Mahomet is his
prophet.'

Walter sprang up, quivering with pious horror, and hastily crossed
himself.

'Sir knight,' said he, earnestly, 'I feel that this place is unholy.'

'Mayhap, boy,' replied the knight. 'But patter your prayers, and no evil
will come nigh you. For the rest, Bagdad would be holy enough were the
walls and towers manned by Christian warriors, and the mosques converted
into churches, and I king, with the caliph's treasures to go forth
against the Moslem, conquering and to conquer. Oh, credit me, it is a
glorious vision. But it cannot be realised. Marry, I spoke too truly
when I said that I was born without luck on my side.'

Night fell; the moon rose; and the Crusaders, after for a time looking
out upon innumerable stars, glorious in the blue depths of an Asian sky,
saw to the comfort and security of their attendants, and then stretched
themselves to rest--Walter laying himself down at the door of the
chamber which Bisset occupied. In spite of the knight's agitation and
the squire's anxiety, both soon sank into sleep. But their repose was
destined to be broken. About daybreak they were awakened by cries and
tumult, that filled the palace of the caliph. Gradually, the noise
increased, and was blended with strange cries, as of warriors storming
the city. Bisset and Walter listened with breathless attention, as yell
after yell, and whoop after whoop, intimated that some terrible
catastrophe had occurred; and as they hearkened, the Templar, who had
occupied an adjoining apartment, rushed in, calm, but pale as a ghost.

'Gentlemen,' said he, 'we are dead men.'

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

WOE TO THE CALIPH.

I HAVE mentioned that, in the middle of the thirteenth century, the
Moguls, or Tartars, were the terror of Asia and Europe. In considering
their energy and cruelty as warriors, is it wonderful that their
movements should have been regarded with lively alarm? From the Yellow
River to the banks of the Danube they had marched, conquering and
slaughtering; marking their way with devastation, and making the two
continents resound with the tumult of war and the crash of empires.

Originally a number of hordes, inhabiting the waste regions that lie
between ancient Emaues, Siberia, and China, and the sea of Kamschatka,
the Tartars formed several nations of hunters and shepherds, living
under tents, with their families subsisting on the produce of the chase
and the flesh of their flocks, and acknowled