Fortunately for Sebastian, these accidental circumstances, together with the loss of his coronetted helmet and his horse, concealed him from suspicion: he remained standing where they had left him, supporting himself with difficulty upon the fragment of his sword. His strength now ebbed apace: the blood pouring from a large cut on his head, and oozing through the scarf with which his arm was bound, sickened and enfeebled him; his very thoughts partook of the mortal languor creeping over all his senses: a confusion of images, of Gonsalva, of Stukeley, of his page Diego, swam through his brain; he staggered a few paces, fell, and breathed no more! CHAP. IV. After the battle of Alcazar, there remained but fifty of the Portuguese troops alive in Africa: most of these were prisoners to the Moors, and the remainder gaining with difficulty the christian fortresses, at length escaped homewards. The Moors in return lost above one-fifth of their gigantic army, but the pillage of the christian camp, (filled with all the riches of the East and West,) amply atoned, in their opinion, for such a loss. This memorable battle lasted from morning till long after mid-day, and the sacking of the field of fight, continued till the next morning’s dawn. While the infidels were thus employed, a benevolent dervise, whose piety was his authority and his protection, came to seek for such christians as might yet remain capable of receiving assistance: on the bank of the Lucos, among a heap of tall Lentiscos, he caught a gleam of light as if the moon-beams fell upon arms: the dervise stooped, and pushing away the shrubs, applied his lanthorn to the object. It was the figure of a young man, in armour, which bore marks of heavy and repeated blows; over his forehead curled a profusion of hair steeped in blood; the white and polished brow was trenched with a gaping wound, and the countenance lovely in death, was yet embellished by a look of youthful sweetness, which melted the good Mahometan’s heart; he knelt by the body, and gently raising it, dropped balsam upon the wounds; he then poured a cordial into the lips. Presently he thought the brows were contracted with returning sensation: animated by this, he cautiously unfastened the knight’s cuirass, and opened the silk shirt beneath it; under this he saw the picture of a woman, which carefully putting aside, he exclaimed, “alas! poor youth, here is one, doubtless, that will sorely lament thee!” As he spoke he gently rubbed an aromatic liquid upon the Christian’s chest; the experiment succeeded; by degrees the motion of the heart was apparent--it increased--the body began to glow--and at last the stranger visibly breathed. Many minutes elapsed ere the benevolent mussulman saw the object of his anxiety unclose his eyes; when he did so, he knew not that in succouring a desolate stranger, he was bringing back to life the king of Portugal, that foe to Mahomet.