Newspaper Page Text
Irwin county News.
JW »*i<l a 1501 > I >■
.....
Clifrord Grubbs, Publisher.......SYi ajHoJTe lHWf$T~" fyjUftTY 'd^'SOAj,........' KiL-ifj a y, “ATuii., ;iu urn Vul. Viii N\». iQ.
h.a Queen QfThe
‘ T1 Crusade,
Th- (By S. 0. Bwpffoi-d.)
Chapter II.
) QUEEN OF THE URUSADE.
It 1st
“A I) ,, truant, why this delay?”
i began gaily, then noticing
dpss uneasy look on Steph-
<he continued in slower
Al- U g tones:—“Your delay,
caused us much anxiety,
ert and I rode forth to
u, Why art, thou so §ad,
uor? Art sad to leave thy
adds and return to those
t /pj® you? Perchance sumo
4$pfqllen the?”
tfieeting thee and cousin
le ! sister? Thou kuowest,
Grom 80 • Thoughts of home
and tlvjtj) jut;. But Blanche,
e Dir maiden with tljee?
the", hast thou forgotten so
mu’ Agnis dear, come hither”
?“Snche turned expectantly to
one w) r > rodi the rear of tip)
little 11 arty, . his person now
rod.- f< e ward and the form of
, a
beautiful maiden of eighteen was
revealed. Eyes of midnight black¬
ness, that flashed beneathe heavy
arching eye brows. Tresses that
rivalled the blackness of the ra¬
ven’s plume. X form, not tall,
but well developed, and attired in
a dark blue riding habit, moddled
after the fashion of the time, Such
was Agnis Doranee. She sat erect
upo'i l;e>r prancing horse, and, at- a
glance, one could see that she was
one born to command- As Steph-
gnzed upon ||gr, a flusji stained his
brow, and he staiqpipred forth
'Agnis Doranee, I t if tie expected
to meet thee here. I thought you
still lingered among the gay Pari-
sions? Rigid royally do I welcome
thee,” . rcl Stephen rode forward
with ere ended hand.
Agnirbowed her stately head
and allowed a smile to flash across
lier face, as she answered -.—
“Right glad guj I to be once
more among you. Tjxe lunshinq
and warmth of Provence are far
more to me than all the gold and
glitter of gay old Paris, The coin-
p&nionship of a few tried friends,
more than the adorations of the
multitudes that worship Mam¬
mons. Stephen, it gives me great
pleasxirejtq ^ee agajn,” and she
frankly took his hand.
“Ah,” Stephen murmered, “It
seems like old times to see thee
here. ^ %pe,px to see again the
scenes of tvyo yeare ago, when in
the limit wy skimmed the hedges,
qnd the. ditches. Afy, wh,at a wild
free Thefn^niory life y that was!”
of th& children’s
prusady syymed to h.ave faded fr OB
banishqd, Stephen’^ tninc|. The frown was
from h^b row. Ho join-
ed in the meny chatter of his
friends and they'alf rode, forward
t .ward the, castle, whose battle¬
ments apji, ’hrouglf .tpW$s;wejf$ thy trees. distinctly The
visible t
sight of the castle brought it afl
back to him.
His face cloudyd again, and in a
few words he. tol ; d the little party
to how the he rysemi had* judged of the Grave himself of to Jfesus go
Christ. borne’hy lingered upon tive suf¬
ferings the pilgrims. He
told how Hilderbrand had said
that only the youth and innocence
of the land could hope to succeed,
and then lastly he told them how
he had been chosen leader. That,
in three days, he was to meet the
children on the plain of Avihnon.
The party had halted and had
listened to him with bated breath.
When he had finished, Blanche ex-
O
- where I follow
“Brother, you go
If you go to Palestine as leader in
the Children’s Crusade, you will
find me by your side to share your
VI
“Nobly said, Cousin Blanche,”
exclaimed tip.' deep yoicg ( of Roht.
of Guise. “J to(ji\\vj|| pffop apy lot
with you, and qjy hand to
drive the Turk fr/nw the resting
place of my fyivjq)\’ !
“God bless you both,’? Stephen
murmured brokenly.
Agnis said never a word, but fyer
looks were eloquent.
The little party galfopped on in
silence, and shortly entered the
castle, where we will leave them.
*
’Twas three days later, and the
rising sun looks down upon a busy
scene. The beautiful plain of A-
vignon sqpni.ed respjendant with a
silvery skeeq, as jtjpj dpw drops
sparkled in the rising beams.
In the distance toward the peaks
of the majestic Alps, tho§g gfjm
sentinels, who for ages kfien
silent witnesses of the rise aqd
fall of nations. Their snpy glafl
summits are now bathed in at) pr-
iflame of glittering silver, as t|jp
day God’s rosy fape pety>§ above
their icy barriers.
To the yvest, tire waters of the
winding Rhine were sparkling
brightly as they took their laugh¬
ing way to the sea.
’Twa§ a beautiful picture} and
needed but the presence of man to
make it perfect.
Even this is not lacking, for to
the northward something white
shows against, the hack ground of
green. It is the camp of the cru¬
saders; here twenty-five thousand
children have been recruited from
the various provinces of France.
The camp has been astir early. The
bust le and activity to be seen every
where seems to denote that some-
thing of importance is -about to
occur. The tall form of the white
haired monk can be seen moving
about from place to place. They
appear to be breaking camp. The
tents are being folded and placed
upon the backs of patient, horses,
the camping utensils are being
packed. The majority ox the chil¬
dren have gathered in an open
space at the center of the camp,
and appeaf to be awaiting some
one. They are under the immedi¬
ate command of a pale blue eyed
youth from the north of France.
Raoul of the Dyke. Though Hil¬
debrand is the nominal leader.
Mean while to the westward a
c^ond of dust was seen rapidly ap¬
proaching. The gentle breeze which
had risen with the sun, blowing
this aside, repealed four persons
of note, riding forward in haste.
In the first, who rode a noble white
horse, and who was clad in the
armor of the time, aixd on whose
breast the white cross of the cru¬
sade was prominently displayed,
we recognize Stephen, by his side
rode his sister Blanche, arrayed in
helm and plume. To rear rode
Robert aixd Big Peter, side by side
the former bearing a silken banner
on which a large cross in gold was
seen, with these words in red:
“God i? With Us.”
Stephen rodo directly to where
Hildebrand and Raoul were stand¬
ing. The former met him with a
strange smile, and turning to the
assembled children, cried in a
lqud voice:
‘‘Ye who have left the pleasure
of youth behind, t,o save the grave
ot your dear Master from desecra¬
tion at the ^And^ o(t,hq cruel Turk.
Behold your ieader. One who hath
left the joyful life of ea^ and
comes with his sister and friends
to devote their lives to the cause of
nhiipt”
A shout burst forth as it by mag-
ic It seemed to break the silence
like a thunder peal:-
“Hold, bold, Stephen, victory!
While vet the chorus resounded, a
stir was caused by the arrival of a
beautiful maiden on a black pal-
frev equipped with shield aud
lance, and wU body was protect-
ed by a jacket of chain armor. Her
face was bidden by the visor of her
gleaming helmet from which there
waved » sable plume.
As she yeiqed her prancing steed
$long ejde the little group, with her
gloyed hand she pushed back the
visor pt her heimp/t, and the flash¬
ing eyes of Ago is Durance were re¬
vealed to the startled ga?e of Steph
en and bis friends.
“Thickest thou that T would stay
behind when ray friends have giv¬
en fheiy all. No, no, Aguis Durance
will brave the uangers of land and
> es, nor rest, nor stop ’till the cruel
e
hand of oppression be removed
from the grave of him, who by dj-
ing gave life to the world. Thc
L.oj-d is w.th us. In a dresfn I gi-w
the hosts ot Saladin flying before us
as the chaff before the wind. Re¬
member ‘ Ye roust hecnoig jicf,lg
chijdrer, tp enter the Kingdom pf
tjeavpn. Sftith the Lfitd, God of
Ijpstg. “A little child shiyll load
T'hpiupn to tfip Holy Land’
41) ibis gpfj hs.fhrp fhe startled could
Spgftk, Pb how wondrously
hefj,gtifql she looked in her simple
eloquence.
“pola, hole, Hear” from thr mul¬
titude •
Stephen had lisfepgd like one
dazed. Now he came forward to
where Aguis wag-
“Sp ihpU art bound to cast tliy
; ot with ours?” he asked.
“Yea, a thousand time?,” she
answered. '‘Art thou more brave
than I? Is thy fair sister to show-
more spirit than Agnis? No. Where
you go, I follow.”
‘ Maiden, thou hast spoken right¬
ly” iha deep voice of Hildebrand
broke in. 1’he spirit of Go 1 mov-
eth filer, daughter,” and he pinned
the while cross uson her bfe^tjp
“So be ii’tf Stephen murmured.
Then bidding ride forward witii
the banner, be guddenly turur d io |
tbe mingled thousand?,
“Children, Ye have the words so
bnvely spoken by her, who comes
to us as a-warior. Is it not fitting
that she assist as leader- ”
“Yen, Yea,” pi me thhft thunder¬
ous answers. “Are V/.e will to end.”
“Ye have chosen wisely” he answer¬
ed, and taking a woven garland of
ivy from Ids sister, he turned to
Agni-, while at a motion, Robert
b> Id the banner above her drooping
plume. Sa¬
• ‘Here beneath the cyosq., the
cred symbol of our Lord, I crown
thee Queen of the children,’,! cru¬
sade,” and with these words he
laid the ivy garland upon her h® 1 *
met.
The approving thousands cheer¬
ed till the echoes rang again.
‘•’Tis time tp, be upon the march
Stephen,” Hildebrond reminded.
Soon the long lines of children
were upon the march., following the
great road leading from Paris to
Marseilles. It was an enthusiastic
army, vpifh shout and song they
marched along. The children were
in two divisione^the forwards led
by Stephen and our princess. Hii-
brand was with them. Agnes and
and Stephen rode side by side be¬
neath the Silken banner carried by
Robert. All of the children were
afoot with the exception of the
leaders, aud marched 8 abreast,
Tuere were about 15000 in the di¬
vision led by Stephen. Tbe second
division was under tne command
of Raoul of the Dyke, with these
the pack horses yvith the damp e -
quipage. Of provisions, fhgrqpvore
none, they expected the inhabitants
of the countries through which il» ‘y
passed to feed them.
Chapter III,
ON TO MA RSEIL LES,
The long lines of children
marched on, the sun came out, the
mists were dispelled, and the dust
of the road being trampled fine by
the myriads of f>et, rose in a chok
ing cloud and enveloped all.
Many of the children had been
reared to life of ease, and the toil
ol r/jurpt f tg became irksome long
before fbe poqn halt wan called.
When that time arrived, a glad
...epppp ebwt rang along the line,
many peer hoys and gins dropped
down troip utter exhaustion, Too
tired to eat the little f od there was.
only wanting to rest. To soon
came the order to proceed, and the
weary children staggered on their
enthusiasm being the only thing
that kept, them up.
As they advanced peasants came
from field, and ft 11 to cheer them
on, and provide thsm with food,
whole villages turped out to wel¬
come them, gave then all the pro
visions they possessed, and with
many a prayer sued them on their
way.
About three o’clock in the after
goon as Stephen at the heap of the
column halted for a moment, a
great cheering was heard oil to the
right, and glancing that way our
friends beheld the advance of a col
umr, approaching at right angle to
their own. At o glance they ecog-
nizs the approaching force to be
the children recruited m the neigh
borhood of Rouen. They were in
the neighborhood of thirty thous
and of them. The two columns
immediately went into camp for
the night. What tew tents thev
possessed were raised, hot the
majority had no protection what
ever from the elements. Numbers
of the children especially the del¬
icately girls weie completely ex
hausted. Hildebrand went among
'Cheering them up, with words of
sympi-y.hy. meal
After the e\ening had been
prepared and eatt n, the leaders ol
different forces come together (or a
consultation.
The commanders of the Rouen
contingent appeared to be, Co'gnt
Henri R bault, who claimed rela
lionship with the Count de Paris,
He appeared to he about 20 years
of age, with a haughty expression
a, .d carriage that could ill hook op
position. His darkly scowling face
and shifting black eyes belonged to
one whose disposition was such that
he would stop gt nothing to gain
his ends. He came to the consul¬
tation with a naughty step, aud
stood with folded arms, and scowl¬
ing brow, while Hildebrand wel
come him in the following well
chosen words:—
Young man thou and thy fol-
fowing art welcome truly welcome
The Lord will shower his blessings
upon the. Those who have never
known gjn ryijl surely conquer, for
the Lord the of Hosts will lead the
way -The children the pure and the
innocent of Gids chosen people
have been called of him to rescue
the Holy Selphulche from the un¬
righteous hesthern who revili and
spit upon his tomb. In the name
of Stephen DeVanx I again wel¬
come the Host thou formed any
plan,?
“ Ypst h,o!y. father.! ship let_ us either cross,
the Alps and take at
Genoa or Brenice, I have a cousin
at Brenice who will help us in this
respect.”
“But think you” Stephen cried,
“That the children could Bland the
long dark passage of the Alps;
would not the snow keep us back?
the awful avalanche bury us be¬
neath its folds? would not the ter¬
rible cold of the glaciers kill ua by
the score? what would we do for
provisions? we could not carry
them with us. Horses could not
make the passage. It would be a
needless sacrifice of life, I much
prefer the plan of Hildebrand, Let
us to Mar-eilles and there take
ship •
Henri had listened to this inter-
uption i&ith rising anger now he
broke in with a saviige gesture:—
“Boy who art thou?”.
Thy leader called of God to com¬
mand this crusade” Stephen an¬
swered. “Nay” the other cried,
‘s‘H*nri Ribault will not owe alle-
geance to euch a etrifling as thou
art. Tninkst thou I wit) let a metv-
ing infant stand in my way.
*• I say thou shalt” Stephen an¬
swered •'Peace quiet peace” v. Hildebrand cried
sternly remember the words of our
Lord. “Love ye one an other.’! say
that ye must stop this foolish quar¬
rel, as he steped between Henri
and Stephen, but the former laid
violent hands upon him and push¬
ed him gsjde and again confronted
Stephen. “What!” he roared
‘Think you I would take orders
from the son of a skulking peasant.
“Thou beast” Stephen returned
wrath rising - “4 8 food blood Hows
in my veins as thine vein boaster.”
Again Aildebrand -strove to in¬
terfere, bet again he was brushed
aside so rudely that he staggered
back and fell in a heap.
Henri hounded and with Ins
steel gauntlet smote Stephen fierce
ly on the cheek. So awful was
the blow that Stephen was for the
moment confused. There was a
fierce murnaer from the surround-1
ing throng and they sirged nearer,
before Stephen could recover Hen¬
ri turned vsitV y. spill to the crowd
“ Back Dogs” he shouted, he
looked as fierce in his fiery wrath.
that tha surrounding children mo¬
mentarily shrank back, aji but one
with a bourn! like a tiger Big Peter
was upon him and bore him back-
ward to the grpqnd, “You would
strike my master” he ground out
between his set teeth. Henri seem-
ed but a b»be in his strong grasp.
At this moment Stephen came has¬
tily forward and laid a hand on his
arm- “Peace Peter,” he said, let
him arise, he must give me satis¬
faction. A i)( Vaux will avenge the
insult, and as Big Peter sullenly
with drew and Ribault drew him¬
self to his leet. “You shall meet
h«?e before ail the assembled
children of the crusade and let the
contest decide who shall command
Art willing boaster.”
“Aye doubly so. “Let us to work.”
Blanche timidly pressed forward
and laid her hand on Stephen’s
arm :—
‘‘Brother let it pn<s. Do not meet
him” she pleaded with tears in her
violet eye “Blanche I must in
the name of Devaux shall ha vin¬
dicated” he leturned gently.
“B.ravely said Sephen,” Ages de¬
clared, “Let the dog feel your steel’
“Aye” cried Hildebrand, “show
him no mercy Opd will aid thee,”
In an incredibly short space of
time the temporary lists had been
cleared, and Stephen and Henri sat
on their respective steeds as either
end clad in complete armor, with
visors drawn • They were armed
with only a shield und lance. Tak-
all together it was a very im¬
pressive scene the moon looked
down upon the vast army of chil¬
dren looking on with white anx¬
ious faces but the majority with a
great show of interest. Behind Step
lien were grouped, Father Hilde¬
brand Agnes Blanche a,nd Robert,
who was to act as the second ot
Stephen, A dark eyed tad from
Paris named Eugene D Arne had
been chosen second by Henr^ Ag¬
nes gave the word:—
“Now: One: two: three: for-
ward,” There was a flash as the
moonlight fall upon the armor and
two steeds were rushing passionate¬
ly at each, other from opposite ends
of the arena By ti skillful move?
meet Stephen caused his horse to
swerve at. ju*st fhe right moment
and the lance of his opponent
glanced by him. The next instant
his own laqqg,rang loudly on Hen¬
ri shield, so great was the concuA-
Bion that be reeled backward and
the horse giving piunge he was
thrown headlong to the ground
while a tremultious shout burst
from the assembled throng.
(to be continued)
Wanted—An Idea SS3
025
«J. !R- EMiot. E
The popular and fashions, L
hie Merchant
Tail 03 ?, L
Has a large yut- I
s' & suit¬
nter Always Suits kreps and Trousers hand o
< n
goods. latest Novelties in piece T
Style T
And
M
o
GUARANTEED f*»
BEST
GOODS SOUTIf
Of New York.
When in Cordele call on me,
WXS.’W'
MILLYEKr GOOD*
Miss. Maggie Godfrey fias A
beautiful array of -Spring Hatq
in all the latest shapes ancj
styles. Her flowers and rib¬
bons are marvels .of beauty: and
best of all, the price right tQ,
suit all. She will give yon the?
best bargain you can striker
south of Macon. The ladies
are all invited most cordially
to examine her stock, and she
will endeavor to give satisfac-.
ion.
N01T0E
I have one of the nicest founts,
ever seen in Asbburn. I respect-,
fully invito you to call around and
Bee oor new fountain. Very truly*
W. H. Mashburn.
Croupe and whooping cough are*
children’s terrors; but like pnea-
monia, bronchitis, ar,d other throat,
and lung troubles, can be quickly
cured by using One Minute Cough
’Curs \VJ R* Smith & Oo
CareO'. W Wooten,
ATTORNEY,
VIENNA, GEORGIA.
New Law 0$ce, Near N?* Court
House. Will Practice In All The
Courts Of Tha mute.
Unconditional surrender, i» th«i
only terms those farpous little pttla
known as DeWirts Saalr Hi-,
sera will make with eoastipation,
sick headache ond stomach troub¬
les • W, R. Smito & Cm
Can’t Be Beat.
Sta?aw IHata
Which If^avc just been open-,
ed up, are simply finer thanyot^
can imagine.
ALLbTYLES AND SIZES.
’So suit anyhoj.-y aud prices, ih*k
are out ot reach ol UompeUAW,
GKNKliAL
31ei*i>haiidise.,
Ot All I\inds. Our Prices on
This Are tbe $ame as
! 1 ]*R$TO,¥ORII
~**OW DQWN-
A liberal share ^Qpr
Patronage
Is Earnestly So licife
Yours For Business-
