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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:44:41 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:44:41 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/14501-0.txt b/14501-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f117d41 --- /dev/null +++ b/14501-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1958 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14501 *** + +THE FOREST OF VAZON + +_A GUERNSEY LEGEND OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY_. + +London: +HARRISON & SONS, 59, PALL MALL +Booksellers to the Queen and H.R.H the Prince of Wales +1889. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +Nothing authentic is known of the history of Guernsey previously to its +annexation to the Duchy of Normandy in the tenth century. The only +sources of information as to events which may have occurred before that +date are references in monkish chronicles of the usual semi-mythical +type, and indications conveyed by cromlechs and menhirs, fragments of +Celtic instruments and pottery, and a few Roman relics. It is +unfortunate that we are thus precluded from acquiring any knowledge of +the development of a people as to whom the soundest among conflicting +conjectures seems to be that, coming originally from Brittany, they +preserved the purity of the Celtic race through periods when in other +offshoots of the same stock its characteristics were being obliterated +by the processes of crossing and absorption. + +If early local records had existed they would hardly have failed to +have given minute details of the convulsion of nature which resulted in +the destruction by the sea of the forest lands on the northern and +western sides of the island, and in the separation of tracts of +considerable magnitude from the mainland. Geologists are agreed in +assigning to this event the date of March, 709, when great inundations +occurred in the Bay of Avranches on the French coast; they are not +equally unanimous as to the cause, but science now rejects the theory of +a raising of the sea-level and that of a general subsidence of the +island. The most reasonable explanation appears to be that the +overpowering force of a tidal wave suddenly swept away barriers whose +resistance had been for ages surely though imperceptibly diminishing, +and that the districts thus left unprotected proved to be below the +sea-level--owing, as regards the forests, to gradual subsidence easily +explicable in the case of undrained, swampy soil; and, as regards the +rocks, to the fact that the newly exposed surface consisted of +accumulations of already disintegrated deposits. + +It is unquestionable that before the inroad of the sea the inlet in the +south-west of the island known as Rocquaine Bay was enclosed by two +arms, the northern of which terminated in the point of Lihou; on which +still stand the ruins of an old priory, while the southern ended in the +Hanois rocks, on which a lighthouse has been erected. Lihou is at +present an island, accessible only at low water by a narrow causeway; +the Hanois is entirely cut off from the shore, but it is a noteworthy +fact that the signs of old cart-ruts are visible at spring tides, and +that an iron hook was recently discovered attached to a submerged rock +which had apparently served as a gatepost; besides these proofs of the +existence of roads now lying under the waves, it is said that an old +order for the repair of Hanois roads is still extant. That Vazon and the +Braye du Valle were the sites of forests is indisputable, though the +former is now a sandy bay into which the Atlantic flows without +hindrance, and the latter, reclaimed within the present century by an +enterprising governor, formed for centuries a channel of the sea by +which the Clos du Valle, on which the Vale Church stands, was separated +from the mainland. A stratum of peat extends over the whole arm of the +Braye, while as regards Vazon there is the remarkable evidence of an +occurrence which took place in December, 1847. A strong westerly gale, +blowing into the bay concurrently with a low spring tide, broke up the +bed of peat and wood underlying the sand and gravel, and lifted it up +like an ice-floe; it was then carried landwards by the force of the +waves. The inhabitants flocked to the spot, and the phenomenon was +carefully inspected by scientific observers. Trunks of full-sized trees +were seen, accompanied by meadow plants and roots of rushes and weeds, +surrounded by those of grasses and mosses; the perfect state of the +trees showed that they had been long buried under the sand. Some of the +trees and boughs were at first mistaken for wreckage, but the fishermen +soon discovered their error and loaded their carts with the treasure +locally known as "gorban." Subsequent researches have shown that acorns +and hazel-nuts, teeth of horses and hogs, also pottery and instruments +of the same character as those found in the cromlechs, exist among the +Vazon peat deposits. There is therefore abundant evidence that the +legends relating to the former inhabitants of the forest are based on +traditions resting on an historical foundation. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I.--TRADITION + + CHAPTER II.--SUPERSTITION + + CHAPTER III.--DEVOTION + + CHAPTER IV.--REVELATION + + CHAPTER V.--AFFLICTION + + CHAPTER VI.--CONSOLATION + + CHAPTER VII.--ANNIHILATION + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +TRADITION. + + "What can he tell that treads thy shore? + No legend of thine olden time, + No theme on which the mind might soar + High as thine own in days of yore." + + _The Giaour_.--BYRON + + +In the beginning of the eighth century Guernsey was a favoured spot. +Around, over the Continent and the British Isles, had swept successive +conquests with their grim train of sufferings for the conquered; but +these storm-clouds had not burst over the island. The shocks which +preceded the fall of the Roman Empire had not been felt, nor had the +throes which inaugurated the birth of Frankish rule in Gaul and Saxon +supremacy in Britain, disturbed the prevailing tranquillity. Occasional +descents of pirates, Northmen from Scandinavian homes or Southmen from +the Iberian peninsula, had hitherto had a beneficial effect by keeping +alive the martial spirit and the vigilance necessary for self-defence. +In the third century three Roman ships had been driven on shore and +lost; the legionaries who escaped had established themselves in the +island, having indeed for the moment no alternative. When their +commander succeeded in communicating with Gaul he suggested a permanent +occupation, being secretly influenced by tales of mineral wealth to +which he had lent an ear. Disillusioned and recalled, he was followed by +a sybarite, whose palate was tickled by banquets of fish of which he +wrote in raptures to his friends at Capri and Brindisi. This excellent +man, dying of apoplexy in his bath, was replaced by a rough soldier, who +lost no time in procuring the evacuation of a post where he saw with a +glance that troops were uselessly locked up. From this time nothing had +been heard of the Romans; their occupation had lasted forty years, and +in another forty the only physical traces of it remaining were a camp at +Jerbourg, the nearly obliterated tessellated pavement and fragments of +wall belonging to the sybarite's villa, which occupied the site in the +King's Mills Valley where the Moulin de Haut now stands, the pond in +the Grand Mare in which the voluptuary had reared the carp over which, +dressed with sauces the secret of which died with him, he dwelt lovingly +when stretched on his triclinium, and the basins at Port Grat in which +he stored his treasured mullet and succulent oysters. The islanders were +of one mind in speeding the parting guests, but the generation which saw +them go were better men than their fathers who had trembled at the +landing of the iron-thewed demi-gods. Compelled to work as slaves, they +had learnt much from their masters; a knowledge of agriculture and of +the cultivation of the grape, the substitution of good weapons and +implements of husbandry for those of their Celtic ancestors, improved +dwellings, and some insight into military discipline,--these were +substantial benefits which raised them in some respects above their +Continental and British neighbours, among whom patriotism had, on the +disappearance of the civilization of the Romans, revived the more +congenial barbarism. Arrivals among them of Christian monks, scanty at +first, more frequent since the landing of S. Augustine in Britain, had +also had a certain effect. The progress of conversion was, however, +slow; the people were bigoted, and the good fathers were compelled, as +in Brittany, to content themselves with a few genuine converts, wisely +endeavouring rather to leaven the mass by grafting Christian truths on +the old superstitions than to court certain defeat, possible expulsion +or massacre, by striving to overthrow at once all the symbols of +heathenism. + +The island was larger in extent than it is at present, as, in addition +to the Vale district, the islet of Lihou, Vazon Bay, and the rock group +known as the Hanois formed part of it. It is with the events that +altered this configuration that the following legend deals. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +SUPERSTITION. + + "Awestruck, the much-admiring crowd + Before the virgin vision bowed, + Gaz'd with an ever-new delight, + And caught fresh virtues at the sight." + + EDWARD MOORÉ'S _Fables_. + + +On the 24th of June, in the year 708, merry crowds were thronging to +Vazon Forest. It was a lovely spot. The other portions of the island +were bare and somewhat rugged; here the humidity of the soil favoured +the growth of fine, vigorous timber. On the low ground flourished oak +and sycamore, torn and bent near the shore where the trees met the force +of the Atlantic gales, growing freely and with rich verdure where better +protected. On the higher slopes were massed beech, birch, and the sweet +chestnut which was even then domesticated in the island. Glades, +bursting with a wealth of flowers nurtured by the mildness of the +climate, penetrated the wood in every direction; streams bubbling up +from springs, and forming little cascades where their course was checked +by granite boulders, lent an additional charm. Towards the centre of the +forest these streams united to form a lake, or rather a natural moat, +surrounding an island in the midst of which stood a gigantic oak. This +was the only tree on the island; round it, at even distances, were +placed twelve stones, beyond which a meadow glittering with varied hues +extended to the surrounding water. + +It was to this island that the holiday-makers were wending their way: +young men and maidens, and such elders as had vigour enough to traverse +the rough tracks leading from the interior. They were a small race, +lithe and active, with strong black hair and dark eyes now twinkling +with merriment They poured over the wooden bridges into the precincts of +the towering oak, under which the elders seated themselves with the +musicians, the younger people streaming off to the clear ground between +the stones and the water. + +When all were assembled the music struck up at a signal from an elder. +The instruments were akin to the goat-skin pipes of Lower Brittany; the +music wild, weird, appealing to the passion if not melodious to the ear. +At any rate the effect was inspiriting. First, the men danced, the +maidens seating themselves round the dancers and chanting the following +words, to the rhythm of which they swayed their bodies gracefully:-- + + "Mille Sarrazins, mille Sarmates, + Un jour nous avons tués. + Mille, mille, mille, mille, mille Perses, + Nous cherchons à present." + +The dance, footed to this truculent chant, had no warlike features; +beginning with a march, or rather a tripping walk, it ended with feats +in which each dancer defied his neighbour to out-spring him; nor did the +vocalists appear to expect representations of strife and doughty deeds. +The words, Roman by origin, as is clear from the allusion to the +Persians, had been adapted to a native air by the conquerors, and had +been left by them as a legacy to the islanders. Next, the maidens trod a +measure, the men standing round and applauding; the dance was quiet and +soft, consisting principally of graceful movements of the body as if the +dancers were getting themselves into training for greater efforts; in +this case the dancers themselves chanted words suitable to the music. +This ended, there was a pause before the principal business of the day +began, the dance in which both sexes joined, to be followed by the +bestowal of a wreath on the loveliest of the maidens. + +During the pause it was evident that an unusual incident had occurred. +The best-looking of the girls were pouting, the attention of the youths +was distracted. During the latter part of the dance the applause had +been intermittent; towards the close it had almost ceased. The elders, +looking about under their shaggy eyebrows, had not been long in +discovering the cause, and when they had found it allowed their +attention to wander also. + +The disturbing element was, indeed, not far to seek. Close to one of the +bridges was seated a maiden, unknown to all of them, but lovely enough +to hold the glance of old and young. Unlike the natives she was tall and +fair; masses of golden hair encircled her oval face and clustered over +her blue eyes. Who was she? Whence came she? None could answer. By +degrees some of the boldest of the youths approached, but their bluff +manners seemed to displease her; though unaccustomed to rebuffs they +retired. One, however, among them fared differently. Jean Letocq, a +member of the family to which the hero belonged who near this very spot +discovered the sleeping troops of the Grand Sarrazin, was admired and +beloved both by youths and maidens. First in every sport, having shown +courage and resource in times of peril both by sea and land, tender of +glance and gentle of tongue, he held a pre-eminence which none disputed, +and which was above the reach of envy. The fair stranger, from his first +glance at her, had fascinated, enthralled him: his eyes fastened +greedily on her every movement; he noted well her reception of those who +had addressed her, and when he approached he came, bare-headed, with a +low obeisance and a deferential air. He seated himself by her in +silence, after murmuring a few words of welcome to the feast, to which +she made no answer. Presently he spoke again, softly and courteously; +she replied without constraint, speaking his own language fluently, +though with a foreign accent. The ice once broken their talk rippled on, +as is the wont of light words, brightly uttered. Jean drank in each +gentle phrase, watched every graceful gesture; his heart bounded when +she carelessly smiled. But he lost not his daring: when the musicians +again struck up he boldly asked her to join in the dance. + +She was not offended, her look showed no displeasure, but she refused; +he renewed his request; suddenly a change came over her face, she looked +rapidly round as though searching for some one who was not present, a +flash came into her eyes, she sprang to her feet. "Why should I not +dance!" she said; "they are merry, why should I alone be sad!" She let +him lead her into the ring. If she had been enchanting when seated, what +was her power when she moved! She was a model of grace and loveliness; +the contrast of her colouring to that of her neighbours inspired the +superstitious with some terror, but made the braver spirits gaze more +curiously, indifferent to the half-concealed anger and affected disdain +of their partners. Every moment she gained more hearts, though she let +her eyes rest only on those of Jean. After the dance was over she seated +herself in her former position; the women then, according to custom, +retired outside the stone circle, while the men clustered round the oak +to award the prize. The ceremony had up to this day been looked on as a +pure formality: for the last two summers the wreath had been by common +consent placed on the brows of Suzanne Falla, and none who woke that +morning had doubted that it would rest there again before night. But now +the men's heads were turned; there was commotion both outside and inside +the circle; then a hush, as the old men rose in their places and the +young men formed a lane to the tree. Jean stepped out, and taking the +stranger by the hand, led her to where a white-haired veteran stood with +the wreath in his hand. The next moment it was placed on her brows, and +then all voices burst into a song of triumph, which rang to the remotest +glades of the forest. Suzanne did not join in the song; her little heart +was breaking; all the passion of her hot nature was roused; she felt +herself unfairly, unjustly, treated; insulted on the very day that was +to have crowned her pride. She could not control herself, nor could she +accept her defeat: she stamped her foot on the ground, and poured out a +torrent of objurgation, accusing Jean of treachery, demanding to know +whence he had produced her rival, appealing to the elders to revise the +judgment. Then, suddenly ceasing, as she saw by the looks of those +around her that while in some her fate created pity, in others it gave +rise to amusement, in many to the pleasure which poor human nature felt +then as now in a friend's misfortune, her mood altered: she turned and, +rapidly leaving the crowd, crossed one of the bridges. Hastening her +steps, but not watching them, she tripped over the straggling root of a +yew, and fell, her temple striking a sharp boulder, one of many cropping +up in the forest. Poor girl! in one moment passion and pride had flown; +she lay senseless, blood streaming from the wound. + +A quick revulsion of feeling swept through the impressionable people. +Her departure had been watched, the fall observed, and the serious +nature of the accident was soon known; all hurried to the spot where she +lay, full of sympathy and distress. Jean, perhaps not altogether +unremorseful, was among the first to proffer aid; the stranger, left +alone, took off the wreath and placed it on one of the stones of the +circle, by which she stood contemplating the scene. + +The blow, struck deep into the temple, was beyond any ordinary means of +cure; life indeed seemed to be ebbing away. "Send for Marie!" the cry +sprang from many mouths: "send for Marie the wise woman! she alone can +save her!" Three or four youths ran hastily off. + +"Wish ye for Marie Torode's body or her spirit?" said a harsh female +voice; "her body ye can have! but what avail closed eyes and rigid +limbs? Her spirit, tossed by the whirling death-blast, is beyond your +reach!" + +The speaker, on whom all eyes turned, was an aged woman of unusual +height; her snow-white hair was confined by a metal circlet, her eyes +were keen and searching, her gestures imperious; her dress was simple +and would have been rude but for the quaintly ornamented silver girdle +that bound her waist, and the massive bracelets on her arms. Like the +girl she was seen for the first time; her almost supernatural appearance +inspired wonder and awe. She bent over the prostrate form: "Marie said +with her last breath," she muttered to herself, "that ere the oaks were +green again the sweetest maidens in the island would be in her embrace, +but she cannot summon this one now! her vext spirit has not yet the +power!" + +She examined the wound, and raising herself said, "No human hand can +save her. The Spirits alone have power: those Spirits who prolong human +life regardless of human ills; but they must be besought, and who will +care to beseech them?" + +"Prayers may save her," answered a stern voice, "but not prayers to +devils! The Holy Virgin should we beseech, by whom all pure maidens are +beloved. She will save her if it be God's will, or receive her into her +bosom if it be decreed that she should die." + +The words were those of Father Austin, one of the monks of Lihou, +distinguished by his sanctity and the austerity of his habits. He was +spare, as one who lived hardly; his grey eyes had a dreamy look +betokening much inward contemplation, though they could be keen enough +when, as now, the man was roused; there was a gentleness about his mouth +which showed a nature filled with love and sympathy. + +The woman drew herself to her full stature, and turned on him a defiant +look. + +"Gods or devils!" she said in a ringing tone--"which you will! What can +an immured anchorite know of the vast mysteries of the wind-borne +spirits? Is this child to live or die? My gods can save her; if yours +can, let them take her! She is nought to me." + +"When Elijah wrestled with the prophets of Baal, where did victory +rest?" said the priest, and he too stooped down and inspected the wound. +"She is past cure," he said, rising sadly; "it remains but to pray for +her soul." + +At this critical moment an agonizing shriek rang through the forest. The +same runners who had sped to Marie Torode's cottage and had learnt there +that the wise woman had in truth passed away, had brought back with +them Suzanne's mother, who threw herself on her child's body +endeavouring to staunch the blood, and to restore animation. Finding her +efforts vain, she had listened anxiously to the words that had passed, +and on hearing the priest's sentence of doom she burst into frantic +grief and supplication. Turning to each disputant she cried--"Save her! +save her young life! I suckled her, I reared her, I love her!--oh, how I +love her!--do not let her die!" + +"She can be saved!" curtly responded the stranger. The priest was +silent. A murmur arose. Austin, who had trained himself to study those +among whom he laboured, saw that the feeling was rising strongly against +him. His antagonist saw it also, and pressed her victory. + +"Yes!" she said scornfully, "it is a small matter for my Gods to save +her, but they will not be besought while this bald-pate obtrudes his +presence. Let him leave us!" + +The priest was much perplexed. He knew the skill of these lonely women; +secretly he had faith in their power of witchcraft, though attributing +it to the direct agency of Satan. He thought it not impossible that +there was truth in the boast; and his heart was wrung with the mother's +grief. On the other hand, the public defeat was a sore trial; but it was +clear to him that for the present at least the analogy of Elijah's +struggle was imperfect: he must wait, and meanwhile bear his +discomfiture with meekness. He prepared to retire. The victor was not, +however, even now satisfied. "Take with you," she said, "yon idol that +defaces the sacred oak!" + +The good fathers, following their usual practice of associating emblems +of heathen with those of Christian worship, in the hope of gradually +diverting the reverence to the latter without giving to the former a +ruder shock than could be endured, had suspended a small cross on the +oak, hoping eventually to carve the tree itself into a sacred emblem; it +was to this that the woman was pointing with a sneer. + +But this time she had made a blunder. Father Austin turned to the +crucifix and his strength and fire returned. Taking it from the tree, +reverently kissing it and holding it aloft, he said solemnly--"Let my +brothers and sisters come with me! We will pray apart, where no profane +words can reach us. Perchance our prayers may be granted!" Not a few of +the hearers followed him; sufficient indeed to make an imposing +procession: the triumph of the Evil One was at least dimmed. + +But his adversary did not appear to notice their departure. She gave a +sharp glance in the direction of the oak, and the now discrowned girl +was quickly at her side. Receiving some rapid instructions, the latter +disappeared into the wood, and shortly returned with some herbs, which +she passed to her companion; she then resumed her position by the stone. +The old woman placed some leaves, which she selected, on the wound: the +bleeding at once ceased; squeezing juice from the herbs, she applied an +ointment made from it; then, opening a phial attached to her waist-belt, +she poured some drops of liquid into the girl's mouth, gently parting +her lips. This done, she stood erect and began an incantation, or rather +a supplication, in an unknown tongue. As she proceeded her form became +rigid, her eye gleamed, her arms, the hands clenched, were raised above +her head. The sun flashed on the circlet, glittered on the embossed +girdle: on the right arm was a heavy bracelet, composed of a golden +serpent winding in weird folds round a human bone; the head was towards +the wearer's wrist, and the jewelled eyes which, being of large size, +must have been formed of rare stones, glowed and shot fire as the red +beams struck on them through the branches. It seemed that a forked +tongue darted in and out, but this may have been imagined by the heated +fancies of the bystanders. The prayer ended; the stillness of death +rested a moment on man and nature; then a wild gust of wind, striking +the oak without any preliminary warning, bent and snapped the upper +branches, and crashed inland through the swaying forest. The watchers +saw the colour return to the cheeks of the wounded girl, who opened her +eyes and sate up. "Take her home," said the sorceress, now quite +composed, to the mother; "she is yours again!--till Marie calls her!" +she added in a low voice to herself. The happy mother, shedding tears of +joy, but in vain attempting to get her thanks accepted, obeyed the +injunction. + +As she and her friends disappeared, the old woman, turning to the awed +people who seemed more than ever disposed to look on her as a +supernatural being, said sternly--"Why linger you here? Are you +unmindful of your duties? See you not how the shadows lengthen?" These +words produced a magical effect: the deep emotions by which the mass had +been recently swayed were swiftly replaced by equally profound feelings +of a different nature, as cloud succeeds cloud in a storm-swept sky. + +And now a singular scene was enacted. A procession was formed, headed by +the old men, bare-headed; the musicians followed, behind whom walked +with solemn step the younger members of the community. This procession, +emerging from the western border of the forest, slowly climbed the +slopes of the Rocque du Guet, and arriving at the summit bent its way +seaward, halting at the edge of the precipitous cliff. + +The sun was nearing the horizon. The scene was one of unsurpassed +loveliness. Behind lay the central and southern portions of the island, +hushed as if their primaeval rocks were still tenantless. The outlines +of the isles of Herm and Jethou were visible, but already sinking into +the shades of evening. On the left the bold bluffs of L'Erée and Lihou, +on the right the rugged masses of the Grandes and the Grosses Rocques, +the Gros Commet, the Grande and Petite Fourque, lay in sharpened +outline, the lapping waves already assuming a grey tint. These masses +formed the framework of a picture which embraced a boundless wealth of +colour, an infinite depth of softness. Straight from the sun shot out +across Cobo Bay a joyous river of gold, so bright that eye could ill +bear to face its glow; here and there in its course stood out +quaintly-shaped rocks, some drenched with the fulness of the glorious +bath, others catching now and again a sprinkling shower. On each side of +the river the sea, clear to its depths where alternate sand and rock +made a tangle of capriciously mingled light and shade; its surface, here +blue as the still waters of the Grotta Azzurra, there green as the +olive, here again red-brown as Carthaginian marble, lay waveless, as +with a sense that the beauty was too perfect to be disturbed. Suddenly +the scene was changed; the lustrous outflow was swiftly drawn in and +absorbed; a grey hue swept over the darkening surface; in the distance +the round, blood-coloured, orb hung above the expectant ocean. + +Then all assembled fell on their knees. The music gave out sharp +plaintive notes which were answered by the voices of men and women in +short, wailing, as it were inquiring, rhythm; this continued till the +sun was on the point of disappearance, when music and voices together +burst into a sad chant, seemingly of farewell; the kneeling people +extending their hands seaward with an appealing gesture. One figure only +was erect; on the projecting boulder, which is still so conspicuous a +feature of the Rocque du Guet, stood the sorceress, her arms also +outstretched, her figure, firm, erect, sharply outlined, such as +Turner's mind conceived when he sketched the Last Man. + +Father Austin contemplated the scene from a distance. By his side was +his favourite convert, Jean Letocq. + +"Strange!" he said, placing his hand on his companion's shoulder. "Your +race are not sun-worshippers. Never, except on this day of the year, do +they show this feeling; but who that saw them to-day would doubt that +they are so! Is it that from old times their intense love of nature has +led them to show in this way their sadness at its decay? or do they by +mourning over the close of the sun's longest day symbolize their +recognition of the inevitable end of the longest life of man? I cannot +tell. But, blind as this worship is, it is better than that of the work +of man's hands. By God's will your countrymen may be led from kneeling +to the created to mount the ladder till they bend the knee only to the +Creator. It may be well, too, that their chosen object of veneration is +the only object in nature which dies but to rise again. Thus may they be +led to the comprehension of the great truth of the resurrection. But +Satan," he added with warmth, "must be wrestled with and cast down, +specially when he takes the forms of temptation which he has assumed +to-day: those of power and beauty. Prayer and fasting are sorely +needed." + +For once his pupil was not altogether docile. "Thou hast taught me, +father," he replied, "the lesson of charity. This old woman is sinful, +her error is deep, but may she not be converted and saved?" + +"The devils can never regain Paradise," replied the priest sternly. "Arm +thyself, Jean, against their wiles, in which I fear thou art already +entangled. The two forms we have to-day seen are but human in seeming: +demons surely lurked beneath." + +Jean was now in open rebellion. "Nay, good father," he said decisively, +"the maiden was no fiend; if her companion be an imp of darkness, as +well she may, be it my task to rescue her from the evil snare into which +she has fallen!" He had indeed a vivid recollection of the soft, human +hand to which he had ventured to give a gentle pressure when he had +assisted in placing the wreath on the fair, marble, brow, and had no +doubt of the girl's womanhood. As he spoke he vanished from the side of +the priest, who, seeing the two objects of his pious aversion entering +the darkening glades of the wood, was at no loss to divine the cause of +his disappearance. The holy father shook his head, and sighed deeply. He +was accustomed to disappointments, but this day his path had to an +unusual extent been beset with thorns. His faith was unshaken, and he +humbly laid the fault on his own shoulders, promising further privations +to his already sorely afflicted body. Meanwhile he descended the hill, +directing his course to Lihou. Pausing on his way through the forest to +replace the cross on the oak, he saw Jean, walking slowly homewards, his +listless step showing that his quest had failed. The Evil One had, he +thought, for the time at least, forborne to press his advantage. Further +off he heard the scattered voices of the dispersing throng. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +DEVOTION. + + "There glides a step through the foliage thick, + And her cheek grows pale and her heart beats quick, + There whispers a voice through the rustling leaves, + And her blush returns, and her bosom heaves; + A moment more--and they shall meet. + 'Tis past--her lover's at her feet." + + _Parasina_.--BYRON. + + +After visiting all the accessible parts of the island Jean satisfied +himself that it was useless to search further in them for traces of the +strangers. Persons so remarkable could not, it was clear, conceal +themselves from the knowledge of the inhabitants. He must therefore +either admit that the monk's surmise was correct, or must search in +quarters hitherto unexplored. Though his rejection of the former +alternative was a foregone conclusion, his adoption of the latter was a +remarkable proof of the strength of his passion. There was only one +district unexplored, and that was practically unapproachable. + +Early in the sixth century some piratical vessels had entered Rocquaine +Bay in a shattered condition; the crews succeeded in landing, but the +ships, for seagoing purposes, were beyond repair. The pirates penetrated +inland, driving out the inhabitants from Torteval and some of the +adjoining valleys. Here they settled; and being skilled in hunting and +fishing, having a fair knowledge of husbandry, and finding the position +peculiarly adapted for their marauding pursuits, throve and prospered: +so much so that when, some years afterwards, they had an opportunity of +leaving, the majority elected to remain. Their descendants had continued +to occupy the same district. Who they were, whether pure Northmen or of +some mixed race, it would be idle to conjecture: they were originally +put down by the islanders as Sarrazins, that being the name under which +the simple people classed all pirates; the strangers, however, resented +this description, and had consequently come to be spoken of as Les +Voizins, a definition to which no exception could be taken. Hardy and +warlike, quick of temper and rough of speech, they had an undisputed +ascendancy over the natives, to whom, though dangerous if provoked, they +had often given powerful aid in times of peril. On the whole they made +not bad neighbours, but a condition was imposed by them the violation +of which was never forgiven: no native was permitted, under any pretext, +to enter their territory; death was the sure fate of an intruder found +in Rocquaine Bay or setting foot in the Voizin hills or valleys. +Whatever may have been the cause of this regulation the result had been +to keep the race as pure as it was on the day of the first landing. + +Now it was in the Terre des Voizins that Jean had resolved to seek his +beloved, and his resolution was unalterable. He knew the danger; he +wished to avoid death if possible; he meant to employ to the full the +resources at his command; foolhardy as his enterprise seemed it was long +and carefully planned. He knew that in the summer evenings it was the +custom of the Voizin women to visit the sunny shores of the bay: this he +had seen from Lihou; could he then succeed in landing unperceived, and +in concealing himself in one of the many clefts of the rocks, he felt +sure that if the well-known form were there he would descry it; what +would follow afterwards was a question which had taken many fantastic +shapes in his imagination, none of which had assumed a definite form. + +Towards the close of July the conditions were favourable for his +attempt. In the night a strong tide would be running into the bay; the +wind was south-westerly, the moon set early. He prepared to start. He +had selected a small and light boat, which would travel fast under his +powerful strokes, and might be so handled as not to attract attention; +in it he had stored provisions which would last for a few days and a +small cask of fresh water. Towards evening he shaped his course for +Lihou. + +He had seen but little of the monk since the day of the feast, but he +was yearning to see him now. His love for the man, his reverence for the +truths he taught, his thought of his own future if he lost his life in +his rash expedition, all urged him to seek a parting interview. + +The brothers received him affectionately and bade him join their frugal +meal. The monks were five in number: they had been six, but one had +recently been drowned while returning from a pious mission to Herm. Jean +knew them all; they were honest, God-fearing men, trustful and truthful. +If their reasoning powers were not great, their faith was unswerving. +Their life was a prolonged asceticism, and they had fair reason to +expect that martyrdom would be their earthly crown. + +The only exceptional feature of the repast was the appearance of one who +had never yet been seated there in Jean's presence; this guest was the +hermit who dwelt on the extreme point, against which the Atlantic waves +dashed in their fiercest fury. The recluse did not seem to cultivate the +duty of abstemiousness, but he maintained silence. Jean could not +forbear furtively scanning his appearance, which was indeed remarkable. +He would have been of large stature in any country; compared with the +natives his proportions were gigantic. His broad shoulders and muscular +arms betokened enormous strength; his hair and beard were fair; his blue +eyes had a clear, frank, expression; there was firmness of purpose in +his massive jaw; he seemed between forty and fifty, and would have been +strikingly handsome but for three deep scars which totally marred the +expression of his features. As Jean eyed him he returned the compliment, +but the meal was soon over and the youth accompanied Father Austin to +his cell. + +There a long and sleepless night was passed by both. The monk in vain +endeavoured to combat Jean's resolution; he argued, prayed, indeed +threatened, but without effect. Finding his efforts hopeless he +abandoned them, and endeavoured to fortify his charge against the +influence of the spell under which he believed him to have fallen. Then +the young man was again the pupil; he listened humbly and reverently to +the repetition of the great truths which the father strove to rivet on +his mind, and joined earnestly in the prayers for truth and constancy. +As daylight broke, and he at length laid himself down to rest, his +latest vision was that of the good man kneeling by him with that rapt +look of contemplation which seemed to foreshadow his immortality. + +Jean slept profoundly for some hours. When night began to fall he +received Austin's blessing, no further reference being made to his +expedition, and when the moon was on the eve of disappearance he +launched his boat. As he rounded Lihou point another boat shot out, the +occupant of which hailed him. Recognizing the hermit, Jean paused. "You +steer wrong," said the giant, speaking with an accent which at once +reminded his hearer of that of the maiden; "your course is to the rising +sun." "I go where I will," replied Jean, nettled at this unlooked-for +interruption. "Youth," answered the other, "I have watched thee and wish +thee well! rush not heedlessly to certain death!" "Stay me not!" +resolutely answered Jean, wondering at the interest taken in him by this +strange being. "Thou knowest not!" said the hermit sternly; "it is not +only from death I wish to save thee, but from worse than death; I tell +thee I--" He checked himself, as if fearful of saying too much, and bent +his eyes searchingly into those of Jean, who murmured simply, "I am +resolved." "Then God help thee and speed thee!" said the giant. Glancing +into the boat he saw one of the curved and pierced shells then, as now, +used by Guernsey seamen as signal-horns: pointing to it he said, "If in +peril, where a blast may be heard on Lihou, sound the horn twice: it is +a poor hope but may serve thee!" He was gone. + +Jean paddled into the dreaded bay; the moon had now sunk and he was +further favoured by a slight mist. Knowing the tides from infancy, he +worked his way noiselessly till he approached where the Voizin fleet +lay, then laid himself down and let the current take him. He passed +several boats in safety; as far as he could judge, from the observations +he had taken from Lihou, he was nearly past the anchorage when a crash, +succeeded by a grating sound, warned him of danger. A curse, followed by +an ejaculation of surprise and pleasure, enlightened him as to the +nature of the collision: he was in contact with one of the anchored +vessels. "Odin is good!" cried a voice; "ha! a skiff drifted from a +wrecked vessel! and all eyes but mine sleeping!" The speaker threw over +a small anchor and grappled the boat. Jean was prepared; without a +moment's hesitation he cut the anchor-rope: his craft drifted onwards, +leaving the fisherman grumbling at the rottenness of his tackle. He +offered a short prayer of gratitude, and in a few minutes ventured +cautiously to resume his oars. He heard the breaking of the waves, but +seamanship on the unknown and indistinct coast was useless. Two sharp +blows, striking the boat in rapid succession, told him that he had +touched a submerged rock; the strong tide carried him off it, but the +water poured in through a gaping rent. He was now, however, on a sandy +bottom: he sprang out, pulled the boat up as far as possible, and sat +down to wait for light. + +The first break of dawn showed him his position: he was facing +northward; he was therefore on the Hanois arm of the bay. Fortune had +indeed been kind to him, for he had drifted into a small cleft sheltered +by precipitous rocks, a place where concealment was fairly possible, as +it was accessible only by land at the lowest tides. He examined his +store of provisions, which was uninjured; storing it among the rocks he +rested till the sun sank. He then cautiously climbed the cliff, and +looked on the scene revealed by the moonlight. Seawards stood a rough +round tower; no other building was visible on the point, which seemed +deserted. The loneliness gave him courage; when the moon set, the night +being clear, he explored further and satisfied himself that there were +no human beings, except the occupants of the tower, living on these +rocks. He retired to his hiding-place to rest; before dawn he again +ascended and concealed himself among the bracken and brambles which +formed the only available shelter. During the whole day he saw but one +person, an elderly woman, whose dark features and bright kerchief showed +her to be of southern or gipsy origin, and who passed backwards and +forwards carrying water to the tower. His examination increased his +confidence; he calculated, by measuring the time occupied by the old +woman in passing with an empty and returning with a full pitcher, that +the spring frequented by her could not be far distant; at night he +found it just beyond the junction of the rocks with the mainland. The +water was cool and fresh, and considerably revived him; he noticed too +that the luxuriant brushwood, nourished by the moisture, offered a good +place for concealment; he returned, removed thither what remained of his +provisions, and ensconced himself in his new retreat. + +In the morning he saw two figures approaching from the tower; one was +the same servant he had seen before, but the other!--his heart throbbed +and leaped, his brain reeled, his eyes gazed hungrily; he could not be, +he was not, mistaken!--the second figure was the heroine of his dreams! +She walked silently. Jean saw that memory had not played him false: her +beauty, her grace, were no freak of his imagination; would the holy +father now say that she was a devil, while thus she moved in her +loveliness, a woman to be loved and worshipped!--a very woman, too! not +above the cares of life! Seating herself by the spring she despatched +her companion on an errand to supply domestic wants, promising to await +her return. + +Jean's principal characteristic was rapid resolution: he reasoned that a +small alarm might make the girl fly; that his chance of retaining her +was an overpowering shock. He stepped boldly out and stood before her. +The maiden sprang quickly to her feet; there was no terror in her face; +she was of true blood; if she was afraid she did not show it; it was +clear she recognized the apparition, but intense surprise, overpowering +other emotions, kept her dumb. Jean had thus the chance of speaking +first, and deftly he used his opportunity. In a few rapid sentences he +told the tale of his search, of his adventures, of his selection of his +hiding-place; then he paused. The maiden was not long in finding words. +There was a flush on her cheek and a tear hanging on her eyelash which +made Jean very happy. "You must go," she said, "but where? Your life is +forfeit! forfeit to the Gods!" She shuddered as she said this. "In +yonder tower lives my mother, on the shore are my people; there is no +escape on either hand! A chance has saved you hitherto; none dare +approach our home without my mother's permission, which is rarely given; +but on this spot they may find you, may seize you, may--!" She stopped, +with an expression of horror, and covered her face with her hands. + +But Jean was not anxious; he was radiant with happiness. He seated +himself and spoke of love, deep passionate love; so gentle was he, so +soft, so courteous, and yet so ardent, that the maiden trembled; when he +dared to take her hand she did not withdraw it. The moment of bliss was +brief; a step was heard. "Hide yourself quickly," she whispered, "Tita +is returning." Jean promptly obeyed the injunction. The old woman +arrived with a well-filled wallet, and looked fondly at her young +mistress. The signs of recent agitation struck her. "What has befallen +thee, Hilda?" she cried anxiously. The girl took her arm and led her +seawards. Jean, watching, could see the start and angry expression of +the older, the coaxing, pleading attitude of the younger woman; he could +satisfy himself that the resistance of the former was gradually being +overcome, and as they returned he saw that the maiden's victory was +indisputable. She summoned Jean, who was inspected by Tita at first with +distrust, then with modified approval. "You must stay here," said the +maiden earnestly, "closely hidden till nightfall; my absence has been +already sufficiently long, and nothing can be done while daylight +lasts." Bidding him farewell she sped with her guardian towards the +tower, while Jean retired to his bushes a prey to fond thoughts and +feverish hopes. + +Before sundown he saw the tall figure of the sorceress wending +landwards. She did not approach the spring. Hilda quickly followed with +her former companion. "We have a long journey," she said, "and short +time: we must start at once." Removing all traces of his lair he obeyed +without hesitation. They ascended the steep cliff. The night was clear, +the moon at this hour was bright and lustrous. "We have three hours," +said the maiden, "ere we leave our guest!"--she looked archly at Jean as +she thus described him--"it should suffice!" They were now on the +heights of Pleinmont; no one was moving, though voices of men and beasts +could be plainly heard in the distance. "They feast to-night to the +Gods," said Hilda; "we need fear only some belated laggard!" The heather +was not yet springing, but Jean could see that gorse was on the bloom, +which he considered a favourable omen: they stepped out bravely on the +short springy turf. Tita's steps were slower than those of the young +pair, who were deaf to her calls for delay. Never to his dying day did +Jean forget that happy night-walk. His soul was poured out in love, and +he knew that his love was returned. He was steeped to the full in joy; +no thought of future cares or perils crossed his mind. They had passed +three or four headlands before the girl halted and waited for her +attendant, who came up muttering to herself and grumbling; compliments +from Jean and caresses from Hilda restored her good humour, and the work +of the evening commenced. "Follow me closely," said the girl; "let your +eye be keen and your step firm: the descent is no child's sport." Jean +looked at the cliff, fitted for the flight of gull or cormorant rather +than the foot of man, still less of gentle maiden: Hilda was already +over the brink: Jean, following, saw that she was on a path no broader +than a goat's track; the difficulties of the descent need not be +described; it was possible for a clear head and practised foot, to the +nervous or the unsteady the attempt must have been fatal. Arrived at +the bottom the climbers found themselves in a small cleft strewn with +huge boulders; the rocks towered high above them. Hilda glanced at the +moon. "We must be quick," said she, showing him some deep caverns in the +rock; "there," she said, "is your home. Here you are safe; my mother +alone knows the secret of these caves. I must mount again; you must +climb with me to mark the path more closely." She sprang to the rock and +commenced to ascend as nimbly as she had come down. Jean saw the +necessity of taking every precaution; he noted carefully each feature of +the track. Arrived at the summit she bade him farewell. She pointed out +a place where Tita would from time to time leave him provisions, and +said that he would find water in the caves; she then tripped quickly +off. Jean did not linger, seeing that if he did so light would fail him +for his return. He crossed the track for the third time, reached the +caves, and slept soundly till dawn. + +When he awoke he inspected his strange retreat. He was in a large hall, +two hundred feet long, and some fifty feet high and broad; this chamber +was entered by a small orifice of no great length, through which he had +passed on the preceding night; it was warm, and dry except where the +stream of which Hilda had spoken trickled through to the sea. It was the +fissure now known as the Creux Mahie, and to which an easy access has +been arranged for the benefit of the curious. Here Jean passed three +months. Hilda frequently visited him, and always kept him supplied with +food; she warned him also when he might safely roam on the cliffs above. +There was no obstacle to her visits, even when they extended to a +considerable length, as the mother seemed always to be satisfied as to +her absences when Tita accompanied her; and the latter, whose +infirmities prevented her from descending, had no means of shortening +the interviews. + +Thus the lovers had opportunity to study each other's characters. The +maiden's pure heart knew no distrust, and Jean was faithful and +chivalrous as Sir Galahad. They spoke not always of love: words were +unnecessary to explain what every look betokened. Jean found her skilled +in strange, mystical, lore, but ignorant of all that sways and rules +mankind. The history of the selfish struggles of human interests and +passions was to her a sealed book. She had been carefully shrouded from +the knowledge of evil; but, in order to protect her in the rough +turbulent little world in which she lived, it had been necessary to keep +her from association with her countrymen, and so she had never mingled +with them except under the charge of her mother, in whose presence the +fiercest were submissive. Jean, therefore, in speaking to her of family +intercourse, of the intermingling of members of the household, of +bright chat with friends, opened up to her views of life of which she +had formed no conception. Then he told her of his own people; described +the three generations living under one roof; depicted the daily round, +the care of the old and the young, the work, the return of the workers +to their wives, sisters, and children, the love of the mothers for their +infants, the reverence for age, the strong mutual affection of husband +and wife, brother and sister. To these descriptions she listened with a +happy smile, the mission of woman dawning on her; and many were the +questions she asked, till she seemed to have mastered the pictures +painted for her. Above all, Jean strained to bring her to the knowledge +of the God of the Christian, for he himself was an earnest, intelligent +disciple. He found her mind clearer than he had expected. Judith (this +he now knew was the mother's name) was a remarkable woman; her mind was +lofty, if darkened. While others were satisfied with the grossness of a +material creed her spirit soared aloft. Her Gods commanded her implicit +faith, her unswerving allegiance. Seated on the storm-clouds, sweeping +through space, they represented to her infinite force. She attributed to +them no love for mankind, which was in her creed rather their plaything, +but she credited them with the will and the power to scatter good and +ill before they claimed the soul of the hero to their fellowship, or +cast into a lower abyss that of the coward or the traitor. She believed +that she saw their giant forms half bending from their vapoury thrones, +and she thought that she read their decrees. Sorceress she may have +been; in those days sorcery was attributed to many who had obtained a +knowledge of laws of nature, then considered occult, now recognized +among the guiding principles from which scientific deductions are drawn. +She believed in the power of magic, which she was universally understood +to possess; but she was no vulgar witch: rather was she a worthy +priestess of her not ignoble deities. The effect upon Hilda's mind of +the teachings of such a woman is easy to conceive. She had been allowed +to know little of the wild orgies of the barbaric feasts offered to the +Gods by her countrymen, of their brutal excesses, of their human +sacrifices: from this knowledge she had been as far as possible +shielded: she knew only of the dim mystic beings, half men, half Gods, +from whose wrath she shrank with terror. To a mind so constituted and +trained the revelation of the story of the infant Christ was a +passionate pleasure. She never tired of listening to the tale of the +birth in the stable of Bethlehem; but she loved not to dwell on the +history of the passion and death, which was at that time beyond her +understanding. She drank in with parted lips all that concerned the Holy +Mother, of whom she was never weary of hearing. Jean had a rude drawing +of the Madonna and Child, given him by Father Austin: the figures had +the angularity and rigidity of Byzantine art, but the artist had +represented his subject with reverence, and no lack of skill, and she +loved to dwell on the pure mother's face, and on the longing look in the +eyes of the Child. She accepted wholly the idea of a God who loved +mankind, of infinite goodness and mercy: if she could not as yet enter +into the subtlety of doctrine she could give that childlike faith which +is the envy of doctrinarians. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +REVELATION. + + "I curse the hand that did the deid, + The heart that thocht the ill, + The feet that bore him wi' sik speid, + The comely youth to kill." + + _Gil Morrice_.--OLD BALLAD. + + +Jean had often expressed his curiosity to see the interior of the tower, +and Hilda had promised to gratify it. On the 25th of October an +opportunity occurred. She informed her lover that on that day a feast of +unusual importance would be held from which none would be absent, and +that her mother would be engaged at it from noon to midnight. On that +day, therefore, he walked freely along the cliffs, and was admitted to +the dwelling. He had unconsciously based his idea of its contents upon +his recollections of the squalid abode of Marie Torode, where human +skulls, skeletons, bones of birds and beasts, dried skins, and other +ghastly objects had been so grouped as to add to the superstitious +feeling inspired by the repulsive appearance of the crone herself. His +astonishment was therefore proportionate when he saw what to his eyes +appeared exceptional luxury. A wooden partition divided the room on the +lower story into two chambers of unequal size: the larger, in which he +stood, was the common dwelling apartment, the other was given over to +Hilda. The upper story, approached by a ladder and also by an external +staircase, was sacred to Judith; Tita occupied some outbuildings. The +sitting-room was hung with rich stuffs of warm and glowing colours; here +and there fitful rays of the sun flickered upon gold brocade and +Oriental embroidery; rugs and mats, which must have been offered for +sale in the bazaars of Egypt and Morocco, were littered about in strange +contrast with the bracken-strewed floor. On the walls were inlaid +breastplates and helmets, pieces of chain armour, swords and daggers of +exquisite workmanship. On shelves stood drinking vessels of rougher +make, but the best that northern craftsmen could produce. The seats were +rude and massive: one of them, placed by a window fronting the setting +sun, was evidently the favourite resting-place of Judith. Above this +seat was a shelf on which lay some of the mysterious scrolls of which +Jean had seen specimens in the possession of the fathers. Instruments of +witchcraft, if such existed, must have been in the upper story: none +were visible. All this splendour was manifestly inconsistent with the +homely taste and abstracted mode of thought of the sorceress. In point +of fact she was hardly aware of its existence. The decorator was Tita, +in whom was the instinct of the connoisseur, supported by no +inconsiderable knowledge to which she had attained in those early years +of which she never could be induced to speak. When a rich prize was +brought into the bay, freighted with a cargo from Asia, Africa, or the +European shores of the Mediterranean, she never failed to attend the +unloading, during which, by the help of cajolery, judicious +depreciation, and other ingenious devices still dear to the virtuoso, +she succeeded in obtaining possession of articles which would have +enraptured a modern collector. Judith was apparently indifferent to a +habit which she looked upon as a caprice of her faithful servant, and +the only evidence of her noticing it was her concentration in her own +apartments of all that related to her personal studies and pursuits. + +It was now Jean's turn to listen and learn, and Hilda's to explain and +instruct. Towards nine o'clock he was preparing to return. He was +indifferent to the darkness, as by this time he knew the track so well +that he crossed it fearlessly at all hours. His hand was on the bolt +when Tita announced in alarm that Judith was returning and was on the +point of entering. Hardly was there time to conceal him behind the +hangings before she appeared. Her countenance was pale and worn, her +tone, as Hilda took off her outer garments was weary and sad. "The +portents were hostile and dangerous," she said; "they foretold woe, +disaster, ruin. Will the mighty ones reveal to me the future? I cannot +tell! But my spirit must commune with them till dawn breaks. Dost hear +them? They call me now!" She held up her finger as a sudden blast rocked +the tower to its foundations. "Aye," she continued more firmly after a +pause, "they will not forget those who are true to them. But this +people! this people!" She hid her face with her hands as if to cover a +painful vision. After a time she rose to her feet and took the girl by +the hand. Leading her to the seat by the window on which she placed +herself, and making her kneel by her side, she said-- + +"Hilda! the chill mist closes round! my life draws to its end! Nay, weep +not, child! were it not for thee I would long ere this have prayed the +gods my masters to remove me from my sojourn among the degenerate sons +of our noble fathers; but I trembled for thy fate, sweet one!" These +last words were almost inexpressibly tender. "I dared not trust thy +slight frame to battle unsheltered with the storm. Now the blast +summoning me is sounded. I cannot much longer disobey, though I may +crave for brief respite. But I have found thee refuge! thou wilt be in +a safe haven. Stay! I must speak while the spirit is on me!" + +"Mother!" sobbed the girl, clasping the old woman's knees. + +"Hilda!" said Judith slowly, "call me no longer by that name! I am not +thy mother; before men only do I call thee daughter. Silence!" she +exclaimed imperatively, as Hilda looked quickly up, doubting whether she +heard aright. "Silence! and listen!" + +"I have loved thee truly, child, and have nurtured thee as a mother +would! and thou art no stranger! the same blood runs in our veins! Yes! +thou art mine! for thy father was my brother. Does not that give thee to +me? Hush! thou shalt hear the tale." + +Hilda's were not the only ears that drank in every word of the following +story. + +"Twenty years ago what a demi-god was Haco! He was a giant, but even men +who feared him loved him. Though brave and strong as Odin himself, his +mind was gentle and kind as a maiden's; first in council, in war, in +manly sports, he ever had an open ear and a helping hand for the +troubled and distressed. He was adored, nay, worshipped, by all. What +wonder then that when he and the proud chief Algar courted the same +maiden, he was preferred! Thou knowest not, Hilda, the mysteries of a +tender heart; may it be long indeed before thy heart is seared by human +passion!" It was fortunate that darkness hid the burning blush which +suffused Hilda's face and neck at this pious wish. Judith +proceeded:--"Thy father wedded and thou wast born. He poured on thy +infant form all the wealth of his great generous heart. Algar nursed his +revenge: he dared not act openly, for our house was as noble as his +own--nay, nobler!" she added haughtily, "but he bided his time. Haco's +tower was near the shore, a pleasant, lovely, spot. One night the news +was borne to me that enemies had landed, and that his dwelling was in +flames; I hurried towards it; I was stopped by armed warriors; Algar's +men, they said, had hastened to the rescue; the chief had ordered that +no women should leave their homes. It was in vain that I urged and +protested. When at last I reached the spot the struggle was said to be +over, and the assailants, beaten off, were declared to have sailed away. +Algar himself came to me with well-assumed grief. He had arrived, he +swore, too late to save. The tower had been fired whilst the inmates +slept, the wife and child had perished; Haco, after performing +incredible feats of valour, had fallen before the strokes of numerous +foes; when he himself had come with a chosen band, while sending the +rest of his forces to other posts which the unforeseen danger might +threaten, nothing remained but to avenge the murder. Why recount the +caitiffs lies? Where were the signs of landing, of hasty re-embarkation? +Where were the dead of the strangers? Thrown into the sea! he said; it +was foul falsehood, and fouler treachery. I found your father's body; he +was smitten and gashed, but nobler than the living. I touched him and +was silent. I knew what none others guessed. I arose. The spirits of the +Gods came over me, and I cursed his slayer. Never had I spoken so +fiercely; men stood and wondered. I prayed the Gods to make the wretch +who had caused my darling's death miserable by land and by sea, by day +and by night, in the field and at the board, loathed by his friends, and +scorned by his foes. The Gods heard my imprecations; as I turned my eyes +skywards they looked from their clouds, wrath kindling on their brows, +and Algar's face was white with fear, his hand trembled and his knee +shook. + +"'We must bury him,' he faltered. + +"'Yea,' said I, 'but in a hero's grave, and after the custom of our +fathers.' + +"There was a murmur of applause. Algar could not refuse. + +"They brought the choicest of the boats, they made the sails bright and +gay, they put in it the dead man's arms, and food to accompany him to +the land of spirits. Then they bound him before the mast, his face +turned seaward. At sundown they towed the boat to deep water, so pierced +her that she might sink slowly under the waves, and then they left the +hero to his rest. I had gone out with them: alone I said to him my last +farewell. But they did not know my secret. They did not guess that I had +ascertained by my art that life was yet in him, that I had poured +between his lips subtle drops which would maintain animation for many +days and nights, during which consciousness might be restored; nor did +they imagine that when I kneeled before him I had stopped the leak by +which the water was to flow into the doomed boat. Algar was now the +deceived; it was a living man, not a corpse, who started on that voyage. +Haco lives still, though where my art cannot tell. I thought that Marie +Torode knew, and sought her on her death-bed to question her, but either +she could not or she would not tell." Hilda's mind was in such confusion +that she could not speak. The old woman continued. "Algar lived on--yes, +lived that he might suffer all the evils with which my curse loaded him, +and died that he might be hurled into the abyss where traitors and +cravens writhe and groan. Enough of him! + +"When I returned to my tower, a figure was crouching before the hearth: +it was Tita, and you were in her arms. The faithful creature, whom your +father had chosen from a band of captives to be your nurse, had, +unperceived, saved your life from the flames. Thenceforward you were my +care. I took your mother's place as best I could. Others knew not your +parentage, nor did they dare to question me. None suspected the truth." + +When she reached this point she bent over the kneeling girl and gave her +a kiss, tender as a mother's if not a mother's kiss; her fingers +caressed the head bowed upon her knees; for a time the silence was only +broken by Hilda's sobs. She then spoke again, this time quickly, +sternly, as if to prevent interruption. + +"I cannot leave thee alone, and I will not! Listen, child, and be +silent! What I now tell thee is beyond thy young understanding: thou +hast but to shape thy will to my bidding: it is for me to launch thy +vessel on its voyage, the Gods will help thy riper judgment to steer its +course! The time has come when thou must wed! I have chosen for thee a +suitor, the chief to whom all thy countrymen bend the knee. Garthmund +claims thee as his bride; ere eight days expire the marriage feast will +be held. He is of noble birth, there is none nobler; he is young and +strong, and should be favoured by the Gods if he prove worthy of them. +He is a fitting bridegroom for Haco's daughter." + +The girl was dazed and trembling. She knew this chief: he answered +Judith's description, but was rough and coarse. Had she not met Jean +she might not have dared to refuse, but now she felt that death would be +more welcome than this marriage. "Spare me, mother!" she said, as if she +had not heard the disclaimer of maternity. "I am too young, too weak." +The old woman pressed her hand on the girl's lips. "We will not speak +further to-night," she said; "thou canst not see Garthmund for three +days, for so long the feast will last. May the Gods protect thee!" She +rose: the fitful moonlight streamed on her gaunt form; she turned and +slowly ascended to her chamber. + +The terrified girl quickly released Jean, who led her from the tower. If +she was broken and trembling he was erect and resolute; no longer the +soft lover, but the prompt man of action. She felt the bracing +influence. "We have three days," he said. "Within that time we must +flee. I will not return to the cave; my task must be to repair the +boat." He mentioned certain articles which he begged her to provide, +pressed her to his breast, and disappeared in the darkness. + +At daylight he examined the little vessel. She was no worse than she had +been, as each incoming tide, reaching the place where she was secured, +had floated her, but the rock had opened a large jagged fissure. Hilda +brought him such materials as she could procure, a log of wood, bark +which she stitched with her own hands, a hatchet and nails. Jean +utilized also the vraick with which the sand was strewn. He worked +without fear of detection, knowing that the whole population was inland; +but the lovers had to rely on themselves alone, for, when there was a +question of flight, Tita was no longer to be trusted. + +On the third day Jean found the boat fairly seaworthy. Hilda felt a +severe pang at leaving Judith, who had not reverted to the subject of +her marriage. Whether her parent or not, she loved her dearly; she felt +also the pain of parting with Tita, but her resolution never swerved. +She had given her heart to Jean; she felt also a presentiment that she +would discover her father; while it was her belief that the parting from +her old associates was but temporary. + +When the sun went down Jean set his sail, meaning to make a rapid dash +across the bay, and seeing no cause for concealing his movements. There +was more swell than he liked for so frail a craft, but wind and tide +were favourable to the enterprise, and the night was exceptionally +bright, the moon being full; this brightness would have been fatal had +the inhabitants been on the alert, but under present circumstances the +pale beams were welcome. Hilda took the helm; she knew every passage in +the labyrinth of submerged rocks, and they were soon in comparatively +open water. Jean then assumed control, wrapping the maiden in his +cloak, for the waves were tossing their spray over the boat as she +heeled over to the breeze. + +They had traversed in safety three-fourths of their course when Jean, +looking seaward, saw a dark sail bearing down on them. One of the pirate +ships, delayed by contrary winds, was hurrying homeward, the crew of +five men hoping to arrive ere the feast was over. Jean's hope that the +boat might not be discovered was soon dispelled: the vessel altered her +course slightly and hailed. Jean made no answer. The pirate was +evidently in no mood to parley; the crew were in a fierce temper, angry +and discontented at the postponement of their arrival. She made a +deliberate attempt to run the boat down. Jean divined her object and, +putting up his helm sharply at the right moment, let her shoot by him +astern; he then resumed his course. A second attempt was clumsier, and +was easily evaded; the assailants were hurried and impatient; nor did +they know the seamanlike qualities of the man with whom they were +dealing. But Jean saw that ultimate escape was hopeless, and this was +equally apparent to Hilda who, however, though pale as death, gave a +firm pressure of the hand in response to his grasp. At this moment an +object glimmered under the youth's feet: stooping down he touched the +shell. The hermit's parting words flashed on his mind: he seized on the +hope of rescue, and sounded two loud and clear blasts. + +The pirates now altered their tactics. Handling their vessel with more +care they succeeded, after two or three unsuccessful attempts, in +ranging alongside and grappling the boat. A man sprung on board and +seized Hilda. "A rare booty!" he cried,--"the Gods repent of their +waywardness." Jean was engaged with those of the crew who had seized the +boat; the man laughingly gave the girl a rough embrace: it was the last +act he had to record before entering the spirit world. Hilda drew from +her bosom one of the daggers which Jean had noticed on the tower walls, +whose blade, still sharp and keen, might have been forged by a Damascus +smith; it struck deep to the heart of the ruffian, who fell lifeless +into the waves. Jean had now freed the craft, but the respite was short: +before she had made much progress she was again captured. The pirates, +furious at the death of their comrade, made a determined onslaught. +Jean, fighting desperately, received from behind a terrific blow which +laid him senseless. But a superstitious feeling made them hesitate +before committing further outrage; they had recognized Hilda, and feared +the consequence of Judith's vengeance if she were injured. There was no +time, however, for delay; the, rude repairs, torn by the trampling feet, +had given way, and the leak had re-opened: the boat was fast sinking. +The pirates cared not for Jean's lifeless body; that might sink or swim; +but they felt they must save the girl whatever might be her future +doom. Even their hearts softened somewhat as they watched her erect in +the sinking boat, her face pallid, her fair hair shining in the +moonlight, but her lips set, her lovely eyes bent tearless on her +prostrate lover, her right hand, holding the blood-stained dagger, +hanging listlessly by her side. + +Watching an opportunity, a stalwart youth seized her from behind and +pinned her arms. The next moment he himself was seized as if he were a +dog, and hurled into the water. The new combatant, whose arrival had so +effectually changed the aspect of affairs, was the hermit, who followed +up his first stroke by another still more decisive. Springing into the +pirate craft, wrenching a weapon from the grasp of the chief of the +assailants, he drove before him the three remaining men, terror-struck +at his sudden and inexplicable appearance, his superhuman size and +strength. One by one he swept them overboard; then grasping a huge +stone, which formed part of the ballast, he dashed it with the full +force of his gigantic strength through the planks of the boat, which at +once began to fill. All this was the work of a few moments. He then +leaped into the skiff, which sank as he swiftly transferred to his own +vessel its two occupants. + +Before another hour was over, Jean, stretched on a pallet, was receiving +the attention of loving hands in a cell of the Lihou monastery. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +AFFLICTION. + + "The race of Thor and Odin + Held their battles by my side, + And the blood of man was mingling + Warmly with my chilly tide." + + _Danube and the Euxine_.--AYTOUN. + + +Father Austin received his pupil's companion with the courtesy due to +her distress, but with much misgiving. After tending his patient, whose +situation was critical, he paced thoughtfully towards the cell in which +he had placed her, revolving in his mind the difficulties of the case. +His amazement was intense when he slowly opened the door. The maiden was +kneeling, her back towards him; before her was the little picture of the +Madonna; she was praying aloud; her words were simple but passionately +pathetic; she threw herself and her lover upon the mercy of the Holy +Mother with a trust so absolute, a confidence so infinite, that the monk +could hardly refrain from tears. How had he been blinded! as he looked +and listened the scales fell from his eyes: he humbly owned his error. + +The noise of his step startled her; she rose and looked at him +inquiringly. "Maiden," he said, answering her appealing look, "his fate +is in the hands of God, whose ears are ever open to the prayers of those +that fear Him." + +Often and often had Jean spoken to her of Father Austin; she loved him +already, but she had yet to fathom the nobleness of his soul. His +single-heartedness and abnegation of self, his tenderness and quick +sympathy (virtues tempering his fierce abhorrence of Paganism), his +stern reprobation of the evil, and his yearning for the good, in the +untutored barbarians among whom he laboured, were gradually revealed in +the discourses which they held daily while Jean lay between life and +death. Reaping and garnering what Jean had sown, he scattered fresh +seed, opening out to her the great history of God in man. Qualities +hitherto unsuspected in her developed; if an apt pupil, she was an +instructive teacher of the wealth of charity and purity that dwells in +an untainted woman's heart. And she had another friend: the hermit +watched over her with touching care and assiduity. He appeared strangely +attracted to her; the holy fathers marvelled to see this rough being, +who had seemed to them an animal to be feared while pitied, caring for +the maiden's comfort with a woman's gentleness: he seemed never weary of +contemplating her, sometimes murmuring to himself as he did so. Any +little delicacy that the island could afford, game, fish, shellfish, was +provided for her by him. Once, thinking her couch hard, he disappeared +and returned bearing, whence none knew, soft stuffs better fitted for +her tender form; on this occasion the whole man seemed transformed, when +he stepped in with a smile in his big frank eyes, and a ruddy glow on +his bronzed scarred cheeks, placed his offering at her feet, and strode +away. Strange, too, to say, Hilda seemed to return the feeling: happy in +the presence of Austin, she was yet with him as the pupil with the +master; but with the recluse she was gentle, affectionate, and even +playful. The monks attempted not to solve the puzzle of the bond that +knitted together the two strange beings; analysis of character troubled +little their saintly minds. + +At length consciousness returned; Jean opened his eyes and recognised +Austin. This was a joyful moment. Quiet was all that was now necessary +to complete the restoration of his health, which could not, however, be +anticipated for a considerable time. The first inquiry of the patient +was for Hilda, and he was allowed to see her; on the next day they were +permitted to interchange a few words, after which Austin explained what +he had already decided. Hilda, he pointed out, could not fitly remain +in Lihou, where she had been allowed to reside only until her lover was +out of danger; the laws of the establishment, which forbade the presence +of women, must now be put in force, but a fitting home had been provided +for her; she would be placed with the Sisters at the Vale; the hermit +would conduct her thither on the following day. The girl bowed to this +decision, sorely as she grieved to leave him she loved; the next morning +they parted, and she embarked with her guardian who, shielding her +lovingly from all harm, placed her, ere nightfall, in her new abode. + +Judith had not discovered the girl's departure till the sun was well up, +when she heard of her absence from the frantic Tita. The old woman's +force of character was colossal; pettinesses, small passions, were +unknown to her. Had her sphere been larger her promptitude of resource, +keenness of perception, resolute look onwards and upwards, solidity of +purpose, and incisive action might have graven her name on the tables of +history. Stagnating in the shallow pools of the unstoried rocks in which +she passed her life, these grand qualities were wasted and perverted. +She lost no time now in recrimination; a few sharp questions enabled her +to judge how far the weakness of affection had played the traitor with +the old woman, whom she left to settle matters with her own conscience. +She saw Garthmund, and told him that, in consequence of the +unsatisfactory augury of the last sacrifice, she had decided to postpone +the marriage. Nor did she appear to notice the indifference with which +the chief, who could not pretend that he ardently loved a bride who was +practically a stranger to him, received the decision. It took her some +time to discover where Hilda had taken refuge; it speaks ill for female +reticence that she discovered it shortly after the girl's removal to the +sisterhood. She satisfied herself that her own people had no suspicion +of the flight, as none of the crew of the belated boat had reached the +shore; and she gathered, from the transfer of the maiden to the convent, +that Father Austin was, on his side, resolved not to make known the +elopement of Garthmund's intended wife. Her paramount wish was to +recover her niece, but she perceived that she must act warily, and must +be ready to deal with the many contingencies which would inevitably +arise during the development of her schemes. Hilda's position under the +immediate protection of the religious communities was a serious +obstacle. Judith believed that against them her magic arts would be of +no avail; she was therefore driven to confine herself to earthly +combinations; but she was in no wise daunted by this difficulty, which +in point of fact cleared her judgment, and assisted her by inducing her +to make the best of the materials at her disposal. The obvious plan for +the recovery of the girl was to induce Garthmund to attack the nunnery, +and drag his bride from it; but to this there were many objections. +Acknowledgment of Hilda's flight would be in itself a confession of +failure. She had promised to produce the girl when she was required; to +seek the chief's assistance to enable her to fulfil the promise would be +a diminution of her prestige, and consequently of her power. Again, it +was by no means certain that the chief who, it has been said, was no +love-sick bridegroom, would consent to undertake the enterprise; nor, if +he did undertake it, was his prospect of success unquestionable, for the +islanders, though not ready listeners to the Christian teaching, would +have united to repel a heathen attack on their teachers whom they +honoured and respected. Judith therefore rejected this expedient, +arranging her plan of operations with remarkable ingenuity. + +Her first aim was to promote ill-feeling between the Voizins and their +neighbours; this part of the campaign was prosecuted with vigour. Cattle +were lost on either side of the boundary; houses were burnt; old wells +ran dry; rumours, mysteriously circulated, spoke of these as no +accidental mishaps; suspicions were whispered; instances of retaliation +followed. At the time when a dangerous feeling was thus growing up a +famine broke out in the Voizin country while the islanders were well +supplied. The hungry Voizin men heard voices in the darkness scoffing +at them, laughter and sneers. When their carts were sent to fetch the +necessaries of life, lynch-pins were loosened; in more than one case the +draught oxen were houghed; the provisions, when received, were mouldy +and unwholesome. At last sickness broke out, with stories of poison; +then the tension became insupportable. The Voizin chief, too proud to go +to his neighbours, summoned them to him; the messenger was murdered. +This assassination, of which the natives denied all knowledge, was met +by prompt reprisals; three Perelle fishermen were hung on the spot where +the body was found. From this date the outbreak of hostilities was but a +question of time. A sternness of purpose ruled in the councils of the +Voizins which frustrated all attempts at conciliation. A little before +Christmas a trivial incident kindled the smouldering flames, and the +hordes, pouring from the Torteval valleys, swept over the districts now +known as the parishes of St. Saviour's and the Câtel; the resistance was +tame and ineffectual, sufficient only to give occasion for considerable +slaughter and plunder. The invaders, seeing no reason for returning to +their famine-stricken fastnesses, settled themselves in the enjoyment of +the abundance of the vanquished, who, in their turn, with their +accustomed versatility, submitted patiently, and even cheerfully, to a +yoke which, after the first onslaught was over, pressed lightly; the +Voizins, to whom fighting was a pastime, bearing no malice, and passing +imperceptibly into a genial mood. + +Judith now prepared to develop the next move, the object of which was to +undermine the authority of the monks, and make them vulnerable by +isolation. Derisive hints were dropped respecting the failure of the new +religion to help its votaries in the hour of peril; the victory of the +Voizins was attributed to the superiority of their Gods rather than to +deficiency in courage on the part of their foes: this theory, which was +not unpalatable to those who had been half-hearted in defence of their +homes, was also utilized by the more sober spirits as an argument +wherewith to restrain the more ardent from attempting to renew the +struggle under similar conditions. The observances of the religion of +Thor and Odin, or rather of that debased form of it which prevailed +among this singular people, were celebrated under their more alluring +aspects: frequent feasts and dances captivated the laughter-loving +islanders, who had been tried somewhat severely by the severity of the +_régime_ which Austin had endeavoured to impose since he had seen danger +in his damaging encounter with Judith. After a time it was proclaimed +that none would be permitted to join in the revelries who were enemies +to the Gods who presided at them. This stroke was successful: the +majority openly embraced the creed of their conquerors, and showed the +usual spirit of perverts in exceeding the latter in their zeal to sweep +away all traces of the religion which they had abandoned. The minority +who held true to their faith drew together, a grim and resolute band, +prepared for a bold defence and, if Christ so willed it, for martyrdom. + +It was not Judith's purpose, now that the disruption of the islanders +was effected, to leave time for the Christians to mature plans for +resistance. Garthmund, at her instigation, delivered simultaneous +attacks on Lihou and the Vale; he himself superintending the latter +operation in order that he might see that the sorceress's instructions, +that all in the nunnery were to be made prisoners uninjured, and brought +to her closely veiled, were implicitly obeyed. To the surprise of the +islanders, however, both assaults, though made with spirit and absolute +confidence of success, were completely repulsed; the same result +attended a renewed attack, made two days subsequently with fresh and +increased forces supported by native levies. Garthmund found that in +both places he had before him not only resolute troops, but skilled and +enterprising commanders. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +CONSOLATION. + + "Mother! list a suppliant child! + Ave Maria! + Ave Maria! Stainless styled. + Foul demons of the earth and air, + From this their wonted haunt exiled, + Shall flee before thy presence fair." + + _Lady of the Lake_.--WALTER SCOTT. + + +Jean's recovery after Hilda's departure had been slow and lingering; but +for the unwearied care of the good fathers and of the recluse, aided by +a constitution of no ordinary strength, he must have succumbed to the +terrible injuries which he had received. As, however, the days began to +lengthen, and signs of spring to appear even on the wild rock where he +had taken refuge, his vigour gradually returned. It had been necessary +that he should be protected from excitement; consequently, while +receiving from the hermit regular reports from the Vale, and many a +sweet message from his love which made his heart leap with happiness, +he knew nothing till the beginning of February of the incursion of the +Voizins, and the accompanying events. Since he had been alone, however, +he had dwelt for hours together on the strange story which he had +overheard in the tower, the principal figure of which, while his brain +had been still confused, had been always mingled in his delirium with +the massive form of the hermit. Father Austin, watching him with +anxiety, at length suggested that he should relieve his mind by +repeating the tale to the recluse himself. He readily adopted the +suggestion. His listener, who had been too delicate to question Hilda as +to her antecedents, but who had been burning to learn the explanation of +the striking resemblance of her features to a face which, whether he +waked or slept, ever haunted him, though more often contorted in agony +than wreathed in smiles, heard with impatience the history of Algar's +treachery; but when Jean detailed the escape of Tita and her charge, and +identified the latter with the maiden whom he had rescued, he sprang to +his feet at the risk of plunging his patient into a fresh crisis of +fever, and exclaimed, "May the choicest gifts of heaven be showered on +thee, brave youth! the blessed angels and saints will love thee for this +deed!" He reflected a moment, then turned his eyes full on Jean's face, +"Why should I leave it to Austin to tell thee what he has long known +under the solemn secrecy which binds priest and sinner? Thou shalt know +it from my own lips: I am Haco! Drifted hitherward on that lonely +voyage, I was released by holy men, now saints above, who healed my +wounds and taught me to bury my pride, and to kneel humbly before the +Cross. I never doubted that I was childless as well as wifeless; had I +done so, I should have returned at all risks to claim my own. But she! +Hilda! 'twas her mother's name! this maiden, towards whom my soul went +out in yearning, is my own! yes! my child! If a wild feeling rose when I +watched her I crushed it out, for I thought that I had stifled all human +passions; but now--" He fell on his knees, and hid his face in his +hands, his giant frame convulsed with sobs; but it was evident that he +was controlling himself, and when he rose his rugged face was full of +humanity: youth seemed to have returned to it; under the disfiguring +scars Jean could trace without difficulty the fearless, generous +features of which Judith had spoken with such enthusiasm. Haco warmly +grasped the sick man's hand, and left the cell. + +Father Austin had, it appeared, learnt Judith's story from Hilda, but +this confidence also had been made under the seal of confession. He had +been confirmed in his impression of its accuracy by the tale he had +already heard from Haco, whose strange arrival was still a favourite +topic among the monks, though none of those now in the monastery had +witnessed it. The three men were now able openly to discuss the subject +in its various bearings, but they agreed that the mystery should not be +revealed till peace was restored. + +Haco had from the first foreseen the danger to be apprehended from the +Voizin incursion. The monks were still further surprised to see the +being, whose gentleness had amazed them on Hilda's arrival, now a leader +of men, active, vigorous, inspiring others with the love of life with +which he himself seemed to be animated. Before the attack came Jean was +sufficiently recovered to be able to render efficient assistance; he had +ably seconded Haco in the two encounters, after which he was specially +entrusted with the defence of the Vale. + +Judith was in no degree daunted by temporary failure: her nature +revelled in overcoming opposition; her spirit rose to the occasion. +Garthmund was inclined to be sulky after his second defeat, and might +have abandoned the enterprise had he dared to do so; but fear of the +sorceress kept him firm. For a month the system of blockade was tried, +varied by occasional assaults which, being made with less spirit than +the earlier ones, were easily repulsed. The blockade was not more +successful. Haco had provided ample stores for the small garrison which +he had considered sufficient to protect the promontory of Lihou, +naturally almost impregnable; and the force defending the Vale, camped +chiefly on Lancresse Common, was only nominally blockaded. The sallies, +made from time to time, were ordered more with a view of keeping up the +martial spirit of the men than with that of providing for wants, for the +friendly inhabitants of the eastern side of the island, emboldened by +recent proofs that the dreaded Voizins were not invincible, ran their +boats almost with impunity into the little creeks into which the heavier +craft of the enemy could not follow them. + +Judith hardly noticed these details. Her attention was fixed upon the +key of the position. She knew that a resistance of this description was +altogether contrary to the unwarlike character of the natives; she was +convinced that they were actuated by some abnormal spirit, and that if +the motive power were removed the machine would collapse. She made it +her business to ascertain what the spring was that guided them. All her +art failed in detecting the presence of Haco, perhaps because her +engines were powerless when directed against one of her own blood; but +she easily ascertained that the warriors in the opposing camp looked to +Jean as their leader, that his spirit pervaded all, and that his ardour +to protect his sacred charge filled him with a wondrous power which +astonished even those who from childhood had bent to his unchallenged +primacy. + +Having satisfied herself as to the character of the opposing force, her +next step was to secure Jean's person. This presented no difficulty to +her. A scroll was delivered to the young leader by an unknown messenger, +who at once disappeared. Jean, seeing that the characters were those +which, as he believed, Austin alone was able to trace, took the scroll +to the sister who alone was able to interpret them. What Sister Theresa +read was alarming:--"Hasten! I am grievously sick; my strength fails! I +must see thee without delay." Jean was distressed beyond measure, but +Hilda, whom he hurried to consult, agreed with him that no time must be +lost in obeying the summons; the fact that Haco was at Lihou convinced +them that the father would not have sent for Jean if his case had not +been one of extreme danger. After a hasty farewell and a promise of +speedy return, for his presence with the forces was imperative and he +grudged every hour of absence from his beloved, he set out alone in his +boat. Before an hour had passed he was captured by a flotilla which had +been lying in ambuscade behind the Grandes Rocques, and was a prisoner +in the enemy's camp. + +If Judith had been an ordinary woman she would have been content with +this result, would have executed the prisoner, and have awaited the +submission of his disheartened followers; and she would have failed, +defeated by the indomitable courage and resource of Haco. But it was not +in this clumsy fashion that her genius moulded the materials at her +command. She now controlled, as she believed, the mainspring of the +resistance, which would probably cease with the death of Jean. But her +aim went far beyond the mere submission of her antagonists; she wished +that the blow should be struck in such a manner as to stamp out the +false creed which had held the islanders in thrall, to prove to all +sceptics the powers of her own Gods and the impotence of those of her +opponents, and to commit the recently reconverted islanders so +irretrievably that they could not afterwards backslide. She wished also, +by making an example that would inspire terror, to establish the +undisputed supremacy of her people in the whole island. But, side by +side with these political considerations, were the religious influences +honestly and steadfastly working in her powerful intellect. When she +communed with her Gods she thought of no earthly good or ill: she loved +these strange conceptions, and fixed her whole soul on conciliating +them. It was now her conviction that they were displeased: their +displeasure, awful as she believed it to be, did not terrify her, but it +vexed her to the inmost heart: she feared that they had not been rightly +propitiated, and resolved that the shortcoming must be remedied. + +All her reflections pointed with unerring force to the same conclusion. +She held in her hands the strong frame, the stout heart, the ruling +mind. All were concentrated in Jean Letocq. He, then, must be offered up +as a fitting sacrifice. By such an offering the deities could not fail +to be appeased, and by the death of this man in this fashion all the +natural exigencies of the situation would be satisfied. She never +allowed herself to dwell for one moment on the fact that the victim was +beloved by Hilda. On this point she had armed herself with bars of brass +and triple steel. He might have fooled the girl, but at the thought of +love her heart was ice. + +The sorceress communicated her resolution to Garthmund. The chieftain +exhibited no surprise: he expressed a grim approval of the proposal, +which seemed likely to give an excuse for revelry and to bring the +campaign to a prompt conclusion, and proceeded to make the requisite +arrangements. + +The 30th of March was the day chosen. The forces investing the two +beleaguered positions were ordered to assemble, that on the western side +on the low ground between L'Erée and Lihou, that on the northern under +shelter of the woods of the Braye du Valle, facing the fortifications +thrown up by the defenders. At a given signal, the kindling of a beacon +on the Rocque du Guet, the two hosts were to make simultaneously a +determined assault. The islanders not engaged in these operations, with +the exception of those openly or secretly sympathizing with the +Christians, poured into Vazon Forest, none remaining behind but those +absolutely incapable of conveying themselves or of being conveyed. + +By this time the consternation in the enemy's camp was all that the +sorceress could desire. Jean's capture had been ascertained, and all the +particulars respecting his coming fate were known by means of spies. +Haco shook his head at the proposals of rescue made by spirited youths. +"Success would be hopeless," he said; "failure would be fatal to those +whose lives are precious to us. If he dies we will brace every nerve to +avenge him, but we must be patient, and await their onslaught. Then will +come our turn! then will we spring at their dastard throats! then shall +they drink freely of their own gore!" If the man of the sword thought +the case hopeless, what could the men of the cloister do? They did all +in their power--prayed ceaselessly, fasted, did penance under the +guidance of Father Austin; but nevertheless the fatal morning arrived. + +Hilda knew her lover's danger. When he failed to return, and when Haco, +arriving from Lihou, admitted that he had not been seen at the +monastery, her heart sank; she, better than any of those around her, +knew the stern, implacable patriotism and fanaticism of Judith's +nature; she fully realized the savage dispositions of her countrymen, +their contempt of human life, and their brutal treatment of captives. +She had some conception of their fearful orgies, and she shuddered when +her mind touched, not daring to dwell, on Jean's possible fate. She had +sufficient presence of mind to bear up bravely before Haco, who had no +suspicion that she had a perception of the terrible truth from which +even his rent and seared feelings shrank; nor did she reveal to Father +Austin, during a short visit which he paid her at great risk this inner +serpent which was devouring her young heart. Sister Theresa and her +fellows marvelled at her as on the morning of the fatal day she passed +between them, her eyes rapt in contemplation, her look serene and calm, +though beneath the surface lay a depth of unutterable woe, sinking, +receding, chill as the dark, haunted, bosom of an unfathomable mountain +lake. + +She sought her own cell and begged to be left alone. Then the full heart +burst the bounds imposed by the strong will. She placed before her the +little Madonna, from which she never parted, and fell on her knees. She +prayed till noon, and her prayer continued still; it was not simply a +woman's supplication: her whole essence was poured out before the Holy +Mother, who was the object of her special adoration. This girl had never +known evil: for nineteen years her mind had rippled on, sparkling with +good deeds, little bright thoughts, gentle inspirations sweetly obeyed; +then first streamed in the warm current of human love, followed by the +rapid thrilling rush of the flow of Divine awakening. The little stream +had become a torrent; but one in which every element was pure, for its +component parts were faith in God, trust in man, the will to act, the +power to bear, contentment in joy and resignation in sorrow. Above all, +she had ever before her the words which Austin had told her comprised +the sermon of the universe--"Thy will be done!" Was it possible that, in +the days when miracles were yet wrought, such a prayer at such a time +from such a saint should not be heard? Some three hours had passed after +noon when she felt a sweet languor overspread her. A mist crept before +her eyes, which quickly passed away and was replaced by a radiance +brighter than the sun's rays; her eyes had power however to look aloft, +and she gazed with clasped hands and with loving reverence: the Holy +Virgin herself stood before her, holding in her arms the Blessed Infant; +the Mother looking down with a smile inexpressibly tender and +compassionate, the Child stretching forth its dimpled hand and giving +its blessing. She sank in rapture, the glory too great for her. As the +vision faded she arose, a marvellous strength possessing her. She +stepped forth, and found herself in the midst of a crowd gazing, +horror-stricken, seawards. "Fear nothing," she said with a calm +expression that seemed to permeate the whole assembly like an inner +voice; "he is saved, and you are saved!" The words came opportunely. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +ANNIHILATION. + + "Prophet-like that lone one stood, + With dauntless words and high, + That shook the sere leaves from the wood + As if a storm pass'd by." + + _The Last Man_.--CAMPBELL. + + "So perish the old Gods! + But out of the sea of time + Rises a new land of song, + Fairer than the old." + + _The Seaside and the Fireside_.--LONGFELLOW. + + +Full of evil augury was the morning of this eventful day in Vazon +Forest. There were the same trees, the same glades and streams, as on +the well-remembered Midsummer day of the preceding year; but nature and +man alike were in a different mood. The trees were leafless and +churlish, the glades ragged and colourless; the turbid, dusky streams +bore but small resemblance to the limpid rivulets of June; the native +youths were absent, engaged in military service; the maidens, headed by +Suzanne Falla, had indeed an appearance of mirth, but there was a hollow +ring in the boisterous recklessness of their merriment; the old men +tramped feebly and aimlessly, for the reverence for age had been +transferred to the veterans of the conquerors. The latter also supplied +the musicians; and the clanging of drums and cymbals, with the blast of +horns, replaced the sylvan melody of the aborigines. + +Still there was every sign of festivity. The proceedings began with +dances in which the men, who posed as athletes and warriors, gave +representations of deeds of martial prowess. Then the girls were allowed +to foot their native dances in their own fashion. Dances for both sexes +followed, in which the native maidens found it difficult to conceal +their terror of the rough partners ever ready to become rougher wooers. + +These preliminaries concluded, the business of the day began. Though +this wild race sacrificed human beings, they did not treat their victims +with the coldblooded cruelty of the Druids, who slaughtered them as if +they were oxen or sheep; their custom was to burn their captives; and it +is not for critics, whose pious forefathers kindled the fires of +Smithfield, to assert that their practice was wholly barbarous. In the +present case a pyre, some twelve feet high, was built at the foot of a +huge granite boulder, near the sea-coast: it was constructed of dry +wood, and was drenched with combustible materials. Jean was bound firmly +to a strong hurdle, made of birch stems and withies securely lashed +together. Judith, Garthmund, and the principal elders, placed themselves +under the venerable oak; the people stood at a respectful distance. +Twelve stalwart warriors bore the litter on which the prisoner was +stretched, and placed it on stone trestles planted for the purpose in +the intervening space. Then the priests arrived; twelve old men whose +white locks and beards, and snowy dresses, gave them a venerable +appearance which was soon belied by their performances. + +Halting when they reached the victim, the priests faced the oak, and +chanted a solemn, wailing dirge; this, which might have been a farewell +to the spirit whose departure they were preparing to accelerate, was not +unimpressive. Then one stepped forward whose voice was yet clear and +loud; he passed a warm eulogy on the qualities of the captive, whom he +described in exaggerated phrases as a sage in council, and a hero in +battle, endowing him also with every domestic virtue which seemed in his +eyes worthy of enumeration. This discourse was followed by a warlike +song in honour of Thor and Odin, and it was during the course of this +hymn that it became clear from their rolling eyes and unsteady gait that +the old men were in a state of no ordinary excitement. All night they +had been feasting their deities, and the solemnity had involved deep +potations; now, as the rapid movements of a dance which accompanied the +inspiriting words sent the fumes into their heads, they appeared to be +beside themselves. The bystanders, however, attributing their frenzy to +religious fervour, and not unaccustomed to such manifestations, looked +on unmoved. The music ceased; and the song of triumph gave way to a +hideous scene over which it were painful to dwell. The drunken old men, +with incredible agility, whirled round the prostrate form of Jean. There +was no question now of eulogizing his virtues: he was accused, in +language which seemed devil-born, of every crime, every infamy, of which +the human race is capable; held up to scorn and ignominy, he was cursed +and execrated with a shower of blasphemy and obscenity; a by-stander, +contemplating his calm, clear face, the lips parted in prayer, gleaming +amidst the contorted features of the screaming miscreants, might have +believed him to be already passing, unscathed, through the terrors of +purgatory. + +It is impossible at this day to fathom the mystery of this terrible +relic of some remote superstition. It may have been that the abhorrence +and extinction of evil was roughly typified, or that it was understood +that the death of the victim would, as if he were a scapegoat, cleanse +the worshippers of the sins with which he was thus loaded. It is idle to +grope where all is, and must be, dark; all that can be asserted with +any certainty is that the preliminary eulogy, a more modern practice, +was intended to enhance the value of the offering which they were about +to make to the Gods. + +The warriors now resumed their burden, and a procession was formed +towards the pyre, on which the litter-bearers, mounting by an inclined +plane, placed the doomed youth. Judith ascended the huge boulder, which +was some eight feet higher than the pyre at its foot. The chief and +people grouped themselves round its base. The priests stood ready to +apply the torch when the sorceress gave the signal, and the distant +watchman on the Guct waited in his turn for the first flash of flame to +kindle the beacon which was to set the assailing forces in motion. + +Judith turned to the expectant crowd: her glance was searching, in her +eye was an ineffable look of scorn. "Down on your knees!" she said, +"craven sons, whose sires would blush to own you! You who have steeped +your hearts in pride and boastfulness! Were your fathers slow to draw +the sword and quick to sheathe it? Did they cower by their hearths when +warm blood was being spilt? did they feast when others fought? would +they not have leaped, as the tempest rushes from its caves, to scatter +like the sand those who should have dared to bend the knee to false +Gods, objects of their loathing and derision? Runs this noble blood in +your stagnant veins? From giants ye have become pigmies!" The majestic +contempt with which these words had been delivered had a crushing +effect. She continued her harangue for some time in the same strain. +Every Voizin's head was bowed, every form bent and trembling. The +sorceress then, slowly turning, faced seaward. Her arms assumed the +well-known beseeching attitude, the serpent bracelet glittering fiercely +in the sun. Her voice changed, became softer. "Yet they are my people!" +she continued, "and the last of our race. Ennoble them, great Gods! +quicken their hearts and spare them!" Looking outward with the rapt look +of a prophetess in whom, though torn with tempests of fanaticism and of +passion, human and superhuman, no thought was mean, no sentiment +ignoble, she poured out this her prayer; not for mercy!--her Gods knew +not this attribute; nor could she understand it; if the craven continued +to be a craven she felt he were better dead;--not for peace and +contentment!--to these blessings neither she nor they attached +value;--but for fearlessness and steadfastness of purpose, and also for +courage to die for the truth! there were petitions poured out by this +woman that would have honoured the lips of the champion of any creed. + +The supplication ended, she seemed about to raise her hand to give the +anticipated signal when a look of amazement passed over her features; +she brushed her hand over her eyes and looked again, then folded her +arms and gazed steadily seawards. What she saw might have shattered even +her nerves of iron. At the close of her prayer, which had exactly +coincided with the moment when Hilda stepped from her cell, the bosom of +the sea heaved and rose: a wave, ten feet high, glided, stole as it +were, so gently did it move, into the forest; but so rapidly, that in +one minute every human being except herself and Jean was engulphed. They +were gone, the high-couraged and the craven, the frenzied priest and the +laughing child, with their passions, their hopes, and their fears, +without the faintest note of warning of coming danger! Judith glanced at +Jean, almost contemptuously; he, not having seen what had happened, was +still momentarily expecting the application of the torch. A second wave +crept in, smaller than the former, but overwhelming the pyre. The dazed +warrior on the Guet reported that after this second wave had passed he +saw the tall form still towering on the peak, but that when he looked +again the rock, though still above water, was tenantless; a little later +the granite mass, together with the tops of the tallest trees, lay under +an unruffled surface. + +When the pyre was submerged the litter, to which Jean was attached, +floated off and formed a tolerably secure raft. His life was safe for a +time; but he would have been exposed to a still more ghastly fate from +the swooping sea-birds had he not been able by a supreme effort to +wrest one of his arms from its bands. In speechless wonderment he was +carried seaward by the slowly receding tide. Suddenly his raft was +hailed by a well-known voice. Friendly hands cut the ropes that bound +him, and he was lifted into a boat. The occupant was Haco who, attracted +to the spot when hurrying to the Vale, by the cries of the clustering +gulls, had thus again saved his life. + +The giant pulled vigorously to the point which, now known as the Hommet, +terminates the northern arm of Vazon Bay; there he landed the youth, to +enable him to stretch his cramped limbs, and to clothe him in such +articles as he could spare from his own equipment. A rapid explanation +passed between them. Haco told him how the force investing Lihou had, +when apparently waiting for a signal to move, been overwhelmed by a wave +which cut off the promontory from L'Erée, and had perished to a man. +Jean could tell of nothing but the sudden cessation of the tumult and +the floating of his litter. The minds of both were wandering, burningly +anxious as they were to know what had passed at the Vale. Scaling the +Hommet, they obtained a sufficient view to satisfy them that Lancresse +Common no longer formed a portion of the mainland; an hour afterwards, +entering the Grand Havre, they saw an unbroken channel between that +inlet and St. Sampson's: every trace of the invading host had +disappeared. Jean was soon in Hilda's arms; and the two lovers, with +Haco, spent the remainder of the day in pious thanksgiving to the Holy +Mother by whose special interposition, testified so miraculously to the +maiden, the cause of Christ had triumphed and the parted had been +reunited, when the last gleam of safety seemed to have been +extinguished. + +The next morning Father Austin arrived. Hilda was then made acquainted +with her relationship to Haco, whose tender attentions during her late +troubles had already won her unreserved affection. The news was an +inexpressible joy to her, and it was touching to see how she nestled in +the deep embrace of her father, whose feelings, so long pent up, now at +last found vent. Jean absented himself during the day, but on the +following morning insisted that his nuptials should no longer be +deferred. The same evening, in the little chapel of the nunnery, Austin +bestowed his blessing on a union which had been sanctified by such +special manifestations of Divine approval. + +The readjustment of the shattered organization of the island was +imperative. The inhabitants of the eastern side, and those of the Vale, +had for the most part preserved their lives by their absence from the +forest; the Christian converts who had aided in the struggle were also +safe; with these exceptions the island was practically depopulated. Jean +was elected chief by acclamation. After giving such pressing directions +as immediate exigencies required, he acceded to his wife's ardent wish +to obtain intelligence respecting Judith, and also to ascertain the fate +of Tita. + +The Lihou monks had already reported that all communication was broken +between the Hanois and the shore, but that the tower appeared to be +intact. On an April morning Haco and the young couple sailed across +Rocquaine Bay, and landed close to the tower, which now stood on a +rugged and inhospitable island. The door was opened by Tita, who smiled, +and prattled, and caressed her young mistress like a lap-dog. She +recognised Jean with indifference, but a start, followed by a shudder, +seized her when she observed Haco; her terror, however, seemed to pass +away when he spoke a few soothing words to her. It was evident that a +shock, or a succession of shocks, had unsettled the poor woman's brain. +On the name of Judith being mentioned, she pointed fearfully to the +upper story. Uncertain as to her meaning, Jean cautiously ascended the +ladder, and ascertained that the sorceress was in truth there. After a +consultation it was decided that Haco and Hilda should seek her +presence. + +As father and daughter entered the apartment, they saw the old woman +half-seated, half-lying, on a couch placed close to the window; her +face, which was turned seaward, was haggard, the leanness bringing into +strong relief the handsome chiselling of her profile; the sternness of +her mouth was somewhat relaxed; there was an indication almost of +softness in its corners. Her high spirit had accepted, not resented, +defeat. + +As her eye fell on her two visitors there was no gleam of defiance, no +mark of anger, or even surprise; but, when Haco stood fully revealed +before her, a flash of triumph and pleasure shot into it, kindling every +feature with its glow. "You here, Haco!" she cried, "and with her! The +Gods have relented. You will hold her fast in their worship, and lead +her steps to the land of her sires! I die contented." She fell back +exhausted. "Sister," said the giant, laying his hand softly on her +shoulder, "it is too late; when Algar slew my loved one the Pagan died +in me; I am a servant of the God of the Christians." Hilda awaited +fearfully the result of this announcement, but she knew not the +greatness of the old woman's soul. It was long ere her voice was heard +again. Presently, raising herself, she said, "I would it had been +otherwise; but I have erred, I have misjudged. I thought that your Gods +were false; puny creations of a nerveless brain; but they are strong, I +own their power! It may be that the great ones of old have wearied of +our spiritless race, and abandoned us. So perchance you may be wise to +turn to the new-comers!" Her voice failed her, but as they knelt by her +side her hands wandered over their heads and lingered with a caressing +movement among Hilda's locks. She seemed to have forgotten Jean, whom +she doubtless believed to have been lost in the general calamity. +Suddenly she started up and pointed to a storm-cloud rising rapidly from +the western horizon, assuming a succession of fantastic shapes as it +passed upwards. "Do you not see them?" she cried--"the great, the +glorious ones! they bend from their seats; they smile! see their power! +Their majesty! their locks stream, their swords are half drawn! they +sheathe them, they lean forward, they extend their arms! they beckon!--I +come, I come!" She stretched out her arms with the old familiar gesture +and sank back, having breathed her spirit to the tempest which she loved +so well. + +They buried her on the cliffs of Pleinmont, where a cairn long marked +her resting-place. Tita was taken to the Vale; all attempts to restore +her from the shock which her nerves had received failed till on one +sunny morning Hilda's infant was placed on her knees: when the child +crowed, and smiled at her, the cloud imperceptibly passed away, never to +return. From that time she assumed her regular place in the household. + +Haco abandoned his Lihou cell; his rough readiness of resource, +unfailing good-humour, and skill in managing men, proved invaluable +during the task of the restoration of the broken links of government and +society. + +The labours of Father Austin and his coadjutors did not relax, but their +course lay in smoother waters: if their prospects of martyrdom were +diminished they were more than consoled by the knowledge that they +possessed among them a veritable saint, to whom the Holy Virgin had +vouchsafed the honour of a personal appearance, and that they had been +witnesses of a miraculous interposition, the evidence of which would be +indelible as long as the sea should wash the storm-beaten cliffs of +their beloved island. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Forest of Vazon, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14501 *** diff --git a/14501-h/14501-h.htm b/14501-h/14501-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..86167c5 --- /dev/null +++ b/14501-h/14501-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2366 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> + <meta name="generator" content= + "HTML Tidy for Windows (vers 1st August 2004), see www.w3.org" /> + + <title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Forest Of Vazon, by + Anonymous.</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + .poem span.i24 {display: block; margin-left: 24em;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: smaller;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px; font-size: smaller; font-size: smaller;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left; font-size: smaller;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ +</style> +</head> + +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14501 ***</div> + + <h1>THE FOREST OF VAZON</h1> + + <h3><i>A GUERNSEY LEGEND OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY</i>.</h3> + + <h5>London:<br /> + HARRISON & SONS, 59, PALL MALL<br /> + Booksellers to the Queen and H.R.H the Prince of Wales<br /> + 1889.</h5> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="frontispiece" id="frontispiece" /> + <img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="550" height="374" + alt="Old House of the Haye du Puits, Guernsey. Sketched in 1838" + title= + "Old House of the Haye du Puits, Guernsey. Sketched in 1838." /> + <b>Old House of the Haye du Puits, Guernsey. Sketched in + 1838.</b> + </div> + + <h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2> + + <p>Nothing authentic is known of the history of Guernsey + previously to its annexation to the Duchy of Normandy in the + tenth century. The only sources of information as to events which + may have occurred before that date are references in monkish + chronicles of the usual semi-mythical type, and indications + conveyed by cromlechs and menhirs, fragments of Celtic + instruments and pottery, and a few Roman relics. It is + unfortunate that we are thus precluded from acquiring any + knowledge of the development of a people as to whom the soundest + among conflicting conjectures seems to be that, coming originally + from Brittany, they preserved the purity of the Celtic race + through periods when in other offshoots of the same stock its + characteristics were being obliterated by the processes of + crossing and absorption.</p> + + <p>If early local records had existed they would hardly have + failed to have given minute details of the convulsion of nature + which resulted in the destruction by the sea of the forest lands + on the northern and western sides of the island, and in the + separation of tracts of considerable magnitude from the mainland. + Geologists are agreed in assigning to this event the date of + March, 709, when great inundations occurred in the Bay of + Avranches on the French coast; they are not equally unanimous as + to the cause, but science now rejects the theory of a raising of + the sea-level and that of a general subsidence of the island. The + most reasonable explanation appears to be that the overpowering + force of a tidal wave suddenly swept away barriers whose + resistance had been for ages surely though imperceptibly + diminishing, and that the districts thus left unprotected proved + to be below the sea-level—owing, as regards the forests, to + gradual subsidence easily explicable in the case of undrained, + swampy soil; and, as regards the rocks, to the fact that the + newly exposed surface consisted of accumulations of already + disintegrated deposits.</p> + + <p>It is unquestionable that before the inroad of the sea the + inlet in the south-west of the island known as Rocquaine Bay was + enclosed by two arms, the northern of which terminated in the + point of Lihou; on which still stand the ruins of an old priory, + while the southern ended in the Hanois rocks, on which a + lighthouse has been erected. Lihou is at present an island, + accessible only at low water by a narrow causeway; the Hanois is + entirely cut off from the shore, but it is a noteworthy fact that + the signs of old cart-ruts are visible at spring tides, and that + an iron hook was recently discovered attached to a submerged rock + which had apparently served as a gatepost; besides these proofs + of the existence of roads now lying under the waves, it is said + that an old order for the repair of Hanois roads is still extant. + That Vazon and the Braye du Valle were the sites of forests is + indisputable, though the former is now a sandy bay into which the + Atlantic flows without hindrance, and the latter, reclaimed + within the present century by an enterprising governor, formed + for centuries a channel of the sea by which the Clos du Valle, on + which the Vale Church stands, was separated from the mainland. A + stratum of peat extends over the whole arm of the Braye, while as + regards Vazon there is the remarkable evidence of an occurrence + which took place in December, 1847. A strong westerly gale, + blowing into the bay concurrently with a low spring tide, broke + up the bed of peat and wood underlying the sand and gravel, and + lifted it up like an ice-floe; it was then carried landwards by + the force of the waves. The inhabitants flocked to the spot, and + the phenomenon was carefully inspected by scientific observers. + Trunks of full-sized trees were seen, accompanied by meadow + plants and roots of rushes and weeds, surrounded by those of + grasses and mosses; the perfect state of the trees showed that + they had been long buried under the sand. Some of the trees and + boughs were at first mistaken for wreckage, but the fishermen + soon discovered their error and loaded their carts with the + treasure locally known as "gorban." Subsequent researches have + shown that acorns and hazel-nuts, teeth of horses and hogs, also + pottery and instruments of the same character as those found in + the cromlechs, exist among the Vazon peat deposits. There is + therefore abundant evidence that the legends relating to the + former inhabitants of the forest are based on traditions resting + on an historical foundation.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + + <p><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href= + "#PREFACE"><b>PREFACE.</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href= + "#ILLUSTRATIONS"><b>ILLUSTRATIONS</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER + I</b></a>.—TRADITION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER + II</b></a>.—SUPERSTITION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER + III</b></a>.—DEVOTION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER + IV</b></a>.—REVELATION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER + V</b></a>.—AFFLICTION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER + VI</b></a>.—CONSOLATION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER + VII</b></a>.—ANNIHILATION</span></p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="ILLUSTRATIONS" id= + "ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> + + <p> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#frontispiece"><b>OLD HOUSE OF THE HAYE DU PUITS, GUERNSEY</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#fp026"><b>ROCQUE DU GUET AND COBO BAY</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#fp046"><b>ROCQUAINE BAY WITH L'ERÉE AND LIHOU</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#fp064"><b>VALE CASTLE</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#fp090"><b>GUERNSEY, EASTERN SIDE, WITH ISLANDS OF HERM, JETHOU, AND SARK</b></a></span><br /> + </p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + + <h3>TRADITION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"What can he tell that treads thy shore?<br /></span> + <span>No legend of thine olden time,<br /></span> <span>No + theme on which the mind might soar<br /></span> <span>High as + thine own in days of yore."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>The Giaour</i>.—BYRON<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>In the beginning of the eighth century Guernsey was a favoured + spot. Around, over the Continent and the British Isles, had swept + successive conquests with their grim train of sufferings for the + conquered; but these storm-clouds had not burst over the island. + The shocks which preceded the fall of the Roman Empire had not + been felt, nor had the throes which inaugurated the birth of + Frankish rule in Gaul and Saxon supremacy in Britain, disturbed + the prevailing tranquillity. Occasional descents of pirates, + Northmen from Scandinavian homes or Southmen from the Iberian + peninsula, had hitherto had a beneficial effect by keeping alive + the martial spirit and the vigilance necessary for self-defence. + In the third century three Roman ships had been driven on shore + and lost; the legionaries who escaped had established themselves + in the island, having indeed for the moment no alternative. When + their commander succeeded in communicating with Gaul he suggested + a permanent occupation, being secretly influenced by tales of + mineral wealth to which he had lent an ear. Disillusioned and + recalled, he was followed by a sybarite, whose palate was tickled + by banquets of fish of which he wrote in raptures to his friends + at Capri and Brindisi. This excellent man, dying of apoplexy in + his bath, was replaced by a rough soldier, who lost no time in + procuring the evacuation of a post where he saw with a glance + that troops were uselessly locked up. From this time nothing had + been heard of the Romans; their occupation had lasted forty + years, and in another forty the only physical traces of it + remaining were a camp at Jerbourg, the nearly obliterated + tessellated pavement and fragments of wall belonging to the + sybarite's villa, which occupied the site in the King's Mills + Valley where the Moulin de Haut now stands, the pond in the Grand + Mare in which the voluptuary had reared the carp over which, + dressed with sauces the secret of which died with him, he dwelt + lovingly when stretched on his triclinium, and the basins at Port + Grat in which he stored his treasured mullet and succulent + oysters. The islanders were of one mind in speeding the parting + guests, but the generation which saw them go were better men than + their fathers who had trembled at the landing of the iron-thewed + demi-gods. Compelled to work as slaves, they had learnt much from + their masters; a knowledge of agriculture and of the cultivation + of the grape, the substitution of good weapons and implements of + husbandry for those of their Celtic ancestors, improved + dwellings, and some insight into military discipline,—these + were substantial benefits which raised them in some respects + above their Continental and British neighbours, among whom + patriotism had, on the disappearance of the civilization of the + Romans, revived the more congenial barbarism. Arrivals among them + of Christian monks, scanty at first, more frequent since the + landing of S. Augustine in Britain, had also had a certain + effect. The progress of conversion was, however, slow; the people + were bigoted, and the good fathers were compelled, as in + Brittany, to content themselves with a few genuine converts, + wisely endeavouring rather to leaven the mass by grafting + Christian truths on the old superstitions than to court certain + defeat, possible expulsion or massacre, by striving to overthrow + at once all the symbols of heathenism.</p> + + <p>The island was larger in extent than it is at present, as, in + addition to the Vale district, the islet of Lihou, Vazon Bay, and + the rock group known as the Hanois formed part of it. It is with + the events that altered this configuration that the following + legend deals.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + + <h3>SUPERSTITION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"Awestruck, the much-admiring crowd<br /></span> + <span>Before the virgin vision bowed,<br /></span> + <span>Gaz'd with an ever-new delight,<br /></span> <span>And + caught fresh virtues at the sight."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span>EDWARD MOORÉ'S <i>Fables</i>.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>On the 24th of June, in the year 708, merry crowds were + thronging to Vazon Forest. It was a lovely spot. The other + portions of the island were bare and somewhat rugged; here the + humidity of the soil favoured the growth of fine, vigorous + timber. On the low ground flourished oak and sycamore, torn and + bent near the shore where the trees met the force of the Atlantic + gales, growing freely and with rich verdure where better + protected. On the higher slopes were massed beech, birch, and the + sweet chestnut which was even then domesticated in the island. + Glades, bursting with a wealth of flowers nurtured by the + mildness of the climate, penetrated the wood in every direction; + streams bubbling up from springs, and forming little cascades + where their course was checked by granite boulders, lent an + additional charm. Towards the centre of the forest these streams + united to form a lake, or rather a natural moat, surrounding an + island in the midst of which stood a gigantic oak. This was the + only tree on the island; round it, at even distances, were placed + twelve stones, beyond which a meadow glittering with varied hues + extended to the surrounding water.</p> + + <p>It was to this island that the holiday-makers were wending + their way: young men and maidens, and such elders as had vigour + enough to traverse the rough tracks leading from the interior. + They were a small race, lithe and active, with strong black hair + and dark eyes now twinkling with merriment They poured over the + wooden bridges into the precincts of the towering oak, under + which the elders seated themselves with the musicians, the + younger people streaming off to the clear ground between the + stones and the water.</p> + + <p>When all were assembled the music struck up at a signal from + an elder. The instruments were akin to the goat-skin pipes of + Lower Brittany; the music wild, weird, appealing to the passion + if not melodious to the ear. At any rate the effect was + inspiriting. First, the men danced, the maidens seating + themselves round the dancers and chanting the following words, to + the rhythm of which they swayed their bodies + gracefully:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"Mille Sarrazins, mille Sarmates,<br /></span> <span>Un + jour nous avons tués.<br /></span> <span>Mille, mille, + mille, mille, mille Perses,<br /></span> <span>Nous cherchons + à present."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The dance, footed to this truculent chant, had no warlike + features; beginning with a march, or rather a tripping walk, it + ended with feats in which each dancer defied his neighbour to + out-spring him; nor did the vocalists appear to expect + representations of strife and doughty deeds. The words, Roman by + origin, as is clear from the allusion to the Persians, had been + adapted to a native air by the conquerors, and had been left by + them as a legacy to the islanders. Next, the maidens trod a + measure, the men standing round and applauding; the dance was + quiet and soft, consisting principally of graceful movements of + the body as if the dancers were getting themselves into training + for greater efforts; in this case the dancers themselves chanted + words suitable to the music. This ended, there was a pause before + the principal business of the day began, the dance in which both + sexes joined, to be followed by the bestowal of a wreath on the + loveliest of the maidens.</p> + + <p>During the pause it was evident that an unusual incident had + occurred. The best-looking of the girls were pouting, the + attention of the youths was distracted. During the latter part of + the dance the applause had been intermittent; towards the close + it had almost ceased. The elders, looking about under their + shaggy eyebrows, had not been long in discovering the cause, and + when they had found it allowed their attention to wander + also.</p> + + <p>The disturbing element was, indeed, not far to seek. Close to + one of the bridges was seated a maiden, unknown to all of them, + but lovely enough to hold the glance of old and young. Unlike the + natives she was tall and fair; masses of golden hair encircled + her oval face and clustered over her blue eyes. Who was she? + Whence came she? None could answer. By degrees some of the + boldest of the youths approached, but their bluff manners seemed + to displease her; though unaccustomed to rebuffs they retired. + One, however, among them fared differently. Jean Letocq, a member + of the family to which the hero belonged who near this very spot + discovered the sleeping troops of the Grand Sarrazin, was admired + and beloved both by youths and maidens. First in every sport, + having shown courage and resource in times of peril both by sea + and land, tender of glance and gentle of tongue, he held a + pre-eminence which none disputed, and which was above the reach + of envy. The fair stranger, from his first glance at her, had + fascinated, enthralled him: his eyes fastened greedily on her + every movement; he noted well her reception of those who had + addressed her, and when he approached he came, bare-headed, with + a low obeisance and a deferential air. He seated himself by her + in silence, after murmuring a few words of welcome to the feast, + to which she made no answer. Presently he spoke again, softly and + courteously; she replied without constraint, speaking his own + language fluently, though with a foreign accent. The ice once + broken their talk rippled on, as is the wont of light words, + brightly uttered. Jean drank in each gentle phrase, watched every + graceful gesture; his heart bounded when she carelessly smiled. + But he lost not his daring: when the musicians again struck up he + boldly asked her to join in the dance.</p> + + <p>She was not offended, her look showed no displeasure, but she + refused; he renewed his request; suddenly a change came over her + face, she looked rapidly round as though searching for some one + who was not present, a flash came into her eyes, she sprang to + her feet. "Why should I not dance!" she said; "they are merry, + why should I alone be sad!" She let him lead her into the ring. + If she had been enchanting when seated, what was her power when + she moved! She was a model of grace and loveliness; the contrast + of her colouring to that of her neighbours inspired the + superstitious with some terror, but made the braver spirits gaze + more curiously, indifferent to the half-concealed anger and + affected disdain of their partners. Every moment she gained more + hearts, though she let her eyes rest only on those of Jean. After + the dance was over she seated herself in her former position; the + women then, according to custom, retired outside the stone + circle, while the men clustered round the oak to award the prize. + The ceremony had up to this day been looked on as a pure + formality: for the last two summers the wreath had been by common + consent placed on the brows of Suzanne Falla, and none who woke + that morning had doubted that it would rest there again before + night. But now the men's heads were turned; there was commotion + both outside and inside the circle; then a hush, as the old men + rose in their places and the young men formed a lane to the tree. + Jean stepped out, and taking the stranger by the hand, led her to + where a white-haired veteran stood with the wreath in his hand. + The next moment it was placed on her brows, and then all voices + burst into a song of triumph, which rang to the remotest glades + of the forest. Suzanne did not join in the song; her little heart + was breaking; all the passion of her hot nature was roused; she + felt herself unfairly, unjustly, treated; insulted on the very + day that was to have crowned her pride. She could not control + herself, nor could she accept her defeat: she stamped her foot on + the ground, and poured out a torrent of objurgation, accusing + Jean of treachery, demanding to know whence he had produced her + rival, appealing to the elders to revise the judgment. Then, + suddenly ceasing, as she saw by the looks of those around her + that while in some her fate created pity, in others it gave rise + to amusement, in many to the pleasure which poor human nature + felt then as now in a friend's misfortune, her mood altered: she + turned and, rapidly leaving the crowd, crossed one of the + bridges. Hastening her steps, but not watching them, she tripped + over the straggling root of a yew, and fell, her temple striking + a sharp boulder, one of many cropping up in the forest. Poor + girl! in one moment passion and pride had flown; she lay + senseless, blood streaming from the wound.</p> + + <p>A quick revulsion of feeling swept through the impressionable + people. Her departure had been watched, the fall observed, and + the serious nature of the accident was soon known; all hurried to + the spot where she lay, full of sympathy and distress. Jean, + perhaps not altogether unremorseful, was among the first to + proffer aid; the stranger, left alone, took off the wreath and + placed it on one of the stones of the circle, by which she stood + contemplating the scene.</p> + + <p>The blow, struck deep into the temple, was beyond any ordinary + means of cure; life indeed seemed to be ebbing away. "Send for + Marie!" the cry sprang from many mouths: "send for Marie the wise + woman! she alone can save her!" Three or four youths ran hastily + off.</p> + + <p>"Wish ye for Marie Torode's body or her spirit?" said a harsh + female voice; "her body ye can have! but what avail closed eyes + and rigid limbs? Her spirit, tossed by the whirling death-blast, + is beyond your reach!"</p> + + <p>The speaker, on whom all eyes turned, was an aged woman of + unusual height; her snow-white hair was confined by a metal + circlet, her eyes were keen and searching, her gestures + imperious; her dress was simple and would have been rude but for + the quaintly ornamented silver girdle that bound her waist, and + the massive bracelets on her arms. Like the girl she was seen for + the first time; her almost supernatural appearance inspired + wonder and awe. She bent over the prostrate form: "Marie said + with her last breath," she muttered to herself, "that ere the + oaks were green again the sweetest maidens in the island would be + in her embrace, but she cannot summon this one now! her vext + spirit has not yet the power!"</p> + + <p>She examined the wound, and raising herself said, "No human + hand can save her. The Spirits alone have power: those Spirits + who prolong human life regardless of human ills; but they must be + besought, and who will care to beseech them?"</p> + + <p>"Prayers may save her," answered a stern voice, "but not + prayers to devils! The Holy Virgin should we beseech, by whom all + pure maidens are beloved. She will save her if it be God's will, + or receive her into her bosom if it be decreed that she should + die."</p> + + <p>The words were those of Father Austin, one of the monks of + Lihou, distinguished by his sanctity and the austerity of his + habits. He was spare, as one who lived hardly; his grey eyes had + a dreamy look betokening much inward contemplation, though they + could be keen enough when, as now, the man was roused; there was + a gentleness about his mouth which showed a nature filled with + love and sympathy.</p> + + <p>The woman drew herself to her full stature, and turned on him + a defiant look.</p> + + <p>"Gods or devils!" she said in a ringing tone—"which you + will! What can an immured anchorite know of the vast mysteries of + the wind-borne spirits? Is this child to live or die? My gods can + save her; if yours can, let them take her! She is nought to + me."</p> + + <p>"When Elijah wrestled with the prophets of Baal, where did + victory rest?" said the priest, and he too stooped down and + inspected the wound. "She is past cure," he said, rising sadly; + "it remains but to pray for her soul."</p> + + <p>At this critical moment an agonizing shriek rang through the + forest. The same runners who had sped to Marie Torode's cottage + and had learnt there that the wise woman had in truth passed + away, had brought back with them Suzanne's mother, who threw + herself on her child's body endeavouring to staunch the blood, + and to restore animation. Finding her efforts vain, she had + listened anxiously to the words that had passed, and on hearing + the priest's sentence of doom she burst into frantic grief and + supplication. Turning to each disputant she cried—"Save + her! save her young life! I suckled her, I reared her, I love + her!—oh, how I love her!—do not let her die!"</p> + + <p>"She can be saved!" curtly responded the stranger. The priest + was silent. A murmur arose. Austin, who had trained himself to + study those among whom he laboured, saw that the feeling was + rising strongly against him. His antagonist saw it also, and + pressed her victory.</p> + + <p>"Yes!" she said scornfully, "it is a small matter for my Gods + to save her, but they will not be besought while this bald-pate + obtrudes his presence. Let him leave us!"</p> + + <p>The priest was much perplexed. He knew the skill of these + lonely women; secretly he had faith in their power of witchcraft, + though attributing it to the direct agency of Satan. He thought + it not impossible that there was truth in the boast; and his + heart was wrung with the mother's grief. On the other hand, the + public defeat was a sore trial; but it was clear to him that for + the present at least the analogy of Elijah's struggle was + imperfect: he must wait, and meanwhile bear his discomfiture with + meekness. He prepared to retire. The victor was not, however, + even now satisfied. "Take with you," she said, "yon idol that + defaces the sacred oak!"</p> + + <p>The good fathers, following their usual practice of + associating emblems of heathen with those of Christian worship, + in the hope of gradually diverting the reverence to the latter + without giving to the former a ruder shock than could be endured, + had suspended a small cross on the oak, hoping eventually to + carve the tree itself into a sacred emblem; it was to this that + the woman was pointing with a sneer.</p> + + <p>But this time she had made a blunder. Father Austin turned to + the crucifix and his strength and fire returned. Taking it from + the tree, reverently kissing it and holding it aloft, he said + solemnly—"Let my brothers and sisters come with me! We will + pray apart, where no profane words can reach us. Perchance our + prayers may be granted!" Not a few of the hearers followed him; + sufficient indeed to make an imposing procession: the triumph of + the Evil One was at least dimmed.</p> + + <p>But his adversary did not appear to notice their departure. + She gave a sharp glance in the direction of the oak, and the now + discrowned girl was quickly at her side. Receiving some rapid + instructions, the latter disappeared into the wood, and shortly + returned with some herbs, which she passed to her companion; she + then resumed her position by the stone. The old woman placed some + leaves, which she selected, on the wound: the bleeding at once + ceased; squeezing juice from the herbs, she applied an ointment + made from it; then, opening a phial attached to her waist-belt, + she poured some drops of liquid into the girl's mouth, gently + parting her lips. This done, she stood erect and began an + incantation, or rather a supplication, in an unknown tongue. As + she proceeded her form became rigid, her eye gleamed, her arms, + the hands clenched, were raised above her head. The sun flashed + on the circlet, glittered on the embossed girdle: on the right + arm was a heavy bracelet, composed of a golden serpent winding in + weird folds round a human bone; the head was towards the wearer's + wrist, and the jewelled eyes which, being of large size, must + have been formed of rare stones, glowed and shot fire as the red + beams struck on them through the branches. It seemed that a + forked tongue darted in and out, but this may have been imagined + by the heated fancies of the bystanders. The prayer ended; the + stillness of death rested a moment on man and nature; then a wild + gust of wind, striking the oak without any preliminary warning, + bent and snapped the upper branches, and crashed inland through + the swaying forest. The watchers saw the colour return to the + cheeks of the wounded girl, who opened her eyes and sate up. + "Take her home," said the sorceress, now quite composed, to the + mother; "she is yours again!—till Marie calls her!" she + added in a low voice to herself. The happy mother, shedding tears + of joy, but in vain attempting to get her thanks accepted, obeyed + the injunction.</p> + + <p>As she and her friends disappeared, the old woman, turning to + the awed people who seemed more than ever disposed to look on her + as a supernatural being, said sternly—"Why linger you here? + Are you unmindful of your duties? See you not how the shadows + lengthen?" These words produced a magical effect: the deep + emotions by which the mass had been recently swayed were swiftly + replaced by equally profound feelings of a different nature, as + cloud succeeds cloud in a storm-swept sky.</p> + + <p>And now a singular scene was enacted. A procession was formed, + headed by the old men, bare-headed; the musicians followed, + behind whom walked with solemn step the younger members of the + community. This procession, emerging from the western border of + the forest, slowly climbed the slopes of the Rocque du Guet, and + arriving at the summit bent its way seaward, halting at the edge + of the precipitous cliff.</p> + + <p>The sun was nearing the horizon. The scene was one of + unsurpassed loveliness. Behind lay the central and southern + portions of the island, hushed as if their primaeval rocks were + still tenantless. The outlines of the isles of Herm and Jethou + were visible, but already sinking into the shades of evening. On + the left the bold bluffs of L'Erée and Lihou, on the right + the rugged masses of the Grandes and the Grosses Rocques, the + Gros Commet, the Grande and Petite Fourque, lay in sharpened + outline, the lapping waves already assuming a grey tint. These + masses formed the framework of a picture which embraced a + boundless wealth of colour, an infinite depth of softness. + Straight from the sun shot out across Cobo Bay a joyous river of + gold, so bright that eye could ill bear to face its glow; here + and there in its course stood out quaintly-shaped rocks, some + drenched with the fulness of the glorious bath, others catching + now and again a sprinkling shower. On each side of the river the + sea, clear to its depths where alternate sand and rock made a + tangle of capriciously mingled light and shade; its surface, here + blue as the still waters of the Grotta Azzurra, there green as + the olive, here again red-brown as Carthaginian marble, lay + waveless, as with a sense that the beauty was too perfect to be + disturbed. Suddenly the scene was changed; the lustrous outflow + was swiftly drawn in and absorbed; a grey hue swept over the + darkening surface; in the distance the round, blood-coloured, orb + hung above the expectant ocean.</p> + + <p>Then all assembled fell on their knees. The music gave out + sharp plaintive notes which were answered by the voices of men + and women in short, wailing, as it were inquiring, rhythm; this + continued till the sun was on the point of disappearance, when + music and voices together burst into a sad chant, seemingly of + farewell; the kneeling people extending their hands seaward with + an appealing gesture. One figure only was erect; on the + projecting boulder, which is still so conspicuous a feature of + the Rocque du Guet, stood the sorceress, her arms also + outstretched, her figure, firm, erect, sharply outlined, such as + Turner's mind conceived when he sketched the Last Man.</p> + + <p>Father Austin contemplated the scene from a distance. By his + side was his favourite convert, Jean Letocq.</p> + + <p>"Strange!" he said, placing his hand on his companion's + shoulder. "Your race are not sun-worshippers. Never, except on + this day of the year, do they show this feeling; but who that saw + them to-day would doubt that they are so! Is it that from old + times their intense love of nature has led them to show in this + way their sadness at its decay? or do they by mourning over the + close of the sun's longest day symbolize their recognition of the + inevitable end of the longest life of man? I cannot tell. But, + blind as this worship is, it is better than that of the work of + man's hands. By God's will your countrymen may be led from + kneeling to the created to mount the ladder till they bend the + knee only to the Creator. It may be well, too, that their chosen + object of veneration is the only object in nature which dies but + to rise again. Thus may they be led to the comprehension of the + great truth of the resurrection. But Satan," he added with + warmth, "must be wrestled with and cast down, specially when he + takes the forms of temptation which he has assumed to-day: those + of power and beauty. Prayer and fasting are sorely needed."</p> + + <p>For once his pupil was not altogether docile. "Thou hast + taught me, father," he replied, "the lesson of charity. This old + woman is sinful, her error is deep, but may she not be converted + and saved?"</p> + + <p>"The devils can never regain Paradise," replied the priest + sternly. "Arm thyself, Jean, against their wiles, in which I fear + thou art already entangled. The two forms we have to-day seen are + but human in seeming: demons surely lurked beneath."</p> + + <p>Jean was now in open rebellion. "Nay, good father," he said + decisively, "the maiden was no fiend; if her companion be an imp + of darkness, as well she may, be it my task to rescue her from + the evil snare into which she has fallen!" He had indeed a vivid + recollection of the soft, human hand to which he had ventured to + give a gentle pressure when he had assisted in placing the wreath + on the fair, marble, brow, and had no doubt of the girl's + womanhood. As he spoke he vanished from the side of the priest, + who, seeing the two objects of his pious aversion entering the + darkening glades of the wood, was at no loss to divine the cause + of his disappearance. The holy father shook his head, and sighed + deeply. He was accustomed to disappointments, but this day his + path had to an unusual extent been beset with thorns. His faith + was unshaken, and he humbly laid the fault on his own shoulders, + promising further privations to his already sorely afflicted + body. Meanwhile he descended the hill, directing his course to + Lihou. Pausing on his way through the forest to replace the cross + on the oak, he saw Jean, walking slowly homewards, his listless + step showing that his quest had failed. The Evil One had, he + thought, for the time at least, forborne to press his advantage. + Further off he heard the scattered voices of the dispersing + throng.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2> + + <h3>DEVOTION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"There glides a step through the foliage + thick,<br /></span> <span>And her cheek grows pale and her + heart beats quick,<br /></span> <span>There whispers a voice + through the rustling leaves,<br /></span> <span>And her blush + returns, and her bosom heaves;<br /></span> <span>A moment + more—and they shall meet.<br /></span> <span>'Tis + past—her lover's at her feet."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>Parasina</i>.—BYRON.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>After visiting all the accessible parts of the island Jean + satisfied himself that it was useless to search further in them + for traces of the strangers. Persons so remarkable could not, it + was clear, conceal themselves from the knowledge of the + inhabitants. He must therefore either admit that the monk's + surmise was correct, or must search in quarters hitherto + unexplored. Though his rejection of the former alternative was a + foregone conclusion, his adoption of the latter was a remarkable + proof of the strength of his passion. There was only one district + unexplored, and that was practically unapproachable.</p> + + <p>Early in the sixth century some piratical vessels had entered + Rocquaine Bay in a shattered condition; the crews succeeded in + landing, but the ships, for seagoing purposes, were beyond + repair. The pirates penetrated inland, driving out the + inhabitants from Torteval and some of the adjoining valleys. Here + they settled; and being skilled in hunting and fishing, having a + fair knowledge of husbandry, and finding the position peculiarly + adapted for their marauding pursuits, throve and prospered: so + much so that when, some years afterwards, they had an opportunity + of leaving, the majority elected to remain. Their descendants had + continued to occupy the same district. Who they were, whether + pure Northmen or of some mixed race, it would be idle to + conjecture: they were originally put down by the islanders as + Sarrazins, that being the name under which the simple people + classed all pirates; the strangers, however, resented this + description, and had consequently come to be spoken of as Les + Voizins, a definition to which no exception could be taken. Hardy + and warlike, quick of temper and rough of speech, they had an + undisputed ascendancy over the natives, to whom, though dangerous + if provoked, they had often given powerful aid in times of peril. + On the whole they made not bad neighbours, but a condition was + imposed by them the violation of which was never forgiven: no + native was permitted, under any pretext, to enter their + territory; death was the sure fate of an intruder found in + Rocquaine Bay or setting foot in the Voizin hills or valleys. + Whatever may have been the cause of this regulation the result + had been to keep the race as pure as it was on the day of the + first landing.</p> + + <p>Now it was in the Terre des Voizins that Jean had resolved to + seek his beloved, and his resolution was unalterable. He knew the + danger; he wished to avoid death if possible; he meant to employ + to the full the resources at his command; foolhardy as his + enterprise seemed it was long and carefully planned. He knew that + in the summer evenings it was the custom of the Voizin women to + visit the sunny shores of the bay: this he had seen from Lihou; + could he then succeed in landing unperceived, and in concealing + himself in one of the many clefts of the rocks, he felt sure that + if the well-known form were there he would descry it; what would + follow afterwards was a question which had taken many fantastic + shapes in his imagination, none of which had assumed a definite + form.</p> + + <p>Towards the close of July the conditions were favourable for + his attempt. In the night a strong tide would be running into the + bay; the wind was south-westerly, the moon set early. He prepared + to start. He had selected a small and light boat, which would + travel fast under his powerful strokes, and might be so handled + as not to attract attention; in it he had stored provisions which + would last for a few days and a small cask of fresh water. + Towards evening he shaped his course for Lihou.</p> + + <p>He had seen but little of the monk since the day of the feast, + but he was yearning to see him now. His love for the man, his + reverence for the truths he taught, his thought of his own future + if he lost his life in his rash expedition, all urged him to seek + a parting interview.</p> + + <p>The brothers received him affectionately and bade him join + their frugal meal. The monks were five in number: they had been + six, but one had recently been drowned while returning from a + pious mission to Herm. Jean knew them all; they were honest, + God-fearing men, trustful and truthful. If their reasoning powers + were not great, their faith was unswerving. Their life was a + prolonged asceticism, and they had fair reason to expect that + martyrdom would be their earthly crown.</p> + + <p>The only exceptional feature of the repast was the appearance + of one who had never yet been seated there in Jean's presence; + this guest was the hermit who dwelt on the extreme point, against + which the Atlantic waves dashed in their fiercest fury. The + recluse did not seem to cultivate the duty of abstemiousness, but + he maintained silence. Jean could not forbear furtively scanning + his appearance, which was indeed remarkable. He would have been + of large stature in any country; compared with the natives his + proportions were gigantic. His broad shoulders and muscular arms + betokened enormous strength; his hair and beard were fair; his + blue eyes had a clear, frank, expression; there was firmness of + purpose in his massive jaw; he seemed between forty and fifty, + and would have been strikingly handsome but for three deep scars + which totally marred the expression of his features. As Jean eyed + him he returned the compliment, but the meal was soon over and + the youth accompanied Father Austin to his cell.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 576px;"><a name="fp026" id="fp026" /> + <img src="images/fp026.jpg" width="576" height="376" alt= + "Rocque du Guet and Cobo Bay. Sketched in 1839." title= + "Rocque du Guet and Cobo Bay. Sketched in 1839." /> <b>Roque du + Guet and Cobo Bay. Sketched in 1839.</b> + </div> + + <p>There a long and sleepless night was passed by both. The monk + in vain endeavoured to combat Jean's resolution; he argued, + prayed, indeed threatened, but without effect. Finding his + efforts hopeless he abandoned them, and endeavoured to fortify + his charge against the influence of the spell under which he + believed him to have fallen. Then the young man was again the + pupil; he listened humbly and reverently to the repetition of the + great truths which the father strove to rivet on his mind, and + joined earnestly in the prayers for truth and constancy. As + daylight broke, and he at length laid himself down to rest, his + latest vision was that of the good man kneeling by him with that + rapt look of contemplation which seemed to foreshadow his + immortality.</p> + + <p>Jean slept profoundly for some hours. When night began to fall + he received Austin's blessing, no further reference being made to + his expedition, and when the moon was on the eve of disappearance + he launched his boat. As he rounded Lihou point another boat shot + out, the occupant of which hailed him. Recognizing the hermit, + Jean paused. "You steer wrong," said the giant, speaking with an + accent which at once reminded his hearer of that of the maiden; + "your course is to the rising sun." "I go where I will," replied + Jean, nettled at this unlooked-for interruption. "Youth," + answered the other, "I have watched thee and wish thee well! rush + not heedlessly to certain death!" "Stay me not!" resolutely + answered Jean, wondering at the interest taken in him by this + strange being. "Thou knowest not!" said the hermit sternly; "it + is not only from death I wish to save thee, but from worse than + death; I tell thee I—" He checked himself, as if fearful of + saying too much, and bent his eyes searchingly into those of + Jean, who murmured simply, "I am resolved." "Then God help thee + and speed thee!" said the giant. Glancing into the boat he saw + one of the curved and pierced shells then, as now, used by + Guernsey seamen as signal-horns: pointing to it he said, "If in + peril, where a blast may be heard on Lihou, sound the horn twice: + it is a poor hope but may serve thee!" He was gone.</p> + + <p>Jean paddled into the dreaded bay; the moon had now sunk and + he was further favoured by a slight mist. Knowing the tides from + infancy, he worked his way noiselessly till he approached where + the Voizin fleet lay, then laid himself down and let the current + take him. He passed several boats in safety; as far as he could + judge, from the observations he had taken from Lihou, he was + nearly past the anchorage when a crash, succeeded by a grating + sound, warned him of danger. A curse, followed by an ejaculation + of surprise and pleasure, enlightened him as to the nature of the + collision: he was in contact with one of the anchored vessels. + "Odin is good!" cried a voice; "ha! a skiff drifted from a + wrecked vessel! and all eyes but mine sleeping!" The speaker + threw over a small anchor and grappled the boat. Jean was + prepared; without a moment's hesitation he cut the anchor-rope: + his craft drifted onwards, leaving the fisherman grumbling at the + rottenness of his tackle. He offered a short prayer of gratitude, + and in a few minutes ventured cautiously to resume his oars. He + heard the breaking of the waves, but seamanship on the unknown + and indistinct coast was useless. Two sharp blows, striking the + boat in rapid succession, told him that he had touched a + submerged rock; the strong tide carried him off it, but the water + poured in through a gaping rent. He was now, however, on a sandy + bottom: he sprang out, pulled the boat up as far as possible, and + sat down to wait for light.</p> + + <p>The first break of dawn showed him his position: he was facing + northward; he was therefore on the Hanois arm of the bay. Fortune + had indeed been kind to him, for he had drifted into a small + cleft sheltered by precipitous rocks, a place where concealment + was fairly possible, as it was accessible only by land at the + lowest tides. He examined his store of provisions, which was + uninjured; storing it among the rocks he rested till the sun + sank. He then cautiously climbed the cliff, and looked on the + scene revealed by the moonlight. Seawards stood a rough round + tower; no other building was visible on the point, which seemed + deserted. The loneliness gave him courage; when the moon set, the + night being clear, he explored further and satisfied himself that + there were no human beings, except the occupants of the tower, + living on these rocks. He retired to his hiding-place to rest; + before dawn he again ascended and concealed himself among the + bracken and brambles which formed the only available shelter. + During the whole day he saw but one person, an elderly woman, + whose dark features and bright kerchief showed her to be of + southern or gipsy origin, and who passed backwards and forwards + carrying water to the tower. His examination increased his + confidence; he calculated, by measuring the time occupied by the + old woman in passing with an empty and returning with a full + pitcher, that the spring frequented by her could not be far + distant; at night he found it just beyond the junction of the + rocks with the mainland. The water was cool and fresh, and + considerably revived him; he noticed too that the luxuriant + brushwood, nourished by the moisture, offered a good place for + concealment; he returned, removed thither what remained of his + provisions, and ensconced himself in his new retreat.</p> + + <p>In the morning he saw two figures approaching from the tower; + one was the same servant he had seen before, but the + other!—his heart throbbed and leaped, his brain reeled, his + eyes gazed hungrily; he could not be, he was not, + mistaken!—the second figure was the heroine of his dreams! + She walked silently. Jean saw that memory had not played him + false: her beauty, her grace, were no freak of his imagination; + would the holy father now say that she was a devil, while thus + she moved in her loveliness, a woman to be loved and + worshipped!—a very woman, too! not above the cares of life! + Seating herself by the spring she despatched her companion on an + errand to supply domestic wants, promising to await her + return.</p> + + <p>Jean's principal characteristic was rapid resolution: he + reasoned that a small alarm might make the girl fly; that his + chance of retaining her was an overpowering shock. He stepped + boldly out and stood before her. The maiden sprang quickly to her + feet; there was no terror in her face; she was of true blood; if + she was afraid she did not show it; it was clear she recognized + the apparition, but intense surprise, overpowering other + emotions, kept her dumb. Jean had thus the chance of speaking + first, and deftly he used his opportunity. In a few rapid + sentences he told the tale of his search, of his adventures, of + his selection of his hiding-place; then he paused. The maiden was + not long in finding words. There was a flush on her cheek and a + tear hanging on her eyelash which made Jean very happy. "You must + go," she said, "but where? Your life is forfeit! forfeit to the + Gods!" She shuddered as she said this. "In yonder tower lives my + mother, on the shore are my people; there is no escape on either + hand! A chance has saved you hitherto; none dare approach our + home without my mother's permission, which is rarely given; but + on this spot they may find you, may seize you, may—!" She + stopped, with an expression of horror, and covered her face with + her hands.</p> + + <p>But Jean was not anxious; he was radiant with happiness. He + seated himself and spoke of love, deep passionate love; so gentle + was he, so soft, so courteous, and yet so ardent, that the maiden + trembled; when he dared to take her hand she did not withdraw it. + The moment of bliss was brief; a step was heard. "Hide yourself + quickly," she whispered, "Tita is returning." Jean promptly + obeyed the injunction. The old woman arrived with a well-filled + wallet, and looked fondly at her young mistress. The signs of + recent agitation struck her. "What has befallen thee, Hilda?" she + cried anxiously. The girl took her arm and led her seawards. + Jean, watching, could see the start and angry expression of the + older, the coaxing, pleading attitude of the younger woman; he + could satisfy himself that the resistance of the former was + gradually being overcome, and as they returned he saw that the + maiden's victory was indisputable. She summoned Jean, who was + inspected by Tita at first with distrust, then with modified + approval. "You must stay here," said the maiden earnestly, + "closely hidden till nightfall; my absence has been already + sufficiently long, and nothing can be done while daylight lasts." + Bidding him farewell she sped with her guardian towards the + tower, while Jean retired to his bushes a prey to fond thoughts + and feverish hopes.</p> + + <p>Before sundown he saw the tall figure of the sorceress wending + landwards. She did not approach the spring. Hilda quickly + followed with her former companion. "We have a long journey," she + said, "and short time: we must start at once." Removing all + traces of his lair he obeyed without hesitation. They ascended + the steep cliff. The night was clear, the moon at this hour was + bright and lustrous. "We have three hours," said the maiden, "ere + we leave our guest!"—she looked archly at Jean as she thus + described him—"it should suffice!" They were now on the + heights of Pleinmont; no one was moving, though voices of men and + beasts could be plainly heard in the distance. "They feast + to-night to the Gods," said Hilda; "we need fear only some + belated laggard!" The heather was not yet springing, but Jean + could see that gorse was on the bloom, which he considered a + favourable omen: they stepped out bravely on the short springy + turf. Tita's steps were slower than those of the young pair, who + were deaf to her calls for delay. Never to his dying day did Jean + forget that happy night-walk. His soul was poured out in love, + and he knew that his love was returned. He was steeped to the + full in joy; no thought of future cares or perils crossed his + mind. They had passed three or four headlands before the girl + halted and waited for her attendant, who came up muttering to + herself and grumbling; compliments from Jean and caresses from + Hilda restored her good humour, and the work of the evening + commenced. "Follow me closely," said the girl; "let your eye be + keen and your step firm: the descent is no child's sport." Jean + looked at the cliff, fitted for the flight of gull or cormorant + rather than the foot of man, still less of gentle maiden: Hilda + was already over the brink: Jean, following, saw that she was on + a path no broader than a goat's track; the difficulties of the + descent need not be described; it was possible for a clear head + and practised foot, to the nervous or the unsteady the attempt + must have been fatal. Arrived at the bottom the climbers found + themselves in a small cleft strewn with huge boulders; the rocks + towered high above them. Hilda glanced at the moon. "We must be + quick," said she, showing him some deep caverns in the rock; + "there," she said, "is your home. Here you are safe; my mother + alone knows the secret of these caves. I must mount again; you + must climb with me to mark the path more closely." She sprang to + the rock and commenced to ascend as nimbly as she had come down. + Jean saw the necessity of taking every precaution; he noted + carefully each feature of the track. Arrived at the summit she + bade him farewell. She pointed out a place where Tita would from + time to time leave him provisions, and said that he would find + water in the caves; she then tripped quickly off. Jean did not + linger, seeing that if he did so light would fail him for his + return. He crossed the track for the third time, reached the + caves, and slept soundly till dawn.</p> + + <p>When he awoke he inspected his strange retreat. He was in a + large hall, two hundred feet long, and some fifty feet high and + broad; this chamber was entered by a small orifice of no great + length, through which he had passed on the preceding night; it + was warm, and dry except where the stream of which Hilda had + spoken trickled through to the sea. It was the fissure now known + as the Creux Mahie, and to which an easy access has been arranged + for the benefit of the curious. Here Jean passed three months. + Hilda frequently visited him, and always kept him supplied with + food; she warned him also when he might safely roam on the cliffs + above. There was no obstacle to her visits, even when they + extended to a considerable length, as the mother seemed always to + be satisfied as to her absences when Tita accompanied her; and + the latter, whose infirmities prevented her from descending, had + no means of shortening the interviews.</p> + + <p>Thus the lovers had opportunity to study each other's + characters. The maiden's pure heart knew no distrust, and Jean + was faithful and chivalrous as Sir Galahad. They spoke not always + of love: words were unnecessary to explain what every look + betokened. Jean found her skilled in strange, mystical, lore, but + ignorant of all that sways and rules mankind. The history of the + selfish struggles of human interests and passions was to her a + sealed book. She had been carefully shrouded from the knowledge + of evil; but, in order to protect her in the rough turbulent + little world in which she lived, it had been necessary to keep + her from association with her countrymen, and so she had never + mingled with them except under the charge of her mother, in whose + presence the fiercest were submissive. Jean, therefore, in + speaking to her of family intercourse, of the intermingling of + members of the household, of bright chat with friends, opened up + to her views of life of which she had formed no conception. Then + he told her of his own people; described the three generations + living under one roof; depicted the daily round, the care of the + old and the young, the work, the return of the workers to their + wives, sisters, and children, the love of the mothers for their + infants, the reverence for age, the strong mutual affection of + husband and wife, brother and sister. To these descriptions she + listened with a happy smile, the mission of woman dawning on her; + and many were the questions she asked, till she seemed to have + mastered the pictures painted for her. Above all, Jean strained + to bring her to the knowledge of the God of the Christian, for he + himself was an earnest, intelligent disciple. He found her mind + clearer than he had expected. Judith (this he now knew was the + mother's name) was a remarkable woman; her mind was lofty, if + darkened. While others were satisfied with the grossness of a + material creed her spirit soared aloft. Her Gods commanded her + implicit faith, her unswerving allegiance. Seated on the + storm-clouds, sweeping through space, they represented to her + infinite force. She attributed to them no love for mankind, which + was in her creed rather their plaything, but she credited them + with the will and the power to scatter good and ill before they + claimed the soul of the hero to their fellowship, or cast into a + lower abyss that of the coward or the traitor. She believed that + she saw their giant forms half bending from their vapoury + thrones, and she thought that she read their decrees. Sorceress + she may have been; in those days sorcery was attributed to many + who had obtained a knowledge of laws of nature, then considered + occult, now recognized among the guiding principles from which + scientific deductions are drawn. She believed in the power of + magic, which she was universally understood to possess; but she + was no vulgar witch: rather was she a worthy priestess of her not + ignoble deities. The effect upon Hilda's mind of the teachings of + such a woman is easy to conceive. She had been allowed to know + little of the wild orgies of the barbaric feasts offered to the + Gods by her countrymen, of their brutal excesses, of their human + sacrifices: from this knowledge she had been as far as possible + shielded: she knew only of the dim mystic beings, half men, half + Gods, from whose wrath she shrank with terror. To a mind so + constituted and trained the revelation of the story of the infant + Christ was a passionate pleasure. She never tired of listening to + the tale of the birth in the stable of Bethlehem; but she loved + not to dwell on the history of the passion and death, which was + at that time beyond her understanding. She drank in with parted + lips all that concerned the Holy Mother, of whom she was never + weary of hearing. Jean had a rude drawing of the Madonna and + Child, given him by Father Austin: the figures had the angularity + and rigidity of Byzantine art, but the artist had represented his + subject with reverence, and no lack of skill, and she loved to + dwell on the pure mother's face, and on the longing look in the + eyes of the Child. She accepted wholly the idea of a God who + loved mankind, of infinite goodness and mercy: if she could not + as yet enter into the subtlety of doctrine she could give that + childlike faith which is the envy of doctrinarians.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + + <h3>REVELATION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"I curse the hand that did the deid,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">The heart that thocht the ill,<br /></span> + <span>The feet that bore him wi' sik speid,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">The comely youth to kill."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>Gil Morrice</i>.—OLD BALLAD.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Jean had often expressed his curiosity to see the interior of + the tower, and Hilda had promised to gratify it. On the 25th of + October an opportunity occurred. She informed her lover that on + that day a feast of unusual importance would be held from which + none would be absent, and that her mother would be engaged at it + from noon to midnight. On that day, therefore, he walked freely + along the cliffs, and was admitted to the dwelling. He had + unconsciously based his idea of its contents upon his + recollections of the squalid abode of Marie Torode, where human + skulls, skeletons, bones of birds and beasts, dried skins, and + other ghastly objects had been so grouped as to add to the + superstitious feeling inspired by the repulsive appearance of the + crone herself. His astonishment was therefore proportionate when + he saw what to his eyes appeared exceptional luxury. A wooden + partition divided the room on the lower story into two chambers + of unequal size: the larger, in which he stood, was the common + dwelling apartment, the other was given over to Hilda. The upper + story, approached by a ladder and also by an external staircase, + was sacred to Judith; Tita occupied some outbuildings. The + sitting-room was hung with rich stuffs of warm and glowing + colours; here and there fitful rays of the sun flickered upon + gold brocade and Oriental embroidery; rugs and mats, which must + have been offered for sale in the bazaars of Egypt and Morocco, + were littered about in strange contrast with the bracken-strewed + floor. On the walls were inlaid breastplates and helmets, pieces + of chain armour, swords and daggers of exquisite workmanship. On + shelves stood drinking vessels of rougher make, but the best that + northern craftsmen could produce. The seats were rude and + massive: one of them, placed by a window fronting the setting + sun, was evidently the favourite resting-place of Judith. Above + this seat was a shelf on which lay some of the mysterious scrolls + of which Jean had seen specimens in the possession of the + fathers. Instruments of witchcraft, if such existed, must have + been in the upper story: none were visible. All this splendour + was manifestly inconsistent with the homely taste and abstracted + mode of thought of the sorceress. In point of fact she was hardly + aware of its existence. The decorator was Tita, in whom was the + instinct of the connoisseur, supported by no inconsiderable + knowledge to which she had attained in those early years of which + she never could be induced to speak. When a rich prize was + brought into the bay, freighted with a cargo from Asia, Africa, + or the European shores of the Mediterranean, she never failed to + attend the unloading, during which, by the help of cajolery, + judicious depreciation, and other ingenious devices still dear to + the virtuoso, she succeeded in obtaining possession of articles + which would have enraptured a modern collector. Judith was + apparently indifferent to a habit which she looked upon as a + caprice of her faithful servant, and the only evidence of her + noticing it was her concentration in her own apartments of all + that related to her personal studies and pursuits.</p> + + <p>It was now Jean's turn to listen and learn, and Hilda's to + explain and instruct. Towards nine o'clock he was preparing to + return. He was indifferent to the darkness, as by this time he + knew the track so well that he crossed it fearlessly at all + hours. His hand was on the bolt when Tita announced in alarm that + Judith was returning and was on the point of entering. Hardly was + there time to conceal him behind the hangings before she + appeared. Her countenance was pale and worn, her tone, as Hilda + took off her outer garments was weary and sad. "The portents were + hostile and dangerous," she said; "they foretold woe, disaster, + ruin. Will the mighty ones reveal to me the future? I cannot + tell! But my spirit must commune with them till dawn breaks. Dost + hear them? They call me now!" She held up her finger as a sudden + blast rocked the tower to its foundations. "Aye," she continued + more firmly after a pause, "they will not forget those who are + true to them. But this people! this people!" She hid her face + with her hands as if to cover a painful vision. After a time she + rose to her feet and took the girl by the hand. Leading her to + the seat by the window on which she placed herself, and making + her kneel by her side, she said—</p> + + <p>"Hilda! the chill mist closes round! my life draws to its end! + Nay, weep not, child! were it not for thee I would long ere this + have prayed the gods my masters to remove me from my sojourn + among the degenerate sons of our noble fathers; but I trembled + for thy fate, sweet one!" These last words were almost + inexpressibly tender. "I dared not trust thy slight frame to + battle unsheltered with the storm. Now the blast summoning me is + sounded. I cannot much longer disobey, though I may crave for + brief respite. But I have found thee refuge! thou wilt be in a + safe haven. Stay! I must speak while the spirit is on me!"</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 573px;"><a name="fp046" id="fp046" /> + <img src="images/fp046.jpg" width="573" height="387" alt= + "Rocquaine Bay with l'Erée and Lihou, Sketched in 1887." + title= + "Rocquaine Bay with l'Erée and Lihou. Sketched in 1887." /> + <b>Roquaine Bay with l'Erée and Lihou. Sketched in + 1887.</b> + </div> + + <p>"Mother!" sobbed the girl, clasping the old woman's knees.</p> + + <p>"Hilda!" said Judith slowly, "call me no longer by that name! + I am not thy mother; before men only do I call thee daughter. + Silence!" she exclaimed imperatively, as Hilda looked quickly up, + doubting whether she heard aright. "Silence! and listen!"</p> + + <p>"I have loved thee truly, child, and have nurtured thee as a + mother would! and thou art no stranger! the same blood runs in + our veins! Yes! thou art mine! for thy father was my brother. + Does not that give thee to me? Hush! thou shalt hear the + tale."</p> + + <p>Hilda's were not the only ears that drank in every word of the + following story.</p> + + <p>"Twenty years ago what a demi-god was Haco! He was a giant, + but even men who feared him loved him. Though brave and strong as + Odin himself, his mind was gentle and kind as a maiden's; first + in council, in war, in manly sports, he ever had an open ear and + a helping hand for the troubled and distressed. He was adored, + nay, worshipped, by all. What wonder then that when he and the + proud chief Algar courted the same maiden, he was preferred! Thou + knowest not, Hilda, the mysteries of a tender heart; may it be + long indeed before thy heart is seared by human passion!" It was + fortunate that darkness hid the burning blush which suffused + Hilda's face and neck at this pious wish. Judith + proceeded:—"Thy father wedded and thou wast born. He poured + on thy infant form all the wealth of his great generous heart. + Algar nursed his revenge: he dared not act openly, for our house + was as noble as his own—nay, nobler!" she added haughtily, + "but he bided his time. Haco's tower was near the shore, a + pleasant, lovely, spot. One night the news was borne to me that + enemies had landed, and that his dwelling was in flames; I + hurried towards it; I was stopped by armed warriors; Algar's men, + they said, had hastened to the rescue; the chief had ordered that + no women should leave their homes. It was in vain that I urged + and protested. When at last I reached the spot the struggle was + said to be over, and the assailants, beaten off, were declared to + have sailed away. Algar himself came to me with well-assumed + grief. He had arrived, he swore, too late to save. The tower had + been fired whilst the inmates slept, the wife and child had + perished; Haco, after performing incredible feats of valour, had + fallen before the strokes of numerous foes; when he himself had + come with a chosen band, while sending the rest of his forces to + other posts which the unforeseen danger might threaten, nothing + remained but to avenge the murder. Why recount the caitiffs lies? + Where were the signs of landing, of hasty re-embarkation? Where + were the dead of the strangers? Thrown into the sea! he said; it + was foul falsehood, and fouler treachery. I found your father's + body; he was smitten and gashed, but nobler than the living. I + touched him and was silent. I knew what none others guessed. I + arose. The spirits of the Gods came over me, and I cursed his + slayer. Never had I spoken so fiercely; men stood and wondered. I + prayed the Gods to make the wretch who had caused my darling's + death miserable by land and by sea, by day and by night, in the + field and at the board, loathed by his friends, and scorned by + his foes. The Gods heard my imprecations; as I turned my eyes + skywards they looked from their clouds, wrath kindling on their + brows, and Algar's face was white with fear, his hand trembled + and his knee shook.</p> + + <p>"'We must bury him,' he faltered.</p> + + <p>"'Yea,' said I, 'but in a hero's grave, and after the custom + of our fathers.'</p> + + <p>"There was a murmur of applause. Algar could not refuse.</p> + + <p>"They brought the choicest of the boats, they made the sails + bright and gay, they put in it the dead man's arms, and food to + accompany him to the land of spirits. Then they bound him before + the mast, his face turned seaward. At sundown they towed the boat + to deep water, so pierced her that she might sink slowly under + the waves, and then they left the hero to his rest. I had gone + out with them: alone I said to him my last farewell. But they did + not know my secret. They did not guess that I had ascertained by + my art that life was yet in him, that I had poured between his + lips subtle drops which would maintain animation for many days + and nights, during which consciousness might be restored; nor did + they imagine that when I kneeled before him I had stopped the + leak by which the water was to flow into the doomed boat. Algar + was now the deceived; it was a living man, not a corpse, who + started on that voyage. Haco lives still, though where my art + cannot tell. I thought that Marie Torode knew, and sought her on + her death-bed to question her, but either she could not or she + would not tell." Hilda's mind was in such confusion that she + could not speak. The old woman continued. "Algar lived + on—yes, lived that he might suffer all the evils with which + my curse loaded him, and died that he might be hurled into the + abyss where traitors and cravens writhe and groan. Enough of + him!</p> + + <p>"When I returned to my tower, a figure was crouching before + the hearth: it was Tita, and you were in her arms. The faithful + creature, whom your father had chosen from a band of captives to + be your nurse, had, unperceived, saved your life from the flames. + Thenceforward you were my care. I took your mother's place as + best I could. Others knew not your parentage, nor did they dare + to question me. None suspected the truth."</p> + + <p>When she reached this point she bent over the kneeling girl + and gave her a kiss, tender as a mother's if not a mother's kiss; + her fingers caressed the head bowed upon her knees; for a time + the silence was only broken by Hilda's sobs. She then spoke + again, this time quickly, sternly, as if to prevent + interruption.</p> + + <p>"I cannot leave thee alone, and I will not! Listen, child, and + be silent! What I now tell thee is beyond thy young + understanding: thou hast but to shape thy will to my bidding: it + is for me to launch thy vessel on its voyage, the Gods will help + thy riper judgment to steer its course! The time has come when + thou must wed! I have chosen for thee a suitor, the chief to whom + all thy countrymen bend the knee. Garthmund claims thee as his + bride; ere eight days expire the marriage feast will be held. He + is of noble birth, there is none nobler; he is young and strong, + and should be favoured by the Gods if he prove worthy of them. He + is a fitting bridegroom for Haco's daughter."</p> + + <p>The girl was dazed and trembling. She knew this chief: he + answered Judith's description, but was rough and coarse. Had she + not met Jean she might not have dared to refuse, but now she felt + that death would be more welcome than this marriage. "Spare me, + mother!" she said, as if she had not heard the disclaimer of + maternity. "I am too young, too weak." The old woman pressed her + hand on the girl's lips. "We will not speak further to-night," + she said; "thou canst not see Garthmund for three days, for so + long the feast will last. May the Gods protect thee!" She rose: + the fitful moonlight streamed on her gaunt form; she turned and + slowly ascended to her chamber.</p> + + <p>The terrified girl quickly released Jean, who led her from the + tower. If she was broken and trembling he was erect and resolute; + no longer the soft lover, but the prompt man of action. She felt + the bracing influence. "We have three days," he said. "Within + that time we must flee. I will not return to the cave; my task + must be to repair the boat." He mentioned certain articles which + he begged her to provide, pressed her to his breast, and + disappeared in the darkness.</p> + + <p>At daylight he examined the little vessel. She was no worse + than she had been, as each incoming tide, reaching the place + where she was secured, had floated her, but the rock had opened a + large jagged fissure. Hilda brought him such materials as she + could procure, a log of wood, bark which she stitched with her + own hands, a hatchet and nails. Jean utilized also the vraick + with which the sand was strewn. He worked without fear of + detection, knowing that the whole population was inland; but the + lovers had to rely on themselves alone, for, when there was a + question of flight, Tita was no longer to be trusted.</p> + + <p>On the third day Jean found the boat fairly seaworthy. Hilda + felt a severe pang at leaving Judith, who had not reverted to the + subject of her marriage. Whether her parent or not, she loved her + dearly; she felt also the pain of parting with Tita, but her + resolution never swerved. She had given her heart to Jean; she + felt also a presentiment that she would discover her father; + while it was her belief that the parting from her old associates + was but temporary.</p> + + <p>When the sun went down Jean set his sail, meaning to make a + rapid dash across the bay, and seeing no cause for concealing his + movements. There was more swell than he liked for so frail a + craft, but wind and tide were favourable to the enterprise, and + the night was exceptionally bright, the moon being full; this + brightness would have been fatal had the inhabitants been on the + alert, but under present circumstances the pale beams were + welcome. Hilda took the helm; she knew every passage in the + labyrinth of submerged rocks, and they were soon in comparatively + open water. Jean then assumed control, wrapping the maiden in his + cloak, for the waves were tossing their spray over the boat as + she heeled over to the breeze.</p> + + <p>They had traversed in safety three-fourths of their course + when Jean, looking seaward, saw a dark sail bearing down on them. + One of the pirate ships, delayed by contrary winds, was hurrying + homeward, the crew of five men hoping to arrive ere the feast was + over. Jean's hope that the boat might not be discovered was soon + dispelled: the vessel altered her course slightly and hailed. + Jean made no answer. The pirate was evidently in no mood to + parley; the crew were in a fierce temper, angry and discontented + at the postponement of their arrival. She made a deliberate + attempt to run the boat down. Jean divined her object and, + putting up his helm sharply at the right moment, let her shoot by + him astern; he then resumed his course. A second attempt was + clumsier, and was easily evaded; the assailants were hurried and + impatient; nor did they know the seamanlike qualities of the man + with whom they were dealing. But Jean saw that ultimate escape + was hopeless, and this was equally apparent to Hilda who, + however, though pale as death, gave a firm pressure of the hand + in response to his grasp. At this moment an object glimmered + under the youth's feet: stooping down he touched the shell. The + hermit's parting words flashed on his mind: he seized on the hope + of rescue, and sounded two loud and clear blasts.</p> + + <p>The pirates now altered their tactics. Handling their vessel + with more care they succeeded, after two or three unsuccessful + attempts, in ranging alongside and grappling the boat. A man + sprung on board and seized Hilda. "A rare booty!" he + cried,—"the Gods repent of their waywardness." Jean was + engaged with those of the crew who had seized the boat; the man + laughingly gave the girl a rough embrace: it was the last act he + had to record before entering the spirit world. Hilda drew from + her bosom one of the daggers which Jean had noticed on the tower + walls, whose blade, still sharp and keen, might have been forged + by a Damascus smith; it struck deep to the heart of the ruffian, + who fell lifeless into the waves. Jean had now freed the craft, + but the respite was short: before she had made much progress she + was again captured. The pirates, furious at the death of their + comrade, made a determined onslaught. Jean, fighting desperately, + received from behind a terrific blow which laid him senseless. + But a superstitious feeling made them hesitate before committing + further outrage; they had recognized Hilda, and feared the + consequence of Judith's vengeance if she were injured. There was + no time, however, for delay; the, rude repairs, torn by the + trampling feet, had given way, and the leak had re-opened: the + boat was fast sinking. The pirates cared not for Jean's lifeless + body; that might sink or swim; but they felt they must save the + girl whatever might be her future doom. Even their hearts + softened somewhat as they watched her erect in the sinking boat, + her face pallid, her fair hair shining in the moonlight, but her + lips set, her lovely eyes bent tearless on her prostrate lover, + her right hand, holding the blood-stained dagger, hanging + listlessly by her side.</p> + + <p>Watching an opportunity, a stalwart youth seized her from + behind and pinned her arms. The next moment he himself was seized + as if he were a dog, and hurled into the water. The new + combatant, whose arrival had so effectually changed the aspect of + affairs, was the hermit, who followed up his first stroke by + another still more decisive. Springing into the pirate craft, + wrenching a weapon from the grasp of the chief of the assailants, + he drove before him the three remaining men, terror-struck at his + sudden and inexplicable appearance, his superhuman size and + strength. One by one he swept them overboard; then grasping a + huge stone, which formed part of the ballast, he dashed it with + the full force of his gigantic strength through the planks of the + boat, which at once began to fill. All this was the work of a few + moments. He then leaped into the skiff, which sank as he swiftly + transferred to his own vessel its two occupants.</p> + + <p>Before another hour was over, Jean, stretched on a pallet, was + receiving the attention of loving hands in a cell of the Lihou + monastery.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + + <h3>AFFLICTION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"The race of Thor and Odin<br /></span> <span>Held + their battles by my side,<br /></span> <span>And the blood of + man was mingling<br /></span> <span>Warmly with my chilly + tide."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>Danube and the + Euxine</i>.—AYTOUN.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Father Austin received his pupil's companion with the courtesy + due to her distress, but with much misgiving. After tending his + patient, whose situation was critical, he paced thoughtfully + towards the cell in which he had placed her, revolving in his + mind the difficulties of the case. His amazement was intense when + he slowly opened the door. The maiden was kneeling, her back + towards him; before her was the little picture of the Madonna; + she was praying aloud; her words were simple but passionately + pathetic; she threw herself and her lover upon the mercy of the + Holy Mother with a trust so absolute, a confidence so infinite, + that the monk could hardly refrain from tears. How had he been + blinded! as he looked and listened the scales fell from his eyes: + he humbly owned his error.</p> + + <p>The noise of his step startled her; she rose and looked at him + inquiringly. "Maiden," he said, answering her appealing look, + "his fate is in the hands of God, whose ears are ever open to the + prayers of those that fear Him."</p> + + <p>Often and often had Jean spoken to her of Father Austin; she + loved him already, but she had yet to fathom the nobleness of his + soul. His single-heartedness and abnegation of self, his + tenderness and quick sympathy (virtues tempering his fierce + abhorrence of Paganism), his stern reprobation of the evil, and + his yearning for the good, in the untutored barbarians among whom + he laboured, were gradually revealed in the discourses which they + held daily while Jean lay between life and death. Reaping and + garnering what Jean had sown, he scattered fresh seed, opening + out to her the great history of God in man. Qualities hitherto + unsuspected in her developed; if an apt pupil, she was an + instructive teacher of the wealth of charity and purity that + dwells in an untainted woman's heart. And she had another friend: + the hermit watched over her with touching care and assiduity. He + appeared strangely attracted to her; the holy fathers marvelled + to see this rough being, who had seemed to them an animal to be + feared while pitied, caring for the maiden's comfort with a + woman's gentleness: he seemed never weary of contemplating her, + sometimes murmuring to himself as he did so. Any little delicacy + that the island could afford, game, fish, shellfish, was provided + for her by him. Once, thinking her couch hard, he disappeared and + returned bearing, whence none knew, soft stuffs better fitted for + her tender form; on this occasion the whole man seemed + transformed, when he stepped in with a smile in his big frank + eyes, and a ruddy glow on his bronzed scarred cheeks, placed his + offering at her feet, and strode away. Strange, too, to say, + Hilda seemed to return the feeling: happy in the presence of + Austin, she was yet with him as the pupil with the master; but + with the recluse she was gentle, affectionate, and even playful. + The monks attempted not to solve the puzzle of the bond that + knitted together the two strange beings; analysis of character + troubled little their saintly minds.</p> + + <p>At length consciousness returned; Jean opened his eyes and + recognised Austin. This was a joyful moment. Quiet was all that + was now necessary to complete the restoration of his health, + which could not, however, be anticipated for a considerable time. + The first inquiry of the patient was for Hilda, and he was + allowed to see her; on the next day they were permitted to + interchange a few words, after which Austin explained what he had + already decided. Hilda, he pointed out, could not fitly remain in + Lihou, where she had been allowed to reside only until her lover + was out of danger; the laws of the establishment, which forbade + the presence of women, must now be put in force, but a fitting + home had been provided for her; she would be placed with the + Sisters at the Vale; the hermit would conduct her thither on the + following day. The girl bowed to this decision, sorely as she + grieved to leave him she loved; the next morning they parted, and + she embarked with her guardian who, shielding her lovingly from + all harm, placed her, ere nightfall, in her new abode.</p> + + <p>Judith had not discovered the girl's departure till the sun + was well up, when she heard of her absence from the frantic Tita. + The old woman's force of character was colossal; pettinesses, + small passions, were unknown to her. Had her sphere been larger + her promptitude of resource, keenness of perception, resolute + look onwards and upwards, solidity of purpose, and incisive + action might have graven her name on the tables of history. + Stagnating in the shallow pools of the unstoried rocks in which + she passed her life, these grand qualities were wasted and + perverted. She lost no time now in recrimination; a few sharp + questions enabled her to judge how far the weakness of affection + had played the traitor with the old woman, whom she left to + settle matters with her own conscience. She saw Garthmund, and + told him that, in consequence of the unsatisfactory augury of the + last sacrifice, she had decided to postpone the marriage. Nor did + she appear to notice the indifference with which the chief, who + could not pretend that he ardently loved a bride who was + practically a stranger to him, received the decision. It took her + some time to discover where Hilda had taken refuge; it speaks ill + for female reticence that she discovered it shortly after the + girl's removal to the sisterhood. She satisfied herself that her + own people had no suspicion of the flight, as none of the crew of + the belated boat had reached the shore; and she gathered, from + the transfer of the maiden to the convent, that Father Austin + was, on his side, resolved not to make known the elopement of + Garthmund's intended wife. Her paramount wish was to recover her + niece, but she perceived that she must act warily, and must be + ready to deal with the many contingencies which would inevitably + arise during the development of her schemes. Hilda's position + under the immediate protection of the religious communities was a + serious obstacle. Judith believed that against them her magic + arts would be of no avail; she was therefore driven to confine + herself to earthly combinations; but she was in no wise daunted + by this difficulty, which in point of fact cleared her judgment, + and assisted her by inducing her to make the best of the + materials at her disposal. The obvious plan for the recovery of + the girl was to induce Garthmund to attack the nunnery, and drag + his bride from it; but to this there were many objections. + Acknowledgment of Hilda's flight would be in itself a confession + of failure. She had promised to produce the girl when she was + required; to seek the chief's assistance to enable her to fulfil + the promise would be a diminution of her prestige, and + consequently of her power. Again, it was by no means certain that + the chief who, it has been said, was no love-sick bridegroom, + would consent to undertake the enterprise; nor, if he did + undertake it, was his prospect of success unquestionable, for the + islanders, though not ready listeners to the Christian teaching, + would have united to repel a heathen attack on their teachers + whom they honoured and respected. Judith therefore rejected this + expedient, arranging her plan of operations with remarkable + ingenuity.</p> + + <p>Her first aim was to promote ill-feeling between the Voizins + and their neighbours; this part of the campaign was prosecuted + with vigour. Cattle were lost on either side of the boundary; + houses were burnt; old wells ran dry; rumours, mysteriously + circulated, spoke of these as no accidental mishaps; suspicions + were whispered; instances of retaliation followed. At the time + when a dangerous feeling was thus growing up a famine broke out + in the Voizin country while the islanders were well supplied. The + hungry Voizin men heard voices in the darkness scoffing at them, + laughter and sneers. When their carts were sent to fetch the + necessaries of life, lynch-pins were loosened; in more than one + case the draught oxen were houghed; the provisions, when + received, were mouldy and unwholesome. At last sickness broke + out, with stories of poison; then the tension became + insupportable. The Voizin chief, too proud to go to his + neighbours, summoned them to him; the messenger was murdered. + This assassination, of which the natives denied all knowledge, + was met by prompt reprisals; three Perelle fishermen were hung on + the spot where the body was found. From this date the outbreak of + hostilities was but a question of time. A sternness of purpose + ruled in the councils of the Voizins which frustrated all + attempts at conciliation. A little before Christmas a trivial + incident kindled the smouldering flames, and the hordes, pouring + from the Torteval valleys, swept over the districts now known as + the parishes of St. Saviour's and the Câtel; the resistance + was tame and ineffectual, sufficient only to give occasion for + considerable slaughter and plunder. The invaders, seeing no + reason for returning to their famine-stricken fastnesses, settled + themselves in the enjoyment of the abundance of the vanquished, + who, in their turn, with their accustomed versatility, submitted + patiently, and even cheerfully, to a yoke which, after the first + onslaught was over, pressed lightly; the Voizins, to whom + fighting was a pastime, bearing no malice, and passing + imperceptibly into a genial mood.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 565px;"><a name="fp064" id="fp064" /> + <img src="images/fp064.jpg" width="565" height="376" alt= + "Vale Castle. Sketched in 1838" title= + "Vale Castle. Sketched in 1838" /> <b>Vale Castle. Sketched in + 1838</b> + </div> + + <p>Judith now prepared to develop the next move, the object of + which was to undermine the authority of the monks, and make them + vulnerable by isolation. Derisive hints were dropped respecting + the failure of the new religion to help its votaries in the hour + of peril; the victory of the Voizins was attributed to the + superiority of their Gods rather than to deficiency in courage on + the part of their foes: this theory, which was not unpalatable to + those who had been half-hearted in defence of their homes, was + also utilized by the more sober spirits as an argument wherewith + to restrain the more ardent from attempting to renew the struggle + under similar conditions. The observances of the religion of Thor + and Odin, or rather of that debased form of it which prevailed + among this singular people, were celebrated under their more + alluring aspects: frequent feasts and dances captivated the + laughter-loving islanders, who had been tried somewhat severely + by the severity of the <i>régime</i> which Austin had + endeavoured to impose since he had seen danger in his damaging + encounter with Judith. After a time it was proclaimed that none + would be permitted to join in the revelries who were enemies to + the Gods who presided at them. This stroke was successful: the + majority openly embraced the creed of their conquerors, and + showed the usual spirit of perverts in exceeding the latter in + their zeal to sweep away all traces of the religion which they + had abandoned. The minority who held true to their faith drew + together, a grim and resolute band, prepared for a bold defence + and, if Christ so willed it, for martyrdom.</p> + + <p>It was not Judith's purpose, now that the disruption of the + islanders was effected, to leave time for the Christians to + mature plans for resistance. Garthmund, at her instigation, + delivered simultaneous attacks on Lihou and the Vale; he himself + superintending the latter operation in order that he might see + that the sorceress's instructions, that all in the nunnery were + to be made prisoners uninjured, and brought to her closely + veiled, were implicitly obeyed. To the surprise of the islanders, + however, both assaults, though made with spirit and absolute + confidence of success, were completely repulsed; the same result + attended a renewed attack, made two days subsequently with fresh + and increased forces supported by native levies. Garthmund found + that in both places he had before him not only resolute troops, + but skilled and enterprising commanders.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + + <h3>CONSOLATION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"Mother! list a suppliant child!<br /></span> + <span class="i4">Ave Maria!<br /></span> <span>Ave Maria! + Stainless styled.<br /></span> <span>Foul demons of the earth + and air,<br /></span> <span>From this their wonted haunt + exiled,<br /></span> <span>Shall flee before thy presence + fair."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>Lady of the Lake</i>.—WALTER + SCOTT.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Jean's recovery after Hilda's departure had been slow and + lingering; but for the unwearied care of the good fathers and of + the recluse, aided by a constitution of no ordinary strength, he + must have succumbed to the terrible injuries which he had + received. As, however, the days began to lengthen, and signs of + spring to appear even on the wild rock where he had taken refuge, + his vigour gradually returned. It had been necessary that he + should be protected from excitement; consequently, while + receiving from the hermit regular reports from the Vale, and many + a sweet message from his love which made his heart leap with + happiness, he knew nothing till the beginning of February of the + incursion of the Voizins, and the accompanying events. Since he + had been alone, however, he had dwelt for hours together on the + strange story which he had overheard in the tower, the principal + figure of which, while his brain had been still confused, had + been always mingled in his delirium with the massive form of the + hermit. Father Austin, watching him with anxiety, at length + suggested that he should relieve his mind by repeating the tale + to the recluse himself. He readily adopted the suggestion. His + listener, who had been too delicate to question Hilda as to her + antecedents, but who had been burning to learn the explanation of + the striking resemblance of her features to a face which, whether + he waked or slept, ever haunted him, though more often contorted + in agony than wreathed in smiles, heard with impatience the + history of Algar's treachery; but when Jean detailed the escape + of Tita and her charge, and identified the latter with the maiden + whom he had rescued, he sprang to his feet at the risk of + plunging his patient into a fresh crisis of fever, and exclaimed, + "May the choicest gifts of heaven be showered on thee, brave + youth! the blessed angels and saints will love thee for this + deed!" He reflected a moment, then turned his eyes full on Jean's + face, "Why should I leave it to Austin to tell thee what he has + long known under the solemn secrecy which binds priest and + sinner? Thou shalt know it from my own lips: I am Haco! Drifted + hitherward on that lonely voyage, I was released by holy men, now + saints above, who healed my wounds and taught me to bury my + pride, and to kneel humbly before the Cross. I never doubted that + I was childless as well as wifeless; had I done so, I should have + returned at all risks to claim my own. But she! Hilda! 'twas her + mother's name! this maiden, towards whom my soul went out in + yearning, is my own! yes! my child! If a wild feeling rose when I + watched her I crushed it out, for I thought that I had stifled + all human passions; but now—" He fell on his knees, and hid + his face in his hands, his giant frame convulsed with sobs; but + it was evident that he was controlling himself, and when he rose + his rugged face was full of humanity: youth seemed to have + returned to it; under the disfiguring scars Jean could trace + without difficulty the fearless, generous features of which + Judith had spoken with such enthusiasm. Haco warmly grasped the + sick man's hand, and left the cell.</p> + + <p>Father Austin had, it appeared, learnt Judith's story from + Hilda, but this confidence also had been made under the seal of + confession. He had been confirmed in his impression of its + accuracy by the tale he had already heard from Haco, whose + strange arrival was still a favourite topic among the monks, + though none of those now in the monastery had witnessed it. The + three men were now able openly to discuss the subject in its + various bearings, but they agreed that the mystery should not be + revealed till peace was restored.</p> + + <p>Haco had from the first foreseen the danger to be apprehended + from the Voizin incursion. The monks were still further surprised + to see the being, whose gentleness had amazed them on Hilda's + arrival, now a leader of men, active, vigorous, inspiring others + with the love of life with which he himself seemed to be + animated. Before the attack came Jean was sufficiently recovered + to be able to render efficient assistance; he had ably seconded + Haco in the two encounters, after which he was specially + entrusted with the defence of the Vale.</p> + + <p>Judith was in no degree daunted by temporary failure: her + nature revelled in overcoming opposition; her spirit rose to the + occasion. Garthmund was inclined to be sulky after his second + defeat, and might have abandoned the enterprise had he dared to + do so; but fear of the sorceress kept him firm. For a month the + system of blockade was tried, varied by occasional assaults + which, being made with less spirit than the earlier ones, were + easily repulsed. The blockade was not more successful. Haco had + provided ample stores for the small garrison which he had + considered sufficient to protect the promontory of Lihou, + naturally almost impregnable; and the force defending the Vale, + camped chiefly on Lancresse Common, was only nominally blockaded. + The sallies, made from time to time, were ordered more with a + view of keeping up the martial spirit of the men than with that + of providing for wants, for the friendly inhabitants of the + eastern side of the island, emboldened by recent proofs that the + dreaded Voizins were not invincible, ran their boats almost with + impunity into the little creeks into which the heavier craft of + the enemy could not follow them.</p> + + <p>Judith hardly noticed these details. Her attention was fixed + upon the key of the position. She knew that a resistance of this + description was altogether contrary to the unwarlike character of + the natives; she was convinced that they were actuated by some + abnormal spirit, and that if the motive power were removed the + machine would collapse. She made it her business to ascertain + what the spring was that guided them. All her art failed in + detecting the presence of Haco, perhaps because her engines were + powerless when directed against one of her own blood; but she + easily ascertained that the warriors in the opposing camp looked + to Jean as their leader, that his spirit pervaded all, and that + his ardour to protect his sacred charge filled him with a + wondrous power which astonished even those who from childhood had + bent to his unchallenged primacy.</p> + + <p>Having satisfied herself as to the character of the opposing + force, her next step was to secure Jean's person. This presented + no difficulty to her. A scroll was delivered to the young leader + by an unknown messenger, who at once disappeared. Jean, seeing + that the characters were those which, as he believed, Austin + alone was able to trace, took the scroll to the sister who alone + was able to interpret them. What Sister Theresa read was + alarming:—"Hasten! I am grievously sick; my strength fails! + I must see thee without delay." Jean was distressed beyond + measure, but Hilda, whom he hurried to consult, agreed with him + that no time must be lost in obeying the summons; the fact that + Haco was at Lihou convinced them that the father would not have + sent for Jean if his case had not been one of extreme danger. + After a hasty farewell and a promise of speedy return, for his + presence with the forces was imperative and he grudged every hour + of absence from his beloved, he set out alone in his boat. Before + an hour had passed he was captured by a flotilla which had been + lying in ambuscade behind the Grandes Rocques, and was a prisoner + in the enemy's camp.</p> + + <p>If Judith had been an ordinary woman she would have been + content with this result, would have executed the prisoner, and + have awaited the submission of his disheartened followers; and + she would have failed, defeated by the indomitable courage and + resource of Haco. But it was not in this clumsy fashion that her + genius moulded the materials at her command. She now controlled, + as she believed, the mainspring of the resistance, which would + probably cease with the death of Jean. But her aim went far + beyond the mere submission of her antagonists; she wished that + the blow should be struck in such a manner as to stamp out the + false creed which had held the islanders in thrall, to prove to + all sceptics the powers of her own Gods and the impotence of + those of her opponents, and to commit the recently reconverted + islanders so irretrievably that they could not afterwards + backslide. She wished also, by making an example that would + inspire terror, to establish the undisputed supremacy of her + people in the whole island. But, side by side with these + political considerations, were the religious influences honestly + and steadfastly working in her powerful intellect. When she + communed with her Gods she thought of no earthly good or ill: she + loved these strange conceptions, and fixed her whole soul on + conciliating them. It was now her conviction that they were + displeased: their displeasure, awful as she believed it to be, + did not terrify her, but it vexed her to the inmost heart: she + feared that they had not been rightly propitiated, and resolved + that the shortcoming must be remedied.</p> + + <p>All her reflections pointed with unerring force to the same + conclusion. She held in her hands the strong frame, the stout + heart, the ruling mind. All were concentrated in Jean Letocq. He, + then, must be offered up as a fitting sacrifice. By such an + offering the deities could not fail to be appeased, and by the + death of this man in this fashion all the natural exigencies of + the situation would be satisfied. She never allowed herself to + dwell for one moment on the fact that the victim was beloved by + Hilda. On this point she had armed herself with bars of brass and + triple steel. He might have fooled the girl, but at the thought + of love her heart was ice.</p> + + <p>The sorceress communicated her resolution to Garthmund. The + chieftain exhibited no surprise: he expressed a grim approval of + the proposal, which seemed likely to give an excuse for revelry + and to bring the campaign to a prompt conclusion, and proceeded + to make the requisite arrangements.</p> + + <p>The 30th of March was the day chosen. The forces investing the + two beleaguered positions were ordered to assemble, that on the + western side on the low ground between L'Erée and Lihou, + that on the northern under shelter of the woods of the Braye du + Valle, facing the fortifications thrown up by the defenders. At a + given signal, the kindling of a beacon on the Rocque du Guet, the + two hosts were to make simultaneously a determined assault. The + islanders not engaged in these operations, with the exception of + those openly or secretly sympathizing with the Christians, poured + into Vazon Forest, none remaining behind but those absolutely + incapable of conveying themselves or of being conveyed.</p> + + <p>By this time the consternation in the enemy's camp was all + that the sorceress could desire. Jean's capture had been + ascertained, and all the particulars respecting his coming fate + were known by means of spies. Haco shook his head at the + proposals of rescue made by spirited youths. "Success would be + hopeless," he said; "failure would be fatal to those whose lives + are precious to us. If he dies we will brace every nerve to + avenge him, but we must be patient, and await their onslaught. + Then will come our turn! then will we spring at their dastard + throats! then shall they drink freely of their own gore!" If the + man of the sword thought the case hopeless, what could the men of + the cloister do? They did all in their power—prayed + ceaselessly, fasted, did penance under the guidance of Father + Austin; but nevertheless the fatal morning arrived.</p> + + <p>Hilda knew her lover's danger. When he failed to return, and + when Haco, arriving from Lihou, admitted that he had not been + seen at the monastery, her heart sank; she, better than any of + those around her, knew the stern, implacable patriotism and + fanaticism of Judith's nature; she fully realized the savage + dispositions of her countrymen, their contempt of human life, and + their brutal treatment of captives. She had some conception of + their fearful orgies, and she shuddered when her mind touched, + not daring to dwell, on Jean's possible fate. She had sufficient + presence of mind to bear up bravely before Haco, who had no + suspicion that she had a perception of the terrible truth from + which even his rent and seared feelings shrank; nor did she + reveal to Father Austin, during a short visit which he paid her + at great risk this inner serpent which was devouring her young + heart. Sister Theresa and her fellows marvelled at her as on the + morning of the fatal day she passed between them, her eyes rapt + in contemplation, her look serene and calm, though beneath the + surface lay a depth of unutterable woe, sinking, receding, chill + as the dark, haunted, bosom of an unfathomable mountain lake.</p> + + <p>She sought her own cell and begged to be left alone. Then the + full heart burst the bounds imposed by the strong will. She + placed before her the little Madonna, from which she never + parted, and fell on her knees. She prayed till noon, and her + prayer continued still; it was not simply a woman's supplication: + her whole essence was poured out before the Holy Mother, who was + the object of her special adoration. This girl had never known + evil: for nineteen years her mind had rippled on, sparkling with + good deeds, little bright thoughts, gentle inspirations sweetly + obeyed; then first streamed in the warm current of human love, + followed by the rapid thrilling rush of the flow of Divine + awakening. The little stream had become a torrent; but one in + which every element was pure, for its component parts were faith + in God, trust in man, the will to act, the power to bear, + contentment in joy and resignation in sorrow. Above all, she had + ever before her the words which Austin had told her comprised the + sermon of the universe—"Thy will be done!" Was it possible + that, in the days when miracles were yet wrought, such a prayer + at such a time from such a saint should not be heard? Some three + hours had passed after noon when she felt a sweet languor + overspread her. A mist crept before her eyes, which quickly + passed away and was replaced by a radiance brighter than the + sun's rays; her eyes had power however to look aloft, and she + gazed with clasped hands and with loving reverence: the Holy + Virgin herself stood before her, holding in her arms the Blessed + Infant; the Mother looking down with a smile inexpressibly tender + and compassionate, the Child stretching forth its dimpled hand + and giving its blessing. She sank in rapture, the glory too great + for her. As the vision faded she arose, a marvellous strength + possessing her. She stepped forth, and found herself in the midst + of a crowd gazing, horror-stricken, seawards. "Fear nothing," she + said with a calm expression that seemed to permeate the whole + assembly like an inner voice; "he is saved, and you are saved!" + The words came opportunely.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + + <h3>ANNIHILATION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"Prophet-like that lone one stood,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">With dauntless words and high,<br /></span> + <span>That shook the sere leaves from the wood<br /></span> + <span class="i2">As if a storm pass'd by."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>The Last Man</i>.—CAMPBELL.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"So perish the old Gods!<br /></span> <span>But out of + the sea of time<br /></span> <span>Rises a new land of + song,<br /></span> <span>Fairer than the old."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>The Seaside and the + Fireside</i>.—LONGFELLOW.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Full of evil augury was the morning of this eventful day in + Vazon Forest. There were the same trees, the same glades and + streams, as on the well-remembered Midsummer day of the preceding + year; but nature and man alike were in a different mood. The + trees were leafless and churlish, the glades ragged and + colourless; the turbid, dusky streams bore but small resemblance + to the limpid rivulets of June; the native youths were absent, + engaged in military service; the maidens, headed by Suzanne + Falla, had indeed an appearance of mirth, but there was a hollow + ring in the boisterous recklessness of their merriment; the old + men tramped feebly and aimlessly, for the reverence for age had + been transferred to the veterans of the conquerors. The latter + also supplied the musicians; and the clanging of drums and + cymbals, with the blast of horns, replaced the sylvan melody of + the aborigines.</p> + + <p>Still there was every sign of festivity. The proceedings began + with dances in which the men, who posed as athletes and warriors, + gave representations of deeds of martial prowess. Then the girls + were allowed to foot their native dances in their own fashion. + Dances for both sexes followed, in which the native maidens found + it difficult to conceal their terror of the rough partners ever + ready to become rougher wooers.</p> + + <p>These preliminaries concluded, the business of the day began. + Though this wild race sacrificed human beings, they did not treat + their victims with the coldblooded cruelty of the Druids, who + slaughtered them as if they were oxen or sheep; their custom was + to burn their captives; and it is not for critics, whose pious + forefathers kindled the fires of Smithfield, to assert that their + practice was wholly barbarous. In the present case a pyre, some + twelve feet high, was built at the foot of a huge granite + boulder, near the sea-coast: it was constructed of dry wood, and + was drenched with combustible materials. Jean was bound firmly to + a strong hurdle, made of birch stems and withies securely lashed + together. Judith, Garthmund, and the principal elders, placed + themselves under the venerable oak; the people stood at a + respectful distance. Twelve stalwart warriors bore the litter on + which the prisoner was stretched, and placed it on stone trestles + planted for the purpose in the intervening space. Then the + priests arrived; twelve old men whose white locks and beards, and + snowy dresses, gave them a venerable appearance which was soon + belied by their performances.</p> + + <p>Halting when they reached the victim, the priests faced the + oak, and chanted a solemn, wailing dirge; this, which might have + been a farewell to the spirit whose departure they were preparing + to accelerate, was not unimpressive. Then one stepped forward + whose voice was yet clear and loud; he passed a warm eulogy on + the qualities of the captive, whom he described in exaggerated + phrases as a sage in council, and a hero in battle, endowing him + also with every domestic virtue which seemed in his eyes worthy + of enumeration. This discourse was followed by a warlike song in + honour of Thor and Odin, and it was during the course of this + hymn that it became clear from their rolling eyes and unsteady + gait that the old men were in a state of no ordinary excitement. + All night they had been feasting their deities, and the solemnity + had involved deep potations; now, as the rapid movements of a + dance which accompanied the inspiriting words sent the fumes into + their heads, they appeared to be beside themselves. The + bystanders, however, attributing their frenzy to religious + fervour, and not unaccustomed to such manifestations, looked on + unmoved. The music ceased; and the song of triumph gave way to a + hideous scene over which it were painful to dwell. The drunken + old men, with incredible agility, whirled round the prostrate + form of Jean. There was no question now of eulogizing his + virtues: he was accused, in language which seemed devil-born, of + every crime, every infamy, of which the human race is capable; + held up to scorn and ignominy, he was cursed and execrated with a + shower of blasphemy and obscenity; a by-stander, contemplating + his calm, clear face, the lips parted in prayer, gleaming amidst + the contorted features of the screaming miscreants, might have + believed him to be already passing, unscathed, through the + terrors of purgatory.</p> + + <p>It is impossible at this day to fathom the mystery of this + terrible relic of some remote superstition. It may have been that + the abhorrence and extinction of evil was roughly typified, or + that it was understood that the death of the victim would, as if + he were a scapegoat, cleanse the worshippers of the sins with + which he was thus loaded. It is idle to grope where all is, and + must be, dark; all that can be asserted with any certainty is + that the preliminary eulogy, a more modern practice, was intended + to enhance the value of the offering which they were about to + make to the Gods.</p> + + <p>The warriors now resumed their burden, and a procession was + formed towards the pyre, on which the litter-bearers, mounting by + an inclined plane, placed the doomed youth. Judith ascended the + huge boulder, which was some eight feet higher than the pyre at + its foot. The chief and people grouped themselves round its base. + The priests stood ready to apply the torch when the sorceress + gave the signal, and the distant watchman on the Guct waited in + his turn for the first flash of flame to kindle the beacon which + was to set the assailing forces in motion.</p> + + <p>Judith turned to the expectant crowd: her glance was + searching, in her eye was an ineffable look of scorn. "Down on + your knees!" she said, "craven sons, whose sires would blush to + own you! You who have steeped your hearts in pride and + boastfulness! Were your fathers slow to draw the sword and quick + to sheathe it? Did they cower by their hearths when warm blood + was being spilt? did they feast when others fought? would they + not have leaped, as the tempest rushes from its caves, to scatter + like the sand those who should have dared to bend the knee to + false Gods, objects of their loathing and derision? Runs this + noble blood in your stagnant veins? From giants ye have become + pigmies!" The majestic contempt with which these words had been + delivered had a crushing effect. She continued her harangue for + some time in the same strain. Every Voizin's head was bowed, + every form bent and trembling. The sorceress then, slowly + turning, faced seaward. Her arms assumed the well-known + beseeching attitude, the serpent bracelet glittering fiercely in + the sun. Her voice changed, became softer. "Yet they are my + people!" she continued, "and the last of our race. Ennoble them, + great Gods! quicken their hearts and spare them!" Looking outward + with the rapt look of a prophetess in whom, though torn with + tempests of fanaticism and of passion, human and superhuman, no + thought was mean, no sentiment ignoble, she poured out this her + prayer; not for mercy!—her Gods knew not this attribute; + nor could she understand it; if the craven continued to be a + craven she felt he were better dead;—not for peace and + contentment!—to these blessings neither she nor they + attached value;—but for fearlessness and steadfastness of + purpose, and also for courage to die for the truth! there were + petitions poured out by this woman that would have honoured the + lips of the champion of any creed.</p> + + <p>The supplication ended, she seemed about to raise her hand to + give the anticipated signal when a look of amazement passed over + her features; she brushed her hand over her eyes and looked + again, then folded her arms and gazed steadily seawards. What she + saw might have shattered even her nerves of iron. At the close of + her prayer, which had exactly coincided with the moment when + Hilda stepped from her cell, the bosom of the sea heaved and + rose: a wave, ten feet high, glided, stole as it were, so gently + did it move, into the forest; but so rapidly, that in one minute + every human being except herself and Jean was engulphed. They + were gone, the high-couraged and the craven, the frenzied priest + and the laughing child, with their passions, their hopes, and + their fears, without the faintest note of warning of coming + danger! Judith glanced at Jean, almost contemptuously; he, not + having seen what had happened, was still momentarily expecting + the application of the torch. A second wave crept in, smaller + than the former, but overwhelming the pyre. The dazed warrior on + the Guet reported that after this second wave had passed he saw + the tall form still towering on the peak, but that when he looked + again the rock, though still above water, was tenantless; a + little later the granite mass, together with the tops of the + tallest trees, lay under an unruffled surface.</p> + + <p>When the pyre was submerged the litter, to which Jean was + attached, floated off and formed a tolerably secure raft. His + life was safe for a time; but he would have been exposed to a + still more ghastly fate from the swooping sea-birds had he not + been able by a supreme effort to wrest one of his arms from its + bands. In speechless wonderment he was carried seaward by the + slowly receding tide. Suddenly his raft was hailed by a + well-known voice. Friendly hands cut the ropes that bound him, + and he was lifted into a boat. The occupant was Haco who, + attracted to the spot when hurrying to the Vale, by the cries of + the clustering gulls, had thus again saved his life.</p> + + <p>The giant pulled vigorously to the point which, now known as + the Hommet, terminates the northern arm of Vazon Bay; there he + landed the youth, to enable him to stretch his cramped limbs, and + to clothe him in such articles as he could spare from his own + equipment. A rapid explanation passed between them. Haco told him + how the force investing Lihou had, when apparently waiting for a + signal to move, been overwhelmed by a wave which cut off the + promontory from L'Erée, and had perished to a man. Jean + could tell of nothing but the sudden cessation of the tumult and + the floating of his litter. The minds of both were wandering, + burningly anxious as they were to know what had passed at the + Vale. Scaling the Hommet, they obtained a sufficient view to + satisfy them that Lancresse Common no longer formed a portion of + the mainland; an hour afterwards, entering the Grand Havre, they + saw an unbroken channel between that inlet and St. Sampson's: + every trace of the invading host had disappeared. Jean was soon + in Hilda's arms; and the two lovers, with Haco, spent the + remainder of the day in pious thanksgiving to the Holy Mother by + whose special interposition, testified so miraculously to the + maiden, the cause of Christ had triumphed and the parted had been + reunited, when the last gleam of safety seemed to have been + extinguished.</p> + + <p>The next morning Father Austin arrived. Hilda was then made + acquainted with her relationship to Haco, whose tender attentions + during her late troubles had already won her unreserved + affection. The news was an inexpressible joy to her, and it was + touching to see how she nestled in the deep embrace of her + father, whose feelings, so long pent up, now at last found vent. + Jean absented himself during the day, but on the following + morning insisted that his nuptials should no longer be deferred. + The same evening, in the little chapel of the nunnery, Austin + bestowed his blessing on a union which had been sanctified by + such special manifestations of Divine approval.</p> + + <p>The readjustment of the shattered organization of the island + was imperative. The inhabitants of the eastern side, and those of + the Vale, had for the most part preserved their lives by their + absence from the forest; the Christian converts who had aided in + the struggle were also safe; with these exceptions the island was + practically depopulated. Jean was elected chief by acclamation. + After giving such pressing directions as immediate exigencies + required, he acceded to his wife's ardent wish to obtain + intelligence respecting Judith, and also to ascertain the fate of + Tita.</p> + + <p>The Lihou monks had already reported that all communication + was broken between the Hanois and the shore, but that the tower + appeared to be intact. On an April morning Haco and the young + couple sailed across Rocquaine Bay, and landed close to the + tower, which now stood on a rugged and inhospitable island. The + door was opened by Tita, who smiled, and prattled, and caressed + her young mistress like a lap-dog. She recognised Jean with + indifference, but a start, followed by a shudder, seized her when + she observed Haco; her terror, however, seemed to pass away when + he spoke a few soothing words to her. It was evident that a + shock, or a succession of shocks, had unsettled the poor woman's + brain. On the name of Judith being mentioned, she pointed + fearfully to the upper story. Uncertain as to her meaning, Jean + cautiously ascended the ladder, and ascertained that the + sorceress was in truth there. After a consultation it was decided + that Haco and Hilda should seek her presence.</p> + + <p>As father and daughter entered the apartment, they saw the old + woman half-seated, half-lying, on a couch placed close to the + window; her face, which was turned seaward, was haggard, the + leanness bringing into strong relief the handsome chiselling of + her profile; the sternness of her mouth was somewhat relaxed; + there was an indication almost of softness in its corners. Her + high spirit had accepted, not resented, defeat.</p> + + <p>As her eye fell on her two visitors there was no gleam of + defiance, no mark of anger, or even surprise; but, when Haco + stood fully revealed before her, a flash of triumph and pleasure + shot into it, kindling every feature with its glow. "You here, + Haco!" she cried, "and with her! The Gods have relented. You will + hold her fast in their worship, and lead her steps to the land of + her sires! I die contented." She fell back exhausted. "Sister," + said the giant, laying his hand softly on her shoulder, "it is + too late; when Algar slew my loved one the Pagan died in me; I am + a servant of the God of the Christians." Hilda awaited fearfully + the result of this announcement, but she knew not the greatness + of the old woman's soul. It was long ere her voice was heard + again. Presently, raising herself, she said, "I would it had been + otherwise; but I have erred, I have misjudged. I thought that + your Gods were false; puny creations of a nerveless brain; but + they are strong, I own their power! It may be that the great ones + of old have wearied of our spiritless race, and abandoned us. So + perchance you may be wise to turn to the new-comers!" Her voice + failed her, but as they knelt by her side her hands wandered over + their heads and lingered with a caressing movement among Hilda's + locks. She seemed to have forgotten Jean, whom she doubtless + believed to have been lost in the general calamity. Suddenly she + started up and pointed to a storm-cloud rising rapidly from the + western horizon, assuming a succession of fantastic shapes as it + passed upwards. "Do you not see them?" she cried—"the + great, the glorious ones! they bend from their seats; they smile! + see their power! Their majesty! their locks stream, their swords + are half drawn! they sheathe them, they lean forward, they extend + their arms! they beckon!—I come, I come!" She stretched out + her arms with the old familiar gesture and sank back, having + breathed her spirit to the tempest which she loved so well.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 569px;"><a name="fp090" id="fp090" /> + <img src="images/fp090.jpg" width="569" height="392" alt= + "Guernsey, Eastern Side, with Islands of Herm, Jethou and Sark. Sketched in 1839." + title= + "Guernsey, Eastern Side, with Islands of Herm, Jethou and Sark. Sketched in 1839." /> + <b>Guernsey, Eastern Side, with Islands of Herm, Jethou and + Sark. Sketched in 1839.</b> + </div> + + <p>They buried her on the cliffs of Pleinmont, where a cairn long + marked her resting-place. Tita was taken to the Vale; all + attempts to restore her from the shock which her nerves had + received failed till on one sunny morning Hilda's infant was + placed on her knees: when the child crowed, and smiled at her, + the cloud imperceptibly passed away, never to return. From that + time she assumed her regular place in the household.</p> + + <p>Haco abandoned his Lihou cell; his rough readiness of + resource, unfailing good-humour, and skill in managing men, + proved invaluable during the task of the restoration of the + broken links of government and society.</p> + + <p>The labours of Father Austin and his coadjutors did not relax, + but their course lay in smoother waters: if their prospects of + martyrdom were diminished they were more than consoled by the + knowledge that they possessed among them a veritable saint, to + whom the Holy Virgin had vouchsafed the honour of a personal + appearance, and that they had been witnesses of a miraculous + interposition, the evidence of which would be indelible as long + as the sea should wash the storm-beaten cliffs of their beloved + island.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14501 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/14501-h/images/device.png b/14501-h/images/device.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a77c089 --- /dev/null +++ b/14501-h/images/device.png diff --git a/14501-h/images/fp026.jpg b/14501-h/images/fp026.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ff37063 --- /dev/null +++ b/14501-h/images/fp026.jpg diff --git a/14501-h/images/fp046.jpg b/14501-h/images/fp046.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..dda203b --- /dev/null +++ b/14501-h/images/fp046.jpg diff --git a/14501-h/images/fp064.jpg b/14501-h/images/fp064.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6461014 --- /dev/null +++ b/14501-h/images/fp064.jpg diff --git a/14501-h/images/fp090.jpg b/14501-h/images/fp090.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b8964df --- /dev/null +++ b/14501-h/images/fp090.jpg diff --git a/14501-h/images/frontispiece.jpg b/14501-h/images/frontispiece.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9a8188d --- /dev/null +++ b/14501-h/images/frontispiece.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d9d3d50 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #14501 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14501) diff --git a/old/14501-8.txt b/old/14501-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..651f1c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14501-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2344 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Forest of Vazon, by Anonymous + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Forest of Vazon + A Guernsey Legend Of The Eighth Century + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: December 28, 2004 [EBook #14501] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FOREST OF VAZON *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + +THE FOREST OF VAZON + +_A GUERNSEY LEGEND OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY_. + +London: +HARRISON & SONS, 59, PALL MALL +Booksellers to the Queen and H.R.H the Prince of Wales +1889. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +Nothing authentic is known of the history of Guernsey previously to its +annexation to the Duchy of Normandy in the tenth century. The only +sources of information as to events which may have occurred before that +date are references in monkish chronicles of the usual semi-mythical +type, and indications conveyed by cromlechs and menhirs, fragments of +Celtic instruments and pottery, and a few Roman relics. It is +unfortunate that we are thus precluded from acquiring any knowledge of +the development of a people as to whom the soundest among conflicting +conjectures seems to be that, coming originally from Brittany, they +preserved the purity of the Celtic race through periods when in other +offshoots of the same stock its characteristics were being obliterated +by the processes of crossing and absorption. + +If early local records had existed they would hardly have failed to +have given minute details of the convulsion of nature which resulted in +the destruction by the sea of the forest lands on the northern and +western sides of the island, and in the separation of tracts of +considerable magnitude from the mainland. Geologists are agreed in +assigning to this event the date of March, 709, when great inundations +occurred in the Bay of Avranches on the French coast; they are not +equally unanimous as to the cause, but science now rejects the theory of +a raising of the sea-level and that of a general subsidence of the +island. The most reasonable explanation appears to be that the +overpowering force of a tidal wave suddenly swept away barriers whose +resistance had been for ages surely though imperceptibly diminishing, +and that the districts thus left unprotected proved to be below the +sea-level--owing, as regards the forests, to gradual subsidence easily +explicable in the case of undrained, swampy soil; and, as regards the +rocks, to the fact that the newly exposed surface consisted of +accumulations of already disintegrated deposits. + +It is unquestionable that before the inroad of the sea the inlet in the +south-west of the island known as Rocquaine Bay was enclosed by two +arms, the northern of which terminated in the point of Lihou; on which +still stand the ruins of an old priory, while the southern ended in the +Hanois rocks, on which a lighthouse has been erected. Lihou is at +present an island, accessible only at low water by a narrow causeway; +the Hanois is entirely cut off from the shore, but it is a noteworthy +fact that the signs of old cart-ruts are visible at spring tides, and +that an iron hook was recently discovered attached to a submerged rock +which had apparently served as a gatepost; besides these proofs of the +existence of roads now lying under the waves, it is said that an old +order for the repair of Hanois roads is still extant. That Vazon and the +Braye du Valle were the sites of forests is indisputable, though the +former is now a sandy bay into which the Atlantic flows without +hindrance, and the latter, reclaimed within the present century by an +enterprising governor, formed for centuries a channel of the sea by +which the Clos du Valle, on which the Vale Church stands, was separated +from the mainland. A stratum of peat extends over the whole arm of the +Braye, while as regards Vazon there is the remarkable evidence of an +occurrence which took place in December, 1847. A strong westerly gale, +blowing into the bay concurrently with a low spring tide, broke up the +bed of peat and wood underlying the sand and gravel, and lifted it up +like an ice-floe; it was then carried landwards by the force of the +waves. The inhabitants flocked to the spot, and the phenomenon was +carefully inspected by scientific observers. Trunks of full-sized trees +were seen, accompanied by meadow plants and roots of rushes and weeds, +surrounded by those of grasses and mosses; the perfect state of the +trees showed that they had been long buried under the sand. Some of the +trees and boughs were at first mistaken for wreckage, but the fishermen +soon discovered their error and loaded their carts with the treasure +locally known as "gorban." Subsequent researches have shown that acorns +and hazel-nuts, teeth of horses and hogs, also pottery and instruments +of the same character as those found in the cromlechs, exist among the +Vazon peat deposits. There is therefore abundant evidence that the +legends relating to the former inhabitants of the forest are based on +traditions resting on an historical foundation. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I.--TRADITION + + CHAPTER II.--SUPERSTITION + + CHAPTER III.--DEVOTION + + CHAPTER IV.--REVELATION + + CHAPTER V.--AFFLICTION + + CHAPTER VI.--CONSOLATION + + CHAPTER VII.--ANNIHILATION + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +TRADITION. + + "What can he tell that treads thy shore? + No legend of thine olden time, + No theme on which the mind might soar + High as thine own in days of yore." + + _The Giaour_.--BYRON + + +In the beginning of the eighth century Guernsey was a favoured spot. +Around, over the Continent and the British Isles, had swept successive +conquests with their grim train of sufferings for the conquered; but +these storm-clouds had not burst over the island. The shocks which +preceded the fall of the Roman Empire had not been felt, nor had the +throes which inaugurated the birth of Frankish rule in Gaul and Saxon +supremacy in Britain, disturbed the prevailing tranquillity. Occasional +descents of pirates, Northmen from Scandinavian homes or Southmen from +the Iberian peninsula, had hitherto had a beneficial effect by keeping +alive the martial spirit and the vigilance necessary for self-defence. +In the third century three Roman ships had been driven on shore and +lost; the legionaries who escaped had established themselves in the +island, having indeed for the moment no alternative. When their +commander succeeded in communicating with Gaul he suggested a permanent +occupation, being secretly influenced by tales of mineral wealth to +which he had lent an ear. Disillusioned and recalled, he was followed by +a sybarite, whose palate was tickled by banquets of fish of which he +wrote in raptures to his friends at Capri and Brindisi. This excellent +man, dying of apoplexy in his bath, was replaced by a rough soldier, who +lost no time in procuring the evacuation of a post where he saw with a +glance that troops were uselessly locked up. From this time nothing had +been heard of the Romans; their occupation had lasted forty years, and +in another forty the only physical traces of it remaining were a camp at +Jerbourg, the nearly obliterated tessellated pavement and fragments of +wall belonging to the sybarite's villa, which occupied the site in the +King's Mills Valley where the Moulin de Haut now stands, the pond in +the Grand Mare in which the voluptuary had reared the carp over which, +dressed with sauces the secret of which died with him, he dwelt lovingly +when stretched on his triclinium, and the basins at Port Grat in which +he stored his treasured mullet and succulent oysters. The islanders were +of one mind in speeding the parting guests, but the generation which saw +them go were better men than their fathers who had trembled at the +landing of the iron-thewed demi-gods. Compelled to work as slaves, they +had learnt much from their masters; a knowledge of agriculture and of +the cultivation of the grape, the substitution of good weapons and +implements of husbandry for those of their Celtic ancestors, improved +dwellings, and some insight into military discipline,--these were +substantial benefits which raised them in some respects above their +Continental and British neighbours, among whom patriotism had, on the +disappearance of the civilization of the Romans, revived the more +congenial barbarism. Arrivals among them of Christian monks, scanty at +first, more frequent since the landing of S. Augustine in Britain, had +also had a certain effect. The progress of conversion was, however, +slow; the people were bigoted, and the good fathers were compelled, as +in Brittany, to content themselves with a few genuine converts, wisely +endeavouring rather to leaven the mass by grafting Christian truths on +the old superstitions than to court certain defeat, possible expulsion +or massacre, by striving to overthrow at once all the symbols of +heathenism. + +The island was larger in extent than it is at present, as, in addition +to the Vale district, the islet of Lihou, Vazon Bay, and the rock group +known as the Hanois formed part of it. It is with the events that +altered this configuration that the following legend deals. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +SUPERSTITION. + + "Awestruck, the much-admiring crowd + Before the virgin vision bowed, + Gaz'd with an ever-new delight, + And caught fresh virtues at the sight." + + EDWARD MOORÉ'S _Fables_. + + +On the 24th of June, in the year 708, merry crowds were thronging to +Vazon Forest. It was a lovely spot. The other portions of the island +were bare and somewhat rugged; here the humidity of the soil favoured +the growth of fine, vigorous timber. On the low ground flourished oak +and sycamore, torn and bent near the shore where the trees met the force +of the Atlantic gales, growing freely and with rich verdure where better +protected. On the higher slopes were massed beech, birch, and the sweet +chestnut which was even then domesticated in the island. Glades, +bursting with a wealth of flowers nurtured by the mildness of the +climate, penetrated the wood in every direction; streams bubbling up +from springs, and forming little cascades where their course was checked +by granite boulders, lent an additional charm. Towards the centre of the +forest these streams united to form a lake, or rather a natural moat, +surrounding an island in the midst of which stood a gigantic oak. This +was the only tree on the island; round it, at even distances, were +placed twelve stones, beyond which a meadow glittering with varied hues +extended to the surrounding water. + +It was to this island that the holiday-makers were wending their way: +young men and maidens, and such elders as had vigour enough to traverse +the rough tracks leading from the interior. They were a small race, +lithe and active, with strong black hair and dark eyes now twinkling +with merriment They poured over the wooden bridges into the precincts of +the towering oak, under which the elders seated themselves with the +musicians, the younger people streaming off to the clear ground between +the stones and the water. + +When all were assembled the music struck up at a signal from an elder. +The instruments were akin to the goat-skin pipes of Lower Brittany; the +music wild, weird, appealing to the passion if not melodious to the ear. +At any rate the effect was inspiriting. First, the men danced, the +maidens seating themselves round the dancers and chanting the following +words, to the rhythm of which they swayed their bodies gracefully:-- + + "Mille Sarrazins, mille Sarmates, + Un jour nous avons tués. + Mille, mille, mille, mille, mille Perses, + Nous cherchons à present." + +The dance, footed to this truculent chant, had no warlike features; +beginning with a march, or rather a tripping walk, it ended with feats +in which each dancer defied his neighbour to out-spring him; nor did the +vocalists appear to expect representations of strife and doughty deeds. +The words, Roman by origin, as is clear from the allusion to the +Persians, had been adapted to a native air by the conquerors, and had +been left by them as a legacy to the islanders. Next, the maidens trod a +measure, the men standing round and applauding; the dance was quiet and +soft, consisting principally of graceful movements of the body as if the +dancers were getting themselves into training for greater efforts; in +this case the dancers themselves chanted words suitable to the music. +This ended, there was a pause before the principal business of the day +began, the dance in which both sexes joined, to be followed by the +bestowal of a wreath on the loveliest of the maidens. + +During the pause it was evident that an unusual incident had occurred. +The best-looking of the girls were pouting, the attention of the youths +was distracted. During the latter part of the dance the applause had +been intermittent; towards the close it had almost ceased. The elders, +looking about under their shaggy eyebrows, had not been long in +discovering the cause, and when they had found it allowed their +attention to wander also. + +The disturbing element was, indeed, not far to seek. Close to one of the +bridges was seated a maiden, unknown to all of them, but lovely enough +to hold the glance of old and young. Unlike the natives she was tall and +fair; masses of golden hair encircled her oval face and clustered over +her blue eyes. Who was she? Whence came she? None could answer. By +degrees some of the boldest of the youths approached, but their bluff +manners seemed to displease her; though unaccustomed to rebuffs they +retired. One, however, among them fared differently. Jean Letocq, a +member of the family to which the hero belonged who near this very spot +discovered the sleeping troops of the Grand Sarrazin, was admired and +beloved both by youths and maidens. First in every sport, having shown +courage and resource in times of peril both by sea and land, tender of +glance and gentle of tongue, he held a pre-eminence which none disputed, +and which was above the reach of envy. The fair stranger, from his first +glance at her, had fascinated, enthralled him: his eyes fastened +greedily on her every movement; he noted well her reception of those who +had addressed her, and when he approached he came, bare-headed, with a +low obeisance and a deferential air. He seated himself by her in +silence, after murmuring a few words of welcome to the feast, to which +she made no answer. Presently he spoke again, softly and courteously; +she replied without constraint, speaking his own language fluently, +though with a foreign accent. The ice once broken their talk rippled on, +as is the wont of light words, brightly uttered. Jean drank in each +gentle phrase, watched every graceful gesture; his heart bounded when +she carelessly smiled. But he lost not his daring: when the musicians +again struck up he boldly asked her to join in the dance. + +She was not offended, her look showed no displeasure, but she refused; +he renewed his request; suddenly a change came over her face, she looked +rapidly round as though searching for some one who was not present, a +flash came into her eyes, she sprang to her feet. "Why should I not +dance!" she said; "they are merry, why should I alone be sad!" She let +him lead her into the ring. If she had been enchanting when seated, what +was her power when she moved! She was a model of grace and loveliness; +the contrast of her colouring to that of her neighbours inspired the +superstitious with some terror, but made the braver spirits gaze more +curiously, indifferent to the half-concealed anger and affected disdain +of their partners. Every moment she gained more hearts, though she let +her eyes rest only on those of Jean. After the dance was over she seated +herself in her former position; the women then, according to custom, +retired outside the stone circle, while the men clustered round the oak +to award the prize. The ceremony had up to this day been looked on as a +pure formality: for the last two summers the wreath had been by common +consent placed on the brows of Suzanne Falla, and none who woke that +morning had doubted that it would rest there again before night. But now +the men's heads were turned; there was commotion both outside and inside +the circle; then a hush, as the old men rose in their places and the +young men formed a lane to the tree. Jean stepped out, and taking the +stranger by the hand, led her to where a white-haired veteran stood with +the wreath in his hand. The next moment it was placed on her brows, and +then all voices burst into a song of triumph, which rang to the remotest +glades of the forest. Suzanne did not join in the song; her little heart +was breaking; all the passion of her hot nature was roused; she felt +herself unfairly, unjustly, treated; insulted on the very day that was +to have crowned her pride. She could not control herself, nor could she +accept her defeat: she stamped her foot on the ground, and poured out a +torrent of objurgation, accusing Jean of treachery, demanding to know +whence he had produced her rival, appealing to the elders to revise the +judgment. Then, suddenly ceasing, as she saw by the looks of those +around her that while in some her fate created pity, in others it gave +rise to amusement, in many to the pleasure which poor human nature felt +then as now in a friend's misfortune, her mood altered: she turned and, +rapidly leaving the crowd, crossed one of the bridges. Hastening her +steps, but not watching them, she tripped over the straggling root of a +yew, and fell, her temple striking a sharp boulder, one of many cropping +up in the forest. Poor girl! in one moment passion and pride had flown; +she lay senseless, blood streaming from the wound. + +A quick revulsion of feeling swept through the impressionable people. +Her departure had been watched, the fall observed, and the serious +nature of the accident was soon known; all hurried to the spot where she +lay, full of sympathy and distress. Jean, perhaps not altogether +unremorseful, was among the first to proffer aid; the stranger, left +alone, took off the wreath and placed it on one of the stones of the +circle, by which she stood contemplating the scene. + +The blow, struck deep into the temple, was beyond any ordinary means of +cure; life indeed seemed to be ebbing away. "Send for Marie!" the cry +sprang from many mouths: "send for Marie the wise woman! she alone can +save her!" Three or four youths ran hastily off. + +"Wish ye for Marie Torode's body or her spirit?" said a harsh female +voice; "her body ye can have! but what avail closed eyes and rigid +limbs? Her spirit, tossed by the whirling death-blast, is beyond your +reach!" + +The speaker, on whom all eyes turned, was an aged woman of unusual +height; her snow-white hair was confined by a metal circlet, her eyes +were keen and searching, her gestures imperious; her dress was simple +and would have been rude but for the quaintly ornamented silver girdle +that bound her waist, and the massive bracelets on her arms. Like the +girl she was seen for the first time; her almost supernatural appearance +inspired wonder and awe. She bent over the prostrate form: "Marie said +with her last breath," she muttered to herself, "that ere the oaks were +green again the sweetest maidens in the island would be in her embrace, +but she cannot summon this one now! her vext spirit has not yet the +power!" + +She examined the wound, and raising herself said, "No human hand can +save her. The Spirits alone have power: those Spirits who prolong human +life regardless of human ills; but they must be besought, and who will +care to beseech them?" + +"Prayers may save her," answered a stern voice, "but not prayers to +devils! The Holy Virgin should we beseech, by whom all pure maidens are +beloved. She will save her if it be God's will, or receive her into her +bosom if it be decreed that she should die." + +The words were those of Father Austin, one of the monks of Lihou, +distinguished by his sanctity and the austerity of his habits. He was +spare, as one who lived hardly; his grey eyes had a dreamy look +betokening much inward contemplation, though they could be keen enough +when, as now, the man was roused; there was a gentleness about his mouth +which showed a nature filled with love and sympathy. + +The woman drew herself to her full stature, and turned on him a defiant +look. + +"Gods or devils!" she said in a ringing tone--"which you will! What can +an immured anchorite know of the vast mysteries of the wind-borne +spirits? Is this child to live or die? My gods can save her; if yours +can, let them take her! She is nought to me." + +"When Elijah wrestled with the prophets of Baal, where did victory +rest?" said the priest, and he too stooped down and inspected the wound. +"She is past cure," he said, rising sadly; "it remains but to pray for +her soul." + +At this critical moment an agonizing shriek rang through the forest. The +same runners who had sped to Marie Torode's cottage and had learnt there +that the wise woman had in truth passed away, had brought back with +them Suzanne's mother, who threw herself on her child's body +endeavouring to staunch the blood, and to restore animation. Finding her +efforts vain, she had listened anxiously to the words that had passed, +and on hearing the priest's sentence of doom she burst into frantic +grief and supplication. Turning to each disputant she cried--"Save her! +save her young life! I suckled her, I reared her, I love her!--oh, how I +love her!--do not let her die!" + +"She can be saved!" curtly responded the stranger. The priest was +silent. A murmur arose. Austin, who had trained himself to study those +among whom he laboured, saw that the feeling was rising strongly against +him. His antagonist saw it also, and pressed her victory. + +"Yes!" she said scornfully, "it is a small matter for my Gods to save +her, but they will not be besought while this bald-pate obtrudes his +presence. Let him leave us!" + +The priest was much perplexed. He knew the skill of these lonely women; +secretly he had faith in their power of witchcraft, though attributing +it to the direct agency of Satan. He thought it not impossible that +there was truth in the boast; and his heart was wrung with the mother's +grief. On the other hand, the public defeat was a sore trial; but it was +clear to him that for the present at least the analogy of Elijah's +struggle was imperfect: he must wait, and meanwhile bear his +discomfiture with meekness. He prepared to retire. The victor was not, +however, even now satisfied. "Take with you," she said, "yon idol that +defaces the sacred oak!" + +The good fathers, following their usual practice of associating emblems +of heathen with those of Christian worship, in the hope of gradually +diverting the reverence to the latter without giving to the former a +ruder shock than could be endured, had suspended a small cross on the +oak, hoping eventually to carve the tree itself into a sacred emblem; it +was to this that the woman was pointing with a sneer. + +But this time she had made a blunder. Father Austin turned to the +crucifix and his strength and fire returned. Taking it from the tree, +reverently kissing it and holding it aloft, he said solemnly--"Let my +brothers and sisters come with me! We will pray apart, where no profane +words can reach us. Perchance our prayers may be granted!" Not a few of +the hearers followed him; sufficient indeed to make an imposing +procession: the triumph of the Evil One was at least dimmed. + +But his adversary did not appear to notice their departure. She gave a +sharp glance in the direction of the oak, and the now discrowned girl +was quickly at her side. Receiving some rapid instructions, the latter +disappeared into the wood, and shortly returned with some herbs, which +she passed to her companion; she then resumed her position by the stone. +The old woman placed some leaves, which she selected, on the wound: the +bleeding at once ceased; squeezing juice from the herbs, she applied an +ointment made from it; then, opening a phial attached to her waist-belt, +she poured some drops of liquid into the girl's mouth, gently parting +her lips. This done, she stood erect and began an incantation, or rather +a supplication, in an unknown tongue. As she proceeded her form became +rigid, her eye gleamed, her arms, the hands clenched, were raised above +her head. The sun flashed on the circlet, glittered on the embossed +girdle: on the right arm was a heavy bracelet, composed of a golden +serpent winding in weird folds round a human bone; the head was towards +the wearer's wrist, and the jewelled eyes which, being of large size, +must have been formed of rare stones, glowed and shot fire as the red +beams struck on them through the branches. It seemed that a forked +tongue darted in and out, but this may have been imagined by the heated +fancies of the bystanders. The prayer ended; the stillness of death +rested a moment on man and nature; then a wild gust of wind, striking +the oak without any preliminary warning, bent and snapped the upper +branches, and crashed inland through the swaying forest. The watchers +saw the colour return to the cheeks of the wounded girl, who opened her +eyes and sate up. "Take her home," said the sorceress, now quite +composed, to the mother; "she is yours again!--till Marie calls her!" +she added in a low voice to herself. The happy mother, shedding tears of +joy, but in vain attempting to get her thanks accepted, obeyed the +injunction. + +As she and her friends disappeared, the old woman, turning to the awed +people who seemed more than ever disposed to look on her as a +supernatural being, said sternly--"Why linger you here? Are you +unmindful of your duties? See you not how the shadows lengthen?" These +words produced a magical effect: the deep emotions by which the mass had +been recently swayed were swiftly replaced by equally profound feelings +of a different nature, as cloud succeeds cloud in a storm-swept sky. + +And now a singular scene was enacted. A procession was formed, headed by +the old men, bare-headed; the musicians followed, behind whom walked +with solemn step the younger members of the community. This procession, +emerging from the western border of the forest, slowly climbed the +slopes of the Rocque du Guet, and arriving at the summit bent its way +seaward, halting at the edge of the precipitous cliff. + +The sun was nearing the horizon. The scene was one of unsurpassed +loveliness. Behind lay the central and southern portions of the island, +hushed as if their primaeval rocks were still tenantless. The outlines +of the isles of Herm and Jethou were visible, but already sinking into +the shades of evening. On the left the bold bluffs of L'Erée and Lihou, +on the right the rugged masses of the Grandes and the Grosses Rocques, +the Gros Commet, the Grande and Petite Fourque, lay in sharpened +outline, the lapping waves already assuming a grey tint. These masses +formed the framework of a picture which embraced a boundless wealth of +colour, an infinite depth of softness. Straight from the sun shot out +across Cobo Bay a joyous river of gold, so bright that eye could ill +bear to face its glow; here and there in its course stood out +quaintly-shaped rocks, some drenched with the fulness of the glorious +bath, others catching now and again a sprinkling shower. On each side of +the river the sea, clear to its depths where alternate sand and rock +made a tangle of capriciously mingled light and shade; its surface, here +blue as the still waters of the Grotta Azzurra, there green as the +olive, here again red-brown as Carthaginian marble, lay waveless, as +with a sense that the beauty was too perfect to be disturbed. Suddenly +the scene was changed; the lustrous outflow was swiftly drawn in and +absorbed; a grey hue swept over the darkening surface; in the distance +the round, blood-coloured, orb hung above the expectant ocean. + +Then all assembled fell on their knees. The music gave out sharp +plaintive notes which were answered by the voices of men and women in +short, wailing, as it were inquiring, rhythm; this continued till the +sun was on the point of disappearance, when music and voices together +burst into a sad chant, seemingly of farewell; the kneeling people +extending their hands seaward with an appealing gesture. One figure only +was erect; on the projecting boulder, which is still so conspicuous a +feature of the Rocque du Guet, stood the sorceress, her arms also +outstretched, her figure, firm, erect, sharply outlined, such as +Turner's mind conceived when he sketched the Last Man. + +Father Austin contemplated the scene from a distance. By his side was +his favourite convert, Jean Letocq. + +"Strange!" he said, placing his hand on his companion's shoulder. "Your +race are not sun-worshippers. Never, except on this day of the year, do +they show this feeling; but who that saw them to-day would doubt that +they are so! Is it that from old times their intense love of nature has +led them to show in this way their sadness at its decay? or do they by +mourning over the close of the sun's longest day symbolize their +recognition of the inevitable end of the longest life of man? I cannot +tell. But, blind as this worship is, it is better than that of the work +of man's hands. By God's will your countrymen may be led from kneeling +to the created to mount the ladder till they bend the knee only to the +Creator. It may be well, too, that their chosen object of veneration is +the only object in nature which dies but to rise again. Thus may they be +led to the comprehension of the great truth of the resurrection. But +Satan," he added with warmth, "must be wrestled with and cast down, +specially when he takes the forms of temptation which he has assumed +to-day: those of power and beauty. Prayer and fasting are sorely +needed." + +For once his pupil was not altogether docile. "Thou hast taught me, +father," he replied, "the lesson of charity. This old woman is sinful, +her error is deep, but may she not be converted and saved?" + +"The devils can never regain Paradise," replied the priest sternly. "Arm +thyself, Jean, against their wiles, in which I fear thou art already +entangled. The two forms we have to-day seen are but human in seeming: +demons surely lurked beneath." + +Jean was now in open rebellion. "Nay, good father," he said decisively, +"the maiden was no fiend; if her companion be an imp of darkness, as +well she may, be it my task to rescue her from the evil snare into which +she has fallen!" He had indeed a vivid recollection of the soft, human +hand to which he had ventured to give a gentle pressure when he had +assisted in placing the wreath on the fair, marble, brow, and had no +doubt of the girl's womanhood. As he spoke he vanished from the side of +the priest, who, seeing the two objects of his pious aversion entering +the darkening glades of the wood, was at no loss to divine the cause of +his disappearance. The holy father shook his head, and sighed deeply. He +was accustomed to disappointments, but this day his path had to an +unusual extent been beset with thorns. His faith was unshaken, and he +humbly laid the fault on his own shoulders, promising further privations +to his already sorely afflicted body. Meanwhile he descended the hill, +directing his course to Lihou. Pausing on his way through the forest to +replace the cross on the oak, he saw Jean, walking slowly homewards, his +listless step showing that his quest had failed. The Evil One had, he +thought, for the time at least, forborne to press his advantage. Further +off he heard the scattered voices of the dispersing throng. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +DEVOTION. + + "There glides a step through the foliage thick, + And her cheek grows pale and her heart beats quick, + There whispers a voice through the rustling leaves, + And her blush returns, and her bosom heaves; + A moment more--and they shall meet. + 'Tis past--her lover's at her feet." + + _Parasina_.--BYRON. + + +After visiting all the accessible parts of the island Jean satisfied +himself that it was useless to search further in them for traces of the +strangers. Persons so remarkable could not, it was clear, conceal +themselves from the knowledge of the inhabitants. He must therefore +either admit that the monk's surmise was correct, or must search in +quarters hitherto unexplored. Though his rejection of the former +alternative was a foregone conclusion, his adoption of the latter was a +remarkable proof of the strength of his passion. There was only one +district unexplored, and that was practically unapproachable. + +Early in the sixth century some piratical vessels had entered Rocquaine +Bay in a shattered condition; the crews succeeded in landing, but the +ships, for seagoing purposes, were beyond repair. The pirates penetrated +inland, driving out the inhabitants from Torteval and some of the +adjoining valleys. Here they settled; and being skilled in hunting and +fishing, having a fair knowledge of husbandry, and finding the position +peculiarly adapted for their marauding pursuits, throve and prospered: +so much so that when, some years afterwards, they had an opportunity of +leaving, the majority elected to remain. Their descendants had continued +to occupy the same district. Who they were, whether pure Northmen or of +some mixed race, it would be idle to conjecture: they were originally +put down by the islanders as Sarrazins, that being the name under which +the simple people classed all pirates; the strangers, however, resented +this description, and had consequently come to be spoken of as Les +Voizins, a definition to which no exception could be taken. Hardy and +warlike, quick of temper and rough of speech, they had an undisputed +ascendancy over the natives, to whom, though dangerous if provoked, they +had often given powerful aid in times of peril. On the whole they made +not bad neighbours, but a condition was imposed by them the violation +of which was never forgiven: no native was permitted, under any pretext, +to enter their territory; death was the sure fate of an intruder found +in Rocquaine Bay or setting foot in the Voizin hills or valleys. +Whatever may have been the cause of this regulation the result had been +to keep the race as pure as it was on the day of the first landing. + +Now it was in the Terre des Voizins that Jean had resolved to seek his +beloved, and his resolution was unalterable. He knew the danger; he +wished to avoid death if possible; he meant to employ to the full the +resources at his command; foolhardy as his enterprise seemed it was long +and carefully planned. He knew that in the summer evenings it was the +custom of the Voizin women to visit the sunny shores of the bay: this he +had seen from Lihou; could he then succeed in landing unperceived, and +in concealing himself in one of the many clefts of the rocks, he felt +sure that if the well-known form were there he would descry it; what +would follow afterwards was a question which had taken many fantastic +shapes in his imagination, none of which had assumed a definite form. + +Towards the close of July the conditions were favourable for his +attempt. In the night a strong tide would be running into the bay; the +wind was south-westerly, the moon set early. He prepared to start. He +had selected a small and light boat, which would travel fast under his +powerful strokes, and might be so handled as not to attract attention; +in it he had stored provisions which would last for a few days and a +small cask of fresh water. Towards evening he shaped his course for +Lihou. + +He had seen but little of the monk since the day of the feast, but he +was yearning to see him now. His love for the man, his reverence for the +truths he taught, his thought of his own future if he lost his life in +his rash expedition, all urged him to seek a parting interview. + +The brothers received him affectionately and bade him join their frugal +meal. The monks were five in number: they had been six, but one had +recently been drowned while returning from a pious mission to Herm. Jean +knew them all; they were honest, God-fearing men, trustful and truthful. +If their reasoning powers were not great, their faith was unswerving. +Their life was a prolonged asceticism, and they had fair reason to +expect that martyrdom would be their earthly crown. + +The only exceptional feature of the repast was the appearance of one who +had never yet been seated there in Jean's presence; this guest was the +hermit who dwelt on the extreme point, against which the Atlantic waves +dashed in their fiercest fury. The recluse did not seem to cultivate the +duty of abstemiousness, but he maintained silence. Jean could not +forbear furtively scanning his appearance, which was indeed remarkable. +He would have been of large stature in any country; compared with the +natives his proportions were gigantic. His broad shoulders and muscular +arms betokened enormous strength; his hair and beard were fair; his blue +eyes had a clear, frank, expression; there was firmness of purpose in +his massive jaw; he seemed between forty and fifty, and would have been +strikingly handsome but for three deep scars which totally marred the +expression of his features. As Jean eyed him he returned the compliment, +but the meal was soon over and the youth accompanied Father Austin to +his cell. + +There a long and sleepless night was passed by both. The monk in vain +endeavoured to combat Jean's resolution; he argued, prayed, indeed +threatened, but without effect. Finding his efforts hopeless he +abandoned them, and endeavoured to fortify his charge against the +influence of the spell under which he believed him to have fallen. Then +the young man was again the pupil; he listened humbly and reverently to +the repetition of the great truths which the father strove to rivet on +his mind, and joined earnestly in the prayers for truth and constancy. +As daylight broke, and he at length laid himself down to rest, his +latest vision was that of the good man kneeling by him with that rapt +look of contemplation which seemed to foreshadow his immortality. + +Jean slept profoundly for some hours. When night began to fall he +received Austin's blessing, no further reference being made to his +expedition, and when the moon was on the eve of disappearance he +launched his boat. As he rounded Lihou point another boat shot out, the +occupant of which hailed him. Recognizing the hermit, Jean paused. "You +steer wrong," said the giant, speaking with an accent which at once +reminded his hearer of that of the maiden; "your course is to the rising +sun." "I go where I will," replied Jean, nettled at this unlooked-for +interruption. "Youth," answered the other, "I have watched thee and wish +thee well! rush not heedlessly to certain death!" "Stay me not!" +resolutely answered Jean, wondering at the interest taken in him by this +strange being. "Thou knowest not!" said the hermit sternly; "it is not +only from death I wish to save thee, but from worse than death; I tell +thee I--" He checked himself, as if fearful of saying too much, and bent +his eyes searchingly into those of Jean, who murmured simply, "I am +resolved." "Then God help thee and speed thee!" said the giant. Glancing +into the boat he saw one of the curved and pierced shells then, as now, +used by Guernsey seamen as signal-horns: pointing to it he said, "If in +peril, where a blast may be heard on Lihou, sound the horn twice: it is +a poor hope but may serve thee!" He was gone. + +Jean paddled into the dreaded bay; the moon had now sunk and he was +further favoured by a slight mist. Knowing the tides from infancy, he +worked his way noiselessly till he approached where the Voizin fleet +lay, then laid himself down and let the current take him. He passed +several boats in safety; as far as he could judge, from the observations +he had taken from Lihou, he was nearly past the anchorage when a crash, +succeeded by a grating sound, warned him of danger. A curse, followed by +an ejaculation of surprise and pleasure, enlightened him as to the +nature of the collision: he was in contact with one of the anchored +vessels. "Odin is good!" cried a voice; "ha! a skiff drifted from a +wrecked vessel! and all eyes but mine sleeping!" The speaker threw over +a small anchor and grappled the boat. Jean was prepared; without a +moment's hesitation he cut the anchor-rope: his craft drifted onwards, +leaving the fisherman grumbling at the rottenness of his tackle. He +offered a short prayer of gratitude, and in a few minutes ventured +cautiously to resume his oars. He heard the breaking of the waves, but +seamanship on the unknown and indistinct coast was useless. Two sharp +blows, striking the boat in rapid succession, told him that he had +touched a submerged rock; the strong tide carried him off it, but the +water poured in through a gaping rent. He was now, however, on a sandy +bottom: he sprang out, pulled the boat up as far as possible, and sat +down to wait for light. + +The first break of dawn showed him his position: he was facing +northward; he was therefore on the Hanois arm of the bay. Fortune had +indeed been kind to him, for he had drifted into a small cleft sheltered +by precipitous rocks, a place where concealment was fairly possible, as +it was accessible only by land at the lowest tides. He examined his +store of provisions, which was uninjured; storing it among the rocks he +rested till the sun sank. He then cautiously climbed the cliff, and +looked on the scene revealed by the moonlight. Seawards stood a rough +round tower; no other building was visible on the point, which seemed +deserted. The loneliness gave him courage; when the moon set, the night +being clear, he explored further and satisfied himself that there were +no human beings, except the occupants of the tower, living on these +rocks. He retired to his hiding-place to rest; before dawn he again +ascended and concealed himself among the bracken and brambles which +formed the only available shelter. During the whole day he saw but one +person, an elderly woman, whose dark features and bright kerchief showed +her to be of southern or gipsy origin, and who passed backwards and +forwards carrying water to the tower. His examination increased his +confidence; he calculated, by measuring the time occupied by the old +woman in passing with an empty and returning with a full pitcher, that +the spring frequented by her could not be far distant; at night he +found it just beyond the junction of the rocks with the mainland. The +water was cool and fresh, and considerably revived him; he noticed too +that the luxuriant brushwood, nourished by the moisture, offered a good +place for concealment; he returned, removed thither what remained of his +provisions, and ensconced himself in his new retreat. + +In the morning he saw two figures approaching from the tower; one was +the same servant he had seen before, but the other!--his heart throbbed +and leaped, his brain reeled, his eyes gazed hungrily; he could not be, +he was not, mistaken!--the second figure was the heroine of his dreams! +She walked silently. Jean saw that memory had not played him false: her +beauty, her grace, were no freak of his imagination; would the holy +father now say that she was a devil, while thus she moved in her +loveliness, a woman to be loved and worshipped!--a very woman, too! not +above the cares of life! Seating herself by the spring she despatched +her companion on an errand to supply domestic wants, promising to await +her return. + +Jean's principal characteristic was rapid resolution: he reasoned that a +small alarm might make the girl fly; that his chance of retaining her +was an overpowering shock. He stepped boldly out and stood before her. +The maiden sprang quickly to her feet; there was no terror in her face; +she was of true blood; if she was afraid she did not show it; it was +clear she recognized the apparition, but intense surprise, overpowering +other emotions, kept her dumb. Jean had thus the chance of speaking +first, and deftly he used his opportunity. In a few rapid sentences he +told the tale of his search, of his adventures, of his selection of his +hiding-place; then he paused. The maiden was not long in finding words. +There was a flush on her cheek and a tear hanging on her eyelash which +made Jean very happy. "You must go," she said, "but where? Your life is +forfeit! forfeit to the Gods!" She shuddered as she said this. "In +yonder tower lives my mother, on the shore are my people; there is no +escape on either hand! A chance has saved you hitherto; none dare +approach our home without my mother's permission, which is rarely given; +but on this spot they may find you, may seize you, may--!" She stopped, +with an expression of horror, and covered her face with her hands. + +But Jean was not anxious; he was radiant with happiness. He seated +himself and spoke of love, deep passionate love; so gentle was he, so +soft, so courteous, and yet so ardent, that the maiden trembled; when he +dared to take her hand she did not withdraw it. The moment of bliss was +brief; a step was heard. "Hide yourself quickly," she whispered, "Tita +is returning." Jean promptly obeyed the injunction. The old woman +arrived with a well-filled wallet, and looked fondly at her young +mistress. The signs of recent agitation struck her. "What has befallen +thee, Hilda?" she cried anxiously. The girl took her arm and led her +seawards. Jean, watching, could see the start and angry expression of +the older, the coaxing, pleading attitude of the younger woman; he could +satisfy himself that the resistance of the former was gradually being +overcome, and as they returned he saw that the maiden's victory was +indisputable. She summoned Jean, who was inspected by Tita at first with +distrust, then with modified approval. "You must stay here," said the +maiden earnestly, "closely hidden till nightfall; my absence has been +already sufficiently long, and nothing can be done while daylight +lasts." Bidding him farewell she sped with her guardian towards the +tower, while Jean retired to his bushes a prey to fond thoughts and +feverish hopes. + +Before sundown he saw the tall figure of the sorceress wending +landwards. She did not approach the spring. Hilda quickly followed with +her former companion. "We have a long journey," she said, "and short +time: we must start at once." Removing all traces of his lair he obeyed +without hesitation. They ascended the steep cliff. The night was clear, +the moon at this hour was bright and lustrous. "We have three hours," +said the maiden, "ere we leave our guest!"--she looked archly at Jean as +she thus described him--"it should suffice!" They were now on the +heights of Pleinmont; no one was moving, though voices of men and beasts +could be plainly heard in the distance. "They feast to-night to the +Gods," said Hilda; "we need fear only some belated laggard!" The heather +was not yet springing, but Jean could see that gorse was on the bloom, +which he considered a favourable omen: they stepped out bravely on the +short springy turf. Tita's steps were slower than those of the young +pair, who were deaf to her calls for delay. Never to his dying day did +Jean forget that happy night-walk. His soul was poured out in love, and +he knew that his love was returned. He was steeped to the full in joy; +no thought of future cares or perils crossed his mind. They had passed +three or four headlands before the girl halted and waited for her +attendant, who came up muttering to herself and grumbling; compliments +from Jean and caresses from Hilda restored her good humour, and the work +of the evening commenced. "Follow me closely," said the girl; "let your +eye be keen and your step firm: the descent is no child's sport." Jean +looked at the cliff, fitted for the flight of gull or cormorant rather +than the foot of man, still less of gentle maiden: Hilda was already +over the brink: Jean, following, saw that she was on a path no broader +than a goat's track; the difficulties of the descent need not be +described; it was possible for a clear head and practised foot, to the +nervous or the unsteady the attempt must have been fatal. Arrived at +the bottom the climbers found themselves in a small cleft strewn with +huge boulders; the rocks towered high above them. Hilda glanced at the +moon. "We must be quick," said she, showing him some deep caverns in the +rock; "there," she said, "is your home. Here you are safe; my mother +alone knows the secret of these caves. I must mount again; you must +climb with me to mark the path more closely." She sprang to the rock and +commenced to ascend as nimbly as she had come down. Jean saw the +necessity of taking every precaution; he noted carefully each feature of +the track. Arrived at the summit she bade him farewell. She pointed out +a place where Tita would from time to time leave him provisions, and +said that he would find water in the caves; she then tripped quickly +off. Jean did not linger, seeing that if he did so light would fail him +for his return. He crossed the track for the third time, reached the +caves, and slept soundly till dawn. + +When he awoke he inspected his strange retreat. He was in a large hall, +two hundred feet long, and some fifty feet high and broad; this chamber +was entered by a small orifice of no great length, through which he had +passed on the preceding night; it was warm, and dry except where the +stream of which Hilda had spoken trickled through to the sea. It was the +fissure now known as the Creux Mahie, and to which an easy access has +been arranged for the benefit of the curious. Here Jean passed three +months. Hilda frequently visited him, and always kept him supplied with +food; she warned him also when he might safely roam on the cliffs above. +There was no obstacle to her visits, even when they extended to a +considerable length, as the mother seemed always to be satisfied as to +her absences when Tita accompanied her; and the latter, whose +infirmities prevented her from descending, had no means of shortening +the interviews. + +Thus the lovers had opportunity to study each other's characters. The +maiden's pure heart knew no distrust, and Jean was faithful and +chivalrous as Sir Galahad. They spoke not always of love: words were +unnecessary to explain what every look betokened. Jean found her skilled +in strange, mystical, lore, but ignorant of all that sways and rules +mankind. The history of the selfish struggles of human interests and +passions was to her a sealed book. She had been carefully shrouded from +the knowledge of evil; but, in order to protect her in the rough +turbulent little world in which she lived, it had been necessary to keep +her from association with her countrymen, and so she had never mingled +with them except under the charge of her mother, in whose presence the +fiercest were submissive. Jean, therefore, in speaking to her of family +intercourse, of the intermingling of members of the household, of +bright chat with friends, opened up to her views of life of which she +had formed no conception. Then he told her of his own people; described +the three generations living under one roof; depicted the daily round, +the care of the old and the young, the work, the return of the workers +to their wives, sisters, and children, the love of the mothers for their +infants, the reverence for age, the strong mutual affection of husband +and wife, brother and sister. To these descriptions she listened with a +happy smile, the mission of woman dawning on her; and many were the +questions she asked, till she seemed to have mastered the pictures +painted for her. Above all, Jean strained to bring her to the knowledge +of the God of the Christian, for he himself was an earnest, intelligent +disciple. He found her mind clearer than he had expected. Judith (this +he now knew was the mother's name) was a remarkable woman; her mind was +lofty, if darkened. While others were satisfied with the grossness of a +material creed her spirit soared aloft. Her Gods commanded her implicit +faith, her unswerving allegiance. Seated on the storm-clouds, sweeping +through space, they represented to her infinite force. She attributed to +them no love for mankind, which was in her creed rather their plaything, +but she credited them with the will and the power to scatter good and +ill before they claimed the soul of the hero to their fellowship, or +cast into a lower abyss that of the coward or the traitor. She believed +that she saw their giant forms half bending from their vapoury thrones, +and she thought that she read their decrees. Sorceress she may have +been; in those days sorcery was attributed to many who had obtained a +knowledge of laws of nature, then considered occult, now recognized +among the guiding principles from which scientific deductions are drawn. +She believed in the power of magic, which she was universally understood +to possess; but she was no vulgar witch: rather was she a worthy +priestess of her not ignoble deities. The effect upon Hilda's mind of +the teachings of such a woman is easy to conceive. She had been allowed +to know little of the wild orgies of the barbaric feasts offered to the +Gods by her countrymen, of their brutal excesses, of their human +sacrifices: from this knowledge she had been as far as possible +shielded: she knew only of the dim mystic beings, half men, half Gods, +from whose wrath she shrank with terror. To a mind so constituted and +trained the revelation of the story of the infant Christ was a +passionate pleasure. She never tired of listening to the tale of the +birth in the stable of Bethlehem; but she loved not to dwell on the +history of the passion and death, which was at that time beyond her +understanding. She drank in with parted lips all that concerned the Holy +Mother, of whom she was never weary of hearing. Jean had a rude drawing +of the Madonna and Child, given him by Father Austin: the figures had +the angularity and rigidity of Byzantine art, but the artist had +represented his subject with reverence, and no lack of skill, and she +loved to dwell on the pure mother's face, and on the longing look in the +eyes of the Child. She accepted wholly the idea of a God who loved +mankind, of infinite goodness and mercy: if she could not as yet enter +into the subtlety of doctrine she could give that childlike faith which +is the envy of doctrinarians. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +REVELATION. + + "I curse the hand that did the deid, + The heart that thocht the ill, + The feet that bore him wi' sik speid, + The comely youth to kill." + + _Gil Morrice_.--OLD BALLAD. + + +Jean had often expressed his curiosity to see the interior of the tower, +and Hilda had promised to gratify it. On the 25th of October an +opportunity occurred. She informed her lover that on that day a feast of +unusual importance would be held from which none would be absent, and +that her mother would be engaged at it from noon to midnight. On that +day, therefore, he walked freely along the cliffs, and was admitted to +the dwelling. He had unconsciously based his idea of its contents upon +his recollections of the squalid abode of Marie Torode, where human +skulls, skeletons, bones of birds and beasts, dried skins, and other +ghastly objects had been so grouped as to add to the superstitious +feeling inspired by the repulsive appearance of the crone herself. His +astonishment was therefore proportionate when he saw what to his eyes +appeared exceptional luxury. A wooden partition divided the room on the +lower story into two chambers of unequal size: the larger, in which he +stood, was the common dwelling apartment, the other was given over to +Hilda. The upper story, approached by a ladder and also by an external +staircase, was sacred to Judith; Tita occupied some outbuildings. The +sitting-room was hung with rich stuffs of warm and glowing colours; here +and there fitful rays of the sun flickered upon gold brocade and +Oriental embroidery; rugs and mats, which must have been offered for +sale in the bazaars of Egypt and Morocco, were littered about in strange +contrast with the bracken-strewed floor. On the walls were inlaid +breastplates and helmets, pieces of chain armour, swords and daggers of +exquisite workmanship. On shelves stood drinking vessels of rougher +make, but the best that northern craftsmen could produce. The seats were +rude and massive: one of them, placed by a window fronting the setting +sun, was evidently the favourite resting-place of Judith. Above this +seat was a shelf on which lay some of the mysterious scrolls of which +Jean had seen specimens in the possession of the fathers. Instruments of +witchcraft, if such existed, must have been in the upper story: none +were visible. All this splendour was manifestly inconsistent with the +homely taste and abstracted mode of thought of the sorceress. In point +of fact she was hardly aware of its existence. The decorator was Tita, +in whom was the instinct of the connoisseur, supported by no +inconsiderable knowledge to which she had attained in those early years +of which she never could be induced to speak. When a rich prize was +brought into the bay, freighted with a cargo from Asia, Africa, or the +European shores of the Mediterranean, she never failed to attend the +unloading, during which, by the help of cajolery, judicious +depreciation, and other ingenious devices still dear to the virtuoso, +she succeeded in obtaining possession of articles which would have +enraptured a modern collector. Judith was apparently indifferent to a +habit which she looked upon as a caprice of her faithful servant, and +the only evidence of her noticing it was her concentration in her own +apartments of all that related to her personal studies and pursuits. + +It was now Jean's turn to listen and learn, and Hilda's to explain and +instruct. Towards nine o'clock he was preparing to return. He was +indifferent to the darkness, as by this time he knew the track so well +that he crossed it fearlessly at all hours. His hand was on the bolt +when Tita announced in alarm that Judith was returning and was on the +point of entering. Hardly was there time to conceal him behind the +hangings before she appeared. Her countenance was pale and worn, her +tone, as Hilda took off her outer garments was weary and sad. "The +portents were hostile and dangerous," she said; "they foretold woe, +disaster, ruin. Will the mighty ones reveal to me the future? I cannot +tell! But my spirit must commune with them till dawn breaks. Dost hear +them? They call me now!" She held up her finger as a sudden blast rocked +the tower to its foundations. "Aye," she continued more firmly after a +pause, "they will not forget those who are true to them. But this +people! this people!" She hid her face with her hands as if to cover a +painful vision. After a time she rose to her feet and took the girl by +the hand. Leading her to the seat by the window on which she placed +herself, and making her kneel by her side, she said-- + +"Hilda! the chill mist closes round! my life draws to its end! Nay, weep +not, child! were it not for thee I would long ere this have prayed the +gods my masters to remove me from my sojourn among the degenerate sons +of our noble fathers; but I trembled for thy fate, sweet one!" These +last words were almost inexpressibly tender. "I dared not trust thy +slight frame to battle unsheltered with the storm. Now the blast +summoning me is sounded. I cannot much longer disobey, though I may +crave for brief respite. But I have found thee refuge! thou wilt be in +a safe haven. Stay! I must speak while the spirit is on me!" + +"Mother!" sobbed the girl, clasping the old woman's knees. + +"Hilda!" said Judith slowly, "call me no longer by that name! I am not +thy mother; before men only do I call thee daughter. Silence!" she +exclaimed imperatively, as Hilda looked quickly up, doubting whether she +heard aright. "Silence! and listen!" + +"I have loved thee truly, child, and have nurtured thee as a mother +would! and thou art no stranger! the same blood runs in our veins! Yes! +thou art mine! for thy father was my brother. Does not that give thee to +me? Hush! thou shalt hear the tale." + +Hilda's were not the only ears that drank in every word of the following +story. + +"Twenty years ago what a demi-god was Haco! He was a giant, but even men +who feared him loved him. Though brave and strong as Odin himself, his +mind was gentle and kind as a maiden's; first in council, in war, in +manly sports, he ever had an open ear and a helping hand for the +troubled and distressed. He was adored, nay, worshipped, by all. What +wonder then that when he and the proud chief Algar courted the same +maiden, he was preferred! Thou knowest not, Hilda, the mysteries of a +tender heart; may it be long indeed before thy heart is seared by human +passion!" It was fortunate that darkness hid the burning blush which +suffused Hilda's face and neck at this pious wish. Judith +proceeded:--"Thy father wedded and thou wast born. He poured on thy +infant form all the wealth of his great generous heart. Algar nursed his +revenge: he dared not act openly, for our house was as noble as his +own--nay, nobler!" she added haughtily, "but he bided his time. Haco's +tower was near the shore, a pleasant, lovely, spot. One night the news +was borne to me that enemies had landed, and that his dwelling was in +flames; I hurried towards it; I was stopped by armed warriors; Algar's +men, they said, had hastened to the rescue; the chief had ordered that +no women should leave their homes. It was in vain that I urged and +protested. When at last I reached the spot the struggle was said to be +over, and the assailants, beaten off, were declared to have sailed away. +Algar himself came to me with well-assumed grief. He had arrived, he +swore, too late to save. The tower had been fired whilst the inmates +slept, the wife and child had perished; Haco, after performing +incredible feats of valour, had fallen before the strokes of numerous +foes; when he himself had come with a chosen band, while sending the +rest of his forces to other posts which the unforeseen danger might +threaten, nothing remained but to avenge the murder. Why recount the +caitiffs lies? Where were the signs of landing, of hasty re-embarkation? +Where were the dead of the strangers? Thrown into the sea! he said; it +was foul falsehood, and fouler treachery. I found your father's body; he +was smitten and gashed, but nobler than the living. I touched him and +was silent. I knew what none others guessed. I arose. The spirits of the +Gods came over me, and I cursed his slayer. Never had I spoken so +fiercely; men stood and wondered. I prayed the Gods to make the wretch +who had caused my darling's death miserable by land and by sea, by day +and by night, in the field and at the board, loathed by his friends, and +scorned by his foes. The Gods heard my imprecations; as I turned my eyes +skywards they looked from their clouds, wrath kindling on their brows, +and Algar's face was white with fear, his hand trembled and his knee +shook. + +"'We must bury him,' he faltered. + +"'Yea,' said I, 'but in a hero's grave, and after the custom of our +fathers.' + +"There was a murmur of applause. Algar could not refuse. + +"They brought the choicest of the boats, they made the sails bright and +gay, they put in it the dead man's arms, and food to accompany him to +the land of spirits. Then they bound him before the mast, his face +turned seaward. At sundown they towed the boat to deep water, so pierced +her that she might sink slowly under the waves, and then they left the +hero to his rest. I had gone out with them: alone I said to him my last +farewell. But they did not know my secret. They did not guess that I had +ascertained by my art that life was yet in him, that I had poured +between his lips subtle drops which would maintain animation for many +days and nights, during which consciousness might be restored; nor did +they imagine that when I kneeled before him I had stopped the leak by +which the water was to flow into the doomed boat. Algar was now the +deceived; it was a living man, not a corpse, who started on that voyage. +Haco lives still, though where my art cannot tell. I thought that Marie +Torode knew, and sought her on her death-bed to question her, but either +she could not or she would not tell." Hilda's mind was in such confusion +that she could not speak. The old woman continued. "Algar lived on--yes, +lived that he might suffer all the evils with which my curse loaded him, +and died that he might be hurled into the abyss where traitors and +cravens writhe and groan. Enough of him! + +"When I returned to my tower, a figure was crouching before the hearth: +it was Tita, and you were in her arms. The faithful creature, whom your +father had chosen from a band of captives to be your nurse, had, +unperceived, saved your life from the flames. Thenceforward you were my +care. I took your mother's place as best I could. Others knew not your +parentage, nor did they dare to question me. None suspected the truth." + +When she reached this point she bent over the kneeling girl and gave her +a kiss, tender as a mother's if not a mother's kiss; her fingers +caressed the head bowed upon her knees; for a time the silence was only +broken by Hilda's sobs. She then spoke again, this time quickly, +sternly, as if to prevent interruption. + +"I cannot leave thee alone, and I will not! Listen, child, and be +silent! What I now tell thee is beyond thy young understanding: thou +hast but to shape thy will to my bidding: it is for me to launch thy +vessel on its voyage, the Gods will help thy riper judgment to steer its +course! The time has come when thou must wed! I have chosen for thee a +suitor, the chief to whom all thy countrymen bend the knee. Garthmund +claims thee as his bride; ere eight days expire the marriage feast will +be held. He is of noble birth, there is none nobler; he is young and +strong, and should be favoured by the Gods if he prove worthy of them. +He is a fitting bridegroom for Haco's daughter." + +The girl was dazed and trembling. She knew this chief: he answered +Judith's description, but was rough and coarse. Had she not met Jean +she might not have dared to refuse, but now she felt that death would be +more welcome than this marriage. "Spare me, mother!" she said, as if she +had not heard the disclaimer of maternity. "I am too young, too weak." +The old woman pressed her hand on the girl's lips. "We will not speak +further to-night," she said; "thou canst not see Garthmund for three +days, for so long the feast will last. May the Gods protect thee!" She +rose: the fitful moonlight streamed on her gaunt form; she turned and +slowly ascended to her chamber. + +The terrified girl quickly released Jean, who led her from the tower. If +she was broken and trembling he was erect and resolute; no longer the +soft lover, but the prompt man of action. She felt the bracing +influence. "We have three days," he said. "Within that time we must +flee. I will not return to the cave; my task must be to repair the +boat." He mentioned certain articles which he begged her to provide, +pressed her to his breast, and disappeared in the darkness. + +At daylight he examined the little vessel. She was no worse than she had +been, as each incoming tide, reaching the place where she was secured, +had floated her, but the rock had opened a large jagged fissure. Hilda +brought him such materials as she could procure, a log of wood, bark +which she stitched with her own hands, a hatchet and nails. Jean +utilized also the vraick with which the sand was strewn. He worked +without fear of detection, knowing that the whole population was inland; +but the lovers had to rely on themselves alone, for, when there was a +question of flight, Tita was no longer to be trusted. + +On the third day Jean found the boat fairly seaworthy. Hilda felt a +severe pang at leaving Judith, who had not reverted to the subject of +her marriage. Whether her parent or not, she loved her dearly; she felt +also the pain of parting with Tita, but her resolution never swerved. +She had given her heart to Jean; she felt also a presentiment that she +would discover her father; while it was her belief that the parting from +her old associates was but temporary. + +When the sun went down Jean set his sail, meaning to make a rapid dash +across the bay, and seeing no cause for concealing his movements. There +was more swell than he liked for so frail a craft, but wind and tide +were favourable to the enterprise, and the night was exceptionally +bright, the moon being full; this brightness would have been fatal had +the inhabitants been on the alert, but under present circumstances the +pale beams were welcome. Hilda took the helm; she knew every passage in +the labyrinth of submerged rocks, and they were soon in comparatively +open water. Jean then assumed control, wrapping the maiden in his +cloak, for the waves were tossing their spray over the boat as she +heeled over to the breeze. + +They had traversed in safety three-fourths of their course when Jean, +looking seaward, saw a dark sail bearing down on them. One of the pirate +ships, delayed by contrary winds, was hurrying homeward, the crew of +five men hoping to arrive ere the feast was over. Jean's hope that the +boat might not be discovered was soon dispelled: the vessel altered her +course slightly and hailed. Jean made no answer. The pirate was +evidently in no mood to parley; the crew were in a fierce temper, angry +and discontented at the postponement of their arrival. She made a +deliberate attempt to run the boat down. Jean divined her object and, +putting up his helm sharply at the right moment, let her shoot by him +astern; he then resumed his course. A second attempt was clumsier, and +was easily evaded; the assailants were hurried and impatient; nor did +they know the seamanlike qualities of the man with whom they were +dealing. But Jean saw that ultimate escape was hopeless, and this was +equally apparent to Hilda who, however, though pale as death, gave a +firm pressure of the hand in response to his grasp. At this moment an +object glimmered under the youth's feet: stooping down he touched the +shell. The hermit's parting words flashed on his mind: he seized on the +hope of rescue, and sounded two loud and clear blasts. + +The pirates now altered their tactics. Handling their vessel with more +care they succeeded, after two or three unsuccessful attempts, in +ranging alongside and grappling the boat. A man sprung on board and +seized Hilda. "A rare booty!" he cried,--"the Gods repent of their +waywardness." Jean was engaged with those of the crew who had seized the +boat; the man laughingly gave the girl a rough embrace: it was the last +act he had to record before entering the spirit world. Hilda drew from +her bosom one of the daggers which Jean had noticed on the tower walls, +whose blade, still sharp and keen, might have been forged by a Damascus +smith; it struck deep to the heart of the ruffian, who fell lifeless +into the waves. Jean had now freed the craft, but the respite was short: +before she had made much progress she was again captured. The pirates, +furious at the death of their comrade, made a determined onslaught. +Jean, fighting desperately, received from behind a terrific blow which +laid him senseless. But a superstitious feeling made them hesitate +before committing further outrage; they had recognized Hilda, and feared +the consequence of Judith's vengeance if she were injured. There was no +time, however, for delay; the, rude repairs, torn by the trampling feet, +had given way, and the leak had re-opened: the boat was fast sinking. +The pirates cared not for Jean's lifeless body; that might sink or swim; +but they felt they must save the girl whatever might be her future +doom. Even their hearts softened somewhat as they watched her erect in +the sinking boat, her face pallid, her fair hair shining in the +moonlight, but her lips set, her lovely eyes bent tearless on her +prostrate lover, her right hand, holding the blood-stained dagger, +hanging listlessly by her side. + +Watching an opportunity, a stalwart youth seized her from behind and +pinned her arms. The next moment he himself was seized as if he were a +dog, and hurled into the water. The new combatant, whose arrival had so +effectually changed the aspect of affairs, was the hermit, who followed +up his first stroke by another still more decisive. Springing into the +pirate craft, wrenching a weapon from the grasp of the chief of the +assailants, he drove before him the three remaining men, terror-struck +at his sudden and inexplicable appearance, his superhuman size and +strength. One by one he swept them overboard; then grasping a huge +stone, which formed part of the ballast, he dashed it with the full +force of his gigantic strength through the planks of the boat, which at +once began to fill. All this was the work of a few moments. He then +leaped into the skiff, which sank as he swiftly transferred to his own +vessel its two occupants. + +Before another hour was over, Jean, stretched on a pallet, was receiving +the attention of loving hands in a cell of the Lihou monastery. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +AFFLICTION. + + "The race of Thor and Odin + Held their battles by my side, + And the blood of man was mingling + Warmly with my chilly tide." + + _Danube and the Euxine_.--AYTOUN. + + +Father Austin received his pupil's companion with the courtesy due to +her distress, but with much misgiving. After tending his patient, whose +situation was critical, he paced thoughtfully towards the cell in which +he had placed her, revolving in his mind the difficulties of the case. +His amazement was intense when he slowly opened the door. The maiden was +kneeling, her back towards him; before her was the little picture of the +Madonna; she was praying aloud; her words were simple but passionately +pathetic; she threw herself and her lover upon the mercy of the Holy +Mother with a trust so absolute, a confidence so infinite, that the monk +could hardly refrain from tears. How had he been blinded! as he looked +and listened the scales fell from his eyes: he humbly owned his error. + +The noise of his step startled her; she rose and looked at him +inquiringly. "Maiden," he said, answering her appealing look, "his fate +is in the hands of God, whose ears are ever open to the prayers of those +that fear Him." + +Often and often had Jean spoken to her of Father Austin; she loved him +already, but she had yet to fathom the nobleness of his soul. His +single-heartedness and abnegation of self, his tenderness and quick +sympathy (virtues tempering his fierce abhorrence of Paganism), his +stern reprobation of the evil, and his yearning for the good, in the +untutored barbarians among whom he laboured, were gradually revealed in +the discourses which they held daily while Jean lay between life and +death. Reaping and garnering what Jean had sown, he scattered fresh +seed, opening out to her the great history of God in man. Qualities +hitherto unsuspected in her developed; if an apt pupil, she was an +instructive teacher of the wealth of charity and purity that dwells in +an untainted woman's heart. And she had another friend: the hermit +watched over her with touching care and assiduity. He appeared strangely +attracted to her; the holy fathers marvelled to see this rough being, +who had seemed to them an animal to be feared while pitied, caring for +the maiden's comfort with a woman's gentleness: he seemed never weary of +contemplating her, sometimes murmuring to himself as he did so. Any +little delicacy that the island could afford, game, fish, shellfish, was +provided for her by him. Once, thinking her couch hard, he disappeared +and returned bearing, whence none knew, soft stuffs better fitted for +her tender form; on this occasion the whole man seemed transformed, when +he stepped in with a smile in his big frank eyes, and a ruddy glow on +his bronzed scarred cheeks, placed his offering at her feet, and strode +away. Strange, too, to say, Hilda seemed to return the feeling: happy in +the presence of Austin, she was yet with him as the pupil with the +master; but with the recluse she was gentle, affectionate, and even +playful. The monks attempted not to solve the puzzle of the bond that +knitted together the two strange beings; analysis of character troubled +little their saintly minds. + +At length consciousness returned; Jean opened his eyes and recognised +Austin. This was a joyful moment. Quiet was all that was now necessary +to complete the restoration of his health, which could not, however, be +anticipated for a considerable time. The first inquiry of the patient +was for Hilda, and he was allowed to see her; on the next day they were +permitted to interchange a few words, after which Austin explained what +he had already decided. Hilda, he pointed out, could not fitly remain +in Lihou, where she had been allowed to reside only until her lover was +out of danger; the laws of the establishment, which forbade the presence +of women, must now be put in force, but a fitting home had been provided +for her; she would be placed with the Sisters at the Vale; the hermit +would conduct her thither on the following day. The girl bowed to this +decision, sorely as she grieved to leave him she loved; the next morning +they parted, and she embarked with her guardian who, shielding her +lovingly from all harm, placed her, ere nightfall, in her new abode. + +Judith had not discovered the girl's departure till the sun was well up, +when she heard of her absence from the frantic Tita. The old woman's +force of character was colossal; pettinesses, small passions, were +unknown to her. Had her sphere been larger her promptitude of resource, +keenness of perception, resolute look onwards and upwards, solidity of +purpose, and incisive action might have graven her name on the tables of +history. Stagnating in the shallow pools of the unstoried rocks in which +she passed her life, these grand qualities were wasted and perverted. +She lost no time now in recrimination; a few sharp questions enabled her +to judge how far the weakness of affection had played the traitor with +the old woman, whom she left to settle matters with her own conscience. +She saw Garthmund, and told him that, in consequence of the +unsatisfactory augury of the last sacrifice, she had decided to postpone +the marriage. Nor did she appear to notice the indifference with which +the chief, who could not pretend that he ardently loved a bride who was +practically a stranger to him, received the decision. It took her some +time to discover where Hilda had taken refuge; it speaks ill for female +reticence that she discovered it shortly after the girl's removal to the +sisterhood. She satisfied herself that her own people had no suspicion +of the flight, as none of the crew of the belated boat had reached the +shore; and she gathered, from the transfer of the maiden to the convent, +that Father Austin was, on his side, resolved not to make known the +elopement of Garthmund's intended wife. Her paramount wish was to +recover her niece, but she perceived that she must act warily, and must +be ready to deal with the many contingencies which would inevitably +arise during the development of her schemes. Hilda's position under the +immediate protection of the religious communities was a serious +obstacle. Judith believed that against them her magic arts would be of +no avail; she was therefore driven to confine herself to earthly +combinations; but she was in no wise daunted by this difficulty, which +in point of fact cleared her judgment, and assisted her by inducing her +to make the best of the materials at her disposal. The obvious plan for +the recovery of the girl was to induce Garthmund to attack the nunnery, +and drag his bride from it; but to this there were many objections. +Acknowledgment of Hilda's flight would be in itself a confession of +failure. She had promised to produce the girl when she was required; to +seek the chief's assistance to enable her to fulfil the promise would be +a diminution of her prestige, and consequently of her power. Again, it +was by no means certain that the chief who, it has been said, was no +love-sick bridegroom, would consent to undertake the enterprise; nor, if +he did undertake it, was his prospect of success unquestionable, for the +islanders, though not ready listeners to the Christian teaching, would +have united to repel a heathen attack on their teachers whom they +honoured and respected. Judith therefore rejected this expedient, +arranging her plan of operations with remarkable ingenuity. + +Her first aim was to promote ill-feeling between the Voizins and their +neighbours; this part of the campaign was prosecuted with vigour. Cattle +were lost on either side of the boundary; houses were burnt; old wells +ran dry; rumours, mysteriously circulated, spoke of these as no +accidental mishaps; suspicions were whispered; instances of retaliation +followed. At the time when a dangerous feeling was thus growing up a +famine broke out in the Voizin country while the islanders were well +supplied. The hungry Voizin men heard voices in the darkness scoffing +at them, laughter and sneers. When their carts were sent to fetch the +necessaries of life, lynch-pins were loosened; in more than one case the +draught oxen were houghed; the provisions, when received, were mouldy +and unwholesome. At last sickness broke out, with stories of poison; +then the tension became insupportable. The Voizin chief, too proud to go +to his neighbours, summoned them to him; the messenger was murdered. +This assassination, of which the natives denied all knowledge, was met +by prompt reprisals; three Perelle fishermen were hung on the spot where +the body was found. From this date the outbreak of hostilities was but a +question of time. A sternness of purpose ruled in the councils of the +Voizins which frustrated all attempts at conciliation. A little before +Christmas a trivial incident kindled the smouldering flames, and the +hordes, pouring from the Torteval valleys, swept over the districts now +known as the parishes of St. Saviour's and the Câtel; the resistance was +tame and ineffectual, sufficient only to give occasion for considerable +slaughter and plunder. The invaders, seeing no reason for returning to +their famine-stricken fastnesses, settled themselves in the enjoyment of +the abundance of the vanquished, who, in their turn, with their +accustomed versatility, submitted patiently, and even cheerfully, to a +yoke which, after the first onslaught was over, pressed lightly; the +Voizins, to whom fighting was a pastime, bearing no malice, and passing +imperceptibly into a genial mood. + +Judith now prepared to develop the next move, the object of which was to +undermine the authority of the monks, and make them vulnerable by +isolation. Derisive hints were dropped respecting the failure of the new +religion to help its votaries in the hour of peril; the victory of the +Voizins was attributed to the superiority of their Gods rather than to +deficiency in courage on the part of their foes: this theory, which was +not unpalatable to those who had been half-hearted in defence of their +homes, was also utilized by the more sober spirits as an argument +wherewith to restrain the more ardent from attempting to renew the +struggle under similar conditions. The observances of the religion of +Thor and Odin, or rather of that debased form of it which prevailed +among this singular people, were celebrated under their more alluring +aspects: frequent feasts and dances captivated the laughter-loving +islanders, who had been tried somewhat severely by the severity of the +_régime_ which Austin had endeavoured to impose since he had seen danger +in his damaging encounter with Judith. After a time it was proclaimed +that none would be permitted to join in the revelries who were enemies +to the Gods who presided at them. This stroke was successful: the +majority openly embraced the creed of their conquerors, and showed the +usual spirit of perverts in exceeding the latter in their zeal to sweep +away all traces of the religion which they had abandoned. The minority +who held true to their faith drew together, a grim and resolute band, +prepared for a bold defence and, if Christ so willed it, for martyrdom. + +It was not Judith's purpose, now that the disruption of the islanders +was effected, to leave time for the Christians to mature plans for +resistance. Garthmund, at her instigation, delivered simultaneous +attacks on Lihou and the Vale; he himself superintending the latter +operation in order that he might see that the sorceress's instructions, +that all in the nunnery were to be made prisoners uninjured, and brought +to her closely veiled, were implicitly obeyed. To the surprise of the +islanders, however, both assaults, though made with spirit and absolute +confidence of success, were completely repulsed; the same result +attended a renewed attack, made two days subsequently with fresh and +increased forces supported by native levies. Garthmund found that in +both places he had before him not only resolute troops, but skilled and +enterprising commanders. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +CONSOLATION. + + "Mother! list a suppliant child! + Ave Maria! + Ave Maria! Stainless styled. + Foul demons of the earth and air, + From this their wonted haunt exiled, + Shall flee before thy presence fair." + + _Lady of the Lake_.--WALTER SCOTT. + + +Jean's recovery after Hilda's departure had been slow and lingering; but +for the unwearied care of the good fathers and of the recluse, aided by +a constitution of no ordinary strength, he must have succumbed to the +terrible injuries which he had received. As, however, the days began to +lengthen, and signs of spring to appear even on the wild rock where he +had taken refuge, his vigour gradually returned. It had been necessary +that he should be protected from excitement; consequently, while +receiving from the hermit regular reports from the Vale, and many a +sweet message from his love which made his heart leap with happiness, +he knew nothing till the beginning of February of the incursion of the +Voizins, and the accompanying events. Since he had been alone, however, +he had dwelt for hours together on the strange story which he had +overheard in the tower, the principal figure of which, while his brain +had been still confused, had been always mingled in his delirium with +the massive form of the hermit. Father Austin, watching him with +anxiety, at length suggested that he should relieve his mind by +repeating the tale to the recluse himself. He readily adopted the +suggestion. His listener, who had been too delicate to question Hilda as +to her antecedents, but who had been burning to learn the explanation of +the striking resemblance of her features to a face which, whether he +waked or slept, ever haunted him, though more often contorted in agony +than wreathed in smiles, heard with impatience the history of Algar's +treachery; but when Jean detailed the escape of Tita and her charge, and +identified the latter with the maiden whom he had rescued, he sprang to +his feet at the risk of plunging his patient into a fresh crisis of +fever, and exclaimed, "May the choicest gifts of heaven be showered on +thee, brave youth! the blessed angels and saints will love thee for this +deed!" He reflected a moment, then turned his eyes full on Jean's face, +"Why should I leave it to Austin to tell thee what he has long known +under the solemn secrecy which binds priest and sinner? Thou shalt know +it from my own lips: I am Haco! Drifted hitherward on that lonely +voyage, I was released by holy men, now saints above, who healed my +wounds and taught me to bury my pride, and to kneel humbly before the +Cross. I never doubted that I was childless as well as wifeless; had I +done so, I should have returned at all risks to claim my own. But she! +Hilda! 'twas her mother's name! this maiden, towards whom my soul went +out in yearning, is my own! yes! my child! If a wild feeling rose when I +watched her I crushed it out, for I thought that I had stifled all human +passions; but now--" He fell on his knees, and hid his face in his +hands, his giant frame convulsed with sobs; but it was evident that he +was controlling himself, and when he rose his rugged face was full of +humanity: youth seemed to have returned to it; under the disfiguring +scars Jean could trace without difficulty the fearless, generous +features of which Judith had spoken with such enthusiasm. Haco warmly +grasped the sick man's hand, and left the cell. + +Father Austin had, it appeared, learnt Judith's story from Hilda, but +this confidence also had been made under the seal of confession. He had +been confirmed in his impression of its accuracy by the tale he had +already heard from Haco, whose strange arrival was still a favourite +topic among the monks, though none of those now in the monastery had +witnessed it. The three men were now able openly to discuss the subject +in its various bearings, but they agreed that the mystery should not be +revealed till peace was restored. + +Haco had from the first foreseen the danger to be apprehended from the +Voizin incursion. The monks were still further surprised to see the +being, whose gentleness had amazed them on Hilda's arrival, now a leader +of men, active, vigorous, inspiring others with the love of life with +which he himself seemed to be animated. Before the attack came Jean was +sufficiently recovered to be able to render efficient assistance; he had +ably seconded Haco in the two encounters, after which he was specially +entrusted with the defence of the Vale. + +Judith was in no degree daunted by temporary failure: her nature +revelled in overcoming opposition; her spirit rose to the occasion. +Garthmund was inclined to be sulky after his second defeat, and might +have abandoned the enterprise had he dared to do so; but fear of the +sorceress kept him firm. For a month the system of blockade was tried, +varied by occasional assaults which, being made with less spirit than +the earlier ones, were easily repulsed. The blockade was not more +successful. Haco had provided ample stores for the small garrison which +he had considered sufficient to protect the promontory of Lihou, +naturally almost impregnable; and the force defending the Vale, camped +chiefly on Lancresse Common, was only nominally blockaded. The sallies, +made from time to time, were ordered more with a view of keeping up the +martial spirit of the men than with that of providing for wants, for the +friendly inhabitants of the eastern side of the island, emboldened by +recent proofs that the dreaded Voizins were not invincible, ran their +boats almost with impunity into the little creeks into which the heavier +craft of the enemy could not follow them. + +Judith hardly noticed these details. Her attention was fixed upon the +key of the position. She knew that a resistance of this description was +altogether contrary to the unwarlike character of the natives; she was +convinced that they were actuated by some abnormal spirit, and that if +the motive power were removed the machine would collapse. She made it +her business to ascertain what the spring was that guided them. All her +art failed in detecting the presence of Haco, perhaps because her +engines were powerless when directed against one of her own blood; but +she easily ascertained that the warriors in the opposing camp looked to +Jean as their leader, that his spirit pervaded all, and that his ardour +to protect his sacred charge filled him with a wondrous power which +astonished even those who from childhood had bent to his unchallenged +primacy. + +Having satisfied herself as to the character of the opposing force, her +next step was to secure Jean's person. This presented no difficulty to +her. A scroll was delivered to the young leader by an unknown messenger, +who at once disappeared. Jean, seeing that the characters were those +which, as he believed, Austin alone was able to trace, took the scroll +to the sister who alone was able to interpret them. What Sister Theresa +read was alarming:--"Hasten! I am grievously sick; my strength fails! I +must see thee without delay." Jean was distressed beyond measure, but +Hilda, whom he hurried to consult, agreed with him that no time must be +lost in obeying the summons; the fact that Haco was at Lihou convinced +them that the father would not have sent for Jean if his case had not +been one of extreme danger. After a hasty farewell and a promise of +speedy return, for his presence with the forces was imperative and he +grudged every hour of absence from his beloved, he set out alone in his +boat. Before an hour had passed he was captured by a flotilla which had +been lying in ambuscade behind the Grandes Rocques, and was a prisoner +in the enemy's camp. + +If Judith had been an ordinary woman she would have been content with +this result, would have executed the prisoner, and have awaited the +submission of his disheartened followers; and she would have failed, +defeated by the indomitable courage and resource of Haco. But it was not +in this clumsy fashion that her genius moulded the materials at her +command. She now controlled, as she believed, the mainspring of the +resistance, which would probably cease with the death of Jean. But her +aim went far beyond the mere submission of her antagonists; she wished +that the blow should be struck in such a manner as to stamp out the +false creed which had held the islanders in thrall, to prove to all +sceptics the powers of her own Gods and the impotence of those of her +opponents, and to commit the recently reconverted islanders so +irretrievably that they could not afterwards backslide. She wished also, +by making an example that would inspire terror, to establish the +undisputed supremacy of her people in the whole island. But, side by +side with these political considerations, were the religious influences +honestly and steadfastly working in her powerful intellect. When she +communed with her Gods she thought of no earthly good or ill: she loved +these strange conceptions, and fixed her whole soul on conciliating +them. It was now her conviction that they were displeased: their +displeasure, awful as she believed it to be, did not terrify her, but it +vexed her to the inmost heart: she feared that they had not been rightly +propitiated, and resolved that the shortcoming must be remedied. + +All her reflections pointed with unerring force to the same conclusion. +She held in her hands the strong frame, the stout heart, the ruling +mind. All were concentrated in Jean Letocq. He, then, must be offered up +as a fitting sacrifice. By such an offering the deities could not fail +to be appeased, and by the death of this man in this fashion all the +natural exigencies of the situation would be satisfied. She never +allowed herself to dwell for one moment on the fact that the victim was +beloved by Hilda. On this point she had armed herself with bars of brass +and triple steel. He might have fooled the girl, but at the thought of +love her heart was ice. + +The sorceress communicated her resolution to Garthmund. The chieftain +exhibited no surprise: he expressed a grim approval of the proposal, +which seemed likely to give an excuse for revelry and to bring the +campaign to a prompt conclusion, and proceeded to make the requisite +arrangements. + +The 30th of March was the day chosen. The forces investing the two +beleaguered positions were ordered to assemble, that on the western side +on the low ground between L'Erée and Lihou, that on the northern under +shelter of the woods of the Braye du Valle, facing the fortifications +thrown up by the defenders. At a given signal, the kindling of a beacon +on the Rocque du Guet, the two hosts were to make simultaneously a +determined assault. The islanders not engaged in these operations, with +the exception of those openly or secretly sympathizing with the +Christians, poured into Vazon Forest, none remaining behind but those +absolutely incapable of conveying themselves or of being conveyed. + +By this time the consternation in the enemy's camp was all that the +sorceress could desire. Jean's capture had been ascertained, and all the +particulars respecting his coming fate were known by means of spies. +Haco shook his head at the proposals of rescue made by spirited youths. +"Success would be hopeless," he said; "failure would be fatal to those +whose lives are precious to us. If he dies we will brace every nerve to +avenge him, but we must be patient, and await their onslaught. Then will +come our turn! then will we spring at their dastard throats! then shall +they drink freely of their own gore!" If the man of the sword thought +the case hopeless, what could the men of the cloister do? They did all +in their power--prayed ceaselessly, fasted, did penance under the +guidance of Father Austin; but nevertheless the fatal morning arrived. + +Hilda knew her lover's danger. When he failed to return, and when Haco, +arriving from Lihou, admitted that he had not been seen at the +monastery, her heart sank; she, better than any of those around her, +knew the stern, implacable patriotism and fanaticism of Judith's +nature; she fully realized the savage dispositions of her countrymen, +their contempt of human life, and their brutal treatment of captives. +She had some conception of their fearful orgies, and she shuddered when +her mind touched, not daring to dwell, on Jean's possible fate. She had +sufficient presence of mind to bear up bravely before Haco, who had no +suspicion that she had a perception of the terrible truth from which +even his rent and seared feelings shrank; nor did she reveal to Father +Austin, during a short visit which he paid her at great risk this inner +serpent which was devouring her young heart. Sister Theresa and her +fellows marvelled at her as on the morning of the fatal day she passed +between them, her eyes rapt in contemplation, her look serene and calm, +though beneath the surface lay a depth of unutterable woe, sinking, +receding, chill as the dark, haunted, bosom of an unfathomable mountain +lake. + +She sought her own cell and begged to be left alone. Then the full heart +burst the bounds imposed by the strong will. She placed before her the +little Madonna, from which she never parted, and fell on her knees. She +prayed till noon, and her prayer continued still; it was not simply a +woman's supplication: her whole essence was poured out before the Holy +Mother, who was the object of her special adoration. This girl had never +known evil: for nineteen years her mind had rippled on, sparkling with +good deeds, little bright thoughts, gentle inspirations sweetly obeyed; +then first streamed in the warm current of human love, followed by the +rapid thrilling rush of the flow of Divine awakening. The little stream +had become a torrent; but one in which every element was pure, for its +component parts were faith in God, trust in man, the will to act, the +power to bear, contentment in joy and resignation in sorrow. Above all, +she had ever before her the words which Austin had told her comprised +the sermon of the universe--"Thy will be done!" Was it possible that, in +the days when miracles were yet wrought, such a prayer at such a time +from such a saint should not be heard? Some three hours had passed after +noon when she felt a sweet languor overspread her. A mist crept before +her eyes, which quickly passed away and was replaced by a radiance +brighter than the sun's rays; her eyes had power however to look aloft, +and she gazed with clasped hands and with loving reverence: the Holy +Virgin herself stood before her, holding in her arms the Blessed Infant; +the Mother looking down with a smile inexpressibly tender and +compassionate, the Child stretching forth its dimpled hand and giving +its blessing. She sank in rapture, the glory too great for her. As the +vision faded she arose, a marvellous strength possessing her. She +stepped forth, and found herself in the midst of a crowd gazing, +horror-stricken, seawards. "Fear nothing," she said with a calm +expression that seemed to permeate the whole assembly like an inner +voice; "he is saved, and you are saved!" The words came opportunely. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +ANNIHILATION. + + "Prophet-like that lone one stood, + With dauntless words and high, + That shook the sere leaves from the wood + As if a storm pass'd by." + + _The Last Man_.--CAMPBELL. + + "So perish the old Gods! + But out of the sea of time + Rises a new land of song, + Fairer than the old." + + _The Seaside and the Fireside_.--LONGFELLOW. + + +Full of evil augury was the morning of this eventful day in Vazon +Forest. There were the same trees, the same glades and streams, as on +the well-remembered Midsummer day of the preceding year; but nature and +man alike were in a different mood. The trees were leafless and +churlish, the glades ragged and colourless; the turbid, dusky streams +bore but small resemblance to the limpid rivulets of June; the native +youths were absent, engaged in military service; the maidens, headed by +Suzanne Falla, had indeed an appearance of mirth, but there was a hollow +ring in the boisterous recklessness of their merriment; the old men +tramped feebly and aimlessly, for the reverence for age had been +transferred to the veterans of the conquerors. The latter also supplied +the musicians; and the clanging of drums and cymbals, with the blast of +horns, replaced the sylvan melody of the aborigines. + +Still there was every sign of festivity. The proceedings began with +dances in which the men, who posed as athletes and warriors, gave +representations of deeds of martial prowess. Then the girls were allowed +to foot their native dances in their own fashion. Dances for both sexes +followed, in which the native maidens found it difficult to conceal +their terror of the rough partners ever ready to become rougher wooers. + +These preliminaries concluded, the business of the day began. Though +this wild race sacrificed human beings, they did not treat their victims +with the coldblooded cruelty of the Druids, who slaughtered them as if +they were oxen or sheep; their custom was to burn their captives; and it +is not for critics, whose pious forefathers kindled the fires of +Smithfield, to assert that their practice was wholly barbarous. In the +present case a pyre, some twelve feet high, was built at the foot of a +huge granite boulder, near the sea-coast: it was constructed of dry +wood, and was drenched with combustible materials. Jean was bound firmly +to a strong hurdle, made of birch stems and withies securely lashed +together. Judith, Garthmund, and the principal elders, placed themselves +under the venerable oak; the people stood at a respectful distance. +Twelve stalwart warriors bore the litter on which the prisoner was +stretched, and placed it on stone trestles planted for the purpose in +the intervening space. Then the priests arrived; twelve old men whose +white locks and beards, and snowy dresses, gave them a venerable +appearance which was soon belied by their performances. + +Halting when they reached the victim, the priests faced the oak, and +chanted a solemn, wailing dirge; this, which might have been a farewell +to the spirit whose departure they were preparing to accelerate, was not +unimpressive. Then one stepped forward whose voice was yet clear and +loud; he passed a warm eulogy on the qualities of the captive, whom he +described in exaggerated phrases as a sage in council, and a hero in +battle, endowing him also with every domestic virtue which seemed in his +eyes worthy of enumeration. This discourse was followed by a warlike +song in honour of Thor and Odin, and it was during the course of this +hymn that it became clear from their rolling eyes and unsteady gait that +the old men were in a state of no ordinary excitement. All night they +had been feasting their deities, and the solemnity had involved deep +potations; now, as the rapid movements of a dance which accompanied the +inspiriting words sent the fumes into their heads, they appeared to be +beside themselves. The bystanders, however, attributing their frenzy to +religious fervour, and not unaccustomed to such manifestations, looked +on unmoved. The music ceased; and the song of triumph gave way to a +hideous scene over which it were painful to dwell. The drunken old men, +with incredible agility, whirled round the prostrate form of Jean. There +was no question now of eulogizing his virtues: he was accused, in +language which seemed devil-born, of every crime, every infamy, of which +the human race is capable; held up to scorn and ignominy, he was cursed +and execrated with a shower of blasphemy and obscenity; a by-stander, +contemplating his calm, clear face, the lips parted in prayer, gleaming +amidst the contorted features of the screaming miscreants, might have +believed him to be already passing, unscathed, through the terrors of +purgatory. + +It is impossible at this day to fathom the mystery of this terrible +relic of some remote superstition. It may have been that the abhorrence +and extinction of evil was roughly typified, or that it was understood +that the death of the victim would, as if he were a scapegoat, cleanse +the worshippers of the sins with which he was thus loaded. It is idle to +grope where all is, and must be, dark; all that can be asserted with +any certainty is that the preliminary eulogy, a more modern practice, +was intended to enhance the value of the offering which they were about +to make to the Gods. + +The warriors now resumed their burden, and a procession was formed +towards the pyre, on which the litter-bearers, mounting by an inclined +plane, placed the doomed youth. Judith ascended the huge boulder, which +was some eight feet higher than the pyre at its foot. The chief and +people grouped themselves round its base. The priests stood ready to +apply the torch when the sorceress gave the signal, and the distant +watchman on the Guct waited in his turn for the first flash of flame to +kindle the beacon which was to set the assailing forces in motion. + +Judith turned to the expectant crowd: her glance was searching, in her +eye was an ineffable look of scorn. "Down on your knees!" she said, +"craven sons, whose sires would blush to own you! You who have steeped +your hearts in pride and boastfulness! Were your fathers slow to draw +the sword and quick to sheathe it? Did they cower by their hearths when +warm blood was being spilt? did they feast when others fought? would +they not have leaped, as the tempest rushes from its caves, to scatter +like the sand those who should have dared to bend the knee to false +Gods, objects of their loathing and derision? Runs this noble blood in +your stagnant veins? From giants ye have become pigmies!" The majestic +contempt with which these words had been delivered had a crushing +effect. She continued her harangue for some time in the same strain. +Every Voizin's head was bowed, every form bent and trembling. The +sorceress then, slowly turning, faced seaward. Her arms assumed the +well-known beseeching attitude, the serpent bracelet glittering fiercely +in the sun. Her voice changed, became softer. "Yet they are my people!" +she continued, "and the last of our race. Ennoble them, great Gods! +quicken their hearts and spare them!" Looking outward with the rapt look +of a prophetess in whom, though torn with tempests of fanaticism and of +passion, human and superhuman, no thought was mean, no sentiment +ignoble, she poured out this her prayer; not for mercy!--her Gods knew +not this attribute; nor could she understand it; if the craven continued +to be a craven she felt he were better dead;--not for peace and +contentment!--to these blessings neither she nor they attached +value;--but for fearlessness and steadfastness of purpose, and also for +courage to die for the truth! there were petitions poured out by this +woman that would have honoured the lips of the champion of any creed. + +The supplication ended, she seemed about to raise her hand to give the +anticipated signal when a look of amazement passed over her features; +she brushed her hand over her eyes and looked again, then folded her +arms and gazed steadily seawards. What she saw might have shattered even +her nerves of iron. At the close of her prayer, which had exactly +coincided with the moment when Hilda stepped from her cell, the bosom of +the sea heaved and rose: a wave, ten feet high, glided, stole as it +were, so gently did it move, into the forest; but so rapidly, that in +one minute every human being except herself and Jean was engulphed. They +were gone, the high-couraged and the craven, the frenzied priest and the +laughing child, with their passions, their hopes, and their fears, +without the faintest note of warning of coming danger! Judith glanced at +Jean, almost contemptuously; he, not having seen what had happened, was +still momentarily expecting the application of the torch. A second wave +crept in, smaller than the former, but overwhelming the pyre. The dazed +warrior on the Guet reported that after this second wave had passed he +saw the tall form still towering on the peak, but that when he looked +again the rock, though still above water, was tenantless; a little later +the granite mass, together with the tops of the tallest trees, lay under +an unruffled surface. + +When the pyre was submerged the litter, to which Jean was attached, +floated off and formed a tolerably secure raft. His life was safe for a +time; but he would have been exposed to a still more ghastly fate from +the swooping sea-birds had he not been able by a supreme effort to +wrest one of his arms from its bands. In speechless wonderment he was +carried seaward by the slowly receding tide. Suddenly his raft was +hailed by a well-known voice. Friendly hands cut the ropes that bound +him, and he was lifted into a boat. The occupant was Haco who, attracted +to the spot when hurrying to the Vale, by the cries of the clustering +gulls, had thus again saved his life. + +The giant pulled vigorously to the point which, now known as the Hommet, +terminates the northern arm of Vazon Bay; there he landed the youth, to +enable him to stretch his cramped limbs, and to clothe him in such +articles as he could spare from his own equipment. A rapid explanation +passed between them. Haco told him how the force investing Lihou had, +when apparently waiting for a signal to move, been overwhelmed by a wave +which cut off the promontory from L'Erée, and had perished to a man. +Jean could tell of nothing but the sudden cessation of the tumult and +the floating of his litter. The minds of both were wandering, burningly +anxious as they were to know what had passed at the Vale. Scaling the +Hommet, they obtained a sufficient view to satisfy them that Lancresse +Common no longer formed a portion of the mainland; an hour afterwards, +entering the Grand Havre, they saw an unbroken channel between that +inlet and St. Sampson's: every trace of the invading host had +disappeared. Jean was soon in Hilda's arms; and the two lovers, with +Haco, spent the remainder of the day in pious thanksgiving to the Holy +Mother by whose special interposition, testified so miraculously to the +maiden, the cause of Christ had triumphed and the parted had been +reunited, when the last gleam of safety seemed to have been +extinguished. + +The next morning Father Austin arrived. Hilda was then made acquainted +with her relationship to Haco, whose tender attentions during her late +troubles had already won her unreserved affection. The news was an +inexpressible joy to her, and it was touching to see how she nestled in +the deep embrace of her father, whose feelings, so long pent up, now at +last found vent. Jean absented himself during the day, but on the +following morning insisted that his nuptials should no longer be +deferred. The same evening, in the little chapel of the nunnery, Austin +bestowed his blessing on a union which had been sanctified by such +special manifestations of Divine approval. + +The readjustment of the shattered organization of the island was +imperative. The inhabitants of the eastern side, and those of the Vale, +had for the most part preserved their lives by their absence from the +forest; the Christian converts who had aided in the struggle were also +safe; with these exceptions the island was practically depopulated. Jean +was elected chief by acclamation. After giving such pressing directions +as immediate exigencies required, he acceded to his wife's ardent wish +to obtain intelligence respecting Judith, and also to ascertain the fate +of Tita. + +The Lihou monks had already reported that all communication was broken +between the Hanois and the shore, but that the tower appeared to be +intact. On an April morning Haco and the young couple sailed across +Rocquaine Bay, and landed close to the tower, which now stood on a +rugged and inhospitable island. The door was opened by Tita, who smiled, +and prattled, and caressed her young mistress like a lap-dog. She +recognised Jean with indifference, but a start, followed by a shudder, +seized her when she observed Haco; her terror, however, seemed to pass +away when he spoke a few soothing words to her. It was evident that a +shock, or a succession of shocks, had unsettled the poor woman's brain. +On the name of Judith being mentioned, she pointed fearfully to the +upper story. Uncertain as to her meaning, Jean cautiously ascended the +ladder, and ascertained that the sorceress was in truth there. After a +consultation it was decided that Haco and Hilda should seek her +presence. + +As father and daughter entered the apartment, they saw the old woman +half-seated, half-lying, on a couch placed close to the window; her +face, which was turned seaward, was haggard, the leanness bringing into +strong relief the handsome chiselling of her profile; the sternness of +her mouth was somewhat relaxed; there was an indication almost of +softness in its corners. Her high spirit had accepted, not resented, +defeat. + +As her eye fell on her two visitors there was no gleam of defiance, no +mark of anger, or even surprise; but, when Haco stood fully revealed +before her, a flash of triumph and pleasure shot into it, kindling every +feature with its glow. "You here, Haco!" she cried, "and with her! The +Gods have relented. You will hold her fast in their worship, and lead +her steps to the land of her sires! I die contented." She fell back +exhausted. "Sister," said the giant, laying his hand softly on her +shoulder, "it is too late; when Algar slew my loved one the Pagan died +in me; I am a servant of the God of the Christians." Hilda awaited +fearfully the result of this announcement, but she knew not the +greatness of the old woman's soul. It was long ere her voice was heard +again. Presently, raising herself, she said, "I would it had been +otherwise; but I have erred, I have misjudged. I thought that your Gods +were false; puny creations of a nerveless brain; but they are strong, I +own their power! It may be that the great ones of old have wearied of +our spiritless race, and abandoned us. So perchance you may be wise to +turn to the new-comers!" Her voice failed her, but as they knelt by her +side her hands wandered over their heads and lingered with a caressing +movement among Hilda's locks. She seemed to have forgotten Jean, whom +she doubtless believed to have been lost in the general calamity. +Suddenly she started up and pointed to a storm-cloud rising rapidly from +the western horizon, assuming a succession of fantastic shapes as it +passed upwards. "Do you not see them?" she cried--"the great, the +glorious ones! they bend from their seats; they smile! see their power! +Their majesty! their locks stream, their swords are half drawn! they +sheathe them, they lean forward, they extend their arms! they beckon!--I +come, I come!" She stretched out her arms with the old familiar gesture +and sank back, having breathed her spirit to the tempest which she loved +so well. + +They buried her on the cliffs of Pleinmont, where a cairn long marked +her resting-place. Tita was taken to the Vale; all attempts to restore +her from the shock which her nerves had received failed till on one +sunny morning Hilda's infant was placed on her knees: when the child +crowed, and smiled at her, the cloud imperceptibly passed away, never to +return. From that time she assumed her regular place in the household. + +Haco abandoned his Lihou cell; his rough readiness of resource, +unfailing good-humour, and skill in managing men, proved invaluable +during the task of the restoration of the broken links of government and +society. + +The labours of Father Austin and his coadjutors did not relax, but their +course lay in smoother waters: if their prospects of martyrdom were +diminished they were more than consoled by the knowledge that they +possessed among them a veritable saint, to whom the Holy Virgin had +vouchsafed the honour of a personal appearance, and that they had been +witnesses of a miraculous interposition, the evidence of which would be +indelible as long as the sea should wash the storm-beaten cliffs of +their beloved island. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Forest of Vazon, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FOREST OF VAZON *** + +***** This file should be named 14501-8.txt or 14501-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/5/0/14501/ + +Produced by Steven Gibbs and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Forest of Vazon + A Guernsey Legend Of The Eighth Century + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: December 28, 2004 [EBook #14501] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FOREST OF VAZON *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + +</pre> + + <h1>THE FOREST OF VAZON</h1> + + <h3><i>A GUERNSEY LEGEND OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY</i>.</h3> + + <h5>London:<br /> + HARRISON & SONS, 59, PALL MALL<br /> + Booksellers to the Queen and H.R.H the Prince of Wales<br /> + 1889.</h5> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="frontispiece" id="frontispiece" /> + <img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="550" height="374" + alt="Old House of the Haye du Puits, Guernsey. Sketched in 1838" + title= + "Old House of the Haye du Puits, Guernsey. Sketched in 1838." /> + <b>Old House of the Haye du Puits, Guernsey. Sketched in + 1838.</b> + </div> + + <h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2> + + <p>Nothing authentic is known of the history of Guernsey + previously to its annexation to the Duchy of Normandy in the + tenth century. The only sources of information as to events which + may have occurred before that date are references in monkish + chronicles of the usual semi-mythical type, and indications + conveyed by cromlechs and menhirs, fragments of Celtic + instruments and pottery, and a few Roman relics. It is + unfortunate that we are thus precluded from acquiring any + knowledge of the development of a people as to whom the soundest + among conflicting conjectures seems to be that, coming originally + from Brittany, they preserved the purity of the Celtic race + through periods when in other offshoots of the same stock its + characteristics were being obliterated by the processes of + crossing and absorption.</p> + + <p>If early local records had existed they would hardly have + failed to have given minute details of the convulsion of nature + which resulted in the destruction by the sea of the forest lands + on the northern and western sides of the island, and in the + separation of tracts of considerable magnitude from the mainland. + Geologists are agreed in assigning to this event the date of + March, 709, when great inundations occurred in the Bay of + Avranches on the French coast; they are not equally unanimous as + to the cause, but science now rejects the theory of a raising of + the sea-level and that of a general subsidence of the island. The + most reasonable explanation appears to be that the overpowering + force of a tidal wave suddenly swept away barriers whose + resistance had been for ages surely though imperceptibly + diminishing, and that the districts thus left unprotected proved + to be below the sea-level—owing, as regards the forests, to + gradual subsidence easily explicable in the case of undrained, + swampy soil; and, as regards the rocks, to the fact that the + newly exposed surface consisted of accumulations of already + disintegrated deposits.</p> + + <p>It is unquestionable that before the inroad of the sea the + inlet in the south-west of the island known as Rocquaine Bay was + enclosed by two arms, the northern of which terminated in the + point of Lihou; on which still stand the ruins of an old priory, + while the southern ended in the Hanois rocks, on which a + lighthouse has been erected. Lihou is at present an island, + accessible only at low water by a narrow causeway; the Hanois is + entirely cut off from the shore, but it is a noteworthy fact that + the signs of old cart-ruts are visible at spring tides, and that + an iron hook was recently discovered attached to a submerged rock + which had apparently served as a gatepost; besides these proofs + of the existence of roads now lying under the waves, it is said + that an old order for the repair of Hanois roads is still extant. + That Vazon and the Braye du Valle were the sites of forests is + indisputable, though the former is now a sandy bay into which the + Atlantic flows without hindrance, and the latter, reclaimed + within the present century by an enterprising governor, formed + for centuries a channel of the sea by which the Clos du Valle, on + which the Vale Church stands, was separated from the mainland. A + stratum of peat extends over the whole arm of the Braye, while as + regards Vazon there is the remarkable evidence of an occurrence + which took place in December, 1847. A strong westerly gale, + blowing into the bay concurrently with a low spring tide, broke + up the bed of peat and wood underlying the sand and gravel, and + lifted it up like an ice-floe; it was then carried landwards by + the force of the waves. The inhabitants flocked to the spot, and + the phenomenon was carefully inspected by scientific observers. + Trunks of full-sized trees were seen, accompanied by meadow + plants and roots of rushes and weeds, surrounded by those of + grasses and mosses; the perfect state of the trees showed that + they had been long buried under the sand. Some of the trees and + boughs were at first mistaken for wreckage, but the fishermen + soon discovered their error and loaded their carts with the + treasure locally known as "gorban." Subsequent researches have + shown that acorns and hazel-nuts, teeth of horses and hogs, also + pottery and instruments of the same character as those found in + the cromlechs, exist among the Vazon peat deposits. There is + therefore abundant evidence that the legends relating to the + former inhabitants of the forest are based on traditions resting + on an historical foundation.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + + <p><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href= + "#PREFACE"><b>PREFACE.</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href= + "#ILLUSTRATIONS"><b>ILLUSTRATIONS</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER + I</b></a>.—TRADITION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER + II</b></a>.—SUPERSTITION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER + III</b></a>.—DEVOTION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER + IV</b></a>.—REVELATION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER + V</b></a>.—AFFLICTION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER + VI</b></a>.—CONSOLATION</span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER + VII</b></a>.—ANNIHILATION</span></p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="ILLUSTRATIONS" id= + "ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> + + <p> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#frontispiece"><b>OLD HOUSE OF THE HAYE DU PUITS, GUERNSEY</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#fp026"><b>ROCQUE DU GUET AND COBO BAY</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#fp046"><b>ROCQUAINE BAY WITH L'ERÉE AND LIHOU</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#fp064"><b>VALE CASTLE</b></a></span><br /> + <br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><a href="#fp090"><b>GUERNSEY, EASTERN SIDE, WITH ISLANDS OF HERM, JETHOU, AND SARK</b></a></span><br /> + </p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + + <h3>TRADITION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"What can he tell that treads thy shore?<br /></span> + <span>No legend of thine olden time,<br /></span> <span>No + theme on which the mind might soar<br /></span> <span>High as + thine own in days of yore."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>The Giaour</i>.—BYRON<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>In the beginning of the eighth century Guernsey was a favoured + spot. Around, over the Continent and the British Isles, had swept + successive conquests with their grim train of sufferings for the + conquered; but these storm-clouds had not burst over the island. + The shocks which preceded the fall of the Roman Empire had not + been felt, nor had the throes which inaugurated the birth of + Frankish rule in Gaul and Saxon supremacy in Britain, disturbed + the prevailing tranquillity. Occasional descents of pirates, + Northmen from Scandinavian homes or Southmen from the Iberian + peninsula, had hitherto had a beneficial effect by keeping alive + the martial spirit and the vigilance necessary for self-defence. + In the third century three Roman ships had been driven on shore + and lost; the legionaries who escaped had established themselves + in the island, having indeed for the moment no alternative. When + their commander succeeded in communicating with Gaul he suggested + a permanent occupation, being secretly influenced by tales of + mineral wealth to which he had lent an ear. Disillusioned and + recalled, he was followed by a sybarite, whose palate was tickled + by banquets of fish of which he wrote in raptures to his friends + at Capri and Brindisi. This excellent man, dying of apoplexy in + his bath, was replaced by a rough soldier, who lost no time in + procuring the evacuation of a post where he saw with a glance + that troops were uselessly locked up. From this time nothing had + been heard of the Romans; their occupation had lasted forty + years, and in another forty the only physical traces of it + remaining were a camp at Jerbourg, the nearly obliterated + tessellated pavement and fragments of wall belonging to the + sybarite's villa, which occupied the site in the King's Mills + Valley where the Moulin de Haut now stands, the pond in the Grand + Mare in which the voluptuary had reared the carp over which, + dressed with sauces the secret of which died with him, he dwelt + lovingly when stretched on his triclinium, and the basins at Port + Grat in which he stored his treasured mullet and succulent + oysters. The islanders were of one mind in speeding the parting + guests, but the generation which saw them go were better men than + their fathers who had trembled at the landing of the iron-thewed + demi-gods. Compelled to work as slaves, they had learnt much from + their masters; a knowledge of agriculture and of the cultivation + of the grape, the substitution of good weapons and implements of + husbandry for those of their Celtic ancestors, improved + dwellings, and some insight into military discipline,—these + were substantial benefits which raised them in some respects + above their Continental and British neighbours, among whom + patriotism had, on the disappearance of the civilization of the + Romans, revived the more congenial barbarism. Arrivals among them + of Christian monks, scanty at first, more frequent since the + landing of S. Augustine in Britain, had also had a certain + effect. The progress of conversion was, however, slow; the people + were bigoted, and the good fathers were compelled, as in + Brittany, to content themselves with a few genuine converts, + wisely endeavouring rather to leaven the mass by grafting + Christian truths on the old superstitions than to court certain + defeat, possible expulsion or massacre, by striving to overthrow + at once all the symbols of heathenism.</p> + + <p>The island was larger in extent than it is at present, as, in + addition to the Vale district, the islet of Lihou, Vazon Bay, and + the rock group known as the Hanois formed part of it. It is with + the events that altered this configuration that the following + legend deals.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + + <h3>SUPERSTITION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"Awestruck, the much-admiring crowd<br /></span> + <span>Before the virgin vision bowed,<br /></span> + <span>Gaz'd with an ever-new delight,<br /></span> <span>And + caught fresh virtues at the sight."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span>EDWARD MOORÉ'S <i>Fables</i>.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>On the 24th of June, in the year 708, merry crowds were + thronging to Vazon Forest. It was a lovely spot. The other + portions of the island were bare and somewhat rugged; here the + humidity of the soil favoured the growth of fine, vigorous + timber. On the low ground flourished oak and sycamore, torn and + bent near the shore where the trees met the force of the Atlantic + gales, growing freely and with rich verdure where better + protected. On the higher slopes were massed beech, birch, and the + sweet chestnut which was even then domesticated in the island. + Glades, bursting with a wealth of flowers nurtured by the + mildness of the climate, penetrated the wood in every direction; + streams bubbling up from springs, and forming little cascades + where their course was checked by granite boulders, lent an + additional charm. Towards the centre of the forest these streams + united to form a lake, or rather a natural moat, surrounding an + island in the midst of which stood a gigantic oak. This was the + only tree on the island; round it, at even distances, were placed + twelve stones, beyond which a meadow glittering with varied hues + extended to the surrounding water.</p> + + <p>It was to this island that the holiday-makers were wending + their way: young men and maidens, and such elders as had vigour + enough to traverse the rough tracks leading from the interior. + They were a small race, lithe and active, with strong black hair + and dark eyes now twinkling with merriment They poured over the + wooden bridges into the precincts of the towering oak, under + which the elders seated themselves with the musicians, the + younger people streaming off to the clear ground between the + stones and the water.</p> + + <p>When all were assembled the music struck up at a signal from + an elder. The instruments were akin to the goat-skin pipes of + Lower Brittany; the music wild, weird, appealing to the passion + if not melodious to the ear. At any rate the effect was + inspiriting. First, the men danced, the maidens seating + themselves round the dancers and chanting the following words, to + the rhythm of which they swayed their bodies + gracefully:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"Mille Sarrazins, mille Sarmates,<br /></span> <span>Un + jour nous avons tués.<br /></span> <span>Mille, mille, + mille, mille, mille Perses,<br /></span> <span>Nous cherchons + à present."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The dance, footed to this truculent chant, had no warlike + features; beginning with a march, or rather a tripping walk, it + ended with feats in which each dancer defied his neighbour to + out-spring him; nor did the vocalists appear to expect + representations of strife and doughty deeds. The words, Roman by + origin, as is clear from the allusion to the Persians, had been + adapted to a native air by the conquerors, and had been left by + them as a legacy to the islanders. Next, the maidens trod a + measure, the men standing round and applauding; the dance was + quiet and soft, consisting principally of graceful movements of + the body as if the dancers were getting themselves into training + for greater efforts; in this case the dancers themselves chanted + words suitable to the music. This ended, there was a pause before + the principal business of the day began, the dance in which both + sexes joined, to be followed by the bestowal of a wreath on the + loveliest of the maidens.</p> + + <p>During the pause it was evident that an unusual incident had + occurred. The best-looking of the girls were pouting, the + attention of the youths was distracted. During the latter part of + the dance the applause had been intermittent; towards the close + it had almost ceased. The elders, looking about under their + shaggy eyebrows, had not been long in discovering the cause, and + when they had found it allowed their attention to wander + also.</p> + + <p>The disturbing element was, indeed, not far to seek. Close to + one of the bridges was seated a maiden, unknown to all of them, + but lovely enough to hold the glance of old and young. Unlike the + natives she was tall and fair; masses of golden hair encircled + her oval face and clustered over her blue eyes. Who was she? + Whence came she? None could answer. By degrees some of the + boldest of the youths approached, but their bluff manners seemed + to displease her; though unaccustomed to rebuffs they retired. + One, however, among them fared differently. Jean Letocq, a member + of the family to which the hero belonged who near this very spot + discovered the sleeping troops of the Grand Sarrazin, was admired + and beloved both by youths and maidens. First in every sport, + having shown courage and resource in times of peril both by sea + and land, tender of glance and gentle of tongue, he held a + pre-eminence which none disputed, and which was above the reach + of envy. The fair stranger, from his first glance at her, had + fascinated, enthralled him: his eyes fastened greedily on her + every movement; he noted well her reception of those who had + addressed her, and when he approached he came, bare-headed, with + a low obeisance and a deferential air. He seated himself by her + in silence, after murmuring a few words of welcome to the feast, + to which she made no answer. Presently he spoke again, softly and + courteously; she replied without constraint, speaking his own + language fluently, though with a foreign accent. The ice once + broken their talk rippled on, as is the wont of light words, + brightly uttered. Jean drank in each gentle phrase, watched every + graceful gesture; his heart bounded when she carelessly smiled. + But he lost not his daring: when the musicians again struck up he + boldly asked her to join in the dance.</p> + + <p>She was not offended, her look showed no displeasure, but she + refused; he renewed his request; suddenly a change came over her + face, she looked rapidly round as though searching for some one + who was not present, a flash came into her eyes, she sprang to + her feet. "Why should I not dance!" she said; "they are merry, + why should I alone be sad!" She let him lead her into the ring. + If she had been enchanting when seated, what was her power when + she moved! She was a model of grace and loveliness; the contrast + of her colouring to that of her neighbours inspired the + superstitious with some terror, but made the braver spirits gaze + more curiously, indifferent to the half-concealed anger and + affected disdain of their partners. Every moment she gained more + hearts, though she let her eyes rest only on those of Jean. After + the dance was over she seated herself in her former position; the + women then, according to custom, retired outside the stone + circle, while the men clustered round the oak to award the prize. + The ceremony had up to this day been looked on as a pure + formality: for the last two summers the wreath had been by common + consent placed on the brows of Suzanne Falla, and none who woke + that morning had doubted that it would rest there again before + night. But now the men's heads were turned; there was commotion + both outside and inside the circle; then a hush, as the old men + rose in their places and the young men formed a lane to the tree. + Jean stepped out, and taking the stranger by the hand, led her to + where a white-haired veteran stood with the wreath in his hand. + The next moment it was placed on her brows, and then all voices + burst into a song of triumph, which rang to the remotest glades + of the forest. Suzanne did not join in the song; her little heart + was breaking; all the passion of her hot nature was roused; she + felt herself unfairly, unjustly, treated; insulted on the very + day that was to have crowned her pride. She could not control + herself, nor could she accept her defeat: she stamped her foot on + the ground, and poured out a torrent of objurgation, accusing + Jean of treachery, demanding to know whence he had produced her + rival, appealing to the elders to revise the judgment. Then, + suddenly ceasing, as she saw by the looks of those around her + that while in some her fate created pity, in others it gave rise + to amusement, in many to the pleasure which poor human nature + felt then as now in a friend's misfortune, her mood altered: she + turned and, rapidly leaving the crowd, crossed one of the + bridges. Hastening her steps, but not watching them, she tripped + over the straggling root of a yew, and fell, her temple striking + a sharp boulder, one of many cropping up in the forest. Poor + girl! in one moment passion and pride had flown; she lay + senseless, blood streaming from the wound.</p> + + <p>A quick revulsion of feeling swept through the impressionable + people. Her departure had been watched, the fall observed, and + the serious nature of the accident was soon known; all hurried to + the spot where she lay, full of sympathy and distress. Jean, + perhaps not altogether unremorseful, was among the first to + proffer aid; the stranger, left alone, took off the wreath and + placed it on one of the stones of the circle, by which she stood + contemplating the scene.</p> + + <p>The blow, struck deep into the temple, was beyond any ordinary + means of cure; life indeed seemed to be ebbing away. "Send for + Marie!" the cry sprang from many mouths: "send for Marie the wise + woman! she alone can save her!" Three or four youths ran hastily + off.</p> + + <p>"Wish ye for Marie Torode's body or her spirit?" said a harsh + female voice; "her body ye can have! but what avail closed eyes + and rigid limbs? Her spirit, tossed by the whirling death-blast, + is beyond your reach!"</p> + + <p>The speaker, on whom all eyes turned, was an aged woman of + unusual height; her snow-white hair was confined by a metal + circlet, her eyes were keen and searching, her gestures + imperious; her dress was simple and would have been rude but for + the quaintly ornamented silver girdle that bound her waist, and + the massive bracelets on her arms. Like the girl she was seen for + the first time; her almost supernatural appearance inspired + wonder and awe. She bent over the prostrate form: "Marie said + with her last breath," she muttered to herself, "that ere the + oaks were green again the sweetest maidens in the island would be + in her embrace, but she cannot summon this one now! her vext + spirit has not yet the power!"</p> + + <p>She examined the wound, and raising herself said, "No human + hand can save her. The Spirits alone have power: those Spirits + who prolong human life regardless of human ills; but they must be + besought, and who will care to beseech them?"</p> + + <p>"Prayers may save her," answered a stern voice, "but not + prayers to devils! The Holy Virgin should we beseech, by whom all + pure maidens are beloved. She will save her if it be God's will, + or receive her into her bosom if it be decreed that she should + die."</p> + + <p>The words were those of Father Austin, one of the monks of + Lihou, distinguished by his sanctity and the austerity of his + habits. He was spare, as one who lived hardly; his grey eyes had + a dreamy look betokening much inward contemplation, though they + could be keen enough when, as now, the man was roused; there was + a gentleness about his mouth which showed a nature filled with + love and sympathy.</p> + + <p>The woman drew herself to her full stature, and turned on him + a defiant look.</p> + + <p>"Gods or devils!" she said in a ringing tone—"which you + will! What can an immured anchorite know of the vast mysteries of + the wind-borne spirits? Is this child to live or die? My gods can + save her; if yours can, let them take her! She is nought to + me."</p> + + <p>"When Elijah wrestled with the prophets of Baal, where did + victory rest?" said the priest, and he too stooped down and + inspected the wound. "She is past cure," he said, rising sadly; + "it remains but to pray for her soul."</p> + + <p>At this critical moment an agonizing shriek rang through the + forest. The same runners who had sped to Marie Torode's cottage + and had learnt there that the wise woman had in truth passed + away, had brought back with them Suzanne's mother, who threw + herself on her child's body endeavouring to staunch the blood, + and to restore animation. Finding her efforts vain, she had + listened anxiously to the words that had passed, and on hearing + the priest's sentence of doom she burst into frantic grief and + supplication. Turning to each disputant she cried—"Save + her! save her young life! I suckled her, I reared her, I love + her!—oh, how I love her!—do not let her die!"</p> + + <p>"She can be saved!" curtly responded the stranger. The priest + was silent. A murmur arose. Austin, who had trained himself to + study those among whom he laboured, saw that the feeling was + rising strongly against him. His antagonist saw it also, and + pressed her victory.</p> + + <p>"Yes!" she said scornfully, "it is a small matter for my Gods + to save her, but they will not be besought while this bald-pate + obtrudes his presence. Let him leave us!"</p> + + <p>The priest was much perplexed. He knew the skill of these + lonely women; secretly he had faith in their power of witchcraft, + though attributing it to the direct agency of Satan. He thought + it not impossible that there was truth in the boast; and his + heart was wrung with the mother's grief. On the other hand, the + public defeat was a sore trial; but it was clear to him that for + the present at least the analogy of Elijah's struggle was + imperfect: he must wait, and meanwhile bear his discomfiture with + meekness. He prepared to retire. The victor was not, however, + even now satisfied. "Take with you," she said, "yon idol that + defaces the sacred oak!"</p> + + <p>The good fathers, following their usual practice of + associating emblems of heathen with those of Christian worship, + in the hope of gradually diverting the reverence to the latter + without giving to the former a ruder shock than could be endured, + had suspended a small cross on the oak, hoping eventually to + carve the tree itself into a sacred emblem; it was to this that + the woman was pointing with a sneer.</p> + + <p>But this time she had made a blunder. Father Austin turned to + the crucifix and his strength and fire returned. Taking it from + the tree, reverently kissing it and holding it aloft, he said + solemnly—"Let my brothers and sisters come with me! We will + pray apart, where no profane words can reach us. Perchance our + prayers may be granted!" Not a few of the hearers followed him; + sufficient indeed to make an imposing procession: the triumph of + the Evil One was at least dimmed.</p> + + <p>But his adversary did not appear to notice their departure. + She gave a sharp glance in the direction of the oak, and the now + discrowned girl was quickly at her side. Receiving some rapid + instructions, the latter disappeared into the wood, and shortly + returned with some herbs, which she passed to her companion; she + then resumed her position by the stone. The old woman placed some + leaves, which she selected, on the wound: the bleeding at once + ceased; squeezing juice from the herbs, she applied an ointment + made from it; then, opening a phial attached to her waist-belt, + she poured some drops of liquid into the girl's mouth, gently + parting her lips. This done, she stood erect and began an + incantation, or rather a supplication, in an unknown tongue. As + she proceeded her form became rigid, her eye gleamed, her arms, + the hands clenched, were raised above her head. The sun flashed + on the circlet, glittered on the embossed girdle: on the right + arm was a heavy bracelet, composed of a golden serpent winding in + weird folds round a human bone; the head was towards the wearer's + wrist, and the jewelled eyes which, being of large size, must + have been formed of rare stones, glowed and shot fire as the red + beams struck on them through the branches. It seemed that a + forked tongue darted in and out, but this may have been imagined + by the heated fancies of the bystanders. The prayer ended; the + stillness of death rested a moment on man and nature; then a wild + gust of wind, striking the oak without any preliminary warning, + bent and snapped the upper branches, and crashed inland through + the swaying forest. The watchers saw the colour return to the + cheeks of the wounded girl, who opened her eyes and sate up. + "Take her home," said the sorceress, now quite composed, to the + mother; "she is yours again!—till Marie calls her!" she + added in a low voice to herself. The happy mother, shedding tears + of joy, but in vain attempting to get her thanks accepted, obeyed + the injunction.</p> + + <p>As she and her friends disappeared, the old woman, turning to + the awed people who seemed more than ever disposed to look on her + as a supernatural being, said sternly—"Why linger you here? + Are you unmindful of your duties? See you not how the shadows + lengthen?" These words produced a magical effect: the deep + emotions by which the mass had been recently swayed were swiftly + replaced by equally profound feelings of a different nature, as + cloud succeeds cloud in a storm-swept sky.</p> + + <p>And now a singular scene was enacted. A procession was formed, + headed by the old men, bare-headed; the musicians followed, + behind whom walked with solemn step the younger members of the + community. This procession, emerging from the western border of + the forest, slowly climbed the slopes of the Rocque du Guet, and + arriving at the summit bent its way seaward, halting at the edge + of the precipitous cliff.</p> + + <p>The sun was nearing the horizon. The scene was one of + unsurpassed loveliness. Behind lay the central and southern + portions of the island, hushed as if their primaeval rocks were + still tenantless. The outlines of the isles of Herm and Jethou + were visible, but already sinking into the shades of evening. On + the left the bold bluffs of L'Erée and Lihou, on the right + the rugged masses of the Grandes and the Grosses Rocques, the + Gros Commet, the Grande and Petite Fourque, lay in sharpened + outline, the lapping waves already assuming a grey tint. These + masses formed the framework of a picture which embraced a + boundless wealth of colour, an infinite depth of softness. + Straight from the sun shot out across Cobo Bay a joyous river of + gold, so bright that eye could ill bear to face its glow; here + and there in its course stood out quaintly-shaped rocks, some + drenched with the fulness of the glorious bath, others catching + now and again a sprinkling shower. On each side of the river the + sea, clear to its depths where alternate sand and rock made a + tangle of capriciously mingled light and shade; its surface, here + blue as the still waters of the Grotta Azzurra, there green as + the olive, here again red-brown as Carthaginian marble, lay + waveless, as with a sense that the beauty was too perfect to be + disturbed. Suddenly the scene was changed; the lustrous outflow + was swiftly drawn in and absorbed; a grey hue swept over the + darkening surface; in the distance the round, blood-coloured, orb + hung above the expectant ocean.</p> + + <p>Then all assembled fell on their knees. The music gave out + sharp plaintive notes which were answered by the voices of men + and women in short, wailing, as it were inquiring, rhythm; this + continued till the sun was on the point of disappearance, when + music and voices together burst into a sad chant, seemingly of + farewell; the kneeling people extending their hands seaward with + an appealing gesture. One figure only was erect; on the + projecting boulder, which is still so conspicuous a feature of + the Rocque du Guet, stood the sorceress, her arms also + outstretched, her figure, firm, erect, sharply outlined, such as + Turner's mind conceived when he sketched the Last Man.</p> + + <p>Father Austin contemplated the scene from a distance. By his + side was his favourite convert, Jean Letocq.</p> + + <p>"Strange!" he said, placing his hand on his companion's + shoulder. "Your race are not sun-worshippers. Never, except on + this day of the year, do they show this feeling; but who that saw + them to-day would doubt that they are so! Is it that from old + times their intense love of nature has led them to show in this + way their sadness at its decay? or do they by mourning over the + close of the sun's longest day symbolize their recognition of the + inevitable end of the longest life of man? I cannot tell. But, + blind as this worship is, it is better than that of the work of + man's hands. By God's will your countrymen may be led from + kneeling to the created to mount the ladder till they bend the + knee only to the Creator. It may be well, too, that their chosen + object of veneration is the only object in nature which dies but + to rise again. Thus may they be led to the comprehension of the + great truth of the resurrection. But Satan," he added with + warmth, "must be wrestled with and cast down, specially when he + takes the forms of temptation which he has assumed to-day: those + of power and beauty. Prayer and fasting are sorely needed."</p> + + <p>For once his pupil was not altogether docile. "Thou hast + taught me, father," he replied, "the lesson of charity. This old + woman is sinful, her error is deep, but may she not be converted + and saved?"</p> + + <p>"The devils can never regain Paradise," replied the priest + sternly. "Arm thyself, Jean, against their wiles, in which I fear + thou art already entangled. The two forms we have to-day seen are + but human in seeming: demons surely lurked beneath."</p> + + <p>Jean was now in open rebellion. "Nay, good father," he said + decisively, "the maiden was no fiend; if her companion be an imp + of darkness, as well she may, be it my task to rescue her from + the evil snare into which she has fallen!" He had indeed a vivid + recollection of the soft, human hand to which he had ventured to + give a gentle pressure when he had assisted in placing the wreath + on the fair, marble, brow, and had no doubt of the girl's + womanhood. As he spoke he vanished from the side of the priest, + who, seeing the two objects of his pious aversion entering the + darkening glades of the wood, was at no loss to divine the cause + of his disappearance. The holy father shook his head, and sighed + deeply. He was accustomed to disappointments, but this day his + path had to an unusual extent been beset with thorns. His faith + was unshaken, and he humbly laid the fault on his own shoulders, + promising further privations to his already sorely afflicted + body. Meanwhile he descended the hill, directing his course to + Lihou. Pausing on his way through the forest to replace the cross + on the oak, he saw Jean, walking slowly homewards, his listless + step showing that his quest had failed. The Evil One had, he + thought, for the time at least, forborne to press his advantage. + Further off he heard the scattered voices of the dispersing + throng.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2> + + <h3>DEVOTION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"There glides a step through the foliage + thick,<br /></span> <span>And her cheek grows pale and her + heart beats quick,<br /></span> <span>There whispers a voice + through the rustling leaves,<br /></span> <span>And her blush + returns, and her bosom heaves;<br /></span> <span>A moment + more—and they shall meet.<br /></span> <span>'Tis + past—her lover's at her feet."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>Parasina</i>.—BYRON.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>After visiting all the accessible parts of the island Jean + satisfied himself that it was useless to search further in them + for traces of the strangers. Persons so remarkable could not, it + was clear, conceal themselves from the knowledge of the + inhabitants. He must therefore either admit that the monk's + surmise was correct, or must search in quarters hitherto + unexplored. Though his rejection of the former alternative was a + foregone conclusion, his adoption of the latter was a remarkable + proof of the strength of his passion. There was only one district + unexplored, and that was practically unapproachable.</p> + + <p>Early in the sixth century some piratical vessels had entered + Rocquaine Bay in a shattered condition; the crews succeeded in + landing, but the ships, for seagoing purposes, were beyond + repair. The pirates penetrated inland, driving out the + inhabitants from Torteval and some of the adjoining valleys. Here + they settled; and being skilled in hunting and fishing, having a + fair knowledge of husbandry, and finding the position peculiarly + adapted for their marauding pursuits, throve and prospered: so + much so that when, some years afterwards, they had an opportunity + of leaving, the majority elected to remain. Their descendants had + continued to occupy the same district. Who they were, whether + pure Northmen or of some mixed race, it would be idle to + conjecture: they were originally put down by the islanders as + Sarrazins, that being the name under which the simple people + classed all pirates; the strangers, however, resented this + description, and had consequently come to be spoken of as Les + Voizins, a definition to which no exception could be taken. Hardy + and warlike, quick of temper and rough of speech, they had an + undisputed ascendancy over the natives, to whom, though dangerous + if provoked, they had often given powerful aid in times of peril. + On the whole they made not bad neighbours, but a condition was + imposed by them the violation of which was never forgiven: no + native was permitted, under any pretext, to enter their + territory; death was the sure fate of an intruder found in + Rocquaine Bay or setting foot in the Voizin hills or valleys. + Whatever may have been the cause of this regulation the result + had been to keep the race as pure as it was on the day of the + first landing.</p> + + <p>Now it was in the Terre des Voizins that Jean had resolved to + seek his beloved, and his resolution was unalterable. He knew the + danger; he wished to avoid death if possible; he meant to employ + to the full the resources at his command; foolhardy as his + enterprise seemed it was long and carefully planned. He knew that + in the summer evenings it was the custom of the Voizin women to + visit the sunny shores of the bay: this he had seen from Lihou; + could he then succeed in landing unperceived, and in concealing + himself in one of the many clefts of the rocks, he felt sure that + if the well-known form were there he would descry it; what would + follow afterwards was a question which had taken many fantastic + shapes in his imagination, none of which had assumed a definite + form.</p> + + <p>Towards the close of July the conditions were favourable for + his attempt. In the night a strong tide would be running into the + bay; the wind was south-westerly, the moon set early. He prepared + to start. He had selected a small and light boat, which would + travel fast under his powerful strokes, and might be so handled + as not to attract attention; in it he had stored provisions which + would last for a few days and a small cask of fresh water. + Towards evening he shaped his course for Lihou.</p> + + <p>He had seen but little of the monk since the day of the feast, + but he was yearning to see him now. His love for the man, his + reverence for the truths he taught, his thought of his own future + if he lost his life in his rash expedition, all urged him to seek + a parting interview.</p> + + <p>The brothers received him affectionately and bade him join + their frugal meal. The monks were five in number: they had been + six, but one had recently been drowned while returning from a + pious mission to Herm. Jean knew them all; they were honest, + God-fearing men, trustful and truthful. If their reasoning powers + were not great, their faith was unswerving. Their life was a + prolonged asceticism, and they had fair reason to expect that + martyrdom would be their earthly crown.</p> + + <p>The only exceptional feature of the repast was the appearance + of one who had never yet been seated there in Jean's presence; + this guest was the hermit who dwelt on the extreme point, against + which the Atlantic waves dashed in their fiercest fury. The + recluse did not seem to cultivate the duty of abstemiousness, but + he maintained silence. Jean could not forbear furtively scanning + his appearance, which was indeed remarkable. He would have been + of large stature in any country; compared with the natives his + proportions were gigantic. His broad shoulders and muscular arms + betokened enormous strength; his hair and beard were fair; his + blue eyes had a clear, frank, expression; there was firmness of + purpose in his massive jaw; he seemed between forty and fifty, + and would have been strikingly handsome but for three deep scars + which totally marred the expression of his features. As Jean eyed + him he returned the compliment, but the meal was soon over and + the youth accompanied Father Austin to his cell.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 576px;"><a name="fp026" id="fp026" /> + <img src="images/fp026.jpg" width="576" height="376" alt= + "Rocque du Guet and Cobo Bay. Sketched in 1839." title= + "Rocque du Guet and Cobo Bay. Sketched in 1839." /> <b>Roque du + Guet and Cobo Bay. Sketched in 1839.</b> + </div> + + <p>There a long and sleepless night was passed by both. The monk + in vain endeavoured to combat Jean's resolution; he argued, + prayed, indeed threatened, but without effect. Finding his + efforts hopeless he abandoned them, and endeavoured to fortify + his charge against the influence of the spell under which he + believed him to have fallen. Then the young man was again the + pupil; he listened humbly and reverently to the repetition of the + great truths which the father strove to rivet on his mind, and + joined earnestly in the prayers for truth and constancy. As + daylight broke, and he at length laid himself down to rest, his + latest vision was that of the good man kneeling by him with that + rapt look of contemplation which seemed to foreshadow his + immortality.</p> + + <p>Jean slept profoundly for some hours. When night began to fall + he received Austin's blessing, no further reference being made to + his expedition, and when the moon was on the eve of disappearance + he launched his boat. As he rounded Lihou point another boat shot + out, the occupant of which hailed him. Recognizing the hermit, + Jean paused. "You steer wrong," said the giant, speaking with an + accent which at once reminded his hearer of that of the maiden; + "your course is to the rising sun." "I go where I will," replied + Jean, nettled at this unlooked-for interruption. "Youth," + answered the other, "I have watched thee and wish thee well! rush + not heedlessly to certain death!" "Stay me not!" resolutely + answered Jean, wondering at the interest taken in him by this + strange being. "Thou knowest not!" said the hermit sternly; "it + is not only from death I wish to save thee, but from worse than + death; I tell thee I—" He checked himself, as if fearful of + saying too much, and bent his eyes searchingly into those of + Jean, who murmured simply, "I am resolved." "Then God help thee + and speed thee!" said the giant. Glancing into the boat he saw + one of the curved and pierced shells then, as now, used by + Guernsey seamen as signal-horns: pointing to it he said, "If in + peril, where a blast may be heard on Lihou, sound the horn twice: + it is a poor hope but may serve thee!" He was gone.</p> + + <p>Jean paddled into the dreaded bay; the moon had now sunk and + he was further favoured by a slight mist. Knowing the tides from + infancy, he worked his way noiselessly till he approached where + the Voizin fleet lay, then laid himself down and let the current + take him. He passed several boats in safety; as far as he could + judge, from the observations he had taken from Lihou, he was + nearly past the anchorage when a crash, succeeded by a grating + sound, warned him of danger. A curse, followed by an ejaculation + of surprise and pleasure, enlightened him as to the nature of the + collision: he was in contact with one of the anchored vessels. + "Odin is good!" cried a voice; "ha! a skiff drifted from a + wrecked vessel! and all eyes but mine sleeping!" The speaker + threw over a small anchor and grappled the boat. Jean was + prepared; without a moment's hesitation he cut the anchor-rope: + his craft drifted onwards, leaving the fisherman grumbling at the + rottenness of his tackle. He offered a short prayer of gratitude, + and in a few minutes ventured cautiously to resume his oars. He + heard the breaking of the waves, but seamanship on the unknown + and indistinct coast was useless. Two sharp blows, striking the + boat in rapid succession, told him that he had touched a + submerged rock; the strong tide carried him off it, but the water + poured in through a gaping rent. He was now, however, on a sandy + bottom: he sprang out, pulled the boat up as far as possible, and + sat down to wait for light.</p> + + <p>The first break of dawn showed him his position: he was facing + northward; he was therefore on the Hanois arm of the bay. Fortune + had indeed been kind to him, for he had drifted into a small + cleft sheltered by precipitous rocks, a place where concealment + was fairly possible, as it was accessible only by land at the + lowest tides. He examined his store of provisions, which was + uninjured; storing it among the rocks he rested till the sun + sank. He then cautiously climbed the cliff, and looked on the + scene revealed by the moonlight. Seawards stood a rough round + tower; no other building was visible on the point, which seemed + deserted. The loneliness gave him courage; when the moon set, the + night being clear, he explored further and satisfied himself that + there were no human beings, except the occupants of the tower, + living on these rocks. He retired to his hiding-place to rest; + before dawn he again ascended and concealed himself among the + bracken and brambles which formed the only available shelter. + During the whole day he saw but one person, an elderly woman, + whose dark features and bright kerchief showed her to be of + southern or gipsy origin, and who passed backwards and forwards + carrying water to the tower. His examination increased his + confidence; he calculated, by measuring the time occupied by the + old woman in passing with an empty and returning with a full + pitcher, that the spring frequented by her could not be far + distant; at night he found it just beyond the junction of the + rocks with the mainland. The water was cool and fresh, and + considerably revived him; he noticed too that the luxuriant + brushwood, nourished by the moisture, offered a good place for + concealment; he returned, removed thither what remained of his + provisions, and ensconced himself in his new retreat.</p> + + <p>In the morning he saw two figures approaching from the tower; + one was the same servant he had seen before, but the + other!—his heart throbbed and leaped, his brain reeled, his + eyes gazed hungrily; he could not be, he was not, + mistaken!—the second figure was the heroine of his dreams! + She walked silently. Jean saw that memory had not played him + false: her beauty, her grace, were no freak of his imagination; + would the holy father now say that she was a devil, while thus + she moved in her loveliness, a woman to be loved and + worshipped!—a very woman, too! not above the cares of life! + Seating herself by the spring she despatched her companion on an + errand to supply domestic wants, promising to await her + return.</p> + + <p>Jean's principal characteristic was rapid resolution: he + reasoned that a small alarm might make the girl fly; that his + chance of retaining her was an overpowering shock. He stepped + boldly out and stood before her. The maiden sprang quickly to her + feet; there was no terror in her face; she was of true blood; if + she was afraid she did not show it; it was clear she recognized + the apparition, but intense surprise, overpowering other + emotions, kept her dumb. Jean had thus the chance of speaking + first, and deftly he used his opportunity. In a few rapid + sentences he told the tale of his search, of his adventures, of + his selection of his hiding-place; then he paused. The maiden was + not long in finding words. There was a flush on her cheek and a + tear hanging on her eyelash which made Jean very happy. "You must + go," she said, "but where? Your life is forfeit! forfeit to the + Gods!" She shuddered as she said this. "In yonder tower lives my + mother, on the shore are my people; there is no escape on either + hand! A chance has saved you hitherto; none dare approach our + home without my mother's permission, which is rarely given; but + on this spot they may find you, may seize you, may—!" She + stopped, with an expression of horror, and covered her face with + her hands.</p> + + <p>But Jean was not anxious; he was radiant with happiness. He + seated himself and spoke of love, deep passionate love; so gentle + was he, so soft, so courteous, and yet so ardent, that the maiden + trembled; when he dared to take her hand she did not withdraw it. + The moment of bliss was brief; a step was heard. "Hide yourself + quickly," she whispered, "Tita is returning." Jean promptly + obeyed the injunction. The old woman arrived with a well-filled + wallet, and looked fondly at her young mistress. The signs of + recent agitation struck her. "What has befallen thee, Hilda?" she + cried anxiously. The girl took her arm and led her seawards. + Jean, watching, could see the start and angry expression of the + older, the coaxing, pleading attitude of the younger woman; he + could satisfy himself that the resistance of the former was + gradually being overcome, and as they returned he saw that the + maiden's victory was indisputable. She summoned Jean, who was + inspected by Tita at first with distrust, then with modified + approval. "You must stay here," said the maiden earnestly, + "closely hidden till nightfall; my absence has been already + sufficiently long, and nothing can be done while daylight lasts." + Bidding him farewell she sped with her guardian towards the + tower, while Jean retired to his bushes a prey to fond thoughts + and feverish hopes.</p> + + <p>Before sundown he saw the tall figure of the sorceress wending + landwards. She did not approach the spring. Hilda quickly + followed with her former companion. "We have a long journey," she + said, "and short time: we must start at once." Removing all + traces of his lair he obeyed without hesitation. They ascended + the steep cliff. The night was clear, the moon at this hour was + bright and lustrous. "We have three hours," said the maiden, "ere + we leave our guest!"—she looked archly at Jean as she thus + described him—"it should suffice!" They were now on the + heights of Pleinmont; no one was moving, though voices of men and + beasts could be plainly heard in the distance. "They feast + to-night to the Gods," said Hilda; "we need fear only some + belated laggard!" The heather was not yet springing, but Jean + could see that gorse was on the bloom, which he considered a + favourable omen: they stepped out bravely on the short springy + turf. Tita's steps were slower than those of the young pair, who + were deaf to her calls for delay. Never to his dying day did Jean + forget that happy night-walk. His soul was poured out in love, + and he knew that his love was returned. He was steeped to the + full in joy; no thought of future cares or perils crossed his + mind. They had passed three or four headlands before the girl + halted and waited for her attendant, who came up muttering to + herself and grumbling; compliments from Jean and caresses from + Hilda restored her good humour, and the work of the evening + commenced. "Follow me closely," said the girl; "let your eye be + keen and your step firm: the descent is no child's sport." Jean + looked at the cliff, fitted for the flight of gull or cormorant + rather than the foot of man, still less of gentle maiden: Hilda + was already over the brink: Jean, following, saw that she was on + a path no broader than a goat's track; the difficulties of the + descent need not be described; it was possible for a clear head + and practised foot, to the nervous or the unsteady the attempt + must have been fatal. Arrived at the bottom the climbers found + themselves in a small cleft strewn with huge boulders; the rocks + towered high above them. Hilda glanced at the moon. "We must be + quick," said she, showing him some deep caverns in the rock; + "there," she said, "is your home. Here you are safe; my mother + alone knows the secret of these caves. I must mount again; you + must climb with me to mark the path more closely." She sprang to + the rock and commenced to ascend as nimbly as she had come down. + Jean saw the necessity of taking every precaution; he noted + carefully each feature of the track. Arrived at the summit she + bade him farewell. She pointed out a place where Tita would from + time to time leave him provisions, and said that he would find + water in the caves; she then tripped quickly off. Jean did not + linger, seeing that if he did so light would fail him for his + return. He crossed the track for the third time, reached the + caves, and slept soundly till dawn.</p> + + <p>When he awoke he inspected his strange retreat. He was in a + large hall, two hundred feet long, and some fifty feet high and + broad; this chamber was entered by a small orifice of no great + length, through which he had passed on the preceding night; it + was warm, and dry except where the stream of which Hilda had + spoken trickled through to the sea. It was the fissure now known + as the Creux Mahie, and to which an easy access has been arranged + for the benefit of the curious. Here Jean passed three months. + Hilda frequently visited him, and always kept him supplied with + food; she warned him also when he might safely roam on the cliffs + above. There was no obstacle to her visits, even when they + extended to a considerable length, as the mother seemed always to + be satisfied as to her absences when Tita accompanied her; and + the latter, whose infirmities prevented her from descending, had + no means of shortening the interviews.</p> + + <p>Thus the lovers had opportunity to study each other's + characters. The maiden's pure heart knew no distrust, and Jean + was faithful and chivalrous as Sir Galahad. They spoke not always + of love: words were unnecessary to explain what every look + betokened. Jean found her skilled in strange, mystical, lore, but + ignorant of all that sways and rules mankind. The history of the + selfish struggles of human interests and passions was to her a + sealed book. She had been carefully shrouded from the knowledge + of evil; but, in order to protect her in the rough turbulent + little world in which she lived, it had been necessary to keep + her from association with her countrymen, and so she had never + mingled with them except under the charge of her mother, in whose + presence the fiercest were submissive. Jean, therefore, in + speaking to her of family intercourse, of the intermingling of + members of the household, of bright chat with friends, opened up + to her views of life of which she had formed no conception. Then + he told her of his own people; described the three generations + living under one roof; depicted the daily round, the care of the + old and the young, the work, the return of the workers to their + wives, sisters, and children, the love of the mothers for their + infants, the reverence for age, the strong mutual affection of + husband and wife, brother and sister. To these descriptions she + listened with a happy smile, the mission of woman dawning on her; + and many were the questions she asked, till she seemed to have + mastered the pictures painted for her. Above all, Jean strained + to bring her to the knowledge of the God of the Christian, for he + himself was an earnest, intelligent disciple. He found her mind + clearer than he had expected. Judith (this he now knew was the + mother's name) was a remarkable woman; her mind was lofty, if + darkened. While others were satisfied with the grossness of a + material creed her spirit soared aloft. Her Gods commanded her + implicit faith, her unswerving allegiance. Seated on the + storm-clouds, sweeping through space, they represented to her + infinite force. She attributed to them no love for mankind, which + was in her creed rather their plaything, but she credited them + with the will and the power to scatter good and ill before they + claimed the soul of the hero to their fellowship, or cast into a + lower abyss that of the coward or the traitor. She believed that + she saw their giant forms half bending from their vapoury + thrones, and she thought that she read their decrees. Sorceress + she may have been; in those days sorcery was attributed to many + who had obtained a knowledge of laws of nature, then considered + occult, now recognized among the guiding principles from which + scientific deductions are drawn. She believed in the power of + magic, which she was universally understood to possess; but she + was no vulgar witch: rather was she a worthy priestess of her not + ignoble deities. The effect upon Hilda's mind of the teachings of + such a woman is easy to conceive. She had been allowed to know + little of the wild orgies of the barbaric feasts offered to the + Gods by her countrymen, of their brutal excesses, of their human + sacrifices: from this knowledge she had been as far as possible + shielded: she knew only of the dim mystic beings, half men, half + Gods, from whose wrath she shrank with terror. To a mind so + constituted and trained the revelation of the story of the infant + Christ was a passionate pleasure. She never tired of listening to + the tale of the birth in the stable of Bethlehem; but she loved + not to dwell on the history of the passion and death, which was + at that time beyond her understanding. She drank in with parted + lips all that concerned the Holy Mother, of whom she was never + weary of hearing. Jean had a rude drawing of the Madonna and + Child, given him by Father Austin: the figures had the angularity + and rigidity of Byzantine art, but the artist had represented his + subject with reverence, and no lack of skill, and she loved to + dwell on the pure mother's face, and on the longing look in the + eyes of the Child. She accepted wholly the idea of a God who + loved mankind, of infinite goodness and mercy: if she could not + as yet enter into the subtlety of doctrine she could give that + childlike faith which is the envy of doctrinarians.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + + <h3>REVELATION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"I curse the hand that did the deid,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">The heart that thocht the ill,<br /></span> + <span>The feet that bore him wi' sik speid,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">The comely youth to kill."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>Gil Morrice</i>.—OLD BALLAD.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Jean had often expressed his curiosity to see the interior of + the tower, and Hilda had promised to gratify it. On the 25th of + October an opportunity occurred. She informed her lover that on + that day a feast of unusual importance would be held from which + none would be absent, and that her mother would be engaged at it + from noon to midnight. On that day, therefore, he walked freely + along the cliffs, and was admitted to the dwelling. He had + unconsciously based his idea of its contents upon his + recollections of the squalid abode of Marie Torode, where human + skulls, skeletons, bones of birds and beasts, dried skins, and + other ghastly objects had been so grouped as to add to the + superstitious feeling inspired by the repulsive appearance of the + crone herself. His astonishment was therefore proportionate when + he saw what to his eyes appeared exceptional luxury. A wooden + partition divided the room on the lower story into two chambers + of unequal size: the larger, in which he stood, was the common + dwelling apartment, the other was given over to Hilda. The upper + story, approached by a ladder and also by an external staircase, + was sacred to Judith; Tita occupied some outbuildings. The + sitting-room was hung with rich stuffs of warm and glowing + colours; here and there fitful rays of the sun flickered upon + gold brocade and Oriental embroidery; rugs and mats, which must + have been offered for sale in the bazaars of Egypt and Morocco, + were littered about in strange contrast with the bracken-strewed + floor. On the walls were inlaid breastplates and helmets, pieces + of chain armour, swords and daggers of exquisite workmanship. On + shelves stood drinking vessels of rougher make, but the best that + northern craftsmen could produce. The seats were rude and + massive: one of them, placed by a window fronting the setting + sun, was evidently the favourite resting-place of Judith. Above + this seat was a shelf on which lay some of the mysterious scrolls + of which Jean had seen specimens in the possession of the + fathers. Instruments of witchcraft, if such existed, must have + been in the upper story: none were visible. All this splendour + was manifestly inconsistent with the homely taste and abstracted + mode of thought of the sorceress. In point of fact she was hardly + aware of its existence. The decorator was Tita, in whom was the + instinct of the connoisseur, supported by no inconsiderable + knowledge to which she had attained in those early years of which + she never could be induced to speak. When a rich prize was + brought into the bay, freighted with a cargo from Asia, Africa, + or the European shores of the Mediterranean, she never failed to + attend the unloading, during which, by the help of cajolery, + judicious depreciation, and other ingenious devices still dear to + the virtuoso, she succeeded in obtaining possession of articles + which would have enraptured a modern collector. Judith was + apparently indifferent to a habit which she looked upon as a + caprice of her faithful servant, and the only evidence of her + noticing it was her concentration in her own apartments of all + that related to her personal studies and pursuits.</p> + + <p>It was now Jean's turn to listen and learn, and Hilda's to + explain and instruct. Towards nine o'clock he was preparing to + return. He was indifferent to the darkness, as by this time he + knew the track so well that he crossed it fearlessly at all + hours. His hand was on the bolt when Tita announced in alarm that + Judith was returning and was on the point of entering. Hardly was + there time to conceal him behind the hangings before she + appeared. Her countenance was pale and worn, her tone, as Hilda + took off her outer garments was weary and sad. "The portents were + hostile and dangerous," she said; "they foretold woe, disaster, + ruin. Will the mighty ones reveal to me the future? I cannot + tell! But my spirit must commune with them till dawn breaks. Dost + hear them? They call me now!" She held up her finger as a sudden + blast rocked the tower to its foundations. "Aye," she continued + more firmly after a pause, "they will not forget those who are + true to them. But this people! this people!" She hid her face + with her hands as if to cover a painful vision. After a time she + rose to her feet and took the girl by the hand. Leading her to + the seat by the window on which she placed herself, and making + her kneel by her side, she said—</p> + + <p>"Hilda! the chill mist closes round! my life draws to its end! + Nay, weep not, child! were it not for thee I would long ere this + have prayed the gods my masters to remove me from my sojourn + among the degenerate sons of our noble fathers; but I trembled + for thy fate, sweet one!" These last words were almost + inexpressibly tender. "I dared not trust thy slight frame to + battle unsheltered with the storm. Now the blast summoning me is + sounded. I cannot much longer disobey, though I may crave for + brief respite. But I have found thee refuge! thou wilt be in a + safe haven. Stay! I must speak while the spirit is on me!"</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 573px;"><a name="fp046" id="fp046" /> + <img src="images/fp046.jpg" width="573" height="387" alt= + "Rocquaine Bay with l'Erée and Lihou, Sketched in 1887." + title= + "Rocquaine Bay with l'Erée and Lihou. Sketched in 1887." /> + <b>Roquaine Bay with l'Erée and Lihou. Sketched in + 1887.</b> + </div> + + <p>"Mother!" sobbed the girl, clasping the old woman's knees.</p> + + <p>"Hilda!" said Judith slowly, "call me no longer by that name! + I am not thy mother; before men only do I call thee daughter. + Silence!" she exclaimed imperatively, as Hilda looked quickly up, + doubting whether she heard aright. "Silence! and listen!"</p> + + <p>"I have loved thee truly, child, and have nurtured thee as a + mother would! and thou art no stranger! the same blood runs in + our veins! Yes! thou art mine! for thy father was my brother. + Does not that give thee to me? Hush! thou shalt hear the + tale."</p> + + <p>Hilda's were not the only ears that drank in every word of the + following story.</p> + + <p>"Twenty years ago what a demi-god was Haco! He was a giant, + but even men who feared him loved him. Though brave and strong as + Odin himself, his mind was gentle and kind as a maiden's; first + in council, in war, in manly sports, he ever had an open ear and + a helping hand for the troubled and distressed. He was adored, + nay, worshipped, by all. What wonder then that when he and the + proud chief Algar courted the same maiden, he was preferred! Thou + knowest not, Hilda, the mysteries of a tender heart; may it be + long indeed before thy heart is seared by human passion!" It was + fortunate that darkness hid the burning blush which suffused + Hilda's face and neck at this pious wish. Judith + proceeded:—"Thy father wedded and thou wast born. He poured + on thy infant form all the wealth of his great generous heart. + Algar nursed his revenge: he dared not act openly, for our house + was as noble as his own—nay, nobler!" she added haughtily, + "but he bided his time. Haco's tower was near the shore, a + pleasant, lovely, spot. One night the news was borne to me that + enemies had landed, and that his dwelling was in flames; I + hurried towards it; I was stopped by armed warriors; Algar's men, + they said, had hastened to the rescue; the chief had ordered that + no women should leave their homes. It was in vain that I urged + and protested. When at last I reached the spot the struggle was + said to be over, and the assailants, beaten off, were declared to + have sailed away. Algar himself came to me with well-assumed + grief. He had arrived, he swore, too late to save. The tower had + been fired whilst the inmates slept, the wife and child had + perished; Haco, after performing incredible feats of valour, had + fallen before the strokes of numerous foes; when he himself had + come with a chosen band, while sending the rest of his forces to + other posts which the unforeseen danger might threaten, nothing + remained but to avenge the murder. Why recount the caitiffs lies? + Where were the signs of landing, of hasty re-embarkation? Where + were the dead of the strangers? Thrown into the sea! he said; it + was foul falsehood, and fouler treachery. I found your father's + body; he was smitten and gashed, but nobler than the living. I + touched him and was silent. I knew what none others guessed. I + arose. The spirits of the Gods came over me, and I cursed his + slayer. Never had I spoken so fiercely; men stood and wondered. I + prayed the Gods to make the wretch who had caused my darling's + death miserable by land and by sea, by day and by night, in the + field and at the board, loathed by his friends, and scorned by + his foes. The Gods heard my imprecations; as I turned my eyes + skywards they looked from their clouds, wrath kindling on their + brows, and Algar's face was white with fear, his hand trembled + and his knee shook.</p> + + <p>"'We must bury him,' he faltered.</p> + + <p>"'Yea,' said I, 'but in a hero's grave, and after the custom + of our fathers.'</p> + + <p>"There was a murmur of applause. Algar could not refuse.</p> + + <p>"They brought the choicest of the boats, they made the sails + bright and gay, they put in it the dead man's arms, and food to + accompany him to the land of spirits. Then they bound him before + the mast, his face turned seaward. At sundown they towed the boat + to deep water, so pierced her that she might sink slowly under + the waves, and then they left the hero to his rest. I had gone + out with them: alone I said to him my last farewell. But they did + not know my secret. They did not guess that I had ascertained by + my art that life was yet in him, that I had poured between his + lips subtle drops which would maintain animation for many days + and nights, during which consciousness might be restored; nor did + they imagine that when I kneeled before him I had stopped the + leak by which the water was to flow into the doomed boat. Algar + was now the deceived; it was a living man, not a corpse, who + started on that voyage. Haco lives still, though where my art + cannot tell. I thought that Marie Torode knew, and sought her on + her death-bed to question her, but either she could not or she + would not tell." Hilda's mind was in such confusion that she + could not speak. The old woman continued. "Algar lived + on—yes, lived that he might suffer all the evils with which + my curse loaded him, and died that he might be hurled into the + abyss where traitors and cravens writhe and groan. Enough of + him!</p> + + <p>"When I returned to my tower, a figure was crouching before + the hearth: it was Tita, and you were in her arms. The faithful + creature, whom your father had chosen from a band of captives to + be your nurse, had, unperceived, saved your life from the flames. + Thenceforward you were my care. I took your mother's place as + best I could. Others knew not your parentage, nor did they dare + to question me. None suspected the truth."</p> + + <p>When she reached this point she bent over the kneeling girl + and gave her a kiss, tender as a mother's if not a mother's kiss; + her fingers caressed the head bowed upon her knees; for a time + the silence was only broken by Hilda's sobs. She then spoke + again, this time quickly, sternly, as if to prevent + interruption.</p> + + <p>"I cannot leave thee alone, and I will not! Listen, child, and + be silent! What I now tell thee is beyond thy young + understanding: thou hast but to shape thy will to my bidding: it + is for me to launch thy vessel on its voyage, the Gods will help + thy riper judgment to steer its course! The time has come when + thou must wed! I have chosen for thee a suitor, the chief to whom + all thy countrymen bend the knee. Garthmund claims thee as his + bride; ere eight days expire the marriage feast will be held. He + is of noble birth, there is none nobler; he is young and strong, + and should be favoured by the Gods if he prove worthy of them. He + is a fitting bridegroom for Haco's daughter."</p> + + <p>The girl was dazed and trembling. She knew this chief: he + answered Judith's description, but was rough and coarse. Had she + not met Jean she might not have dared to refuse, but now she felt + that death would be more welcome than this marriage. "Spare me, + mother!" she said, as if she had not heard the disclaimer of + maternity. "I am too young, too weak." The old woman pressed her + hand on the girl's lips. "We will not speak further to-night," + she said; "thou canst not see Garthmund for three days, for so + long the feast will last. May the Gods protect thee!" She rose: + the fitful moonlight streamed on her gaunt form; she turned and + slowly ascended to her chamber.</p> + + <p>The terrified girl quickly released Jean, who led her from the + tower. If she was broken and trembling he was erect and resolute; + no longer the soft lover, but the prompt man of action. She felt + the bracing influence. "We have three days," he said. "Within + that time we must flee. I will not return to the cave; my task + must be to repair the boat." He mentioned certain articles which + he begged her to provide, pressed her to his breast, and + disappeared in the darkness.</p> + + <p>At daylight he examined the little vessel. She was no worse + than she had been, as each incoming tide, reaching the place + where she was secured, had floated her, but the rock had opened a + large jagged fissure. Hilda brought him such materials as she + could procure, a log of wood, bark which she stitched with her + own hands, a hatchet and nails. Jean utilized also the vraick + with which the sand was strewn. He worked without fear of + detection, knowing that the whole population was inland; but the + lovers had to rely on themselves alone, for, when there was a + question of flight, Tita was no longer to be trusted.</p> + + <p>On the third day Jean found the boat fairly seaworthy. Hilda + felt a severe pang at leaving Judith, who had not reverted to the + subject of her marriage. Whether her parent or not, she loved her + dearly; she felt also the pain of parting with Tita, but her + resolution never swerved. She had given her heart to Jean; she + felt also a presentiment that she would discover her father; + while it was her belief that the parting from her old associates + was but temporary.</p> + + <p>When the sun went down Jean set his sail, meaning to make a + rapid dash across the bay, and seeing no cause for concealing his + movements. There was more swell than he liked for so frail a + craft, but wind and tide were favourable to the enterprise, and + the night was exceptionally bright, the moon being full; this + brightness would have been fatal had the inhabitants been on the + alert, but under present circumstances the pale beams were + welcome. Hilda took the helm; she knew every passage in the + labyrinth of submerged rocks, and they were soon in comparatively + open water. Jean then assumed control, wrapping the maiden in his + cloak, for the waves were tossing their spray over the boat as + she heeled over to the breeze.</p> + + <p>They had traversed in safety three-fourths of their course + when Jean, looking seaward, saw a dark sail bearing down on them. + One of the pirate ships, delayed by contrary winds, was hurrying + homeward, the crew of five men hoping to arrive ere the feast was + over. Jean's hope that the boat might not be discovered was soon + dispelled: the vessel altered her course slightly and hailed. + Jean made no answer. The pirate was evidently in no mood to + parley; the crew were in a fierce temper, angry and discontented + at the postponement of their arrival. She made a deliberate + attempt to run the boat down. Jean divined her object and, + putting up his helm sharply at the right moment, let her shoot by + him astern; he then resumed his course. A second attempt was + clumsier, and was easily evaded; the assailants were hurried and + impatient; nor did they know the seamanlike qualities of the man + with whom they were dealing. But Jean saw that ultimate escape + was hopeless, and this was equally apparent to Hilda who, + however, though pale as death, gave a firm pressure of the hand + in response to his grasp. At this moment an object glimmered + under the youth's feet: stooping down he touched the shell. The + hermit's parting words flashed on his mind: he seized on the hope + of rescue, and sounded two loud and clear blasts.</p> + + <p>The pirates now altered their tactics. Handling their vessel + with more care they succeeded, after two or three unsuccessful + attempts, in ranging alongside and grappling the boat. A man + sprung on board and seized Hilda. "A rare booty!" he + cried,—"the Gods repent of their waywardness." Jean was + engaged with those of the crew who had seized the boat; the man + laughingly gave the girl a rough embrace: it was the last act he + had to record before entering the spirit world. Hilda drew from + her bosom one of the daggers which Jean had noticed on the tower + walls, whose blade, still sharp and keen, might have been forged + by a Damascus smith; it struck deep to the heart of the ruffian, + who fell lifeless into the waves. Jean had now freed the craft, + but the respite was short: before she had made much progress she + was again captured. The pirates, furious at the death of their + comrade, made a determined onslaught. Jean, fighting desperately, + received from behind a terrific blow which laid him senseless. + But a superstitious feeling made them hesitate before committing + further outrage; they had recognized Hilda, and feared the + consequence of Judith's vengeance if she were injured. There was + no time, however, for delay; the, rude repairs, torn by the + trampling feet, had given way, and the leak had re-opened: the + boat was fast sinking. The pirates cared not for Jean's lifeless + body; that might sink or swim; but they felt they must save the + girl whatever might be her future doom. Even their hearts + softened somewhat as they watched her erect in the sinking boat, + her face pallid, her fair hair shining in the moonlight, but her + lips set, her lovely eyes bent tearless on her prostrate lover, + her right hand, holding the blood-stained dagger, hanging + listlessly by her side.</p> + + <p>Watching an opportunity, a stalwart youth seized her from + behind and pinned her arms. The next moment he himself was seized + as if he were a dog, and hurled into the water. The new + combatant, whose arrival had so effectually changed the aspect of + affairs, was the hermit, who followed up his first stroke by + another still more decisive. Springing into the pirate craft, + wrenching a weapon from the grasp of the chief of the assailants, + he drove before him the three remaining men, terror-struck at his + sudden and inexplicable appearance, his superhuman size and + strength. One by one he swept them overboard; then grasping a + huge stone, which formed part of the ballast, he dashed it with + the full force of his gigantic strength through the planks of the + boat, which at once began to fill. All this was the work of a few + moments. He then leaped into the skiff, which sank as he swiftly + transferred to his own vessel its two occupants.</p> + + <p>Before another hour was over, Jean, stretched on a pallet, was + receiving the attention of loving hands in a cell of the Lihou + monastery.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + + <h3>AFFLICTION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"The race of Thor and Odin<br /></span> <span>Held + their battles by my side,<br /></span> <span>And the blood of + man was mingling<br /></span> <span>Warmly with my chilly + tide."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>Danube and the + Euxine</i>.—AYTOUN.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Father Austin received his pupil's companion with the courtesy + due to her distress, but with much misgiving. After tending his + patient, whose situation was critical, he paced thoughtfully + towards the cell in which he had placed her, revolving in his + mind the difficulties of the case. His amazement was intense when + he slowly opened the door. The maiden was kneeling, her back + towards him; before her was the little picture of the Madonna; + she was praying aloud; her words were simple but passionately + pathetic; she threw herself and her lover upon the mercy of the + Holy Mother with a trust so absolute, a confidence so infinite, + that the monk could hardly refrain from tears. How had he been + blinded! as he looked and listened the scales fell from his eyes: + he humbly owned his error.</p> + + <p>The noise of his step startled her; she rose and looked at him + inquiringly. "Maiden," he said, answering her appealing look, + "his fate is in the hands of God, whose ears are ever open to the + prayers of those that fear Him."</p> + + <p>Often and often had Jean spoken to her of Father Austin; she + loved him already, but she had yet to fathom the nobleness of his + soul. His single-heartedness and abnegation of self, his + tenderness and quick sympathy (virtues tempering his fierce + abhorrence of Paganism), his stern reprobation of the evil, and + his yearning for the good, in the untutored barbarians among whom + he laboured, were gradually revealed in the discourses which they + held daily while Jean lay between life and death. Reaping and + garnering what Jean had sown, he scattered fresh seed, opening + out to her the great history of God in man. Qualities hitherto + unsuspected in her developed; if an apt pupil, she was an + instructive teacher of the wealth of charity and purity that + dwells in an untainted woman's heart. And she had another friend: + the hermit watched over her with touching care and assiduity. He + appeared strangely attracted to her; the holy fathers marvelled + to see this rough being, who had seemed to them an animal to be + feared while pitied, caring for the maiden's comfort with a + woman's gentleness: he seemed never weary of contemplating her, + sometimes murmuring to himself as he did so. Any little delicacy + that the island could afford, game, fish, shellfish, was provided + for her by him. Once, thinking her couch hard, he disappeared and + returned bearing, whence none knew, soft stuffs better fitted for + her tender form; on this occasion the whole man seemed + transformed, when he stepped in with a smile in his big frank + eyes, and a ruddy glow on his bronzed scarred cheeks, placed his + offering at her feet, and strode away. Strange, too, to say, + Hilda seemed to return the feeling: happy in the presence of + Austin, she was yet with him as the pupil with the master; but + with the recluse she was gentle, affectionate, and even playful. + The monks attempted not to solve the puzzle of the bond that + knitted together the two strange beings; analysis of character + troubled little their saintly minds.</p> + + <p>At length consciousness returned; Jean opened his eyes and + recognised Austin. This was a joyful moment. Quiet was all that + was now necessary to complete the restoration of his health, + which could not, however, be anticipated for a considerable time. + The first inquiry of the patient was for Hilda, and he was + allowed to see her; on the next day they were permitted to + interchange a few words, after which Austin explained what he had + already decided. Hilda, he pointed out, could not fitly remain in + Lihou, where she had been allowed to reside only until her lover + was out of danger; the laws of the establishment, which forbade + the presence of women, must now be put in force, but a fitting + home had been provided for her; she would be placed with the + Sisters at the Vale; the hermit would conduct her thither on the + following day. The girl bowed to this decision, sorely as she + grieved to leave him she loved; the next morning they parted, and + she embarked with her guardian who, shielding her lovingly from + all harm, placed her, ere nightfall, in her new abode.</p> + + <p>Judith had not discovered the girl's departure till the sun + was well up, when she heard of her absence from the frantic Tita. + The old woman's force of character was colossal; pettinesses, + small passions, were unknown to her. Had her sphere been larger + her promptitude of resource, keenness of perception, resolute + look onwards and upwards, solidity of purpose, and incisive + action might have graven her name on the tables of history. + Stagnating in the shallow pools of the unstoried rocks in which + she passed her life, these grand qualities were wasted and + perverted. She lost no time now in recrimination; a few sharp + questions enabled her to judge how far the weakness of affection + had played the traitor with the old woman, whom she left to + settle matters with her own conscience. She saw Garthmund, and + told him that, in consequence of the unsatisfactory augury of the + last sacrifice, she had decided to postpone the marriage. Nor did + she appear to notice the indifference with which the chief, who + could not pretend that he ardently loved a bride who was + practically a stranger to him, received the decision. It took her + some time to discover where Hilda had taken refuge; it speaks ill + for female reticence that she discovered it shortly after the + girl's removal to the sisterhood. She satisfied herself that her + own people had no suspicion of the flight, as none of the crew of + the belated boat had reached the shore; and she gathered, from + the transfer of the maiden to the convent, that Father Austin + was, on his side, resolved not to make known the elopement of + Garthmund's intended wife. Her paramount wish was to recover her + niece, but she perceived that she must act warily, and must be + ready to deal with the many contingencies which would inevitably + arise during the development of her schemes. Hilda's position + under the immediate protection of the religious communities was a + serious obstacle. Judith believed that against them her magic + arts would be of no avail; she was therefore driven to confine + herself to earthly combinations; but she was in no wise daunted + by this difficulty, which in point of fact cleared her judgment, + and assisted her by inducing her to make the best of the + materials at her disposal. The obvious plan for the recovery of + the girl was to induce Garthmund to attack the nunnery, and drag + his bride from it; but to this there were many objections. + Acknowledgment of Hilda's flight would be in itself a confession + of failure. She had promised to produce the girl when she was + required; to seek the chief's assistance to enable her to fulfil + the promise would be a diminution of her prestige, and + consequently of her power. Again, it was by no means certain that + the chief who, it has been said, was no love-sick bridegroom, + would consent to undertake the enterprise; nor, if he did + undertake it, was his prospect of success unquestionable, for the + islanders, though not ready listeners to the Christian teaching, + would have united to repel a heathen attack on their teachers + whom they honoured and respected. Judith therefore rejected this + expedient, arranging her plan of operations with remarkable + ingenuity.</p> + + <p>Her first aim was to promote ill-feeling between the Voizins + and their neighbours; this part of the campaign was prosecuted + with vigour. Cattle were lost on either side of the boundary; + houses were burnt; old wells ran dry; rumours, mysteriously + circulated, spoke of these as no accidental mishaps; suspicions + were whispered; instances of retaliation followed. At the time + when a dangerous feeling was thus growing up a famine broke out + in the Voizin country while the islanders were well supplied. The + hungry Voizin men heard voices in the darkness scoffing at them, + laughter and sneers. When their carts were sent to fetch the + necessaries of life, lynch-pins were loosened; in more than one + case the draught oxen were houghed; the provisions, when + received, were mouldy and unwholesome. At last sickness broke + out, with stories of poison; then the tension became + insupportable. The Voizin chief, too proud to go to his + neighbours, summoned them to him; the messenger was murdered. + This assassination, of which the natives denied all knowledge, + was met by prompt reprisals; three Perelle fishermen were hung on + the spot where the body was found. From this date the outbreak of + hostilities was but a question of time. A sternness of purpose + ruled in the councils of the Voizins which frustrated all + attempts at conciliation. A little before Christmas a trivial + incident kindled the smouldering flames, and the hordes, pouring + from the Torteval valleys, swept over the districts now known as + the parishes of St. Saviour's and the Câtel; the resistance + was tame and ineffectual, sufficient only to give occasion for + considerable slaughter and plunder. The invaders, seeing no + reason for returning to their famine-stricken fastnesses, settled + themselves in the enjoyment of the abundance of the vanquished, + who, in their turn, with their accustomed versatility, submitted + patiently, and even cheerfully, to a yoke which, after the first + onslaught was over, pressed lightly; the Voizins, to whom + fighting was a pastime, bearing no malice, and passing + imperceptibly into a genial mood.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 565px;"><a name="fp064" id="fp064" /> + <img src="images/fp064.jpg" width="565" height="376" alt= + "Vale Castle. Sketched in 1838" title= + "Vale Castle. Sketched in 1838" /> <b>Vale Castle. Sketched in + 1838</b> + </div> + + <p>Judith now prepared to develop the next move, the object of + which was to undermine the authority of the monks, and make them + vulnerable by isolation. Derisive hints were dropped respecting + the failure of the new religion to help its votaries in the hour + of peril; the victory of the Voizins was attributed to the + superiority of their Gods rather than to deficiency in courage on + the part of their foes: this theory, which was not unpalatable to + those who had been half-hearted in defence of their homes, was + also utilized by the more sober spirits as an argument wherewith + to restrain the more ardent from attempting to renew the struggle + under similar conditions. The observances of the religion of Thor + and Odin, or rather of that debased form of it which prevailed + among this singular people, were celebrated under their more + alluring aspects: frequent feasts and dances captivated the + laughter-loving islanders, who had been tried somewhat severely + by the severity of the <i>régime</i> which Austin had + endeavoured to impose since he had seen danger in his damaging + encounter with Judith. After a time it was proclaimed that none + would be permitted to join in the revelries who were enemies to + the Gods who presided at them. This stroke was successful: the + majority openly embraced the creed of their conquerors, and + showed the usual spirit of perverts in exceeding the latter in + their zeal to sweep away all traces of the religion which they + had abandoned. The minority who held true to their faith drew + together, a grim and resolute band, prepared for a bold defence + and, if Christ so willed it, for martyrdom.</p> + + <p>It was not Judith's purpose, now that the disruption of the + islanders was effected, to leave time for the Christians to + mature plans for resistance. Garthmund, at her instigation, + delivered simultaneous attacks on Lihou and the Vale; he himself + superintending the latter operation in order that he might see + that the sorceress's instructions, that all in the nunnery were + to be made prisoners uninjured, and brought to her closely + veiled, were implicitly obeyed. To the surprise of the islanders, + however, both assaults, though made with spirit and absolute + confidence of success, were completely repulsed; the same result + attended a renewed attack, made two days subsequently with fresh + and increased forces supported by native levies. Garthmund found + that in both places he had before him not only resolute troops, + but skilled and enterprising commanders.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + + <h3>CONSOLATION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"Mother! list a suppliant child!<br /></span> + <span class="i4">Ave Maria!<br /></span> <span>Ave Maria! + Stainless styled.<br /></span> <span>Foul demons of the earth + and air,<br /></span> <span>From this their wonted haunt + exiled,<br /></span> <span>Shall flee before thy presence + fair."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>Lady of the Lake</i>.—WALTER + SCOTT.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Jean's recovery after Hilda's departure had been slow and + lingering; but for the unwearied care of the good fathers and of + the recluse, aided by a constitution of no ordinary strength, he + must have succumbed to the terrible injuries which he had + received. As, however, the days began to lengthen, and signs of + spring to appear even on the wild rock where he had taken refuge, + his vigour gradually returned. It had been necessary that he + should be protected from excitement; consequently, while + receiving from the hermit regular reports from the Vale, and many + a sweet message from his love which made his heart leap with + happiness, he knew nothing till the beginning of February of the + incursion of the Voizins, and the accompanying events. Since he + had been alone, however, he had dwelt for hours together on the + strange story which he had overheard in the tower, the principal + figure of which, while his brain had been still confused, had + been always mingled in his delirium with the massive form of the + hermit. Father Austin, watching him with anxiety, at length + suggested that he should relieve his mind by repeating the tale + to the recluse himself. He readily adopted the suggestion. His + listener, who had been too delicate to question Hilda as to her + antecedents, but who had been burning to learn the explanation of + the striking resemblance of her features to a face which, whether + he waked or slept, ever haunted him, though more often contorted + in agony than wreathed in smiles, heard with impatience the + history of Algar's treachery; but when Jean detailed the escape + of Tita and her charge, and identified the latter with the maiden + whom he had rescued, he sprang to his feet at the risk of + plunging his patient into a fresh crisis of fever, and exclaimed, + "May the choicest gifts of heaven be showered on thee, brave + youth! the blessed angels and saints will love thee for this + deed!" He reflected a moment, then turned his eyes full on Jean's + face, "Why should I leave it to Austin to tell thee what he has + long known under the solemn secrecy which binds priest and + sinner? Thou shalt know it from my own lips: I am Haco! Drifted + hitherward on that lonely voyage, I was released by holy men, now + saints above, who healed my wounds and taught me to bury my + pride, and to kneel humbly before the Cross. I never doubted that + I was childless as well as wifeless; had I done so, I should have + returned at all risks to claim my own. But she! Hilda! 'twas her + mother's name! this maiden, towards whom my soul went out in + yearning, is my own! yes! my child! If a wild feeling rose when I + watched her I crushed it out, for I thought that I had stifled + all human passions; but now—" He fell on his knees, and hid + his face in his hands, his giant frame convulsed with sobs; but + it was evident that he was controlling himself, and when he rose + his rugged face was full of humanity: youth seemed to have + returned to it; under the disfiguring scars Jean could trace + without difficulty the fearless, generous features of which + Judith had spoken with such enthusiasm. Haco warmly grasped the + sick man's hand, and left the cell.</p> + + <p>Father Austin had, it appeared, learnt Judith's story from + Hilda, but this confidence also had been made under the seal of + confession. He had been confirmed in his impression of its + accuracy by the tale he had already heard from Haco, whose + strange arrival was still a favourite topic among the monks, + though none of those now in the monastery had witnessed it. The + three men were now able openly to discuss the subject in its + various bearings, but they agreed that the mystery should not be + revealed till peace was restored.</p> + + <p>Haco had from the first foreseen the danger to be apprehended + from the Voizin incursion. The monks were still further surprised + to see the being, whose gentleness had amazed them on Hilda's + arrival, now a leader of men, active, vigorous, inspiring others + with the love of life with which he himself seemed to be + animated. Before the attack came Jean was sufficiently recovered + to be able to render efficient assistance; he had ably seconded + Haco in the two encounters, after which he was specially + entrusted with the defence of the Vale.</p> + + <p>Judith was in no degree daunted by temporary failure: her + nature revelled in overcoming opposition; her spirit rose to the + occasion. Garthmund was inclined to be sulky after his second + defeat, and might have abandoned the enterprise had he dared to + do so; but fear of the sorceress kept him firm. For a month the + system of blockade was tried, varied by occasional assaults + which, being made with less spirit than the earlier ones, were + easily repulsed. The blockade was not more successful. Haco had + provided ample stores for the small garrison which he had + considered sufficient to protect the promontory of Lihou, + naturally almost impregnable; and the force defending the Vale, + camped chiefly on Lancresse Common, was only nominally blockaded. + The sallies, made from time to time, were ordered more with a + view of keeping up the martial spirit of the men than with that + of providing for wants, for the friendly inhabitants of the + eastern side of the island, emboldened by recent proofs that the + dreaded Voizins were not invincible, ran their boats almost with + impunity into the little creeks into which the heavier craft of + the enemy could not follow them.</p> + + <p>Judith hardly noticed these details. Her attention was fixed + upon the key of the position. She knew that a resistance of this + description was altogether contrary to the unwarlike character of + the natives; she was convinced that they were actuated by some + abnormal spirit, and that if the motive power were removed the + machine would collapse. She made it her business to ascertain + what the spring was that guided them. All her art failed in + detecting the presence of Haco, perhaps because her engines were + powerless when directed against one of her own blood; but she + easily ascertained that the warriors in the opposing camp looked + to Jean as their leader, that his spirit pervaded all, and that + his ardour to protect his sacred charge filled him with a + wondrous power which astonished even those who from childhood had + bent to his unchallenged primacy.</p> + + <p>Having satisfied herself as to the character of the opposing + force, her next step was to secure Jean's person. This presented + no difficulty to her. A scroll was delivered to the young leader + by an unknown messenger, who at once disappeared. Jean, seeing + that the characters were those which, as he believed, Austin + alone was able to trace, took the scroll to the sister who alone + was able to interpret them. What Sister Theresa read was + alarming:—"Hasten! I am grievously sick; my strength fails! + I must see thee without delay." Jean was distressed beyond + measure, but Hilda, whom he hurried to consult, agreed with him + that no time must be lost in obeying the summons; the fact that + Haco was at Lihou convinced them that the father would not have + sent for Jean if his case had not been one of extreme danger. + After a hasty farewell and a promise of speedy return, for his + presence with the forces was imperative and he grudged every hour + of absence from his beloved, he set out alone in his boat. Before + an hour had passed he was captured by a flotilla which had been + lying in ambuscade behind the Grandes Rocques, and was a prisoner + in the enemy's camp.</p> + + <p>If Judith had been an ordinary woman she would have been + content with this result, would have executed the prisoner, and + have awaited the submission of his disheartened followers; and + she would have failed, defeated by the indomitable courage and + resource of Haco. But it was not in this clumsy fashion that her + genius moulded the materials at her command. She now controlled, + as she believed, the mainspring of the resistance, which would + probably cease with the death of Jean. But her aim went far + beyond the mere submission of her antagonists; she wished that + the blow should be struck in such a manner as to stamp out the + false creed which had held the islanders in thrall, to prove to + all sceptics the powers of her own Gods and the impotence of + those of her opponents, and to commit the recently reconverted + islanders so irretrievably that they could not afterwards + backslide. She wished also, by making an example that would + inspire terror, to establish the undisputed supremacy of her + people in the whole island. But, side by side with these + political considerations, were the religious influences honestly + and steadfastly working in her powerful intellect. When she + communed with her Gods she thought of no earthly good or ill: she + loved these strange conceptions, and fixed her whole soul on + conciliating them. It was now her conviction that they were + displeased: their displeasure, awful as she believed it to be, + did not terrify her, but it vexed her to the inmost heart: she + feared that they had not been rightly propitiated, and resolved + that the shortcoming must be remedied.</p> + + <p>All her reflections pointed with unerring force to the same + conclusion. She held in her hands the strong frame, the stout + heart, the ruling mind. All were concentrated in Jean Letocq. He, + then, must be offered up as a fitting sacrifice. By such an + offering the deities could not fail to be appeased, and by the + death of this man in this fashion all the natural exigencies of + the situation would be satisfied. She never allowed herself to + dwell for one moment on the fact that the victim was beloved by + Hilda. On this point she had armed herself with bars of brass and + triple steel. He might have fooled the girl, but at the thought + of love her heart was ice.</p> + + <p>The sorceress communicated her resolution to Garthmund. The + chieftain exhibited no surprise: he expressed a grim approval of + the proposal, which seemed likely to give an excuse for revelry + and to bring the campaign to a prompt conclusion, and proceeded + to make the requisite arrangements.</p> + + <p>The 30th of March was the day chosen. The forces investing the + two beleaguered positions were ordered to assemble, that on the + western side on the low ground between L'Erée and Lihou, + that on the northern under shelter of the woods of the Braye du + Valle, facing the fortifications thrown up by the defenders. At a + given signal, the kindling of a beacon on the Rocque du Guet, the + two hosts were to make simultaneously a determined assault. The + islanders not engaged in these operations, with the exception of + those openly or secretly sympathizing with the Christians, poured + into Vazon Forest, none remaining behind but those absolutely + incapable of conveying themselves or of being conveyed.</p> + + <p>By this time the consternation in the enemy's camp was all + that the sorceress could desire. Jean's capture had been + ascertained, and all the particulars respecting his coming fate + were known by means of spies. Haco shook his head at the + proposals of rescue made by spirited youths. "Success would be + hopeless," he said; "failure would be fatal to those whose lives + are precious to us. If he dies we will brace every nerve to + avenge him, but we must be patient, and await their onslaught. + Then will come our turn! then will we spring at their dastard + throats! then shall they drink freely of their own gore!" If the + man of the sword thought the case hopeless, what could the men of + the cloister do? They did all in their power—prayed + ceaselessly, fasted, did penance under the guidance of Father + Austin; but nevertheless the fatal morning arrived.</p> + + <p>Hilda knew her lover's danger. When he failed to return, and + when Haco, arriving from Lihou, admitted that he had not been + seen at the monastery, her heart sank; she, better than any of + those around her, knew the stern, implacable patriotism and + fanaticism of Judith's nature; she fully realized the savage + dispositions of her countrymen, their contempt of human life, and + their brutal treatment of captives. She had some conception of + their fearful orgies, and she shuddered when her mind touched, + not daring to dwell, on Jean's possible fate. She had sufficient + presence of mind to bear up bravely before Haco, who had no + suspicion that she had a perception of the terrible truth from + which even his rent and seared feelings shrank; nor did she + reveal to Father Austin, during a short visit which he paid her + at great risk this inner serpent which was devouring her young + heart. Sister Theresa and her fellows marvelled at her as on the + morning of the fatal day she passed between them, her eyes rapt + in contemplation, her look serene and calm, though beneath the + surface lay a depth of unutterable woe, sinking, receding, chill + as the dark, haunted, bosom of an unfathomable mountain lake.</p> + + <p>She sought her own cell and begged to be left alone. Then the + full heart burst the bounds imposed by the strong will. She + placed before her the little Madonna, from which she never + parted, and fell on her knees. She prayed till noon, and her + prayer continued still; it was not simply a woman's supplication: + her whole essence was poured out before the Holy Mother, who was + the object of her special adoration. This girl had never known + evil: for nineteen years her mind had rippled on, sparkling with + good deeds, little bright thoughts, gentle inspirations sweetly + obeyed; then first streamed in the warm current of human love, + followed by the rapid thrilling rush of the flow of Divine + awakening. The little stream had become a torrent; but one in + which every element was pure, for its component parts were faith + in God, trust in man, the will to act, the power to bear, + contentment in joy and resignation in sorrow. Above all, she had + ever before her the words which Austin had told her comprised the + sermon of the universe—"Thy will be done!" Was it possible + that, in the days when miracles were yet wrought, such a prayer + at such a time from such a saint should not be heard? Some three + hours had passed after noon when she felt a sweet languor + overspread her. A mist crept before her eyes, which quickly + passed away and was replaced by a radiance brighter than the + sun's rays; her eyes had power however to look aloft, and she + gazed with clasped hands and with loving reverence: the Holy + Virgin herself stood before her, holding in her arms the Blessed + Infant; the Mother looking down with a smile inexpressibly tender + and compassionate, the Child stretching forth its dimpled hand + and giving its blessing. She sank in rapture, the glory too great + for her. As the vision faded she arose, a marvellous strength + possessing her. She stepped forth, and found herself in the midst + of a crowd gazing, horror-stricken, seawards. "Fear nothing," she + said with a calm expression that seemed to permeate the whole + assembly like an inner voice; "he is saved, and you are saved!" + The words came opportunely.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + + <h3>ANNIHILATION.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"Prophet-like that lone one stood,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">With dauntless words and high,<br /></span> + <span>That shook the sere leaves from the wood<br /></span> + <span class="i2">As if a storm pass'd by."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>The Last Man</i>.—CAMPBELL.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span>"So perish the old Gods!<br /></span> <span>But out of + the sea of time<br /></span> <span>Rises a new land of + song,<br /></span> <span>Fairer than the old."<br /></span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <span><i>The Seaside and the + Fireside</i>.—LONGFELLOW.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Full of evil augury was the morning of this eventful day in + Vazon Forest. There were the same trees, the same glades and + streams, as on the well-remembered Midsummer day of the preceding + year; but nature and man alike were in a different mood. The + trees were leafless and churlish, the glades ragged and + colourless; the turbid, dusky streams bore but small resemblance + to the limpid rivulets of June; the native youths were absent, + engaged in military service; the maidens, headed by Suzanne + Falla, had indeed an appearance of mirth, but there was a hollow + ring in the boisterous recklessness of their merriment; the old + men tramped feebly and aimlessly, for the reverence for age had + been transferred to the veterans of the conquerors. The latter + also supplied the musicians; and the clanging of drums and + cymbals, with the blast of horns, replaced the sylvan melody of + the aborigines.</p> + + <p>Still there was every sign of festivity. The proceedings began + with dances in which the men, who posed as athletes and warriors, + gave representations of deeds of martial prowess. Then the girls + were allowed to foot their native dances in their own fashion. + Dances for both sexes followed, in which the native maidens found + it difficult to conceal their terror of the rough partners ever + ready to become rougher wooers.</p> + + <p>These preliminaries concluded, the business of the day began. + Though this wild race sacrificed human beings, they did not treat + their victims with the coldblooded cruelty of the Druids, who + slaughtered them as if they were oxen or sheep; their custom was + to burn their captives; and it is not for critics, whose pious + forefathers kindled the fires of Smithfield, to assert that their + practice was wholly barbarous. In the present case a pyre, some + twelve feet high, was built at the foot of a huge granite + boulder, near the sea-coast: it was constructed of dry wood, and + was drenched with combustible materials. Jean was bound firmly to + a strong hurdle, made of birch stems and withies securely lashed + together. Judith, Garthmund, and the principal elders, placed + themselves under the venerable oak; the people stood at a + respectful distance. Twelve stalwart warriors bore the litter on + which the prisoner was stretched, and placed it on stone trestles + planted for the purpose in the intervening space. Then the + priests arrived; twelve old men whose white locks and beards, and + snowy dresses, gave them a venerable appearance which was soon + belied by their performances.</p> + + <p>Halting when they reached the victim, the priests faced the + oak, and chanted a solemn, wailing dirge; this, which might have + been a farewell to the spirit whose departure they were preparing + to accelerate, was not unimpressive. Then one stepped forward + whose voice was yet clear and loud; he passed a warm eulogy on + the qualities of the captive, whom he described in exaggerated + phrases as a sage in council, and a hero in battle, endowing him + also with every domestic virtue which seemed in his eyes worthy + of enumeration. This discourse was followed by a warlike song in + honour of Thor and Odin, and it was during the course of this + hymn that it became clear from their rolling eyes and unsteady + gait that the old men were in a state of no ordinary excitement. + All night they had been feasting their deities, and the solemnity + had involved deep potations; now, as the rapid movements of a + dance which accompanied the inspiriting words sent the fumes into + their heads, they appeared to be beside themselves. The + bystanders, however, attributing their frenzy to religious + fervour, and not unaccustomed to such manifestations, looked on + unmoved. The music ceased; and the song of triumph gave way to a + hideous scene over which it were painful to dwell. The drunken + old men, with incredible agility, whirled round the prostrate + form of Jean. There was no question now of eulogizing his + virtues: he was accused, in language which seemed devil-born, of + every crime, every infamy, of which the human race is capable; + held up to scorn and ignominy, he was cursed and execrated with a + shower of blasphemy and obscenity; a by-stander, contemplating + his calm, clear face, the lips parted in prayer, gleaming amidst + the contorted features of the screaming miscreants, might have + believed him to be already passing, unscathed, through the + terrors of purgatory.</p> + + <p>It is impossible at this day to fathom the mystery of this + terrible relic of some remote superstition. It may have been that + the abhorrence and extinction of evil was roughly typified, or + that it was understood that the death of the victim would, as if + he were a scapegoat, cleanse the worshippers of the sins with + which he was thus loaded. It is idle to grope where all is, and + must be, dark; all that can be asserted with any certainty is + that the preliminary eulogy, a more modern practice, was intended + to enhance the value of the offering which they were about to + make to the Gods.</p> + + <p>The warriors now resumed their burden, and a procession was + formed towards the pyre, on which the litter-bearers, mounting by + an inclined plane, placed the doomed youth. Judith ascended the + huge boulder, which was some eight feet higher than the pyre at + its foot. The chief and people grouped themselves round its base. + The priests stood ready to apply the torch when the sorceress + gave the signal, and the distant watchman on the Guct waited in + his turn for the first flash of flame to kindle the beacon which + was to set the assailing forces in motion.</p> + + <p>Judith turned to the expectant crowd: her glance was + searching, in her eye was an ineffable look of scorn. "Down on + your knees!" she said, "craven sons, whose sires would blush to + own you! You who have steeped your hearts in pride and + boastfulness! Were your fathers slow to draw the sword and quick + to sheathe it? Did they cower by their hearths when warm blood + was being spilt? did they feast when others fought? would they + not have leaped, as the tempest rushes from its caves, to scatter + like the sand those who should have dared to bend the knee to + false Gods, objects of their loathing and derision? Runs this + noble blood in your stagnant veins? From giants ye have become + pigmies!" The majestic contempt with which these words had been + delivered had a crushing effect. She continued her harangue for + some time in the same strain. Every Voizin's head was bowed, + every form bent and trembling. The sorceress then, slowly + turning, faced seaward. Her arms assumed the well-known + beseeching attitude, the serpent bracelet glittering fiercely in + the sun. Her voice changed, became softer. "Yet they are my + people!" she continued, "and the last of our race. Ennoble them, + great Gods! quicken their hearts and spare them!" Looking outward + with the rapt look of a prophetess in whom, though torn with + tempests of fanaticism and of passion, human and superhuman, no + thought was mean, no sentiment ignoble, she poured out this her + prayer; not for mercy!—her Gods knew not this attribute; + nor could she understand it; if the craven continued to be a + craven she felt he were better dead;—not for peace and + contentment!—to these blessings neither she nor they + attached value;—but for fearlessness and steadfastness of + purpose, and also for courage to die for the truth! there were + petitions poured out by this woman that would have honoured the + lips of the champion of any creed.</p> + + <p>The supplication ended, she seemed about to raise her hand to + give the anticipated signal when a look of amazement passed over + her features; she brushed her hand over her eyes and looked + again, then folded her arms and gazed steadily seawards. What she + saw might have shattered even her nerves of iron. At the close of + her prayer, which had exactly coincided with the moment when + Hilda stepped from her cell, the bosom of the sea heaved and + rose: a wave, ten feet high, glided, stole as it were, so gently + did it move, into the forest; but so rapidly, that in one minute + every human being except herself and Jean was engulphed. They + were gone, the high-couraged and the craven, the frenzied priest + and the laughing child, with their passions, their hopes, and + their fears, without the faintest note of warning of coming + danger! Judith glanced at Jean, almost contemptuously; he, not + having seen what had happened, was still momentarily expecting + the application of the torch. A second wave crept in, smaller + than the former, but overwhelming the pyre. The dazed warrior on + the Guet reported that after this second wave had passed he saw + the tall form still towering on the peak, but that when he looked + again the rock, though still above water, was tenantless; a + little later the granite mass, together with the tops of the + tallest trees, lay under an unruffled surface.</p> + + <p>When the pyre was submerged the litter, to which Jean was + attached, floated off and formed a tolerably secure raft. His + life was safe for a time; but he would have been exposed to a + still more ghastly fate from the swooping sea-birds had he not + been able by a supreme effort to wrest one of his arms from its + bands. In speechless wonderment he was carried seaward by the + slowly receding tide. Suddenly his raft was hailed by a + well-known voice. Friendly hands cut the ropes that bound him, + and he was lifted into a boat. The occupant was Haco who, + attracted to the spot when hurrying to the Vale, by the cries of + the clustering gulls, had thus again saved his life.</p> + + <p>The giant pulled vigorously to the point which, now known as + the Hommet, terminates the northern arm of Vazon Bay; there he + landed the youth, to enable him to stretch his cramped limbs, and + to clothe him in such articles as he could spare from his own + equipment. A rapid explanation passed between them. Haco told him + how the force investing Lihou had, when apparently waiting for a + signal to move, been overwhelmed by a wave which cut off the + promontory from L'Erée, and had perished to a man. Jean + could tell of nothing but the sudden cessation of the tumult and + the floating of his litter. The minds of both were wandering, + burningly anxious as they were to know what had passed at the + Vale. Scaling the Hommet, they obtained a sufficient view to + satisfy them that Lancresse Common no longer formed a portion of + the mainland; an hour afterwards, entering the Grand Havre, they + saw an unbroken channel between that inlet and St. Sampson's: + every trace of the invading host had disappeared. Jean was soon + in Hilda's arms; and the two lovers, with Haco, spent the + remainder of the day in pious thanksgiving to the Holy Mother by + whose special interposition, testified so miraculously to the + maiden, the cause of Christ had triumphed and the parted had been + reunited, when the last gleam of safety seemed to have been + extinguished.</p> + + <p>The next morning Father Austin arrived. Hilda was then made + acquainted with her relationship to Haco, whose tender attentions + during her late troubles had already won her unreserved + affection. The news was an inexpressible joy to her, and it was + touching to see how she nestled in the deep embrace of her + father, whose feelings, so long pent up, now at last found vent. + Jean absented himself during the day, but on the following + morning insisted that his nuptials should no longer be deferred. + The same evening, in the little chapel of the nunnery, Austin + bestowed his blessing on a union which had been sanctified by + such special manifestations of Divine approval.</p> + + <p>The readjustment of the shattered organization of the island + was imperative. The inhabitants of the eastern side, and those of + the Vale, had for the most part preserved their lives by their + absence from the forest; the Christian converts who had aided in + the struggle were also safe; with these exceptions the island was + practically depopulated. Jean was elected chief by acclamation. + After giving such pressing directions as immediate exigencies + required, he acceded to his wife's ardent wish to obtain + intelligence respecting Judith, and also to ascertain the fate of + Tita.</p> + + <p>The Lihou monks had already reported that all communication + was broken between the Hanois and the shore, but that the tower + appeared to be intact. On an April morning Haco and the young + couple sailed across Rocquaine Bay, and landed close to the + tower, which now stood on a rugged and inhospitable island. The + door was opened by Tita, who smiled, and prattled, and caressed + her young mistress like a lap-dog. She recognised Jean with + indifference, but a start, followed by a shudder, seized her when + she observed Haco; her terror, however, seemed to pass away when + he spoke a few soothing words to her. It was evident that a + shock, or a succession of shocks, had unsettled the poor woman's + brain. On the name of Judith being mentioned, she pointed + fearfully to the upper story. Uncertain as to her meaning, Jean + cautiously ascended the ladder, and ascertained that the + sorceress was in truth there. After a consultation it was decided + that Haco and Hilda should seek her presence.</p> + + <p>As father and daughter entered the apartment, they saw the old + woman half-seated, half-lying, on a couch placed close to the + window; her face, which was turned seaward, was haggard, the + leanness bringing into strong relief the handsome chiselling of + her profile; the sternness of her mouth was somewhat relaxed; + there was an indication almost of softness in its corners. Her + high spirit had accepted, not resented, defeat.</p> + + <p>As her eye fell on her two visitors there was no gleam of + defiance, no mark of anger, or even surprise; but, when Haco + stood fully revealed before her, a flash of triumph and pleasure + shot into it, kindling every feature with its glow. "You here, + Haco!" she cried, "and with her! The Gods have relented. You will + hold her fast in their worship, and lead her steps to the land of + her sires! I die contented." She fell back exhausted. "Sister," + said the giant, laying his hand softly on her shoulder, "it is + too late; when Algar slew my loved one the Pagan died in me; I am + a servant of the God of the Christians." Hilda awaited fearfully + the result of this announcement, but she knew not the greatness + of the old woman's soul. It was long ere her voice was heard + again. Presently, raising herself, she said, "I would it had been + otherwise; but I have erred, I have misjudged. I thought that + your Gods were false; puny creations of a nerveless brain; but + they are strong, I own their power! It may be that the great ones + of old have wearied of our spiritless race, and abandoned us. So + perchance you may be wise to turn to the new-comers!" Her voice + failed her, but as they knelt by her side her hands wandered over + their heads and lingered with a caressing movement among Hilda's + locks. She seemed to have forgotten Jean, whom she doubtless + believed to have been lost in the general calamity. Suddenly she + started up and pointed to a storm-cloud rising rapidly from the + western horizon, assuming a succession of fantastic shapes as it + passed upwards. "Do you not see them?" she cried—"the + great, the glorious ones! they bend from their seats; they smile! + see their power! Their majesty! their locks stream, their swords + are half drawn! they sheathe them, they lean forward, they extend + their arms! they beckon!—I come, I come!" She stretched out + her arms with the old familiar gesture and sank back, having + breathed her spirit to the tempest which she loved so well.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 569px;"><a name="fp090" id="fp090" /> + <img src="images/fp090.jpg" width="569" height="392" alt= + "Guernsey, Eastern Side, with Islands of Herm, Jethou and Sark. Sketched in 1839." + title= + "Guernsey, Eastern Side, with Islands of Herm, Jethou and Sark. Sketched in 1839." /> + <b>Guernsey, Eastern Side, with Islands of Herm, Jethou and + Sark. Sketched in 1839.</b> + </div> + + <p>They buried her on the cliffs of Pleinmont, where a cairn long + marked her resting-place. Tita was taken to the Vale; all + attempts to restore her from the shock which her nerves had + received failed till on one sunny morning Hilda's infant was + placed on her knees: when the child crowed, and smiled at her, + the cloud imperceptibly passed away, never to return. From that + time she assumed her regular place in the household.</p> + + <p>Haco abandoned his Lihou cell; his rough readiness of + resource, unfailing good-humour, and skill in managing men, + proved invaluable during the task of the restoration of the + broken links of government and society.</p> + + <p>The labours of Father Austin and his coadjutors did not relax, + but their course lay in smoother waters: if their prospects of + martyrdom were diminished they were more than consoled by the + knowledge that they possessed among them a veritable saint, to + whom the Holy Virgin had vouchsafed the honour of a personal + appearance, and that they had been witnesses of a miraculous + interposition, the evidence of which would be indelible as long + as the sea should wash the storm-beaten cliffs of their beloved + island.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> + <img src="images/device.png" width="300" height="72" alt= + "(printer's device)" title="" /> + </div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Forest of Vazon, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FOREST OF VAZON *** + +***** This file should be named 14501-h.htm or 14501-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/5/0/14501/ + +Produced by Steven Gibbs and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Forest of Vazon + A Guernsey Legend Of The Eighth Century + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: December 28, 2004 [EBook #14501] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FOREST OF VAZON *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + +THE FOREST OF VAZON + +_A GUERNSEY LEGEND OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY_. + +London: +HARRISON & SONS, 59, PALL MALL +Booksellers to the Queen and H.R.H the Prince of Wales +1889. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +Nothing authentic is known of the history of Guernsey previously to its +annexation to the Duchy of Normandy in the tenth century. The only +sources of information as to events which may have occurred before that +date are references in monkish chronicles of the usual semi-mythical +type, and indications conveyed by cromlechs and menhirs, fragments of +Celtic instruments and pottery, and a few Roman relics. It is +unfortunate that we are thus precluded from acquiring any knowledge of +the development of a people as to whom the soundest among conflicting +conjectures seems to be that, coming originally from Brittany, they +preserved the purity of the Celtic race through periods when in other +offshoots of the same stock its characteristics were being obliterated +by the processes of crossing and absorption. + +If early local records had existed they would hardly have failed to +have given minute details of the convulsion of nature which resulted in +the destruction by the sea of the forest lands on the northern and +western sides of the island, and in the separation of tracts of +considerable magnitude from the mainland. Geologists are agreed in +assigning to this event the date of March, 709, when great inundations +occurred in the Bay of Avranches on the French coast; they are not +equally unanimous as to the cause, but science now rejects the theory of +a raising of the sea-level and that of a general subsidence of the +island. The most reasonable explanation appears to be that the +overpowering force of a tidal wave suddenly swept away barriers whose +resistance had been for ages surely though imperceptibly diminishing, +and that the districts thus left unprotected proved to be below the +sea-level--owing, as regards the forests, to gradual subsidence easily +explicable in the case of undrained, swampy soil; and, as regards the +rocks, to the fact that the newly exposed surface consisted of +accumulations of already disintegrated deposits. + +It is unquestionable that before the inroad of the sea the inlet in the +south-west of the island known as Rocquaine Bay was enclosed by two +arms, the northern of which terminated in the point of Lihou; on which +still stand the ruins of an old priory, while the southern ended in the +Hanois rocks, on which a lighthouse has been erected. Lihou is at +present an island, accessible only at low water by a narrow causeway; +the Hanois is entirely cut off from the shore, but it is a noteworthy +fact that the signs of old cart-ruts are visible at spring tides, and +that an iron hook was recently discovered attached to a submerged rock +which had apparently served as a gatepost; besides these proofs of the +existence of roads now lying under the waves, it is said that an old +order for the repair of Hanois roads is still extant. That Vazon and the +Braye du Valle were the sites of forests is indisputable, though the +former is now a sandy bay into which the Atlantic flows without +hindrance, and the latter, reclaimed within the present century by an +enterprising governor, formed for centuries a channel of the sea by +which the Clos du Valle, on which the Vale Church stands, was separated +from the mainland. A stratum of peat extends over the whole arm of the +Braye, while as regards Vazon there is the remarkable evidence of an +occurrence which took place in December, 1847. A strong westerly gale, +blowing into the bay concurrently with a low spring tide, broke up the +bed of peat and wood underlying the sand and gravel, and lifted it up +like an ice-floe; it was then carried landwards by the force of the +waves. The inhabitants flocked to the spot, and the phenomenon was +carefully inspected by scientific observers. Trunks of full-sized trees +were seen, accompanied by meadow plants and roots of rushes and weeds, +surrounded by those of grasses and mosses; the perfect state of the +trees showed that they had been long buried under the sand. Some of the +trees and boughs were at first mistaken for wreckage, but the fishermen +soon discovered their error and loaded their carts with the treasure +locally known as "gorban." Subsequent researches have shown that acorns +and hazel-nuts, teeth of horses and hogs, also pottery and instruments +of the same character as those found in the cromlechs, exist among the +Vazon peat deposits. There is therefore abundant evidence that the +legends relating to the former inhabitants of the forest are based on +traditions resting on an historical foundation. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I.--TRADITION + + CHAPTER II.--SUPERSTITION + + CHAPTER III.--DEVOTION + + CHAPTER IV.--REVELATION + + CHAPTER V.--AFFLICTION + + CHAPTER VI.--CONSOLATION + + CHAPTER VII.--ANNIHILATION + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +TRADITION. + + "What can he tell that treads thy shore? + No legend of thine olden time, + No theme on which the mind might soar + High as thine own in days of yore." + + _The Giaour_.--BYRON + + +In the beginning of the eighth century Guernsey was a favoured spot. +Around, over the Continent and the British Isles, had swept successive +conquests with their grim train of sufferings for the conquered; but +these storm-clouds had not burst over the island. The shocks which +preceded the fall of the Roman Empire had not been felt, nor had the +throes which inaugurated the birth of Frankish rule in Gaul and Saxon +supremacy in Britain, disturbed the prevailing tranquillity. Occasional +descents of pirates, Northmen from Scandinavian homes or Southmen from +the Iberian peninsula, had hitherto had a beneficial effect by keeping +alive the martial spirit and the vigilance necessary for self-defence. +In the third century three Roman ships had been driven on shore and +lost; the legionaries who escaped had established themselves in the +island, having indeed for the moment no alternative. When their +commander succeeded in communicating with Gaul he suggested a permanent +occupation, being secretly influenced by tales of mineral wealth to +which he had lent an ear. Disillusioned and recalled, he was followed by +a sybarite, whose palate was tickled by banquets of fish of which he +wrote in raptures to his friends at Capri and Brindisi. This excellent +man, dying of apoplexy in his bath, was replaced by a rough soldier, who +lost no time in procuring the evacuation of a post where he saw with a +glance that troops were uselessly locked up. From this time nothing had +been heard of the Romans; their occupation had lasted forty years, and +in another forty the only physical traces of it remaining were a camp at +Jerbourg, the nearly obliterated tessellated pavement and fragments of +wall belonging to the sybarite's villa, which occupied the site in the +King's Mills Valley where the Moulin de Haut now stands, the pond in +the Grand Mare in which the voluptuary had reared the carp over which, +dressed with sauces the secret of which died with him, he dwelt lovingly +when stretched on his triclinium, and the basins at Port Grat in which +he stored his treasured mullet and succulent oysters. The islanders were +of one mind in speeding the parting guests, but the generation which saw +them go were better men than their fathers who had trembled at the +landing of the iron-thewed demi-gods. Compelled to work as slaves, they +had learnt much from their masters; a knowledge of agriculture and of +the cultivation of the grape, the substitution of good weapons and +implements of husbandry for those of their Celtic ancestors, improved +dwellings, and some insight into military discipline,--these were +substantial benefits which raised them in some respects above their +Continental and British neighbours, among whom patriotism had, on the +disappearance of the civilization of the Romans, revived the more +congenial barbarism. Arrivals among them of Christian monks, scanty at +first, more frequent since the landing of S. Augustine in Britain, had +also had a certain effect. The progress of conversion was, however, +slow; the people were bigoted, and the good fathers were compelled, as +in Brittany, to content themselves with a few genuine converts, wisely +endeavouring rather to leaven the mass by grafting Christian truths on +the old superstitions than to court certain defeat, possible expulsion +or massacre, by striving to overthrow at once all the symbols of +heathenism. + +The island was larger in extent than it is at present, as, in addition +to the Vale district, the islet of Lihou, Vazon Bay, and the rock group +known as the Hanois formed part of it. It is with the events that +altered this configuration that the following legend deals. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +SUPERSTITION. + + "Awestruck, the much-admiring crowd + Before the virgin vision bowed, + Gaz'd with an ever-new delight, + And caught fresh virtues at the sight." + + EDWARD MOORE'S _Fables_. + + +On the 24th of June, in the year 708, merry crowds were thronging to +Vazon Forest. It was a lovely spot. The other portions of the island +were bare and somewhat rugged; here the humidity of the soil favoured +the growth of fine, vigorous timber. On the low ground flourished oak +and sycamore, torn and bent near the shore where the trees met the force +of the Atlantic gales, growing freely and with rich verdure where better +protected. On the higher slopes were massed beech, birch, and the sweet +chestnut which was even then domesticated in the island. Glades, +bursting with a wealth of flowers nurtured by the mildness of the +climate, penetrated the wood in every direction; streams bubbling up +from springs, and forming little cascades where their course was checked +by granite boulders, lent an additional charm. Towards the centre of the +forest these streams united to form a lake, or rather a natural moat, +surrounding an island in the midst of which stood a gigantic oak. This +was the only tree on the island; round it, at even distances, were +placed twelve stones, beyond which a meadow glittering with varied hues +extended to the surrounding water. + +It was to this island that the holiday-makers were wending their way: +young men and maidens, and such elders as had vigour enough to traverse +the rough tracks leading from the interior. They were a small race, +lithe and active, with strong black hair and dark eyes now twinkling +with merriment They poured over the wooden bridges into the precincts of +the towering oak, under which the elders seated themselves with the +musicians, the younger people streaming off to the clear ground between +the stones and the water. + +When all were assembled the music struck up at a signal from an elder. +The instruments were akin to the goat-skin pipes of Lower Brittany; the +music wild, weird, appealing to the passion if not melodious to the ear. +At any rate the effect was inspiriting. First, the men danced, the +maidens seating themselves round the dancers and chanting the following +words, to the rhythm of which they swayed their bodies gracefully:-- + + "Mille Sarrazins, mille Sarmates, + Un jour nous avons tues. + Mille, mille, mille, mille, mille Perses, + Nous cherchons a present." + +The dance, footed to this truculent chant, had no warlike features; +beginning with a march, or rather a tripping walk, it ended with feats +in which each dancer defied his neighbour to out-spring him; nor did the +vocalists appear to expect representations of strife and doughty deeds. +The words, Roman by origin, as is clear from the allusion to the +Persians, had been adapted to a native air by the conquerors, and had +been left by them as a legacy to the islanders. Next, the maidens trod a +measure, the men standing round and applauding; the dance was quiet and +soft, consisting principally of graceful movements of the body as if the +dancers were getting themselves into training for greater efforts; in +this case the dancers themselves chanted words suitable to the music. +This ended, there was a pause before the principal business of the day +began, the dance in which both sexes joined, to be followed by the +bestowal of a wreath on the loveliest of the maidens. + +During the pause it was evident that an unusual incident had occurred. +The best-looking of the girls were pouting, the attention of the youths +was distracted. During the latter part of the dance the applause had +been intermittent; towards the close it had almost ceased. The elders, +looking about under their shaggy eyebrows, had not been long in +discovering the cause, and when they had found it allowed their +attention to wander also. + +The disturbing element was, indeed, not far to seek. Close to one of the +bridges was seated a maiden, unknown to all of them, but lovely enough +to hold the glance of old and young. Unlike the natives she was tall and +fair; masses of golden hair encircled her oval face and clustered over +her blue eyes. Who was she? Whence came she? None could answer. By +degrees some of the boldest of the youths approached, but their bluff +manners seemed to displease her; though unaccustomed to rebuffs they +retired. One, however, among them fared differently. Jean Letocq, a +member of the family to which the hero belonged who near this very spot +discovered the sleeping troops of the Grand Sarrazin, was admired and +beloved both by youths and maidens. First in every sport, having shown +courage and resource in times of peril both by sea and land, tender of +glance and gentle of tongue, he held a pre-eminence which none disputed, +and which was above the reach of envy. The fair stranger, from his first +glance at her, had fascinated, enthralled him: his eyes fastened +greedily on her every movement; he noted well her reception of those who +had addressed her, and when he approached he came, bare-headed, with a +low obeisance and a deferential air. He seated himself by her in +silence, after murmuring a few words of welcome to the feast, to which +she made no answer. Presently he spoke again, softly and courteously; +she replied without constraint, speaking his own language fluently, +though with a foreign accent. The ice once broken their talk rippled on, +as is the wont of light words, brightly uttered. Jean drank in each +gentle phrase, watched every graceful gesture; his heart bounded when +she carelessly smiled. But he lost not his daring: when the musicians +again struck up he boldly asked her to join in the dance. + +She was not offended, her look showed no displeasure, but she refused; +he renewed his request; suddenly a change came over her face, she looked +rapidly round as though searching for some one who was not present, a +flash came into her eyes, she sprang to her feet. "Why should I not +dance!" she said; "they are merry, why should I alone be sad!" She let +him lead her into the ring. If she had been enchanting when seated, what +was her power when she moved! She was a model of grace and loveliness; +the contrast of her colouring to that of her neighbours inspired the +superstitious with some terror, but made the braver spirits gaze more +curiously, indifferent to the half-concealed anger and affected disdain +of their partners. Every moment she gained more hearts, though she let +her eyes rest only on those of Jean. After the dance was over she seated +herself in her former position; the women then, according to custom, +retired outside the stone circle, while the men clustered round the oak +to award the prize. The ceremony had up to this day been looked on as a +pure formality: for the last two summers the wreath had been by common +consent placed on the brows of Suzanne Falla, and none who woke that +morning had doubted that it would rest there again before night. But now +the men's heads were turned; there was commotion both outside and inside +the circle; then a hush, as the old men rose in their places and the +young men formed a lane to the tree. Jean stepped out, and taking the +stranger by the hand, led her to where a white-haired veteran stood with +the wreath in his hand. The next moment it was placed on her brows, and +then all voices burst into a song of triumph, which rang to the remotest +glades of the forest. Suzanne did not join in the song; her little heart +was breaking; all the passion of her hot nature was roused; she felt +herself unfairly, unjustly, treated; insulted on the very day that was +to have crowned her pride. She could not control herself, nor could she +accept her defeat: she stamped her foot on the ground, and poured out a +torrent of objurgation, accusing Jean of treachery, demanding to know +whence he had produced her rival, appealing to the elders to revise the +judgment. Then, suddenly ceasing, as she saw by the looks of those +around her that while in some her fate created pity, in others it gave +rise to amusement, in many to the pleasure which poor human nature felt +then as now in a friend's misfortune, her mood altered: she turned and, +rapidly leaving the crowd, crossed one of the bridges. Hastening her +steps, but not watching them, she tripped over the straggling root of a +yew, and fell, her temple striking a sharp boulder, one of many cropping +up in the forest. Poor girl! in one moment passion and pride had flown; +she lay senseless, blood streaming from the wound. + +A quick revulsion of feeling swept through the impressionable people. +Her departure had been watched, the fall observed, and the serious +nature of the accident was soon known; all hurried to the spot where she +lay, full of sympathy and distress. Jean, perhaps not altogether +unremorseful, was among the first to proffer aid; the stranger, left +alone, took off the wreath and placed it on one of the stones of the +circle, by which she stood contemplating the scene. + +The blow, struck deep into the temple, was beyond any ordinary means of +cure; life indeed seemed to be ebbing away. "Send for Marie!" the cry +sprang from many mouths: "send for Marie the wise woman! she alone can +save her!" Three or four youths ran hastily off. + +"Wish ye for Marie Torode's body or her spirit?" said a harsh female +voice; "her body ye can have! but what avail closed eyes and rigid +limbs? Her spirit, tossed by the whirling death-blast, is beyond your +reach!" + +The speaker, on whom all eyes turned, was an aged woman of unusual +height; her snow-white hair was confined by a metal circlet, her eyes +were keen and searching, her gestures imperious; her dress was simple +and would have been rude but for the quaintly ornamented silver girdle +that bound her waist, and the massive bracelets on her arms. Like the +girl she was seen for the first time; her almost supernatural appearance +inspired wonder and awe. She bent over the prostrate form: "Marie said +with her last breath," she muttered to herself, "that ere the oaks were +green again the sweetest maidens in the island would be in her embrace, +but she cannot summon this one now! her vext spirit has not yet the +power!" + +She examined the wound, and raising herself said, "No human hand can +save her. The Spirits alone have power: those Spirits who prolong human +life regardless of human ills; but they must be besought, and who will +care to beseech them?" + +"Prayers may save her," answered a stern voice, "but not prayers to +devils! The Holy Virgin should we beseech, by whom all pure maidens are +beloved. She will save her if it be God's will, or receive her into her +bosom if it be decreed that she should die." + +The words were those of Father Austin, one of the monks of Lihou, +distinguished by his sanctity and the austerity of his habits. He was +spare, as one who lived hardly; his grey eyes had a dreamy look +betokening much inward contemplation, though they could be keen enough +when, as now, the man was roused; there was a gentleness about his mouth +which showed a nature filled with love and sympathy. + +The woman drew herself to her full stature, and turned on him a defiant +look. + +"Gods or devils!" she said in a ringing tone--"which you will! What can +an immured anchorite know of the vast mysteries of the wind-borne +spirits? Is this child to live or die? My gods can save her; if yours +can, let them take her! She is nought to me." + +"When Elijah wrestled with the prophets of Baal, where did victory +rest?" said the priest, and he too stooped down and inspected the wound. +"She is past cure," he said, rising sadly; "it remains but to pray for +her soul." + +At this critical moment an agonizing shriek rang through the forest. The +same runners who had sped to Marie Torode's cottage and had learnt there +that the wise woman had in truth passed away, had brought back with +them Suzanne's mother, who threw herself on her child's body +endeavouring to staunch the blood, and to restore animation. Finding her +efforts vain, she had listened anxiously to the words that had passed, +and on hearing the priest's sentence of doom she burst into frantic +grief and supplication. Turning to each disputant she cried--"Save her! +save her young life! I suckled her, I reared her, I love her!--oh, how I +love her!--do not let her die!" + +"She can be saved!" curtly responded the stranger. The priest was +silent. A murmur arose. Austin, who had trained himself to study those +among whom he laboured, saw that the feeling was rising strongly against +him. His antagonist saw it also, and pressed her victory. + +"Yes!" she said scornfully, "it is a small matter for my Gods to save +her, but they will not be besought while this bald-pate obtrudes his +presence. Let him leave us!" + +The priest was much perplexed. He knew the skill of these lonely women; +secretly he had faith in their power of witchcraft, though attributing +it to the direct agency of Satan. He thought it not impossible that +there was truth in the boast; and his heart was wrung with the mother's +grief. On the other hand, the public defeat was a sore trial; but it was +clear to him that for the present at least the analogy of Elijah's +struggle was imperfect: he must wait, and meanwhile bear his +discomfiture with meekness. He prepared to retire. The victor was not, +however, even now satisfied. "Take with you," she said, "yon idol that +defaces the sacred oak!" + +The good fathers, following their usual practice of associating emblems +of heathen with those of Christian worship, in the hope of gradually +diverting the reverence to the latter without giving to the former a +ruder shock than could be endured, had suspended a small cross on the +oak, hoping eventually to carve the tree itself into a sacred emblem; it +was to this that the woman was pointing with a sneer. + +But this time she had made a blunder. Father Austin turned to the +crucifix and his strength and fire returned. Taking it from the tree, +reverently kissing it and holding it aloft, he said solemnly--"Let my +brothers and sisters come with me! We will pray apart, where no profane +words can reach us. Perchance our prayers may be granted!" Not a few of +the hearers followed him; sufficient indeed to make an imposing +procession: the triumph of the Evil One was at least dimmed. + +But his adversary did not appear to notice their departure. She gave a +sharp glance in the direction of the oak, and the now discrowned girl +was quickly at her side. Receiving some rapid instructions, the latter +disappeared into the wood, and shortly returned with some herbs, which +she passed to her companion; she then resumed her position by the stone. +The old woman placed some leaves, which she selected, on the wound: the +bleeding at once ceased; squeezing juice from the herbs, she applied an +ointment made from it; then, opening a phial attached to her waist-belt, +she poured some drops of liquid into the girl's mouth, gently parting +her lips. This done, she stood erect and began an incantation, or rather +a supplication, in an unknown tongue. As she proceeded her form became +rigid, her eye gleamed, her arms, the hands clenched, were raised above +her head. The sun flashed on the circlet, glittered on the embossed +girdle: on the right arm was a heavy bracelet, composed of a golden +serpent winding in weird folds round a human bone; the head was towards +the wearer's wrist, and the jewelled eyes which, being of large size, +must have been formed of rare stones, glowed and shot fire as the red +beams struck on them through the branches. It seemed that a forked +tongue darted in and out, but this may have been imagined by the heated +fancies of the bystanders. The prayer ended; the stillness of death +rested a moment on man and nature; then a wild gust of wind, striking +the oak without any preliminary warning, bent and snapped the upper +branches, and crashed inland through the swaying forest. The watchers +saw the colour return to the cheeks of the wounded girl, who opened her +eyes and sate up. "Take her home," said the sorceress, now quite +composed, to the mother; "she is yours again!--till Marie calls her!" +she added in a low voice to herself. The happy mother, shedding tears of +joy, but in vain attempting to get her thanks accepted, obeyed the +injunction. + +As she and her friends disappeared, the old woman, turning to the awed +people who seemed more than ever disposed to look on her as a +supernatural being, said sternly--"Why linger you here? Are you +unmindful of your duties? See you not how the shadows lengthen?" These +words produced a magical effect: the deep emotions by which the mass had +been recently swayed were swiftly replaced by equally profound feelings +of a different nature, as cloud succeeds cloud in a storm-swept sky. + +And now a singular scene was enacted. A procession was formed, headed by +the old men, bare-headed; the musicians followed, behind whom walked +with solemn step the younger members of the community. This procession, +emerging from the western border of the forest, slowly climbed the +slopes of the Rocque du Guet, and arriving at the summit bent its way +seaward, halting at the edge of the precipitous cliff. + +The sun was nearing the horizon. The scene was one of unsurpassed +loveliness. Behind lay the central and southern portions of the island, +hushed as if their primaeval rocks were still tenantless. The outlines +of the isles of Herm and Jethou were visible, but already sinking into +the shades of evening. On the left the bold bluffs of L'Eree and Lihou, +on the right the rugged masses of the Grandes and the Grosses Rocques, +the Gros Commet, the Grande and Petite Fourque, lay in sharpened +outline, the lapping waves already assuming a grey tint. These masses +formed the framework of a picture which embraced a boundless wealth of +colour, an infinite depth of softness. Straight from the sun shot out +across Cobo Bay a joyous river of gold, so bright that eye could ill +bear to face its glow; here and there in its course stood out +quaintly-shaped rocks, some drenched with the fulness of the glorious +bath, others catching now and again a sprinkling shower. On each side of +the river the sea, clear to its depths where alternate sand and rock +made a tangle of capriciously mingled light and shade; its surface, here +blue as the still waters of the Grotta Azzurra, there green as the +olive, here again red-brown as Carthaginian marble, lay waveless, as +with a sense that the beauty was too perfect to be disturbed. Suddenly +the scene was changed; the lustrous outflow was swiftly drawn in and +absorbed; a grey hue swept over the darkening surface; in the distance +the round, blood-coloured, orb hung above the expectant ocean. + +Then all assembled fell on their knees. The music gave out sharp +plaintive notes which were answered by the voices of men and women in +short, wailing, as it were inquiring, rhythm; this continued till the +sun was on the point of disappearance, when music and voices together +burst into a sad chant, seemingly of farewell; the kneeling people +extending their hands seaward with an appealing gesture. One figure only +was erect; on the projecting boulder, which is still so conspicuous a +feature of the Rocque du Guet, stood the sorceress, her arms also +outstretched, her figure, firm, erect, sharply outlined, such as +Turner's mind conceived when he sketched the Last Man. + +Father Austin contemplated the scene from a distance. By his side was +his favourite convert, Jean Letocq. + +"Strange!" he said, placing his hand on his companion's shoulder. "Your +race are not sun-worshippers. Never, except on this day of the year, do +they show this feeling; but who that saw them to-day would doubt that +they are so! Is it that from old times their intense love of nature has +led them to show in this way their sadness at its decay? or do they by +mourning over the close of the sun's longest day symbolize their +recognition of the inevitable end of the longest life of man? I cannot +tell. But, blind as this worship is, it is better than that of the work +of man's hands. By God's will your countrymen may be led from kneeling +to the created to mount the ladder till they bend the knee only to the +Creator. It may be well, too, that their chosen object of veneration is +the only object in nature which dies but to rise again. Thus may they be +led to the comprehension of the great truth of the resurrection. But +Satan," he added with warmth, "must be wrestled with and cast down, +specially when he takes the forms of temptation which he has assumed +to-day: those of power and beauty. Prayer and fasting are sorely +needed." + +For once his pupil was not altogether docile. "Thou hast taught me, +father," he replied, "the lesson of charity. This old woman is sinful, +her error is deep, but may she not be converted and saved?" + +"The devils can never regain Paradise," replied the priest sternly. "Arm +thyself, Jean, against their wiles, in which I fear thou art already +entangled. The two forms we have to-day seen are but human in seeming: +demons surely lurked beneath." + +Jean was now in open rebellion. "Nay, good father," he said decisively, +"the maiden was no fiend; if her companion be an imp of darkness, as +well she may, be it my task to rescue her from the evil snare into which +she has fallen!" He had indeed a vivid recollection of the soft, human +hand to which he had ventured to give a gentle pressure when he had +assisted in placing the wreath on the fair, marble, brow, and had no +doubt of the girl's womanhood. As he spoke he vanished from the side of +the priest, who, seeing the two objects of his pious aversion entering +the darkening glades of the wood, was at no loss to divine the cause of +his disappearance. The holy father shook his head, and sighed deeply. He +was accustomed to disappointments, but this day his path had to an +unusual extent been beset with thorns. His faith was unshaken, and he +humbly laid the fault on his own shoulders, promising further privations +to his already sorely afflicted body. Meanwhile he descended the hill, +directing his course to Lihou. Pausing on his way through the forest to +replace the cross on the oak, he saw Jean, walking slowly homewards, his +listless step showing that his quest had failed. The Evil One had, he +thought, for the time at least, forborne to press his advantage. Further +off he heard the scattered voices of the dispersing throng. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +DEVOTION. + + "There glides a step through the foliage thick, + And her cheek grows pale and her heart beats quick, + There whispers a voice through the rustling leaves, + And her blush returns, and her bosom heaves; + A moment more--and they shall meet. + 'Tis past--her lover's at her feet." + + _Parasina_.--BYRON. + + +After visiting all the accessible parts of the island Jean satisfied +himself that it was useless to search further in them for traces of the +strangers. Persons so remarkable could not, it was clear, conceal +themselves from the knowledge of the inhabitants. He must therefore +either admit that the monk's surmise was correct, or must search in +quarters hitherto unexplored. Though his rejection of the former +alternative was a foregone conclusion, his adoption of the latter was a +remarkable proof of the strength of his passion. There was only one +district unexplored, and that was practically unapproachable. + +Early in the sixth century some piratical vessels had entered Rocquaine +Bay in a shattered condition; the crews succeeded in landing, but the +ships, for seagoing purposes, were beyond repair. The pirates penetrated +inland, driving out the inhabitants from Torteval and some of the +adjoining valleys. Here they settled; and being skilled in hunting and +fishing, having a fair knowledge of husbandry, and finding the position +peculiarly adapted for their marauding pursuits, throve and prospered: +so much so that when, some years afterwards, they had an opportunity of +leaving, the majority elected to remain. Their descendants had continued +to occupy the same district. Who they were, whether pure Northmen or of +some mixed race, it would be idle to conjecture: they were originally +put down by the islanders as Sarrazins, that being the name under which +the simple people classed all pirates; the strangers, however, resented +this description, and had consequently come to be spoken of as Les +Voizins, a definition to which no exception could be taken. Hardy and +warlike, quick of temper and rough of speech, they had an undisputed +ascendancy over the natives, to whom, though dangerous if provoked, they +had often given powerful aid in times of peril. On the whole they made +not bad neighbours, but a condition was imposed by them the violation +of which was never forgiven: no native was permitted, under any pretext, +to enter their territory; death was the sure fate of an intruder found +in Rocquaine Bay or setting foot in the Voizin hills or valleys. +Whatever may have been the cause of this regulation the result had been +to keep the race as pure as it was on the day of the first landing. + +Now it was in the Terre des Voizins that Jean had resolved to seek his +beloved, and his resolution was unalterable. He knew the danger; he +wished to avoid death if possible; he meant to employ to the full the +resources at his command; foolhardy as his enterprise seemed it was long +and carefully planned. He knew that in the summer evenings it was the +custom of the Voizin women to visit the sunny shores of the bay: this he +had seen from Lihou; could he then succeed in landing unperceived, and +in concealing himself in one of the many clefts of the rocks, he felt +sure that if the well-known form were there he would descry it; what +would follow afterwards was a question which had taken many fantastic +shapes in his imagination, none of which had assumed a definite form. + +Towards the close of July the conditions were favourable for his +attempt. In the night a strong tide would be running into the bay; the +wind was south-westerly, the moon set early. He prepared to start. He +had selected a small and light boat, which would travel fast under his +powerful strokes, and might be so handled as not to attract attention; +in it he had stored provisions which would last for a few days and a +small cask of fresh water. Towards evening he shaped his course for +Lihou. + +He had seen but little of the monk since the day of the feast, but he +was yearning to see him now. His love for the man, his reverence for the +truths he taught, his thought of his own future if he lost his life in +his rash expedition, all urged him to seek a parting interview. + +The brothers received him affectionately and bade him join their frugal +meal. The monks were five in number: they had been six, but one had +recently been drowned while returning from a pious mission to Herm. Jean +knew them all; they were honest, God-fearing men, trustful and truthful. +If their reasoning powers were not great, their faith was unswerving. +Their life was a prolonged asceticism, and they had fair reason to +expect that martyrdom would be their earthly crown. + +The only exceptional feature of the repast was the appearance of one who +had never yet been seated there in Jean's presence; this guest was the +hermit who dwelt on the extreme point, against which the Atlantic waves +dashed in their fiercest fury. The recluse did not seem to cultivate the +duty of abstemiousness, but he maintained silence. Jean could not +forbear furtively scanning his appearance, which was indeed remarkable. +He would have been of large stature in any country; compared with the +natives his proportions were gigantic. His broad shoulders and muscular +arms betokened enormous strength; his hair and beard were fair; his blue +eyes had a clear, frank, expression; there was firmness of purpose in +his massive jaw; he seemed between forty and fifty, and would have been +strikingly handsome but for three deep scars which totally marred the +expression of his features. As Jean eyed him he returned the compliment, +but the meal was soon over and the youth accompanied Father Austin to +his cell. + +There a long and sleepless night was passed by both. The monk in vain +endeavoured to combat Jean's resolution; he argued, prayed, indeed +threatened, but without effect. Finding his efforts hopeless he +abandoned them, and endeavoured to fortify his charge against the +influence of the spell under which he believed him to have fallen. Then +the young man was again the pupil; he listened humbly and reverently to +the repetition of the great truths which the father strove to rivet on +his mind, and joined earnestly in the prayers for truth and constancy. +As daylight broke, and he at length laid himself down to rest, his +latest vision was that of the good man kneeling by him with that rapt +look of contemplation which seemed to foreshadow his immortality. + +Jean slept profoundly for some hours. When night began to fall he +received Austin's blessing, no further reference being made to his +expedition, and when the moon was on the eve of disappearance he +launched his boat. As he rounded Lihou point another boat shot out, the +occupant of which hailed him. Recognizing the hermit, Jean paused. "You +steer wrong," said the giant, speaking with an accent which at once +reminded his hearer of that of the maiden; "your course is to the rising +sun." "I go where I will," replied Jean, nettled at this unlooked-for +interruption. "Youth," answered the other, "I have watched thee and wish +thee well! rush not heedlessly to certain death!" "Stay me not!" +resolutely answered Jean, wondering at the interest taken in him by this +strange being. "Thou knowest not!" said the hermit sternly; "it is not +only from death I wish to save thee, but from worse than death; I tell +thee I--" He checked himself, as if fearful of saying too much, and bent +his eyes searchingly into those of Jean, who murmured simply, "I am +resolved." "Then God help thee and speed thee!" said the giant. Glancing +into the boat he saw one of the curved and pierced shells then, as now, +used by Guernsey seamen as signal-horns: pointing to it he said, "If in +peril, where a blast may be heard on Lihou, sound the horn twice: it is +a poor hope but may serve thee!" He was gone. + +Jean paddled into the dreaded bay; the moon had now sunk and he was +further favoured by a slight mist. Knowing the tides from infancy, he +worked his way noiselessly till he approached where the Voizin fleet +lay, then laid himself down and let the current take him. He passed +several boats in safety; as far as he could judge, from the observations +he had taken from Lihou, he was nearly past the anchorage when a crash, +succeeded by a grating sound, warned him of danger. A curse, followed by +an ejaculation of surprise and pleasure, enlightened him as to the +nature of the collision: he was in contact with one of the anchored +vessels. "Odin is good!" cried a voice; "ha! a skiff drifted from a +wrecked vessel! and all eyes but mine sleeping!" The speaker threw over +a small anchor and grappled the boat. Jean was prepared; without a +moment's hesitation he cut the anchor-rope: his craft drifted onwards, +leaving the fisherman grumbling at the rottenness of his tackle. He +offered a short prayer of gratitude, and in a few minutes ventured +cautiously to resume his oars. He heard the breaking of the waves, but +seamanship on the unknown and indistinct coast was useless. Two sharp +blows, striking the boat in rapid succession, told him that he had +touched a submerged rock; the strong tide carried him off it, but the +water poured in through a gaping rent. He was now, however, on a sandy +bottom: he sprang out, pulled the boat up as far as possible, and sat +down to wait for light. + +The first break of dawn showed him his position: he was facing +northward; he was therefore on the Hanois arm of the bay. Fortune had +indeed been kind to him, for he had drifted into a small cleft sheltered +by precipitous rocks, a place where concealment was fairly possible, as +it was accessible only by land at the lowest tides. He examined his +store of provisions, which was uninjured; storing it among the rocks he +rested till the sun sank. He then cautiously climbed the cliff, and +looked on the scene revealed by the moonlight. Seawards stood a rough +round tower; no other building was visible on the point, which seemed +deserted. The loneliness gave him courage; when the moon set, the night +being clear, he explored further and satisfied himself that there were +no human beings, except the occupants of the tower, living on these +rocks. He retired to his hiding-place to rest; before dawn he again +ascended and concealed himself among the bracken and brambles which +formed the only available shelter. During the whole day he saw but one +person, an elderly woman, whose dark features and bright kerchief showed +her to be of southern or gipsy origin, and who passed backwards and +forwards carrying water to the tower. His examination increased his +confidence; he calculated, by measuring the time occupied by the old +woman in passing with an empty and returning with a full pitcher, that +the spring frequented by her could not be far distant; at night he +found it just beyond the junction of the rocks with the mainland. The +water was cool and fresh, and considerably revived him; he noticed too +that the luxuriant brushwood, nourished by the moisture, offered a good +place for concealment; he returned, removed thither what remained of his +provisions, and ensconced himself in his new retreat. + +In the morning he saw two figures approaching from the tower; one was +the same servant he had seen before, but the other!--his heart throbbed +and leaped, his brain reeled, his eyes gazed hungrily; he could not be, +he was not, mistaken!--the second figure was the heroine of his dreams! +She walked silently. Jean saw that memory had not played him false: her +beauty, her grace, were no freak of his imagination; would the holy +father now say that she was a devil, while thus she moved in her +loveliness, a woman to be loved and worshipped!--a very woman, too! not +above the cares of life! Seating herself by the spring she despatched +her companion on an errand to supply domestic wants, promising to await +her return. + +Jean's principal characteristic was rapid resolution: he reasoned that a +small alarm might make the girl fly; that his chance of retaining her +was an overpowering shock. He stepped boldly out and stood before her. +The maiden sprang quickly to her feet; there was no terror in her face; +she was of true blood; if she was afraid she did not show it; it was +clear she recognized the apparition, but intense surprise, overpowering +other emotions, kept her dumb. Jean had thus the chance of speaking +first, and deftly he used his opportunity. In a few rapid sentences he +told the tale of his search, of his adventures, of his selection of his +hiding-place; then he paused. The maiden was not long in finding words. +There was a flush on her cheek and a tear hanging on her eyelash which +made Jean very happy. "You must go," she said, "but where? Your life is +forfeit! forfeit to the Gods!" She shuddered as she said this. "In +yonder tower lives my mother, on the shore are my people; there is no +escape on either hand! A chance has saved you hitherto; none dare +approach our home without my mother's permission, which is rarely given; +but on this spot they may find you, may seize you, may--!" She stopped, +with an expression of horror, and covered her face with her hands. + +But Jean was not anxious; he was radiant with happiness. He seated +himself and spoke of love, deep passionate love; so gentle was he, so +soft, so courteous, and yet so ardent, that the maiden trembled; when he +dared to take her hand she did not withdraw it. The moment of bliss was +brief; a step was heard. "Hide yourself quickly," she whispered, "Tita +is returning." Jean promptly obeyed the injunction. The old woman +arrived with a well-filled wallet, and looked fondly at her young +mistress. The signs of recent agitation struck her. "What has befallen +thee, Hilda?" she cried anxiously. The girl took her arm and led her +seawards. Jean, watching, could see the start and angry expression of +the older, the coaxing, pleading attitude of the younger woman; he could +satisfy himself that the resistance of the former was gradually being +overcome, and as they returned he saw that the maiden's victory was +indisputable. She summoned Jean, who was inspected by Tita at first with +distrust, then with modified approval. "You must stay here," said the +maiden earnestly, "closely hidden till nightfall; my absence has been +already sufficiently long, and nothing can be done while daylight +lasts." Bidding him farewell she sped with her guardian towards the +tower, while Jean retired to his bushes a prey to fond thoughts and +feverish hopes. + +Before sundown he saw the tall figure of the sorceress wending +landwards. She did not approach the spring. Hilda quickly followed with +her former companion. "We have a long journey," she said, "and short +time: we must start at once." Removing all traces of his lair he obeyed +without hesitation. They ascended the steep cliff. The night was clear, +the moon at this hour was bright and lustrous. "We have three hours," +said the maiden, "ere we leave our guest!"--she looked archly at Jean as +she thus described him--"it should suffice!" They were now on the +heights of Pleinmont; no one was moving, though voices of men and beasts +could be plainly heard in the distance. "They feast to-night to the +Gods," said Hilda; "we need fear only some belated laggard!" The heather +was not yet springing, but Jean could see that gorse was on the bloom, +which he considered a favourable omen: they stepped out bravely on the +short springy turf. Tita's steps were slower than those of the young +pair, who were deaf to her calls for delay. Never to his dying day did +Jean forget that happy night-walk. His soul was poured out in love, and +he knew that his love was returned. He was steeped to the full in joy; +no thought of future cares or perils crossed his mind. They had passed +three or four headlands before the girl halted and waited for her +attendant, who came up muttering to herself and grumbling; compliments +from Jean and caresses from Hilda restored her good humour, and the work +of the evening commenced. "Follow me closely," said the girl; "let your +eye be keen and your step firm: the descent is no child's sport." Jean +looked at the cliff, fitted for the flight of gull or cormorant rather +than the foot of man, still less of gentle maiden: Hilda was already +over the brink: Jean, following, saw that she was on a path no broader +than a goat's track; the difficulties of the descent need not be +described; it was possible for a clear head and practised foot, to the +nervous or the unsteady the attempt must have been fatal. Arrived at +the bottom the climbers found themselves in a small cleft strewn with +huge boulders; the rocks towered high above them. Hilda glanced at the +moon. "We must be quick," said she, showing him some deep caverns in the +rock; "there," she said, "is your home. Here you are safe; my mother +alone knows the secret of these caves. I must mount again; you must +climb with me to mark the path more closely." She sprang to the rock and +commenced to ascend as nimbly as she had come down. Jean saw the +necessity of taking every precaution; he noted carefully each feature of +the track. Arrived at the summit she bade him farewell. She pointed out +a place where Tita would from time to time leave him provisions, and +said that he would find water in the caves; she then tripped quickly +off. Jean did not linger, seeing that if he did so light would fail him +for his return. He crossed the track for the third time, reached the +caves, and slept soundly till dawn. + +When he awoke he inspected his strange retreat. He was in a large hall, +two hundred feet long, and some fifty feet high and broad; this chamber +was entered by a small orifice of no great length, through which he had +passed on the preceding night; it was warm, and dry except where the +stream of which Hilda had spoken trickled through to the sea. It was the +fissure now known as the Creux Mahie, and to which an easy access has +been arranged for the benefit of the curious. Here Jean passed three +months. Hilda frequently visited him, and always kept him supplied with +food; she warned him also when he might safely roam on the cliffs above. +There was no obstacle to her visits, even when they extended to a +considerable length, as the mother seemed always to be satisfied as to +her absences when Tita accompanied her; and the latter, whose +infirmities prevented her from descending, had no means of shortening +the interviews. + +Thus the lovers had opportunity to study each other's characters. The +maiden's pure heart knew no distrust, and Jean was faithful and +chivalrous as Sir Galahad. They spoke not always of love: words were +unnecessary to explain what every look betokened. Jean found her skilled +in strange, mystical, lore, but ignorant of all that sways and rules +mankind. The history of the selfish struggles of human interests and +passions was to her a sealed book. She had been carefully shrouded from +the knowledge of evil; but, in order to protect her in the rough +turbulent little world in which she lived, it had been necessary to keep +her from association with her countrymen, and so she had never mingled +with them except under the charge of her mother, in whose presence the +fiercest were submissive. Jean, therefore, in speaking to her of family +intercourse, of the intermingling of members of the household, of +bright chat with friends, opened up to her views of life of which she +had formed no conception. Then he told her of his own people; described +the three generations living under one roof; depicted the daily round, +the care of the old and the young, the work, the return of the workers +to their wives, sisters, and children, the love of the mothers for their +infants, the reverence for age, the strong mutual affection of husband +and wife, brother and sister. To these descriptions she listened with a +happy smile, the mission of woman dawning on her; and many were the +questions she asked, till she seemed to have mastered the pictures +painted for her. Above all, Jean strained to bring her to the knowledge +of the God of the Christian, for he himself was an earnest, intelligent +disciple. He found her mind clearer than he had expected. Judith (this +he now knew was the mother's name) was a remarkable woman; her mind was +lofty, if darkened. While others were satisfied with the grossness of a +material creed her spirit soared aloft. Her Gods commanded her implicit +faith, her unswerving allegiance. Seated on the storm-clouds, sweeping +through space, they represented to her infinite force. She attributed to +them no love for mankind, which was in her creed rather their plaything, +but she credited them with the will and the power to scatter good and +ill before they claimed the soul of the hero to their fellowship, or +cast into a lower abyss that of the coward or the traitor. She believed +that she saw their giant forms half bending from their vapoury thrones, +and she thought that she read their decrees. Sorceress she may have +been; in those days sorcery was attributed to many who had obtained a +knowledge of laws of nature, then considered occult, now recognized +among the guiding principles from which scientific deductions are drawn. +She believed in the power of magic, which she was universally understood +to possess; but she was no vulgar witch: rather was she a worthy +priestess of her not ignoble deities. The effect upon Hilda's mind of +the teachings of such a woman is easy to conceive. She had been allowed +to know little of the wild orgies of the barbaric feasts offered to the +Gods by her countrymen, of their brutal excesses, of their human +sacrifices: from this knowledge she had been as far as possible +shielded: she knew only of the dim mystic beings, half men, half Gods, +from whose wrath she shrank with terror. To a mind so constituted and +trained the revelation of the story of the infant Christ was a +passionate pleasure. She never tired of listening to the tale of the +birth in the stable of Bethlehem; but she loved not to dwell on the +history of the passion and death, which was at that time beyond her +understanding. She drank in with parted lips all that concerned the Holy +Mother, of whom she was never weary of hearing. Jean had a rude drawing +of the Madonna and Child, given him by Father Austin: the figures had +the angularity and rigidity of Byzantine art, but the artist had +represented his subject with reverence, and no lack of skill, and she +loved to dwell on the pure mother's face, and on the longing look in the +eyes of the Child. She accepted wholly the idea of a God who loved +mankind, of infinite goodness and mercy: if she could not as yet enter +into the subtlety of doctrine she could give that childlike faith which +is the envy of doctrinarians. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +REVELATION. + + "I curse the hand that did the deid, + The heart that thocht the ill, + The feet that bore him wi' sik speid, + The comely youth to kill." + + _Gil Morrice_.--OLD BALLAD. + + +Jean had often expressed his curiosity to see the interior of the tower, +and Hilda had promised to gratify it. On the 25th of October an +opportunity occurred. She informed her lover that on that day a feast of +unusual importance would be held from which none would be absent, and +that her mother would be engaged at it from noon to midnight. On that +day, therefore, he walked freely along the cliffs, and was admitted to +the dwelling. He had unconsciously based his idea of its contents upon +his recollections of the squalid abode of Marie Torode, where human +skulls, skeletons, bones of birds and beasts, dried skins, and other +ghastly objects had been so grouped as to add to the superstitious +feeling inspired by the repulsive appearance of the crone herself. His +astonishment was therefore proportionate when he saw what to his eyes +appeared exceptional luxury. A wooden partition divided the room on the +lower story into two chambers of unequal size: the larger, in which he +stood, was the common dwelling apartment, the other was given over to +Hilda. The upper story, approached by a ladder and also by an external +staircase, was sacred to Judith; Tita occupied some outbuildings. The +sitting-room was hung with rich stuffs of warm and glowing colours; here +and there fitful rays of the sun flickered upon gold brocade and +Oriental embroidery; rugs and mats, which must have been offered for +sale in the bazaars of Egypt and Morocco, were littered about in strange +contrast with the bracken-strewed floor. On the walls were inlaid +breastplates and helmets, pieces of chain armour, swords and daggers of +exquisite workmanship. On shelves stood drinking vessels of rougher +make, but the best that northern craftsmen could produce. The seats were +rude and massive: one of them, placed by a window fronting the setting +sun, was evidently the favourite resting-place of Judith. Above this +seat was a shelf on which lay some of the mysterious scrolls of which +Jean had seen specimens in the possession of the fathers. Instruments of +witchcraft, if such existed, must have been in the upper story: none +were visible. All this splendour was manifestly inconsistent with the +homely taste and abstracted mode of thought of the sorceress. In point +of fact she was hardly aware of its existence. The decorator was Tita, +in whom was the instinct of the connoisseur, supported by no +inconsiderable knowledge to which she had attained in those early years +of which she never could be induced to speak. When a rich prize was +brought into the bay, freighted with a cargo from Asia, Africa, or the +European shores of the Mediterranean, she never failed to attend the +unloading, during which, by the help of cajolery, judicious +depreciation, and other ingenious devices still dear to the virtuoso, +she succeeded in obtaining possession of articles which would have +enraptured a modern collector. Judith was apparently indifferent to a +habit which she looked upon as a caprice of her faithful servant, and +the only evidence of her noticing it was her concentration in her own +apartments of all that related to her personal studies and pursuits. + +It was now Jean's turn to listen and learn, and Hilda's to explain and +instruct. Towards nine o'clock he was preparing to return. He was +indifferent to the darkness, as by this time he knew the track so well +that he crossed it fearlessly at all hours. His hand was on the bolt +when Tita announced in alarm that Judith was returning and was on the +point of entering. Hardly was there time to conceal him behind the +hangings before she appeared. Her countenance was pale and worn, her +tone, as Hilda took off her outer garments was weary and sad. "The +portents were hostile and dangerous," she said; "they foretold woe, +disaster, ruin. Will the mighty ones reveal to me the future? I cannot +tell! But my spirit must commune with them till dawn breaks. Dost hear +them? They call me now!" She held up her finger as a sudden blast rocked +the tower to its foundations. "Aye," she continued more firmly after a +pause, "they will not forget those who are true to them. But this +people! this people!" She hid her face with her hands as if to cover a +painful vision. After a time she rose to her feet and took the girl by +the hand. Leading her to the seat by the window on which she placed +herself, and making her kneel by her side, she said-- + +"Hilda! the chill mist closes round! my life draws to its end! Nay, weep +not, child! were it not for thee I would long ere this have prayed the +gods my masters to remove me from my sojourn among the degenerate sons +of our noble fathers; but I trembled for thy fate, sweet one!" These +last words were almost inexpressibly tender. "I dared not trust thy +slight frame to battle unsheltered with the storm. Now the blast +summoning me is sounded. I cannot much longer disobey, though I may +crave for brief respite. But I have found thee refuge! thou wilt be in +a safe haven. Stay! I must speak while the spirit is on me!" + +"Mother!" sobbed the girl, clasping the old woman's knees. + +"Hilda!" said Judith slowly, "call me no longer by that name! I am not +thy mother; before men only do I call thee daughter. Silence!" she +exclaimed imperatively, as Hilda looked quickly up, doubting whether she +heard aright. "Silence! and listen!" + +"I have loved thee truly, child, and have nurtured thee as a mother +would! and thou art no stranger! the same blood runs in our veins! Yes! +thou art mine! for thy father was my brother. Does not that give thee to +me? Hush! thou shalt hear the tale." + +Hilda's were not the only ears that drank in every word of the following +story. + +"Twenty years ago what a demi-god was Haco! He was a giant, but even men +who feared him loved him. Though brave and strong as Odin himself, his +mind was gentle and kind as a maiden's; first in council, in war, in +manly sports, he ever had an open ear and a helping hand for the +troubled and distressed. He was adored, nay, worshipped, by all. What +wonder then that when he and the proud chief Algar courted the same +maiden, he was preferred! Thou knowest not, Hilda, the mysteries of a +tender heart; may it be long indeed before thy heart is seared by human +passion!" It was fortunate that darkness hid the burning blush which +suffused Hilda's face and neck at this pious wish. Judith +proceeded:--"Thy father wedded and thou wast born. He poured on thy +infant form all the wealth of his great generous heart. Algar nursed his +revenge: he dared not act openly, for our house was as noble as his +own--nay, nobler!" she added haughtily, "but he bided his time. Haco's +tower was near the shore, a pleasant, lovely, spot. One night the news +was borne to me that enemies had landed, and that his dwelling was in +flames; I hurried towards it; I was stopped by armed warriors; Algar's +men, they said, had hastened to the rescue; the chief had ordered that +no women should leave their homes. It was in vain that I urged and +protested. When at last I reached the spot the struggle was said to be +over, and the assailants, beaten off, were declared to have sailed away. +Algar himself came to me with well-assumed grief. He had arrived, he +swore, too late to save. The tower had been fired whilst the inmates +slept, the wife and child had perished; Haco, after performing +incredible feats of valour, had fallen before the strokes of numerous +foes; when he himself had come with a chosen band, while sending the +rest of his forces to other posts which the unforeseen danger might +threaten, nothing remained but to avenge the murder. Why recount the +caitiffs lies? Where were the signs of landing, of hasty re-embarkation? +Where were the dead of the strangers? Thrown into the sea! he said; it +was foul falsehood, and fouler treachery. I found your father's body; he +was smitten and gashed, but nobler than the living. I touched him and +was silent. I knew what none others guessed. I arose. The spirits of the +Gods came over me, and I cursed his slayer. Never had I spoken so +fiercely; men stood and wondered. I prayed the Gods to make the wretch +who had caused my darling's death miserable by land and by sea, by day +and by night, in the field and at the board, loathed by his friends, and +scorned by his foes. The Gods heard my imprecations; as I turned my eyes +skywards they looked from their clouds, wrath kindling on their brows, +and Algar's face was white with fear, his hand trembled and his knee +shook. + +"'We must bury him,' he faltered. + +"'Yea,' said I, 'but in a hero's grave, and after the custom of our +fathers.' + +"There was a murmur of applause. Algar could not refuse. + +"They brought the choicest of the boats, they made the sails bright and +gay, they put in it the dead man's arms, and food to accompany him to +the land of spirits. Then they bound him before the mast, his face +turned seaward. At sundown they towed the boat to deep water, so pierced +her that she might sink slowly under the waves, and then they left the +hero to his rest. I had gone out with them: alone I said to him my last +farewell. But they did not know my secret. They did not guess that I had +ascertained by my art that life was yet in him, that I had poured +between his lips subtle drops which would maintain animation for many +days and nights, during which consciousness might be restored; nor did +they imagine that when I kneeled before him I had stopped the leak by +which the water was to flow into the doomed boat. Algar was now the +deceived; it was a living man, not a corpse, who started on that voyage. +Haco lives still, though where my art cannot tell. I thought that Marie +Torode knew, and sought her on her death-bed to question her, but either +she could not or she would not tell." Hilda's mind was in such confusion +that she could not speak. The old woman continued. "Algar lived on--yes, +lived that he might suffer all the evils with which my curse loaded him, +and died that he might be hurled into the abyss where traitors and +cravens writhe and groan. Enough of him! + +"When I returned to my tower, a figure was crouching before the hearth: +it was Tita, and you were in her arms. The faithful creature, whom your +father had chosen from a band of captives to be your nurse, had, +unperceived, saved your life from the flames. Thenceforward you were my +care. I took your mother's place as best I could. Others knew not your +parentage, nor did they dare to question me. None suspected the truth." + +When she reached this point she bent over the kneeling girl and gave her +a kiss, tender as a mother's if not a mother's kiss; her fingers +caressed the head bowed upon her knees; for a time the silence was only +broken by Hilda's sobs. She then spoke again, this time quickly, +sternly, as if to prevent interruption. + +"I cannot leave thee alone, and I will not! Listen, child, and be +silent! What I now tell thee is beyond thy young understanding: thou +hast but to shape thy will to my bidding: it is for me to launch thy +vessel on its voyage, the Gods will help thy riper judgment to steer its +course! The time has come when thou must wed! I have chosen for thee a +suitor, the chief to whom all thy countrymen bend the knee. Garthmund +claims thee as his bride; ere eight days expire the marriage feast will +be held. He is of noble birth, there is none nobler; he is young and +strong, and should be favoured by the Gods if he prove worthy of them. +He is a fitting bridegroom for Haco's daughter." + +The girl was dazed and trembling. She knew this chief: he answered +Judith's description, but was rough and coarse. Had she not met Jean +she might not have dared to refuse, but now she felt that death would be +more welcome than this marriage. "Spare me, mother!" she said, as if she +had not heard the disclaimer of maternity. "I am too young, too weak." +The old woman pressed her hand on the girl's lips. "We will not speak +further to-night," she said; "thou canst not see Garthmund for three +days, for so long the feast will last. May the Gods protect thee!" She +rose: the fitful moonlight streamed on her gaunt form; she turned and +slowly ascended to her chamber. + +The terrified girl quickly released Jean, who led her from the tower. If +she was broken and trembling he was erect and resolute; no longer the +soft lover, but the prompt man of action. She felt the bracing +influence. "We have three days," he said. "Within that time we must +flee. I will not return to the cave; my task must be to repair the +boat." He mentioned certain articles which he begged her to provide, +pressed her to his breast, and disappeared in the darkness. + +At daylight he examined the little vessel. She was no worse than she had +been, as each incoming tide, reaching the place where she was secured, +had floated her, but the rock had opened a large jagged fissure. Hilda +brought him such materials as she could procure, a log of wood, bark +which she stitched with her own hands, a hatchet and nails. Jean +utilized also the vraick with which the sand was strewn. He worked +without fear of detection, knowing that the whole population was inland; +but the lovers had to rely on themselves alone, for, when there was a +question of flight, Tita was no longer to be trusted. + +On the third day Jean found the boat fairly seaworthy. Hilda felt a +severe pang at leaving Judith, who had not reverted to the subject of +her marriage. Whether her parent or not, she loved her dearly; she felt +also the pain of parting with Tita, but her resolution never swerved. +She had given her heart to Jean; she felt also a presentiment that she +would discover her father; while it was her belief that the parting from +her old associates was but temporary. + +When the sun went down Jean set his sail, meaning to make a rapid dash +across the bay, and seeing no cause for concealing his movements. There +was more swell than he liked for so frail a craft, but wind and tide +were favourable to the enterprise, and the night was exceptionally +bright, the moon being full; this brightness would have been fatal had +the inhabitants been on the alert, but under present circumstances the +pale beams were welcome. Hilda took the helm; she knew every passage in +the labyrinth of submerged rocks, and they were soon in comparatively +open water. Jean then assumed control, wrapping the maiden in his +cloak, for the waves were tossing their spray over the boat as she +heeled over to the breeze. + +They had traversed in safety three-fourths of their course when Jean, +looking seaward, saw a dark sail bearing down on them. One of the pirate +ships, delayed by contrary winds, was hurrying homeward, the crew of +five men hoping to arrive ere the feast was over. Jean's hope that the +boat might not be discovered was soon dispelled: the vessel altered her +course slightly and hailed. Jean made no answer. The pirate was +evidently in no mood to parley; the crew were in a fierce temper, angry +and discontented at the postponement of their arrival. She made a +deliberate attempt to run the boat down. Jean divined her object and, +putting up his helm sharply at the right moment, let her shoot by him +astern; he then resumed his course. A second attempt was clumsier, and +was easily evaded; the assailants were hurried and impatient; nor did +they know the seamanlike qualities of the man with whom they were +dealing. But Jean saw that ultimate escape was hopeless, and this was +equally apparent to Hilda who, however, though pale as death, gave a +firm pressure of the hand in response to his grasp. At this moment an +object glimmered under the youth's feet: stooping down he touched the +shell. The hermit's parting words flashed on his mind: he seized on the +hope of rescue, and sounded two loud and clear blasts. + +The pirates now altered their tactics. Handling their vessel with more +care they succeeded, after two or three unsuccessful attempts, in +ranging alongside and grappling the boat. A man sprung on board and +seized Hilda. "A rare booty!" he cried,--"the Gods repent of their +waywardness." Jean was engaged with those of the crew who had seized the +boat; the man laughingly gave the girl a rough embrace: it was the last +act he had to record before entering the spirit world. Hilda drew from +her bosom one of the daggers which Jean had noticed on the tower walls, +whose blade, still sharp and keen, might have been forged by a Damascus +smith; it struck deep to the heart of the ruffian, who fell lifeless +into the waves. Jean had now freed the craft, but the respite was short: +before she had made much progress she was again captured. The pirates, +furious at the death of their comrade, made a determined onslaught. +Jean, fighting desperately, received from behind a terrific blow which +laid him senseless. But a superstitious feeling made them hesitate +before committing further outrage; they had recognized Hilda, and feared +the consequence of Judith's vengeance if she were injured. There was no +time, however, for delay; the, rude repairs, torn by the trampling feet, +had given way, and the leak had re-opened: the boat was fast sinking. +The pirates cared not for Jean's lifeless body; that might sink or swim; +but they felt they must save the girl whatever might be her future +doom. Even their hearts softened somewhat as they watched her erect in +the sinking boat, her face pallid, her fair hair shining in the +moonlight, but her lips set, her lovely eyes bent tearless on her +prostrate lover, her right hand, holding the blood-stained dagger, +hanging listlessly by her side. + +Watching an opportunity, a stalwart youth seized her from behind and +pinned her arms. The next moment he himself was seized as if he were a +dog, and hurled into the water. The new combatant, whose arrival had so +effectually changed the aspect of affairs, was the hermit, who followed +up his first stroke by another still more decisive. Springing into the +pirate craft, wrenching a weapon from the grasp of the chief of the +assailants, he drove before him the three remaining men, terror-struck +at his sudden and inexplicable appearance, his superhuman size and +strength. One by one he swept them overboard; then grasping a huge +stone, which formed part of the ballast, he dashed it with the full +force of his gigantic strength through the planks of the boat, which at +once began to fill. All this was the work of a few moments. He then +leaped into the skiff, which sank as he swiftly transferred to his own +vessel its two occupants. + +Before another hour was over, Jean, stretched on a pallet, was receiving +the attention of loving hands in a cell of the Lihou monastery. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +AFFLICTION. + + "The race of Thor and Odin + Held their battles by my side, + And the blood of man was mingling + Warmly with my chilly tide." + + _Danube and the Euxine_.--AYTOUN. + + +Father Austin received his pupil's companion with the courtesy due to +her distress, but with much misgiving. After tending his patient, whose +situation was critical, he paced thoughtfully towards the cell in which +he had placed her, revolving in his mind the difficulties of the case. +His amazement was intense when he slowly opened the door. The maiden was +kneeling, her back towards him; before her was the little picture of the +Madonna; she was praying aloud; her words were simple but passionately +pathetic; she threw herself and her lover upon the mercy of the Holy +Mother with a trust so absolute, a confidence so infinite, that the monk +could hardly refrain from tears. How had he been blinded! as he looked +and listened the scales fell from his eyes: he humbly owned his error. + +The noise of his step startled her; she rose and looked at him +inquiringly. "Maiden," he said, answering her appealing look, "his fate +is in the hands of God, whose ears are ever open to the prayers of those +that fear Him." + +Often and often had Jean spoken to her of Father Austin; she loved him +already, but she had yet to fathom the nobleness of his soul. His +single-heartedness and abnegation of self, his tenderness and quick +sympathy (virtues tempering his fierce abhorrence of Paganism), his +stern reprobation of the evil, and his yearning for the good, in the +untutored barbarians among whom he laboured, were gradually revealed in +the discourses which they held daily while Jean lay between life and +death. Reaping and garnering what Jean had sown, he scattered fresh +seed, opening out to her the great history of God in man. Qualities +hitherto unsuspected in her developed; if an apt pupil, she was an +instructive teacher of the wealth of charity and purity that dwells in +an untainted woman's heart. And she had another friend: the hermit +watched over her with touching care and assiduity. He appeared strangely +attracted to her; the holy fathers marvelled to see this rough being, +who had seemed to them an animal to be feared while pitied, caring for +the maiden's comfort with a woman's gentleness: he seemed never weary of +contemplating her, sometimes murmuring to himself as he did so. Any +little delicacy that the island could afford, game, fish, shellfish, was +provided for her by him. Once, thinking her couch hard, he disappeared +and returned bearing, whence none knew, soft stuffs better fitted for +her tender form; on this occasion the whole man seemed transformed, when +he stepped in with a smile in his big frank eyes, and a ruddy glow on +his bronzed scarred cheeks, placed his offering at her feet, and strode +away. Strange, too, to say, Hilda seemed to return the feeling: happy in +the presence of Austin, she was yet with him as the pupil with the +master; but with the recluse she was gentle, affectionate, and even +playful. The monks attempted not to solve the puzzle of the bond that +knitted together the two strange beings; analysis of character troubled +little their saintly minds. + +At length consciousness returned; Jean opened his eyes and recognised +Austin. This was a joyful moment. Quiet was all that was now necessary +to complete the restoration of his health, which could not, however, be +anticipated for a considerable time. The first inquiry of the patient +was for Hilda, and he was allowed to see her; on the next day they were +permitted to interchange a few words, after which Austin explained what +he had already decided. Hilda, he pointed out, could not fitly remain +in Lihou, where she had been allowed to reside only until her lover was +out of danger; the laws of the establishment, which forbade the presence +of women, must now be put in force, but a fitting home had been provided +for her; she would be placed with the Sisters at the Vale; the hermit +would conduct her thither on the following day. The girl bowed to this +decision, sorely as she grieved to leave him she loved; the next morning +they parted, and she embarked with her guardian who, shielding her +lovingly from all harm, placed her, ere nightfall, in her new abode. + +Judith had not discovered the girl's departure till the sun was well up, +when she heard of her absence from the frantic Tita. The old woman's +force of character was colossal; pettinesses, small passions, were +unknown to her. Had her sphere been larger her promptitude of resource, +keenness of perception, resolute look onwards and upwards, solidity of +purpose, and incisive action might have graven her name on the tables of +history. Stagnating in the shallow pools of the unstoried rocks in which +she passed her life, these grand qualities were wasted and perverted. +She lost no time now in recrimination; a few sharp questions enabled her +to judge how far the weakness of affection had played the traitor with +the old woman, whom she left to settle matters with her own conscience. +She saw Garthmund, and told him that, in consequence of the +unsatisfactory augury of the last sacrifice, she had decided to postpone +the marriage. Nor did she appear to notice the indifference with which +the chief, who could not pretend that he ardently loved a bride who was +practically a stranger to him, received the decision. It took her some +time to discover where Hilda had taken refuge; it speaks ill for female +reticence that she discovered it shortly after the girl's removal to the +sisterhood. She satisfied herself that her own people had no suspicion +of the flight, as none of the crew of the belated boat had reached the +shore; and she gathered, from the transfer of the maiden to the convent, +that Father Austin was, on his side, resolved not to make known the +elopement of Garthmund's intended wife. Her paramount wish was to +recover her niece, but she perceived that she must act warily, and must +be ready to deal with the many contingencies which would inevitably +arise during the development of her schemes. Hilda's position under the +immediate protection of the religious communities was a serious +obstacle. Judith believed that against them her magic arts would be of +no avail; she was therefore driven to confine herself to earthly +combinations; but she was in no wise daunted by this difficulty, which +in point of fact cleared her judgment, and assisted her by inducing her +to make the best of the materials at her disposal. The obvious plan for +the recovery of the girl was to induce Garthmund to attack the nunnery, +and drag his bride from it; but to this there were many objections. +Acknowledgment of Hilda's flight would be in itself a confession of +failure. She had promised to produce the girl when she was required; to +seek the chief's assistance to enable her to fulfil the promise would be +a diminution of her prestige, and consequently of her power. Again, it +was by no means certain that the chief who, it has been said, was no +love-sick bridegroom, would consent to undertake the enterprise; nor, if +he did undertake it, was his prospect of success unquestionable, for the +islanders, though not ready listeners to the Christian teaching, would +have united to repel a heathen attack on their teachers whom they +honoured and respected. Judith therefore rejected this expedient, +arranging her plan of operations with remarkable ingenuity. + +Her first aim was to promote ill-feeling between the Voizins and their +neighbours; this part of the campaign was prosecuted with vigour. Cattle +were lost on either side of the boundary; houses were burnt; old wells +ran dry; rumours, mysteriously circulated, spoke of these as no +accidental mishaps; suspicions were whispered; instances of retaliation +followed. At the time when a dangerous feeling was thus growing up a +famine broke out in the Voizin country while the islanders were well +supplied. The hungry Voizin men heard voices in the darkness scoffing +at them, laughter and sneers. When their carts were sent to fetch the +necessaries of life, lynch-pins were loosened; in more than one case the +draught oxen were houghed; the provisions, when received, were mouldy +and unwholesome. At last sickness broke out, with stories of poison; +then the tension became insupportable. The Voizin chief, too proud to go +to his neighbours, summoned them to him; the messenger was murdered. +This assassination, of which the natives denied all knowledge, was met +by prompt reprisals; three Perelle fishermen were hung on the spot where +the body was found. From this date the outbreak of hostilities was but a +question of time. A sternness of purpose ruled in the councils of the +Voizins which frustrated all attempts at conciliation. A little before +Christmas a trivial incident kindled the smouldering flames, and the +hordes, pouring from the Torteval valleys, swept over the districts now +known as the parishes of St. Saviour's and the Catel; the resistance was +tame and ineffectual, sufficient only to give occasion for considerable +slaughter and plunder. The invaders, seeing no reason for returning to +their famine-stricken fastnesses, settled themselves in the enjoyment of +the abundance of the vanquished, who, in their turn, with their +accustomed versatility, submitted patiently, and even cheerfully, to a +yoke which, after the first onslaught was over, pressed lightly; the +Voizins, to whom fighting was a pastime, bearing no malice, and passing +imperceptibly into a genial mood. + +Judith now prepared to develop the next move, the object of which was to +undermine the authority of the monks, and make them vulnerable by +isolation. Derisive hints were dropped respecting the failure of the new +religion to help its votaries in the hour of peril; the victory of the +Voizins was attributed to the superiority of their Gods rather than to +deficiency in courage on the part of their foes: this theory, which was +not unpalatable to those who had been half-hearted in defence of their +homes, was also utilized by the more sober spirits as an argument +wherewith to restrain the more ardent from attempting to renew the +struggle under similar conditions. The observances of the religion of +Thor and Odin, or rather of that debased form of it which prevailed +among this singular people, were celebrated under their more alluring +aspects: frequent feasts and dances captivated the laughter-loving +islanders, who had been tried somewhat severely by the severity of the +_regime_ which Austin had endeavoured to impose since he had seen danger +in his damaging encounter with Judith. After a time it was proclaimed +that none would be permitted to join in the revelries who were enemies +to the Gods who presided at them. This stroke was successful: the +majority openly embraced the creed of their conquerors, and showed the +usual spirit of perverts in exceeding the latter in their zeal to sweep +away all traces of the religion which they had abandoned. The minority +who held true to their faith drew together, a grim and resolute band, +prepared for a bold defence and, if Christ so willed it, for martyrdom. + +It was not Judith's purpose, now that the disruption of the islanders +was effected, to leave time for the Christians to mature plans for +resistance. Garthmund, at her instigation, delivered simultaneous +attacks on Lihou and the Vale; he himself superintending the latter +operation in order that he might see that the sorceress's instructions, +that all in the nunnery were to be made prisoners uninjured, and brought +to her closely veiled, were implicitly obeyed. To the surprise of the +islanders, however, both assaults, though made with spirit and absolute +confidence of success, were completely repulsed; the same result +attended a renewed attack, made two days subsequently with fresh and +increased forces supported by native levies. Garthmund found that in +both places he had before him not only resolute troops, but skilled and +enterprising commanders. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +CONSOLATION. + + "Mother! list a suppliant child! + Ave Maria! + Ave Maria! Stainless styled. + Foul demons of the earth and air, + From this their wonted haunt exiled, + Shall flee before thy presence fair." + + _Lady of the Lake_.--WALTER SCOTT. + + +Jean's recovery after Hilda's departure had been slow and lingering; but +for the unwearied care of the good fathers and of the recluse, aided by +a constitution of no ordinary strength, he must have succumbed to the +terrible injuries which he had received. As, however, the days began to +lengthen, and signs of spring to appear even on the wild rock where he +had taken refuge, his vigour gradually returned. It had been necessary +that he should be protected from excitement; consequently, while +receiving from the hermit regular reports from the Vale, and many a +sweet message from his love which made his heart leap with happiness, +he knew nothing till the beginning of February of the incursion of the +Voizins, and the accompanying events. Since he had been alone, however, +he had dwelt for hours together on the strange story which he had +overheard in the tower, the principal figure of which, while his brain +had been still confused, had been always mingled in his delirium with +the massive form of the hermit. Father Austin, watching him with +anxiety, at length suggested that he should relieve his mind by +repeating the tale to the recluse himself. He readily adopted the +suggestion. His listener, who had been too delicate to question Hilda as +to her antecedents, but who had been burning to learn the explanation of +the striking resemblance of her features to a face which, whether he +waked or slept, ever haunted him, though more often contorted in agony +than wreathed in smiles, heard with impatience the history of Algar's +treachery; but when Jean detailed the escape of Tita and her charge, and +identified the latter with the maiden whom he had rescued, he sprang to +his feet at the risk of plunging his patient into a fresh crisis of +fever, and exclaimed, "May the choicest gifts of heaven be showered on +thee, brave youth! the blessed angels and saints will love thee for this +deed!" He reflected a moment, then turned his eyes full on Jean's face, +"Why should I leave it to Austin to tell thee what he has long known +under the solemn secrecy which binds priest and sinner? Thou shalt know +it from my own lips: I am Haco! Drifted hitherward on that lonely +voyage, I was released by holy men, now saints above, who healed my +wounds and taught me to bury my pride, and to kneel humbly before the +Cross. I never doubted that I was childless as well as wifeless; had I +done so, I should have returned at all risks to claim my own. But she! +Hilda! 'twas her mother's name! this maiden, towards whom my soul went +out in yearning, is my own! yes! my child! If a wild feeling rose when I +watched her I crushed it out, for I thought that I had stifled all human +passions; but now--" He fell on his knees, and hid his face in his +hands, his giant frame convulsed with sobs; but it was evident that he +was controlling himself, and when he rose his rugged face was full of +humanity: youth seemed to have returned to it; under the disfiguring +scars Jean could trace without difficulty the fearless, generous +features of which Judith had spoken with such enthusiasm. Haco warmly +grasped the sick man's hand, and left the cell. + +Father Austin had, it appeared, learnt Judith's story from Hilda, but +this confidence also had been made under the seal of confession. He had +been confirmed in his impression of its accuracy by the tale he had +already heard from Haco, whose strange arrival was still a favourite +topic among the monks, though none of those now in the monastery had +witnessed it. The three men were now able openly to discuss the subject +in its various bearings, but they agreed that the mystery should not be +revealed till peace was restored. + +Haco had from the first foreseen the danger to be apprehended from the +Voizin incursion. The monks were still further surprised to see the +being, whose gentleness had amazed them on Hilda's arrival, now a leader +of men, active, vigorous, inspiring others with the love of life with +which he himself seemed to be animated. Before the attack came Jean was +sufficiently recovered to be able to render efficient assistance; he had +ably seconded Haco in the two encounters, after which he was specially +entrusted with the defence of the Vale. + +Judith was in no degree daunted by temporary failure: her nature +revelled in overcoming opposition; her spirit rose to the occasion. +Garthmund was inclined to be sulky after his second defeat, and might +have abandoned the enterprise had he dared to do so; but fear of the +sorceress kept him firm. For a month the system of blockade was tried, +varied by occasional assaults which, being made with less spirit than +the earlier ones, were easily repulsed. The blockade was not more +successful. Haco had provided ample stores for the small garrison which +he had considered sufficient to protect the promontory of Lihou, +naturally almost impregnable; and the force defending the Vale, camped +chiefly on Lancresse Common, was only nominally blockaded. The sallies, +made from time to time, were ordered more with a view of keeping up the +martial spirit of the men than with that of providing for wants, for the +friendly inhabitants of the eastern side of the island, emboldened by +recent proofs that the dreaded Voizins were not invincible, ran their +boats almost with impunity into the little creeks into which the heavier +craft of the enemy could not follow them. + +Judith hardly noticed these details. Her attention was fixed upon the +key of the position. She knew that a resistance of this description was +altogether contrary to the unwarlike character of the natives; she was +convinced that they were actuated by some abnormal spirit, and that if +the motive power were removed the machine would collapse. She made it +her business to ascertain what the spring was that guided them. All her +art failed in detecting the presence of Haco, perhaps because her +engines were powerless when directed against one of her own blood; but +she easily ascertained that the warriors in the opposing camp looked to +Jean as their leader, that his spirit pervaded all, and that his ardour +to protect his sacred charge filled him with a wondrous power which +astonished even those who from childhood had bent to his unchallenged +primacy. + +Having satisfied herself as to the character of the opposing force, her +next step was to secure Jean's person. This presented no difficulty to +her. A scroll was delivered to the young leader by an unknown messenger, +who at once disappeared. Jean, seeing that the characters were those +which, as he believed, Austin alone was able to trace, took the scroll +to the sister who alone was able to interpret them. What Sister Theresa +read was alarming:--"Hasten! I am grievously sick; my strength fails! I +must see thee without delay." Jean was distressed beyond measure, but +Hilda, whom he hurried to consult, agreed with him that no time must be +lost in obeying the summons; the fact that Haco was at Lihou convinced +them that the father would not have sent for Jean if his case had not +been one of extreme danger. After a hasty farewell and a promise of +speedy return, for his presence with the forces was imperative and he +grudged every hour of absence from his beloved, he set out alone in his +boat. Before an hour had passed he was captured by a flotilla which had +been lying in ambuscade behind the Grandes Rocques, and was a prisoner +in the enemy's camp. + +If Judith had been an ordinary woman she would have been content with +this result, would have executed the prisoner, and have awaited the +submission of his disheartened followers; and she would have failed, +defeated by the indomitable courage and resource of Haco. But it was not +in this clumsy fashion that her genius moulded the materials at her +command. She now controlled, as she believed, the mainspring of the +resistance, which would probably cease with the death of Jean. But her +aim went far beyond the mere submission of her antagonists; she wished +that the blow should be struck in such a manner as to stamp out the +false creed which had held the islanders in thrall, to prove to all +sceptics the powers of her own Gods and the impotence of those of her +opponents, and to commit the recently reconverted islanders so +irretrievably that they could not afterwards backslide. She wished also, +by making an example that would inspire terror, to establish the +undisputed supremacy of her people in the whole island. But, side by +side with these political considerations, were the religious influences +honestly and steadfastly working in her powerful intellect. When she +communed with her Gods she thought of no earthly good or ill: she loved +these strange conceptions, and fixed her whole soul on conciliating +them. It was now her conviction that they were displeased: their +displeasure, awful as she believed it to be, did not terrify her, but it +vexed her to the inmost heart: she feared that they had not been rightly +propitiated, and resolved that the shortcoming must be remedied. + +All her reflections pointed with unerring force to the same conclusion. +She held in her hands the strong frame, the stout heart, the ruling +mind. All were concentrated in Jean Letocq. He, then, must be offered up +as a fitting sacrifice. By such an offering the deities could not fail +to be appeased, and by the death of this man in this fashion all the +natural exigencies of the situation would be satisfied. She never +allowed herself to dwell for one moment on the fact that the victim was +beloved by Hilda. On this point she had armed herself with bars of brass +and triple steel. He might have fooled the girl, but at the thought of +love her heart was ice. + +The sorceress communicated her resolution to Garthmund. The chieftain +exhibited no surprise: he expressed a grim approval of the proposal, +which seemed likely to give an excuse for revelry and to bring the +campaign to a prompt conclusion, and proceeded to make the requisite +arrangements. + +The 30th of March was the day chosen. The forces investing the two +beleaguered positions were ordered to assemble, that on the western side +on the low ground between L'Eree and Lihou, that on the northern under +shelter of the woods of the Braye du Valle, facing the fortifications +thrown up by the defenders. At a given signal, the kindling of a beacon +on the Rocque du Guet, the two hosts were to make simultaneously a +determined assault. The islanders not engaged in these operations, with +the exception of those openly or secretly sympathizing with the +Christians, poured into Vazon Forest, none remaining behind but those +absolutely incapable of conveying themselves or of being conveyed. + +By this time the consternation in the enemy's camp was all that the +sorceress could desire. Jean's capture had been ascertained, and all the +particulars respecting his coming fate were known by means of spies. +Haco shook his head at the proposals of rescue made by spirited youths. +"Success would be hopeless," he said; "failure would be fatal to those +whose lives are precious to us. If he dies we will brace every nerve to +avenge him, but we must be patient, and await their onslaught. Then will +come our turn! then will we spring at their dastard throats! then shall +they drink freely of their own gore!" If the man of the sword thought +the case hopeless, what could the men of the cloister do? They did all +in their power--prayed ceaselessly, fasted, did penance under the +guidance of Father Austin; but nevertheless the fatal morning arrived. + +Hilda knew her lover's danger. When he failed to return, and when Haco, +arriving from Lihou, admitted that he had not been seen at the +monastery, her heart sank; she, better than any of those around her, +knew the stern, implacable patriotism and fanaticism of Judith's +nature; she fully realized the savage dispositions of her countrymen, +their contempt of human life, and their brutal treatment of captives. +She had some conception of their fearful orgies, and she shuddered when +her mind touched, not daring to dwell, on Jean's possible fate. She had +sufficient presence of mind to bear up bravely before Haco, who had no +suspicion that she had a perception of the terrible truth from which +even his rent and seared feelings shrank; nor did she reveal to Father +Austin, during a short visit which he paid her at great risk this inner +serpent which was devouring her young heart. Sister Theresa and her +fellows marvelled at her as on the morning of the fatal day she passed +between them, her eyes rapt in contemplation, her look serene and calm, +though beneath the surface lay a depth of unutterable woe, sinking, +receding, chill as the dark, haunted, bosom of an unfathomable mountain +lake. + +She sought her own cell and begged to be left alone. Then the full heart +burst the bounds imposed by the strong will. She placed before her the +little Madonna, from which she never parted, and fell on her knees. She +prayed till noon, and her prayer continued still; it was not simply a +woman's supplication: her whole essence was poured out before the Holy +Mother, who was the object of her special adoration. This girl had never +known evil: for nineteen years her mind had rippled on, sparkling with +good deeds, little bright thoughts, gentle inspirations sweetly obeyed; +then first streamed in the warm current of human love, followed by the +rapid thrilling rush of the flow of Divine awakening. The little stream +had become a torrent; but one in which every element was pure, for its +component parts were faith in God, trust in man, the will to act, the +power to bear, contentment in joy and resignation in sorrow. Above all, +she had ever before her the words which Austin had told her comprised +the sermon of the universe--"Thy will be done!" Was it possible that, in +the days when miracles were yet wrought, such a prayer at such a time +from such a saint should not be heard? Some three hours had passed after +noon when she felt a sweet languor overspread her. A mist crept before +her eyes, which quickly passed away and was replaced by a radiance +brighter than the sun's rays; her eyes had power however to look aloft, +and she gazed with clasped hands and with loving reverence: the Holy +Virgin herself stood before her, holding in her arms the Blessed Infant; +the Mother looking down with a smile inexpressibly tender and +compassionate, the Child stretching forth its dimpled hand and giving +its blessing. She sank in rapture, the glory too great for her. As the +vision faded she arose, a marvellous strength possessing her. She +stepped forth, and found herself in the midst of a crowd gazing, +horror-stricken, seawards. "Fear nothing," she said with a calm +expression that seemed to permeate the whole assembly like an inner +voice; "he is saved, and you are saved!" The words came opportunely. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +ANNIHILATION. + + "Prophet-like that lone one stood, + With dauntless words and high, + That shook the sere leaves from the wood + As if a storm pass'd by." + + _The Last Man_.--CAMPBELL. + + "So perish the old Gods! + But out of the sea of time + Rises a new land of song, + Fairer than the old." + + _The Seaside and the Fireside_.--LONGFELLOW. + + +Full of evil augury was the morning of this eventful day in Vazon +Forest. There were the same trees, the same glades and streams, as on +the well-remembered Midsummer day of the preceding year; but nature and +man alike were in a different mood. The trees were leafless and +churlish, the glades ragged and colourless; the turbid, dusky streams +bore but small resemblance to the limpid rivulets of June; the native +youths were absent, engaged in military service; the maidens, headed by +Suzanne Falla, had indeed an appearance of mirth, but there was a hollow +ring in the boisterous recklessness of their merriment; the old men +tramped feebly and aimlessly, for the reverence for age had been +transferred to the veterans of the conquerors. The latter also supplied +the musicians; and the clanging of drums and cymbals, with the blast of +horns, replaced the sylvan melody of the aborigines. + +Still there was every sign of festivity. The proceedings began with +dances in which the men, who posed as athletes and warriors, gave +representations of deeds of martial prowess. Then the girls were allowed +to foot their native dances in their own fashion. Dances for both sexes +followed, in which the native maidens found it difficult to conceal +their terror of the rough partners ever ready to become rougher wooers. + +These preliminaries concluded, the business of the day began. Though +this wild race sacrificed human beings, they did not treat their victims +with the coldblooded cruelty of the Druids, who slaughtered them as if +they were oxen or sheep; their custom was to burn their captives; and it +is not for critics, whose pious forefathers kindled the fires of +Smithfield, to assert that their practice was wholly barbarous. In the +present case a pyre, some twelve feet high, was built at the foot of a +huge granite boulder, near the sea-coast: it was constructed of dry +wood, and was drenched with combustible materials. Jean was bound firmly +to a strong hurdle, made of birch stems and withies securely lashed +together. Judith, Garthmund, and the principal elders, placed themselves +under the venerable oak; the people stood at a respectful distance. +Twelve stalwart warriors bore the litter on which the prisoner was +stretched, and placed it on stone trestles planted for the purpose in +the intervening space. Then the priests arrived; twelve old men whose +white locks and beards, and snowy dresses, gave them a venerable +appearance which was soon belied by their performances. + +Halting when they reached the victim, the priests faced the oak, and +chanted a solemn, wailing dirge; this, which might have been a farewell +to the spirit whose departure they were preparing to accelerate, was not +unimpressive. Then one stepped forward whose voice was yet clear and +loud; he passed a warm eulogy on the qualities of the captive, whom he +described in exaggerated phrases as a sage in council, and a hero in +battle, endowing him also with every domestic virtue which seemed in his +eyes worthy of enumeration. This discourse was followed by a warlike +song in honour of Thor and Odin, and it was during the course of this +hymn that it became clear from their rolling eyes and unsteady gait that +the old men were in a state of no ordinary excitement. All night they +had been feasting their deities, and the solemnity had involved deep +potations; now, as the rapid movements of a dance which accompanied the +inspiriting words sent the fumes into their heads, they appeared to be +beside themselves. The bystanders, however, attributing their frenzy to +religious fervour, and not unaccustomed to such manifestations, looked +on unmoved. The music ceased; and the song of triumph gave way to a +hideous scene over which it were painful to dwell. The drunken old men, +with incredible agility, whirled round the prostrate form of Jean. There +was no question now of eulogizing his virtues: he was accused, in +language which seemed devil-born, of every crime, every infamy, of which +the human race is capable; held up to scorn and ignominy, he was cursed +and execrated with a shower of blasphemy and obscenity; a by-stander, +contemplating his calm, clear face, the lips parted in prayer, gleaming +amidst the contorted features of the screaming miscreants, might have +believed him to be already passing, unscathed, through the terrors of +purgatory. + +It is impossible at this day to fathom the mystery of this terrible +relic of some remote superstition. It may have been that the abhorrence +and extinction of evil was roughly typified, or that it was understood +that the death of the victim would, as if he were a scapegoat, cleanse +the worshippers of the sins with which he was thus loaded. It is idle to +grope where all is, and must be, dark; all that can be asserted with +any certainty is that the preliminary eulogy, a more modern practice, +was intended to enhance the value of the offering which they were about +to make to the Gods. + +The warriors now resumed their burden, and a procession was formed +towards the pyre, on which the litter-bearers, mounting by an inclined +plane, placed the doomed youth. Judith ascended the huge boulder, which +was some eight feet higher than the pyre at its foot. The chief and +people grouped themselves round its base. The priests stood ready to +apply the torch when the sorceress gave the signal, and the distant +watchman on the Guct waited in his turn for the first flash of flame to +kindle the beacon which was to set the assailing forces in motion. + +Judith turned to the expectant crowd: her glance was searching, in her +eye was an ineffable look of scorn. "Down on your knees!" she said, +"craven sons, whose sires would blush to own you! You who have steeped +your hearts in pride and boastfulness! Were your fathers slow to draw +the sword and quick to sheathe it? Did they cower by their hearths when +warm blood was being spilt? did they feast when others fought? would +they not have leaped, as the tempest rushes from its caves, to scatter +like the sand those who should have dared to bend the knee to false +Gods, objects of their loathing and derision? Runs this noble blood in +your stagnant veins? From giants ye have become pigmies!" The majestic +contempt with which these words had been delivered had a crushing +effect. She continued her harangue for some time in the same strain. +Every Voizin's head was bowed, every form bent and trembling. The +sorceress then, slowly turning, faced seaward. Her arms assumed the +well-known beseeching attitude, the serpent bracelet glittering fiercely +in the sun. Her voice changed, became softer. "Yet they are my people!" +she continued, "and the last of our race. Ennoble them, great Gods! +quicken their hearts and spare them!" Looking outward with the rapt look +of a prophetess in whom, though torn with tempests of fanaticism and of +passion, human and superhuman, no thought was mean, no sentiment +ignoble, she poured out this her prayer; not for mercy!--her Gods knew +not this attribute; nor could she understand it; if the craven continued +to be a craven she felt he were better dead;--not for peace and +contentment!--to these blessings neither she nor they attached +value;--but for fearlessness and steadfastness of purpose, and also for +courage to die for the truth! there were petitions poured out by this +woman that would have honoured the lips of the champion of any creed. + +The supplication ended, she seemed about to raise her hand to give the +anticipated signal when a look of amazement passed over her features; +she brushed her hand over her eyes and looked again, then folded her +arms and gazed steadily seawards. What she saw might have shattered even +her nerves of iron. At the close of her prayer, which had exactly +coincided with the moment when Hilda stepped from her cell, the bosom of +the sea heaved and rose: a wave, ten feet high, glided, stole as it +were, so gently did it move, into the forest; but so rapidly, that in +one minute every human being except herself and Jean was engulphed. They +were gone, the high-couraged and the craven, the frenzied priest and the +laughing child, with their passions, their hopes, and their fears, +without the faintest note of warning of coming danger! Judith glanced at +Jean, almost contemptuously; he, not having seen what had happened, was +still momentarily expecting the application of the torch. A second wave +crept in, smaller than the former, but overwhelming the pyre. The dazed +warrior on the Guet reported that after this second wave had passed he +saw the tall form still towering on the peak, but that when he looked +again the rock, though still above water, was tenantless; a little later +the granite mass, together with the tops of the tallest trees, lay under +an unruffled surface. + +When the pyre was submerged the litter, to which Jean was attached, +floated off and formed a tolerably secure raft. His life was safe for a +time; but he would have been exposed to a still more ghastly fate from +the swooping sea-birds had he not been able by a supreme effort to +wrest one of his arms from its bands. In speechless wonderment he was +carried seaward by the slowly receding tide. Suddenly his raft was +hailed by a well-known voice. Friendly hands cut the ropes that bound +him, and he was lifted into a boat. The occupant was Haco who, attracted +to the spot when hurrying to the Vale, by the cries of the clustering +gulls, had thus again saved his life. + +The giant pulled vigorously to the point which, now known as the Hommet, +terminates the northern arm of Vazon Bay; there he landed the youth, to +enable him to stretch his cramped limbs, and to clothe him in such +articles as he could spare from his own equipment. A rapid explanation +passed between them. Haco told him how the force investing Lihou had, +when apparently waiting for a signal to move, been overwhelmed by a wave +which cut off the promontory from L'Eree, and had perished to a man. +Jean could tell of nothing but the sudden cessation of the tumult and +the floating of his litter. The minds of both were wandering, burningly +anxious as they were to know what had passed at the Vale. Scaling the +Hommet, they obtained a sufficient view to satisfy them that Lancresse +Common no longer formed a portion of the mainland; an hour afterwards, +entering the Grand Havre, they saw an unbroken channel between that +inlet and St. Sampson's: every trace of the invading host had +disappeared. Jean was soon in Hilda's arms; and the two lovers, with +Haco, spent the remainder of the day in pious thanksgiving to the Holy +Mother by whose special interposition, testified so miraculously to the +maiden, the cause of Christ had triumphed and the parted had been +reunited, when the last gleam of safety seemed to have been +extinguished. + +The next morning Father Austin arrived. Hilda was then made acquainted +with her relationship to Haco, whose tender attentions during her late +troubles had already won her unreserved affection. The news was an +inexpressible joy to her, and it was touching to see how she nestled in +the deep embrace of her father, whose feelings, so long pent up, now at +last found vent. Jean absented himself during the day, but on the +following morning insisted that his nuptials should no longer be +deferred. The same evening, in the little chapel of the nunnery, Austin +bestowed his blessing on a union which had been sanctified by such +special manifestations of Divine approval. + +The readjustment of the shattered organization of the island was +imperative. The inhabitants of the eastern side, and those of the Vale, +had for the most part preserved their lives by their absence from the +forest; the Christian converts who had aided in the struggle were also +safe; with these exceptions the island was practically depopulated. Jean +was elected chief by acclamation. After giving such pressing directions +as immediate exigencies required, he acceded to his wife's ardent wish +to obtain intelligence respecting Judith, and also to ascertain the fate +of Tita. + +The Lihou monks had already reported that all communication was broken +between the Hanois and the shore, but that the tower appeared to be +intact. On an April morning Haco and the young couple sailed across +Rocquaine Bay, and landed close to the tower, which now stood on a +rugged and inhospitable island. The door was opened by Tita, who smiled, +and prattled, and caressed her young mistress like a lap-dog. She +recognised Jean with indifference, but a start, followed by a shudder, +seized her when she observed Haco; her terror, however, seemed to pass +away when he spoke a few soothing words to her. It was evident that a +shock, or a succession of shocks, had unsettled the poor woman's brain. +On the name of Judith being mentioned, she pointed fearfully to the +upper story. Uncertain as to her meaning, Jean cautiously ascended the +ladder, and ascertained that the sorceress was in truth there. After a +consultation it was decided that Haco and Hilda should seek her +presence. + +As father and daughter entered the apartment, they saw the old woman +half-seated, half-lying, on a couch placed close to the window; her +face, which was turned seaward, was haggard, the leanness bringing into +strong relief the handsome chiselling of her profile; the sternness of +her mouth was somewhat relaxed; there was an indication almost of +softness in its corners. Her high spirit had accepted, not resented, +defeat. + +As her eye fell on her two visitors there was no gleam of defiance, no +mark of anger, or even surprise; but, when Haco stood fully revealed +before her, a flash of triumph and pleasure shot into it, kindling every +feature with its glow. "You here, Haco!" she cried, "and with her! The +Gods have relented. You will hold her fast in their worship, and lead +her steps to the land of her sires! I die contented." She fell back +exhausted. "Sister," said the giant, laying his hand softly on her +shoulder, "it is too late; when Algar slew my loved one the Pagan died +in me; I am a servant of the God of the Christians." Hilda awaited +fearfully the result of this announcement, but she knew not the +greatness of the old woman's soul. It was long ere her voice was heard +again. Presently, raising herself, she said, "I would it had been +otherwise; but I have erred, I have misjudged. I thought that your Gods +were false; puny creations of a nerveless brain; but they are strong, I +own their power! It may be that the great ones of old have wearied of +our spiritless race, and abandoned us. So perchance you may be wise to +turn to the new-comers!" Her voice failed her, but as they knelt by her +side her hands wandered over their heads and lingered with a caressing +movement among Hilda's locks. She seemed to have forgotten Jean, whom +she doubtless believed to have been lost in the general calamity. +Suddenly she started up and pointed to a storm-cloud rising rapidly from +the western horizon, assuming a succession of fantastic shapes as it +passed upwards. "Do you not see them?" she cried--"the great, the +glorious ones! they bend from their seats; they smile! see their power! +Their majesty! their locks stream, their swords are half drawn! they +sheathe them, they lean forward, they extend their arms! they beckon!--I +come, I come!" She stretched out her arms with the old familiar gesture +and sank back, having breathed her spirit to the tempest which she loved +so well. + +They buried her on the cliffs of Pleinmont, where a cairn long marked +her resting-place. Tita was taken to the Vale; all attempts to restore +her from the shock which her nerves had received failed till on one +sunny morning Hilda's infant was placed on her knees: when the child +crowed, and smiled at her, the cloud imperceptibly passed away, never to +return. From that time she assumed her regular place in the household. + +Haco abandoned his Lihou cell; his rough readiness of resource, +unfailing good-humour, and skill in managing men, proved invaluable +during the task of the restoration of the broken links of government and +society. + +The labours of Father Austin and his coadjutors did not relax, but their +course lay in smoother waters: if their prospects of martyrdom were +diminished they were more than consoled by the knowledge that they +possessed among them a veritable saint, to whom the Holy Virgin had +vouchsafed the honour of a personal appearance, and that they had been +witnesses of a miraculous interposition, the evidence of which would be +indelible as long as the sea should wash the storm-beaten cliffs of +their beloved island. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Forest of Vazon, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FOREST OF VAZON *** + +***** This file should be named 14501.txt or 14501.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/5/0/14501/ + +Produced by Steven Gibbs and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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