The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-08-22

was at that time the scene OF the most bloody
and atrocious wars that ever disfgured the
page Of history. The order and beauty OF
the social compact, like that Of the ocean
lashed 10 fury by the raging tempest, was lost
in the wild vortex Of raging passions and I'M
bridled RIGHTEOUSNESS. Law and right were
neither respected nor obeyed The sword
was the only passport to greatness, and opened
the only path TO fortune and to honor. HUI
man life was held but as the sport 0f any petty
tyrant who chose 10 take it, and the frequent
death-cry of The murdered rolled wildly up TO
an offended God.
Then came the Crusades Glory, immor-
tally, religion, all pointed with imploring An
ger to the scene Of Saviour's sufierings and
death. Fame called upon her yotaries to bat
tie till the death with Paynim hosts Reli-
| gion upon hers to wipe for ever from the es-
cutcheon Of the Christian world, the deep,
damning disgrace Of allowing an unbelieving
race to defIe the land they loved, the sepul-
chre they adored. Then warning nations
| dropped their swords, and gave answer to the
cry ofvengeance. They came, the noble and
| the proud, the young and the old, rallying
round the crimson standard. Unity Of senti-
| ment and community Of interest have ever
given birth to mutual kindness, and
All those courtesies that love to shoot
Round virtues steps, the aowrets Of her fruit"
So was il then and Europe, purified and
enlightened from this and other causes flow.
ing from il, woke from the lethargy which had
SO long bound her, and advanced rapidly to-
ward that civilization and refinement which
now ennoble and adorn her.
The effects of the Crusades upon literature,
though not immediate, were no less salutary.
Philosophers have moralzed, scholars have
wept, over the deplorable, the degrading ig-
norance Of the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Science slept. A death-like Iethargy had come
over her, which, like the sultry blast Of an
eastern noon, had palsied all her efforts, and
withered allher energies. The spirit Of poetry
had long since fed She seemed for ever to
have forsaken those haunts she once loved so
well, till the Troubadours, catching up the
Tyre, then shattered by Tines careless hand,
struck from its long mute strings those strains
which reused nations to arms, and world 10
madness. Never was music more magically
eloquent. The Tyre which thrilled beneath
Homer's touch, or the lapses of the cygnet
song, might have been sweeter; they could
not have been more inspiring. All Europe
responded to the strains which swept over the
land, and echoed through her old baronial
halls.
Then commenced the restoration of letters
in the West. The Troubadour's lay was but
the prelude to the diviner strains Of Bocca-
clio, a Pelrarch, and Dante. Song again
revived, anil from the blushing vine hills Of
France, from the castled crags of Scotland,
from the wild glens Of Switzerland, and the
lovely vegas Of romantic spain, again ascend
ed the poets breathings, free as their mountain
air. The very Crusades themselves. by fur
nishing the materials from which to weave the
gorgeous fictions Of the imagination, and by
making the Crusaders acquainted with all the
glowing imagery and fanciful decorations Of
oriental literature, gave an impulse to letters
which will never cease to be felt, till man shall
cease to appreciate and admire the beautiful
and the sublime. Can it be, then. that the
Crusades retarded the progress Of literature
the last flicker Of the fire upon hcr altar had
nearly expired, in sadness and in gloom.
sucn were the holy wars, their causes, and
tner enec's ana our feelings and synpathies
cannot but be gratifed at their final success.
II was sunset. The rich mellow light
streamed in thousand variegated hues over
Olivefs green top, the holy city, and the
Christian camp, till at last it met Bethsaida's
wave, blushing and sparkling in its embrace.
Not ripple disturbed its mirrored stiffness,
save when the bright-plumcd bird stopped to
lave his wing, or taste its refreshing GOODNESS
Above, was the deep blue sky, so bright and
clear that fancy could almost soar to the re-
gions Of the blest-could almost catch the har-
monies OF heaven. All was calm and beaut-
full. Even the stern sentinel, pacing his lonely
round, for moment relaxed his iron brow, and
stopped to gaze upon the surprising loyrlness
Of that hour. But far brighter sight met
his eye, as he gazed upward, and saw the
consecrated folds of the sacred banner floating
in triumph over the walls and batilements Of
Jerusalem. Yes, that day had seen the city
theirs, and the knightly, the good, the gallant
Godfrey, as he bent to kiss the tomb he had
rescued, was seen to dash away tear Of min.
gled gratitude, penitence, and veneration, and
then to lift his hands in mental alteration to
that Being who is ever the same, whether
amid the burning sands Of Syria, or the icy
regions Of the Pole. Thus should heroes
conquer. Thus did the Crusaders. Blame
not hastily their misdirected zeal. Censure
not their holy enthusiasm. Profane not with
sacrilegious touch the moss-grown tombs
where their ashes sleep. Their faults were the
faults of their age--their virtues all their own.
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