vafer, providus' et secundum gentis suae traditiones religiosus.
To this Catholic witness we may add the primate of the Jacobites,
(Abulpharag. p. 267,) quo non alter erat inter reges vitae
ratione magis laudabili, aut quae pluribus justitiae experimentis
abundaret. The true praise of kings is after their death, and
from the mouth of their enemies.]


Chapter LIX: The Crusades.


Part II.

By the arms of the Turks and Franks, the Fatimites had been
deprived of Syria. In Egypt the decay of their character and
influence was still more essential. Yet they were still revered
as the descendants and successors of the prophet; they maintained
their invisible state in the palace of Cairo; and their person
was seldom violated by the profane eyes of subjects or strangers.
The Latin ambassadors ^41 have described their own introduction,
through a series of gloomy passages, and glittering porticos: the
scene was enlivened by the warbling of birds and the murmur of
fountains: it was enriched by a display of rich furniture and
rare animals; of the Imperial treasures, something was shown, and
much was supposed; and the long order of unfolding doors was
guarded by black soldiers and domestic eunuchs. The sanctuary of
the presence chamber was veiled with a curtain; and the vizier,
who conducted the ambassadors, laid aside the cimeter, and
prostrated himself three times on the ground; the veil was then
removed; and they beheld the commander of the faithful, who