Chapter XIII…

Chapter XIII

THE CRUSADERS AND PILGRIMS.

A MONK HISTORIAN ON THE CRUSADES.

The old chroniclers are elated with a fine enthusiasm when narrating the exploits of the first Crusaders. Orderic the monk, who died about 1141, thus describes the situation: "Lo, the crusade to Jerusalem is entered on by the inspiration of God; the people of the West miraculously flock together from many nations, and are led in one united army to fight against the execrable Saracens, who so long had defiled with their abominations all that is sacred. Never, I think, was a more glorious subject presented to those who are well informed in military affairs than that which is divinely offered to the poets and writers of our age in the triumph of a handful of Christians, drawn from their homes by the love of enterprise, over the Pagans in the East. The God of Abraham renewed His ancient miracles when, actuated only by their zeal to visit the Messiah's tomb, and without the exercise of the authority of kings or any worldly excitement, but by the simple admonition of Pope Urban, He assembled the Christians of the West from the ends of the earth and the isles of the sea, as He brought the Hebrews out of Egypt by the hand of Moses, and led them through strange nations until He conducted them to Palestine, gave them victory over kings and princes and the assembled forces of many nations, and enabled them gloriously to conquer strongly fortified cities and to reduce towns under subjection to their arms. I, too, though the least of all the followers of the Lord in a religious rule of life, for the love I bear to the brave champions of Christ, am ambitious to celebrate their valiant achievements."

CRUSADES BENEFICIAL TO THE CHURCH.

The crusades brought the civilisation of the West in contact with that of the Arabs, who were more advanced in some respects. Literature, science, navigation, and trade benefited. Large feudal estates were sold, and citizens of towns were enriched and set up by kings as a counterpoise to overpowerful vassals. The sees and monasteries became purchasers of large estates on easy terms. But the Popes were the chief gainers by the crusades. They acquired control over Western Christendom, and over the emperors, kings, and princes who engaged in this service, and plighted their faith to carry through great enterprises. The Popes claimed sovereignty over lands wrested from the infidels. But, above all, it gave the Popes a continual pretext for sending legates to interfere in every country and levy contributions, which, at first voluntary, soon took the form of rights to perpetual tribute.

THE PRACTICE OF PILGRIMAGES TO PALESTINE.

The desire of Christians to visit the tombs of martyrs and famous saints may be considered almost natural, but it received great encouragement from the Empress Helena's discovery of the cross. The early Fathers were not emphatic in favour of the practice, for Jerome declared that heaven was as accessible from Britain as from Palestine. But in the sixth century the passion grew. Pilgrimages were projected and accomplished on a great scale. Hospitals were endowed for entertaining the pilgrims along the great highway. Pilgrims were exempted from toll. Charlemagne ordered that lodging, fire, and water be always supplied to them. In Jerusalem there were caravansaries for their reception. The pilgrim set forth amid the blessings and prayers of his kindred or community with his simple outfit--the staff, the wallet, and the scallop-shell; he returned a privileged, in some sense a sanctified, being. Pilgrimage expiated all sin. The bathing in the Jordan was, as it were, a second baptism, and washed away all the evil of the former life. The shirt which he had worn when he entered the holy city was carefully laid by as a winding-sheet, and possessed, it was supposed, the power of transporting him to heaven. The stable of Bethlehem, the garden of Gethsemane, the height where the Ascension took place, had a fascination for every eye. To gratify the pilgrims, the descent of fire from heaven to kindle the lights round the holy sepulchre had been played off from an early period before the wondering worshippers. Jerusalem also became the emporium of relics. Each pilgrim would bring back a splinter of the true cross or some special memorial of the Virgin or a famous saint. The demand for these was great, and the supply was inexhaustible. At a later period the silks, jewels, and spices of the East mingled in the mart of holy things. Down to the conquest of Jerusalem by Chosroes the Persian, in 614, the tide of pilgrimage flowed uninterruptedly to the Holy Land; and even the Saracens in 637, when the conquerors, did not prohibit them, though the dangers increased.

EARLY TRAVELS IN PALESTINE.

The earliest traveller from Western Europe to the Holy Land who has left an account was Pierre Pithou from Bordeaux in 333. But pilgrims were often going on the same journey. In 385 St. Eusebius of Cremona, and his friend St. Jerome, and a large company also visited the chief places. Soon after St. Paula and her daughter went the round, and on Mount Zion they were shown the column to which Christ was bound when scourged. In the seventh century St. Antoninus went there also. When the Saracens obtained possession of Jerusalem in 637, they soon saw that it would be to their advantage to preserve the holy places and profit by the charges so many strangers were willing to pay. The French bishop, Arculf, visited Palestine about 690, and afterwards visited Northumberland and Iona. Pilgrims thereafter up to 980 brought worse and worse accounts of their treatment and the profanations of the holy places. The celebrated Gerbert, afterwards Pope, returned from a visit in 986, and suggested that the Christian world ought in some way to interfere. Soon after pilgrims went in armed bodies, and serious quarrels occurred. The news that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had been thrown down excited great consternation in Europe about 1048. Changes in the rulers occurred at that time. At last Peter the Hermit, in 1095, raised to a frenzy all the adventurous enthusiasts till they arranged the First Crusade.

THE WAYS OF PILGRIMS.

The fashion of going on pilgrimage became noticeable in the fourth century, the Holy Land being the chief attraction. Hospitals were founded at convenient places to accommodate pilgrims. The order of Knights Templars was founded to escort the caravans and protect them in wild and dangerous places. Rome and the shrine of St. James at Compostella or Santiago were added in the Middle Ages as centres. Rich and poor joined in this desire of travel. The pilgrims repaid their entertainers with the news they carried from distant countries. Before a man went on pilgrimage he first went to his church and received the Church's blessing and prayers. He lay prostrate at the altar while the priest and choir sang over him appropriate psalms, such as the twenty-fourth, fiftieth, and ninetieth. Then his scrip and palmer-staff were blessed and sprinkled with holy water, and the Mass was celebrated. The proper costume or pilgrim's weeds were a grey woollen robe and felt hat, staff, scrip, and water-bottle. Some went barefoot as a penance, or made a vow not to cut hair or beard till the pilgrimage was accomplished. If the Holy Land was the destination, the robe was signed with the cross, as a special sign and token, and each, after accomplishing his round of holy places, was entitled to wear the palm, and hence was called palmer. The sign of the Compostella pilgrimage was the scallop-shell. The sign of the Canterbury pilgrims was an ampullar flask, so-called from the vessel in which the blood of the martyr Thomas à Becket had been collected. These flasks were at first of wood, but latterly of lead and pewter. A bell was often added to the ampulla. Besides the badge, these pilgrims had their gathering-cry, and the Canterbury pilgrims lightened their journey with song and music and sometimes the bagpipe. When the pilgrim returned home, he presented himself at church to give thanks. Often a procession would go to meet the returning pilgrim, especially as he usually brought presents of silk cloths to the churches for copes or coverings of the altars. The emblems of these pilgrimages were often depicted on the pilgrim's tomb.

PETER THE HERMIT (A.D. 1095).

When the Turks supplanted the Mohammedans as masters of Jerusalem, being a more fanatical and barbarous race they treated the Christians of Palestine as slaves, and pilgrims found it more and more dangerous to gratify their lifelong passion to visit that country. The growing indignation at this treatment found a noble champion in Peter the Hermit, who died 1115. He went the round of Christendom, and found all ready to enter into some great confederation, if they only knew how, to rescue the holy places from these accursed infidels. Peter was a Frank from Picardy, of ignoble stature, but with a quick and flashing eye; his spare, sharp person was full of fire from the restless soul within. He had himself visited the Holy Land, and his heart burned within him at the sight of the oppressions of Christian men. He told everybody he had had a vision when he was in the Temple; and the voice of the Lord Himself was heard in these very words: "Rise, Peter; go forth to make known the tribulations of My people; the hour is come for the delivery of My servants, for the recovery of the holy places!" Peter at once went forth, and had interviews with the Pope and with princes and great men, and all saw and confessed he was a true prophet. He rode round Europe on a mule with a crucifix in his hand, his head and feet bare; his dress was a long robe girt with a cord, and a hermit's cloak of the coarsest stuff. His eloquence was heart-stirring, mingled here and there with tears and groans; he preached in pulpits, in highways and market-places. He beat his breast. He appealed to every passion--to valour and shame, to indignation and pity, to the pride of the warrior, the compassion of the man, to the religion of the Christian, to the hatred of the unbeliever, to reverence for the Redeemer, to the avenging of the saints, to the hopes of eternal life. He invoked the holy angels, the saints in heaven, the Mother of God, the Lord Himself. He called on the holy places, on Zion, on Calvary, on the holy sepulchre, to give forth their voices against these infidels. He held up the crucifix, as if Christ Himself was imploring them to be ready and act at once. Peter's eloquence struck the true chord of sympathy, and electrified the crowds who listened and echoed his enthusiasm. Gifts showered upon him. All ages and both sexes crowded to touch even his garment. The very hairs that dropped from his mule were caught and treasured as relics. All Western Christendom gradually rose as one man in obedience to the spell. The Pope, Urban II., caught the contagion, and summoned and harangued the Council of Clermont in the same style. He called on all men through their bishops to rise and deliver these holy places, which were made dens of thieves and stalls for cattle, and were polluted and defiled by atrocities not to be named. While Christian blood was shed, it was time for them to gird on their swords. He assured them the Saviour Himself, the God of armies, would be their guide in battle. The wealth of their enemies would of course be theirs. He offered absolution for all sins; there was no crime which might not be redeemed by this act of obedience: absolution without penance would be granted to all who took arms in the sacred cause. Eternal life would be the portion of all who fell in battle or in the march to the Holy Land. For himself he must remain aloof; but while they were slaughtering the enemy, he would be perpetually engaged in fervent and prevailing prayer for their success. At the close of this harangue all admitted and felt the force of the enthusiasm, and exclaimed, "It is the will of God! it is the will of God!" The contagion spread. France, Germany, Italy, England, furnished wild multitudes, eager and ready to enlist in this glorious warfare. All began to sharpen their spears and collect their outfit for a grand enterprise, certain to be a success.

POPE URBAN PREACHING FOR A CRUSADE (A.D. 1095).

When Pope Urban in 1095 preached at the conclusion of the Council of Clermont, he thus urged on the faithful to join the crusade: "We see that the breadth of the whole world is now full of faithless and blaspheming Pagans, who worship stocks and stones. They have occupied as a perpetual possession the third part of the world, and that part wherein all the Apostles, except two suffered martyrdom for the Lord. They have also, with shame be it said, possession of Africa, that land which gave to mankind the Holy Scriptures and extinguished the errors of infidelity. They claim possession of our Lord's tomb, and sell to our pilgrims for money admission to the holy city. Gird yourselves then for the battle, my brave warriors, for a memorable expedition against the enemies of the cross. Let the sign of the cross decorate your shoulders; let your outward ardour declare your inward faith. Turn against the enemies of Christ those weapons which you have hitherto stained with blood in battles and tournaments among yourselves. Let your zeal in this expedition atone for the rapine, theft, homicide, fornication, and deeds of incendiarism by which you have provoked the Lord to anger. In virtue of the power which God has given us, however unworthy of it, to bind and to loose, all who engage in this expedition in their own persons and at their own expense shall receive a full pardon for all the offences which they shall repent of in their hearts and with their lips confess, and we promise to the same and to all who contribute their substance an increased portion of eternal salvation. Go then, brave soldiers, secure to yourselves fame throughout the world; disown all fear of death. Those who die will sit down in the heavenly guest chamber, and those who survive will set their eyes on our Lord's sepulchre."

THE CRUSADERS' HUNGER FOR EARTH OF PALESTINE.

At the time when the First Crusade was organised, Pope Urban harangued a vast crowd of the clergy and laity, urging them to join it, and adding: "What can be greater happiness than for any one in his lifetime to see those places where the Lord of heaven went about as a man?" All then believed the soil of Palestine to be sacred. Even its dust was adored. It was carefully conveyed to Europe in bagfuls and pocketfuls, and the fortunate possessor, whether by original acquisition or by purchase, was considered to be secured against the malevolence of demons. St. Augustine relates a story of the cure of a young man who had some of the dust of the holy city suspended in a bag over his bed. It became a fashion for each of the pilgrims to bring some home in his bag. At Pisa the cemetery of the Campo Santo was said to contain five fathoms of holy earth brought in 1218 from Palestine by the Pisans. Friends and neighbours walked with an intending pilgrim to the next town, and loaded him with their benedictions, and turned back with many tears. The village pastor delivered a staff to the pilgrim, and put round him a scarf or girdle, with a leathern scrip or wallet attached. They all believed that a prayer in Jerusalem was worth ten thousand common prayers in other places. There were hospitals and houses of rest provided for weary pilgrims on the road. In their first battles, they fancied they saw figures riding on white horses, and in white armour and cloth of gold, all in the air, helping them with celestial weapons. When they first caught sight of Jerusalem, all eyes were transfixed and bathed with tears and shining with rapture as they gazed on that hallowed spot.

HOW A PENITENTIAL CRUSADER WENT ALONG.

William, Count of Poitiers, before setting out on his crusade to the Holy Land, took his leave thus: "I wish to compose a chant, and the subject shall be that which causes my sorrow. I go into exile beyond sea, and leave my beloved Poitiers and Limousin. I go beyond sea to the place where pilgrims implore their pardon. Adieu, brilliant tournaments! adieu, grandeur and magnificence, and all that is dear to my heart! Nothing can stop me. I go to the plains where God promised remission of sins. Pardon me, all you my companions, if I have ever offended you. I implore your pardon. I offer my repentance to Jesus the Master of heaven; to Him I address my prayer. Too long have I been abandoned to worldly distractions; but the voice of the Lord has been heard. We must appear before His tribunal. I sink under the weight of my iniquities."

HOW THE CRUSADERS GOT RID OF SPIES (A.D. 1097).

In 1097, while the Crusaders were besieging Antioch, they were alarmed by the knowledge that there were spies in the camp out of every unbelieving nation in the East, who found it easy to remain undiscovered by calling themselves merchants from Greece, Syria, or Armenia, who brought provisions for sale to the army. These spies witnessed the famine and pestilence which prevailed in the camp, and the pilgrims justly feared that this intelligence would spread to their destruction. The princes were at a loss what to do; but Beaumont, who was a shrewd man, about twilight, when his comrades were all engaged throughout the camp in preparing their supper, commanded several Turkish prisoners to be put to death and their flesh to be roasted over a large fire to be prepared for table. He further instructed the servants, if asked what they were about, to reply that general orders had been given that in future all Turks who should be brought in prisoners by the scouts should be served up for food both to the princes and the people. All the army soon heard of this remarkable news, and the Turkish spies in the camp believed that it was done in earnest. Fearing, therefore, lest the same thing should happen to themselves, they left the camp and returned to their own country, where they told their employers that the men in the Crusaders' army exceeded the ferocity of beasts; and not content with plundering castles and cities, they must needs fill their bellies with the flesh and blood of their victims. This report spread throughout the most distant countries, and by this means the grievance of spies was put a stop to.

CRUSADERS DISCOVERING THE HOLY LANCE (A.D. 1098).

When the Crusaders were besieged by the Turks in Antioch in 1098, and suffering from famine and despair, and many men failing in courage and escaping by night from the walls, thence called rope-dancers, a sudden gleam of confidence came to their relief. A priest of Marseilles, named Peter Bartholomey, though known to be of cunning and loose manners, suddenly knocked at the door of the council chamber to disclose an apparition of St. Andrew, who thrice appeared to him in his sleep, and called on him under heavy threats to reveal the commands of Heaven. The saint had thus addressed Peter: "At Antioch, in the church of my brother St. Peter near the high altar, is concealed the steel head of the lance that pierced the side of our Redeemer. In three days that instrument of eternal and now of temporal salvation will be manifested to His disciples. Search and ye shall find; bear it aloft in battle, and that mystic weapon shall penetrate the souls of the miscreants." The Pope's legate, the Bishop of Puy, listened with coldness, but Count Raymond eagerly welcomed this revelation. The attempt was made, and after prayer and fasting the priest of Marseilles introduced twelve trusty spectators, and barred the doors to keep out the excited multitude. The ground was broken and dug to a depth of twelve feet and nothing found; but in the evening, when the guards were drowsy, Peter, in his shirt and without shoes, boldly descended into the pit in the dark with the head of a Saracen lance, and this he pretended with devout rapture to discover by its gleam as the genuine relic. The chiefs affected to recognise the discovery and to inspire enthusiasm. The gates were thrown open, while a procession of monks and priests chanted the psalm "Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered." The holy lance was entrusted to a faithful leader; three knights in white garments also suddenly appeared to help the Crusaders, whose spirits were roused to the highest pitch.

THE HOLY LANCE PUTS THE INFIDELS TO ROUT (A.D. 1098).

When the holy lance was discovered and the Crusaders were in the highest enthusiasm and marched out of Antioch, the Sultan Corbogha was so struck by their impassioned, stern, and indomitable aspect, that he had misgivings, and even made proposals which were haughtily rejected. The battle was long, stubborn, and at points indecisive, but at last the pious and warlike enthusiasm of the Crusaders prevailed over the savage bravery of the Turks. The Sultan soon fled away towards the Euphrates with a weak escort. Tancred pursued till nightfall the retiring hosts. The Christian chroniclers say that 100,000 infidels were slain, while only 4,000 Crusaders were left on the field of battle. The camp of the Turks was given over to pillage, and 15,000 camels and many horses were secured. The camp of the Sultan Corbogha was a rich prize and an object of admiration. It was laid out in streets, flanked by towers, as if it were a fortified town; gold and precious stones glittered in every part of it. It was capable of accommodating 2,000 persons. Beaumont sent it to Italy, where it was long preserved. After that battle, says Albert of Aix, every Crusader found himself richer than he had been when starting from Europe. Nevertheless the effect on the Crusaders was disastrous. Some abandoned themselves to the licence of victory, others to the sweets of repose. Some longed to go home; others to push for further conquests. After long debates and rivalries the majority decided to wait till the heat of summer was over before attempting to capture Jerusalem. It was eight months before the bulk of the Crusaders began to move on.

THE CRUSADERS TESTING A DOUBTFUL POINT.

In 1099 the Crusaders were at Marra, when a dissension existed between Beaumont and the Count of Toulouse, and murmurs arose among the armies as to the delays thereby caused. The Count, in order to satisfy the people, passed on to a city called Archis, and pitched their camp near the sea coast. The Christians besieged the city a long time, but without success. Here the question was again mooted concerning the lance with which our Lord's side had been pierced. Some said that it had really been appointed by Divine inspiration for the consolation of the army; whilst others maliciously contended that it was a stratagem of the Count of Toulouse, and was no discovery at all, but invented solely for gain. A large fire was therefore kindled of a size sufficient to terrify the bystanders; and when all the people were assembled together one day, the priest Peter, to whom the discovery of the lance had been made, underwent a perilous ordeal, for when he had offered up a prayer he took the lance with him and passed unhurt through the midst of the fire. But as he died a few days afterwards, the ordeal did not give entire satisfaction to the opposite party.

THE CRUSADERS' FIRST SIGHT OF JERUSALEM (A.D. 1099).

When the Crusaders, in the spring of 1099, marched from Antioch towards Jerusalem, and reached some spot sacred to history, the natural greed and jealousy among the chiefs were too apparent. A warrior-chief would rush to plant his flag first on a town or house and claim to be its possessor. Others, more earnest, marched barefooted beneath the banner of the cross, and deplored among themselves the covetous and quarrelsome temper of their leaders. On reaching Emmaus, a deputation of Christians came from Bethlehem to bespeak help, and Tancred, in the middle of the night, with a small band of a hundred horsemen, went and planted his own flag on the top of the church at Bethlehem, at the very hour at which the birth of Christ had been announced to the shepherds of Judæa. Next day, on June 10th, 1099, at dawn, the army of Crusaders from the heights of Emmaus had their first gaze at the Holy City. Tasso, in "Jerusalem Delivered," thus gives voice to the scene: "Lo! Jerusalem appears in sight! Lo! every hand points to Jerusalem. A thousand voices are heard as one in salutation of Jerusalem. After the great sweet joy which filled all hearts at this first glimpse came a deep feeling of contrition, mingled with awful and reverential affection Each scarcely dared to raise the eye towards the city which had been the chosen abode of Christ, where He died, was buried, and rose again. In accents of humility, with low-spoken words, with stifled sobs, with sighs and tears, the pent-up yearnings of a people in joy, and yet in sorrow, sent shivering through the air a murmur like that which is heard in leafy forests what time the wind blows through the leaves, or like the dull sound made by the sea which breaks upon the rocks, or hisses as it foams over the beach." It was thought at the time there were 20,000 armed inhabitants and 40,000 men in garrison of fanatical Mussulmans. About 40,000 Crusaders were outside of both sexes, of whom 12,000 were foot soldiers and 1,200 knights.

CRUSADERS PREPARING TO ASSAULT JERUSALEM (A.D. 1099).

While the crusading army were preparing their scaling towers and engines for hurling stones, one day Tancred had gone alone to pray on the Mount of Olives and to gaze upon the Holy City, when five Mussulmans sallied forth to attack him. He killed three and the other two took to flight. There was at one point of the city ramparts a ravine, which had to be filled up to make an approach, and the Count of Toulouse issued a proclamation that he would give a denier to every one who would go and throw three stones into it. In three days the ravine was filled up. After four weeks' labour a day was fixed for delivering the assault; but as several of the chiefs had serious quarrels, it was resolved that before the grand attack they should all be reconciled at a general supplication with solemn ceremonies for Divine aid. After a strict fast, all the Crusaders went forth armed from their quarters, and, preceded by their priests barefooted and chanting psalms, they moved in slow procession round Jerusalem, halting at all places hallowed by some fact in sacred history, listening to the discourses of their priests, and raising eyes full of wrath at hearing the scoffs addressed to them by the Saracens, and at seeing the insults heaped upon certain crosses they had set up, and upon all the symbols of the Christian faith. "Ye see," cried Peter the Hermit, "ye hear the threats and blasphemies of these enemies of God. Now this I swear to you by your faith, by the arms ye carry, to-day these infidels are full of pride and insolence, but to-morrow they shall be frozen with fear. Those mosques which tower over Christian ruins shall serve for temples to the true God, and Jerusalem shall hear no longer aught but the praises of God." The Christians raised a great shout in answer to their apostle, and repeated the words of Isaiah: "They shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun."

THE CRUSADERS CAPTURING JERUSALEM (A.D. 1099).

On July 14th, 1099, a third assault had been made against the city of Jerusalem; the machines of the Crusaders threw millstones against the walls, while the citizens threw pots of lighted tow, which would easily break, so as to destroy the machines. The enemy during the assault brought up two witches to enchant the machines and render them useless, but while they were enchanting a large stone struck both of them dead, and then a great shout arose among the besiegers. Duke Godfrey's men threw fire on the bags of straw and cushions of the wall, then threw a bridge to one end of the tower, by which he and his men entered, and then opened the gate of St. Paul, at three o'clock on Friday, the hour when Christ had yielded up the ghost. The Turks were then put to death in such numbers that no one could walk the streets without treading on dead bodies. When Tancred learned that many Turks had fled for refuge within the courts of the Temple, his men rushed inside and slew great numbers, and it was said carried off much gold and silver. Meanwhile, horse and foot were pouring into the city, and every inhabitant met with was slain, so that the streets flowed with blood. Ten thousand Turks were said to have been slain within the precincts of the Temple alone. The Crusaders, dispersing through the streets, and searching every secret place they could find, drew out master and mistress with their children and all their family from the secret chambers, and either put them to the sword or threw them headlong and broke their necks. He who first got possession of a house or palace claimed it as his own permanent property; for it had been agreed amongst the princes that, when the city was taken, each should keep what he could get. And thus, whoever first took possession of a house fixed a banner, shield, or some kind of weapon at the door as a sign to others that the house was already occupied.

THE CRUSADERS' FIRST VISIT TO THE HOLY PLACES (A.D. 1099).

When Jerusalem was captured in 1099, and the spoils had been collected by the pilgrims, they began, with sighs and tears, with naked feet, and with every sign of humility and devotion, to visit each of the holy places which the Lord had hallowed by His presence, and in particular the Church of the Resurrection and of our Lord's Passion. It was most pleasant to behold with what devotion the faithful of both sexes, whilst their minds were exhilarated with spiritual enjoyment, approached, shedding tears, to the holy places, and gave thanks to God for having brought their pious labours and long service to the desired consummation. All thence derived hopes that it would be the earnest of a future resurrection, and these present benefits gave them a firm expectation of those which were to come, that the earthly Jerusalem which they now trod would be to them the way to the heavenly Jerusalem. The bishops too and priests, having purified the churches of the city, and especially the precincts of the Temple, consecrated to God the holy places, and celebrating Mass before the people, gave thanks for the blessings which they had received. Many men of the greatest credit affirmed that they saw their dead companions going round with the princes to visit the holy places. The venerable Peter the Hermit, by whose zeal the undertaking was commenced, was now recognised and affectionately saluted by all. When all the places had been visited, the princes returned to their houses and hostels, to enjoy the gold, silver, jewels, costly garments, corn, wine, and oil, besides plenty of water, from the want of which they had suffered so much during the siege. There was an abundance of everything that could be desired, and the market was maintained at low prices.

ST. BERNARD ROUSING A SECOND CRUSADE (A.D. 1174).

As Louis VII., in his quarrel with the Pope, had once invaded Count Theobald's dominions, and burnt alive thirteen hundred Christians, his conscience led him to restore the balance by slaughtering as many infidels, and hence he pressed the Pope to direct a second crusade. The Pope took the matter up, but was glad to devolve the burden of agitating among the nations on Bernard. This pleased Louis equally well, and at their joint solicitation meetings were arranged to be harangued by the inspired monk of Clairvaux. Pale and attenuated to a degree almost supernatural, even the glance of Bernard's eyes filled his contemporaries with wonder and awe. That he was kept alive at all appeared to them to be a standing miracle. But when the light from that thin calm face fell upon them, when those firm lips gave out words of love, devotion, and self-sacrifice, they were carried away with their feelings. A stage had been erected on the top of a hill, where a vast crowd, headed by the King and his knights, was collected. The mere sight and sound of Bernard's voice stirred up a sea of faces, and brought out a unanimous shout demanding "Crosses! crosses!" Bernard began to scatter broadcast among the people a supply of crosses, as the pledge of their wild enthusiasm. He also kept up the enthusiasm by visiting the towns of North-western Germany, and he enrolled his thousands of enthusiasts. He said at last he had scarcely left one man to seven women. All the chroniclers of the day describe a succession of miracles as attending Bernard wherever he went. Soon all the chivalry of Europe were ready to advance to the Holy Land, conquering and to conquer.

A FRENCH QUEEN AS A CRUSADER (A.D. 1147).

When Eleanor of Aquitaine was Queen of Louis VII. of France, being beautiful, a fine musician and songstress, and expert in the songs and recitations of the troubadours, she was so carried away by the eloquence of the monk Bernard when preaching for the crusade that she vowed to join her husband and go to the Holy Land. Her youth, beauty, and gaiety made the King do anything. She made her court ladies array themselves like Amazons, and act as her bodyguard. They joined in the exercises eagerly as in any frolic, and sent their distaffs as presents to the knights and nobles who had not courage to go from home. The freaks of these ladies led to many mishaps and disasters in the field; and instead of obeying orders, the Queen and her Amazons insisted on encamping in a lovely, romantic valley, which deranged all the wisest plans, and led to the loss of seven thousand of the flower of French chivalry. She then began to flirt with her uncle, a handsome old beau, whom she met for the first time at Antioch, and her vagaries caused disgust to Louis, who left her in a huff. When she entered Jerusalem, the burning object of every Crusader's dreams, she was in such a fit of temper that she saw nothing interesting, and then began a lasting quarrel between her and the King. While Louis was besieging Damascus she had to be kept in personal restraint at Jerusalem, and even started another flirtation with a handsome young Saracen. After great disasters and vexations, the King and Queen left Constantinople, and reached France in 1148. She never ceased to mock the King for his dowdy habits during the next four years while they lived together. In 1150 the young Prince Henry of England, aged seventeen, first saw the Queen, and she was fascinated by him, and took measures to marry him after securing a divorce from Louis. The celerity of her marriage to Henry in 1152, after obtaining her divorce, astonished all Europe, she being thirty-two and Henry twenty.

ST. BERNARD AFTER THE EVENT OF HIS CRUSADE.

The influence of St. Bernard in rousing the Second Crusade was due to the reputation he had acquired above all his rivals and contemporaries, who knew that he had refused all ecclesiastical dignities, and yet was the oracle of Europe, and the founder of one hundred and sixty convents. He was warned, however, by the example of Peter the Hermit, and declined any military command. After the calamitous event of his great undertaking, the Abbot of Clairvaux was loudly accused as a false prophet, the author of the public and private mourning; his enemies exulted, his friends blushed, and his apology was slow and unsatisfactory. He justified his obedience to the Pope, expatiated on the mysterious ways of Providence, imputed the misfortunes of the pilgrims to their own sins, and modestly insinuated that his own part of the mission had been approved by signs and wonders.

A PILGRIM PRINCE BRINGING RELICS FROM THE HOLY LAND (A.D. 1172).

Henry, Duke of Saxony, married Matilda, then a girl of twelve, eldest daughter of Henry II. of England, in 1168, and four years after the Duke resolved to visit the Holy Land, not as a fighting Crusader, but only as a pilgrim, so that his feet might stand and his knees bend where once the feet of the Saviour had stood. He took costly presents, and while approaching Jerusalem the clergy came forth to welcome him, chanting hymns and songs of joy. He made magnificent offerings at the Holy Sepulchre, and left money to keep three lamps perpetually burning before the holy shrine. Henry visited all the sacred places, was fêted by King Baldwin, and then by the Turkish Sultan. The Sultan, after presenting Henry with a gorgeous cloak, ordered eighteen hundred war-steeds to be brought out that the guest might choose the best, and it was then decorated with silver bits and jewelled saddles. He was also offered a lion and two leopards, as well as six camels loaded with gifts. The Emperor at Constantinople was equally liberal, and gave manuscripts of the Holy Gospels and many relics of saints and martyrs. When Henry reached his home in Brunswick and displayed his treasures before his duchess and their subjects, he found in his collection the following gems: a tooth of St. John the Baptist; a great toe of St. Mark; the arms of St. Innocent and St. Theodore; a scrap of the dresses of the Virgin Mary, of St. Stephen the protomartyr, St. Laurence, and Mary Magdalene; some of the wood of the cross; a few splinters from the crown of thorns; a piece of the column to which our Lord was bound when scourged; a part of the table used at the Last Supper; and many other rarities. The wood of the cross was enshrined in a large silver crucifix decorated with fifty-one pearls, thirty-nine corals, and ninety-six other jewels. These spoils were distributed among the different churches in Brunswick and the monastery of Hildesheim, and received with immense satisfaction and pride.

THE POPE WRITING UP ANOTHER CRUSADE (A.D. 1187).

In 1187 Pope Gregory VIII. sent a letter to the faithful, reciting that "whereas we doubt not that the disasters of the land of Jerusalem which have lately happened through the irruption of the Saracens have been caused by the sins of the whole people of Christendom, therefore we have enacted that all persons shall for the next five years on every sixth day of the week fast on Lenten fare, and wherever Mass is performed it shall be chanted at the ninth hour, also on the fourth day of the week; and on Saturday all persons without distinction who are in good health shall abstain from eating flesh. We and our brethren do also forbid to ourselves and to our households the use of flesh on the second day of the week as well, unless it shall so happen that illness, or some great calamity, or other evident cause shall seem to prevent the same, trusting that by so doing God will pardon us and leave His blessing behind Him." The princes of the earth, on receiving these mandates and exhortations of the Supreme Pontiff, exerted themselves with all their might for the liberation of the land of Jerusalem, and accordingly the Emperor, the archbishops, bishops, dukes, earls, and barons of the empire assumed the sign of the cross.

THE EMPEROR'S HYPOCRITICAL CRUSADERSHIP (A.D. 1189).

Frederick I. (Barbarossa), Emperor of Germany, was said to have joined Henry II. of England and Philip of France in a crusade from mere worldly ambition rather than any sincere devotion. An Arabian chronicler, Ibn Gouzi, thus describes his visit to Jerusalem before leaving the East: "The Emperor was ruddy and bald. His sight was weak. If he had been a slave, he would not have been worth two hundred drachmas. His discourse showed that he did not believe his Christian religion. When he spoke of it, it was to sneer at it. Having cast his eyes on the inscription in letters of gold which Saladin has placed above the venerated chapel, which said, 'Saladin purged the Holy City from those who worshipped many gods,' he had it explained to him; and then asking why the windows had gratings, he was told it was to keep out the birds. He answered, 'Yes, you have driven away the sparrows, but instead of them you have let in hogs,' meaning the Christians. When the Emir, enforcing the Sultan's order to avoid what might displease Frederick, rebuked the Mussulmans for uttering on the minarets the passages in the Koran against the Christians, Frederick, hearing of it, told him, 'You have done wrong. Why for my sake omit your duty, your law, or your religion? By heaven, if you come with me to my states----'" At this point the chronicler's account was mutilated, and the rest is unknown.

FULK OF NEUILLY, THE PREACHER OF THE THIRD CRUSADE (A.D. 1195).

As Peter the Hermit was the soul of the First Crusade and St. Bernard of the Second, so Fulk of Neuilly, who died 1202, was the missionary of the Third Crusade in 1195. He had been wild in youth, but settled down and attended the lectures of Peter the Chaunter in Paris, and took copious notes of the brilliant passages. He then poured forth Peter's eloquence in his own next Sunday's sermon, and began to be considered eloquent and stirring. One day his hearers were so overwhelmed with enthusiasm that they tore their clothes, threw away their shoes, and cast themselves at his feet, demanding rods and scourges to inflict instant penance on themselves. Usurers came and threw their gains at his feet. The Pope, Innocent III., heard of Fulk's enthusiasm and highly approved it, and suggested to him a mission to stir up the people. He did so, and went the round of France, distributing crosses, blessing wells, and working miracles. He shaved and wore a sackcloth shirt and rode on a palfrey. He received vast subsidies. But notwithstanding his zeal and success, a profound mistrust settled on mankind that these holy alms were devoted by the Pope and him to other uses. He died of fever in 1202, supposed to have been brought on by grief at these malappropriations. Other preachers, especially the Abbot Martin, had also kept up the missionary enthusiasm, and at last a crusade of Cery began in 1200, the fruit of this stirring of the people.

DEATH OF RICHARD I., A CRUSADER (A.D. 1199).

While Richard I., who had returned from Palestine in 1194, was in 1199 besieging the castle of Chalus in Limousin and was reconnoitring it on all sides, one Bertram de Gurdun aimed an arrow from the castle, striking the King in the arm and inflicting an incurable wound. A physician attempted to extract the iron head from the wound, but took out only the wood at first, and in butcher fashion had to probe again for the rest. The King, feeling that he could not survive, disposed of his wealth, and then ordered the arbalister to be called to his presence. The King asked what harm he had done that the bowman should kill him. The latter at once made answer that the King had slain his father and two brothers with his own hand, and also had intended to kill the speaker, but that he, the latter, was quite ready and willing to endure the greatest torments, being well content that one who had inflicted so many evils on the world should do so no more. The King pardoned the soldier and ordered him to be discharged; but the King's servants, notwithstanding, privily flayed him alive and then hanged him.

FRENCH AND VENETIANS PILLAGING CONSTANTINOPLE.

When the French and Venetians in 1204 besieged and pillaged Constantinople, the Emperor's wife and child had to take refuge in the house of a merchant. The patriarch escaped, riding on an ass without attendants. The conquerors entered the Cathedral of St. Sophia, tore down the veil, the altar, and all its ornaments. They made a prostitute mount on the patriarch's throne and sing and dance in the holy place, to ridicule the hymns and processions of the worshippers. The tombs were stripped of everything saleable. There were many Pagan statues which peculiarly provoked the contempt and zeal of the invaders. The statues of the victorious charioteers, the sphinx, river-horse, and crocodile, of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, of the eagle and serpent, and other designs of Pagan heroes and goddesses, were cast down and disfigured and then burnt. The most enlightened of the invaders searched for and seized the relics of the saints; and it is said that the Abbot Martin transferred a rich cargo to his monastery of Paris. The supply of heads and bones, crosses and images, served the wants of the churches of Europe, and proved most lucrative plunder. The libraries also shared the general fate.

THE POPE TURNS ON CRUSADERS AGAINST THE HERETICS (A.D. 1208).

The southern part of France had long been noted for the variety of heresies caused amongst its mixed population. In 1145 St. Bernard went forth to preach against the heretics of Toulouse, where there were churches without flocks, flocks without priests, and Christians without Christ, where men were dying in their sins without being reconciled by penance or admitted to the Holy Communion, and their souls sent pell-mell before the awful tribunal of God. But even St. Bernard could make little impression on the ungodly population, who drowned his voice and caused him to shake the dust from his feet and to curse the town of Vertfeuil. He died in 1153, and for fifty years later the heretics of Southern France, generally called the Albigenses, vexed the orthodox souls of Popes and Church Councils. At last, about 1208, a fiery and zealous Crusader, on returning from Palestine, was enlisted by Pope Innocent III., and aided by two Spanish monks to extirpate, since they could not hope to convert, these troublesome heretics whom the Pope described as worse than the Saracens. A rally was made of all the fanatical offscourings in the world to help in this heretic hunt, and for fifteen years all the towns and strong castles of the South were taken, lost, pillaged, sacked, and massacred with unbridled ferocity. The brutal Simon de Montfort, after the massacre of chiefs, confiscated the lands and appropriated these to himself. It was a relief to Christians when that unscrupulous bandit, after besieging Toulouse for nine months, was killed by a shower of stones discharged from the walls in 1218.

CRUSADERS FEROCIOUS AGAINST HERETICS (A.D. 1209).

The Crusaders, in 1209, though zealous for their religion, scarcely showed a glimmering of its influence in the conduct of their warlike operations against the Albigenses. They spread desolation wherever they went, destroying vineyards and crops, burning villages and farmhouses, slaughtering unarmed peasants, women, and children. When La Minerve, near Narbonne, after an obstinate defence, yielded and the besieged were offered their freedom if they recanted their heresy, one of the Crusaders shouted out, "We came to extirpate heretics, not to show them favour." This voice from the crowd sharpened their fury, and one hundred and forty of both sexes were burnt to death. At a castle called Brau, De Montfort cut off the noses and tore out the eyes of one hundred of the defenders, leaving to one of them one eye only, that he might lead out the rest. At Lavaur, Almeric and eighty nobles were ordered to be hanged; but because one of the gibbets fell down in using it, they were all butchered with the sword. The sister of Almeric, being deemed an obstinate heretic, was thrown into a well and a pile of stones upon her. A chaplain of the Crusaders at one place reported that four hundred captives were burned with immense joy. One lady at Toulouse, lying on her deathbed, being charged as a heretic, was carried out in her bed and burnt amid the merriment of the orthodox. Yet Simon de Montfort, who had been chosen general of these brutal legions, after despatching so many dissenters of the period, on returning to Northern France was hailed as champion of the faith, and the clergy and people met him in procession, shouting, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." At the siege of Beziers, it is mentioned, where Catholics and heretics both joined in defending their town, Arnold of Citeaux incited the Crusaders to slaughter not only men but women and children indiscriminately, brutally adding, "Kill them all; the Lord knoweth them that are His." The series of campaigns against the Albigenses was said to give the Pope the idea of establishing the Inquisition as a more effectual way of putting down all heretics.

HOW THE ORTHODOX VIEWED THE ALBIGENSES (A.D. 1214).

In 1214 the depravity of the heretics called Albigenses, who dwelt in Gascony, Arumnia, and Alby, gained such power in the parts about Toulouse and in Aragon that they not only practised their impieties in secret, but preached their erroneous doctrine openly. The Albigenses were so called, says Roger of Wendover, from the city of Alba, where that doctrine was said to have taken its rise. At length their perversity set the anger of God so completely at defiance that they published the books of their doctrines amongst the lower order before the very eyes of the bishops and priests, and disgraced the chalices and sacred vessels in disrespect of the body and blood of Christ. Pope Innocent was greatly grieved, and enjoined the chiefs and other Christian people that whoever undertook the business of overthrowing the heretics should, like those who visited the Lord's sepulchre, be protected from all hostile attacks both in property and person. The Crusaders met in large assembly, and then marched to lay siege to the city of Beziers. The heretics there, on seeing their assailants, scornfully threw out the book of the Gospel, blaspheming the name of the Lord. The soldiers of the faith, incensed by such blasphemy, in less than three hours' time scaled the walls, and sacked and burnt the city, and a great slaughter of the infidels took place as the punishment of God, but very few of the Catholics were slain. After a few days, when the report of this miracle was spread abroad, the followers of this heretical depravity fled to the mountains, and abandoned their castles, which were stocked with all kinds of food and stores.

THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE (A.D. 1212).

While the fever for crusading against heretics was kept alive in 1212, a singular development occurred among the little children, who copied what they saw. A shepherd boy named Stephen, at the village of Cloies, near Vendome, arose, who professed to have been commanded by the Saviour in a vision to go and preach the cross. This tale at once was accepted, and he gathered children about him, who went through the towns and villages chanting, "O Lord, help us to recover Thy true and holy cross." The numbers increased as they went along, so that when they reached Paris they were computed at fifteen hundred, and at Marseilles at thirty thousand, marching under banners, crosses, and censers. Parents in vain tried to keep their children from joining in the enthusiasm, and it is related that those who resorted to locks and bars were confounded on seeing these give way and allow the little captives to go free. Stephen, like his betters, was credited with miraculous power, and the threads of his dress were treasured as precious relics. He was carried along on a triumphal car, and had a miniature bodyguard. At last some buccaneering shippers, on pretence of giving them a free passage to Egypt and Africa, kidnapped and sold them as slaves. While this juvenile army was parading through France, a like movement was set on foot by a boy, Nicolas, in Germany, but his following was less successful, and soon became scattered. The sagacious Pope Innocent, in alluding to these childish outbreaks, was pleased to observe that the children put to shame the apathy of their elders.

MORE PREACHING OF THE CRUSADE (A.D. 1236).

In 1236, says Matthew Paris, on a warrant from the Pope, a solemn preaching was made both in England and France by the brethren of the orders of Preachers and Minorites and other famous clerks, theologians, and religious men, granting to those who would assume the cross a full remission of the sins of which they truly repented and made confession. These preachers wandered about amongst cities, castles, and villages, promising to those who assumed the cross much relief in temporal matters--namely, that interest on debts should not accumulate against them with the Jews, and the protection of his Holiness the Pope should be granted for all their incomes and property given in pledge to procure necessaries for their journey; and thus they incited an immense number of people to make a vow of pilgrimage. The Pope afterwards sent also Master Thomas, a Templar, his familiar, into England with his warrant to absolve those Crusaders whom he chose and thought expedient from their vow of pilgrimage, on receiving money from them which he considered that he could expend advantageously for the interests of the Holy Land. When the Crusaders saw this, they wondered at the insatiable greediness of the Roman Court, and conceived great indignation in their minds, because the Romans endeavoured thus impudently to drain their purses by so many devices. For the preachers also promised the same indulgence to all, whether they assumed the cross or not, if they contributed their property and means for the assistance of the Holy Land. The Pope thus accumulated an endless sum of money to defend the Church. But peace was soon after made and the project abandoned; nevertheless, the money was never restored, and thus the devotion of many became daily weakened.

ESCAPING THE CRUSADE BY PAYING MONEY (A.D. 1241).

Matthew Paris says: "In 1241, in order that the wretched country of England might be robbed and despoiled of its wealth by a thousand devices, the Preacher and Minorite brethren, supported by a warrant from the Pope in their preaching, granted full remission of sins to all who should assume the cross for the liberation of the Holy Land. And immediately, or at least two or three days after they had prevailed on many to assume the cross, they absolved them from their vow, on condition that they would contribute a large amount of money for the assistance of the Holy Land, each as far as his means would permit. And in order to render the English more ready and willing to accede to their demands, they declared that the money was to be sent to Earl Richard; and, moreover, they showed a letter of his for better security. They also granted the same indulgence to old men and invalids, women, imbeciles, and children who took the cross or purposed taking it, receiving money, however, from them beforehand for this indulgence, and showed letters testimonial from Earl Richard concerning this matter which had been obtained from the Roman Court. By this method of draining the purses of the English an immense sum of money was obtained, owing to the favour in which Earl Richard was held; but we would here ask who was to be a faithful guardian and dispenser of this money; for we do not know."

ELOQUENT ENTHUSIASM OF THE MASTER OF HUNGARY (A.D. 1251).

In 1251 a religious frenzy arose in Flanders and France under the name of the Pastoureux or Shepherds. It began among the lowest classes, who attributed the imprisonment of their king, St. Louis, by the Mussulmans to the neglect and avarice of the clergy. A champion arose, called the Master of Hungary, an aged man with a long beard and a pale emaciated face, who spoke three or four languages, boasted that he had no authority from the Pope, but he clasped in his hand a roll which he said contained instructions from the Blessed Virgin herself. He said she had appeared to him encircled by hosts of angels, and had given him this commission to summon the poor shepherds to the deliverance of their godly King. This awful personage excited the most intense interest. He was an apostate monk, who in his youth had imbibed atheism and magic from unholy sources. He it was who in his youth led a crusade of children who had plunged, following his steps, by thousands into the sea. His eloquence and mystic look attracted wondering crowds. The shepherds and peasants left their flocks, their ploughs, and their fields, and, regardless of hunger and want, roamed after their leader, till they swelled to thirty thousand, and then to one hundred thousand men. They moved in battle-array, brandishing clubs, pikes, axes, and weapons picked up at random. Provosts and mayors were panic-stricken at the swarm of banners of the cross and standards of the Virgin and angels. The Master scornfully spoke of the clergy and usurped the offices of the Church, distributing crosses and dispensing absolution. He taunted the monks and friars with hypocrisy, gluttony, and pride. It was rumoured that the mob was miraculously fed. He entered a church and declaimed eloquently on the vices of the enemy. At last riots arose, and his head was cloven by a battle-axe, and the leaders were killed like mad dogs till the multitude disappeared.

DEATHBED OF ST. LOUIS OF FRANCE, CRUSADER (A.D. 1270).

For seven years after his return from the East in 1254, St. Louis, King of France, could not rest in his mind till he had again entered on a new crusade to reconquer Jerusalem and deliver the Holy Sepulchre. But he kept his own counsel and awaited the progress of events. In 1261 he told his parliament that there should be fasts and prayers for the Christians of the East. In 1267, on convoking his parliament in Paris, having first had the precious relics deposited in the Holy Chapel set before the eyes of the assembly, he opened the session by ardently exhorting those present to avenge the insult which had so long been offered to the Saviour in the Holy Land, and to recover the Christian heritage possessed for our sins by the infidels. And next year, in 1268, he took an oath to start in May 1270, and to take his three sons, aged twenty-two, eighteen, and seventeen. He urged Joinville, his biographer, to take the cross and join him; but Joinville flatly refused, thinking the King would do far more good by remaining at home. The King was in weak health, and the plan of the expedition was long unsettled, and at the last moment he decided first to go to Tunis, as he had a notion that he might convert the King, Mohammed Mostanser, who had long been talking of becoming a Christian. But on reaching Tunis on July 17th, 1270, it was found that the French must first fight the Mussulman prince, and the army was ill provisioned and unready. On August 3rd the King was attacked with epidemic fever and kept his bed in tent. He called his son and daughter and gave them the best advice; and after giving an interview to a messenger from the Emperor sent to bespeak his good offices, the saintly King ceased to think of the affairs of this world. He kept repeating prayers for mercy on his own people, and that they might return safely to their own land. He now and then raised himself on his bed, muttering the words, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem. We will go up to Jerusalem." He retained possession of his faculties to the last, insisted on receiving out of bed extreme unction, and on lying down upon a coarse sackcloth covered with cinders with the cross before him. On Monday, August 25th, 1270, at 3 p.m., he died, uttering these last words: "Father, after the example of the Divine Master, into Thy hands I commend my spirit."

CRUSADERS ENTERTAINED ON THEIR WAY HOME.

When Earl Richard, brother of King Henry III., returned in 1241 from the Holy Land on his way to visit the Emperor, Frederick II., and the Empress, the sister of Richard, he was received with the greatest joy and honour in the various cities, the citizens and their ladies coming to meet him with music and singing, bearing branches of trees and flowers, dressed in holiday garments and ornaments. On reaching the Emperor, Richard was treated with blood-letting, baths, and divers medicinal fomentations to restore his strength after the dangers of the sea. At the end of some days, by the Emperor's orders, various kinds of games and musical instruments, which were procured for the Empress's amusement, were exhibited before him, and afforded great pleasure. Amongst other astonishing novelties there was one which particularly excited his admiration and praise. Two Saracen girls of handsome form mounted upon four round balls placed on the floor--namely, one of the two on two balls, and the other on the other two. They walked backwards and forwards, clapping their hands, moving at pleasure on these revolving globes, gesticulating with their arms, singing various tunes and twisting their bodies according to the tune, beating cymbals or castanets together with their hands, and putting themselves into various amusing postures, affording, with the other jugglers, an admirable spectacle to the lookers-on. After staying with the Emperor about two months, Earl Richard took his departure, loaded with costly presents.

A DYING KING BEQUEATHS HIS HEART AS A CRUSADER.

When Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, was on his deathbed in 1329, Froissart tells how he made this dying request to his friend Sir James Douglas: "'Sir James, my dear friend, none knows better than you how great labour and suffering I have undergone in my day for the maintenance of the rights of my kingdom, and when I was hardest beset made a vow which it now grieves me deeply that I have not accomplished. I vowed to God, that, if I should live to see an end of my wars, and be enabled to govern this realm in peace, I would carry on war against the enemies of my Lord and Saviour to the best of my power. Never has my heart ceased to bend to that point; but our Lord has not consented thereto, for I have had my hands full in my days, and now at the last I am seized with this grievous sickness, so that, as you all see, I have nothing to do but to die. And since my body cannot go thither and accomplish that which I have so much at heart, I have resolved to send my heart there in place of my body, to fulfil my vow. I entreat thee, therefore, my dear and tried friend, that for the love you bear to me you will undertake this voyage and acquit my soul of its debt to my Saviour.' On the knight promising faithfully to obey his command, 'Praise be to God,' said the King. 'I shall die in peace, since I am assured that the best and most valiant knight of my kingdom has promised to achieve for me that which I myself could never accomplish.'" When King Robert Bruce died, his heart was taken out from his body and embalmed, and the Douglas caused a case of silver to be made, into which he put the heart and wore it round his neck by a string of silk and gold. He set out to the Holy Land, attended by a gallant train of Scottish chiefs; but on touching at Spain he found the Saracen King or Sultan of Grenada, called Osmyn, then invading the realms of Alphonso, the orthodox Spanish King of Castile. The latter King received the Douglas with great honour, and persuaded him to assist in driving back these Saracens. Douglas consented; and during a battle, seeing a comrade surrounded by the Moors, he took from his neck the heart, flung it into the thick of the enemy, and rushing to the spot where it fell, was himself slain. The body of the good Lord James was found lying above the silver case, as if to defend it had been his last effort. His companions then resolved not to proceed to the Holy Land, but to return with the sacred heart to Scotland, and it was buried below the high altar in Melrose Abbey.

THE HOSPITALLERS AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARS (A.D. 1118-1313).

A monastery for the benefit of Latin pilgrims had been founded at Jerusalem about 1050 by some wealthy merchants, and a hospital of St. John the Baptist was attached to help sick pilgrims and protect them against robbers. The Hospitallers soon separated from the monastery when the Crusaders arrived, and their dress was fixed as black with a white cross. Kings and nobles came to the assistance of this charity with gifts and endowments, and Raymond du Puy, on becoming master of the hospital in 1118, drew up rules which enjoined a regular system of begging alms for the poor, and each member when travelling was to carry a light with him, which was to be kept burning all night. The order of Knights Templars began about 1118 from similar motives, the object being to protect against the robbers the highways used by pilgrims. At first the Knights Templars were very poor, and the seal of their order showed two knights riding on one horse, a symbol which some explain as indicating poverty, and others as indicating brotherly kindness. Hugh de Payens and other French knights were the first members, and soon attracted attention, especially as St. Bernard, a nephew of one of the knights, warmly commended the institution and drew up rules for them. Each knight was restricted to keep three horses only, not to hawk nor hunt, not to receive presents nor use gaudy trappings in their equipments. They were charged always "to strike the lion," which was understood to mean the infidels. They were forbidden to lock their trunks, to walk alone, or to kiss their mothers or sisters. Their habit was said to be white with a red cross on the breast. The order began modestly, but soon included three hundred knights of noble families, and these attracted wealth, and this in time gave occasion for pride, insolence, and defiance of ecclesiastical discipline. The Knights Templars by degrees became a half-monastic and half-military order, attracting all the spirited youths of Europe. St. Bernard called them a perpetual sacred militia, the bodyguard of the Kings of Jerusalem, and a standing army on the outposts of civilisation. Lands, castles, riches, were given to them. The Popes patronised them. For two hundred years they kept up their credit, and fought with consummate valour, discipline, activity, and zeal for the cause of Christianity. They then excited the enmity of Philip the Fair, who coveted their wealth, and as an excuse for attacking them said he had heard of the secret vices and depravity of the order, and accused and arrested all that were in France in 1307. They were subjected by him to fearful torture to make them confess, and many confessed anything and everything, being thereby able to escape further tortures. De Molay, the Grand Master, confessed, retracted, then confessed, and again retracted. Edward II. caused those Templars settled in England to be arrested also. In 1310 fifty-four of the French Templars who denied the charges were burnt in Paris. De Molay, after being six years in prison, was burnt in 1313, protesting his innocence and that of the order. Philip the Fair was present part of the time. Philip's avarice and desire to confiscate their property were thought to be the moving cause of this atrocious tyranny, as he had borrowed money from them to pay the dowry of his sister, the Queen of England. The ashes of the victims were carefully collected and treasured as relics. It was afterwards currently believed that Molay at the stake summoned the Pope and the King (Philip), as the authors of his death, to appear before the judgment seat of Christ within forty days and a year respectively, and that each of them died within the time assigned. Philip, at the age of forty-six in 1314, met with an accident while hunting in the forest of Fontainebleau, from which he never recovered, leaving a name detested for every kind of despotism and oppression; and his chief minister, Marigny, was hanged soon after. Pope Clement V. had acted with a mean and cowardly acquiescence in the King's acts, and died in the same year.

CRUSADERS' FAITH IN PROVIDENCE.

De Joinville, in his Memoir of St. Louis IX. of France, says that when they were returning in 1254 from the Sixth Crusade, this accident happened on board the ship of the Lord d'Argonnes, one of the most powerful lords of Provence: "Lord d'Argonnes was annoyed one morning in bed by the rays of the sun darting on his eyes through a hole in the vessel, and calling one of his esquires, ordered him to stop the hole. The esquire, finding he could not stop it inside, attempted to do it on the outside, but his foot slipping he fell into the sea. The ship kept on her way, and there was not the smallest boat alongside to succour him. We who were in the King's ship saw him; but as we were half a league off, we thought it was some piece of furniture that had fallen into the sea, for the esquire did not attempt to save himself nor to move. When we came nearer, one of the King's boats took him up and brought him on board our vessel, when he related his accident. We asked him why he did not attempt to save himself by swimming, nor call out to the other ships for help. He said he had no occasion to do so, for as he fell into the sea he exclaimed, 'Our Lady of Valbert!' and that she supported him by his shoulders until the King's galley came to him. In honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to perpetuate this miracle, I had it painted in my chapel of Joinville, and also in the windows of the church of Blecourt."

COLUMBUS VOWING ANOTHER CRUSADE (A.D. 1493).

Columbus was in spirit a crusader rather than a maritime discoverer. The moment that the terms were fairly settled, he opened his project to Queen Isabella (herself a proselytising Catholic), and suggested that the vast wealth of Kubla Khan which he expected would accrue from his discovery should be devoted to the pious purpose 'of rescuing the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem from the power of the infidels.' When he came home in triumph, he made a vow to furnish within seven years an army, consisting of five thousand horse and fifty thousand foot, for the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre, and a similar force within the five following years. How tenaciously he held to his purpose we may gather from the fact that, when he was brought home in chains to Spain and was in the deepest sorrow and distress, he prepared an elaborate appeal to the sovereigns to undertake the fulfilment of the vow which his poverty and weakness forbade him to redeem; he wrote at the same time to the Pope, affirming that his enterprise had been undertaken with the intent of dedicating the gains to the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre; and that the evidence might be complete, he reaffirmed it solemnly in death by his last testament, and committed it as the dearest object of his heart, the most sacred purpose of his life, for fulfilment to his heirs. When Columbus after his first voyage told his story to Ferdinand and Isabella, they fell on their knees, giving thanks to God with many tears, and then the choristers of the Royal Chapel closed the grand ceremonial by singing the Te Deum. He was created a Don, with reversion to his sons and brothers, rode by the King's side, and "All hail!" was said to him on State occasions. He brought with him nine Indians, as specimens of the wide field for future proselytes, and these natives were baptised. One of them, after being baptised, died, and the authorities of the time, as Herrera relates, were pleased then to declare that he was the first coloured person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Twelve missionaries, under charge of a Benedictine monk, were sent out to take charge of the souls of the other Indians, and bring them to a knowledge of the Holy Catholic faith. And Admiral Columbus was specially charged besides to make them presents, and to deal lovingly with them. Columbus was all his life aware of some prophecy that Jerusalem was to be rebuilt by the hand of a Christian, and he looked forward to be that Christian; and he used to say that he would try and discover the exact kingdom of Prester John, who was known to be in want of missionaries to help him.

NUMBERS OF CRUSADERS.

The First Crusade, which was led by Peter the Hermit, by Walter the Penniless, by a German priest, and by some nondescript leaders, consisted of a mob of a quarter of a million of people, and other contingents swelled the number to 880,000. When they succeeded in capturing Jerusalem, they massacred ten thousand inhabitants, including women and children. Then Godfrey, throwing aside his armour, clothed with a linen mantle, and with bare head and naked feet, went to the Church of the Sepulchre. The First Crusade captured Nice, then Antioch after a severe siege, and then Jerusalem; and then a king was elected and remained. The Second Crusade, stirred up by St. Bernard in 1144, consisted of some 1,200,000 men, including Louis VII. of France, and was a total failure. The Third Crusade, in 1189, including Richard I. of England, was also numerous, and consumed twenty-three months in besieging Acre, but it ended in small progress. The Fourth Crusade, in 1203, stopped short at and attacked Constantinople. The Fifth Crusade, in 1228, resulted in a treaty by which Palestine was left to the Crusaders. The Sixth Crusade, in 1244, including Louis IX. of France (St. Louis), was utterly defeated, and Jerusalem pillaged by the Turks. The Seventh Crusade, again including St. Louis and Edward (afterwards Edward I. of England), in 1270, ended in abortive efforts to keep possession of the Holy Land, which was at last abandoned to the Saracens.

THE MODERN GREEK CHURCH AND ITS PILGRIMAGES.

Ricaut, in his account of the modern Greek Church two centuries ago, says: "The Greeks were extremely fond of visiting their churches and chapels, especially such as were on precipices and places very difficult of access; and indeed the greatest part of their devotion consisted in such voluntary fatigues. On their first arrival at the church or chapel, they crossed themselves over and over, and made a thousand genuflexions and profound bows. They kissed the image which was erected there, and treated it with three or four grains of the choicest frankincense, and recommended themselves to the Blessed Virgin or the saint whom the image represented. But in case the saint did not incline his ear and hearken to their vows, they soon made him sensible of their resentment. Here, as in other places, these pilgrimages and peculiar foundations of chapels were looked upon as meritorious, and became the effects of mere superstition."

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Chapter XIV

SOME GREAT CHURCHES AND CATHEDRALS.

EARLY BASILICA CHURCH ARCHITECTURE.

The basilicas of Pagan Rome were long rectangular buildings, divided along their whole length sometimes by two, not seldom by four, lines of columns, and serving as halls or courts of justice. The Christians of the fourth and fifth centuries often obtained from favouring emperors leave to turn these basilicas into churches. It was thought that this gave a pattern to early churches. The roof was gradually raised proportionately and the arms thrown out wider to accommodate an increased congregation, thereby assuming a cruciform outline. St. Peter's at Rome, before Michael Angelo's design, was a basilica, also St. Paul's without the walls, and the church of Maria Maggiore: these and the church of St. Apollinaris at Ravenna were the grandest of this class of churches. Justinian, the Emperor, reared many basilicas, and his masterpiece was St. Sophia's church at Constantinople, which was imitated in the church of St. Vitalis at Ravenna. The period is uncertain when the central dome or cupola came to be added. In the eleventh century a new era of church-building began, called the Romanesque, and lasted about two centuries in Italy and Norman England. Then came the Gothic, though the Goths had nothing to do with the invention: the pointed arch is the characteristic, and it was first noticed in Sicily, and then spread rapidly in Germany, Northern France, and England. In Italy the Renaissance was equally making its way, with its rich marbles, mosaics, and gold and silver decorations.

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.

Lord Lindsay, in his "Christian Art," says that the buildings required for the religious ceremonies of the Church in the fourth century were of three descriptions: (1) baptisteries for the performance of the initiatory rite of Christianity; (2) churches for the united worship of the initiated and the celebration of the mystery of the Lord's Supper; (3) sepulchral chapels for the commemorative prayers offered up for the welfare of the departed who sleep in Christ. For the first of these, the public baths; for the second, the basilicas or courts of justice; for the third, the subterranean cells of the Catacombs, presented ready models. The basilicas were models of everything that could be desired. Their plan was an oblong area, divided by pillars into a nave and two aisles, the nave being sometimes open to the sky, sometimes roofed in, the aisles always so protected, the whole bounded by a transverse aisle or transept, raised by several steps and terminating at the extremity opposite the door of the building in a semicircular niche or tribune where the judge sat. Nothing could be easier than to accommodate an edifice like this to the demands of Christian worship. Two basilicas, the Laterana and Vaticana at Rome, were actually converted by Constantine into churches. The basilica retained its form unchanged for ages.

THE COPTIC CHURCH.

The name of Coptic Church is given to the Church among the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, so called from Coptos, a city in Upper Egypt. This Church traces its origin to St. Mark, and had Origen, St. Antony, St. Athanasius, St. Cyril, and others as its early champions. The Coptic Church was almost identified with other Churches up to the council of Chalcedon in 451, from which date it was viewed as an unorthodox Church. One Timothy the Cat was the leader of the heretics, and he got this name from visiting the cells of the monks by night, and proclaiming himself an angel from heaven, and charging them to forsake the people whom he viewed as heretics, but whom we would call orthodox. The Timotheans murdered the arch-priest of the opposite party. Two rival sets of patriarchs headed these factions. The Copt who enters his church takes off his shoes, walks up to the curtain, kisses the hem, and prostrates himself before the sanctuary. Standing during the service is usual; hence all are supplied with crutches of a height to enable the worshippers to lean upon them. There are no organs, but musical accompaniments are made by cymbals, triangles, and small brass bells struck with a little rod. There are no images permitted, but paintings adorn the walls on every side, the principal of which is one of Christ blessing His Church.

SPIRES AND TOWERS OF CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES.

The spire has for centuries been a frequent ornament of churches in all countries, though in England there were few spires in the earliest churches. The highest spires have been as follows: Old St. Paul's, 527 feet; Cologne, 510 feet; Strasburg, 500 feet; Vienna, 441 feet; St. Peter's dome, 434 feet; Amiens, 422 feet; Antwerp, 406 feet; Salisbury, 404 feet; Florence, 387 feet; Freiburg, 385 feet; Milan, 355 feet; Chartres, 353 feet; Segovia, 330 feet; St. Michael's, Coventry, 320 feet; Norwich, 309 feet; Louth, 294 feet; Chichester, 271 feet; Glasgow, 225 feet; St. Patrick's, Dublin, 223 feet. The towers of churches were also rare until the eleventh century. Owing to a faulty foundation or subsidence, some towers lean considerably out of the perpendicular, as St. Marian at Este, Pisa, and Bologna, Vienna, Delft, Saragossa, Weston (Lincolnshire), The Temple (Bristol), Wynunbury (Cheshire), and Surfleet. Galileo took advantage of the leaning tower at Pisa to make experiments on falling bodies. The following is the height of the highest towers: Bruges, 442 feet; Mechlin, 348 feet; Utrecht, 321 feet; Tournay, 320 feet; Ludlow, 294 feet; Grantham, 274 feet; Boston, 268 feet; Lincoln, 262 feet; Canterbury, 229 feet; Gloucester and Westminster, 225 feet; Durham, 216 feet; York, 198 feet.

INTERNAL DIMENSIONS OF CATHEDRALS.

The length, width at transept, and height in feet of the largest cathedrals are said to be: St. Peter's, Rome, 613, 450, 152; Old St. Paul's, 590, 300, 102; Modern St. Paul's, 460, 240, 88; Canterbury, 514, 130, 80; Winchester, 545, 209, 78; St. Albans, 543, 175, 66; Westminster, 505, 190, 103; Ely, 517, 185, 72; York, 486, 222, 101; Durham, 473, 170, 70; Lincoln, 468, 220, 82; Salisbury, 450, 206, 84; Florence, 458, 334, 153; Saltzburg, 466; Cologne, 445, 250, 161; Milan, 443, 287, 153; Granada, 425, 249; Amiens, 442, 194, 140; Paris, 432, 186; Chartres, 418, 200, 114; Rouen, 415, 176, 89; Valladolid, 414, 204; Seville, 398, 291, 132; Ratisbon, 384, 128, 118; Constantinople, 360; Palermo, 346, 138, 74; Drontheim, 334, 166; Upsala, 330, 140, 105; Vienna, 337, 115, 92; St. Patrick's, Dublin, 300, 157, 58; Glasgow, 282; Venice, 205, 164.

THE GOTHIC CATHEDRALS.

The birthplace of true Gothic architecture was north of the Alps--it would seem on the Rhine. The northern climate may have had something to do with its rise and development. Its high roof would cast off more easily the heavy snows; the numerous windows would welcome the flooding light; and to restore the solemnity and subdue the glare painted glass was resorted to. The Gothic cathedral, says Milman, was the consummation, the completion, of mediæval, of hierarchical, Christianity. The church might seem to expand and lay itself out in long and narrow avenues with the most gracefully converging perspective, in order that the worshipper might contemplate with deeper awe the more remote central ceremonial. The enormous height more than compensated for the contracted breadth. Nothing could be more finely arranged for the impressive services; and the processional services became more frequent, more imposing. The music, instead of being beaten down by low, broad arches, or lost within the heavier aisles, soared freely to the lofty roof, pervaded the whole building, was infinitely multiplied as it died and rose again to the fretted roof. Even the incense, curling more freely up to the immeasurable height, might give the notion of clouds of adoration finding their way to heaven. The Gothic cathedral remains an imperishable monument of hierarchical wealth, power, devotion. It has been described as a vast book in stone--a book which taught by symbolic language, partly plain and obvious to the simplest man, partly shrouded in not less attractive mystery. Even its height, its vastness, might appear to suggest the inconceivable, the incomprehensible, the infinite, the incalculable grandeur and majesty of the Divine works. The mind felt humble under its shadow, as before an awful presence.

THE ALTAR IN CHURCHES.

Christian churches had an altar, which, to distinguish it from the old altars of the Jewish and Pagan temples, on which sacrifices of blood were offered, was only a table, shaped in memory of the Last Supper. Altars of stone began to be used in the fourth century, and were directed by several councils to be used, as these were symbolical of Christ, the Rock. About the thirteenth century, the altar began to be shaped like a tomb. At first there was only one altar allowed in one church, to signify the unity of the Church; but at later dates more than one were introduced for convenience. The altar at first stood in the centre of the church, but in later times stood at the east end of the building. In the tenth century the cross began to be put on the altar, but neither cross nor candles were put permanently there till the fourteenth century. The great distinction in England after the Reformation was the substitution of a plain movable wooden table for the celebration of the Communion instead of the fixed altar.

INCENSE AND HOLY WATER IN CHURCHES.

Incense was a mode of symbolising the prayers offered to God. Some trace its origin to the fifth, and others no higher than the eighth or ninth, century. In the Catacombs it may have been useful to dispel damp and noisome smells. It was a very frequent accompaniment of Divine service in all Christian churches before the Reformation. Holy water was suggested as a mode of exorcising devils, and Pope Alexander I. directed it to be used in churches, and it was mixed with salt. A stone basin, called a holy-water stock, was kept at the entrance of churches, with a brush for scattering it.

ST. PETER'S AT ROME.

The great attraction of Christendom for centuries was the church of St. Peter's at Rome, built on the site of the original church in which it was said the Apostle Peter officiated. In 306 Constantine founded a basilica on the same spot. In 1450, the structure being ruinous, Pope Nicholas V. commenced the present extensive building, but it was long before it advanced. When Michael Angelo completed the design for a Papal tomb, it gave a stimulus to this undertaking, and Julius II. engaged Bramante to complete a design, and that was proceeded with. After two or three successors had been engaged, one of them being Raphael, Michael Angelo was appointed to complete the works, and he acted as chief designer till 1563, when he died at the age of eighty-nine. The main design was not completed till 1590. The number of architects has thus marred the unity of the building, and each having added or altered something, alterations still went on till 1780, so that nearly three and a half centuries passed in maturing it. It covers about six acres, and is about 100 feet longer than St. Paul's, London. The interior is of magnificent and harmonious proportions. The height of the nave is 152 feet, and 88 feet wide; the side aisles are 34 feet wide. The diameter of the interior of the cupola is 139 feet. The exterior height to the top of the cross is 448 feet. The nave is richly decorated with gilding and stucco ornaments, and colossal statues fill the lower niches. The dome is supported by four massive piers, each with two recesses. Above the lower recesses are four balconies, in which are preserved the relics of saints. One is the sudarium or handkerchief of Veronica, containing a likeness of the Saviour. There is also a portion of the true cross discovered by St. Helena. The head of St. Andrew is also here. The cupola above the dome is divided into sixteen compartments, ornamented with gilded stuccoes and mosaics. The design, altitude, and decorations of the cupola are described as glorious, and the mind dilates with wonder and rapture as the details are examined. The Baldacchino or grand canopy over the high altar is under the centre of the dome, and is 95 feet high, supported by four spiral columns. The high altar is immediately over the relics of St. Peter. This altar is only used on grand occasions, and the Pope alone can celebrate Mass there, or a cardinal specially authorised by a Papal brief. On the right side of the nave is a bronze statue of St. Peter on a marble chair, and with the foot extended. On entering the basilica devotees kiss the toe of this foot, and press their foreheads against it. The figure is rude and of uncertain origin. The tribune, which is behind and east of the high altar, is decorated with the designs of Michael Angelo, and contains the chair of St. Peter, in which he is said to have once officiated, and which is kept in a closet high in the wall safely locked with three keys, and exhibited only on rare occasions. In one chapel the Pieta of Michael Angelo, a marble group, and a masterpiece of his, is placed. In another chapel there is a column in white marble, said to have been brought from the Temple at Jerusalem, and the one against which the Saviour leaned when He disputed with the doctors. The illumination of St. Peter's on Easter Sunday, when all the details are lit up with lamps, is like a blaze of fireworks. When lit up, there are 6,800 lamps burning.

THE SIXTINE CHAPEL AT ROME.

The Sixtine Chapel at Rome was built in 1473, under Pope Sixtus IV. The upper walls and roof are adorned with frescoes illustrating scenes in the Old and New Testaments. The architectural and pictured details are all in unison. Michael Angelo's genius is here transcendent. And Raphael was an admirer of the designs. The grand fresco of the Last Judgment by Michael Angelo is at one end of the building. To encourage the artist in this great work, the Pope, attended by ten cardinals, often went to visit him, and this was deemed at the time an unparalleled honour to Art. The Pope, it is said, was anxious to have this fresco painted in oils, but the artist declined peremptorily, saying that oil-painting was fit only for women and idlers who had plenty of time to throw away. The nudity of the figures in this work was much discussed at the time, and the Pope at last employed one Daniele da Volterra to cover some of them with drapery, and he was nicknamed the "Breeches-maker"; at a later date further draperies were added, which spoiled the picture considerably. The colours are now dim with age and the smoke of candles and incense.

THE CATHEDRAL OF GENOA.

About 1310 the cathedral of San Lorenzo was erected at Genoa, and the bas-relief over the principal entrance and a large fresco on the ceiling represent St. Laurence's martyrdom. The roof and pillars are of alternate white and black marble. The richest portion of the church is the chapel of St. John the Baptist, which no female is permitted to enter, except on one day of the year--an exclusion imposed by Pope Innocent VIII., in recollection of the daughter of Herodias. The relics of the saint are said to be contained in an iron-bound chest which is seen through the apertures of the marble covering. On the day of his nativity they are carried in procession. In the treasury of the cathedral is preserved the sacro catino, long supposed to be composed of a single piece of emerald, and also variously asserted by some to be a gift from the Queen of Sheba to Solomon; by others to be the dish which held the paschal lamb at the Last Supper; by others the vessel in which Joseph of Arimathæa received the blood flowing from the side of the Saviour. It was part of the spoils taken at Cæsarea in 1101. The Crusaders and their allies divided the booty, and the Genoese selected this precious vessel as their portion. It is exposed to the veneration of the faithful three times a year. No stranger is allowed to touch it under a heavy penalty. Yet some daringly curious have attempted to discover the metal or mineral. Some travellers affect to have discovered that it is glass, and this is the latest belief. The dish is hexagonal, the colour is beautiful, and the transparency perfect.

THE CATHEDRAL OF TURIN.

A church at Turin dedicated to St. John the Baptist was first erected in 602, but the present cathedral was begun in 1498, and the decorations are comparatively modern. The sacristy contains magnificent crosses, vases, and reliquaries, the chief object, however, being a large statue of the Virgin, crowned and standing under a silver-gilt canopy. Behind the cathedral is the Chapel del Sudario, which contains many unique architectural effects; the centre of a star-decorated pavement is the altar, on which is placed the shrine, brilliant with gold, silver, and precious stones. The santo sudario, according to the legend, is one of the folds of the shroud in which our Lord was wrapped by Joseph of Arimathæa, and on which an impression was left of His body, other folds being preserved at Rome, Besançon, and Cadouin. The one at Turin was brought from Cyprus in 1452 by a descendant of a Crusader. This shrine has been invoked by kings, and is worshipped with great reverence. In another church at Turin, called Corpus Domini, which is highly decorated, there is an inscription to commemorate the miraculous recovery of a piece of sacramental plate, containing the consecrated wafer. During a pillage a soldier stole it, and hid it in one of the panniers which an ass was carrying, but the ass refused to pass the church door. The sacred pyx fell to the ground, and the wafer, rising into the air, remained suspended there, encircled with rays of light, until the bishop and his clergy came out to receive it. This miracle happened in 1453, and three paintings on the vault of the nave represent it.

THE CATHEDRAL OF MILAN.

At Milan the cathedral has been rebuilt thrice, the present being begun in 1387. The central tower and spire are of great beauty. A statue of the Madonna crowns the spire, and it is 355 feet high. The interior is magnificent, and said to be the grandest in the world, and bears a long examination. The height of the pillars of the nave is 80 feet. The roof is painted to represent an elaborate fretwork. The painted glass is abundant and of extraordinary brilliancy. Suspended from the vaulting of the octagon over the altar is a reliquary, said to contain one of the nails of the cross, which once a year is exhibited on the altar. The circuit wall of the choir towards the aisles is covered with bas-reliefs representing the history of the Virgin. There is an altar with the celebrated crucifix which was carried about the city before St. Carlo during the plague at Milan. On the high altar is a magnificent tabernacle of gilt bronze with figures of the Saviour and the Twelve Apostles. The subterranean chapel of San Carlo is dedicated to that saint, who was a great sanitary reformer and excited the enmity of the monks, one of whom fired at him as he was kneeling at the altar during the anthem. The bullet struck him on the back, but fell harmless to the ground, and this was deemed an interposition of Providence. The saint continued in prayer undisturbed. He died in 1584, and his body is deposited in a gorgeous shrine of silver, and is seen through panes of rock crystal arrayed in full pontificals. The flesh has crumbled away, notwithstanding the efforts of the embalmers. St. Ambrose, who was born in 340, was chosen archbishop of Milan in 375.

THE CATHEDRAL OF FLORENCE.

The Florentines, in 1294, were determined to surpass their contemporaries in the grandeur of their cathedral, which is said to have given the idea of St. Peter's at Rome. The cupola is the largest dome in the world, though the summit of St. Peter's is higher. The interior is rather dark, owing to the smallness of the windows and the richness of the stained glass. The whole design is characterised by grandeur and simplicity, and the pavement in variegated marbles enhances the general effect. The choir and the high altar are placed beneath the dome. Behind the altar is a Pieta or group of the Virgin at the entombment, designed by Michael Angelo. The campanile or bell-tower is 275 feet high, and decorated with rich tablets from the designs of Giotto. The cost of the tower was said to be enormous. Six fine bells are hung at the top. The baptistery has as its chief glory the bronze doors executed by Ghiberti and Andrea Pisano, and which Michael Angelo said were worthy to be the gates of Paradise. They illustrate the chief events in the life of our Lord, as well as scenes in the Old Testament history. The perspective of these sculptures is in modern times viewed as defective, and too much detail is introduced; but the borderings are exquisite. The cupola is covered with mosaics, and the floor is a mosaic of black and white marble. In Florence there is also a chapel of the Annunziata, with altar and silver-work decorations and frescoes. The miraculous fresco of the Annunciation is believed to have been painted by angels, and is exhibited only on great occasions. A celebrated Madonna was here painted by Andrea del Sarto, which he gave for a sack of wheat, and hence called "Madonna del Sacco."

THE CATHEDRAL OF PISA.

The first period of Christian architecture was the Roman basilica, the second the Byzantine, and the third the Lombard and Norman style, which was followed by the Gothic. The most splendid specimen of the Lombard style is the cathedral of Pisa. It was the oblation of the richest and most powerful city in Italy at the height of her prosperity, her industry, her commerce, her fame; it was made in the pride of her wealth, in a passion of gratitude for a victory, and for rich plunder taken from the Mohammedans in the harbour of Palermo. The cathedral makes one of the four buildings--the dome, the baptistery, the leaning tower, the Campo Santo--which in their sad grandeur in the deserted city surpass all other groups of buildings in Europe. The cathedral, standing alone, would command the highest admiration. The west front displays a profusion of tiers of arches above arches, arranged with finer proportion, richness, and upward decreasing order than elsewhere. But its sublimity is within. Its plan, the Latin cross, in the most perfect proportion, gives an impressive unity to its central nave, with its double aisles, its aisled transepts, and its receding apse. Its loftiness is more commanding than any building of its class in Italy. The Corinthian pillars along the nave are of admirable height and proportion. The first stone of the cathedral was laid in 1067, and the whole was completed in 1118. The extraordinary campanile or bell-tower, now called the leaning tower, was begun in 1174, and the foundation giving way accounts for its falling from the perpendicular. The tower is cylindrical, is 53 feet in diameter, and is 179 feet high. On the summit of the tower are seven bells, which are sonorous and harmonious. The baptistery adjoining has a dome 99 feet in diameter. On the exterior of the eastern doorway are sculptures representing the martyrdom of John the Baptist. In the centre of the building is the font, about 14 feet in diameter. The great ornament of this building is the pergamo or pulpit, by Nicolo Pisano, of hexagonal form, with bas-reliefs of the events in Christ's life. The Campo Santo is a cemetery containing a great collection of sepulchral monuments and a museum of the dead. Upwards of three hundred statues and sculptures are here, and six hundred tombs of families. The frescoes on the walls include pictures of a great variety of sacred subjects from the Old and New Testaments, and some of these are by superior artists.

CHAPEL OF SAN GENNARO AT NAPLES.

Near the basilica of Santa Restituta, which is the cathedral at Naples, is a chapel of San Gennaro, richly decorated. It is chiefly remarkable for the blood of St. Januarius, which is exhibited in two phials resting in a tabernacle behind the high altar. The blood of the saint liquefies three times a year. The saint was exposed to lions in the amphitheatre about 305, when the beasts prostrated themselves before him and grew tame. He was afterwards decapitated and his body deposited at Pozzuoli, and then removed to this church. The blood was said to have been first collected by a woman present at the martyrdom. In 1696 Lord Perth, the chancellor of Scotland, being on his travels, described the whole exhibition of the relics in his time. He said the blood looked like a piece of pitch clotted and hard in the glass, and when brought near to the head it liquefied; and "it was an admirable thing to see blood shed upwards of thirteen hundred years ago liquefy at this approach to the head. The Roman lady who had gathered it from off the ground with a sponge had, in squeezing of it into the glass, let a bit of straw fall in too, which one sees in the blood to this very day."

THE CATHEDRAL OF SANTIAGO COMPOSTELLA.

The cathedral of Santiago (which is the Spanish name for St. James the Elder) is also called Compostella, because a star is said to have pointed out where that saint's body was concealed, being in a wood near the present city. This shrine has been the favourite resort of pilgrims from all parts of Spain, France, and England. The cathedral was founded in 1078, and is on the same plan and design as that of Toulouse. The statue of St. James has figures of kings kneeling before it. Here there is a hospital for pilgrims built in four quadrangles, and so contrived that the patients can all see the sacrifice of the Mass. The interior of the cathedral is purposely kept somewhat dark to increase the effect of the illuminations of the high altar, thus rendering the image of the apostle the one prominent feature. The dark side aisles, which look almost like corridors, are filled with confessional boxes dedicated to different saints, while on those destined for foreign pilgrims are inscribed the languages which the priest understands. The image of St. James in the Capilla Mayor, is Gothic, of stone painted and gilt, and so covered with ornamentation that the head alone is visible. The image is seated, holding a book in the left hand and blessing with the right. It is placed in a fine silver shrine. Mass can only be said before this image by bishops or canons of a certain dignity, of whom seven attend on grand occasions. The aureola of the saint's head is composed of rubies and emeralds. The western portico of this church is considered the most glorious achievement of Christian art, and the Last Judgment is represented with the Saviour as the chief figure, being twice the size of life. The figures and architecture are alike exquisite. The ceremonial by pilgrims to this shrine begins with the ascent of some steps behind the image, and then the stranger places his hands on the shoulders and kisses the hood. This kiss is the chief object and end of the pilgrimage, without which all is ineffectual. He next proceeds to one of the confessors, by whom he is absolved. He then communicates and receives his certificate or compostella. This last is a printed document signed by the canon, and certifies that he has complied with all the devotional ceremonies necessary to constitute a real pilgrim. This compostella is kept along with the family title deeds as a voucher of the journey, and it is often made the condition of succession to landed estates. The ceremonies of the offertory on the great festival day, July 25th, are various and full of interest.

THE SPANISH CATHEDRAL OF LEON.

The cathedral of Santa Maria at Leon is one of the oldest in Spain, the present one being built about 1073. Its lightness of construction is proverbial. The grand western entrance is said to be the best of its kind in Spain. There are about fifty large statues and many small sculptures of admirable finish. On each side of the altar are buried two saints, Froylar and Alvito. The lofty windows are painted with apostles, saints, virgins, kings, and bishops; the reds and greens are among the finest specimens of the art, being executed by Flemish artists. In one of the chapels, called the Chapel of the Dice, is the miraculous image of the Virgin and Child, the chapel being so called because a gambler once, after being unlucky, threw his dice at it, and hit the infant's nose, which immediately bled. The chapel of St. Andrew, in the same cathedral, has doorways and doors richly and delicately carved in the finest style. The frescoes illustrate scenes in the life of the Saviour, and the drawing and colouring are the best specimens of early Spanish painting. In Leon there is also a church of St. Isidore, which contains the body of that saint, who worked miracles after his death. Though he was known only as a learned man in his lifetime, he is said to have become the tutelar saint of Leon after his death, and in this capacity to have fought at the battle of Baeza armed with a sword and cross. He was on that occasion mounted on horseback and arrayed in his pontificals. The high altar shares with Lugo the rare privilege of having the Host, the incarnate Deity, always visible; and the effect at night, when all is lighted up, with figures of angels kneeling at the side, is described as striking.

THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE.

The cathedral of Seville is one of the largest and finest in Spain; its characteristic is solemnity, as elegance is the feature of Leon, strength of Santiago, and wealth of Toledo. The cathedral of Seville was begun in 1401, and its ample revenues and grand decorations long fostered and employed the artistic genius of Andalusia, and the interior, with its five mighty aisles and ample choir, remain still unrivalled. The see being vacant in 1401, the chapter determined to rebuild the fabric. "Let us build," said these magnificent ecclesiastics, "a church that shall cause us to be taken for madmen by them who shall come after us, so that at all events it shall have no equal." The name of the architect, though leaving his mark in this impressive way, perished with his original plans in a fire in 1734. The work went on for more than a century and a half, displaying in its many incongruous parts the successive changes of architectural style. To provide funds for so vast an undertaking, the prebendaries and canons gave up the greater part of their incomes--an instance of devotion not uncommon in those earnest times. The edifice inside and outside is a museum of fine arts. There are ninety-three windows, and the painted ones are among the finest in Spain. During Easter week the exquisite bronze candlestick, twenty-five feet high, when the Miserere is sung, is lighted with thirteen candles: twelve are put out one after another, indicating that the Apostles deserted Christ; one alone of white wax remains burning, being a symbol of the Virgin true to the last. A great picture of the descent from the cross in the principal vestry was considered, before the colours somewhat faded, so lifelike, that Pacheco was afraid to remain after dusk alone, and here Murillo used to stand watching, as he said, till those holy men should have finished taking down the Saviour, and before this picture he desired to be buried. Underneath this picture the relics of the church are kept. In the Capilla Real, over the high altar, is an image of the Virgin of life size, like a movable lay figure, having hair of spun gold and shoes ornamented with the lilies of France, and seated on a silver throne. The cathedral is always thronged, not only by the devout, but by idlers and beggars.

THE CATHEDRAL OF TOLEDO.

The cathedral of Toledo is said to have been erected by the Virgin herself while she was alive, and she is said to have often come down from heaven to it, accompanied by St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. James. The present cathedral was built in 1226. It excels in fine, rich furniture, picturesque effect, and artistic objects of every kind. The one tower which is finished is 325 feet high. The painted windows are superb, and at dusk light up and shine like rubies and emeralds. The choir is a museum of sculpture. The 116 reliquaries are of gold, silver, ivory, and rock crystal. The church plate rivals that of Loretto in quantity. The Queen of the Cathedral is the image of the Virgin carved of black wood. It was saved in 711 from the infidels by an Englishman, who hid it in a vault. It is seated on a silver throne under a silver-gilt canopy, supported by pillars. The superb crown and bracelets of precious stones, made in the sixteenth century, were stolen in 1865. In a wardrobe near the Custodia, the famous manto of the Virgin is kept, which was embroidered with pearls in 1615. There are 257 pearls used, 300 ozs. of gold thread, 160 ozs. of small pieces of enamelled gold, and 8 ozs. of emeralds and precious stones. Her rings, necklaces, and trinkets are countless.

THE CATHEDRAL OF CORDOVA.

The cathedral of Cordova occupies the site of a basilica which had been erected on a Roman temple. About 780 Abderrahman I. determined to build a temple which would compete with the finest in the East, and in 786 the building was begun. At first there were eleven naves, and eight more were added about 988, so that there are no less than nineteen in all. This structure is the finest type in Europe of a true temple of Islam. The forest of columns supporting the low roof are not uniform, nor are they of the same diameter. Some are of jasper, porphyry, verde-antique, and other choice marbles. In sanctity this ranked as the third of mosques, second only to Mecca and equal to Al Aska of Jerusalem. Some of the upper arches of the pillars are beautifully interlaced like ribands. Some of the decorations were introduced after it had been converted into a Christian temple in 1238. The choir was added in 1523. The cinquecento ornaments and roof are picked out in white and gold. The pulpits are splendid, and the fine brass balustrades very effective.

THE CATHEDRAL OF AMALFI.

The cathedral of Amalfi is dedicated to St. Andrew. The bronze doors were made about 1000, and the nave has its roof richly carved and gilded. Below is the crypt, containing the body of St. Andrew, which was brought from Constantinople with other relics about 1200. This circumstance has made Amalfi a place of pilgrimage. The head of the apostle was enclosed in a silver bust and removed to Rome, where it is still preserved among the relics in St. Peter's. There is a handsome bell-tower of four storeys at this cathedral.

THE MISERERE AT VALENCIA.

In the chapel of the Colegia de Corpus, which is a museum of Ribaltas, a religious service of great interest is made one of the wonders. The chapel is purposely kept dark by the small windows, which allow only a dim, religious light. On a Friday morning the Miserere is a service which interests every stranger. Ladies must go in black, with a manto or some thick mantilla. At ten a.m. the blinds of all the windows are drawn and the doors shut, and a gloom is thrown over the building, the whole space above the high altar being covered with a purple pall, as if in mourning. The silent choristers alone stand near it. A priest is seen to approach and prostrate himself; then all kneel, and the solemn chant begins. At the first verse the picture above the altar descends noiselessly and almost imperceptibly, and the vacancy is filled with a lilac veil with yellow stripes. As the chant proceeds this is withdrawn, and discloses one of a faint grey, which is next removed, then another of deep black, and then after a pause another veil. The imagination of the audience is worked upon, and all are hushed with breathless curiosity while the penitential psalm is sung. At last the veil of the Temple appears to be rent asunder, and the Saviour on the cross appears resplendent, while silvery voices are heard in the distance, and the pall again closes over this great central figure. After the service and later in the day the public are allowed for a small fee to ascend a ladder and see behind the machinery of ropes and contrivances for moving the various scenes which make up the impressive representation.

THE CATHEDRAL OF OVIEDO.

The cathedral of Oviedo was built on the ruins of a previous church in 1388. The western façade has a noble balustraded portico, rich in ornamentation. The most interesting piece of antiquity here is the Camera Santa or chapel of San Miguel, the second oldest Christian building after the Moorish invasion, being built in 802, as a receptacle for sacred relics. This holy of holies is lit by magnificent silver lamps, and the devout kneel before a railing while the relics are exhibited every morning. These relics are enclosed in superb silver workmanship of various designs. In a small case is kept the santo sudario or shroud of our Saviour, which thrice a year and each Good Friday, if a bishop preaches, is displayed from a balcony. There is also a venerable cross, a thousand years old, inclosed in magnificent filigree work. At Oviedo there is an ancient church of San Miguel. On July 25th each year a great procession is seen of the peasants with their offerings of cows and heifers going to this church, the horns being gaily decorated with ribbons. They go to Mass on that day, and it is looked forward to as their chief religious event.

NOTRE DAME AND LA SAINTE CHAPELLE, PARIS.

The cathedral of Notre Dame, begun in 528, to commemorate the gratitude of Childebert on his recovery from sickness, replaced another at its side, and was in turn replaced in 1163 by the present structure. It is remarkable for now containing the crown of thorns given by St. Louis and the nail of the true cross. The crown of thorns was brought there from La Sainte Chapelle, which was built by St. Louis as a shrine worthy to contain it. This exquisite chapel, without visible aisles or transept, was begun in 1242 and finished in 1247. One of the little tourelles at the side of the shrine still contains the actual wooden stair which was ascended by St. Louis when he went to take from its tabernacle the crown of thorns, which he and he alone was permitted to exhibit to the people below through a large pane of glass purposely inserted and always movable in the end window of the apse. It is recorded that when St. Louis was in Paris he would rise to pray three times in the night, always approaching the altar on his knees. This chapel was called by the old chronicler St. Louis's arsenal and tower of defence against all the ills of life. The head of the saintly King was afterwards brought hither from St. Denis at the instance of Philip the Fair.

CHURCHES AT MARSEILLES AND STRASBURG.

On the rocky hill of Notre Dame de la Garde, above the harbour of Marseilles, is a Romanesque church, in which is a shrine with a famous image of the Virgin, carved in olive wood, and of great antiquity. All the sailors and fishermen in the Mediterranean venerate this object, and hang their offerings on the walls and roof. All kinds of objects connected with shipwrecks, plagues, storms, cholera, panics, are here represented. At Strasburg the cathedral, begun in 1015, is a noble Gothic edifice, the tower of which is 468 feet above the pavement. There is a circular window 48 feet in diameter, and rising to the height of 230 feet. The interior has much richly painted glass. There is also a famous clock in the south transept, dating from 1354, which shows the hour, day of the week, month, and year, and many other epochs, besides clockwork figures, with mechanism for moving puppets and images.

CHARTRES CATHEDRAL.

The cathedral of Notre Dame at Chartres, magnificent and strongly built, attracts the visitor by its two tall but unequal bell-towers and spires. It is vast and elegant, and excels in painted glass and its three rose windows. The tower and spire are the finest of their period in France, the steeple being 339-1/2 feet high without the cross. Above the Porte Royale or central door is the image of Christ in an oval, with the symbols of the four evangelists, and below these are the fourteen prophets, and in the arches above are the twenty-four elders playing on musical instruments. The church is a storehouse of painted glass, above one hundred and thirty windows being rich with splendid ornamentation, the rose windows being thirty or forty feet in diameter. The choir has double aisles and many bas-reliefs of Scriptural subjects. Outside of the screen which separates the choir from the aisles is a series of Gothic sculptures of events in the life of Christ and the Virgin in forty-five compartments, surrounded with elaborate tracery and tabernacle work begun about 1514. The execution has been compared to point lace in stone, some of the sculptured threads being not thicker than the blade of a penknife. This was the earliest and chief church in France dedicated to the Virgin, and was resorted to by countless pilgrims. The sacred image dating from the time of the Druids stood in the crypt. The famous relic of the Sancta Camisia given by Charles le Chauve is here. And the celebrated black image of the twelfth century, after having been crowned with a bonnet rouge during the Revolution, is still a subject of adoration.

THE CATHEDRAL OF AMIENS.

The cathedral of Amiens, one of the noblest Gothic edifices in Europe, was begun in 1220, about the same time as Salisbury, but the spire is 422 feet, being 20 feet higher than Salisbury. Yet owing to the loftiness of the roof of the nave, this great height does not strike the beholder. The interior is one of the most magnificent of spectacles, owing to this great height of the roof, which is about double the usual height of English cathedrals. The area of the cathedral is also larger than that of any other cathedral in France, and is only surpassed by that of St. Peter's at Rome, and by Cologne. At the crossing of the transept, three magnificent rose windows of elaborate tracery and rich stained glass, and about 100 feet in circumference, make this cathedral unique. The head of St. John the Baptist, brought from Constantinople at the time of the Crusades, has always been prized as an invaluable relic, and is deposited in the side chapel dedicated to St. John. Several other heads of St. John existed before the Revolution in other churches of France, but this was deemed the genuine one. Since the Revolution, however, the skull has been reduced to the frontal bone and upper jaw. The choir and its elegantly groined roof, resting on compressed lancet-pointed arches, are of great beauty, and there are one hundred and ten stalls of elaborately carved woodwork, showing the finest invention and execution. This carved work was done or finished in 1528.

THE CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS.

The cathedral of Rheims is a Gothic edifice of great power and grace, commenced in 1212. The western front is thought to be unrivalled for the multiplicity of detail in sculpture and tracery. The interior is perfect in design, and the gorgeous stained glass in the rose windows, the largest being forty feet in diameter, adds to the grandeur of the general effect. The choir was consecrated in 1241. The clock over the sacristy, one of the oldest clocks known, strikes the hour, when a door opens and the effigy of a man looks out, while other figures sally forth and make the round. Here the coronation of the French kings took place. The holy oil, according to the legend, was at first brought by a dove from heaven.

THE CATHEDRAL OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE AND RELICS.

The cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle is the most ancient polygonal church north of the Alps, the nave of which being octagonal, was erected by Charlemagne about 796, partly as a tomb for himself, in imitation of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. The Emperor's tomb was opened by Otho III., and Charlemagne was found, not lying, but sitting on a throne as one alive, bearing a sceptre in his hand, and having a copy of the Gospels on his knees. These relics were removed to Vienna. The choir was rebuilt in 1413. It is 120 feet long, and 114 feet high, having the appearance of a gigantic lantern. The treasury of the cathedral has a rich collection of relics in shrines of great beauty. There is a locket of the Virgin's hair; a piece of the true cross; the leathern girdle of Christ (bearing Constantine's seal); a nail of the cross; the cord which bound the rod that smote Him; the sponge which was filled with vinegar; that arm of Simeon on which he bore the infant Jesus; some blood and bones of St. Stephen; some manna from the wilderness; and some bits of Aaron's rod. These relics were presented to Charlemagne by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Caliph Haroun Al Raschid. Another silver-gilt shrine contains the great relics which are shown only once in seven years. These are the cotton robe worn by the Virgin at the Nativity; the swaddling clothes of Jesus; the cloth on which John the Baptist's head was laid; the scarf worn by the Saviour at the Crucifixion, having stains of His blood.

THE CATHEDRAL OF TREVES.

The cathedral of St. Peter and St. Helen at Treves has five stately towers, and was completed in the twelfth century, being supposed to be begun about 550. The vast size of the building is imposing. One of the remarkable relics here preserved is the holy coat, without seam, and said to be made of camels' hair, five feet long. When not exhibited, it is carefully walled up inside the high altar. In 1844, when it was exhibited, about a million of pilgrims went to view it.

THE CATHEDRAL AND CHURCHES OF ANTWERP.

The cathedral of Notre Dame at Antwerp is one of the largest of the Gothic cathedrals. The great attractions in the interior are the masterpieces of Rubens. The steeple is one of the loftiest in the world, being 403 feet high, and of such delicate workmanship that Charles V. said it deserved to be kept in a case. Napoleon said it was as minute and elaborate as a piece of Mechlin lace. It was begun in 1422 and completed in 1518. The framework is chiefly of iron, with stones interlaced and bolted together with copper. In the tower there are sixty bells, which are made to chime in perfection. Another church of Antwerp, more highly decorated even than the cathedral, is that of St. Jacques, where marbles, glass, carved wood, and monuments give a rich appearance to the interior. The Holy Family, by Rubens, adorns the altarpiece, which for colour stands as high as any of Rubens' works. In another church in Antwerp, that of the Augustines, there is also an altarpiece by Rubens--the marriage of St. Catherine--where there are about twenty figures of saints, all of which are rendered with great skill, and the brilliancy of colour is impressive and fascinating. In the nave of the same church a picture by Vandyke, the Ecstasy of St. Augustine, is also famous.

THE CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE.

The cathedral church of St. Peter at Cologne was commenced in 1248, to replace an earlier one which had been destroyed by fire. The work proceeded very slowly, came to a stop in 1509, and stopped for three hundred years. In 1830 the original plan was resumed. The two principal towers were to be raised to the height of 500 feet. A handsome terrace has been raised round the church. The entire length of the body of the church is 511 feet, equal to the height of the towers. It had always been intended to be the most regular and most stupendous Gothic monument existing. The choir consists of five aisles, and from the great height and arrangement of the pillars and stained windows the interior has a glorious effect. The exterior also is striking from its double range of vast flying buttresses and intervening piers bristling with a forest of purfled pinnacles. Round the choir stand fourteen colossal statues of the twelve Apostles, the Virgin, and the Saviour, coloured and gilt. The chapel immediately behind the high altar is that of the three kings of Cologne, or the Magi, who came from the East with gifts to the Infant at Bethlehem. The bones of these kings had been carried off from Milan by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1162. The shrine containing the bones is of silver gilt, and curiously wrought. Even the skulls of the kings are exhibited crowned with diadems.

ST. ISAAC'S CATHEDRAL, ST. PETERSBURG.

The cathedral of St. Isaac's at St. Petersburg is of comparatively modern origin, being completed in 1801, the former one built in 1710 being destroyed by fire. The proportions are grand and the porticoes noble. The cupola, which is 296 feet high, supported by thirty polished granite pillars, is covered with copper overlaid with gold, and glitters brightly. The screen is supported by malachite columns 30 feet high, and on either side of the door of the screen there are pillars of lapis-lazuli. Into the inmost shrine or sanctuary women are not admitted. The most effective portion of the service in the Greek Church is the singing, boys always taking the soprano parts. Certain half-recitative solos are delivered by deacons with very strong and deep bass voices. One of the most impressive parts of the service occurs when the doors of the ikonostas or screen are shut; the chanting then ceases, the incense-bearers withdraw, and every one seems breathless with attention. The royal doors are then opened in the centre, and the chief officiating priest, attended by deacons, comes forward, carrying the Holy Eucharist, and commences a long recitative, which is a prayer for the Emperor and Imperial Family. While this prayer is intoned the audience bend low in attitudes of adoration. The outward forms of the service are joined in by the men as well as the women with great fervour. The first proceeding on entering a Russian church is to purchase a wax candle. With this the worshipper slowly approaches one of the shrines. He sinks on one knee, bowing his head to the pavement, and crossing his breast repeatedly with the thumb and two forefingers of his right hand. Having reached the shrine, he then lights his votive candle at the holy lamp, and sets it up in one of the various holes in a large silver stand provided for the purpose, falling at the same time on his bended knees on the pavement before the altar. He then says his prayers and retires slowly with his face to the altar, kneeling and crossing himself at intervals. The kindling of lamps and tapers is a custom in all Russian churches.

THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. STEPHEN'S OF VIENNA.

The cathedral at Vienna was begun in 1359, and has much rich tracery and curious carvings. The giant portal is a triumph of Gothic ornament. The lofty nave has rich sculpture and rich tinted glass, two of the windows being rose. The tower is a masterpiece, and is 444 feet high, and it is now made useful by the fire brigade as a watch-tower, there being a station half-way up, and watchmen posted there night and day.

THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE.

The cathedral of old Constantinople, dedicated by Constantine to the Eternal Wisdom, now turned into a mosque, was first built in 325. It was burnt down and rebuilt in 415, and again in 532 and 548. Justinian at the last date restored it and placed it on a magnificent footing. He was proud of the structure, and boasted that he had vanquished Solomon. The marble columns were the admiration of the world, every variety of marble, granite, and porphyry being used: white marble with rose-coloured stripes, green and blue, and white marble with black veins. There were eight porphyry columns used which Aurelius had taken away from the Temple of the Sun at Baalbec. This church, when restored by Justinian, was the theatre of great and solemn State affairs. It was said to have had a hundred architects, and the plan had been laid down by an angel who appeared to the Emperor in a dream. A second angel appeared to a boy when guarding the workmen's tools, and insisted on the works being rapidly completed. The building was afterwards completed, except as to the cupola, and an angel for the third time appeared, and as the works were stopped for want of money, led the mules of the Treasury to a subterranean vault, where 80 cwt. of gold was concealed, whereupon the building advanced with great speed. The Emperor and the architect having differed as to the position of certain windows admitting light, the angel again appeared and instructed the Emperor that the light should fall upon the altar through three windows, in honour of the Trinity. The altar was to be more costly than gold, and was one mass of precious stones. Above the altar rose a tabernacle crowned with a golden cross weighing 75 lbs., and adorned with precious stones. The doors were of ivory, amber, and cedar. The church was opened in 548. The building is nearly a square. Fergusson (on Architecture) doubts whether any Christian church of any age exists whose interior is so exquisitely beautiful. It contains among the relics the cradle of the Saviour and a basin in which the Infant was washed by Mary.

THE MOSQUE OF OMAR.

The Saracenic cupola of the Mosque of Omar may be said to defy comparison even with the proud domes of St. Sophia, St. Peter, and St. Paul. The marble octagon from which that cupola springs into the air with the Arabesque frieze and circle of pointed windows has nothing in Europe excelling it in either grace or strength.

THE CHURCHES OF JERUSALEM.

Though the site of the Holy Sepulchre has not been clearly established, there was a church erected over the supposed spot by Constantine in 326, and rebuilt in 614, and again in 1048. The church remained in the same state as the Crusaders left it till 1808, when it was partly destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The church is nearly of an oval shape. In the centre of the rotunda is the Holy Sepulchre, covered by a building 26 feet long by 18 feet wide, cased in white stone, with semicolumns and pilasters. The sepulchre proper is a vault 6 feet by 7 feet. Over it lamps of gold and silver burn with a brilliant light. The vault was said to be hewn out of the rock, but no rock is seen, all being marble. A round marble stone let into the pavement marks the spot where Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene, and even the exact spot is shown where Mary stood. The Chapel of the Apparition marks the spot where Christ appeared to His mother after the Resurrection. Near that spot St. Helena laid the crosses after she had discovered them. The column of flagellation is represented by a fragment of porphyry covered over, and the pilgrim can insert his staff in a hole and touch it, which he usually does, and then kisses the staff. Adjoining are various chapels: the Chapel of St. Helena, the Chapel of the Invention of the Cross and of the Elevation of the Cross, and the Chapel of the Crucifixion. The latter stands on the spot where Christ was nailed to the cross. In the south wall is a barred window, marking the place where the Virgin Mary stood during the Crucifixion.

THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF BETHLEHEM.

The extraordinary interest attached by all Christians to the little village of Bethlehem led to early pilgrimages. St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, went to the spot and built what was then considered a splendid church or basilica in 327, and which is the oldest existing monument of Christian architecture in the world. St. Jerome afterwards took up his abode there in a cell. The Crusaders also took especial interest, and at the request of the inhabitants assumed possession. In 1110 Baldwin I. made an episcopal see of this place, though it had an ephemeral existence. The Church of the Nativity, built partly into the cave or stable of Bethlehem, is 120 feet long by 110 feet wide, and has four aisles with marble columns. The Chapel of the Nativity is a vault hewn out of the rock, 38 feet long by 11 feet wide. On a marble slab in the pavement a silver star marks the supposed site of the birth of Christ. The site of the manger is also pointed out, for the real manger was carried to Rome and is deposited in Santa Maria Maggiore. The various grottoes here are possessed by rival sects, which keep up constant warfare about their rights. The convents, together with the church, make up a large pile of buildings. There are about three thousand inhabitants in Bethlehem, nearly all Christians, who are peasants, and some of them make a livelihood by carving heads and crosses for pilgrims.

ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCHES AND THEIR CHIEF FEATURES.

The old British churches in the time of Edward I. had some features which are now unknown. Under every altar there was a small stone, which closed up the aperture in which relics were kept, it being a maxim that no altar could be consecrated without relics. There was a canopy over the altar with curtains, and here was hung the pyx or box containing the Host, or consecrated bread. This was considered so sacred a thing, that once, when it was stolen, Henry V. delayed his whole army for a day in order to discover the thief. There was a confessional with oblong holes in the wall, or there was a crypt for the like purpose. The Galilee was the place marked by circular stones, to show where the processions ended. There were holy-water stones filled with fresh water every morning. The old fonts were baths, and in progress of time they grew less and less, and at last a basin of water only was used. In baptising children, not only water was used, but oil, or chrism, especially to make the sign of the cross on the child's breast and between the shoulders. The oil was omitted after the Reformation. The churches were often mere lounging-places, and the porch was the place for people meeting and settling their disputes. This state of things continued slightly changed for some time even after the Reformation.

ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, LONDON.

The site of St. Paul's Cathedral in London is traced to the time of Nero; by others it is alleged that a temple of Diana had stood there, while another temple to Apollo stood on the site of Westminster Abbey. Ethelbert, King of Kent, was said to have dedicated a magnificent cathedral there, which was enlarged and adorned for centuries, till it was consumed by fire in 1087. Another fire in 1135 consumed the next building. It was again rebuilt. In 1315 the structure had a tower steeple 285 feet high, and a spire and then a cross at the summit. The total height was 527 feet. And this spire in 1341 and 1444 was struck by lightning. Again in 1561 the lightning caught and destroyed it and the building also. This was thought a national calamity, and the Crown, the nobles, and the Church recognised the duty to rebuild it; subscriptions poured in, in 1566 it was nearly restored except the steeple, and Queen Elizabeth was greatly displeased that the city authorities had not exerted themselves to complete this part also. James I., admitting the poverty of the Crown, stirred the bishop and appointed a commission to repair the fabric. In 1620 the King on horseback visited the city to attend a service there and keep up the public interest. He entered the church at the west door, and knelt and prayed near the brazen pillar; the choir chanted an anthem, and the bishop preached from the text: "Thy servants think upon her stones, and it pitieth them to see her in the dust" (Psalm cii. 14). Another royal commission was issued, and Inigo Jones, the King's surveyor, was one of that body; but little was done. Under Charles I., Laud, Bishop of London, laboured to collect funds, and the High Commission Court, which fined people for all sorts of delinquencies, gave the proceeds to that work, so that it was made a common jest that St. Paul's was restored out of the sins of the people. Inigo Jones, who was an Italian by birth, designed a portico at the west front; and a Turkey merchant, named Sir Paul Pindar, gave £100,000 to restore the interior and decorate it. The steeple still remained unfinished. During the Rebellion the cathedral suffered, and at the Restoration the authorities consulted Sir Christopher Wren, the great architect, as to the best mode of repair, and great changes were contemplated. Just at that time the Great Fire of London, in 1666, destroyed it. The rebuilding of St. Paul's then again became a great national work, and commissioners were appointed to erect a new church. All sources were examined for contributions, and the coal duty granted by Parliament supplied a chief part. Sir C. Wren was designated the architect, and he planned the present cathedral, slightly varying the site. St. Peter's at Rome had been the work of twenty Popes, but St. Paul's had the advantage of having one architect and a more harmonious design. It has ever been considered the grandest and most beautiful church in Europe. The first stone was laid in 1675 by Sir C. Wren, without any parade or ceremonial. The foundations gave great trouble. At the east end he had to bore down forty feet and build a solid pier of masonry ten feet square. In 1697 the cathedral was first opened with great pomp on a thanksgiving day for the Peace of Ryswick. In 1715 Sir C. Wren saw his son lay the highest stone of the lantern of the cupola. All London poured forth to watch this spectacle. Yet Wren had been worried for years, and thwarted in his matchless plans by the little busybodies and bishops of the time. The height on the south side is 365 feet. Wren had plans for the painting of the cupola, but, against his wishes, that work was given to Sir James Thornhill, then a high authority, but whose ponderous figures and groups were wholly unsuited to the building, which ought to have been decorated by the free, delicate, and brilliant colouring of a Correggio. The total sum expended on the cathedral was said to be £736,752.

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL.

The site of Canterbury Cathedral is said to be the same as the primitive Roman or British church attributed to King Lucius, and is the earliest monument of the English union of Church and State. Canterbury was the first English Christian city. It differs from all other cathedrals, English and foreign, in the great height of the choir above the crypt below, and the numerous steps which are consequently necessary in order to reach it from the nave. Part of the skull of St. Dunstan is among the relics enclosed in a silver reliquary. There are also pieces of Aaron's rod, some of the clay from which Adam was made, and the right arm of "our dear lord the knight St. George." The screen is the work of Prior Henry de Estria, in 1304, being 14 feet high, and of great beauty. The choir is the longest in England, being 180 feet. When Becket was murdered in 1170, he was dragged from his chamber along the cloister by the monks, and he was entering the choir by a door now called the martyr's transept when he was stopped by the knights and fought and fell. The great window of the north transept, the gift of Edward IV., had originally seven glorious appearances of the Virgin with Becket in the centre; but in 1642 it was demolished by Richard Culmer, an iconoclast. When the pilgrims used to flock to Becket's shrine, they knelt in the sacristy, where Becket's staff and his bloody handkerchief were shown. The tomb of Edward the Black Prince and his coat of mail were always shown here. Cromwell was said to have carried off the sword. The archbishop's palace, close to the precincts, has left no trace except an old arched doorway. Yet in that palace Henry VIII. and Queen Catherine and Charles V. were entertained, and had a solemn dancing party. Queen Elizabeth was also feasted there. The Puritans pillaged and ruined the building, which was never afterwards restored.

YORK MINSTER.

York Minster (monasterium) was rebuilt soon after 1352, and has perhaps the greatest reputation of all the English cathedrals, replacing the more ancient Eboracum, a Roman city. Dignity and massive splendour distinguish the exterior. It exceeds the other English cathedrals in the height of its roof, being 102 feet high in the choir. Its western front is architecturally magnificent. The large west window is nearly the same size as that of Carlisle, which last is considered by Mr. Fergusson "without a single exception the most beautiful design for window tracery in the world." The great eastern window, the chief glory, is a great wall of glass 78 feet high, and the largest in England that retains its original glazing. The exquisite and unique effect of the tall windows, rising from the floor to the roof, and occupying the whole width of the transept, is a most felicitous effort of architectural skill. The stained glass in the nave is the most extensive collection in the kingdom of the art of the fourteenth century; and it was little injured at the Reformation. The relics of Archbishop William of York, who had been interred in 1154, were removed in presence of Edward I. to another part of the building. His head was kept by itself in a reliquary of silver gilt and covered with jewels. The vestry contains the horn of Ulphus, made of an elephant's tusk, the work of the eleventh century, and presented on the altar by a great lord of Yorkshire, in token of his bestowing certain lands on the church of St. Peter. The minster bell in the north-west tower is the largest in England, weighing 10 tons 15 cwt. Between Canterbury and York there had been incessant disputes for precedence; but a great synod held in 1072 made the northern province of England formally inferior to the southern. This decision was reversed by the Pope in 1125. The contest continuing, the Pope in 1354 settled it by treating the two provinces as independent of each other, but that the title of York should be Primate of England, while Canterbury was to be Primate of all England. One of the archbishops, St. John of Beverley, in 705, was the most famous of the northern saints next to St. Cuthbert. Henry IV. and his Queen visited the shrine of this St. John after the victory of Agincourt, and attributed that victory greatly to the intercession of the saint. Another of the archbishops was St. William, who was first elected in 1143, deposed by the Pope in 1147, but re-elected in 1154, at which date he had become very popular, being welcomed by a vast crowd, some of whom fell through the wooden bridge into the Ouse, but were saved by a miracle performed by the saint.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

A cathedral was built in 875 at Chester-le-Street, but this see was transferred in 995 to Durham, which was then a thick wood, one object being to find a safe deposit for the body of St. Cuthbert. Durham alone among English cities has its highest point crowned with the minster and the vast castle of its prince bishop, the building being erected about 1090. Like Lausanne or Chur or Sitten, the bishop was also a powerful chief. Its situation is most picturesque, and in that respect resembles Lincoln and Ely cathedrals. Dr. Johnson said this building gave the impression of "rocky solidity and indeterminate duration." On the north door is a grotesque knocker with a ring, which is a relic of the ancient practice of criminals flying for sanctuary to a church. When the murderer reached this knocker and seized the ring, two monks who sat constantly on the watch within opened the door, and then rang a bell in the Galilee tower to announce that an arrival had taken place. The criminal then put on a black gown, and was maintained safe from pursuit for thirty-seven days, after which he was bound to banish himself by setting off to the nearest vessel bound seaward; and he went off with a white cross in his hand. The altar of the Venerable Bede, one of our great early historians, who died in 735, is a feature of this cathedral and the work of the twelfth century. At that time it was deemed the highest virtue to steal relics, and Elfrid the priest in 1022 was warned in a vision to seek the relics of various holy persons buried in different parts of Northumbria, and display them to the veneration of the faithful. So he went and brought the remains of Boisel, the prior of Melrose, who had received St. Cuthbert when a youth. Elfrid also stole the relics of the Venerable Bede from the monks of Jarrow, and placed them in the shrine of St. Cuthbert in Durham Cathedral. The nine altars dedicated to the Archangel Michael, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Cuthbert, and other saints stand against the eastern wall, and the architecture is greatly admired. Here also is the shrine of St. Cuthbert, a treasure more precious than gold or topaz. Pilgrims innumerable have here worn holes in the pavement. The shrine is a superb work of gold and enamel, hung round with jewels and ornaments offered by great lords and princes. So precious was this spot that some monk sat night and day in a watching chamber. The body of Cuthbert had at first been buried in Lindisfarne Church, and when his coffin was opened eleven years after, he was found to be uncorrupt and perfect, more like a sleeping than a dead man. And even so late as 1540, when another view was taken, the body was still found quite whole and uncorrupt, the face bare and the beard as of a fortnight's growth, all the vestments as usual, and crosier of gold lying beside him. In 1827 the tomb was again opened, and a skeleton found with some vestments once rich, a girdle, two bracelets, and a golden cross set with garnets; these are now preserved in the library. The piers of this cathedral have the peculiarity of having ornamentations of zigzags and lattice-work very prominent. This is thought to be striking and powerful, and admirably in keeping with the massive grandeur of the architecture. St. Cuthbert was said to have great suspicion and dislike to women, the origin of which is variously accounted for, and the cross of blue stones in the pavement which extends across the bay immediately below the great north door is said to have been the ancient limit beyond which women were not allowed to advance into the church of this austere saint. It is related that in 1153 one Helisend, a damsel in attendance on the Queen of David of Scotland, entered the church in the disguise of a monk, but was detected by St. Cuthbert and ignominiously expelled. And in 1333, when Queen Philippa, who had accompanied Edward III. to Durham, had been received at the prior's house, and this came to the knowledge of the community, they were so enraged that in the middle of the night she had to rise and go half dressed into the castle.

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL.

The Winchester cathedral was begun in 1079, to supersede other less convenient sites. The length is 520 feet, exceeding that of any other cathedral on this side of the Alps with the exception of Ely, which is 560 feet, and of Canterbury, about 570 feet. These three and St. Peter's at Rome, which is 607 feet long, are said to be the longest in existence. The forest of piers in the interior of Winchester soon rivets the eye. William of Wykeham, one of the bishops, in 1367, and soon after Lord Chancellor, was a great architect and engineer, and he superintended for seven years the great works of Edward III. at Windsor. He was an opponent of John of Gaunt, the patron of Wicliff. William founded Winchester College, and was a munificent patron of learning in his day.

OXFORD CATHEDRAL.

The origin of the cathedral of Christ Church, Oxford, is identified with the legend of St. Frideswide, a Saxon lady, who was brought up to venerate the Church, and in order to escape her suitor, the son of a king, fled with twelve companions, reached a nunnery at Oxford, and died there after several vicissitudes in 740. She worked many miracles. The church of her convent was rebuilt in 1111, and it continued to flourish till 1523, when Wolsey suppressed it. The college of Christ Church was soon afterwards commenced, and the present see of Oxford was founded in 1542 out of the ancient diocese of Lincoln. Roger of Wendover says that St. Frideswide's suitor, when entering Oxford with his followers to take her by force, was suddenly blinded by a heavenly stroke. Perceiving that he was punished for his pertinacity, he sent to Frideswide and entreated her intercession with the Lord. The virgin prayed to God, and at her prayer the young man recovered his sight as quickly as he had before been struck with blindness. From this cause the kings of England have always been afraid to enter that city, for it is said to be fatal to them, and they are unwilling to test the truth of it at their own peril. The virgin constructed a monastery there, and herself presided over the company of pious virgins there assembled.

PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.

This cathedral arose out of the ruins of an abbey founded in the seventh century by Penda, the first Christian king of Mercia. The abbey was of great distinction, and took up high ground, and it was a rule that all visitors of whatever rank should put off their shoes before entering the precincts of Peterborough the proud. A visit to it was deemed almost as great an event as a visit to Rome. The cathedral was begun about 1118. The west front, as a portico, is claimed to be the grandest in Europe, though wanting in the accompaniments which would enable it to rival some of the great façades of Continental cathedrals. It consists of three enormous arches of great height, the central one being rather narrower than the other two. The lofty flat roof, 81 feet high, is painted in lozenges, with a figure of some saint in each centre, the only other flat painted roof being that of the cathedral of St. Albans. The retro-choir, built in 1438, is admired for the beautiful fan tracery of the roof. This cathedral is very deficient in stained glass. It was well furnished in this respect till Cromwell's troops broke open the doors, shattered the windows, destroyed the organ, and broke in pieces the superb reredos of carved stone, painted gilt, and inlaid with plates of silver. The soldiers fired at the evangelists in the roof, rioted in wanton spoil, and they performed their military exercises daily in the nave of the cathedral. The body of Mary, Queen of Scots, six months after her execution, was buried in this cathedral, and there remained for twenty-five years, when her son James I. removed it to Westminster Abbey.

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.

The cathedral of Salisbury was begun in 1220, the former one having been built by St. Oswald in the fortified town or castle of Old Sarum, on a higher ground near the present place. The present site was said to be chosen by an arrow shot from the ramparts of Old Sarum, or, as some prefer it, by a vision of the Virgin who appeared to Bishop Poore. One of the bishops was William Ayscough, the most learned man of his day, who in Jack Cade's insurrection in 1450 was seized while celebrating Mass and brutally murdered by the mob, and his vestments divided by lot as memorials. This cathedral, built about 1225, while Westminster Abbey was begun in 1245, ranks next to the latter as the choicest great building in England. On the Continent the great rival of Salisbury is Amiens Cathedral; but though it covers nearly twice as much ground as Salisbury, its high roof dwarfs the steeple. Much of the painted glass here was removed during the Reformation times, but the cathedral was not much injured during the Civil War. In 1782 an ignorant architect was said to have done much mischief by so-called improvements. The central spire of Salisbury, the loftiest in England, is said to be about 400 feet high; but Amiens is 20 feet higher than Salisbury, the highest in the world being Cologne and Strasburg, which last is 468 feet.

WELLS CATHEDRAL.

Wells Cathedral is earlier than any other in Great Britain, for a legend ascribes its origin to Joseph of Arimathæa, who, with eleven companions, arrived soon after the Crucifixion and built a chapel at Glastonbury, and this was even said to be the first church erected in all Christendom. A bishopric was said to be founded at Wells about 904, an abbot of Glastonbury being the first bishop. The cathedral, though one of the smallest, is the most beautiful in England, its group of well-proportioned towers and pinnacles having an enhanced beauty from the picturesqueness of the situation. It suffered considerably in the troublous times of Monmouth's rebellion, when the rebels tore the lead off the roof to make bullets, and wantonly defaced many ornaments. The great west front contains some choice sculptures, such as can only be equalled by Rheims and Chartres. The breadth of the front is greater than that of Notre Dame or of Amiens, being 147 feet, and thus gives great scope for the variety of the sculpture. There are in the whole of the west front about three hundred figures, half of which are life-size, being those of kings, queens, princes, knights, and mitred ecclesiastics, saints, martyrs, and angels, the whole being a glorious company and goodly fellowship of prophets and worthies. Altogether this is one of the most impressive church fronts either in England or on the Continent.

SOME OTHER ENGLISH CATHEDRALS.

The cathedral of Norwich arose out of a more ancient cathedral built at Dummoc, now Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, in 630; afterwards another was substituted at Elmham in Norfolk, and in 1075 again transferred to Thetford, and in 1091 the place was finally fixed at Norwich. In 1094 the cathedral of Norwich was commenced. The nave is the longest in England except St. Albans, which is 300 feet long, while Norwich is only 250 feet.

The cathedral of Carlisle was begun in 1121, though it was soon destroyed by fire, and was rebuilt in 1353. The famous window at the east end has in its lower part more lights or divisions (being nine) than any other decorated window in existence. Its upper portion exhibits the most beautiful design for window tracery in the world, all its parts being in exquisite harmony.

The Exeter cathedral was begun in 1107, as an example of the marvellous and sumptuous architecture of the Normans, and was considered as a powerful contrast to the simple Saxon building it displaced. The west front has in its lower part three rows of figures of apostles, saints, kings, and a few Old Testament characters; and the whole is architecturally of great beauty. The roof of the nave, with its slender vaulting shafts and delicate carving, is graceful and light, and the clustered pillars of Purbeck marble contrast well with the lighter stone of the walls and roof. The minstrels' gallery is unique, with its row of winged angels in front, each playing on a musical instrument, one of these instruments being a bagpipe. The organ, built in 1665, is said to be the most ancient in actual use.

A monastery for both men and women had been founded at Ely in 673 by St. Etheldreda, which the Danes destroyed. It was rebuilt afterwards, and in 1109 this monastery was made the seat of a new bishopric taken out of the great diocese of Lincoln, and the cathedral built to the north of the old monastery. This church, which is 565 feet long, is often said to be the longest Gothic church in Europe, although others, like the cathedral of Milan, cover more ground. The roof of the nave is decorated with painted figures, and so is the vaulted roof of the octagon.

The diocese of Lincoln was once the greatest in England, till it was subdivided in the reign of Henry VIII. About 1072 the present cathedral was begun, being a substitute for three older sites of smaller sees. It was destroyed by an earthquake, and rebuilt by St. Hugh of Lincoln, then bishop. In grandeur of situation this cathedral has no equal in England. The stone of which it is built becomes black, but is very durable, and retains its sharpness of outlines. In the great central tower is the bell called Great Tom of Lincoln, founded in 1610, the third in size, being exceeded by Oxford and Exeter.

An old nunnery was founded at Gloucester in 681, and this fell into the hands of the Benedictine monks, who in 1088 began to build a new church. A fire having destroyed it twice, the cathedral was begun about 1239. The great central tower is only ten feet lower than that of Canterbury, built about the same time. The monks themselves were said to have laboured at the roof of it. The great east window is the largest in England, and owing to an ingenious construction is wider than the side walls which contain it; it is also filled with the finest stained glass of the period in this country. At the back of this window is a passage, 75 feet long, which is called the Whispering Gallery, owing to the great facility with which the slightest sound or movement at one end can be heard at the other end.

Like Salisbury, the Chichester cathedral has a spire, which is 271 feet high; and being in that respect 130 feet lower than the former, it is a saying in the locality that the master mason built Salisbury spire and his man Chichester spire. The spire has an ingenious plan inside the top, devised by Sir Christopher Wren, for keeping it from being blown down and counteracting the force of the wind. The spire is exactly central. On entering the nave the eye is at once caught by the five aisles, a peculiarity which distinguishes this cathedral and that of Manchester from all the others, and grand effects of light and shade are produced by those five aisles. Chichester Cathedral was first completed in 1108. One of its bishops was Reginald Pecock, who flourished in 1450, and was considered a great champion of the clergy against the rising Lollards, whom he sneered at as "The Bible-men."

A church of an Augustinian monastery was adopted as the cathedral of Bristol when the latter see was created in 1542. It is a cathedral without a nave, the latter portion having once existed; but being removed for a purpose, it was never restored. The east window, filling the whole of the end above the reredos, is of singular beauty in tracery and design.

The see of Hereford existed before the arrival of St. Augustine, and the cathedral was rebuilt in 1012 from the foundations. St. Thomas Cantilupe was one of the bishops, and his relics were brought from Italy, where he died in 1282 on his way to Rome, and wrought many miracles long afterwards. He was canonised in 1320. In the library are many ancient volumes, all chained in the manner not uncommon in the first century after printing was discovered.

The church of the monastery of St. Mary was adopted for the see of Worcester about 680. St. Dunstan was a bishop from 957 to 961. A new minster was then built by Oswald; but being too small, a larger building was begun by Wulfstan about 1084. The great Norman tower fell in 1175, which was said to be a common incident in that style of building. The present tower was built in 1374.

The cathedral of Lichfield was supposed to be built about 1154. Its west front is scarcely exceeded by any other cathedral in grace of outline and in the harmony of its general design. The nave is also admirable for beauty and gracefulness.

SOME WELSH CATHEDRALS.

The see of Llandaff was founded in the sixth century, and the cathedral was begun in 1120 to replace a small church on the same site. But the building became wholly dilapidated, and was only restored in very modern times. Yet it is said this is the most ancient of all the sees in Great Britain.

St. Asaph was a see founded in the sixth century, like the other Welsh sees. The cathedral is small and plain, but stands in a picturesque situation, and was in recent times restored.

Bangor see is of equal antiquity with the others, and the cathedral, which is small and plain, has also been restored.

The see of St. David's was supposed to be founded in the sixth century, and St. David, a Welsh saint, removed it from Caerleon in Monmouthshire, which was too near the heathen English and in too populous a district. St. David went to Jerusalem, and was consecrated by the patriarch. He was a great worker of miracles in his time, according to the popular legends.

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