formidable that ever was collected in the world. We may suppose, however, that Soliman expected to find, in this immense body, soldiers not much more worthy of the name than the undisciplined multitudes of Peter the Hermit and Walter the Pennyless, or at the worst, adversaries as feeble as the often-defeated Greeks; and having discovered in the beginning of June, that several bodies of crusaders had not yet come up, and that the earlier attempts of the enemy upon Nicea had been fruitless, he determined at once to attack the Christian army, and force his way into the city.

In the first place, however, he sent down messengers, directed to effect an entrance secretly into his capital from the side of the lake, and warn the inhabitants of his intention. He commanded them to notify to the garrison the period at which he would make the attempt, and to bid them sally forth and cooperate in the defeat of the Christians; but the envoys of the Turkish Sultan were discovered before they could reach the place, and while one was killed on the spot, the other was carried a prisoner to the presence of Geoffrey and the crusading princes. Terror soon compelled the captive to disclose the secret purpose of his master, and Godfrey immediately sent couriers to seek Raymond of St. Giles at Nicomedia and inform him of the dangers of farther delay. The Count paused not a moment after receiving this intelligence, but marching on with all speed at the head of his

troops, arrived at Nicea before daybreak, on the Sunday after Ascension day, and occupied the space which had been left vacant for him before the southern gate of the city.

Soliman, it would appear, was neither aware of the arrival of the Count of St. Giles, nor the capture of his own messengers; and descending from the mountains round about at the hour appointed, he caused a body of ten thousand horse to advance as rapidly as possible towards the gate on the south side of Nicea and endeavour to force its way in, while he attacked the Christian army in another quarter, expecting the citizens to sally forth and aid him in his efforts. The Sultan was destined to be disappointed in his expectations, however; the troops of the Count of St. Giles, though wearied with a long march, effectually closed the way to the southern gate, and driving back the squadrons of Seljukian horsemen, became, in turn, the assailants. The garrison of the city never having received the intimation which had been sent to them, did not comprehend the purposes of their sovereign, and remained within the walls of Nicea; while Godfrey and his companions met the chief attack of the Turkish forces headed by Soliman himself, with courage and activity. Repulsed and disappointed the Sultan led his troops back to the mountains, with the determination of renewing his efforts on the following day. The inhabitants of Nicea then seemed to comprehend his movements, and sallied

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forth as soon as they saw the battle renewed on the subsequent morning; but success still attended the arms of the crusaders, and the Mussulmans, repelled at all points, suffered a complete defeat.*

The town, however, still remained unsubdued; and although wood was brought from the neighbouring forests, and all sorts of military engines for battering or sapping the walls were constructed on the spot, not one of the three hundred and fifty towers of Nicea was even shaken during many weeks. The crusaders seem at one time almost to have despaired of capturing the beleaguered city; but abundance reigned in their camp after the defeat of Soliman; for Alexius now took care to supply their wants-in gratitude, it would appear, for the barbarous present of a thousand Turkish heads, which were sent to him after the defeat of the Sultan.

Such bloody trophies also were cast by the catapults and mangonels into the streets of the town, with the view of alarming the garrison; but so long as the towers continued to stand, the walls remained uninjured, and the Turkish boats which covered the Ascanian lake brought in supplies of every kind, the people of Nicea had little cause for apprehension.

* Several historians of the crusade only mention one attack, and declare that after the first day Soliman never approached the Christian army again. Guibert, however, positively states, that they returned the day after.

The siege was prolonged for many weeks; but it is impossible to relate in this work all the incidents by which it was distinguished, and all the means that were resorted to by Raymond, Godfrey, and others, to undermine the walls, or throw down one of the towers. Some writers declare that the free intercourse carried on between the inhabitants and the Turks without the walls, by means of the lake, was known from the first to the crusaders; but there seems more probability in that account which states that the Mahommedans carefully concealed the way by which they obtained supplies, and that the boats passed and repassed only during the night.

The facts, however, at length became apparent to Godfrey and his companions, and they instantly perceived the necessity of rendering the blockade more complete. For this purpose, large boats, some of which would contain a hundred men, were brought from Constantinople to the neighbouring port of Civitot; three or four waggons were joined together in order to transport them across a neck of dry land, and thus a Christian flotilla, manned with Greek soldiers, soon covered the lake Ascanius, and cut off Nicea from all communication with the adjacent country.

About the same time, or a little before, a gentleman from Lombardy, which district was even then famous for the skill of its natives in engineering, constructed a machine of the kind called the Sow,

in so strong a manner, and of so well devised a form, that when pushed forward to the foot of one of the towers, the fire cast down upon it from above had no effect, and the masses of stone which were showered upon its pointed roof rolled off innocuous. Under the shelter which it afforded a part of the tower was undermined; piles of wood were substituted for the masonry which was carried away; immense quantities of combustibles filled up the aperture; and at night the Lombard and his companions withdrew, setting fire to the materials thus accumulated. The piles, after burning slowly for some time, gave way at length under the weight above, and before morning the tower itself fell, with a roar which awakened the whole crusading army.

With a breach thus left in the walls of the city, and with the means of supply which had formerly been open, now cut off, terror and dismay spread amongst the people of Nicea. The wife and sons of the Sultan, who had hitherto remained in the capital, being taken in an attempt to escape, were brought before Godfrey, and the garrison began to treat for a surrender. But in the meantime, the envoys of the Greek emperor obtained admission into the city, negociated a separate treaty with the people of Nicea, induced them to yield to Alexius rather than to those who had really achieved the conquest; and, when the crusaders were about to renew the attack, they found the banners of the

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