her hand
holding one of the shafts, exclaimed, "Royal Richard, beware what you
do! see, these arrows are headless!"

"Noble, sensible wench!" exclaimed Richard; "by Heaven, thou shamest
us all by thy readiness of thought and eye.--Be not moved, my English
hearts," he exclaimed to his followers; "their arrows have no heads--and
their spears, too, lack the steel points. It is but a wild welcome,
after their savage fashion, though doubtless they would rejoice to see
us daunted or disturbed. Move onward, slow and steady."

The little phalanx moved forward accordingly, accompanied on all sides
by the Arabs, with the shrillest and most piercing cries, the bowmen,
meanwhile, displaying their agility by shooting as near the crests of
the Christians as was possible, without actually hitting them, while the
lancers charged each other with such rude blows of their blunt weapons
that more than one of them lost his saddle, and well-nigh his life,
in this rough sport. All this, though designed to express welcome, had
rather a doubtful appearance in the eyes of the Europeans.

As they had advanced nearly half way towards the camp, King Richard and
his suite forming, as it were, the nucleus round which this tumultuary
body of horsemen howled, whooped, skirmished, and galloped, creating a
scene of indescribable confusion, another shrill cry was heard, on which
all these irregulars, who were on the front and upon the flanks of the
little body of Europeans, wheeled off; and forming themselves into a
long and deep column, followed with comparative order and silence in
the rear of Richard's troops. The dust began now to dissipate in their
front, when there advanced to meet them through that cloudy veil a body
of cavalry of a different and more regular description, completely armed
with offensive and defensive weapons, and who might well have served
as a bodyguard to the proudest of Eastern monarchs. This splendid troop
consisted of five hundred men and each horse which it contained was
worth an earl's ransom. The riders were Georgian and Circassian slaves
in the very prime of life. Their helmets and hauberks were formed of
steel rings, so bright that they shone like silver; their vestures were
of the gayest colours, and some of cloth of gold or silver; the sashes
were twisted with silk and gold, their rich turbans were plumed and
jewelled, and their sabres and poniards, of Damascene steel, were
adorned with gold and gems on hilt and scabb