tures; but there are periods when multitudes give themselves so completely up to the influence of the spirit of all evil, that the hand of the destroyer may be marked without much regret in its operation as the only means of removing the great weight of wickedness which oppresses and keeps down all the principles of virtue in society. Thus we feel, in the present instance, that if the Crusades had wrought no other benefit than the extinction of such a mass of crime and vice as that which existed in the wild and ruthless crowds who led the way and perished on the road to the Holy Land, no slight advantage would still have accrued to Europe.

of

The destruction which took place in the first movements of the Crusade was certainly terrible, and cannot be recorded without a feeling of horror; but many of the evil elements which must have inevitably attended that great enterprise, under any other circumstances, were swept away by the result of these precursory efforts, and it is curious to mark by what easy and natural steps this bloody purification was brought about. Those who were profligate, vicious, and destitute of all the ties which bind men to their country and to the society of which they form a part, were naturally the first to move upon an expedition which offered the hope of plunder and the opportunity of licentiousness. Naturally too, the very objects which they proposed to themselves, and the habits which rendered them a

scourge to their own country, called down upon their heads the indignation of the nations through whose territories they passed, in consequence of the crimes that they committed; and by the course their improvidence, disorderly character, and want of discipline, made them an easy prey to the vengeance of their enemies.

A different scene soon opened on the world, and at length the chivalry of Europe began to march, or in other words, the real crusade began. The first prince of renown who actually appeared in the field, was Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine; a warrior still in the prime of years and strength, but already famous for his talents as a general and his prowess as a knight. His extraordinary qualitics of body and mind, his immense corporeal vigour, his beauty and his grace, his learning and accomplishments, his mild and gentle manners, his resolute firmness, high sense of justice, religious zeal, and extent of views beyond the age, rendered him well qualified for the chief station in so great an enterprise as that in which he now embarked.*

* Robert the Monk says, in speaking of Godfrey, "Associatur autem cuidam Duci Teutonicorum, nomine Godefrido, qui erat Eustachii Boloniensis comitis filius, sed officio dignitatis Dux erat Teutonicus. Hic vultu elegans, staturâ procerus, dulcis eloquio, moribus egregius, et in tantum lenis, ut magis in se monachum quàm militem figuraret. Hic tamem, cum hostem sentiebat adesse, et imminere prælium, tunc audaci mente concipiebat animum, et quasi leo frendens ad nullius pavebat occursum. Et quae lorica vel clypeus sustinere posset impetum mucronis illius?"

VOL. II.

X

The skill of Godfrey in military exercises, was the admiration of all his comrades in arms; he spoke almost all the languages used in Europe, with perfect facility, and he was highly eloquent in their use. Of the other qualities which we have mentioned, there will be many striking instances recorded; even in the brief sketch of the first crusade which is all that our limits will admit; but that which seems to have struck most the fancy of all contemporary writers, was the peculiar gentleness of his manners, which we have too much reason to believe, was a very rare grace in those days. The purity of Godfrey's moral character was also remarkable; and in the early history of his life, on which we have not time to enlarge, he displayed talents, as well as virtues, which gave the surest bond for his after conduct. During the struggles between the Pope and Henry the Fourth, Emperor of Germany, Godfrey maintained the cause of the Emperor, and by his valour and conduct, secured, if he did not bestow, the crown. He himself, also carried the imperial standard into the walls of Rome, and opened the gates of the city to the troops of Henry. In almost all the troubles which took place during the reign of that vicious prince, he bore a part, either for or against him; till at length the preaching of the crusade placed a new enterprise before his eyes, an enterprise better suited to his character and to his taste. He was, at the time of the Council of Cler

mont, suffering from the effects of a fever, which he had caught in the unwholesome neighbourhood of Rome, and which some of the monkish historians of the time represent as a punishment for his opposition to the successor of St. Peter.

No sooner, however, did Godfrey hear the call to arms for the deliverance of Jerusalem, than the fever left him, and arising from the bed of sickness with renewed vigour, he prepared to march at the head of all his followers. The very name of Godfrey of Bouillon was a host. Eustace his brother, Baldwin his half-brother, who possessed many of his military qualities without his chivalrous spirit, his relation Baldwin de Burg, Reinard Count of Tul, and Peter his brother, Garnier de Grais, Dudo de Conti,* Henry de Ascha or de Hache, and Godfrey his brother, all celebrated warriors, each followed by a large body of retainers, had ranged themselves under the banner of the Duke of Lorraine, and were ready to march, together with an immense number of volunteers and the forces of Godfrey himself, by the middle of August.

The progress of Godfrey through the country offered a strange contrast to that of the leaders who had preceded him. All was orderly, sober, and tranquil; the great undertaking before them was in the hearts of all, and, for a considerable time, the holi

This is written Cons in Bongarsius, but it is generally supposed that the proper translation is Conti.

ness of the cause in which they were engaged spread a purity through their manners, and a religious restraint over their whole demeanour. Highly disciplined, and perfectly under command, the troops marched on without straying to the right or left, and met with no obstruction till they reached the frontiers of Hungary. On the banks of the rivers, however, which separated that country from the German empire, tidings of the fate of the last band of crusaders reached the ears of Godfrey and his companions, and the unburied corpses of the godless herd which had besieged Mersburg, proved that a terrible slaughter of nominal Christians had taken place.

After holding a council, Godfrey and his chiefs despatched Godfrey de Ascha to the court of Carloman, that nobleman having been previously employed in negociations with the Hungarian king. He was accompanied by two other distinguished envoys, and bore a plain and dignified message from the great leader of the crusade, purporting that the army waited at Tollenburg for an explanation of the conduct which Carloman had pursued towards his fellow-Christians whose bodies strewed the fields around Mersburg. The ambassadors were directed farther to say, that if the preceding bands had merited the punishment which they had met with, the Duke of Lorraine and his companions would bear it with patience; but that if the King of Hungary had both calumniated