Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/79

Rh of those sick who were under their charge, and not in a state to undergo immediate removal. Saladin appears to have greatly admired the Order. The contemporary records relate an anecdote of him which, though bearing on its face the impress of invention, still shows in what high estimation he was sup posed to have held his relentless foes of the Hospital. The fable relates that, having heard of the boundless liberality and care lavished by the brethren on all who sought their help, whether Christian or infidel, Saladin determined to test the truth of the report. He therefore disguised himself as a Syrian peasant, and in that character sought admission to the Hospital. He was received at once, and his wants attended to. In pursuit of his design he refused all offers of food, alleging that he felt unable to eat. He continued this conduct so long that the brothers began to fear lest he should starve to death. At length, after having been pressed to name some article of food that might tempt his appetite, he, after much apparent hesitation, suggested that the only food he could fancy would be a piece of the leg of the Master’s favourite horse, cut off in his presence. The brethren were struck with consternation at such an extravagant request, but the rules of the Hospital were most stringent on the point of yielding to the utmost possible extent to the fancies of their patients. They therefore communicated the wish to the Master, who, much as he grieved at losing his favourite charger, at once gave orders that he should be taken to the Hospital, there to undergo in the presence of the patient the amputation necessary to gratify so inconvenient an appetite. Saladin thus saw that the fraternity in reality suffered nothing to interfere with what they considered the sacred duties of hospitality, and at once declared that the desire to gratify his craving had so far cured him, that he could partake of ordinary food without the necessity for consummating the sacrifice. He left the Hospital disguised as he had entered it, ever after retaining the warmest regard for his antagonists. Some writers assert that he made several liberal donations to the institution, but this probably is as fabulous as the tale itself.

Thus were the Christians forced to turn their backs on the scene of so many struggles, hopes, and triumphs. The crescent again waved over the ramparts where the rival banners of the Hospital and Temple had for so long fanned the breeze, and the church of the Holy Sepulchre once more became a Mahometan mosque. Was it for this that Peter the Hermit had in the preceding century thundered forth his denunciations against the infidel? Was it for this that Europe had poured forth her countless hosts to whiten the shores of Palestine with their bones? Was it for this that generations of zealous devotees had consecrated their swords and their lives to the preservation of that precious conquest wrung at such cost from the Moslem? It was, alas,