Fresh
exemplification of what all of us so frequently experience, that the
most sagacious and matured arrangements are of little avail; that no
one is present when he is wanted, and that nothing occurs as it was
foreseen. Nor should we forget that the principal cause of all these
mischances might perhaps be recognised in the inefficiency of the third
person whom the parents of Tancred had, with so much solicitude and at
so great an expense, secured to him as a companion and counsellor in his
travels. It cannot be denied that if the theological attainments of
the Rev. Mr. Bernard had been of a more profound and comprehensive
character, it is possible that Lord Montacute might have deemed it
necessary to embark upon this new crusade, and ultimately to find
himself in the deserts of Mount Sinai. However this may be, one thing
was certain, that Tancred had been wounded without a single sabre of
the Bellamont yeomanry being brandished in his defence; was now lying
dangerously ill in an Arabian tent, without the slightest medical
assistance; and perhaps was destined to quit this world, not only
without the consolation of a priest of his holy Church, but surrounded
by heretics and infidels.
'We have never let any of the savages come near my lord,' said Freeman
to Baroni, on his, return.
Pages:
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413