immovable: his majesty was adored by
the Latin princes; and they submitted to kiss either his feet or his
knees, an indignity which their own writers are ashamed to confess and
unable to deny. [70]

[Footnote 67: There are two sorts of adoption, the one by arms, the
other by introducing the son between the shirt and skin of his father.
Ducange isur Joinville, (Diss. xxii. p. 270) supposes Godfrey's adoption
to have been of the latter sort.]

[Footnote 68: After his return, Robert of Flanders became the man of the
king of England, for a pension of four hundred marks. See the first act
in Rymer's Foedera.]

[Footnote 69: Sensit vetus regnandi, falsos in amore, odia non fingere.
Tacit. vi. 44.]

[Footnote 70: The proud historians of the crusades slide and stumble
over this humiliating step. Yet, since the heroes knelt to salute the
emperor, as he sat motionless on his throne, it is clear that they must
have kissed either his feet or knees. It is only singular, that Anna
should not have amply supplied the silence or ambiguity of the Latins.
The abasement of their princes would have added a fine chapter to the
Ceremoniale Aulae Byzantinae.]

Private or public interest suppressed the murmurs of the dukes and
counts; but a French baron (he is supposed to be Robert of Paris [71]
presumed to ascend the throne, and to place himself by the side of
Alexius. The sage reproof of Baldwin provoked him to exclaim, in his
barbarous idiom, "Who is this rustic, that keeps his seat, while so many
valiant captains are standing round him?" The emperor maintained his
silence, dissembled his indignation, and questioned his interpreter
concerning the meaning of the words, which he partly suspected from the
universal language of gesture and countenance. Before the departure
of the pilgrims, he endeavored to learn the name and condition of the
audacious baron. "I am a Frenchman," replied Robert, "of the purest and
most ancient nobility of my country. All that I know is, that there is a
church in my neighborhood, [72] the resort of those who are desirous
of approving their valor in single combat. Till an enemy appears,
they address their prayers to God and his saints. That church I have
frequently visited. But never have I found an antagonist who dared to
accept my defiance." Alexius dismissed the challenger with some prudent
advice for his conduct in the Turkish warfare; and history repeats with
pleasure this lively example of the manners of