er the marriage,
but was to continue a separate and independent realm, to be governed
by Louis and Eleanora, not as King and Queen of France, but as Duke
and Duchess of Aquitaine. Both these conditions were complied with.
The interview was arranged between Louis and Eleanora, and Eleanora
concluded that she should like the king for a husband very much. At
least she said so, and the marriage was concluded.

Indeed, the match thus arranged for Eleanora was, in all worldly
respects, the most eligible one that could be made. Her husband was
the heir-apparent to the throne of France. His capital was Paris,
which was then, as now, the great centre in Europe of all splendor and
gayety. The father of Louis was old, and not likely to live long;
indeed, he died very soon after the marriage, and thus Eleanora, when
scarcely fifteen, became Queen of France as well as Duchess of
Aquitaine, and was thus raised to the highest pinnacle of worldly
grandeur.

She was young and beautiful, and very gay in her disposition, and she
entered at once upon a life of pleasure. She had been well educated.
She could sing the songs of the Troubadours, which was the
fashionable music of those days, in a most charming manner. Indeed,
she composed music herself, and wrote lines to accompany it. She was
quite celebrated for her learning, on account of her being able both
to read and write: these were rare accomplishments for ladies in those
days.

She spent a considerable portion of her time in Paris, at the court of
her husband, but then she often returned to Aquitaine, where she held
a sort of court of her own in Bordeaux, which was her capital. She led
this sort of life for some time, until at length she was induced to
form a design of going to the East on a crusade. The Crusades were
military expeditions which went from the western countries of Europe
to conquer Palestine from the Turks, in order to recover possession of
Jerusalem and of the sepulchre where the body of Christ was laid.

It had been for some time the practice for the princes and knights,
and other potentates of France and England, to go on these
expeditions, on account of the fame and glory which those who
distinguished themselves acquired. The people were excited, moreover,
to join the Crusades by the preachings of monks and hermits, who
harangued them in public places and urged them to go. At these
assemblages the monks held up symbols of the crucifixion, to inspire
their zea