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M.Besant E.Walter
Jerusalem, the city of Herod and Saladin

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M.Besant E.Walter
Jerusalem, the city of Herod and Saladin
page 356



The king who owed to this man his crown, and the money with which the army was raised, obeyed immediately, and to the grief and surprise of the barons, the order was given to break up the camp. And on this sad night, the 1st of July 1187, the Christian host marched in silence and sadness to its fate. The Count of Tripoli led the first division; in the centre was the king with the Holy Cross, borne by the Bishops of Acre and Lydda ; and the Templars, with Balian of Ibelin, brought up the rear. The whole army consisted of twelve hundred knights, a considerable body of light horse, and about twenty thousand foot. The words of Count Baymond proved exactly true : there was no water at all on the way. The Christians were harassed by the Turkish cavalry, by the heat of the day, by the clouds of dust, and by the burning of the grass under their feet, which was set fire to by the enemy as they marched along. They halted for the night, and the camp of the Saracens, was so close to that of the Christians that " you could have seen a cat run from one to the other." It was a night of dreadful suffering for want of water, and when the morning dawned some of those who could bear their sufferings no longer went over to the camp of Saladin, and threw down their arms, begging for a drink of water. " Sir," said one of these deserters to Saladin, " fall on them—they cannot help themselves—they are all dead already." King Guy, in hopes of ending the sufferings of his men by victory, gave the signal for the battle to commence. It was lost as soon as begun. For men, who had not quenched their thirst for nearly four and twenty hours, had no ' last ' in them. The knights, as usual, fought manfully, but even these soon gave way. All round-them was an arid plain or arid rocks, while beneath their feet, and hardly a mile away, lay the calm and placid Lake of Galilee, mocking their thirst by the serenity of its aspect. The Holy Cross was lost in the midst of the fight, and


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