had marched towards Antioch, under several very distinguished leaders, while a sortie from that city was destined to cooperate with the twenty thousand horsemen who advanced from the side

of the Euphrates. But the crusaders obtained intelligence of the purposes of their enemies; Boemond and Raymond of St. Giles were despatched with seven hundred lances to seize upon a pass in the mountains, and the position they chose more than compensated for the inferiority of their numbers. The Mussulmans were routed and slain, and the Christian detachment returned to the camp, carrying with them much booty of various kinds.

Shortly after the arrival of the Genoese and Pisans, however, and in the midst of their rejoicings for the two late victories, the crusaders were surprised and afflicted to hear that the representations which Baguisian had addressed to his kinsman, the Sultan of Persia, through that monarch's great minister Kerboga, Emir of Moussoul, had produced a more important effect than any of his applications to other princes. The first intelligence they received of the transaction seems to have shewn them that the Vizier was already moving forward for the deliverance of Antioch at the head of the largest army of Mussulmans which had yet taken the field; and as the scarcity was still but partially removed, as the epidemic sickness increased, as the city held out re

solutely, and as not the slightest breach had been effected in any part of the walls, these tidings cooled and disheartened many. At this period the courage of Stephen, Count of Blois, which had never been very conspicuous throughout the crusade, failed him entirely; and declaring that his health was declining and could only be restored by the better air of Alexandretta, he abandoned the army before Antioch, accompanied by four thousand men, giving a promise, it would appear, of returning, which he never intended to fulfil.

Though the soldiers viewed his retirement with contempt the example was one of great danger, and the assembled chiefs enacted a law by which those who withdrew from the Christian camp without leave, were to be considered as guilty of murder and blasphemy. Boemond, however, was not restrained by this denunciation from hinting an intention of quitting his companions; and it might have been somewhat dangerous, considering his skill, courage, and the number of his troops, to have applied the newly-promulgated law to him. His valour, his perseverance, and his ambition, were too well known for any one to imagine that in his case, as in that of the Count of Blois, cowardice had any share in the views which he took such pains to announce. It was soon suspected that he was actuated by some sinister motive, and this suspicion was confirmed shortly afterwards by an at

tempt which he made to gain a promise from the chiefs, that if Antioch were taken by his means, it should be given up to him in pure possession. At first this demand was scoffed at; but as rumours of the approach of Kerboga became more general and frequent, the great majority of the leaders, feeling probably convinced that Boemond had not proposed stipulations without being sure that he could take advantage of them, over-ruled the opposition of the Count of St. Giles, and declared that the city should become the property of the person who actually succeeded in capturing it, with a reservation in favour of the feudal superiority of the Emperor.

Boemond then confided to Godfrey and the rest, that for some time he had entertained a secret communication with one of the inhabitants of the town, the name of whose family was Zerrad, or the Armourer, and whose private name seems to have been Firouz.* The son of this man, we are told,

* William of Tyre informs us that the name of the family was Benizerra, and calls the individual of whom we speak, Emir Feir. He gives us to understand that the traitor was a Christian, and that it was from zeal for the Christian religion that he delivered up the city to Boe mond. The good Bishop, however, disfigures several of the names during the whole course of his narrative, and it is scarcely necessary to point out to the reader that both the names of this man were Arabic, and that it is impossible the jealous Baguisian should have left him in command of one of the principal towers of Antioch, if he had not been to all appearance

a zealous and devoted Mussulman.

acted the part of a Turkish spy in the Christian camp, and Baguisian, with the common fate of all who employ traitors, was by him betrayed in turn. What were the motives which influenced Firouz, is difficult to discover, but it would seem that he spontaneously offered to introduce the crusaders into Antioch. The Christians pretend that it was zeal for our own religion; but, of the Arabic historians who mention the facts, one declares that Ferouz was moved by indignation at Baguisian, for having plundered him of his wealth, and another lays the load of the treachery upon several inhabitants of Antioch, whom the Emir had oppressed, and who sold the city to the conquerors for a sum of money. All agree, however, that Baguisian was a tyrant, and detested by his people, and in such circumstances it is not necesaary to seek for the motives of an act which afforded ample vengeance for any past offences.

Notwithstanding the secrecy with which Boemond and his accomplice had conducted their intrigue, it would seem that vague suspicions of treachery were entertained by the rulers of Antioch, and redoubled vigilance was used in guarding the walls and gates of the city. No time was to be lost by the crusaders, Kerboga was already at Aleppo: their

* I am still unfortunate enough to differ with Mr. Mills through the whole of this account. He says, speaking of the operations of Boemond, "when it was least needed, stratagem was called in to the aid of valour." Now, it appears to me, that it could never

diminished and enfeebled forces had no reasonable hope of resisting him till fresh succour could arrive, but in the capture of Antioch, and every moment was invaluable. All was at length concerted with Ferouz, who agreed to receive the troops of Boemond in the middle of the night, into one of the towers of the city, which was under his command; and at the hour appointed a chosen body approached the part of the wall where it was situated, by a circuitous path, while other corps were stationed opposite to the gates, so as instantly to take advantage of the success of the plot. These forces, however, were not brought into the position assigned to them without great care and caution; the suspicions of the people of Antioch were awake, additional watchfulness was used, an armed guard patrolled the walls during the night, and every movement in the Christian camp was noted with the greatest accuracy.

On the day preceding the fall of Antioch, the only thing that was perceived in the country around by the watchers on the walls of the city, was the departure of a body of about seven hundred men

be more needed than when the Christians, enfeebled by disease, want and bloodshed, and dispirited by disappointment and desertion, saw Antioch still holding out without a stone shaken in its walls, and Kerboga, with his armed myriads, sweeping up from Aleppo. I reject the story of the proceedings which took place in Antioch the day before its fall, as many of the particulars are opposed to the statements of the Arabian authors.