"Say something, Patriarch!" resumed Peter. "Try to damp my courage
if you can; confront me with objections, and rob me of confidence.
You cannot! There, I will go now to Rome and speak with Urban II.
But give me a letter to confirm my statements when I describe the
behaviour of the heathen in the city of Christ. I ask nothing else
of you; the rest I will do myself."
"Whoever you are, you shall have the letter, but rest first for a
few days."
"No! I have gone three hundred and fifty miles and rested for thirty
days. Give me something to eat in the kitchen, while you write the
letter, and I start before sunset. When I come again, I shall not be
alone, but my name will be Legion. And you will see the
accomplishment of my words and your dreams, for God wills it."
* * * * *
The Hermit Peter walked a hundred and fifty miles to Piacenza, and
there met Pope Urban II, who was holding a council. He received no
encouragement, for the idea of a crusade was no novelty. Gregory VII
had collected fifty thousand men for that purpose, but could not
carry out his plan. With a true Christian spirit, the Hermit took
this failure as a warning to redouble his efforts.
He went to France, preached and stirred up the people, with the
result that all France was aflame with crusading fervour when Urban
II came to Clermont to hold another council.
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