Page:Constantinople by Brodribb.djvu/286

 At early dawn on the twenty-ninth of May the Turkish host rushed to the assault, and Constantinople was menaced alike by sea and land. The gate of St. Romanus, the Charsian Gate, and the Blachern quarter, were the points at which the attack was fiercest. The sultan did not spare his men, and his foremost ranks were driven headlong into the fosse and slaughtered wholesale by the fire and missiles of the garrison. It was a sacrifice he could well afford. For two hours the defence was maintained, and it seemed possible that it might be ultimately successful. Above the din and tumult the emperor's voice, it is said, could be heard, urging a final and decisive effort on behalf of the city. Even at this moment we hear of strife between Giustiniani and the Duke Notaras. The latter had the control of the artillery, and for some cause or other he would not grant the urgent request of the Genoese leader for more guns for the defence of the great breach at the gate of St. Romanus. Meanwhile the famous janissaries, who had not yet been engaged, advanced under the sultan's eye to the attack, and the struggle was now at its height. The defence, it is possible, might have been prolonged, but for an unfortunate accident, to which it was usual with the Greeks to attribute the loss of their city. Giustiniani, on whose presence so much depended, was severely wounded in the hand, it would seem (though our narratives on this point vary), and felt himself obliged to quit his post on the ramparts. According to Phranza, the emperor remonstrated with him and implored him to remain, observing that his wound was but slight. His