Page:The Fall of Constantinople.djvu/361

 NEGOTIATIONS ABANDONED. 343 in bis lot with Dandolo. His oath, the wishes of the better portion of his troops, the command of the pope, the call from the messengers who had come from the Holy Land, urged him in one direction. But to leave Constantinople was to ad- mit himself beaten, and to be submitted to the reproaches of the Crusaders for the failure of the expedition up to the present. The chances of success against the infidels were now far less than they had been. Even supposing that Boniface knew nothing of the treaty between Venice and the Sultan of Egypt, the difficulties before a crusading host were largely in- creased. The expedition organized with so much care by In- nocent had been divided, and all who had taken part in it had up to the present time been unfortunate. The messengers with whom Abbot Martin had arrived told how the Flanders fleet, which had wintered in Marseilles, and which had more Crusaders on board than those who were before Constanti- nople, had failed in Syria. Great numbers had been stricken down with country fever and had died. The rest had returned home. They related also how those who had gone to Prince Bohemund, in Antioch, who was fighting for the Armenians against the Turks, had been slaughtered or captured to a man. The Venetians, moreover, were not yet paid, and would never consent to transport the army. It would be necessary, if Boniface wished to lead his army against the infidels, either to pay the Venetians or to fight them. To do the one was impossible. To do the other was inexpedient. If the Cru- saders defeated Dandolo, his army would be at the mercy of the Greeks. If Dandolo should succeed, he was equally ruined. The Crusaders, at least, were between the hammer and the anvil. The second course, on the other hand, to throw in his lot with Dandolo, offered innumerable advantages. The of acting'Nvith riclicst city in the world was before them. Its in- habitants were divided. Its defences had already been proved to be vulnerable. Its soldiers had shown them- selves less valiant than his own host. The Crusaders and Venetians alike would fight heartily in order to have the loot-