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CHAPTER XXXI,
THE TRAGEDY OF PHARESCOUR.

T Pharescour, on the margin of the Nile, the
Sultan of Egypt had a remarkable palace. It
appears to have heen constructed of wood, and
covered with cloth of brilliant colours, At the
entrance was a pavilion, where the emirs and chiefs
were in the habit of leaving their swords, when they
had audience of the sultan; and beyond this pavi-
lion was a handsome gateway which led to the great
hall where the sultan feasted; and adjoining the
great hall was a tower, by which the sultan ascended
to his private apartments.

Between the palace and the river was a spacious
lawn, in which there was a tower, to which the sultan
was wont to ascend when he wished to make obser-
vations on the surrounding country; and hard by
was an alley which led towards the margin of the
hill, and a summer-house formed of trellis-work and
covered with Indian linen, where he frequently re-
paired for the purpose of bathing.

The chroniclers of the period who write of the
crusade of St. Louis fully describe this palace. In-
deed, the- appearance of the place was strongly