第 22 页

"Am I mad," he said, "or dreaming, or is this really Sir Cuthbert?"

"It is I sure enough," Cuthbert exclaimed, "although truly I look more

like a Bedouin soldier than a Christian knight."

"My dear boy!" exclaimed the earl, galloping forward and throwing his

arms around Cuthbert's neck, "we thought you were dead. But by what

wonderful fortune have you succeeded in escaping?"

In a few words Cuthbert related the principal incidents of his

adventures, and he was heartily congratulated by the assembled knights.

There was, however, no time for long explanations. Large bodies of the

Saracen horse were already sweeping down, to capture, if possible, this

small band of knights who had ventured so far from the camp; and as King

Richard's orders were that none should venture upon conflicts except by

his orders, the party reluctantly turned their horses and galloped back

to the camp.

Great as had been the earl's joy, it was, if possible, exceeded by that

of Cnut on discovering in the Arab chief who rode up alongside the earl,

the lad he loved so well. Loud and hearty were the cheers which rang out

from the earl's camp as the news spread, and Cuthbert was compelled to

shake hands with the whole party before entering the earl's tent, to

refresh himself and give the narrative of what had happened.

Cuthbert, retiring to his tent with the Earl of Evesham, inquired of him

what had taken place during his absence.

"For," he said, "although but a short three days' march from here, I have

been as one of the dead, and have heard nothing whatever of what has

taken place."

"Nothing could have gone worse," the earl said. "We have had nothing

but dissensions and quarrels. First, the king fell out with the

Archduke of Austria."

"On what ground did this happen?" Cuthbert asked.

"For once," the earl said, "the king our master was wholly in the wrong,

which is not generally the case. We had just taken Ascalon, and were hard

at work fortifying the place. King Richard with his usual zeal, in order

to encourage the army, seized heavy stones and himself bore them into

their place. The Archduke stood near with some of his knights: and it may

be that the haughty Austrian looked somewhat superciliously at our king,

thus labouring.

"'Why do you not make a show of helping?' King Richard said, going up to

him. 'It would encourage the men, and show that the labour upon which we

are engaged can be undertaken by all without derogation.'

"To this the Archduke replied,--

"'I am not the son of a mason!'

"Whereupon Richard, whose blood no doubt had been excited by the air of

the Austrian, struck him with his hand a fierce blow across the face. We

nearly betook ourselves to our swords on both sides; but King Richard

himself could have scattered half the Austrians, and these, knowing that

against his impetuous valour they could do nothing, simply withdrew from

our camp, and sailed the next day for home. Then the king, in order to

conciliate some at least of his allies, conferred the crown of Jerusalem

upon Conrad of Montferat. No sooner had he done this than Conrad was

mysteriously wounded. By whom it was done none knew. Some say that it was

by emissaries of the Old Man of the Mountain. Others affirm that it was

the jealousy of some of the knights of the holy orders. But be that as it

may, he died. Some of the French, ever jealous of the valour of our king,

ascribed it to his orders. This monstrous accusation coming to the ears

of King Richard, he had hot words with the Duke of Burgundy. In this I

blame him not, for it is beyond all reason that a man like the king,

whose faults, such as they are, arise from too much openness, and from

the want of concealment of such dislikes as he may have, should resort to

poison to free himself of a man whom he himself had but a day or two

before appointed King of Jerusalem. However it be, the consequences were

most unfortunate, for the result of the quarrel was that the Duke of

Burgundy and his Frenchmen followed the example of the Austrians, and we

were left alone. Before this we had marched upon Jerusalem. But the

weather had been so bad, and our train was so insufficient to carry the

engines of war, that we had been forced to fall back again. King Richard

again advanced, and with much toil we went as far as the village of

Bethany."

"Why," Cuthbert exclaimed, "I passed through that village, and it is but

three miles from the holy city."

"That is so," the earl said; "and many of us, ascending the hill in

front, saw Jerusalem. But even then it was certain that we must again

retrace our steps; and when we asked King Richard to come to the crest of

the hill to see the holy city, he refused to do so, saying, 'No; those

who are not worthy of conquering Jerusalem should not look at it!' This

was but a short time since, and we are now retracing our steps to Acre,

and are treating with Saladin for a peace."

"Then," Cuthbert said sadly, "all our hopes and efforts are thrown away;

all this blood has been shed for nothing; and after the three great

powers of Europe have engaged themselves solemnly in the war, we are

baffled, and have to fall back before the hordes of the infidels."

"Partly before them," the earl said, "partly as the result of our own

jealousies and passions. Had King Richard been a lesser man than he is,

we might have conquered Jerusalem. But he is so extraordinary a warrior

that his glory throws all others into the shade. He is a good general,

perhaps the best in Europe; and had he done nothing but lead, assuredly

we should have carried out our purpose. See how ably he maneuvered the

army at the fight of Azotus. Never was a more complete defeat than that

which he inflicted there upon the Saracens; and although the fact that

his generalship achieved this, might have caused some jealousy to the

other commanders, this might have died away could he between the battles

have been a general, and nothing more. But alas! he is in addition a

knight-errant--and such a knight-errant as Europe has never seen before.

Wherever there is danger, Richard will plunge into the midst. There are

brave men in all the three armies; but the strongest and bravest are as

children to King Richard. Alone he can dart into ranks of the infidels,

and cut a lane for himself by the strength of his right arm. More than

this, when danger has threatened he has snatched up his battle-axe and

dashed into the fray without helm or cuirass, performing such prodigies

of valour and strength that it has been to his prowess alone that victory

was to be ascribed. Hence he is the idol of all the soldiers, whatever

their nationality; for he is as ready to rush to the rescue of a French

or Austrian knight when pressed as to that of his own men. But the

devotion which the whole army felt for him was as gall and wormwood to

the haughty Austrian and the indolent Frenchman; and the retirement of

the King of France, which left Richard in supreme command, was in every

way unfortunate."

Upon the following day the army again marched, and Cuthbert could not but

notice the difference, not only in number but in demeanour, from the

splendid array which had left Acre a few months before. There was little

now of the glory of pennon and banner; the bright helms and cuirasses

were rusted and dinted, and none seemed to care aught for bravery of

show. The knights and men-at-arms were sunburnt and thin, and seemed but

half the weight that they had been when they landed. Fatigue, hardship,

and the heat had done their work; disease had swept off vast numbers. But

the remains of the army were so formidable in their fighting powers that

the Saracens, although following them at a distance in vast numbers, did

not venture an attack upon them.

A few days after their arrival at Acre, the king gave orders for the

embarcation of the troops. Just as they were preparing to enter the ships

a small vessel was seen entering the harbour. It drew up to the shore,

and a knight leaped from it, and, inquiring where King Richard was to be

found, made his way to the king, who was standing superintending the

embarcation of some of the horses.

"The Saracens, sire!" he exclaimed. "The Saracens are besieging Jaffa,

and the place must be lost unless assistance arrives in a day or two."

The king leaped on board the nearest ship, shouted to his leading

officers to follow him, and gave orders to others to bring down the

troops with all possible speed, to waste not a moment, and to see that

all was done, and then, in five minutes after the receipt of the news he

started for Jaffa. The Earl of Evesham and Cuthbert had been standing

near the king when the order was given, and followed him at once on board

the bark which he had chosen.

"Ah, my gallant young knight," the king exclaimed, "I am right glad to

see you with me. We shall have more fighting before we have done, and I

know that that suits your mood as well as my own."

The king's vessel was far in advance of any of the others, when early the

following morning it arrived at Jaffa.

"Your eyes are better than mine," the king said to Cuthbert. "Tell me

what is that flag flying on the top of the town."

Cuthbert looked at it earnestly.

"I fear, sire, that it is the crescent. We have arrived too late."

"By the holy cross," said King Richard, "that shall not be so; for if the

place be taken, we will retake it."

As the vessel neared the shore a monk ran out into the water up to his

shoulders, and said to the king that the citadel still held out, and that

even now the Saracens might be driven back. Without delay the king leaped

into the water, followed by the knights and men-at-arms, and entering the

gate, threw himself upon the infidels within, who, busy plundering, had

not noticed the arrival of the ship.

The war cry of "St. George! St. George!" which the king always shouted

in battle, struck panic among the infidels; and although the king was

followed but by five knights and a few men-at-arms, the Saracens, to

the number of 3000, fled before him, and all who tarried were smitten

down. The king followed them out upon the plain, driving them before

him as a lion would drive a flock of sheep, and then returned

triumphant into the city.

The next day, some more ships having arrived, King Richard found that in

all, including the garrison, he could muster 2000 combatants. The enemy

renewed the attack in great numbers, and the assaults upon the walls were

continuous and desperate. King Richard, who loved fighting in the plain

rather than behind walls, was impatient at this, and at one time so

fierce was the attack that he resolved to sally out. Only ten horses

remained in the town, and King Richard, mounting one, called upon nine of

the knights to mount and sally out with him. The little band of ten

warriors charged down upon the host of the Saracens and swept them before

them. It was a marvellous sight indeed to see so small a group of

horsemen dashing through a crowd of Saracen warriors. These, although at

first beaten back, yet rallied, and the ten knights had great difficulty

in fighting their way back to the town. When near the walls the

Christians again made a stand, and a few knights sallied out from the

town on foot and joined them. Among these was Cuthbert, the Earl of

Evesham having accompanied King Richard in his charge. In all, seventeen

knights were now rallied round the king. So fierce was the charge of the

Saracens that the king ordered those on horseback to dismount, and with

their horses in the centre, the little body knelt with their lances

opposed to the Saracens. Again and again the wild cavalry swept down upon

this little force, but in vain did they attempt to break their ranks. The

scene was indeed an extraordinary one. At last the king, seeing that the

enemy were losing heart, again ordered the knights to mount, and these

dashing among the enemy, completed their defeat.

While this had been going on, news came to the king that the Saracens

from another side had made their way into Jaffa, and were massacring the

Christians. Without an instant's delay he flew to their succour, followed

only by two knights and a few archers, the rest being so worn by their

exertions as to be unable to move. The Mamelukes, the chosen guard of

Saladin, had headed the attack; but even these were driven out from the

town, and Richard dashed out from the city in their pursuit. One Saracen

emir, distinguished for his stature and strength, ventured to match

himself against the king, and rode boldly at him. But with one blow

Richard severed his head, and his right shoulder and arm, from his body.

Then having, by his single arm, put to rout the Saracens at this point,

he dashed through them to the aid of the little band of knights who had

remained on the defensive when he left them at the alarm of the city

being entered. These were almost sinking with fatigue and wounds; but

King Richard opened a way around them by slaying numbers of the enemy,

and then charged again alone into the midst of the Mussulman host, and

was lost to the sight of his companions. All thought that they would

never see him again. But he soon reappeared, his horse covered with

blood, but himself unwounded; and the attack of the enemy ceased.

From the hour of daybreak, it is said, Richard had not ceased for a

moment to deal out his blows, and the skin of his hand adhered to the

handle of his battle-axe. This narration would appear almost fabulous,

were it not that it is attested in the chronicles of several

eye-witnesses, and for centuries afterwards the Saracen women hushed

their babes when fractious by threatening them with Malek-Rik, the name

which they gave to King Richard.

Glorious as was the success, it was a sad one, for several of the most