Then the Crusade was
determined on. Peter could not wait, but, together with Walter
Pexejo and Walter von Habenichts, he collected a host which finally
reached forty thousand in number, including old men, women, and
children. There were no soldiers however, but only adventurers
who wanted to run away, slaves who sought freedom, and malcontents
who wished for change.
They followed the Rhine towards its source, and then the Danube,
along whose banks the great road to the East ran. As they approached
the frontier of Hungary their number had increased to sixty thousand.
The King of Hungary, Kolowan, was not exactly hospitable, and not a
person whom it was safe to jest with. The Crusaders received a hint
that they were not very welcome, and therefore sent their only
mounted men,--exactly six in number--as ambassadors to the King.
Kolowan was in Pesth, with a well-equipped army, and his country was
enjoying the blessings of peace, when the envoys arrived. "What do
you want?" he asked.
"We seek a free passage to Constantinople."
"How many of you are there?"
"Exactly sixty thousand."
"Although I feel honoured by the visit, I cannot entertain
grasshoppers. I have heard of your wild enterprise; I know that you
have no provisions with you, and that you beg and steal.
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