journey. After thus halting for several weeks, he recommenced his march in the beginning of spring, and arrived in the neighbourhood of the imperial city while Boemond was still in Constantinople.* On

* It is very curious and amusing to find how historical facts can be differently viewed by different persons. My account of the arrival of the Count of Flanders is taken from various contemporary and nearly contemporary authors; and from William of Tyre, universally admitted to be both accurate and impartial in regard to all the crusades which preceded his own time; from Fulcher of Chartres, who accompanied the division to which Robert belonged; and from Albert of Aix, the most careful and accurate historian of his day. Mills, however, in direct opposition of all these authorities, places the arrival of Robert of Flanders before that of Boemond, declares that Robert was attacked and defeated by the Grecian fleet, and that he and his followers were brought prisoners to Constantinople. The words of William of Tyre are, "In the meantime, Robert, the illustrious Count of Flanders, who in the beginning of winter crossing the sea with his forces, from Bari, a maritime city of Apulia, had disembarked at Durazzo, avoided the bad season in a fertile district, covered with woods and pastures, and every sort of accommodation. At length, however, towards the beginning of spring, resuming his journey, he made haste to join the other princes who had previously crossed the sea." This follows immediately after the account of Boemond's arrival. Albert of Aix, after speaking of the whole transaction between Boemond and the Emperor, says, "Brevi dehinc intervallo, affuit Robertus Flandrensis cum immensis copiis: qui et ipse audita concordia Ducis et Boemundi cum imperatore, fœdus iniit, homo illius factus." It seems to me that with the direct authority which we have for the time of the arrival of the Count of Flanders and his whole proceedings, we cannot admit these statements of Mr. Mills.

the way, he was met by envoys from the Emperor, who invited him to enter the town with a small troop, and do homage, as the other crusading princes had done. The Count of Flanders had no hesitation upon such a subject; but with an undignified facility which greatly pleased Alexius, he followed his directions in every thing, presented himself at the palace, did homage, took whatever the Emperor would give him, and set an example of docility, which was not destined to be followed.

The arrival of the Count of Flanders was closely followed by that of the immense force led from the south of France by the Bishop of Puy and the Count of St. Giles, or of Toulouse. Their journey had been long, difficult, and dangerous. They had been attacked and harrassed both by the troops and enemies of the Emperor; but the good prelate who accompanied them, and the great leader by whom they were commanded, had sustained their courage and spirits, and guided them with skill and resolution. As usual, messengers from Alexius met the Count of Toulouse, and with words of friendship and gratulation invited him to the palace at Constantinople. They added the earnest entreaty of Godfrey, Boemond, and the Count of

* I have already noticed the claims of Raymond of St. Giles to the county of Toulouse, and the difficulties that surround the question of his rights. I shall therefore follow the practice of others who have written upon these wars, and call him indifferently Count of St. Giles and Count of Toulouse.

Flanders, that he would immediately come to the imperial city, and hold council with the rest of the princes, in order to persuade the monarch of the east to put himself at the head of the united Christian force, and to march at once to Jerusalem. The Count yielded to this request, and set off immediately with a small suite, leaving his army to follow; but the perfidious Emperor demanded the homage of Raymond the moment he presented himself, even while his forces attacked unaware the army which that prince had quitted without a doubt of its security. The task of inducing the proud and mighty Count of St. Giles to do homage as the rest had done, was more difficult than had been anticipated, and he replied to the proposal by the impressive words, "I have not come hither to recognise, or fight for, any other Lord than Him, for whom I have renounced my lands and my country." He offered, however, if Alexius would put himself at the head of the crusade and march to Jerusalem as its leader, to take that limited oath of fidelity which would place the Emperor's person, followers, and dominions, under the safeguard of his good faith.

The Byzantine monarch still pressed the Count to do simple homage; but in the midst of the negociations, the army of Raymond approached Constantinople, and he heard for the first time of the base and treacherous attack which had been made upon his camp by the Greek forces.

Rage and indignation now seized

upon the Count

of St. Giles; he instantly took the resolution of revenging the wrong that he had suffered by force of arms, and called upon the other princes, whose entreaties had induced him to hurry forward to Constantinople, for aid and assistance in his just warfare. They, on their part, though indignant like himself, used their utmost exertions to pacify him; and Alexius was forced to make some concessions, though Boemond was base enough to promise that he would support the Emperor, if the Count of St. Giles attacked him. In these circumstances it would have been madness in Raymond to pursue the suggestions of his wrath; and, after some time passed in conferences and negociations-in the course of which Alexius frequently played off Bocmond and Raymond against each other-the Count of St. Giles took an oath that he would neither attempt the honour nor the life of Alexius, and transported his diminished and harrassed troops across the Hellespont.

Not long after Raymond appeared, the armies of Robert of Normandy and Stephen of Blois, which seem to have passed through the dominions of the Greek emperor with less annoyance and difficulty than any other body of crusaders; at least Fulcher, who accompanied the Count of Blois, makes no mention of any attack. The only obstacle to their progress was the passage of the rivers, swollen by the rains of spring, in effecting which many perished. Nor, in some instances, would

the infantry have been able to cross at all, had not the men-at-arms, on their heavy horses, ranged themselves above, and broken the force of the stream. The moment the two princes arrived at Constantinople, the Emperor proposed to them the oath of homage, as he had done to their predecessors. A short consultation was sufficient to induce them to yield to this demand, for the preceding bodies of crusaders had already marched on from Chalcedon, and were at that time actually forming the siege of the city of Nicea.