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and the Soltân. Do not flatter your felves with avain hope, because I have withdrawn the Camp for the Ram draws backwards only to butt with the greater violence. This was Richard's Meffage to Mefhtub, and he fent private Agents under disguised pretences to forward the conclufion of a Peace; but no actual good enfued thereon for the present.

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UPON. the 26th of this fame Month came the King's Ambaffador to the Soltán, the fubftance of whofe Charge runs thus. The King of England faith, I am very defirous of thy Allyance and Friendship. As I would by no means at the part of Pharaoh, fo neither can I imagine thou wouldst. Nor doth it become thee to defire the Destruction of all the Moflems; or me, of all Franks. For as much as I bave invested this my Sifter's Son, Count Henry, with the Dominion of thefe Lands, 1 deliver him up to thy Care, that he and his Army may obey thee, and be ready at thy call, if thou shouldft want their Affiftance in the Eaft. The faid King faith, furthermore; Since thou haft bebaved fo generously towards fo many Monks, who have obtained a reftitution of fo many Churches from thee why shouldst thou deal fo hardly by me, who only ask thee for one Church? I promised to make thee eafy upon every Article thou didst not approve of, when I treated with Al-Malec Al-Adel, and I now perform my word; and if thou grant me but a bare fpot or piece of wafte Ground in the Holy City, I will accept of it. The Ambaffador having thus delivered himself, a Council was called, and for very weighty and cogent Reasons the following Anfwer was difpatched to the King. For as much as thou approachest fo near unto our wishes, and bumbleft thy felf; and fince it beboveth

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boveth us to offer one good turn for another; bebold the Son of thy Sifter shall be unto us, as one of the Sons of the Soltân; and unto thee fall be given the great Church of the Refurrection. The Realms we will divide between us. You fall have the Sea-Coast, which you now have in poffeffion; and we will keep the Strong-bolds and the Mountains. What lies between us may be equally divided. But Afcalon, and all thereunto belonging [the Franks had rebuilt or repaired it] hall be utterly demolished, that it may neither be ours or yours. The Territory, however, dependant on it, you may have, if fuch be your defire. But for leaving Afcalon in your poffeffion, we abominate the very thoughts thereof.

THE Ambafiador was difpatched the very fame day, and the next there came an Ambaffador from Godfrey, the unfortunate King of Jerufalem, "To return the Soltán thanks for

his many Favours, and to entreat that "twenty Chriftians might be admitted into the "Caftle of Jerufalem, on the hard Condition, "that they should not hold the least Correfpon"dence with thofe of their own Faith, who

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might happen to be there:" but nothing further could be obtained from the Soltán except the liberty of vifiting the faid City as Pilgrims, without Impofition, or Toll. At this Audience it was again ftrenuoufly infifted, that Afcalon fhould be demolished; nor did it avail to remonftrate, that the King had been at great Charges in repairing it; the grant of the Country about it, being deemed by the Soltán, a fufficient indemnity for that loss. It was at this time alfo infifted, that Darût and other ftrong Places fhould be demolished in like manner. In three or four days this Ambaffador alfo

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was difpatched with a rich Prefent in his hands for his Mafter, in return for two Falcons he had brought.

THE fame night came another Meffage from the King of England, " To defire, that' the before-mentioned Places and another might not be demolished: to remonstrate "how inconfiderable they were to fo mighty sa Prince as the Soltán: to acquaint him, that' it would be next to impoffible to prevail on "the Franks to confent to fuch a Demolition : "to entreat him to have a greater regard to

Peace, than to fuffer it to be retarded for fo flight an obstacle: and to fet forth, that the "King was very defirous to return home; a "Pleafure he could not hope for, if he was "not complied with." Behold Reader, I pray, (fays our Hiftorian) what Artifices to compafs an end, fometimes foothing, fometimes threatning, though the most urgent neceffity called him homewards. Truly we stood in the greatest need of the divine Affistance to elude his wiles; and never had we to do with a more politic, or more warlike Enemy. The Soltán having advised with his Council, anfwered, "That as flight as the King was

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pleased to make of the three places in que❝ition, they were by all means to be demolifhed; and that they might take Lydda in the plain, to make good the Lofs at Afca"lon." But upon the feventh another Ambaffador came from the King, to declare,

That they could not touch one Stone of "Afcalon, and fcorned to have fo mean a Story "of them told: Wherefore the Soltán prepared for War.

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IN a few days the Soltán laid clofe fiege to Jaffa, while the King of England marched: against Berytus. The Siege of Jaffa deserves well to be read in our Author's own words for though of short duration, yet for the time, none ever exceeded it in dreadful doings and obftinate behaviour on each fide. The Town it felf was taken, and unmercifully plundered by the greedy Moslems, who here retook a good part of the Booty which had been taken from the E gyptian Caravan and Army; but the Inhabitants, by the Soltan's Order, retired into their Castle, to be there fcreened from the fury of his Peo-> ple, who were now transported with an un-2 common defire of Rapine and Revenge. The King of England heard what was befallen to Jaffa, and haftened to its relief with fifty Ships, among which, his own, fays our Author, who faw it, was all red, and had a red Sail. He found that the City had been taken and plunder.. ed, and that the, Caftle was upon the point of be ing evacuated. Wherefore he landed, and with a furious affault drove away the Maflems, who were in and about the Town, and poffeffed himself of their Camp. All this was tranfacted in a very few days.

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UPON this occafion, feveral Mamûlks fell into the King of England's hands, and he with them had a good deal of free Difcourfe; extolling the Soltán, and declaring, that for his own part he came naked and unprepared for fuch a Wars profeffing, that he did not imagine the Soltan could have reduced Jaffa in two months, which he mastered in two days: then calling one to him, Go; fays he, and fa→› lute the Soltán, and fay to him in my Name, I adjure thee to agree to a Peace. We muft

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"make an end of the matter. My Realms beyond Sea are running to ruin. It is neither "for our Intereft, or yours, that the War fhould be any longer protracted." The Soltan made anfwer, That the King might "thank himself that Jaffa was ruined; and that now he would agree to give him up all from Tyre to Cefarea" Immediately there came another Meffage from the King, That it was a Cuftom among the Franks, when any one received a City in gift, for him thenceforwards to become the Vaffal and Servant of him that gave it. That if "the Soltan would give him Jaffa and Afcalon, the Garrifons of thofe Places fhould be always at his command. Finally, That if the "Soltan fhould ftand in need of his Service

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in perfon, he would fly to his aid, and af"fift him with all his Abilities, fo well known

to the Soltán himself." The Soltán anfwered to this," Since the King came fo far down to

him, he would make him as civil a return. "That they would divide the two Cities be"tween them; the King to have Jaffa, and "the Soltán, Afcalon." The King in answer to this returned thanks for faffa, but begged

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he might have Afcalon alfo that a Peace is without, more ado might be happily con“ cluded, and he, not be obliged to winter "here." The Soltán, without the leaft hefitation, replied; "It is impoffible for us to τε part with Afcalon; he muft winter here, "fince he cannot but know, that the Land "now in his poffeffion, will be loft to him,

as foon as he departs nay, and even though he ftay, if God fo pleafe. If it is no trouble to him to winter here, at the diftance

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