190 THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book II.

24th of Shaban, and arrived under the walls ofAntioch at the commencement of the great Rama-dan. At our approach, the civic troops came outto fight us, but were completely routed, and theconstable who commanded them made prisoner.He offered to treat with us in the name of hisGiaours; so we permitted him his entering thecity, and he brought us a squad of clergy andprincipal citizens. Conferences were opened; butas we soon observed they had a culpable object inview (exactly following your example), whichcould not but turn to their own ruin, and that dif-fering as to the good, they agreed only as to pro-posing what was bad, we perceived nothing couldbe done with them, and that their destruction wasdecreed by God ; and therefore sent off the deputieswith these words: ‘We are going to attack you ;this is the last and only warning you are to expectfrom us.’ So they retired, imitating your actionsand conduct, expecting you to come and succourthem with your horse and infantry. As to themarshal, who commanded in place of the constable,his affair was wholly done up in less than an hour;and we hammered terror into the inmost soul ofthe monks. Misfortune environed the castellan;death came to the besieged on all sides; we tookAntioch by.the sword on the fourth hour of the