devoured by the
starving soldiers. Godfrey shared his scanty meals with his comrades,
and is related to have slain his last charger for food. Desertion from
the ranks now occurred in great numbers, and despair led many to
blaspheme who were ashamed to fly. To add to the misery of the
Christians, they learned that the Emperor Alexius, who was advancing
with reinforcements, had judged their case hopeless, and retraced his
steps. The city was now scarcely defended, and many proposed to
surrender it, even on degrading terms, so that their lives were
spared.

Godfrey and the clergy again exerted themselves successfully. They
ventured to challenge the Turkish army to a combat of picked troops;
and when the proposal was spurned, boldly advanced to attack the whole
force. The appearance of the Crusaders, as they marched out of the
city, must have been indeed pitiable. Privations had so reduced them,
that many had no clothing. Some were nearly fainting from weakness.
The barons and knights proceeded chiefly on foot, and camels and asses
supplied the place of horses to most of those who rode. Yet the
burning zeal of the Christians made the march seem like a triumphal
procession; and while the clergy sang hymns of consolation and
victory, the soldiers responded with the war-cry, "It is God's will!
It is God's will!" The Turkish general, fearing nothing from an army
so scantily provided with the means of war, was taken by surprise, but
hastily arranged his troops in order of battle. The sight of several
natural prodigies, such as the sudden appearance of a meteor, and the
favorable direction of the wind, acting upon the superstitious fancy
of the Christians, impelled them to extraordinary exertions. The
Moslem forces, on the other hand, were weakened by the existence of
rivalries and discords in their midst, and lacked the stimulus which
the Christians derived from desperation. The attack was commenced by a
volley of arrows, followed by a charge of the Turkish and Arabian
archers, which the Crusaders not only steadily sustained, but
vigorously returned. Godfrey, who commanded their right wing, broke
the left wing of the Moslem; but the latter had encompassed the river
with a large force, and attacked the Christians in the rear. In spite
of the heroism of Godfrey and Tancred, who slaughtered all that
ventured to compete with them, and the brave resistance of the whole
army, the enemy was evidently gaining ground, when (according t