Page:The Fall of Constantinople.djvu/396

 378 THE TALL OF CONSTANTINOrLE. of the East. If Boniface had been the husband of Dandolo's daughter, he was so no longer. His marriage with Margaret had taken place either during the days immediately after the capture of the city or, if not before the election, it was well known to the army that Boniface was engaged to the mother of young Alexis.* Not the least of the inducements to such a marriage was that his election would satisfy the Constanti- nopolitans. The eagerness and the confidence with which he had advanced his claims ; the fact that the Greeks already recognized him as their master; that, as we have seen, they had already hailed him as emperor; that they would probably have regarded his appointment much as our fathers looked upon the coming to the throne of the first Henry; and that they might possibly have become reconciled to his rule as that of one closely connected with the imperial family; the fact that his marriage would make him the guardian of the younger children of Isaac — all these circumstances showed that Boni- face intended to lose no chance, that he had much to recom- mend him, and made it necessary for Dandolo to act with vigor if he did not wish him to be elected. The election, on the other hand, of Baldwin, Earl of Flan- Aavantages ^^^s, offcrcd many advantages to the republic, and eieSugBa°id- commcndcd itself for many reasons to the Cru- "^^'^"' saders. His dominions were too far removed from those of Venice to make him a formidable opponent. He was only thirty-two years of age, and had had much less ex- perience in war than Boniface. He was an amiable man, but wanting in the energy which characterized his rival. While, therefore, his personal charms and his nobility of blood, his cousinship to the King of France, and his descent from Charlemagne recommended him to the host, his want of the ability and energy of Boniface commended him to the Vene- tians. He appears to have been popular with the army gen- erally, though it was among the Flemings and the French that. ^ Yillchardouin places the marriage about the time of the coronation, on the 16th. Count Riant thinks it took place earlier. Villehardouin^s words are : "Dedenz le terme del coronement."