usand men, who were rendezvoused at Novgorod, and placed
under the command of the king's son, Georges. Another army, nearly
equal in number, was assembled at Tchernigof, collected from the
principalities of Polotsk, Tourof, Grodno, Pinsk and Smolensk. The
bands of this army were under the several princes of the provinces.
Sviatoslaf, grandson of the renowned Oleg, was entrusted with the
supreme command. These two majestic forces were soon combined upon the
banks of the Dnieper. All resistance fled before them, and with
strides of triumph they marched down the valley to Kief. The princes
who had aroused this storm of war fled to Vouoychegorod, an important
fortress further down the river, where they strongly entrenched
themselves, and sternly awaited the advance of the foe. The royalist
forces, having taken possession of Kief, pursued the fugitives. The
march of armies so vast, conducting war upon so grand a scale, excited
the astonishment of all the inhabitants upon the river's banks. A
little fortress, defended by a mere handful of men, appeared to them
an object unworthy of an army sufficiently powerful to crush an
empire.

But in the fortress there was perfect unity, and its commander had the
soul of a lion. In the camp of the besiegers there was neither harmony
nor zeal. Many of the princes were inimical to the king, and were
jealous of his growing power. Others were envious of Sviatoslaf, the
commander-in-chief, and were willing to sacrifice their own fame that
he might be humbled. Not a few even were in sympathy with the
insurgents, and were almost disposed to unite under their banners.

It was the 8th of September, 1173, when the royalist forces encircled
the fortress. Gunpowder was then unknown, and contending armies could
only meet hand to hand. For two months the siege was continued, with
bloody conflicts every day. Wintry winds swept the plains, and storms
of snow whitened the fields, when, from the battlements of the
fortress, the besieged saw the banners of another army approaching the
arena. They knew not whether the distant battalions were friends or
foes; but it was certain that their approach would decide the strife,
for each party was so exhausted as to be unable to resist any new
assailants. Soon the signals of war proclaimed that an army was
approaching for the rescue of the fortress. Shouts of exultation rose
from the garrison, which fell like the knell of death upon the ears of
the besiegers, fre