The gallant king was himself struck down by a javelin, as he rode onward at the head of his men; and his own cavalry, charging over him, trampled him to death in the confusion. But the Visigoths, infuriated, not dispirited by their monarch's fall, routed the enemies opposed to them, and then wheeled upon the flank of the Hunnish centre, which had been engaged in a sanguinary and indecisive contest with the Alans.

21. In this peril Attila made his centre fall back upon his camp; and when the shelter of its intrenchments and wagons had once been gained, the Hunnish archers repulsed, without difficulty, the charges of the vengeful Gothic cavalry. Aētius had not pressed the advantage which he gained on his side of the field, and when night fell over the wild scene of havoc, Attila's left was still undefeated; but his right had been routed and his centre forced back upon his camp.

22. Expecting an assault on the morrow, Attila stationed his best archers in front of the cars and wagons, which were drawn up as a fortification along his lines, and made every preparation for a desperate resistance. But the "Scourge of God" resolved that no man should boast of the honor of having either captured or slain him, and he caused to be raised in the centre of his encampment a huge pyramid of the wooden saddles of his cavalry; round it he heaped the spoils and the wealth that he had won; on it he stationed his wives who had accompanied him on the campaign; and on the summit Attila placed himself, ready to perish in the flames, and balk the victorious foe of their choicest booty, should they succeed in storming his defenses.

23. But when the morning broke and revealed the extent of the carnage with which the plains were heaped for miles, the successful allies saw also, and respected the resolute attitude of their antagonist. Neither were any measures taken to blockade him in his camp, and so to extort by famine that submission which it was too plainly perilous to enforce with the sword. Attila was allowed to march back the remnants of his army without molestation, and even with the semblance of success.

24. It is probable that the crafty Aetius was unwilling to be too victorious. He dreaded the glory which bis allies, the Visigoths, had acquired, and feared that Rome might find a second Alaric in Prince Thorismund, who had signalized himself in the battle, and had been chosen on the field to succeed his father Theodoric. He persuaded the young king to return at once to his capital, and thus relieved himself, at the same time, of the presence of a dangerous friend, as well as of a formidable though beaten foe.

25. Attila's attacks on the western empire were soon renewed, but never with such peril to the civilized world as had menaced it before his defeat at Châlons; and on his death, two years after that battle, the vast empire which his genius had founded was soon dissevered by the successful revolts of the subject nations. The name of the Huns ceased for some centuries to inspire terror in Western Europe, and their ascendency passed away with the life of the great king by whom it had been so fearfully augmented.

The First Crusade.-Michelet.

[When the Turks took possession of Syria and captured Jerusalem (1076), the Christain pilgrims were treated with the most shocking cruelty and insult; and the news of these atrocities excited the deepest indignation throughout Christendom. This led to a combination of forces in order to wage war against the infidels; and as all who entered into it were obliged to wear a cross of red stuff on the shoulder, the war was called a Crusade, and those who engaged in it Crusaders. The following account of the first of these expeditions is from Michelet's "History of France."]

1. A PICARD, vulgarly called Peter the Hermit, is said to have powerfully contributed, by his eloquence, to the great popular movement. On his return from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he persuaded the French pope, Urban II., to preach the crusade, first at Placenza, then at Clermont (A. D. 1095). In Italy the call was unheeded; in France every one rushed to arms. At the council of Clermont, four hundred bishops or mitred abbots were present; it was the triumph of the Church and the people; and the condemnation of the greatest names on the earth, those of the emperor and the king of France, no less than the Turks; and of the dispute as well, concerning

the right of investiture, which had got mixed up with the question of advance on Jerusalem. All mounted the red cross on their shoulders. Red stuffs and vestments of every kind were torn in pieces, yet were insufficient for the purpose.

2. An extraordinary spectacle was then presented: the world seemed turned upside down. Men suddenly conceived a disgust for all they had before prized; and hastened to quit their proud castles, their wives, and children. There was no need of preaching; they preached to each other, says a contemporary, both by word and example. "Thus," he proceeds to say, "was fulfilled the saying of Solomon-The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands.' These locusts had not soared on deeds of goodness so long as they remained stiffened and frozen in their iniquity; but no sooner were they warmed by the rays of the sun of justice, than they rose and took their flight.

3. "They had no king. Each believing soul chose God alone for his guide, his chief, his companion in arms. Although the French alone had heard the preaching of the crusade, what Christian people did not supply soldiers as well? You might have seen the Scotch, covered with a shaggy cloak, hasten from the heart of their marshes. I take God to witness, that there landed in our ports barbarians from nations I wist not of: no one understood their tongue, but placing their fingers in the form of a cross, they made a sign that they desired to proceed to the defense of the Christian faith.

4. "There were some who at first had no desire to set out, and who laughed at those who parted with their property, foretelling them a miserable voyage and a more miserable return. The next day, these very mockers, by some sudden impulse, gave all they had for money, and set out with those whom they had just laughed at. Who can name the children and aged women who prepared for war; who count the virgins and old men trembling under the weight of years? You would have smiled to see the poor shoeing their oxen like horses, dragging their slender stock of provisions and their little children in carts; and these little ones at each town or castle they came

to, asked in their simplicity, 'Is not that the Jerusalem that we are going to ?" "

5. The people set forth without waiting for anything, leaving the princes to deliberate, to arm, and to reckon; men of little faith! The little troubled themselves with nothing of the kind: they were certain of a miracle. Would God refuse one for the deliverance of the holy sepulchre? Peter the Hermit marched at their head, bare-footed, and girt with a cord? Others followed a brave and poor knight whom they called Walter the Penniless. Among so many thousands of men there were not eight horses. Some Germans followed the example of the French, and set out under the guidance of a countryman of their own, named Gotteschalk. The whole descended the valley of the Danube-the route followed by Attila, the highway of mankind.

6. On their road they took, plundered, and indemnified themselves beforehand for their holy war. Every Jew they could lay hands upon they put to death with tortures; believing that they were bound to punish the murderers of Christ before delivering his tomb. In this guise, fierce, and dripping with blood, they reached Hungary and the Greek empire; where they inspired such horror, that the inhabitants set upon their traces, and hunted them down like wild beasts. The emperor furnished vessels to the survivors, and transported them into Asia, trusting to the arrows of the Turks to do the rest; and the excellent Anna Comne'na is happy in the belief that they left in the plain of Nicæa mountains of bones, which served for the building of the walls of a town.

7. Meanwhile the unwieldly armies of princes, barons, and knights put themselves slowly into motion. No king took part in the crusade, but many lords more powerful than kings. Hugh of Vermandois (-dwah), brother of the king of France, and son-in-law of the king of England, wealthy Stephen of Blois (blwak); Robert Curt-Hose, William the Conqueror's son, and the count of Flanders, set out at the same time-all equal, none chief. They did but little honor to the crusade. The fat Robert, the man of all others who lost a kingdom with the

best grace, only went to Jerusalem through idleness: Hugh and Stephen returned without reaching it.

8. Raymond de Saint-Gille, count of Toulouse, was, beyond comparison, the wealthiest of all who took the cross. The countships of Rouergue (roo-airg') and of Nimes (neem), and the Duchy of Narbonne, had just centered in his person; and his hopes beat high with the greatness he had attained. He had sworn not to return, bore with him immense riches, and was followed by the whole of the South-by the lords of Orange, Foret, Roussillon, Montpellier, Turenne, and Albret, besides the ecclesiastical head of the crusade, the bishop of Puy, the pope's legate, who was Raymond's subject. These men of the South, as commercial, industrious, and civilized as the Greeks, had hardly a better reputation than they for piety and valor. They were reputed to know too much, to be too keen in worldly matters, and too great talkers. . . .

9. The Normans of Italy were not the last to set forward to Jerusalem; and less wealthy than the Languedocians, they reckoned on turning the expedition to their advantage. However, the successors of Guis'card and Roger would not have quitted their conquest for this hazardous enterprise, had not one Bo'hemond, a natural son of Robert Guiscard, and not less wise than his father, received no other inheritance than Tarentum and his sword. One Tancred, too, a Norman oy the mother's side, but supposed to be a Piedmontese by the father's, likewise took up arms. ohemond was laying siege to Amalfi (ah-mal'fe), when the news of the march of the crusaders reached him. He informed himself minutely of their names, number, arms, and resources; and then, without saying a word, took the cross and lert Amalfi.

10. The portrait drawn of him by Anna Comnena, the daughter of Alexis, who saw him at Constantinople, and entertained so great a dread of him, is curious. She watched him with all a woman's interest and curiosity. "He was taller than the tallest by a cubit, thin-flanked, wide-shouldered, and broadchested, and neither lean nor fat. His arms were powerful, his hands fieshy and rather large. On scanning him closely,