this important city, was fought on the 6th September, 1192; the Christians amounted to 100,000 men, the Saracens to three times that number. Richard wished, if possible, to avoid a battle, being anxious to reserve his strength for the siege of Ascalon. His army set forth early in the morning, and his advance guard had reached the gardens of a place called Arsoof, when their ears were assailed by the clang of the arms and the shouts of their enemies. Around and above the crusaders the banners of the Saracens fluttered, whilst their arrows, falling thickly, did much execution. Richard had given order that not a blow should be struck by his men till the signal was given. In vain did the master of the Hospitallers remonstrate with him. At length the chiefs met to decide on the time and mode of giving battle, but ere they had determined, it began. Two of the knights had charged the Turks, others impatient for the onset followed, and soon the action became general. Mounted on his famous warhorse, Richard hastened to the thickest of the fight; with his ponderous axe he cleft the heads of his assailants; each time his mighty arm descended, a foe was laid prostrate in the dust. In vain did Saladin and his brother rally their forces to the action, riding through the ranks and cheering their men. The rout soon became general; some cast themselves into the sea; others sought to conceal themselves in the branches of trees, where they were soon shot by the Christians. The plain was covered with the dead and the dying; the bodies of men, horses, and camels, lay in confused masses; arms and banners were strewed about in all directions, and 40,000 Saracens are said to have perished. Moslem and Christian, noble and ignoble, mighty and mean, lay side by side. In vain had they struggled for the mastery; all now were made equal by the sweeping hand of death. Ascalon soon after fell into the hands of the Crusaders. Other sieges were carried with equal success, and Richard was almost within sight of Jerusalem, the object of all his desires, when he found himself obliged to give up the enterprise. His men, wasted by fatigue, and diminished by frequent battles, were anxious to return home; a truce was therefore concluded with Saladin. Thus, for the immense treasures which had been expended, and the blood that had been shed, the Crusaders gained nothing but Acre, Joppa, and some other sea-port towns of Palestine; and permission for all Christians to perform their pilgrimages to Jerusalem unmolested. 1992 Christian Fortitude. BELIEVING, as we do, that nothing has better proved the truth of religion, than the history of the Martyrs, since the promulgation of the Gospel, we wish, my dear children, to place this subject carefully before you. Christian heroism has in it something truly divine, and possesses a character peculiar to itself that of an unalterable mildness in the midst of persecution. Regulus, the most admired hero of antiquity, submitted to death, and a thousand torments, without betraying the slightest marks of weakness; but he likewise insulted his executioner, and cursed Carthage; and had his wife and children been present, he doubtless, armed with inflexible firmness, would have beheld them without emotion; he could not, in fact, have been softened without losing part of his courage, and to be great, it was necessary he should be insensible. Whilst, on the contrary, a Christian martyr, in the midst of his torments, unites the most magnanimous fortitude to the most tender sensibility; he embraces, exhorts, consoles his friends, and prays for his persecutors. Of the fortitude and patience displayed by the primitive Christians, we shall take one example out of a multitude, namely, Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. When the officers of the proconsul entered the house where he was, he immediately ordered meat and drink to be set before them, and begged them to allow him one hour to pray without molestation; which being granted, he prayed standing; and was so full of the grace of God, that he could not cease speaking for two hours. On his way to the city, he was met by the tetrarch Herod, and his father Nicetus, who began to advise him, asking, "What harm is it to say, Lord Cæsar! and to sacrifice and be safe?" At first he was silent, but being pressed, he said, "I will not folyour advice. low When he was brought before the tribunal, there was a great tumult, and the proconsul having asked if he was Polycarp, and receiving an answer in the affirmative, began to exhort him to take pity on his own great age, to repent, and swear by the fortune of Cæsar. "I am a Christian," said Polycarp; "I cannot comply with your request." "I have wild beasts," said 66 our the proconsul; "I will expose you to them, unless you threatening was put into execution. This His spirit, how ever, continued calm and undismayed, full of devotion, Nor need we go back to the olden times for illustrations, or select as instances the veteran Christian. The following anecdote will show that, while the dew of youth yet glistens on the brow, the mind may be stored with the fruits of Christianity. A poor little African negro, only ten years old, went to hear one of the Missionaries, and became a convert to the Christian faith. His master forbade him to attend the preacher, and his prohibition being transgressed, he was summoned into his master's pre G |