chap, ii.] ST. JOHN OP JERUSALEM. 117

its turn, yielded the first place to the infantry.But it was ascertained, that to have the very bestinfantry, it must have been cavalry once. Par-ticularly the English produced a celebrated corps(in their French wars, several centuries later) thatused to be cavalry until they got to the field ofbattle, but then alighted and left their horses to theservants. “Then for the first time did Italy andFrance see horsemen in heavy armour that de-scended from their horses to fight on foot. Yetwas it surely the best mode of warfare, for theythus joined the impenetrable armour of cuirassiers,to the" steadiness of infantry, and it was almostimpossible to break that firm phalanx. ThoseEnglish too despised the most rigid winter, andnever suspended their military operations at anyseason. And strange was the beauty of their armsand armour, all kept shining as a looking-glass;for every horseman was attended by two servants,who had nothing else to do, than clean their mas-ter’s horse and accoutrements.”

If the crusaders were blinded as to the holy lance,the Turks were equally so in fearing it; though someof those Mahometan writers say it was not a lancebut stick. On the whole the Moslem thought it soextraordinary to lose Antioch, that some of themabandoned Mahometanism as proved untrue. Yet