volume one

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HISTOEY or THE CEUSADES. 215
gestures and theii' clamours.* "Tou hear them," said Peter the
Hermit " ; you hear the menaces and the blasphemies against
the true God ;
swear to defend Jesus Christ, a prisoner, and
crucified a second time by the infidels. Tou see him who
expires afresh upon Calvary for the redemption of your
sins."t At these words the cenobite was interrupted by
the groans and cries of indignation which arose on all parts
against the infidels. " Yes, I swear by your piety," continued
the orator, " I swear by your arms, that the reign of
the impious is near its end. The army of the Lord has
only to appear, and all that vain mass of Mussulmans will
disperse like a shadow. To-day they are full of pride and
insolence, to-morrow they shall be frozen with fear, and shall
fall motionless before you, like the guardians of the sepul-
chre, who felt their arms escape from their hands, and fell
dead with fright, when an earthquake announced the presence
of a God on that Calvary on which you are going
to mount the breach. Still a few moments, and these
towers, the last bulwark of the infidels, shall be the asylum
of the Christians ; these mosques, which stand upon Christian
ruins, shall serve as temples for the true God, and
Jerusalem shall only henceforward hear the praises of the
Lord."
At these last words of Peter the most lively transports
broke forth among the Christians ; they embraced, shedding
tears, and exhorting each other to support the evds and the
fatigues of which they should so soon receive the glorious
reward. The Christians at length descended the Mount of
Olives to return to their camp, and, taking their route
southward, they saluted on their right the tomb of David, and
passed close to the pool of Siloe, where Christ restored sight
to the man born blind. They perceived, further on, the
* Cruces fixerunt, super quas aut spuebant, aut in oculis omnium
niingere non abhorrebant. Ab. Aq. lib. vi.
f See, for this procession, Baldric, bishop of Dol. lib. iv. ; Accolte,
lib. iv. ; Albert d^Aix, lib. vi. ; William of Tyre, lib. vii. It cannot
be doubted that the leaders caused this procession to be made round
Jerusalem, in order that the sif^ht of so many places should arouse the
enthusiasm of the Crusaders. We ii ust regret that Tasso, who speaks
of this procession, has scarcely said anything of ths places the Christians
\isited; these details would have furnished poetical beauties, without in
anything departing from the exactitude of history.