fighting men now taken prisoners were to be put to death should this
ransom not be paid.

The conquest of Acre was hailed throughout Christendom as a triumph of
the highest importance. It opened again the gates of the Holy Land; and
so tremendous was the strength of the fortress, that it was deemed that
if this stronghold were unable to resist effectually the arms of the
crusaders, and that if Saladin with so great an army did not dare to
advance to its rescue, then the rest of the Holy Land would speedily fall
under the hands of the invading army.

With the fall of Acre, however, the dissensions between the two kings,
which had for a while been allowed to rest while the common work was to
be done, broke out again with renewed intensity. The jealousy of Phillip
Augustus was raised to the highest point by the general enthusiasm of the
combined armies for the valiant King of England, and by the authority
which that monarch exercised in the councils. He therefore suddenly
announced his intention of returning to France.

This decision at first occasioned the greatest consternation in the ranks
of the crusaders; but this feeling was lessened when the king announced
that he should leave a large portion of the French army behind, under the
command of the Duke of Burgundy. The wiser councillors were satisfied
with the change. Although there was a reduction of the total fighting
force, yet the fact that it was now centred under one head, and that King
Richard would now be in supreme command, was deemed to more than
counterbalance the loss of a portion of the French army.

Before starting on the march for Jerusalem, King Richard sullied his
reputation by causing all the defenders of Acre to be put to death, their