2.But the coming of the English King produced a wonderful change.By his own example he taught his soldiers how to work the batteringrams and other engines of war；and，when sickness seized him，he made some of them carry him on a mattress to the trenches，where he lay giving orders.This perseverance frightened the defenders of Acre，who lost heart and gave up the city four days after Richard’s arrival.
3.During these four days an event had occurred which was destined to have a great effect on Richard in future.Among the attacking princes was a Duke of Austria，who took a tower and planted his banner on the captured wall.This offended Richard，who had taken the chief command；and in a fit of anger he tore down the fiag，and threw it scornfully into the ditch below.The Dukea Acre.-A fortified city of Syria，on the Levant，near the foot of Mount Carmel.
b Saladin.-The Sultan，or Mohammedan King.
c Besiging the besiegers.-Surrounding and attacking the army that was surrounding and attacking the city.
could not then give way to his feeling of revenge：he nursed it for a fitting time，which came by-and-by.
4.Richard，armed with a battle-axe，on the head of which，weighing twentypounds，the best smiths in England had spent their strength and skill，was always in the thickest of the fight.He earned so terrible a name，that the dark-skinned Saracen women used to frighten their crying children by threatening that King Richard would come and take them.
5.He fought at Azotus，
and took Jaffa；
but wind，rain，hunger，and
sickness prevented him from advancing nearer than within twelve miles ofcJerusalem.When he fell back on Askelon，he began to repair the ruined walls
of the place；and he himself worked with pick-axe and trowel，as an example to induce the Princes to forget their dignity for a time.
6.Here again he had a quarrel with the Duke of Austria.When asked by Richard to take his turn at building the walls，that haughty Prince replied that he would do nothing of the kind，since his father had not been either a mason or a carpenter.Flaming up with sudden fury，Richard seized him by the throat and kicked him from the place.And then he drove both the Duke and the Duke‘s vassals from the town.
7.At last Richard and Saladin，growing tired of war，made a truce for three years，three months，three weeks，and three days-the number here repeated so often being considered sacred.The last glimpse which Richard caught of the Holy Land，as he sailed away from Acre，consisted of the snowy tops of Lebanon.Stretching out his arms before the last white summit had faded fromhis view，he cried，“Most Holy Land，I commend thee to God’s keeping.May he give me life and health to return and rescue thee from the Infidel.”
d
8.When Richard was near Marseilles，
prompted by fear of the French
King or of some other of his many foes，he turned his ship about and sailedeup the Adriatic，intending to make the journey overland by another route.
A storm drove him on the coast.Travelling over the mountains there，his train of attendants dwindled in numbers，until he was left with one knight and one page；and his wretchedness was increased by broken health and laek of food.
9.Having arrived at a town near Vienna，he went into a cottage to sleep，having sent a page to buy food in the market.The boy was not only richlya Azotus，or Ashdod.-A village of Palestine，on the coast，21miles south of Jaffa.
b Jaffa （the Joppa of the New Testament）.-On the coast of Palestine，33miles north-west of Jerusalem.
c Askelon.-On the coast of Palestine，10miles south-west of Azotus，and 34from Jerusalem.
d Marseilles.-A French sea-port on the Gulf of Lions.
e The Adriatic.-The sea east of Italy，separating it from Turkey.
dressed，but wore in his belt a pair of gloves.This attracted notice；for men then seldom wore gloves，and none but the highest wore gloves like those.He was arrested and whipped，but he would tell nothing，until his captors threatened to cut out his tongue.
10.He then described the hiding-place of Richard；and a number of soldiers，surrounding the house，took the Lion-heart as he lay asleep.Even then his courage did not fail him；for he drew his sword，and would not yield to any one but the Prince of the place.And，when the Prince came，who was it but Leopold of Austria，the very man whose banner he had torn from the battlements of Acre，and whom he had kicked in the trenches of Askelon！
11.Richard，thus captured by his enemy，was sold to the Emperor for a largeasum，and was securely locked up in a Tyrolese castle.
His skill in poetry and
his love of music enabled him to pass the time pleasantly enough.With these arts is connected that pretty story of his discovery which has been so often told，in prose and in verse.
12.It is said that a minstrel named Blondel，who had been a great favourite of King Richard，went wandering about the mountain lands of Austria，trying to discover the castle in which the Lion-heart lay chained.One evening，as the sun was sinking in the west，he sat down on a grassy bank beneath the grated window of a tall square tower among the hills：and there he struck the strings of his harp，and sang the words of a little song which King Richard himself hadcomposed.
13.While he was bending over the wailing strings，and wondering whether he should ever see his King again，there came from the window above him what seemed to be the echo of his strain.He stopped to listen.With beating heart and hushed breath he stole nearer to the window，and heard the voice of his beloved master singing the very words and music of the well-known air.At last his patience and devotion had met their reward，and he did not rest until his King was set free.
