and so they all went back from the monastery of St. Stephen to their barks and ships. And there they reposed themselves for that night. "On the morrow morning, it being the festival of my Lord Saint John, our banners were all spread to the breeze, the glorious gonfalon was hoisted at the mast-head, and the shields of our knights were all suspended over the ships' sides, larboard and starboard, and from stem to stern. Every man looked to his arms and examined them well; and, by my faith, it was fitting that he should do so, seeing what need he would soon have of them! Then our mariners weighed anchor and unfurled all our sails. And, this being done, God gave us the very wind we wanted, in order to get to the isles. Thus did we pass by Constantinople; and we passed so near to the walls and towers, that the Greek archers shot into some of our ships: and so vast was the multitude of men upon those walls and towers, that it seemed as if there could be no people in the world except there.

"But anon we altered our course, turning towards those fair isles of which my Lord the Doge of Venice had spoken the evening before." The fleet was soon at anchor between the Princes' Islands and the ancient city of Chalcedonia, which are separated only by a narrow strait. Some of the Franks landed on the islands, others on the main land in Asia, near Chalcedonia.

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'Here," continues Ville-Hardoin, "close on the port of Chalcedonia, was a palace of the reigning Greek Emperor Alexis; and this palace was one of the most beautiful and most delectable in the world, and full of all the delights which charm the heart of man, and which the house of a great prince ought to possess. The great Counts and Barons landed here, and lodged themselves in the palace, and occupied the whole town. Up went many tents and banners. Then were the horses hoisted overboard; and the knights and their men-at-arms landed with their arms, and the mariners remained in the ships.

“The country was beautiful and rich, and plenteous in all good things; and the great heaps of good wheat were stored in the barns; and our people went and helped themselves as they pleased, having, in sooth, much need of bread. Thus sojourned we for two days at Chalcedonia; and on the third day we had a good wind. And so the sailors drew up anchors and loosened sails, and away we went to Scutari, which faces Constantinople, and is not a short league from it. Here, where the Emperor Alexis had another fair palace, all our ships, tenders,

and galleys cast anchor. But some of our chivalry, who had been lodging in the palace at Chalcedonia, had marched thence into Scutari by land, keeping nigh to the coast and within sight of our fleet. And when the Emperor Alexis saw us lodged at Scutari he came forth from the walls of Constantinople, and encamped with a great force on the opposite bank of the channel of St. George *, to prevent our landing on that side, where the great city is.

And the host of the Franks sojourned nine days at Scutari, furnishing themselves abundantly with wine and victual. And during this sojourn a company of the army went out to forage and ransack the country; and with it went Oude of Champagne, William his brother, Ogiers of Saint-Chinon, Manassier de Lisle, the Count of Blandras, a Count of Lombardy, and Boniface Marquess of Montferrat. And all that they had with them was some four score of cavaliers. And when they were good three leagues from the main body of our army, they saw Greek flags flying at the foot of a mountain. And who should be there but the Grand Duke Striphinos, brother-in-law to the Emperor Alexis; and he had with him five hundred Greek cavaliers at the least. When our people saw them all, they resolved, of one accord, to go and fight them. And when the Greeks saw our people they drew up in order of battle, closing their ranks in front of their tents, and waiting for the onslaught. And ours went fearlessly on, intending to strike vigorously with the aid of God. But short was the conflict, for those Greeks turned their backs and were discomfited at the first charge. Our people gave them chase for a long league. And there did our men-at-arms capture good plenty of horses, and pack-horses and palfreys, and mules, and tents, and banners; and all that they captured they kept for themselves. In this way they came back to the army at Scutari, where they were gladly seen and heard; and they generously shared their booty with the other soldiers so long as it lasted."

A day or two after this brilliant adventure, the Emperor sent over to Scutari a certain Lombard, named Nicholas Rossi, to open a negotiation with the great leaders of the Franks. But Doge Dandolo, and the Count of Bethune, "a good knight, and wise, and right eloquent," told the Lombard envoy that Alexis was a usurper, and that his young nephew, who was with the Crusaders, was the rightful master of Constantinople and Emperor of the East; that if the usurper would come * The Bosphorus.

across the strait and resign the crown to his nephew, he should have lands and riches, but that if he persisted in his usurpation, or attempted any longer to resist the Franks, ruin and death would inevitably befall him. The Lombard returned to Alexis, the Counts and Barons to their council-chamber, where they agreed that the nephew of Alexis ought to be shown to the people of Constantinople as their only lawful sovereign.

'Therefore, on the morrow morning, they armed all our galleys. The Doge of Venice and the Marquess of Montferrat embarked in one of them with the son of the late Emperor, and the Barons and Knights, with all that would, embarked in the other galleys. And they stood over to the great city, and sailed along the seaward walls of Constantinople, which they almost touched with their oars; and they showed the little varlet to the Greek people, saying unto them, Behold your natural Lord! And know ye that we be come to do ye no manner of harm, but, contrariwise, to guard and defend ye, provided only ye do that which ye ought; for he whom you obey as your Lord holds ye by sin and crime, and against the will of God and against reason. Disloyally has he acted towards this his Emperor, and towards his late brother, betraying them, and guiltily seizing the empire. If, now, you will declare for your lawful prince, you will do that which is wise and just. If you will not, we will do unto ye all the evil that we shall be able to do!' Certes, it was well said: yet was there not one Greek in Constantinople that ventured to declare for the young prince, so great was the terror they had of the Emperor Alexis. So the Doge of Venice, the Marquess of Montferrat, the Greek Prince, and the Frank chivalry, returned in the galleys to Scutari, where each of them went to his own quarters, to sleep through the night.”

During that night the wise and valiant old Dandolo resolved that the Bosphorus should be crossed, and Constantinople stormed, without more delay.

On the following morning, after mass had been heard, the Crusaders assembled in parliament. And the parliament was held on horseback, in the midst of the fields behind Scutari. There might you have seen many a fine war-horse, and many a brave knight in saddle. And, all being thus mounted, they consulted together as to the properest way of disposing their army for battle; and the end of their counsels was this:-That Count Baldwin of Flanders should have the van-guard,

because he had a very great plenty of arbalisters and archers, and, in sooth, many more men than any other chief in the host; That the second battalia should be formed and led by Count Henry, his brother, and Mathieu of Waulencourt, with other bold knights from their lands, and Count Baldwin of Beauvoir; That the third battalia should be led by the Count of Saint-Pol, Peter of Amiens, Eustace of Canteloup, and Anselm of Caen, together with many a good knight from their lands and from their several countries; That the fourth battalia should be formed by Count Louis of Blois, who was very great, rich, and redoubtable, for he had great plenty of people and of knights; That the fifth battalia should be that of Mathieu de Montmorency, (and Geoffroy of Ville-Hardoin, Marshal of Champagne, was in this battalia,) and Ogiers of Saint-Chinon, and Manessier de l'Ile, and Milo the Brabanter, and Macaire of Saint-Mainchoix, and John Foisnons, Guy de Chapes, Clarembault, his nephew, and Robert of Rosoi, were also among those who formed this fifth battalia; That the sixth battalia should be made by the people of Burgundy; and in this battalia were Oude of Chanlit, William his brother, Otho de La Roche, Richard de Dampierre, Oude his brother, Guy of Covlans, and the people from their lands and countries; That the seventh battalia should be that of the Marquess Boniface of Montferrat, for he was very great, and with him were the Lombards, the Tuscans, and the Allemands; and that all the people from the Alps, or that came from the country between Mont Cenis and the city of Lyons on the Rhone, should form the eighth battalia, and be the rear-guard to the whole.

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"On the same day it was resolved that the army should embark to conquer or die. And, be it known to ye, this was as doubtful an enterprise as ever was undertaken. And then spoke the bishops and the clergy to the people of the army, showing them how much was entrusted to them, and how they were bound to do their duty in this great emprise, and bidding each make his last will and testament, as none could tell how soon God might call him hence: and this was done all through the host right piously.

"And then came the time to embark, and the cavaliers all went on board with their horses; and they were all in complete armour; and the vessels were loosened from their moorings. The war-horses were all covered with mail, and were saddled. And the rest of the people were on board the great ships, and the galleys were armed and sur

rounded by shields. The weather was beautiful. The Emperor Alexis, on the opposite shore, awaited the coming of the Franks, with his great army drawn up in goodly array. Then sounded trumpets, and every galley was taken in tow by her tender, that she might go the faster. Nobody ever asked which was to go first, but those went fastest that fastest could. And as the galleys drew nigh unto the opposite shore the knights rushed out of them, and counts, barons, dukes, and princes leaped into the sea, with all their armour on, and, having the salt water up to their girdles, they waved their swords over their heads; and the sergeants, and men-at-arms, and the good archers, followed their several chiefs, and formed in order of battle, company by company. And the Greeks on the shore, frightened out of their senses at sight hereof, turned their backs and ran away, leaving all that shore to the Franks. And, be it known to ye, never was ground more proudly gained. Then began the good mariners to land the war-horses, and so soon as the horses were ashore our knights vaulted into the saddle, and were away after the enemy. And Count Baldwin rode at the head of the van-guard, and each battalia rode after him, all in their proper order. And they went up to the spot where the Emperor Alexis had been quartered; but they found he had struck his tents, and had fled across the port of the Golden Horn into the city of Constantinople. For the present our barons took up quarters near the mouth of the port, close under the great Tower of Galata, where was a strong iron chain, which was drawn from that suburb right across the mouth of the port of the Golden Horn unto Constantinople; and ye must know that there was no getting into port without breaking that chain. Well did our counts and barons see that if they did not soon take the great Tower of Galata, and break the strong chain, they would be in very bad case. So they sat down before the tower, among the Jews, who dwelt in that suburb, and were very wealthy. That night a vigilant watch was kept. On the morrow, at the hour of tierce, the people in the Tower of Galata made a sally, and those of Constantinople came across the port, in barges and in ships, to help them. Our people ran to their arms. The first that got his men in order was Jacques d'Avesnes; and Messer Jacques was vigorously charged by the Greeks, and was wounded in the body by a sword, and was in mortal peril, when one of his cavaliers, who was mounted already, and who had for name Nicholas de Joulain, rode to the rescue of his lord, saved him from the

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