int.

The _valet de place_ who accompanied the Class from the hotel seemed
to have no doubt of the genuineness of the relic, or of the propriety
of adoring it, if indeed it were real,--and he bowed reverently before
the shrine.

"A very rare relic," he said.

"Wonderful!" said Frank. "I did not know that such sacred remains were
anywhere to be found as are shown us in the churches of France."

"_Quite_ a rare relic," said Master Lewis, coolly. "I believe that,
previous to the French Revolution, several whole heads of John the
Baptist were to be seen in France."

"You do not think that a church like this would be guilty of
imposture, do you?" asked Ernest Wynn.

"Not wilfully. Most of these French relics were brought from
Constantinople at the time of the Crusades. They may be genuine,--the
people believe them so; but, in the absence of direct historic
evidence, it is probable that the Crusaders were deceived in them by
others, who in their turn may have been deceived.

"You will be shown wonderful relics or shrines supposed to contain
them, in nearly all the great churches of France. The French people
were taught their reverence for relics by St. Louis, who sought to
enrich the churches of his country with such treasures."

"Who was St. Louis?" asked Ernest.

"I am glad to have you ask the question," said Master Lewis. "His name
meets you everywhere in France.

STORY OF ST. LOUIS.

"St. Louis was one of the best men that ever sat on a throne. But he
was influenced by the superstitions of the times in which he lived.

"His mother was a most noble and pious woman, and he was a dutiful and
affectionate son.

"It was regarded as very pious at this time for a prince to go on a
crusade. St. Louis was taken sick, and he made a vow that, if he
recovered, he would become a crusader. On his recovery, he appointed
his mother regent, and sailed with forty thousand men for Cyprus,
where he proceeded against Egypt, thinking by the conquest of that
country to open a triumphant way to Palestine. He was defeated, and
returned to France.

"He was a model prince among his own people. He used to spend a
portion of each day in charity, and to feed an hundred or more paupers
every time he went to walk. He visited his own domestics when they
were sick; he founded charities, which have multiplied, and to-day
cause his name to be remembered with gratitude almost everywhere in
France. He made it the aim of his life to reliev