It has been remarked that the expedition of St. Louis into Egypt resembles in many respects the war carried on in that country thirty years before. In both cases the Christian armies were encamped near the entrance of the Ashmoun canal, beyond which they could not advance; and the surrender of Damietta in each instance was the price of safety. The errors of the Cardinal Pelagius seem not to have been recollected by the French king, who, in fact, trod in his steps with a fatal blindness, and ended by paying a still severer penalty. A gleam of hope arose in the minds of the Crusaders from finding the rulers of Egypt and of Syria engaged in a furious war. The Mamlouks even condescended to solicit the cooperation of Louis, and agreed to purchase it by remitting one-half of the ransom which still remained unpaid. They further consented to deliver up Jerusalem itself, and also the youthful captives taken on the banks of the Nile, whom they had compelled to embrace the Mussulman faith. But before the Franks could appear in the field, the interposition of the calif had restored peace to the contending parties, both of whom immediately resumed their wonted dislike to the European invaders. The infidels, however, at this period did not pursue their schemes of conquest with the vigour and ability which distinguished the movements of Noureddin, and more especially of Saladin, his renowned successor. They might have swept the feeble and exhausted Christians from the shores of Palestine; but they merely ravaged the country round Acre, and then proceeded to Sidon, in the strong castle of which Louis and his army had taken refuge. The blood and property of the citizens satisfied the barbarians, who departed without trying the valour of the soldiers who occupied the garrison. The death of Queen Blanche, the mother of the king, and regent during his absence, afforded him a good apology for leaving the country, of which he had long been tired. The patriarch and barons of the Holy Land offered him their humble thanks for the honour he had bestowed upon their cause, and for the benefits which he had conferred upon themselves individually. Louis, sensible that he had gathered no laurels in Palestine, and that the interests of the church were even in a more hopeless condition than when he landed at Damietta, listened to their address with mingled emotions of shame and regret, and forthwith prepared himself for his voyage homewards.[176]