Sometimes the Turks were successful in the battles, and sometimes the Christians, but the most important result of the Crusades was, after all, not the taking or keeping of the sepulcher, but the effect of travel and new knowledge upon the European people.

The French, and English, and Germans were brought to know the Greeks and Arabs, who had been the most learned of all nations. They saw the fine buildings, libraries, and statues of these more cultivated people, and they brought back new ideas to use in their own rude homes, which before had been neither comfortable nor beautiful.

They learned from the books of these foreign libraries, too, for they had been too busy fighting for their kings and lords to write or read many books of their own. By thus becoming acquainted with people possessed of more knowledge than themselves, they began to wish for schools and learning.

Everybody seemed hungry to study. Teachers were sent for from these other countries, or men went off to study for themselves.

Business began to flourish; ships went far and near to buy and sell goods. The printing press was invented. Columbus found the new world. The whole of Europe seemed to wake up, rested, and eager to know and to do, after its long sleep of the Dark Ages. This glorious time is called the Renaissance, or New Birth.

Pronunciations. -Ăr'abs; joŭst'ing; yeō men; Renaissance (ruh na songs').

Definitions. Pericles, a great and wise ruler of Greece. Cæsar, an eminent Roman, renowned as a conqueror, a statesman, and a scholar. Pilgrim, one who travels to visit a holy place. Banishment, the state of being driven away. Persecution, long continued ill treatment. Sepulcher, tomb. Knight, a man of military rank entitled to be addressed as "Sir." Yeomen, formerly, in England, the common people in rank. Jousting, engaging in mock fighting. Dark Ages, a name given to the centuries between the fifth and fifteenth, during

which time Europe made but little progress and forgot much of the learning of the Greeks and Romans. Mohammedans, followers of the prophet Mohammed.

Read, if accessible, The Story of Gilbert, in "Ten Boys on the Road from Long Ago to Now." - Jane Andrews. "Children's Stories in English Literature." - Henrietta Wright. "Legends of Charlemagne." ― Bulfinch. "History of England.”- Yonge.

HERO STORIES.

53. KING ARTHUR OF ENGLAND.

Articulation. - with woven paces and with winding | hands; magic | sword | Excalibur; jeweled | scabbard; heroes | of Camelot.

I wonder if you have heard of King Arthur, of England, and his wife, the beautiful Guinevere, and the Round Table, where the knights gathered yearly to tell their stories.

Some people now think that Arthur never lived, but in the days of chivalry the stories of himself and his court were believed by everybody and were almost the only ones read in England.

These tales have been told so often that they are better known than the true history of real kings. You will find a complete collection of them in the works of Sir Thomas Malory. Tennyson, of England, has related some of them most musically in "Idyls of the King." Our own poet, Lowell, has told one of them in his noble poem, "The Vision of Sir Launfal," and we are constantly hearing or reading some of the names or deeds of the heroes of Camelot, the seat of Arthur's castle.

Arthur is said to have lived five hundred years after Christ. His magic sword, Excalibur, was reached up to him out of a lake, by a beautiful white arm, and he could never be harmed while its jeweled scabbard was safe.

It is said, too, that Arthur did not die, for when at last he was wounded in a great battle he threw Excali

bur into the lake, and the beautiful white arm again arose and caught the sword and waved it three times. That evening three tall queens, all dressed in black, and weeping sadly, came in a black boat and took Arthur with them to fairyland

"To the island valley of Avalon."

The stories of Arthur and his court arose in the days of chivalry, and tell of wonderful journeys and adventures, and tournaments and festivals. They are told so vividly that one can almost see the English woods and meadows, and Arthur, taller than all the other knights, with Excalibur flashing lightnings about him.

Arthur's knights were of the best and bravest men in the kingdom, and each had sworn to obey this command, which the king had laid upon him, "I charge you to be a true and faithful knight, to do no murder, and to avoid treason. I charge you to givè alms to him that asks, and never to take part in a wrong quarrel for payment, and to aid all ladies and damsels in distress."

By and by the knights added to these charges the task of searching for the Holy Grail. This was the cup from which the Saviour had drunk at the last supper, and which had since been taken from the earth by angels, because of the wickedness of the world.

Each knight swore to search for the Grail for a year and a day, but only to Sir Galahad, "the knight without reproach," was it given to behold the angels bearing the beautiful chalice.

One of the stories of Arthur's court is of the tournaments where, for seven years, the knights met to fight for the seven flashing diamonds found upon a dead king's crown, while their friends gathered about to judge which hero was bravest.

Among these stories, too, we find the tale of Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat, who nursed Sir Launcelot, Arthur's favorite knight, after he was wounded at one of these tournaments; and the story of her death, after which she was rowed up the river to Camelot, by the old dumb man, with her golden hair streaming over her cloth-ofgold coverlet, a lily in one hand and in the other a letter for Sir Launcelot.

Here, also, is the story of the beautiful, bad Vivien, who coaxed Merlin, the enchanter, to tell her how to put people asleep forever, and who, as soon as she knew the secret, turned, "with woven paces and with winding hands," and charmed Merlin himself into a hollow oak, where he still remains.

Pronunciations.-Guin'e vēre; Ex cal'i bur; Av'a lon; toûr'na ment. Definitions. Legend, a story handed down from early times. Idyl, a narrative poem written in an elevated style. Scabbard, shield for a sword. Tournament, a mock fight. Festival, a time of feasting or celebration. Vividly, clearly, brightly. Reproach, blame, sin. Damsel, a young unmarried woman. Chalice, a cup or bowl.

Spell: Guinevere; Launfal; Excalibur; jeweled; scabbard.

Why is Lowell called "Our own poet"? What are the "Idyls of

the King"? Do you see anything in Arthur's charge that a manly boy of to-day might follow ?

Read, if accessible, "Idyls of the King." - Tennyson. "The Golden

Edgar Allan Poe, a writer of this century, might have been one of the great poets of the age if he had lived a better and a longer life. His death was caused by his own bad habits while he was still a young man. His verse, like that of Tennyson, is noted for its melody. His poems, "The Bells" and "The Raven," will show you how wonderfully he could weave sense and sound together, and also what strange subjects he delighted to write about.

Articulation. - gallant | knight; and | o'er | his | heart; this | land; and as | his | strength.

Gaily bedight,

A gallant knight

In sunshine and in shadow

Had journeyed long,

Singing a song,

In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old,

This knight so bold,

And o'er his heart a shadow

Fell, as he found

No spot of ground

That looked like Eldorado.

And as his strength

Failed him, at length

He met a pilgrim shadow.

"Shadow," said he,

"Where can it be,

This land of Eldorado?"