by Lew Wallace
CHAPTER X
THE NIGHT BEFORE THE ASSAULT
The artillery of Mahommed had been effective, though not to the samedegree, elsewhere than at St. Romain. Jerome the Italian and Leonardodi Langasco the Genoese, defending the port of Blacherne in thelowland, had not been able to save the Xiloporta or Wood Gate on theharbor front harmless; under pounding of the floating battery it lay inthe dust, like a battered helmet.
John Grant and Theodore de Carystos looked at the green hills of Eyoubin front of the gate Caligaria or Charsias, assigned to them, throughfissures and tumbles-down which made their hearts sore. The Bochiardibrothers, Paul and Antonin, had fared no better in their defence of thegate Adrianople. At the gate Selimbria, Theophilus Palaeologus kept theImperial flag flying, but the outer faces of the towers there were inthe ditch serving the uses of the enemy. Contarino the Venetian, on theroof of the Golden Gate, was separated from the wall reaching northwardto Selimbria by a breach wide enough to admit a chariot. GabrielTrevisan, with his noble four hundred Venetians, kept good his grip onthe harbor wall from the Acropolis to the gate of St. Peter's. Throughthe incapacity or treason of Duke Notaras, the upper portion of theGolden Horn was entirely lost to the Christians. From the Seven Towersto Galata the Ottoman fleet held the wall facing the Marmora as a netof close meshes holds the space of water it is to drag. In a word, thehour for assault had arrived, and from the twenty-fourth to evening ofthe twenty-eighth of May Mahommed diligently prepared for the event.
The attack he reduced to a bombardment barely sufficient to deter thebesiegers from systematic repairs. The reports of his guns were butoccasionally heard. At no time, however, was the energy of the man moreconspicuous. Previously his orders to chief officers in command alongthe line had been despatched to them; now he bade them to personalattendance; and, as may be fancied, the scene at his tent wasorientally picturesque from sunrise to sunset. Such an abounding ofMoslem princes and princes not Moslem, of Pachas, and Beys, andGovernors of Castles, of Sheiks, and Captains of hordes without titles;such a medley of costumes, and armor, and strange ensigns; such aforest of tall shafts flying red horse-tails; such a herding ofcaparisoned steeds; such a company of trumpeters and heralds--hadseldom if ever been seen. It seemed the East from the Euphrates and RedSea to the Caspian, and the West far as the Iron Gates of the Danube,were there in warlike presence. Yet for the most part these selectedlions of tribes kept in separate groups and regarded each otheraskance, having feuds and jealousies amongst themselves; and there wasreason for their good behavior--around them, under arms, were fifteenthousand watchful Janissaries, the flower of the Sultan's host, of whoman old chronicler has said, Each one is a giant in stature, and theequal of ten ordinary men.
Throughout those four days but one man had place always at Mahommed'sback, his confidant and adviser--not Kalil, it is to be remarked, orSaganos, or the Mollah Kourani, or Akschem-sed-din the Dervish.
"My Lord," the Prince of India had argued when the Sultan resolved tosummon his vassal chiefs to personal conference, "all men lovesplendor; pleasing the eye is an inducement to the intelligent;exciting the astonishment of the vulgar disposes them to submit tosuperiority in another without wounding their vanity. The Rajahs in mycountry practise this philosophy with a thorough understanding. Havingfrequently to hold council with their officials, into the tent or hallof ceremony they bring their utmost riches. The lesson is open to myLord."
So when his leaders of men were ushered into the audience, the interiorof Mahommed's tent was extravagantly furnished, and their prostrationswere at the step of a throne. Nevertheless in consenting to thesuggestion, the Sultan had insisted upon a condition.
"They shall not mistake me for something else than a warrior--apolitician or a diplomatist, for instance--or think the heaviest blow Ican deal is with the tongue or a pen. Art thou hearing, Prince?"
"I hear, my Lord."
"So, by the tomb of the Prophet--may his name be exalted!--myhousehold, viziers and all, shall stand at my left; but here on myright I will have my horse in panoply; and he shall bear my mace andchamp his golden bit, and be ready to tread on such of the beggars asbehave unseemly."
And over the blue and yellow silken rugs of Khorassan, with which thespace at the right of the throne was spread, the horse, bitted andhouse led, had free range, an impressive reminder of the master'sbusiness of life.
As they were Christians or Moslems, Mahommed addressed the vassalshonored by his summons, and admitted separately to his presence; forthe same arguments might not be pleasing to both.
"I give you trust," he would say to the Christian, "and look for braveand loyal service from you.... I shall be present with you, and as aneyewitness judge of your valor, and never had men such incentives. Thewealth of ages is in the walls before us, and it shall be yours--money,jewels, goods and people--all yours as you can lay hands on it. Ireserve only the houses and churches. Are you poor, you may go awayrich; if rich, you may be richer; for what you get will be honorableearnings of your right hand of which none shall dispossess you--and tothat treaty I swear.... Rise now, and put your men in readiness. Thestars have promised me this city, and their promises are as the breathof the God we both adore."
Very different in style and matter were his utterances to a Moslem.
"What is that hanging from thy belt?"
"It is a sword, my Lord."
"God is God, and there is no other God--_Amin!_ And he it was whoplanted iron in the earth, and showed the miner where it was hid, andtaught the armorer to give it form, and harden it, even the blade atthy belt; for God had need of an instrument for the punishment of thosewho say 'God hath partners.' ... And who are they that say 'God hathpartners--a Son and his Mother'? Here have they their stronghold; andhere have we been brought to make roads through its walls, and turntheir palaces of unbelief into harems. For that thou hast thy sword,and I mine--_Amin!_... It is the will of God that we despoil these_Gabours_ of their wealth and their women; for are they not of those ofwhom it is said: 'In their hearts is a disease, and God hath increasedtheir disease, and for them is ordained a painful punishment, becausethey have charged the Prophet of God with falsehood'? That they whoescape the sharpness of our swords shall be as beggars, and slaves, andhomeless wanderers--such is the punishment, and it is the judgment ofGod--_Amin!_ ... That they shall leave all they have behind them--soalso hath God willed, and I say it shall be. I swear it. And that theyleave behind them is for us who were appointed from the beginning ofthe world to take it; that also God wills, and I say it shall be. Iswear it. _Amin!_ ... What if the way be perilous, as I grant it is? Isit not written: 'A soul cannot die except by permission of God,according to a writing of God, definite as to time'? And if a man die,is it not also written: 'Repute not those slain in God's cause to bedead; nay, alive with God, they are provided for'? They are people ofthe 'right hand,' of whom it is written: 'They shall be brought nighGod in the gardens of delight, upon inwrought couches reclining face toface. Youths ever young shall go unto them round about with goblets andewers, and a cup of flowing wine; and fruits of the sort which theyshall choose, and the flesh of birds of the kind which they shalldesire, and damsels with eyes like pearls laid up, we will give them asa reward for that which they have done.' ... But the appointed time isnot yet for all of us--nay, it is for the fewest--_Amin!_ ... And whenthe will of God is done, then for such as live, lo! over the wallsyonder are gold refined and coined, and gold in vessels, and damsels onsilken couches, their cheeks like roses of Damascus, their arms whiterand cooler than lilies, and as pearls laid up are their eyes, and theirbodies sweeter than musk on the wings of the south wind in a grove ofpalms. With the gold we can make gardens of delight; and the damselsset down in the gardens, ours the fault if the promise be not made goodas it was spoken by the Prophet--'Paradise shall be brought near untothe pious, to a place not distant from them, so they shall see it!' ...Being of those who shall 'receive their books in the right hand,' moreneed not be said unto you. I only reserve for mys
elf the houses whenyou have despoiled them, and the churches. Make ready yourself and yourpeople, and tell them faithfully what I say, and swear to. I will cometo you with final orders. Arise!" [Footnote: For the quotations in thisspeech, see _Selections from the Koran_, by EDWARD WILLIAM LANE.]
From sunrise to sunset of the twenty-seventh Mahommed was in the saddlegoing with the retinue of a conqueror from chief to chief. From each hedrew a detachment to be held in reserve. One hundred thousand men werethus detached.
"See to it," he said finally, "that you direct your main effort againstthe gate in front of you.... Put the wild men in the advance. The deadwill be useful in the ditch.... Have the ladders at hand.... At thesound of my trumpets, charge.... Proclaim for me that he who is firstupon the walls shall have choice of a province. I will make himgovernor. God is God. I am his servant, ordering as he has ordered."
On the twenty-eighth, he sent all the dervishes in camp to preach tothe Moslems in arms; and of such effect were their promises of pillageand Paradise that after the hour of the fifth prayer, the multitude, inall quite two hundred and fifty thousand, abandoned themselves totransports of fanaticism. Of their huts and booths they made heaps, andat night set fire to them; and the tents of the Pachas and greatofficers being illuminated, and the ships perfecting the blockadedressed in lights, the entrenchment from Blacherne to the Seven Towers,and the sea thence to the Acropolis, were in a continued brilliancereaching up to the sky. Even the campania was invaded by the dazzlementof countless bonfires.
And from the walls the besieged, if they looked, beheld the antics ofthe hordes; if they listened, they heard the noise, in the distance, aprolonged, inarticulate, irregular clamor of voices, near by, aconfusion of songs and cries. At times the bray of trumpets and theroll of drums great and small shook the air, and smothered every rivalsound. And where the dervishes came, in their passage from group togroup, the excitement arose out of bounds, while their dancing lentdiablerie to the scene.
Assuredly there was enough in what they beheld to sink the spirit ofthe besieged, even the boldest of them. The cry _Allah-il-Allah_shouted from the moat was trifling in comparison with what they mighthave overheard around the bonfires.
"Why do you burn your huts?" asked a prudent officer of his men.
"Because we will not need them more. The city is for us to-morrow. ThePadishah has promised and sworn."
"Did he swear it?"
"Ay, by the bones of the Three in the Tomb of the Prophet."
At another fire, the following:
"Yes, I have chosen my palace already. It is on the hill over there inthe west."
And again:
"Tell us, O son of Mousa, when we are in the town what will you lookfor?"
"The things I most want."
"Well, what things?"
"May the Jinn fill thy stomach with green figs for such a question ofmy mother's son! What things? Two horses out of the Emperor's stable.And thou--what wilt thou put thy hand to first?"
"Oh, I have not made up my mind! I am thinking of a load of gold for mycamel--enough to take my father and his three wives to Mecca, and buywater for them from the Zem-zem. Praised be Allah!"
"Bah! Gold will be cheap."
"Yes, as bezants; but I have heard of a bucket the unbelieving Greeksuse at times for mixing wine and bread in. It is when they eat the bodyof their God. They say the bucket is so big it takes six fat priests tolift it."
"It is too big. I'll gather the bezants."
"Well," said a third, with a loud Moslem oath, "keep to your gold,whether in pots or coin. For me--for me"--
"Ha, ha!--he don't know."
"Don't I? Thou grinning son of a Hindoo ape."
"What is it, then?"
"The thing which is first in thy mind."
"Name it."
"A string of women."
"Old or young?"
"An _hoo-rey-yeh_ is never old."
"What judgment!" sneered the other. "I will take some of the old onesas well."
"What for?"
"For slaves to wait on the young. Was it not said by a wise man, 'Sweetwater in the jar is not more precious than peace in the family'?"
Undoubtedly the evil genius of Byzantium in this peril was the Princeof India.
"My Lord," he had said, cynically, "of a truth a man brave in the daycan be turned into a quaking coward at night; you have but to presenthim a danger substantial enough to quicken his imagination. TheseGreeks have withstood you stoutly; try them now with your power avision of darkness."
"How, Prince?"
"In view and hearing from the walls let the hordes kindle firesto-night. Multiply the fires, if need be, and keep the thousands inmotion about them, making a spectacle such as this generation has notseen; then"--
The singular man stopped to laugh.
Mahommed gazed at him in silent wonder.
"Then," he continued, "so will distorted fancy do its work, that bymidnight the city will be on its knees praying to the Mother of God,and every armed man on the walls who has a wife or daughter will thinkhe hears himself called to for protection. Try it, my Lord, and thoumayst whack my flesh into ribbons if by dawn the general fear have notleft but a half task for thy sword."
It was as the Jew said.
Attracted by the illumination in the sky, suggestive of something vastand terrible going on outside the walls, and still full of faith in amiraculous deliverance, thousands hastened to see the mercy. What anawakening was in store for them! Enemies seemed to have arisen out ofthe earth--devils, not men. The world to the horizon's rim appearedoppressed with them. Nor was it possible to misapprehend the meaning ofwhat they beheld. "To-morrow--to-morrow"--they whispered to eachother--"God keep us!" and pouring back into the streets, they becameeach a preacher of despair. Yet--marvelous to say--the monks salliedfrom their cells with words of cheer.
"Have faith," they said. "See, we are not afraid. The Blessed Motherhas not deserted her children. Believe in her. She is resolved to allowthe _azymite_ Emperor to exhaust his vanity that in the last hour heand his Latin myrmidons may not deny her the merit of the salvation.Compose yourselves, and fear not. The angel will find the poor man atthe column of Constantine."
The ordinary soul beset with fears, and sinking into hopelessness, isalways ready to accept a promise of rest. The people listened to thepriestly soothsayers. Nay, the too comforting assurance made its way tothe defenders at the gates, and hundreds of them deserted their posts;leaving the enemy to creep in from the moat, and, with hooks on longpoles, actually pull down some of the new defences.
It scarcely requires telling how these complications added weight tothe cares with which the Emperor was already overladen. Through theafternoon he sat by the open window of a room above the Cercoporta, orsunken gate under the southern face of his High Residence, [Footnote:This room is still to be seen. The writer once visited it. Arrivingnear, his Turkish _cavass_ requested him to wait a moment. The man thenadvanced alone and cautiously, and knocked at the door. There was aconference, and a little delay; after which the _cavass_ announced itwas safe to go in. The mystery was revealed upon entering. A half dozensteaming tubs were scattered over the paved floor, and by each of themstood a scantily attired woman with a dirty _yashmak_ covering herface. The chamber which should have been very sacred if only becausethere the last of the Byzantine Emperors composedly resigned himself tothe inevitable, had become a filthy den devoted to one of the mostignoble of uses. The shame is, of course, to the Greeks ofConstantinople.] watching the movements of the Turks. The subtleprophet which sometimes mercifully goes before death had discharged itsoffice with him. He had dismissed his last hope. Beyond peradventurethe hardest task to one pondering his fate uprisen and standing beforehim with all its attending circumstances, is to make peace withhimself; which is simply viewing the attractions of this life as birdsof plumage in a golden cage, and deliberately opening the door, andletting them loose, knowing they can never return. This the purest andnoblest of the imperi
al Greeks--the evil times in which his race as aruler was run prevent us from terming him the greatest--had done.
He was in armor, and his sword rested against the cheek of a window.His faithful attendants came in occasionally, and spoke to him in lowtones; but for the most part he was alone.
The view of the enemy was fair. He could see their intrenchment, andthe tents and ruder quarters behind it. He could see the standards,many of them without meaning to him, the detachments on duty andwatchful, the horsemen coming and going, and now and then a column inmovement. He could hear the shouting, and he knew the meaning of itall--the final tempest was gathering.
About four o'clock in the afternoon, Phranza entered the room, andgoing to his master's right hand, was in the act of prostrating himself.
"No, my Lord," said the Emperor, reaching out to stay him, and smilingpleasantly, "let us have done with ceremony. Thou hast been trueservant to me--I testify it, God hearing--and now I promote thee. Be asmy other self. Speak to me standing. To-morrow is my end of days. Indeath no man is greater than another. Tell me what thou bringest."
On his knees, the Grand Chamberlain took the steel-gloved hand nearesthim, and carried it to his lips.
"Your Majesty, no servant had ever a more considerate and lovingmaster."
An oppressive silence followed. They were both thinking the samethought, and it was too sad for speech.
"The duty Your Majesty charged me with this morning "--thus Phranzaupon recovery of his composure--"I attended to."
"And you found it?"
"Even as Your Majesty had warning. The Hegumens of the Brotherhoods"--
"All of them, O Phranza?"
"All of them, Your Majesty--assembled in a cloister of the Pantocrator."
"Gennadius again!"
The Emperor's hands closed, and there was an impatient twitching of hislips.
"Though why should I be astonished? Hark, my friend! I will tell theewhat I have as yet spoken to no man else. Thou knowest Kalil the Vizierhas been these many years my tributary, and that he hath done me manykindly acts, not always in his master's interest. The night of the dayour Christian ships beat the Turks the Grand Vizier sent me an accountof a stormy scene in Mahommed's tent, and advised me to beware ofGennadius. Ah, I had fancied myself prepared to drink the cup Heavenhath in store for me, lees and all, without a murmur, but men will bemen until their second birth. It is nature! ... Oh, my Phranza, whatthinkest thou the false monk is carrying under his hood?"
"Some egg of treason, I doubt not."
"Having driven His Serenity, the pious and venerable Gregory, intoexile, he aspires to succeed him."
"The hypocrite!--the impostor!--the perjured!--He, Patriarch!" criedPhranza, with upraised eyes.
"And from whose hands thinkest thou he dreams of deriving the honor?"
"Not Your Majesty's."
The Emperor smiled faintly. "No--he regards Mahommed the Sultan abetter patron, if not a better Christian."
"Forbid it Heaven!" and Phranza crossed himself repeatedly.
"Nay, good friend, hear his scheme, then thou mayst call the forbiddingpowers with undeniable reason....He undertook--so Kalil privilydeclared--if Mahommed would invest him with the Patriarchate, todeliver Constantinople to him."
"By what means? He has no gate in keeping--he is not even a soldier."
"My poor Phranza! Hast thou yet to learn that perfidy is not a trait ofany class? This gowned traitor hath a key to all the gates. Hear him--Iwill ply the superstition of the Greeks, and draw them from the wallswith a prophecy."
Phranza was able to cry out: "Oh! that so brave a prince, so good amaster should be at the mercy of--of such a"--
"With all thy learning, I see thou lackest a word. Let it pass, let itpass--I understand thee....But what further hast thou from the meeting?"
Phranza caught the hand again, and laid his forehead upon it while hereplied: "To-night the Brotherhoods are to go out, and renew the storyof the angel, and the man at the foot of the column of Constantine."The calmness of the Emperor was wonderful. He gazed at the Turksthrough the window, and, after reflection, said tranquilly:
"I would have saved it--this old empire of our fathers; but my utmostnow is to die for it--ay, as if I were blind to its unworthiness. God'swill be done, not mine!"
"Talk not of dying--O beloved Lord and master, talk not so! It is nottoo late for composition. Give me your terms, and I will go with themto"--
"Nay, friend, I have done better--I have made peace with myself.... Ishall be no man's slave. There is nothing more for me--nothing exceptan honorable death. How sweet a grace it is that we can put so muchglory in dying! A day of Greek regeneration may come--then there may besome to do me honor--some to find worthy lessons in my life--perchanceanother Emperor of Byzantium to remember how the last of thePalaeologae accepted the will of God revealed to him in treachery andtreason.... But there is one at the door knocking as he were in haste.Let him enter."
An officer of the guard was admitted.
"Your Majesty," he said, after salutation, "the Captain Justiniani, andthe Genoese, his friends, are preparing to abandon the gates."
Constantine seized his sword, and arose.
"Tell me about it," he said, simply.
"Justiniani has the new ditch at St. Romain nearly completed, andwanting some cannon, he made request for them of the High Admiral, whorefused, saying, 'The foreign cowards must take care of themselves.'"
"Ride, sir, to the noble Captain, and tell him I am at thy heels."
"Is the Duke mad?" Constantine continued, the messenger havingdeparted. "What can he want? He is rich, and hath a family--boysverging on manhood, and of excellent promise. Ah, my dear friend inneed, what canst thou see of gain for him from Mahommed?"
"Life, your Majesty--life, and greater riches."
"How? I did not suppose thou thoughtest so ill of men."
"Of some--of some--not all." Then Phranza raised his head, and asked,bitterly: "If five galleys won the harbor, every Moslem sail opposing,why could not twelve or more do better? Does not Mahommed draw hissupplies by sea?"
The Emperor looked out of the window again, but not at the Turks.
"Lord Phranza," he said, presently, "thou mayst survive to-morrow'scalamity; if so, being as thou art skilful with the pen, write of me inthy day of leisure two things; first, I dared not break with DukeNotaras while Mahommed was striving for my gates--he could and wouldhave seized my throne--the Church, the Brotherhoods, and the people arewith him--I am an _azymite._ Say of me next that I have always held thedecree of union proclaimed by the Council of Florence binding uponGreek conscience, and had I lived, God helping me roll back this floodof Islam, it should have been enforced.... Hither--look hither, LordPhranza"--he pointed out of the window--"and thou wilt see an argumentof as many divisions as there are infidels beleaguering us why theChurch of Christ should have one head; and as to whether the headshould be Patriarch or Bishop, is it not enough that we are perishingfor want of Western swords?"--He would have fallen into silence again,but roused himself: "So much for the place I would have in the world'smemory.... But to the present affair. Reparation is due Justiniani andhis associates. Do thou prepare a repast in the great dining hall. Ourresources are so reduced I may not speak of it as a banquet; but asthou lovest me do thy best with what we have. For my part, I will rideand summon every noble Greek in arms for Church and State, and theforeign captains. In such cheer, perhaps, we can heal the woundsinflicted by Notaras. We can at least make ready to die with grace."
He went out, and taking horse, rode at speed to the Gate St. Romain,and succeeded in soothing the offended Genoese.
At ten o'clock the banquet was held. The chroniclers say of it thatthere were speeches, embraces, and a fresh resolution to fight, andendure the worst or conquer. And they chose a battle-cry--_Christ andHoly Church._ At separating, the Emperor, with infinite tenderness, butnever more knightly, prayed forgiveness of any he might have wronged oraffronted; and the guests cam
e one by one to bid him adieu, and hecommended them to God, and the gratitude of Christians in the ages tocome, and his hands were drenched with their tears.
From the Very High Residence he visited the gates, and was partiallysuccessful in arresting the desertions actually in progress.
Finally, all other duties done, his mind turning once more to God, herode to Sancta Sophia, heard mass, partook of the Communion, andreceived absolution according to Latin rite; after which the morrowcould hold no surprise for him. And he found comfort repeating his ownword: How sweet a grace it is that we can put so much glory in dying.
