Identifier: greatestnations03elli (find matches)
Title: The story of the greatest nations, from the dawn of history to the twentieth century : a comprehensive history, founded upon the leading authorities, including a complete chronology of the world, and a pronouncing vocabulary of each nation
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916 Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis), 1870-1942
Subjects: World history
Publisher: New York : F.R. Niglutsch
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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lovis bided his time. Perhaps his op-ponent had forgotten; at any rate when the man appeared one day at a greatparade of the army, his weapons were not in perfect order. Some such slightexcuse, some such public occasion, were what the king had waited for. Withwords of savage reproval for the weapons condition, Clovis threw them on theground; then as the man stooped to pick them up, the king whirled his battle-axe aloft, and crashed it through his enemys skull. No protest was heard : thistime it was the king who was within his right. But as Clovis struck, he criedaloud for all men to hear, Twas thus you broke my vase at Soissons. To this period belongs also the tale of Clovis marriage. You rememberthe Burgundians, who opposed Attilas hordes at the Rhine. The survivors ofthat terrible devastation had established a Burgundian kingdom farther south,around the sources of the Rhine and all down the beautiful Rhone valleyalmost to the Mediterranean. Two brothers became king together, and one
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THE REVENGE OF CLOVIS Germany—Christianity among the Franks 525 slew the other. The murdered mans beautiful daughter, Clotilde, was per-mitted to survive, but was kept under the close watch of the murderer. Clovis,whose power was beginning to be recognized by surrounding kings, and whomay have already formed ambitious plans for the conquest of Burgundy,thought to wed Clotilde. But first he wished to be assured that she was indeedas beautiful as rumor said; and perhaps he wished also to be certain she wouldhelp his plans against her usurping uncle. So he sent his friend Aurelian toher in secret. Now Clotilde was a Christian, and Aurelian came to her in the dress of abeggar. So she took him into her house, in accordance with the kindly Chris-tian custom, and she herself brought water and knelt to wash his weary feet.Aurelian, satisfied of both her beauty and goodness, dropped his masters royalring into the water, and whispered that he bore a message for her from thePrankish king. In a

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