ds of the Infidel. The subject engrossed his
whole mind. Even in the visions of the night he was full of it. One
dream made such an impression upon him, that he devoutly believed the
Saviour of the world Himself appeared before him, and promised him aid
and protection in his holy undertaking. If his zeal had ever wavered
before, this was sufficient to fix it for ever.

Peter, after he had performed all the penances and duties of his
pilgrimage, demanded an interview with Simeon, the Patriarch of the
Greek Church at Jerusalem. Though the latter was a heretic in Peter's
eyes, yet he was still a Christian, and felt as acutely as himself for
the persecutions heaped by the Turks upon the followers of Jesus. The
good prelate entered fully into his views, and, at his suggestion, wrote
letters to the Pope, and to the most influential Monarchs of
Christendom, detailing the sorrows of the faithful, and urging them to
take up arms in their defence. Peter was not a laggard in the work.
Taking an affectionate farewell of the Patriarch, he returned in all
haste to Italy. Pope Urban II. occupied the apostolic chair. It was at
that time far from being an easy seat. His predecessor, Gregory, had
bequeathed him a host of disputes with the Emperor Henry IV., of
Germany; and he had made Philip I., of France, his enemy. So many
dangers encompassed him about that the Vatican was no secure abode, and
he had taken refuge in Apulia, under the protection of the renowned
Robert Guiscard. Thither Peter appears to have followed him, though the
spot in which their meeting took place is not stated with any precision
by ancient chroniclers or modern historians. Urban received him most
kindly, read with tears in his eyes the epistle from the Patriarch
Simeon, and listened to the eloquent story of the Hermit with an
attention which showed how deeply he sympathised with the woes of the
Christian Church.

[Illustration: PETER THE HERMIT PREACHING THE FIRST CRUSADE.]

Enthusiasm is contagious, and the Pope appears to have caught it
instantly from one whose zeal was so unbounded. Giving the Hermit full
powers, he sent him abroad to preach the Holy War to all the nations and
potentates of Christendom. The Hermit preached, and countless thousands
answered to his call. France, Germany, and Italy started at his voice,
and prepared for the deliverance of Zion. One of the early historians of
the Crusade, who was himself an eye-witness of the rapture of Europe,