. The book of romance; . y hostages, and great gifts. The nobleKing Marsile beseeches you not to blame him, becausethe Caliph, his uncle, has not come with me. I haveseen — seen with my own e^^es — three hundred thousandmen all covered with armour sail away in ships with theCaliph for their leader, because they could neither defendtheir own faith nor forswear it. But hardly were theyout of sight of land than a fierce tempest overtook them,and they were all lost. The Caliph must have died withthe rest, or the King would have bade him come with to the King himself, sire, before a month has
. The book of romance; . y hostages, and great gifts. The nobleKing Marsile beseeches you not to blame him, becausethe Caliph, his uncle, has not come with me. I haveseen — seen with my own e^^es — three hundred thousandmen all covered with armour sail away in ships with theCaliph for their leader, because they could neither defendtheir own faith nor forswear it. But hardly were theyout of sight of land than a fierce tempest overtook them,and they were all lost. The Caliph must have died withthe rest, or the King would have bade him come with to the King himself, sire, before a month has passedhe will be in France, ready to receive baptism in yourpresence. And he will become your vassal, and dohomage for the kingdom of Spain. * You have done wisely, said Charles, and your re-ward shall be great. So trumpets were sounded and tents THE BATTLE OF RONCEVALLES 193 were struck, and the host marched with gaiety in theirhearts to France the Fair. <■ My war is finished/ said the King, as his army gladly. turned their backs on Spain, and at nightfall spread theirtents and slept till day began. But little he knew thatfour hundred thousand Unbelievers, with shields slung13 194 THE BATTLE OF RONCEVALLES from their necks and swords in their hands, were ridingsilently through the mountain passes with the intent ofhiding themselves in a wood till the moment came. Therethey were, and the Franks knew nothing of it, nor whatwould come. Charles slept, and in his sleep he dreamed that Gane-lon took his stout lance of ash wood from his handsand brandished it in the air, then broke it wdth his this dream came another. He was no longer shutfast in by the mountains, but was at home in France,standing in his chapel at Aix. Here a bear appearedbefore him and bit so deep into his arm that it reachedthe bone. Then from the other side, frojn the Ardennes,there sprang a leopard and would have torn him in pieces,had not a greyhound come to his aid, and attacked firstthe
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