152 THE BOY CRUSADERS.

be that of the French king. Heralds proclaimed
that the Christian army, deptived of its chief, was
like a trunk without a head; and the enthusiasm of
the Saracens reached a high pitch. At length, the
soldiers began to clamour to be led against the
enemy, and Bibars Bendocdar fixed Friday, the 11th
of February, as the day on which he would lead
them to triumph.

It was the first Friday in Lent; and King Louis,
having received warning that an attack was medi-
tated, gave orders for fortifying the camp, and
preparing for a conflict. At daybreak, accordingly,
the Crusaders were under arms; and, in good time,
Bibars Bendocdar appeared on the plain, setting his
men in battle order. Placing his cavalry in the van,
the infantry behind, and a strong reserve in the rear,
the Maineluke chief extended his lines till his forces
seemed to cover the plain. Nor was he sorry to
observe that there was a prospect of a stern resist-
ance; for the difficulties of his situation increased
his importance in the eyes of his soldiers, and every
step he took in overcoming perils, from which others
shrank, brought him nearer to the object on which
his heart was set—that object being neither more
nor less than the throne of the sultans.

And now, noon having come, with horns and
kettle-drums sounding an onset, Bibars Bendocdar
advanced on the Crusaders, and attacked the Count
of Anjou, who was at the head of the camp on the
side towards the Nile. At first, the French cavalry
calmly abided the assauit; but they soon found
themselves exposed to a kind of attack which they