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of her warlike husband; and exhorting the fugitives by her voice, as well as en-couraging them by her example, once more restored the fate of the battle. "Thearmy of the empire was completely routed, and Durazzo abandoned to its fate.The zeal and gallantry of the besieged sunk not, however, under this accumu-lation of misfortune ; but though they boldly affected to treat with scorn theopen and avowed attacks which were made upon them, they were not capableof defending themselves against treachery. A secret correspondence with aVenetian grandee, as it is said, afforded an entrance into the city in the dead ofnight; and after a defence, even then, almost incredibly, made for the space ofthree days, the army of Guiscard put him into possession of this strong andably defended fortress.

The conquest having opened an easy passage for the Normans into the heartof the Grecian empire, Robert advanced without difficulty into Epirus, andhaving made himself master of the city of Castoria, caused, through his rapidsuccesses, the utmost apprehension in the mind of the emperor, lest Constan-tinople itself should become the ultimate reward of the invaders. Providenceappears to have compassionately interposed, and in some degree to have arrestedtheir further progress. Shipwreck, and the events of war, notwithstanding theyhad proved so fortunate, had diminished the original force at least two thirds,and instead of deriving the supplies expected from his Italian territories, Guis-card had the mortification of finding it was absolutely necessary for him to returnthither, in order to reduce to his obedience several cities which had revoltedfrom him. A dreadful schism took place at this time in the church. Theemperor of the Franks descended in his wrath from the Alps, with the inten-tion, and in the hope, of driving from the Vatican the Pope himself, whoplaced all his reliance in the exertions and friendship of his Norman allv. Theexpectation was not disappointed. An army, more extensive than he hadever before been at the head of, for it amounted to no less than thirty-six thou -sand men, was levied by the Norman with the utmost promptitude. Theemperor, terrified at the approach of so formidable an adversarv, shrunk fromthe contest, and retreated in dismay. Thus had Robert the glory of com-pelling the emperors both of the east and west, to retreat before the army ofa people, who, notwithstanding their successes, were scarcely regarded in anhigher light than that of a banditti.

The latter success, obtained without even the fatigue of a victory, left Robertperfectly at liberty to pursue his farther schemes of conquest and depredation.

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