ed the
Templar, haughtily; "and, should I do so, I think, Malvoisin, that thou
knowest not one of the Order, who will keep his saddle before the point
of my lance."

"Ay, but thou forgettest," said the wily adviser, "thou wilt have
neither leisure nor opportunity to execute this mad project. Go to Lucas
Beaumanoir, and say thou hast renounced thy vow of obedience, and see
how long the despotic old man will leave thee in personal freedom.
The words shall scarce have left thy lips, ere thou wilt either be an
hundred feet under ground, in the dungeon of the Preceptory, to abide
trial as a recreant knight; or, if his opinion holds concerning thy
possession, thou wilt be enjoying straw, darkness, and chains, in some
distant convent cell, stunned with exorcisms, and drenched with holy
water, to expel the foul fiend which hath obtained dominion over thee.
Thou must to the lists, Brian, or thou art a lost and dishonoured man."

"I will break forth and fly," said Bois-Guilbert--"fly to some distant
land, to which folly and fanaticism have not yet found their way. No
drop of the blood of this most excellent creature shall be spilled by my
sanction."

"Thou canst not fly," said the Preceptor; "thy ravings have excited
suspicion, and thou wilt not be permitted to leave the Preceptory. Go
and make the essay--present thyself before the gate, and command the
bridge to be lowered, and mark what answer thou shalt receive.--Thou are
surprised and offended; but is it not the better for thee? Wert thou
to fly, what would ensue but the reversal of thy arms, the dishonour of
thine ancestry, the degradation of thy rank?--Think on it. Where
shall thine old companions in arms hide their heads when Brian de
Bois-Guilbert, the best lance of the Templars, is proclaimed recreant,
amid the hisses of the assembled people? What grief will be at the Court
of France! With what joy will the haughty Richard hear the news, that
the knight that set him hard in Palestine, and well-nigh darkened his
renown, has lost fame and honour for a Jewish girl, whom he could not
even save by so costly a sacrifice!"

"Malvoisin," said the Knight, "I thank thee--thou hast touched the
string at which my heart most readily thrills!--Come of it what may,
recreant shall never be added to the name of Bois-Guilbert. Would to
God, Richard, or any of his vaunting minions of England, would appear in
these lists! But they will be empty--no one will risk to break a lance
for th