We have given the opening of the siege of Byzantium by Mahommed with dangerous minuteness, the danger of course being from the critic. We have posted the warders on their walls, and over against them set the enemy in an intrenched line covering the whole landward side of the city. We have planted Mahommed's guns, and exhibited their power, making it a certainty that a breach2 in the wall must be sooner or later accomplished3. We have shown the effect of the fire of the guns, not only on the towers abutting4 the gate which was the main object of attack, but on the non-combatants, the women and children, in their terror seeking safety in cellars, vaults5, and accessible underground retreats. We have carefully assembled and grouped those of our characters who have survived to this trying time; and the reader is informed where they are, the side with which their fortunes are cast, their present relations to each other, and the conditions which environ them. In a word, the reader knows their several fates are upon them, and the favors we now most earnestly pray are to be permitted to pass the daily occurrences of the siege, and advance quickly to the end. Even battles can become monotonous7 in narrative8.
The Sultan, we remark, adopted the suggestions of the Prince of India. He distributed his guns, planting some of them in front of the several gates of the city. To control the harbor, he, in modern parlance9, erected10 a battery on a hill by Galata; then in a night, he drew a part of his fleet, including a number of his largest vessels11, from Besich-tasch on the Bosphorus over the heights and hollows of Pera, a distance of about two leagues, and dropped them in the Golden Horn. These Constantine attacked. Justiniani led the enterprise, but was repulsed12. A stone bullet sunk his ship, and he barely escaped with his life. Most of his companions were drowned; those taken were pitilessly hung. Mahommed next collected great earthen jars--their like may yet be seen in the East--and, after making them air-tight, laid a bridge upon them out toward the single wall defending the harbor front. At the further end of this unique approach he placed a large gun; and so destructive was the bombardment thus opened that fire-ships were sent against the bridge and battery. But the Genoese of Galata betrayed the scheme, and it was baffled. The prisoners captured were hanged in view of the Greeks, and in retaliation13 Constantine exposed the heads of a hundred and sixty Turks from the wall.
On the landward side Mahommed was not less fortunate. The zigzag14 trench1 was completed, and a footing obtained for his men in the moat, whence they strove to undermine the walls.
Of the lives lost during these operations no account was taken, since the hordes15 were the victims. Their bodies were left as debris16 in the roadway so expensively constructed. Day after day the towers Bagdad and St. Romain were more and more reduced. Immense sections of them tumbling into the ditch were there utilized17. Day after day the exchange of bullets, bolts, stones, and arrows was incessant18. The shouting in many tongues, heating of drums, and blowing of horns not seldom continued far into the night.
The Greeks on their side bore up bravely. Old John Grant plied19 the assailants with his inextinguishable fire. Constantine, in seeming always cheerful, never shirking, visited the walls; at night, he seconded Justiniani in hastening needful repairs. Finally the steady drain upon the stores in magazine began to tell. Provisions became scarce, and the diminution20 of powder threatened to silence the culverins and arquebuses. Then the Emperor divided his time between the defences and Sancta Sophia--between duty as a military commander, and prayer as a Christian21 trustful in God. And it was noticeable that the services at which he assisted in the ancient church were according to Latin rites22; whereat the malcontents in the monasteries23 fell into deeper sullenness24, and refused the dying the consolation25 of their presence. Gennadius assumed the authority of the absent Patriarch, and was influential26 as a prophet. The powerful Brotherhood27 of the St. James', composed of able-bodied gentry28 and nobles who should have been militant29 at the gates, regarded the Emperor as under ban. Notaras and Justiniani quarrelled, and the feud30 spread to their respective followers31.
One day, about the time the Turkish ships dropped, as it were, from the sky into the harbor, when the store of powder was almost exhausted32, and famine menaced the city, five galleys34 were reported in the offing down the Marmora. About the same time the Turkish flotilla was observed making ready for action. The hungry people crowded the wall from the Seven Towers to Point Serail. The Emperor rode thither35 in haste, while Mahommed betook himself to the shore of the sea. A naval36 battle ensued under the eyes of the two. [Footnote: The following is a translation of Von Hammer's spirited account of this battle:
"The 15th of April, 1453, the Turkish fleet, of more than four hundred sails, issued from the bay of Phidalia, and directing itself toward the mouth of the Bosphorus on the western side, cast anchor near the two villages to-day Besich-tasch. A few days afterward37 five vessels appeared in the Marmora, one belonging to the Emperor, and four to the Genoese. During the month of March they had been unable to issue from Scio; but a favorable wind arising, they arrived before Constantinople, all their sails unfurled. A division of the Turkish fleet, more than a hundred and fifty in number, advanced to bar the passage of the Christian squadron and guard the entrance to the harbor. The sky was clear, the sea tranquil38, the walls crowded with spectators. The Sultan himself was on the shore to enjoy the spectacle of a combat in which the superiority of his fleet seemed to promise him a certain victory. But the eighteen galleys at the head of the division, manned by inexperienced soldiers, and too low at the sides, were instantly covered with arrows, pots of Greek fire, and a rain of stones launched by the enemy. They were twice repulsed. The Greeks and the Genoese emulated39 each other in zeal40. Flectanelli, captain of the imperial galley33, fought like a lion; Cataneo, Novarro, Balaneri, commanding the Genoese, imitated his example. The Turkish ships could not row under the arrows with which the water was covered; they fouled41 each other, and two took fire. At this sight Mahommed could not contain himself; as if he would arrest the victory of the Greeks, he spurred his horse in the midst of the ships. His officers followed him trying to reach the vessels combating only a stone's throw away. The soldiers, excited by shame or by fear, renewed the attack, but without success, and the five vessels, favored by a rising wind, forced a passage through the opposition42, and happily entered the harbor."] The Christian squadron made the Golden Horn, and passed triumphantly43 behind the chain defending it. They brought supplies of corn and powder. The relief had the appearance of a merciful Providence44, and forthwith the fighting was renewed with increased ardor45. Kalil the Vizier exhorted46 Mahommed to abandon the siege.
"What, retire now? Now that the gate St. Romain is in ruins and the ditch filled?" the Sultan cried in rage. "No, my bones to Eyoub, my soul to Eblis first. Allah sent me here to conquer."
Those around attributed his firmness, some to religious zeal, some to ambition; none of them suspected how much the compact with Count Corti had to do with his decision.
To the lasting47 shame of Christian Europe, the arrival of the five galleys, and the victory they achieved, were all of succor48 and cheer permitted the heroic Emperor.
But the unequal struggle wore on, and with each set of sun Mahommed's hopes replumed themselves. From much fondling and kissing the sword of Solomon, and swearing by it, the steel communicated itself to his will; while on the side of the besieged49, failures, dissensions, watching and labor50, disparity in numbers, inferiority in arms, the ravages51 of death, and the neglect of Christendom, slowly but surely invited despair.
Weeks passed thus. April went out; and now it is the twenty-third of May. On the twenty-ninth--six days off--the stars, so we have seen, will permit an assault.
And on this day the time is verging52 midnight. Between the sky and the beleaguered53 town a pall54 of clouds is hanging thick. At intervals55 light showers filter through the pall, and the drops fall perpendicularly56, for there is no wind. And the earth has its wrap of darkness, only over the seven hills of the old capital it appears to be in double folds oppressively close. Darkness and silence and vacancy57, which do not require permission to enter by a gate, have possession of the streets and houses; except that now and then a solitary58 figure, gliding59 swiftly, turns a corner, pauses to hear, moves on again, and disappears as if it dropped a curtain behind it. Desertion is the rule. The hush60 is awful. Where are the people?
To find each other friends go from cellar to cellar. There are vaults and arched passages, crypts under churches and lordly habitations, deep, damp, mouldy, and smelling of rotten air, sheltering families. In many districts all life is underground. Sociality, because it cannot exist under such conditions save amongst rats and reptiles61, ceased some time ago. Yet love is not dead--thanks, O Heaven, for the divine impulse!--it has merely taken on new modes of expression; it shows itself in tears, never in laughter; it has quit singing, it moans; and what moments mothers are not on their knees praying, they sit crouched62, and clasping their little ones, and listen pale with fear and want. Listening is the universal habit; and the start and exclamation63 with which in the day the poor creatures recognize the explosive thunder of Mahommed's guns explain the origin of the habit.
At this particular hour of the twenty-third of May there are two notable exceptions to the statement that darkness, silence and vacancy have possession of the streets and houses.
By a combination of streets most favorable for the purpose, a thoroughfare had come into use along which traffic preferably drove its bulky commodities from St. Peter's on the harbor to the Gates St. Romain and Adrianople; its greater distance between terminal points being offset64 by advantages such as solidity, width and gentler grades. In one of the turns of this very crooked65 way there is now a murky66 flush cast by flambeaux sputtering67 and borne in hand. On either side one may see the fronts of houses without tenants68, and in the way itself long lines of men tugging69 with united effort at some cumbrous body behind them. There is no clamor. The labor is heavy, and the laborers70 in earnest. Some of them wear round steel caps, but the majority are civilians71 with here and there a monk72, the latter by the Latin cross at his girdle an azymite. Now and then the light flashes back from a naked torso streaming with perspiration73. One man in armor rides up and down the lines on horseback. He too is in earnest. He speaks low when he has occasion to stop and give a direction, but his face seen in flashes of the light is serious, and knit with purpose. The movement of the lines is slow; at times they come to a dead stand-still. If the halt appears too long the horseman rides back and comes presently to the black hull74 of a dismantled75 galley on rollers. The stoppages are to shift the rollers forward. When the shifting is done, he calls out: "Make ready, men!" Whereupon every one in the lines catches hold of a rope, and at his "Now--for love of Christ!" there follows a pull with might, and the hull drags on.
In these later days of the siege there are two persons actively76 engaged in the defence who are more wrought77 upon by the untowardness78 of the situation than any or all their associates--they are the Emperor and Count Corti.
There should be no difficulty in divining the cause of the former's distress79. It was too apparent to him that his empire was in desperate straits; that as St. Romain underwent its daily reduction so his remnant of State and power declined. And beholding80 the dissolution was very like being an enforced witness of his own dying.
But Count Corti with the deepening of the danger only exerted himself the more. He seemed everywhere present--now on the ruins of the towers, now in the moat, now foremost in a countermine, and daily his recklessness increased. His feats81 with bow and sword amazed his friends. He became a terror to the enemy. He never tired. No one knew when he slept. And as note was taken of him, the question was continually on the lip, What possesses the man? He is a foreigner--this is not his home--he has no kindred here--what can be his motive82? And there were who said it was Christian zeal; others surmised83 it was soldier habit; others again, that for some reason he was disgusted with life; yet others, themselves of sordid84 natures, said the Emperor affected85 him, and that he was striving for a great reward in promise. As in the camps of the besiegers none knew the actual reason of Mahommed's persistence86, so here the secret of the activity which left the Count without a peer in performance and daring went without explanation.
A few--amongst them the Emperor--were aware of the meaning of the red net about the Italian's neck--it shone so frequently through the smoke and dust of hourly conflict as to have become a subject of general observation--yet in the common opinion he was only the lady's knight87; and his battle cry, For Christ and Irene--Now! did but confirm the opinion. Time and time again, Mahommed beheld88 the doughty89 deeds of his rival, heard his shout, saw the flash of his blade, sometimes near, sometimes afar, but always where the press was thickest. Strange was it that of the two hosts he alone understood the other's inspiration? He had only to look into his own heart, and measure the force of the passion there.
The horseman we see in charge of the removal of the galley-hulk this night of the twenty-third of May is Count Corti. It is wanted at St. Romain. The gate is a hill of stone and mortar90, without form; the moat almost level from side to side; and Justiniani has decided91 upon a barricade92 behind a new ditch. He will fill the hull with stones, and defend from its deck; and it must be on the ground by break of day.
Precisely93 as Count Corti was bringing the galley around the turn of the thoroughfare, Constantine was at the altar in Sancta Sophia where preparations for mass were making; that is, the priests were changing their vestments, and the acolytes94 lighting95 the tall candles. The Emperor sat in his chair of state just inside the brass96 railing, unattended except by his sword-bearer. His hands were on his knees, his head bowed low. He was acknowledging a positive need of prayer. The ruin at the gate was palpable; but God reigned97, and might be reserving his power for a miraculous98 demonstration99.
The preparation was about finished when, from the entrances of the Church opposite the nave100, a shuffling101 of many feet was heard. The light in that quarter was weak, and some moments passed before the Emperor perceived a small procession advancing, and arose. The garbs102 were of orthodox Brotherhoods103 which had been most bitter in their denunciation. None of them had approached the door of the holy house for weeks.
The imperial mind was greatly agitated104 by the sight. Were the brethren recanting their unpatriotic resolutions? Had Heaven at last given them an understanding of the peril105 of the city? Had it brought to them a realization106 of the consequences if it fell under the yoke107 of the Turk?--That the whole East would then be lost to Christendom, with no date for its return? A miracle!--and to God the glory! And without a thought of himself the devoted108 man walked to the gate of the railing, and opening it, waited to receive the penitents109.
Before him in front of the gate they knelt--in so far they yielded to custom.
"Brethren," he said, "this high altar has not been honored with your presence for many days. As Basileus, I bid you welcome back, and dare urge the welcome in God's holy name. Reason instructs me that your return is for a purpose in some manner connected with the unhappy condition in which our city and empire, not to mention our religion, are plunged110. Rise, one of you, and tell me to what your appearance at this solemn hour is due."
A brother in gray, old and stooped, arose, and replied:
"Your Majesty111, it cannot be that you are unacquainted with the traditions of ancient origin concerning Constantinople and Hagia Sophia; forgive us, however, if we fear you are not equally well informed of a more recent prophecy, creditably derived112, we think, and presume to speak of its terms. 'The infidels'--so the prediction runs--'will enter the city; but the instant they arrive at the column of Constantine the Great, an angel will descend113 from Heaven, and put a sword in the hands of a man of low estate seated at the foot of the column, and order him to avenge114 the people of God with it. Overcome by sudden terror, the Turks will then take to flight, and be driven, not only from the city, but to the frontier of Persia.' [Footnote: Von Hammer.] This prediction relieves us, and all who believe in it, from fear of Mahommed and his impious hordes, and we are grateful to Heaven for the Divine intervention116. But, Your Majesty, we think to be forgiven, if we desire the honor of the deliverance to be accounted to the Holy Mother who has had our fathers in care for so many ages, and redeemed117 them miraculously118 in instances within Your Majesty's knowledge. Wherefore to our purpose.... We have been deputed by the Brotherhoods in Constantinople, united in devotion to the Most Blessed Madonna of Blacherne, to pray your permission to take the Panagia from the Church of the Virgin119 of Hodegetria, where it has been since the week of the Passover, and intrust it to the pious115 women of the city. To-morrow at noon, Your Majesty consenting, they will assemble at the Acropolis, and with the banner at their head, go in procession along the walls and to every threatened gate, never doubting that at the sight of it the Sultan and his unbaptized hordes will be reft of breath of body or take to flight.... This we pray of Your Majesty, that the Mother of God may in these degenerate120 days have back the honor and worship accorded her by the Emperors and Greeks of former times."
The old man ceased, and again fell upon his knees, while his associate deputies rang the space with loud Amens.
It was well the light was dim, and the Emperor's face in shadow; it was well the posture121 of the petitioners122 helped hide him from close study; a feeling mixed of pity, contempt, and unutterable indignation seized him, distorting his features, and shaking his whole person. Recantation and repentance123!--Pledge of loyalty124!--Offer of service at the gates and on the shattered walls!--Heaven help him! There was no word of apology for their errors and remissness--not a syllable125 in acknowledgment of his labors126 and services--and he about to pray God for strength to die if the need were, as became the Emperor of a brave and noble people!
An instant he stood gazing at them--an instant of grief, shame, mortification127, indignation, all heightened by a burning sense of personal wrong. Ay, God help him!
"Bear with me a little," he said quietly, and passing the waiting priests, went and knelt upon a step of the altar in position to lay his head upon the upper step. Minutes passed thus. The deputies supposed him praying for the success of the morrow's display; he was in fact praying for self-possession to answer them as his judgment128 of policy demanded.
At length he arose, and returned to them, and had calmness to say:
"Arise, brethren, and go in peace. The keeper of the Church will deliver the sacred banner to the pious women. Only I insist upon a condition; if any of them are slain129 by the enemy, whom you and they know to have been bred in denial of womanly virtue130, scorning their own mothers and wives, and making merchandise of their daughters--if any of them be slain, I say, then you shall bear witness to those who sent you to me that I am innocent of the blood-guilt. Arise, and go in peace."
They marched out of the Church as they had come in, and he proceeded with the service.
Next day about ten o'clock in the morning there was a lull131 in the fighting at the Gate St. Romain. It were probably better to say the Turks for some reason rested from their work of bringing stones, tree-trunks, earth in hand carts, and timbers wrenched132 from houses--everything, in fact, which would serve to substantially fill the moat in that quarter. Then upon the highest heap of what had been the tower of Bagdad Count Corti appeared, a black shield on his arm, his bow in one hand, his banderole in the other.
"Have a care, have a care!" his friends halloed. "They are about firing the great gun."
Corti seemed not to hear, but deliberately133 planted the banderole, and blowing his trumpet134 three times, drew an arrow from the quiver at his back. The gun was discharged, the bullet striking below him. When the dust cleared away, he replied with his trumpet. Then the Turks, keeping their distance, set up a cry. Most of the arrows shot at him fell short. Seeing their indisposition to accept his challenge, he took seat upon a stone.
Not long then until a horseman rode out from the line of Janissaries still guarding the eminence135, and advanced down the left of the zigzag galloping136.
He was in chain mail glistening137 like gold, but wore flowing yellow trousers, while his feet were buried in shoe-stirrups of the royal metal. Looking over the small round black shield on his left arm, and holding a bow in the right hand, easy in the saddle, calm, confident, the champion slackened speed when within arrow flight, but commenced caracoling immediately. A prolonged hoarse138 cry arose behind him. Of the Christians139, the Count alone recognized the salute140 of the Janissaries, still an utterance141 amongst Turkish soldiers, in literal translation: The Padishah! Live the Padishah! The warrior142 was Mahommed himself!
Arising, the Count placed an arrow at the string, and shouted, "For Christ and Irene--Now!" With the last word, he loosed the shaft143.
Catching144 the missile lightly on his shield, Mahommed shouted back: "Allah-il-Allah!" and sent a shaft in return. The exchange continued some minutes. In truth, the Count was not a little proud of the enemy's performance. If there was any weakness on his part, if his clutch of the notch145 at the instant of drawing the string was a trifle light, the fault was chargeable to a passing memory. This antagonist146 had been his pupil. How often in the school field, practising with blunted arrows, the two had joyously147 mimicked148 the encounter they were now holding. At last a bolt, clanging dully, dropped from the Sultan's shield, and observing that it was black feathered, he swung from his seat to the ground, and, shifting the horse between him and the foe149, secured the missile, and remounted.
"Allah-il-Allah!" he cried, slowly backing the charger out of range.
The Count repeated the challenge through his trumpet, and sat upon the stone again; but no other antagonist showing himself, he at length descended150 from the heap.
In his tent Mahommed examined the bolt; and finding the head was of lead, he cut it open, and extracted a scrip inscribed151 thus:
"To-day at noon a procession of women will appear on the walls. You may know it by the white banner a monk will bear, with a picture of the Madonna painted on it. The Princess Irene marches next after the banner."
Mahommed asked for the time. It was half after ten o'clock. In a few minutes the door was thronged152 by mounted officers, who, upon receiving a verbal message from him, sped away fast as they could go.
Thereupon the conflict was reopened. Indeed, it raged more fiercely than at any previous time, the slingers and bowmen being pushed up to the outer edge of the moat, and the machines of every kind plied over their heads. In his ignorance of the miracle expected of the Lady of the Banner, Mahommed had a hope of deterring155 the extraordinary march.
Nevertheless at the appointed hour, ten o'clock, the Church of the Virgin of Hodegetria was surrounded by nuns156 and monks157; and presently the choir158 of Sancta Sophia issued from the house, executing a solemn chant; the Emperor followed in Basilean vestments; then the Panagia appeared.
At sight of the picture of the Very Holy Virgin painted front view, the eyes upraised, the hands in posture of prayer, the breast covered by a portrait of the Child, the heads encircled by the usual nimbus, the mass knelt, uttering cries of adoration159.
The Princess Irene, lightly veiled and attired160 in black, advanced, and, kissing the fringed corners of the hallowed relic161, gathered the white staying ribbons in her hands; thereupon the monk appointed to carry it moved after the choir, and the nuns took places. And there were tears and sighs, but not of fear. The Mother of God would now assume the deliverance of her beloved capital. As it had been to the Avars, and later to the Russians under Askold and Dir, it would be now to Mahommed and his ferocious162 hordes--all Heaven would arm to punish them. They would not dare look at the picture twice, or if they did--well, there are many modes of death, and it will be for the dear Mother to choose. Thus the women argued. Possibly a perception of the failure in the defence, sharpened by a consciousness of the horrors in store for them if the city fell by assault, turned them to this. There is no relief from despair like faith.
From the little church, the devotees of the Very Holy Virgin took their way on foot to the southeast, chanting as they went, and as they went their number grew. Whence the accessions, none inquired.
They first reached a flight of steps leading to the banquette or footway along the wall near the Golden Gate. The noise of the conflict, the shouting and roar of an uncounted multitude of men in the heat and fury of combat, not to more than mention the evidences of the conflict--arrows, bolts, and stones in overflight and falling in remittent showers--would have dispersed163 them in ordinary mood; but they were under protection--the Madonna was leading them--to be afraid was to deny her saving grace. And then there was no shrinking on the part of the Princess Irene. Even as she took time and song from the choir, they borrowed of her trust.
At the foot of the steps the singers turned aside to allow the Panagia to go first. The moment of miracle was come! What form would the manifestation164 take? Perhaps the doors and windows of Heaven would open for a rain of fire--perhaps the fighting angels who keep the throne of the Father would appear with swords of lightning--perhaps the Mother and Son would show themselves. Had they not spared and converted the Khagan of the Avars? Whatever the form, it were not becoming to stand between the Panagia and the enemy.
The holy man carrying the ensign was trustful as the women, and he ascended165 the steps without faltering166. Gathering167 the ribbons a little more firmly in her hands, the Princess kept her place. Up--up they were borne--Mother and Son. Then the white banner was on the height--seen first by the Greeks keeping the wall, and in the places it discovered them, they fell upon their faces, next by the hordes. And they--oh, a miracle, a miracle truly!--they stood still. The bowman drawing his bow, the slinger153 whirling his sling154, the arquebusers taking aim matches in hand, the strong men at the winches of the mangonels, all stopped--an arresting hand fell on them--they might have been changed to pillars of stone, so motionlessly did they stand and look at the white apparition168. Kyrie Eleison, thrice repeated, then Christie Eleison, also thrice repeated, descended to them in the voices of women, shrilled169 by excitement.
And the banner moved along the wall, not swiftly as if terror had to do with its passing, but slowly, the image turned outwardly, the Princess next it, the ribbons in her hands; after her the choir in full chant; and then the long array of women in ecstasy170 of faith and triumph; for before they were all ascended, the hordes at the edge of the moat, and those at a distance--or rather such of them as death or wounds would permit--were retreating to their entrenchment171. Nor that merely--the arrest which had fallen at the Golden Gate extended along the front of leaguerment from the sea to Blacherne, from Blacherne to the Acropolis.
So it happened that in advance of the display of the picture, without waiting for the Kyrie Eleison of the glad procession, the Turks took to their defences; and through the city, from cellar, and vault6, and crypt, and darkened passage, the wonderful story flew; and there being none to gainsay172 or explain it, the miracle was accepted, and the streets actually showed signs of a quick return to their old life. Even the very timid took heart, and went about thanking God and the Panagia Blachernitissa.
And here and there the monks passed, sleek173 and blithe174, and complacently175 twirling the Greek crosses at the whip-ends of their rosaries of polished horn buttons large as walnuts176, saying:
"The danger is gone. See what it is to have faith! Had we kept on trusting the azymites, whether Roman cardinal177 or apostate178 Emperor, a muezzin would ere long, perhaps to-morrow, be calling to prayer from the dome179 of Hagia Sophia. Blessed be the Panagia! To-night let us sleep; and then--then we will dismiss the mercenaries with their Latin tongues."
But there will be skeptics to the last hour of the last day; so is the world made of kinds of men. Constantine and Justiniani did not disarm180 or lay aside their care. In unpatriotic distrust, they kept post behind the ruins of St. Romain, and saw to it that the labor of planting the hull of the galley for a new wall, strengthened with another ditch of dangerous depth and width, was continued.
And they were wise; for about four o'clock in the afternoon, there was a blowing of horns on the parapet by the monster gun, and five heralds181 in tunics182 stiff with gold embroidery183, and trousers to correspond--splendid fellows, under turbans like balloons, each with a trumpet of shining silver--set out for the gate, preceding a stately unarmed official.
The heralds halted now and then to execute a flourish. Constantine, recognizing an envoy184, sent Justiniani and Count Corti to meet him beyond the moat, and they returned with the Sultan's formal demand for the surrender of the city. The message was threatening and imperious. The Emperor replied offering to pay tribute. Mahommed rejected the proposal, and announced an assault.
The retirement185 of the hordes at sight of the Panagia on the wall was by Mahommed's order. His wilfulness186 extended to his love--he did not intend the Princess Irene should suffer harm.
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trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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abutting
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| adj.邻接的v.（与…）邻接( abut的现在分词 )；（与…）毗连；接触；倚靠 | |
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vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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parlance
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ERECTED
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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14
zigzag
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| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
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15
hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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16
debris
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| n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片 | |
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17
utilized
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| v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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19
plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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20
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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21
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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22
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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23
monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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24
sullenness
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| n. 愠怒, 沉闷, 情绪消沉 | |
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25
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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26
influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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27
brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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28
gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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29
militant
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| adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士 | |
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30
feud
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| n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇 | |
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31
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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32
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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33
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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34
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
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35
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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36
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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37
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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38
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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39
emulated
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| v.与…竞争( emulate的过去式和过去分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿 | |
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40
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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41
fouled
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| v.使污秽( foul的过去式和过去分词 )；弄脏；击球出界；（通常用废物）弄脏 | |
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42
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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43
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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44
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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45
ardor
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| n.热情，狂热 | |
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46
exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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48
succor
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| n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助 | |
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49
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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51
ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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52
verging
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| 接近，逼近（verge的现在分词形式） | |
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53
beleaguered
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| adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰 | |
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54
pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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55
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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56
perpendicularly
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| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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57
vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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58
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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59
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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60
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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61
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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62
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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64
offset
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| n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿 | |
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65
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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66
murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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67
sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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68
tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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69
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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70
laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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71
civilians
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| 平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓 | |
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72
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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73
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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74
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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75
dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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76
actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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77
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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78
untowardness
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| Untowardness | |
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79
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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80
beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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81
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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82
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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83
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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84
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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85
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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86
persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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87
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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88
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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89
doughty
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| adj.勇猛的，坚强的 | |
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90
mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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91
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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92
barricade
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| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
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93
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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94
acolytes
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| n.助手( acolyte的名词复数 )；随从；新手；（天主教）侍祭 | |
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95
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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96
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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97
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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98
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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99
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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100
nave
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| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
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101
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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102
garbs
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| vt.装扮（garb的第三人称单数形式） | |
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103
brotherhoods
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| 兄弟关系( brotherhood的名词复数 )； （总称）同行； （宗教性的）兄弟会； 同业公会 | |
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104
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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105
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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106
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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107
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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108
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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109
penitents
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| n.后悔者( penitent的名词复数 )；忏悔者 | |
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110
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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111
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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112
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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113
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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114
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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115
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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116
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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117
redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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118
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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119
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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120
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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121
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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122
petitioners
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| n.请求人，请愿人( petitioner的名词复数 )；离婚案原告 | |
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123
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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124
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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125
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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126
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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127
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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128
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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129
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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130
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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131
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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132
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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133
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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134
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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135
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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136
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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137
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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138
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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139
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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140
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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141
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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142
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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143
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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144
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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145
notch
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| n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级 | |
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146
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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147
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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148
mimicked
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| v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的过去式和过去分词 )；酷似 | |
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149
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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150
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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151
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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152
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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153
slinger
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| 投石者，吊物工人； 吊索 | |
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154
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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155
deterring
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 ) | |
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156
nuns
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| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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157
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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158
choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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159
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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160
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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161
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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162
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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163
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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164
manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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165
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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166
faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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167
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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168
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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169
shrilled
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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170
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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171
entrenchment
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| n.壕沟，防御设施 | |
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172
gainsay
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| v.否认，反驳 | |
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173
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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174
blithe
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| adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的 | |
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175
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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176
walnuts
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| 胡桃（树）( walnut的名词复数 )； 胡桃木 | |
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177
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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178
apostate
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| n.背叛者，变节者 | |
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179
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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180
disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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181
heralds
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| n.使者( herald的名词复数 )；预报者；预兆；传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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182
tunics
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| n.（动植物的）膜皮( tunic的名词复数 )；束腰宽松外衣；一套制服的短上衣；（天主教主教等穿的）短祭袍 | |
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183
embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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184
envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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185
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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186
wilfulness
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| 任性；倔强 | |
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