On seeing that his friend has passed away, the heart-broken Roland
again swoons in his saddle, but his intelligent steed stands still
until his master recovers his senses. Gazing around him, Roland now
ascertains that only two other Frenchmen are still alive, and, seeing
one of them severely wounded, he binds up his cuts before plunging
back into the fray, where he accounts for twenty-five pagans, while
the archbishop and the wounded soldier dispose of eleven more.

_Charlemagne Approaches._ The last Frenchmen are fighting madly
against a thousand Moors on foot and four thousand on horseback, when
the spears flung from a distance lay low the wounded man and deal a
mortal wound to the archbishop. But, even while dying, Turpin joins
Roland in declaring they must continue to fight, so that when the
emperor finds their bodies he can see they have piled hundreds of
corpses around them. This resolve is carried out, however, only at the
cost of dire suffering, for the archbishop is dying and Roland's burst
temples cause him intense pain. Nevertheless, he once more puts his
horn to his lips, and draws from it this time so pitiful a blast that,
when it reaches the ears of Charlemagne, he woefully exclaims: "All is
going ill; my nephew Roland will die to-day, for the sound of his horn
is very weak!"

Again bidding his sixty thousand trumpets sound, the emperor urges his
troops to even greater speed, until the noise of his horns and the
tramp of his steeds reaches the pagans' ears and admonishes them to
flee. Realizing that, should Roland survive, the war will continue, a
few Moors make a final frantic attempt to slay him before fleeing.
Seeing them advance for a last onslaught, Roland--who has dismounted
for a moment--again bestrides his steed and, accompanied by the
staggering archbishop, bravely faces them. They, however, only fling
missiles from a distance, until Roland's shield drops useless from his
hand and his steed sinks lifeless beneath him! Then, springing to his
feet, Roland defies these cowardly foes, who, not daring to linger any
longer, turn and flee, crying that Roland has won and Spain is lost
unless the emir comes to their rescue!

_The Last Blessing of the Archbishop._ While the pagans are spurring
towards Saragossa, Roland remains on the battle-field, for, having
lost his steed and being mortally wounded, he cannot attempt to pursue
them. After tenderly removing the archbishop's armor, binding up his
wou