March at four o'clock
`` Now may my Lord march upon Constantinople , for the stars and every secret minister of Solomon will fight for him . '' So saying , the Prince knelt before the Sultan , and laid his lips on the instep of his foot , adding : `` Oh , my Lord ! with that symbol in hand , march , and surely as Tabor is among the mountains and Carmel by the sea , so surely Christ will give place to Mahomet in Sancta Sophia . March at four o'clock . '' And the counsellors left kisses on the same instep , and departed . Thence through the night the noises of preparation kept the space between the hills of the narrows alive with echoes . At the hour permitted by the stars -- four o'clock -- a cloud of boats cast loose from the Asiatic shore , and with six thousand laborers , handmen to a thousand master masons , crossed at racing speed to Europe .