which led to the preference given to the trial by battle. It is not
at all surprising that a feudal baron, or captain of the early ages,
should have preferred the chances of a fair fight with his opponent to a
mode by which firm perjury would always be successful.

The trial by, or judgment of, the cross, which Charlemagne begged his sons
to have recourse to, in case of disputes arising between them, was
performed thus:--When a person accused of any crime had declared his
innocence upon oath, and appealed to the cross for its judgment in his
favour, he was brought into the church, before the altar. The priests
previously prepared two sticks exactly like one another, upon one of which
was carved a figure of the cross. They were both wrapped up with great
care and many ceremonies, in a quantity of fine wool, and laid upon the
altar, or on the relics of the saints. A solemn prayer was then offered up
to God, that he would be pleased to discover, by the judgment of his holy
cross, whether the accused person were innocent or guilty. A priest then
approached the altar, and took up one of the sticks, and the assistants
unswathed it reverently. If it was marked with the cross, the accused
person was innocent; if unmarked, he was guilty. It would be unjust to
assert, that the judgments thus delivered were, in all cases, erroneous;
and it would be absurd to believe that they were left altogether to
chance. Many true judgments were doubtless given, and, in all probability,
most conscientiously; for we cannot but believe that the priests
endeavoured beforehand to convince themselves by secret inquiry and a
strict examination of the circumstances, whether the appellant were
innocent or guilty, and that they took up the crossed or uncrossed stick
accordingly. Although, to all other observers, the sticks, as enfolded in
the wool, might appear exactly similar, those who enwrapped them could,
without any difficulty, distinguish the one from the other.

By the fire-ordeal the power of deciding was just as unequivocally left in
their hands. It was generally believed that fire would not burn the
innocent, and the clergy, of course, took care that the innocent, or such
as it was their pleasure or interest to declare so, should be so warned
before undergoing the ordeal, as to preserve themselves without any
difficulty from the fire. One mode of ordeal was to place red-hot
ploughshares on the ground at certain distances, and then, blindfolding