thy hands - and it matters little from whose mouth-warrior or priest thou learnest the object of my mission. Cavil not against the messenger, but thank the Christians that they have deigned, by whatever means, mercifully to warn thee that God has signified his gracious intention to deliver us from our evil state, and to fight on our side. They, therefore, advise thee to depart from these walls, ere the vengeance of the Almighty blight thee, like the host of Sennacherib of old: trust not to the proud and glittering array by which thou art surrounded. He in whom we trust is able to make the weak strong, and the strong weak. Be warned, then, ere it be too late, nor allow thy unweening confidence to become thy destruction.'

'Sir Monk,' replied Kerboga, who had listened with manifest impatience to the Hermit's message, 'thank thy sacred habit that the Emir beats thee not back with rods to thy gates. Bear this message to those who sent thee: If Godfrey and his followers, weary of the famine and the siege, wish to give their fleshless limbs to the eagle and the vulture, Kerboga will prepare an hundred archers as their executioners; let them come on whenever it likes them.'

The Hermit replied not, but returned to the city.

Every thing was now ready for the sally, which was fixed for the following morning. Their preparations, however, had not been so secretly conducted, but that the Turks, who still held the citadel, had become fully aware of their intentions; and a black flag, waving at daylight on the following morning from the highest peak of the acropolis, warned Kerboga that the attack was about to take place.

So completely, however, did the Emir despise his enemy, that he took little notice of the warning; and merely giving directions to send two thousand men to prevent the Christians from passing the bridge, sat down to a game of chess with Solyman, his partner in command, who had sought his pavilion to consult with him on the arrangement of their troops.

Miserable, indeed, was the spectacle which the once proud and gallant army of the Christians now presented, as it defiled through the gates of Antioch to attack the forces of the East, and Kerboga might well be pardoned for considering such an enemy almost beneath his notice. Scarcely two hundred horses had survived the famine, and the larger proportion of the knights and nobles marched forth on foot. Enthusiasm, however, in a great degree, made up the deficiency of physical power, and forth they came, confident of victory, the priests, bearing consecrated banners and crosses, mingling with the warlike array, and singing hymns of joy and triumph.

On they came-Adhemar, the warlike Bishop of Puy, clad in complete armor, bearing the sacred lance, which had that morning been consecrated with the most imposing ceremonies in the church of St. Peter, and Bohemond and Tancred bringing up the rear. Long pent up within the mournful walls of Antioch, the fresh dew and gentle breezes of that bright summer morning invigorated their wasted limbs and cheered their spirits; and their courage and confidence increased as they advanced.

How goes the battle?' asked Kerboga, with a contemptuous smile, as he rose from his game to meet a breathless messenger who had just

entered the pavilion, and touched with his forehead the carpet on which the Emir had been reclining.

The guards who defended the bridge,' replied the messenger, 'are flying precipitately toward the camp, and the Christian army is holding its way unopposed to the hills.'

The Emir stamped with rage. Aslan, we have committed a great, a fatal error. They should have been attacked ere they could have defiled from the gates.'

Throwing himself upon his war horse, he now put himself at the head of his followers, and tried, by many skilful manœuvres, to regain the advantage he had lost, by surrounding the enemy, ere they could reach the broken ground where his cavalry would be unable to act with advantage. Foiled in this attempt, he drew up his troops in front of the camp, and awaited the enemy's approach; while Solyman, causing the dry grass and weeds to be set on fire, led an immense body of cavalry, under cover of the smoke, to attack the rear of the army commanded by the Prince of Tarentum. Meanwhile the van of the Christian host had forced back the Moslem centre to the camp, and Godfrey and Adhemar were congratulating themselves with the victory which seemed almost within their grasp, when news was brought them that the rear was surrounded by superior numbers, and was cut off from the rest of the army. Turning back, therefore, from their attack on the centre, Godfrey and the other leaders flew to the rescue of Bohemond, who had already been joined by his noble kinsman, Tancred, and by their united forces, the troops of Aslan were defeated. Scarcely, however, had they turned to support Bohemond, ere Kerboga, contracting his line, fell upon the rear of Godfrey's columns, and the bands of Solyman, rallying at the same moment, in a short time the whole Christian host was surrounded. In vain the Bishop of Puy pressed forward with the sacred lance—in vain Bohemond and his chivalrous cousin Tancred, hand to hand, and lance to lance, mowed down the infidels wherever they turned; in every charge the Christian warriors were beaten back by numbers, and the battle now seemed well nigh hopeless.

At this critical juncture, a cry was raised along the ranks of the Crusaders, The Saint's are fighting on our side!' and lifting their eyes to the rising ground above them, a body of horsemen, clothed in white, was seen sweeping down the slope and falling upon the rear of the Moslem army. Then high above all the din of the battle rose in thunder the spirit-stirring shout, God wills it! God wills it!' The enthusiasm of the Christians became frenzy. The Saracens were

slaughtered and repulsed in every direction, and soon the sickening intelligence spread through their hosts, that the Christians had forced their camp. The battle was no longer doubtful. The infidels fled on every side, notwithstanding all the exertions of Kerboga to rally his panic-stricken troops. Nearly seventy thousand of the Moslem army found a grave on that bloody field, and among the almost incalculable riches which rewarded the victors of that well-contested battle, the splendid pavilion of Kerboga fell into the hands of Bohemond. The Crusaders returned in triumph to the city, and plenty once more gladdened the famished army.

CHAPTER II.

THE STRANGER-THE DISAPPOINTMENT.

THE sun, which had risen so auspiciously on that eventful morning, was verging toward the west, when Bohemond and Tancred sought the gates of Antioch, on their return from the victorious field. They were accompanied by Phirouz and by a young warrior of graceful form and fair countenance, over whose brightly burnished corslet floated a scarf of snowy whiteness; a white plume also danced above his helmet.

We have been mercifully protected,' said the latter, as they passed beneath the heavy archway of the gate, in reply to some previous remark of Phirouz, and I bless heaven that in searching for her I have found a brother also.'

'Nay,' replied Phirouz, 'it is I who have the greatest reason to be grateful: in finding Agatha, I have at the same time found her holy religion; and I shall now enjoy the happiness of restoring to her the brother whom she has long lamented as dead, and in him, the saviour from defeat and slaughter of the whole Christian host.'

'Such honor I can scarcely claim,' replied Bartoldo, for he it was; 'nevertheless, I doubt not but that my arrival with an hundred lances, at that critical moment, may have accelerated the victory. Short triumph, however, would have been mine at that happy event, had not thy sword, dear Phirouz, striken down the infidel whose lance was at my

throat.'

Thus conversing, they reached the abode of Walter de Bras.

warrior was standing at the door, and eagerly inquired of Phirouz, the moment he arrived within call, if he had seen or heard any thing of Agatha.

Nothing,' replied Phirouz, in evident alarm; but what hath chanced, Walter, that thou makest such inquiry?

Shortly after we left the city this morning,' he replied, 'my wife, accompanied by several other matrons, went forth to seek for food beyond the walls. On their return, Agatha could no where be found: she hath caused inquiry to be made through the city; but no tidings of the maiden have yet reached us.'

It were vain to attempt to portray the agony and consternation which these words produced both on the lover and the brother. They had returned from the victorious field, enjoying in anticipation the delighted welcome they should receive from one so dear to both; and at the moment when they supposed they were about to quaff the rich draught of happiness, the cup was dashed rudely from their lips. The pressing entreaties of Walter that they would enter and take some refreshment after the labors of the day, fell unheeded on their ears, and the two young friends departed, to learn, if possible, some tidings of Agatha.

Bartoldo had been left for dead upon the field of Dorylæum. Being severely wounded, he had fainted from loss of blood. He first awoke to consciousness in a rude booth which some women of the camp had erected, and there his wounds had been dressed; but being unable to march with the rest of the troops, when Bohemond quitted the valley, the females kindly left a store of provisions for his use, supposing that in a few days he would have recovered sufficient strength to

follow the army. Agatha had heard of his death in the early part of the contest; and although she searched the field diligently for his dead body, during the few days that the army remained there, she had not thought of inquiring at the distant shed where he reposed, which indeed, from its situation, scarcely appeared to be connected with the camp. After his recovery, he fell in with a small band of Christians, who had escaped from Antioch in the early part of the siege. Their numbers gradually increased to about a hundred, and having chosen Bartoldo for their leader, he had conducted them toward Antioch, in the double hope of being enabled to give some aid to the famishing Christians besieged there, and of discovering his sister. It was the sudden arrival of his little company, which had so effectually raised the desponding spirits of the Crusaders in the late battle, and had turned the scale of victory in their favor, when it seemed to require little less than a miracle to release them from their perilous situation.

CHAPTER III.

THE PRISONER.

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ABOVE the western gate of Antioch rose two spacious towers. In one of these, furnished with all the luxuries of the day, sat a maiden, pale and dejected. Leaning her cheek upon her left hand, she gazed abstractedly from the lofty casement, while with the other hand she turned over mechanically the leaves of an illuminated missal which lay on the table beside her. The sound of an armed foot ascending the stone staircase, aroused her from her reverie. She started her cheek for a moment became flushed — then a deadly paleness overspread her features but firm and high resolve sat in her eye and on her lip; and ere the door of the apartment opened, her look had assumed a tolerable degree of composure, and her eyes, resting upon the pages of the volume she held, rose not, as a warrior of tall and commanding presence stood before her. He was in the prime of life, and might have been considered handsome, had not a low contracted forehead, and a small,. restless eye bespoken meanness, avarice and cunning. He paused a moment, gazing on the maiden, who appeared as though utterly unconscious of his presence; then approaching the table by which she sat, he said:

Still cold and unkind, fair one? I had hoped, after the dazzling offers which I yesternight made to thee, to find thee more complying, and to have met a warmer reception?'

The maiden replied not.

'Nay, proud maiden,' he continued, 'an thou be so sullen, and so blind to thine own interest, Raimond can woo in another key. Knowst thou that Phirouz is suspected of keeping up a communication with the enemy during the late siege, and that a word from my lips can raise him to the gibbet?'

For any thing but this, Agatha was prepared. She knew that Phirouz was guiltless of any treasonable intercourse with the camp of Kerboga; but she felt at the same time that there was sufficient ground on which his enemies might build an accusation, since for her sake he

had purchased food from the infidel during the famine. She saw at once all the horror of her situation, and stood for some time the very image of indecision and despair.

Thy silence proves thee conscious of thy lover's treason,' at length continued Raimond.

It is false!' replied Agatha, all the decision and spirit of her character recalled by the words: Phirouz is no traitor; nor dare thou, Count of Toulouse, accuse him of such charge. A sincere convert to our holy religion, he joined our ranks from a sense of duty, and the same sense of duty would keephim true to the cause which he has espoused. On what foundation rests the injurious accusation?'

4

Kerboga's camp followers,' replied the chief, were seen beneath his tower. They supplied him with food during the famine, and he was heard, by the guards, conversing with them in the Moslem tongue. Methinks, maiden, thy lover stands in peril.'

'I confide in the justice of Heaven, and in the innocence of Phirouz,' replied she, after a pause. Let the guilty tremble― Agatha has no fears, either for herself or her betrothed. Accuse him, my lord, if such be thy pleasure; thou wilt gain nought but hatred from her who glories in his pure affection. She spurns at thy vain threats, and she despises him- noble though he be called-who could stoop to such meanness, and hope to accomplish his base purposes, by working upon the fears of a defenceless and orphaned maiden! But thou hast mistaken thy captive, my lord. This massive gate tower is yet too feeble a prison for a free spirit, and thou hast mercifully left with me the means by which I may escape.' She placed her hand, as she spoke, upon a poniard whose hilt gleamed with gems, which, with several other weapons, hung beside the casement. Agatha will fail not to use it, Sir Count, if need be for although but a poor follower of the Christian camp, she has been preserved from its pollutions, and has learnt so to prize her honor and her fair fame, that she will die, rather than allow a stain to fall upon either.'

Raimond was disconcerted and abashed. He had indeed formed a wrong estimate of the character of his captive. On the morning of the sally, he had been left with his followers to guard the city; and on passing through the streets to take possession of the citadel, which had surrendered on beholding the forces of Kerboga flying before the Christian arms - he had met Agatha, and being struck with her great beauty, had secretly given directions to two of his attendants to cause her to be conveyed to the tower where she was still confined. Little suspecting the depth and nobleness of sentiment which were hidden in that fair and gentle form for a life spent in camps had made him but ill acquainted with the brighter points of the female character he had sought her on the previous evening, and endeavored, by appeals to her vanity and her ambition, to induce her to yield to his desires. Foiled in this attempt, he now hoped, by awakening her fears for the safety of her lover, to prevail upon her to purchase the life of Phirouz at the price of her own dishonor. This last resort, as we have seen, had also failed him; and he now stood uncertain what course to adopt; admiration of her noble nature inducing him to release her his blind passions urging him to seek new measures for the accomplishment