warden of yon hostile tower! And now that thou hast embraced the same faith, is it well for thee to war against the soldiers of the cross?' Would that it were otherwise!' he answered, musingly; but, dearest, there are difficulties in the way. I am known in the Christian camp only as a spy. Were I to desert my charge here, and join the ranks of the Crusaders, I should be still looked upon with suspicion; they may even refuse to receive me as a companion in arms. were my services accepted, my single arm could avail but little toward the accomplishment of their undertaking.'

Even

Phirouz,' said the maiden with great earnestness, placing as she spoke her hand upon her lover's arm, 'thou hast often bidden me demand from thee some proof of thy affection. I doubt it not I have never doubted it - but the injunction proves that thou art willing to make some sacrifice for thine Agatha. Our warriors are fighting in a holy cause. They have come hither from distant lands to recover the sepulchre where our Lord was buried, and to insure safe passage to and from that sacred spot, for the bands of pious pilgrims who resort thither; and who, thou well knowest, have been miserably oppressed, ill treated, buried in loathsome dungeons, tortured and slain, by those for whom thou art perilling thy life. Is it not thine, dear Phirouz, a believer now in the same creed, to aid their pious design, rather than to give thy assistance to impede it? The command of the tower which now frowns above us, is thine-thine Agatha asks thee to forward the undertaking of thy fellow Christians - Bohemond of Tarentum will reward thee richly, if thou wilt.'

It shall be done,' replied the youth, after a pause-long have I felt that my situation was an unpleasant one; but this morning,' he continued, and his eye kindled and his lip quivered as he spoke, Baghasian, in making the circuit of the walls, upbraided me with my apostacy from Islamism, and then, in the presence of a large body of my fellow captains, turned away from me with the insulting speech, There is but one step between the apostate and the traitor - beware! thou art suspected!' Maiden, his prediction shall be verified. Let Bohemond keep his gold; neither for that nor even for thy love-highly as I value it would I betray the trust that is reposed in me, were I not convinced that a purer motive requires me to do so. Even that motive

I might have repressed, but for the insult of Baghasian. Tell Bohemond to have all things prepared for an assault, and when he sees a light in the highest loop-hole of this tower, bid him lead his bravest lances to its foot - they shall be admitted. And now, dearest, farewell! I see the torch of the officer of the guard approaching along the walls; I must be on my post. When next we meet, it shall be no longer in the stolen interviews between those of hostile camps.'

He kissed her fair brow, and departed, and was soon in his tower, awaiting his superior's approach.

CHAPTER IV.

THE COUNCIL-THE ASSAULT.

SLOWLY to Bohemond passed that night and the succeeding day: as evening approached, every step, every voice he heard, drew his eyes to the tent door.

He had that day called a meeting of his brother chiefs, and demanded of them, in full council, if, in the event the city should be taken by his means, they would consent to give up to him the sole possession of the prize. At first they had refused. Each chief asserted his right to an equal division of the spoil, whoever should lead the way to its acquisition. Bohemond, somewhat disappointed at the reception which his proposal met with, rose abruptly from his seat, saying:

'As ye will as ye will, my lords. The distresses of the siege press not more heavily on me than they do upon you. We will again quietly sit down and look at the walls of Antioch. As ye refuse me the possession of the city, ye cannot complain if I refuse to divulge the means by which I had hoped to take it; nevertheless, ye will, perhaps, wish that ye had made a less hasty decision, when ye hear the intelligence I have to communicate.' Clapping his hands, a messenger appeared. Tell these noble leaders,' continued Bohemond, addressing him, 'that which thou didst tell to me as I met thee on my way to the council.'

Be it known to you, noble Godfrey,' said the messenger, and ye other leaders of this Christian army, that the Sultaun of Persia is now on his march hither to raise the siege of Antioch, and unless the city be soon in your power

The messenger was here interrupted by Raimond, Count of Toulouse, between whom and Bohemond a coolness, almost amounting to a decided quarrel, had for some time existed.

'The Prince of Tarentum, my lords, hath been happy in discovering a messenger so opportunely to back his arguments. Trust me, I could procure twenty at an hour's notice, who would declare to you that the Sultaun of Persia was marching in an opposite direction.'

Nay,' replied Godfrey, the information is correct. I have this morning received the same intelligence from another source, and it was my intention to have laid the subject before you forthwith. Kerboga leads an immense and well appointed host. What say you then, lords, shall we accept the noble Bohemond's proposal?"

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After some discussion the chiefs, perceiving that the emergency was pressing, consented to agree to the proposition of Bohemond. The following morning was appointed for the council again to meet, to receive from that chief whatever disclosures he might have to make with respect to the capture of the city; and on returning to his tent, it was not without deep anxiety that Bohemond awaited the promised visit of Agatha.

The maiden at length appeared, and the chief read success in her countenance. She revealed to him the conversation which had passed between her and her lover, and the signal which was to warn the Crusaders of the hour of attack. As she turned to depart, the delighted prince threw over her shoulders a massive gold chain, of great value, 'not as a reward,' he said, as she attempted to return it, but as a mark of admiration for the virtue which thou hast exhibited in the midst of vice and licentiousness. Continue thus to act, fair maiden, and the saints doubtless will protect thee; and thy lover-if he be indeed the noble youth thou describest him - will prove himself a husband worthy of thee. May the God of battles bless our arms, and afford ye a peaceful and happy union!'

At the council, on the following morning, Bohemond related to

Godfrey and a few of the principal leaders, under the strictest obligations of secrecy, in consequence of the numerous spies who infested the camp, his intercourse with Phirouz, and his plan of attack. It was then determined to place under Bohemond's orders seven hundred chosen knights, to be ready at a moment's warning, the ostensible object of whose preparation was to lay an ambush for the Persian army, which was known to be approaching. All the necessary arrangements were soon made, and the moment twilight fell, Bohemond's eye was turned anxiously toward the tower of Phirouz.

The night fell dark, cloudy, and tempestuous. It was uncertain when the signal would be made, but the time was so favorable for the enterprise, that the warriors were ordered to hold themselves in readiness, and Godfrey, Bohemond, and Robert of Flanders, the three leaders of the expedition, assembled in complete armor in the tent of the latter, which, from its situation in the camp, commanded a full view of the tower which Phirouz held. Hour after hour passed, and still no signal appeared and after a short deliberation, it was resolved to set out in the direction of the tower, so as to lose no time in entering, after Phirouz should signify his readiness to receive them. Slowly and stealthily they left the camp, all but the leaders ignorant of the real object of the march. Making a circuit of some distance among the mountains, they reached at length a deep valley, not far from the walls, where they halted. The tower was in sight, but dark and still as if untenanted by living being. The leaders, fearful that Phirouz had deceived them, again went apart to consult, and Bohemond had just volunteered to go up to the walls alone, and try to procure some intelligence, when suddenly from the highest loop-hole of the tower flashed forth a brilliant and steady light! Bohemond flew back to the band, and, pointing to the light, said:

My friends and fellow soldiers! - that beacon fire lights you to victory. Not for ambush have we left the camp; a nobler quarry demands your courage. It was necessary to conceal the object of our expedition, lest spies should have learned the truth, and defeated our plans. Know then, that yonder light, gleaming from the tower of Phirouz, shows that he is ready to admit us within the walls. Be brave, fellow soldiers, and your toils will be ended. This night Antioch shall be ours. Now forward to victory and spoil!'

The whole band advanced rapidly, but without noise, save what arose from the heavy tread and clanking armor of so many knightsbut even that was unheard, amid the howling of the storm through the steep mountain passes around them. They reached the walls. From the loop-hole through which the lover had descended, two nights before, to meet Agatha, hung a single rope to which a ladder of hides, which the invaders had brought from the camp, was attached, and drawn up by an invisible hand within. Then it was that the full peril of the enterprise struck the minds of the Crusaders. 'Who shall ascend first?' was the question which each asked, but no one answered.

Who is this Phirouz?' exclaimed Walter de Bras, a rough but bold knight of France: we can enter but one at a time, and a single hand above may silently cut off the bravest lancers of the Crusade.' Phirouz is a true friend,' whispered a voice above; trust to him, and fear nothing. On your speed depends your safety. A patrol with

VOL. VIII.

24

a torch comes forth every hour upon the walls. Ascend, ere you be discovered, or I suspected.'

Follow me then!' cried Bohemond, springing forward to the ladder which he held with one hand, and crossing himself with the other, added, Holy mother defend me! If I die, it will be in a good cause, and ye, my friends, will not allow me to die unavenged. Let those who have no woman's hearts beneath their bucklers, follow me.'

So saying he commenced the ascent. tering between his teeth:

Walter de Bras followed, mut

'Plague on your night attacks! - they are an innovation in the art of war. Woman's hearts, did he say? The corslet of Walter covers none, but i' faith this dangling between heaven and earth likes me not; it is an unlucky omen.'

Ere this soliloquy was completed, Bohemond had gained the tower, and from the loop-hole above encouraged his companions to follow. Godfrey and Robert, succeeded by several others, then mounted. Emboldened by example, the knights soon began to crowd upon the frail support, and scarcely more than twenty had entered the tower, ere the ladder was found to be giving way beneath the numbers who had gathered upon it. One side had already parted, and shortly afterward the other, straining and rending beneath the increased weight thus thrown upon it, snapped, precipitating several warriors upon the iron spikes which armed the edge of the fosse.

The clang of their armour as they fell, and the groans of those who were wounded in their rapid descent, struck terror into every heart, lest the noise should betray them, and defeat the whole enterprise. But the besieged heard it not. The roaring of the storm, and the rushing of the vexed river beneath, swallowed up every other sound, to all but those who were the immediate actors in the perilous adventure. The ladder was soon repaired, and, after another pause of doubt and hesitation, was again strained by the weight of the ascending warriors. Then came a new cause of alarm. Ere more than fifty or sixty knights had made good their footing in the tower, a torch threw its red and flickering glare along the walls. The delay caused by the breaking of the ladder had rendered it impossible to admit all, ere the patrol made his rounds. Those who were still at the foot of the walls crowded closely under the shade of the battlements, but all in vain they were discovered! The officer bent with his blazing light over the parapet, and turned to give the alarm, but ere a word could pass his lips, the dagger of Bohemond was deep in his heart. And now, the knights who had gained the walls, forming themselves into a close band, passed down the narrow stair-case to the guard-room, and the soldiers who slumbered there awoke no more. Then descending to the nearest gate of the city, they threw open to their fellow soldiers who had not yet mounted to the walls, and the whole band uniting there, rushed into the city, following up their first glad shout with a long, loud, thrilling blast of trumpets; intended at the same time to strike terror into the hearts of the besieged, and to give warning of their success to their fellow warriors in the camp, who, arming instantly, rushed to their support. Ere morning dawned, Antioch was in possession of the Crusaders, with the exception of the citadel, whither, on the first alarm, Baghasian and the flower of his army had betaken themselves.

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It is not necessary to the development of my tale, that I should dwell upon the fearful events which that night witnessed: but while I draw the veil over these barbarities, I am compelled to proceed to the description of scenes scarcely less painful.

CHAPTER V.

THE FAMINE.

ANTIOCH, for some weeks before its capture, had been suffering from want of provisions, not less severe than that which oppressed the Crusaders; and the fall of the city had therefore brought to the conquerors no mitigation of their sufferings. Nevertheless, for some days after taking possession of their prize, so great was their joy at the termination of a siege which had been the fruitful parent of so much misery, they gave themselves up without restraint to revelry and debauch, heedless of the future, and almost forgetting that a powerful enemy was at hand. Ere the leaders could rouse them to exertion, and organize a band to scour the neighboring country for supplies, Kerboga, Emir of Mosul, and Kilidge Aslan, better known by the name of Solyman, Sultaun of Roum, had encamped with three hundred thousand warriors around the walls of Antioch.

Whatever privations the Christians might have endured while besieging the city, they were light indeed when compared with the dreadful sufferings to which, as the besieged, they were now reduced. Horses and dogs, and eventually the most loathsome reptiles, were used as food. Famine, in every shape of horror, and accompanied by its inseparable attendants, selfishness, and utter abandonment of all moral restraint, reigned every where supreme. Even the strong voice of natural affection was silenced amid the horrors of the time, and hundreds of the old and infirm fell daily before the pittiless tooth of the slow-wasting enemy. Armed bands prowled the streets day and night, and without remorse broke into the houses of the weaker, and seized upon their little store; and the plunderers themselves perchance, unless they quickly devoured their ill-gotten supply, found it wrested from their hands the next moment by a larger or better armed company. Many, unable to bear the lingering tortures which they experienced, deserted from the walls in the desperate hope to escape, or, failing in that, to find a more rapid and easy death among the spears of the besiegers. In many instances, the bodies of the dead were devoured by the living, and the dying found an aggravation of their horrors, in the shuddering thought that their only tomb would be the greedy throats of their own kindred.

Phirouz and Agatha had met, without the necessity of secrecy, but alas, under what circumstances! It is true, indeed, that famine, from particular causes, pressed less heavily on them than on their fellow sufferers, but still the keen eye of the lover was compelled, day by day, to witness the fair cheek of his betrothed becoming paler and still paler under her privations; and she could well perceive that his active form had lost much of its vigor, and that his firm step had grown less elastic.

After the desertion of Stephen of Blois, Agatha had found an asylum in the tent of the same Walter de Bras whom we have seen with Bo

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