New Britain herald., 1919-08-18

TsA2 ,suous st. / phzka mosqa= in
 . fe.si Essunople, coua,ed
 one Of the Seven Won.
 krs of she World, soon to rcoonrd gain to the anthems of Christian
 worship
 many outbreaks of evil strife. was seldom without sn enemy bnttering at it's wallis. But, adted tn the natural 5efenses, which, with a good garrison. naado access to it very precarious. It's 200 feet of thickness of walls, rising in three tiers. rendered it an almost fmrregnable fortress. Among these whose attacks were most furious were tho Avart, In A. D. 627; Saracens, in 673 to SIT and again in 71S; the Bull gars. in S13 and again in 913; the Knights of the Cross during the Fourth Crusade !n 1903 and 12O4 and by the Turks for the first time in l422. and again in 1453, when, after acts of desperate heroism rarely ever equaled and certainly never surpassed. the city fell into the hands of Moharn. med IT.
 The Crusaders siege was remark. able in many ways. They were led by one of the most astonishing char. acters in all history-Enrico Dandolo Doge of Venice. Dandolo belonged to an tllustrious family of the merchant. fepubiic. He was eighty-four years old and almost blind when he was elected Doge. Except for the iner,,,4,. Of his organs of sight, which. accord. ing to a not very we'll authentica+e, story, was caused by the treacherv O. Emperor Andronicus Comnenus uhe. had sought to have him blinded ha was still in full possession of as nucn vigor as an ordinary healthy ma, ., forty.
 Dandolo and His Crusaders
 "neh Dandoio was ninety-four ha was requested to aid in the ftting o,,. or crusade. Not only did h.
 tribute toward its equipment, but bo offered to lead it, leaving his son +o govern Venice in his absence. After the Crusaders had met with r.nv V1clssltudes which left them ,,n cunious although still far from the Holy Land, Prince Alexius Conna,us son of the deposed emperor. Isaac TT offered 10000 men and 200. 900 marks Equivalent to millions of dollars in present-day money values) if the Crusaders would pause on their way to Palestine long enough to reinstata his father as emperor. The throne was occupied by Alexius, the brother of Isaac l.
 Dandolo thought so well of the generous offer made by the prince and was witha1 so well impressed with the Justice of his fathers cause that ,,a led the Knights of the Cross will. out any more ado against the walls of Constantinople, which had come a he regarded by most ulen as jnprey. nable
 After a five days siege the city was taken by storm on July IT 1902. and Isaac reinstated upon the throne Although Isaac was not at all i,sen. sibie to the great kin5nass done him and expressed 9 great profusico of gratitude. he told DanaoIo that his sen had been too excited when prorais. ing so gclden @ reward. Personally, Dandolo did not allow this dtsappo.nt. nent to ruffe his temper. The poor emperor simply did not have the money. and couldn't muster up so large a force as 10000 men for foreign service: and Dandoo coincided with Emperor Isaac that under the ciraum etances there was nothing to be done.
 But among ths Crusaders were many who were not ct all ideaiists many to whom the rescue of the tomb o1 the Saviour was merely an ostensibls reason for crusade the real reason being either 8 desire to get away froS1 .iisasreeabie complications at home o1 cise to improve their material re sources abroad. This contingent 0. Dandoio's otherwise magnificent arm, raised a great hubbub i'll Constant! noplo when 1t was learned that tin, emperor had peea compelled to re pEd.atc his sons promises. 4 donaa gosEe of the ciry. named SIurzuphlus tool. aslvsr.axe D. the disorders which