THE CRUSADES.

Different accounts of the Crusaders derived from History and Romance—Pilgrimages to the Holy Land first undertaken by converted Jews and the very credulous—Increasing number of pilgrims every year—Relics greatly valued—Haroun al Reschid—The pilgrims taxed—Robert of Normandy—The pilgrims persecuted by the Turks—Peter the Hermit—His first idea of rousing the powers of Christendom—His interview with Simeon—Peter the Hermit preaches the Holy War to all the nations of Christendom—The Pope crosses the Alps—King Philip accused of adultery with Bertrade de Montfort—The Council of Clermont—Oration of Urban II.—The “Truce of God”—Gautier sans Avoir, or Walter the Pennyless—Gottschalk—The arrival at Semlin—Peter the Hermit at Nissa—At Constantinople—The Crusaders conducted in safety to Constantinople—Fresh hordes from Germany—Godfrey of Bouillon—Count of Vermandois—Tancred—The siege of Antioch—The Holy Lance—Fate of Peter Barthelemy—Siege of Jerusalem—St. Bernard—Second Crusade: Siege of Damascus—Third Crusade: Death of Henry II.—Richard Coeur de Lion—Fourth Crusade—Fifth Crusade: Constantinople assaulted—Sixth Crusade: Camhel and Cohreddin—Seventh Crusade: Departure of Louis IX. for Cyprus—For Acre—His death at Carthage—End of the Crusades

THE WITCH MANIA.

Popular notions of the devil—Inferior demons—Demons of both sexes—Demons preferring the night between Friday and Saturday—The devil in the shape of a goat—Sorcery—Execution of Joan of Arc—Witches burned in Europe—Various charges of Witchcraft—Trois Echelles—The Witches of Warbois—John Knox—Torture of Dr. Fian—The Lancashire Witches—Matthew Hopkins—Burnings at WÜrzburg, at Lindheim, at Labourt—Request of the parliament of Rouen to the King, in 1670—WÜrzburg the scene of the last case of Witchcraft—The Witchcraft of Lady Hatton—Witchcraft at Hastings and many other parts of England

THE SLOW POISONERS.

Murder of Sir Thomas Overbury—Trial of Weston—Of Sir Jervis Elwes—Poisoning most prevalent in Italy—Poisons manufactured by La Tophania—Her death—Madame de Brinvilliers—The poisoning of her father and two brothers—Lavoisin and Lavigoreux

HAUNTED HOUSES.

The haunted house in Aix-la-Chapelle—In Tours—The royal palace of Woodstock a haunted house—The supposed ghosts at Tedworth—At Cock Lane—At Stockwell—Haunted house at Baldarroch

POPULAR FOLLIES OF GREAT CITIES.

Cant phrases—“Quoz”—“What a shocking bad hat”—“Hookey Walker”—“There he goes with his eye out”—“Has your mother sold her mangle?”—“Does your mother know you’re out?”—“Tom and Jerry”—“Jim Crow”

POPULAR ADMIRATION OF GREAT THIEVES.

Robin Hood—Claude Duval—Dick Turpin—Jonathan Wild—Jack Sheppard—Vidocq—Mausch Nadel—The Beggar’s Opera—Rob Roy

DUELS AND ORDEALS.

The origin of the Duello—All persons engaged in duelling excommunicated by the Council of Trent—The fire ordeal—The water ordeal—The Corsned—Duel between Ingelgerius and Gontran—Duel between FranÇois de Vivonne and Guy de Chabot—L’Isle-Marivaut and Marolles—Richelieu—Duel between the Dukes De Beaufort and De Nemours—Laws against Duelling—Duel between Lord Sanquir and Turner—Between the Duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun—German students inveterate Duellists

RELICS.

The True Cross—Tears of our Saviour—The Santa Scala, or Holy Stairs—The mad Knight of Malta—Shakspeare’s Mulberry-tree