delayed till evening, messengers would arrive with the treasure. By this artifice the chief emirs were preserved till long past noon. But no sign of rescue then appearing, those who looked for the downfall of Mohammedanism by the utter annihilation of its followers, caused the work of vengeance to proceed. The calm indifference with which the Turks regarded the terrific preparations for their execution, elicited even the admiration of the Christians. It was not in the heart of a chivalrous knight like Richard, to look unmoved upon the destruction of his brave and gallant foes. " By the holy saints," exclaimed he, " this is a hangman's work. It were enough to tempt the sword of a Christian knight from its scabbard, to "see yon lion-hearted warriors slaughtered like a parcel of silly sheep held in the butcher's shambles. Wore they but the cross upon their shoulders, I would sooner reckon them among my followers than the stupid boors of Austria or the tilting squires of France. Long-sword, summon our good bishop of Salisbury, with the sym-bols of our holy religion. Peradventure, Divine Grace may turn the hearts of these brave men to the acknowledgment of the true faith." In obedience to the order of the king, the bishop came forward, and holding up the cross, proclaimed life and lib-erty to all those who would renounce their heathen super-. stitions, and reverence the holy symbol. Not a voice re-plied to the offer of pardon, and as the priest, followed by the executioner, like the destroying angel of the passover, moved among the ranks of the doomed and presented the crucifix, each man answering, " God is God and Mahomet is his prophet," bent his head to the fatal stroke, till of the whole number the noble Mestoc alone remained. King Richard regarded him with a troubled look, as the priest approached, and involuntarily raised his hand to stay the blow. The executioner paused ; and the soldiers gazing in silent wonder, turned their eyes doubtfully from their sov-ereign to his captive, who stood unmoved among the head-' less bodies of the heroic band, that had with him defended 246 HEROINES OF THE CRUSADES.