fire was extinguished, by a man whom we had for this purpose. The
manner of the Greek fire was such, that it came forth as large as a tun,
and the tail extended as long as '_une demye canne de quatre pans_.' It
made such a noise in approaching, that it seemed like thunder which had
fallen from heaven, and seemed to me a great dragon flying through the
air; and threw out such a blaze that it appeared as clear as the day, so
great a flame of fire was there. Three times during the night they threw
this Greek fire at us from the above-mentioned '_perriere_,' and four
times with the '_arbaleste_.' And every time that our good king Saint
Loys heard that they thus threw the fire, he cast himself upon the
ground, and stretched his hands to heaven, and cried with a loud voice
to our Lord, and said, shedding copious tears--'Good Lord Jesus Christ,
preserve me and all my people;' and, believe me, his good prayers and
orisons did us good service (_nous eurent bon mestier_)."

It is impossible to render, in literal translation, the quaint
simplicity of the old French; but the fact that this terrible fire was
extinguished by a single man, would tend very much to lessen our belief
in the marvels attributed to it by the narrator.

Be that as it may, we have, in the extract quoted, the expression Greek
fire, (_feu Gregeois_,) which will connect the effect then produced with
that known as pertaining to the Greek fire. There is every probability
that the compositions here used were the same or similar to those
generally known under that title, while the MSS. above quoted detail the
compositions used by the Arabs at that period: the evidence is,
therefore, very strong that the Greek fire was a composition closely
resembling, if not identical with, those indicated in the Arabian
receipts.

If we trace back the effects of the combustible compositions to the
period of the Crusades, anterior to the time when Joinville wrote, we
shall find a strong analogy with those described by him; but the use of
saltpetre appears to have been more rare, and that of bituminous
substances more frequent.

From an Arabian author of the middle of the 13th century, Casiri
translates a passage into Latin, which Reinaud somewhat alters. We
render it as nearly as we can in English. "It creeps along with
scorpions of nitre powder (_baraud_) placed in cases. These scorpions
take fire, and wherever they fall they burn; they spread abroad like a
cloud; they yell li