Page:History of Valentine and Orson (2).pdf/20

20 the vanquished, as he did himself, thinking thereby the better to fall on the besiegers his enemies; but his stratagem proved most fatal to him as we shall hereafter find.

All this while the Christains and Valentine bravely encountered Brandifer and his men, before the walls of Constantinople, sometimes getting, and sometimes losing ground: but at length Valentine came to the standard of Brandifer, where an Indian King ran against him with great force, but Valentine avoiding him, struck him with such fury as cleft him down the middle.

On the other hand, Orson and the Green Knight were not idle, but with their brandished swords cut themselves a passage quite thro' the Pagan army, destroying all that opposed them.

Soon after, news came that a mighty fleet of Saracens were entering the harbour; whereupon Valentine judged it was necessary to go thither, and oppose their landing, but it proved fatal; for in this fleet was the Emperor his father, who being clad in the Saracen's armour, Valentine by mistake ran him quite through the body with his spear;