to to the Pope; the
Pope giving Otto his liberty; the Emperor at the Pope's feet in the
vestibule of S. Mark's; the arrival of the Pope elsewhere; the Emperor
and the Doge at Ancona; the Pope presenting the Doge with gifts in Rome.

[Illustration: THE CORNER OF THE OLD LIBRARY AND THE DOGES' PALACE]

Ziani seems to have been a man of address, but the great Enrico Dandolo
was something more. He was a superb adventurer. He became Doge in 1193,
at the trifling age of eighty-four, with eyes that had long been dimmed,
and at once plunged into enterprises which, if not greatly to the good
of Venice, proved his own indomitable spirit and resource. It was the
time of the Fourth Crusade and the Venetians were asked to supply
transports for the French warriors of the Cross to the theatre of war.
After much discussion Dandolo replied that they would do so, the terms
being that the Venetian vessels should carry 4500 horses, 9000 esquires,
and 20,000 foot soldiers, with provisions for nine months, and for this
they should be paid 85,000 silver marks. Venice also would participate
in the actual fighting to the extent of providing fifty galleys, on
condition that half of every conquest, whether by sea or by land, should
be hers. Such was the arrangement, and the shipbuilding began at once.

But disaster after disaster occurred. The Christian commander sickened
and died; a number of Crusaders backed out; others went direct to
Palestine. This meant that the Venetians, who had prepared for a mighty
host, incurred immense expenses which could not be met. As some
reparation it was suggested to the small army of Crusaders who did
arrive in the city for deportation that on their way to the Holy Land
they should stop at Zara, on the Dalmatian coast, an unruly dependence
of the Republic, and assist in chastising it. The objections to this
course were grave. One was that the King of Hungary, in whose dominions
was Zara, was a Christian and a Crusader himself; another that the Pope
(Innocent III) forbade the project. Old blind Dandolo, however, was
adamant. Not only must the Crusaders help the Venetians whom they had so
much embarrassed by their broken bond, but he would go too. Calling the
people together in S. Mark's, this ancient sightless bravo asked if it
was not right that he should depart on this high mission, and they
answered yes. Descending from the pulpit, he knelt at the altar and on
his bonnet the Cross was fastened.

Before