On their broad shields they bore him from the plain,
To sense a corpse, and number'd with the slain.
His fixed eyes in hovering shades were drown'd,
His gallant limbs in death-like fetters bound.
The shouts tumultuous, and the din of war,
His ear received like murmurs heard afar;
Or as some peasant hears, securely laid
Beneath a vaulted cliff or woodland shade,
When o'er his head unnumber'd insects sing
In airy rounds; the children of the spring.

EPIGONIAD.

A. D.

1. LOUIS VIII., descended from Charlemagne by the mother's side, was the first of the Capetian line who 1223. had not been crowned during the lifetime of his father. Previous to his accession, he had been engaged in endeavouring to drive the English from Guienne, and had so far suc

A. D.

ceeded, that only a few towns on the sea-coast remained in their possession. These must soon have yielded, had not Louis been summoned away by the pope to complete the subjugation of the Albigenses. He captured Avignon, situated in the independent territory of Provence, and even penetrated as far as Toulouse. On his return he died, poisoned, it is said, by Thibaut, count of Champagne, who was in 1226. love with the queen. 2. Louis IX., afterwards called St. Louis, was but twelve years old at the time of his father's death, but the regency was ably managed by his mother, Blanche of Castile. The proud nobles were averse to the government of a foreigner, and a woman; but the queen, by a mixture of prudence and firmness, disconcerted all their efforts, and retained the reins of government until the young king had reached his twenty-first year. The persecution of the Albigenses still continued; this unfortunate people having made some resistance to the crusaders, were assailed by fresh armies, and forced into submission.

3. When the young king came of age he showed his gratitude to his mother by continuing to her a share in the administration; he then applied himself diligently to the refor

Blanche of Castile.

A strange anecdote is recorded of the oppression of the clergy, and bold spirit of the queen regent. In the year 1223, the chapter of Notre Dame levied a heavy tax on the villages over which they had jurisdiction. The inhabitants of Châtenay were either unable or unwilling to pay the required sum; they were all arrested and crowded into a small prison by their reverend taskmasters. Queen Blar.che having learned that these unfortunate beings were deprived of air and food, solicited the chapter to set them at liberty. But the canons, so far from complying, were so enraged at the queen's interference, that they apprehended the wives and children of the prisoners, and thrust them into the same wretched place of confinement. Exhausted by hunger, thirst, and want of air, many of these unfortunate beings died miserably; when the queen, exasperated at the conduct of the canons, went to the prison, accompanied by

mation of the state, and especially the abuses intro- A. D. duced by the licentiousness of the clergy, and he so 1242. far succeeded as to correct some of the most glaring evils. 4. His tranquillity was first disturbed by the revolt of the count of Marche, who, being aided by Henry III., took up arms against Louis. The revolters and their allies were twice defeated, and the war terminated by the annexation of a considerable portion of the count's territory to the crown of France. 5. Soon after this Louis fell sick, and while his recovery was doubtful, made a vow that he would, on his restoration to health, attempt the liberation of Palestine. His mother and his wisest counsellors in vain endeavoured to change his resolution; as soon as he became well, he assumed the cross, and the nobility, who were ardently attached to him, followed his example.

6. Three years were spent in preparations for this expedition; and the precautions taken by the king showed, that though seduced by the prejudices of the time to adopt this absurd scheme, yet he could display such prudence and wisdom in the execution, as almost to atone for its defects. The Sieur de Joinville, who accompanied the king, has left us an interesting record of this calamitous expedition, from which the following sketch is extracted.

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1249.

7. After a long delay at Cyprus, Louis directed his course to Egypt, where he found an army of Saracens prepared to oppose his landing. No sooner had his vessel touched the ground, than Louis leaped into the water, followed by his bravest troops, waded to the shore under a heavy fire of arrows, and attacked the enemy with so much impetuosity, that they were instantly broken, and forced to fly in disorder. So great was the panic produced by this defeat, that Damietta, which was well prepared to make a long resistance, was surrendered almost without a blow. 8. Louis, compelled to remain at Damietta during the inundation of the Nile, had the some servants whom she commanded to break the door. The servants refused, dreading the consequences of a quarrel with the