For full five minutes he neither halted nor looked behind. At length he
stopped under a palm tree; and taking out one of those little crosses
which the Crusaders carried with them for purposes of prayer, and which
are now symbolised by figures on the shield of many a Crusader's
descendant, he knelt before it, and invoked the protection and aid of
God and the saints to shield him from danger and restore him to the land
of his fathers.

But almost ere the prayer was uttered, Bisset started at the sound of
footsteps; and as he turned his head his brain reeled; and, after
grasping at the tree for support, he sank motionless on the ground.

CHAPTER XXVII.

JOINVILLE IN PERIL.

WHILE King Louis and the brave companions of his ill-starred retreat
were seized as captives, or mercilessly massacred by the Saracens at
Minieh, the sick and wounded Crusaders who embarked on the Nile were not
more fortunate. In order to understand the extent of their dangers and
sufferings, it is necessary to refer to the chronicle of the good Lord
of Joinville--who, still suffering from disease, embarked with his
knights and followers, including Guy Muschamp, not yet recovered from
the sickness by which he had been prostrated.

Nor is it possible to peruse the seneschal's simple narrative without
profound interest. In reading his account of this disastrous expedition,
we are transported, in imagination, to the thirteenth century, and
witness, with the mind's eye, the scenes in which he was an actor, and
gradually come to feel as if we were not reading a chronicle penned
centuries ago, but listening to a Crusader who, just returned from the
East, and seated on the dais of the castle hall, tells his story over
the wine-cup to his kinsmen and neighbours assembled at the festive
board.

It was evening; and Joinville, who was suffering fearfully from the
prevailing malady, perceiving that everyone was preparing to depart
towards Damietta, withdrew to his galley, with his chaplain, and such of
his company, including Guy Muschamp, as had escaped the pestilence, and
the swords of the Saracens; and no sooner did darkness descend over the
hill, than he commanded his captain to raise the anchor, and float down
the stream.

'My lord,' replied the man, 'I dare not; for between us and Damietta are
the large galleys of the Saracens, who would infallibly capture us.'

And at this moment a terrible spectacle arrested Joinville's attention.
It happe