the affairs of southern Europe, he now endeavored to
rouse the enthusiasm of the German nobles against the Turks. In this, by
appealing to superstition, he was somewhat successful. He addressed the
following circular letter to the German States:

"A stone, weighing two hundred pounds, recently fell from heaven, near
the army under my command in Upper Alsace, and I caused it, as a fatal
warning from God to men, to be hung up in the neighboring church of
Encisheim. In vain I myself explained to all Christian kings the
signification of this mysterious stone. The Almighty punished the
neglect of this warning with a dreadful scourge, from which thousands
have suffered death, or pains worse than death. But since this
punishment of the abominable sins of men has produced no effect, God has
imprinted in a miraculous manner the sign of the cross, and the
instruments of our Lord's passion in dark and bloody colors, on the
bodies and garments of thousands. The appearance of these signs in
Germany, in particular, does not indeed denote that the Germans have
been peculiarly distinguished in guilt, but rather that they should set
the example to the rest of the world, by being the first to undertake a
crusade against the infidels."

For a time Maximilian seemed quite encouraged, for quite a wave of
religious enthusiasm seemed to roll over Europe. All the energies of the
pope were apparently enlisted, and he raised, through all the domains of
the Church, large sums of money for the holy enterprise of driving the
invading infidels out of Europe. England and France both proffered their
co-operation, and England, opening her inexhaustible purse, presented a
subsidy of ten thousand pounds. The German nobles rallied in large
numbers under the banner of the cross. But disappointment seemed to be
the doom of the emperor. The King of France sent no aid. The pope,
iniquitously squandered all the money he had raised upon his infamous,
dissolute son, Caesar Borgia. And the emperor himself was drawn into a
war with Bavaria, to settle the right of succession between two rival
claimants. The settlement of the question devolved upon Maximilian as
emperor, and his dignity was involved in securing respect for his
decision. Thus the whole gorgeous plan of a war against the Turks, such
as Europe had never beheld, vanished into thin air, and Maximilian was
found at the head of fourteen thousand infantry, and twelve thousand
horse, engaged in a quarrel in