awed the assembly ; and the astonished barons submitted without a murmur. The famous Saladin, about the same time, began his career of conquest in the East. Tiberius, Acre, Jaffa, Oesarea and Berytus were the trophies of his victories. One hundred thousand people flying from the sword of the Turks crowd-ed into Jerusalem, and the feeble garrison was not able to defend them. Saladin, unwilling to stain with human blood the place which even the Moslems held in reverence, offered the inhabitants peace on condition of the surrender of the city, and money and lands in Syria ; but the Chris-tians declared that they would not resign to the Infidels the place where the Saviour had suffered and died. Indig-nant at the rejection of his offer, Saladin swore that he would enter the city sword in hand and retaliate upon the Franks the carnage they had made in the days of Godfrey de Boulogne. For fourteen days the battle raged around the walls with almost unexampled fury. The Moslem fana-tic fearlessly exposed his life, expecting that death would give him at once to drink of the waters of Paradise,—the Christian, hoping to exchange an earthly for a heavenly Jerusalem, poured out his blood in protecting the Holy Sepulchre. When it was found that the wall near the gate of St. Stephen was undermined, all farther efforts at de-fence were abandoned ; the clergy prayed for a miraculous interposition of heaven, and the soldiers threw down their arms and crowded into the churches. Saladin again offer-ed favorable conditions of peace. The miserable inhabi-tants spent four days in visiting the sacred places, weeping over and embracing the Holy Sepulchre, and then, sadly quitting the hallowed precincts, passed through the ene-my's camp, and took their disconsolate way towards Tyre, the last stronghold of the Latins in Palestine. Thus after the lapse of nearly a century, the Holy City that had cost Europe so much blood and treasure, once more became the property of the Infidel. The great cross was taken down from the church of the Sepulchre and dragged through the mire of the street, the bells of the 188 HEROINES OF THE CRUSADES.