The king's brothers mounted guard on the roof of the cat castles to fire bolts from cross-bows against the Saracens, and which fell into their camp. The king had commanded that when the king of Sicily[461] mounted guard in the daytime at the cat castles, we were to do so at night. One day when the king of Sicily was keeping watch, which we should have to do at night, we were in much trouble of mind because the Saracens had shattered our cat castles. The Saracens brought out the _pierriere_ in the daytime, which they had hitherto done only at night, and discharged the Greek fire at our towers. They had advanced their engines so near to the causeway which the army had constructed to dam the river that no one dared to go to the towers, because of the huge stones which the engines flung upon the road. The consequence was that our two towers were burned, and the king of Sicily was so enraged about it that he came near flinging himself into the fire to extinguish it. But if he were wrathful, I and my knights, for our part, gave thanks to God; for if we had mounted guard at night, we should all have been burned....[462] It came to pass that the sainted king labored so much that the king of England, his wife, and children, came to France to treat with him about peace between him and them. The members of his council were strongly opposed to this peace, and said to him: [Sidenote: The treaty of Paris, 1259] "Sire, we greatly marvel that it should be your pleasure to yield to the king of England such a large portion of your land, which you and your predecessors have won from him, and obtained through forfeiture. It seems to us that if you believe you have no right to it, you do not make fitting restitution to the king of England unless you restore to him all the conquests which you and your predecessors have made; but if you believe that you have a right to it, it seems to us that you are throwing away all that you yield to him." To this the sainted king replied after this fashion: "Sirs, I am certain that the king of England's predecessors lost most justly the conquests I hold; and the land which I give up to him I do not give because I am bound either towards himself or his heirs, but to create love between his children and mine, who are first cousins. And it seems to me that I am making a good use of what I give to him, because before he was not my vassal, but now he has to render homage to me."...[463] After the king's return from beyond sea, he lived so devoutly that he never afterwards wore furs of different colors, nor minnever,[464] nor scarlet cloth, nor gilt stirrups or spurs. His dress was of camlet[465] and of a dark blue cloth; the linings of his coverlets and garments were of doeskin or hare-legs. [Sidenote: The king's personal traits]