Page:The Fall of Constantinople.djvu/416

398 THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. The leaders themselves were soon at variance. In accord- Quarreibe- ^'^"^e with the arrangement bj which the candidate i^MriudBou- ^^^^ should not be elected emperor should have the iface. Morea and the Roman territory in Asia Minor, Bon- iface became entitled to these possessions. I have already stated that the latter, at least, was a concession of territory which it was beyond his power to conquer. He therefore made application to exchange it for the principality or king- dom of Salonica. His hereditary claim to this part of the empire as the heir of Keynier, to whom Manuel Comnenos was alleged to have given certain rights, and the restoration of which inheritance had been promised to him at Corfu by his ward, and the fact that it adjoined the territory of the King of Hungary, to whose sister he was now married, were put forward as reasons in favor of such an exchange. Boni- face had a sufficient party to enable him to make his claim in the form of a demand. The new arrangement was a vio- lation of the agreement which had been come to, but Bald- win did not feel strong enough to refuse it. Mourtzouphlos and Alexis were at large. The coimtry might yet offer op- position to the new rule, and a division between the Crusad- ers themselves might supply the opportunity which each of these ex-emperors needed in order to regain Constantinople. The question was much discussed, spoken of, says the mar- shal, in many ways; but at length Baldwin gave an evasive answer, which Boniface construed into a consent to the ex- chanoje. Then Boniface did liomasre. The difficultv, how- ever, was not as yet at an end. Baldwin, leaving Constanti- nople in charge of Dandolo, marched against Mourtzouphlos and Alexis. Boniface was to have accompanied him, Bald- win, apparently, not having confidence in his fealty. After leaving Adrianople the emperor arrived at Mosynopolis,' where he determined to await the coming of his powerful 1 Mosynopolis is, I believe, the present Mastanly, a village to the north of the Ilhodopc, distant about two days' journey, as Villcliardouin de- sci'il)cs it, from Adrianople, and to the west of that cit3^ Du Cange (" Observations on Villehardouin," p. 158) says it was formerly Maximia- nopolis, and places it at the mouth of the Maritza or Hebrus.