oulagon.
+
+'Yes,' replied Musteazem, simply and frankly.
+
+'Well, then,' said Oulagon, 'since thou lovest thy treasures so well,
+take of these jewels as many as thou wilt, and appease thy hunger.'
+
+'They are not food to eat,' replied Musteazem, shaking his head with an
+air of great dejection.
+
+'Ah, caliph,' said Oulagon with bitter scorn, 'thou mayest now see thy
+great fault; for if thou hadst given part of thy treasures, which thou
+lovest so dearly, to subsidise soldiers for thy defence, thou mightest
+have held out against me. But that which thou didst prize most highly
+has failed thee in the hour of need.'
+
+And Oulagon withdrew with the Templar and the English knight; and soon
+after this interview Musteazem drew his last breath. But whether he
+perished of hunger, or of indignant despair, or by the violence of his
+conquerors, is not clearly ascertained. In the midst of the tumult and
+disorder which followed the sack of Bagdad, and the extinction of the
+caliphate, chroniclers neglected to record under what circumstances,
+and how, died the last of the caliphs.
+
+But, however that may have been, the ambassadors next morning took their
+departure from Bagdad.
+
+'Now God and all the saints be praised!' exclaimed Bisset: 'our heads
+are out of the lion's mouth.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+END OF THE ARMED PILGRIMAGE.
+
+
+THE Templar and the English knight after a variety of adventures reached
+Acre, having on their way fallen in with Father Yves, whom King Louis
+had sent on a mission to 'the Old Man of the Mountains'--that remarkable
+personage to whose behests kings bowed, and at whose name princes
+trembled--and a knight of the noble House of Coucy, who had come from
+Constantinople, and whose accounts of the state of the Latin empire of
+the East much increased Bisset's desire to go and offer his sword to the
+Emperor Baldwin de Courtenay, then struggling desperately to maintain
+his throne against Greeks and Turks.
+
+On reaching Acre, however, the ambassadors found that King Louis and the
+court were at Sajecte, and without delay repaired thither to present the
+gifts sent by Oulagon, and inform him of the unexpected event which had
+frustrated the object of their mission. Louis was deeply grieved at the
+failure of his attempt to open the prison doors of the unfortunate
+captives, and with tears bewailed their unhappy fate.
+
+But soon after this, the saint-king found that the case was not
+desperate. The Sultan of Damascus went to war with the Mamelukes, and
+both parties craved the alliance of the French monarch. Louis,
+therefore, sent John de Valence to Cairo once more to demand the release
+of the captives, and this time he obtained something like satisfaction.
+Two hundred knights were immediately set at liberty, and allowed to
+depart for Acre, which they reached in safety.
+
+At length, however, news came to King Louis, while he was at Sajecte,
+which compelled him to turn his thoughts towards France, where he was
+much wanted, and to deliberate on the expediency of returning to his own
+kingdom.
+
+When it was known in France that the king was a prisoner in the hands of
+the Saracens, the utmost excitement prevailed throughout the land; and
+suddenly among the pastoral population appeared a man bearing a letter,
+to which he pretended to attach a mysterious importance.
+
+'This,' said he, solemnly, 'I have received from the mother of God; and
+it commands me to assemble all the Christian shepherds and herdsmen, and
+to march at their head to deliver the king. Follow me then, and fear
+not, for the battle is not to the strong, but reserved for the weak and
+humble.'
+
+It appears that this man's eloquence, and the mystery which he affected,
+fascinated the shepherds and herdsmen of France, and they flocked to him
+in multitudes; and his followers, having been joined by outlaws and
+exiles, ere long formed a formidable force, and caused much alarm.
+
+At first, indeed, the queen-mother, Blanche of Castille, naturally
+anxious for her son's release, favoured the enterprise. But the priests,
+aware it might be that the leaders of the movement had ulterior objects
+in view, set their faces decidedly against it, and the leaders of the
+shepherds retaliated by stirring up the populace against the priests,
+and by the massacre of several ecclesiastics. On hearing this, Queen
+Blanche changed her policy, took part against the shepherds, caused
+their leader to be beheaded, and their army to be dispersed. Moreover,
+the populace, who had at first held the shepherds in high honour, began
+to suspect them of imposture, and slaughtered them without mercy; and
+all was still doubt and dismay and confusion, when messengers brought to
+Sajecte news that Queen Blanche had breathed her last.
+
+Louis was profoundly affected when he heard of his mother's death, and
+mourned sadly for two or three days, without speaking with any one.
+However, at the end of that time, he was visited by the papal legate,
+and sent for the Lord of Joinville; and Joinville, who was on the point
+of going into a meadow to amuse himself with martial exercises, entered
+into conversation.
+
+'Ah, seneschal,' began the king, mournfully, 'I have lost my mother.'
+
+'Well, sire,' said Joinville, calmly, 'I am not surprised at such an
+event, seeing that she was no longer young, and that to all of us death
+must come some time; but, sire, I am surprised that so great a prince
+should grieve so outrageously; for you know that the wise man says,
+"Whatever grief the valiant man may suffer in his mind, he ought not to
+show it on his countenance; for he that does so causes pain to his
+friends and pleasure to his enemies."'
+
+'However, seneschal,' said the legate, 'the king is much satisfied with
+the good and agreeable services you have rendered him, and earnestly
+wishes for your honour and advancement. He commands me to tell you, as
+he knows it will give you pleasure at heart, that he intends to embark
+for France on this side of Easter.'
+
+'In truth, it does give me pleasure,' said Joinville. 'And I pray that
+the Lord may ever induce the king to act in accordance with his will.'
+
+And soon after Louis, with his queen and his knights and nobles,
+returned to Acre, and made preparations for his departure.
+
+It happened that when John de Valence and his associates went to Cairo,
+to treat for the release of the French captives, and also for the
+remains of some of the French warriors who fell at Mansourah, the
+Saracens suddenly reminded him of the Earl of Salisbury.
+
+'I wonder,' said an emir, 'that you Christians, who venerate the ashes
+of the dead, make no inquiry for the bones of that most illustrious and
+noble-born William, to whom you give the name of Longsword; whereas we,
+seeing that he was slain in battle and on account of his illustrious
+qualities, have treated his remains with all respect.'
+
+On hearing this, the ambassadors were somewhat confused.
+
+'How,' asked they, one of another, 'can we disparage this man, because
+he was an Englishman, when even the Saracens accord the honour due to
+his nobility of soul?'
+
+Accordingly, the Crusaders requested that Salisbury's bones might be
+given to them; they carried them to Acre, where they were laid, with
+much respect, in the church of the Holy Cross.
+
+It was on the afternoon of the day when the burial took place that
+Bisset, who had been maturing his project of repairing to
+Constantinople, entered his lodgings, and took Walter Espec by one hand
+and Guy Muschamp by the other.
+
+'Boys,' said he, 'this crusade, as I foresaw, has resulted in naught
+save disaster, and, as fighting men, it behoves us to consider whither
+we are now to carry our swords. For my part, I am resolved to turn the
+gifts of the Tartar warrior into money, and make without delay for
+Constantinople, and fight for the Latin Emperor. Are you willing to
+accompany me and share my fortunes, or must we part?'
+
+'In truth, sir knight,' replied Walter, frankly, 'I sigh for the green
+fields and the oak forests of my native land; and, therefore, I would
+fain embark with the army of King Louis, and return to Europe.'
+
+'As you will, sir squire,' said Bisset, a little mortified: 'albeit, I
+cannot but deem that you are not moved so much by the desire to visit
+your native land, as to be near to a certain noble demoiselle, on whose
+gratitude you have some claims. Well, on my life, I blame you not; for
+at your age I might have felt as you do, and, mayhap, lived to repent my
+delusion. But, be it known to you that, as matters stand, the Sultan of
+Damascus has intimated that he will permit any of the pilgrims to visit
+Jerusalem. Now, have you the courage--for courage will be needed--to
+enter the Holy City, held as it is by fierce Saracens, and kneel at the
+Holy Sepulchre?'
+
+'By Holy Katherine, sir knight!' exclaimed Walter, bluntly, 'you must
+hold me excused. Happy, indeed, should I deem myself in the privilege of
+kneeling at the Holy Sepulchre, even at the cost of much labour and
+fatigue. But these are not the days of Godfrey and the Baldwins; and I
+care not to trust to the tender mercies of Bibars Bendocdar and his
+Mameluke myrmidons. I will not needlessly put my head again into the
+lion's mouth.'
+
+'And what say you on the point, my gay and puissant warrior?' asked
+Bisset, turning to Guy Muschamp.
+
+'Oh,' answered Guy, merrily, 'as says the good Walter, so say I, neither
+to Jerusalem nor to Constantinople do I go. I have a father and mother
+and kindred at home, whose faces I long to see. Wherefore, I go to
+England, and to no other place.'
+
+Walter Espec sighed, as he was in the habit of doing, at the mention of
+kindred, and gave himself up to painful reminiscences.
+
+'Sir knight,' said he, addressing Bisset, after a long silence, 'deem
+you that my lost brother can be in the hands of him who is known as the
+Old Man of the Mountains?'
+
+'What!' exclaimed Bisset, 'rearing as an assassin? The saints
+forefend!'
+
+'It is strange,' said Walter, after a pause, 'that I have begun to hope
+better things; for, as I lay asleep last night, methought I saw him in
+the flesh, and that he looked high and brave, and that he told me how
+the blessed Katherine had preserved him from evil.'
+
+'May your dream be realised ere we depart from this holy land, good
+Walter!' said Guy, with sympathy.
+
+'Amen,' added Bisset, earnestly. 'More unlikely things have come to
+pass.'
+
+And, in truth, such a result was not altogether impossible; for at that
+moment Walter Espec and Osbert Espec were both within the walls of Acre.
+But Walter was preparing to embark for Europe; and Osbert was on the eve
+of setting out for the castle of Kakhow, not to return for many days.
+But the stars had decreed that they were to meet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI.
+
+A SUDDEN DISCOVERY.
+
+
+IT was evening, and shadows were closing over Acre. But the scene thus
+presented was fair to behold. The sky was richly coloured, the setting
+sun painted the landscape in brilliant hues, the wind sighed among the
+palms and lofty sycamores, and the waves of the Mediterranean murmured
+against the white walls and on the Syrian shore.
+
+Walter Espec sat in the lodgings of Bisset, hard by the palace occupied
+by the King of France, and he was alone. Bisset had been summoned to
+attend the king; Guy Muschamp had gone to visit his kinsman, the Lord of
+Joinville; and Walter, left with his own thoughts, was reclining on a
+couch, and resting his head against a window, with his eyes fixed on the
+citizens who passed before him, on their way to breathe the air in the
+gardens outside the walls, when he was aroused by the tramp of cavalry,
+and the approach of a body of warriors, whose white mantles over their
+armour, and whole appearance, indicated that they were military monks.
+Walter's curiosity was aroused, and he shouted to make inquiries of a
+portly citizen who was passing at the moment, and who, as Walter knew,
+as a confirmed gossip.
+
+'Good citizen,' said he, 'these are warrior monks, and yet they neither
+wear the habit of the Templars nor the Hospitallers. Canst tell me what
+knights they be who come along so proudly?'
+
+'In faith can I, sir squire,' answered the citizen; 'and blithely will I
+do so. These be the knights of St. Katherine, of Mount Sinai; and they
+are brave men in hours of danger; albeit, like other Orders, overmuch
+given to amassing wealth, and more intent on keeping it than keeping the
+vows of their Order.'
+
+'Thanks, good citizen,' said Walter, laughing heartily, as Crusaders
+generally did when reminded of the faults of the military monks. 'And,
+to requite your courtesy, I admonish you to speak in a whisper when you
+say aught in dispraise of Templars or Hospitallers; for you must be a
+bolder man than I pretend to be, if you fear not to provoke their
+enmity.'
+
+'Gramercy for your warning, young squire,' replied the citizen, as,
+apparently much amused, and chuckling to himself, he proceeded on his
+way; while Walter, standing up, watched the warrior monks as they passed
+the window.
+
+Now, Walter Espec had of course heard of the monks of St. Katherine, and
+especially what a stern front they had presented on the day when the
+Saracens threatened Acre, and carried off Adeline de Brienne. Moreover,
+he was naturally somewhat interested in an Order instituted in honour of
+the tutelar saint of his House: but he had never before seen them; and
+he looked out with no inconsiderable curiosity as, mounted on choice
+steeds, they came on and swept along, with bronzed visages, athletic
+forms, muscular limbs, and the air of men who believed implicitly in
+their own superiority over their compeers, and desired nothing so much
+as foes to conquer.
+
+[Illustration: Suddenly Walter started in amazement, and uttered a cry;
+then remained for a moment silent, and quivered with agitation; then
+seized his cap, and, rushing from the house, hastened, with excitement
+on his countenance and wildness in his manner, after the warrior
+monk.--p. 262.]
+
+But suddenly Walter started in amazement, and uttered a cry; then
+remained for a moment silent, and quivered with agitation; then seized
+his cap, and, rushing from the house, hastened, with excitement on his
+countenance and wildness in his manner, after the warrior monks, not
+losing sight of them till they disappeared within the gates of the
+castle of St. Katherine, which they possessed in Acre, near the gate of
+St. Anthony. Into this building he demanded to be admitted.
+
+Two hours later, Walter Espec returned to his lodgings, and found Guy
+Muschamp awaiting his return, and impatient to tell him that everything
+was arranged for embarking for France in the king's ship in company with
+the Lord of Joinville. But observing that his friend's countenance wore
+a look of extraordinary elation, he, for the time being, quite forgot
+the communication he had intended to make, and eyed him with an
+expression of keen curiosity.
+
+'Good Walter,' said he, quickly, and with interest, 'you appear so
+excited that I cannot but presume that something wonderful has befallen
+you since we parted?'
+
+'In truth, brave Guy, you guess aright,' replied Walter, taking his
+friend's hand. 'Rejoice with me, my brother-in-arms, for I have found
+him who was lost.'
+
+'Found your brother!--found Osbert Espec!' exclaimed Guy, in surprise.
+
+'It is true as that I am a living man,' replied Walter, joyfully. 'When
+he reached Marseilles with the companions of his pilgrimage, instead,
+like them, of going back to die of hunger in the forests, or listening,
+like them, to the temptations of the two rascal merchants by whom they
+were ensnared, he embarked on board the "Christopher," which was on the
+point of sailing for Acre; and the skipper, having brought him ashore,
+carried him to the house of a Northern knight, who had long been
+fighting for the Cross. And this noble warrior, being about to return to
+England, placed him under the protection of the Grand Master of the
+Order of St. Katherine; and, when he was of a fitting age, the grand
+master, to whom the name of Espec was honourably known, made him take
+the vows of the Order. And now, thanks to God and Holy Katherine, he is
+in safety and honour, and rides bravely as the bravest among his
+brethren, with his white mantle over his chain mail.'
+
+'By St. John of Beverley!' exclaimed Guy, in surprise, 'I much rejoice
+to hear that he was so graciously protected by the saints in the hour of
+danger, and that his fortune has been such as is worthy of a Norman
+gentleman.'
+
+'And what is more,' said Walter, proudly, 'it was he who unhorsed the
+two Saracens with his lance without breaking it, and who wounded their
+leader on that day when they came hither to demand tribute.'
+
+'A most worthy exploit, as it has been related to me,' replied Guy; 'and
+one that does credit to his strength and courage. But tell me, good
+Walter, how rejoiced he was to see you after so long a separation, and
+all your suffering on his account.'
+
+A shade of disappointment appeared on Walter Espec's handsome
+countenance. After a pause, however, he replied--
+
+'In faith, brave Guy, to be frank with you, I must own that my brother,
+for whom I had so long mourned, manifested less enthusiasm than I
+expected; and when I talked to him of our castellated house of
+Heckspeth, on the Wansbeck, and of the tombs of our ancestors in the
+Abbey of Newminster, and even of my great namesake, the glory of our
+line, I perceived right well that he cared for none of these things. His
+heart and soul are in his Order, its renown and influence; and all his
+hopes are for the restoration of its glory. And nothing would serve him
+but attempting to induce me to take the vows of poverty and celibacy and
+obedience. But I answered readily, that such vows were not to my
+liking--that I despise not riches; that I rather love noble demoiselles;
+and that I am by nature more inclined to command than to obey; in short,
+that I will neither be a warrior monk nor a monk in minster. And so the
+great bell of the castle of St. Katherine tolled, and we parted; and at
+daybreak he mounts to ride to the castle of Kakhow, which the knights of
+his Order hold.
+
+'And now, good Walter,' said Guy, 'having fulfilled your mission, for
+such you deemed it, you will return to England with a light heart.'
+
+But Walter Espec only sighed, as his thoughts reverted to Adeline de
+Brienne and to the great gulf that seemed to interpose between them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII.
+
+HOMEWARD BOUND.
+
+
+ON the vigil of St. Mark, after Easter, the Crusaders having mustered at
+Acre, flocked on board their ships and prepared to set sail for Europe.
+On that day also the King of France, leaving Geoffrey de Segrines with a
+hundred knights to aid in the defence of what remained of the once grand
+kingdom of Godfrey and the Baldwins, left the palace which he had
+occupied, and, attended by the papal legate, the Patriarch of Jerusalem,
+and the Christian nobles and knights of Palestine, walked on foot to the
+port, amid an immense crowd assembled to witness his departure, who all,
+while lamenting his departure, applauded him as the Father of the
+Christians, and implored Heaven to shower blessings on his head.
+
+'This is the day of St. Mark, seneschal,' said Louis to Joinville, as
+they went on board; 'and on St. Mark's-day was I born at Poissy.'
+
+'Sire,' replied Joinville, 'you may well say that you have been born
+again on St. Mark's-day; for you are escaping from a pestilent land,
+where you have remained so long.'
+
+Bisset, the English knight, resolute to his purpose, had taken farewell
+of his companions, and embarked for Constantinople, to wield his
+ponderous battle-axe in the cause of Baldwin de Courtenay, whose empire
+was falling to ruins. But Walter Espec and Guy Muschamp were on board
+the king's vessel, through the influence of the Lord of Joinville; and
+there also was Beltran the renegade, who, touched with remorse, had
+abandoned his wealth in Egypt, and was doing penance by labouring as a
+seaman.
+
+At length the fleet weighed anchor and set sail, with every prospect of
+a prosperous voyage. But, ere long, a somewhat alarming accident
+occurred. On Saturday, as the French approached Cyprus, about vespers,
+the vessels were suddenly enveloped in a thick fog, and the ship in
+which were the king and queen struck on a sandbank, and was so damaged
+that Louis was recommended to leave it without loss of time.
+
+'Sire,' said the skipper, 'if you will believe me, you must remove from
+this ship to another. We well know that, since the keel has suffered so
+much damage, all the ribs must be started, and should there be a high
+wind, we fear she will be unable to bear the sea without sinking.'
+
+'Now,' said the king, 'I put it to you on your faith and loyalty, to
+tell me truly, if the ship were your own, and full of merchandise, would
+you quit it?'
+
+'No!' said the skipper; 'for we would rather risk our lives than lose a
+vessel worth forty or fifty thousand livres.'
+
+'Why, then, do you advise me to quit it?' asked the king.
+
+'Oh, sire,' answered the skipper, 'we are different sort of beings; for
+there is no sum, however great, that could compensate for the loss of
+yourself and the queen and your children; and we cannot advise you to
+run such a risk.'
+
+'Ah,' replied the king, 'now that you have answered, I will tell you
+what I think of the matter. Suppose I quit this vessel, there are five
+hundred persons on board, who will remain in Cyprus for fear of the
+danger that may befall them should they stay on board. Now,' continued
+Louis, 'there is not one among them who is attached to his own person
+more than I am myself; and, if we land, they will lose all hope of
+returning to their own country. Therefore, I declare I will rather
+expose myself, the queen, and my children to some danger, under the
+providence of God, than make such numbers of people suffer as are now
+with me.'
+
+The example which Louis set inspired the companions of his voyage with
+courage; and the fleet having resumed its course, encountered, but
+survived, a violent storm, took in water at Cyprus, and soon after came
+in sight of Lampedosa, an island which was then uninhabited. And here a
+strange incident occurred.
+
+It happened that King Louis and his company, including Walter Espec and
+Guy Muschamp, landed, and, while climbing among the rocks, discovered a
+hermitage, with a handsome garden, planted with olives, figs, vines, and
+many other fruit trees, and watered by a beautiful spring. On going to
+the upper end of the garden, the king and his company found an oratory,
+the roof of which was painted white, with a red cross in the centre,
+and, in a chamber more retired, two bodies laid toward the East, with
+their hands on their breasts. Soon after the king and his company,
+conversing about what they had seen, returned on board their ship, and
+the skipper was about to weigh anchor, when it was discovered that one
+of the warriors who had gone ashore was missing; and this caused much
+excitement.
+
+'I think I can account for this,' said the skipper. 'One of the sailors
+was desirous of turning hermit, and I doubt not he has seized so fair an
+opportunity.'
+
+Walter Espec and Guy Muschamp exchanged glances. It was Beltran the
+renegade, who had thus devoted himself to solitude.
+
+'Well,' said the king, on hearing this, 'let three sacks of biscuit be
+left on the shore; the man may find them, and, if so, they will serve
+for sustenance.'
+
+Soon after this an accident happened to one of the squires on board the
+ship of one of the barons of Provence, which, at the time, was about
+half a league from that of the king. One morning, finding, as he lay in
+bed, that the sea dashed into his eyes and much annoyed him, he ordered
+the squire to stop it up. Having in vain attempted to do so from the
+inside, the squire went outside, and was endeavouring to stop the hole,
+when his foot dipped and he fell into the sea. The ship kept on her way
+without the mariners being aware of what had happened, and as the
+squire did not attempt to move, those on board the king's ship thought
+some piece of furniture had tumbled overboard. On coming nearer,
+however, they perceived that it was a human being, and Walter and Guy,
+with some mariners, lowered a boat, rowed to the rescue, and succeeded
+in saving him.
+
+On being brought on board the king's ship, the squire related how he met
+with the accident, and was asked why he did not endeavour to save
+himself by swimming.
+
+'In faith,' answered the squire, 'I had no occasion so to do; for, as I
+fell into the sea, I cried, "Our Lady of Valbert!" and she supported me
+by the shoulders till I was rescued.'
+
+'In good sooth,' remarked the Lord of Joinville, on hearing this, 'it is
+truly marvellous; and, to perpetuate the memory of this miracle, I vow
+to have it painted on the windows of my chapel at Joinville, and also on
+the windows of the church at Blecourt;' and, on reaching home, the noble
+seneschal kept his word.
+
+And now the ships tilted over the waters; and, after a voyage of ten
+weeks, they reached the Port of Hieros, in front of a castle which, in
+right of his spouse, belonged to the king's brother, the Count of Anjou.
+Louis, however, was not inclined to land. In vain the queen and his
+council advised him to disembark.
+
+'No,' said he, 'I will not land till I can do so on my own territory; I
+will not disembark till I arrive at Aigues Mortes.'
+
+Everybody looked extremely disappointed.
+
+'Seneschal,' said Louis, turning to Joinville, 'what is your opinion?'
+
+'Sire,' replied Joinville, 'it seems to me that you ought to land; for
+Madame de Bourbon, being once in this very port, put again to sea to
+land at Aigues Mortes, and she was tossed about for seven long weeks
+before she could make that harbour.'
+
+'Seneschal,' said the king, 'you have persuaded me.' And soon after, to
+the joy of the queen and all on board, Louis landed at Hieros, and with
+Margaret and his children took up his residence in the castle, to rest
+from his fatigues ere setting out for his own dominions. Indeed, the
+saint-king was so weak, that Joinville had to carry him in his arms; and
+for some time he could hardly support the weight of his armour, or
+remain on horseback.
+
+But Louis had yet many years of life before him; and after repairing for
+a time to recruit his health at Montpellier, where then, as in after
+ages, the medical science eminently flourished, he in the autumn arrived
+at Vincennes, and after prostrating himself before the altar of St.
+Denis and restoring the oriflamme to the abbot, he proceeded to Paris,
+where he was received with profound respect. But the saint-king bore on
+his brow traces of the sorrow caused by the multiplied disasters of his
+expedition, and still wore the symbol of salvation on his shoulder, as
+if to intimate that he was not yet done with the Holy Land.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+A ROYAL VISIT.
+
+
+THE countenance of the King of France did not belie his heart. He was
+sad, and much more dejected than when he was in captivity and chains at
+Mansourah, bullied by the Saracens, and threatened with the bernicles.
+Nor was there any affectation in his continuing to wear the cross on his
+shoulder; as he proved, sixteen years later, when he undertook his
+ill-fated expedition to Tunis, and died, on a bed of ashes, amid the
+ruins of Carthage, looking up to heaven, and exclaiming with his latest
+breath, 'I will enter into Thy house; I will worship in Thy holy
+tabernacle!'
+
+Meanwhile the saint-king appeared inconsolable, and refused to be
+comforted. Even the affectionate welcome accorded him by his people
+failed to dispel his gloom or cheer his soul. Day and night he brooded
+over his defeats and disasters, and sighed dolefully as his memory
+recalled the humiliation to which, in his person, the cause of
+Christianity had been exposed at the hands of the Moslem.
+
+Fortunately, at that time, Henry, King of England, being at Bordeaux,
+offered Louis a visit; and the saintly monarch, rousing himself to
+welcome his royal brother-in-law, made preparations for his reception.
+Moreover, when Henry's approach was announced, Louis mounted and went
+forth to meet his guest; and, ere long, the King of England with a
+magnificent train appeared in sight.
+
+Henry was considerably older than Louis. Indeed, he had now attained the
+age of forty-seven. But his frame was vigorous; he had always enjoyed
+robust health; and, as he had taken life easily, time and trouble had
+not wrought so much havoc on him as on the French monarch. He was of the
+middle height, and compactly built, and would have been accounted
+handsome, but that one of his eyelids hung down in such a way as to
+conceal part of the eyeball, and rather spoiled a face which otherwise
+would have been pleasant to look upon. But, such as his person was,
+Henry did not neglect its adornment. He had all a Plantagenet's love of
+splendour, and the gorgeousness of his dress was such as to excite the
+wonder of his contemporaries. By his right hand rode his spouse, Eleanor
+of Provence, sister of the Queen of France, no longer young, but still
+preserving, in face and form, much of the beauty and grace which, twenty
+years earlier, made the name of the second daughter of Raymond Berenger
+celebrated at the courts of Europe.
+
+Behind the King and Queen of England, on a black steed, which he
+bestrode with remarkable grace, rode their son, Edward, taller by the
+head and shoulders than other tall men, and already, though not out of
+his teens, renowned as one of the bravest and handsomest princes in
+Christendom. With him was his very juvenile wife, Eleanor of Castille,
+whom he had recently espoused at Burgos, and brought over the Pyrenees
+to Bordeaux, on his way to England.
+
+But the procession did not stop here; for, as the chronicler tells us,
+'the King of England had in his own retinue a thousand handsome horses,
+ridden by men of dignity and rank, besides waggons and sumpter cattle,
+as well as a large number of choice horses, so that the unusual novelty
+of the array caused great astonishment to the French.'
+
+The meeting of the two kings was all that could have been desired by the
+most enthusiastic advocate of the French alliance who could have been
+found in England; and, 'at sight of one another, they rushed into each
+other's arms, and after mutual greeting, entered into conversation.'
+Naturally enough, the first subject on which they touched was the
+crusade from which Louis had just returned; and the saint-king seemed
+relieved to meet with a man to whom he could, without derogating from
+his dignity, unbosom his griefs.
+
+'My friend,' said Louis, mournfully, 'you cannot imagine how pleasant
+your voice is to my ears; let us enjoy ourselves in talking together,
+for never, perhaps, shall we have such an opportunity. In truth,' added
+he, as they rode on side by side towards Paris, 'it is no easy matter to
+tell how much bitterness of spirit I endured while on my pilgrimage
+through love of Christ.'
+
+'I believe it, Louis, my cousin,' said Henry quickly.
+
+'And yet,' continued Louis, 'albeit everything turned against me, I
+return thanks to the Most High; for, on reflection, I rejoice more in
+the patience which God granted me, than if the whole world were to be
+made subject to my rule. And yet, my friend, when I think of all my
+mishaps, my heart saddens and my soul is heavy.'
+
+'Cousin,' said Henry, kindly, 'beware of casting yourself into a
+life-wearying sorrow; for holy men will tell you that it is the
+stepmother of souls, and that it absorbs spiritual joy, and generates
+prejudice to the Holy Spirit. Recall to your mind the patience of Job,
+the endurance of Eustace.' And Henry proceeded to relate much that he
+knew, and much that he did not comprehend, of the history of both, and
+how, in the end, God rewarded them.
+
+'My friend,' said Louis, 'if I were the only one to suffer the trouble
+and disgrace, and if my sins did not fall on the church universal, I
+could bear all with equanimity; but, woe is me, through me the whole of
+Christendom is enveloped in confusion and shame.'
+
+'And, cousin,' said Henry, 'I perceive that you still wear the symbol of
+the cross on your raiment.'
+
+'I do,' replied Louis, 'because I have not concluded my pilgrimage; I
+have only suspended it; therefore bear I the sacred symbol. And you
+also, Henry, you have taken the cross, and vowed to fight for the Holy
+Sepulchre.'
+
+'Cousin,' answered Henry, gravely, but frankly, 'when I heard that you
+were a prisoner in the hands of the Saracens, I did take the cross and
+vow to go to the rescue; but now that, by God's grace, you are at
+liberty, I cannot but think that it is my duty to remain at home and
+minister to the welfare of my subjects.'
+
+'And yet,' urged Louis, 'we are told that he who will not take up his
+cross and come with me, is not worthy of me; and I know you, Henry, to
+be a man who, albeit you are negligent in punishing Jews and heretics,
+are distinguished for attention to the things that belong to your
+eternal peace, and by your devotion to the Lord.'
+
+'In truth, cousin,' replied Henry, not sorry perhaps, to leave the
+subject of the crusade, 'I am regular, at least, in my religious
+exercises; for it is my custom, every day, to hear three masses, with
+the notes, and, as I wish to hear more, I assiduously assist at the
+celebration of private masses; and when the priest elevates the Host, I
+usually hold the hand of the priest and kiss it.'
+
+'Nevertheless, my friend,' remarked Louis, 'I cannot but deem that the
+attention ought not always to be devoted to the hearing of masses, but
+that we ought to hear sermons as often as possible.'
+
+'Mayhap,' said Henry. 'And yet, by God's help, I would rather see a
+friend often than hear of him, even although I should hear nothing
+spoken of him but good.'
+
+As the two kings conversed they entered Paris side by side, and the
+sight which met the eyes of the English might well, indeed, raise their
+admiration. The city, with its squares and bridges and churches and
+houses built of gypsum, was splendidly decorated with bowers of leaves
+and flowers; many of the mansions were three and four storeys in height,
+and the windows were crowded with people of both sexes, gaily dressed,
+and excited with the spectacle. Everything wore a holiday guise; and the
+citizens and the scholars of the University, especially those of English
+birth, suspending their readings and disputations, came forth in crowds,
+carrying branches of trees, and attended by bands of music. Everybody
+appeared eager to accord the royal guests a hearty welcome; and Louis,
+after thanking the scholars for showing his friends so much honour,
+turned to Henry.
+
+'My friend,' said he, 'I place Paris at your disposal. Where will you be
+pleased to take up your abode? There is my palace in the middle of the
+city; or, if you prefer taking up your residence at the Old Temple,
+which is more roomy, it shall be so arranged.'
+
+'Verily,' answered Henry, 'I think I must choose the Old Temple; for I
+hear it is roomy enough to lodge an army, and my company, as you see, is
+somewhat numerous; and there it is my purpose to give a banquet on the
+morrow, and I trust that you and your princes and nobles will honour it
+with your presence.'
+
+'After which,' said Louis, 'you must come as my guest to my palace. Nay,
+nay,' continued he, as Henry sought to excuse himself, 'let it be so:
+for it is proper for me to perform all the duties of courtesy and
+hospitality. In my own kingdom I am lord,' he added, with a smile; 'and
+I will be master in my own house.'
+
+'On my faith,' said Walter Espec to Guy Muschamp, as gallantly the
+brothers-in-arms rode in the train of the saint-king, 'this is a great
+day for England!'
+
+'In truth it is,' replied Guy, gaily. 'Methinks there are Englishmen
+enough in Paris to take the city.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV.
+
+THE FEAST OF KINGS.
+
+
+ON the day after the arrival of Henry and his queen in Paris, that
+marvellous banquet, described as 'the feast of kings,' was given in the
+great hall of the Old Temple; and a mighty entertainment it appears to
+have been, if we are to judge from the description of the chronicler,
+who tells us that 'never in times past was there given such a rich and
+splendid banquet, even in the time of Esther, or of Arthur, or of
+Charles.' Besides three kings--those of Navarre, and France, and
+England, with their queens--there were present eighteen countesses, and
+twenty-five counts, and twelve bishops; not to mention a host of noble
+knights and ladies--knights illustrious for their valour, and ladies
+celebrated for their beauty.
+
+As the guests were ranged according to their rank, some difficulty arose
+as to who was to preside. Henry requested Louis to assume the post of
+honour; but Louis protested.
+
+'It is more fitting,' said he, 'that the master of the feast should
+occupy the chief seat.'
+
+'Not so, my lord king,' urged Henry. 'It is more becoming and proper
+for you to sit in the middle; seeing that you are my sovereign and will
+be so, for the reason is plain.'
+
+'Henry,' replied Louis, in a low voice, 'would that every one could
+obtain his right without injury. But in your case,' added he, alluding
+to Henry's claims on Normandy and Anjou, 'the pride of the French would
+never permit it. But enough of this.'
+
+Now it happened that the great hall was, according to the continental
+custom, hung around with as many bucklers as the four walls would hold,
+and among them was the shield of Coeur de Lion; and when the feast was
+drawing to a close, the company began to look around and examine them.
+
+'My lord,' said the Count of Anjou, jocularly addressing Henry, 'why
+have you invited the French to dine with you in this house of all
+others? See, there is the shield of the lion-hearted King Richard. I
+marvel that your guests have been able to eat without fear and
+trembling.'
+
+Now this remark, uttered as it was in a tone of irony, was calculated to
+excite unpleasant sensations, and to recall disagreeable reminiscences;
+and Henry looked mortified, and Prince Edward threw his magnificent head
+disdainfully backward. But Louis, ever on the watch, hastened to soothe
+their rising ire.
+
+'Would to God, Henry!' said he, earnestly, 'that the twelve peers of
+France and the barons would agree to my wishes. We should then be
+inseparable friends.'
+
+'I believe it, Louis, my cousin,' exclaimed Henry, quickly.
+
+'I grieve, my Lord knows,' continued Louis, 'that our feelings of
+affection cannot be cemented on all points; but I cannot bend the
+obstinacy of my barons; and therefore I perceive plainly that you will
+never recover your rights.'
+
+'Nay, the future is with God and his saints,' said Henry; who, pacific
+as he was, by no means relished the idea of the Plantagenets being
+perpetually excluded from their inheritance. 'Meanwhile, cousin, there
+is peace between us, and let not the feast flag.'
+
+'Henry,' said Louis, pausing, as he approached a painful subject, 'it
+grieves me sore to think that, of all the English who landed with me at
+Damietta, few, indeed, escaped the carnage of Mansourah. Nevertheless, I
+have brought home with me two English squires, who are anxious to return
+to their own country, and whom I would fain recommend to your gracious
+protection.'
+
+'Cousin,' said Henry, responding with readiness and sympathy, 'for your
+sake I will both protect and honour them.'
+
+Walter Espec and Guy Muschamp were immediately summoned, and, marching
+up the great hall between the tables, approached the two kings and bent
+their knees.
+
+'Both of them,' explained Louis, mildly, 'have rendered good services,
+and encountered great perils, and undergone great sufferings for the
+cross. One saved my brother, the Count of Poictiers, from captivity; and
+the other saved my kinswoman, Adeline de Brienne, from still worse
+evils.' And the king looked towards the noble demoiselle, who, princess
+as she was, felt her heart beat rapidly, and was under the necessity of
+making a strong effort not to betray the interest which she felt in the
+fortunes of the young warrior, with whose fate, she had convinced
+herself, since the rescue at Passe-Poulain, her own was strangely
+intermingled.
+
+'Wherefore,' continued Louis, 'I would fain, ere parting with them, give
+them a token of my appreciation of their piety, and the courage they
+have shown in hours of danger and disaster, as I have already admonished
+them how to act towards their God and their neighbour. Kneel.'
+
+And as they obeyed, Louis gave each of them three blows on the shoulder
+with the flat of his weapon, mentioning the name of each, and repeating
+the formula--'In the name of God, of St. Michael, and St. George, I dub
+thee knight. Rise up, Sir Walter Espec, and Sir Guy Muschamp.'
+
+And as Walter and Guy rose to their feet, blushing with this new and
+unexpected honour, Louis added--
+
+'And now you will accompany your king to England, and lose no time in
+winning your spurs, so as to justify me, in the eyes of men, for having
+thus distinguished you.'
+
+'By St. George, cousin,' said Henry, laughing, 'I fear me that their
+patience will be put to the test; for at present I have not an enemy
+against whom to lead such redoubted warriors.'
+
+'My lord and father,' said Prince Edward, interposing, 'if the young
+knights will enter my service, I will undertake to find them enough of
+work to keep their swords from rusting.'
+
+'I doubt it not, Edward,' replied Henry, seriously, 'I doubt it not;'
+and, turning to Louis, he added by way of explanation, 'I have gifted my
+son with the principality of Wales, and recommended him to employ his
+youth in bringing the natives to obedience; and I know enough of the
+Welsh to be aware that he has before him an arduous duty. Now, young
+gentlemen,' said he, addressing Guy and Walter, 'will you take service
+with the prince, and go to war under his banner?'
+
+'In truth, my lord,' answered Walter, 'nothing could be more to my mind
+than so to do.'
+
+'And what say you, most doughty warrior?' said Henry, looking towards
+the heir of the Muschamps.
+
+'My lord,' replied Guy, cheerfully, 'we are brothers in arms; and, as
+says Walter, so say I.'
+
+And when Henry and Queen Eleanor left Paris, and took leave of Louis and
+his court at Chartres to return to Bordeaux, Walter Espec and Guy
+Muschamp rode off in Prince Edward's train; Guy, laughing as he thought
+how much his new dignity would add to his importance when he reached his
+father's castle, and Walter, casting many a look behind to catch a last
+glance of Adeline de Brienne.
+
+And so ended the adventures of the Boy Crusaders.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[1]Transcriber's Note: Although, generally, handwritten notes are not
+preserved in the final text, the proofreaders so enjoyed this edition's
+inscription that it was retained. An image can be seen in the html
+version.
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+All instances of "Richard Coeur de Lion" used an oe-ligature. As this
+cannot be represented in a plain text file, it is instead noted here.
+
+Both Djedile and Djedile were used in this text.
+
+Page 60, "Icingla" changed to "Icinglas" (blood of Icinglas)
+
+Page 65, words obscurred in original, "per xity" changed to "perplexity"
+(in some perplexity)
+
+Page 65, " l" changed to "will" (will ever be such)
+
+Page 206, "Geoffery" changed to "Geoffrey" (Nile, and Geoffrey)
+
+Page 242, "Lovis" changed to "Louis" (King Louis from Acre)
+
+Page 281, "Posse-Poulain" changed to "Passe-Poulain" (the rescue at
+Passe-Poulain)
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Crusaders, by John G. Edgar
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