mples to the true God, and
Jerusalem shall hear no longer aught but the praises of the Lord."

His words were received with shouts of applause by the whole army. His
had been the first voice to call Europe to the deliverance of the Holy
City; now, with a strong army to back him, he gazed on the walls of
Jerusalem, still in the hands of the infidels, likely soon to be in the
hands of the Christians. Well might he feel joy and self-gratification,
in thinking that all this was his work, and that he had been the apostle
of the greatest event in modern history.

On the next day, July 14, 1099, the assault began at daybreak. On
Friday, the 15th, Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Crusaders, and
the mission of Peter the Hermit was accomplished, the Holy City was won.

With that great day ended the active part played by Peter the Hermit in
history. He was received with the greatest respect by the Christian
dwellers in Jerusalem, who exerted themselves to render him the highest
honors, and attributed to him alone, after God, their deliverance from
the sufferings which they had so long endured. On his return to Europe
he founded a monastery near Hue, in the diocese of Liege, where he spent
the remainder of his life in retirement, respected and honored by all,
and died there on the 11th of July, 1115.

_THE COMMUNE OF LAON._

The history of the kingdoms of Europe has a double aspect, that of the
arrogant rule of kings and nobles, and that of the enforced submission
and occasional insurrection of the common people, whom the governing
class despised while subsisting on the products of their labor, as a
tree draws its nutriment from the base soil above which it proudly
rises. Insurrections of the peasantry took place at times, we have said,
though, as a rule, nothing was gained by them but blows and bloodshed.
We have described such outbreaks in England. France had its share of
them, all of which were speedily and cruelly suppressed. It was not by
armed insurrection that the peasantry gained the measure of liberty they
now possess. Their gradual emancipation was gained through unceasing
protest and steady pressure, and in no sense by revolt and bloodshed.

A different story must be told of the towns. In these the common people
were concentrated and well organized, and possessed skilled leaders and
strong walls. They understood the political situation, struck for a
definite purpose, and usually gained it. The history of