Page:Constantinople by Brodribb.djvu/189

 blessing if they put him in undisputed sovereignty over the whole Christian world. Again, they wanted money for the prosecution of their Crusade: he would give them 200,000 marks—a sum equivalent, if our estimate is at all correct, to three and a half millions sterling. They wanted, or would want, men: he would maintain an army in the Holy Land, to be at their command. In a word, as a drowning man catches at a straw, so Alexis was ready to promise everything.

The offer was tempting. To conquer Constantinople, replace the rightful emperor upon the throne, achieve endless glory, acquire the immense sum of 200,000 marks, restore the integrity of the Church, and then go on their way to the recovery of the Holy Places, was surely a more splendid programme than any which had yet appealed to the enthusiasm of Crusaders. But, unfortunately, it only appealed strongly to the enthusiasm of the leaders. The soldiers were indignant, and when it was decided that the young Greek's proposal should be accepted, many deserted, and found their way home, or to the Holy Land.

There is no doubt that the policy of the Doge guided the uneducated counsels of the Crusaders. The Venetian knew better than any other what advantages might be derived from the possession of this great city. What the ignorant soldiers of the West did not suspect, he knew—that those who held Constantinople could command the trade of the East. If these bulldogs of French and Flemings succeeded in conquering the city, who but the Venetians would reap the profit? Let theirs be the glory; for the Republic, the gain.