472 JOINVILLB'8 MEMOIRS OF SAINT Louis nr. £ρτ. II. return for these presents from the old prince of the mono tain,* sent to him, by his ambassadors, and by Father Yve s Le Breton, who understood the Saracenic, great quantities o f scarlet robes, cups of gold, and other vessels of silver. When Father Yves was in tbe presence of the prince of the Be douins, he conversed with him on the articles of his faith ; but, as he afterward reported to the king, he found he did not believe in Mahomet, but followed the religion of Aly, who was, he said, the uncle of Mahomet He told him, that it was Aly to whom Mahomet was indebted for all the honours * AU the writers on the holy wars agree, that the Old Man of the Mountain, who is called " Vetulus," or " Senez de Montani*," ruled over the Assassins, who inhabited, as I have elsewhere remarked, the mountains of Phoenicia, whence he was called prince of the mountains. The lord de Joinville confounds the Bedouins, in this place, with the Assassins. Arnold de Lubeck, L 7, ch. 10, speaks thus of them : " In termina Damasoi, Antiochi», et Alapias, est quoddam genus Saracenornm in montani*, qnod eorum lingua vulgari Heissesim vocatur." He then describee the palace, and the behaviour of this prince, which is conformable to what the lord de Joinville and the greater part of those who have written on the holy wars relate. Among others, William of Tyre, 1. 14, c. 19 ; 1. 20, ch. 21; Matthew Paris, in the year 1150; William de Neubourg, 1. 4, c. 24 ; 1. 5, ch. 16. From these authors, the author of the MS . ' Traité de la Terre d'Outremer " has drawn all he has written of the Assassins and their prince in these terms:—" In the lands near Damascus and Antioch, live a sort of Saracens, called by some « Haussassis,' by others ' the people of the Old Man of the Mountain/ These people live a lawless life, and eat pork, contrary to the religion of the Saracens, and lie with every woman they meet, whether mothers or sisters. They inhabit great towers, which they have built among the mountains. The country is full of wild beasts, on which they live. Their prince is very cruel, and very different from other Saracens and Christians, for he is accustomed to put many to death without reason. He has several fine and strong palaces, surrounded by high walls, and he has them very well guarded, so that no one can enter them but at one gate. In these palaces he confines the children of his subjects, and none of these youths appear before him, unless so ordered by their masters, who teach them various languages and other things : they must obey the commands of their prince, believing that through him alone they can obtain paradise, and not otherwise. When once confined, they are never to come into his presence without his permission, and when he asks them if they be willing to obey his orders in hopes of gaining paradise, they make him such answers as their masters have taught them. The prince then gives them a large and sharp knife, and sends them whither he lists to assassinate those he hates ; and know that they will, if possible, execute this commission, whatever may happen to them in life or death."