ARRIVAL IN VENICE. 257 ceremony in Saint Mark's, the object of which was probably partly to delude the pilm-ims into the belief in the The Vcne- r •/ r o tians joiu the ffood faith of Dandolo and the Venetians, and partly crusade. ° . . • • .1 ,• • to give a pretence to them to jom the expedition. At the mass, which was of unusual solemnity, Henry Dandolo ascended the pulpit and addressed the Venetians : " You are allied with the bravest men on earth. I am old, and weak, and infirm ; as you see, I have need of rest ; still, I know of no one more capable of taking command of jour undertaking than I. If you wish that I should take the Cross, and that my son should remain here to replace me, I will go with you and the pilgrims for life or death." The assembly cried, "Come with us, for God's sake." Many in the congregation, both Venetians and pilgrims, shed tears as the old man was led to the altar, and a cross, made especially large so that it might be Henry Dan- secu by all, was affixcd to his breast. Dandolo from •^"^"' this time became, perhaps, the most conspicuous actor in the fourth crusade. His personal influence was im- mense. We have already seen that his hatred of the New Rome was intense, that he had to revenge private injuries as well as the wrongs of Venice. From the moment when he took the Cross he towers above all the leaders in the great host which his fleet was shortly to transport to the Bosphorus. The venerable figure of the old man at the altar pledging himself to go with the Crusaders and to share their fortunes imposed on many. Others, however, reflected that he had not entertained the idea of going with the army until the proposal to attack Zara had been accepted, and such distrusted his new- born enthusiasm for Christianity. A brave man — " de bien grand coeur," says Villehardouin — but one also who knew the interests of Venice and cared for nothing else; a statesman of the Italian type before Mazzini and Cavour had taught or shown a more excellent model. Capable of venturing upon bold and dangerous enterprises, he had all the ability necessary to carry them through. Self-reliant to the last day of his long life, he was yet able to avoid arousing the easily awakened jealousy of the Venetian oligarchs. lie was virtually dictator of Venice, and possessed the entire confidence of the republic 17
