swered Sheerkohf; and
ere the words had left his mouth, the hermit gave evidence in his own
behalf.

"I am Theodorick of Engaddi," he said--"I am the walker of the desert--I
am friend of the Cross, and flail of all infidels, heretics, and
devil-worshippers. Avoid ye, avoid ye! Down with Mahound, Termagaunt,
and all their adherents!"--So saying, he pulled from under his shaggy
garment a sort of flail or jointed club, bound with iron, which he
brandished round his head with singular dexterity.

"Thou seest thy saint," said the Saracen, laughing, for the first time,
at the unmitigated astonishment with which Sir Kenneth looked on the
wild gestures and heard the wayward muttering of Theodorick, who, after
swinging his flail in every direction, apparently quite reckless whether
it encountered the head of either of his companions, finally showed
his own strength, and the soundness of the weapon, by striking into
fragments a large stone which lay near him.

"This is a madman," said Sir Kenneth.

"Not the worse saint," returned the Moslem, speaking according to
the well-known Eastern belief, that madmen are under the influence
of immediate inspiration. "Know, Christian, that when one eye is
extinguished, the other becomes more keen; when one hand is cut off,
the other becomes more powerful; so, when our reason in human things
is disturbed or destroyed, our view heavenward becomes more acute and
perfect."

Here the voice of the Saracen was drowned in that of the hermit, who
began to hollo aloud in a wild, chanting tone, "I am Theodorick of
Engaddi--I am the torch-brand of the desert--I am the flail of the
infidels! The lion and the leopard shall be my comrades, and draw nigh
to my cell for shelter; neither shall the goat be afraid of their fangs.
I am the torch and the lantern--Kyrie Eleison!"

He closed his song by a short race, and ended that again by three
forward bounds, which would have done him great credit in a gymnastic
academy, but became his character of hermit so indifferently that the
Scottish Knight was altogether confounded and bewildered.

The Saracen seemed to understand him better. "You see," he said, "that
he expects us to follow him to his cell, which, indeed, is our only
place of refuge for the night. You are the leopard, from the portrait
on your shield; I am the lion, as my name imports; and by the goat,
alluding to his garb of goat-skins, he means himself. We must keep him
in sight, however, for h