wood is commemorated by the Roman Church in the festival called the Exaltation of the Cross, annually celebrated on the 14th of September.

But Jerusalem was soon to submit to a new conqueror and to a new religion. Mahomet had announced his prophetical mission, and the reign of the Caliphs had commenced. In A.D. 634, the celebrated Omar succeeded Abubekr in the office of Caliph, and obtained the title of Commander of the Faithful. In vain the Emperor Heraclius sent an army into Syria to stop the progress of the Moslems; he was defeated in A.D. 636 at Yermook, after a most obstinate and bloody battle, and the siege of Jerusalem was the consequence of this victory. The city appears to have been well fortified, as the inhabitants held out four months, and defended themselves bravely, but having no prospect of relief they at last capitulated. One of the conditions of the treaty was, that as Jerusalem was venerated by Mussulmans as well as by Jews and Christians, in consideration of its dignity and sanctity the Caliph should take possession of it in person. Omar complied, and he is described as undertaking the journey mounted on a sorrel-coloured camel, and dressed in a tattered habit of hair-cloth, carrying his provisions, consisting of sodden grain and fruits, in two bags, with a leathern sack full of water, and a single wooden dish. He maintained rigid discipline and strict attention to all the offices of his religion during his march. On approaching Jerusalem he was escorted to the Moslem camp before the city, where he preached to the soldiers, and vigorously abolished many of their luxurious indulgences. Omar then made his public entry into Jerusalem, and visited all the places celebrated for religious antiquity in company with the Christian Patriarch. By the command of that dignitary a mat was spread for the Caliph in the church of Constantine, but the Moslem chief declined to avail himself of this civility, and knelt to his devotions on one of the steps leading to the east door, that he might secure to the Christians

the use of the sacred edifice, well knowing that if he himself had prayed in it the Mussulmans would ever afterwards have claimed the same privilege. He selected the site of Solomon's Temple for the foundation of a mosque—a truly magnificent edifice which still stands on Mount Moriah, and is considered equal to Mecca in sanctity.

For upwards of four centuries Jerusalem remained in the possession of the Caliphs, and consequently the prevailing religion was the Moslem. The Christian inhabitants had been secured in their properties and the free exercise of their religion by Omar, although at the same time they were made tributary, and subjected to very humiliating restrictions. But the Turks, after reducing Damascus, took possession of Jerusalem, A.D. 1076, and under the government of these new masters the condition of the Christians was most deplorable. The numerous pilgrims from all parts of the world were grievously insulted and oppressed, and a cruelty exercised widely at variance with the tolerant policy of the Caliphs. Under their administration the Christian pilgrim who visited the tomb of his Redeemer, and the Moslem who came to worship at the mosque of Omar, met within the same precincts, and the holy city was venerated by both. In the East commerce has always been united with religion, and a great fair was annually held in Jerusalem on the 15th of September, the day after the festival of the Exaltation of the Cross, to which traders resorted from all parts of the East and the West. The celebrated Haroun-al-Raschid, whose name means Aaron the Brave, was the friend of Charlemagne, to whom he presented the keys of Jerusalem, and that munificent Emperor caused an abode for pilgrims to be erected, surrounded with corn-fields and vineyards, in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Near the brook of Siloam was the cemetery of the Latin pilgrims, planted with fruit trees, and amid the graves of the departed were the cells of pious anchorites, who thus formed a union between life and death. A nunnery

was also permitted to be built, dedicated to Mary Magdalene, and this toleration was only interrupted by the Caliph Hakim, who greatly injured the sacred edifices of the Christians, which, however, were afterwards restored. Such was the policy pursued by the Caliphs, who were too prudent to interfere with the pilgrims to Jerusalem. In the eleventh century, when the city fell into the hands of the Turks, pilgrimage was at its height; it was believed that the thousand years of the Apocalypse had expired-that the end of the world was at hand-and that the Redeemer would come to judge mankind in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, according to the tradition common both to Christians and Mahometans, which assigns that locality as the scene of the last assize. Numbers crowded to the Holy City to meet their Divine Master, and, though their expectations were not verified, the rage for pilgrimages still continued. It was no longer a poor trading pilgrim, a contrite sinner, an enthusiastic devotee, a pious vagabond, or a bishop, abbot, or monk, who would acquire a reputation of superior sanctity, but princes, barons, knights, even ladies of noble birth, now sought the hallowed walls of Jerusalem, attended by splendid retinues and wellarmed followers. The Moslems sought to derive a lucrative revenue from this influx of Western devotees, and a byzant of gold (about 9s. 44d. sterling) was the fee of admission at the gates of the Holy City. But this proved no check, and as the Church had adopted the practice of imposing a pilgrimage by way of penance on sinners, crowds arrived annually at the ports of Syria, or crossed the mountains and plains of Lesser Asia. Those caravans, to the amount of several thousands, from their numbers derived the title of the Armies of the Lord, and though they encountered many dangers in their journeys, they were secure when they entered the gates of Jerusalem.

But the Turks, who had conquered Syria to the borders of Egypt, reversed the prudent policy of the Caliphs, and the pilgrims soon experienced the most

wanton indignities from those barbarians. Jerusalem was placed under the government of a chief named Orthok, and his followers loaded the Christians with every species of insult. They would rush with loud cries and yells into the churches during divine service, leap upon the altars, throw about the sacred vessels, break down the marble pillars, and scourge and abuse the officiating ecclesiastics. They exacted the fees of entrance to the city with a rigour unknown in the times of the Caliphs, and thousands of poor pilgrims lay without the gates unable to obtain admission. Those of them who returned home filled Europe with accounts of the profanation of the Holy Places, and of the sufferings endured by the Faithful in their visits to the tomb of their Redeemer. "A nerve," says Gibbon, "was touched of exquisite feeling, and the sensation vibrated to the heart of Europe." These melancholy representations made a deep impression on the mind of one of the most extraordinary enthusiasts in history, Peter the Hermit,, a native of Amiens in Picardy, who had devoted himself to the practice of religious austerities. This individual, either to indulge his piety or to increase his reputation for sanctity, made a pilgrimage to the Holy City in A.D. 1093. He beheld with horror the barbarity of the Turks, the sufferings which the Faithful encountered, and the profanation of the Holy Places. He sought the Patriarch, whose name was Simeon, and in tears they mutually lamented the common calamity. "If the Pope (Urban II.) and the Christian princes," said Peter, were truly informed of the deplorable condition of the Christians in the Holy Land, they would unite in a generous resolution to break the manacles of their slavery, and deliver the Holy Places from the tyrannical yoke of the enemies of Jesus Christ."

"The sins of the Oriental Christians," replied Simeon, " have made nought their power; the Greeks have within these few years lost half their Empire; our only hope lies in the strength and piety of the nations of the West." The

enthusiasm of the Hermit broke forth, and he voluntarily offered his aid in an enterprise so great and difficult. "I send thee then," said the Patriarch, “as the envoy of the Church of Jerusalem, to her daughter in the West, to entreat her pity and aid for her unhappy parent." On the evening before his departure he shut himself up in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to pass the night in prayer. While thus engaged in his devotions sleep came over his exhausted frame, and in a dream the Redeemer appeared to him in the same condition as he was when he arose from the sepulchre, and said, "Arise, Peter, and boldly perform what thou hast undertaken. I will be ever with thee. It is now time that the sanctity of the places consecrated by my presence should no longer be profaned, and my people delivered from the cruel bondage under which they have groaned for many years." The enthusiastic Hermit awoke full of vigour, told his dream to the Patriarch, and hastened to Antioch, where he embarked for Italy.

The appeal to the Christian princes of the West was successful; multitudes of different ranks and ages enlisted under the banner of the Cross, and one of the most remarkable expeditions recorded in history was formed to deliver the Holy City. Some, moved by sincere piety, were anxious to visit the land hallowed by the presence of the Son of God; others, excited by the representations of the profanation of the Holy Places, vowed implacable vengeance against the Infidels; the love of novelty or the hope of gain swayed many; and some embarked in the enterprise from chivalrous feelings, in imitation of others, or not to be called cowards, or to procure additional favour from the ladies to whom they were attached. The lower orders took the opportunity of escaping from the tyranny of the nobles; monks fled from the restraints of their order; criminals from punishment; debtors from their creditors; and some to get rid of dissolute wives. It was now maintained that the Holy Land was peculiarly the inheritance of the

Redeemer, which his servants were bound to recover for him; signs and wonders were not wanting in a superstitious age; stars were believed to have been seen falling from heaven like hail; northern lights of unprecedented brilliancy flashed across the sky; wonderful comets displayed their flaming trains; shepherds, while watching their flocks by night, beheld a great city in the air; infants were born with double limbs, and capable of speech; a priest, walking with two companions in a wood, saw a huge sword carried along by the wind; and another priest witnessed in bright daylight a combat in the sky between two horsemen, one of whom smote the other with a great cross, and thus became the victor. Yet such was the prevailing ignorance of the distance and situation of the Holy Land, that when the enthusiastic Crusaders drew near a castle or a town, many among them were heard to ask eagerly, "Is that Jerusalem?"

As our notices of the Crusades are strictly connected with Jerusalem, we cannot follow this extraordinary armament throughout all its adventures before it approached the Holy City. While the pilgrim army lay encamped at Ramla, a deputation was sent from the Christian inhabitants of Bethlehem entreating the protection of a party of soldiers, lest the Saracens, on their way to Jerusalem, should destroy their elegant church. The request was granted, and a warrior named Tancred, a Norman prince, at the head of one hundred chosen knights, proceeded to the town for ever illustrious as the birth-place of the Son of God. The knights were welcomed by the inhabitants singing psalms and sacred songs, and were led to the abode of Mary, and shown the stable where the Holy Infant had lain. There the warriors knelt in enthusiastic adoration, and, placing the banner of their leader on the church, they pressed onwards to Jerusalem. Tancred's impatience urged him to advance before his companions; he ventured to approach the walls, and, crossing the Valley of Jehoshaphat, to ascend the Mount of Olives

and view the appearance of the city. A hermit drew near where he stood, as the sun declined towards the west, and pointed out to him each hallowed spot within and around the walls. As Tancred was retiring he craved his name. "Tancred a Norman, of the race of Robert Guiscard," was the answer. "I no longer wonder at thy courage," said the hermit; "I heard that name many years ago in Greece, and was wont to tremble at it." At length the Saracens, perceiving the knight, came forth to attack him, but he rejoined his friends.

The utmost impatience now prevailed throughout the Christian army to reach the Holy City. During the night of the 5th July, A.D. 1099, a warrior named Gaston of Biterre ventured with thirty companions, and drove some cattle from beneath the walls of Jerusalem; but the Saracens issued forth to the rescue, and if it had not been for the assistance of Tancred, Gaston would have paid dear for his temerity. The cattle were brought to the Christian camp, and the pilgrims shed tears of joy. Their anxiety to see the city was increased by this circumstance, and they pressed forward to the adjacent hill to catch the first sight of the towers of Zion. "When," says Maimbourg, "they got to the top of the heights on the further side of Emmaus, whence there was a fair prospect of the lofty towers of the Holy City, the princes, officers, soldiers, and the whole host of pilgrims who followed the army, broke out with one consent, as it were, into cries of joy, and blessing and praises to Almighty God, which, being reverberated and multiplied by the echoes of the rocks and mountains with which the city is surrounded, repeated in a few seconds a million of times, It is the will of God. Immediately they found their hearts touched in such an extraordinary way with the sentiments of piety, upon the sight of those holy places consecrated by the venerable mysteries of the redemption of mankind, that they threw themselves pon the ground, shedding devout tears n abundance, and kissing with incon

ceivable pleasure that soil which had been honoured with the footsteps of the Incarnate Word. The sight of those glorious monuments of the victories of the Son of God inspired in the hearts of the Crusaders such an extraordinary desire to conquer, that they cried out to be led instantly to the siege of Jerusalem, not as Jewish-the enemy and murderers of the Saviour of the World—but as Christian and captive, to deliver it from the tyranny of the barbarians who hindered the whole world from rendering those honours due to the sepulchre of Jesus Christ."

At the time of the first Crusade the gates of Jerusalem were three in number the Gate of St Stephen on the north, the Gate of David on the west, and the Gate of Olivet on the east. The city was surrounded by double walls in those parts not sufficiently defended by nature; and Maimbourg says that the Saracens, who had some anticipation that the Christians would make an enterprise against Jerusalem, forgot nothing which was necessary to put it in a good condition for defence. They caused the walls and towers to be repaired; they provided the place with all manner of stores, both of ammunition and provision; compelled all the Christians who were able to bear arms to leave the city; and garrisoned it with 40,000 of their best soldiers, aided by 20,000 armed inhabitants, who for these services were to be perpetually exempted from tribute. The Saracen commander had also, previous to the approach of the Christian army, ordered all the wells and cisterns within six miles of the city to be filled up, and the adjacent country to be devastated, that the Crusaders might suffer from famine, and especially from want of water. On the west point of Mount Zion was situated the strong castle called the Tower of David, built of stones of immense size cemented with mortar and melted lead. On the level space of Mount Moriah, towards its south side, stood (and still stands) the magnificent mosque of Omar, its quadrangle surrounded by walls and covered walks, entered from the cardinal points

by four arched gates, each sixteen feet in height and seven in width, at the corners of which were minarets from which the Moslems were summoned to prayer. "Within this court," to adopt the condensed description of a recent historian of the Crusaders, "was a second quadrangle, of two hundred paces in length and a hundred and fifty in breadth, elevated six feet above its level. Its sides ran parallel with those of the exterior one, and four short flights of steps opposite the four gates led up to its area, flagged with white marble, on which no one dared to tread except with bare and pure feet. In the centre rose the octangular mosque, two hundred and fifty-six paces in circumference, and sixteen fathoms in height. Its roof, which was nearly flat, was covered with lead; and four doors, each supported by six pillars of marble or porphyry, opened to the north, south, east, and west. The walls were covered within and without with white marble; variegated marble covered the floor. The roof was supported by twenty-four pillars of grey marble, which formed a large circle; a smaller circle of sixteen pillars, about three feet higher, sustained the cupola, which, rising at first octangular like the mosque itself, was finally crowned with a small round roof. Doors and windows opened from each of its eight sides, giving an easy passage out on the flat roof."

The Emir Iftikhar-ed-dowlah, whose name signifies Ornament of the State, was governor of Jerusalem under the Caliphs of Egypt of the Fatimite dynasty, when the Christian army encamped beneath the walls, on the 7th of July, A.D. 1099. He had taken the precautions already mentioned, and in addition had summoned the Moslems of the neighbouring towns to assist him in the defence of the Holy City. The pilgrim army, including the aged, the sick, the women, and children, amounted to about 60,000, but of these not more than 20,000 foot and 1500 horse were in a condition to fight. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm of the soldiers, animated by the exhortations

of Peter the Hermit, was excited to the highest pitch; all the toils and sufferings they had encountered since they left their homes were forgotten, and they reflected not that a dubious and bloody conflict awaited them ere they could worship at the tomb of the Redeemer. The Christian lines extended on the north and west of the city, the lofty hills and deep valleys which surround the remainder of the city preventing the investment on the other sides. The camp of the Duke of Lorraine was under the castle of David, where the fiercest attacks were expected; the Duke of Normandy lay before St Stephen's Gate (now the Gate of Damascus); between these were the troops of Tancred, the Count of Toulouse, and Robert of Flanders. Count Raymond shortly. afterwards removed of his own accord nearer Mount Zion, to protect the church of the Virgin in that quarter, which considerably offended his knights, but a reconciliation was soon effected, and one common zeal pervaded the whole army. Those Christians, who from terror or other motives had become Mahometans, now returned to their ancient faith, emboldened by the vicinity of the Christian army, and joined the Crusaders. Among them was a Norman knight named Buduel, who had taken refuge among the Moslems for a murder he had committed, and whose ample knowledge of the language and habits of the Saracens, and of the state of Jerusalem, procured him a ready absolution for his previous apostacy.

Many of the Crusaders seriously thought that a miracle was to be wrought in behalf of the army of the Cross similar to that of Jericho, and in this belief they were confirmed by a hermit who dwelt in a cave on the Mount of Olives, and who pretended that he was commanded by God to assure them of victory on the day of the attack, although he knew well that they were unprovided with the necessary materials. On the fifth day of the siege a general assault was made, in reliance on the prophecy of this recluse, whose opinion was deemed oracular, and the pilgrims carried the outer