152 
A CRUSADE IN THE EAST 
temporary safety. Individual foes, twisted up in motral strife, 
tumble out and roll together on the blood-stained field; cow¬ 
ards hover round in the outer circle, snapping at unguarded 
legs; and thieves sneak off with portions of the prey, and eat 
them behind the tomb-stones while the battle is raging. At 
last superior numbers prevail against desperate courage. Alas 
for the Byzantines! The Tombers drive them yelling beyond 
the lines. They rally and re-rally their exhausted forces, but 
it won’t do ; they are morally and physically vanquished— 
the chicken is gone, and the maimed and the dying skulk 
off licking their wounds. Flushed with victory, the Tombers 
follow up to the very door-steps of the Byzant, and defile the 
.sacred temple of the Byzantines. Do you suppose I can sit 
quietly, with a stick in my hand, and witness this crowning 
insult ? Not I—to the rescue ! to the rescue ! On, Byzan¬ 
tines, on ! Away we go ! Down go the Tombers before a 
volley of sticks and stones, and we chase the flying foe into 
the very secret recesses of the grave-yard. Hurra for the 
Byzantines! Victory is ours at last; and for the rest of that 
day the Tombers are a crest-fallen set. Many a human bat¬ 
tle has been decided in the same way, and why shouldn’t we 
feel proud of our victories as well as others ? 
GENERAL VIEW OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 
