492 JOINVILLB'S MEMOIRS OF SAINT LOUIS DL. [FT. Π. the country told the king, it was great madness to allow me to take the field ; and he thereon sent to order me back, together with the master of the cross-bows. The Turks now retired, and we returned to the army ; but many were much surprised that the Turks let us return quietly without an attack, and accounted for it by saying, that their horses were almost starred by having remained a whole year at Gadres. Some other Turks, who had left Jaffa, came to Acre, and sent to inform the lord d'Asur, who was constable of Jerusalem, that if he did not send them 50,000 besants, they would destroy the gardens round the town. The lord d'Asur made answer, that he would give them nothing. Upon this, they drew up their battalions, and advanced along the sands so near to the town of Acre as to be within cross-bow shot. The lord d'Asur then quitted the town and marched to the mount, where was the church-yard of St Nicholas, to defend the gardens; and when the Turks approached, a body of foot sallied out of Acre, and kept up a brisk discharge of arrows against them ; but for fear of the dangers they might incur, the lord d'Asur sent them orders by a yonng knight from Genoa to retire within the walls. As the Genoese knight was retiring with his body of infantry, a Saracen, suddenly moved by his courage, came boldly up to him, and said «in his Saracenic tongue, that if he pleased, he would tilt with him. The knight answered with pride that he would receive him ; but, when he was on the point of beginning his course, he perceived on his left hand eight or nine Saracens, who bad halted there to see the event of the tournament. The knight, therefore, instead of directing his course toward the Saracen who had offered to tilt with him, made for this troop, and striking one of them with his lance, pierced his body through, and killed him dead on the spot. He retreated to our men, pursued by the other Saracens, one of whom gave him a heavy blow on his helmet with a battle-axe. In return, the knight struck the Saracen so severely on the head that he made his turban fly off. You must know, that these turbans save them from many hard blows; and for this reason, they always wear them when they go to battle. Another Saracen thought to have given the knight a mortal blow with his Turkish blade, but