"
At this grave remark Richard burst out into a hearty fit of
laughter, the first which he had for some time indulged in. "Why
what a thing is conscience," he said, "that through its means
even such a thick-witted northern lord as thou canst bring thy
sovereign to confess his folly! It is true that, did they not
propose themselves as fit to hold my leading-staff, little should
I care for plucking the silken trappings off the puppets thou
hast shown me in succession. What concerns it me what fine
tinsel robes they swagger in, unless when they are named as
rivals in the glorious enterprise to which I have vowed myself?
Yes, De Vaux, I confess my weakness, and the wilfulness of my
ambition. The Christian camp contains, doubtless, many a better
knight than Richard of England, and it would be wise and worthy
to assign to the best of them the leading of the host. But,"
continued the warlike monarch, raising himself in his bed, and
shaking the cover from his head, while his eyes sparkled as they
were wont to do on the eve of battle, "were such a knight to
plant the banner of the Cross on the Temple of Jerusalem while I
was unable to bear my share in the noble task, he should, so soon
as I was fit to lay lance in rest, undergo my challenge to mortal
combat, for having diminished my fame, and pressed in before to
the object of my enterprise.
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