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THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book ii.

wounds, and emitting such an intolerable stench,that it frightened back the storming party , 1 muchmore the whole Christian army, when they got inby one of the gates, but arrested by the samehorrible smell, were obliged to retreat, and encampanew under its walls, until the streets and houseswere a little cleaned; yet a moment sufficed to in-oculate them with the plague, dire disease, thatcontinued lurking in their ranks, and growing everyday; during which interval arrived the Papallegate. So there were two cardinals, and, if one ofthem was meek and pious, the other was a fire-brand. But the former was soon killed, which oidyleft the other’s outrageous audacity without control.“ Cardinal Peter is gone, and CardinalPelagius left living, the more the pity,” saysthe chronicler . 2 Hospitallers and Templars, at thestorming of Damietta, in which were then eightythousand men , 3 were firmly believed by the Maho-metans—not at all ashamed of being beaten bysuch—to be no human creatures, so transcendent■was their valour, but white angels, and St. Bartho-lomew and St. George and company in red; the

1221

1 Olivier.—Bib. Crois., iii. 150.

2 Micliaud: Hist, iii., 325.

3 Potestats di Reggio.—Bib. Crois., ii. 596.