obscurest soldier of the host, They set fire to several public
buildings in Constantinople, out of pure mischief, and stripped the
lead from the roofs of the churches, which, they afterwards sold for
old metal in the purlieus of the city. From this time may be dated the
aversion which the Emperor Alexius entertained for the crusaders, and
which was afterwards manifested in all his actions, even when he had
to deal with the chivalrous and more honourable armies which arrived
after the Hermit. He seems to have imagined that the Turks themselves
were enemies less formidable to his power than these outpourings of
the refuse of Europe: he soon found a pretext to hurry them into Asia
Minor. Peter crossed the Bosphorus with Walter, but the excesses of
his followers were such, that, despairing of accomplishing any good
end by remaining at their head, he left them to themselves, and
returned to Constantinople, on the pretext of making arrangements with
the government of Alexius for a proper supply of provisions. The
crusaders, forgetting that they were in the enemy's country, and that
union, above all things, was desirable, gave themselves up to
dissensions. Violent disputes arose between the Lombards and Normans,
commanded by Walter the Pennyless, and the Franks and Germans, led out
by Peter. The latter separated themselves from the former, and,
choosing for their leader one Reinaldo, or Reinhold, marched forward,
and took possession of the fortress of Exorogorgon. The Sultan
Solimaun was on the alert, with a superior force. A party of
crusaders, which had been detached from the fort, and stationed at a
little distance as an ambuscade, were surprised and cut to pieces, and
Exorogorgon invested on all sides. The siege was protracted for eight
days, during which the Christians suffered the most acute agony from
the want of water. It is hard to say how long the hope of succour or
the energy of despair would have enabled them to hold out: their
treacherous leader cut the matter short by renouncing the Christian