A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 2 | Page 4

offered to him by
the city of Sidon, yet kept his intentions of making peace private, and
sent to Joppa, desiring the chiefs of the English, Danes, and Flemings,
to come with their fleet and army to Acre, as if he had meant to
prosecute the siege. When they arrived, he represented to their chiefs
the great loss he had sustained by the death of two of his chief warriors,
on which account, he was constrained to defer the siege to a more
convenient opportunity, and must now dismiss his army. On this the
strangers saluted the king very respectfully, and, embarking in their
ships, returned to their own countries.

[1] Hakluyt, I. 47. Chron. Hierosol. lib. x.
[2] Though not mentioned in the text, it seems presumable that these
pilgrims deemed it necessary for them to proceed unarmed in execution
of their devotions, under an escort.--E.

SECTION V.
_The Expedition of William Longespee, or Long-sword, Earl of
Salisbury, in the year 1248, under the Banners of St Louis, King of
France, against the Saracens_[1].
When Louis, King of France, went against the Saracens in 1248,
William Earl of Salisbury, with the Bishop of Worcester, and other
great men of the realm of England, accompanied him in the holy
warfare[2]. About the beginning of October 1249, the French king
assaulted and took the city of Damietta, which was esteemed the
principal strong-hold of the Saracens in Egypt; and having provided the
place with a sufficient garrison, under the Duke of Burgundy, he
removed his camp, to penetrate farther eastwards. In this army William
Earl of Salisbury served, with a chosen band of Englishmen under his
especial command; but the French entertained a great dislike to him
and his people, whom they flouted upon all occasions, calling them
English _tails_[3], and other opprobrious names, insomuch, that the
King of France had much ado to keep peace between them. This quarrel
originated from the following circumstance: Not far from Alexandria
there was a strong castle belonging to the Saracens[4], in which they
had placed some of their principal ladies, and much treasure; which
fortress the earl and his English followers had the good fortune to take,
more by dexterous policy than by open force of arms, through which
capture he and his people were much enriched; and when the French
came to the knowledge of this exploit, which had not been previously
communicated to them, they were much enraged against the English,
and could never speak well of them afterwards.
Not long after this, the earl got secret intelligence of a rich caravan of
merchants belonging to the Saracens, who were travelling to a certain
fair which was to be held near Alexandria, with a multitude of camels,
asses, and mules, and many carts, all richly laden with silks, precious
jewels, spices, gold, silver, and other commodities, besides provisions
and other matters of which the soldiers were then in great want.

Without giving notice of this to the rest of the Christian army, the earl
gathered all the English troops, and fell by night upon the caravan,
killing many of the people, and making himself master of the whole
carts and baggage cattle with their drivers, which he brought with him
to the Christian camp, losing only one soldier in the skirmish, and eight
of his servants, some of whom were only wounded and brought home
to be cured. When this was known in the camp, the Frenchmen, who
had loitered in their tents while the earl and his people were engaged in
the expedition, came forth and forcibly took to themselves the whole of
this spoil, finding great fault with the earl and the English for leaving
the camp without orders from the general, contrary to the discipline of
war; though the earl insisted that he had done nothing but what he
would readily justify, and that his intentions were to have divided the
spoil among the whole army. But this being of no avail, and very much
displeased at being deprived in so cowardly a manner of what he had so
adventurously gained, he made his complaint to the king; and being
successfully opposed there by the pride of the Count of Artois, the
kings brother, who thwarted his claims with disdainful spite, he
declared that he would serve no longer in their army, and bidding
farewell to the king, he and his people broke up from the army and
marched for Achon[5]. Upon their departure, the Count d'Artois said
that the French army was well rid of these tailed English; which words,
spoken in despite, were ill taken by many good men, even of their own
army. But not long after, when the governor of Cairo, who was
offended with the Soldan, offered to deliver that place to the French