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 laboring.

"'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 labor 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 valor 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 valor 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