CHAPTER XXIV.
THE FIRST FRIDAY IN LENT.
ON the day when the city of Mansourah witnessed the carnage of theCrusaders under the Count of Artois, and a great battle shook the plainoutside the walls, the Egyptians experienced by turns fear and hope, joyand sadness.
On the morning when the camp at Djedile was taken, and the EmirFakreddin slain, a pigeon carried intelligence of the disaster to Cairo;and the Egyptian capital was immediately in consternation. Believingthat the days of Islamism were numbered, and the empire of the sultan onthe verge of ruin, the inhabitants thought of nothing but escape fromthe danger that impended. Many departed for Upper Egypt, and sorrowreigned in the city--the inhabitants bewailing their misfortunes, andcrying that the world was coming to an end. A second pigeon, however,carried thither tidings that the Count of Artois was defeated and slain;and Cairo became the scene of joy and rejoicing. Fear vanished fromevery face; and the Saracens gratefully extolled the courage of theMamelukes, and of their chief, Bibars Bendocdar.
At the same time, an arrival of great importance took place atMansourah. While the battle was raging on the plain, Touran Chah, thenew sultan, reached the city, and was received with acclamations by thepopulace. The emirs, however, regarded the sultan with some suspicion.Unfortunately, Touran Chah did not come alone; and the jealousy of theemirs was aroused by the presence of the favourites who accompanied himfrom Mesopotamia. If the heir of Saladin could have foreseen what aprice he was to pay for the happiness of having his favourites with him,he would doubtless have been discreet enough to leave them behind.
But, in the meantime, it was necessary for the safety and interests bothof the sultan and the emirs, that the Crusaders should be destroyed; andBibars Bendocdar was bent on pursuing his success. In the first place,he made several attempts to recapture the engines of war, and the Frenchwere repeatedly roused to defend them at the point of the sword. Butthese attacks led to a feeling of insecurity, and King Louis deemed itprudent to construct a bridge of wood over the Achmoun, so as to havethe means of communicating readily with the Duke of Burgundy's camp. Whoat that time could have imagined the mischief of which this bridge wassubsequently to be the cause?
Meanwhile Bibars Bendocdar was doing his best to inflame the enthusiasmof the Mamelukes and soldiers. Nor, with that object, was he abovepractising a little deception. A cuirass covered with fleur-de-lis waspublicly exhibited, and declared to be that of the French king. Heraldsproclaimed that the Christian army, deprived of its chief, was like atrunk without a head; and the enthusiasm of the Saracens reached a highpitch. At length, the soldiers began to clamour to be led against theenemy, and Bibars Bendocdar fixed Friday, the 11th of February, as theday on which he would lead them to triumph.
It was the first Friday in Lent; and King Louis, having received warningthat an attack was meditated, gave orders for fortifying the camp, andpreparing for a conflict. At daybreak, accordingly, the Crusaders wereunder arms; and, in good time, Bibars Bendocdar appeared on the plain,setting his men in battle order. Placing his cavalry in the van, theinfantry behind, and a strong reserve in the rear, the Mameluke chiefextended his lines till his forces seemed to cover the plain. Nor was hesorry to observe that there was a prospect of a stern resistance; forthe difficulties of his situation increased his importance in the eyesof his soldiers, and every step he took in overcoming perils, from whichothers shrank, brought him nearer to the object on which his heart wasset--that object being neither more nor less than the throne of thesultans.
And now, noon having come, with horns and kettle-drums sounding anonset, Bibars Bendocdar advanced on the Crusaders, and attacked theCount of Anjou, who was at the head of the camp on the side towards theNile. At first, the French cavalry calmly abided the assault; but theysoon found themselves exposed to a kind of attack which they had notanticipated. In fact, the Saracen infantry, moving forward, overwhelmedthe knights with Greek fire, and threw them into confusion. Surcoats andcaparisons blazed, and the horses plunged, broke from the control oftheir riders, and galloped to and fro. While they were in disorder,Bibars Bendocdar, at the head of the Mamelukes, penetrated within theentrenchments, and the Count of Anjou found himself surrounded by foes.
Ere this, King Louis, aware of his brother's peril, despatched Bisset,the English knight, with a message assuring the count of speedy aid;but, ere the Englishman reached the Count of Anjou, he met the Frenchcavalry flying in disarray. Bisset reined up, and addressed thefugitives.
'Christian warriors,' said he, 'I come from your king to ask whither areyou flying? See you not that the horses of the unbelievers are swifterthan yours?'
'It is too true,' replied the fugitives.
'Come then,' said Bisset, 'follow me, and I will show you what your kingdeems a safer road than flight;' and charging among the Mamelukes, infront of the French cavalry, the English knight succeeded in maintainingthe conflict, which had commenced so inauspiciously for the French.
And aid was at hand; for Louis did not forget his promise of succour.Shouting his battle-cry, he spurred, lance in rest, to his brother'srescue, and, precipitating himself with his knights on the Moslemwarriors, soon redeemed the disaster which had marked the opening of thebattle. Nor did the saint-king exhibit the slightest dread of exposinghis royal person. With a shout of 'Montjoie, St. Denis!' he charged intothe midst of the foe--his banner flying, and his sword flashing--and byhis example inspired the Crusaders with such courage that, after asanguinary combat, they succeeded in expelling the Mamelukes from thecamp, and driving back the infantry that threw the Greek fire.
By this time the battle had become general, and everywhere the Crusadersfought valiantly and well, though they had not always the advantage. Infact, Bibars Bendocdar, as a war chief, possessed such a degree of skillin handling masses of fighting men as neither Louis nor any of theCrusaders could boast of; and the discipline of the Mamelukes was suchas to make them terrible foes to encounter.
Nevertheless the Crusaders held their ground, and performed prodigies ofvalour. At one point the warriors of Syria and Cyprus maintained theirground against fearful odds; at a second, the knights of Champagne andFlanders fought stoutly and well; at a third, such of the Templars ashad not fallen at Mansourah, headed by their grand master who had sonarrowly escaped the carnage, exhibited the fine spectacle of a handfulof men baffling a multitude, and, despite the showers of Greek fire andmissiles which fell so thick that the ground was literally covered witharrows and javelins, kept the enemy at bay. Even when the grand masterfell mortally wounded, the Knights of the Temple continued to struggle;and when their entrenchments failed, and the Saracens rushed into thecamp, the military monks closed their ranks and presented a frontagainst which the assailants continued for hours to charge violently,but in vain.
But meanwhile the peril of the Count of Poictiers had been great andalarming. Composed of infantry, his division gave way before the rush ofthe Saracen cavalry, and dispersed in consternation. Nor was this theworst. The count himself, while endeavouring to rally his forces, wasseized, and experienced the mortification of finding himself dragged offas a prisoner. But there was succour at hand.
The Lord of Joinville and his knights were luckily posted near the Countof Poictiers; but having all been so severely wounded in the battle ofShrove Tuesday as to be unable to bear their armour, they could take noprominent part in the conflict raging around them. No sooner, however,did they observe the count's predicament than they deemed themselvesbound to interfere at all hazards; and Guy Muschamp, riding to the placewhere the sutlers and workmen and women of the army were posted, urgedthem to rouse themselves.
'Good people,' cried the squire, 'the brave Count of Poictiers is beingcarried into captivity. For our Leader's sake, succour the Count ofPoictiers. To the rescue! to the rescue!'
Now the count was highly popular with the persons to whom this appealwas addressed; and no sooner did they learn the prince's danger thanthey displayed the utmost alacrity to aid him. Arming themselves witha
xes, and clubs, and sticks, and anything that came in their way, theyrushed furiously forward, and, led on by the English squire, made sosuccessful an attack that the Saracens were dispersed, and the count wasrescued and carried back in triumph.
'Young gentleman,' said the count, gratefully, 'I owe you my liberty. Ipray you, tell me to whom I am so deeply indebted.'
'Noble count,' replied Guy, after telling his name, 'I am a squire ofEngland; and, for the present, I serve the Lord of Joinville.'
'Ah,' said the count, smiling, 'the seneschal must give you to me; for Iwould fain have an opportunity of proving how I can requite such goodservice.'
By this time Bibars Bendocdar perceived that he was wasting his strengthin vain, and sounded a retreat. But the Mameluke chief was not withouthis consolation. He knew that he had ruined the enterprise of theCrusaders; that they were no longer in a condition to attempt a march toCairo; and that they knew not on which side to turn.
But when the Saracens retreated towards Damietta, and the danger wasover for the time being, the Crusaders were inclined to talk of theirsuccessful resistance as a victory; and the knights and barons whensummoned that evening to the king's pavilion, went thither with the airsof conquerors.
'My lords and friends,' said Louis, kindly; 'we have much cause to begrateful to God our Creator. On Tuesday, aided by Him, we dislodged ourenemies from their quarters, of which we gained possession. This day wehave defended ourselves against them, though taken at advantage; many ofus being left without arms or horses, while they were completely armedand on horseback, and on their own ground. And since you have allwitnessed the grace which God our Creator has of late shown to us, andcontinues to do daily, I commend you all, as you are bounden to do, toreturn Him due thanksgiving.'