• CHAPTER XI. " He that can endure To follow with allegiance a fallen lord, Doth conquer him that did his master conquer, And earnB a place i' the story." t ON his arrival at Acre, Eichard learned that the friends of Conrad accused him as the instigator of the assassi-nation, and that reports had been conveyed to Europe im-peaching his honor as a king, and his fame as a warrior. Deeming it unsafe to attempt the passage in the Trenc-the-mere, he committed Berengaria and her ladies again to the care of Stephen de Turnham and his faithful Blondel, and saw them safely embarked for Navarre, Sept. 29, 1192. The following month, having provided for the safe return of the soldiers and pilgrims who had accompanied him on his fruitless expedition, he himself last of all, in the dis-guise of a Templar, sailed from the port of Acre. As the rocky heights of Lebanon and the lofty summit of Carmel faded from his view, he stretched his hands towards the receding shores, and while tears streamed from his eyes, prayed aloud, " Oh Holy Land, I commend thee to God ; and, if his heavenly grace shall grant me so long to live, I trust that I shall return according to his good pleasure, and set thee free from all thine enemies." The voyage proved more disastrous than was common, even in those days of unpractised navigation. Many of the English vessels were wrecked upon the shores of Africa, others fortunately reached friendly ports whence the war-riors returned by land to Britain. Six weeks after his de-parture from Acre, the vessel of Eichard encountered a pirate 6hip off the coast of Barbary. Learning from the commander that his misfortunes had become known, and that the French lords were prepared to seize him as soon as he should land in Marseilles, he determined, as his ship BERENGARIA OF NAVARRE. 263