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THE BYZANTINES. 1 29 edly wavered dangerously, and the number of Turks in action was seventy thousand. The Turks had already sustained severe losses, when the brave Guistiniani was seriously wounded by an arrow. The pain caused him to lose his pres- ence of mind ; he ran toward the port to have his wound dressed on board of his vessel. The con- fusion among the Byzantines brought on by this casualty was at once taken advantage of by Saga- nos Pasha ; it enabled a number of the janizaries to gain a foothold upon the top of the walls, and while a fierce engagement with these janizaries was fought upon the wall, a Turkish company entered through a small gate south of the Heb- domon, which port had been opened on May 27th for the purpose of a sortie, and to the great misfortune of the Byzantines had not been locked again. They marched upon the walls in the di- rection of the gate of Adrianople, where they were soon reinforced by an additional force which had climbed up by the aid of ladders, and finally attacked the emperor from the rear. Now all was lost. After the Turkish cannon at the point of the principal engagement near the Romanes and Charsios gates had made a large breach in the walls, the victors entered the city without op- position. Constantine, fighting like an ordinary