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to his pavilion, to cry aloud thanks to God as if a saviour had come. That night the whole camp was lit with torches so that the Saracens in the hills came to alert, thinking the whole valley was afire. |
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The next day Richard got down to serious business. All the leaders met, inspected the camp, the war engines, the walls of the city. Not an hour had passed before it was plain that, whatever the army in general felt, Philip had reservations about Richard's arrival. The French King was glad to see the men and the supplies and to hear that more were immediately on the way and still more would come on a regular basis from Cyprus. The only thing necessary to make this news an unalloyed pleasure would have been the additional news that Richard himself had drowned on the way over. |
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Not loath to match strength with Philip, Richard set about gaining allies. This was not in the least difficult, owing to the chests obligingly, if unwillingly, stuffed with treasure by Comnenus of Cyprus. The Pisans did homage to Richard and a large number of soldiers who had been in Philip's pay joined Richard's army when he offered higher wages. Matters were in excellent train for a full-scale assault on the city when, as Richard was observing and advising on the construction of a huge mangonel, he complained to Simon that his armor felt heavy. By that evening the King could not stand and during the night a raging fever took hold of him. |
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For two days varying excuses were offered to explain Richard's seclusion. He had suffered a brief attack of fever during the Cyprus campaign, but that had burned itself out very quickly and at first it was hoped that this would be the same. If so, it was best for the morale of the camp that Richard's illness be kept a secret. On the third day, however, the King's skin began to crack and patches of his hair came loose. The physicians shook their heads. There would be no |
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