supersede the brother, and then frankly
exhorted Bela to hold him to his promise, or
absolve him from it, as he would: there lay
the crown and the sword; whichever he lifted
should be his. But Bela saw that a knight
with a drawn sword was standing at each
side of the king's chair—men not very well
able to keep out of their faces what was in
their heads. It was clear that in the moment
of stooping for the crown, he would be fallen
upon; and the voice of a knight passing
behind, whispered him to take the sword. He
took it; but in his heart he took it as the
sword of war. Andreas embraced him for
his generosity. But Bela left the castle, and
fled with his family to Poland. Andreas sent
to Germany for aid; but Hungary supported
Bela. Andreas was slain in battle; Bela,
declared king on the battle-field.

In the reign of Bela " the poor became rich,
and the rich prospered in safety and peace."
The pagan spirit broke out for the last time
in insurrection, was quelled; and thereafter
only scattered men among the woods and
caves preserved the rites of their forefathers.
The throne of Bela one day broke beneath
him, and its pieces crushed him in the fall.
He left three brave sons, Geiza, Ladislas, and
Lampert. The chiefs would have elected
Geiza, but the young men knew that the
claim of Solomon would be advanced, and, by
admitting it, they saved their country from a
civil war. They stipulated for themselves
only the succession to the dukedom of Bela,
their late father.

Solomon came, accordingly, with his friend
the Emperor of Germany, and was crowned
in Hungary, for the second time. The boy,
then but eleven years old, fell, unhappily,
under the influence of Count Vid, who had
been one of the grim knights by the throne
of Andreas, and who was hostile to the house
of Bela. He caused the dukedom to be taken
from the three brothers. They appealed to
arms, but peaceful reconciliation was effected
by the bishops, and King Solomon enjoyed
another crowning. For ten years there was
peace in Hungary; the three brothers,
defending crown and people from all foreign
enemies, were loved and honoured by their
countrymen. It happened that the Greek
commander of Belgrade had favoured certain
hordes in frequent invasion of King Solomon's
southern provinces. The Hungarians at last
found it necessary to besiege Belgrade, and
the Greek commander found it necessary to
surrender; but he would surrender not to
Solomon, the king, but only to the Hungarian
chief, Duke Geiza. Solomon and his
courtiers canvassed this; but when the Greek
emperor sent to the duke a golden crown, in
token of gratitude for his humane conduct to
the vanquished at Belgrade, the king's wrath
against the brothers mounted high, and he
believed Count Vid, who told him that they
were pretenders to his dignity. Civil war
again commenced, and again stopped short of
actual bloodshed. Soon after the reconciliation,
Solomon attempted, unsuccessfully, to
procure the assassination of Geiza. Faith
was no longer to be trusted, and the brothers
drove Solomon out of the country, to sue to
the German emperor for aid. Count Vid was
killed in the decisive battle. Geiza, against
his own protestations, was crowned King of
Hungary, but to the delight of the whole
nation. Geiza, however, treated with Solomon,
and was determined to resign the crown
to its old wearer, asking no more than the
recognition of his family rights. The Hungarians,
who hated Solomon, for his incessant
willingness to go to Germany for help, and
his offers to hold the crown of Germany in
fief, opposed Geiza in this : the bishops
fostered his design. But Geiza suddenly died,
and Ladislas, the next brother, succeeded
him, in the year 1072.

Ladislas was crowned by acclamation; but
he continued in the mind of Geiza, and was
not satisfied until, after four years, Solomon
had formally made over the crown to him,
and received at his hands a pension in its
place. Ladislas, the handsomest and tallest
man in Hungary, was the darling hero of his
people: he was the next great king after St.
Stephen, and he also has been made into a
saint. Stephen made pagans Christians;
Ladislas formed Christians into a well-ordered
community. The vagrant habits of the
Hungarians had, by this time, been laid aside;
Ladislas framed laws adapted for a fixed
agricultural people, and appointed county judges, for
the king could no longer hear disputes in person.
Mixture with Europeans, intermarriage,
climate, had already begun to transform the
short, squat Mongolians into a handsome race
of people, as it had tamed their lawlessness
into an independence, characterised by the
extreme of loyalty towards a legitimate and
voluntarily-appointed chief.

Kalman, a son of Geiza, in the year 1095,
succeeded Ladislas: he was crooked; he
squinted; he loved books, so that his learning
made him to be called a wizard, and he
was nicknamed " Book Kalman." Ladislas
had extended the boundaries of Hungary.
Against " Book Kalman " some of the new
dependencies now rebelled, but they soon
found that a man strong in the head can be
strong in the arm also. At this time the
Crusaders began to march from western
Europe, in large multitudes, through
Hungary. Kalman anxiously attended them with
an army, from their entrance into his
dominions, until they were safe out of them; for
there were fingers not unused to robbery
among those devout fighting men. In the
course of these transits, one light-fingered
army was destroyed by the peasantry, and a
large force, sent to punish the Hungarians
for this, was almost utterly exterminated. To
peaceful transit, however, no obstacle was
offered. Almos, the king's cousin, pretending
to the crown, was quelled and pardoned;