sembly of the nobles of the empire met the
great King in his capital, and promised to recognize King Louis of
Aquitaine as heir to the throne of Charlemagne. Then in the great church
that he had built at Aix-la-Chapelle the old monarch, dressed in
magnificent robes (which he never liked and would but rarely put on),
stood before the vast assembly of princes and nobles of Germany, leaning
upon the shoulder of his sturdily built and kindly looking son.

The sounds of prayer and song that opened the ceremony were stilled, and
then the old Emperor, facing his son, told him that the lords and barons
of the empire had sanctioned his appointment as associate and heir.

"You will reign in my stead," he said. "Fear God, my son, and follow His
law. Govern the Church with care, and defend it from its enemies.
Preserve the empire; show kindness to your relations; honor the clergy
as your fathers, and love the people as your children. Force the proud
and the evil ones to take the paths of virtue; be the friend of the
faithful and the helper of the poor. Choose your ministers wisely; take
from no man his property unjustly, and keep yourself pure and above
reproach in the eyes of God and man."

Then Charlemagne bade Louis take up the iron crown of Rome and the
empire that lay upon the altar, and place it upon his head. "Wear it
worthily, O King, my son," the father said, "as a gift from God, your
father, and the nation."

And when the son of Charlemagne had thus crowned himself Emperor,
turning to the great assembly the old man said: "Behold, I present to
you your sovereign and your lord. Salute him, all people, as Emperor and
Augustus!"

A mighty shout of loyalty and welcome filled the crowded church, and
thus was the son of Charlemagne crowned as his great father's associate
and successor. And when, in the year 814, Charlemagne, still a sturdy
old man, suddenly fell sick of a fever, and died in his palace at
Aix-la-Chapelle, at the age of seventy-one, Louis ascended the throne of
what was called the Holy Roman Empire as its sole and sovereign lord.

He came to his vast power with high hopes and lofty aims. The solemn
words of his father upon his coronation day lived in his memory, and he
determined to rule in peace, in justice, in wisdom, and in love. He
would abstain from war; he would lift his people higher; he would make
his court learned, refined, and pure; he would be father and friend to
all his people, and make his real