New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1910-09-28
A Child CRUSADER,
BY F. A. mitchell.

BY #. a. MITCHELL.
copyright, 1909, by American Press Assoc
CATION.
Far back in what are called the mid
die ages in Europe one vast army after
another marched to Palestine with
view to freeing the holy sepulcher
from the infdel Turk. These crusades,
as they were called, produced an cpl
demic of fanaticism which at last
seized upon the children. a French
peasant boy about twelve years old
conceived the idea that he had been
assigned divine mission to lead the
children to the rescue of the holy
sepulcher. He exhortede them, max
ing them wild with religious frenzy.
Fifty thousand children went from
Germany and 10000 from France.
Two thousand sailed from Brindusium
from whom no voice ever came back.
The French children were betrayed
and sold to Mohammedan masters.
At that time there lived In Venice
boy named Dino Cosimo, who was
being brought up with a little girl,
Comma, his constant playfellow. Dino
never played with boys, Comma never
played with girls, because neither
would give up for any time the society
Of the other. Dino used to row Gem
ma in his little gondola on the canals
every day. During these boat rides
they would sing, though the songs they
knew were very limited, Dino ham
ding the pole, Comma sitting in the
stern with her lutte, stringed instru-
ment much like mandolin.
When the wave of childish fanati-
cism that resulted in the childrens
crusades swept over Europe it carried
Dino with it. Comma was child Of
rare foresight for those days and did
not see how children could accomplish
that in which great armies had failed
She begged Dino not to go, but he
claimed that he obeyed sacred duty
and that the child army would be made
to prevail by divine interposition.
Dino bid adieu to his playmate and
sailed out upon the Adriatic sea with
a fleet of child laden ships.
Month after month, year after year,
passed and no tidings came from the
fleet Of children. Comma from the
first had little faith in the success Of
the expedition and at last made up her
mind that Dino would never return to
her. After five years had passed and
she found the same void in her heart
as of yore she determined to go in
search Of her companion. She was
now seventeen years old. That was
the period of minstrelsy when men
gained livelihood by singing, usually
with harp accompaniment, their own
verses or the popular ballads recount
ing events Of the time. SGemma dress
ed herself as a minstrel boy and, tax
ing her harp, set out to work her way
on foot to the Holy Land Turning
her face eastward, she walked, sing
ing by the way for bits of money,
till she came to the Danube river.
This she followed, occasionally making
short distances by boat, and at it's
mouth in the Black sea found a ship
about to leave for Constantinople She
prevailed upon the captain to take her
with him, promising to amuse those
on board during the trip with her
>minstrelsy. From Constantinople. then
a Christian city, disguised as a Turk,
she entered the domains Of the sultan,
but before doing so she learned some
thing Of the Turkish language and
few songs. These she sang by the
way, visiting different Turkish cities
and saving nearly all the coins that
were given her.
Two years after Comma had left
Venice she found herself one day sit.
ting on a bridge that crossed a river
dividing city, singing Turkish song
and accompanying herself on her harp.
By this time she was old enough to
know that she would not be likely to
recognize Dino, nor would he know
her. She had learned that the Vene.
tan crusaders had been sold into slav-
cry and believed that Diuo if alive
was a slave. Indeed, she saw white
slaves frequently, and whenever she
met one about Dino's age she would
S11S q sung Iuey uSeu " S1uS Ou Liz
canals Of Venice.
While she sat on the bridge a Turk
walked by, followed by retinue Of
servants, among them tall white
slave about twenty-one years old, in
whom there was something to remind
her of the boy Dino. She sang a few
notes in an undertone Of the song. The
slave stopped and looked at her in as
constituent Comma, though she knew
she had found her quest, had presence
Of mind enough to look an order to
him not to notice her. Dino saw in
the supposed Turkish boy develop
ment of his child friend and restrained
himself. He was in the rear Of the
train Of slaves, and Comma made
sign to him to go on. Presently she
arose and followed, never losing sight
of him till she had seen him enter a
large house with his master.
The next day a slave dealer applied
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