Page:The Fall of Constantinople.djvu/204

 186 THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. the reigning emperor, Manuel Comnenos, had its walls and columns covered with pure gold. The throne in this palace was of gold and ornamented with precious stones. A crown of gold was suspended over it, set with stones of inestimable value and unusual lustre. All other places of worship in the world did not equal in riches, sajs Benjamin, the Church of the Divine Wisdom. It was ornamented with pillars of gold and silver and with innumerable lamps of the same materials, and its riches were countless. Between the time of Benja- min and 1204 this wealth had but slightly diminished. The imperial territory through which he travelled was rich, and produced all manner of delicacies and abundance of bread, meat, and wine. The inhabitants lived comfortably, every man under his own vine and fig-tree. The neighboring country, always fertile, and which four centuries of Ottoman misrule have not succeeded in altogether impoverishing, was able to furnish annually a large tribute to the capital. The wealth of the capital was absolutely and exceptionally Wealth in great. But in relation to the cities of the West it SmrwcSem ^^^^^ enormous. The Crusaders, under the Marquis cities. q£ Montferrat and Count Baldwin of Flanders, when they gained their first view of Constantinople, gazing at its walls and towers from the same hills whence, in 1878, the Russian troops wondered why they were not marched into the city, were struck with an amazement which Yillehardouin can hardly find words sufficiently strong to express. The wealth, size, strength, and magnitude of the capital profoundly impressed them. There was not a man, says Yillehardouin, who did not tremble at the thought that so strong and rich a city was about to be attacked. AVhen ultimately they en- tered, their first impressions were more than realized. The palaces were richer and the churches larger than any they had previously seen. The city was well enclosed with high walls and lofty towers. Each stone tower, no matter how lofty, had its height increased by two or three stories of wood. Xever, in the opinion of this AYestern Crusader, was a city so well fortified. He gives us a more definite idea of the wealth of the city by a remarkable comparison. Speak-