l
eagerness to push forward and combat the Saracens. But circumstances
proved stronger than his will. The Crusaders were highly captivated with
all that they saw and heard. The aspect of the island was enchanting;
the wine, which even Solomon has deigned to celebrate, was to their
taste: the dark-eyed Greek women, who perhaps knew that the island had
anciently been the favourite seat, of Venus, and who, in any case,
enjoyed the reputation of being devoted to the worship of the goddess,
were doubtless fascinating; and almost every one of the days that
succeeded Louis's arrival was devoted to rejoicings and feastings. Not
unnaturally, but most unfortunately, the Crusaders yielded to the
fascinations of an existence which at first they all enjoyed, heart and
soul; and with one accord they cried out, 'We must tarry here till
spring. Let us eat, drink, and be merry.'

Accordingly the Crusaders did winter in Cyprus; and the consequences
were most disastrous. Enervated by luxury, they soon forgot their vows,
and rushed into every kind of extravagance and dissipation. Of course,
their recklessness soon brought its own punishment. As time passed on,
and winter set in, rain fell daily, and the intemperance, the strange
climate, and the weather soon did their work. By-and-by, a pestilential
disease made its appearance in the camp of the pilgrims, and carried off
thousands of victims, including two hundred and fifty knights. Moreover,
there was much discord and dissension. The Greek clergy and the Latin
clergy began to quarrel; the Templars and the Knights of St. John began
to fight; and the saint-king found his position the very reverse of
satisfactory or agreeable.

By the time that the little fleet, on board of which were Guy Muschamp
and Walter Espec, reached Cyprus, matters were not what they should
have been; and the wise and prudent shook their heads, and predicted
that an expedition conducted in such a fashion was too likely to end in
disaster and ruin.

CHAPTER VIII.

EASTWARD.

IT was July, as I have intimated, when the ship 'Hilda,' which carried
Walter Espec and Guy Muschamp, left the shores of England; and, soon
after having lost sight of land, both began to experience a little of
that vague fear of 'the blue above and the blue below,' which, in the
thirteenth century, made some of the boldest feudal warriors, when they
embarked, invoke the protection of the saints in Paradise.

'On my faith, good Walte