254 THE BOY CRUSADERS,

case was not desperate. The Sultan of Damascus
went to war with the Mamelukes, and both parties
craved the alliance of the French monarch. Louis,
therefore, sent John de Valence to Cairo once more
to demand the release of the captives, and this time
he obtained something like satisfaction. Two hun-
dred knights were immediately set at liberty, and
allowed to depart for Acre, which they reached in
safety.

At length, however, news came to King Louis, |
while he was at Sajecte, which compelled him to turn
his thoughts towards France, where he was much
wanted, and to deliberate on the expediency of re-
turning to his own kingdom.

When it was known in France that the king was a
prisoner in the hands of the Saracens, the utmost
excitement prevailed throughout the land; and sud-
denly among the pastoral population appeared a man
bearing a letter, to which he pretended to attach a
mysterious importance.

‘ This,’ said he, solemnly, ‘I have mes from
the mother of God; and it commands me to assemble
all the Christian shepherds and herdsmen, and to
march at their head to deliver the king. Follow
- me then, and fear not, for the battle is not to the
strong, but reserved for the weak and humble.’

It appears that this man’s eloquence, and the
mystery which he affected, fascinated the shepherds
and herdsmen of France, and they flocked to him in
multitudes; and his followers, having been joined by
outlaws and exiles, ere long formed a formidable
force, and caused much eee