"After him, De Vaux, and see he comes to no harm; for, Crusaders
as we are, a juggler hath more reverence amongst our varlets than
a priest or a saint, and they may, perchance, put some scorn upon
him."
The knight obeyed, and Richard presently gave way to the thoughts
which the wild prophecy of the monk had inspired. "To die early
--without lineage--without lamentation! A heavy sentence, and
well that it is not passed by a more competent judge. Yet the
Saracens, who are accomplished in mystical knowledge, will often
maintain that He, in whose eyes the wisdom of the sage is but as
folly, inspires wisdom and prophecy into the seeming folly of the
madman. Yonder hermit is said to read the stars, too, an art
generally practised in these lands, where the heavenly host was
of yore the object of idolatry. I would I had asked him touching
the loss of my banner; for not the blessed Tishbite, the founder
of his order, could seem more wildly rapt out of himself, or
speak with a tongue more resembling that of a prophet.
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