124

THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book II.

Another branch of the Ayoubites had nowseized on Damascus, and the boy David had beenobliged to content himself with Petra, and thosefortresses about the Dead Sea, whence as he grewup, he made continual sanguinary inroads on theChristians; for he was incited not only by creedand booty, but also that it was avenging his father.Peace or otherwise, what cared he? It was neverpeace for him; so a bloody war in that direction.The peace which bound the Hospitallers and allregulated people, did not a bit the reckless, whowishing for war created it. Yet a far more pleas-ing intercourse than war was that which made theSultan of Cairo in this very 1232 send what a won-drous tent, as a present to Frederick II. The sun,stars, whole firmament, were represented in its ceil-ing, moving about regularly in their orbits by a mostmarvellous mechanism; and the moon, and thehours of night and day with infallible exactness.Beautiful clockwork; what a miracle of art at thattime, if but as described! Yet since the descriptionwas made then , that it were in the head of the de-scriber is an almost equal wonder ! Arabia then,and Egypt, were they not in arts and sciences whatFrance and England are to-day? But the pricewas royal, more than thirty thousand pounds, and