Christians of Jerusalem issued forth from their
hiding-places to welcome their deliverers. They instantly recognised the
Hermit as the pilgrim who, years before, had spoken to them so eloquently
of the wrongs and insults they had endured, and promised to stir up the
princes and people of Europe in their behalf. They clung to the skirts of
his garments in the fervour of their gratitude, and vowed to remember him
for ever in their prayers. Many of them shed tears about his neck, and
attributed the deliverance of Jerusalem solely to his courage and
perseverance. Peter afterwards held some ecclesiastical office in the holy
city, but what it was, or what was his ultimate fate, history has
forgotten to inform us. Some say that he returned to France and founded a
monastery, but the story does not rest upon sufficient authority.

[Illustration: SIEGE OF JERUSALEM.]

The grand object for which the popular swarms of Europe had forsaken their
homes was now accomplished. The Moslem mosques of Jerusalem were converted
into churches for a purer faith, and the mount of Calvary and the
sepulchre of Christ were profaned no longer by the presence or the power
of the infidel. Popular frenzy had fulfilled its mission, and, as a
natural consequence, it began to subside from that time forth. The news of
the capture of Jerusalem brought numbers of pilgrims from Europe, and,
among others, Stephen count of Chartres and Hugh of Vermandois, to atone
for their desertion; but nothing like the former enthusiasm existed among
the nations.

Thus then ends the history of the first Crusade. For the better
understanding of the second, it will be necessary to describe the interval
between them, and to enter into a slight sketch of the history of
Jerusalem under its Latin kings, the long and fruitless wars they
continued to wage with the unvanquished Saracens, and the poor and
miserable results which sprang from so vast an expenditure of zeal, and so
deplorable a waste of human life.

[Illustration: JERUSALEM.]

The necessity of having some recognised chief was soon felt by the
Crusaders, and Godfrey de Bouillon, less ambitious than Bohemund or
Raymond of Toulouse, gave his cold consent to wield a sceptre which the
latter chiefs would have clutched with eagerness. He was hardly invested
with the royal mantle before the Saracens menaced his capital. With much
vigour and judgment he exerted himself to follow up the advantages he had
gained, and marchin