Page:Great Men and Famous Women Volume 5.djvu/149

 ST. LOUIS 89 cepted, and the sick murdered by the Egyptians ; while, at the same time an at- tack was made on the Christian camp. Louis was so weak that he could scarcely ride, but nevertheless would not desert his post. He rode between the ranks, encouraging his men, till he fainted and was obliged to withdraw from the field. His quaint and affectionate biog- rapher, the Lord of Joinville, who was with him in- this expedition, thus describes the scenes which ensued: "Of all his men- at-arms" there was only one with him, the good knight, Sir Geoffrey de Sargines; and who, I heard say, did defend him like as a faithful servant doth guard his mas- ter's cup from flies for every tirr. that the Saracens did approach the king he de- fended him with vigorous strokes of the blade and point of his sword, and his strength seemed doubled. At last he brought the king to a house where there was a woman from Paris ; and laying him on the ground, placed his head on the woman's lap, expecting every moment that he would breathe his last" In this half- dying condition a body of Egyptians found him, and bore him to the tent of the sultan. The defeat of the Christians, who were weakened by the climate, disease, and want of food, was general ; many fell by the sword, and the rest were taken prisoners with their king. In captivity Louis showed a noble resignation and courage amid the apos- tasy of many. He won the respect of the sultan, who treated him with generos- ity 1, and listened to the terms of ransom which he proposed. The queen remained at Damietta, which was strongly garrisoned. Fearful, nevertheless, of falling into the hands of the Moslems, who would have carried her into the sultan's harem, she prayed an old knight in her suite to slay her with his sword, should there be any danger of that event " I had determined on so doing, madam," was the answer. Margaret's heroism was not put to this severe test, for the sur- render of Damietta was one of the conditions of her husband's release ; and after paying in .addition a sum of 40x3,000 livres, Louis was on the point of being set free. An insurrection, however, suddenly arose among the Mamelukes, or Tar- tarian troops, in whose hands the real power of the state was placed, and the sultan was murdered. A party of the assassins, it is said, entered the chamber of Louis with their scimitars drawn, but his calm dignity saved him, and the treaty was carried out by the new sultan. Many of the French nobles returned home, but the king, faithful to his vow, proceeded to Syria, and spent four years in strengthening the fortresses of Tyre