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ciiap. ii.] ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. 97

the majority drunkards male and female, and law-less perpetrators of the grossest debauchery ofevery description, most of them pell mell, on foot,half-naked, with only ten horses amongst suchthousands, and the most reputable in various cartsand waggons drawn by their usual teams or ploughcattle, and little or no provisions; for it would havebeen an insult to the Almighty to have done other-wise, in the estimation of the religiously mad,who furnishes the birds with food ; and the wickedhaving determined on ill-treating, robbing, sackingevery creature, house and town they should cometo, were extremely glad of that valid excuse.

Early in the spring of 1096, it was quite out ofall possibility to restrain their impatience. Peni-tence the most austere and sincere, and piety themost fervent, were henceforth to associate with thegrossest impurity, and every kind of low gaiety,worldly, and disfigured with vice. From the Tiberto the Northern Ocean, from the Danube to Por-tugal, all were hurrying to the crusade. These all intears who were to remain in Europe, those march-ing towards Asia showed nothing but smiles ofhope and joy. At every village they saw, thechildren kept asking, Is that Jerusalem ? Happy intheir ignorance, not a word of reason came fromold or young, clerk or layman; nor did any one

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