Finally, though he does not appear to have quite deserved the title of saint, it is certain that the name has been given to many of inferior merit. because it was carried before the Christian emperors in battle. 4. Some blood of Jesus Christ. 5. The clothes in which he was wrapped in his infancy. 6. Some blood that flowed from a miraculous image when struck by an infidel. 7. The chain with which Christ was bound. 8. The holy tablecloth. 9. A piece of the holy sepulchre. 10. Some of the virgin's milk. 11. Part of the head of the lance by which Christ was pierced. 12. Part of the purple robe. 13. The reed given to Christ as a sceptre. 14. Part of the sponge dipped in vinegar. 15. His grave-clothes. 16. The towel with which he wiped the feet of the apostles. 17. The rod of Moses. 18. The top of the head of St. John the Baptist. 19. The skulls of St. Blaise, St Clement, and St. Simon. Cruelties you've practised, Practised on us with rigour, this hath forced us We'll right ourselves, and by strong had defend MASSINGER. 1. PHILIP III. was twenty-five years old at the time A. D. of his father's death, but as he was sick of the disease 1270. which caused the death of Louis, Charles of Anjou took the command of the French army, and defeated every attack of the Moors. When Philip was recovered, he wisely resolved on withdrawing his forces from Africa. Peace was concluded with the king of Tunis, on condition that he should defray the expenses of the war, permit the public exercise of Christianity in his dominions, liberate all his captives, and pay an annual tribute to Charles of Anjou. This was the last crusade; these wars, which had cost the blood of two millions, and incalculable sums of money, terminated by leaving Palestine in the possession of the Mahommedans. 2. After Philip had honoured his father's remains with a magnificent funeral, he applied himself to the affairs of state, but evinced in their management little of that spirit which in his earlier years had procured him the epithet Hardy or Bold. Warm, if not rash, in the formation of projects, the vigour with which he commenced his undertakings was lamentably contrasted with the weakness displayed in their execution. This instability of character exposed him to the artifices of favourites, and one La Brosse, who had been his father's barber, having insinuated himself into the king's confidence, instigated him to the commission of several crimes. 3. On the death of his first wife, Philip was united in marriage to Maria of Brabant, a princess whose talents and accomplishments gave her considerable influence over the mind of her husband. Jealous of this, La Brosse resolved to effect her destruction, and on the death of Philip's eldest son, spread a report that he had been poisoned by his step-mother. According to the custom of the age, the queen offered to prove her innocence by a judicial combat. Her champion triumphed in the lists, and this was deemed a sufficient proof of her innocence. 4. Alphonso, king of Castile, was a monarch so devoted to literary pursuits, that he totally neglected the affairs of his kingdom; his eldest son had married Philip's sister, but on his death the widow and children were seized on, and imprisoned by Sancho, Alphonso's second son, who wished to secure the crown for himself. Philip undertook the liberation of his nephews, but, by the treachery of his favourite, all his counsels were betrayed to Sancho, and he was obliged to retreat without having performed any service. Soon after Philip learned the treason that had been practised by La Brosse, and he immediately ordered him to be executed. 5. The tyrannical conduct of Charles of Anjou, in Sicily, had alienated the affections of his subjects; Peter III. of Arragon had received the glove of the A. D. 1282. • A nun, who pretended to the gift of prophecy, was also consulted by the king respecting the queen's guilt; and the testimony of this impostor, in favour of the accused, is said to have produced a very powerful effect on the mind of the king. murdered Conradin, and was married to the daughter of Manfredi; Pope Nicholas III. was indignant with Charles for having refused to give him his daughter for one of his nephews; and from these circumstances originated one of the most atrocious conspiracies recorded in history. It was determined to massacre all the French in Sicily at the same moment. John de Procida, whom Charles had illegally deprived of his property, was the principal agent in preparing this horrible tragedy: during two years the measures for its execution were carried on with so much secresy, that not a single circumstance appeared which might warn the victims of their impending fate. 6. In this interval Nicholas died; his successor was not made acquainted with the conspiracy, for, being a Frenchman by birth, it was feared that he would have prevented such an attack on the family of his native sovereign. The signal for arms was the ringing of the vesper bell on Easter eve, whence this massacre is commonly called the Sicilian Vespers ; as soon as its fatal knell sounded, the unsuspecting Frenchmen were everywhere attacked, and in two hours one of that nation alone survived in the island, whose superior probity made him respected even by the assassins. Peter of Arragon had waited the event with a considerable fleet on the coast of Africa, and as soon as he had learned the complete success of the conspiracy, hasted over to Sicily, where he was received as its legitimate sovereign. 7. Peter dreaded the power of the king of France, who was greatly attached to his uncle, and in order to gain time, sent Charles a challenge to meet him, and decide their pretensions to Sicily by single combat. Charles, more chivalrous than wise, accepted the challenge; and, on the morning of the appointed day, appeared on the ground that had been specified, but waited in vain for his antagonist; at length the count of Anjou, wearied out, departed. Late in the evening of the same day Peter came, and satisfied with having made this mock appearance, returned from the field of battle with the utmost speed, pretending that he was afraid of being arrested and detained by the king of France. But during the absence of Charles, the Neapolitans had revolted, and his son had been taken prisoner by De Lauria, the Arragonese admiral, the most celebrated commander of the time. Charles of Anjou in vain endeavoured to retrieve his losses, and died of sheer vexation and disappointment. * His name was William des Pourcelets, a native of Provence. A. D. 8. The pope had in the meantime excommunicated the king of Arragon, and given his dominions to 1285. Charles, the second son of Philip. The French king advanced with a powerful army to place his son on the throne, but his success did not answer his expectations; his fleet was captured by De Lauria, and disheartened by the misfortune, he resolved to return home. On his way back he died at Perpignan in the forty-first year of his age. 9. The reign of Philip is not remarkable for any improvement in the territories or government of France: he is said to have been the first monarch that granted patents of nobility, a prerogative which he exercised in favour of his goldsmith, who was also his banker. 10. Philip IV., surnamed the Fair, obtained the crown in his seventeenth year: the war with the king of Arragon still continued; but, after much bloodshed, the son of Peter retained possession of Sicily and Arragon, while the son of Charles of Anjou was permitted to keep the crown of Naples. 11. This war had scarcely terminated, when another more furious arose out of a trivial circumstance. A quarrel having arisen between an English and a Norman sailor, the latter was slain. The Normans cruized A. D. against the English to revenge the death of their countryman; but they were defeated, and an English fleet 1293. appearing on their coast, plundered several of their towns. Philip summoned Edward I. as duke of Guienne, to appear before the court of peers, and answer for having borne arms against his suzerain; Edward sent his brother, the earl of Cornwall, to plead his cause, but he being overmatched by the policy of Philip, surrendered some towns in Guienne as pledges for his brother's appearance, which, when Philip once got into his possession, he refused to restore. The English engaged the count of Flanders on their side, while Philip persuaded the king of Scotland to espouse his cause. 12. This |