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of the French and English reinforcements. For the monarchs, annoyed by
the defeat of their forces and by the heavy losses they had sustained,
and knowing that the besieged were now at their last crust, were not
disposed to be merciful.

However, the horrors which then attended the capture of cities in a war
in which so little quarter was given on either side were avoided. The
city was to be surrendered; the much-prized relic contained within its
walls--said to be a piece of the true cross which had been captured by
the Saracens at the battle of Tiberias, in which they had almost
annihilated the Christian armies a few years before--was to be
surrendered; the Christian prisoners in their hands were to be given up
unharmed; and the inhabitants undertook to pay two hundred thousand
pieces of gold to the kings within forty days, under the condition that
the fighting men now taken prisoners were to be put to death should this
ransom not be paid.

The conquest of Acre was hailed throughout Christendom as a triumph of
the highest importance. It opened again the gates of the Holy Land; and
so tremendous was the strength of the fortress that it was deemed that
if this stronghold were unable to resist effectually the arms of the
Crusaders, and that if Saladin with so great an army did not dare to
advance to its rescue, then the rest of the Holy Land would speedily
fall under the hands of the invading army.

With the fall of Acre, however, the dissensions between the two kings,
which had for awhile been allowed to rest while the common work was to
be done, broke out again with renewed intensity. The jealousy of Philip
Augustus was raised to the highest point by the general enthusiasm of
the combined armies for the valiant King of England, and by the
authority which that monarch exercised in the councils. He therefore
suddenly announced his intention of returning to France.

This decision at first occasioned the greatest consternation in the
ranks of the Crusaders; but this feeling was lessened when the king
announced that he should leave a large portion of the French army
behind, under the command of the Duke of Burgundy. The wiser councilors
were satisfied with the change. Although there was a reduction of the
total fighting force, yet the fact that it was now centered under one
head, and that King Richard would now be in supreme command, was deemed
to more than counterbalance the loss of a portion of the French army.

Bef