The Emperor Frederick once went to the Veglio, or Old Man of the Mountain, and great honour was done him¹.

The Old Man, in order to show how he was feared, looked up and saw on a tower two of his band who were called assassins². And then he took hold of his great beard, and the two men cast themselves down to earth and died immediately³.

¹ The Veglio, or Old Man of the Mountain, spoken of in mediæval legends, was an Arabian prince, who lived between Antioch and Damascus, in an inaccessible mountain fastness. He was a tyrant, and had an army of faithful followers. He was probably little more that a superior kind of brigand.
² Those who followed the Veglio were called assassins.
³ Touching his beard was the sign which the Old Man gave to his followers to kill. See Marco Polo.