A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 2 | Page 6

Immediately on the back of this discomfiture, the Soldan came in sight
with his whole army; and seeing the Christians in this divided state,
brother separated from brother, joyfully seized the opportunity he had
long wished for, and inclosing them on all sides, that none might
escape, attacked them with great fury. In this situation, the Earl of
Artois sore repented of his headstrong rashness, when it was too late;
and, seeing Earl William Longespee fighting bravely against the chief
brunt of the enemy, he called out to him in a cowardly manner to flee,
as God fought against them. But William bravely answered, "God
forbid that my father's son should flee from the face of a Saracen." Earl
Robert turned out of the fight, and fled away, thinking to escape from
death or captivity by the swiftness of his horse; and taking the river
Thafnis[6], sank through the weight of his armour, and was drowned.
On the flight of Earl Robert, the French troops lost heart, and began to
give ground: But William Longespee, bearing up manfully against the
whole force of the enemy, stood firm as long as he was able, slaying
and wounding many of the Saracens. At length, his horse being killed,

and his legs maimed, he fell to the ground; yet he continued to mangle
their legs and feet, till at last he was slain with many wounds, being
finally stoned to death by the Saracens. After his death, the Saracens set
upon the remainder of the army, which they had surrounded on every
side, and destroyed them all, so that scarce a single man remained alive.
Of the whole, only two templars, one hospitaller, and one common
soldier escaped, to bring the melancholy tidings to the king of France.
Thus by the imprudent and foolish rashness of Earl Robert, the French
troops were utterly discomfited, and the valiant English knight
overpowered and slain, to the grief of all the Christians, and the glory
of the Saracens; and, as it afterwards fell out, to the entire ruin of the
whole French army.
[1] Hakluyt, I. 70.
[2] Hakluyt dates this expedition in the 32d year of the reign of Henry
III. of England. He mentions, in a former passage, I. p. 59. that the
same Earl of Salisbury, accompanied Richard Earl of Cornwall, in the
23d year of the same kings reign into Syria against the Saracens, with
many other English of note, where they performed good service against
the unbelievers, but gives no relation of particulars.--E.
[3] The meaning of this term of reproach does not appear; unless, from
some after circumstances, it may have proceeded from their horses
having long tails, while those of the French were dockt.--E.
[4] Probably Aboukir.--E.
[5] St John d'Acre.--E.
[6] This is probably meant for that branch of the Nile which they had
previously crossed on their way to Mansor.--E.
* * * * *

CHAP. XXI.
_Discovery of Madeira_[1].
Although the Era of modern discovery certainly commenced under the
auspicious direction of Don Henry of Portugal, who first conceived and
executed the sublime idea of extending the knowledge and commerce
of the globe, by a judicious series of maritime, expeditions expressly
for the purpose of discovery; yet as Madeira is said to have been visited,
and the Canaries were actually discovered and settled before that era, it
appears necessary to give a previous account of these discoveries,

before proceeding to the second part of this work.
Several authors have left accounts of the real or pretended original
discovery of this island of Madeira, all of whom concur in asserting
that it was first discovered by an Englishman. Juan de Barros, the Livy
of Portugal, mentions it briefly in the first decade of his Asia. The
history of this discovery was written in Latin, by Doctor Manoel
Clemente, and dedicated to Pope Clement V. Manoel Tome composed
a Latin poem on the subject, which he intitled Insulana. Antonio
Galvano mentions it in a treatise of discoveries, made chiefly by the
Spaniards and Portuguese previously to the year 1550[2]. Manoel de
Faria y Sousa, the illustrious commentator of Camoens, cites Galvano
in illustration of the fifth stanza in the fifth book of the immortal
Lusiad, and likewise gives an account of this discovery in his
Portuguese Asia. But the earliest and most complete relation of this
discovery was composed by Francisco Alcaforado, who was esquire to
Don Henry the infant or prince of Portugal, the first great promoter of
maritime discoveries, and to whom he presented his work. No person
was more capable of giving an exact account of that singular event than
Alcaforado, as he was one of those who assisted in making the second
discovery. His work was first published in Portuguese by Don
Francisco Manoel, and