denly blighted and
destroyed by an unexpected event, which struck every one with
consternation, and put all things back into a worse condition than
before. As Conrad was passing along the streets of Tyre one day, two
men rushed upon him, and with small daggers, which they plunged into
his side, slew him. They were so sudden in their movement that all was
over before any one could come to Conrad's rescue, but the men who
committed the deed were seized and put to the torture. They belonged
to a tribe of Arabs called Hassassins.[F] This appellation was taken
from the Arabic name of the dagger, which was the only armor that they
wore. Of course, with such a weapon as this, they could do nothing
effectual in a regular battle with their enemies. Nor was this their
plan. They never came out and met their enemies in battle. They lived
among the mountains in a place by themselves, under the command of a
famous chieftain, whom they called the _Ancient_, and sometimes the
_Lord of the Mountains_. The Christians called him the _Old Man of the
Mountains_, and under this name he and his band of followers acquired
great fame.

[Footnote F: The English word _assassins_ comes from the name of these
men.]

They were, in fact, not much more than a regularly-organized band of
robbers and murderers. The men were extremely wily and adroit; they
could adopt any disguise, and penetrate without suspicion wherever
they chose to go. They were trained, too, to obey, in the most
unhesitating and implicit manner, any orders whatever that the
chieftain gave them. Sometimes they were sent out to rob; sometimes to
murder an individual enemy, who had, in some way or other, excited the
anger of the chief. Thus, if any leader of an armed force attempted to
attack them, or if any officer of government adopted any measures to
bring them to justice, they would not openly resist, but would fly to
their dens and fastnesses, and conceal themselves there, and then
soon afterward the chieftain would send out his emissaries, dressed in
a suitable disguise, and with their little _hassassins_ under their
robes, to watch an opportunity and kill the offender. It is true they
were usually, in such cases, at once seized, and were often put to
death with horrible tortures; but so great was their enthusiasm in the
cause of their chief, and so high the exaltation of spirit to which
the point of honor carried them, that they feared nothing, and were
never known to shrink