s, and the general desertion of fields and
cities, in the anxiety to share in the holy enterprise of rescuing it
from the infidels; the unparalleled sufferings and total destruction of
the huge multitude of men, women, and children who formed the vanguard
of Europe, and perished in the first Crusade, make up, as it were the
first act of the eventful story. Next comes the firm array of warriors
which was led by Godfrey of Bouillon in the second Crusade. Their march
through Hungary and Turkey to Constantinople; the description of the
Queen of the East, with its formidable ramparts, noble harbours, and
crafty government; the battles of Nice and Dorislaus, and marvellous
defeats of the Persians by the arms of the Christians; the long
duration, and almost fabulous termination of the siege of Antioch, by
the miracle of the holy lance; the advance to Jerusalem; the defeat of
the Egyptians before its walls, and final storming of the holy city by
the resistless prowess of the crusaders, terminate the second act of the
mighty drama.

The third commences with the establishment, in a durable manner, of the
Latins in Palestine, and the extension of its limits,--by the subjection
of Ptolemais, Edessa, and a number of strongholds towards the east. The
constitution of the monarchy by the "Assizes of Jerusalem," the most
regular and perfect model of feudal sovereignty that ever was formed;
with the singular orders of the knights-templars, hospitallers, and of
St John of Jerusalem, which in a manner organized the strength of Europe
for its defence, blend the detail of manners, institutions, and military
establishments, with the otherwise too frequent narratives of battles
and sieges. Next come the vast and almost convulsive efforts of the
Orientals to expel the Christians from their shores; the long wars and
slow degrees by which the monarchy of Palestine was abridged, and at
last its strength broken by the victorious sword of Saladin, and the
wood of the true cross lost, in the battle of Tiberias. But this
terrible event, which at once restored Jerusalem to the power of the
Saracens, again roused the declining spirit of European enterprise. A
hero rose up for the defence of the Holy Land. Richard Coeur de Lion
and Philip Augustus appeared at the head of the chivalry of England and
France. The siege of Ptolemais exceeded in heroic deeds that of Troy;
the battle of Ascalon broke the strength and humbled the pride of
Saladin; and, but for