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 SULTAN'S WEATH AT HIS DEFEAT 265 sultan urged his horse in his excitement until his long robe trailed in it. He went out as far as was possible towards his vessels, in order to make himself seen and heard. When he saw his large fleet and thousands of chosen men unable to capture the four ships and again and again repulsed, his anger knew no bounds. Eoused to fury, he shouted and gnashed his teeth. He hurled curses at the admiral and his crews at the top of his voice. He declared they were women, were fools and cowards, and no doubt let loose a number not only of curses and blasphemies, as the arch- bishop says, but of those opprobrious expressions in which the Turkish language is exceptionally rich. The sultan's followers were not less disappointed and indignant than Mahomet. They, too, cursed those in the fleet, and many of them followed him into the water and rode towards the ships. 1 Urged by the presence and reproaches of their great Turkish leader, the Turkish captains made one more desperate effort, defeated For very shame, says Phrantzes, they turned their bows retreat, against our ships and fought fiercely. Pusculus says that Mahomet, watching from the shore, inflamed their fury. But all was in vain. The Genoese and the imperial ship held their own, repelled every attempt to board them, and did such slaughter among the Turks that it was with diffi- culty the latter could withdraw some of their galleys. The later portion of the fight had lasted upwards of two hours ; the sun was already setting, and the four ships had been powerless to move on account of the calm. But the fight was unequal, and they must have been destroyed, says Critobulus, plausibly enough, if the battle had continued under such conditions. In this extremity suddenly there came a strong puff of wind. The sails filled, and the ships once more had the advantage of being able to move. They crashed triumphantly through the oars of the galleys and the boats, shook off their assailants, and cleared them- it highly probable that in 1453, the whole of what is now the main street of Galata from the bridge to Tophana was under water. 1 Pusculus, 247.