Show STEP ST Jf JL fc w JL N OYE What Became y of o H tI Ibis is s Army of Boys o s Boys aZ and Girls 00 can n mn a the ol If r i Y YOU the people of the city city of Marseille when they saw sash the army arm of from all nil the land of oC France marching toward their walls Thc They fame came in troop troops an and nd bands m In waving their banners with vitt he he bright br red ori ammo and singing rin in m ir SOC song of how bow they l intended to make maken n It conquest of the Holy and convert the infidels by means of f their perms persua- Down from Crom the hills they came sot some a in silks silk and velvets and others in rags r g gs some rosy roO and well wet fed f d and others white and thin from hunger huc er Down they came in crowds fill filling n the thc roads reads and scattering scattering scat scat- far and wide over nr the thc fields until It seemed to the thc citizens of Marseilles Marseille who stood watching them from the tho walls walN of the town that there re was vu no end of them And iu lu advance of them all aU rode Stephen of oC Cloyes or Stephen the Prophet as ns be he was no now called sitting on his bio chariot under a L silken canopy and by bj his bis guard of honor composed composed composed com com- posed of ot youths who bore some of the ili proudest names of France e. e There lend had been doubts doubt In n the minds of many of at the followers of the tLc year twelve old leader of the army but when they actually saw the tho blue expanse of the tho sea before belore them just as Stephen had said they would see it somehow it seemed to t them that it pro proved ed him to ta be a true prophet and all nil their con confidence in him bins re revived ived Th They y fancied d in their ignorance that the hardest part of their crusade was ended with their arrival at the city In and that only a day or two would be bo required required required re re- re- re to complete the glorious task of redeeming Palestine and setting netting free fre the Christians captives there So Sn o when Stephen Stethen Ste Ste- phen then ben halted his bis chariot under the wails of of of tho city before the principal gate gato the th twenty enty thousand children who bad man man- managed aged to complete the first stage of their Tourney journey gazed at him bim with ith much respect respect re Te- regard regarding in him who bo a few months before had bad been only a poor and unknown shepherd boy as 88 a superior bein being What in the world shall we do with all nil the these e children the chief men of ot Marseilles Marseilles Mar Mar- seilles semes asked each other as the they looked down upon the throngs If It we admit them to the city they will certainly remain re re- remain main II here and as we shall have to te feed them there will soon be nothing left for fori forus i us w. 1 1 They deliberated among themselves and decided that It would never do to let Jet the children como come inside the walls So they went out of the great gate to in inform Inform In- In form Stephen o of their decision It was a great disappointment to the young leader We Ye ask ask- to be admitted he be said to the thc chiefs of or the city and in return we e promise that we e shall remain with you for this night only Where will ill you rou go morrow to-morrow to the thief chief men asked We e go o that way war Stephen replied P nin waving caving his hand band toward tho sea But you have no ships the chief chie men said taid We shall hall not need them Stephen replied replied replied re re- re- re plied with a smile The waves that you Tear fear so much have e no terrors for us They will open and roll back before us sis us as they opened before the Children of Israel Irael in olden times and we shall walk through them without wetting our feet until we teach reach the loud laud where our journey ends S g Robert er H. H Fuller I i il l r r iIII Ii Ill r Il The Ships Tossed on the Great Waves All the men of oC Marseilles were seamen and none of them really believed that the I sea ea would roll back ae as Stephen had bad said but jut as he lie promised ed to remain in the city for or that one night only they consulted and finally fin decided that it would be best to let the children come in in To tell the truth their wives ur urged ed them strongly I Ito to do this for they were rorry corry for the boys joys and girls who had come so far from their homes and they could not help thinking how bow cruel it would be If It their own children should wander into a 3 strange country and fail to find food and shelter there So the gates gated were opened op ced and the children chil chil- drew dren trooped into the city marching along llong the streets in rank after rank holding their beir banners proudly aloft and singing their songs as loudly as they could Never had jad such a n sight been becu seen before All AU the hc houses were filled to overflowing wi with th children and still there was not room for them all aU Many slept in the streets as ns best jest they could but at least there was food for tor every err one and some of them had bad enough to eat that night for the first time since they left their homes They told the good people of Marseilles Wonderful wonderful wonderful won won- stories of their march and they were happy when they closed their eyes in n the thought that in the morning they sera ere to walk dry footed through h the sea They were astir a again ron you may be bc sure as ns soon as the tun sun rose flocking to I the thee wharves cs to sees sew the waves es roll back as Stephen hen had promised But strange Ito to say the sea Fen gave no no sign ign of opening to let them through It looked exactly as it hall had looked d the night before and no passage was possible to the other ride Fide The iThe children did not know what to think until Stephen explained to them I that there must have hate been a mistake in the be day dare We must wait until to morrow he said paid The sea sen will surely divide hide then l and we can cnn continue on on our way Permission ion was given gl to them to remain I in the but hut the next for another day city I morning brought only another disappoint disappoint- I meat ment Still Stephen asked for delay in insisting insisting in- in that sooner or later the sea sen would iC 1 surely open So the thc army lingered from day to day until the patience of or the citizens citizens citi citi- zens zeus was worn out They quickly made I the children understand that they y were no longer longcr welcome To be sure a n few of or the crusaders who preferred to remain where re they thoy were rather than to return homo home were adopted and thus found new news I II homes in the city ity Others set et out to retrace retrace retrace re re- re- re I trace their steps step stepto to their own fathers and anthers lothers giving Ji up hope that they would ever reach the Holy L Land nJ The parents I o of still others came to take them away I From these causes the army lost much of ot its strength in numbers but still five fite th thousand usand of them clung to the promise given by Stephen and refused to abandon the crusade They insisted something would certainly happen that would p per permit pert r- r mil mit them to press on to the thc victory that th they y expected to win In this they were not disappointed for after a n delay of several days It became known throughout the city that two of the leading merchants l 5 of or Marseilles Hugo a and William bad had offered to provide seven ships in which the army of ot children might sail ot over r the sea ea to the Holy Land since the B aea acs refused to divide to let them pass Great Wit was the rejoicing when the generosity of the thc tw two merchants was WM told Those Thoe who ho had bad been saying harsh barsh things about Stephen now di declared that he had been right all the time What difference do s it make they asked whether the sea sen opens or whether we pass piss across it in ships ship since in either case tho the way is opened to us It was found that the seven ships would bi bl large enough to carry the fire thousand thoua- thoua and ch children ildren who were all that were left of the thirty thousand who had set out It was wn sins a beautiful morning mornin when they embarked The people pe thronged the walls and waved farewells to them as the sailors Tread spread the white sails and the ships began to move moc out of or the harbor barbor The children n replied by waving their banners ban ban- nets ners and singing once more their ir songs of triumph The v wind wind cd blew and away went the ships At any nuy rate this was i a n I great deal better than walking on the bottom of the sea ea which would s 1 surly surely ly have hR b been n wet and slippery r no no matter how bow widely the waves might have hate opened And now comes the sad nd part of the tory story of the crusade ade of the French children It would be much pleasanter to say Jha t they mailed failed in safety to the Holy Land converted converted con on the infidels and returned proudly to their ir homes to prove to their fath fathers rs and mothers that they had been wron wrong in tr trying In to make them stay at home n Rut Int what really reany happened was very cry different r nt from Crom what the tb children had hoped and we must t tell JI the story as it actu actually took a A Portrait Portra t I I 74 7 I ly 4 ft 7 I 7 ii i i P i 1 D j 7 s It I 1 I rj s I II I M l lri r f ri l lI D D I II c r i I I e HIS is a picture of my dog dog- Most every dog is fond of meat But balls and stones ston s and sticks and things thins Are all my doggie car cares es to eat o e eIRENE IRENE E. E BENSON Alphabet Animal AnIma Puzzles In the tho childrens children's page to-day to there is a mosaic picture puzzle in which the apteryx apte apte- ry is hidden This is the first of a series serie of patchwork or or mosaic picture puzzles p which will appear iu in the children s page e ein in in which alphabet animals will ill be safely fely hidden from prying eyes place and and not as 85 we wish it mt might bt bm i been r f 1 Not ot long tons after they sailed from Mar Marseilles seines seilles a storm began to blow The to d on on the great waves and ond the young crusaders shut up in the dark b below below low decks expected e every ery moment moment that would sink ink The wind blew harder and cads harder and nd the seven eten ships became b f V rated Two of them at last lut were driven o upon the rocky shore of an nn island in th the T Ts s sea a. a The waves dashed a bed them against It lt with such force Coree that hat they were broken tn tor to pieces and all the children on board th them m. m as well as the tre sailors sailor who were with t them m I were drown drown-d. This sad Bad sh shipwreck ck I k on the Island of Falcons and wb when n. n fon long afterward after it became known the t Christians Christians built buill a church there lu Iu memory y of the lost children hildren and called it r he be Church of at the New pw Innocents I It was a n Fad fate that befell the chit chit- I in the two ships ship that were cast castaway away but bot sadder udder still was tho the fate that 8 awaited the children who escaped shipwreck shipwreck ship ship- wreck and continued their voyage in the five ships that r remained em ined They had bad nomore no DO more moN storms etorma and for many days they sailed on Ion in the direction of the Holy Holy HolyLand ILand Land At least they thought that they were we're were sailing toward the Holy Hor Land but butas butla as a matter r of fact the wick wicked sailors la las turned aside to the south and took toot them to the northern coast of Africa Afria which then as it is is' is to today was iu in the hands hand of ct the One d day y toe hearts of the tho children were gladdened by the sight of land and Lcd hous houses s and aDd trees Tho The sailors told them that the land was Pal Pal- tine and aud they hastened to make re ready for forthe forthe the victory over the Infidels which ch they felt FO so certain of of- winning Two of the ships were made fast to the wharves in inthe inthe the harbor aud and the children were permitted permitted permitted per per- to step tep on ou shore But hardly had they lauded when hen hundreds of mm m- m m aDS surrounded them and drove ote them to the marketplace where the they were were sold as aB slaves xIt x- x It turned d out ant that the two merchants of Marseilles whom they had thanked so warmly for providing them with th the ships were black hearted and evil edl men men- They had Intended from the first to dellver de de- d deliver liver the helpless children into the hands handl of the heathen when once they had them themi safely in Ie n their power Unfortunately their treachery ry was not known for years years' and so they were not punished for it bu but k they became so bold after J ter a time that thad they were discovered in another D act t cf of f treachery and both of them were hanged banged 01 It is some satisfaction tp know that event if it did not save the children The crusaders who were ere in the three y ships which did not land at nt tho the first t stopping place were ere carried further some t to Egypt and some far beyond tho the Hol Holy Land which they had come come to redeem All of at them were sold into slavery and of the five fire thousand children who sailed not one ODe ever returned to France In fact r for many years the friends and relatives relatives whom hom they had left behind heard not Dot a word from them Long L ng they waited for I tidings which did not come Of course coue news spread much more slowly in those II travelled at at all LU LUand days when few people and the post office once and the telegraph had hod hadnot hadnot hodnot not not been been invented At last Jast a pilgrim came camo from the country of the infidels aud and t i brought brou ht the sad truth to the tho fathers and and mothers brothers and sisters who had bad j been left behind f fAnd And this was the result of at the prophecies prophecies prophecies of Stephen the tb Prophet What bat be be- I came of oC Stephen himself is not definitely known but it is likely that ho ha was sold to an infidel owner and bad had l leisure tsure during long years yeats of oC toil for or his master to regret ret his bis flock Sock and his peaceful home in the village of ot Cloyes He had been tho the means I of leading five thousand companions who trusted him to captivity or death and even enu this was not all nil the harm that he be did for bis his preaching spread to Germany Germin and started a 3 crusade among the tha German German German Ger Ger- man children who whoso whose c ad adventures were in fn some rome respects more wonderful than those of the French children But these must be told toM in another story to be published later iu n the Childrens Children's Page Paie |