or events in poetic form failed to
express what they meant. Besides this, there is no doubt that in many
ways the facts fell below their ideals; also that the Crusader's
mantle covered at the same time a rabble, which joined from the
lowest motives, the scum of Europe. It must also be remembered that
it is far easier to experience or feel than to pass on that
experience and feeling to others; that those who wrote did not always
belong to the most educated; and that they wrote, for the most part,
with difficulty in Greek or Latin. When all this has been weighed and
admitted, the fact remains that in existing accounts of the Crusades
there is great poverty of description of scenery, and lack of much
feeling for Nature. The historian, as such, was bound to give first
place to matters of fact and practical importance, and so to judge a
place by its value to an army passing through or occupying it; by its
fertility, water-supply, its swamps or stony ground, and so forth;
but still the modern reader is astonished to see how little
impression the scenery of the Holy Land made, judged by the accounts
we possess, upon the Crusaders. Even when it is conceded that other
important concerns came first, and that danger, want, and hunger must
often have made everything disagreeable, still, references to Nature
are very scanty, and one may look in vain for any interest in
beautiful scenery for its own sake.

There is only matter-of-fact geographical and mythological
information in William of Tours' _History of the Crusades_; for
instance, in his description of the Bosphorus he does not waste a
word over its beauty. But, as 'fruitful' and 'pleasant' are
ever-recurring adjectives with him, one cannot say that he absolutely
ignored it.

He said of Durazzo: 'They weather the bad seasons of the year in
fruitful districts rich in woods and fields, and all acceptable
conditions'; of Tyre, 'The town has a most excellent position on a
plain, almost entirely surrounded by mountains. The soil is
productive, the wood of value in many ways.' Of Antioch, 'Its
position is very convenient and pleasant, it lies in valleys which
have excellent and fertile soil, and are most pleasantly watered by
springs and streams. The mountains which enclose the town on both
sides are really very high; but send down very clear water, and their
sides and slopes are covered by buildings up to the very summits.'
There is nothing about beautiful views, unless one take