Page:The Fall of Constantinople.djvu/323

 ITvOM CORFU TO CONSTANTmOPLE. 305 Nicholas Eoux, a native of Lombard j, across the Bosplioriis „, with letters of credence to the leaders. The bar- Embaspy from em- ons met in council. The messenger announced tliat he had been sent by the emperor to learn why they had come into his territory. ^' You are Christians and he is a Christian, lie knows well that you are on your way to deliver the Holy Land. If you are poor and needy he will willingly give you provisions and w^hat he has, but on condition that you leave his territory. He has no wish to do yon any harm, though he can do it." The statement im- plies that he had no knowledge of their intention. It may fairly be presumed that such knowledge as he had was of a very vague character. He certainly had officially no knowl- edge. It is possible, and indeed probable, that spies or others had hastened on to Constantinople as soon as the des- tination of the army had been make known at Corfu. It is unlikely that more than a suspicion of w^hat was going on can have been communicated to him at any period before the arrival of the army in that island. Conon de Bethune replied to the imperial messenger on Answer of the hchalf of the Crusadcrs. He denied that they had Crusaders. come into the land of Alexis, because the occupant of the throne w^as not the rightful emperor. The land be- longed to his nephew, who w^as w^ith them, the son of Isaac. The message he was to take back to his master was, that if Alexis would surrender his crown and empire to his nephew, they, the Crusaders, would ask young Alexis to pardon him and to give him enough to live upon luxuriously^ If the messenger did not return with an answer accepting these con- ditions he had better not dare to return at all. The leaders seem to have been under the impression that there existed within the city a strong party in favor of Alexis. No doubt Philip, and possibly young Alexis himself, had done their best to persuade them that such was the case. The barons determined to give this party the opportunity to declare it- self. The nephew of the emperor should be shown to the people of Constantinople. Accordingly they manned and armed all their galleys. 20