FRONT OF THE CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME IN PARIS.

LOUIS, at his accession, was eighteen years old. He posssed from nature many amiable qualities, among which was a tenderness of feeling, very unlike that hardness and brutality of character which was prevalent in the times he lived in. He was very devout, but unhappily his piety chiefly showed itself in superstitious observances, and not in that religion of the heart by which the moral conduct is regulated. His talents were very moderate, and had received little improvement from education; he was, however, notwithstanding his many errors and weaknesses, greatly beloved by his subjects; and a contemporary writer thus speaks of him: "He was a man of fervent devotion toward God, and of an extreme gentleness to his subjects; full of veneration for the clergy, but more simple than became a king and confiding too much in the counsels of artful and dishonest men, he left more than one stain on his otherwise praiseworthy name."

In the early part of his life he displayed a degree of courage and animation which served to conceal the deficiencies of his understanding; but in after-life, when by the death of Segur and other wise counselors he was obliged to rely upon his own judgment, those deficiencies became but too apparent; more especially when he was called into competition with

Henry II. of England, who was the most politic and longsighted monarch at that time in Europe.

In the early part of the young king's reign, he chiefly occupied himself in chivalrous amusements, leaving the affairs of the nation to be conducted by Segur.

In 1142 Louis became entangled in a dispute with pope Innocent II. concerning the right of investiture to the benefices in France, which Innocent assumed to himself. Louis also drew on himself another enemy in Thibaud, earl of Champagne. Thibaud's sister had been married to the count of Vermandois, and Louis made the count, who was his own cousin, divorce her, and marry Petronilla, the sister of queen Eleanor, to prevent her dower from falling into the hands of any one who would interfere with the interests of France. Thibaud immediately commenced hostilities against the king and the count of Vermandois.

Louis marched into Champagne, and took the castle of Vitry, which he afterward set on fire, meaning only to destroy the fortress; but the flames, raging more fiercely than he had expected, spread to the town, and burnt down a church, into which a great number of the inhabitants had fled for refuge. The king, who was near enough to hear the shrieks of the dying wretches, and to see their half-consumed bodies, was struck with so much remorse and horror at this shocking scene, that he gave up the war, and made peace with Thibaud.

Normandy was at this time the scene of a destructive war between the house of Anjou and Stephen of England. The south of France was also distracted by the contending claims of the descendants of the female branches of some of the great families which had become extinct in the male line. On a sudden all private quarrels were suspended, and all domestic concerns forgot. Accounts were received from Palestine that the Turks had taken Edessa, a town situate to the north of the Euphrates, and held under the new kingdom of Jerusalem, and had massacred all the Christians whom they found there This intelligence spread universal consternation. A new crusade was immediately determined on, and was advocated with great earnestness by the king, assisted by St. Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, a man revered for his wisdom and sanctity, and whom the people were so much accustomed to consult on all occasions, that he might be called the oracle of France. Though sinking under the weight of years and infirmities, * On the Marne in the province of Champagne.

he appeared at a meeting held at Vazelay, in 1146, and urged the people with so much effect to take the cross, that the cry of "the cross! the cross!" resounded on all sides. Crosses were to be fastened on the sleeves of those who engaged to join the crusade. These Louis and the abbot undertook to distribute; and the ardor for the crusade was so great, that they were obliged at last to cut up their cloaks to supply the demands of the immense number of people who flocked about them asking for crosses.

Eleanor, as well as Louis, took the cross, and all were to be in readiness to depart for Palestine in the spring of the year 1147.

St. Bernard, having roused France, next traversed Germany, and at last prevailed on the emperor, Conrad III., though somewhat reluctant, to take the cross.

The wise Segur did all in his power to prevent Louis from engaging in this mad and destructive undertaking; but, seeing that his endeavors were of no use, he made a virtue of necessity, and lent his aid in forwarding the expedition. A meeting was held at Estampes* early in 1147, for the purpose of arranging the plan of the route. All the experienced warriors were desirous to go by sea, as being the most expeditious and the least hazardous course; but the king, being young and vainglorious, thought lightly of the dangers of the passage by land, and would not listen to their sage counsel. His nobles, also, who hoped to maintain their troops by plunder on their march, opposed the going by sea, and it was accordingly settled that they should follow the usual route, through Ger many and Hungary to Constantinople.

The feast of Pentecost, 1147, was the day fixed for the de parture of the army, and Louis employed the intermediate time in preparing himself for his holy work by exercises of devotion. On the eve of the day appointed, he repaired to St. Denis. The oriflamme was presented to him with great solemnity by the abbot; and Louis, to show that he intended to visit the Holy Land more as a pilgrim than as a soldier, put on a pilgrim's scrip, which had been sent him by the pope. The remainder of the day he spent in monkish observances, and he passed the night in one of the cells of the Abbey. The next day he and the queen departed for Metz,‡ which was the place of rendezvous.

* A few miles south of Paris.

A few miles north of Paris, the seat of an ancient abbey

In Lorraine, in the northeast part of France.

Conrad and his Germans, who were already set out, met with a series of continued disasters, chiefly occasioned by their own misconduct. The French, taking warning by their misfortunes, observed better discipline during their march, and arrived in tolerable order at Constantinople, where the emperor Manuel, grandson of Alexis Comnenus, though very far from being rejoiced at their coming, yet received them with tolerable courtesy.

After a short rest, the French army proceeded to Nice on its way to Antioch. To Antioch there were two roads. One, which was about twelve days' journey, lay across the mountains, and through the midst of the enemy's country; the other road was much more circuitous, but more secure, and led along the sea-shore. Conrad had chosen the short but more hazardous way: and the first news Louis heard on his arrival at Nice was that the Germans had been totally cut to pieces by the Turks. Only the emperor and his nephew, Frederic Barbarossa, with a few followers, escaped the general slaughter by the fleetness of their horses.

This dreadful catastrophe determined Louis to pursue the safer road by the coast. The way was tedious, and at last.

being weary of following all its sinuosities, he resolved, when he reached the river Mæander,* to brave all the dangers of the inland country, and to take a short cut from thence to Satalia. On this new route he had not advanced far, when he saw the Turks drawn up in order of battle on the other side of a ford which the army was just about to cross. The gallant crusaders plunged into the water amid a shower of arrows, and attacked the enemy at the very water's edge, and soon put them to flight. Their elation at this victory did not last long, for as they proceeded their difficulties increased; the country became more mountainous, and they were perpetually harassed by the flying troops of the enemy. Beyond Laodicea they entered on narrow defiles, and were obliged to march in two separate bodies. One day the van had been ordered to halt in a commanding situation till the rear, in which was the king, should come up; but the leader, seeing a pleasant valley, disobeyed his orders, and descended into it. By this ill-judged movement, the two divisions of the Christian army were shut out from each other; and the Turks, who from the heights above watched all their motions, took advantage of it to attack the rear, and made a dreadful slaughter. The king escaped with the greatest difficulty, and with the loss of all his provisions and baggage.

The relics of this great army were now in a miserable condition, in an unknown country, without provisions and without guides, for wherever they appeared the people fled, and they found only deserted villages.

In this terrible dilemma the soldiery, seeing the ignorance and incapacity of their leaders, determined, as the only means of preservation, to give the command, without any consideration of rank, to the best man they could find. Their choice fell on a poor knight, who is only known to us by the name of Gilbert. This Gilbert justified the high opinion they had formed of him. He conducted them safely during twelve days through many dangers, by intricate ways, and over rivers, in the face of the enemy, whom he attacked and defeated. When he had brought the army in safety to Satalia, he considered his task as finished, and, resigning his command, resumed his private station.

Satalia is a small seaport about three days' sail from Antioch. The journey by land is much longer. When Louis arrived here, he found only vessels enough to convey himself and his nobles, and he felt reluctant to abandon his

*The Mæander is a river in Asia Minor

poor sol