172 THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book ii.

by an assassin, as is generally told; 1 except, first,that it was no emissary sent by the Emir of Jaffa,then a Christian town, but by the Moslem governorof Ramlah, 2 who following Bibars’ orders, feigned awish to turn Christian 3 (as Ibn-feral expressly avows,and justifies the homicide on the score of the Englishprince having put some Mahometans to the swordduring his recent campaign), whence the murdererhad an opportunity. Secondly, that by either wordor sign the assassin must have triumphantly avowedthe blade was poisoned; for how, otherwise, should itbe known instantly on the felon’s drawing it, as thechroniclers say? And Edward, after the wound,caught one of his hands, and wrenched the dagger,and ran it quite through the villain’s body withsuch amazing strength, that he hurt his own fore-head; so that when the courtiers intervened, andshattered the slain’s head, the first words of theprince, who had swooned, w'ere to blame them forill-treating a corpse—noble sentiment, 4 even sup-posing it to be blended with a spice of anger attheir attempt to arrogate to themselves what hewas conscious belonged to his royal self alone, the

1 Hemingford.—Bib. Crois., ii. 660.—Not of tbe Old Man ofthe Mountain’s people.

2 Arab. Chron., 530.

3 Ex. lib. Saracen.—Bib. Crois., i. 307.

4 Knighton of Leicester : Chron.—Bib. Crois., ii. 758.