Excerpt from A History of France, Vol. 2: A. D. 1453-1624
Three historians illustrate three successive centuries and three successive epochs of French History. For the age of Saint Louis, the days of heroic feudalism, when the earlier monarchy was in highest glory, we have the delightful memoir of the old seneschal of Champagne, the Lord of Joinville. The saintly King, so pure and free from selfish ness, so mindful of his people, is faithfully mirrored in the loving record of his friend. Whether the good historian as he sets forth on his first crusade turns round to catch a last glimpse of his castle towers, and feels his heart half-broken as he thinks of his two children there; or whether he bears in his arms the King, worn-out before his time; or stoutly refuses to follow his Lord to his second crusade, telling him plainly that the evils of it would be far greater than the benefits; under whatever aspect we see him, he is always a true gentleman, humane, simple, high-souled, who watches the world with grave observant eyes, as one who knows the dignity of his theme, the epic grandeur of Saint Louis.
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