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Famous Old Tower of London: Mount

Godfrey of Bouillon erected his standard on the first swell of Mount Calvary; Jerusalem has derived some reputation from the number and importance of her memorable sieges. It was not till after a long and obstinate contest that Babylon and Rome could prevail against the obstinacy of the people, the craggy ground to the left, as far as St. Stephen's gate, that might supersede the necessity of for- the line of attack was continued by tifications, and the walls and towers that Tancred and the two Roberts; and Count would have fortified the most accessible Raymond established his quarters from plain. These obstacles were diminished the citadel to the foot of Mount Sion, in the age of the Crusades. The bulwarks which was no longer included within the had been completely destroyed and im- precincts of the city. On the fifth day perfectly restored; the Jews, their nation the Crusaders made a general assault, in and worship, were for ever banished; but the fanatic hope of battering down the Nature is less changeable than man, and walls without engines, and of scaling the site of Jerusalem, though somewhat them without ladders. By dint of brutal softened and somewhat removed, was still strong against the assaults of an enemy. force, they burst the first barrier, but they were driven back with shame and slaughter to the camp; the influence of vision and prophecy was deadened by the too frequent abuse of those pious stratagems, and time and labor were found to be the only means of victory.

By the experience of a recent siege, and a three years' possession, the Saracens of Egypt had been taught to discern, and in some degree to remedy, the defects of a place which religion as well as honor forbade them to resign. Aladdin or Iftikhar, The time of the siege was indeed fulthe caliph's lieutenant, was intrusted with filled in forty days, but they were forty the defence; his policy strove to restrain days of calamity and anguish. A repetithe native Christians by the dread of their tion of the old complaint of famine may own ruin and that of the holy sepulchre; be imputed in some degree to the vorato animate the Moslems by the assurance cious or disorderly appetite of the Franks, of temporal and eternal rewards. His but the stony soil of Jerusalem is almost garrison is said to have consisted of forty destitute of water; the scanty springs and thousand Turks and Arabians; and if he hasty torrents were dry in the summer could muster twenty thousand of the in- season; nor was the thirst of the besieghabitants, it must be confessed that the ers relieved, as in the city, by the artifibesieged were more numerous than the cial supply of cisterns and aqueducts. besieging army. Had the diminished The circumjacent country is equally desstrength and numbers of the Latins al- titute of trees for the uses of shade or lowed them to grasp the whole circum- building, but some large beams were disference of four thousand yards-about covered in a cave by the Crusaders; a two English miles and a half-to what wood near Sichem, the enchanted grove of Tasso, was cut down; the necessary captives whom interest or lassitude per timber was transported to the camp by the vigor and dexterity of Tancred; and the engines were framed by some Genoese artists, who had fortunately landed in the harbor of Jaffa. suaded them to spare.