“I think I have been asleep,” he said, starting up when they entered the room again.

“You look as if you had, anyhow,” De Lille laughed.  “It was the best thing you could do.  We have brought up supper.  We generally sit down and eat after the knights have done, but this is much better, as you are here.”  They sat down on the beds, carved the pasty with their daggers, and after they had finished Gervaise gladly accepted the proposal of the others to take a walk round the walls.

They started from the corner of the castle looking down upon the spit of land dividing the two ports.

“You see,” De Lille said, “there is a row of small islands across the mouth of the outer port, and the guns of St. Nicholas, and those on this wall, would prevent any hostile fleet from entering.”

“I hardly see what use that port is, for it lies altogether outside the town, and vessels could not unload there.”

“No.  Still, it forms a useful place of refuge.  In case a great fleet came to attack us, our galleys would lay up in the inner port, which would be cleared of all the merchant craft, as these would hamper the defence; they would, therefore, be sent round into the outer port, where they would be safe from any attack by sea, although they would doubtless be burnt did an army besiege the town.”

Passing along the walls of the grand master’s palace, which was a strongly fortified building, and formed a citadel that could be defended after the lower town and the rest of the castle had been taken, they came to the western angle of the fortifications.

“You must know that each langue has charge of a separate part of the wall.  From the foot of the mole of St. Nicholas to the grand master’s palace it is in charge of France.  On the line where we now are, between the palace and the gate of St. George, it is held by Germany.  From that gate to the Spanish tower Auvergne is posted.  England takes the wall between the Spanish tower and that of St. Mary.  You defend only the lower storey of that tower, the upper part being held by Aragon, whose charge extends up to the gate of St. John.  Thence to the tower of Italy —­ behind which lies the Jews’ quarter —­ Provence is in charge, while the sea front thence to the mole of St. Nicholas, is held by Italy and Castile, each taking half.  Not only have the langues the charge of defending each its portion of the wall, but of keeping it in order at all times; and I may say that nowhere is the wall better kept or more fairly decorated with carvings than where England holds.”

“You have not told me who defends the palace itself.”

“That is in charge of a force composed of equal numbers of picked knights from each langue.”

Gervaise leant on the battlement and looked with admiration at the scene beyond.  The land side was surrounded by hills, the ground rising very gradually from the foot of the walls.  Every yard of ground was cultivated, and was covered with brilliant vegetation.  Groves and orchards occurred thickly, while the slopes were dotted with chapels, summer houses —­ in which the natives of the city spent most of their time in the hot season —­ and other rustic buildings.