The sufferings and the cruelties of this part of the history are not pleasant to dwell upon. It is a sad tale to tell how Saladin slew his prisoners, how the Duke of Burgundy and Richard slew theirs; how Conrad and Guy quarrelled, the French supporting Conrad and Richard supporting Guy; how the people perished, and brave and noble knights took menial service to earn bread. A more brilliant yet scarcely less sad story is the great march of Richard by the way of the sea from Acre to Joppa, and his progress, after a stay of seven weeks at Joppa, on the way to Jerusalem as far as Ramleh. Every step was dogged by Saladin, every straggler cut off, every place of encampment won by fighting. Christmas found the king within a few miles of Jerusalem; but he never came within reach of it. Had he known the internal condition of the city he might have taken it. Jerusalem was in a panic, Saladin for once paralyzed by alarm; but Richard had no good intelligence. The Franks insisted that Ascalon should be secured before the Holy City was occupied. The favorable moment passed away. [Sidenote: Ascalon rebuilt. ] [Sidenote: Exploits of Richard. ] Richard with a heavy heart turned his back on Jerusalem and went to rebuild Ascalon. Before that was done the French began to draw back. The struggle between Guy and Conrad broke out again. Saladin, by Easter 1192, was in full force and in good spirits again. Richard performed during these months some of the most daring exploits of his whole life: capturing the fortresses of the south country of Judah, and with a small force and incredibly rapid movements intercepting the great caravan of the Saracens on the borders of the desert. Such acts increased his fame but scarcely helped the Crusade. [Sidenote: March on Jerusalem. ] [Sidenote: Retreat and truce. ] In June it became absolutely necessary to determine on further steps. Now the French insisted on attacking Jerusalem. Richard had learned caution, and the council of the Crusade recommended an expedition to Egypt to secure the south as Acre barred the north. At last Richard yielded to the pressure of the French, and in spite of the want of water and the absurdity of sitting down before the Holy City with an enormous army in the middle of summer, he led them again to Beit-nuba, four hours’ journey from Jerusalem. Then the French changed their minds again; and thence, on July 4, began the retreat preparatory to the return. Richard had been too long away from France, whither Philip had returned, and from England, where John was waiting for his chances; he began to negotiate for a truce, and in September, after a dashing exploit at Joppa, in which he rescued the town from almost certain capture, he arranged a peace for three years three months and three days. [Sidenote: Richard’s journey homewards. ]