Having boldly assumed full power, his next move was to invite the Crusaders to a conference in order to make a plan for the fulfilment of the contract made with Isaac and Alexius IV. The Crusaders were now minded to refuse to consult with an assassin and usurper; but Dandolo believed that no opportunity for a possible settlement should be neglected, and offered to go alone to meet Marzoufle. Accordingly, the Doge, in his galley, met the traitor near the Golden Horn. Dandolo stood erect in the prow of his barge, Marzoufle was on horseback, and their salutations were distant and formal. Dandolo, after expressing his horror at the crimes which Marzoufle had committed, assured him of the distrust with which the allies viewed him, and then recounted to him the terms of the treaty to which Isaac had set the seal of the Empire.
Marzoufle assented to all the conditions except that of submission to the Latin Church; sooner than consent to that, he would bury his country, and himself die beneath its ruins. In vain he was reminded that the Greek clergy had already renounced their heresy; he was immovable in this regard, and the two men parted with no result from their conference except that Dandolo could say that he had used his best endeavors to bring about a peace. A second attempt was soon after made to fire the ships. It proved useless, like the first; and then Marzoufle saw that his only course was to prepare for open war.
And here one can but admire the ability of Marzoufle. He found the treasury empty, and replenished it by a strict inquiry into the abuses under the Angeli, and the confiscation of the property of those who had amassed wealth unlawfully. The people were unfriendly to the crown; but by his address, his gayety, and tact he made himself popular. The Greeks were indifferent to the welfare of their city, but under his leading they were aroused to patriotism and energy. The walls were repaired, and in some places raised to a great height; lofty stone towers alternating with those of wood were built and filled with soldiers well supplied with the means of defence; mangonels for throwing stones and darts were mounted between the towers, and all possible provision made for harassing the invaders and protecting the Greeks. And Marzoufle was everywhere, with an iron mace in his hand, and the bearing of a warrior, ordering the works, encouraging the timid, and striking terror to the hearts of the discontented.
The Crusaders were equally industrious in their preparations. The decks of their vessels were piled with enormous stores of missiles and the machines for hurling them, as well as others for belching forth combustible matter freighted with death and destruction. The 9th of April had been fixed for the beginning of the assault, and a council was called and an agreement made concerning the manner in which the booty should be divided, a new ruler chosen, and other similar affairs be settled in case they succeeded in taking the city. An instrument was drawn up, signed, and sealed by Dandolo and the barons at the camp of Galata, and little else remained to be done before the attack should begin. As we regard the position of the allies, it would seem that madness alone could lead them to this assault. Their temerity is appalling. Before them was an apparently impregnable fortress, and four hundred thousand men, who now had a bold leader and were themselves filled with hatred of their foes. The allies numbered less than twenty thousand, and could neither hope for assistance from friends without, nor from treachery within the walls. They could only rely on their bravery and their good fortune. The Greeks depended on their position and their overwhelming numbers. All alike believed that Heaven would favor them, and thus sustained their courage. Gibbon thus graphically describes the siege:—
"A fearless spectator, whose mind could entertain the ideas of pomp and pleasure, might have admired the long array of two embattled armies, which extended above half a league,—the one on the ships and galleys, the other on the walls and towers raised above the ordinary level by several stages of wooden turrets. Their first fury was spent in the discharge of darts, stones, and fire from the engines; but the water was deep, the French were bold, the Venetians were skilful. They approached the walls; and a desperate conflict of swords, spears, and battle-axes was fought on the trembling bridges that grappled the floating to the stable batteries. In more than a hundred places the assault was urged and the defence was sustained, till the superiority of ground and numbers finally prevailed, and the Latin trumpets sounded a retreat.
"On the ensuing days the attack was renewed with equal vigor and a similar event; and, in the night, the Doge and the barons held a council, apprehensive only for the public danger. Not a voice pronounced the words of escape or treaty; and each warrior, according to his temper, embraced the hope of victory or the assurance of a glorious death. By the experience of the former siege the Greeks were instructed, but the Latins were animated; and the knowledge that Constantinople might be taken was of more avail than the local precautions which that knowledge had inspired for its defence.
"In the third assault two ships were linked together to double their strength; a strong north wind drove them on the shore; the bishops of Troyes and Soissons led the van; and the auspicious names of the 'Pilgrim' and the 'Paradise' resounded along the line. The episcopal banners were displayed on the walls; a hundred marks of silver had been promised to the first adventurers; and if their reward was intercepted by death, their names have been immortalized by fame.[[1]] Four towers were scaled; three gates were burst open; and the French knights, who might tremble on the waves, felt themselves invincible on horseback on the solid ground.
[[1]] Pietro Alberti and André d'Urboise.
"Shall I relate that the thousands who guarded the emperor's person fled on the approach, and before the lance, of a single warrior? Their ignominious flight is attested by their countryman Nicetas; an army of phantoms marched with the French hero, and he was magnified to a giant in the eyes of the Greeks. While the fugitives deserted their posts and cast away their arms, the Latins entered the city under the banners of their leaders: the streets and gates opened for their passage; and either design or accident kindled a third conflagration, which consumed in a few hours the measure of three of the largest cities in France.