une was only a log of wood. Then he had the deposed god whipped
in public, and thrown into the river, with all the other gods.

He next ordered all the people of his capital city to assemble on the
banks of the Dnieper River, and, at a signal, made them all rush into
the water, while a priest pronounced the baptismal service over the
whole population of the city at once. It was the most wholesale baptism
ever performed.

[Illustration: VLADIMIR BESIEGING THE CITY CONTAINING HIS ARCHBISHOP.]

That is the way in which Russia was changed from a pagan to a
Christian empire. The story reads like a romance, but it is plain,
well-authenticated history. For his military exploits the Russian
historians call this prince Vladimir the Great. The people call him St.
Vladimir, the Greek Church having enrolled his name among the saints
soon after his death. He was undoubtedly a man of rare military skill,
and unusual ability in the government of men. Bad as his acts were, he
seems to have had a conscience, and to have done his duty so far as he
was capable of understanding it.

THE BOY COMMANDER OF THE CAMISARDS.

When Louis XIV. was King of France, that country was generally Catholic,
as it is still, but in the rugged mountain region called the Cevennes
more than half the people were Protestants. At first the king consented
that these Protestant people, who were well behaved both in peace and in
war, should live in quiet, and worship as they pleased; but in those
days men were not tolerant in matters of religion, as they are now, and
so after a while King Louis made up his mind that he would compel all
his people to believe alike. The Protestants of the Cevennes were
required to give up their religion and to become Catholics. When they
refused, soldiers were sent to compel them, and great cruelties were
practised upon them. Many of them were killed, many put in prison, and
many sent to work in the galleys.

When this persecution had lasted for nearly thirty years, a body of
young men who were gathered together in the High Cevennes resolved to
defend themselves by force. They secured arms, and although their
numbers were very small, they met and fought the troops.

Among these young men was one, a mere boy, named Jean Cavalier. His home
was in the Lower Cevennes, but he had fled to the highlands for safety.
This boy, without knowing it, had military genius of a very high order,
and when it became evident that he and his