, and
complete the rout of our foes while affairs prosper in our hands and
they are in dismay. Speed will now avail more than strength; and the
fewer we are the greater will be the honour of a victory. Forward then,
and crush them at a blow!'

'Forward!' shouted the old deaf knight, who held the count's rein.
'Hurrah! hurrah! Upon them! upon them!'

But the count's companions hesitated, and exchanged glances of alarm.

'Noble prince,' said the Master of the Temple, after a pause, 'I give
all praise to your valour; but I entreat you to be advised, and not to
act rashly. Our men are weary; our horses are wounded; we are few in
number; and we must not overvalue our victory, or suppose our enemies
are vanquished because they have lost a handful of men. Let us,
therefore, return to the king, that we may be strengthened by his
counsel and aid.'

'In truth,' said the Grand Master of the Hospital, 'we should be
foolhardy to attempt aught rashly. We are in a strange country; and our
best instructors are behind. Let us stay for our lantern and not go
forward in the dark.'

'Ah!' exclaimed the Count of Artois, swelling with pride and anger,
'this is ever the way with military monks. But for the treachery of the
Templars, and the sedition of the Hospitallers, the Holy Land would long
since have been won.'

'Noble count,' said the Grand Master of the Temple, reproachfully, 'you
do us grievous wrong. Why should we take the habit of religion, and pass
our lives in a foreign land amid perils and fatigues? Is it, think you,
to overthrow the Church and betray the cause of Christ, that we abandon
our homes and kindred? However,' added the Grand Master, waxing wrath,
'let us forward, in God's name, and try all together the fortunes of
battle. Standard-bearer, unfurl the banner of the Temple. Ha!
Beau-seant! Beau-seant!'

At this moment the Earl of Salisbury made an effort to save his comrades
from the destruction on which they were about to rush.

'My lord,' said he, addressing the Count of Artois, 'I implore you to
listen to the wholesome counsel of the grand masters. They have been
long in this country, and learned by experience the craft as well as the
strength of our foes. We, being strangers, are ignorant of the perils;
but we know that, as far as the east is from the west, so far are my
ways different from the ways of the Orientals.'

'Hearken to this Englishman!' exclaimed the count, scornfully. 'What
cowardice there is