prince as a step in any way necessary for the recovery of Jerusalem; while the savage treatment the unfortunate Jews met with at their hands in every city they passed through, shows how little their enthusiasm for the Cross was tempered by anything resembling Christianity. The large majority were, doubtless, mainly swayed by the hope or the certainty of public plunder or private gain.
They besiege and take Constantinople, A.D. 1204. Although the boldest hearts were appalled by the report of the naval power and impregnable strength of Constantinople, the Venetians vigorously urged on the scheme, seeing clearly that for them it was now or never, and that, with the aid of the formidable forces at their disposal, they would be able to avenge themselves for many insults and injuries they had received from the Byzantine court. No such armament had, indeed, for ages, if ever, assembled on the waters of the Adriatic. Consisting of no less than one hundred and twenty flat-bottomed vessels for the horses; of two hundred and forty transports filled with men and arms; of seventy store ships laden with provisions; and of fifty stout galleys prepared to encounter any enemy, the expedition presented a most imposing appearance.
Favoured with fine weather and a fair wind the fleet made rapid progress, and, without interruption or loss, anchored, after an unusually quick passage, at Abydos, on the Asiatic side of the Hellespont. But here a strong gale sprung up, and swept them to the eastward, and so close were they brought to the city, that some volleys of stones and darts were exchanged between them and the ramparts. Most of the invaders then beheld, for the first time, the capital of the East; and few cities can boast of so imposing
