CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER III.THE STORY OF THE FIRST CRUSADE.As at one time Athens “was the Eye of Greece and Mother of the Arts” so both to pious Jew and humble Christian, Jerusalem has ever been the “City of God,” the “Joy of the Whole Earth.” To the fervid hearts of the early Christians a pilgrimage to that Holy City to see the sacred sights and commune with God amid scenes hallowed by the former presence of a Christ, was regarded as a mark of special faith and a source of peculiar blessing. After the Emperor Constantine removed his capital from Rome to Constantinople and embraced the Christian religion, Jerusalem was raised from its ruins, the way to the sacred places was made more easy and safe, and the spirit of pilgrimage greatly revived and stimulated. The magnificent church of The Holy Sepulchre—decorated with pillars and adorned and paved with precious stones—was raised above the obscure tomb, while churches, chapels and monuments filled the city and marked the places made sacred by the life and the death of the Saviour of the world.Pilgrims flocked in crowds into Judea from almost every country in Europe and Asia, and when they gathered in immense throngs about these holy places, lifting their voices in prayers and hymns in many languages, the sound was like the Babel of former Pentecosts. Each returning pilgrim told his story of strangesights and of the refreshment and inspiration received from his visit.The Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Park of Yildiz Palace.The Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Park of Yildiz Palace.He had confirmed his faith by bathing in the Jordan, tested his faith by exposure and perils, warmed his emotions by prayer on Calvary and raised his soul in songs of praise in the Church of the Resurrection.But in 610 A. D., the armies of Persia overran the provinces of the Byzantine Empire, invading Syria, Palestine and Egypt, capturing Jerusalem and bearing away many Christian captives.Ten years of fiercest conflict followed and finally Heraclius, Emperor of Constantinople, recaptured the city. In the imposing ceremonies and festivities which followed, the Emperor walked barefoot in the streets, bearing on his shoulders to the summit of Calvary, the wood of the true cross, which to their weird and superstitious imaginations had been miraculously recovered. Jerusalem rescued, became more than ever an object of reverence. Blood had been shed for the church, only Christians should thenceforth be its custodians. Their joy was brief.Already the Saracenic warriors under able leaders had overrun Persia and Syria, and in 637 Omar, their Caliph, after a four months’ siege, received the keys and homage of a city, which, though the home of many Christians, was very sacred also in the eyes of the Mohammedans, as a “House of God,” a city of saints and miracles, since Mohammed himself had visited it as a prophet and had thence set out for heaven in his nocturnal voyage. During the lifetime of Omar, the Christians escaped serious persecution, but violence and fanaticism increased at a fearful rate under his successors—except for the period (768–814 A. D.) during whichreigned Haroun al Raschid, the greatest of all the Saracen Caliphs.In 1076—fateful day—Jerusalem was captured by the Seljukian Turks who had come down from the inner provinces of Asia in resistless numbers—embraced Islamism, and under the banners of the Caliph of Bagdad, had conquered Syria and Palestine. Their entry into Jerusalem was signalized by a terrible massacre of all opponents. The fanatical fury of these barbarians was untempered by any spirit of toleration that had sometimes marked Saracenic civilization,—and soon their wild hordes waved their banners of blood and fire before the very gates of Constantinople. The Emperor Alexius purchased peace by ceding Asia Minor to the victorious Solyman, who at once established his power at Nice and began building a fleet for the capture of the Byzantine capital.All Europe was roused and smitten with alarm. The hour had come for the Greek and the Latin churches to unite all their power for the defence of their common faith and preserve their empires from being devastated by the barbarian Turks.Pope Gregory began to exhort the sovereigns of Europe to arm against the infidel: when suddenly from an anchorite’s cell appeared a monk who fired with enthusiasm the heart of all Europe and blew into fiercest blaze all the fanatical elements of a religious war. It was reserved for a poor pilgrim who had found refuge in a cloister from the ridicule and follies of a wicked world to become the instrument of converting the zeal of pilgrimage into the fury of an armed crusade. This man wasPeter the Hermit.In his cell, amid silence, fasting and prayer he grewto believe himself the agent of heaven for the accomplishment of some great purpose, and he left his retreat to go on a pilgrimage. What he witnessed and suffered on the way and at Jerusalem gave to his zeal fresh determination and to his devotion the fervor of righteous indignation. His spirit was fired by the insults to Christians, his piety shocked by the profanations of the Holy Sepulchre by the barbarians and infidels. To his fevered imagination as to that of Joan of Arc there was a vision and a voice. While prostrate before the Holy Sepulchre the voice of Christ was heard, saying: “Peter, arise, hasten to proclaim the tribulation of my people; it is time my servants should receive help, and that the holy places should be delivered.” He hastened to Italy and threw himself at the feet of the Pope, Urban II.With the blessing of the Pope he went forth, the preacher of an armed crusade. In imitation of Christ, when he entered Jerusalem in that last week of his life, he traveled on a mule. With crucifix in hand, feet bare, his head uncovered, his body covered with a long frock and girded with a thick cord, his appearance was an awesome spectacle. He went from city to city, from province to province, working on the piety, the superstitions and the courage of his hearers; now in churches, then in village marts and again on the public highways. He was animated and eloquent, his speech filled with vehement apostrophes and appalling descriptions. His exhortations threw the people into sobs and groans, fury and frenzy. Sympathy with the afflicted Christians took the form of furious fervor, natural bravery went out in oaths to redeem or die; religious emotions ran wild in excesses and swung likea pendulum from the lowest follies of superstition to the fiercest outbursts of fanaticism.It was during this excitement that the Emperor Alexius sent a message to Pope Urban II., appealing for aid. A council was called at Clermont in France where Peter’s preaching had caused the greatest awakening. The Pope attended in person, about him gathered an immense throng of clergy, princes and laity, from France, Italy and Germany. At the tenth session of this council the Pope ascended a pulpit in the open air and preached the sacred duty of redeeming the Sepulchre of Christ from the infidels, proclaiming the certain propitiation for sin by devotion to this meritorious service.This historic council was most ingeniously called and managed. The Germanic peoples were new and eager converts to Christianity. They were fierce and warlike in disposition. Feudalism still was in its fullest power. The hundreds of castles which add such picturesqueness to the valley of the Rhine were then the centers of feudal pride, and every petty Prince made war as he was able against his neighbor, or joined with others in wars of larger proportions. There was no national spirit as yet. These feuds which had been handed down for generations, had greatly impoverished and destroyed the people. The Church had sought to alleviate the distress and check these petty wars, by issuing decrees prohibiting private wars for four days in each week. This council renewed “The Truce of God,” and threatened all who would not comply, with its Anathemas. It placed all widows, orphans, merchants, artisans and non-combatants generally under the panoply of the Church—made all sanctuaries so many cities of refuge, and declaredthat even the crosses by the roadside should be reverenced as guardians from violence. These and other salutary decrees struck into the midst of an assembly filled with enthusiasm and energy, and prepared the way for them to unite in any cause that would add to the strength and glory of Christendom. On this day of the tenth session the great square was filled with an immense crowd. The Pope ascended the throne followed by his Cardinals. By his side was Peter the Hermit, who was to speak first, clad in his pilgrim garb. He gave an impassioned and masterly sketch of what he had witnessed in Palestine and Jerusalem—the outrages against the religion of Christ, and the profanation of the most holy places, the persecutions of pilgrim visitors whom he had seen loaded with chains, dragged into slavery; harnessed to the yoke like cattle. And as he spoke he also acted, until the people shuddered in consternation and horror, vented their hate in vehement cries or wept in dismay—no heart remaining unmoved by the very agony of his appeal.Then Urban rose and so enlarged upon the theme as to arouse and inflame their passions to the highest pitch; then addressing particularly the French he said: “Nation beloved by God, it is in your courage that the Christian Church has placed her hope. It is because I am well acquainted with your piety and your bravery that I have crossed the Alps, and have come to preach the word of God in these countries. You have not forgotten that the land you inhabit has been invaded by the Saracen, and that but for the exploits of Charles Martel and Charlemagne, France would have received the laws of Mohammed. Recall, without ceasing, to your minds the danger and the glory of your fathers, led byheroes whose names shall never die. They delivered your country. They saved the West from shameful slavery. More noble triumphs await you under the guidance of the God of Armies. You will deliver Europe and Asia. You will save the city of Jesus Christ, that Jerusalem which was chosen by the Lord, and from whence the Gospel has come down to us.”Urban swayed his audience as a wind does the leaves of the forest. It wept as he pictured the misfortunes and sorrows of Jerusalem. Warriors clutched their swords and swore vengeance against the Infidel when he described the tyranny and perfidy of the Mussulman conquerors. The enthusiasm of his auditors rose to the highest pitch, when he declared that God had chosen them to extirpate the Mohammedan. He appealed also to their cupidity by the promise of worldly gain, by possession of the riches of Asia and the lands which according to Scripture flowed with milk and honey. He played on every passion and emotion—ambition, patriotism, love of glory and wealth, piety, power and religion:—until at the close of his grandest outbursts the audience rose as one man and broke into the unanimous cry—a cry that became the war cry of the crusader—“It is the will of God! It is the will of God!”Taking up this wild refrain Pope Urban repeated dramatically: “Yes, without doubt it is the will of God” * * * It is He who has dictated to you the words that I have heard. Let them be your war cry and let them announce everywhere the presence of the “Armies of God.” He then held up to the gaze of the assemblage the sign of their redemption, saying: “It is Christ himself who issues from the tomb and presentsto you his cross; it will be the sign raised among the nations which is to gather together again the dispersed of Israel. Wear it on your shoulders and on your breasts; let it shine on your arms and on your standards; it will be the surety of victory or the palm of martyrdom; it will unceasingly remind you that Christ died for you, and that it is your duty to die for Him.” Again the multitude rose to weep and cheer and vow vengeance against the Mussulman.I have dwelt thus on the Council of Clermont, and quoted from the speech of Pope Urban, that the reader might see clearly the mixed motives that stirred the heart of Europe for nearly two centuries, and nerved her warriors to the most noble, heroic and almost superhuman deeds of valor and endurance that have ever been emblazoned among the memorials of the mightiest heroes of this mortal race.This was the declaration of war against the Mohammedan. The breaking up of the Council was the scattering of the firebrands of fanaticism. Pope Urban traversed several provinces of France that seemed to rise en masse to his appeals. France seemed to have no country but the Holy Land. Ease, property and life were cast into the sacrificial cause. All Christian nations seemed to forget their internal strifes, and to plunge headlong into the excitement of the hour. Western Europe resounded with the Papal Watchword: “He who will not take up his cross and come after me, is not worthy of me.”It must not be forgotten, however, that the political and physical condition of Europe contributed vastly to the warlike conflagration. The people groaned under feudal servitude and violence. Famine more or lesssevere, for years had contributed to robbery and brigandage. Commerce was almost destroyed, agriculture was neglected. Towns and cities were in ruins; lands everywhere were abandoned. The Church made her appeals popular. The Crusader was freed from all imposts and from pursuit by debts. The Cross suspended all laws and all menaces. Tyranny could not seek a wearer of the emblem nor could justice find the guilty. What wonder that an entire population rushed to a cause that absolved them from a grinding past and pictured so glowing a future! What wonder that the inexpiable wickedness of tyrannical baron and brutal knight sought expiation or at least relief by a desperate plunge into foreign martial excesses! What wonder if freebooters and robbers should join the ranks in hope of sharing the plunder of the conquered East! Yet we must not lose sight of the fact that over and above all love of glory, all true patriotism or base cupidity, towered the sublime passion, the pervading emotion of the hour. Religion smelted every other sentiment into harmonious union with her fervid zeal and her intense zealotry. Monks deserted their cloisters, anchorites their cells or forest retreats to mingle with and encourage the crusading throngs. Thieves and robbers came out of their hiding places to confess their sins and expiate offences by assuming the sacred badge.All Europe seemed to be on the move eastward. Barons were willing to desert their castles and Lords their manors. The artisan deserted his shop, merchants their stores, the laborer the field. Cities were depopulated, lands were mortgaged, castles sold. Values were nothing. Accumulations of centuries went for a song. Even miracles entered into thefurore. To their overheated imaginations stars fell; blood was seen in the clouds. Armed warriors were seen rushing to battle in the skies. Saints issued from the tomb, and the shade of Charlemagne arose to lead these phantom hosts to the rescue of the Holy City. While everywhere the women and children and the helpless of every estate espoused the cause of Heaven crying aloud, “It is the will of God,” and imprinting crosses on their limbs.The early spring of 1096 saw the gathering of the impatient throngs. They came from every quarter, from the Rhine to the Pyrenees, and from Tiber to the Ocean. Troops of men, armed with every conceivable weapon or without arms of any kind, swarmed towards their respective rendezvous chanting and shouting their war cry until every hill reëchoed “It is the will of God.” Without preparation or forethought or commissary they gathered, blindly trusting that He who fed the sparrows would not suffer them to hunger. There was no voice of reason in all this surging multitude. It was a spectacle without a parallel in history. There is no way of computing the vast aggregate, but the French historian, Carnot, estimates that five billion enthusiasts were on the move in the spring of 1096. This certainly is most extravagant hyperbole, but all Western Europe was fiercely agitated and vast multitudes were on the march.THE CRUSADE OF THE MOB.Their story is but a harrowing recital of a tumultuous and reckless march through an unknown country by a starving horde of men, women and children. Pillage, rapine and blood marked their way. For a timein Germany the people were kindly disposed and brought them food. Fortunately for the mob Hungary had but recently embraced Christianity and its King, Carloman, gave it a friendly passage through his domains: but when it struck Bulgaria its struggles and sorrows began. They were forced to pillage to keep from starvation. Religion was laid aside. Hunger knew no law stronger than that of self-preservation. The Bulgarians flew to arms and inflicted great losses on the undisciplined and helpless crowd of beggars. At last that part of the throng led by Walter the Penniless, arrived under the walls of Constantinople and there were allowed by the Emperor to await the coming of Peter the Hermit. Alas! the excesses of his hosts led to still more terrible assaults while passing through Hungary and Bulgaria. At Nissa they endeavored to scale the ramparts and a terrific battle ensued in which the Crusaders were cut to pieces. Women, children, horses, camp and trophy chests, all fell a prey to the infuriated Bulgarians.In August, Peter the Hermit appeared under the walls of Constantinople with about seven thousand soldiers and camp followers to recruit his wasted energies in the camp of Walter the Penniless while waiting for other and better armed and disciplined forces to arrive. From the banks of the Rhine, from Flanders, and even from Britain an army largely composed of the refuse of mankind, two hundred thousand strong, started on its march—but soon gave themselves to unheard-of barbarities. How much worse than a Mohammedan was a member of that hated race which had crucified the Christ and so they let loose their fury against the defenseless Jews in most pitiless massacres, sweeping oninto Hungary, to the city of Mersburg, which shut its gates and refused them provisions. Forests were cut down, causeways built across the swamps which partially protected the walls and a furious assault was made upon the city. The battle raged fiercely and for a long time with doubtful result, but at last the scaling ladders of the Crusaders began to give way, and then fell dragging down their occupants and fragments of the walls and towers. These disasters carried panic into the army of the besiegers and they fled into the forests, were caught in the swamps and were ruthlessly slaughtered. Few of the desperate and cruel adventurers escaped. Some found the way back to their own country covered with disgrace—a few more made their way to the army of Peter the Hermit encamped before Constantinople.Thus far this fanatical spirit had cost Western Europe the lives of nearly a quarter of a million people, and not a Saracen had been seen. But the motley crowd encamped on the Bosphorus augmented by adventurers from Italian cities had gradually increased until now it probably numbered one hundred thousand all told. They were scarcely more welcome than the Saracens to the Emperor Alexius who had treated them as guests and supplied their famished hosts. Their desire for plunder could not long be restrained, and the churches, houses and palaces in the suburbs fell a prey to their rapacity which was as insatiable as the cry for blood that rises from a pack of ravening wolves. Alexius was therefore very glad to furnish them with transportation across the Bosphorus. They were now on Asiatic soil an undisciplined and motley crowd in the face of the well armed and equally furiousand fanatical Turk. They revelled in the pillage of the fertile plains of Nicomedia, dividing the booty at night in their camps. They plundered the valley, ravaged and burned the villages and committed most horrible excesses; they captured a small fort near the mountains from the Turks and massacred the garrison. The Turks reinforced, fell upon them in turn, and put nearly all of them to the sword. This roused the anger of the mixed crowds in camp. Nothing could restrain the blind fury of the soldier mob. They chased the apparently flying columns of the Turks into the mountains of an unknown country and fell into the ambush laid for them. In vain their courage, their despair. The carnage was horrible. Only three thousand escaped. The entire crusading army perished in this single battle and only their bleaching bones remained as a ghastly monument pointing out to other crusaders the way to the Holy Land.Europe learned with astonishment and horror of the sad fate of over three hundred thousand soldiers who had departed amid the promises and the blessings of the church. Their misfortune, however, did not deter others, but seemed only to inspire them with resolution; their disasters furnished a warning to the better regulated and more formidable hosts which were to pour into the East from the now thoroughly aroused West.THE CRUSADE OF KINGS AND NOBLES.The verdict of candid history is that the rabble which started in obedience to a popular ferment and perished as a miserable crowd of crazed humanity, deserved the fate they invited; for the world had never witnessed a more pitiable exhibition of demoniacalfanaticism and flagrant violence than was shown by these lawless crowds who followed the cry of Peter the Hermit. They achieved nothing heroic; but their disasters taught Europe that to conquer Jerusalem would be no holiday work.The Princes and Nobles of Germany, France and Britain now organized for war. While deliverance of Jerusalem was the popular cry and religious zeal fired the heart of all classes, the powers recognized the fact that the battles to be fought and won were for the preservation of their very existence.You may call it organized infatuation and mailed folly, yet it was a splendid spectacle. Its spiritual zeal gave a silver lining to its superstitions. Its martial fame modified its brutality. Amid fearful excesses there was a show of prudence; and although you may impeach the justice of their cause, their magnanimous devotion of spirit and fearless heroism must always command a large share of sympathy and admiration, and make the Story of the Crusades the most thrilling of all the chapters in the history of the Middle Ages.History and poetry place Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, at the head of the great captains that led the flower of all chivalry on its desperate venture. He was a descendant of the great Charlemagne. To natural bravery he added herculean strength. He was devout, prudent and humane. All his vengeance was for the enemies of Christ. He was generous, faithful to his word—a model knight and soldier. When he gave the signal, the nobility of France and the Rhine borders opened their purses and flocked to his standards. Women sold their jewels toequip husbands and sons for service. Men sacrificed their domains for horses and arms. Godfrey himself sacrificed his estates that he might equip his soldiers, and a worldly Bishop eagerly took advantage of his zeal by purchasing his vast domains. Within eight months of the Council of Clermont, Godfrey had gathered an army of eighty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse. With him were a great number of nobles whose names became famous, beside his brother Baldwin and his cousin Baldwin de Bourg who were destined like himself to become Kings of Jerusalem. Whether actuated by piety or the hope of achieving fortune, they all quitted without regret their mean possessions and tame life in Europe.They led an immense army used to marches and battles. Their admirable discipline and self-restraint reëstablished the honor of the Crusaders and drew allies and champions of the cross where Peter had met his worst enemies, and the hostile Hungarians and Bulgarians forgot their hatred for the leaders of the Mob in their admiration for Godfrey and his chivalric knights.We must not neglect to mention the names of four chiefs who accompanied by throngs of lesser knights and nobles, crossed the Alps and marched towards the different coast cities of Italy intending to embark for Greece by water. Count Hugh, brother of Philip I. of France, a proud prince, brave in battle, but lacking perseverance under reverses: Robert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror, who pledged his domains to his crafty brother, William Rufus, that he might equip his Norman vassals. Robert, of Flanders, whose father some time before hadmade a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, found it an easy task to attract a large and resolute following and exhausted the treasures of his province in arming his men for an expedition, which was to earn for him the reputation of a brave knight and the surname of “Lance and Sword of the Christians.” Five hundred of his men had already preceded him to Constantinople. Then Stephen of Blois and Chartres, whose castles numbered one for every day in the year, and who was reckoned one of the richest nobles of his time, took up the cross and led a large body of his retainers;—he, though lacking in physical strength, was eloquent and wise in council and enjoyed the exceptional distinction of being a man of letters. For the most part these chiefs and many men of lesser rank took with them their wives and children and camp equipments. Passing through Italy they roused the enthusiasm of the noble Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, who was a cubit taller than the tallest soldier in his army. The historian of Constantinople and the Empire of the East, AnnaComnena, says that he was as astonishing to the eye as his reputation was to the mind. He was eloquent in debate, skilled with sword and lance. He was proud and haughty. Fear of God, the opinions of men, nor his own oaths afforded him no restraint. His enlistment under the banner of the cross was not for the purpose of delivering the tomb of Christ, but because he had sworn eternal enmity against Alexius and the Empire of the East. He hoped to win a kingdom long before reaching Jerusalem. In a surprisingly short time he sailed for the coasts of Greece with twenty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse, followed by every renowned knight of Apulia and Sicily.None of them however became so celebrated for deeds of prowess as the brave Tancred, who has found a place in history and poetry and who seems to have been actuated by the loftiest sentiments of piety, chivalric honor and loyal friendship for his leader. From the southern provinces of France under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse and Bishop Adhemar, who was as valorous in the field as he was eloquent in prayer, came another army one hundred thousand strong, marching eastward along the south side of the Alps and through northern Italy by way of Dalmatia, to Constantinople.And now that all Europe seemed pouring into the empire and capital of Alexius, the Emperor began to be alarmed. He had not forgotten the excesses of the first swarm of Crusaders. Should these multitudes now sweeping into and through his domains choose to do so, they could speedily wrest his sovereignty from him and find riches and dominion far easier than in remote and hostile Asia. We have no time to dwell upon the intrigues and treachery that marked his dealings with these mighty leaders of the Crusaders. More than once the forces of Godfrey and Alexius were called to arms with the fate of Constantinople hanging in almost even balance. Finally a truce was made and the Emperor sent his son as a hostage to the Camp of the Crusaders. This dissipated all mistrust and the princes of the West swore to respect the laws of hospitality. They went in a body to the court of Alexius, where they bent before his throne and were magnificently received. After an imposing ceremony the now graciously disposed Emperor adopted Godfrey as a son, placed the Empire under his protection, promisingaid to the Crusaders by land and sea, provisions for their marches and the countenance of his leadership in glory or defeat.Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)But every day brought its hosts of Crusaders and magnificent presents must be given to all the leaders, and his profuse liberality was a heavy drain on his royal treasuries. His security now lay in keeping the armies in motion and hurrying them across the Bosphorus; and once in Asia their leaders would be engrossed in preparing to meet the Saracens and his capital would for a time be free from insult and the unwelcome presence of his mortal foe Bohemond who, struck with the riches of the apartments assigned him, exclaimed: “There is enough here to conquer kingdoms with.”And now the plains of Bythinia were fast filling with the warrior hordes of Europe and as they swept along seeking safe camping places they came to the foot of the mountains where Walter the Penniless and his entire army perished in battle. The painful reminder of so great a calamity, and the recital by the starved remnants of Peter’s army found hiding in the mountains of their fearful sufferings, hushed all discord, silenced ambition and inspired fresh zeal for the conquest of the Holy City and the destruction of the fierce, cruel and equally fanatical Turks who swarmed in the valleys and filled the walled cities of Palestine with desperate garrisons.But the first battle of invasion must be fought at the very gateway to Asia Minor. The chief of the Infidel forces was the son of Solyman; his name was David, surnamed Kilidge Arslan, or “The Sword of the Lion.” He called upon the defenders of Islam to rally to hisstandard and they came in troops from all the surrounding provinces and even from distant Persia. The capital of his kingdom was Nicea (Nice). It was the advanced post of the Turks in Asia Minor and there they would concentrate for the later invasion of Europe. Its approaches were defended by high mountains. Its walls, surrounded by large water-filled ditches, were wide enough for the passage of chariots and were crowned by three hundred and seventy towers of brick. Its garrison was composed of the finest troops of the Turkish army; and one hundred thousand men were encamped for its defence upon the neighboring mountains.Infatuated with their cause, blind in their faith, despising the martial quality of the enemy, and apparently ignorant of the careful and crafty preparations made to receive them, the Crusaders marched in magnificently terrible swarms over the Bythinian plains towards Nice; with a force of one hundred thousand horse and five hundred thousand footmen among whom were a large per cent. of women and children and ineffectives. It was the chivalry of Europe come out to dispute with the Infidel the possession of Asia. The sight of this immense army as the Turks gazed upon it from their mountain tops must have thrilled their hearts even if it did not carry terror to their camps. It was soon learned that Nice could only be captured by siege, if at all. For this preparations began to be made; but there was no central authority. In the camps of the Crusaders were nineteen different nationalities grouped about their respective standards. No count or prince would deign to receive orders from anyone. Each camp was protected by walls or palisades,and as the supply of wood and stone was scarce they gathered up the bones of the first Crusaders that lay bleaching on the plains. The priests in all these various camps were always in the ranks and so great was their power that the commonest soldier gladly courted death for the sake of the rewards in store for all who perished in battle with the Infidel.At the same time David, “The Sword of the Lion” animated his garrison by recalling former victories and saying: “We are going to fight for our wives and children and country. The religion of the Prophet implores our help, and the richest booty will reward our exploits.” While for every Turk that fell in battle the gates of Paradise would open and the most beautiful Houris would minister with wine and dance to the unlimited enjoyment of the faithful. The rewards of the future, though so different to the imagination of the followers of Christ and of Mohammed, had precisely the same effect in stimulating the courage of all alike to the same pitch of frenzied fanaticism—the utter contempt of all danger, and to the very courting of death itself in the destruction of their enemies.As the Crusaders advanced, their siege operations animated by the boldness of their leaders, the Turks, similarly cheered and as bravely led, descended from their mountain camps and prepared for battle. Their army divided into two great bodies as they struck the plains. One of these fell on the army of Godfrey, and the other on that of Raymond of Toulouse. At first the troops of Raymond gave way to the fierce onset but were soon rallied by the voices and bugles of Raymond and Adhemar. Matthew of Edessa writes:—“The two armies joined, mingled and attacked eachother with equal fury. Everywhere glittered casques and shields; lances rang against cuirasses; the air resounded with piercing cries; the terrified horses recoiled from din of arms and the hissing of arrows; the earth trembled beneath the tread of the combatants, and the plain was for a vast space bristling with javelins.” The Crusaders were most valiantly led by Godfrey, Tancred and the two Roberts whose steeds seemed to be everywhere, whose valor knew no abatement and whose lances carried terror and death into the ranks of the Infidels. It was a disastrous day for the Turkish forces that were driven back in greatest confusion into their mountain camps. But the Sultan did not stop to deplore his defeat. He rallied his forces during the night and determined to avenge his disgrace on the morrow. At break of day again his troops rushed with the violence of mountain torrents into the plains, and with loudest cries dashed again and again into the serried ranks of the Crusaders. All day long under charge and counter charge the result of the battle hung in doubt. Not till night did the Turks confess their inability to crush the battle lines of the Christians by retiring from the scene of awful carnage, leaving four thousand prisoners in the hands of the victors. The next day the heads of one thousand were cut off and sent as trophies to Alexius at Constantinople; the heads of the remaining captives were thrown by machines over the walls of the city to inform the Turkish garrison of the disaster which had overtaken their supporting army.The Crusaders were now free to push forward the siege by every artifice known to the Romans and directed by the skill and energy of the Greeks. Theyallowed the garrison no rest, and the defence was as furious as the attack. The Turks covered their ramparts with formidable weapons which hurled destruction on their assailants. They shot forth darts, wooden beams and enormous stones which daily destroyed the labor of the Crusaders whose rashness and imprudence cost them many precious lives. Hundreds died from poisoned darts, and others, venturing too near the walls, were caught by grappling hooks, dragged alive over the walls to be shot back, stark naked, into the Christian camp. The tales of personal, single-handed prowess place Christian and Turkish chief on equal footing as to strength, courage and splendid daring.After seven weeks had passed all hope for successful defence departed. The wife of the Sultan and her two children were captured in trying to escape, and consternation siezed the garrison. Just at this crisis the emissaries of Alexius entered the city, and by creating in the inhabitants a dread of the terrible vengeance that would be inflicted by the Crusaders, persuaded them to surrender to the Emperor of Constantinople.While the Crusaders were preparing for what was intended to be their final assault, the standard of Alexius suddenly appeared on the ramparts. The wily Emperor had secured without the loss of a man the fruits of a victory won at terrible cost of life to the Crusaders. He succeeded in quieting the wrath of the soldiers by distributing among them largesses equal in extent to the booty they expected from the looting of the captured city. He also restored to the Sultan his wife and children, and thereby won his friendship. He also by this crafty stroke of policy secured the lives of the Greek Christians scattered throughout the cities ofAsia Minor; but won the lasting hatred of the Crusaders.The siege of one city is like the siege of all, and we must hasten to Jerusalem, in the spring of 1097. Passing by the battlefield of Dorylaeum, where the newly gathered army of David, the Sultan, numbering two hundred thousand men, met with an awful defeat and the loss of nearly twenty-five thousand men; all the treasures of his camp, provisions, tents, horses and camels, and riches of gold and silver, falling as spoil into the hands of the Crusaders:—passing by the terrible march through “Burning Phrygia,” desolated by order of the Sultan, we descend through the mountain passes of the Taurus range into the fair and fertile and wealthy plains of the province of Antioch. The armies were soon gathered for the siege of this historic city, which lasted seven months and was finally captured through the assistance of an Armenian within the walls.Six months after the sack of the city of Antioch, the word was given, “On to Jerusalem.”It was now about the first of June. The harvests of Phœnicia were ripe, plenty of provisions were in sight, and the country was beautiful as they marched down the seacoast from Antioch. To their left rose the mountains of Lebanon. On their right the blue waters of the Mediterranean flashed in the sunlight of an eastern sky. Between mountain and sea the valleys and plains were filled with orchards of olive, orange and pomegranate. Among the plants which were new to the Crusaders was the sugar cane of the Syrian lowlands. Returning pilgrims carried this plant to Italy; the Saracens introduced it into Grenada, whence it spread throughout all the Spanish colonial possessions;and to-day is the basis of the wealth of Cuba, and one of the chief productions of our own Southern States.The Crusaders marched amid plenty and under balmy skies, with time enough to contemplate the fearful sacrifice of human life which their expedition had already cost. Battle and famine, disease and despair had cut off more than two hundred thousand of their number. Tens of thousands had deserted and returned to Europe; other thousands remained in the cities and villages of Palestine and were lost in the mixed crowds of the native races. While yet a vast host, the fighting force was about fifty thousand, but it was a compact and vigorous body of warriors. It marched better and lighter. Its victories gave it courage; its defeats had taught it the value of discipline. The names of Crusader and Christian carried terror wherever spoken in the Infidel camps or cities. Their zeal increased as they drew near the end of their long and wasting marches. Often the weary columns refused to halt for the night, but tramped on until forced to rest by sheer fatigue. To their disordered vision luminous angels appeared to guide them on the way.Bending away from the sea and passing Lydda, they soon gained the Heights of Ephraim, only sixteen miles from Jerusalem. Here their ranks were broken up as they entered these jagged ravines and narrow, lonesome valleys scorched by the rays of a summer sun, riddled by gullies and choked by great fragments of rock fallen from the precipitous sides of the mountains. Had they been attacked from the heights above by even a few resolute Mussulmen while in such disorder, fearful loss might have been inflicted; but no enemy appeared as the more ardent and faithful soulsadvanced barefooted, carrying with them the banner of the Prince of Peace to plant on the recaptured walls of the Holy City of God.On June 10th, 1099, the Crusaders marched up the gloomy steeps to Emmaus, and looking over its barren edges caught their first sight of Zion. The cry of “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” rang out and down the slopes, and as the rear columns came up the war cry “It is the will of God,” resounded throughout the whole army until reëchoed by the slopes of the Mount of Olives and heard in the City of David. Horsemen dismounted and walked barefoot, thousands bent their knees and kissed the earth. Hallelujahs arose, petitions went up for the remission of their sins, tears were shed over the death of Christ, and the profanation of His tomb. Pious fervor soon changed into fierceness and wrath as oaths were resworn to rescue the Holy City from the sacrilegious hands of the followers of Mohammed.They found a fierce and valiant memory awaiting them. The surrounding villages had been destroyed, cisterns and wells filled up or poisoned, the land made a desert.The siege began at once; but their situation grew desperate. They were suffering under a scorching heat and the sand storms out of the southern deserts. Plants and animals perished. Kedron ran dry. The army became a prey to raging thirst. Water brought in skin bottles a distance of nine miles was worth its weight in silver. The old historians paint in most frightful colors the misery of the Crusaders at this juncture; and had the Mussulmen made a determined sortie upon the staggering hosts, the army must have perished. Their strength and courage revived bythe arrival of a Genoese fleet at Jaffa laden with provisions. A Syrian pointed out a mountain thirty miles away that was forest-clad. Every body wrought with unceasing energy. Water was brought long distances by the women and children; machines of war towers, catapults and battering rams were erected and pushed up close under the walls of Jerusalem.The priests exhorted to peace and harmony. The hermit of the Mount of Olives led a penitential march around the city. On their return to camp as the Christian army marched by the tomb of David, and Mt. Zion they chanted “The nations of the West shall fear the Lord; and the nations of the East shall see His glory.”On the morning of July 14, 1099, all the Crusaders flew to arms at the sound of the trumpets to make their first grand assault.The great war machines were pushed close to the walls. Showers of stones were hurled upon the ramparts. Archers and crossbowmen kept up a continual fire from their towers. Scaling ladders were planted. The great leaders were everywhere. For twelve long hours the Crusaders maintained the unequal fight, and then nightfall covered their first repulse. The morning saw the renewal of the conflict more furious and desperate than before. It was carried on with demoniac obstinacy for half a day. Their courage began to fail; nearly all their machines were on fire and there was no water to quench the flames; even their leaders began to waver.While the battle was in this desperate shape a mysterious knight made his appearance on the Mount of Olives waving his sword and signalling them to renew theassault. They accepted the omen as from heaven and in the fury of their faith rushed again to the attack—dragged their machines still nearer the walls, caught them with their grappling hooks, lowered their drawbridges, let fly showers of flaming arrows which set on fire sacks of wool and bundles of hay that had been used for protection on the inner walls. The wind fanned the flames, driving smoke and heat upon the doomed Saracens. The Crusaders sprang upon the walls with lance and spear in hand. Godfrey, Baldwin, Raymond and Tancred followed by their knights and soldiers were soon in the streets and beating down the gates with their battle-axes opened the way for the great body of Crusaders to enter. Their battle cry rang through the streets of the Holy City.The miracle-monger places the entry of the Crusaders at the very hour Friday, 3 P. M., at which Christ expired on the cross. But even this could not move their hearts to mercy. We throw a veil of silence over the awful massacre that followed, until Godfrey throwing aside his arms walked barefooted to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. His example was contagious. The army ceased its bloody fury, cast aside its blood-stained vestments, gave vent to its contrition in groans and sobs, and marched with uncovered heads and bare feet following their priests to the Church of the Resurrection. We marvel at the sudden transformation. The devotion of the Crusaders seemed profoundly tender after such horrible carnage. We do not excuse it. We do not condemn it in bitter speech recalling some terrible experiences during our late Civil War, when Christian men sometimes seemed possessed. The demon of war has never yetbeen baptized with the Spirit of Him who gave up His life for the salvation of the very men who crucified Him.The last chapter in the history of this first Crusade ends with the establishment of a kingdom of Jerusalem and the selection of the pious Godfrey as King. With its fortunes we may not here concern ourselves. We shall touch upon it as we sketch the resistless march of the warriors of Islam to the conquest of Constantinople and the overthrow of the Empire of Eastern Europe.

CHAPTER III.THE STORY OF THE FIRST CRUSADE.As at one time Athens “was the Eye of Greece and Mother of the Arts” so both to pious Jew and humble Christian, Jerusalem has ever been the “City of God,” the “Joy of the Whole Earth.” To the fervid hearts of the early Christians a pilgrimage to that Holy City to see the sacred sights and commune with God amid scenes hallowed by the former presence of a Christ, was regarded as a mark of special faith and a source of peculiar blessing. After the Emperor Constantine removed his capital from Rome to Constantinople and embraced the Christian religion, Jerusalem was raised from its ruins, the way to the sacred places was made more easy and safe, and the spirit of pilgrimage greatly revived and stimulated. The magnificent church of The Holy Sepulchre—decorated with pillars and adorned and paved with precious stones—was raised above the obscure tomb, while churches, chapels and monuments filled the city and marked the places made sacred by the life and the death of the Saviour of the world.Pilgrims flocked in crowds into Judea from almost every country in Europe and Asia, and when they gathered in immense throngs about these holy places, lifting their voices in prayers and hymns in many languages, the sound was like the Babel of former Pentecosts. Each returning pilgrim told his story of strangesights and of the refreshment and inspiration received from his visit.The Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Park of Yildiz Palace.The Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Park of Yildiz Palace.He had confirmed his faith by bathing in the Jordan, tested his faith by exposure and perils, warmed his emotions by prayer on Calvary and raised his soul in songs of praise in the Church of the Resurrection.But in 610 A. D., the armies of Persia overran the provinces of the Byzantine Empire, invading Syria, Palestine and Egypt, capturing Jerusalem and bearing away many Christian captives.Ten years of fiercest conflict followed and finally Heraclius, Emperor of Constantinople, recaptured the city. In the imposing ceremonies and festivities which followed, the Emperor walked barefoot in the streets, bearing on his shoulders to the summit of Calvary, the wood of the true cross, which to their weird and superstitious imaginations had been miraculously recovered. Jerusalem rescued, became more than ever an object of reverence. Blood had been shed for the church, only Christians should thenceforth be its custodians. Their joy was brief.Already the Saracenic warriors under able leaders had overrun Persia and Syria, and in 637 Omar, their Caliph, after a four months’ siege, received the keys and homage of a city, which, though the home of many Christians, was very sacred also in the eyes of the Mohammedans, as a “House of God,” a city of saints and miracles, since Mohammed himself had visited it as a prophet and had thence set out for heaven in his nocturnal voyage. During the lifetime of Omar, the Christians escaped serious persecution, but violence and fanaticism increased at a fearful rate under his successors—except for the period (768–814 A. D.) during whichreigned Haroun al Raschid, the greatest of all the Saracen Caliphs.In 1076—fateful day—Jerusalem was captured by the Seljukian Turks who had come down from the inner provinces of Asia in resistless numbers—embraced Islamism, and under the banners of the Caliph of Bagdad, had conquered Syria and Palestine. Their entry into Jerusalem was signalized by a terrible massacre of all opponents. The fanatical fury of these barbarians was untempered by any spirit of toleration that had sometimes marked Saracenic civilization,—and soon their wild hordes waved their banners of blood and fire before the very gates of Constantinople. The Emperor Alexius purchased peace by ceding Asia Minor to the victorious Solyman, who at once established his power at Nice and began building a fleet for the capture of the Byzantine capital.All Europe was roused and smitten with alarm. The hour had come for the Greek and the Latin churches to unite all their power for the defence of their common faith and preserve their empires from being devastated by the barbarian Turks.Pope Gregory began to exhort the sovereigns of Europe to arm against the infidel: when suddenly from an anchorite’s cell appeared a monk who fired with enthusiasm the heart of all Europe and blew into fiercest blaze all the fanatical elements of a religious war. It was reserved for a poor pilgrim who had found refuge in a cloister from the ridicule and follies of a wicked world to become the instrument of converting the zeal of pilgrimage into the fury of an armed crusade. This man wasPeter the Hermit.In his cell, amid silence, fasting and prayer he grewto believe himself the agent of heaven for the accomplishment of some great purpose, and he left his retreat to go on a pilgrimage. What he witnessed and suffered on the way and at Jerusalem gave to his zeal fresh determination and to his devotion the fervor of righteous indignation. His spirit was fired by the insults to Christians, his piety shocked by the profanations of the Holy Sepulchre by the barbarians and infidels. To his fevered imagination as to that of Joan of Arc there was a vision and a voice. While prostrate before the Holy Sepulchre the voice of Christ was heard, saying: “Peter, arise, hasten to proclaim the tribulation of my people; it is time my servants should receive help, and that the holy places should be delivered.” He hastened to Italy and threw himself at the feet of the Pope, Urban II.With the blessing of the Pope he went forth, the preacher of an armed crusade. In imitation of Christ, when he entered Jerusalem in that last week of his life, he traveled on a mule. With crucifix in hand, feet bare, his head uncovered, his body covered with a long frock and girded with a thick cord, his appearance was an awesome spectacle. He went from city to city, from province to province, working on the piety, the superstitions and the courage of his hearers; now in churches, then in village marts and again on the public highways. He was animated and eloquent, his speech filled with vehement apostrophes and appalling descriptions. His exhortations threw the people into sobs and groans, fury and frenzy. Sympathy with the afflicted Christians took the form of furious fervor, natural bravery went out in oaths to redeem or die; religious emotions ran wild in excesses and swung likea pendulum from the lowest follies of superstition to the fiercest outbursts of fanaticism.It was during this excitement that the Emperor Alexius sent a message to Pope Urban II., appealing for aid. A council was called at Clermont in France where Peter’s preaching had caused the greatest awakening. The Pope attended in person, about him gathered an immense throng of clergy, princes and laity, from France, Italy and Germany. At the tenth session of this council the Pope ascended a pulpit in the open air and preached the sacred duty of redeeming the Sepulchre of Christ from the infidels, proclaiming the certain propitiation for sin by devotion to this meritorious service.This historic council was most ingeniously called and managed. The Germanic peoples were new and eager converts to Christianity. They were fierce and warlike in disposition. Feudalism still was in its fullest power. The hundreds of castles which add such picturesqueness to the valley of the Rhine were then the centers of feudal pride, and every petty Prince made war as he was able against his neighbor, or joined with others in wars of larger proportions. There was no national spirit as yet. These feuds which had been handed down for generations, had greatly impoverished and destroyed the people. The Church had sought to alleviate the distress and check these petty wars, by issuing decrees prohibiting private wars for four days in each week. This council renewed “The Truce of God,” and threatened all who would not comply, with its Anathemas. It placed all widows, orphans, merchants, artisans and non-combatants generally under the panoply of the Church—made all sanctuaries so many cities of refuge, and declaredthat even the crosses by the roadside should be reverenced as guardians from violence. These and other salutary decrees struck into the midst of an assembly filled with enthusiasm and energy, and prepared the way for them to unite in any cause that would add to the strength and glory of Christendom. On this day of the tenth session the great square was filled with an immense crowd. The Pope ascended the throne followed by his Cardinals. By his side was Peter the Hermit, who was to speak first, clad in his pilgrim garb. He gave an impassioned and masterly sketch of what he had witnessed in Palestine and Jerusalem—the outrages against the religion of Christ, and the profanation of the most holy places, the persecutions of pilgrim visitors whom he had seen loaded with chains, dragged into slavery; harnessed to the yoke like cattle. And as he spoke he also acted, until the people shuddered in consternation and horror, vented their hate in vehement cries or wept in dismay—no heart remaining unmoved by the very agony of his appeal.Then Urban rose and so enlarged upon the theme as to arouse and inflame their passions to the highest pitch; then addressing particularly the French he said: “Nation beloved by God, it is in your courage that the Christian Church has placed her hope. It is because I am well acquainted with your piety and your bravery that I have crossed the Alps, and have come to preach the word of God in these countries. You have not forgotten that the land you inhabit has been invaded by the Saracen, and that but for the exploits of Charles Martel and Charlemagne, France would have received the laws of Mohammed. Recall, without ceasing, to your minds the danger and the glory of your fathers, led byheroes whose names shall never die. They delivered your country. They saved the West from shameful slavery. More noble triumphs await you under the guidance of the God of Armies. You will deliver Europe and Asia. You will save the city of Jesus Christ, that Jerusalem which was chosen by the Lord, and from whence the Gospel has come down to us.”Urban swayed his audience as a wind does the leaves of the forest. It wept as he pictured the misfortunes and sorrows of Jerusalem. Warriors clutched their swords and swore vengeance against the Infidel when he described the tyranny and perfidy of the Mussulman conquerors. The enthusiasm of his auditors rose to the highest pitch, when he declared that God had chosen them to extirpate the Mohammedan. He appealed also to their cupidity by the promise of worldly gain, by possession of the riches of Asia and the lands which according to Scripture flowed with milk and honey. He played on every passion and emotion—ambition, patriotism, love of glory and wealth, piety, power and religion:—until at the close of his grandest outbursts the audience rose as one man and broke into the unanimous cry—a cry that became the war cry of the crusader—“It is the will of God! It is the will of God!”Taking up this wild refrain Pope Urban repeated dramatically: “Yes, without doubt it is the will of God” * * * It is He who has dictated to you the words that I have heard. Let them be your war cry and let them announce everywhere the presence of the “Armies of God.” He then held up to the gaze of the assemblage the sign of their redemption, saying: “It is Christ himself who issues from the tomb and presentsto you his cross; it will be the sign raised among the nations which is to gather together again the dispersed of Israel. Wear it on your shoulders and on your breasts; let it shine on your arms and on your standards; it will be the surety of victory or the palm of martyrdom; it will unceasingly remind you that Christ died for you, and that it is your duty to die for Him.” Again the multitude rose to weep and cheer and vow vengeance against the Mussulman.I have dwelt thus on the Council of Clermont, and quoted from the speech of Pope Urban, that the reader might see clearly the mixed motives that stirred the heart of Europe for nearly two centuries, and nerved her warriors to the most noble, heroic and almost superhuman deeds of valor and endurance that have ever been emblazoned among the memorials of the mightiest heroes of this mortal race.This was the declaration of war against the Mohammedan. The breaking up of the Council was the scattering of the firebrands of fanaticism. Pope Urban traversed several provinces of France that seemed to rise en masse to his appeals. France seemed to have no country but the Holy Land. Ease, property and life were cast into the sacrificial cause. All Christian nations seemed to forget their internal strifes, and to plunge headlong into the excitement of the hour. Western Europe resounded with the Papal Watchword: “He who will not take up his cross and come after me, is not worthy of me.”It must not be forgotten, however, that the political and physical condition of Europe contributed vastly to the warlike conflagration. The people groaned under feudal servitude and violence. Famine more or lesssevere, for years had contributed to robbery and brigandage. Commerce was almost destroyed, agriculture was neglected. Towns and cities were in ruins; lands everywhere were abandoned. The Church made her appeals popular. The Crusader was freed from all imposts and from pursuit by debts. The Cross suspended all laws and all menaces. Tyranny could not seek a wearer of the emblem nor could justice find the guilty. What wonder that an entire population rushed to a cause that absolved them from a grinding past and pictured so glowing a future! What wonder that the inexpiable wickedness of tyrannical baron and brutal knight sought expiation or at least relief by a desperate plunge into foreign martial excesses! What wonder if freebooters and robbers should join the ranks in hope of sharing the plunder of the conquered East! Yet we must not lose sight of the fact that over and above all love of glory, all true patriotism or base cupidity, towered the sublime passion, the pervading emotion of the hour. Religion smelted every other sentiment into harmonious union with her fervid zeal and her intense zealotry. Monks deserted their cloisters, anchorites their cells or forest retreats to mingle with and encourage the crusading throngs. Thieves and robbers came out of their hiding places to confess their sins and expiate offences by assuming the sacred badge.All Europe seemed to be on the move eastward. Barons were willing to desert their castles and Lords their manors. The artisan deserted his shop, merchants their stores, the laborer the field. Cities were depopulated, lands were mortgaged, castles sold. Values were nothing. Accumulations of centuries went for a song. Even miracles entered into thefurore. To their overheated imaginations stars fell; blood was seen in the clouds. Armed warriors were seen rushing to battle in the skies. Saints issued from the tomb, and the shade of Charlemagne arose to lead these phantom hosts to the rescue of the Holy City. While everywhere the women and children and the helpless of every estate espoused the cause of Heaven crying aloud, “It is the will of God,” and imprinting crosses on their limbs.The early spring of 1096 saw the gathering of the impatient throngs. They came from every quarter, from the Rhine to the Pyrenees, and from Tiber to the Ocean. Troops of men, armed with every conceivable weapon or without arms of any kind, swarmed towards their respective rendezvous chanting and shouting their war cry until every hill reëchoed “It is the will of God.” Without preparation or forethought or commissary they gathered, blindly trusting that He who fed the sparrows would not suffer them to hunger. There was no voice of reason in all this surging multitude. It was a spectacle without a parallel in history. There is no way of computing the vast aggregate, but the French historian, Carnot, estimates that five billion enthusiasts were on the move in the spring of 1096. This certainly is most extravagant hyperbole, but all Western Europe was fiercely agitated and vast multitudes were on the march.THE CRUSADE OF THE MOB.Their story is but a harrowing recital of a tumultuous and reckless march through an unknown country by a starving horde of men, women and children. Pillage, rapine and blood marked their way. For a timein Germany the people were kindly disposed and brought them food. Fortunately for the mob Hungary had but recently embraced Christianity and its King, Carloman, gave it a friendly passage through his domains: but when it struck Bulgaria its struggles and sorrows began. They were forced to pillage to keep from starvation. Religion was laid aside. Hunger knew no law stronger than that of self-preservation. The Bulgarians flew to arms and inflicted great losses on the undisciplined and helpless crowd of beggars. At last that part of the throng led by Walter the Penniless, arrived under the walls of Constantinople and there were allowed by the Emperor to await the coming of Peter the Hermit. Alas! the excesses of his hosts led to still more terrible assaults while passing through Hungary and Bulgaria. At Nissa they endeavored to scale the ramparts and a terrific battle ensued in which the Crusaders were cut to pieces. Women, children, horses, camp and trophy chests, all fell a prey to the infuriated Bulgarians.In August, Peter the Hermit appeared under the walls of Constantinople with about seven thousand soldiers and camp followers to recruit his wasted energies in the camp of Walter the Penniless while waiting for other and better armed and disciplined forces to arrive. From the banks of the Rhine, from Flanders, and even from Britain an army largely composed of the refuse of mankind, two hundred thousand strong, started on its march—but soon gave themselves to unheard-of barbarities. How much worse than a Mohammedan was a member of that hated race which had crucified the Christ and so they let loose their fury against the defenseless Jews in most pitiless massacres, sweeping oninto Hungary, to the city of Mersburg, which shut its gates and refused them provisions. Forests were cut down, causeways built across the swamps which partially protected the walls and a furious assault was made upon the city. The battle raged fiercely and for a long time with doubtful result, but at last the scaling ladders of the Crusaders began to give way, and then fell dragging down their occupants and fragments of the walls and towers. These disasters carried panic into the army of the besiegers and they fled into the forests, were caught in the swamps and were ruthlessly slaughtered. Few of the desperate and cruel adventurers escaped. Some found the way back to their own country covered with disgrace—a few more made their way to the army of Peter the Hermit encamped before Constantinople.Thus far this fanatical spirit had cost Western Europe the lives of nearly a quarter of a million people, and not a Saracen had been seen. But the motley crowd encamped on the Bosphorus augmented by adventurers from Italian cities had gradually increased until now it probably numbered one hundred thousand all told. They were scarcely more welcome than the Saracens to the Emperor Alexius who had treated them as guests and supplied their famished hosts. Their desire for plunder could not long be restrained, and the churches, houses and palaces in the suburbs fell a prey to their rapacity which was as insatiable as the cry for blood that rises from a pack of ravening wolves. Alexius was therefore very glad to furnish them with transportation across the Bosphorus. They were now on Asiatic soil an undisciplined and motley crowd in the face of the well armed and equally furiousand fanatical Turk. They revelled in the pillage of the fertile plains of Nicomedia, dividing the booty at night in their camps. They plundered the valley, ravaged and burned the villages and committed most horrible excesses; they captured a small fort near the mountains from the Turks and massacred the garrison. The Turks reinforced, fell upon them in turn, and put nearly all of them to the sword. This roused the anger of the mixed crowds in camp. Nothing could restrain the blind fury of the soldier mob. They chased the apparently flying columns of the Turks into the mountains of an unknown country and fell into the ambush laid for them. In vain their courage, their despair. The carnage was horrible. Only three thousand escaped. The entire crusading army perished in this single battle and only their bleaching bones remained as a ghastly monument pointing out to other crusaders the way to the Holy Land.Europe learned with astonishment and horror of the sad fate of over three hundred thousand soldiers who had departed amid the promises and the blessings of the church. Their misfortune, however, did not deter others, but seemed only to inspire them with resolution; their disasters furnished a warning to the better regulated and more formidable hosts which were to pour into the East from the now thoroughly aroused West.THE CRUSADE OF KINGS AND NOBLES.The verdict of candid history is that the rabble which started in obedience to a popular ferment and perished as a miserable crowd of crazed humanity, deserved the fate they invited; for the world had never witnessed a more pitiable exhibition of demoniacalfanaticism and flagrant violence than was shown by these lawless crowds who followed the cry of Peter the Hermit. They achieved nothing heroic; but their disasters taught Europe that to conquer Jerusalem would be no holiday work.The Princes and Nobles of Germany, France and Britain now organized for war. While deliverance of Jerusalem was the popular cry and religious zeal fired the heart of all classes, the powers recognized the fact that the battles to be fought and won were for the preservation of their very existence.You may call it organized infatuation and mailed folly, yet it was a splendid spectacle. Its spiritual zeal gave a silver lining to its superstitions. Its martial fame modified its brutality. Amid fearful excesses there was a show of prudence; and although you may impeach the justice of their cause, their magnanimous devotion of spirit and fearless heroism must always command a large share of sympathy and admiration, and make the Story of the Crusades the most thrilling of all the chapters in the history of the Middle Ages.History and poetry place Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, at the head of the great captains that led the flower of all chivalry on its desperate venture. He was a descendant of the great Charlemagne. To natural bravery he added herculean strength. He was devout, prudent and humane. All his vengeance was for the enemies of Christ. He was generous, faithful to his word—a model knight and soldier. When he gave the signal, the nobility of France and the Rhine borders opened their purses and flocked to his standards. Women sold their jewels toequip husbands and sons for service. Men sacrificed their domains for horses and arms. Godfrey himself sacrificed his estates that he might equip his soldiers, and a worldly Bishop eagerly took advantage of his zeal by purchasing his vast domains. Within eight months of the Council of Clermont, Godfrey had gathered an army of eighty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse. With him were a great number of nobles whose names became famous, beside his brother Baldwin and his cousin Baldwin de Bourg who were destined like himself to become Kings of Jerusalem. Whether actuated by piety or the hope of achieving fortune, they all quitted without regret their mean possessions and tame life in Europe.They led an immense army used to marches and battles. Their admirable discipline and self-restraint reëstablished the honor of the Crusaders and drew allies and champions of the cross where Peter had met his worst enemies, and the hostile Hungarians and Bulgarians forgot their hatred for the leaders of the Mob in their admiration for Godfrey and his chivalric knights.We must not neglect to mention the names of four chiefs who accompanied by throngs of lesser knights and nobles, crossed the Alps and marched towards the different coast cities of Italy intending to embark for Greece by water. Count Hugh, brother of Philip I. of France, a proud prince, brave in battle, but lacking perseverance under reverses: Robert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror, who pledged his domains to his crafty brother, William Rufus, that he might equip his Norman vassals. Robert, of Flanders, whose father some time before hadmade a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, found it an easy task to attract a large and resolute following and exhausted the treasures of his province in arming his men for an expedition, which was to earn for him the reputation of a brave knight and the surname of “Lance and Sword of the Christians.” Five hundred of his men had already preceded him to Constantinople. Then Stephen of Blois and Chartres, whose castles numbered one for every day in the year, and who was reckoned one of the richest nobles of his time, took up the cross and led a large body of his retainers;—he, though lacking in physical strength, was eloquent and wise in council and enjoyed the exceptional distinction of being a man of letters. For the most part these chiefs and many men of lesser rank took with them their wives and children and camp equipments. Passing through Italy they roused the enthusiasm of the noble Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, who was a cubit taller than the tallest soldier in his army. The historian of Constantinople and the Empire of the East, AnnaComnena, says that he was as astonishing to the eye as his reputation was to the mind. He was eloquent in debate, skilled with sword and lance. He was proud and haughty. Fear of God, the opinions of men, nor his own oaths afforded him no restraint. His enlistment under the banner of the cross was not for the purpose of delivering the tomb of Christ, but because he had sworn eternal enmity against Alexius and the Empire of the East. He hoped to win a kingdom long before reaching Jerusalem. In a surprisingly short time he sailed for the coasts of Greece with twenty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse, followed by every renowned knight of Apulia and Sicily.None of them however became so celebrated for deeds of prowess as the brave Tancred, who has found a place in history and poetry and who seems to have been actuated by the loftiest sentiments of piety, chivalric honor and loyal friendship for his leader. From the southern provinces of France under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse and Bishop Adhemar, who was as valorous in the field as he was eloquent in prayer, came another army one hundred thousand strong, marching eastward along the south side of the Alps and through northern Italy by way of Dalmatia, to Constantinople.And now that all Europe seemed pouring into the empire and capital of Alexius, the Emperor began to be alarmed. He had not forgotten the excesses of the first swarm of Crusaders. Should these multitudes now sweeping into and through his domains choose to do so, they could speedily wrest his sovereignty from him and find riches and dominion far easier than in remote and hostile Asia. We have no time to dwell upon the intrigues and treachery that marked his dealings with these mighty leaders of the Crusaders. More than once the forces of Godfrey and Alexius were called to arms with the fate of Constantinople hanging in almost even balance. Finally a truce was made and the Emperor sent his son as a hostage to the Camp of the Crusaders. This dissipated all mistrust and the princes of the West swore to respect the laws of hospitality. They went in a body to the court of Alexius, where they bent before his throne and were magnificently received. After an imposing ceremony the now graciously disposed Emperor adopted Godfrey as a son, placed the Empire under his protection, promisingaid to the Crusaders by land and sea, provisions for their marches and the countenance of his leadership in glory or defeat.Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)But every day brought its hosts of Crusaders and magnificent presents must be given to all the leaders, and his profuse liberality was a heavy drain on his royal treasuries. His security now lay in keeping the armies in motion and hurrying them across the Bosphorus; and once in Asia their leaders would be engrossed in preparing to meet the Saracens and his capital would for a time be free from insult and the unwelcome presence of his mortal foe Bohemond who, struck with the riches of the apartments assigned him, exclaimed: “There is enough here to conquer kingdoms with.”And now the plains of Bythinia were fast filling with the warrior hordes of Europe and as they swept along seeking safe camping places they came to the foot of the mountains where Walter the Penniless and his entire army perished in battle. The painful reminder of so great a calamity, and the recital by the starved remnants of Peter’s army found hiding in the mountains of their fearful sufferings, hushed all discord, silenced ambition and inspired fresh zeal for the conquest of the Holy City and the destruction of the fierce, cruel and equally fanatical Turks who swarmed in the valleys and filled the walled cities of Palestine with desperate garrisons.But the first battle of invasion must be fought at the very gateway to Asia Minor. The chief of the Infidel forces was the son of Solyman; his name was David, surnamed Kilidge Arslan, or “The Sword of the Lion.” He called upon the defenders of Islam to rally to hisstandard and they came in troops from all the surrounding provinces and even from distant Persia. The capital of his kingdom was Nicea (Nice). It was the advanced post of the Turks in Asia Minor and there they would concentrate for the later invasion of Europe. Its approaches were defended by high mountains. Its walls, surrounded by large water-filled ditches, were wide enough for the passage of chariots and were crowned by three hundred and seventy towers of brick. Its garrison was composed of the finest troops of the Turkish army; and one hundred thousand men were encamped for its defence upon the neighboring mountains.Infatuated with their cause, blind in their faith, despising the martial quality of the enemy, and apparently ignorant of the careful and crafty preparations made to receive them, the Crusaders marched in magnificently terrible swarms over the Bythinian plains towards Nice; with a force of one hundred thousand horse and five hundred thousand footmen among whom were a large per cent. of women and children and ineffectives. It was the chivalry of Europe come out to dispute with the Infidel the possession of Asia. The sight of this immense army as the Turks gazed upon it from their mountain tops must have thrilled their hearts even if it did not carry terror to their camps. It was soon learned that Nice could only be captured by siege, if at all. For this preparations began to be made; but there was no central authority. In the camps of the Crusaders were nineteen different nationalities grouped about their respective standards. No count or prince would deign to receive orders from anyone. Each camp was protected by walls or palisades,and as the supply of wood and stone was scarce they gathered up the bones of the first Crusaders that lay bleaching on the plains. The priests in all these various camps were always in the ranks and so great was their power that the commonest soldier gladly courted death for the sake of the rewards in store for all who perished in battle with the Infidel.At the same time David, “The Sword of the Lion” animated his garrison by recalling former victories and saying: “We are going to fight for our wives and children and country. The religion of the Prophet implores our help, and the richest booty will reward our exploits.” While for every Turk that fell in battle the gates of Paradise would open and the most beautiful Houris would minister with wine and dance to the unlimited enjoyment of the faithful. The rewards of the future, though so different to the imagination of the followers of Christ and of Mohammed, had precisely the same effect in stimulating the courage of all alike to the same pitch of frenzied fanaticism—the utter contempt of all danger, and to the very courting of death itself in the destruction of their enemies.As the Crusaders advanced, their siege operations animated by the boldness of their leaders, the Turks, similarly cheered and as bravely led, descended from their mountain camps and prepared for battle. Their army divided into two great bodies as they struck the plains. One of these fell on the army of Godfrey, and the other on that of Raymond of Toulouse. At first the troops of Raymond gave way to the fierce onset but were soon rallied by the voices and bugles of Raymond and Adhemar. Matthew of Edessa writes:—“The two armies joined, mingled and attacked eachother with equal fury. Everywhere glittered casques and shields; lances rang against cuirasses; the air resounded with piercing cries; the terrified horses recoiled from din of arms and the hissing of arrows; the earth trembled beneath the tread of the combatants, and the plain was for a vast space bristling with javelins.” The Crusaders were most valiantly led by Godfrey, Tancred and the two Roberts whose steeds seemed to be everywhere, whose valor knew no abatement and whose lances carried terror and death into the ranks of the Infidels. It was a disastrous day for the Turkish forces that were driven back in greatest confusion into their mountain camps. But the Sultan did not stop to deplore his defeat. He rallied his forces during the night and determined to avenge his disgrace on the morrow. At break of day again his troops rushed with the violence of mountain torrents into the plains, and with loudest cries dashed again and again into the serried ranks of the Crusaders. All day long under charge and counter charge the result of the battle hung in doubt. Not till night did the Turks confess their inability to crush the battle lines of the Christians by retiring from the scene of awful carnage, leaving four thousand prisoners in the hands of the victors. The next day the heads of one thousand were cut off and sent as trophies to Alexius at Constantinople; the heads of the remaining captives were thrown by machines over the walls of the city to inform the Turkish garrison of the disaster which had overtaken their supporting army.The Crusaders were now free to push forward the siege by every artifice known to the Romans and directed by the skill and energy of the Greeks. Theyallowed the garrison no rest, and the defence was as furious as the attack. The Turks covered their ramparts with formidable weapons which hurled destruction on their assailants. They shot forth darts, wooden beams and enormous stones which daily destroyed the labor of the Crusaders whose rashness and imprudence cost them many precious lives. Hundreds died from poisoned darts, and others, venturing too near the walls, were caught by grappling hooks, dragged alive over the walls to be shot back, stark naked, into the Christian camp. The tales of personal, single-handed prowess place Christian and Turkish chief on equal footing as to strength, courage and splendid daring.After seven weeks had passed all hope for successful defence departed. The wife of the Sultan and her two children were captured in trying to escape, and consternation siezed the garrison. Just at this crisis the emissaries of Alexius entered the city, and by creating in the inhabitants a dread of the terrible vengeance that would be inflicted by the Crusaders, persuaded them to surrender to the Emperor of Constantinople.While the Crusaders were preparing for what was intended to be their final assault, the standard of Alexius suddenly appeared on the ramparts. The wily Emperor had secured without the loss of a man the fruits of a victory won at terrible cost of life to the Crusaders. He succeeded in quieting the wrath of the soldiers by distributing among them largesses equal in extent to the booty they expected from the looting of the captured city. He also restored to the Sultan his wife and children, and thereby won his friendship. He also by this crafty stroke of policy secured the lives of the Greek Christians scattered throughout the cities ofAsia Minor; but won the lasting hatred of the Crusaders.The siege of one city is like the siege of all, and we must hasten to Jerusalem, in the spring of 1097. Passing by the battlefield of Dorylaeum, where the newly gathered army of David, the Sultan, numbering two hundred thousand men, met with an awful defeat and the loss of nearly twenty-five thousand men; all the treasures of his camp, provisions, tents, horses and camels, and riches of gold and silver, falling as spoil into the hands of the Crusaders:—passing by the terrible march through “Burning Phrygia,” desolated by order of the Sultan, we descend through the mountain passes of the Taurus range into the fair and fertile and wealthy plains of the province of Antioch. The armies were soon gathered for the siege of this historic city, which lasted seven months and was finally captured through the assistance of an Armenian within the walls.Six months after the sack of the city of Antioch, the word was given, “On to Jerusalem.”It was now about the first of June. The harvests of Phœnicia were ripe, plenty of provisions were in sight, and the country was beautiful as they marched down the seacoast from Antioch. To their left rose the mountains of Lebanon. On their right the blue waters of the Mediterranean flashed in the sunlight of an eastern sky. Between mountain and sea the valleys and plains were filled with orchards of olive, orange and pomegranate. Among the plants which were new to the Crusaders was the sugar cane of the Syrian lowlands. Returning pilgrims carried this plant to Italy; the Saracens introduced it into Grenada, whence it spread throughout all the Spanish colonial possessions;and to-day is the basis of the wealth of Cuba, and one of the chief productions of our own Southern States.The Crusaders marched amid plenty and under balmy skies, with time enough to contemplate the fearful sacrifice of human life which their expedition had already cost. Battle and famine, disease and despair had cut off more than two hundred thousand of their number. Tens of thousands had deserted and returned to Europe; other thousands remained in the cities and villages of Palestine and were lost in the mixed crowds of the native races. While yet a vast host, the fighting force was about fifty thousand, but it was a compact and vigorous body of warriors. It marched better and lighter. Its victories gave it courage; its defeats had taught it the value of discipline. The names of Crusader and Christian carried terror wherever spoken in the Infidel camps or cities. Their zeal increased as they drew near the end of their long and wasting marches. Often the weary columns refused to halt for the night, but tramped on until forced to rest by sheer fatigue. To their disordered vision luminous angels appeared to guide them on the way.Bending away from the sea and passing Lydda, they soon gained the Heights of Ephraim, only sixteen miles from Jerusalem. Here their ranks were broken up as they entered these jagged ravines and narrow, lonesome valleys scorched by the rays of a summer sun, riddled by gullies and choked by great fragments of rock fallen from the precipitous sides of the mountains. Had they been attacked from the heights above by even a few resolute Mussulmen while in such disorder, fearful loss might have been inflicted; but no enemy appeared as the more ardent and faithful soulsadvanced barefooted, carrying with them the banner of the Prince of Peace to plant on the recaptured walls of the Holy City of God.On June 10th, 1099, the Crusaders marched up the gloomy steeps to Emmaus, and looking over its barren edges caught their first sight of Zion. The cry of “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” rang out and down the slopes, and as the rear columns came up the war cry “It is the will of God,” resounded throughout the whole army until reëchoed by the slopes of the Mount of Olives and heard in the City of David. Horsemen dismounted and walked barefoot, thousands bent their knees and kissed the earth. Hallelujahs arose, petitions went up for the remission of their sins, tears were shed over the death of Christ, and the profanation of His tomb. Pious fervor soon changed into fierceness and wrath as oaths were resworn to rescue the Holy City from the sacrilegious hands of the followers of Mohammed.They found a fierce and valiant memory awaiting them. The surrounding villages had been destroyed, cisterns and wells filled up or poisoned, the land made a desert.The siege began at once; but their situation grew desperate. They were suffering under a scorching heat and the sand storms out of the southern deserts. Plants and animals perished. Kedron ran dry. The army became a prey to raging thirst. Water brought in skin bottles a distance of nine miles was worth its weight in silver. The old historians paint in most frightful colors the misery of the Crusaders at this juncture; and had the Mussulmen made a determined sortie upon the staggering hosts, the army must have perished. Their strength and courage revived bythe arrival of a Genoese fleet at Jaffa laden with provisions. A Syrian pointed out a mountain thirty miles away that was forest-clad. Every body wrought with unceasing energy. Water was brought long distances by the women and children; machines of war towers, catapults and battering rams were erected and pushed up close under the walls of Jerusalem.The priests exhorted to peace and harmony. The hermit of the Mount of Olives led a penitential march around the city. On their return to camp as the Christian army marched by the tomb of David, and Mt. Zion they chanted “The nations of the West shall fear the Lord; and the nations of the East shall see His glory.”On the morning of July 14, 1099, all the Crusaders flew to arms at the sound of the trumpets to make their first grand assault.The great war machines were pushed close to the walls. Showers of stones were hurled upon the ramparts. Archers and crossbowmen kept up a continual fire from their towers. Scaling ladders were planted. The great leaders were everywhere. For twelve long hours the Crusaders maintained the unequal fight, and then nightfall covered their first repulse. The morning saw the renewal of the conflict more furious and desperate than before. It was carried on with demoniac obstinacy for half a day. Their courage began to fail; nearly all their machines were on fire and there was no water to quench the flames; even their leaders began to waver.While the battle was in this desperate shape a mysterious knight made his appearance on the Mount of Olives waving his sword and signalling them to renew theassault. They accepted the omen as from heaven and in the fury of their faith rushed again to the attack—dragged their machines still nearer the walls, caught them with their grappling hooks, lowered their drawbridges, let fly showers of flaming arrows which set on fire sacks of wool and bundles of hay that had been used for protection on the inner walls. The wind fanned the flames, driving smoke and heat upon the doomed Saracens. The Crusaders sprang upon the walls with lance and spear in hand. Godfrey, Baldwin, Raymond and Tancred followed by their knights and soldiers were soon in the streets and beating down the gates with their battle-axes opened the way for the great body of Crusaders to enter. Their battle cry rang through the streets of the Holy City.The miracle-monger places the entry of the Crusaders at the very hour Friday, 3 P. M., at which Christ expired on the cross. But even this could not move their hearts to mercy. We throw a veil of silence over the awful massacre that followed, until Godfrey throwing aside his arms walked barefooted to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. His example was contagious. The army ceased its bloody fury, cast aside its blood-stained vestments, gave vent to its contrition in groans and sobs, and marched with uncovered heads and bare feet following their priests to the Church of the Resurrection. We marvel at the sudden transformation. The devotion of the Crusaders seemed profoundly tender after such horrible carnage. We do not excuse it. We do not condemn it in bitter speech recalling some terrible experiences during our late Civil War, when Christian men sometimes seemed possessed. The demon of war has never yetbeen baptized with the Spirit of Him who gave up His life for the salvation of the very men who crucified Him.The last chapter in the history of this first Crusade ends with the establishment of a kingdom of Jerusalem and the selection of the pious Godfrey as King. With its fortunes we may not here concern ourselves. We shall touch upon it as we sketch the resistless march of the warriors of Islam to the conquest of Constantinople and the overthrow of the Empire of Eastern Europe.

CHAPTER III.THE STORY OF THE FIRST CRUSADE.

As at one time Athens “was the Eye of Greece and Mother of the Arts” so both to pious Jew and humble Christian, Jerusalem has ever been the “City of God,” the “Joy of the Whole Earth.” To the fervid hearts of the early Christians a pilgrimage to that Holy City to see the sacred sights and commune with God amid scenes hallowed by the former presence of a Christ, was regarded as a mark of special faith and a source of peculiar blessing. After the Emperor Constantine removed his capital from Rome to Constantinople and embraced the Christian religion, Jerusalem was raised from its ruins, the way to the sacred places was made more easy and safe, and the spirit of pilgrimage greatly revived and stimulated. The magnificent church of The Holy Sepulchre—decorated with pillars and adorned and paved with precious stones—was raised above the obscure tomb, while churches, chapels and monuments filled the city and marked the places made sacred by the life and the death of the Saviour of the world.Pilgrims flocked in crowds into Judea from almost every country in Europe and Asia, and when they gathered in immense throngs about these holy places, lifting their voices in prayers and hymns in many languages, the sound was like the Babel of former Pentecosts. Each returning pilgrim told his story of strangesights and of the refreshment and inspiration received from his visit.The Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Park of Yildiz Palace.The Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Park of Yildiz Palace.He had confirmed his faith by bathing in the Jordan, tested his faith by exposure and perils, warmed his emotions by prayer on Calvary and raised his soul in songs of praise in the Church of the Resurrection.But in 610 A. D., the armies of Persia overran the provinces of the Byzantine Empire, invading Syria, Palestine and Egypt, capturing Jerusalem and bearing away many Christian captives.Ten years of fiercest conflict followed and finally Heraclius, Emperor of Constantinople, recaptured the city. In the imposing ceremonies and festivities which followed, the Emperor walked barefoot in the streets, bearing on his shoulders to the summit of Calvary, the wood of the true cross, which to their weird and superstitious imaginations had been miraculously recovered. Jerusalem rescued, became more than ever an object of reverence. Blood had been shed for the church, only Christians should thenceforth be its custodians. Their joy was brief.Already the Saracenic warriors under able leaders had overrun Persia and Syria, and in 637 Omar, their Caliph, after a four months’ siege, received the keys and homage of a city, which, though the home of many Christians, was very sacred also in the eyes of the Mohammedans, as a “House of God,” a city of saints and miracles, since Mohammed himself had visited it as a prophet and had thence set out for heaven in his nocturnal voyage. During the lifetime of Omar, the Christians escaped serious persecution, but violence and fanaticism increased at a fearful rate under his successors—except for the period (768–814 A. D.) during whichreigned Haroun al Raschid, the greatest of all the Saracen Caliphs.In 1076—fateful day—Jerusalem was captured by the Seljukian Turks who had come down from the inner provinces of Asia in resistless numbers—embraced Islamism, and under the banners of the Caliph of Bagdad, had conquered Syria and Palestine. Their entry into Jerusalem was signalized by a terrible massacre of all opponents. The fanatical fury of these barbarians was untempered by any spirit of toleration that had sometimes marked Saracenic civilization,—and soon their wild hordes waved their banners of blood and fire before the very gates of Constantinople. The Emperor Alexius purchased peace by ceding Asia Minor to the victorious Solyman, who at once established his power at Nice and began building a fleet for the capture of the Byzantine capital.All Europe was roused and smitten with alarm. The hour had come for the Greek and the Latin churches to unite all their power for the defence of their common faith and preserve their empires from being devastated by the barbarian Turks.Pope Gregory began to exhort the sovereigns of Europe to arm against the infidel: when suddenly from an anchorite’s cell appeared a monk who fired with enthusiasm the heart of all Europe and blew into fiercest blaze all the fanatical elements of a religious war. It was reserved for a poor pilgrim who had found refuge in a cloister from the ridicule and follies of a wicked world to become the instrument of converting the zeal of pilgrimage into the fury of an armed crusade. This man wasPeter the Hermit.In his cell, amid silence, fasting and prayer he grewto believe himself the agent of heaven for the accomplishment of some great purpose, and he left his retreat to go on a pilgrimage. What he witnessed and suffered on the way and at Jerusalem gave to his zeal fresh determination and to his devotion the fervor of righteous indignation. His spirit was fired by the insults to Christians, his piety shocked by the profanations of the Holy Sepulchre by the barbarians and infidels. To his fevered imagination as to that of Joan of Arc there was a vision and a voice. While prostrate before the Holy Sepulchre the voice of Christ was heard, saying: “Peter, arise, hasten to proclaim the tribulation of my people; it is time my servants should receive help, and that the holy places should be delivered.” He hastened to Italy and threw himself at the feet of the Pope, Urban II.With the blessing of the Pope he went forth, the preacher of an armed crusade. In imitation of Christ, when he entered Jerusalem in that last week of his life, he traveled on a mule. With crucifix in hand, feet bare, his head uncovered, his body covered with a long frock and girded with a thick cord, his appearance was an awesome spectacle. He went from city to city, from province to province, working on the piety, the superstitions and the courage of his hearers; now in churches, then in village marts and again on the public highways. He was animated and eloquent, his speech filled with vehement apostrophes and appalling descriptions. His exhortations threw the people into sobs and groans, fury and frenzy. Sympathy with the afflicted Christians took the form of furious fervor, natural bravery went out in oaths to redeem or die; religious emotions ran wild in excesses and swung likea pendulum from the lowest follies of superstition to the fiercest outbursts of fanaticism.It was during this excitement that the Emperor Alexius sent a message to Pope Urban II., appealing for aid. A council was called at Clermont in France where Peter’s preaching had caused the greatest awakening. The Pope attended in person, about him gathered an immense throng of clergy, princes and laity, from France, Italy and Germany. At the tenth session of this council the Pope ascended a pulpit in the open air and preached the sacred duty of redeeming the Sepulchre of Christ from the infidels, proclaiming the certain propitiation for sin by devotion to this meritorious service.This historic council was most ingeniously called and managed. The Germanic peoples were new and eager converts to Christianity. They were fierce and warlike in disposition. Feudalism still was in its fullest power. The hundreds of castles which add such picturesqueness to the valley of the Rhine were then the centers of feudal pride, and every petty Prince made war as he was able against his neighbor, or joined with others in wars of larger proportions. There was no national spirit as yet. These feuds which had been handed down for generations, had greatly impoverished and destroyed the people. The Church had sought to alleviate the distress and check these petty wars, by issuing decrees prohibiting private wars for four days in each week. This council renewed “The Truce of God,” and threatened all who would not comply, with its Anathemas. It placed all widows, orphans, merchants, artisans and non-combatants generally under the panoply of the Church—made all sanctuaries so many cities of refuge, and declaredthat even the crosses by the roadside should be reverenced as guardians from violence. These and other salutary decrees struck into the midst of an assembly filled with enthusiasm and energy, and prepared the way for them to unite in any cause that would add to the strength and glory of Christendom. On this day of the tenth session the great square was filled with an immense crowd. The Pope ascended the throne followed by his Cardinals. By his side was Peter the Hermit, who was to speak first, clad in his pilgrim garb. He gave an impassioned and masterly sketch of what he had witnessed in Palestine and Jerusalem—the outrages against the religion of Christ, and the profanation of the most holy places, the persecutions of pilgrim visitors whom he had seen loaded with chains, dragged into slavery; harnessed to the yoke like cattle. And as he spoke he also acted, until the people shuddered in consternation and horror, vented their hate in vehement cries or wept in dismay—no heart remaining unmoved by the very agony of his appeal.Then Urban rose and so enlarged upon the theme as to arouse and inflame their passions to the highest pitch; then addressing particularly the French he said: “Nation beloved by God, it is in your courage that the Christian Church has placed her hope. It is because I am well acquainted with your piety and your bravery that I have crossed the Alps, and have come to preach the word of God in these countries. You have not forgotten that the land you inhabit has been invaded by the Saracen, and that but for the exploits of Charles Martel and Charlemagne, France would have received the laws of Mohammed. Recall, without ceasing, to your minds the danger and the glory of your fathers, led byheroes whose names shall never die. They delivered your country. They saved the West from shameful slavery. More noble triumphs await you under the guidance of the God of Armies. You will deliver Europe and Asia. You will save the city of Jesus Christ, that Jerusalem which was chosen by the Lord, and from whence the Gospel has come down to us.”Urban swayed his audience as a wind does the leaves of the forest. It wept as he pictured the misfortunes and sorrows of Jerusalem. Warriors clutched their swords and swore vengeance against the Infidel when he described the tyranny and perfidy of the Mussulman conquerors. The enthusiasm of his auditors rose to the highest pitch, when he declared that God had chosen them to extirpate the Mohammedan. He appealed also to their cupidity by the promise of worldly gain, by possession of the riches of Asia and the lands which according to Scripture flowed with milk and honey. He played on every passion and emotion—ambition, patriotism, love of glory and wealth, piety, power and religion:—until at the close of his grandest outbursts the audience rose as one man and broke into the unanimous cry—a cry that became the war cry of the crusader—“It is the will of God! It is the will of God!”Taking up this wild refrain Pope Urban repeated dramatically: “Yes, without doubt it is the will of God” * * * It is He who has dictated to you the words that I have heard. Let them be your war cry and let them announce everywhere the presence of the “Armies of God.” He then held up to the gaze of the assemblage the sign of their redemption, saying: “It is Christ himself who issues from the tomb and presentsto you his cross; it will be the sign raised among the nations which is to gather together again the dispersed of Israel. Wear it on your shoulders and on your breasts; let it shine on your arms and on your standards; it will be the surety of victory or the palm of martyrdom; it will unceasingly remind you that Christ died for you, and that it is your duty to die for Him.” Again the multitude rose to weep and cheer and vow vengeance against the Mussulman.I have dwelt thus on the Council of Clermont, and quoted from the speech of Pope Urban, that the reader might see clearly the mixed motives that stirred the heart of Europe for nearly two centuries, and nerved her warriors to the most noble, heroic and almost superhuman deeds of valor and endurance that have ever been emblazoned among the memorials of the mightiest heroes of this mortal race.This was the declaration of war against the Mohammedan. The breaking up of the Council was the scattering of the firebrands of fanaticism. Pope Urban traversed several provinces of France that seemed to rise en masse to his appeals. France seemed to have no country but the Holy Land. Ease, property and life were cast into the sacrificial cause. All Christian nations seemed to forget their internal strifes, and to plunge headlong into the excitement of the hour. Western Europe resounded with the Papal Watchword: “He who will not take up his cross and come after me, is not worthy of me.”It must not be forgotten, however, that the political and physical condition of Europe contributed vastly to the warlike conflagration. The people groaned under feudal servitude and violence. Famine more or lesssevere, for years had contributed to robbery and brigandage. Commerce was almost destroyed, agriculture was neglected. Towns and cities were in ruins; lands everywhere were abandoned. The Church made her appeals popular. The Crusader was freed from all imposts and from pursuit by debts. The Cross suspended all laws and all menaces. Tyranny could not seek a wearer of the emblem nor could justice find the guilty. What wonder that an entire population rushed to a cause that absolved them from a grinding past and pictured so glowing a future! What wonder that the inexpiable wickedness of tyrannical baron and brutal knight sought expiation or at least relief by a desperate plunge into foreign martial excesses! What wonder if freebooters and robbers should join the ranks in hope of sharing the plunder of the conquered East! Yet we must not lose sight of the fact that over and above all love of glory, all true patriotism or base cupidity, towered the sublime passion, the pervading emotion of the hour. Religion smelted every other sentiment into harmonious union with her fervid zeal and her intense zealotry. Monks deserted their cloisters, anchorites their cells or forest retreats to mingle with and encourage the crusading throngs. Thieves and robbers came out of their hiding places to confess their sins and expiate offences by assuming the sacred badge.All Europe seemed to be on the move eastward. Barons were willing to desert their castles and Lords their manors. The artisan deserted his shop, merchants their stores, the laborer the field. Cities were depopulated, lands were mortgaged, castles sold. Values were nothing. Accumulations of centuries went for a song. Even miracles entered into thefurore. To their overheated imaginations stars fell; blood was seen in the clouds. Armed warriors were seen rushing to battle in the skies. Saints issued from the tomb, and the shade of Charlemagne arose to lead these phantom hosts to the rescue of the Holy City. While everywhere the women and children and the helpless of every estate espoused the cause of Heaven crying aloud, “It is the will of God,” and imprinting crosses on their limbs.The early spring of 1096 saw the gathering of the impatient throngs. They came from every quarter, from the Rhine to the Pyrenees, and from Tiber to the Ocean. Troops of men, armed with every conceivable weapon or without arms of any kind, swarmed towards their respective rendezvous chanting and shouting their war cry until every hill reëchoed “It is the will of God.” Without preparation or forethought or commissary they gathered, blindly trusting that He who fed the sparrows would not suffer them to hunger. There was no voice of reason in all this surging multitude. It was a spectacle without a parallel in history. There is no way of computing the vast aggregate, but the French historian, Carnot, estimates that five billion enthusiasts were on the move in the spring of 1096. This certainly is most extravagant hyperbole, but all Western Europe was fiercely agitated and vast multitudes were on the march.THE CRUSADE OF THE MOB.Their story is but a harrowing recital of a tumultuous and reckless march through an unknown country by a starving horde of men, women and children. Pillage, rapine and blood marked their way. For a timein Germany the people were kindly disposed and brought them food. Fortunately for the mob Hungary had but recently embraced Christianity and its King, Carloman, gave it a friendly passage through his domains: but when it struck Bulgaria its struggles and sorrows began. They were forced to pillage to keep from starvation. Religion was laid aside. Hunger knew no law stronger than that of self-preservation. The Bulgarians flew to arms and inflicted great losses on the undisciplined and helpless crowd of beggars. At last that part of the throng led by Walter the Penniless, arrived under the walls of Constantinople and there were allowed by the Emperor to await the coming of Peter the Hermit. Alas! the excesses of his hosts led to still more terrible assaults while passing through Hungary and Bulgaria. At Nissa they endeavored to scale the ramparts and a terrific battle ensued in which the Crusaders were cut to pieces. Women, children, horses, camp and trophy chests, all fell a prey to the infuriated Bulgarians.In August, Peter the Hermit appeared under the walls of Constantinople with about seven thousand soldiers and camp followers to recruit his wasted energies in the camp of Walter the Penniless while waiting for other and better armed and disciplined forces to arrive. From the banks of the Rhine, from Flanders, and even from Britain an army largely composed of the refuse of mankind, two hundred thousand strong, started on its march—but soon gave themselves to unheard-of barbarities. How much worse than a Mohammedan was a member of that hated race which had crucified the Christ and so they let loose their fury against the defenseless Jews in most pitiless massacres, sweeping oninto Hungary, to the city of Mersburg, which shut its gates and refused them provisions. Forests were cut down, causeways built across the swamps which partially protected the walls and a furious assault was made upon the city. The battle raged fiercely and for a long time with doubtful result, but at last the scaling ladders of the Crusaders began to give way, and then fell dragging down their occupants and fragments of the walls and towers. These disasters carried panic into the army of the besiegers and they fled into the forests, were caught in the swamps and were ruthlessly slaughtered. Few of the desperate and cruel adventurers escaped. Some found the way back to their own country covered with disgrace—a few more made their way to the army of Peter the Hermit encamped before Constantinople.Thus far this fanatical spirit had cost Western Europe the lives of nearly a quarter of a million people, and not a Saracen had been seen. But the motley crowd encamped on the Bosphorus augmented by adventurers from Italian cities had gradually increased until now it probably numbered one hundred thousand all told. They were scarcely more welcome than the Saracens to the Emperor Alexius who had treated them as guests and supplied their famished hosts. Their desire for plunder could not long be restrained, and the churches, houses and palaces in the suburbs fell a prey to their rapacity which was as insatiable as the cry for blood that rises from a pack of ravening wolves. Alexius was therefore very glad to furnish them with transportation across the Bosphorus. They were now on Asiatic soil an undisciplined and motley crowd in the face of the well armed and equally furiousand fanatical Turk. They revelled in the pillage of the fertile plains of Nicomedia, dividing the booty at night in their camps. They plundered the valley, ravaged and burned the villages and committed most horrible excesses; they captured a small fort near the mountains from the Turks and massacred the garrison. The Turks reinforced, fell upon them in turn, and put nearly all of them to the sword. This roused the anger of the mixed crowds in camp. Nothing could restrain the blind fury of the soldier mob. They chased the apparently flying columns of the Turks into the mountains of an unknown country and fell into the ambush laid for them. In vain their courage, their despair. The carnage was horrible. Only three thousand escaped. The entire crusading army perished in this single battle and only their bleaching bones remained as a ghastly monument pointing out to other crusaders the way to the Holy Land.Europe learned with astonishment and horror of the sad fate of over three hundred thousand soldiers who had departed amid the promises and the blessings of the church. Their misfortune, however, did not deter others, but seemed only to inspire them with resolution; their disasters furnished a warning to the better regulated and more formidable hosts which were to pour into the East from the now thoroughly aroused West.THE CRUSADE OF KINGS AND NOBLES.The verdict of candid history is that the rabble which started in obedience to a popular ferment and perished as a miserable crowd of crazed humanity, deserved the fate they invited; for the world had never witnessed a more pitiable exhibition of demoniacalfanaticism and flagrant violence than was shown by these lawless crowds who followed the cry of Peter the Hermit. They achieved nothing heroic; but their disasters taught Europe that to conquer Jerusalem would be no holiday work.The Princes and Nobles of Germany, France and Britain now organized for war. While deliverance of Jerusalem was the popular cry and religious zeal fired the heart of all classes, the powers recognized the fact that the battles to be fought and won were for the preservation of their very existence.You may call it organized infatuation and mailed folly, yet it was a splendid spectacle. Its spiritual zeal gave a silver lining to its superstitions. Its martial fame modified its brutality. Amid fearful excesses there was a show of prudence; and although you may impeach the justice of their cause, their magnanimous devotion of spirit and fearless heroism must always command a large share of sympathy and admiration, and make the Story of the Crusades the most thrilling of all the chapters in the history of the Middle Ages.History and poetry place Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, at the head of the great captains that led the flower of all chivalry on its desperate venture. He was a descendant of the great Charlemagne. To natural bravery he added herculean strength. He was devout, prudent and humane. All his vengeance was for the enemies of Christ. He was generous, faithful to his word—a model knight and soldier. When he gave the signal, the nobility of France and the Rhine borders opened their purses and flocked to his standards. Women sold their jewels toequip husbands and sons for service. Men sacrificed their domains for horses and arms. Godfrey himself sacrificed his estates that he might equip his soldiers, and a worldly Bishop eagerly took advantage of his zeal by purchasing his vast domains. Within eight months of the Council of Clermont, Godfrey had gathered an army of eighty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse. With him were a great number of nobles whose names became famous, beside his brother Baldwin and his cousin Baldwin de Bourg who were destined like himself to become Kings of Jerusalem. Whether actuated by piety or the hope of achieving fortune, they all quitted without regret their mean possessions and tame life in Europe.They led an immense army used to marches and battles. Their admirable discipline and self-restraint reëstablished the honor of the Crusaders and drew allies and champions of the cross where Peter had met his worst enemies, and the hostile Hungarians and Bulgarians forgot their hatred for the leaders of the Mob in their admiration for Godfrey and his chivalric knights.We must not neglect to mention the names of four chiefs who accompanied by throngs of lesser knights and nobles, crossed the Alps and marched towards the different coast cities of Italy intending to embark for Greece by water. Count Hugh, brother of Philip I. of France, a proud prince, brave in battle, but lacking perseverance under reverses: Robert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror, who pledged his domains to his crafty brother, William Rufus, that he might equip his Norman vassals. Robert, of Flanders, whose father some time before hadmade a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, found it an easy task to attract a large and resolute following and exhausted the treasures of his province in arming his men for an expedition, which was to earn for him the reputation of a brave knight and the surname of “Lance and Sword of the Christians.” Five hundred of his men had already preceded him to Constantinople. Then Stephen of Blois and Chartres, whose castles numbered one for every day in the year, and who was reckoned one of the richest nobles of his time, took up the cross and led a large body of his retainers;—he, though lacking in physical strength, was eloquent and wise in council and enjoyed the exceptional distinction of being a man of letters. For the most part these chiefs and many men of lesser rank took with them their wives and children and camp equipments. Passing through Italy they roused the enthusiasm of the noble Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, who was a cubit taller than the tallest soldier in his army. The historian of Constantinople and the Empire of the East, AnnaComnena, says that he was as astonishing to the eye as his reputation was to the mind. He was eloquent in debate, skilled with sword and lance. He was proud and haughty. Fear of God, the opinions of men, nor his own oaths afforded him no restraint. His enlistment under the banner of the cross was not for the purpose of delivering the tomb of Christ, but because he had sworn eternal enmity against Alexius and the Empire of the East. He hoped to win a kingdom long before reaching Jerusalem. In a surprisingly short time he sailed for the coasts of Greece with twenty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse, followed by every renowned knight of Apulia and Sicily.None of them however became so celebrated for deeds of prowess as the brave Tancred, who has found a place in history and poetry and who seems to have been actuated by the loftiest sentiments of piety, chivalric honor and loyal friendship for his leader. From the southern provinces of France under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse and Bishop Adhemar, who was as valorous in the field as he was eloquent in prayer, came another army one hundred thousand strong, marching eastward along the south side of the Alps and through northern Italy by way of Dalmatia, to Constantinople.And now that all Europe seemed pouring into the empire and capital of Alexius, the Emperor began to be alarmed. He had not forgotten the excesses of the first swarm of Crusaders. Should these multitudes now sweeping into and through his domains choose to do so, they could speedily wrest his sovereignty from him and find riches and dominion far easier than in remote and hostile Asia. We have no time to dwell upon the intrigues and treachery that marked his dealings with these mighty leaders of the Crusaders. More than once the forces of Godfrey and Alexius were called to arms with the fate of Constantinople hanging in almost even balance. Finally a truce was made and the Emperor sent his son as a hostage to the Camp of the Crusaders. This dissipated all mistrust and the princes of the West swore to respect the laws of hospitality. They went in a body to the court of Alexius, where they bent before his throne and were magnificently received. After an imposing ceremony the now graciously disposed Emperor adopted Godfrey as a son, placed the Empire under his protection, promisingaid to the Crusaders by land and sea, provisions for their marches and the countenance of his leadership in glory or defeat.Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)But every day brought its hosts of Crusaders and magnificent presents must be given to all the leaders, and his profuse liberality was a heavy drain on his royal treasuries. His security now lay in keeping the armies in motion and hurrying them across the Bosphorus; and once in Asia their leaders would be engrossed in preparing to meet the Saracens and his capital would for a time be free from insult and the unwelcome presence of his mortal foe Bohemond who, struck with the riches of the apartments assigned him, exclaimed: “There is enough here to conquer kingdoms with.”And now the plains of Bythinia were fast filling with the warrior hordes of Europe and as they swept along seeking safe camping places they came to the foot of the mountains where Walter the Penniless and his entire army perished in battle. The painful reminder of so great a calamity, and the recital by the starved remnants of Peter’s army found hiding in the mountains of their fearful sufferings, hushed all discord, silenced ambition and inspired fresh zeal for the conquest of the Holy City and the destruction of the fierce, cruel and equally fanatical Turks who swarmed in the valleys and filled the walled cities of Palestine with desperate garrisons.But the first battle of invasion must be fought at the very gateway to Asia Minor. The chief of the Infidel forces was the son of Solyman; his name was David, surnamed Kilidge Arslan, or “The Sword of the Lion.” He called upon the defenders of Islam to rally to hisstandard and they came in troops from all the surrounding provinces and even from distant Persia. The capital of his kingdom was Nicea (Nice). It was the advanced post of the Turks in Asia Minor and there they would concentrate for the later invasion of Europe. Its approaches were defended by high mountains. Its walls, surrounded by large water-filled ditches, were wide enough for the passage of chariots and were crowned by three hundred and seventy towers of brick. Its garrison was composed of the finest troops of the Turkish army; and one hundred thousand men were encamped for its defence upon the neighboring mountains.Infatuated with their cause, blind in their faith, despising the martial quality of the enemy, and apparently ignorant of the careful and crafty preparations made to receive them, the Crusaders marched in magnificently terrible swarms over the Bythinian plains towards Nice; with a force of one hundred thousand horse and five hundred thousand footmen among whom were a large per cent. of women and children and ineffectives. It was the chivalry of Europe come out to dispute with the Infidel the possession of Asia. The sight of this immense army as the Turks gazed upon it from their mountain tops must have thrilled their hearts even if it did not carry terror to their camps. It was soon learned that Nice could only be captured by siege, if at all. For this preparations began to be made; but there was no central authority. In the camps of the Crusaders were nineteen different nationalities grouped about their respective standards. No count or prince would deign to receive orders from anyone. Each camp was protected by walls or palisades,and as the supply of wood and stone was scarce they gathered up the bones of the first Crusaders that lay bleaching on the plains. The priests in all these various camps were always in the ranks and so great was their power that the commonest soldier gladly courted death for the sake of the rewards in store for all who perished in battle with the Infidel.At the same time David, “The Sword of the Lion” animated his garrison by recalling former victories and saying: “We are going to fight for our wives and children and country. The religion of the Prophet implores our help, and the richest booty will reward our exploits.” While for every Turk that fell in battle the gates of Paradise would open and the most beautiful Houris would minister with wine and dance to the unlimited enjoyment of the faithful. The rewards of the future, though so different to the imagination of the followers of Christ and of Mohammed, had precisely the same effect in stimulating the courage of all alike to the same pitch of frenzied fanaticism—the utter contempt of all danger, and to the very courting of death itself in the destruction of their enemies.As the Crusaders advanced, their siege operations animated by the boldness of their leaders, the Turks, similarly cheered and as bravely led, descended from their mountain camps and prepared for battle. Their army divided into two great bodies as they struck the plains. One of these fell on the army of Godfrey, and the other on that of Raymond of Toulouse. At first the troops of Raymond gave way to the fierce onset but were soon rallied by the voices and bugles of Raymond and Adhemar. Matthew of Edessa writes:—“The two armies joined, mingled and attacked eachother with equal fury. Everywhere glittered casques and shields; lances rang against cuirasses; the air resounded with piercing cries; the terrified horses recoiled from din of arms and the hissing of arrows; the earth trembled beneath the tread of the combatants, and the plain was for a vast space bristling with javelins.” The Crusaders were most valiantly led by Godfrey, Tancred and the two Roberts whose steeds seemed to be everywhere, whose valor knew no abatement and whose lances carried terror and death into the ranks of the Infidels. It was a disastrous day for the Turkish forces that were driven back in greatest confusion into their mountain camps. But the Sultan did not stop to deplore his defeat. He rallied his forces during the night and determined to avenge his disgrace on the morrow. At break of day again his troops rushed with the violence of mountain torrents into the plains, and with loudest cries dashed again and again into the serried ranks of the Crusaders. All day long under charge and counter charge the result of the battle hung in doubt. Not till night did the Turks confess their inability to crush the battle lines of the Christians by retiring from the scene of awful carnage, leaving four thousand prisoners in the hands of the victors. The next day the heads of one thousand were cut off and sent as trophies to Alexius at Constantinople; the heads of the remaining captives were thrown by machines over the walls of the city to inform the Turkish garrison of the disaster which had overtaken their supporting army.The Crusaders were now free to push forward the siege by every artifice known to the Romans and directed by the skill and energy of the Greeks. Theyallowed the garrison no rest, and the defence was as furious as the attack. The Turks covered their ramparts with formidable weapons which hurled destruction on their assailants. They shot forth darts, wooden beams and enormous stones which daily destroyed the labor of the Crusaders whose rashness and imprudence cost them many precious lives. Hundreds died from poisoned darts, and others, venturing too near the walls, were caught by grappling hooks, dragged alive over the walls to be shot back, stark naked, into the Christian camp. The tales of personal, single-handed prowess place Christian and Turkish chief on equal footing as to strength, courage and splendid daring.After seven weeks had passed all hope for successful defence departed. The wife of the Sultan and her two children were captured in trying to escape, and consternation siezed the garrison. Just at this crisis the emissaries of Alexius entered the city, and by creating in the inhabitants a dread of the terrible vengeance that would be inflicted by the Crusaders, persuaded them to surrender to the Emperor of Constantinople.While the Crusaders were preparing for what was intended to be their final assault, the standard of Alexius suddenly appeared on the ramparts. The wily Emperor had secured without the loss of a man the fruits of a victory won at terrible cost of life to the Crusaders. He succeeded in quieting the wrath of the soldiers by distributing among them largesses equal in extent to the booty they expected from the looting of the captured city. He also restored to the Sultan his wife and children, and thereby won his friendship. He also by this crafty stroke of policy secured the lives of the Greek Christians scattered throughout the cities ofAsia Minor; but won the lasting hatred of the Crusaders.The siege of one city is like the siege of all, and we must hasten to Jerusalem, in the spring of 1097. Passing by the battlefield of Dorylaeum, where the newly gathered army of David, the Sultan, numbering two hundred thousand men, met with an awful defeat and the loss of nearly twenty-five thousand men; all the treasures of his camp, provisions, tents, horses and camels, and riches of gold and silver, falling as spoil into the hands of the Crusaders:—passing by the terrible march through “Burning Phrygia,” desolated by order of the Sultan, we descend through the mountain passes of the Taurus range into the fair and fertile and wealthy plains of the province of Antioch. The armies were soon gathered for the siege of this historic city, which lasted seven months and was finally captured through the assistance of an Armenian within the walls.Six months after the sack of the city of Antioch, the word was given, “On to Jerusalem.”It was now about the first of June. The harvests of Phœnicia were ripe, plenty of provisions were in sight, and the country was beautiful as they marched down the seacoast from Antioch. To their left rose the mountains of Lebanon. On their right the blue waters of the Mediterranean flashed in the sunlight of an eastern sky. Between mountain and sea the valleys and plains were filled with orchards of olive, orange and pomegranate. Among the plants which were new to the Crusaders was the sugar cane of the Syrian lowlands. Returning pilgrims carried this plant to Italy; the Saracens introduced it into Grenada, whence it spread throughout all the Spanish colonial possessions;and to-day is the basis of the wealth of Cuba, and one of the chief productions of our own Southern States.The Crusaders marched amid plenty and under balmy skies, with time enough to contemplate the fearful sacrifice of human life which their expedition had already cost. Battle and famine, disease and despair had cut off more than two hundred thousand of their number. Tens of thousands had deserted and returned to Europe; other thousands remained in the cities and villages of Palestine and were lost in the mixed crowds of the native races. While yet a vast host, the fighting force was about fifty thousand, but it was a compact and vigorous body of warriors. It marched better and lighter. Its victories gave it courage; its defeats had taught it the value of discipline. The names of Crusader and Christian carried terror wherever spoken in the Infidel camps or cities. Their zeal increased as they drew near the end of their long and wasting marches. Often the weary columns refused to halt for the night, but tramped on until forced to rest by sheer fatigue. To their disordered vision luminous angels appeared to guide them on the way.Bending away from the sea and passing Lydda, they soon gained the Heights of Ephraim, only sixteen miles from Jerusalem. Here their ranks were broken up as they entered these jagged ravines and narrow, lonesome valleys scorched by the rays of a summer sun, riddled by gullies and choked by great fragments of rock fallen from the precipitous sides of the mountains. Had they been attacked from the heights above by even a few resolute Mussulmen while in such disorder, fearful loss might have been inflicted; but no enemy appeared as the more ardent and faithful soulsadvanced barefooted, carrying with them the banner of the Prince of Peace to plant on the recaptured walls of the Holy City of God.On June 10th, 1099, the Crusaders marched up the gloomy steeps to Emmaus, and looking over its barren edges caught their first sight of Zion. The cry of “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” rang out and down the slopes, and as the rear columns came up the war cry “It is the will of God,” resounded throughout the whole army until reëchoed by the slopes of the Mount of Olives and heard in the City of David. Horsemen dismounted and walked barefoot, thousands bent their knees and kissed the earth. Hallelujahs arose, petitions went up for the remission of their sins, tears were shed over the death of Christ, and the profanation of His tomb. Pious fervor soon changed into fierceness and wrath as oaths were resworn to rescue the Holy City from the sacrilegious hands of the followers of Mohammed.They found a fierce and valiant memory awaiting them. The surrounding villages had been destroyed, cisterns and wells filled up or poisoned, the land made a desert.The siege began at once; but their situation grew desperate. They were suffering under a scorching heat and the sand storms out of the southern deserts. Plants and animals perished. Kedron ran dry. The army became a prey to raging thirst. Water brought in skin bottles a distance of nine miles was worth its weight in silver. The old historians paint in most frightful colors the misery of the Crusaders at this juncture; and had the Mussulmen made a determined sortie upon the staggering hosts, the army must have perished. Their strength and courage revived bythe arrival of a Genoese fleet at Jaffa laden with provisions. A Syrian pointed out a mountain thirty miles away that was forest-clad. Every body wrought with unceasing energy. Water was brought long distances by the women and children; machines of war towers, catapults and battering rams were erected and pushed up close under the walls of Jerusalem.The priests exhorted to peace and harmony. The hermit of the Mount of Olives led a penitential march around the city. On their return to camp as the Christian army marched by the tomb of David, and Mt. Zion they chanted “The nations of the West shall fear the Lord; and the nations of the East shall see His glory.”On the morning of July 14, 1099, all the Crusaders flew to arms at the sound of the trumpets to make their first grand assault.The great war machines were pushed close to the walls. Showers of stones were hurled upon the ramparts. Archers and crossbowmen kept up a continual fire from their towers. Scaling ladders were planted. The great leaders were everywhere. For twelve long hours the Crusaders maintained the unequal fight, and then nightfall covered their first repulse. The morning saw the renewal of the conflict more furious and desperate than before. It was carried on with demoniac obstinacy for half a day. Their courage began to fail; nearly all their machines were on fire and there was no water to quench the flames; even their leaders began to waver.While the battle was in this desperate shape a mysterious knight made his appearance on the Mount of Olives waving his sword and signalling them to renew theassault. They accepted the omen as from heaven and in the fury of their faith rushed again to the attack—dragged their machines still nearer the walls, caught them with their grappling hooks, lowered their drawbridges, let fly showers of flaming arrows which set on fire sacks of wool and bundles of hay that had been used for protection on the inner walls. The wind fanned the flames, driving smoke and heat upon the doomed Saracens. The Crusaders sprang upon the walls with lance and spear in hand. Godfrey, Baldwin, Raymond and Tancred followed by their knights and soldiers were soon in the streets and beating down the gates with their battle-axes opened the way for the great body of Crusaders to enter. Their battle cry rang through the streets of the Holy City.The miracle-monger places the entry of the Crusaders at the very hour Friday, 3 P. M., at which Christ expired on the cross. But even this could not move their hearts to mercy. We throw a veil of silence over the awful massacre that followed, until Godfrey throwing aside his arms walked barefooted to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. His example was contagious. The army ceased its bloody fury, cast aside its blood-stained vestments, gave vent to its contrition in groans and sobs, and marched with uncovered heads and bare feet following their priests to the Church of the Resurrection. We marvel at the sudden transformation. The devotion of the Crusaders seemed profoundly tender after such horrible carnage. We do not excuse it. We do not condemn it in bitter speech recalling some terrible experiences during our late Civil War, when Christian men sometimes seemed possessed. The demon of war has never yetbeen baptized with the Spirit of Him who gave up His life for the salvation of the very men who crucified Him.The last chapter in the history of this first Crusade ends with the establishment of a kingdom of Jerusalem and the selection of the pious Godfrey as King. With its fortunes we may not here concern ourselves. We shall touch upon it as we sketch the resistless march of the warriors of Islam to the conquest of Constantinople and the overthrow of the Empire of Eastern Europe.

As at one time Athens “was the Eye of Greece and Mother of the Arts” so both to pious Jew and humble Christian, Jerusalem has ever been the “City of God,” the “Joy of the Whole Earth.” To the fervid hearts of the early Christians a pilgrimage to that Holy City to see the sacred sights and commune with God amid scenes hallowed by the former presence of a Christ, was regarded as a mark of special faith and a source of peculiar blessing. After the Emperor Constantine removed his capital from Rome to Constantinople and embraced the Christian religion, Jerusalem was raised from its ruins, the way to the sacred places was made more easy and safe, and the spirit of pilgrimage greatly revived and stimulated. The magnificent church of The Holy Sepulchre—decorated with pillars and adorned and paved with precious stones—was raised above the obscure tomb, while churches, chapels and monuments filled the city and marked the places made sacred by the life and the death of the Saviour of the world.

Pilgrims flocked in crowds into Judea from almost every country in Europe and Asia, and when they gathered in immense throngs about these holy places, lifting their voices in prayers and hymns in many languages, the sound was like the Babel of former Pentecosts. Each returning pilgrim told his story of strangesights and of the refreshment and inspiration received from his visit.

The Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Park of Yildiz Palace.The Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Park of Yildiz Palace.

The Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Park of Yildiz Palace.

He had confirmed his faith by bathing in the Jordan, tested his faith by exposure and perils, warmed his emotions by prayer on Calvary and raised his soul in songs of praise in the Church of the Resurrection.

But in 610 A. D., the armies of Persia overran the provinces of the Byzantine Empire, invading Syria, Palestine and Egypt, capturing Jerusalem and bearing away many Christian captives.

Ten years of fiercest conflict followed and finally Heraclius, Emperor of Constantinople, recaptured the city. In the imposing ceremonies and festivities which followed, the Emperor walked barefoot in the streets, bearing on his shoulders to the summit of Calvary, the wood of the true cross, which to their weird and superstitious imaginations had been miraculously recovered. Jerusalem rescued, became more than ever an object of reverence. Blood had been shed for the church, only Christians should thenceforth be its custodians. Their joy was brief.

Already the Saracenic warriors under able leaders had overrun Persia and Syria, and in 637 Omar, their Caliph, after a four months’ siege, received the keys and homage of a city, which, though the home of many Christians, was very sacred also in the eyes of the Mohammedans, as a “House of God,” a city of saints and miracles, since Mohammed himself had visited it as a prophet and had thence set out for heaven in his nocturnal voyage. During the lifetime of Omar, the Christians escaped serious persecution, but violence and fanaticism increased at a fearful rate under his successors—except for the period (768–814 A. D.) during whichreigned Haroun al Raschid, the greatest of all the Saracen Caliphs.

In 1076—fateful day—Jerusalem was captured by the Seljukian Turks who had come down from the inner provinces of Asia in resistless numbers—embraced Islamism, and under the banners of the Caliph of Bagdad, had conquered Syria and Palestine. Their entry into Jerusalem was signalized by a terrible massacre of all opponents. The fanatical fury of these barbarians was untempered by any spirit of toleration that had sometimes marked Saracenic civilization,—and soon their wild hordes waved their banners of blood and fire before the very gates of Constantinople. The Emperor Alexius purchased peace by ceding Asia Minor to the victorious Solyman, who at once established his power at Nice and began building a fleet for the capture of the Byzantine capital.

All Europe was roused and smitten with alarm. The hour had come for the Greek and the Latin churches to unite all their power for the defence of their common faith and preserve their empires from being devastated by the barbarian Turks.

Pope Gregory began to exhort the sovereigns of Europe to arm against the infidel: when suddenly from an anchorite’s cell appeared a monk who fired with enthusiasm the heart of all Europe and blew into fiercest blaze all the fanatical elements of a religious war. It was reserved for a poor pilgrim who had found refuge in a cloister from the ridicule and follies of a wicked world to become the instrument of converting the zeal of pilgrimage into the fury of an armed crusade. This man wasPeter the Hermit.

In his cell, amid silence, fasting and prayer he grewto believe himself the agent of heaven for the accomplishment of some great purpose, and he left his retreat to go on a pilgrimage. What he witnessed and suffered on the way and at Jerusalem gave to his zeal fresh determination and to his devotion the fervor of righteous indignation. His spirit was fired by the insults to Christians, his piety shocked by the profanations of the Holy Sepulchre by the barbarians and infidels. To his fevered imagination as to that of Joan of Arc there was a vision and a voice. While prostrate before the Holy Sepulchre the voice of Christ was heard, saying: “Peter, arise, hasten to proclaim the tribulation of my people; it is time my servants should receive help, and that the holy places should be delivered.” He hastened to Italy and threw himself at the feet of the Pope, Urban II.

With the blessing of the Pope he went forth, the preacher of an armed crusade. In imitation of Christ, when he entered Jerusalem in that last week of his life, he traveled on a mule. With crucifix in hand, feet bare, his head uncovered, his body covered with a long frock and girded with a thick cord, his appearance was an awesome spectacle. He went from city to city, from province to province, working on the piety, the superstitions and the courage of his hearers; now in churches, then in village marts and again on the public highways. He was animated and eloquent, his speech filled with vehement apostrophes and appalling descriptions. His exhortations threw the people into sobs and groans, fury and frenzy. Sympathy with the afflicted Christians took the form of furious fervor, natural bravery went out in oaths to redeem or die; religious emotions ran wild in excesses and swung likea pendulum from the lowest follies of superstition to the fiercest outbursts of fanaticism.

It was during this excitement that the Emperor Alexius sent a message to Pope Urban II., appealing for aid. A council was called at Clermont in France where Peter’s preaching had caused the greatest awakening. The Pope attended in person, about him gathered an immense throng of clergy, princes and laity, from France, Italy and Germany. At the tenth session of this council the Pope ascended a pulpit in the open air and preached the sacred duty of redeeming the Sepulchre of Christ from the infidels, proclaiming the certain propitiation for sin by devotion to this meritorious service.

This historic council was most ingeniously called and managed. The Germanic peoples were new and eager converts to Christianity. They were fierce and warlike in disposition. Feudalism still was in its fullest power. The hundreds of castles which add such picturesqueness to the valley of the Rhine were then the centers of feudal pride, and every petty Prince made war as he was able against his neighbor, or joined with others in wars of larger proportions. There was no national spirit as yet. These feuds which had been handed down for generations, had greatly impoverished and destroyed the people. The Church had sought to alleviate the distress and check these petty wars, by issuing decrees prohibiting private wars for four days in each week. This council renewed “The Truce of God,” and threatened all who would not comply, with its Anathemas. It placed all widows, orphans, merchants, artisans and non-combatants generally under the panoply of the Church—made all sanctuaries so many cities of refuge, and declaredthat even the crosses by the roadside should be reverenced as guardians from violence. These and other salutary decrees struck into the midst of an assembly filled with enthusiasm and energy, and prepared the way for them to unite in any cause that would add to the strength and glory of Christendom. On this day of the tenth session the great square was filled with an immense crowd. The Pope ascended the throne followed by his Cardinals. By his side was Peter the Hermit, who was to speak first, clad in his pilgrim garb. He gave an impassioned and masterly sketch of what he had witnessed in Palestine and Jerusalem—the outrages against the religion of Christ, and the profanation of the most holy places, the persecutions of pilgrim visitors whom he had seen loaded with chains, dragged into slavery; harnessed to the yoke like cattle. And as he spoke he also acted, until the people shuddered in consternation and horror, vented their hate in vehement cries or wept in dismay—no heart remaining unmoved by the very agony of his appeal.

Then Urban rose and so enlarged upon the theme as to arouse and inflame their passions to the highest pitch; then addressing particularly the French he said: “Nation beloved by God, it is in your courage that the Christian Church has placed her hope. It is because I am well acquainted with your piety and your bravery that I have crossed the Alps, and have come to preach the word of God in these countries. You have not forgotten that the land you inhabit has been invaded by the Saracen, and that but for the exploits of Charles Martel and Charlemagne, France would have received the laws of Mohammed. Recall, without ceasing, to your minds the danger and the glory of your fathers, led byheroes whose names shall never die. They delivered your country. They saved the West from shameful slavery. More noble triumphs await you under the guidance of the God of Armies. You will deliver Europe and Asia. You will save the city of Jesus Christ, that Jerusalem which was chosen by the Lord, and from whence the Gospel has come down to us.”

Urban swayed his audience as a wind does the leaves of the forest. It wept as he pictured the misfortunes and sorrows of Jerusalem. Warriors clutched their swords and swore vengeance against the Infidel when he described the tyranny and perfidy of the Mussulman conquerors. The enthusiasm of his auditors rose to the highest pitch, when he declared that God had chosen them to extirpate the Mohammedan. He appealed also to their cupidity by the promise of worldly gain, by possession of the riches of Asia and the lands which according to Scripture flowed with milk and honey. He played on every passion and emotion—ambition, patriotism, love of glory and wealth, piety, power and religion:—until at the close of his grandest outbursts the audience rose as one man and broke into the unanimous cry—a cry that became the war cry of the crusader—“It is the will of God! It is the will of God!”

Taking up this wild refrain Pope Urban repeated dramatically: “Yes, without doubt it is the will of God” * * * It is He who has dictated to you the words that I have heard. Let them be your war cry and let them announce everywhere the presence of the “Armies of God.” He then held up to the gaze of the assemblage the sign of their redemption, saying: “It is Christ himself who issues from the tomb and presentsto you his cross; it will be the sign raised among the nations which is to gather together again the dispersed of Israel. Wear it on your shoulders and on your breasts; let it shine on your arms and on your standards; it will be the surety of victory or the palm of martyrdom; it will unceasingly remind you that Christ died for you, and that it is your duty to die for Him.” Again the multitude rose to weep and cheer and vow vengeance against the Mussulman.

I have dwelt thus on the Council of Clermont, and quoted from the speech of Pope Urban, that the reader might see clearly the mixed motives that stirred the heart of Europe for nearly two centuries, and nerved her warriors to the most noble, heroic and almost superhuman deeds of valor and endurance that have ever been emblazoned among the memorials of the mightiest heroes of this mortal race.

This was the declaration of war against the Mohammedan. The breaking up of the Council was the scattering of the firebrands of fanaticism. Pope Urban traversed several provinces of France that seemed to rise en masse to his appeals. France seemed to have no country but the Holy Land. Ease, property and life were cast into the sacrificial cause. All Christian nations seemed to forget their internal strifes, and to plunge headlong into the excitement of the hour. Western Europe resounded with the Papal Watchword: “He who will not take up his cross and come after me, is not worthy of me.”

It must not be forgotten, however, that the political and physical condition of Europe contributed vastly to the warlike conflagration. The people groaned under feudal servitude and violence. Famine more or lesssevere, for years had contributed to robbery and brigandage. Commerce was almost destroyed, agriculture was neglected. Towns and cities were in ruins; lands everywhere were abandoned. The Church made her appeals popular. The Crusader was freed from all imposts and from pursuit by debts. The Cross suspended all laws and all menaces. Tyranny could not seek a wearer of the emblem nor could justice find the guilty. What wonder that an entire population rushed to a cause that absolved them from a grinding past and pictured so glowing a future! What wonder that the inexpiable wickedness of tyrannical baron and brutal knight sought expiation or at least relief by a desperate plunge into foreign martial excesses! What wonder if freebooters and robbers should join the ranks in hope of sharing the plunder of the conquered East! Yet we must not lose sight of the fact that over and above all love of glory, all true patriotism or base cupidity, towered the sublime passion, the pervading emotion of the hour. Religion smelted every other sentiment into harmonious union with her fervid zeal and her intense zealotry. Monks deserted their cloisters, anchorites their cells or forest retreats to mingle with and encourage the crusading throngs. Thieves and robbers came out of their hiding places to confess their sins and expiate offences by assuming the sacred badge.

All Europe seemed to be on the move eastward. Barons were willing to desert their castles and Lords their manors. The artisan deserted his shop, merchants their stores, the laborer the field. Cities were depopulated, lands were mortgaged, castles sold. Values were nothing. Accumulations of centuries went for a song. Even miracles entered into thefurore. To their overheated imaginations stars fell; blood was seen in the clouds. Armed warriors were seen rushing to battle in the skies. Saints issued from the tomb, and the shade of Charlemagne arose to lead these phantom hosts to the rescue of the Holy City. While everywhere the women and children and the helpless of every estate espoused the cause of Heaven crying aloud, “It is the will of God,” and imprinting crosses on their limbs.

The early spring of 1096 saw the gathering of the impatient throngs. They came from every quarter, from the Rhine to the Pyrenees, and from Tiber to the Ocean. Troops of men, armed with every conceivable weapon or without arms of any kind, swarmed towards their respective rendezvous chanting and shouting their war cry until every hill reëchoed “It is the will of God.” Without preparation or forethought or commissary they gathered, blindly trusting that He who fed the sparrows would not suffer them to hunger. There was no voice of reason in all this surging multitude. It was a spectacle without a parallel in history. There is no way of computing the vast aggregate, but the French historian, Carnot, estimates that five billion enthusiasts were on the move in the spring of 1096. This certainly is most extravagant hyperbole, but all Western Europe was fiercely agitated and vast multitudes were on the march.

THE CRUSADE OF THE MOB.Their story is but a harrowing recital of a tumultuous and reckless march through an unknown country by a starving horde of men, women and children. Pillage, rapine and blood marked their way. For a timein Germany the people were kindly disposed and brought them food. Fortunately for the mob Hungary had but recently embraced Christianity and its King, Carloman, gave it a friendly passage through his domains: but when it struck Bulgaria its struggles and sorrows began. They were forced to pillage to keep from starvation. Religion was laid aside. Hunger knew no law stronger than that of self-preservation. The Bulgarians flew to arms and inflicted great losses on the undisciplined and helpless crowd of beggars. At last that part of the throng led by Walter the Penniless, arrived under the walls of Constantinople and there were allowed by the Emperor to await the coming of Peter the Hermit. Alas! the excesses of his hosts led to still more terrible assaults while passing through Hungary and Bulgaria. At Nissa they endeavored to scale the ramparts and a terrific battle ensued in which the Crusaders were cut to pieces. Women, children, horses, camp and trophy chests, all fell a prey to the infuriated Bulgarians.In August, Peter the Hermit appeared under the walls of Constantinople with about seven thousand soldiers and camp followers to recruit his wasted energies in the camp of Walter the Penniless while waiting for other and better armed and disciplined forces to arrive. From the banks of the Rhine, from Flanders, and even from Britain an army largely composed of the refuse of mankind, two hundred thousand strong, started on its march—but soon gave themselves to unheard-of barbarities. How much worse than a Mohammedan was a member of that hated race which had crucified the Christ and so they let loose their fury against the defenseless Jews in most pitiless massacres, sweeping oninto Hungary, to the city of Mersburg, which shut its gates and refused them provisions. Forests were cut down, causeways built across the swamps which partially protected the walls and a furious assault was made upon the city. The battle raged fiercely and for a long time with doubtful result, but at last the scaling ladders of the Crusaders began to give way, and then fell dragging down their occupants and fragments of the walls and towers. These disasters carried panic into the army of the besiegers and they fled into the forests, were caught in the swamps and were ruthlessly slaughtered. Few of the desperate and cruel adventurers escaped. Some found the way back to their own country covered with disgrace—a few more made their way to the army of Peter the Hermit encamped before Constantinople.Thus far this fanatical spirit had cost Western Europe the lives of nearly a quarter of a million people, and not a Saracen had been seen. But the motley crowd encamped on the Bosphorus augmented by adventurers from Italian cities had gradually increased until now it probably numbered one hundred thousand all told. They were scarcely more welcome than the Saracens to the Emperor Alexius who had treated them as guests and supplied their famished hosts. Their desire for plunder could not long be restrained, and the churches, houses and palaces in the suburbs fell a prey to their rapacity which was as insatiable as the cry for blood that rises from a pack of ravening wolves. Alexius was therefore very glad to furnish them with transportation across the Bosphorus. They were now on Asiatic soil an undisciplined and motley crowd in the face of the well armed and equally furiousand fanatical Turk. They revelled in the pillage of the fertile plains of Nicomedia, dividing the booty at night in their camps. They plundered the valley, ravaged and burned the villages and committed most horrible excesses; they captured a small fort near the mountains from the Turks and massacred the garrison. The Turks reinforced, fell upon them in turn, and put nearly all of them to the sword. This roused the anger of the mixed crowds in camp. Nothing could restrain the blind fury of the soldier mob. They chased the apparently flying columns of the Turks into the mountains of an unknown country and fell into the ambush laid for them. In vain their courage, their despair. The carnage was horrible. Only three thousand escaped. The entire crusading army perished in this single battle and only their bleaching bones remained as a ghastly monument pointing out to other crusaders the way to the Holy Land.Europe learned with astonishment and horror of the sad fate of over three hundred thousand soldiers who had departed amid the promises and the blessings of the church. Their misfortune, however, did not deter others, but seemed only to inspire them with resolution; their disasters furnished a warning to the better regulated and more formidable hosts which were to pour into the East from the now thoroughly aroused West.

THE CRUSADE OF THE MOB.

Their story is but a harrowing recital of a tumultuous and reckless march through an unknown country by a starving horde of men, women and children. Pillage, rapine and blood marked their way. For a timein Germany the people were kindly disposed and brought them food. Fortunately for the mob Hungary had but recently embraced Christianity and its King, Carloman, gave it a friendly passage through his domains: but when it struck Bulgaria its struggles and sorrows began. They were forced to pillage to keep from starvation. Religion was laid aside. Hunger knew no law stronger than that of self-preservation. The Bulgarians flew to arms and inflicted great losses on the undisciplined and helpless crowd of beggars. At last that part of the throng led by Walter the Penniless, arrived under the walls of Constantinople and there were allowed by the Emperor to await the coming of Peter the Hermit. Alas! the excesses of his hosts led to still more terrible assaults while passing through Hungary and Bulgaria. At Nissa they endeavored to scale the ramparts and a terrific battle ensued in which the Crusaders were cut to pieces. Women, children, horses, camp and trophy chests, all fell a prey to the infuriated Bulgarians.In August, Peter the Hermit appeared under the walls of Constantinople with about seven thousand soldiers and camp followers to recruit his wasted energies in the camp of Walter the Penniless while waiting for other and better armed and disciplined forces to arrive. From the banks of the Rhine, from Flanders, and even from Britain an army largely composed of the refuse of mankind, two hundred thousand strong, started on its march—but soon gave themselves to unheard-of barbarities. How much worse than a Mohammedan was a member of that hated race which had crucified the Christ and so they let loose their fury against the defenseless Jews in most pitiless massacres, sweeping oninto Hungary, to the city of Mersburg, which shut its gates and refused them provisions. Forests were cut down, causeways built across the swamps which partially protected the walls and a furious assault was made upon the city. The battle raged fiercely and for a long time with doubtful result, but at last the scaling ladders of the Crusaders began to give way, and then fell dragging down their occupants and fragments of the walls and towers. These disasters carried panic into the army of the besiegers and they fled into the forests, were caught in the swamps and were ruthlessly slaughtered. Few of the desperate and cruel adventurers escaped. Some found the way back to their own country covered with disgrace—a few more made their way to the army of Peter the Hermit encamped before Constantinople.Thus far this fanatical spirit had cost Western Europe the lives of nearly a quarter of a million people, and not a Saracen had been seen. But the motley crowd encamped on the Bosphorus augmented by adventurers from Italian cities had gradually increased until now it probably numbered one hundred thousand all told. They were scarcely more welcome than the Saracens to the Emperor Alexius who had treated them as guests and supplied their famished hosts. Their desire for plunder could not long be restrained, and the churches, houses and palaces in the suburbs fell a prey to their rapacity which was as insatiable as the cry for blood that rises from a pack of ravening wolves. Alexius was therefore very glad to furnish them with transportation across the Bosphorus. They were now on Asiatic soil an undisciplined and motley crowd in the face of the well armed and equally furiousand fanatical Turk. They revelled in the pillage of the fertile plains of Nicomedia, dividing the booty at night in their camps. They plundered the valley, ravaged and burned the villages and committed most horrible excesses; they captured a small fort near the mountains from the Turks and massacred the garrison. The Turks reinforced, fell upon them in turn, and put nearly all of them to the sword. This roused the anger of the mixed crowds in camp. Nothing could restrain the blind fury of the soldier mob. They chased the apparently flying columns of the Turks into the mountains of an unknown country and fell into the ambush laid for them. In vain their courage, their despair. The carnage was horrible. Only three thousand escaped. The entire crusading army perished in this single battle and only their bleaching bones remained as a ghastly monument pointing out to other crusaders the way to the Holy Land.Europe learned with astonishment and horror of the sad fate of over three hundred thousand soldiers who had departed amid the promises and the blessings of the church. Their misfortune, however, did not deter others, but seemed only to inspire them with resolution; their disasters furnished a warning to the better regulated and more formidable hosts which were to pour into the East from the now thoroughly aroused West.

Their story is but a harrowing recital of a tumultuous and reckless march through an unknown country by a starving horde of men, women and children. Pillage, rapine and blood marked their way. For a timein Germany the people were kindly disposed and brought them food. Fortunately for the mob Hungary had but recently embraced Christianity and its King, Carloman, gave it a friendly passage through his domains: but when it struck Bulgaria its struggles and sorrows began. They were forced to pillage to keep from starvation. Religion was laid aside. Hunger knew no law stronger than that of self-preservation. The Bulgarians flew to arms and inflicted great losses on the undisciplined and helpless crowd of beggars. At last that part of the throng led by Walter the Penniless, arrived under the walls of Constantinople and there were allowed by the Emperor to await the coming of Peter the Hermit. Alas! the excesses of his hosts led to still more terrible assaults while passing through Hungary and Bulgaria. At Nissa they endeavored to scale the ramparts and a terrific battle ensued in which the Crusaders were cut to pieces. Women, children, horses, camp and trophy chests, all fell a prey to the infuriated Bulgarians.

In August, Peter the Hermit appeared under the walls of Constantinople with about seven thousand soldiers and camp followers to recruit his wasted energies in the camp of Walter the Penniless while waiting for other and better armed and disciplined forces to arrive. From the banks of the Rhine, from Flanders, and even from Britain an army largely composed of the refuse of mankind, two hundred thousand strong, started on its march—but soon gave themselves to unheard-of barbarities. How much worse than a Mohammedan was a member of that hated race which had crucified the Christ and so they let loose their fury against the defenseless Jews in most pitiless massacres, sweeping oninto Hungary, to the city of Mersburg, which shut its gates and refused them provisions. Forests were cut down, causeways built across the swamps which partially protected the walls and a furious assault was made upon the city. The battle raged fiercely and for a long time with doubtful result, but at last the scaling ladders of the Crusaders began to give way, and then fell dragging down their occupants and fragments of the walls and towers. These disasters carried panic into the army of the besiegers and they fled into the forests, were caught in the swamps and were ruthlessly slaughtered. Few of the desperate and cruel adventurers escaped. Some found the way back to their own country covered with disgrace—a few more made their way to the army of Peter the Hermit encamped before Constantinople.

Thus far this fanatical spirit had cost Western Europe the lives of nearly a quarter of a million people, and not a Saracen had been seen. But the motley crowd encamped on the Bosphorus augmented by adventurers from Italian cities had gradually increased until now it probably numbered one hundred thousand all told. They were scarcely more welcome than the Saracens to the Emperor Alexius who had treated them as guests and supplied their famished hosts. Their desire for plunder could not long be restrained, and the churches, houses and palaces in the suburbs fell a prey to their rapacity which was as insatiable as the cry for blood that rises from a pack of ravening wolves. Alexius was therefore very glad to furnish them with transportation across the Bosphorus. They were now on Asiatic soil an undisciplined and motley crowd in the face of the well armed and equally furiousand fanatical Turk. They revelled in the pillage of the fertile plains of Nicomedia, dividing the booty at night in their camps. They plundered the valley, ravaged and burned the villages and committed most horrible excesses; they captured a small fort near the mountains from the Turks and massacred the garrison. The Turks reinforced, fell upon them in turn, and put nearly all of them to the sword. This roused the anger of the mixed crowds in camp. Nothing could restrain the blind fury of the soldier mob. They chased the apparently flying columns of the Turks into the mountains of an unknown country and fell into the ambush laid for them. In vain their courage, their despair. The carnage was horrible. Only three thousand escaped. The entire crusading army perished in this single battle and only their bleaching bones remained as a ghastly monument pointing out to other crusaders the way to the Holy Land.

Europe learned with astonishment and horror of the sad fate of over three hundred thousand soldiers who had departed amid the promises and the blessings of the church. Their misfortune, however, did not deter others, but seemed only to inspire them with resolution; their disasters furnished a warning to the better regulated and more formidable hosts which were to pour into the East from the now thoroughly aroused West.

THE CRUSADE OF KINGS AND NOBLES.The verdict of candid history is that the rabble which started in obedience to a popular ferment and perished as a miserable crowd of crazed humanity, deserved the fate they invited; for the world had never witnessed a more pitiable exhibition of demoniacalfanaticism and flagrant violence than was shown by these lawless crowds who followed the cry of Peter the Hermit. They achieved nothing heroic; but their disasters taught Europe that to conquer Jerusalem would be no holiday work.The Princes and Nobles of Germany, France and Britain now organized for war. While deliverance of Jerusalem was the popular cry and religious zeal fired the heart of all classes, the powers recognized the fact that the battles to be fought and won were for the preservation of their very existence.You may call it organized infatuation and mailed folly, yet it was a splendid spectacle. Its spiritual zeal gave a silver lining to its superstitions. Its martial fame modified its brutality. Amid fearful excesses there was a show of prudence; and although you may impeach the justice of their cause, their magnanimous devotion of spirit and fearless heroism must always command a large share of sympathy and admiration, and make the Story of the Crusades the most thrilling of all the chapters in the history of the Middle Ages.History and poetry place Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, at the head of the great captains that led the flower of all chivalry on its desperate venture. He was a descendant of the great Charlemagne. To natural bravery he added herculean strength. He was devout, prudent and humane. All his vengeance was for the enemies of Christ. He was generous, faithful to his word—a model knight and soldier. When he gave the signal, the nobility of France and the Rhine borders opened their purses and flocked to his standards. Women sold their jewels toequip husbands and sons for service. Men sacrificed their domains for horses and arms. Godfrey himself sacrificed his estates that he might equip his soldiers, and a worldly Bishop eagerly took advantage of his zeal by purchasing his vast domains. Within eight months of the Council of Clermont, Godfrey had gathered an army of eighty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse. With him were a great number of nobles whose names became famous, beside his brother Baldwin and his cousin Baldwin de Bourg who were destined like himself to become Kings of Jerusalem. Whether actuated by piety or the hope of achieving fortune, they all quitted without regret their mean possessions and tame life in Europe.They led an immense army used to marches and battles. Their admirable discipline and self-restraint reëstablished the honor of the Crusaders and drew allies and champions of the cross where Peter had met his worst enemies, and the hostile Hungarians and Bulgarians forgot their hatred for the leaders of the Mob in their admiration for Godfrey and his chivalric knights.We must not neglect to mention the names of four chiefs who accompanied by throngs of lesser knights and nobles, crossed the Alps and marched towards the different coast cities of Italy intending to embark for Greece by water. Count Hugh, brother of Philip I. of France, a proud prince, brave in battle, but lacking perseverance under reverses: Robert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror, who pledged his domains to his crafty brother, William Rufus, that he might equip his Norman vassals. Robert, of Flanders, whose father some time before hadmade a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, found it an easy task to attract a large and resolute following and exhausted the treasures of his province in arming his men for an expedition, which was to earn for him the reputation of a brave knight and the surname of “Lance and Sword of the Christians.” Five hundred of his men had already preceded him to Constantinople. Then Stephen of Blois and Chartres, whose castles numbered one for every day in the year, and who was reckoned one of the richest nobles of his time, took up the cross and led a large body of his retainers;—he, though lacking in physical strength, was eloquent and wise in council and enjoyed the exceptional distinction of being a man of letters. For the most part these chiefs and many men of lesser rank took with them their wives and children and camp equipments. Passing through Italy they roused the enthusiasm of the noble Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, who was a cubit taller than the tallest soldier in his army. The historian of Constantinople and the Empire of the East, AnnaComnena, says that he was as astonishing to the eye as his reputation was to the mind. He was eloquent in debate, skilled with sword and lance. He was proud and haughty. Fear of God, the opinions of men, nor his own oaths afforded him no restraint. His enlistment under the banner of the cross was not for the purpose of delivering the tomb of Christ, but because he had sworn eternal enmity against Alexius and the Empire of the East. He hoped to win a kingdom long before reaching Jerusalem. In a surprisingly short time he sailed for the coasts of Greece with twenty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse, followed by every renowned knight of Apulia and Sicily.None of them however became so celebrated for deeds of prowess as the brave Tancred, who has found a place in history and poetry and who seems to have been actuated by the loftiest sentiments of piety, chivalric honor and loyal friendship for his leader. From the southern provinces of France under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse and Bishop Adhemar, who was as valorous in the field as he was eloquent in prayer, came another army one hundred thousand strong, marching eastward along the south side of the Alps and through northern Italy by way of Dalmatia, to Constantinople.And now that all Europe seemed pouring into the empire and capital of Alexius, the Emperor began to be alarmed. He had not forgotten the excesses of the first swarm of Crusaders. Should these multitudes now sweeping into and through his domains choose to do so, they could speedily wrest his sovereignty from him and find riches and dominion far easier than in remote and hostile Asia. We have no time to dwell upon the intrigues and treachery that marked his dealings with these mighty leaders of the Crusaders. More than once the forces of Godfrey and Alexius were called to arms with the fate of Constantinople hanging in almost even balance. Finally a truce was made and the Emperor sent his son as a hostage to the Camp of the Crusaders. This dissipated all mistrust and the princes of the West swore to respect the laws of hospitality. They went in a body to the court of Alexius, where they bent before his throne and were magnificently received. After an imposing ceremony the now graciously disposed Emperor adopted Godfrey as a son, placed the Empire under his protection, promisingaid to the Crusaders by land and sea, provisions for their marches and the countenance of his leadership in glory or defeat.Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)But every day brought its hosts of Crusaders and magnificent presents must be given to all the leaders, and his profuse liberality was a heavy drain on his royal treasuries. His security now lay in keeping the armies in motion and hurrying them across the Bosphorus; and once in Asia their leaders would be engrossed in preparing to meet the Saracens and his capital would for a time be free from insult and the unwelcome presence of his mortal foe Bohemond who, struck with the riches of the apartments assigned him, exclaimed: “There is enough here to conquer kingdoms with.”And now the plains of Bythinia were fast filling with the warrior hordes of Europe and as they swept along seeking safe camping places they came to the foot of the mountains where Walter the Penniless and his entire army perished in battle. The painful reminder of so great a calamity, and the recital by the starved remnants of Peter’s army found hiding in the mountains of their fearful sufferings, hushed all discord, silenced ambition and inspired fresh zeal for the conquest of the Holy City and the destruction of the fierce, cruel and equally fanatical Turks who swarmed in the valleys and filled the walled cities of Palestine with desperate garrisons.But the first battle of invasion must be fought at the very gateway to Asia Minor. The chief of the Infidel forces was the son of Solyman; his name was David, surnamed Kilidge Arslan, or “The Sword of the Lion.” He called upon the defenders of Islam to rally to hisstandard and they came in troops from all the surrounding provinces and even from distant Persia. The capital of his kingdom was Nicea (Nice). It was the advanced post of the Turks in Asia Minor and there they would concentrate for the later invasion of Europe. Its approaches were defended by high mountains. Its walls, surrounded by large water-filled ditches, were wide enough for the passage of chariots and were crowned by three hundred and seventy towers of brick. Its garrison was composed of the finest troops of the Turkish army; and one hundred thousand men were encamped for its defence upon the neighboring mountains.Infatuated with their cause, blind in their faith, despising the martial quality of the enemy, and apparently ignorant of the careful and crafty preparations made to receive them, the Crusaders marched in magnificently terrible swarms over the Bythinian plains towards Nice; with a force of one hundred thousand horse and five hundred thousand footmen among whom were a large per cent. of women and children and ineffectives. It was the chivalry of Europe come out to dispute with the Infidel the possession of Asia. The sight of this immense army as the Turks gazed upon it from their mountain tops must have thrilled their hearts even if it did not carry terror to their camps. It was soon learned that Nice could only be captured by siege, if at all. For this preparations began to be made; but there was no central authority. In the camps of the Crusaders were nineteen different nationalities grouped about their respective standards. No count or prince would deign to receive orders from anyone. Each camp was protected by walls or palisades,and as the supply of wood and stone was scarce they gathered up the bones of the first Crusaders that lay bleaching on the plains. The priests in all these various camps were always in the ranks and so great was their power that the commonest soldier gladly courted death for the sake of the rewards in store for all who perished in battle with the Infidel.At the same time David, “The Sword of the Lion” animated his garrison by recalling former victories and saying: “We are going to fight for our wives and children and country. The religion of the Prophet implores our help, and the richest booty will reward our exploits.” While for every Turk that fell in battle the gates of Paradise would open and the most beautiful Houris would minister with wine and dance to the unlimited enjoyment of the faithful. The rewards of the future, though so different to the imagination of the followers of Christ and of Mohammed, had precisely the same effect in stimulating the courage of all alike to the same pitch of frenzied fanaticism—the utter contempt of all danger, and to the very courting of death itself in the destruction of their enemies.As the Crusaders advanced, their siege operations animated by the boldness of their leaders, the Turks, similarly cheered and as bravely led, descended from their mountain camps and prepared for battle. Their army divided into two great bodies as they struck the plains. One of these fell on the army of Godfrey, and the other on that of Raymond of Toulouse. At first the troops of Raymond gave way to the fierce onset but were soon rallied by the voices and bugles of Raymond and Adhemar. Matthew of Edessa writes:—“The two armies joined, mingled and attacked eachother with equal fury. Everywhere glittered casques and shields; lances rang against cuirasses; the air resounded with piercing cries; the terrified horses recoiled from din of arms and the hissing of arrows; the earth trembled beneath the tread of the combatants, and the plain was for a vast space bristling with javelins.” The Crusaders were most valiantly led by Godfrey, Tancred and the two Roberts whose steeds seemed to be everywhere, whose valor knew no abatement and whose lances carried terror and death into the ranks of the Infidels. It was a disastrous day for the Turkish forces that were driven back in greatest confusion into their mountain camps. But the Sultan did not stop to deplore his defeat. He rallied his forces during the night and determined to avenge his disgrace on the morrow. At break of day again his troops rushed with the violence of mountain torrents into the plains, and with loudest cries dashed again and again into the serried ranks of the Crusaders. All day long under charge and counter charge the result of the battle hung in doubt. Not till night did the Turks confess their inability to crush the battle lines of the Christians by retiring from the scene of awful carnage, leaving four thousand prisoners in the hands of the victors. The next day the heads of one thousand were cut off and sent as trophies to Alexius at Constantinople; the heads of the remaining captives were thrown by machines over the walls of the city to inform the Turkish garrison of the disaster which had overtaken their supporting army.The Crusaders were now free to push forward the siege by every artifice known to the Romans and directed by the skill and energy of the Greeks. Theyallowed the garrison no rest, and the defence was as furious as the attack. The Turks covered their ramparts with formidable weapons which hurled destruction on their assailants. They shot forth darts, wooden beams and enormous stones which daily destroyed the labor of the Crusaders whose rashness and imprudence cost them many precious lives. Hundreds died from poisoned darts, and others, venturing too near the walls, were caught by grappling hooks, dragged alive over the walls to be shot back, stark naked, into the Christian camp. The tales of personal, single-handed prowess place Christian and Turkish chief on equal footing as to strength, courage and splendid daring.After seven weeks had passed all hope for successful defence departed. The wife of the Sultan and her two children were captured in trying to escape, and consternation siezed the garrison. Just at this crisis the emissaries of Alexius entered the city, and by creating in the inhabitants a dread of the terrible vengeance that would be inflicted by the Crusaders, persuaded them to surrender to the Emperor of Constantinople.While the Crusaders were preparing for what was intended to be their final assault, the standard of Alexius suddenly appeared on the ramparts. The wily Emperor had secured without the loss of a man the fruits of a victory won at terrible cost of life to the Crusaders. He succeeded in quieting the wrath of the soldiers by distributing among them largesses equal in extent to the booty they expected from the looting of the captured city. He also restored to the Sultan his wife and children, and thereby won his friendship. He also by this crafty stroke of policy secured the lives of the Greek Christians scattered throughout the cities ofAsia Minor; but won the lasting hatred of the Crusaders.The siege of one city is like the siege of all, and we must hasten to Jerusalem, in the spring of 1097. Passing by the battlefield of Dorylaeum, where the newly gathered army of David, the Sultan, numbering two hundred thousand men, met with an awful defeat and the loss of nearly twenty-five thousand men; all the treasures of his camp, provisions, tents, horses and camels, and riches of gold and silver, falling as spoil into the hands of the Crusaders:—passing by the terrible march through “Burning Phrygia,” desolated by order of the Sultan, we descend through the mountain passes of the Taurus range into the fair and fertile and wealthy plains of the province of Antioch. The armies were soon gathered for the siege of this historic city, which lasted seven months and was finally captured through the assistance of an Armenian within the walls.Six months after the sack of the city of Antioch, the word was given, “On to Jerusalem.”It was now about the first of June. The harvests of Phœnicia were ripe, plenty of provisions were in sight, and the country was beautiful as they marched down the seacoast from Antioch. To their left rose the mountains of Lebanon. On their right the blue waters of the Mediterranean flashed in the sunlight of an eastern sky. Between mountain and sea the valleys and plains were filled with orchards of olive, orange and pomegranate. Among the plants which were new to the Crusaders was the sugar cane of the Syrian lowlands. Returning pilgrims carried this plant to Italy; the Saracens introduced it into Grenada, whence it spread throughout all the Spanish colonial possessions;and to-day is the basis of the wealth of Cuba, and one of the chief productions of our own Southern States.The Crusaders marched amid plenty and under balmy skies, with time enough to contemplate the fearful sacrifice of human life which their expedition had already cost. Battle and famine, disease and despair had cut off more than two hundred thousand of their number. Tens of thousands had deserted and returned to Europe; other thousands remained in the cities and villages of Palestine and were lost in the mixed crowds of the native races. While yet a vast host, the fighting force was about fifty thousand, but it was a compact and vigorous body of warriors. It marched better and lighter. Its victories gave it courage; its defeats had taught it the value of discipline. The names of Crusader and Christian carried terror wherever spoken in the Infidel camps or cities. Their zeal increased as they drew near the end of their long and wasting marches. Often the weary columns refused to halt for the night, but tramped on until forced to rest by sheer fatigue. To their disordered vision luminous angels appeared to guide them on the way.Bending away from the sea and passing Lydda, they soon gained the Heights of Ephraim, only sixteen miles from Jerusalem. Here their ranks were broken up as they entered these jagged ravines and narrow, lonesome valleys scorched by the rays of a summer sun, riddled by gullies and choked by great fragments of rock fallen from the precipitous sides of the mountains. Had they been attacked from the heights above by even a few resolute Mussulmen while in such disorder, fearful loss might have been inflicted; but no enemy appeared as the more ardent and faithful soulsadvanced barefooted, carrying with them the banner of the Prince of Peace to plant on the recaptured walls of the Holy City of God.On June 10th, 1099, the Crusaders marched up the gloomy steeps to Emmaus, and looking over its barren edges caught their first sight of Zion. The cry of “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” rang out and down the slopes, and as the rear columns came up the war cry “It is the will of God,” resounded throughout the whole army until reëchoed by the slopes of the Mount of Olives and heard in the City of David. Horsemen dismounted and walked barefoot, thousands bent their knees and kissed the earth. Hallelujahs arose, petitions went up for the remission of their sins, tears were shed over the death of Christ, and the profanation of His tomb. Pious fervor soon changed into fierceness and wrath as oaths were resworn to rescue the Holy City from the sacrilegious hands of the followers of Mohammed.They found a fierce and valiant memory awaiting them. The surrounding villages had been destroyed, cisterns and wells filled up or poisoned, the land made a desert.The siege began at once; but their situation grew desperate. They were suffering under a scorching heat and the sand storms out of the southern deserts. Plants and animals perished. Kedron ran dry. The army became a prey to raging thirst. Water brought in skin bottles a distance of nine miles was worth its weight in silver. The old historians paint in most frightful colors the misery of the Crusaders at this juncture; and had the Mussulmen made a determined sortie upon the staggering hosts, the army must have perished. Their strength and courage revived bythe arrival of a Genoese fleet at Jaffa laden with provisions. A Syrian pointed out a mountain thirty miles away that was forest-clad. Every body wrought with unceasing energy. Water was brought long distances by the women and children; machines of war towers, catapults and battering rams were erected and pushed up close under the walls of Jerusalem.The priests exhorted to peace and harmony. The hermit of the Mount of Olives led a penitential march around the city. On their return to camp as the Christian army marched by the tomb of David, and Mt. Zion they chanted “The nations of the West shall fear the Lord; and the nations of the East shall see His glory.”On the morning of July 14, 1099, all the Crusaders flew to arms at the sound of the trumpets to make their first grand assault.The great war machines were pushed close to the walls. Showers of stones were hurled upon the ramparts. Archers and crossbowmen kept up a continual fire from their towers. Scaling ladders were planted. The great leaders were everywhere. For twelve long hours the Crusaders maintained the unequal fight, and then nightfall covered their first repulse. The morning saw the renewal of the conflict more furious and desperate than before. It was carried on with demoniac obstinacy for half a day. Their courage began to fail; nearly all their machines were on fire and there was no water to quench the flames; even their leaders began to waver.While the battle was in this desperate shape a mysterious knight made his appearance on the Mount of Olives waving his sword and signalling them to renew theassault. They accepted the omen as from heaven and in the fury of their faith rushed again to the attack—dragged their machines still nearer the walls, caught them with their grappling hooks, lowered their drawbridges, let fly showers of flaming arrows which set on fire sacks of wool and bundles of hay that had been used for protection on the inner walls. The wind fanned the flames, driving smoke and heat upon the doomed Saracens. The Crusaders sprang upon the walls with lance and spear in hand. Godfrey, Baldwin, Raymond and Tancred followed by their knights and soldiers were soon in the streets and beating down the gates with their battle-axes opened the way for the great body of Crusaders to enter. Their battle cry rang through the streets of the Holy City.The miracle-monger places the entry of the Crusaders at the very hour Friday, 3 P. M., at which Christ expired on the cross. But even this could not move their hearts to mercy. We throw a veil of silence over the awful massacre that followed, until Godfrey throwing aside his arms walked barefooted to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. His example was contagious. The army ceased its bloody fury, cast aside its blood-stained vestments, gave vent to its contrition in groans and sobs, and marched with uncovered heads and bare feet following their priests to the Church of the Resurrection. We marvel at the sudden transformation. The devotion of the Crusaders seemed profoundly tender after such horrible carnage. We do not excuse it. We do not condemn it in bitter speech recalling some terrible experiences during our late Civil War, when Christian men sometimes seemed possessed. The demon of war has never yetbeen baptized with the Spirit of Him who gave up His life for the salvation of the very men who crucified Him.The last chapter in the history of this first Crusade ends with the establishment of a kingdom of Jerusalem and the selection of the pious Godfrey as King. With its fortunes we may not here concern ourselves. We shall touch upon it as we sketch the resistless march of the warriors of Islam to the conquest of Constantinople and the overthrow of the Empire of Eastern Europe.

THE CRUSADE OF KINGS AND NOBLES.

The verdict of candid history is that the rabble which started in obedience to a popular ferment and perished as a miserable crowd of crazed humanity, deserved the fate they invited; for the world had never witnessed a more pitiable exhibition of demoniacalfanaticism and flagrant violence than was shown by these lawless crowds who followed the cry of Peter the Hermit. They achieved nothing heroic; but their disasters taught Europe that to conquer Jerusalem would be no holiday work.The Princes and Nobles of Germany, France and Britain now organized for war. While deliverance of Jerusalem was the popular cry and religious zeal fired the heart of all classes, the powers recognized the fact that the battles to be fought and won were for the preservation of their very existence.You may call it organized infatuation and mailed folly, yet it was a splendid spectacle. Its spiritual zeal gave a silver lining to its superstitions. Its martial fame modified its brutality. Amid fearful excesses there was a show of prudence; and although you may impeach the justice of their cause, their magnanimous devotion of spirit and fearless heroism must always command a large share of sympathy and admiration, and make the Story of the Crusades the most thrilling of all the chapters in the history of the Middle Ages.History and poetry place Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, at the head of the great captains that led the flower of all chivalry on its desperate venture. He was a descendant of the great Charlemagne. To natural bravery he added herculean strength. He was devout, prudent and humane. All his vengeance was for the enemies of Christ. He was generous, faithful to his word—a model knight and soldier. When he gave the signal, the nobility of France and the Rhine borders opened their purses and flocked to his standards. Women sold their jewels toequip husbands and sons for service. Men sacrificed their domains for horses and arms. Godfrey himself sacrificed his estates that he might equip his soldiers, and a worldly Bishop eagerly took advantage of his zeal by purchasing his vast domains. Within eight months of the Council of Clermont, Godfrey had gathered an army of eighty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse. With him were a great number of nobles whose names became famous, beside his brother Baldwin and his cousin Baldwin de Bourg who were destined like himself to become Kings of Jerusalem. Whether actuated by piety or the hope of achieving fortune, they all quitted without regret their mean possessions and tame life in Europe.They led an immense army used to marches and battles. Their admirable discipline and self-restraint reëstablished the honor of the Crusaders and drew allies and champions of the cross where Peter had met his worst enemies, and the hostile Hungarians and Bulgarians forgot their hatred for the leaders of the Mob in their admiration for Godfrey and his chivalric knights.We must not neglect to mention the names of four chiefs who accompanied by throngs of lesser knights and nobles, crossed the Alps and marched towards the different coast cities of Italy intending to embark for Greece by water. Count Hugh, brother of Philip I. of France, a proud prince, brave in battle, but lacking perseverance under reverses: Robert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror, who pledged his domains to his crafty brother, William Rufus, that he might equip his Norman vassals. Robert, of Flanders, whose father some time before hadmade a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, found it an easy task to attract a large and resolute following and exhausted the treasures of his province in arming his men for an expedition, which was to earn for him the reputation of a brave knight and the surname of “Lance and Sword of the Christians.” Five hundred of his men had already preceded him to Constantinople. Then Stephen of Blois and Chartres, whose castles numbered one for every day in the year, and who was reckoned one of the richest nobles of his time, took up the cross and led a large body of his retainers;—he, though lacking in physical strength, was eloquent and wise in council and enjoyed the exceptional distinction of being a man of letters. For the most part these chiefs and many men of lesser rank took with them their wives and children and camp equipments. Passing through Italy they roused the enthusiasm of the noble Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, who was a cubit taller than the tallest soldier in his army. The historian of Constantinople and the Empire of the East, AnnaComnena, says that he was as astonishing to the eye as his reputation was to the mind. He was eloquent in debate, skilled with sword and lance. He was proud and haughty. Fear of God, the opinions of men, nor his own oaths afforded him no restraint. His enlistment under the banner of the cross was not for the purpose of delivering the tomb of Christ, but because he had sworn eternal enmity against Alexius and the Empire of the East. He hoped to win a kingdom long before reaching Jerusalem. In a surprisingly short time he sailed for the coasts of Greece with twenty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse, followed by every renowned knight of Apulia and Sicily.None of them however became so celebrated for deeds of prowess as the brave Tancred, who has found a place in history and poetry and who seems to have been actuated by the loftiest sentiments of piety, chivalric honor and loyal friendship for his leader. From the southern provinces of France under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse and Bishop Adhemar, who was as valorous in the field as he was eloquent in prayer, came another army one hundred thousand strong, marching eastward along the south side of the Alps and through northern Italy by way of Dalmatia, to Constantinople.And now that all Europe seemed pouring into the empire and capital of Alexius, the Emperor began to be alarmed. He had not forgotten the excesses of the first swarm of Crusaders. Should these multitudes now sweeping into and through his domains choose to do so, they could speedily wrest his sovereignty from him and find riches and dominion far easier than in remote and hostile Asia. We have no time to dwell upon the intrigues and treachery that marked his dealings with these mighty leaders of the Crusaders. More than once the forces of Godfrey and Alexius were called to arms with the fate of Constantinople hanging in almost even balance. Finally a truce was made and the Emperor sent his son as a hostage to the Camp of the Crusaders. This dissipated all mistrust and the princes of the West swore to respect the laws of hospitality. They went in a body to the court of Alexius, where they bent before his throne and were magnificently received. After an imposing ceremony the now graciously disposed Emperor adopted Godfrey as a son, placed the Empire under his protection, promisingaid to the Crusaders by land and sea, provisions for their marches and the countenance of his leadership in glory or defeat.Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)But every day brought its hosts of Crusaders and magnificent presents must be given to all the leaders, and his profuse liberality was a heavy drain on his royal treasuries. His security now lay in keeping the armies in motion and hurrying them across the Bosphorus; and once in Asia their leaders would be engrossed in preparing to meet the Saracens and his capital would for a time be free from insult and the unwelcome presence of his mortal foe Bohemond who, struck with the riches of the apartments assigned him, exclaimed: “There is enough here to conquer kingdoms with.”And now the plains of Bythinia were fast filling with the warrior hordes of Europe and as they swept along seeking safe camping places they came to the foot of the mountains where Walter the Penniless and his entire army perished in battle. The painful reminder of so great a calamity, and the recital by the starved remnants of Peter’s army found hiding in the mountains of their fearful sufferings, hushed all discord, silenced ambition and inspired fresh zeal for the conquest of the Holy City and the destruction of the fierce, cruel and equally fanatical Turks who swarmed in the valleys and filled the walled cities of Palestine with desperate garrisons.But the first battle of invasion must be fought at the very gateway to Asia Minor. The chief of the Infidel forces was the son of Solyman; his name was David, surnamed Kilidge Arslan, or “The Sword of the Lion.” He called upon the defenders of Islam to rally to hisstandard and they came in troops from all the surrounding provinces and even from distant Persia. The capital of his kingdom was Nicea (Nice). It was the advanced post of the Turks in Asia Minor and there they would concentrate for the later invasion of Europe. Its approaches were defended by high mountains. Its walls, surrounded by large water-filled ditches, were wide enough for the passage of chariots and were crowned by three hundred and seventy towers of brick. Its garrison was composed of the finest troops of the Turkish army; and one hundred thousand men were encamped for its defence upon the neighboring mountains.Infatuated with their cause, blind in their faith, despising the martial quality of the enemy, and apparently ignorant of the careful and crafty preparations made to receive them, the Crusaders marched in magnificently terrible swarms over the Bythinian plains towards Nice; with a force of one hundred thousand horse and five hundred thousand footmen among whom were a large per cent. of women and children and ineffectives. It was the chivalry of Europe come out to dispute with the Infidel the possession of Asia. The sight of this immense army as the Turks gazed upon it from their mountain tops must have thrilled their hearts even if it did not carry terror to their camps. It was soon learned that Nice could only be captured by siege, if at all. For this preparations began to be made; but there was no central authority. In the camps of the Crusaders were nineteen different nationalities grouped about their respective standards. No count or prince would deign to receive orders from anyone. Each camp was protected by walls or palisades,and as the supply of wood and stone was scarce they gathered up the bones of the first Crusaders that lay bleaching on the plains. The priests in all these various camps were always in the ranks and so great was their power that the commonest soldier gladly courted death for the sake of the rewards in store for all who perished in battle with the Infidel.At the same time David, “The Sword of the Lion” animated his garrison by recalling former victories and saying: “We are going to fight for our wives and children and country. The religion of the Prophet implores our help, and the richest booty will reward our exploits.” While for every Turk that fell in battle the gates of Paradise would open and the most beautiful Houris would minister with wine and dance to the unlimited enjoyment of the faithful. The rewards of the future, though so different to the imagination of the followers of Christ and of Mohammed, had precisely the same effect in stimulating the courage of all alike to the same pitch of frenzied fanaticism—the utter contempt of all danger, and to the very courting of death itself in the destruction of their enemies.As the Crusaders advanced, their siege operations animated by the boldness of their leaders, the Turks, similarly cheered and as bravely led, descended from their mountain camps and prepared for battle. Their army divided into two great bodies as they struck the plains. One of these fell on the army of Godfrey, and the other on that of Raymond of Toulouse. At first the troops of Raymond gave way to the fierce onset but were soon rallied by the voices and bugles of Raymond and Adhemar. Matthew of Edessa writes:—“The two armies joined, mingled and attacked eachother with equal fury. Everywhere glittered casques and shields; lances rang against cuirasses; the air resounded with piercing cries; the terrified horses recoiled from din of arms and the hissing of arrows; the earth trembled beneath the tread of the combatants, and the plain was for a vast space bristling with javelins.” The Crusaders were most valiantly led by Godfrey, Tancred and the two Roberts whose steeds seemed to be everywhere, whose valor knew no abatement and whose lances carried terror and death into the ranks of the Infidels. It was a disastrous day for the Turkish forces that were driven back in greatest confusion into their mountain camps. But the Sultan did not stop to deplore his defeat. He rallied his forces during the night and determined to avenge his disgrace on the morrow. At break of day again his troops rushed with the violence of mountain torrents into the plains, and with loudest cries dashed again and again into the serried ranks of the Crusaders. All day long under charge and counter charge the result of the battle hung in doubt. Not till night did the Turks confess their inability to crush the battle lines of the Christians by retiring from the scene of awful carnage, leaving four thousand prisoners in the hands of the victors. The next day the heads of one thousand were cut off and sent as trophies to Alexius at Constantinople; the heads of the remaining captives were thrown by machines over the walls of the city to inform the Turkish garrison of the disaster which had overtaken their supporting army.The Crusaders were now free to push forward the siege by every artifice known to the Romans and directed by the skill and energy of the Greeks. Theyallowed the garrison no rest, and the defence was as furious as the attack. The Turks covered their ramparts with formidable weapons which hurled destruction on their assailants. They shot forth darts, wooden beams and enormous stones which daily destroyed the labor of the Crusaders whose rashness and imprudence cost them many precious lives. Hundreds died from poisoned darts, and others, venturing too near the walls, were caught by grappling hooks, dragged alive over the walls to be shot back, stark naked, into the Christian camp. The tales of personal, single-handed prowess place Christian and Turkish chief on equal footing as to strength, courage and splendid daring.After seven weeks had passed all hope for successful defence departed. The wife of the Sultan and her two children were captured in trying to escape, and consternation siezed the garrison. Just at this crisis the emissaries of Alexius entered the city, and by creating in the inhabitants a dread of the terrible vengeance that would be inflicted by the Crusaders, persuaded them to surrender to the Emperor of Constantinople.While the Crusaders were preparing for what was intended to be their final assault, the standard of Alexius suddenly appeared on the ramparts. The wily Emperor had secured without the loss of a man the fruits of a victory won at terrible cost of life to the Crusaders. He succeeded in quieting the wrath of the soldiers by distributing among them largesses equal in extent to the booty they expected from the looting of the captured city. He also restored to the Sultan his wife and children, and thereby won his friendship. He also by this crafty stroke of policy secured the lives of the Greek Christians scattered throughout the cities ofAsia Minor; but won the lasting hatred of the Crusaders.The siege of one city is like the siege of all, and we must hasten to Jerusalem, in the spring of 1097. Passing by the battlefield of Dorylaeum, where the newly gathered army of David, the Sultan, numbering two hundred thousand men, met with an awful defeat and the loss of nearly twenty-five thousand men; all the treasures of his camp, provisions, tents, horses and camels, and riches of gold and silver, falling as spoil into the hands of the Crusaders:—passing by the terrible march through “Burning Phrygia,” desolated by order of the Sultan, we descend through the mountain passes of the Taurus range into the fair and fertile and wealthy plains of the province of Antioch. The armies were soon gathered for the siege of this historic city, which lasted seven months and was finally captured through the assistance of an Armenian within the walls.Six months after the sack of the city of Antioch, the word was given, “On to Jerusalem.”It was now about the first of June. The harvests of Phœnicia were ripe, plenty of provisions were in sight, and the country was beautiful as they marched down the seacoast from Antioch. To their left rose the mountains of Lebanon. On their right the blue waters of the Mediterranean flashed in the sunlight of an eastern sky. Between mountain and sea the valleys and plains were filled with orchards of olive, orange and pomegranate. Among the plants which were new to the Crusaders was the sugar cane of the Syrian lowlands. Returning pilgrims carried this plant to Italy; the Saracens introduced it into Grenada, whence it spread throughout all the Spanish colonial possessions;and to-day is the basis of the wealth of Cuba, and one of the chief productions of our own Southern States.The Crusaders marched amid plenty and under balmy skies, with time enough to contemplate the fearful sacrifice of human life which their expedition had already cost. Battle and famine, disease and despair had cut off more than two hundred thousand of their number. Tens of thousands had deserted and returned to Europe; other thousands remained in the cities and villages of Palestine and were lost in the mixed crowds of the native races. While yet a vast host, the fighting force was about fifty thousand, but it was a compact and vigorous body of warriors. It marched better and lighter. Its victories gave it courage; its defeats had taught it the value of discipline. The names of Crusader and Christian carried terror wherever spoken in the Infidel camps or cities. Their zeal increased as they drew near the end of their long and wasting marches. Often the weary columns refused to halt for the night, but tramped on until forced to rest by sheer fatigue. To their disordered vision luminous angels appeared to guide them on the way.Bending away from the sea and passing Lydda, they soon gained the Heights of Ephraim, only sixteen miles from Jerusalem. Here their ranks were broken up as they entered these jagged ravines and narrow, lonesome valleys scorched by the rays of a summer sun, riddled by gullies and choked by great fragments of rock fallen from the precipitous sides of the mountains. Had they been attacked from the heights above by even a few resolute Mussulmen while in such disorder, fearful loss might have been inflicted; but no enemy appeared as the more ardent and faithful soulsadvanced barefooted, carrying with them the banner of the Prince of Peace to plant on the recaptured walls of the Holy City of God.On June 10th, 1099, the Crusaders marched up the gloomy steeps to Emmaus, and looking over its barren edges caught their first sight of Zion. The cry of “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” rang out and down the slopes, and as the rear columns came up the war cry “It is the will of God,” resounded throughout the whole army until reëchoed by the slopes of the Mount of Olives and heard in the City of David. Horsemen dismounted and walked barefoot, thousands bent their knees and kissed the earth. Hallelujahs arose, petitions went up for the remission of their sins, tears were shed over the death of Christ, and the profanation of His tomb. Pious fervor soon changed into fierceness and wrath as oaths were resworn to rescue the Holy City from the sacrilegious hands of the followers of Mohammed.They found a fierce and valiant memory awaiting them. The surrounding villages had been destroyed, cisterns and wells filled up or poisoned, the land made a desert.The siege began at once; but their situation grew desperate. They were suffering under a scorching heat and the sand storms out of the southern deserts. Plants and animals perished. Kedron ran dry. The army became a prey to raging thirst. Water brought in skin bottles a distance of nine miles was worth its weight in silver. The old historians paint in most frightful colors the misery of the Crusaders at this juncture; and had the Mussulmen made a determined sortie upon the staggering hosts, the army must have perished. Their strength and courage revived bythe arrival of a Genoese fleet at Jaffa laden with provisions. A Syrian pointed out a mountain thirty miles away that was forest-clad. Every body wrought with unceasing energy. Water was brought long distances by the women and children; machines of war towers, catapults and battering rams were erected and pushed up close under the walls of Jerusalem.The priests exhorted to peace and harmony. The hermit of the Mount of Olives led a penitential march around the city. On their return to camp as the Christian army marched by the tomb of David, and Mt. Zion they chanted “The nations of the West shall fear the Lord; and the nations of the East shall see His glory.”On the morning of July 14, 1099, all the Crusaders flew to arms at the sound of the trumpets to make their first grand assault.The great war machines were pushed close to the walls. Showers of stones were hurled upon the ramparts. Archers and crossbowmen kept up a continual fire from their towers. Scaling ladders were planted. The great leaders were everywhere. For twelve long hours the Crusaders maintained the unequal fight, and then nightfall covered their first repulse. The morning saw the renewal of the conflict more furious and desperate than before. It was carried on with demoniac obstinacy for half a day. Their courage began to fail; nearly all their machines were on fire and there was no water to quench the flames; even their leaders began to waver.While the battle was in this desperate shape a mysterious knight made his appearance on the Mount of Olives waving his sword and signalling them to renew theassault. They accepted the omen as from heaven and in the fury of their faith rushed again to the attack—dragged their machines still nearer the walls, caught them with their grappling hooks, lowered their drawbridges, let fly showers of flaming arrows which set on fire sacks of wool and bundles of hay that had been used for protection on the inner walls. The wind fanned the flames, driving smoke and heat upon the doomed Saracens. The Crusaders sprang upon the walls with lance and spear in hand. Godfrey, Baldwin, Raymond and Tancred followed by their knights and soldiers were soon in the streets and beating down the gates with their battle-axes opened the way for the great body of Crusaders to enter. Their battle cry rang through the streets of the Holy City.The miracle-monger places the entry of the Crusaders at the very hour Friday, 3 P. M., at which Christ expired on the cross. But even this could not move their hearts to mercy. We throw a veil of silence over the awful massacre that followed, until Godfrey throwing aside his arms walked barefooted to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. His example was contagious. The army ceased its bloody fury, cast aside its blood-stained vestments, gave vent to its contrition in groans and sobs, and marched with uncovered heads and bare feet following their priests to the Church of the Resurrection. We marvel at the sudden transformation. The devotion of the Crusaders seemed profoundly tender after such horrible carnage. We do not excuse it. We do not condemn it in bitter speech recalling some terrible experiences during our late Civil War, when Christian men sometimes seemed possessed. The demon of war has never yetbeen baptized with the Spirit of Him who gave up His life for the salvation of the very men who crucified Him.The last chapter in the history of this first Crusade ends with the establishment of a kingdom of Jerusalem and the selection of the pious Godfrey as King. With its fortunes we may not here concern ourselves. We shall touch upon it as we sketch the resistless march of the warriors of Islam to the conquest of Constantinople and the overthrow of the Empire of Eastern Europe.

The verdict of candid history is that the rabble which started in obedience to a popular ferment and perished as a miserable crowd of crazed humanity, deserved the fate they invited; for the world had never witnessed a more pitiable exhibition of demoniacalfanaticism and flagrant violence than was shown by these lawless crowds who followed the cry of Peter the Hermit. They achieved nothing heroic; but their disasters taught Europe that to conquer Jerusalem would be no holiday work.

The Princes and Nobles of Germany, France and Britain now organized for war. While deliverance of Jerusalem was the popular cry and religious zeal fired the heart of all classes, the powers recognized the fact that the battles to be fought and won were for the preservation of their very existence.

You may call it organized infatuation and mailed folly, yet it was a splendid spectacle. Its spiritual zeal gave a silver lining to its superstitions. Its martial fame modified its brutality. Amid fearful excesses there was a show of prudence; and although you may impeach the justice of their cause, their magnanimous devotion of spirit and fearless heroism must always command a large share of sympathy and admiration, and make the Story of the Crusades the most thrilling of all the chapters in the history of the Middle Ages.

History and poetry place Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, at the head of the great captains that led the flower of all chivalry on its desperate venture. He was a descendant of the great Charlemagne. To natural bravery he added herculean strength. He was devout, prudent and humane. All his vengeance was for the enemies of Christ. He was generous, faithful to his word—a model knight and soldier. When he gave the signal, the nobility of France and the Rhine borders opened their purses and flocked to his standards. Women sold their jewels toequip husbands and sons for service. Men sacrificed their domains for horses and arms. Godfrey himself sacrificed his estates that he might equip his soldiers, and a worldly Bishop eagerly took advantage of his zeal by purchasing his vast domains. Within eight months of the Council of Clermont, Godfrey had gathered an army of eighty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse. With him were a great number of nobles whose names became famous, beside his brother Baldwin and his cousin Baldwin de Bourg who were destined like himself to become Kings of Jerusalem. Whether actuated by piety or the hope of achieving fortune, they all quitted without regret their mean possessions and tame life in Europe.

They led an immense army used to marches and battles. Their admirable discipline and self-restraint reëstablished the honor of the Crusaders and drew allies and champions of the cross where Peter had met his worst enemies, and the hostile Hungarians and Bulgarians forgot their hatred for the leaders of the Mob in their admiration for Godfrey and his chivalric knights.

We must not neglect to mention the names of four chiefs who accompanied by throngs of lesser knights and nobles, crossed the Alps and marched towards the different coast cities of Italy intending to embark for Greece by water. Count Hugh, brother of Philip I. of France, a proud prince, brave in battle, but lacking perseverance under reverses: Robert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror, who pledged his domains to his crafty brother, William Rufus, that he might equip his Norman vassals. Robert, of Flanders, whose father some time before hadmade a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, found it an easy task to attract a large and resolute following and exhausted the treasures of his province in arming his men for an expedition, which was to earn for him the reputation of a brave knight and the surname of “Lance and Sword of the Christians.” Five hundred of his men had already preceded him to Constantinople. Then Stephen of Blois and Chartres, whose castles numbered one for every day in the year, and who was reckoned one of the richest nobles of his time, took up the cross and led a large body of his retainers;—he, though lacking in physical strength, was eloquent and wise in council and enjoyed the exceptional distinction of being a man of letters. For the most part these chiefs and many men of lesser rank took with them their wives and children and camp equipments. Passing through Italy they roused the enthusiasm of the noble Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, who was a cubit taller than the tallest soldier in his army. The historian of Constantinople and the Empire of the East, AnnaComnena, says that he was as astonishing to the eye as his reputation was to the mind. He was eloquent in debate, skilled with sword and lance. He was proud and haughty. Fear of God, the opinions of men, nor his own oaths afforded him no restraint. His enlistment under the banner of the cross was not for the purpose of delivering the tomb of Christ, but because he had sworn eternal enmity against Alexius and the Empire of the East. He hoped to win a kingdom long before reaching Jerusalem. In a surprisingly short time he sailed for the coasts of Greece with twenty thousand footmen and ten thousand horse, followed by every renowned knight of Apulia and Sicily.None of them however became so celebrated for deeds of prowess as the brave Tancred, who has found a place in history and poetry and who seems to have been actuated by the loftiest sentiments of piety, chivalric honor and loyal friendship for his leader. From the southern provinces of France under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse and Bishop Adhemar, who was as valorous in the field as he was eloquent in prayer, came another army one hundred thousand strong, marching eastward along the south side of the Alps and through northern Italy by way of Dalmatia, to Constantinople.

And now that all Europe seemed pouring into the empire and capital of Alexius, the Emperor began to be alarmed. He had not forgotten the excesses of the first swarm of Crusaders. Should these multitudes now sweeping into and through his domains choose to do so, they could speedily wrest his sovereignty from him and find riches and dominion far easier than in remote and hostile Asia. We have no time to dwell upon the intrigues and treachery that marked his dealings with these mighty leaders of the Crusaders. More than once the forces of Godfrey and Alexius were called to arms with the fate of Constantinople hanging in almost even balance. Finally a truce was made and the Emperor sent his son as a hostage to the Camp of the Crusaders. This dissipated all mistrust and the princes of the West swore to respect the laws of hospitality. They went in a body to the court of Alexius, where they bent before his throne and were magnificently received. After an imposing ceremony the now graciously disposed Emperor adopted Godfrey as a son, placed the Empire under his protection, promisingaid to the Crusaders by land and sea, provisions for their marches and the countenance of his leadership in glory or defeat.

Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)

Types of Softas (Mohammedan Students)

But every day brought its hosts of Crusaders and magnificent presents must be given to all the leaders, and his profuse liberality was a heavy drain on his royal treasuries. His security now lay in keeping the armies in motion and hurrying them across the Bosphorus; and once in Asia their leaders would be engrossed in preparing to meet the Saracens and his capital would for a time be free from insult and the unwelcome presence of his mortal foe Bohemond who, struck with the riches of the apartments assigned him, exclaimed: “There is enough here to conquer kingdoms with.”

And now the plains of Bythinia were fast filling with the warrior hordes of Europe and as they swept along seeking safe camping places they came to the foot of the mountains where Walter the Penniless and his entire army perished in battle. The painful reminder of so great a calamity, and the recital by the starved remnants of Peter’s army found hiding in the mountains of their fearful sufferings, hushed all discord, silenced ambition and inspired fresh zeal for the conquest of the Holy City and the destruction of the fierce, cruel and equally fanatical Turks who swarmed in the valleys and filled the walled cities of Palestine with desperate garrisons.

But the first battle of invasion must be fought at the very gateway to Asia Minor. The chief of the Infidel forces was the son of Solyman; his name was David, surnamed Kilidge Arslan, or “The Sword of the Lion.” He called upon the defenders of Islam to rally to hisstandard and they came in troops from all the surrounding provinces and even from distant Persia. The capital of his kingdom was Nicea (Nice). It was the advanced post of the Turks in Asia Minor and there they would concentrate for the later invasion of Europe. Its approaches were defended by high mountains. Its walls, surrounded by large water-filled ditches, were wide enough for the passage of chariots and were crowned by three hundred and seventy towers of brick. Its garrison was composed of the finest troops of the Turkish army; and one hundred thousand men were encamped for its defence upon the neighboring mountains.

Infatuated with their cause, blind in their faith, despising the martial quality of the enemy, and apparently ignorant of the careful and crafty preparations made to receive them, the Crusaders marched in magnificently terrible swarms over the Bythinian plains towards Nice; with a force of one hundred thousand horse and five hundred thousand footmen among whom were a large per cent. of women and children and ineffectives. It was the chivalry of Europe come out to dispute with the Infidel the possession of Asia. The sight of this immense army as the Turks gazed upon it from their mountain tops must have thrilled their hearts even if it did not carry terror to their camps. It was soon learned that Nice could only be captured by siege, if at all. For this preparations began to be made; but there was no central authority. In the camps of the Crusaders were nineteen different nationalities grouped about their respective standards. No count or prince would deign to receive orders from anyone. Each camp was protected by walls or palisades,and as the supply of wood and stone was scarce they gathered up the bones of the first Crusaders that lay bleaching on the plains. The priests in all these various camps were always in the ranks and so great was their power that the commonest soldier gladly courted death for the sake of the rewards in store for all who perished in battle with the Infidel.

At the same time David, “The Sword of the Lion” animated his garrison by recalling former victories and saying: “We are going to fight for our wives and children and country. The religion of the Prophet implores our help, and the richest booty will reward our exploits.” While for every Turk that fell in battle the gates of Paradise would open and the most beautiful Houris would minister with wine and dance to the unlimited enjoyment of the faithful. The rewards of the future, though so different to the imagination of the followers of Christ and of Mohammed, had precisely the same effect in stimulating the courage of all alike to the same pitch of frenzied fanaticism—the utter contempt of all danger, and to the very courting of death itself in the destruction of their enemies.

As the Crusaders advanced, their siege operations animated by the boldness of their leaders, the Turks, similarly cheered and as bravely led, descended from their mountain camps and prepared for battle. Their army divided into two great bodies as they struck the plains. One of these fell on the army of Godfrey, and the other on that of Raymond of Toulouse. At first the troops of Raymond gave way to the fierce onset but were soon rallied by the voices and bugles of Raymond and Adhemar. Matthew of Edessa writes:—“The two armies joined, mingled and attacked eachother with equal fury. Everywhere glittered casques and shields; lances rang against cuirasses; the air resounded with piercing cries; the terrified horses recoiled from din of arms and the hissing of arrows; the earth trembled beneath the tread of the combatants, and the plain was for a vast space bristling with javelins.” The Crusaders were most valiantly led by Godfrey, Tancred and the two Roberts whose steeds seemed to be everywhere, whose valor knew no abatement and whose lances carried terror and death into the ranks of the Infidels. It was a disastrous day for the Turkish forces that were driven back in greatest confusion into their mountain camps. But the Sultan did not stop to deplore his defeat. He rallied his forces during the night and determined to avenge his disgrace on the morrow. At break of day again his troops rushed with the violence of mountain torrents into the plains, and with loudest cries dashed again and again into the serried ranks of the Crusaders. All day long under charge and counter charge the result of the battle hung in doubt. Not till night did the Turks confess their inability to crush the battle lines of the Christians by retiring from the scene of awful carnage, leaving four thousand prisoners in the hands of the victors. The next day the heads of one thousand were cut off and sent as trophies to Alexius at Constantinople; the heads of the remaining captives were thrown by machines over the walls of the city to inform the Turkish garrison of the disaster which had overtaken their supporting army.

The Crusaders were now free to push forward the siege by every artifice known to the Romans and directed by the skill and energy of the Greeks. Theyallowed the garrison no rest, and the defence was as furious as the attack. The Turks covered their ramparts with formidable weapons which hurled destruction on their assailants. They shot forth darts, wooden beams and enormous stones which daily destroyed the labor of the Crusaders whose rashness and imprudence cost them many precious lives. Hundreds died from poisoned darts, and others, venturing too near the walls, were caught by grappling hooks, dragged alive over the walls to be shot back, stark naked, into the Christian camp. The tales of personal, single-handed prowess place Christian and Turkish chief on equal footing as to strength, courage and splendid daring.

After seven weeks had passed all hope for successful defence departed. The wife of the Sultan and her two children were captured in trying to escape, and consternation siezed the garrison. Just at this crisis the emissaries of Alexius entered the city, and by creating in the inhabitants a dread of the terrible vengeance that would be inflicted by the Crusaders, persuaded them to surrender to the Emperor of Constantinople.

While the Crusaders were preparing for what was intended to be their final assault, the standard of Alexius suddenly appeared on the ramparts. The wily Emperor had secured without the loss of a man the fruits of a victory won at terrible cost of life to the Crusaders. He succeeded in quieting the wrath of the soldiers by distributing among them largesses equal in extent to the booty they expected from the looting of the captured city. He also restored to the Sultan his wife and children, and thereby won his friendship. He also by this crafty stroke of policy secured the lives of the Greek Christians scattered throughout the cities ofAsia Minor; but won the lasting hatred of the Crusaders.

The siege of one city is like the siege of all, and we must hasten to Jerusalem, in the spring of 1097. Passing by the battlefield of Dorylaeum, where the newly gathered army of David, the Sultan, numbering two hundred thousand men, met with an awful defeat and the loss of nearly twenty-five thousand men; all the treasures of his camp, provisions, tents, horses and camels, and riches of gold and silver, falling as spoil into the hands of the Crusaders:—passing by the terrible march through “Burning Phrygia,” desolated by order of the Sultan, we descend through the mountain passes of the Taurus range into the fair and fertile and wealthy plains of the province of Antioch. The armies were soon gathered for the siege of this historic city, which lasted seven months and was finally captured through the assistance of an Armenian within the walls.

Six months after the sack of the city of Antioch, the word was given, “On to Jerusalem.”

It was now about the first of June. The harvests of Phœnicia were ripe, plenty of provisions were in sight, and the country was beautiful as they marched down the seacoast from Antioch. To their left rose the mountains of Lebanon. On their right the blue waters of the Mediterranean flashed in the sunlight of an eastern sky. Between mountain and sea the valleys and plains were filled with orchards of olive, orange and pomegranate. Among the plants which were new to the Crusaders was the sugar cane of the Syrian lowlands. Returning pilgrims carried this plant to Italy; the Saracens introduced it into Grenada, whence it spread throughout all the Spanish colonial possessions;and to-day is the basis of the wealth of Cuba, and one of the chief productions of our own Southern States.

The Crusaders marched amid plenty and under balmy skies, with time enough to contemplate the fearful sacrifice of human life which their expedition had already cost. Battle and famine, disease and despair had cut off more than two hundred thousand of their number. Tens of thousands had deserted and returned to Europe; other thousands remained in the cities and villages of Palestine and were lost in the mixed crowds of the native races. While yet a vast host, the fighting force was about fifty thousand, but it was a compact and vigorous body of warriors. It marched better and lighter. Its victories gave it courage; its defeats had taught it the value of discipline. The names of Crusader and Christian carried terror wherever spoken in the Infidel camps or cities. Their zeal increased as they drew near the end of their long and wasting marches. Often the weary columns refused to halt for the night, but tramped on until forced to rest by sheer fatigue. To their disordered vision luminous angels appeared to guide them on the way.

Bending away from the sea and passing Lydda, they soon gained the Heights of Ephraim, only sixteen miles from Jerusalem. Here their ranks were broken up as they entered these jagged ravines and narrow, lonesome valleys scorched by the rays of a summer sun, riddled by gullies and choked by great fragments of rock fallen from the precipitous sides of the mountains. Had they been attacked from the heights above by even a few resolute Mussulmen while in such disorder, fearful loss might have been inflicted; but no enemy appeared as the more ardent and faithful soulsadvanced barefooted, carrying with them the banner of the Prince of Peace to plant on the recaptured walls of the Holy City of God.

On June 10th, 1099, the Crusaders marched up the gloomy steeps to Emmaus, and looking over its barren edges caught their first sight of Zion. The cry of “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” rang out and down the slopes, and as the rear columns came up the war cry “It is the will of God,” resounded throughout the whole army until reëchoed by the slopes of the Mount of Olives and heard in the City of David. Horsemen dismounted and walked barefoot, thousands bent their knees and kissed the earth. Hallelujahs arose, petitions went up for the remission of their sins, tears were shed over the death of Christ, and the profanation of His tomb. Pious fervor soon changed into fierceness and wrath as oaths were resworn to rescue the Holy City from the sacrilegious hands of the followers of Mohammed.

They found a fierce and valiant memory awaiting them. The surrounding villages had been destroyed, cisterns and wells filled up or poisoned, the land made a desert.

The siege began at once; but their situation grew desperate. They were suffering under a scorching heat and the sand storms out of the southern deserts. Plants and animals perished. Kedron ran dry. The army became a prey to raging thirst. Water brought in skin bottles a distance of nine miles was worth its weight in silver. The old historians paint in most frightful colors the misery of the Crusaders at this juncture; and had the Mussulmen made a determined sortie upon the staggering hosts, the army must have perished. Their strength and courage revived bythe arrival of a Genoese fleet at Jaffa laden with provisions. A Syrian pointed out a mountain thirty miles away that was forest-clad. Every body wrought with unceasing energy. Water was brought long distances by the women and children; machines of war towers, catapults and battering rams were erected and pushed up close under the walls of Jerusalem.

The priests exhorted to peace and harmony. The hermit of the Mount of Olives led a penitential march around the city. On their return to camp as the Christian army marched by the tomb of David, and Mt. Zion they chanted “The nations of the West shall fear the Lord; and the nations of the East shall see His glory.”

On the morning of July 14, 1099, all the Crusaders flew to arms at the sound of the trumpets to make their first grand assault.

The great war machines were pushed close to the walls. Showers of stones were hurled upon the ramparts. Archers and crossbowmen kept up a continual fire from their towers. Scaling ladders were planted. The great leaders were everywhere. For twelve long hours the Crusaders maintained the unequal fight, and then nightfall covered their first repulse. The morning saw the renewal of the conflict more furious and desperate than before. It was carried on with demoniac obstinacy for half a day. Their courage began to fail; nearly all their machines were on fire and there was no water to quench the flames; even their leaders began to waver.

While the battle was in this desperate shape a mysterious knight made his appearance on the Mount of Olives waving his sword and signalling them to renew theassault. They accepted the omen as from heaven and in the fury of their faith rushed again to the attack—dragged their machines still nearer the walls, caught them with their grappling hooks, lowered their drawbridges, let fly showers of flaming arrows which set on fire sacks of wool and bundles of hay that had been used for protection on the inner walls. The wind fanned the flames, driving smoke and heat upon the doomed Saracens. The Crusaders sprang upon the walls with lance and spear in hand. Godfrey, Baldwin, Raymond and Tancred followed by their knights and soldiers were soon in the streets and beating down the gates with their battle-axes opened the way for the great body of Crusaders to enter. Their battle cry rang through the streets of the Holy City.

The miracle-monger places the entry of the Crusaders at the very hour Friday, 3 P. M., at which Christ expired on the cross. But even this could not move their hearts to mercy. We throw a veil of silence over the awful massacre that followed, until Godfrey throwing aside his arms walked barefooted to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. His example was contagious. The army ceased its bloody fury, cast aside its blood-stained vestments, gave vent to its contrition in groans and sobs, and marched with uncovered heads and bare feet following their priests to the Church of the Resurrection. We marvel at the sudden transformation. The devotion of the Crusaders seemed profoundly tender after such horrible carnage. We do not excuse it. We do not condemn it in bitter speech recalling some terrible experiences during our late Civil War, when Christian men sometimes seemed possessed. The demon of war has never yetbeen baptized with the Spirit of Him who gave up His life for the salvation of the very men who crucified Him.

The last chapter in the history of this first Crusade ends with the establishment of a kingdom of Jerusalem and the selection of the pious Godfrey as King. With its fortunes we may not here concern ourselves. We shall touch upon it as we sketch the resistless march of the warriors of Islam to the conquest of Constantinople and the overthrow of the Empire of Eastern Europe.

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