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diff --git a/44247-0.txt b/44247-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc16236 --- /dev/null +++ b/44247-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10534 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44247 *** + +Transcriber's Note: + + Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Inconsistent + spelling, hyphenation, and capitalization (e.g. his grace/Grace) in + the original document have been preserved. + + Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal + signs=. + + + + + WAVERLEY NOVELS + + FORTY-EIGHT VOLUMES + VOLUME XLIV. + + + + + BORDER EDITION + + The Introductory Essays and Notes by ANDREW LANG to this + Edition of the Waverley Novels are Copyright + + [Illustration: KING RENÉ. + Drawn and Etched by R. de Los Rios.] + + + + + ANNE OF GEIERSTEIN + + BY + + SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. + + WITH INTRODUCTORY ESSAY AND NOTES + BY ANDREW LANG + + TEN ETCHINGS + + VOLUME II. + + LONDON + + JOHN C. NIMMO + + 14, KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND + + MDCCCXCIV + + + + + PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. + At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh + + + + +LIST OF ETCHINGS. + +PRINTED BY F. GOULDING, LONDON. + + +VOLUME THE SECOND. + + KING RENÉ. Drawn and Etched by R. de Los Rios + (p. 213) Frontispiece + + THE SECRET TRIBUNAL. Drawn and Etched by R. de + Los Rios To face page 32 + + ARTHUR BEFORE THE QUEEN. Drawn and Etched by + R. de Los Rios 112 + + THE DEFIANCE. Drawn and Etched by R. de Los + Rios 182 + + THE FUNERAL OF THE QUEEN. Drawn and Etched by + R. de Los Rios 288 + + + + + ANNE OF GEIERSTEIN; + OR, + THE MAIDEN OF THE MIST. + + + What! will the aspiring blood of Lancaster + Sink in the ground? + + SHAKSPEARE. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + _1st Carrier._ What, ostler!--a plague on thee, hast never + an eye in thy head? Canst thou not hear? An 'twere not as + good a deed as drink to break the pate of thee, I am a + very villain--Come, and be hanged--Hast thou no faith in + thee? + + _Gadshill._ I pray thee, lend me thy lantern, to see my + gelding in the stable. + + _2d Carrier._ Nay, soft, I pray you--I know a trick worth + two of that. + + _Gadshill._ I prithee lend me thine. + + _3d Carrier._ Ay, when? Canst tell?--Lend thee my lantern, + quotha? Marry, I'll see thee hanged first. + _Henry IV._ + + +The social spirit peculiar to the French nation had already introduced +into the inns of that country the gay and cheerful character of +welcome upon which Erasmus, at a later period, dwells with strong +emphasis, as a contrast to the saturnine and sullen reception which +strangers were apt to meet with at a German caravansera. Philipson +was, therefore, in expectation of being received by the busy, civil, +and talkative host--by the hostess and her daughter, all softness, +coquetry, and glee--the smiling and supple waiter--the officious and +dimpled chambermaid. The better inns in France boast also separate +rooms, where strangers could change or put in order their dress, where +they might sleep without company in their bedroom, and where they +could deposit their baggage in privacy and safety. But all these +luxuries were as yet unknown in Germany; and in Alsace, where the +scene now lies, as well as in the other dependencies of the Empire, +they regarded as effeminacy everything beyond such provisions as were +absolutely necessary for the supply of the wants of travellers; and +even these were coarse and indifferent, and, excepting in the article +of wine, sparingly ministered. + +The Englishman, finding that no one appeared at the gate, began to +make his presence known by calling aloud, and finally by alighting, +and smiting with all his might on the doors of the hostelry for a long +time, without attracting the least attention. At length the head of a +grizzled servitor was thrust out at a small window, who, in a voice +which sounded like that of one displeased at the interruption, rather +than hopeful of advantage from the arrival of a guest, demanded what +he wanted. + +"Is this an inn?" replied Philipson. + +"Yes," bluntly replied the domestic, and was about to withdraw from +the window, when the traveller added,-- + +"And if it be, can I have lodgings?" + +"You may come in," was the short and dry answer. + +"Send some one to take the horses," replied Philipson. + +"No one is at leisure," replied this most repulsive of waiters; "you +must litter down your horses yourself, in the way that likes you +best." + +"Where is the stable?" said the merchant, whose prudence and temper +were scarce proof against this Dutch phlegm. + +The fellow, who seemed as sparing of his words as if, like the +Princess in the fairy tale, he had dropped ducats with each of them, +only pointed to a door in an outer building, more resembling that of a +cellar than of a stable, and, as if weary of the conference, drew in +his head, and shut the window sharply against the guest, as he would +against an importunate beggar. + +Cursing the spirit of independence which left a traveller to his own +resources and exertions, Philipson, making a virtue of necessity, led +the two nags towards the door pointed out as that of the stable, and +was rejoiced at heart to see light glimmering through its chinks. He +entered with his charge into a place very like the dungeon vault of an +ancient castle, rudely fitted up with some racks and mangers. It was +of considerable extent in point of length, and at the lower end two or +three persons were engaged in tying up their horses, dressing them, +and dispensing them their provender. + +This last article was delivered by the ostler, a very old lame man, +who neither put his hand to wisp or curry-comb, but sat weighing forth +hay by the pound, and counting out corn, as it seemed, by the grain, +so anxiously did he bend over his task, by the aid of a blinking light +enclosed within a horn lantern. He did not even turn his head at the +noise which the Englishman made on entering the place with two +additional horses, far less did he seem disposed to give himself the +least trouble, or the stranger the smallest assistance. + +In respect of cleanliness, the stable of Augeas bore no small +resemblance to that of this Alsatian _dorf_, and it would have been an +exploit worthy of Hercules to have restored it to such a state of +cleanliness as would have made it barely decent in the eyes, and +tolerable to the nostrils, of the punctilious Englishman. But this was +a matter which disgusted Philipson himself much more than those of his +party which were principally concerned. They, _videlicet_ the two +horses, seeming perfectly to understand that the rule of the place was +"first come first served," hastened to occupy the empty stalls which +happened to be nearest to them. In this one of them at least was +disappointed, being received by a groom with a blow across the face +with a switch. + +"Take that," said the fellow, "for forcing thyself into the place +taken up for the horses of the Baron of Randelsheim." + +Never in the course of his life had the English merchant more pain to +retain possession of his temper than at that moment. Reflecting, +however, on the discredit of quarrelling with such a man in such a +cause, he contented himself with placing the animal, thus repulsed +from the stall he had chosen, into one next to that of his companion, +to which no one seemed to lay claim. + +The merchant then proceeded, notwithstanding the fatigue of the day, +to pay all that attention to the mute companions of his journey which +they deserve from every traveller who has any share of prudence, to +say nothing of humanity. The unusual degree of trouble which Philipson +took to arrange his horses, although his dress, and much more his +demeanour, seemed to place him above this species of servile labour, +appeared to make an impression even upon the iron insensibility of the +old ostler himself. He showed some alacrity in furnishing the +traveller, who knew the business of a groom so well, with corn, straw, +and hay, though in small quantity, and at exorbitant rates, which were +instantly to be paid; nay, he even went as far as the door of the +stable, that he might point across the court to the well, from which +Philipson was obliged to fetch water with his own hands. The duties of +the stable being finished, the merchant concluded that he had gained +such an interest with the grim master of the horse, as to learn of him +whether he might leave his bales safely in the stable. + +"You may leave them if you will," said the ostler; "but touching their +safety, you will do much more wisely if you take them with you, and +give no temptation to any one by suffering them to pass from under +your own eyes." + +So saying, the man of oats closed his oracular jaws, nor could he be +prevailed upon to unlock them again by any inquiry which his customer +could devise. + +In the course of this cold and comfortless reception, Philipson +recollected the necessity of supporting the character of a prudent and +wary trader, which he had forgotten once before in the course of the +day; and, imitating what he saw the others do, who had been, like +himself, engaged in taking charge of their horses, he took up his +baggage, and removed himself and his property to the inn. Here he was +suffered to enter, rather than admitted, into the general or public +_stube_, or room of entertainment, which, like the ark of the +patriarch, received all ranks without distinction, whether clean or +unclean. + +The _stube_, or stove, of a German inn, derived its name from the +great hypocaust, which is always strongly heated to secure the warmth +of the apartment in which it is placed. There travellers of every age +and description assembled--there their upper garments were +indiscriminately hung up around the stove to dry or to air--and the +guests themselves were seen employed in various acts of ablution or +personal arrangement, which are generally, in modern times, referred +to the privacy of the dressing-room. + +The more refined feelings of the Englishman were disgusted with this +scene, and he was reluctant to mingle in it. For this reason he +inquired for the private retreat of the landlord himself, trusting +that, by some of the arguments powerful among his tribe, he might +obtain separate quarters from the crowd, and a morsel of food, to be +eaten in private. A grey-haired Ganymede, to whom he put the question +where the landlord was, indicated a recess behind the huge stove, +where, veiling his glory in a very dark and extremely hot corner, it +pleased the great man to obscure himself from vulgar gaze. There was +something remarkable about this person. Short, stout, bandylegged, and +consequential, he was in these respects like many brethren of the +profession in all countries. But the countenance of the man, and still +more his manners, differed more from the merry host of France or +England than even the experienced Philipson was prepared to expect. He +knew German customs too well to expect the suppliant and serviceable +qualities of the master of a French inn, or even the more blunt and +frank manners of an English landlord. But such German innkeepers as he +had yet seen, though indeed arbitrary and peremptory in their country +fashions, yet, being humoured in these, they, like tyrants in their +hours of relaxation, dealt kindly with the guests over whom their sway +extended, and mitigated, by jest and jollity, the harshness of their +absolute power. But this man's brow was like a tragic volume, in which +you were as unlikely to find anything of jest or amusement, as in a +hermit's breviary. His answers were short, sudden, and repulsive, and +the air and manner with which they were delivered was as surly as +their tenor; which will appear from the following dialogue betwixt him +and his guest:-- + +"Good host," said Philipson, in the mildest tone he could assume, "I +am fatigued, and far from well--May I request to have a separate +apartment, a cup of wine, and a morsel of food, in my private +chamber?" + +"You may," answered the landlord; but with a look strangely at +variance with the apparent acquiescence which his words naturally +implied. + +"Let me have such accommodation, then, with your earliest +convenience." + +"Soft!" replied the innkeeper. "I have said that you may request these +things, but not that I would grant them. If you would insist on being +served differently from others, it must be at another inn than mine." + +"Well, then," said the traveller, "I will shift without supper for a +night--nay, more, I will be content to pay for a supper which I do +not eat, if you will cause me to be accommodated with a private +apartment." + +"Seignor traveller," said the innkeeper, "every one here must be +accommodated as well as you, since all pay alike. Whoso comes to this +house of entertainment must eat as others eat, drink as others drink, +sit at table with the rest of my guests, and go to bed when the +company have done drinking." + +"All this," said Philipson, humbling himself where anger would have +been ridiculous, "is highly reasonable; and I do not oppose myself to +your laws or customs. But," added he, taking his purse from his +girdle, "sickness craves some privilege; and when the patient is +willing to pay for it, methinks the rigour of your laws may admit of +some mitigation?" + +"I keep an inn, Seignor, and not a hospital. If you remain here, you +shall be served with the same attention as others,--if you are not +willing to do as others do, leave my house and seek another inn." + +On receiving this decisive rebuff, Philipson gave up the contest, and +retired from the _sanctum sanctorum_ of his ungracious host, to await +the arrival of supper, penned up like a bullock in a pound, amongst +the crowded inhabitants of the _stube_. Some of these, exhausted by +fatigue, snored away the interval between their own arrival and that +of the expected repast; others conversed together on the news of the +country, and others again played at dice, or such games as might serve +to consume the time. The company were of various ranks, from those who +were apparently wealthy and well appointed, to some whose garments +and manners indicated that they were but just beyond the grasp of +poverty. + +A begging friar, a man apparently of a gay and pleasant temper, +approached Philipson, and engaged him in conversation. The Englishman +was well enough acquainted with the world to be aware, that whatever +of his character and purpose it was desirable to conceal would be best +hidden under a sociable and open demeanour. He, therefore, received +the friar's approaches graciously, and conversed with him upon the +state of Lorraine, and the interest which the Duke of Burgundy's +attempt to seize that fief into his own hands was likely to create +both in France and Germany. On these subjects, satisfied with hearing +his fellow-traveller's sentiments, Philipson expressed no opinion of +his own, but, after receiving such intelligence as the friar chose to +communicate, preferred rather to talk upon the geography of the +country, the facilities afforded to commerce, and the rules which +obstructed or favoured trade. + +While he was thus engaged in the conversation which seemed most to +belong to his profession, the landlord suddenly entered the room, and, +mounting on the head of an old barrel, glanced his eye slowly and +steadily round the crowded apartment, and when he had completed his +survey, pronounced, in a decisive tone, the double command,--"Shut the +gates! Spread the table!" + +"The Baron St. Antonio be praised!" said the friar. "Our landlord has +given up hope of any more guests to-night, until which blessed time we +might have starved for want of food before he had relieved us. Ay, +here comes the cloth. The old gates of the courtyard are now bolted +fast enough; and when Johann Mengs has once said, 'Shut the gates,' +the stranger may knock on the outside as he will, but we may rest +assured that it shall not be opened to him." + +"Meinherr Mengs maintains strict discipline in his house," said the +Englishman. + +"As absolute as the Duke of Burgundy," answered the friar. "After ten +o'clock, no admittance--the 'seek another inn,' which is before that a +conditional hint, becomes, after the clock has struck, and the +watchmen have begun their rounds, an absolute order of exclusion. He +that is without remains without, and he that is within must, in like +manner, continue there until the gates open at break of day. Till then +the house is almost like a beleaguered citadel, John Mengs its +seneschal"-- + +"And we its captives, good father," said Philipson. "Well, content am +I. A wise traveller must submit to the control of the leaders of the +people when he travels; and I hope a goodly fat potentate, like John +Mengs, will be as clement as his station and dignity admit of." + +While they were talking in this manner, the aged waiter, with many a +weary sigh and many a groan, had drawn out certain boards, by which a +table that stood in the midst of the _stube_ had the capacity of being +extended, so as to contain the company present, and covered it with a +cloth, which was neither distinguished by extreme cleanliness nor +fineness of texture. On this table, when it had been accommodated to +receive the necessary number of guests, a wooden trencher and spoon, +together with a glass drinking-cup, were placed before each, he being +expected to serve himself with his own knife for the other purposes +of the table. As for forks, they were unknown until a much later +period, all the Europeans of that day making the same use of the +fingers to select their morsels and transport them to the mouth which +the Asiatics now practise. + +The board was no sooner arranged than the hungry guests hastened to +occupy their seats around it; for which purpose the sleepers were +awakened, the dicers resigned their game, and the idlers and +politicians broke off their sage debates, in order to secure their +station at the supper-table, and be ready to perform their part in the +interesting solemnity which seemed about to take place. But there is +much between the cup and the lip, and not less sometimes between the +covering of a table and the placing food upon it. The guests sat in +order, each with his knife drawn, already menacing the victuals which +were still subject to the operations of the cook. They had waited, +with various degrees of patience, for full half an hour, when at +length the old attendant before mentioned entered with a pitcher of +thin Moselle wine, so light and so sharp-tasted that Philipson put +down his cup with every tooth in his head set on edge by the slender +portion which he had swallowed. The landlord, John Mengs, who had +assumed a seat somewhat elevated at the head of the table, did not +omit to observe this mark of insubordination, and to animadvert upon +it. + +"The wine likes you not, I think, my master?" said he to the English +merchant. + +"For wine, no," answered Philipson; "but could I see anything +requiring such sauce, I have seldom seen better vinegar." + +This jest, though uttered in the most calm and composed manner, seemed +to drive the innkeeper to fury. + +"Who are you," he exclaimed, "for a foreign pedlar, that ventures to +quarrel with my wine, which has been approved of by so many princes, +dukes, reigning dukes, graves, rhinegraves, counts, barons, and +knights of the Empire, whose shoes you are altogether unworthy even to +clean? Was it not of this wine that the Count Palatine of Nimmersatt +drank six quarts before he ever rose from the blessed chair in which I +now sit?" + +"I doubt it not, mine host," said Philipson; "nor should I think of +scandalising the sobriety of your honourable guest, even if he had +drunken twice the quantity." + +"Silence, thou malicious railer!" said the host; "and let instant +apology be made to me, and the wine which you have calumniated, or I +will instantly command the supper to be postponed till midnight." + +Here there was a general alarm among the guests, all abjuring any part +in the censures of Philipson, and most of them proposing that John +Mengs should avenge himself on the actual culprit by turning him +instantly out of doors, rather than involve so many innocent and +famished persons in the consequences of his guilt. The wine they +pronounced excellent; some two or three even drank their glass out, to +make their words good; and they all offered, if not with lives and +fortunes, at least with hands and feet, to support the ban of the +house against the contumacious Englishman. While petition and +remonstrance were assailing John Mengs on every side, the friar, like +a wise counsellor and a trusty friend, endeavoured to end the feud by +advising Philipson to submit to the host's sovereignty. + +"Humble thyself, my son," he said; "bend the stubbornness of thy heart +before the great lord of the spigot and butt. I speak for the sake of +others as well as my own; for Heaven alone knows how much longer they +or I can endure this extenuating fast!" + +"Worthy guests," said Philipson, "I am grieved to have offended our +respected host, and am so far from objecting to the wine that I will +pay for a double flagon of it, to be served all round to this +honourable company--so, only, they do not ask me to share of it." + +These last words were spoken aside; but the Englishman could not fail +to perceive, from the wry mouths of some of the party who were +possessed of a nicer palate, that they were as much afraid as himself +of a repetition of the acid potation. + +The friar next addressed the company with a proposal that the foreign +merchant, instead of being amerced in a measure of the liquor which he +had scandalised, should be mulcted in an equal quantity of the more +generous wines which were usually produced after the repast had been +concluded. In this mine host, as well as the guests, found their +advantage; and, as Philipson made no objection, the proposal was +unanimously adopted, and John Mengs gave, from his seat of dignity, +the signal for supper to be served. + +The long-expected meal appeared, and there was twice as much time +employed in consuming as there had been in expecting it. The articles +of which the supper consisted, as well as the mode of serving them +up, were as much calculated to try the patience of the company as the +delay which had preceded its appearance. Messes of broth and +vegetables followed in succession, with platters of meat sodden and +roasted, of which each in its turn took a formal course around the +ample table, and was specially subjected to every one in rotation. +Black-puddings, hung beef, dried fish, also made the circuit, with +various condiments, called botargo, caviare, and similar names, +composed of the roes of fish mixed with spices, and the like +preparations, calculated to awaken thirst and encourage deep drinking. +Flagons of wine accompanied these stimulating dainties. The liquor was +so superior in flavour and strength to the ordinary wine which had +awakened so much controversy, that it might be objected to on the +opposite account, being so heady, fiery, and strong, that, in spite of +the rebuffs which his criticism had already procured, Philipson +ventured to ask for some cold water to allay it. + +"You are too difficult to please, sir guest," replied the landlord, +again bending upon the Englishman a stern and offended brow; "if you +find the wine too strong in my house, the secret to allay its strength +is to drink the less. It is indifferent to us whether you drink or +not, so you pay the reckoning of those good fellows who do." And he +laughed a gruff laugh. + +Philipson was about to reply, but the friar, retaining his character +of mediator, plucked him by the cloak, and entreated him to forbear. +"You do not understand the ways of the place," said he; "it is not +here as in the hostelries of England and France, where each guest +calls for what he desires for his own use, and where he pays for what +he has required, and for no more. Here we proceed on a broad principle +of equality and fraternity. No one asks for anything in particular; +but such provisions as the host thinks sufficient are set down before +all indiscriminately; and as with the feast, so is it with the +reckoning. All pay their proportions alike, without reference to the +quantity of wine which one may have swallowed more than another; and +thus the sick and infirm, nay, the female and the child, pay the same +as the hungry peasant and strolling _lanzknecht_." + +"It seems an unequal custom," said Philipson; "but travellers are not +to judge. So that when a reckoning is called, every one, I am to +understand, pays alike?" + +"Such is the rule," said the friar,--"excepting, perhaps, some poor +brother of our own order, whom Our Lady and St. Francis send into such +a scene as this, that good Christians may bestow their alms upon him, +and so make a step on their road to Heaven." + +The first words of this speech were spoken in the open and independent +tone in which the friar had begun the conversation; the last sentence +died away into the professional whine of mendicity proper to the +convent, and at once apprised Philipson at what price he was to pay +for the friar's counsel and mediation. Having thus explained the +custom of the country, good Father Gratian turned to illustrate it by +his example, and, having no objection to the new service of wine on +account of its strength, he seemed well disposed to signalise himself +amongst some stout topers, who, by drinking deeply, appeared +determined to have full pennyworths for their share of the reckoning. +The good wine gradually did its office, and even the host relaxed his +sullen and grim features, and smiled to see the kindling flame of +hilarity catch from one to another, and at length embrace almost all +the numerous guests at the table d'hôte, except a few who were too +temperate to partake deeply of the wine, or too fastidious to enter +into the discussions to which it gave rise. On these the host cast, +from time to time, a sullen and displeased eye. + +Philipson, who was reserved and silent, both in consequence of his +abstinence from the wine-pot and his unwillingness to mix in +conversation with strangers, was looked upon by the landlord as a +defaulter in both particulars; and as he aroused his own sluggish +nature with the fiery wine, Mengs began to throw out obscure hints +about kill-joy, mar-company, spoil-sport, and such like epithets, +which were plainly directed against the Englishman. Philipson replied, +with the utmost equanimity, that he was perfectly sensible that his +spirits did not at this moment render him an agreeable member of a +merry company, and that with the leave of those present he would +withdraw to his sleeping-apartment, and wish them all a good evening, +and continuance to their mirth. + +But this very reasonable proposal, as it might have elsewhere seemed, +contained in it treason against the laws of German compotation. + +"Who are you," said John Mengs, "who presume to leave the table before +the reckoning is called and settled? Sapperment der teufel! we are +not men upon whom such an offence is to be put with impunity! You may +exhibit your polite pranks in Rams-Alley if you will, or in Eastcheap, +or in Smithfield; but it shall not be in John Mengs's Golden Fleece, +nor will I suffer one guest to go to bed to blink out of the +reckoning, and so cheat me and all the rest of my company." + +Philipson looked round, to gather the sentiments of the company, but +saw no encouragement to appeal to their judgment. Indeed, many of them +had little judgment left to appeal to, and those who paid any +attention to the matter at all were some quiet old soakers, who were +already beginning to think of the reckoning, and were disposed to +agree with the host in considering the English merchant as a flincher, +who was determined to evade payment of what might be drunk after he +left the room; so that John Mengs received the applause of the whole +company, when he concluded his triumphant denunciation against +Philipson. + +"Yes, sir, you may withdraw if you please; but, poz element! it shall +not be for this time to seek for another inn, but to the courtyard +shall you go, and no farther, there to make your bed upon the stable +litter; and good enough for the man that will needs be the first to +break up good company." + +"It is well said, my jovial host," said a rich trader from Ratisbon; +"and here are some six of us--more or less--who will stand by you to +maintain the good old customs of Germany; and the--umph--laudable +and--and praiseworthy rules of the Golden Fleece." + +"Nay, be not angry, sir," said Philipson; "yourself and your three +companions, whom the good wine has multiplied into six, shall have +your own way of ordering the matter; and since you will not permit me +to go to bed, I trust that you will take no offence if I fall asleep +in my chair." + +"How say you? what think you, mine host?" said the citizen from +Ratisbon; "may the gentleman, being drunk, as you see he is, since he +cannot tell that three and one make six--I say, may he, being drunk, +sleep in the elbow-chair?" + +This question introduced a contradiction on the part of the host, who +contended that three and one made four, not six; and this again +produced a retort from the Ratisbon trader. Other clamours rose at the +same time, and were at length with difficulty silenced by the stanzas +of a chorus song of mirth and good fellowship, which the friar, now +become somewhat oblivious of the rule of St. Francis, thundered forth +with better good-will than he ever sang a canticle of King David. +Under cover of this tumult, Philipson drew himself a little aside, and +though he felt it impossible to sleep, as he had proposed, was yet +enabled to escape the reproachful glances with which John Mengs +distinguished all those who did not call for wine loudly, and drink it +lustily. His thoughts roamed far from the _stube_ of the Golden +Fleece, and upon matter very different from that which was discussed +around him, when his attention was suddenly recalled by a loud and +continued knocking on the door of the hostelry. + +"What have we here?" said John Mengs, his nose reddening with very +indignation; "who the foul fiend presses on the Golden Fleece at such +an hour, as if he thundered at the door of a bordel? To the turret +window some one--Geoffrey, knave ostler, or thou, old Timothy, tell +the rash man there is no admittance into the Golden Fleece save at +timeous hours." + +The men went as they were directed, and might be heard in the _stube_ +vying with each other in the positive denial which they gave to the +ill-fated guest who was pressing for admission. They returned, +however, to inform their master, that they were unable to overcome the +obstinacy of the stranger, who refused positively to depart until he +had an interview with Mengs himself. + +Wroth was the master of the Golden Fleece at this ill-omened +pertinacity, and his indignation extended, like a fiery exhalation, +from his nose, all over the adjacent regions of his cheeks and brow. +He started from his chair, grasped in his hand a stout stick, which +seemed his ordinary sceptre or leading staff of command, and muttering +something concerning cudgels for the shoulders of fools, and pitchers +of fair or foul water for the drenching of their ears, he marched off +to the window which looked into the court, and left his guests +nodding, winking, and whispering to each other, in full expectation of +hearing the active demonstrations of his wrath. It happened otherwise, +however; for, after the exchange of a few indistinct words, they were +astonished when they heard the noise of the unbolting and unbarring of +the gates of the inn, and presently after the footsteps of men upon +the stairs; and the landlord entering, with an appearance of clumsy +courtesy, prayed those assembled to make room for an honoured guest, +who came, though late, to add to their numbers. A tall dark form +followed, muffled in a travelling-cloak; on laying aside which, +Philipson at once recognised his late fellow-traveller, the Black +Priest of St. Paul's. + +There was in the circumstance itself nothing at all surprising, since +it was natural that a landlord, however coarse and insolent to +ordinary guests, might yet show deference to an ecclesiastic, whether +from his rank in the Church or from his reputation for sanctity. But +what did appear surprising to Philipson was the effect produced by the +entrance of this unexpected guest. He seated himself, without +hesitation, at the highest place of the board, from which John Mengs +had dethroned the aforesaid trader from Ratisbon, notwithstanding his +zeal for ancient German customs, his steady adherence and loyalty to +the Golden Fleece, and his propensity to brimming goblets. The priest +took instant and unscrupulous possession of his seat of honour, after +some negligent reply to the host's unwonted courtesy; when it seemed +that the effect of his long black vestments, in place of the slashed +and flounced coat of his predecessor, as well as of the cold grey eye +with which he slowly reviewed the company, in some degree resembled +that of the fabulous Gorgon, and if it did not literally convert those +who looked upon it into stone, there was yet something petrifying in +the steady unmoved glance with which he seemed to survey them, looking +as if desirous of reading their very inmost souls, and passing from +one to another, as if each upon whom he looked in succession was +unworthy of longer consideration. + +Philipson felt, in his turn, that momentary examination, in which, +however, there mingled nothing that seemed to convey recognition. All +the courage and composure of the Englishman could not prevent an +unpleasant feeling while under this mysterious man's eye, so that he +felt a relief when it passed from him and rested upon another of the +company, who seemed in turn to acknowledge the chilling effects of +that freezing glance. The noise of intoxicated mirth and drunken +disputation, the clamorous argument, and the still more boisterous +laugh, which had been suspended on the priest's entering the +eating-apartment, now, after one or two vain attempts to resume them, +died away, as if the feast had been changed to a funeral, and the +jovial guests had been at once converted into the lugubrious mutes who +attend on such solemnities. One little rosy-faced man, who afterwards +proved to be a tailor from Augsburg, ambitious, perhaps, of showing a +degree of courage not usually supposed consistent with his effeminate +trade, made a bold effort; and yet it was with a timid and restrained +voice that he called on the jovial friar to renew his song. But +whether it was that he did not dare to venture on an uncanonical +pastime in presence of a brother in orders, or whether he had some +other reason for declining the invitation, the merry churchman hung +his head, and shook it with such an expressive air of melancholy, that +the tailor drew back as if he had been detected in cabbaging from a +cardinal's robes, or cribbing the lace of some cope or altar gown. In +short, the revel was hushed into deep silence, and so attentive were +the company to what should arrive next, that the bells of the village +church, striking the first hour after midnight, made the guests start +as if they heard them rung backwards, to announce an assault or +conflagration. The Black Priest, who had taken some slight and hasty +repast, which the host had made no kind of objection to supplying him +with, seemed to think the bells, which announced the service of lauds, +being the first after midnight, a proper signal for breaking up the +party. + +"We have eaten," he said, "that we may support life, let us pray that +we may be fit to meet death; which waits upon life as surely as night +upon day, or the shadow upon the sunbeam, though we know not when or +from whence it is to come upon us." + +The company, as if mechanically, bent their uncovered heads, while the +priest said, with his deep and solemn voice, a Latin prayer, +expressing thanks to God for protection throughout the day, and +entreating for its continuance during the witching hours which were to +pass ere the day again commenced. The hearers bowed their heads in +token of acquiescence in the holy petition; and, when they raised +them, the Black Priest of St. Paul's had followed the host out of the +apartment, probably to that which was destined for his repose. His +absence was no sooner perceived than signs, and nods, and even +whispers were exchanged between the guests; but no one spoke above his +breath, or in such connected manner, as that Philipson could +understand anything distinctly from them. He himself ventured to ask +the friar, who sat near him, observing at the same time the under-tone +which seemed to be fashionable for the moment, whether the worthy +ecclesiastic who had left them was not the Priest of St. Paul's, on +the frontier town of La Ferette. + +"And if you know it is he," said the friar, with a countenance and a +tone from which all signs of intoxication were suddenly banished, +"why do you ask of me?" + +"Because," said the merchant, "I would willingly learn the spell which +so suddenly converted so many merry tipplers into men of sober +manners, and a jovial company into a convent of Carthusian friars?" + +"Friend," said the friar, "thy discourse savoureth mightily of asking +after what thou knowest right well. But I am no such silly duck as to +be taken by a decoy. If thou knowest the Black Priest, thou canst not +be ignorant of the terrors which attend his presence, and that it were +safer to pass a broad jest in the holy House of Loretto than where he +shows himself." + +So saying, and as if desirous of avoiding further discourse, he +withdrew to a distance from Philipson. + +At the same moment the landlord again appeared, and, with more of the +usual manners of a publican than he had hitherto exhibited, commanded +his waiter, Geoffrey, to hand round to the company a sleeping-drink, +or pillow-cup of distilled water, mingled with spices, which was +indeed as good as Philipson himself had ever tasted. John Mengs, in +the meanwhile, with somewhat of more deference, expressed to his +guests a hope that his entertainment had given satisfaction; but this +was in so careless a manner, and he seemed so conscious of deserving +the affirmative which was expressed on all hands, that it became +obvious there was very little humility in proposing the question. The +old man, Timothy, was in the meantime mustering the guests, and +marking with chalk on the bottom of a trencher the reckoning, the +particulars of which were indicated by certain conventional +hieroglyphics, while he showed on another the division of the sum +total among the company, and proceeded to collect an equal share of it +from each. When the fatal trencher, in which each man paid down his +money, approached the jolly friar, his countenance seemed to be +somewhat changed. He cast a piteous look towards Philipson, as the +person from whom he had the most hope of relief; and our merchant, +though displeased with the manner in which he had held back from his +confidence, yet not unwilling in a strange country to incur a little +expense, in the hope of making a useful acquaintance, discharged the +mendicant's score as well as his own. The poor friar paid his thanks +in many a blessing in good German and bad Latin, but the host cut them +short; for, approaching Philipson with a candle in his hand, he +offered his own services to show him where he might sleep, and even +had the condescension to carry his mail, or portmanteau, with his own +landlordly hands. + +"You take too much trouble, mine host," said the merchant, somewhat +surprised at the change in the manner of John Mengs, who had hitherto +contradicted him at every word. + +"I cannot take too much pains for a guest," was the reply, "whom my +venerable friend, the Priest of St. Paul's, hath especially +recommended to my charge." + +He then opened the door of a small bedroom, prepared for the +occupation of a guest, and said to Philipson,--"Here you may rest till +to-morrow at what hour you will, and for as many days more as you +incline. The key will secure your wares against theft or pillage of +any kind. I do not this for every one; for, if my guests were every +one to have a bed to himself, the next thing they would demand might +be a separate table; and then there would be an end of the good old +German customs, and we should be as foppish and frivolous as our +neighbours." + +He placed the portmanteau on the floor, and seemed about to leave the +apartment, when, turning about, he began a sort of apology for the +rudeness of his former behaviour. + +"I trust there is no misunderstanding between us, my worthy guest. You +might as well expect to see one of our bears come aloft and do tricks +like a jackanapes, as one of us stubborn old Germans play the feats of +a French or an Italian host. Yet I pray you to note, that if our +behaviour is rude our charges are honest, and our articles what they +profess to be. We do not expect to make Moselle pass for Rhenish, by +dint of a bow and a grin, nor will we sauce your mess with poison, +like the wily Italian, and call you all the time Illustrissimo and +Magnifico." + +He seemed in these words to have exhausted his rhetoric, for, when +they were spoken, he turned abruptly and left the apartment. + +Philipson was thus deprived of another opportunity to inquire who or +what this ecclesiastic could be, that had exercised such influence on +all who approached him. He felt, indeed, no desire to prolong a +conference with John Mengs, though he had laid aside in such a +considerable degree his rude and repulsive manners; yet he longed to +know who this man could be, who had power with a word to turn aside +the daggers of Alsatian banditti, habituated as they were, like most +borderers, to robbery and pillage, and to change into civility the +proverbial rudeness of a German innkeeper. Such were the reflections +of Philipson, as he doffed his clothes to take his much-needed repose, +after a day of fatigue, danger, and difficulty, on the pallet afforded +by the hospitality of the Golden Fleece, in the Rhein-Thal. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + _Macbeth._ How now, ye secret, black, and midnight hags, + What is't ye do? + + _Witches._ A deed without a name. + _Macbeth._ + + +We have said in the conclusion of the last chapter, that, after a day +of unwonted fatigue and extraordinary excitation, the merchant, +Philipson, naturally expected to forget so many agitating passages in +that deep and profound repose which is at once the consequence and the +cure of extreme exhaustion. But he was no sooner laid on his lowly +pallet than he felt that the bodily machine, over-laboured by so much +exercise, was little disposed to the charms of sleep. The mind had +been too much excited, the body was far too feverish, to suffer him to +partake of needful rest. His anxiety about the safety of his son, his +conjectures concerning the issue of his mission to the Duke of +Burgundy, and a thousand other thoughts which recalled past events, or +speculated on those which were to come, rushed upon his mind like the +waves of a perturbed sea, and prevented all tendency to repose. He had +been in bed about an hour, and sleep had not yet approached his couch, +when he felt that the pallet on which he lay was sinking below him, +and that he was in the act of descending along with it he knew not +whither. The sound of ropes and pulleys was also indistinctly heard, +though every caution had been taken to make them run smooth; and the +traveller, by feeling around him, became sensible that he and the bed +on which he lay had been spread upon a large trap-door, which was +capable of being let down into the vaults, or apartments beneath. + +Philipson felt fear in circumstances so well qualified to produce it; +for how could he hope a safe termination to an adventure which had +begun so strangely? But his apprehensions were those of a brave, +ready-witted man, who, even in the extremity of danger, which appeared +to surround him, preserved his presence of mind. His descent seemed to +be cautiously managed, and he held himself in readiness to start to +his feet and defend himself, as soon as he should be once more upon +firm ground. Although somewhat advanced in years, he was a man of +great personal vigour and activity, and unless taken at advantage, +which no doubt was at present much to be apprehended, he was likely to +make a formidable defence. His plan of resistance, however, had been +anticipated. He no sooner reached the bottom of the vault, down to +which he was lowered, than two men, who had been waiting there till +the operation was completed, laid hands on him from either side, and +forcibly preventing him from starting up as he intended, cast a rope +over his arms, and made him a prisoner as effectually as when he was +in the dungeons of La Ferette. He was obliged, therefore, to remain +passive and unresisting, and await the termination of this formidable +adventure. Secured as he was, he could only turn his head from one +side to the other; and it was with joy that he at length saw lights +twinkle, but they appeared at a great distance from him. + +From the irregular manner in which these scattered lights advanced, +sometimes keeping a straight line, sometimes mixing and crossing each +other, it might be inferred that the subterranean vault in which they +appeared was of very considerable extent. Their number also increased; +and as they collected more together, Philipson could perceive that the +lights proceeded from many torches, borne by men muffled in black +cloaks, like mourners at a funeral, or the Black Friars of St. +Francis's Order, wearing their cowls drawn over their heads, so as to +conceal their features. They appeared anxiously engaged in measuring +off a portion of the apartment; and, while occupied in that +employment, they sang, in the ancient German language, rhymes more +rude than Philipson could well understand, but which may be imitated +thus:-- + + Measurers of good and evil, + Bring the square, the line, the level,-- + Rear the altar, dig the trench, + Blood both stone and ditch shall drench. + Cubits six, from end to end, + Must the fatal bench extend,-- + Cubits six, from side to side, + Judge and culprit must divide. + On the east the Court assembles, + On the west the Accused trembles-- + Answer, brethren, all and one, + Is the ritual rightly done? + +A deep chorus seemed to reply to the question. Many voices joined in +it, as well of persons already in the subterranean vault as of others +who as yet remained without in various galleries and passages which +communicated with it, and whom Philipson now presumed to be very +numerous. The answer chanted ran as follows:-- + + On life and soul, on blood and bone, + One for all, and all for one, + We warrant this is rightly done. + +The original strain was then renewed in the same manner as before-- + + How wears the night?--Doth morning shine + In early radiance on the Rhine? + What music floats upon his tide? + Do birds the tardy morning chide? + Brethren, look out from hill and height, + And answer true, how wears the night? + +The answer was returned, though less loud than at first, and it seemed +that those by whom the reply was given were at a much greater distance +than before; yet the words were distinctly heard. + + The night is old; on Rhine's broad breast + Glance drowsy stars which long to rest. + No beams are twinkling in the east. + There is a voice upon the flood, + The stern still call of blood for blood; + 'Tis time we listen the behest. + +The chorus replied, with many additional voices-- + + Up, then, up! When day's at rest, + 'Tis time that such as we are watchers; + Rise to judgment, brethren, rise! + Vengeance knows not sleepy eyes, + He and night are matchers. + +The nature of the verses soon led Philipson to comprehend that he was +in presence of the Initiated, or the Wise Men; names which were +applied to the celebrated Judges of the Secret Tribunal, which +continued at that period to subsist in Suabia, Franconia, and other +districts of the east of Germany, which was called, perhaps from the +frightful and frequent occurrence of executions by command of those +invisible judges, the Red Land. Philipson had often heard that the +seat of a Free Count, or chief of the Secret Tribunal, was secretly +instituted even on the left bank of the Rhine, and that it maintained +itself in Alsace, with the usual tenacity of those secret societies, +though Duke Charles of Burgundy had expressed a desire to discover and +discourage its influence so far as was possible, without exposing +himself to danger from the thousands of poniards which that mysterious +tribunal could put in activity against his own life;--an awful means +of defence, which for a long time rendered it extremely hazardous for +the sovereigns of Germany, and even the Emperors themselves, to put +down by authority those singular associations. + +So soon as this explanation flashed on the mind of Philipson, it gave +some clue to the character and condition of the Black Priest of St. +Paul's. Supposing him to be a president, or chief official of the +secret association, there was little wonder that he should confide so +much in the inviolability of his terrible office as to propose +vindicating the execution of De Hagenbach; that his presence should +surprise Bartholomew, whom he had power to have judged and executed +upon the spot; and that his mere appearance at supper on the preceding +evening should have appalled the guests; for though everything about +the institution, its proceedings and its officers, was preserved in as +much obscurity as is now practised in free-masonry, yet the secret was +not so absolutely well kept as to prevent certain individuals from +being guessed or hinted at as men initiated and intrusted with high +authority by the Vehme-gericht, or tribunal of the bounds. When such +suspicion attached to an individual, his secret power, and supposed +acquaintance with all guilt, however secret, which was committed +within the society in which he was conversant, made him at once the +dread and hatred of every one who looked on him; and he enjoyed a high +degree of personal respect, on the same terms on which it would have +been yielded to a powerful enchanter, or a dreaded genie. In +conversing with such a person, it was especially necessary to abstain +from all questions alluding, however remotely, to the office which he +bore in the Secret Tribunal; and, indeed, to testify the least +curiosity upon a subject so solemn and mysterious was sure to occasion +some misfortune to the inquisitive person. + +All these things rushed at once upon the mind of the Englishman, who +felt that he had fallen into the hands of an unsparing tribunal, whose +proceedings were so much dreaded by those who resided within the +circle of their power, that the friendless stranger must stand a poor +chance of receiving justice at their hands, whatever might be his +consciousness of innocence. While Philipson made this melancholy +reflection, he resolved, at the same time, not to forsake his own +cause, but defend himself as he best might; conscious as he was that +these terrible and irresponsible judges were nevertheless governed by +certain rules of right and wrong, which formed a check on the rigours +of their extraordinary code. + + [Illustration: THE SECRET TRIBUNAL. + Drawn and Etched by R. de los Rios.] + +He lay, therefore, devising the best means of obviating the present +danger, while the persons whom he beheld glimmered before him, less +like distinct and individual forms than like the phantoms +of a fever, or the phantasmagoria with which a disease of the optic +nerves has been known to people a sick man's chamber. At length they +assembled in the centre of the apartment where they had first +appeared, and seemed to arrange themselves into form and order. A +great number of black torches were successively lighted, and the scene +became distinctly visible. In the centre of the hall, Philipson could +now perceive one of the altars which are sometimes to be found in +ancient subterranean chapels. But we must pause, in order briefly to +describe, not the appearance only, but the nature and constitution, of +this terrible court. + +Behind the altar, which seemed to be the central point, on which all +eyes were bent, there were placed in parallel lines two benches +covered with black cloth. Each was occupied by a number of persons, +who seemed assembled as judges; but those who held the foremost bench +were fewer, and appeared of a rank superior to those who crowded the +seat most remote from the altar. The first seemed to be all men of +some consequence, priests high in their order, knights, or noblemen; +and notwithstanding an appearance of equality which seemed to pervade +this singular institution, much more weight was laid upon their +opinion, or testimonies. They were called Free Knights, Counts, or +whatever title they might bear, while the inferior class of the judges +were only termed Free and worthy Burghers. For it must be observed, +that the Vehmique Institution,[1] which was the name that it commonly +bore, although its power consisted in a wide system of espionage, and +the tyrannical application of force which acted upon it, was yet (so +rude were the ideas of enforcing public law) accounted to confer a +privilege on the country in which it was received, and only freemen +were allowed to experience its influence. Serfs and peasants could not +have a place among the Free Judges, their assessors, or assistants; +for there was in this assembly even some idea of trying the culprit by +his peers. + +Besides the dignitaries who occupied the benches, there were others +who stood around, and seemed to guard the various entrances to the +hall of judgment, or, standing behind the seats on which their +superiors were ranged, looked prepared to execute their commands. +These were members of the order, though not of the highest ranks. +Schöppen is the name generally assigned to them, signifying officials, +or sergeants of the Vehmique court, whose doom they stood sworn to +enforce, through good report and bad report, against their own nearest +and most beloved, as well as in cases of ordinary malefactors. + +The Schöppen, or Scabini, as they were termed in Latin, had another +horrible duty to perform--that, namely, of denouncing to the tribunal +whatever came under their observation, that might be construed as an +offence falling under its cognisance; or, in their language, a crime +against the Vehme. This duty extended to the judges as well as to the +assistants, and was to be discharged without respect of persons; so +that, to know, and wilfully conceal, the guilt of a mother or brother, +inferred, on the part of the unfaithful official, the same penalty as +if he himself had committed the crime which his silence screened from +punishment. Such an institution could only prevail at a time when +ordinary means of justice were excluded by the hand of power, and +when, in order to bring the guilty to punishment, it required all the +influence and authority of such a confederacy. In no other country +than one exposed to every species of feudal tyranny, and deprived of +every ordinary mode of obtaining justice or redress, could such a +system have taken root and flourished. + +We must now return to the brave Englishman, who, though feeling all +the danger he encountered from so tremendous a tribunal, maintained +nevertheless a dignified and unaltered composure. + +The meeting being assembled, a coil of ropes, and a naked sword, the +well-known signals and emblems of Vehmique authority, were deposited +on the altar; where the sword, from its being usually straight, with a +cross handle, was considered as representing the blessed emblem of +Christian Redemption, and the cord as indicating the right of criminal +jurisdiction, and capital punishment. Then the President of the +meeting, who occupied the centre seat on the foremost bench, arose, +and laying his hand on the symbols, pronounced aloud the formula +expressive of the duty of the tribunal, which all the inferior judges +and assistants repeated after him, in deep and hollow murmurs. + +"I swear by the Holy Trinity, to aid and co-operate, without +relaxation, in the things belonging to the Holy Vehme, to defend its +doctrines and institutions against father and mother, brother and +sister, wife and children; against fire, water, earth, and air; +against all that the sun enlightens; against all that the dew +moistens; against all created things of heaven and earth, or the +waters under the earth; and I swear to give information to this holy +judicature, of all that I know to be true, or hear repeated by +credible testimony, which, by the rules of the Holy Vehme, is +deserving of animadversion or punishment; and that I will not cloak, +cover, or conceal, such my knowledge, neither for love, friendship, or +family affection, nor for gold, silver, or precious stones; neither +will I associate with such as are under the sentence of this Sacred +Tribunal, by hinting to a culprit his danger, or advising him to +escape, or aiding and supplying him with counsel, or means to that +effect; neither will I relieve such culprit with fire, clothes, food, +or shelter, though my father should require from me a cup of water in +the heat of summer noon, or my brother should request to sit by my +fire in the bitterest cold night of winter: And further, I vow and +promise to honour this holy association, and do its behests speedily, +faithfully, and firmly, in preference to those of any other tribunal +whatsoever--so help me God, and His holy Evangelists." + +When this oath of office had been taken, the President addressing the +assembly, as men who judge in secret and punish in secret, like the +Deity, desired them to say, why this "child of the cord"[2] lay before +them, bound and helpless. An individual rose from the more remote +bench, and in a voice which, though altered and agitated, Philipson +conceived that he recognised, declared himself the accuser, as bound +by his oath, of the child of the cord, or prisoner, who lay before +them. + +"Bring forward the prisoner," said the President, "duly secured, as is +the order of our secret law; but not with such severity as may +interrupt his attention to the proceedings of the tribunal, or limit +his power of hearing and replying." + +Six of the assistants immediately dragged forward the pallet and +platform of boards on which Philipson lay, and advanced it towards the +foot of the altar. This done, each unsheathed his dagger, while two of +them unloosed the cords by which the merchant's hands were secured, +and admonished him in a whisper, that the slightest attempt to resist +or escape would be the signal to stab him dead. + +"Arise!" said the President; "listen to the charge to be preferred +against you, and believe you shall in us find judges equally just and +inflexible." + +Philipson, carefully avoiding any gesture which might indicate a +desire to escape, raised his body on the lower part of the couch, and +remained seated, clothed as he was in his under-vest and _caleçons_, +or drawers, so as exactly to face the muffled President of the +terrible court. Even in these agitating circumstances, the mind of the +undaunted Englishman remained unshaken, and his eyelid did not quiver, +nor his heart beat quicker, though he seemed, according to the +expression of Scripture, to be a pilgrim in the Valley of the Shadow +of Death, beset by numerous snares, and encompassed by total +darkness, where light was most necessary for safety. + +The President demanded his name, country, and occupation. + +"John Philipson," was the reply; "by birth an Englishman, by +profession a merchant." + +"Have you ever borne any other name and profession?" demanded the +Judge. + +"I have been a soldier, and, like most others, had then a name by +which I was known in war." + +"What was that name?" + +"I laid it aside when I resigned my sword, and I do not desire again +to be known by it. Moreover, I never bore it where your institutions +have weight and authority," answered the Englishman. + +"Know you before whom you stand?" continued the Judge. + +"I may at least guess," replied the merchant. + +"Tell your guess, then," continued the interrogator. "Say who we are, +and wherefore are you before us?" + +"I believe that I am before the Unknown, or Secret Tribunal, which is +called Vehme-gericht." + +"Then are you aware," answered the Judge, "that you would be safer if +you were suspended by the hair over the Abyss of Schaffhausen, or if +you lay below an axe, which a thread of silk alone kept back from the +fall. What have you done to deserve such a fate?" + +"Let those reply by whom I am subjected to it," answered Philipson, +with the same composure as before. + +"Speak, accuser!" said the President, "to the four quarters of +heaven!--To the ears of the free judges of this tribunal, and the +faithful executors of their doom!--And to the face of the child of +the cord, who denies or conceals his guilt, make good the substance of +thine accusation!" + +"Most dreaded," answered the accuser, addressing the President, "this +man hath entered the Sacred Territory, which is called the Red +Land,--a stranger under a disguised name and profession. When he was +yet on the eastern side of the Alps, at Turin, in Lombardy, and +elsewhere, he at various times spoke of the Holy Tribunal in terms of +hatred and contempt, and declared that were he Duke of Burgundy he +would not permit it to extend itself from Westphalia, or Suabia, into +his dominions. Also I charge him, that, nourishing this malevolent +intention against the Holy Tribunal, he who now appears before the +bench as child of the cord has intimated his intention to wait upon +the court of the Duke of Burgundy, and use his influence with him, +which he boasts will prove effectual to stir him up to prohibit the +meetings of the Holy Vehme in his dominions, and to inflict on their +officers, and the executors of their mandates, the punishment due to +robbers and assassins." + +"This is a heavy charge, brother!" said the President of the assembly, +when the accuser ceased speaking. "How do you purpose to make it +good?" + +"According to the tenor of those secret statutes the perusal of which +is prohibited to all but the initiated," answered the accuser. + +"It is well," said the President; "but I ask thee once more, What are +those means of proof? You speak to holy and to initiated ears." + +"I will prove my charge," said the accuser, "by the confession of the +party himself, and by my own oath upon the holy emblems of the Secret +Judgment--that is, the steel and the cord." + +"It is a legitimate offer of proof," said a member of the aristocratic +bench of the assembly; "and it much concerns the safety of the system +to which we are bound by such deep oaths--a system handed down to us +from the most Christian and holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne, for the +conversion of the heathen Saracens, and punishing such of them as +revolted again to their Pagan practices, that such criminals should be +looked to. This Duke Charles of Burgundy hath already crowded his army +with foreigners, whom he can easily employ against this Sacred Court, +more especially with English, a fierce, insular people, wedded to +their own usages, and hating those of every other nation. It is not +unknown to us, that the Duke hath already encouraged opposition to the +officials of the Tribunal in more than one part of his German +dominions; and that in consequence, instead of submitting to their +doom with reverent resignation, children of the cord have been found +bold enough to resist the executioners of the Vehme, striking, +wounding, and even slaying those who have received commission to put +them to death. This contumacy must be put an end to; and if the +accused shall be proved to be one of those by whom such doctrines are +harboured and inculcated, I say let the steel and cord do their work +on him." + +A general murmur seemed to approve what the speaker had said; for all +were conscious that the power of the Tribunal depended much more on +the opinion of its being deeply and firmly rooted in the general +system, than upon any regard or esteem for an institution of which +all felt the severity. It followed, that those of the members who +enjoyed consequence by means of their station in the ranks of the +Vehme saw the necessity of supporting its terrors by occasional +examples of severe punishment; and none could be more readily +sacrificed than an unknown and wandering foreigner. All this rushed +upon Philipson's mind, but did not prevent his making a steady reply +to the accusation. + +"Gentlemen," he said, "good citizens, burgesses, or by whatever other +name you please to be addressed, know, that in my former days I have +stood in as great peril as now, and have never turned my heel to save +my life. Cords and daggers are not calculated to strike terror into +those who have seen swords and lances. My answer to the accusation is, +that I am an Englishman, one of a nation accustomed to yield and to +receive open-handed and equal justice dealt forth in the broad light +of day. I am, however, a traveller, who knows that he has no right to +oppose the rules and laws of other nations because they do not +resemble those of his own. But this caution can only be called for in +lands where the system about which we converse is in full force and +operation. If we speak of the institutions of Germany, being at the +time in France or Spain, we may, without offence to the country in +which they are current, dispute concerning them, as students debate +upon a logical thesis in a university. The accuser objects to me, that +at Turin, or elsewhere in the north of Italy, I spoke with censure of +the institution under which I am now judged. I will not deny that I +remember something of the kind; but it was in consequence of the +question being in a manner forced upon me by two guests with whom I +chanced to find myself at table. I was much and earnestly solicited +for an opinion ere I gave one." + +"And was that opinion," said the presiding Judge, "favourable or +otherwise to the Holy and Secret Vehme-gericht? Let truth rule your +tongue--remember, life is short, judgment is eternal!" + +"I would not save my life at the expense of a falsehood. My opinion +was unfavourable; and I expressed myself thus:--No laws or judicial +proceedings can be just or commendable which exist and operate by +means of a secret combination. I said, that justice could only live +and exist in the open air, and that when she ceased to be public she +degenerated into revenge and hatred. I said, that a system of which +your own jurists have said, _non frater a fratre, non hospes a +hospite, tutus_, was too much adverse to the laws of nature to be +connected with or regulated by those of religion." + +These words were scarcely uttered, when there burst a murmur from the +Judges highly unfavourable to the prisoner,--"He blasphemes the Holy +Vehme--Let his mouth be closed for ever!" + +"Hear me," said the Englishman, "as you will one day wish to be +yourselves heard! I say such were my sentiments, and so I expressed +them--I say also, I had a right to express these opinions, whether +sound or erroneous, in a neutral country, where this Tribunal neither +did, nor could, claim any jurisdiction. My sentiments are still the +same. I would avow them if that sword were at my bosom, or that cord +around my throat. But I deny that I have ever spoken against the +institutions of your Vehme, in a country where it had its course as a +national mode of justice. Far more strongly, if possible, do I +denounce the absurdity of the falsehood, which represents me, a +wandering foreigner, as commissioned to traffic with the Duke of +Burgundy about such high matters, or to form a conspiracy for the +destruction of a system to which so many seem warmly attached. I never +said such a thing, and I never thought it." + +"Accuser," said the presiding Judge, "thou hast heard the +accused--What is thy reply?" + +"The first part of the charge," said the accuser, "he hath confessed +in this high presence--namely, that his foul tongue hath basely +slandered our holy mysteries; for which he deserves that it should be +torn out of his throat. I myself, on my oath of office, will aver, as +use and law is, that the rest of the accusation--namely, that which +taxes him as having entered into machinations for the destruction of +the Vehmique institutions--is as true as those which he has found +himself unable to deny." + +"In justice," said the Englishman, "the accusation, if not made good +by satisfactory proof, ought to be left to the oath of the party +accused, instead of permitting the accuser to establish by his own +deposition the defects in his own charge." + +"Stranger," replied the presiding Judge, "we permit to thy ignorance a +longer and more full defence than consists with our usual forms. Know, +that the right of sitting among these venerable judges confers on the +person of him who enjoys it a sacredness of character which ordinary +men cannot attain to. The oath of one of the initiated must +counterbalance the most solemn asseveration of every one that is not +acquainted with our holy secrets. In the Vehmique court all must be +Vehmique. The averment of the Emperor, he being uninitiated, would not +have so much weight in our counsels as that of one of the meanest of +these officials. The affirmation of the accuser can only be rebutted +by the oath of a member of the same Tribunal, being of superior rank." + +"Then, God be gracious to me, for I have no trust save in Heaven!" +said the Englishman, in solemn accents. "Yet I will not fall without +an effort. I call upon thee thyself, dark spirit, who presidest in +this most deadly assembly--I call upon thyself, to declare on thy +faith and honour, whether thou holdest me guilty of what is thus +boldly averred by this false calumniator--I call upon thee by thy +sacred character--by the name of"---- + +"Hold!" replied the presiding Judge. "The name by which we are known +in open air must not be pronounced in this subterranean +judgment-seat." + +He then proceeded to address the prisoner and the assembly.--"I, being +called on in evidence, declare that the charge against thee is so far +true as it is acknowledged by thyself--namely, that thou hast in other +lands than the Red Soil[3] spoken lightly of this holy institution of +justice. But I believe in my soul, and will bear witness on my honour, +that the rest of the accusation is incredible and false. And this I +swear, holding my hand on the dagger and the cord.--What is your +judgment, my brethren, upon the case which you have investigated?" + +A member of the first-seated and highest class amongst the judges, +muffled like the rest, but the tone of whose voice and the stoop of +whose person announced him to be more advanced in years than the other +two who had before spoken, arose with difficulty, and said with a +trembling voice,-- + +"The child of the cord who is before us has been convicted of folly +and rashness in slandering our holy institution. But he spoke his +folly to ears which had never heard our sacred laws--He has, +therefore, been acquitted, by irrefragable testimony, of combining for +the impotent purpose of undermining our power, or stirring up princes +against our holy association, for which death were too light a +punishment--He hath been foolish, then, but not criminal; and as the +holy laws of the Vehme bear no penalty save that of death, I propose +for judgment that the child of the cord be restored without injury to +society, and to the upper world, having been first duly admonished of +his errors." + +"Child of the cord," said the presiding Judge, "thou hast heard thy +sentence of acquittal. But, as thou desirest to sleep in an unbloody +grave, let me warn thee, that the secrets of this night shall remain +with thee, as a secret not to be communicated to father nor mother, to +spouse, son, or daughter; neither to be spoken aloud nor whispered; to +be told in words or written in characters; to be carved or to be +painted, or to be otherwise communicated, either directly or by +parable and emblem. Obey this behest, and thy life is in surety. Let +thy heart then rejoice within thee, but let it rejoice with trembling. +Never more let thy vanity persuade thee that thou art secure from the +servants and Judges of the Holy Vehme. Though a thousand leagues lie +between thee and the Red Land, and thou speakest in that where our +power is not known; though thou shouldst be sheltered by thy native +island, and defended by thy kindred ocean, yet, even there, I warn +thee to cross thyself when thou dost so much as think of the Holy and +Invisible Tribunal, and to retain thy thoughts within thine own bosom; +for the Avenger may be beside thee, and thou mayst die in thy folly. +Go hence, be wise, and let the fear of the Holy Vehme never pass from +before thine eyes." + +At the concluding words, all the lights were at once extinguished with +a hissing noise. Philipson felt once more the grasp of the hands of +the officials, to which he resigned himself as the safest course. He +was gently prostrated on his pallet-bed, and transported back to the +place from which he had been advanced to the foot of the altar. The +cordage was again applied to the platform, and Philipson was sensible +that his couch rose with him for a few moments, until a slight shock +apprised him that he was again brought to a level with the floor of +the chamber in which he had been lodged on the preceding night, or +rather morning. He pondered over the events that had passed, in which +he was sensible that he owed Heaven thanks for a great deliverance. +Fatigue at length prevailed over anxiety, and he fell into a deep and +profound sleep, from which he was only awakened by returning light. +He resolved on an instant departure from so dangerous a spot, and, +without seeing any one of the household but the old ostler, pursued +his journey to Strasburg, and reached that city without further +accident. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The word Wehme, pronounced Vehme, is of uncertain derivation, but +was always used to intimate this inquisitorial and secret Court. The +members were termed Wissenden, or Initiated, answering to the modern +phrase of Illuminati. Mr. Palgrave seems inclined to derive the word +_Vehme_ from _Ehme_, _i.e._ _Law_, and he is probably right. + +[2] The term _Strick-kind_, or child of the cord, was applied to the +person accused before these awful assemblies. + +[3] The parts of Germany subjected to the operation of the Secret +Tribunal were called, from the blood which it spilt, or from some +other reason (Mr. Palgrave suggests the ground tincture of the ancient +banner of the district), the Red Soil. Westphalia, as the limits of +that country were understood in the Middle Ages, which are +considerably different from the present boundaries, was the principal +theatre of the Vehme. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + Away with these!--True Wisdom's world will be + Within its own creation, or in thine, + Maternal Nature! for who teems like thee + Thus on the banks of thy majestic Rhine? + There Harold gazes on a work divine, + A blending of all beauties, streams, and dells-- + Fruit, foliage, crag, wood, cornfield, mountain, vine, + And chiefless castles breathing stern farewells, + From grey but leafy walls, where ruin greenly dwells. + _Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto III._ + + +When Arthur Philipson left his father, to go on board the bark which +was to waft him across the Rhine, he took but few precautions for his +own subsistence, during a separation of which he calculated the +duration to be very brief. Some necessary change of raiment, and a +very few pieces of gold, were all which he thought it needful to +withdraw from the general stock; the rest of the baggage and money he +left with the sumpter-horse, which he concluded his father might need, +in order to sustain his character as an English trader. Having +embarked with his horse and his slender appointments on board a +fishing-skiff, she instantly raised her temporary mast, spread a sail +across the yard, and, supported by the force of the wind against the +downward power of the current, moved across the river obliquely in the +direction of Kirch-hoff, which, as we have said, lies somewhat lower +on the river than Hans-Kapelle. Their passage was so favourable that +they reached the opposite side in a few minutes, but not until Arthur, +whose eye and thoughts were on the left bank, had seen his father +depart from the Chapel of the Ferry, accompanied by two horsemen, whom +he readily concluded to be the guide Bartholomew, and some chance +traveller who had joined him; but the second of whom was in truth the +Black Priest of St. Paul's, as has been already mentioned. + +This augmentation of his father's company was, he could not but think, +likely to be attended with an increase of his safety, since it was not +probable he would suffer a companion to be forced upon him, and one of +his own choosing might be a protection, in case his guide should prove +treacherous. At any rate, he had to rejoice that he had seen his +father depart in safety from the spot where they had reason to +apprehend some danger awaited him. He resolved, therefore, to make no +stay at Kirch-hoff, but to pursue his way, as fast as possible, +towards Strasburg, and rest, when darkness compelled him to stop, in +one of the _dorfs_, or villages, which were situated on the German +side of the Rhine. At Strasburg, he trusted, with the sanguine spirit +of youth, he might again be able to rejoin his father; and if he could +not altogether subdue his anxiety on their separation, he fondly +nourished the hope that he might meet him in safety. After some short +refreshment and repose afforded to his horse, he lost no time in +proceeding on his journey down the eastern bank of the broad river. + +He was now upon the most interesting side of the Rhine, walled in and +repelled as the river is on that shore by the most romantic cliffs, +now mantled with vegetation of the richest hue, tinged with all the +variegated colours of autumn; now surmounted by fortresses, over whose +gates were displayed the pennons of their proud owners; or studded +with hamlets, where the richness of the soil supplied to the poor +labourer the food of which the oppressive hand of his superior +threatened altogether to deprive him. Every stream which here +contributes its waters to the Rhine winds through its own tributary +dell, and each valley possesses a varying and separate character, some +rich with pastures, cornfields, and vineyards, some frowning with +crags and precipices, and other romantic beauties. + +The principles of taste were not then explained or analysed as they +have been since, in countries where leisure has been found for this +investigation. But the feelings arising from so rich a landscape as is +displayed by the valley of the Rhine must have been the same in every +bosom, from the period when our Englishman took his solitary journey +through it, in doubt and danger, till that in which it heard the +indignant Childe Harold bid a proud farewell to his native country, in +the vain search of a land in which his heart might throb less +fiercely. + +Arthur enjoyed this scene, although the fading daylight began to +remind him that, alone as he was, and travelling with a very valuable +charge, it would be matter of prudence to look out for some place of +rest during the night. Just as he had formed the resolution of +inquiring at the next habitation he should pass, which way he should +follow for this purpose, the road he pursued descended into a +beautiful amphitheatre filled with large trees, which protected from +the heats of summer the delicate and tender herbage of the pasture. A +large brook flowed through it, and joined the Rhine. At a short mile +up the brook its waters made a crescent round a steep craggy eminence, +crowned with flanking walls, and Gothic towers and turrets, enclosing +a feudal castle of the first order. A part of the savannah that has +been mentioned had been irregularly cultivated for wheat, which had +grown a plentiful crop. It was gathered in, but the patches of deep +yellow stubble contrasted with the green of the undisturbed pasture +land, and with the seared and dark-red foliage of the broad oaks which +stretched their arms athwart the level space. There a lad, in a rustic +dress, was employed in the task of netting a brood of partridges with +the assistance of a trained spaniel; while a young woman, who had the +air rather of a domestic in some family of rank than that of an +ordinary villager, sat on the stump of a decayed tree, to watch the +progress of the amusement. The spaniel, whose duty it was to drive the +partridges under the net, was perceptibly disturbed at the approach of +the traveller; his attention was divided, and he was obviously in +danger of marring the sport, by barking and putting up the covey, when +the maiden quitted her seat, and, advancing towards Philipson, +requested him, for courtesy, to pass at a greater distance, and not +interfere with their amusement. + +The traveller willingly complied with her request. + +"I will ride, fair damsel," he said, "at whatever distance you please. +And allow me, in guerdon, to ask, whether there is convent, castle, or +good man's house, where a stranger, who is belated and weary, might +receive a night's hospitality?" + +The girl, whose face he had not yet distinctly seen, seemed to +suppress some desire to laugh, as she replied, "Hath not yon castle, +think you," pointing to the distant towers, "some corner which might +accommodate a stranger in such extremity?" + +"Space enough, certainly," said Arthur; "but perhaps little +inclination to grant it." + +"I myself," said the girl, "being one, and a formidable part of the +garrison, will be answerable for your reception. But as you parley +with me in such hostile fashion, it is according to martial order that +I should put down my visor." + +So saying, she concealed her face under one of those riding-masks +which at that period women often wore when they went abroad, whether +for protecting their complexion or screening themselves from intrusive +observation. But ere she could accomplish this operation Arthur had +detected the merry countenance of Annette Veilchen, a girl who, though +her attendance on Anne of Geierstein was in a menial capacity, was +held in high estimation at Geierstein. She was a bold wench, +unaccustomed to the distinctions of rank, which were little regarded +in the simplicity of the Helvetian hills, and she was ready to laugh, +jest, and flirt with the young men of the Landamman's family. This +attracted no attention, the mountain manners making little distinction +between the degrees of attendant and mistress, further than that the +mistress was a young woman who required help, and the maiden one who +was in a situation to offer and afford it. This kind of familiarity +would perhaps have been dangerous in other lands, but the simplicity +of Swiss manners, and the turn of Annette's disposition, which was +resolute and sensible, though rather bold and free, when compared to +the manners of more civilised countries, kept all intercourse betwixt +her and the young men of the family in the strict path of honour and +innocence. + +Arthur himself had paid considerable attention to Annette, being +naturally, from his feelings towards Anne of Geierstein, heartily +desirous to possess the good graces of her attendant; a point which +was easily gained by the attentions of a handsome young man, and the +generosity with which he heaped upon her small presents of articles of +dress or ornament, which the damsel, however faithful, could find no +heart to refuse. + +The assurance that he was in Anne's neighbourhood, and that he was +likely to pass the night under the same roof, both of which +circumstances were intimated by the girl's presence and language, sent +the blood in a hastier current through Arthur's veins; for though, +since he had crossed the river, he had sometimes nourished hopes of +again seeing her who had made so strong an impression on his +imagination, yet his understanding had as often told him how slight +was the chance of their meeting, and it was even now chilled by the +reflection that it could be followed only by the pain of a sudden and +final separation. He yielded himself, however, to the prospect of +promised pleasure, without attempting to ascertain what was to be its +duration or its consequence. Desirous, in the meantime, to hear as +much of Anne's circumstances as Annette chose to tell, he resolved not +to let that merry maiden perceive that she was known by him, until +she chose of her own accord to lay aside her mystery. + +While these thoughts passed rapidly through his imagination, Annette +bade the lad drop his nets, and directed him that, having taken two of +the best-fed partridges from the covey, and carried them into the +kitchen, he was to set the rest at liberty. + +"I must provide supper," said she to the traveller, "since I am +bringing home unexpected company." + +Arthur earnestly expressed his hope that his experiencing the +hospitality of the castle would occasion no trouble to the inmates, +and received satisfactory assurances upon the subject of his scruples. + +"I would not willingly be the cause of inconvenience to your +mistress," pursued the traveller. + +"Look you there," said Annette Veilchen, "I have said nothing of +master or mistress, and this poor forlorn traveller has already +concluded in his own mind that he is to be harboured in a lady's +bower!" + +"Why, did you not tell me," said Arthur, somewhat confused at his +blunder, "that you were the person of second importance in the place? +A damsel, I judged, could only be an officer under a female governor." + +"I do not see the justice of the conclusion," replied the maiden. "I +have known ladies bear offices of trust in lords' families; nay, and +over the lords themselves." + +"Am I to understand, fair damsel, that you hold so predominant a +situation in the castle which we are now approaching, and of which I +pray you to tell me the name?" + +"The name of the castle is Arnheim," said Annette. + +"Your garrison must be a large one," said Arthur, looking at the +extensive building, "if you are able to man such a labyrinth of walls +and towers." + +"In that point," said Annette, "I must needs own we are very +deficient. At present, we rather hide in the castle than inhabit it; +and yet it is well enough defended by the reports which frighten every +other person who might disturb its seclusion." + +"And yet you yourselves dare to reside in it?" said the Englishman, +recollecting the tale which had been told by Rudolph Donnerhugel, +concerning the character of the Barons of Arnheim, and the final +catastrophe of the family. + +"Perhaps," replied his guide, "we are too intimate with the cause of +such fears to feel ourselves strongly oppressed with them--perhaps we +have means of encountering the supposed terrors proper to +ourselves--perhaps, and it is not the least likely conjecture, we have +no choice of a better place of refuge. Such seems to be your own fate +at present, sir, for the tops of the distant hills are gradually +losing the lights of the evening; and if you rest not in Arnheim, well +contented or not, you are likely to find no safe lodging for many a +mile." + +As she thus spoke she separated from Arthur, taking, with the fowler +who attended her, a very steep but short footpath, which ascended +straight up to the site of the castle; at the same time motioning to +the young Englishman to follow a horse-track, which, more circuitous, +led to the same point, and, though less direct, was considerably more +easy. + +He soon stood before the south front of Arnheim Castle, which was a +much larger building than he had conceived, either from Rudolph's +description or from the distant view. It had been erected at many +different periods, and a considerable part of the edifice was less in +the strict Gothic than in what has been termed the Saracenic style, in +which the imagination of the architect is more florid than that which +is usually indulged in the North--rich in minarets, cupolas, and +similar approximations to Oriental structures. This singular building +bore a general appearance of desolation and desertion, but Rudolph had +been misinformed when he declared that it had become ruinous. On the +contrary, it had been maintained with considerable care; and when it +fell into the hands of the Emperor, although no garrison was +maintained within its precincts, care was taken to keep the building +in repair; and though the prejudices of the country people prevented +any one from passing the night within the fearful walls, yet it was +regularly visited from time to time by a person having commission from +the Imperial Chancery to that effect. The occupation of the domain +around the castle was a valuable compensation for this official +person's labour, and he took care not to endanger the loss of it by +neglecting his duty. Of late this officer had been withdrawn, and now +it appeared that the young Baroness of Arnheim had found refuge in the +deserted towers of her ancestors. + +The Swiss damsel did not leave the youthful traveller time to study +particularly the exterior of the castle, or to construe the meaning +of emblems and mottoes, seemingly of an Oriental character, with which +the outside was inscribed, and which expressed in various modes, more +or less directly, the attachment of the builders of this extensive +pile to the learning of the Eastern sages. Ere he had time to take +more than a general survey of the place, the voice of the Swiss maiden +called him to an angle of the wall in which there was a projection, +whence a long plank extended over a dry moat, and was connected with a +window in which Annette was standing. + +"You have forgotten your Swiss lessons already," said she, observing +that Arthur went rather timidly about crossing the temporary and +precarious drawbridge. + +The reflection that Anne, her mistress, might make the same +observation, recalled the young traveller to the necessary degree of +composure. He passed over the plank with the same _sang froid_ with +which he had learned to brave the far more terrific bridge beneath the +ruinous castle of Geierstein. He had no sooner entered the window than +Annette, taking off her mask, bade him welcome to Germany, and to old +friends with new names. + +"Anne of Geierstein," she said, "is no more; but you will presently +see the Lady Baroness of Arnheim, who is extremely like her; and I, +who was Annette Veilchen in Switzerland, the servant to a damsel who +was not esteemed much greater than myself, am now the young Baroness's +waiting-woman, and make everybody of less quality stand back." + +"If, in such circumstances," said young Philipson, "you have the +influence due to your consequence, let me beseech of you to tell the +Baroness, since we must now call her so, that my present intrusion on +her is occasioned by my ignorance." + +"Away, away!" said the girl, laughing. "I know better what to say in +your behalf. You are not the first poor man and pedlar that has got +the graces of a great lady; but I warrant you it was not by making +humble apologies, and talking of unintentional intrusion. I will tell +her of love, which all the Rhine cannot quench, and which has driven +you hither, leaving you no other choice than to come or to perish!" + +"Nay, but Annette, Annette"---- + +"Fie on you for a fool,--make a shorter name of it,--cry Anne, Anne! +and there will be more prospect of your being answered." + +So saying, the wild girl ran out of the room, delighted, as a +mountaineer of her description was likely to be, with the thought of +having done as she would desire to be done by, in her benevolent +exertions to bring two lovers together, when on the eve of inevitable +separation. + +In this self-approving disposition, Annette sped up a narrow turnpike +stair to a closet, or dressing-room, where her young mistress was +seated, and exclaimed, with open mouth,--"Anne of Gei----, I mean my +Lady Baroness, they are come--they are come!" + +"The Philipsons?" said Anne, almost breathless as she asked the +question. + +"Yes--no--" answered the girl; "that is, yes,--for the best of them is +come, and that is Arthur." + +"What meanest thou, girl? Is not Seignor Philipson, the father, along +with his son?" + +"Not he, indeed," answered Veilchen, "nor did I ever think of asking +about him. He was no friend of mine, nor of any one else, save the old +Landamman; and well met they were for a couple of wiseacres, with +eternal proverbs in their mouths, and care upon their brows." + +"Unkind, inconsiderate girl, what hast thou done?" said Anne of +Geierstein. "Did I not warn and charge thee to bring them both hither? +and you have brought the young man alone to a place where we are +nearly in solitude! What will he--what can he think of me?" + +"Why, what should I have done?" said Annette, remaining firm in her +argument. "He was alone, and should I have sent him down to the _dorf_ +to be murdered by the Rhinegrave's Lanzknechts? All is fish, I trow, +that comes to their net; and how is he to get through this country, so +beset with wandering soldiers, robber barons (I beg your ladyship's +pardon), and roguish Italians, flocking to the Duke of Burgundy's +standard?--Not to mention the greatest terror of all, that is never in +one shape or other absent from one's eye or thought." + +"Hush, hush, girl! add not utter madness to the excess of folly; but +let us think what is to be done. For our sake, for his own, this +unfortunate young man must leave this castle instantly." + +"You must take the message yourself, then, Anne--I beg pardon, most +noble Baroness;--it may be very fit for a lady of high birth to send +such a message, which, indeed, I have heard the Minne-singers tell in +their romances; but I am sure it is not a meet one for me, or any +frank-hearted Swiss girl, to carry. No more foolery; but remember, if +you were born Baroness of Arnheim, you have been bred and brought up +in the bosom of the Swiss hills, and should conduct yourself like an +honest and well-meaning damsel." + +"And in what does your wisdom reprehend my folly, good Mademoiselle +Annette?" replied the Baroness. + +"Ay, marry! now our noble blood stirs in our veins. But remember, +gentle my lady, that it was a bargain between us, when I left yonder +noble mountains, and the free air that blows over them, to coop myself +up in this land of prisons and slaves, that I should speak my mind to +you as freely as I did when our heads lay on the same pillow." + +"Speak, then," said Anne, studiously averting her face as she prepared +to listen; "but beware that you say nothing which it is unfit for me +to hear." + +"I will speak nature and common-sense; and if your noble ears are not +made fit to hear and understand these, the fault lies in them, and not +in my tongue. Look you, you have saved this youth from two great +dangers--one at the earth-shoot at Geierstein, the other this very +day, when his life was beset. A handsome young man he is, well spoken, +and well qualified to gain deservedly a lady's favour. Before you saw +him, the Swiss youth were at least not odious to you. You danced with +them,--you jested with them,--you were the general object of their +admiration,--and, as you well know, you might have had your choice +through the Canton--Why, I think it possible a little urgency might +have brought you to think of Rudolph Donnerhugel as your mate." + +"Never, wench, never!" exclaimed Anne. + +"Be not so very positive, my lady. Had he recommended himself to the +uncle in the first place, I think, in my poor sentiment, he might at +some lucky moment have carried the niece. But since we have known this +young Englishman, it has been little less than contemning, despising, +and something like hating, all the men whom you could endure well +enough before." + +"Well, well," said Anne, "I will detest and hate thee more than any of +them, unless you bring your matters to an end." + +"Softly, noble lady, fair and easy go far. All this argues you love +the young man, and let those say that you are wrong who think there is +anything wonderful in the matter. There is much to justify you, and +nothing that I know against it." + +"What, foolish girl! Remember my birth forbids me to love a mean +man--my condition to love a poor man--my father's commands to love one +whose addresses are without his consent--above all, my maidenly pride +forbids me fixing my affections on one who cares not for me--nay, +perhaps, is prejudiced against me by appearances." + +"Here is a fine homily!" said Annette; "but I can clear every point of +it as easily as Father Francis does his text in a holiday sermon. Your +birth is a silly dream, which you have only learned to value within +these two or three days, when, having come to German soil, some of the +old German weed, usually called family pride, has begun to germinate +in your heart. Think of such folly as you thought when you lived at +Geierstein--that is, during all the rational part of your life, and +this great terrible prejudice will sink into nothing. By condition, I +conceive you mean estate. But Philipson's father, who is the most +free-hearted of men, will surely give his son as many zechins as will +stock a mountain farm. You have firewood for the cutting, and land for +the occupying, since you are surely entitled to part of Geierstein, +and gladly will your uncle put you in possession of it. You can manage +the dairy, Arthur can shoot, hunt, fish, plough, harrow, and reap." + +Anne of Geierstein shook her head, as if she greatly doubted her +lover's skill in the last of the accomplishments enumerated. + +"Well, well, he can learn, then," said Annette Veilchen; "and you will +only live the harder the first year or so. Besides, Sigismund +Biederman will aid him willingly, and he is a very horse at labour; +and I know another besides, who is a friend"---- + +"Of thine own, I warrant," quoth the young Baroness. + +"Marry, it is my poor friend Louis Sprenger; and I'll never be so +false-hearted as to deny my bachelor." + +"Well, well, but what is to be the end of all this?" said the +Baroness, impatiently. + +"The end of it, in my opinion," said Annette, "is very simple. Here +are priests and prayer-books within a mile--go down to the parlour, +speak your mind to your lover, or hear him speak his mind to you; join +hands, go quietly back to Geierstein in the character of man and wife, +and get everything ready to receive your uncle on his return. This is +the way that a plain Swiss wench would cut off the romance of a +German Baroness"---- + +"And break the heart of her father," said the young lady, with a sigh. + +"It is more tough than you are aware of," replied Annette. "He hath +not lived without you so long but that he will be able to spare you +for the rest of his life, a great deal more easily than you, with all +your new-fangled ideas of quality, will be able to endure his schemes +of wealth and ambition, which will aim at making you the wife of some +illustrious Count, like De Hagenbach, whom we saw not long since make +such an edifying end, to the great example of all Robber-Chivalry upon +the Rhine." + +"Thy plan is naught, wench; a childish vision of a girl who never knew +more of life than she has heard told over her milking-pail. Remember +that my uncle entertains the highest ideas of family discipline, and +that to act contrary to my father's will would destroy us in his good +opinion. Why else am I here? Wherefore has he resigned his +guardianship? And why am I obliged to change the habits that are dear +to me, and assume the manners of a people that are strange, and +therefore unpleasing to me?" + +"Your uncle," said Annette firmly, "is Landamman of the Canton of +Unterwalden; respects its freedom, and is the sworn protector of its +laws, of which, when you, a denizen of the Confederacy, claim the +protection, he cannot refuse it to you." + +"Even then," said the young Baroness, "I should forfeit his good +opinion, his more than paternal affection; but it is needless to dwell +upon this. Know, that although I could have loved the young man, whom +I will not deny to be as amiable as your partiality paints +him--know,"--she hesitated for a moment,--"that he has never spoken a +word to me on such a subject as you, without knowing either his +sentiments or mine, would intrude on my consideration." + +"Is it possible?" answered Annette. "I thought--I believed, though I +have never pressed on your confidence--that you must--attached as you +were to each other--have spoken together, like true maid and true +bachelor, before now. I have done wrong, when I thought to do for the +best.--Is it possible!--such things have been heard of even in our +canton--is it possible he can have harboured so unutterably base +purposes, as that Martin of Brisach, who made love to Adela of the +Sundgau, enticed her to folly--the thing, though almost incredible, is +true--fled--fled from the country and boasted of his villany, till her +cousin Raymund silenced for ever his infamous triumph, by beating his +brains out with his club, even in the very street of the villain's +native town? By the Holy Mother of Einsiedlen! could I suspect this +Englishman of meditating such treason, I would saw the plank across +the moat till a fly's weight would break it, and it should be at six +fathom deep that he should abye the perfidy which dared to meditate +dishonour against an adopted daughter of Switzerland!" + +As Annette Veilchen spoke, all the fire of her mountain courage +flashed from her eyes, and she listened reluctantly while Anne of +Geierstein endeavoured to obliterate the dangerous impression which +her former words had impressed on her simple but faithful attendant. + +"On my word"--she said,--"on my soul--you do Arthur Philipson +injustice--foul injustice, in intimating such a suspicion;--his +conduct towards me has ever been upright and honourable--a friend to a +friend--a brother to a sister--could not, in all he has done and said, +have been more respectful, more anxiously affectionate, more +undeviatingly candid. In our frequent interviews and intercourse he +has indeed seemed very kind--very attached. But had I been +disposed--at times I may have been too much so--to listen to him with +endurance,"--the young lady here put her hand on her forehead, but the +tears streamed through her slender fingers,--"he has never spoken of +any love--any preference;--if he indeed entertains any, some obstacle, +insurmountable on his part, has interfered to prevent him." + +"Obstacle?" replied the Swiss damsel. "Ay, doubtless--some childish +bashfulness--some foolish idea about your birth being so high above +his own--some dream of modesty pushed to extremity, which considers as +impenetrable the ice of a spring frost. This delusion may be broken by +a moment's encouragement, and I will take the task on myself, to spare +your blushes, my dearest Anne." + +"No, no; for Heaven's sake, no, Veilchen!" answered the Baroness, to +whom Annette had so long been a companion and confidant, rather than a +domestic. "You cannot anticipate the nature of the obstacles which may +prevent his thinking on what you are so desirous to promote. Hear +me--My early education, and the instructions of my kind uncle, have +taught me to know something more of foreigners and their fashions than +I ever could have learned in our happy retirement of Geierstein; I am +well-nigh convinced that these Philipsons are of rank, as they are of +manners and bearing, far superior to the occupation which they appear +to hold. The father is a man of deep observation, of high thought and +pretension, and lavish of gifts, far beyond what consists with the +utmost liberality of a trader." + +"That is true," said Annette. "I will say for myself, that the silver +chain he gave me weighs against ten silver crowns, and the cross which +Arthur added to it, the day after the long ride we had together up +towards Mount Pilatus, is worth, they tell me, as much more. There is +not the like of it in the Cantons. Well, what then? They are rich, so +are you. So much the better." + +"Alas! Annette, they are not only rich, but noble. I am persuaded of +this; for I have observed often, that even the father retreated, with +an air of quiet and dignified contempt, from discussions with +Donnerhugel and others, who, in our plain way, wished to fasten a +dispute upon him. And when a rude observation or blunt pleasantry was +pointed at the son, his eye flashed, his cheek coloured, and it was +only a glance from his father which induced him to repress the retort +of no friendly character which rose to his lips." + +"You have been a close observer," said Annette. "All this may be true, +but I noted it not. But what then, I say once more? If Arthur has some +fine noble name in his own country, are not you yourself Baroness of +Arnheim? And I will frankly allow it as something of worth, if it +smooths the way to a match, where I think you must look for +happiness--I hope so, else I am sure it should have no encouragement +from me." + +"I do believe so, my faithful Veilchen; but, alas! how can you, in the +state of natural freedom in which you have been bred, know, or even +dream, of the various restraints which this gilded or golden chain of +rank and nobility hangs upon those whom it fetters and encumbers, I +fear, as much as it decorates? In every country, the distinction of +rank binds men to certain duties. It may carry with it restrictions, +which may prevent alliances in foreign countries--it often may prevent +them from consulting their inclinations, when they wed in their own. +It leads to alliances in which the heart is never consulted, to +treaties of marriage, which are often formed when the parties are in +the cradle, or in leading strings, but which are not the less binding +on them in honour and faith. Such may exist in the present case. These +alliances are often blended and mixed up with state policy; and if the +interest of England, or what he deems such, should have occasioned the +elder Philipson to form such an engagement, Arthur would break his own +heart--the heart of any one else--rather than make false his father's +word." + +"The more shame to them that formed such an engagement!" said Annette. +"Well, they talk of England being a free country; but if they can bar +young men and women of the natural privilege to call their hands and +hearts their own, I would as soon be a German serf.--Well, lady, you +are wise, and I am ignorant. But what is to be done? I have brought +this young man here, expecting, God knows, a happier issue to your +meeting. But it is clear you cannot marry him without his asking you. +Now, although I confess that, if I could think him willing to forfeit +the hand of the fairest maid of the Cantons, either from want of manly +courage to ask it, or from regard to some ridiculous engagement, +formed betwixt his father and some other nobleman of their island of +noblemen, I would not in either case grudge him a ducking in the moat; +yet it is another question, whether we should send him down to be +murdered among those cut-throats of the Rhinegrave; and unless we do +so, I know not how to get rid of him." + +"Then let the boy William give attendance on him here, and do you see +to his accommodation. It is best we do not meet." + +"I will," said Annette; "yet what am I to say for you? Unhappily, I +let him know that you were here." + +"Alas, imprudent girl! Yet why should I blame thee," said Anne of +Geierstein, "when the imprudence has been so great on my own side? It +is myself, who, suffering my imagination to rest too long upon this +young man and his merits, have led me into this entanglement. But I +will show thee that I can overcome this folly, and I will not seek in +my own error a cause for evading the duties of hospitality. Go, +Veilchen, get some refreshment ready. Thou shalt sup with us, and thou +must not leave us. Thou shalt see me behave as becomes both a German +lady and a Swiss maiden. Get me first a candle, however, my girl, for +I must wash these tell-tales, my eyes, and arrange my dress." + +To Annette this whole explanation had been one scene of astonishment, +for, in the simple ideas of love and courtship in which she had been +brought up amid the Swiss mountains, she had expected that the two +lovers would have taken the first opportunity of the absence of their +natural guardians, and have united themselves for ever; and she had +even arranged a little secondary plot, in which she herself and Martin +Sprenger, her faithful bachelor, were to reside with the young couple +as friends and dependants. Silenced, therefore, but not satisfied, by +the objections of her young mistress, the zealous Annette retreated +murmuring to herself,--"That little hint about her dress is the only +natural and sensible word she has said in my hearing. Please God, I +will return and help her in the twinkling of an eye. That dressing my +mistress is the only part of a waiting-lady's life that I have the +least fancy for--it seems so natural for one pretty maiden to set off +another--in faith we are but learning to dress ourselves at another +time." + +And with this sage remark Annette Veilchen tripped down stairs. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Tell me not of it--I could ne'er abide + The mummery of all that forced civility. + "Pray, seat yourself, my lord." With cringing hams + The speech is spoken, and, with bended knee, + Heard by the smiling courtier.--"Before you, sir? + It must be on the earth then." Hang it all! + The pride which cloaks itself in such poor fashion + Is scarcely fit to swell a beggar's bosom. + _Old Play._ + + +Up stairs and down stairs tripped Annette Veilchen, the soul of all +that was going on in the only habitable corner of the huge castle of +Arnheim. She was equal to every kind of service, and therefore popped +her head into the stable to be sure that William attended properly to +Arthur's horse, looked into the kitchen to see that the old cook, +Marthon, roasted the partridges in due time (an interference for which +she received little thanks), rummaged out a flask or two of Rhine wine +from the huge Dom Daniel of a cellar, and, finally, just peeped into +the parlour to see how Arthur was looking; when, having the +satisfaction to see he had in the best manner he could sedulously +arranged his person, she assured him that he should shortly see her +mistress, who was rather indisposed, yet could not refrain from coming +down to see so valued an acquaintance. + +Arthur blushed when she spoke thus, and seemed so handsome in the +waiting-maid's eye, that she could not help saying to herself, as she +went to her young lady's room,--"Well, if true love cannot manage to +bring that couple together, in spite of all the obstacles that they +stand boggling at, I will never believe that there is such a thing as +true love in the world, let Martin Sprenger say what he will, and +swear to it on the Gospels." + +When she reached the young Baroness's apartment, she found, to her +surprise, that, instead of having put on what finery she possessed, +that young lady's choice had preferred the same simple kirtle which +she had worn during the first day that Arthur had dined at Geierstein. +Annette looked at first puzzled and doubtful, then suddenly recognised +the good taste which had dictated the attire, and exclaimed,--"You are +right--you are right--it is best to meet him as a free-hearted Swiss +maiden." + +Anne also smiled as she replied,--"But, at the same time, in the walls +of Arnheim, I must appear in some respect as the daughter of my +father.--Here, girl, aid me to put this gem upon the riband which +binds my hair." + +It was an aigrette, or plume, composed of two feathers of a vulture, +fastened together by an opal, which changed to the changing light with +a variability which enchanted the Swiss damsel, who had never seen +anything resembling it in her life. + +"Now, Baroness Anne," said she, "if that pretty thing be really worn +as a sign of your rank, it is the only thing belonging to your dignity +that I should ever think of coveting; for it doth shimmer and change +colour after a most wonderful fashion, even something like one's own +cheek when one is fluttered." + +"Alas, Annette!" said the Baroness, passing her hand across her eyes, +"of all the gauds which the females of my house have owned, this +perhaps hath been the most fatal to its possessors." + +"And why then wear it?" said Annette. "Why wear it now, of all days in +the year?" + +"Because it best reminds me of my duty to my father and family. And +now, girl, look thou sit with us at table, and leave not the +apartment; and see thou fly not to and fro to help thyself or others +with anything on the board, but remain quiet and seated till William +helps you to what you have occasion for." + +"Well, that is a gentle fashion, which I like well enough," said +Annette, "and William serves us so debonairly, that it is a joy to see +him; yet, ever and anon, I feel as I were not Annette Veilchen +herself, but only Annette Veilchen's picture, since I can neither +rise, sit down, run about, nor stand still, without breaking some rule +of courtly breeding. It is not so, I dare say, with you, who are +always mannerly." + +"Less courtly than thou seemest to think," said the high-born maiden; +"but I feel the restraint more on the greensward, and under heaven's +free air, than when I undergo it closed within the walls of an +apartment." + +"Ah, true--the dancing," said Annette; "that was something to be sorry +for indeed." + +"But most am I sorry, Annette, that I cannot tell whether I act +precisely right or wrong in seeing this young man, though it must be +for the last time. Were my father to arrive?--Were Ital Schreckenwald +to return"-- + +"Your father is too deeply engaged on some of his dark and mystic +errands," said the flippant Swiss; "sailed to the mountains of the +Brockenberg, where witches hold their sabbath, or gone on a +hunting-party with the Wild Huntsman." + +"Fie, Annette, how dare you talk thus of my father?" + +"Why, I know little of him personally," said the damsel, "and you +yourself do not know much more. And how should that be false which all +men say is true?" + +"Why, fool, what do they say?" + +"Why, that the Count is a wizard,--that your grandmother was a +will-of-wisp, and old Ital Schreckenwald a born devil incarnate; and +there is some truth in that, whatever comes of the rest." + +"Where is he?" + +"Gone down to spend the night in the village, to see the Rhinegrave's +men quartered, and keep them in some order, if possible; for the +soldiers are disappointed of pay which they had been promised; and +when this happens, nothing resembles a lanzknecht except a chafed +bear." + +"Go we down then, girl; it is perhaps the last night which we may +spend, for years, with a certain degree of freedom." + +I will not pretend to describe the marked embarrassment with which +Arthur Philipson and Anne of Geierstein met; neither lifted their +eyes, neither spoke intelligibly, as they greeted each other, and the +maiden herself did not blush more deeply than her modest visitor; +while the good-humoured Swiss girl, whose ideas of love partook of the +freedom of a more Arcadian country and its customs, looked on with +eyebrows a little arched, much in wonder, and a little in contempt, +at a couple who, as she might think, acted with such unnatural and +constrained reserve. Deep was the reverence and the blush with which +Arthur offered his hand to the young lady, and her acceptance of the +courtesy had the same character of extreme bashfulness, agitation, and +embarrassment. In short, though little or nothing intelligible passed +between this very handsome and interesting couple, the interview +itself did not on that account lose any interest. Arthur handed the +maiden, as was the duty of a gallant of the day, into the next room, +where their repast was prepared; and Annette, who watched with +singular attention everything which occurred, felt with astonishment +that the forms and ceremonies of the higher orders of society had such +an influence, even over her free-born mind, as the rites of the Druids +over that of the Roman general, when he said, + + I scorn them, yet they awe me. + +"What can have changed them?" said Annette. "When at Geierstein they +looked but like another girl and bachelor, only that Anne is so very +handsome; but now they move in time and manner as if they were leading +a stately pavin, and behave to each other with as much formal respect +as if he were Landamman of the Unterwalden, and she the first lady of +Berne. 'Tis all very fine, doubtless, but it is not the way that +Martin Sprenger makes love." + +Apparently, the circumstances in which each of the young people was +placed recalled to them the habits of lofty and somewhat formal +courtesy to which they might have been accustomed in former days; and +while the Baroness felt it necessary to observe the strictest +decorum, in order to qualify the reception of Arthur into the interior +of her retreat, he, on the other hand, endeavoured to show, by the +profoundness of his respect, that he was incapable of misusing the +kindness with which he had been treated. They placed themselves at +table, scrupulously observing the distance which might become a +"virtuous gentleman and maid." The youth William did the service of +the entertainment with deftness and courtesy, as one well accustomed +to such duty; and Annette, placing herself between them, and +endeavouring, as closely as she could, to adhere to the ceremonies +which she saw them observe, made practice of the civilities which were +expected from the attendant of a baroness. Various, however, were the +errors which she committed. Her demeanour in general was that of a +greyhound in the slips, ready to start up every moment; and she was +only withheld by the recollection that she was to ask for that which +she had far more mind to help herself to. + +Other points of etiquette were transgressed in their turn, after the +repast was over, and the attendant had retired. The waiting damsel +often mingled too unceremoniously in the conversation, and could not +help calling her mistress by her Christian name of Anne, and, in +defiance of all decorum, addressed her, as well as Philipson, with the +pronoun _thou_, which then, as well as now, was a dreadful solecism in +German politeness. Her blunders were so far fortunate that, by +furnishing the young lady and Arthur with a topic foreign to the +peculiarities of their own situation, they enabled them to withdraw +their attentions from its embarrassments, and to exchange smiles at +poor Annette's expense. She was not long of perceiving this, and half +nettled, half availing herself of the apology to speak her mind, said, +with considerable spirit, "You have both been very merry, forsooth, at +my expense, and all because I wished rather to rise and seek what I +wanted, than wait till the poor fellow, who was kept trotting between +the board and beauffet, found leisure to bring it to me. You laugh at +me now, because I call you by your names, as they were given to you in +the blessed church at your christening; and because I say to you +_thee_ and _thou_, addressing my Juncker and my Yungfrau as I would do +if I were on my knees praying to Heaven. But for all your new-world +fancies, I can tell you, you are but a couple of children, who do not +know your own minds, and are jesting away the only leisure given you +to provide for your own happiness. Nay, frown not, my sweet Mistress +Baroness; I have looked at Mount Pilatus too often, to fear a gloomy +brow." + +"Peace, Annette," said her mistress, "or quit the room." + +"Were I not more your friend than I am my own," said the headstrong +and undaunted Annette, "I would quit the room, and the castle to boot, +and leave you to hold your house here, with your amiable seneschal, +Ital Schreckenwald." + +"If not for love, yet for shame, for charity, be silent, or leave the +room." + +"Nay," said Annette, "my bolt is shot, and I have but hinted at what +all upon Geierstein Green said, the night when the bow of Buttisholz +was bended. You know what the old saw says"---- + +"Peace! peace, for Heaven's sake, or I must needs fly!" said the young +Baroness. + +"Nay, then," said Annette, considerably changing her tone, as if +afraid that her mistress should actually retire, "if you must fly, +necessity must have its course. I know no one who can follow. This +mistress of mine, Seignor Arthur, would require for her attendant, not +a homely girl of flesh and blood like myself, but a waiting-woman with +substance composed of gossamer, and breath supplied by the spirit of +ether. Would you believe it--It is seriously held by many, that she +partakes of the race of spirits of the elements, which makes her so +much more bashful than maidens of this every-day world." + +Anne of Geierstein seemed rather glad to lead away the conversation +from the turn which her wayward maiden had given to it, and to turn it +on more indifferent subjects, though these were still personal to +herself. + +"Seignor Arthur," she said, "thinks, perhaps, he has some room to +nourish some such strange suspicion as your heedless folly expresses, +and some fools believe, both in Germany and Switzerland. Confess, +Seignor Arthur, you thought strangely of me when I passed your guard +upon the bridge of Graffs-lust, on the night last past." + +The recollection of the circumstances which had so greatly surprised +him at the time so startled Arthur that it was with some difficulty he +commanded himself, so as to attempt an answer at all; and what he did +say on the occasion was broken and unconnected. + +"I did hear, I own--that is, Rudolph Donnerhugel reported--But that I +believed that you, gentle lady, were other than a Christian +maiden"---- + +"Nay, if Rudolph were the reporter," said Annette, "you would hear +the worst of my lady and her lineage, that is certain. He is one of +those prudent personages who depreciate and find fault with the goods +he has thoughts of purchasing, in order to deter other offerers. Yes, +he told you a fine goblin story, I warrant you, of my lady's +grandmother; and truly, it so happened, that the circumstances of the +case gave, I dare say, some colour in your eyes to"---- + +"Not so, Annette," answered Arthur; "whatever might be said of your +lady that sounded uncouth and strange, fell to the ground as +incredible." + +"Not quite so much so, I fancy," interrupted Annette, without heeding +sign or frown. "I strongly suspect I should have had much more trouble +in dragging you hither to this castle, had you known you were +approaching the haunt of the Nymph of the Fire, the Salamander, as +they call her, not to mention the shock of again seeing the descendant +of that Maiden of the Fiery Mantle." + +"Peace, once more, Annette," said her mistress; "since Fate has +occasioned this meeting, let us not neglect the opportunity to +disabuse our English friend of the absurd report he has listened to, +with doubt and wonder perhaps, but not with absolute incredulity. + +"Seignor Arthur Philipson," she proceeded, "it is true my grandfather, +by the mother's side, Baron Herman of Arnheim, was a man of great +knowledge in abstruse sciences. He was also a presiding judge of a +tribunal of which you must have heard, called the Holy Vehme. One +night a stranger, closely pursued by the agents of that body, which" +(crossing herself) "it is not safe even to name, arrived at the castle +and craved his protection, and the rights of hospitality. My +grandfather, finding the advance which the stranger had made to the +rank of Adept, gave him his protection, and became bail to deliver him +to answer the charge against him, for a year and a day, which delay he +was, it seems, entitled to require on his behalf. They studied +together during that term, and pushed their researches into the +mysteries of nature, as far, in all probability, as men have the power +of urging them. When the fatal day drew nigh on which the guest must +part from his host, he asked permission to bring his daughter to the +castle, that they might exchange a last farewell. She was introduced +with much secrecy, and after some days, finding that her father's fate +was so uncertain, the Baron, with the sage's consent, agreed to give +the forlorn maiden refuge in his castle, hoping to obtain from her +some additional information concerning the languages and the wisdom of +the East. Dannischemend, her father, left this castle, to go to render +himself up to the Vehme-gericht at Fulda. The result is unknown; +perhaps he was saved by Baron Arnheim's testimony, perhaps he was +given up to the steel and the cord. On such matters, who dare speak? + +"The fair Persian became the wife of her guardian and protector. Amid +many excellences, she had one peculiarity allied to imprudence. She +availed herself of her foreign dress and manners, as well as of a +beauty which was said to have been marvellous, and an agility seldom +equalled, to impose upon and terrify the ignorant German ladies, who, +hearing her speak Persian and Arabic, were already disposed to +consider her as over closely connected with unlawful arts. She was of +a fanciful and imaginative disposition, and delighted to place herself +in such colours and circumstances as might confirm their most +ridiculous suspicions, which she considered only as matter of sport. +There was no end to the stories to which she gave rise. Her first +appearance in the castle was said to be highly picturesque, and to +have inferred something of the marvellous. With the levity of a child, +she had some childish passions, and while she encouraged the growth +and circulation of the most extraordinary legends amongst some of the +neighbourhood, she entered into disputes with persons of her own +quality concerning rank and precedence, on which the ladies of +Westphalia have at all times set great store. This cost her her life; +for, on the morning of the christening of my poor mother, the Baroness +of Arnheim died suddenly, even while a splendid company was assembled +in the castle chapel to witness the ceremony. It was believed that she +died of poison, administered by the Baroness Steinfeldt, with whom she +was engaged in a bitter quarrel, entered into chiefly on behalf of her +friend and companion, the Countess Waldstetten." + +"And the opal gem?--and the sprinkling with water?" said Arthur +Philipson. + +"Ah!" replied the young Baroness, "I see you desire to hear the real +truth of my family history, of which you have yet learned only the +romantic legend.--The sprinkling of water was necessarily had recourse +to, on my ancestress's first swoon. As for the opal, I have heard that +it did indeed grow pale, but only because it is said to be the nature +of that noble gem, on the approach of poison. Some part of the quarrel +with the Baroness Steinfeldt was about the right of the Persian +maiden to wear this stone, which an ancestor of my family won in +battle from the Soldan of Trebizond. All these things were confused in +popular tradition, and the real facts turned into a fairy tale." + +"But you have said nothing," suggested Arthur Philipson, "on--on"---- + +"On what?" said his hostess. + +"On your appearance last night." + +"Is it possible," said she, "that a man of sense, and an Englishman, +cannot guess at the explanation which I have to give, though not, +perhaps, very distinctly? My father, you are aware, has been a busy +man in a disturbed country, and has incurred the hatred of many +powerful persons. He is, therefore, obliged to move in secret, and +avoid unnecessary observation. He was, besides, averse to meet his +brother, the Landamman. I was therefore told, on our entering Germany, +that I was to expect a signal where and when to join him,--the token +was to be a small crucifix of bronze, which had belonged to my poor +mother. In my apartment at Graffs-lust I found the token, with a note +from my father, making me acquainted with a secret passage proper to +such places, which, though it had the appearance of being blocked up, +was in fact very slightly barricaded. By this I was instructed to pass +to the gate, make my escape into the woods, and meet my father at a +place appointed there." + +"A wild and perilous adventure," said Arthur. + +"I have never been so much shocked," continued the maiden, "as at +receiving this summons, compelling me to steal away from my kind and +affectionate uncle, and go I knew not whither. Yet compliance was +absolutely necessary. The place of meeting was plainly pointed out. A +midnight walk, in the neighbourhood of protection, was to me a trifle; +but the precaution of posting sentinels at the gate might have +interfered with my purpose, had I not mentioned it to some of my elder +cousins, the Biedermans, who readily agreed to let me pass and repass +unquestioned. But you know my cousins; honest and kind-hearted, they +are of a rude way of thinking, and as incapable of feeling a generous +delicacy as--some other persons."--(Here there was a glance towards +Annette Veilchen.)--"They exacted from me, that I should conceal +myself and my purpose from Sigismund; and as they are always making +sport with the simple youth, they insisted that I should pass him in +such a manner as might induce him to believe that I was a spiritual +apparition, and out of his terrors for supernatural beings they +expected to have much amusement. I was obliged to secure their +connivance at my escape on their own terms; and, indeed, I was too +much grieved at the prospect of quitting my kind uncle to think much +of anything else. Yet my surprise was considerable, when, contrary to +expectation, I found you on the bridge as sentinel, instead of my +cousin Sigismund. Your own ideas I ask not for." + +"They were those of a fool," said Arthur, "of a thrice-sodden fool. +Had I been aught else, I would have offered my escort. My sword"---- + +"I could not have accepted your protection," said Anne, calmly. "My +mission was in every respect a secret one. I met my father--some +intercourse had taken place betwixt him and Rudolph Donnerhugel, which +induced him to alter his purpose of carrying me away with him last +night. I joined him, however, early this morning, while Annette acted +for a time my part amongst the Swiss pilgrims. My father desired that +it should not be known when or with whom I left my uncle and his +escort. I need scarce remind you, that I saw you in the dungeon." + +"You were the preserver of my life," said the youth,--"the restorer of +my liberty." + +"Ask me not the reason of my silence. I was then acting under the +agency of others, not under mine own. Your escape was effected, in +order to establish a communication betwixt the Swiss without the +fortress and the soldiers within. After the alarm at La Ferette, I +learned from Sigismund Biederman that a party of banditti were +pursuing your father and you, with a view to pillage and robbery. My +father had furnished me with the means of changing Anne of Geierstein +into a German maiden of quality. I set out instantly, and glad I am to +have given you a hint which might free you from danger." + +"But my father?" said Arthur. + +"I have every reason to hope he is well and safe," answered the young +lady. "More than I were eager to protect both you and him--poor +Sigismund amongst the first.--And now, my friend, these mysteries +explained, it is time we part, and for ever." + +"Part!--and for ever!" repeated the youth, in a voice like a dying +echo. + +"It is our fate," said the maiden. "I appeal to you if it is not your +duty--I tell you it is mine. You will depart with early dawn to +Strasburg--and--and--we never meet again." + +With an ardour of passion which he could not repress, Arthur Philipson +threw himself at the feet of the maiden, whose faltering tone had +clearly expressed that she felt deeply in uttering the words. She +looked round for Annette, but Annette had disappeared at this most +critical moment; and her mistress for a second or two was not perhaps +sorry for her absence. + +"Rise," she said, "Arthur--rise. You must not give way to feelings +that might be fatal to yourself and me." + +"Hear me, lady, before I bid you adieu, and for ever--the word of a +criminal is heard, though he plead the worst cause--I am a belted +knight, and the son and heir of an Earl, whose name has been spread +throughout England and France, and wherever valour has had fame." + +"Alas!" said she, faintly, "I have but too long suspected what you now +tell me--Rise, I pray you, rise." + +"Never till you hear me," said the youth, seizing one of her hands, +which trembled, but hardly could be said to struggle in his +grasp.--"Hear me," he said, with the enthusiasm of first love, when +the obstacles of bashfulness and diffidence are surmounted,--"My +father and I are--I acknowledge it--bound on a most hazardous and +doubtful expedition. You will very soon learn its issue for good or +bad. If it succeed, you shall hear of me in my own character--If I +fall, I must--I will--I do claim a tear from Anne of Geierstein. If I +escape, I have yet a horse, a lance, and a sword; and you shall hear +nobly of him whom you have thrice protected from imminent danger." + +"Arise--arise," repeated the maiden, whose tears began to flow fast, +as, struggling to raise her lover, they fell thick upon his head and +face. "I have heard enough--to listen to more were indeed madness, +both for you and myself." + +"Yet one single word," added the youth; "while Arthur has a heart, it +beats for you--while Arthur can wield an arm, it strikes for you, and +in your cause." + +Annette now rushed into the room. + +"Away, away!" she cried--"Schreckenwald has returned from the village +with some horrible tidings, and I fear me he comes this way." + +Arthur had started to his feet at the first signal of alarm. + +"If there is danger near your lady, Annette, there is at least one +faithful friend by her side." + +Annette looked anxiously at her mistress. + +"But Schreckenwald," she said--"Schreckenwald, your father's +steward--his confidant.--Oh, think better of it--I can hide Arthur +somewhere." + +The noble-minded girl had already resumed her composure, and replied +with dignity,--"I have done nothing," she said, "to offend my father. +If Schreckenwald be my father's steward, he is my vassal. I hide no +guest to conciliate him. Sit down" (addressing Arthur), "and let us +receive this man.--Introduce him instantly, Annette, and let us hear +his tidings--and bid him remember, that when he speaks to me he +addresses his mistress." + +Arthur resumed his seat, still more proud of his choice from the noble +and fearless spirit displayed by one who had so lately shown herself +sensible to the gentlest feelings of the female sex. + +Annette, assuming courage from her mistress's dauntless demeanour, +clapped her hands together as she left the room, saying, but in a low +voice, "I see that after all it is something to be a Baroness, if one +can assert her dignity conformingly. How could I be so much frightened +for this rude man!" + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Affairs that walk + (As they say spirits do) at midnight, have + In them a wilder nature than the business + That seeks dispatch by day. + _Henry VIII. Act V._ + + +The approach of the steward was now boldly expected by the little +party. Arthur, flattered at once and elevated by the firmness which +Anne had shown when this person's arrival was announced, hastily +considered the part which he was to act in the approaching scene, and +prudently determined to avoid all active and personal interference, +till he should observe from the demeanour of Anne that such was likely +to be useful or agreeable to her. He resumed his place, therefore, at +a distant part of the board, on which their meal had been lately +spread, and remained there, determined to act in the manner Anne's +behaviour should suggest as most prudent and fitting,--veiling, at the +same time, the most acute internal anxiety, by an appearance of that +deferential composure, which one of inferior rank adopts when admitted +to the presence of a superior. Anne, on her part, seemed to prepare +herself for an interview of interest. An air of conscious dignity +succeeded the extreme agitation which she had so lately displayed, +and, busying herself with some articles of female work, she also +seemed to expect with tranquillity the visit to which her attendant +was disposed to attach so much alarm. + +A step was heard upon the stair, hurried and unequal, as that of some +one in confusion as well as haste; the door flew open, and Ital +Schreckenwald entered. + +This person, with whom the details given to the elder Philipson by the +Landamman Biederman have made the reader in some degree acquainted, +was a tall, well-made, soldierly looking man. His dress, like that of +persons of rank at the period in Germany, was more varied in colour, +more cut and ornamented, slashed and jagged, than the habit worn in +France and England. The never-failing hawk's feather decked his cap, +secured with a medal of gold, which served as a clasp. His doublet was +of buff, for defence, but _laid down_, as it was called in the +tailor's craft, with rich lace on each seam, and displaying on the +breast a golden chain, the emblem of his rank in the Baron's +household. He entered with rather a hasty step, and busy and offended +look, and said, somewhat rudely, "Why, how now, young lady--wherefore +this? Strangers in the castle at this period of night!" + +Anne of Geierstein, though she had been long absent from her native +country, was not ignorant of its habits and customs, and knew the +haughty manner in which all who were noble exerted their authority +over their dependants. + +"Are you a vassal of Arnheim, Ital Schreckenwald, and do you speak to +the Lady of Arnheim in her own castle with an elevated voice, a saucy +look, and bonneted withal? Know your place; and, when you have +demanded pardon for your insolence, and told your errand in such +terms as befit your condition and mine, I may listen to what you have +to say." + +Schreckenwald's hand, in spite of him, stole to his bonnet, and +uncovered his haughty brow. + +"Noble lady," he said, in a somewhat milder tone, "excuse me if my +haste be unmannerly, but the alarm is instant. The soldiery of the +Rhinegrave have mutinied, plucked down the banners of their master, +and set up an independent ensign, which they call the pennon of St. +Nicholas, under which they declare that they will maintain peace with +God, and war with all the world. This castle cannot escape them, when +they consider that the first course to maintain themselves must be to +take possession of some place of strength. You must up then, and ride +with the very peep of dawn. For the present, they are busy with the +wine-skins of the peasants, but when they wake in the morning they +will unquestionably march hither; and you may chance to fall into the +hands of those who will think of the terrors of the castle of Arnheim +as the figments of a fairy tale, and laugh at its mistress's +pretensions to honour and respect." + +"Is it impossible to make resistance? The castle is strong," said the +young lady, "and I am unwilling to leave the house of my fathers +without attempting somewhat in our defence." + +"Five hundred men," said Schreckenwald, "might garrison Arnheim, +battlement and tower. With a less number it were madness to attempt to +keep such an extent of walls; and how to get twenty soldiers together, +I am sure I know not.--So, having now the truth of the story, let me +beseech you to dismiss this guest,--too young, I think, to be the +inmate of a lady's bower,--and I will point to him the nighest way out +of the castle; for this is a strait in which we must all be contented +with looking to our own safety." + +"And whither is it that you propose to go?" said the Baroness, +continuing to maintain, in respect to Ital Schreckenwald, the complete +and calm assertion of absolute superiority, to which the seneschal +gave way with such marks of impatience as a fiery steed exhibits under +the management of a complete cavalier. + +"To Strasburg, I propose to go,--that is, if it so please you,--with +such slight escort as I can get hastily together by daybreak. I trust +we may escape being observed by the mutineers; or, if we fall in with +a party of stragglers, I apprehend but little difficulty in forcing my +way." + +"And wherefore do you prefer Strasburg as a place of asylum?" + +"Because I trust we shall there meet your excellency's father, the +noble Count Albert of Geierstein." + +"It is well," said the young lady.--"You also, I think, Seignor +Philipson, spoke of directing your course to Strasburg. If it consist +with your convenience, you may avail yourself of the protection of my +escort as far as that city, where you expect to meet your father." + +It will readily be believed that Arthur cheerfully bowed assent to a +proposal which was to prolong their remaining in society together, and +might possibly, as his romantic imagination suggested, afford him an +opportunity, on a road beset with dangers, to render some service of +importance. + +Ital Schreckenwald attempted to remonstrate. + +"Lady!--lady!"--he said, with some marks of impatience. + +"Take breath and leisure, Schreckenwald," said Anne, "and you will be +more able to express yourself with distinctness, and with respectful +propriety." + +The impatient vassal muttered an oath betwixt his teeth, and answered +with forced civility,--"Permit me to state, that our case requires we +should charge ourselves with the care of no one but you. We shall be +few enough for your defence, and I cannot permit any stranger to +travel with us." + +"If," said Arthur, "I conceived that I was to be a useless incumbrance +on the retreat of this noble young lady, worlds, Sir Squire, would not +induce me to accept her offer. But I am neither child nor woman--I am +a full-grown man, and ready to show such good service as manhood may +in defence of your lady." + +"If we must not challenge your valour and ability, young sir," said +Schreckenwald, "who shall answer for your fidelity?" + +"To question that elsewhere," said Arthur, "might be dangerous." + +But Anne interfered between them. "We must straight to rest, and +remain prompt for alarm, perhaps even before the hour of dawn. +Schreckenwald, I trust to your care for due watch and ward.--You have +men enough at least for that purpose.--And hear and mark--It is my +desire and command, that this gentleman be accommodated with lodgings +here for this night, and that he travel with us to-morrow. For this I +will be responsible to my father, and your part is only to obey my +commands. I have long had occasion to know both the young man's father +and himself, who were ancient guests of my uncle, the Landamman. On +the journey you will keep the youth beside you, and use such courtesy +to him as your rugged temper will permit." + +Ital Schreckenwald intimated his acquiescence with a look of +bitterness, which it were vain to attempt to describe. It expressed +spite, mortification, humbled pride, and reluctant submission. He did +submit, however, and ushered young Philipson into a decent apartment +with a bed, which the fatigue and agitation of the preceding day +rendered very acceptable. + +Notwithstanding the ardour with which Arthur expected the rise of the +next dawn, his deep repose, the fruit of fatigue, held him until the +reddening of the east, when the voice of Schreckenwald exclaimed, "Up, +Sir Englishman, if you mean to accomplish your boast of loyal service. +It is time we were in the saddle, and we shall tarry for no +sluggards." + +Arthur was on the floor of the apartment, and dressed, in almost an +instant, not forgetting to put on his shirt of mail, and assume +whatever weapons seemed most fit to render him an efficient part of +the convoy. He next hastened to seek out the stable, to have his horse +in readiness; and descending for that purpose into the under story of +the lower mass of buildings, he was wandering in search of the way +which led to the offices, when the voice of Annette Veilchen softly +whispered, "This way, Seignor Philipson; I would speak with you." + +The Swiss maiden, at the same time, beckoned him into a small room, +where he found her alone. + +"Were you not surprised," she said, "to see my lady queen it so over +Ital Schreckenwald, who keeps every other person in awe with his stern +looks and cross words? But the air of command seems so natural to her, +that, instead of being a baroness, she might have been an empress. It +must come of birth, I think, after all, for I tried last night to take +state upon me, after the fashion of my mistress, and, would you think +it, the brute Schreckenwald threatened to throw me out of the window? +But if ever I see Martin Sprenger again, I'll know if there is +strength in a Swiss arm, and virtue in a Swiss quarter-staff.--But +here I stand prating, and my lady wishes to see you for a minute ere +we take to horse." + +"Your lady?" said Arthur, starting. "Why did you lose an instant? why +not tell me before?" + +"Because I was only to keep you here till she came, and--here she is." + +Anne of Geierstein entered, fully attired for her journey. Annette, +always willing to do as she would wish to be done by, was about to +leave the apartment, when her mistress, who had apparently made up her +mind concerning what she had to do or say, commanded her positively to +remain. + +"I am sure," she said, "Seignor Philipson will rightly understand the +feelings of hospitality--I will say of friendship--which prevented my +suffering him to be expelled from my castle last night, and which have +determined me this morning to admit of his company on the somewhat +dangerous road to Strasburg. At the gate of that town we part, I to +join my father, you to place yourself under the direction of yours. +From that moment intercourse between us ends, and our remembrance of +each other must be as the thoughts which we pay to friends deceased." + +"Tender recollections," said Arthur, passionately, "more dear to our +bosoms than all we have surviving upon earth." + +"Not a word in that tone," answered the maiden. "With night delusion +should end, and reason awaken with dawning. One word more--Do not +address me on the road; you may, by doing so, expose me to vexatious +and insulting suspicion, and yourself to quarrels and peril.--Farewell, +our party is ready to take horse." + +She left the apartment, where Arthur remained for a moment deeply +bewildered in grief and disappointment. The patience, nay, even +favour, with which Anne of Geierstein had, on the previous night, +listened to his passion, had not prepared him for the terms of reserve +and distance which she now adopted towards him. He was ignorant that +noble maids, if feeling or passion has for a moment swayed them from +the strict path of principle and duty, endeavour to atone for it by +instantly returning, and severely adhering, to the line from which +they have made a momentary departure. He looked mournfully on Annette, +who, as she had been in the room before Anne's arrival, took the +privilege of remaining a minute after her departure; but he read no +comfort in the glances of the confidant, who seemed as much +disconcerted as himself. + +"I cannot imagine what hath happened to her," said Annette; "to me she +is kind as ever, but to every other person about her she plays +countess and baroness with a witness; and now she is begun to +tyrannise over her own natural feelings--and--if this be greatness, +Annette Veilchen trusts always to remain the penniless Swiss girl; she +is mistress of her own freedom, and at liberty to speak with her +bachelor when she pleases, so as religion and maiden modesty suffer +nothing in the conversation. Oh, a single daisy twisted with content +into one's hair, is worth all the opals in India, if they bind us to +torment ourselves and other people, or hinder us from speaking our +mind, when our heart is upon our tongue. But never fear, Arthur; for +if she has the cruelty to think of forgetting you, you may rely on one +friend who, while she has a tongue, and Anne has ears, will make it +impossible for her to do so." + +So saying, away tripped Annette, having first indicated to Philipson +the passage by which he would find the lower court of the castle. +There his steed stood ready, among about twenty others. Twelve of +these were accoutred with war saddles, and frontlets of proof, being +intended for the use of as many cavaliers, or troopers, retainers of +the family of Arnheim, whom the seneschal's exertions had been able to +collect on the spur of the occasion. Two palfreys, somewhat +distinguished by their trappings, were designed for Anne of Geierstein +and her favourite female attendant. The other menials, chiefly boys +and women servants, had inferior horses. At a signal made, the +troopers took their lances and stood by their steeds, till the females +and menials were mounted and in order; they then sprang into their +saddles and began to move forward, slowly and with great precaution. +Schreckenwald led the van, and kept Arthur Philipson close beside +him. Anne and her attendant were in the centre of the little body, +followed by the unwarlike train of servants, while two or three +experienced cavaliers brought up the rear, with strict orders to guard +against surprise. + +On their being put into motion, the first thing which surprised Arthur +was, that the horses' hoofs no longer sent forth the sharp and ringing +sound arising from the collision of iron and flint, and as the morning +light increased he could perceive that the fetlock and hoof of every +steed, his own included, had been carefully wrapped around with a +sufficient quantity of wool, to prevent the usual noise which +accompanied their motions. It was a singular thing to behold the +passage of the little body of cavalry down the rocky road which led +from the castle, unattended with the noise which we are disposed to +consider as inseparable from the motions of horse, the absence of +which seemed to give a peculiar and almost an unearthly appearance to +the cavalcade. + +They passed in this manner the winding path which led from the castle +of Arnheim to the adjacent village, which, as was the ancient feudal +custom, lay so near the fortress that its inhabitants, when summoned +by their lord, could instantly repair for its defence. But it was at +present occupied by very different inhabitants, the mutinous soldiers +of the Rhinegrave. When the party from Arnheim approached the entrance +of the village, Schreckenwald made a signal to halt, which was +instantly obeyed by his followers. He then rode forward in person to +reconnoitre, accompanied by Arthur Philipson, both moving with the +utmost steadiness and precaution. The deepest silence prevailed in +the deserted streets. Here and there a soldier was seen, seemingly +designed for a sentinel, but uniformly fast asleep. + +"The swinish mutineers!" said Schreckenwald; "a fair night-watch they +keep, and a beautiful morning's rouse would I treat them with, were +not the point to protect yonder peevish wench.--Halt thou here, +stranger, while I ride back and bring them on--there is no danger." + +Schreckenwald left Arthur as he spoke, who, alone in the street of a +village filled with banditti, though they were lulled into temporary +insensibility, had no reason to consider his case as very comfortable. +The chorus of a wassel song, which some reveller was trolling over in +his sleep; or, in its turn, the growling of some village cur, seemed +the signal for an hundred ruffians to start up around him. But in the +space of two or three minutes, the noiseless cavalcade, headed by Ital +Schreckenwald, again joined him, and followed their leader, observing +the utmost precaution not to give an alarm. All went well till they +reached the farther end of the village, where, although the +Baaren-hauter[4] who kept guard was as drunk as his companions on +duty, a large shaggy dog which lay beside him was more vigilant. As +the little troop approached, the animal sent forth a ferocious yell, +loud enough to have broken the rest of the Seven Sleepers, and which +effectually dispelled the slumbers of its master. The soldier snatched +up his carabine and fired, he knew not well at what, or for what +reason. The ball, however, struck Arthur's horse under him, and, as +the animal fell, the sentinel rushed forward to kill or make prisoner +the rider. + +"Haste on, haste on, men of Arnheim! care for nothing but the young +lady's safety," exclaimed the leader of the band. + +"Stay, I command you;--aid the stranger, on your lives!"--said Anne, +in a voice which, usually gentle and meek, she now made heard by those +around her, like the note of a silver clarion. "I will not stir till +he is rescued." + +Schreckenwald had already spurred his horse for flight; but, +perceiving Anne's reluctance to follow him, he dashed back, and +seizing a horse which, bridled and saddled, stood picketed near him, +he threw the reins to Arthur Philipson; and pushing his own horse, at +the same time, betwixt the Englishman and the soldier, he forced the +latter to quit the hold he had on his person. In an instant Philipson +was again mounted, when, seizing a battle-axe which hung at the +saddle-bow of his new steed, he struck down the staggering sentinel, +who was endeavouring again to seize upon him. The whole troop then +rode off at a gallop, for the alarm began to grow general in the +village; some soldiers were seen coming out of their quarters, and +others were beginning to get upon horseback. Before Schreckenwald and +his party had ridden a mile, they heard more than once the sound of +bugles; and when they arrived upon the summit of an eminence +commanding a view of the village, their leader, who, during the +retreat, had placed himself in the rear of his company, now halted to +reconnoitre the enemy they had left behind them. There was bustle and +confusion in the street, but there did not appear to be any pursuit; +so that Schreckenwald followed his route down the river, with speed +and activity indeed, but with so much steadiness, at the same time, as +not to distress the slowest horse of his party. + +When they had ridden two hours and more, the confidence of their +leader was so much augmented, that he ventured to command a halt at +the edge of a pleasant grove, which served to conceal their number, +whilst both riders and horses took some refreshment, for which purpose +forage and provisions had been borne along with them. Ital +Schreckenwald, having held some communication with the Baroness, +continued to offer their travelling companion a sort of surly +civility. He invited him to partake of his own mess, which was indeed +little different from that which was served out to the other troopers, +but was seasoned with a glass of wine from a more choice flask. + +"To your health, brother," he said; "if you tell this day's story +truly, you will allow that I was a true comrade to you two hours +since, in riding through the village of Arnheim." + +"I will never deny it, fair sir," said Philipson, "and I return you +thanks for your timely assistance; alike, whether it sprang from your +mistress's order, or your own good-will." + +"Ho! ho! my friend," said Schreckenwald, laughing, "you are a +philosopher, and can try conclusions while your horse lies rolling +above you, and a Baaren-hauter aims his sword at your throat?--Well, +since your wit hath discovered so much, I care not if you know, that I +should not have had much scruple to sacrifice twenty such smooth-faced +gentlemen as yourself, rather than the young Baroness of Arnheim had +incurred the slightest danger." + +"The propriety of the sentiment," said Philipson, "is so undoubtedly +correct, that I subscribe to it, even though it is something +discourteously expressed towards myself." + +In making this reply, the young man, provoked at the insolence of +Schreckenwald's manner, raised his voice a little. The circumstance +did not escape observation, for, on the instant, Annette Veilchen +stood before them, with her mistress's commands on them both to speak +in whispers, or rather to be altogether silent. + +"Say to your mistress that I am mute," said Philipson. + +"Our mistress, the Baroness, says," continued Annette, with an +emphasis on the title, to which she began to ascribe some talismanic +influence,--"the Baroness, I tell you, says, that silence much +concerns our safety, for it were most hazardous to draw upon this +little fugitive party the notice of any passengers who may pass along +the road during the necessary halt; and so, sirs, it is the Baroness's +request that you will continue the exercise of your teeth as fast as +you can, and forbear that of your tongues till you are in a safer +condition." + +"My lady is wise," answered Ital Schreckenwald, "and her maiden is +witty. I drink, Mrs. Annette, in a cup of Rudersheimer, to the +continuance of her sagacity, and of your amiable liveliness of +disposition. Will it please you, fair mistress, to pledge me in this +generous liquor?" + +"Out, thou German wine-flask!--Out, thou eternal swill-flagon!--Heard +you ever of a modest maiden who drank wine before she had dined?" + +"Remain without the generous inspiration then," said the German, "and +nourish thy satirical vein on sour cider or acid whey." + +A short space having been allowed to refresh themselves, the little +party again mounted their horses, and travelled with such speed, that +long before noon they arrived at the strongly fortified town of Kehl, +opposite to Strasburg, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. + +It is for local antiquaries to discover whether the travellers crossed +from Kehl to Strasburg by the celebrated bridge of boats which at +present maintains the communication across the river, or whether they +were wafted over by some other mode of transportation. It is enough +that they passed in safety, and had landed on the other side, +where--whether she dreaded that he might forget the charge she had +given him, that here they were to separate, or whether she thought +that something more might be said in the moment of parting--the young +Baroness, before remounting her horse, once more approached Arthur +Philipson, who too truly guessed the tenor of what she had to say. + +"Gentle stranger," she said, "I must now bid you farewell. But first +let me ask if you know whereabouts you are to seek your father?" + +"In an inn called the Flying Stag," said Arthur, dejectedly; "but +where that is situated in this large town, I know not." + +"Do you know the place, Ital Schreckenwald?" + +"I, young lady?--Not I--I know nothing of Strasburg and its inns. I +believe most of our party are as ignorant as I am." + +"You and they speak German, I suppose," said the Baroness, drily, "and +can make inquiry more easily than a foreigner? Go, sir, and forget +not that humanity to the stranger is a religious duty." + +With that shrug of the shoulders which testifies a displeased messenger, +Ital went to make some inquiry, and, in his absence, brief as it was, +Anne took an opportunity to say apart,--"Farewell!--Farewell! Accept +this token of friendship, and wear it for my sake. May you be happy!" + +Her slender fingers dropped into his hand a very small parcel. He +turned to thank her, but she was already at some distance; and +Schreckenwald, who had taken his place by his side, said in his harsh +voice, "Come, Sir Squire, I have found out your place of rendezvous, +and I have but little time to play the gentleman-usher." + +He then rode on; and Philipson, mounted on his military charger, +followed him in silence to the point where a large street joined, or +rather crossed, that which led from the quay on which they had landed. + +"Yonder swings the Flying Stag," said Ital, pointing to an immense +sign, which, mounted on a huge wooden frame, crossed almost the whole +breadth of the street. "Your intelligence can, I think, hardly abandon +you, with such a guide-post in your eye." + +So saying, he turned his horse without further farewell, and rode back +to join his mistress and her attendants. + +Philipson's eyes rested on the same group for a moment, when he was +recalled to a sense of his situation by the thoughts of his father; +and, spurring his jaded horse down the cross street, he reached the +hostelry of the Flying Stag. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[4] _Baaren-hauter_,--he of the Bear's hide,--a nickname for a German +private soldier. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + I was, I must confess, + Great Albion's queen in former golden days; + But now mischance hath trod my title down, + And with dishonour laid me on the ground; + Where I must take like seat unto my fortune, + And to my humble seat conform myself. + _Henry VI. Part III._ + + +The hostelry of the Flying Stag, in Strasburg, was, like every inn in +the empire at the period, conducted much with the same discourteous +inattention to the wants and accommodation of the guests as that of +John Mengs. But the youth and good looks of Arthur Philipson, +circumstances which seldom or never fail to produce some effect where +the fair are concerned, prevailed upon a short, plump, dimpled, +blue-eyed, fair-skinned yungfrau, the daughter of the landlord of the +Flying Stag (himself a fat old man, pinned to the oaken chair in the +_stube_), to carry herself to the young Englishman with a degree of +condescension which, in the privileged race to which she belonged, was +little short of degradation. She not only put her light buskins and +her pretty ankles in danger of being soiled by tripping across the +yard to point out an unoccupied stable, but, on Arthur's inquiry after +his father, condescended to recollect that such a guest as he +described had lodged in the house last night, and had said he expected +to meet there a young person, his fellow-traveller. + +"I will send him out to you, fair sir," said the little yungfrau with +a smile, which, if things of the kind are to be valued by their rare +occurrence, must have been reckoned inestimable. + +She was as good as her word. In a few instants the elder Philipson +entered the stable, and folded his son in his arms. + +"My son--my dear son!" said the Englishman, his usual stoicism broken +down and melted by natural feeling and parental tenderness,--"Welcome +to me at all times--welcome, in a period of doubt and danger--and most +welcome of all, in a moment which forms the very crisis of our fate. +In a few hours I shall know what we may expect from the Duke of +Burgundy.--Hast thou the token?" + +Arthur's hand first sought that which was nearest to his heart, both +in the literal and allegorical sense--the small parcel, namely, which +Anne had given him at parting. But he recollected himself in the +instant, and presented to his father the packet which had been so +strangely lost and recovered at La Ferette. + +"It hath run its own risk since you saw it," he observed to his +father, "and so have I mine. I received hospitality at a castle last +night, and behold a body of lanzknechts in the neighbourhood began in +the morning to mutiny for their pay. The inhabitants fled from the +castle to escape their violence, and, as we passed their leaguer in +the grey of the morning, a drunken Baaren-hauter shot my poor horse, +and I was forced, in the way of exchange, to take up with his heavy +Flemish animal, with its steel saddle, and its clumsy chaffron." + +"Our road is beset with perils," said his father. "I too have had my +share, having been in great danger [he told not its precise nature] at +an inn where I rested last night. But I left it in the morning, and +proceeded hither in safety. I have at length, however, obtained a safe +escort to conduct me to the Duke's camp near Dijon; and I trust to +have an audience of him this evening. Then, if our last hope should +fail, we will seek the seaport of Marseilles, hoist sail for Candia or +for Rhodes, and spend our lives in defence of Christendom, since we +may no longer fight for England." + +Arthur heard these ominous words without reply; but they did not the +less sink upon his heart, deadly as the doom of the judge which +secludes the criminal from society and all its joys, and condemns him +to an eternal prison-house. The bells from the cathedral began to toll +at this instant, and reminded the elder Philipson of the duty of +hearing mass, which was said at all hours in some one or other of the +separate chapels which are contained in that magnificent pile. His son +followed, on an intimation of his pleasure. + +In approaching the access to this superb cathedral, the travellers +found it obstructed, as is usual in Catholic countries, by the number +of mendicants of both sexes, who crowded round the entrance to give +the worshippers an opportunity of discharging the duty of alms-giving, +so positively enjoined as a chief observance of their Church. The +Englishmen extricated themselves from their importunity by bestowing, +as is usual on such occasions, a donative of small coin upon those who +appeared most needy, or most deserving of their charity. One tall +woman stood on the steps close to the door, and extended her hand to +the elder Philipson, who, struck with her appearance, exchanged for a +piece of silver the copper coins which he had been distributing +amongst others. + +"A marvel!" she said, in the English language, but in a tone +calculated only to be heard by him alone, although his son also caught +the sound and sense of what she said,--"Ay, a miracle!--An Englishman +still possesses a silver piece, and can afford to bestow it on the +poor!" + +Arthur was sensible that his father started somewhat at the voice or +words, which bore, even in his ear, something of deeper import than +the observation of an ordinary mendicant. But after a glance at the +female who thus addressed him, his father passed onwards into the body +of the church, and was soon engaged in attending to the solemn +ceremony of the mass, as it was performed by a priest at the altar of +a chapel divided from the main body of the splendid edifice, and +dedicated, as it appeared from the image over the altar, to St. +George; that military saint, whose real history is so obscure, though +his popular legend rendered him an object of peculiar veneration +during the feudal ages. The ceremony was begun and finished with all +customary forms. The officiating priest, with his attendants, +withdrew, and though some of the few worshippers who had assisted at +the solemnity remained telling their beads, and occupied with the +performance of their private devotions, far the greater part left the +chapel, to visit other shrines, or to return to the prosecution of +their secular affairs. + +But Arthur Philipson remarked that, whilst they dropped off one after +another, the tall woman who had received his father's alms continued +to kneel near the altar; and he was yet more surprised to see that his +father himself, who, he had many reasons to know, was desirous to +spend in the church no more time than the duties of devotion +absolutely claimed, remained also on his knees, with his eyes resting +on the form of the veiled devotee (such she seemed from her dress), as +if his own motions were to be guided by hers. By no idea which +occurred to him was Arthur able to form the least conjecture as to his +father's motives--he only knew that he was engaged in a critical and +dangerous negotiation, liable to influence or interruption from +various quarters; and that political suspicion was so generally awake, +both in France, Italy, and Flanders, that the most important agents +were often obliged to assume the most impenetrable disguises, in order +to insinuate themselves without suspicion into the countries where +their services were required. Louis XI., in particular, whose singular +policy seemed in some degree to give a character to the age in which +he lived, was well known to have disguised his principal emissaries +and envoys in the fictitious garbs of mendicant monks, minstrels, +gypsies, and other privileged wanderers of the meanest description. + +Arthur concluded, therefore, that it was not improbable that this +female might, like themselves, be something more than her dress +imported; and he resolved to observe his father's deportment towards +her, and regulate his own actions accordingly. A bell at last +announced that mass, upon a more splendid scale, was about to be +celebrated before the high altar of the cathedral itself, and its +sound withdrew from the sequestered chapel of St. George the few who +had remained at the shrine of the military saint, excepting the father +and son, and the female penitent who kneeled opposite to them. When +the last of the worshippers had retired, the female arose and advanced +towards the elder Philipson, who, folding his arms on his bosom, and +stooping his head, in an attitude of obeisance which his son had never +before seen him assume, appeared rather to wait what she had to say, +than to propose addressing her. + +There was a pause. Four lamps, lighted before the shrine of the saint, +cast a dim radiance on his armour and steed, represented as he was in +the act of transfixing with his lance the prostrate dragon, whose +outstretched wings and writhing neck were in part touched by their +beams. The rest of the chapel was dimly illuminated by the autumnal +sun, which could scarce find its way through the stained panes of the +small lanceolated window, which was its only aperture to the open air. +The light fell doubtful and gloomy, tinged with the various hues +through which it passed, upon the stately yet somewhat broken and +dejected form of the female, and on those of the melancholy and +anxious father, and his son, who, with all the eager interest of +youth, suspected and anticipated extraordinary consequences from so +singular an interview. + +At length the female approached to the same side of the shrine with +Arthur and his father, as if to be more distinctly heard, without +being obliged to raise the slow solemn voice in which she had spoken. + +"Do you here worship," she said, "the St. George of Burgundy, or the +St. George of merry England, the flower of chivalry?" + +"I serve," said Philipson, folding his hands humbly on his bosom, "the +saint to whom this chapel is dedicated, and the Deity with whom I hope +for his holy intercession, whether here or in my native country." + +"Ay--you," said the female, "even you can forget--you, even you, who +have been numbered among the mirror of knighthood--can forget that you +have worshipped in the royal fane of Windsor--that you have there bent +a _gartered_ knee, where kings and princes kneeled around you--you can +forget this, and make your orisons at a foreign shrine, with a heart +undisturbed with the thoughts of what you have been,--praying, like +some poor peasant, for bread and life during the day that passes over +you." + +"Lady," replied Philipson, "in my proudest hours, I was, before the +Being to whom I preferred my prayers, but as a worm in the dust--In +His eyes I am now neither less nor more, degraded as I may be in the +opinion of my fellow-reptiles." + +"How canst thou think thus?" said the devotee; "and yet it is well +with thee that thou canst. But what have thy losses been, compared to +mine!" + +She put her hand to her brow, and seemed for a moment overpowered by +agonising recollections. + +Arthur pressed to his father's side, and inquired, in a tone of +interest which could not be repressed, "Father, who is this lady?--Is +it my mother?" + +"No, my son," answered Philipson;--"peace, for the sake of all you +hold dear or holy!" + +The singular female, however, heard both the question and answer, +though expressed in a whisper. + +"Yes," she said, "young man--I am--I should say I was--your mother; +the mother, the protectress, of all that was noble in England--I am +Margaret of Anjou." + +Arthur sank on his knees before the dauntless widow of Henry the +Sixth, who so long, and in such desperate circumstances, upheld, by +unyielding courage and deep policy, the sinking cause of her feeble +husband; and who, if she occasionally abused victory by cruelty and +revenge, had made some atonement by the indomitable resolution with +which she had supported the fiercest storms of adversity. Arthur had +been bred in devoted adherence to the now dethroned line of Lancaster, +of which his father was one of the most distinguished supporters; and +his earliest deeds of arms, which, though unfortunate, were neither +obscure nor ignoble, had been done in their cause. With an enthusiasm +belonging to his age and education, he in the same instant flung his +bonnet on the pavement, and knelt at the feet of his ill-fated +sovereign. + +Margaret threw back the veil which concealed those noble and majestic +features, which even yet,--though rivers of tears had furrowed her +cheek,--though care, disappointment, domestic grief, and humbled pride +had quenched the fire of her eye, and wasted the smooth dignity of her +forehead,--even yet showed the remains of that beauty which once was +held unequalled in Europe. The apathy with which a succession of +misfortunes and disappointed hopes had chilled the feelings of the +unfortunate Princess was for a moment melted by the sight of the fair +youth's enthusiasm. She abandoned one hand to him, which he covered +with tears and kisses, and with the other stroked with maternal +tenderness his curled locks, as she endeavoured to raise him from the +posture he had assumed. His father, in the meanwhile, shut the door of +the chapel, and placed his back against it, withdrawing himself thus +from the group, as if for the purpose of preventing any stranger from +entering, during a scene so extraordinary. + +"And thou, then," said Margaret, in a voice where female tenderness +combated strangely with her natural pride of rank, and with the calm, +stoical indifference induced by the intensity of her personal +misfortunes; "thou, fair youth, art the last scion of the noble stem, +so many fair boughs of which have fallen in our hapless cause. Alas, +alas! what can I do for thee? Margaret has not even a blessing to +bestow. So wayward is her fate, that her benedictions are curses, and +she has but to look on you and wish you well, to insure your speedy +and utter ruin. I--I have been the fatal poison-tree, whose influence +has blighted and destroyed all the fair plants that arose beside and +around me, and brought death upon every one, yet am myself unable to +find it!" + +"Noble and royal mistress," said the elder Englishman, "let not your +princely courage, which has borne such extremities, be dismayed, now +that they are passed over, and that a chance at least of happier times +is approaching to you and to England." + +"To England, to _me_, noble Oxford!" said the forlorn and widowed +Queen.--"If to-morrow's sun could place me once more on the throne of +England, could it give back to me what I have lost? I speak not of +wealth or power--they are as nothing in the balance--I speak not of +the hosts of noble friends who have fallen in defence of me and +mine--Somersets, Percys, Staffords, Cliffords--they have found their +place in fame, in the annals of their country--I speak not of my +husband, he has exchanged the state of a suffering saint upon earth +for that of a glorified saint in heaven--But oh, Oxford! my son--my +Edward!--Is it possible for me to look on this youth, and not remember +that thy countess and I on the same night gave birth to two fair boys? +How oft we endeavoured to prophesy their future fortunes, and to +persuade ourselves that the same constellation which shone on their +birth would influence their succeeding life, and hold a friendly and +equal bias till they reached some destined goal of happiness and +honour! Thy Arthur lives; but, alas! my Edward, born under the same +auspices, fills a bloody grave!" + +She wrapped her head in her mantle, as if to stifle the complaints and +groans which maternal affection poured forth at these cruel +recollections. Philipson, or the exiled Earl of Oxford as we may now +term him, distinguished in those changeful times by the steadiness +with which he had always maintained his loyalty to the line of +Lancaster, saw the imprudence of indulging his sovereign in her +weakness. + + [Illustration: ARTHUR BEFORE THE QUEEN. + Drawn and Etched by R. de los Rios.] + +"Royal mistress," he said, "life's journey is that of a brief winter's +day, and its course will run on, whether we avail ourselves of its +progress or no. My sovereign is, I trust, too much mistress +of herself to suffer lamentation for what is passed to deprive +her of the power of using the present time. I am here in obedience to +your command; I am to see Burgundy forthwith, and if I find him pliant +to the purpose to which we would turn him, events may follow which +will change into gladness our present mourning. But we must use our +opportunity with speed as well as zeal. Let me know then, madam, for +what reason your Majesty hath come hither, disguised and in danger? +Surely it was not merely to weep over this young man that the +high-minded Queen Margaret left her father's court, disguised herself +in mean attire, and came from a place of safety to one of doubt at +least, if not of danger?" + +"You mock me, Oxford," said the unfortunate Queen, "or you deceive +yourself, if you think you still serve that Margaret whose word was +never spoken without a reason, and whose slightest action was +influenced by a motive. Alas! I am no longer the same firm and +rational being. The feverish character of grief, while it makes one +place hateful to me, drives me to another in very impotence and +impatience of spirit. My father's residence, thou say'st, is safe; but +is it tolerable for such a soul as mine? Can one who has been deprived +of the noblest and richest kingdom of Europe--one who has lost hosts +of noble friends--one who is a widowed consort, a childless +mother--one upon whose head Heaven hath poured forth its last vial of +unmitigated wrath,--can she stoop to be the companion of a weak old +man, who, in sonnets and in music, in mummery and folly, in harping +and rhyming, finds a comfort for all that poverty has that is +distressing; and, what is still worse, even a solace in all that is +ridiculous and contemptible?" + +"Nay, with your leave, madam," said her counsellor, "blame not the +good King René (_a_),[5] because, persecuted by fortune, he has been +able to find out for himself humbler sources of solace, which your +prouder spirit is disposed to disdain. A contention among his +minstrels has for him the animation of a knightly combat; and a crown +of flowers, twined by his troubadours and graced by their sonnets, he +accounts a valuable compensation for the diadems of Jerusalem, of +Naples, and of both Sicilies, of which he only possesses the empty +titles." + +"Speak not to me of the pitiable old man," said Margaret; "sunk below +even the hatred of his worst enemies, and never thought worthy of +anything more than contempt. I tell thee, noble Oxford, I have been +driven nearly mad with my forced residence at Aix, in the paltry +circle which he calls his court. My ears, tuned as they now are only +to sounds of affliction, are not so weary of the eternal tinkling of +harps, and squeaking of rebecks, and snapping of castanets;--my eyes +are not so tired of the beggarly affectation of court ceremonial, +which is only respectable when it implies wealth and expresses +power,--as my very soul is sick of the paltry ambition which can find +pleasure in spangles, tassels, and trumpery, when the reality of all +that is great and noble hath passed away. No, Oxford. If I am doomed +to lose the last cast which fickle fortune seems to offer me, I will +retreat into the meanest convent in the Pyrenean hills, and at least +escape the insult of the idiot gaiety of my father.--Let him pass from +our memory as from the page of history, in which his name will never +be recorded. I have much of more importance both to hear and to +tell.--And now, my Oxford, what news from Italy? Will the Duke of +Milan afford us assistance with his counsels, or with his treasures?" + +"With his counsels willingly, madam; but how you will relish them I +know not, since he recommends to us submission to our hapless fate, +and resignation to the will of Providence." + +"The wily Italian! Will not, then, Galeasso advance any part of his +hoards, or assist a friend, to whom he hath in his time full often +sworn faith?" + +"Not even the diamonds which I offered to deposit in his hands," +answered the Earl, "could make him unlock his treasury to supply us +with ducats for our enterprise. Yet he said, if Charles of Burgundy +should think seriously of an exertion in our favour, such was his +regard for that great prince, and his deep sense of your Majesty's +misfortunes, that he would consider what the state of his exchequer, +though much exhausted, and the condition of his subjects, though +impoverished by taxes and talliages, would permit him to advance in +your behalf." + +"The double-faced hypocrite!" said Margaret. "If the assistance of the +princely Burgundy lends us a chance of regaining what is our own, then +he will give us some paltry parcel of crowns, that our restored +prosperity may forget his indifference to our adversity!--But what of +Burgundy? I have ventured hither to tell you what I have learned, and +to hear report of your proceedings--a trusty watch provides for the +secrecy of our interview. My impatience to see you brought me hither +in this mean disguise. I have a small retinue at a convent a mile +beyond the town--I have had your arrival watched by the faithful +Lambert--and now I come to know your hopes or your fears, and to tell +you my own." + +"Royal lady," said the Earl, "I have not seen the Duke. You know his +temper to be wilful, sudden, haughty, and unpersuadable. If he can +adopt the calm and sustained policy which the times require, I little +doubt his obtaining full amends of Louis, his sworn enemy, and even of +Edward, his ambitious brother-in-law. But if he continues to yield to +extravagant fits of passion, with or without provocation, he may hurry +into a quarrel with the poor but hardy Helvetians, and is likely to +engage in a perilous contest, in which he cannot be expected to gain +anything, while he undergoes a chance of the most serious losses." + +"Surely," replied the Queen, "he will not trust the usurper Edward, +even in the very moment when he is giving the greatest proof of +treachery to his alliance?" + +"In what respect, madam?" replied Oxford. "The news you allude to has +not reached me." + +"How, my lord? Am I then the first to tell you that Edward of York has +crossed the sea (_b_) with such an army as scarce even the renowned +Henry V., my father-in-law, ever transported from France to Italy?" + +"So much I have indeed heard was expected," said Oxford; "and I +anticipated the effect as fatal to our cause." + +"Edward is arrived," said Margaret, "and the traitor and usurper hath +sent defiance to Louis of France, and demanded of him the crown of +that kingdom as his own right--that crown which was placed on the head +of my unhappy husband, when he was yet a child in the cradle." + +"It is then decided--the English are in France!" answered Oxford, in a +tone expressive of the deepest anxiety.--"And whom brings Edward with +him on this expedition?" + +"All--all the bitterest enemies of our house and cause--The false, the +traitorous, the dishonoured George, whom he calls Duke of Clarence--the +blood-drinker, Richard--the licentious Hastings--Howard--Stanley--in a +word, the leaders of all those traitors whom I would not name, unless +by doing so my curses could sweep them from the face of the earth." + +"And--I tremble to ask," said the Earl--"Does Burgundy prepare to join +them as a brother of the war, and make common cause with this Yorkish +host against King Louis of France?" + +"By my advices," replied the Queen, "and they are both private and +sure, besides that they are confirmed by the bruit of common fame--No, +my good Oxford, no!" + +"For that may the Saints be praised!" answered Oxford. "Edward of +York--I will not malign even an enemy--is a bold and fearless +leader--But he is neither Edward the Third, nor the heroic Black +Prince--nor is he that fifth Henry of Lancaster, under whom I won my +spurs, and to whose lineage the thoughts of his glorious memory would +have made me faithful, had my plighted vows of allegiance ever +permitted me to entertain a thought of varying, or of defection. Let +Edward engage in war with Louis without the aid of Burgundy, on which +he has reckoned. Louis is indeed no hero, but he is a cautious and +skilful general, more to be dreaded, perhaps, in these politic days, +than if Charlemagne could again raise the Oriflamme, surrounded by +Roland and all his paladins. Louis will not hazard such fields as +those of Cressy, of Poictiers, or of Agincourt. With a thousand lances +from Hainault, and twenty thousand crowns from Burgundy, Edward shall +risk the loss of England, while he is engaged in a protracted struggle +for the recovery of Normandy and Guienne. But what are the movements +of Burgundy?" + +"He has menaced Germany," said Margaret, "and his troops are now +employed in overrunning Lorraine, of which he has seized the principal +towns and castles." + +"Where is Ferrand de Vaudemont--a youth, it is said, of courage and +enterprise, and claiming Lorraine in right of his mother, Yolande of +Anjou, the sister of your Grace?" + +"Fled," replied the Queen, "into Germany or Helvetia." + +"Let Burgundy beware of him," said the experienced Earl; "for should +the disinherited youth obtain confederates in Germany, and allies +among the hardy Swiss, Charles of Burgundy may find him a far more +formidable enemy than he expects. We are strong for the present, only +in the Duke's strength, and if it is wasted in idle and desultory +efforts, our hopes, alas! vanish with his power, even if he should be +found to have the decided will to assist us. My friends in England +are resolute not to stir without men and money from Burgundy." + +"It is a fear," said Margaret, "but not our worst fear. I dread more +the policy of Louis, who, unless my espials have grossly deceived me, +has even already proposed a secret peace to Edward, offering with +large sums of money to purchase England to the Yorkists, and a truce +of seven years." + +"It cannot be," said Oxford. "No Englishman, commanding such an army +as Edward must now lead, dares for very shame to retire from France +without a manly attempt to recover his lost provinces." + +"Such would have been the thoughts of a rightful prince," said +Margaret, "who left behind him an obedient and faithful kingdom. Such +may not be the thoughts of this Edward, misnamed Plantagenet, base +perhaps in mind as in blood, since they say his real father was one +Blackburn, an archer of Middleham--usurper, at least, if not +bastard--such will not be his thoughts.[6] Every breeze that blows +from England will bring with it apprehensions of defection amongst +those over whom he has usurped authority. He will not sleep in peace +till he returns to England with those cut-throats, whom he relies upon +for the defence of his stolen crown. He will engage in no war with +Louis, for Louis will not hesitate to soothe his pride by +humiliation--to gorge his avarice and pamper his voluptuous +prodigality by sums of gold--and I fear much we shall soon hear of +the English army retiring from France with the idle boast, that they +have displayed their banners once more, for a week or two, in the +provinces which were formerly their own." + +"It the more becomes us to be speedy in moving Burgundy to decision," +replied Oxford; "and for that purpose I post to Dijon. Such an army as +Edward's cannot be transported over the narrow seas in several weeks. +The probability is, that they must winter in France, even if they +should have truce with King Louis. With a thousand Hainault lances +from the eastern part of Flanders, I can be soon in the North, where +we have many friends, besides the assurance of help from Scotland. The +faithful West will rise at a signal--a Clifford can be found, though +the mountain mists have hid him from Richard's researches--the Welsh +will assemble at the rallying word of Tudor--the Red Rose raises its +head once more--and so, God save King Henry!" + +"Alas!" said the Queen--"But no husband--no friend of mine--the son +but of my mother-in-law by a Welsh chieftain--cold, they say, and +crafty--But be it so--let me only see Lancaster triumph, and obtain +revenge upon York, and I will die contented!" + +"It is then your pleasure that I should make the proffers expressed by +your Grace's former mandates, to induce Burgundy to stir himself in +our cause? If he learns the proposal of a truce betwixt France and +England, it will sting sharper than aught I can say." + +"Promise all, however," said the Queen. "I know his inmost soul--it is +set upon extending the dominions of his House in every direction. For +this he has seized Gueldres--for this he now overruns and occupies +Lorraine--for this he covets such poor remnants of Provence as my +father still calls his own. With such augmented territories, he +proposes to exchange his ducal diadem for an arched crown of +independent sovereignty. Tell the Duke, Margaret can assist his +views--tell him, that my father René shall disown the opposition made +to the Duke's seizure of Lorraine--He shall do more--he shall declare +Charles his heir in Provence, with my ample consent--tell him, the old +man shall cede his dominions to him upon the instant that his +Hainaulters embark for England, some small pension deducted to +maintain a concert of fiddlers, and a troop of morrice-dancers. These +are René's only earthly wants. Mine are still fewer--Revenge upon +York, and a speedy grave!--For the paltry gold which we may need, thou +hast jewels to pledge--For the other conditions, security if +required." + +"For these, madam, I can pledge my knightly word, in addition to your +royal faith; and if more is required, my son shall be a hostage with +Burgundy." + +"Oh, no--no!" exclaimed the dethroned Queen, touched by perhaps the +only tender feeling, which repeated and extraordinary misfortunes had +not chilled into insensibility,--"Hazard not the life of the noble +youth--he that is the last of the loyal and faithful House of Vere--he +that should have been the brother in arms of my beloved Edward--he +that had so nearly been his companion in a bloody and untimely grave! +Do not involve this poor child in these fatal intrigues, which have +been so baneful to his family. Let him go with me. Him at least I +will shelter from danger whilst I live, and provide for when I am no +more." + +"Forgive me, madam," said Oxford, with the firmness which +distinguished him. "My son, as you deign to recollect, is a De Vere, +destined, perhaps, to be the last of his name. Fall, he may, but it +must not be without honour. To whatever dangers his duty and +allegiance call him, be it from sword or lance, axe or gibbet, to +these he must expose himself frankly, when his doing so can mark his +allegiance. His ancestors have shown him how to brave them all." + +"True, true," exclaimed the unfortunate Queen, raising her arms +wildly,--"All must perish--all that have honoured Lancaster--all that +have loved Margaret, or whom she has loved! The destruction must be +universal--the young must fall with the old--not a lamb of the +scattered flock shall escape!" + +"For God's sake, gracious madam," said Oxford, "compose yourself!--I +hear them knock on the chapel door." + +"It is the signal of parting," said the exiled Queen, collecting +herself. "Do not fear, noble Oxford, I am not often thus; but how +seldom do I see those friends, whose faces and voices can disturb the +composure of my despair! Let me tie this relic about thy neck, good +youth, and fear not its evil influence, though you receive it from an +ill-omened hand. It was my husband's, blessed by many a prayer, and +sanctified by many a holy tear; even my unhappy hands cannot pollute +it. I should have bound it on my Edward's bosom on the dreadful +morning of Tewkesbury fight; but he armed early--went to the field +without seeing me, and all my purpose was vain." + +She passed a golden chain round Arthur's neck as she spoke, which +contained a small gold crucifix of rich but barbarous manufacture. It +had belonged, said tradition, to Edward the Confessor. The knock at +the door of the chapel was repeated. + +"We must not tarry," said Margaret; "let us part here--you for Dijon, +I to Aix, my abode of unrest in Provence. Farewell--we may meet in a +better hour--yet how can I hope it? Thus I said on the morning before +the fight of St. Albans--thus on the dark dawning of Towton--thus on +the yet more bloody field of Tewkesbury--and what was the event? Yet +hope is a plant which cannot be rooted out of a noble breast, till the +last heart-string crack as it is pulled away." + +So saying, she passed through the chapel door, and mingled in the +miscellaneous assemblage of personages who worshipped or indulged +their curiosity, or consumed their idle hours amongst the aisles of +the cathedral. + +Philipson and his son, both deeply impressed with the singular +interview which had just taken place, returned to their inn, where +they found a pursuivant, with the Duke of Burgundy's badge and livery, +who informed them, that if they were the English merchants who were +carrying wares of value to the court of the Duke, he had orders to +afford them the countenance of his escort and inviolable character. +Under his protection they set out from Strasburg; but such was the +uncertainty of the Duke of Burgundy's motions, and such the numerous +obstacles which occurred to interrupt their journey, in a country +disturbed by the constant passage of troops and preparation for war, +that it was evening on the second day ere they reached the plain near +Dijon, on which the whole, or great part of his power, lay encamped. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[5] See Editor's Notes at the end of the Volume. Wherever a similar +reference occurs, the reader will understand that the same direction +applies. + +[6] The Lancastrian party threw the imputation of bastardy (which was +totally unfounded) upon Edward IV. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Thus said the Duke--thus did the Duke infer. + _Richard III._ + + +The eyes of the elder traveller were well accustomed to sights of +martial splendour, yet even he was dazzled with the rich and glorious +display of the Burgundian camp, in which, near the walls of Dijon, +Charles, the wealthiest prince in Europe, had displayed his own +extravagance, and encouraged his followers to similar profusion. The +pavilions of the meanest officers were of silk and samite, while those +of the nobility and great leaders glittered with cloth of silver, +cloth of gold, variegated tapestry, and other precious materials, +which in no other situation would have been employed as a cover from +the weather, but would themselves have been thought worthy of the most +careful protection. The horsemen and infantry who mounted guard were +arrayed in the richest and most gorgeous armour. A beautiful and very +numerous train of artillery was drawn up near the entrance of the +camp, and in its commander Philipson (to give the Earl the travelling +name to which our readers are accustomed) recognised Henry +Colvin(_c_), an Englishman of inferior birth, but distinguished for +his skill in conducting these terrible engines, which had of late come +into general use in war. The banners and pennons which were displayed +by every knight, baron, and man of rank floated before their tents, +and the owners of these transitory dwellings sat at the door +half-armed, and enjoyed the military contests of the soldiers, in +wrestling, pitching the bar, and other athletic exercises. + +Long rows of the noblest horses were seen at picket, prancing and +tossing their heads, as impatient of the inactivity to which they were +confined, or were heard neighing over the provender which was spread +plentifully before them. The soldiers formed joyous groups around the +minstrels and strolling jugglers, or were engaged in drinking-parties +at the sutlers' tents; others strolled about with folded arms, casting +their eyes now and then to the sinking sun, as if desirous that the +hour should arrive which should put an end to a day unoccupied, and +therefore tedious. + +At length the travellers reached, amidst the dazzling varieties of +this military display, the pavilion of the Duke himself, before which +floated heavily in the evening breeze the broad and rich banner, in +which glowed the armorial bearings and quarterings of a prince, Duke +of six provinces, and Count of fifteen counties, who was, from his +power, his disposition, and the success which seemed to attend his +enterprises, the general dread of Europe. The pursuivant made himself +known to some of the household, and the Englishmen were immediately +received with courtesy, though not such as to draw attention upon +them, and conveyed to a neighbouring tent, the residence of a general +officer, which they were given to understand was destined for their +accommodation, and where their packages accordingly were deposited, +and refreshments offered them. + +"As the camp is filled," said the domestic who waited upon them, "with +soldiers of different nations and uncertain dispositions, the Duke of +Burgundy, for the safety of your merchandise, has ordered you the +protection of a regular sentinel. In the meantime, be in readiness to +wait on his Highness, seeing you may look to be presently sent for." + +Accordingly, the elder Philipson was shortly after summoned to the +Duke's presence, introduced by a back entrance into the ducal +pavilion, and into that part of it which, screened by close curtains +and wooden barricades, formed Charles's own separate apartment. The +plainness of the furniture, and the coarse apparatus of the Duke's +toilette, formed a strong contrast to the appearance of the exterior +of the pavilion; for Charles, whose character was, in that as in other +things, far from consistent, exhibited in his own person during war an +austerity, or rather coarseness of dress, and sometimes of manners +also, which was more like the rudeness of a German lanzknecht, than +the bearing of a prince of exalted rank; while, at the same time, he +encouraged and enjoined a great splendour of expense and display +amongst his vassals and courtiers, as if to be rudely attired, and to +despise every restraint, even of ordinary ceremony, were a privilege +of the sovereign alone. Yet when it pleased him to assume state in +person and manners, none knew better than Charles of Burgundy how he +ought to adorn and demean himself. + +Upon his toilette appeared brushes and combs, which might have claimed +dismissal as past the term of service, over-worn hats and doublets, +dog-leashes, leather-belts, and other such paltry articles; amongst +which lay at random, as it seemed, the great diamond called +Sanci,--the three rubies termed the Three Brothers of Antwerp,--another +great diamond called the Lamp of Flanders, and other precious stones +of scarcely inferior value and rarity. This extraordinary display +somewhat resembled the character of the Duke himself, who mixed +cruelty with justice, magnanimity with meanness of spirit, economy +with extravagance, and liberality with avarice; being, in fact, +consistent in nothing excepting in his obstinate determination to +follow the opinion he had once formed, in every situation of things, +and through all variety of risks. + +In the midst of the valueless and inestimable articles of his wardrobe +and toilette, the Duke of Burgundy called out to the English +traveller, "Welcome, Herr Philipson--welcome, you of a nation whose +traders are princes, and their merchants the mighty ones of the earth. +What new commodities have you brought to gull us with? You merchants, +by St. George, are a wily generation." + +"Faith, no new merchandise I, my lord," answered the elder Englishman; +"I bring but the commodities which I showed your Highness the last +time I communicated with you, in the hope of a poor trader, that your +Grace may find them more acceptable upon a review, than when you first +saw them." + +"It is well, Sir--Philipville, I think they call you?--you are a +simple trader, or you take me for a silly purchaser, that you think to +gull me with the same wares which I fancied not formerly. Change of +fashion, man--novelty--is the motto of commerce; your Lancaster wares +have had their day, and I have bought of them like others, and was +like enough to have paid dear for them too. York is all the vogue +now." + +"It may be so among the vulgar," said the Earl of Oxford; "but for +souls like your Highness, faith, honour, and loyalty are jewels which +change of fancy, or mutability of taste, cannot put out of fashion." + +"Why, it may be, noble Oxford," said the Duke, "that I preserve in my +secret mind some veneration for these old-fashioned qualities, else +why should I have such regard for your person, in which they have ever +been distinguished? But my situation is painfully urgent, and should I +make a false step at this crisis, I might break the purposes of my +whole life. Observe me, Sir Merchant. Here has come over your old +competitor, Blackburn, whom some call Edward of York and of London, +with a commodity of bows and bills such as never entered France since +King Arthur's time; and he offers to enter into joint adventure with +me, or, in plain speech, to make common cause with Burgundy, till we +smoke out of his earths the old fox Louis, and nail his hide to the +stable-door. In a word, England invites me to take part with him +against my most wily and inveterate enemy, the King of France; to rid +myself of the chain of vassalage, and to ascend into the rank of +independent princes;--how think you, noble Earl, can I forego this +seducing temptation?" + +"You must ask this of some of your counsellors of Burgundy," said +Oxford; "it is a question fraught too deeply with ruin to my cause, +for me to give a fair opinion on it." + +"Nevertheless," said Charles, "I ask thee, as an honourable man, what +objections you see to the course proposed to me? Speak your mind, and +speak it freely." + +"My lord, I know it is in your Highness's nature to entertain no +doubts of the facility of executing anything which you have once +determined shall be done. Yet, though this prince-like disposition may +in some cases prepare for its own success, and has often done so, +there are others, in which, persisting in our purpose, merely because +we have once willed it, leads not to success, but to ruin. Look, +therefore, at this English army;--winter is approaching, where are +they to be lodged? how are they to be victualled? by whom are they to +be paid? Is your Highness to take all the expense and labour of +fitting them for the summer campaign? for, rely on it, an English army +never was, nor will be, fit for service, till they have been out of +their own island long enough to accustom them to military duty. They +are men, I grant, the fittest for soldiers in the world; but they are +not soldiers as yet, and must be trained to become such at your +Highness's expense." + +"Be it so," said Charles; "I think the Low Countries can find food for +the beef-consuming knaves for a few weeks, and villages for them to +lie in, and officers to train their sturdy limbs to war, and +provost-marshals enough to reduce their refractory spirit to +discipline." + +"What happens next?" said Oxford. "You march to Paris, add to Edward's +usurped power another kingdom; restore to him all the possessions +which England ever had in France, Normandy, Maine, Anjou, Gascony, and +all besides--Can you trust this Edward when you shall have thus +fostered his strength, and made him far stronger than this Louis whom +you have united to pull down?" + +"By St. George, I will not dissemble with you! It is in that very +point that my doubts trouble me. Edward is indeed my brother-in-law, +but I am a man little inclined to put my head under my wife's girdle." + +"And the times," said Philipson, "have too often shown the +inefficiency of family alliances, to prevent the most gross breaches +of faith." + +"You say well, Earl. Clarence betrayed his father-in-law; Louis +poisoned his brother--Domestic affections, pshaw! they sit warm enough +by a private man's fireside, but they cannot come into fields of +battle, or princes' halls, where the wind blows cold. No, my alliance +with Edward by marriage were little succour to me in time of need. I +would as soon ride an unbroken horse, with no better bridle than a +lady's garter. But what then is the result? He wars on Louis; +whichever gains the better, I, who must be strengthened in their +mutual weakness, receive the advantage--The Englishmen slay the French +with their cloth-yard shafts, and the Frenchmen, by skirmishes, waste, +weaken, and destroy the English. With spring I take the field with an +army superior to both, and then, St. George for Burgundy!" + +"And if, in the meanwhile, your Highness will deign to assist, even in +the most trifling degree, a cause the most honourable that ever knight +laid lance in rest for,--a moderate sum of money, and a small body of +Hainault lances, who may gain both fame and fortune by the service, +may replace the injured heir of Lancaster in the possession of his +native and rightful dominion." + +"Ay, marry, Sir Earl," said the Duke, "you come roundly to the point; +but we have seen, and indeed partly assisted, at so many turns betwixt +York and Lancaster, that we have some doubt which is the side to which +Heaven has given the right, and the inclinations of the people the +effectual power; we are surprised into absolute giddiness by so many +extraordinary revolutions of fortune as England has exhibited." + +"A proof, my lord, that these mutations are not yet ended, and that +your generous aid may give to the better side an effectual turn of +advantage." + +"And lend my cousin, Margaret of Anjou, my arm to dethrone my wife's +brother? Perhaps he deserves small good-will at my hands, since he and +his insolent nobles have been urging me with remonstrances, and even +threats, to lay aside all my own important affairs, and join Edward, +forsooth, in his knight-errant expedition against Louis. I will march +against Louis at my own time, and not sooner; and, by St. George! +neither island king, nor island noble, shall dictate to Charles of +Burgundy. You are fine conceited companions, you English of both +sides, that think the matters of your own bedlam island are as +interesting to all the world as to yourselves. But neither York nor +Lancaster, neither brother Blackburn nor cousin Margaret of Anjou, not +with John de Vere to back her, shall gull me. Men lure no hawks with +empty hands." + +Oxford, familiar with the Duke's disposition, suffered him to exhaust +himself in chafing, that any one should pretend to dictate his course +of conduct, and, when he was at length silent, replied with +calmness--"Do I live to hear the noble Duke of Burgundy, the mirror of +European chivalry, say, that no reason has been shown to him for an +adventure where a helpless queen is to be redressed--a royal house +raised from the dust? Is there not immortal _los_ and honour--the +trumpet of fame to proclaim the sovereign, who, alone in a degenerate +age, has united the duties of a generous knight with those of a +princely sovereign"---- + +The Duke interrupted him, striking him at the same time on the +shoulder--"And King René's five hundred fiddlers to tune their cracked +violins in my praise? and King René himself to listen to them, and +say, 'Well fought, Duke--well played, fiddler!' I tell thee, John of +Oxford, when thou and I wore maiden armour, such words as fame, +honour, _los_, knightly glory, lady's love, and so forth, were good +mottoes for our snow-white shields, and a fair enough argument for +splintering lances--Ay, and in tilt-yard, though somewhat old for +these fierce follies, I would jeopard my person in such a quarrel yet, +as becomes a knight of the order. But when we come to paying down of +crowns, and embarking of large squadrons, we must have to propose to +our subjects some substantial excuse for plunging them in war; some +proposal for the public good--or, by St. George! for our own private +advantage, which is the same thing. This is the course the world runs, +and, Oxford, to tell the plain truth, I mean to hold the same bias." + +"Heaven forbid that I should expect your Highness to act otherwise +than with a view to your subjects' welfare--the increase, that is, as +your Grace happily expresses it, of your own power and dominion. The +money we require is not in benevolence, but in loan; and Margaret is +willing to deposit these jewels, of which I think your Grace knows the +value, till she shall repay the sum which your friendship may advance +in her necessity." + +"Ha, ha!" said the Duke, "would our cousin make a pawnbroker of us, +and have us deal with her like a Jewish usurer with his debtor?--Yet, +in faith, Oxford, we may need the diamonds, for if this business were +otherwise feasible, it is possible that I myself must become a +borrower to aid my cousin's necessities. I have applied to the States +of the Duchy, who are now sitting, and expect, as is reasonable, a +large supply. But there are restless heads and close hands among them, +and they may be niggardly--So place the jewels on the table in the +meanwhile.--Well, say I am to be no sufferer in purse by this feat of +knight-errantry which you propose to me, still princes enter not into +war without some view of advantage?" + +"Listen to me, noble sovereign. You are naturally bent to unite the +great estates of your father, and those you have acquired by your own +arms, into a compact and firm dukedom"---- + +"Call it kingdom," said Charles; "it is the worthier word." + +"Into a kingdom, of which the crown shall sit as fair and even on your +Grace's brow as that of France on your present suzerain, Louis." + +"It need not such shrewdness as yours to descry that such is my +purpose," said the Duke; "else, wherefore am I here with helm on my +head, and sword by my side? And wherefore are my troops seizing on the +strong places in Lorraine, and chasing before them the beggarly De +Vaudemont, who has the insolence to claim it as his inheritance? Yes, +my friend, the aggrandisement of Burgundy is a theme for which the +duke of that fair province is bound to fight, while he can put foot in +stirrup." + +"But think you not," said the English Earl, "since you allow me to +speak freely with your Grace, on the footing of old acquaintanceship, +think you not that in this chart of your dominions, otherwise so +fairly bounded, there is something on the southern frontier which +might be arranged more advantageously for a King of Burgundy?" + +"I cannot guess whither you would lead me," said the Duke, looking at +a map of the Duchy and his other possessions, to which the Englishman +had pointed his attention, and then turning his broad keen eye upon +the face of the banished Earl. + +"I would say," replied the latter, "that, to so powerful a prince as +your Grace, there is no safe neighbour but the sea. Here is Provence, +which interferes betwixt you and the Mediterranean; Provence, with its +princely harbours, and fertile cornfields and vineyards. Were it not +well to include it in your map of sovereignty, and thus touch the +middle sea with one hand, while the other rested on the sea-coast of +Flanders?" + +"Provence, said you?" replied the Duke, eagerly. "Why, man, my very +dreams are of Provence. I cannot smell an orange but it reminds me of +its perfumed woods and bowers, its olives, citrons, and pomegranates. +But how to frame pretensions to it? Shame it were to disturb René, the +harmless old man, nor would it become a near relation. Then he is the +uncle of Louis; and most probably, failing his daughter Margaret, or +perhaps in preference to her, he hath named the French King his heir." + +"A better claim might be raised up in your Grace's own person," said +the Earl of Oxford, "if you will afford Margaret of Anjou the succour +she requires by me." + +"Take the aid thou requirest," replied the Duke; "take double the +amount of it in men and money! Let me but have a claim upon Provence, +though thin as a single thread of thy Queen Margaret's hair, and let +me alone for twisting it into the tough texture of a quadruple +cable.--But I am a fool to listen to the dreams of one who, ruined +himself, can lose little by holding forth to others the most +extravagant hopes." + +Charles breathed high, and changed complexion as he spoke. + +"I am not such a person, my Lord Duke," said the Earl. "Listen to +me--René is broken with years, fond of repose, and too poor to +maintain his rank with the necessary dignity; too good-natured, or too +feeble-minded, to lay further imposts on his subjects; weary of +contending with bad fortune, and desirous to resign his +territories"---- + +"His territories!" said Charles. + +"Yes, all he actually possesses; and the much more extensive dominions +which he has claim to, but which have passed from his sway." + +"You take away my breath!" said the Duke. "René resign Provence! and +what says Margaret--the proud, the high-minded Margaret--will she +subscribe to so humiliating a proceeding?" + +"For the chance of seeing Lancaster triumph in England, she would +resign, not only dominion, but life itself. And, in truth, the +sacrifice is less than it may seem to be. It is certain that, when +René dies, the King of France will claim the old man's county of +Provence as a male fief, and there is no one strong enough to back +Margaret's claim of inheritance, however just it may be." + +"It is just," said Charles; "it is undeniable! I will not hear of its +being denied or challenged--that is, when once it is established in +our own person. It is the true principle of the war for the public +good, that none of the great fiefs be suffered to revert again to the +crown of France, least of all while it stands on a brow so astucious +and unprincipled as that of Louis. Burgundy joined to Provence--a +dominion from the German Ocean to the Mediterranean! Oxford--thou art +my better angel!" + +"Your Grace must, however, reflect," said Oxford, "that honourable +provision must be made for King René." + +"Certainly, man, certainly; he shall have a score of fiddlers and +jugglers to play, roar, and recite to him from morning till night. He +shall have a court of troubadours, who shall do nothing but drink, +flute, and fiddle to him, and pronounce _arrests_ of _love_, to be +confirmed or reversed by an appeal to himself, the supreme _Roi +d'Amour_. And Margaret shall also be honourably sustained, in the +manner you may point out." + +"That will be easily settled," answered the English Earl. "If our +attempts on England succeed, she will need no aid from Burgundy. If +she fails, she retires into a cloister, and it will not be long that +she will need the honourable maintenance which, I am sure, your +Grace's generosity will willingly assign her." + +"Unquestionably," answered Charles; "and on a scale which will become +us both;--but, by my halidome, John of Vere, the abbess into whose +cloister Margaret of Anjou shall retire will have an ungovernable +penitent under her charge. Well do I know her; and, Sir Earl, I will +not clog our discourse by expressing any doubts, that, if she pleases, +she can compel her father to resign his estates to whomsoever she +will. She is like my brache, Gorgon, who compels whatsoever hound is +coupled with her to go the way she chooses, or she strangles him if he +resists. So has Margaret acted with her simple-minded husband, and I +am aware that her father, a fool of a different cast, must of +necessity be equally tractable. I think _I_ could have matched +her,--though my very neck aches at the thought of the struggles we +should have had for mastery.--But you look grave, because I jest with +the pertinacious temper of my unhappy cousin." + +"My lord," said Oxford, "whatever are or have been the defects of my +mistress, she is in distress, and almost in desolation. She is my +sovereign, and your Highness's cousin not the less." + +"Enough said, Sir Earl," answered the Duke. "Let us speak seriously. +Whatever we may think of the abdication of King René, I fear we shall +find it difficult to make Louis XI. see the matter as favourably as we +do. He will hold that the county of Provence is a male fief, and that +neither the resignation of René nor the consent of his daughter can +prevent its reverting to the crown of France, as the King of Sicily, +as they call him, hath no male issue." + +"That, may it please your Grace, is a question for battle to decide; +and your Highness has successfully braved Louis for a less important +stake. All I can say is, that, if your Grace's active assistance +enables the young Earl of Richmond to succeed in his enterprise, you +shall have the aid of three thousand English archers, if old John of +Oxford, for want of a better leader, were to bring them over himself." + +"A noble aid," said the Duke; "graced still more by him who promises +to lead them. Thy succour, noble Oxford, were precious to me, did you +but come with your sword by your side, and a single page at your back. +I know you well, both heart and head. But let us to this gear; exiles, +even the wisest, are privileged in promises, and sometimes--excuse me, +noble Oxford--impose on themselves as well as on their friends. What +are the hopes on which you desire me again to embark on so troubled +and uncertain an ocean as these civil contests of yours?" + +The Earl of Oxford produced a schedule, and explained to the Duke the +plan of his expedition, to be backed by an insurrection of the friends +of Lancaster, of which it is enough to say, that it was bold to the +verge of temerity; but yet so well compacted and put together, as to +bear, in those times of rapid revolution, and under a leader of +Oxford's approved military skill and political sagacity, a strong +appearance of probable success. + +While Duke Charles mused over the particulars of an enterprise +attractive and congenial to his own disposition,--while he counted +over the affronts which he had received from his brother-in-law, +Edward IV., the present opportunity for taking a signal revenge, and +the rich acquisition which he hoped to make in Provence by the cession +in his favour of René of Anjou and his daughter, the Englishman failed +not to press on his consideration the urgent necessity of suffering no +time to escape. + +"The accomplishment of this scheme," he said, "demands the utmost +promptitude. To have a chance of success, I must be in England, with +your Grace's auxiliary forces, before Edward of York can return from +France with his army." + +"And having come hither," said the Duke, "our worthy brother will be +in no hurry to return again. He will meet with black-eyed French women +and ruby-coloured French wine, and brother Blackburn is no man to +leave such commodities in a hurry." + +"My Lord Duke, I will speak truth of my enemy. Edward is indolent and +luxurious when things are easy around him, but let him feel the spur +of necessity, and he becomes as eager as a pampered steed. Louis, too, +who seldom fails in finding means to accomplish his ends, is bent upon +determining the English King to recross the sea--therefore, speed, +noble Prince--speed is the soul of your enterprise." + +"Speed!" said the Duke of Burgundy,--"Why, I will go with you, and see +the embarkation myself; and tried, approved soldiers you shall have, +such as are nowhere to be found save in Artois and Hainault." + +"But pardon yet, noble Duke, the impatience of a drowning wretch +urgently pressing for assistance.--When shall we to the coast of +Flanders, to order this important measure?" + +"Why, in a fortnight, or perchance a week, or, in a word, so soon as I +shall have chastised to purpose a certain gang of thieves and robbers, +who, as the scum of the caldron will always be uppermost, have got up +into the fastnesses of the Alps, and from thence annoy our frontiers +by contraband traffic, pillage, and robbery." + +"Your Highness means the Swiss confederates?" + +"Ay, the peasant churls give themselves such a name. They are a sort +of manumitted slaves of Austria, and, like a ban-dog, whose chain is +broken, they avail themselves of their liberty to annoy and rend +whatever comes in their way." + +"I travelled through their country from Italy," said the exiled Earl, +"and I heard it was the purpose of the Cantons to send envoys to +solicit peace of your Highness." + +"Peace!" exclaimed Charles.--"A proper sort of peaceful proceedings +those of their embassy have been! Availing themselves of a mutiny of +the burghers of La Ferette, the first garrison town which they +entered, they stormed the walls, seized on Archibald de Hagenbach, who +commanded the place on my part, and put him to death in the +market-place. Such an insult must be punished, Sir John de Vere; and +if you do not see me in the storm of passion which it well deserves, +it is because I have already given orders to hang up the base +runagates who call themselves ambassadors." + +"For God's sake, noble Duke," said the Englishman, throwing himself at +Charles's feet--"for your own character, for the sake of the peace of +Christendom, revoke such an order if it is really given!" + +"What means this passion?" said Duke Charles.--"What are these men's +lives to thee, excepting that the consequences of a war may delay your +expedition for a few days?" + +"May render it altogether abortive," said the Earl; "nay, _must_ needs +do so.--Hear me, Lord Duke. I was with these men on a part of their +journey." + +"You!" said the Duke--"you a companion of the paltry Swiss peasants? +Misfortune has sunk the pride of English nobility to a low ebb, when +you selected such associates." + +"I was thrown amongst them by accident," said the Earl. "Some of them +are of noble blood, and are, besides, men for whose peaceable +intentions I ventured to constitute myself their warrant." + +"On my honour, my Lord of Oxford, you graced them highly, and me no +less, in interfering between the Swiss and myself! Allow me to say +that I condescend, when, in deference to past friendship, I permit you +to speak to me of your own English affairs. Methinks you might well +spare me your opinion upon topics with which you have no natural +concern." + +"My Lord of Burgundy," replied Oxford, "I followed your banner to +Paris, and had the good luck to rescue you in the fight at Mont +L'Hery, when you were beset by the French men-at-arms"---- + +"We have not forgot it," said Duke Charles; "and it is a sign that we +keep the action in remembrance, that you have been suffered to stand +before us so long, pleading the cause of a set of rascals, whom we are +required to spare from the gallows that groans for them, because +forsooth they have been the fellow-travellers of the Earl of Oxford!" + +"Not so, my lord. I ask their lives, only because they are upon a +peaceful errand, and the leaders amongst them, at least, have no +accession to the crime of which you complain." + +The Duke traversed the apartment with unequal steps in much agitation, +his large eyebrows drawn down over his eyes, his hands clenched, and +his teeth set, until at length he seemed to take a resolution. He rung +a handbell of silver, which stood upon his table. + +"Here, Contay," he said to the gentleman of his chamber who entered, +"are these mountain fellows yet executed?" + +"No, may it please your Highness; but the executioner waits them so +soon as the priest hath confessed them." + +"Let them live," said the Duke. "We will hear to-morrow in what manner +they propose to justify their proceedings towards us." + +Contay bowed and left the apartment; then turning to the Englishman, +the Duke said, with an indescribable mixture of haughtiness with +familiarity and even kindness, but having his brows cleared, and his +looks composed,--"We are now clear of obligation, my Lord of +Oxford--you have obtained life for life--nay, to make up some +inequality which there may be betwixt the value of the commodities +bestowed, you have obtained six lives for one. I will, therefore, pay +no more attention to you, should you again upbraid me with the +stumbling horse at Mont L'Hery, or your own achievements on that +occasion. Most princes are contented with privately hating such men as +have rendered them extraordinary services--I feel no such +disposition--I only detest being reminded of having had occasion for +them.--Pshaw! I am half choked with the effort of foregoing my own +fixed resolution.--So ho! who waits there? Bring me to drink." + +An usher entered, bearing a large silver flagon, which, instead of +wine, was filled with ptisan slightly flavoured by aromatic herbs. + +"I am so hot and choleric by nature," said the Duke, "that our leeches +prohibit me from drinking wine. But you, Oxford, are bound by no such +regimen. Get thee to thy countryman, Colvin, the general of our +artillery. We commend thee to his custody and hospitality till +to-morrow, which must be a busy day, since I expect to receive the +answer of these wiseacres of the Dijon assembly of estates; and have +also to hear (thanks to your lordship's interference) these miserable +Swiss envoys, as they call themselves. Well, no more on't.--Good-night. +You may communicate freely with Colvin, who is, like yourself, an old +Lancastrian.--But hark ye, not a word respecting Provence--not even in +your sleep.--Contay, conduct this English gentleman to Colvin's tent. +He knows my pleasure respecting him." + +"So please your Grace," answered Contay, "I left the English +gentleman's son with Monsieur de Colvin." + +"What! thine own son, Oxford? And with thee here? Why did you not tell +me of him? Is he a true scion of the ancient tree?" + +"It is my pride to believe so, my lord. He has been the faithful +companion of all my dangers and wanderings." + +"Happy man!" said the Duke, with a sigh. "You, Oxford, have a son to +share your poverty and distress--I have none to be partner and +successor to my greatness." + +"You have a daughter, my lord," said the noble De Vere, "and it is to +be hoped she will one day wed some powerful prince, who may be the +stay of your Highness's house." + +"Never! By St. George, never!" answered the Duke, sharply and shortly. +"I will have no son-in-law, who may make the daughter's bed a +stepping-stone to reach the father's crown. Oxford, I have spoken more +freely than I am wont, perhaps more freely than I ought--but I hold +some men trustworthy, and believe you, Sir John de Vere, to be one of +them." + +The English nobleman bowed, and was about to leave his presence, but +the Duke presently recalled him. + +"There is one thing more, Oxford.--The cession of Provence is not +quite enough. René and Margaret must disavow this hot-brained Ferrand +de Vaudemont, who is making some foolish stir in Lorraine, in right of +his mother Yolande." + +"My lord," said Oxford, "Ferrand is the grandson of King René, the +nephew of Queen Margaret; but yet"---- + +"But yet, by St. George, his rights, as he calls them, on Lorraine +must positively be disowned. You talk of their family feelings, while +you are urging me to make war on my own brother-in-law!" + +"René's best apology for deserting his grandson," answered Oxford, +"will be his total inability to support and assist him. I will +communicate your Grace's condition, though it is a hard one." + +So saying, he left the pavilion. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + I humbly thank your Highness, + And am right glad to catch this good occasion + Most thoroughly to be winnow'd, where my chaff + And corn shall fly asunder. + _King Henry VIII._ + + +Colvin, the English officer, to whom the Duke of Burgundy, with +splendid pay and appointments, committed the charge of his artillery, +was owner of the tent assigned for the Englishman's lodging, and +received the Earl of Oxford with the respect due to his rank, and to +the Duke's especial orders upon that subject. He had been himself a +follower of the Lancaster faction, and of course was well disposed +towards one of the very few men of distinction whom he had known +personally, and who had constantly adhered to that family through the +train of misfortunes by which they seemed to be totally overwhelmed. A +repast, of which his son had already partaken, was offered to the Earl +by Colvin, who omitted not to recommend, by precept and example, the +good wine of Burgundy, from which the sovereign of the province was +himself obliged to refrain. + +"His Grace shows command of passion in that," said Colvin. "For, sooth +to speak, and only conversing betwixt friends, his temper grows too +headlong to bear the spur which a cup of cordial beverage gives to the +blood, and he, therefore, wisely restricts himself to such liquid as +may cool rather than inflame his natural fire of disposition." + +"I can perceive as much," said the Lancastrian noble. "When I first +knew the noble Duke, who was then Earl of Charolois, his temper, +though always sufficiently fiery, was calmness to the impetuosity +which he now displays on the smallest contradiction. Such is the +course of an uninterrupted flow of prosperity. He has ascended, by his +own courage and the advantage of circumstances, from the doubtful +place of a feudatory and tributary prince, to rank with the most +powerful sovereigns in Europe, and to assume independent majesty. But +I trust the noble starts of generosity which atoned for his wilful and +wayward temper are not more few than formerly?" + +"I have good right to say that they are not," replied the soldier of +fortune, who understood generosity in the restricted sense of +liberality. "The Duke is a noble and open-handed master." + +"I trust his bounty is conferred on men who are as faithful and steady +in their service as you, Colvin, have ever been. But I see a change in +your army. I know the banners of most of the old houses in +Burgundy--How is it that I observe so few of them in the Duke's camp? +I see flags, and pennons, and pennoncelles; but even to me, who have +been so many years acquainted with the nobility both of France and +Flanders, their bearings are unknown." + +"My noble Lord of Oxford," answered the officer, "it ill becomes a man +who lives on the Duke's pay to censure his conduct; but his Highness +hath of late trusted too much, as it seems to me, to the hired arms of +foreign levies, and too little to his own native subjects and +retainers. He holds it better to take into his pay large bands of +German and Italian mercenary soldiers, than to repose confidence in +the knights and squires who are bound to him by allegiance and feudal +faith. He uses the aid of his own subjects but as the means of +producing him sums of money, which he bestows on his hired troops. The +Germans are honest knaves enough while regularly paid; but Heaven +preserve me from the Duke's Italian bands, and that Campo-basso their +leader, who waits but the highest price to sell his Highness like a +sheep for the shambles!" + +"Think you so ill of him?" demanded the Earl. + +"So very ill indeed, that I believe," replied Colvin, "there is no +sort of treachery which the heart can devise, or the arm perpetrate, +that hath not ready reception in his breast, and prompt execution at +his hand. It is painful, my lord, for an honest Englishman like me to +serve in an army where such traitors have command. But what can I do, +unless I could once more find me a soldier's occupation in my native +country? I often hope it will please merciful Heaven again to awaken +those brave civil wars in my own dear England, where all was fair +fighting, and treason was unheard of." + +Lord Oxford gave his host to understand, that there was a possibility +that his pious wish of living and dying in his own country, and in the +practice of his profession, was not to be despaired of. Meantime he +requested of him, that early on the next morning he would procure him +a pass and an escort for his son, whom he was compelled to despatch +forthwith to Nancy, the residence of King René. + +"What!" said Colvin, "is my young Lord of Oxford to take a degree in +the Court of Love? for no other business is listened to at King René's +capital, save love and poetry." + +"I am not ambitious of such distinction for him, my good host," +answered Oxford; "but Queen Margaret is with her father, and it is but +fitting that the youth should kiss her hand." + +"Enough spoken," said the veteran Lancastrian. "I trust, though winter +is fast approaching, the Red Rose may bloom in spring." + +He then ushered the Earl of Oxford to the partition of the tent which +he was to occupy, in which there was a couch for Arthur also--their +host, as Colvin might be termed, assuring them that, with peep of day, +horses and faithful attendants should be ready to speed the youth on +his journey to Nancy. + +"And now, Arthur," said his father, "we must part once more. I dare +give thee, in this land of danger, no written communication to my +mistress, Queen Margaret; but say to her, that I have found the Duke +of Burgundy wedded to his own views of interest, but not averse to +combine them with hers. Say, that I have little doubt that he will +grant us the required aid, but not without the expected resignation in +his favour by herself and King René. Say, I would never have +recommended such a sacrifice for the precarious chance of overthrowing +the House of York, but that I am satisfied that France and Burgundy +are hanging like vultures over Provence, and that the one or other, or +both princes, are ready, on her father's demise, to pounce on such +possessions as they have reluctantly spared to him during his life. +An accommodation with Burgundy may therefore, on the one hand, insure +his active co-operation in the attempt on England; and, on the other, +if our high-spirited princess complies not with the Duke's request, +the justice of her cause will give no additional security to her +hereditary claims on her father's dominions. Bid Queen Margaret, +therefore, unless she should have changed her views, obtain King +René's formal deed of cession, conveying his estates to the Duke of +Burgundy, with her Majesty's consent. The necessary provisions to the +King and to herself may be filled up at her Grace's pleasure, or they +may be left blank. I can trust to the Duke's generosity to their being +suitably arranged. All that I fear is, that Charles may embroil +himself"---- + +"In some silly exploit, necessary for his own honour and the safety of +his dominions," answered a voice behind the lining of the tent; "and, +by doing so, attend to his own affairs more than to ours? Ha, Sir +Earl?" + +At the same time the curtain was drawn aside, and a person entered, in +whom, though clothed with the jerkin and bonnet of a private soldier +of the Walloon guard, Oxford instantly recognised the Duke of +Burgundy's harsh features and fierce eyes, as they sparkled from under +the fur and feather with which the cap was ornamented. + +Arthur, who knew not the Prince's person, started at the intrusion, +and laid his hand on his dagger; but his father made a signal which +stayed his hand, and he gazed with wonder on the solemn respect with +which the Earl received the intrusive soldier. The first word informed +him of the cause. + +"If this masking be done in proof of my faith, noble Duke, permit me +to say it is superfluous." + +"Nay, Oxford," answered the Duke, "I was a courteous spy; for I ceased +to play the eavesdropper, at the very moment when I had reason to +expect you were about to say something to anger me." + +"As I am a true Knight, my Lord Duke, if you had remained behind the +arras, you would only have heard the same truths which I am ready to +tell in your Grace's presence, though it may have chanced they might +have been more bluntly expressed." + +"Well, speak them then, in whatever phrase thou wilt--they lie in +their throats that say Charles of Burgundy was ever offended by advice +from a well-meaning friend." + +"I would then have said," replied the English Earl, "that all which +Margaret of Anjou had to apprehend, was that the Duke of Burgundy, +when buckling on his armour to win Provence for himself, and to afford +to her his powerful assistance to assert her rights in England, was +likely to be withdrawn from such high objects by an imprudently eager +desire to avenge himself of imaginary affronts, offered to him, as he +supposed, by certain confederacies of Alpine mountaineers, over whom +it is impossible to gain any important advantage, or acquire +reputation, while, on the contrary, there is a risk of losing both. +These men dwell amongst rocks and deserts which are almost +inaccessible, and subsist in a manner so rude, that the poorest of +your subjects would starve if subjected to such diet. They are formed +by nature to be the garrison of the mountain-fortresses in which she +has placed them;--for Heaven's sake meddle not with them, but follow +forth your own nobler and more important objects, without stirring a +nest of hornets, which, once in motion, may sting you into madness." + +The Duke had promised patience, and endeavoured to keep his word; but +the swoln muscles of his face, and his flashing eyes, showed how +painful to him it was to suppress his resentment. + +"You are misinformed, my lord," he said; "these men are not the +inoffensive herdsmen and peasants you are pleased to suppose them. If +they were, I might afford to despise them. But, flushed with some +victories over the sluggish Austrians, they have shaken off all +reverence for authority, assume airs of independence, form leagues, +make inroads, storm towns, doom and execute men of noble birth at +their pleasure.--Thou art dull, and look'st as if thou dost not +apprehend me. To rouse thy English blood, and make thee sympathise +with my feelings to these mountaineers, know that these Swiss are very +Scots to my dominions in their neighbourhood; poor, proud, ferocious; +easily offended, because they gain by war; ill to be appeased, because +they nourish deep revenge; ever ready to seize the moment of +advantage, and attack a neighbour when he is engaged in other affairs. +The same unquiet, perfidious, and inveterate enemies that the Scots +are to England, are the Swiss to Burgundy and to my allies. What say +you? Can I undertake anything of consequence till I have crushed the +pride of such a people? It will be but a few days' work. I will grasp +the mountain-hedgehog, prickles and all, with my steel-gauntlet." + +"Your Grace will then have shorter work with them," replied the +disguised nobleman, "than our English Kings have had with Scotland. +The wars there have lasted so long, and proved so bloody, that wise +men regret we ever began them." + +"Nay," said the Duke, "I will not dishonour the Scots by comparing +them in all respects to these mountain-churls of the Cantons. The +Scots have blood and gentry among them, and we have seen many examples +of both; these Swiss are a mere brood of peasants, and the few +gentlemen of birth they can boast must hide their distinction in the +dress and manners of clowns. They will, I think, scarce stand against +a charge of Hainaulters." + +"Not if the Hainaulters find ground to ride upon. But"---- + +"Nay, to silence your scruples," said the Duke, interrupting him, +"know, that these people encourage, by their countenance and aid, the +formation of the most dangerous conspiracies in my dominions. Look +here--I told you that my officer, Sir Archibald de Hagenbach, was +murdered when the town of Brisach was treacherously taken by these +harmless Switzers of yours. And here is a scroll of parchment, which +announces that my servant was murdered by doom of the Vehme-gericht, a +band of secret assassins, whom I will not permit to meet in any part +of my dominions. Oh, could I but catch them above ground as they are +found lurking below, they should know what the life of a nobleman is +worth! Then, look at the insolence of their attestation." + +The scroll bore, with the day and date adjected, that judgment had +been done on Archibald de Hagenbach, for tyranny, violence, and +oppression, by order of the Holy Vehme, and that it was executed by +their officials, who were responsible for the same to their tribunal +alone. It was countersigned in red ink, with the badges of the Secret +Society, a coil of ropes and a drawn dagger. + +"This document I found stuck to my toilette with a knife," said the +Duke; "another trick by which they give mystery to their murderous +jugglery." + +The thought of what he had undergone in John Mengs's house, and +reflections upon the extent and omnipresence of these Secret +Associations, struck even the brave Englishman with an involuntary +shudder. + +"For the sake of every saint in heaven," he said, "forbear, my lord, +to speak of these tremendous societies, whose creatures are above, +beneath, and around us. No man is secure of his life, however guarded, +if it be sought by a man who is careless of his own. You are +surrounded by Germans, Italians, and other strangers--How many amongst +these may be bound by the secret ties which withdraw men from every +other social bond, to unite them together in one inextricable though +secret compact? Beware, noble Prince, of the situation on which your +throne is placed, though it still exhibits all the splendour of power, +and all the solidity of foundation that belongs to so august a +structure. I--the friend of thy house--were it with my dying +breath--must needs tell thee, that the Swiss hang like an avalanche +over thy head; and the Secret Associations work beneath thee like the +first throes of the coming earthquake. Provoke not the contest, and +the snow will rest undisturbed on the mountain-side--the agitation of +the subterranean vapours will be hushed to rest; but a single word of +defiance, or one flash of indignant scorn, may call their terrors into +instant action." + +"You speak," said the Duke, "with more awe of a pack of naked churls, +and a band of midnight assassins, than I have seen you show for real +danger. Yet I will not scorn your counsel--I will hear the Swiss +envoys patiently, and I will not, if I can help it, show the contempt +with which I cannot but regard their pretensions to treat as +independent states. On the Secret Associations I will be silent, till +time gives me the means of acting in combination with the Emperor, the +Diet, and the Princes of the Empire, that they may be driven from all +their burrows at once.--Ha, Sir Earl, said I well?" + +"It is well thought, my lord, but it may be unhappily spoken. You are +in a position where one word overheard by a traitor might produce +death and ruin." + +"I keep no traitors about me," said Charles. "If I thought there were +such in my camp, I would rather die by them at once, than live in +perpetual terror and suspicion." + +"Your Highness's ancient followers and servants," said the Earl, +"speak unfavourably of the Count of Campo-basso, who holds so high a +rank in your confidence." + +"Ay," replied the Duke, with composure, "it is easy to decry the most +faithful servant in a court by the unanimous hatred of all the others. +I warrant me your bull-headed countryman, Colvin, has been railing +against the Count like the rest of them, for Campo-basso sees nothing +amiss in any department but he reports it to me without fear or +favour. And then his opinions are cast so much in the same mould with +my own, that I can hardly get him to enlarge upon what he best +understands, if it seems in any respect different from my sentiments. +Add to this, a noble person, grace, gaiety, skill in the exercises of +war, and in the courtly arts of peace--such is Campo-basso; and, being +such, is he not a gem for a prince's cabinet?" + +"The very materials out of which a favourite is formed," answered the +Earl of Oxford, "but something less adapted for making a faithful +counsellor." + +"Why, thou mistrustful fool," said the Duke, "must I tell thee the +very inmost secret respecting this man, Campo-basso, and will nothing +short of it stay these imaginary suspicions which thy new trade of an +itinerant merchant hath led thee to entertain so rashly?" + +"If your Highness honours me with your confidence," said the Earl of +Oxford, "I can only say that my fidelity shall deserve it." + +"Know, then, thou misbelieving mortal, that my good friend and +brother, Louis of France, sent me private information through no less +a person than his famous barber, Oliver le Diable, that Campo-basso +had for a certain sum offered to put my person into his hands, alive +or dead.--You start?" + +"I do indeed--recollecting your Highness's practice of riding out +lightly armed, and with a very small attendance, to reconnoitre the +ground and visit the outposts, and therefore how easily such a +treacherous device might be carried into execution." + +"Pshaw!" answered the Duke.--"Thou seest the danger as if it were +real, whereas nothing can be more certain than that, if my cousin of +France had ever received such an offer, he would have been the last +person to have put me on my guard against the attempt. No--he knows +the value I set on Campo-basso's services, and forged the accusation +to deprive me of them." + +"And yet, my lord," replied the English Earl, "your Highness, by my +counsel, will not unnecessarily or impatiently fling aside your armour +of proof, or ride without the escort of some score of your trusty +Walloons." + +"Tush, man, thou wouldst make a carbonado of a fever-stirred wretch +like myself, betwixt the bright iron and the burning sun. But I will +be cautious though I jest thus--and you, young man, may assure my +cousin, Margaret of Anjou, that I will consider her affairs as my own. +And remember, youth, that the secrets of princes are fatal gifts, if +he to whom they are imparted blaze them abroad; but if duly treasured +up, they enrich the bearer. And thou shalt have cause to say so, if +thou canst bring back with thee from Aix the deed of resignation of +which thy father hath spoken.--Good-night--good-night!" + +He left the apartment. + +"You have just seen," said the Earl of Oxford to his son, "a sketch of +this extraordinary prince, by his own pencil. It is easy to excite his +ambition or thirst of power, but well-nigh impossible to limit him to +the just measures by which it is most likely to be gratified. He is +ever like the young archer, startled from his mark by some swallow +crossing his eye, even careless as he draws the string. Now +irregularly and offensively suspicious--now unreservedly lavish of his +confidence--not long since the enemy of the line of Lancaster, and the +ally of her deadly foe--now its last and only stay and hope. God mend +all!--It is a weary thing to look on the game and see how it might be +won, while we are debarred by the caprice of others from the power of +playing it according to our own skill. How much must depend on the +decision of Duke Charles upon the morrow, and how little do I possess +the power of influencing him, either for his own safety or our +advantage! Good-night, my son, and let us trust events to Him who +alone can control them." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + My blood hath been too cold and temperate, + Unapt to stir at these indignities, + And you have found me; for, accordingly, + You tread upon my patience. + _Henry IV._ + + +The dawn of morning roused the banished Earl of Oxford and his son, +and its lights were scarce abroad on the eastern heaven, ere their +host, Colvin, entered with an attendant, bearing some bundles, which +he placed on the floor of the tent, and instantly retired. The officer +of the Duke's ordnance then announced that he came with a message from +the Duke of Burgundy. + +"His Highness," he said, "has sent four stout yeomen, with a +commission of credence to my young master of Oxford, and an ample +purse of gold, to furnish his expenses to Aix, and while his affairs +may detain him there. Also a letter of credence to King René, to +insure his reception, and two suits of honour for his use, as for an +English gentleman, desirous to witness the festive solemnities of +Provence, and in whose safety the Duke deigns to take deep interest. +His further affairs there, if he hath any, his Highness recommends to +him to manage with prudence and secrecy. His Highness hath also sent a +couple of horses for his use,--one an ambling jennet for the road, and +another a strong barbed horse of Flanders, in case he hath aught to +do. It will be fitting that my young master change his dress, and +assume attire more near his proper rank. His attendants know the road, +and have power, in case of need, to summon, in the Duke's name, +assistance from all faithful Burgundians. I have but to add, the +sooner the young gentleman sets forward, it will be the better sign of +a successful journey." + +"I am ready to mount, the instant that I have changed my dress," said +Arthur. + +"And I," said his father, "have no wish to detain him on the service +in which he is now employed. Neither he nor I will say more than God +be with you. How and where we are to meet again, who can tell?" + +"I believe," said Colvin, "that must rest on the motions of the Duke, +which, perchance, are not yet determined upon; but his Highness +depends upon your remaining with him, my noble lord, till the affairs +of which you come to treat may be more fully decided. Something I have +for your lordship's private ear, when your son hath parted on his +journey." + +While Colvin was thus talking with his father, Arthur, who was not +above half-dressed when he entered the tent, had availed himself of an +obscure corner, in which he exchanged the plain garb belonging to his +supposed condition as a merchant, for such a riding-suit as became a +young man of some quality attached to the Court of Burgundy. It was +not without a natural sensation of pleasure that the youth resumed an +apparel suitable to his birth, and which no one was personally more +fitted to become; but it was with much deeper feeling that he hastily, +and as secretly as possible, flung round his neck, and concealed +under the collar and folds of his ornamented doublet, a small thin +chain of gold, curiously linked in what was called Morisco work. This +was the contents of the parcel which Anne of Geierstein had indulged +his feelings, and perhaps her own, by putting into his hands as they +parted. The chain was secured by a slight plate of gold, on which a +bodkin, or a point of a knife, had traced on the one side, in distinct +though light characters, ADIEU FOR EVER! while, on the reverse, there +was much more obscurely traced, the word REMEMBER!--A. VON G. + +All who may read this are, have been, or will be, lovers; and there is +none, therefore, who may not be able to comprehend why this token was +carefully suspended around Arthur's neck, so that the inscription +might rest on the region of his heart, without the interruption of any +substance which could prevent the pledge from being agitated by every +throb of that busy organ. + +This being hastily insured, a few minutes completed the rest of his +toilette; and he kneeled before his father to ask his blessing, and +his further commands for Aix. + +His father blessed him almost inarticulately, and then said, with +recovered firmness, that he was already possessed of all the knowledge +necessary for success on his mission. + +"When you can bring me the deeds wanted," he whispered with more +firmness, "you will find me near the person of the Duke of Burgundy." + +They went forth of the tent in silence, and found before it the four +Burgundian yeomen, tall and active-looking men, ready mounted +themselves, and holding two saddled horses--the one accoutred for +war, the other a spirited jennet, for the purposes of the journey. One +of them led a sumpter-horse, on which Colvin informed Arthur he would +find the change of habit necessary when he should arrive at Aix; and +at the same time delivered to him a heavy purse of gold. + +"Thiebault," he continued, pointing out the eldest of the attendant +troopers, "may be trusted--I will be warrant for his sagacity and +fidelity. The other three are picked men, who will not fear their +skin-cutting." + +Arthur vaulted into the saddle with a sensation of pleasure, which was +natural to a young cavalier who had not for many months felt a +spirited horse beneath him. The lively jennet reared with impatience. +Arthur, sitting firm on his seat, as if he had been a part of the +animal, only said, "Ere we are long acquainted, thy spirit, my fair +roan, will be something more tamed." + +"One word more, my son," said his father, and whispered in Arthur's +ear, as he stooped from the saddle; "if you receive a letter from me, +do not think yourself fully acquainted with the contents till the +paper has been held opposite to a hot fire." + +Arthur bowed, and motioned to the elder trooper to lead the way, when +all, giving rein to their horses, rode off through the encampment at a +round pace, the young leader signing an adieu to his father and +Colvin. + +The Earl stood like a man in a dream, following his son with his eyes, +in a kind of reverie, which was only broken when Colvin said, "I +marvel not, my lord, that you are anxious about my young master; he is +a gallant youth, well worth a father's caring for, and the times we +live in are both false and bloody." + +"God and St. Mary be my witness," said the Earl, "that if I grieve, it +is not for my own house only;--if I am anxious, it is not for the sake +of my own son alone;--but it is hard to risk a last stake in a cause +so perilous.--What commands brought you from the Duke?" + +"His Grace," said Colvin, "will get on horseback after he has +breakfasted. He sends you some garments, which, if not fitting your +quality, are yet nearer to suitable apparel than those you now wear, +and he desires that, observing your incognito as an English merchant +of eminence, you will join him in his cavalcade to Dijon, where he is +to receive the answer of the Estates of Burgundy concerning matters +submitted to their consideration, and thereafter give public audience +to the Deputies from Switzerland. His Highness has charged me with the +care of finding you suitable accommodation during the ceremonies of +the day, which, he thinks, you will, as a stranger, be pleased to look +upon. But he probably told you all this himself, for I think you saw +him last night in disguise--Nay, look as strange as you will--the Duke +plays that trick too often to be able to do it with secrecy; the very +horse-boys know him while he traverses the tents of the common +soldiery, and sutler women give him the name of the spied spy. If it +were only honest Harry Colvin who knew this, it should not cross his +lips. But it is practised too openly, and too widely known. Come, +noble lord, though I must teach my tongue to forego that courtesy, +will you along to breakfast?" + +The meal, according to the practice of the time, was a solemn and +solid one; and a favoured officer of the Great Duke of Burgundy lacked +no means, it may be believed, of rendering due hospitality to a guest +having claims of such high respect. But ere the breakfast was over a +clamorous flourish of trumpets announced that the Duke, with his +attendants and retinue, were sounding to horse. Philipson, as he was +still called, was, in the name of the Duke, presented with a stately +charger, and with his host mingled in the splendid assembly which +began to gather in front of the Duke's pavilion. In a few minutes the +Prince himself issued forth, in the superb dress of the Order of the +Golden Fleece, of which his father Philip had been the founder, and +Charles was himself the patron and sovereign. Several of his courtiers +were dressed in the same magnificent robes, and, with their followers +and attendants, displayed so much wealth and splendour of appearance +as to warrant the common saying that the Duke of Burgundy maintained +the most magnificent court in Christendom. The officers of his +household attended in their order, together with heralds and +pursuivants, the grotesque richness of whose habits had a singular +effect among those of the high clergy in their albes and dalmatiques, +and of the knights and crown vassals who were arrayed in armour. Among +these last, who were variously equipped, according to the different +character of their service, rode Oxford, but in a peaceful habit, +neither so plain as to be out of place amongst such splendour, nor so +rich as to draw on him a special or particular degree of attention. He +rode by the side of Colvin, his tall muscular figure and deep-marked +features forming a strong contrast to the rough, almost ignoble, cast +of countenance, and stout thick-set form, of the less distinguished +soldier of fortune. + +Ranged into a solemn procession, the rear of which was closed by a +guard of two hundred picked arquebusiers, a description of soldiers +who were just then coming into notice, and as many mounted +men-at-arms, the Duke and his retinue, leaving the barriers of the +camp, directed their march to the town, or rather city, of Dijon, in +those days the capital of all Burgundy. + +It was a town well secured with walls and ditches, which last were +filled by means of a small river, named the Ousche, which combines its +waters for that purpose with a torrent called Suzon. Four gates, with +appropriate barbicans, outworks, and drawbridges, corresponded nearly +to the cardinal points of the compass, and gave admission to the city. +The number of towers, which stood high above its walls, and defended +them at different angles, was thirty-three; and the walls themselves, +which exceeded in most places the height of thirty feet, were built of +stones hewn and squared, and were of great thickness. This stately +city was surrounded on the outside with hills covered with vineyards, +while from within its walls rose the towers of many noble buildings, +both public and private, as well as the steeples of magnificent +churches, and of well-endowed convents, attesting the wealth and +devotion of the House of Burgundy. + +When the trumpets of the Duke's procession had summoned the burgher +guard at the gate of St. Nicholas, the drawbridge fell, the portcullis +rose, the people shouted joyously, the windows were hung with +tapestry, and as, in the midst of his retinue, Charles himself came +riding on a milk-white steed, attended only by six pages under +fourteen years old, with each a gilded partisan in his hand, the +acclamations with which he was received on all sides showed that, if +some instances of misrule had diminished his popularity, enough of it +remained to render his reception into his capital decorous at least, +if not enthusiastic. It is probable that the veneration attached to +his father's memory counteracted for a long time the unfavourable +effect which some of his own actions were calculated to produce on the +public mind. + +The procession halted before a large Gothic building in the centre of +Dijon. This was then called Maison du Duc, as, after the union of +Burgundy with France, it was termed Maison du Roy. The Maire of Dijon +attended on the steps before this palace, accompanied by his official +brethren, and escorted by a hundred able-bodied citizens, in black +velvet cloaks, bearing half-pikes in their hands. The Maire kneeled to +kiss the stirrup of the Duke, and at the moment when Charles descended +from his horse every bell in the city commenced so thundering a peal, +that they might almost have awakened the dead who slept in the +vicinity of the steeples, which rocked with their clangour. Under the +influence of this stunning peal of welcome, the Duke entered the great +hall of the building, at the upper end of which were erected a throne +for the sovereign, seats for his more distinguished officers of state +and higher vassals, with benches behind for persons of less note. On +one of these, but in a spot from which he might possess a commanding +view of the whole assembly, as well as of the Duke himself, Colvin +placed the noble Englishman; and Charles, whose quick stern eye +glanced rapidly over the party when they were seated, seemed, by a nod +so slight as to be almost imperceptible to those around him, to give +his approbation of the arrangement adopted. + +When the Duke and his assistants were seated and in order, the Maire, +again approaching, in the most humble manner, and kneeling on the +lowest step of the ducal throne, requested to know if his Highness's +leisure permitted him to hear the inhabitants of his capital express +their devoted zeal to his person, and to accept the benevolence which, +in the shape of a silver cup filled with gold pieces, he had the +distinguished honour to place before his feet, in name of the citizens +and community of Dijon. + +Charles, who at no time affected much courtesy, answered briefly and +bluntly, with a voice which was naturally harsh and dissonant, "All +things in their order, good Master Maire. Let us first hear what the +Estates of Burgundy have to say to us. We will then listen to the +burghers of Dijon." + +The Maire rose and retired, bearing in his hand the silver cup, and +experiencing probably some vexation, as well as surprise, that its +contents had not secured an instant and gracious acceptance. + +"I expected," said Duke Charles, "to have met at this hour and place +our Estates of the duchy of Burgundy, or a deputation of them, with an +answer to our message conveyed to them three days since by our +chancellor. Is there no one here on their part?" + +The Maire, as none else made any attempt to answer, said that the +members of the Estates had been in close deliberation the whole of +that morning, and doubtless would instantly wait upon his Highness +when they heard that he had honoured the town with his presence. + +"Go, Toison d'Or," said the Duke to the herald of the Order of the +Golden Fleece,[7] "bear to these gentlemen the tidings that we desire +to know the end of their deliberations; and that neither in courtesy +nor in loyalty can they expect us to wait long. Be round with them, +Sir Herald, or we shall be as round with you." + +While the herald was absent on his mission, we may remind our readers +that in all feudalised countries (that is to say, in almost all Europe +during the Middle Ages) an ardent spirit of liberty pervaded the +constitution; and the only fault that could be found was, that the +privileges and freedom for which the great vassals contended did not +sufficiently descend to the lower orders of society, or extend +protection to those who were most likely to need it. The two first +ranks in the estate, the nobles and clergy, enjoyed high and important +privileges, and even the third estate, or citizens, had this immunity +in peculiar, that no new duties, customs, or taxes of any kind could +be exacted from them save by their own consent. + +The memory of Duke Philip, the father of Charles, was dear to the +Burgundians; for during twenty years that sage prince had maintained +his rank amongst the sovereigns of Europe with much dignity, and had +accumulated treasure without exacting or receiving any great increase +of supplies from the rich countries which he governed. But the +extravagant schemes and immoderate expense of Duke Charles had +already excited the suspicion of his Estates; and the mutual good-will +betwixt the prince and people began to be exchanged for suspicion and +distrust on the one side, and defiance on the other. The refractory +disposition of the Estates had of late increased; for they had +disapproved of various wars in which their Duke had needlessly +embarked, and from his levying such large bodies of mercenary troops, +they came to suspect he might finally employ the wealth voted to him +by his subjects for the undue extension of his royal prerogative, and +the destruction of the liberties of the people. + +At the same time, the Duke's uniform success in enterprises which +appeared desperate as well as difficult, esteem for the frankness and +openness of his character, and dread of the obstinacy and headstrong +tendency of a temper which could seldom bear persuasion, and never +endured opposition, still threw awe and terror around the throne, +which was materially aided by the attachment of the common people to +the person of the present Duke and to the memory of his father. It had +been understood that upon the present occasion there was strong +opposition amongst the Estates to the system of taxation proposed on +the part of the Duke, and the issue was expected with considerable +anxiety by the Duke's counsellors, and with fretful impatience by the +sovereign himself. + +After a space of about ten minutes had elapsed, the Chancellor of +Burgundy, who was Archbishop of Vienne, and a prelate of high rank, +entered the hall with his train; and passing behind the ducal throne +to occupy one of the most distinguished places in the assembly, he +stopped for a moment to urge his master to receive the answer of his +Estates in a private manner, giving him at the same time to understand +that the result of the deliberations had been by no means +satisfactory. + +"By St. George of Burgundy, my Lord Archbishop," answered the Duke, +sternly and aloud, "we are not a prince of a mind so paltry that we +need to shun the moody looks of a discontented and insolent faction. +If the Estates of Burgundy send a disobedient and disloyal answer to +our paternal message, let them deliver it in open court, that the +assembled people may learn how to decide between their Duke and those +petty yet intriguing spirits, who would interfere with our authority." + +The chancellor bowed gravely, and took his seat; while the English +Earl observed, that most of the members of the assembly, excepting +such as in doing so could not escape the Duke's notice, passed some +observations to their neighbours, which were received with a +half-expressed nod, shrug, or shake of the head, as men treat a +proposal upon which it is dangerous to decide. At the same time, +Toison d'Or, who acted as master of the ceremonies, introduced into +the hall a committee of the Estates, consisting of twelve members, +four from each branch of the Estates, announced as empowered to +deliver the answer of that assembly to the Duke of Burgundy. + +When the deputation entered the hall, Charles arose from his throne, +according to ancient custom, and taking from his head his bonnet, +charged with a huge plume of feathers, "Health and welcome," he said, +"to my good subjects of the Estates of Burgundy!" All the numerous +train of courtiers rose and uncovered their heads with the same +ceremony. The members of the States then dropped on one knee, the four +ecclesiastics, among whom Oxford recognised the Black Priest of St. +Paul's, approaching nearest to the Duke's person, the nobles kneeling +behind them, and the burgesses in the rear of the whole. + +"Noble Duke," said the Priest of St. Paul's, "will it best please you +to hear the answer of your good and loyal Estates of Burgundy by the +voice of one member speaking for the whole, or by three persons, each +delivering the sense of the body to which he belongs?" + +"As you will," said the Duke of Burgundy. + +"A priest, a noble, and a free burgher," said the Churchman, still on +one knee, "will address your Highness in succession. For though, +blessed be the God who leads brethren to dwell together in unity! we +are agreed in the general answer, yet each body of the Estates may +have special and separate reasons to allege for the common opinion." + +"We will hear you separately," said Duke Charles, casting his hat upon +his head, and throwing himself carelessly back into his seat. At the +same time, all who were of noble blood, whether in the committee or +amongst the spectators, vouched their right to be peers of their +sovereign by assuming their bonnets; and a cloud of waving plumes at +once added grace and dignity to the assembly. + +When the Duke resumed his seat, the deputation arose from their knees, +and the Black Priest of St. Paul's, again stepping forth, addressed +him in these words:-- + +"My Lord Duke, your loyal and faithful clergy have considered your +Highness's proposal to lay a talliage on your people, in order to +make war on the confederate Cantons in the country of the Alps. The +quarrel, my liege lord, seems to your clergy an unjust and oppressive +one on your Highness's part; nor can they hope that God will bless +those who arm in it. They are therefore compelled to reject your +Highness's proposal." + +The Duke's eye lowered gloomily on the deliverer of this unpalatable +message. He shook his head with one of those stern and menacing looks +which the harsh composition of his features rendered them peculiarly +qualified to express. "You have spoken, Sir Priest," was the only +reply which he deigned to make. + +One of the four nobles, the Sire de Myrebeau, then expressed himself +thus:-- + +"Your Highness has asked of your faithful nobles to consent to new +imposts and exactions, to be levied through Burgundy, for the raising +of additional bands of hired soldiers for the maintenance of the +quarrels of the State. My lord, the swords of the Burgundian nobles, +knights, and gentlemen have been ever at your Highness's command, as +those of our ancestors have been readily wielded for your +predecessors. In your Highness's just quarrel we will go farther, and +fight firmer, than any hired fellows who can be procured, whether from +France, or Germany, or Italy. We will not give our consent that the +people should be taxed for paying mercenaries to discharge that +military duty which it is alike our pride and our exclusive privilege +to render." + +"You have spoken, Sire de Myrebeau," were again the only words of the +Duke's reply. He uttered them slowly and with deliberation, as if +afraid lest some phrase of imprudent violence should escape along with +what he purposed to say. Oxford thought he cast a glance towards him +before he spoke, as if the consciousness of his presence was some +additional restraint on his passion. "Now, Heaven grant," he said to +himself, "that this opposition may work its proper effect, and induce +the Duke to renounce an imprudent attempt, so hazardous and so +unnecessary!" + +While he muttered these thoughts, the Duke made a sign to one of the +_tiers état_, or commons, to speak in his turn. The person who obeyed +the signal was Martin Block, a wealthy butcher and grazier of Dijon. +His words were these: "Noble Prince, our fathers were the dutiful +subjects of your predecessors; we are the same to you; our children +will be alike the liegemen of your successors. But, touching the +request your chancellor has made to us, it is such as our ancestors +never complied with; such as we are determined to refuse, and such as +will never be conceded by the Estates of Burgundy, to any prince +whatsoever, even to the end of time." + +Charles had borne with impatient silence the speeches of the two +former orators, but this blunt and hardy reply of the third Estate +excited him beyond what his nature could endure. He gave way to the +impetuosity of his disposition, stamped on the floor till the throne +shook, and the high vault rung over their heads, and overwhelmed the +bold burgher with reproaches. "Beast of burden," he said, "am I to be +stunned with thy braying too? The nobles may claim leave to speak, for +they can fight; the clergy may use their tongues, for it is their +trade; but thou, that hast never shed blood, save that of bullocks, +more stupid than thou art thyself--must thou and thy herd come hither, +privileged, forsooth, to bellow at a prince's footstool? Know, brute +as thou art, that steers are never introduced into temples but to be +sacrificed, or butchers and mechanics brought before their sovereign, +save that they may have the honour to supply the public wants from +their own swelling hoards!" + +A murmur of displeasure, which even the terror of the Duke's wrath +could not repress, ran through the audience at these words; and the +burgher of Dijon, a sturdy plebeian, replied, with little reverence: +"Our purses, my Lord Duke, are our own--we will not put the strings of +them into your Highness's hands, unless we are satisfied with the +purposes to which the money is to be applied; and we know well how to +protect our persons and our goods against foreign ruffians and +plunderers." + +Charles was on the point of ordering the deputy to be arrested, when, +having cast his eye towards the Earl of Oxford, whose presence, in +despite of himself, imposed a certain degree of restraint upon him, he +exchanged that piece of imprudence for another. + +"I see," he said, addressing the committee of Estates, "that you are +all leagued to disappoint my purposes, and doubtless to deprive me of +all the power of a sovereign, save that of wearing a coronet, and +being served on the knee like a second Charles the Simple, while the +Estates of my kingdom divide the power among them. But you shall know +that you have to do with Charles of Burgundy, a prince who, though he +has deigned to consult you, is fully able to fight battles without +the aid of his nobles, since they refuse him the assistance of their +swords--to defray the expense without the help of his sordid +burghers--and, it may be, to find out a path to heaven without the +assistance of an ungrateful priesthood. I will show all that are here +present how little my mind is affected, or my purpose changed, by your +seditious reply to the message with which I honoured you.--Here, +Toison d'Or, admit into our presence these men from the confederated +towns and cantons, as they call themselves, of Switzerland." + +Oxford, and all who really interested themselves in the Duke's +welfare, heard, with the utmost apprehension, his resolution to give +an audience to the Swiss Envoys, prepossessed as he was against them, +and in the moment when his mood was chafed to the uttermost by the +refusal of the Estates to grant him supplies. They were aware that +obstacles opposed to the current of his passion were like rocks in the +bed of a river, whose course they cannot interrupt, while they provoke +it to rage and foam. All were sensible that the die was cast, but none +who were not endowed with more than mortal prescience could have +imagined how deep was the pledge which depended upon it. Oxford, in +particular, conceived that the execution of his plan of a descent upon +England was the principal point compromised by the Duke in his rash +obstinacy; but he suspected not--he dreamed not of supposing--that the +life of Charles himself, and the independence of Burgundy as a +separate kingdom, hung quivering in the same scales. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[7] The chief order of knighthood in the state of Burgundy. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + Why, 'tis a boisterous and cruel style, + A style for challengers. Why, she defies us, + Like Turk to Christian. + _As You Like It._ + + +The doors of the hall were now opened to the Swiss deputies, who for +the preceding hour had been kept in attendance on the outside of the +building, without receiving the slightest of those attentions which +among civilised nations are universally paid to the representatives of +a foreign State. Indeed, their very appearance, dressed in coarse grey +frocks, like mountain hunters or shepherds, in the midst of an +assembly blazing with divers-coloured garments, gold and silver lace, +embroidery, and precious stones, served to confirm the idea that they +could only have come hither in the capacity of the most humble +petitioners. + +Oxford, however, who watched closely the deportment of his late +fellow-travellers, failed not to observe that they retained each in +his own person the character of firmness and indifference which +formerly distinguished them. Rudolph Donnerhugel preserved his bold +and haughty look; the Banneret, the military indifference which made +him look with apparent apathy on all around him; the burgher of +Soleure was as formal and important as ever; nor did any of the three +show themselves affected in the slightest degree by the splendour of +the scene around them, or embarrassed by the consideration of their +own comparative inferiority of appointments. But the noble Landamman, +on whom Oxford chiefly bent his attention, seemed overwhelmed with a +sense of the precarious state in which his country was placed; +fearing, from the rude and unhonoured manner in which they were +received, that war was unavoidable, while, at the same time, like a +good patriot, he mourned over the consequences of ruin to the freedom +of his country by defeat, or injury to her simplicity and virtuous +indifference of wealth, by the introduction of foreign luxuries and +the evils attending on conquest. + +Well acquainted with the opinions of Arnold Biederman, Oxford could +easily explain his sadness, while his comrade Bonstetten, less capable +of comprehending his friend's feelings, looked at him with the +expression which may be seen in the countenance of a faithful dog, +when the creature indicates sympathy with his master's melancholy, +though unable to ascertain or appreciate its cause. A look of wonder +now and then glided around the splendid assembly on the part of all +the forlorn group, excepting Donnerhugel and the Landamman; for the +indomitable pride of the one, and the steady patriotism of the other, +could not for even an instant be diverted by external objects from +their own deep and stern reflections. + +After a silence of nearly five minutes, the Duke spoke, with the +haughty and harsh manner which he might imagine belonged to his place, +and which certainly expressed his character. + +"Men of Berne, of Schwitz, or of whatever hamlet and wilderness you +may represent, know that we had not honoured you, rebels as you are +to the dominion of your lawful superiors, with an audience in our own +presence, but for the intercession of a well-esteemed friend, who has +sojourned among your mountains, and whom you may know by the name of +Philipson, an Englishman, following the trade of a merchant, and +charged with certain valuable matters of traffic to our court. To his +intercession we have so far given way, that instead of commanding you, +according to your demerits, to the gibbet and the wheel in the Place +de Morimont, we have condescended to receive you into our own +presence, sitting in our _cour plénière_, to hear from you such +submission as you can offer for your outrageous storm of our town of +La Ferette, the slaughter of many of our liegemen, and the deliberate +murder of the noble knight, Archibald of Hagenbach, executed in your +presence, and by your countenance and device. Speak--if you can say +aught in defence of your felony and treason, either to deprecate just +punishment, or crave undeserved mercy." + +The Landamman seemed about to answer; but Rudolph Donnerhugel, with +his characteristic boldness and hardihood, took the task of reply on +himself. He confronted the proud Duke with an eye unappalled, and a +countenance as stern as his own. + +"We came not here," he said, "to compromise our own honour, or the +dignity of the free people whom we represent, by pleading guilty in +their name, or our own, to crimes of which we are innocent. And when +you term us rebels, you must remember, that a long train of victories, +whose history is written in the noblest blood of Austria, has +restored to the confederacy of our communities the freedom of which an +unjust tyranny in vain attempted to deprive us. While Austria was a +just and beneficent mistress, we served her with our lives;--when she +became oppressive and tyrannical, we assumed independence. If she has +aught yet to claim from us, the descendants of Tell, Faust, and +Stauffacher will be as ready to assert their liberties as their +fathers were to gain them. Your Grace--if such be your title--has no +concern with any dispute betwixt us and Austria. For your threats of +gibbet and wheel, we are here defenceless men, on whom you may work +your pleasure; but we know how to die, and our countrymen know how to +avenge us." + +The fiery Duke would have replied by commanding the instant arrest, +and probably the immediate execution, of the whole deputation. But his +chancellor, availing himself of the privilege of his office, rose, +and, doffing his cap with a deep reverence to the Duke, requested +leave to reply to the misproud young man, who had, he said, so greatly +mistaken the purpose of his Highness's speech. + +Charles, feeling perhaps at the moment too much irritated to form a +calm decision, threw himself back in his chair of state, and with an +impatient and angry nod gave his chancellor permission to speak. + +"Young man," said that high officer, "you have mistaken the meaning of +the high and mighty sovereign in whose presence you stand. Whatever be +the lawful rights of Austria over the revolted villages which have +flung off their allegiance to their native superior, we have no call +to enter on that argument. But that for which Burgundy demands your +answer is, wherefore, coming here in the guise, and with the +character, of peaceful envoys, on affairs touching your own +communities and the rights of the Duke's subjects, you have raised war +in our peaceful dominions, stormed a fortress, massacred its garrison, +and put to death a noble knight, its commander?--all of them actions +contrary to the law of nations, and highly deserving of the punishment +with which you have been justly threatened, but with which I hope our +gracious sovereign will dispense, if you express some sufficient +reason for such outrageous insolence, with an offer of due submission +to his Highness's pleasure, and satisfactory reparation for such a +high injury." + +"You are a priest, grave sir?" answered Rudolph Donnerhugel, +addressing the Chancellor of Burgundy. "If there be a soldier in this +assembly who will avouch your charge, I challenge him to the combat, +man to man. We did not storm the garrison of La Ferette--we were +admitted into the gates in a peaceful manner, and were there instantly +surrounded by the soldiers of the late Archibald de Hagenbach, with +the obvious purpose of assaulting and murdering us on our peaceful +mission. I promise you there had been news of more men dying than us. +But an uproar broke out among the inhabitants of the town, assisted, I +believe, by many neighbours, to whom the insolence and oppression of +Archibald de Hagenbach had become odious, as to all who were within +his reach. We rendered them no assistance; and, I trust, it was not +expected that we should interfere in the favour of men who had stood +prepared to do the worst against us. But not a pike or sword +belonging to us or our attendants was dipped in Burgundian blood. +Archibald de Hagenbach perished, it is true, on a scaffold, and I saw +him die with pleasure, under a sentence pronounced by a competent +court, such as is recognised in Westphalia, and its dependencies on +this side of the Rhine. I am not obliged to vindicate their +proceedings; but I aver, that the Duke has received full proof of his +regular sentence; and, in fine, that it was amply deserved by +oppression, tyranny, and foul abuse of his authority, I will uphold +against all gainsayers, with the body of a man. There lies my glove." + +And, with an action suited to the language he used, the stern Swiss +flung his right-hand glove on the floor of the hall. In the spirit of +the age, with the love of distinction in arms which it nourished, and +perhaps with the desire of gaining the Duke's favour, there was a +general motion among the young Burgundians to accept the challenge, +and more than six or eight gloves were hastily doffed by the young +knights present, those who were more remote flinging them over the +heads of the nearest, and each proclaiming his name and title as he +proffered the gage of combat. + +"I set at all," said the daring young Swiss, gathering the gauntlets +as they fell clashing around him. "More, gentlemen, more! a glove for +every finger! come on, one at once--fair lists, equal judges of the +field, the combat on foot, and the weapons two-handed swords, and I +will not budge for a score of you." + + [Illustration: THE DEFIANCE. + Drawn and Etched by R. de los Rios.] + +"Hold, gentlemen! on your allegiance, hold!" said the Duke, gratified +at the same time, and somewhat appeased, by the zeal which was +displayed in his cause--moved by the strain of reckless +bravery evinced by the challenger, with a hardihood akin to his +own--perhaps also not unwilling to display, in the view of his _cour +plénière_, more temperance than he had been at first capable of. +"Hold, I command you all.--Toison d'Or, gather up these gauntlets, and +return them each to his owner. God and St. George forbid that we +should hazard the life of even the least of our noble Burgundian +gentry against such a churl as this Swiss peasant, who never so much +as mounted a horse, and knows not a jot of knightly courtesy, or the +grace of chivalry.--Carry your vulgar brawls elsewhere, young man, and +know that, on the present occasion, the Place Morimont were your only +fitting lists, and the hangman your meet antagonist. And you, sirs, +his companions--whose behaviour in suffering this swaggerer to take +the lead amongst you seems to show that the laws of nature, as well as +of society, are inverted, and that youth is preferred to age, as +gentry to peasants--you white-bearded men, I say, is there none of you +who can speak your errand in such language as it becomes a sovereign +prince to listen to?" + +"God forbid else," said the Landamman, stepping forward and silencing +Rudolph Donnerhugel, who was commencing an answer of defiance--"God +forbid," he said, "noble Duke, that we should not be able to speak so +as to be understood before your Highness, since, I trust, we shall +speak the language of truth, peace, and justice. Nay, should it +incline your Highness to listen to us the more favourably for our +humility, I am willing to humble myself rather than you should shun +to hear us. For my own part, I can truly say that, though I have +lived, and by free choice have resolved to die, a husbandman and a +hunter on the Alps of the Unterwald, I may claim by birth the +hereditary right to speak before Dukes and Kings, and the Emperor +himself. There is no one, my Lord Duke, in this proud assembly, who +derives his descent from a nobler source than Geierstein." + +"We have heard of you," said the Duke. "Men call you the +peasant-count. Your birth is your shame; or perhaps your mother's, if +your father had happened to have a handsome ploughman, the fitting +father of one who has become a willing serf." + +"No serf, my lord," answered the Landamman, "but a freeman, who will +neither oppress others nor be himself tyrannised over. My father was a +noble lord, my mother a most virtuous lady. But I will not be +provoked, by taunt or scornful jest, to refrain from stating with +calmness what my country has given me in charge to say. The +inhabitants of the bleak and inhospitable regions of the Alps desire, +mighty sir, to remain at peace with all their neighbours, and to enjoy +the government they have chosen, as best fitted to their condition and +habits, leaving all other states and countries to their free-will in +the same respects. Especially, they desire to remain at peace and in +unity with the princely House of Burgundy, whose dominions approach +their possessions on so many points. My lord, they desire it, they +entreat it, they even consent to pray for it. We have been termed +stubborn, intractable, and insolent contemners of authority, and +headers of sedition and rebellion. In evidence of the contrary, my +Lord Duke, I, who never bent a knee but to Heaven, feel no dishonour +in kneeling before your Highness, as before a sovereign prince in the +_cour plénière_ of his dominions, where he has a right to exact homage +from his subjects out of duty, and from strangers out of courtesy. No +vain pride of mine," said the noble old man, his eyes swelling with +tears, as he knelt on one knee, "shall prevent me from personal +humiliation, when peace--that blessed peace, so dear to God, so +inappreciably valuable to man--is in danger of being broken off." + +The whole assembly, even the Duke himself, were affected by the noble +and stately manner in which the brave old man made a genuflection, +which was obviously dictated by neither meanness nor timidity. "Arise, +sir," said Charles; "if we have said aught which can wound your +private feelings, we retract it as publicly as the reproach was +spoken, and sit prepared to hear you, as a fair-meaning envoy." + +"For that, my noble lord, thanks; and I shall hold it a blessed day, +if I can find words worthy of the cause I have to plead. My lord, a +schedule in your Highness's hands has stated the sense of many +injuries received at the hand of your Highness's officers, and those +of Romont, Count of Savoy, your strict ally and adviser, we have a +right to suppose, under your Highness's countenance. For Count +Romont--he has already felt with whom he has to contend; but we have +as yet taken no measures to avenge injuries, affronts, interruptions +to our commerce, from those who have availed themselves of your +Highness's authority to intercept our countrymen, spoil our goods, +impress their persons, and even, in some instances, take their lives. +The affray at La Ferette--I can vouch for what I saw--had no origin or +abettance from us; nevertheless, it is impossible an independent +nation can suffer the repetition of such injuries, and free and +independent we are determined to remain, or to die in defence of our +rights. What then must follow, unless your Highness listens to the +terms which I am commissioned to offer? War, a war to extermination; +for so long as one of our Confederacy can wield a halberd, so long, if +this fatal strife once commences, there will be war betwixt your +powerful realms and our poor and barren States. And what can the noble +Duke of Burgundy gain by such a strife? Is it wealth and plunder? +Alas, my lord, there is more gold and silver on the very bridle-bits +of your Highness's household troops than can be found in the public +treasures or private hoards of our whole Confederacy. Is it fame and +glory you aspire to? There is little honour to be won by a numerous +army over a few scattered bands, by men clad in mail over half-armed +husbandmen and shepherds--of such conquest small were the glory. But +if, as all Christian men believe, and as it is the constant trust of +my countrymen, from memory of the times of our fathers,--if the Lord +of Hosts should cast the balance in behalf of the fewer numbers and +worse-armed party, I leave it with your Highness to judge what would, +in that event, be the diminution of worship and fame. Is it extent of +vassalage and dominion your Highness desires, by warring with your +mountain neighbours? Know that you may, if it be God's will, gain our +barren and rugged mountains; but, like our ancestors of old, we will +seek refuge in wilder and more distant solitudes, and, when we have +resisted to the last, we will starve in the icy wastes of the +glaciers. Ay, men, women, and children, we will be frozen into +annihilation together, ere one free Switzer will acknowledge a foreign +master." + +The speech of the Landamman made an obvious impression on the +assembly. The Duke observed it, and his hereditary obstinacy was +irritated by the general disposition which he saw entertained in +favour of the ambassador. This evil principle overcame some impression +which the address of the noble Biederman had not failed to make upon +him. He answered with a lowering brow, interrupting the old man as he +was about to continue his speech,--"You argue falsely, Sir Count, or +Sir Landamman, or by whatever name you call yourself, if you think we +war on you from any hope of spoil, or any desire of glory. We know as +well as you can tell us that there is neither profit nor fame to be +achieved by conquering you. But sovereigns, to whom Heaven has given +the power, must root out a band of robbers, though there is dishonour +in measuring swords with them; and we hunt to death a herd of wolves, +though their flesh is carrion, and their skins are naught." + +The Landamman shook his grey head, and replied, without testifying +emotion, and even with something approaching to a smile,--"I am an +older woodsman than you, my Lord Duke--and, it may be, a more +experienced one. The boldest, the hardiest hunter, will not safely +drive the wolf to his den. I have shown your Highness the poor chance +of gain, and the great risk of loss, which even you, powerful as you +are, must incur by risking a war with determined and desperate men. +Let me now tell what we are willing to do to secure a sincere and +lasting peace with our powerful neighbour of Burgundy. Your Grace is +in the act of engrossing Lorraine, and it seems probable, under so +vigorous and enterprising a Prince, your authority may be extended to +the shores of the Mediterranean--be our noble friend and sincere ally, +and our mountains, defended by warriors familiar with victory, will be +your barriers against Germany and Italy. For your sake we will admit +the Count of Savoy to terms, and restore to him our conquests, on such +conditions as your Highness shall yourself judge reasonable. Of past +subjects of offence on the part of your lieutenants and governors upon +the frontier we will be silent, so we have assurance of no such +aggressions in future. Nay, more, and it is my last and proudest +offer, we will send three thousand of our youth to assist your +Highness in any war which you may engage in, whether against Louis of +France or the Emperor of Germany. They are a different set of +men--proudly and truly may I state it--from the scum of Germany and +Italy, who form themselves into mercenary bands of soldiers. And, if +Heaven should decide your Highness to accept our offer, there will be +one corps in your army which will leave their carcasses on the field +ere a man of them break their plighted troth." + +A swarthy but tall and handsome man, wearing a corselet richly +engraved with arabesque work, started from his seat with the air of +one provoked beyond the bounds of restraint. This was the Count de +Campo-basso, commander of Charles's Italian mercenaries, who +possessed, as has been alluded to, much influence over the Duke's +mind, chiefly obtained by accommodating himself to his master's +opinions and prejudices, and placing before the Duke specious +arguments to justify him for following his own way. + +"This lofty presence must excuse me," he said, "if I speak in defence +of my honour, and those of my bold lances, who have followed my +fortunes from Italy to serve the bravest Prince in Christendom. I +might, indeed, pass over without resentment the outrageous language of +this grey-haired churl, whose words cannot affect a knight and a +nobleman more than the yelling of a peasant's mastiff. But when I hear +him propose to associate his bands of mutinous misgoverned ruffians +with your Highness's troops, I must let him know that there is not a +horse-boy in my ranks who would fight in such fellowship. No, even I +myself, bound by a thousand ties of gratitude, could not submit to +strive abreast with such comrades. I would fold up my banners, and +lead five thousand men to seek,--not a nobler master, for the world +has none such,--but wars in which we might not be obliged to blush for +our assistants." + +"Silence, Campo-basso!" said the Duke, "and be assured you serve a +prince who knows your worth too well to exchange it for the untried +and untrustful services of those whom we have only known as vexatious +and malignant neighbours." + +Then, addressing himself to Arnold Biederman, he said coldly and +sternly, "Sir Landamman, we have heard you fairly. We have heard you, +although you come before us with hands dyed deep in the blood of our +servant, Sir Archibald de Hagenbach; for, supposing he was murdered by +a villanous association,--which, by St. George! shall never, while we +live and reign, raise its pestilential head on this side of the +Rhine,--yet it is not the less undeniable and undenied, that you stood +by in arms, and encouraged the deed the assassins performed under your +countenance. Return to your mountains, and be thankful that you return +in life. Tell those who sent you that I will be presently on their +frontiers. A deputation of your most notable persons, who meet me with +halters round their necks, torches in their left hands, in their right +their swords held by the point, may learn on what conditions we will +grant you peace." + +"Then farewell peace, and welcome war," said the Landamman; "and be +its plagues and curses on the heads of those who choose blood and +strife rather than peace and union. We will meet you on our frontiers +with our naked swords, but the hilts, not their points, shall be in +our grasp. Charles of Burgundy, Flanders, and Lorraine, Duke of seven +dukedoms, Count of seventeen earldoms, I bid you defiance; and declare +war against you in the name of the confederated Cantons, and such +others as shall adhere to them. There," he said, "are my letters of +defiance." + +The herald took from Arnold Biederman the fatal denunciation. + +"Read it not, Toison d'Or!" said the haughty Duke. "Let the +executioner drag it through the streets at his horse's tail, and nail +it to the gibbet, to show in what account we hold the paltry scroll, +and those who sent it.--Away, sirs!" speaking to the Swiss. "Trudge +back to your wildernesses with such haste as your feet can use. When +we next meet, you shall better know whom you have offended.--Get our +horse ready--the council is broken up." + +The Maire of Dijon, when all were in motion to leave the hall, again +approached the Duke, and timidly expressed some hopes that his +Highness would deign to partake of a banquet which the magistracy had +prepared, in expectation he might do them such an honour. + +"No, by St. George of Burgundy, Sir Maire," said Charles, with one of +the withering glances by which he was wont to express indignation +mixed with contempt,--"you have not pleased us so well with our +breakfast as to induce us to trust our dinner to the loyalty of our +good town of Dijon." + +So saying, he rudely turned off from the mortified chief magistrate, +and, mounting his horse, rode back to his camp, conversing earnestly +on the way with the Count of Campo-basso. + +"I would offer you dinner, my Lord of Oxford," said Colvin to that +nobleman, when he alighted at his tent, "but I foresee, ere you could +swallow a mouthful, you will be summoned to the Duke's presence; for +it is our Charles's way, when he has fixed on a wrong course, to +wrangle with his friends and counsellors, in order to prove it is a +right one. Marry, he always makes a convert of yon supple Italian." + +Colvin's augury was speedily realised; for a page almost immediately +summoned the English merchant, Philipson, to attend the Duke. Without +waiting an instant, Charles poured forth an incoherent tide of +reproaches against the Estates of his dukedom, for refusing him their +countenance in so slight a matter, and launched out in explanations of +the necessity which he alleged there was for punishing the audacity of +the Swiss. "And thou too, Oxford," he concluded, "art such an +impatient fool as to wish me to engage in a distant war with England, +and transport forces over the sea, when I have such insolent mutineers +to chastise on my own frontiers?" + +When he was at length silent, the English Earl laid before him, with +respectful earnestness, the danger that appeared to be involved in +engaging with a people, poor indeed, but universally dreaded, from +their discipline and courage, and that under the eye of so dangerous a +rival as Louis of France, who was sure to support the Duke's enemies +underhand, if he did not join them openly. On this point the Duke's +resolution was immovable. "It shall never," he said, "be told of me, +that I uttered threats which I dared not execute. These boors have +declared war against me, and they shall learn whose wrath it is that +they have wantonly provoked; but I do not, therefore, renounce thy +scheme, my good Oxford. If thou canst procure me this same cession of +Provence, and induce old René to give up the cause of his grandson, +Ferrand of Vaudemont, in Lorraine, thou wilt make it well worth my +while to send thee brave aid against my brother Blackburn, who, while +he is drinking healths pottle-deep in France, may well come to lose +his lands in England. And be not impatient because I cannot at this +very instant send men across the seas. The march which I am making +towards Neufchatel, which is, I think, the nearest point where I shall +find these churls, will be but like a morning's excursion. I trust you +will go with us, old companion. I should like to see if you have +forgotten, among yonder mountains, how to back a horse and lay a lance +in rest." + +"I will wait on your Highness," said the Earl, "as is my duty, for my +motions must depend on your pleasure. But I will not carry arms, +especially against those people of Helvetia, from whom I have +experienced hospitality, unless it be for my own personal defence." + +"Well," replied the Duke, "e'en be it so; we shall have in you an +excellent judge, to tell us who best discharges his devoir against the +mountain clowns." + +At this point in the conversation there was a knocking at the entrance +of the pavilion, and the Chancellor of Burgundy presently entered, in +great haste and anxiety. "News, my lord--news of France and England," +said the prelate, and then, observing the presence of a stranger, he +looked at the Duke, and was silent. + +"It is a faithful friend, my Lord Bishop," said the Duke; "you may +tell your news before him." + +"It will soon be generally known," said the chancellor. "Louis and +Edward are fully accorded." Both the Duke and the English Earl +started. + +"I expected this," said the Duke, "but not so soon." + +"The Kings have met," answered his minister. + +"How--in battle?" said Oxford, forgetting himself in his extreme +eagerness. + +The chancellor was somewhat surprised, but as the Duke seemed to +expect him to give an answer, he replied, "No, Sir Stranger--not in +battle, but upon appointment, and in peace and amity." + +"The sight must have been worth seeing," said the Duke; "when the old +fox Louis, and my brother Black--I mean my brother Edward--met. Where +held they their rendezvous?" + +"On a bridge over the Seine, at Picquigny." + +"I would thou hadst been there," said the Duke, looking to Oxford, +"with a good axe in thy hand, to strike one fair blow for England, and +another for Burgundy. My grandfather was treacherously slain at just +such a meeting, at the Bridge of Montereau, upon the Yonne." + +"To prevent a similar chance," said the chancellor, "a strong +barricade, such as closes the cages in which men keep wild beasts, was +raised in the midst of the bridge, and prevented the possibility of +their even touching each other's hands." + +"Ha, ha! By St. George, that smells of Louis's craft and caution; for +the Englishman, to give him his due, is as little acquainted with fear +as with policy. But what terms have they made? Where do the English +army winter? What towns, fortresses, and castles are surrendered to +them, in pledge, or in perpetuity?" + +"None, my liege," said the chancellor. "The English army returns into +England, as fast as shipping can be procured to transport them; and +Louis will accommodate them with every sail and oar in his dominions, +rather than they should not instantly evacuate France." + +"And by what concessions has Louis bought a peace so necessary to his +affairs?" + +"By fair words," said the chancellor, "by liberal presents, and by +some five hundred tuns of wine." + +"Wine!" exclaimed the Duke. "Heardst thou ever the like, Seignor +Philipson? Why, your countrymen are little better than Esau, who sold +his birthright for a mess of pottage. Marry, I must confess I never +saw an Englishman who loved a dry-lipped bargain." + +"I can scarce believe this news," said the Earl of Oxford. "If this +Edward were content to cross the sea with fifty thousand Englishmen +merely to return again, there are in his camp both proud nobles and +haughty commons enough to resist his disgraceful purpose." + +"The money of Louis," said the statesman, "has found noble hands +willing to clutch it. The wine of France has flooded every throat in +the English army--the riot and uproar was unbounded--and at one time +the town of Amiens, where Louis himself resided, was full of so many +English archers, all of them intoxicated, that the person of the King +of France was almost in their hands. Their sense of national honour +has been lost in the universal revel, and those amongst them who would +be more dignified and play the wise politicians say, that having come +to France by connivance of the Duke of Burgundy, and that prince +having failed to join them with his forces, they have done well, +wisely, and gallantly, considering the season of the year, and the +impossibility of obtaining quarters, to take tribute of France, and +return home in triumph." + +"And leave Louis," said Oxford, "at undisturbed freedom to attack +Burgundy with all his forces?" + +"Not so, friend Philipson," said Duke Charles; "know, that there is a +truce betwixt Burgundy and France for the space of seven years, and +had not this been granted and signed, it is probable that we might +have found some means of marring the treaty betwixt Edward and Louis, +even at the expense of affording those voracious islanders beef and +beer during the winter months.--Sir Chancellor, you may leave us, but +be within reach of a hasty summons." + +When his minister left the pavilion, the Duke, who with his rude and +imperious character united much kindness, if it could not be termed +generosity of disposition, came up to the Lancastrian lord, who stood +like one at whose feet a thunderbolt has just broken, and who is still +appalled by the terrors of the shock. + +"My poor Oxford," he said, "thou art stupefied by this news, which +thou canst not doubt must have a fatal effect on the plan which thy +brave bosom cherishes with such devoted fidelity. I would for thy sake +I could have detained the English a little longer in France; but had I +attempted to do so, there were an end of my truce with Louis, and of +course to my power to chastise these paltry Cantons, or send forth an +expedition to England. As matters stand, give me but a week to punish +these mountaineers, and you shall have a larger force than your +modesty has requested of me for your enterprise; and, in the +meanwhile, I will take care that Blackburn and his cousin-archers have +no assistance of shipping from Flanders. Tush, man, never fear +it--thou wilt be in England long ere they; and, once more, rely on my +assistance--always, thou knowest, the cession of Provence being +executed, as in reason. Our cousin Margaret's diamonds we must keep +for a time; and perhaps they may pass as a pledge, with some of our +own, for the godly purpose of setting at freedom the imprisoned angels +of our Flemish usurers, who will not lend even to their sovereign, +unless on good current security. To such straits has the disobedient +avarice of our Estates for the moment reduced us." + +"Alas! my lord," said the dejected nobleman, "I were ungrateful to +doubt the sincerity of your good intentions. But who can presume on +the events of war, especially when time presses for instant decision? +You are pleased to trust me. Let your Highness extend your confidence +thus far: I will take my horse, and ride after the Landamman, if he +hath already set forth. I have little doubt to make such an +accommodation with him that you may be secure on all your +south-eastern frontiers. You may then with security work your will in +Lorraine and Provence." + +"Do not speak of it," said the Duke, sharply; "thou forget'st thyself +and me, when thou supposest that a prince, who has pledged his word to +his people, can recall it like a merchant chaffering for his paltry +wares. Go to--we will assist you, but we will be ourselves judge of +the time and manner. Yet, having both kind will to our distressed +cousin of Anjou, and being your good friend, we will not linger in the +matter. Our host have orders to break up this evening and direct their +march against Neufchatel, where these proud Swiss shall have a taste +of the fire and sword which they have provoked." + +Oxford sighed deeply, but made no further remonstrance; in which he +acted wisely, since it was likely to have exasperated the fiery temper +of the sovereign to whom it was addressed, while it was certain that +it would not in the slightest degree alter his resolution. + +He took farewell of the Duke, and returned to Colvin, whom he found +immersed in the business of his department, and preparing for the +removal of the artillery--an operation which the clumsiness of the +ordnance, and the execrable state of the roads, rendered at that time +a much more troublesome operation than at present, though it is even +still one of the most laborious movements attending the march of an +army. The Master of the Ordnance welcomed Oxford with much glee, and +congratulated himself on the distinguished honour of enjoying his +company during the campaign, and acquainted him that, by the especial +command of the Duke, he had made fitting preparations for his +accommodation, suitable to the disguised character which he meant to +maintain, but in every other respect as convenient as a camp could +admit of. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + A mirthful man he was--the snows of age + Fell, but they did not chill him. Gaiety, + Even in life's closing, touch'd his teeming brain + With such wild visions as the setting sun + Raises in front of some hoar glacier, + Painting the bleak ice with a thousand hues. + _Old Play._ + + +Leaving the Earl of Oxford in attendance on the stubborn Duke of +Burgundy during an expedition which the one represented as a brief +excursion, more resembling a hunting-party than a campaign, and which +the other considered in a much graver and more perilous light, we +return to Arthur de Vere, or the younger Philipson, as he continued to +be called, who was conducted by his guide with fidelity and success, +but certainly very slowly, upon his journey into Provence. + +The state of Lorraine, overrun by the Duke of Burgundy's army, and +infested at the same time by different scattered bands, who took the +field, or held out the castles, as they alleged, for the interest of +Count Ferrand de Vaudemont, rendered journeying so dangerous, that it +was often necessary to leave the main road, and to take circuitous +tracks, in order to avoid such unfriendly encounters as travellers +might otherwise have met with. + +Arthur, taught by sad experience to distrust strange guides, found +himself, nevertheless, in this eventful and perilous journey, disposed +to rest considerable confidence in his present conductor, Thiebault, +a Provençal by birth, intimately acquainted with the roads which they +took, and, as far as he could judge, disposed to discharge his office +with fidelity. Prudence alike, and the habits which he had acquired in +travelling, as well as the character of a merchant which he still +sustained, induced him to wave the _morgue_, or haughty superiority of +a knight and noble towards an inferior personage, especially as he +rightly conjectured that free intercourse with this man, whose +acquirements seemed of a superior cast, was likely to render him a +judge of his opinions and disposition towards him. In return for his +condescension, he obtained a good deal of information concerning the +province which he was approaching. + +As they drew near the boundaries of Provence, the communications of +Thiebault became more fluent and interesting. He could not only tell +the name and history of each romantic castle which they passed, in +their devious and doubtful route, but had at his command the +chivalrous history of the noble knights and barons to whom they now +pertained, or had belonged in earlier days, and could recount their +exploits against the Saracens, by repelling their attacks upon +Christendom, or their efforts to recover the Holy Sepulchre from Pagan +hands. In the course of such narrations, Thiebault was led to speak of +the Troubadours, a race of native poets of Provençal origin, differing +widely from the minstrels of Normandy, and the adjacent provinces of +France, with whose tales of chivalry, as well as the numerous +translations of their works into Norman-French and English, Arthur, +like most of the noble youth of his country, was intimately acquainted +and deeply imbued. Thiebault boasted that his grandsire, of humble +birth indeed, but of distinguished talent, was one of this gifted +race, whose compositions produced so great an effect on the temper and +manners of their age and country. It was, however, to be regretted +that, inculcating as the prime duty of life a fantastic spirit of +gallantry, which sometimes crossed the Platonic bound prescribed to +it, the poetry of the Troubadours was too frequently used to soften +and seduce the heart, and corrupt the principles.[8] + +Arthur's attention was called to this peculiarity by Thiebault +singing, which he could do with good skill, the history of a +Troubadour, named William Cabestainy, who loved, _par amours_, a noble +and beautiful lady, Margaret, the wife of a baron called Raymond de +Roussillon. The jealous husband obtained proof of his dishonour, and, +having put Cabestainy to death by assassination, he took his heart +from his bosom, and causing it to be dressed like that of an animal, +ordered it to be served up to his lady; and when she had eaten of the +horrible mess, told her of what her banquet was composed. The lady +replied, that since she had been made to partake of food so precious, +no coarser morsel should ever after cross her lips. She persisted in +her resolution, and thus starved herself to death. The Troubadour who +celebrated this tragic history had displayed in his composition a good +deal of poetic art. Glossing over the error of the lovers as the fault +of their destiny, dwelling on their tragical fate with considerable +pathos, and, finally, execrating the blind fury of the husband, with +the full fervour of poetical indignation, he recorded, with vindictive +pleasure, how every bold knight and true lover in the south of France +assembled to besiege the baron's castle, stormed it by main force, +left not one stone upon another, and put the tyrant himself to an +ignominious death. Arthur was interested in the melancholy tale, which +even beguiled him of a few tears; but as he thought further on its +purport, he dried his eyes, and said, with some sternness,--"Thiebault, +sing me no more such lays. I have heard my father say that the +readiest mode to corrupt a Christian man is to bestow upon vice the +pity and the praise which are due only to virtue. Your Baron of +Roussillon is a monster of cruelty; but your unfortunate lovers were +not the less guilty. It is by giving fair names to foul actions that +those who would start at real vice are led to practise its lessons, +under the disguise of virtue." + +"I would you knew, Seignor," answered Thiebault, "that this Lay of +Cabestainy and the Lady Margaret of Roussillon is reckoned a +masterpiece of the joyous science. Fie, sir, you are too young to be +so strict a censor of morals. What will you do when your head is grey, +if you are thus severe when it is scarcely brown?" + +"A head which listens to folly in youth will hardly be honourable in +old age," answered Arthur. + +Thiebault had no mind to carry the dispute further. + +"It is not for me to contend with your worship. I only think, with +every true son of chivalry and song, that a knight without a mistress +is like a sky without a star." + +"Do I not know that?" answered Arthur; "but yet better remain in +darkness than be guided by such false lights as shower down vice and +pestilence." + +"Nay, it may be your seignorie is right," answered the guide. "It is +certain that even in Provence here we have lost much of our keen +judgment on matters of love--its difficulties, its intricacies, and +its errors, since the Troubadours are no longer regarded as usual, and +since the High and Noble Parliament of Love[9] has ceased to hold its +sittings. + +"But in these latter days," continued the Provençal, "kings, dukes, +and sovereigns, instead of being the foremost and most faithful +vassals of the Court of Cupid, are themselves the slaves of +selfishness and love of gain. Instead of winning hearts by breaking +lances in the lists, they are breaking the hearts of their +impoverished vassals by the most cruel exactions--instead of +attempting to deserve the smile and favours of their lady-loves, they +are meditating how to steal castles, towns, and provinces from their +neighbours. But long life to the good and venerable King René! While +he has an acre of land left, his residence will be the resort of +valiant knights, whose only aim is praise in arms, of true lovers, who +are persecuted by fortune, and of high-toned harpers, who know how to +celebrate faith and valour." + +Arthur, interested in learning something more precise than common +fame had taught him on the subject of this prince, easily induced the +talkative Provençal to enlarge upon the virtues of his old sovereign's +character, as just, joyous, and debonair, a friend to the most noble +exercises of the chase and the tilt-yard, and still more so to the +joyous science of Poetry and Music; who gave away more revenue than he +received, in largesses to knights-errant and itinerant musicians, with +whom his petty court was crowded, as one of the very few in which the +ancient hospitality was still maintained. + +Such was the picture which Thiebault drew of the last minstrel +monarch; and though the eulogium was exaggerated, perhaps the facts +were not overcharged. + +Born of royal parentage, and with high pretensions, René had at no +period of his life been able to match his fortunes to his claims. Of +the kingdoms to which he asserted right, nothing remained in his +possession but the county of Provence itself, a fair and friendly +principality, but diminished by the many claims which France had +acquired upon portions of it by advances of money to supply the +personal expenses of its master, and by other portions, which +Burgundy, to whom René had been a prisoner, held in pledge for his +ransom. In his youth he engaged in more than one military enterprise, +in the hope of attaining some part of the territory of which he was +styled sovereign. His courage is not impeached, but fortune did not +smile on his military adventures; and he seems at last to have become +sensible that the power of admiring and celebrating warlike merit is +very different from possessing that quality. In fact, René was a +prince of very moderate parts, endowed with a love of the fine arts, +which he carried to extremity, and a degree of good-humour, which +never permitted him to repine at fortune, but rendered its possessor +happy, when a prince of keener feelings would have died of despair. +This insouciant, light-tempered, gay, and thoughtless disposition +conducted René, free from all the passions which embitter life, and +often shorten it, to a hale and mirthful old age. Even domestic +losses, which often affect those who are proof against mere reverses +of fortune, made no deep impression on the feelings of this cheerful +old monarch. Most of his children had died young; René took it not to +heart. His daughter Margaret's marriage with the powerful Henry of +England was considered a connection much above the fortunes of the +King of the Troubadours. But in the issue, instead of René deriving +any splendour from the match, he was involved in the misfortunes of +his daughter, and repeatedly obliged to impoverish himself to supply +her ransom. Perhaps in his private soul the old king did not think +these losses so mortifying as the necessity of receiving Margaret into +his court and family. On fire when reflecting on the losses she had +sustained, mourning over friends slain and kingdoms lost, the proudest +and most passionate of princesses was ill suited to dwell with the +gayest and best-humoured of sovereigns, whose pursuits she contemned, +and whose lightness of temper, for finding comfort in such trifles, +she could not forgive. The discomfort attached to her presence and +vindictive recollections embarrassed the good-humoured old monarch, +though it was unable to drive him beyond his equanimity. + +Another distress pressed him more sorely.--Yolande, a daughter of his +first wife, Isabella, had succeeded to his claims upon the Duchy of +Lorraine, and transmitted them to her son, Ferrand, Count of +Vaudemont, a young man of courage and spirit, engaged at this time in +the apparently desperate undertaking of making his title good against +the Duke of Burgundy, who, with little right but great power, was +seizing upon and overrunning this rich Duchy, which he laid claim to +as a male fief. And to conclude, while the aged king on one side +beheld his dethroned daughter in hopeless despair, and on the other +his disinherited grandson in vain attempting to recover part of their +rights, he had the additional misfortune to know that his nephew, +Louis of France, and his cousin, the Duke of Burgundy, were secretly +contending which should succeed him in that portion of Provence which +he still continued to possess, and that it was only jealousy of each +other which prevented his being despoiled of this last remnant of his +territory. Yet amid all this distress René feasted and received +guests, danced, sang, composed poetry, used the pencil or brush with +no small skill, devised and conducted festivals and processions, and, +studying to promote as far as possible the immediate mirth and +good-humour of his subjects, if he could not materially enlarge their +more permanent prosperity, was never mentioned by them, excepting as +_Le bon Roi René_, a distinction conferred on him down to the present +day, and due to him certainly by the qualities of his heart, if not by +those of his head. + +Whilst Arthur was receiving from his guide a full account of the +peculiarities of King René, they entered the territories of that +merry monarch. It was late in the autumn, and about the period when +the south-eastern counties of France rather show to least advantage. +The foliage of the olive-tree is then decayed and withered, and as it +predominates in the landscape, and resembles the scorched complexion +of the soil itself, an ashen and arid hue is given to the whole. +Still, however, there were scenes in the hilly and pastoral parts of +the country where the quantity of evergreens relieved the eye even in +this dead season. + +The appearance of the country, in general, had much in it that was +peculiar. + +The travellers perceived at every turn some marks of the King's +singular character. Provence, as the part of Gaul which first received +Roman civilisation, and as having been still longer the residence of +the Grecian colony who founded Marseilles, is more full of the +splendid relics of ancient architecture than any other country in +Europe, Italy and Greece excepted. The good taste of the King René had +dictated some attempts to clear out and to restore these memorials of +antiquity. Was there a triumphal arch or an ancient temple--huts and +hovels were cleared away from its vicinity, and means were used at +least to retard the approach of ruin. Was there a marble fountain, +which superstition had dedicated to some sequestered naiad--it was +surrounded by olives, almond and orange trees--its cistern was +repaired, and taught once more to retain its crystal treasures. The +huge amphitheatres and gigantic colonnades experienced the same +anxious care, attesting that the noblest specimens of the fine arts +found one admirer and preserver in King René, even during the course +of those which are termed the dark and barbarous ages. + +A change of manners could also be observed in passing from Burgundy +and Lorraine, where society relished of German bluntness, into the +pastoral country of Provence, where the influence of a fine climate +and melodious language, joined to the pursuits of the romantic old +monarch, with the universal taste for music and poetry, had introduced +a civilisation of manners which approached to affectation. The +shepherd literally marched abroad in the morning, piping his flocks +forth to the pasture with some love-sonnet, the composition of an +amorous Troubadour; and his "fleecy care" seemed actually to be under +the influence of his music, instead of being ungraciously insensible +to its melody, as is the case in colder climates. Arthur observed, +too, that the Provençal sheep, instead of being driven before the +shepherd, regularly followed him, and did not disperse to feed until +the swain, by turning his face round to them, remaining stationary, +and, executing variations on the air which he was playing, seemed to +remind them that it was proper to do so. While in motion, his huge +dog, of a species which is trained to face the wolf, and who is +respected by the sheep as their guardian, and not feared as their +tyrant, followed his master with his ears pricked, like the chief +critic and prime judge of the performance, at some tones of which he +seldom failed to intimate disapprobation; while the flock, like the +generality of an audience, followed in unanimous though silent +applause. At the hour of noon, the shepherd had sometimes acquired an +augmentation to his audience, in some comely matron or blooming +maiden, with whom he had rendezvoused by such a fountain as we have +described, and who listened to the husband's or lover's chalumeau, or +mingled her voice with his in the duets, of which the songs of the +Troubadours have left so many examples. In the cool of the evening, +the dance on the village green, or the concert before the hamlet door; +the little repast of fruits, cheese, and bread, which the traveller +was readily invited to share, gave new charms to the illusion, and +seemed in earnest to point out Provence as the Arcadia of France. + +But the greatest singularity was, in the eyes of Arthur, the total +absence of armed men and soldiers in this peaceful country. In +England, no man stirred without his long-bow, sword, and buckler. In +France, the hind wore armour even when he was betwixt the stilts of +his plough. In Germany, you could not look along a mile of highway but +the eye was encountered by clouds of dust, out of which were seen, by +fits, waving feathers and flashing armour. Even in Switzerland, the +peasant, if he had a journey to make, though but of a mile or two, +cared not to travel without his halberd and two-handed sword. But in +Provence all seemed quiet and peaceful, as if the music of the land +had lulled to sleep all its wrathful passions. Now and then a mounted +cavalier might pass them, the harp at whose saddle-bow, or carried by +one of his attendants, attested the character of a Troubadour, which +was affected by men of all ranks; and then only a short sword on his +left thigh, borne for show rather than use, was a necessary and +appropriate part of his equipment. + +"Peace," said Arthur, as he looked around him, "is an inestimable +jewel; but it will be soon snatched from those who are not prepared +with heart and hand to defend it." + +The sight of the ancient and interesting town of Aix, where King René +held his court, dispelled reflections of a general character, and +recalled to the young Englishman the peculiar mission on which he was +engaged. + +He then required to know from the Provençal Thiebault whether his +instructions were to leave him, now that he had successfully attained +the end of his journey. + +"My instructions," answered Thiebault, "are to remain in Aix while +there is any chance of your seignorie's continuing there, to be of +such use to you as you may require, either as a guide or an attendant, +and to keep these men in readiness to wait upon you when you have +occasion for messengers or guards. With your approbation, I will see +them disposed of in fitting quarters, and receive my further +instructions from your seignorie wherever you please to appoint me. I +propose this separation, because I understand it is your present +pleasure to be private." + +"I must go to court," answered Arthur, "without any delay. Wait for me +in half an hour by that fountain in the street, which projects into +the air such a magnificent pillar of water, surrounded, I would almost +swear, by a vapour like steam, serving as a shroud to the jet which it +envelopes." + +"The jet is so surrounded," answered the Provençal, "because it is +supplied by a hot spring rising from the bowels of the earth, and the +touch of frost on this autumn morning makes the vapour more +distinguishable than usual.--But if it is good King René whom you +seek, you will find him at this time walking in his chimney. Do not be +afraid of approaching him, for there never was a monarch so easy of +access, especially to good-looking strangers like you, seignorie." + +"But his ushers," said Arthur, "will not admit me into his hall." + +"His hall!" repeated Thiebault. "Whose hall?" + +"Why, King René's, I apprehend. If he is walking in a chimney, it can +only be in that of his hall, and a stately one it must be to give him +room for such exercise." + +"You mistake my meaning," said the guide, laughing. "What we call King +René's chimney is the narrow parapet yonder; it extends between these +two towers, has an exposure to the south, and is sheltered in every +other direction. Yonder it is his pleasure to walk and enjoy the beams +of the sun, on such cool mornings as the present. It nurses, he says, +his poetical vein. If you approach his promenade he will readily speak +to you, unless, indeed, he is in the very act of a poetical +composition." + +Arthur could not forbear smiling at the thoughts of a king, eighty +years of age, broken down with misfortunes and beset with dangers, who +yet amused himself with walking in an open parapet, and composing +poetry in presence of all such of his loving subjects as chose to look +on. + +"If you will walk a few steps this way," said Thiebault, "you may see +the good King, and judge whether or not you will accost him at +present. I will dispose of the people, and await your orders at the +fountain in the Corso." + +Arthur saw no objection to the proposal of his guide, and was not +unwilling to have an opportunity of seeing something of the good King +René, before he was introduced to his presence. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[8] Note I.--The Troubadours. + +[9] Note II.--Parliament of Love. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + Ay, this is he who wears the wreath of bays + Wove by Apollo and the Sisters Nine, + Which Jove's dread lightning scathes not. He hath doft + The cumbrous helm of steel, and flung aside + The yet more galling diadem of gold; + While, with a leafy circlet round his brows, + He reigns the King of Lovers and of Poets. + + +A cautious approach to the chimney--that is, the favourite walk of the +King, who is described by Shakspeare as bearing + + the style of King of Naples, + Of both the Sicilies, and Jerusalem, + Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman, + +gave Arthur the perfect survey of his Majesty in person. He saw an old +man, with locks and beard, which, in amplitude and whiteness, nearly +rivalled those of the envoy from Schwitz, but with a fresh and ruddy +colour in his cheek, and an eye of great vivacity. His dress was showy +to a degree almost inconsistent with his years; and his step, not only +firm but full of alertness and vivacity, while occupied in traversing +the short and sheltered walk, which he had chosen rather for comfort +than for privacy, showed juvenile vigour still animating an aged +frame. The old King carried his tablets and a pencil in his hand, +seeming totally abstracted in his own thoughts, and indifferent to +being observed by several persons from the public street beneath his +elevated promenade. + +Of these, some, from their dress and manner, seemed themselves +Troubadours; for they held in their hands rebecks, rotes, small +portable harps, and other indications of their profession. Such +appeared to be stationary, as if engaged in observing and recording +their remarks on the meditations of their Prince. Other passengers, +bent on their own more serious affairs, looked up to the King as to +some one whom they were accustomed to see daily, but never passed +without doffing their bonnets, and expressing, by a suitable +obeisance, a respect and affection towards his person, which appeared +to make up in cordiality of feeling what it wanted in deep and solemn +deference. + +René, in the meanwhile, was apparently unconscious both of the gaze of +such as stood still, or the greeting of those who passed on, his mind +seeming altogether engrossed with the apparent labour of some arduous +task in poetry or music. He walked fast or slow as best suited the +progress of composition. At times he stopped to mark hastily down on +his tablets something which seemed to occur to him as deserving of +preservation; at other times he dashed out what he had written, and +flung down the pencil as if in a sort of despair. On these occasions, +the Sibylline leaf was carefully picked up by a beautiful page, his +only attendant, who reverently observed the first suitable opportunity +of restoring it again to his royal hand. The same youth bore a viol, +on which, at a signal from his master, he occasionally struck a few +musical notes, to which the old King listened, now with a soothed and +satisfied air, now with a discontented and anxious brow. At times his +enthusiasm rose so high that he even hopped and skipped, with an +activity which his years did not promise; at other times his motions +were extremely slow, and occasionally he stood still, like one wrapped +in the deepest and most anxious meditation. When he chanced to look on +the group which seemed to watch his motions, and who ventured even to +salute him with a murmur of applause, it was only to distinguish them +with a friendly and good-humoured nod; a salutation with which, +likewise, he failed not to reply to the greeting of the occasional +passengers, when his earnest attention to his task, whatever it might +be, permitted him to observe them. + +At length the royal eye lighted upon Arthur, whose attitude of silent +observation and the distinction of his figure pointed him out as a +stranger. René beckoned to his page, who, receiving his master's +commands in a whisper, descended from the royal chimney to the broader +platform beneath, which was open to general resort. The youth, +addressing Arthur with much courtesy, informed him the King desired to +speak with him. The young Englishman had no alternative but that of +approaching, though pondering much in his own mind how he ought to +comport himself towards such a singular specimen of royalty. + +When he drew near, King René addressed him in a tone of courtesy not +unmingled with dignity, and Arthur's awe in his immediate presence was +greater than he himself could have anticipated from his previous +conception of the royal character. + +"You are, from your appearance, fair sir," said King René, "a stranger +in this country. By what name must we call you, and to what business +are we to ascribe the happiness of seeing you at our court?" + +Arthur remained a moment silent, and the good old man, imputing it to +awe and timidity, proceeded in an encouraging tone. + +"Modesty in youth is ever commendable; you are doubtless an acolyte in +the noble and joyous science of Minstrelsy and Music, drawn hither by +the willing welcome which we afford to the professors of those arts, +in which--praise be to Our Lady and the saints!--we have ourself been +deemed a proficient." + +"I do not aspire to the honours of a Troubadour," answered Arthur. + +"I believe you," answered the King, "for your speech smacks of the +northern, or Norman-French, such as is spoken in England and other +unrefined nations. But you are a minstrel, perhaps, from these +ultramontane parts. Be assured we despise not their efforts; for we +have listened, not without pleasure and instruction, to many of their +bold and wild romaunts, which, though rude in device and language, and +therefore far inferior to the regulated poetry of our Troubadours, +have yet something in their powerful and rough measure which +occasionally rouses the heart like the sound of a trumpet." + +"I have felt the truth of your Grace's observation, when I have heard +the songs of my country," said Arthur; "but I have neither skill nor +audacity to imitate what I admire--My latest residence has been in +Italy." + +"You are perhaps, then, a proficient in painting," said René; "an art +which applies itself to the eye as poetry and music do to the ear, +and is scarce less in esteem with us. If you are skilful in the art, +you have come to a monarch who loves it, and the fair country in which +it is practised." + +"In simple truth, Sire, I am an Englishman, and my hand has been too +much welk'd and hardened by practice of the bow, the lance, and the +sword, to touch the harp, or even the pencil." + +"An Englishman!" said René, obviously relaxing in the warmth of his +welcome. "And what brings you here? England and I have long had little +friendship together." + +"It is even on that account that I am here," said Arthur. "I come to +pay my homage to your Grace's daughter, the Princess Margaret of +Anjou, whom I and many true Englishmen regard still as our Queen, +though traitors have usurped her title." + +"Alas, good youth," said René, "I must grieve for you, while I respect +your loyalty and faith. Had my daughter Margaret been of my mind, she +had long since abandoned pretensions which have drowned in seas of +blood the noblest and bravest of her adherents." + +The King seemed about to say more, but checked himself. + +"Go to my palace," he said; "inquire for the Seneschal Hugh de Saint +Cyr, he will give thee the means of seeing Margaret--that is, if it be +her will to see thee. If not, good English youth, return to my palace, +and thou shalt have hospitable entertainment; for a King who loves +minstrelsy, music, and painting is ever most sensible to the claims of +honour, virtue, and loyalty; and I read in thy looks thou art +possessed of these qualities, and willingly believe thou mayst, in +more quiet times, aspire to share the honours of the joyous science. +But if thou hast a heart to be touched by the sense of beauty and fair +proportion, it will leap within thee at the first sight of my palace, +the stately grace of which may be compared to the faultless form of +some high-bred dame, or the artful yet seemingly simple modulations of +such a tune as we have been now composing." + +The King seemed disposed to take his instrument, and indulge the youth +with a rehearsal of the strain he had just arranged; but Arthur at +that moment experienced the painful internal feeling of that peculiar +species of shame which well-constructed minds feel when they see +others express a great assumption of importance, with a confidence +that they are exciting admiration, when in fact they are only exposing +themselves to ridicule. Arthur, in short, took leave, "in very shame," +of the King of Naples, both the Sicilies, and Jerusalem, in a manner +somewhat more abrupt than ceremony demanded. The King looked after +him, with some wonder at this want of breeding, which, however, he +imputed to his visitor's insular education, and then again began to +twangle his viol. + +"The old fool!" said Arthur. "His daughter is dethroned, his dominions +crumbling to pieces, his family on the eve of becoming extinct, his +grandson driven from one lurking-place to another, and expelled from +his mother's inheritance,--and he can find amusement in these +fopperies! I thought him, with his long white beard, like Nicholas +Bonstetten; but the old Swiss is a Solomon compared with him." + +As these and other reflections, highly disparaging to King René, +passed through Arthur's mind, he reached the place of rendezvous, and +found Thiebault beneath the steaming fountain, forced from one of +those hot springs which had been the delight of the Romans from an +early period. Thiebault, having assured his master that his retinue, +horse and man, were so disposed as to be ready on an instant's call, +readily undertook to guide him to King René's palace, which, from its +singularity, and indeed its beauty of architecture, deserved the +eulogium which the old monarch had bestowed upon it. The front +consisted of three towers of Roman architecture, two of them being +placed on the angles of the palace, and the third, which served the +purpose of a mausoleum, forming a part of the group, though somewhat +detached from the other buildings. This last was a structure of +beautiful proportions. The lower part of the edifice was square, +serving as a sort of pedestal to the upper part, which was circular, +and surrounded by columns of massive granite. The other two towers at +the angles of the palace were round, and also ornamented with pillars, +and with a double row of windows. In front of, and connected with, +these Roman remains, to which a date has been assigned as early as the +fifth or sixth century, arose the ancient palace of the Counts of +Provence, built a century or two later, but where a rich Gothic or +Moorish front contrasted, and yet harmonised, with the more regular +and massive architecture of the lords of the world. It is not more +than thirty or forty years since this very curious remnant of antique +art was destroyed, to make room for new public buildings, which have +never yet been erected. + +Arthur really experienced some sensation of the kind which the old +King had prophesied, and stood looking with wonder at the ever-open +gate of the palace, into which men of all kinds seemed to enter +freely. After looking around for a few minutes, the young Englishman +ascended the steps of a noble portico, and asked of a porter, as old +and as lazy as a great man's domestic ought to be, for the seneschal +named to him by the King. The corpulent janitor, with great +politeness, put the stranger under the charge of a page, who ushered +him to a chamber, in which he found another aged functionary of higher +rank, with a comely face, a clear composed eye, and a brow which, +having never been knit into gravity, intimated that the seneschal of +Aix was a proficient in the philosophy of his royal master. He +recognised Arthur the moment he addressed him. + +"You speak northern French, fair sir; you have lighter hair and a +fairer complexion than the natives of this country--You ask after +Queen Margaret--By all these marks I read you English--Her Grace of +England is at this moment paying a vow at the monastery of Mont St. +Victoire, and if your name be Arthur Philipson, I have commission to +forward you to her presence immediately--that is, as soon as you have +tasted of the royal provision." + +The young man would have remonstrated, but the seneschal left him no +leisure. + +"Meat and mass," he said, "never hindered work--it is perilous to +youth to journey too far on an empty stomach--he himself would take a +mouthful with the Queen's guest, and pledge him to boot in a flask of +old Hermitage." + +The board was covered with an alacrity which showed that hospitality +was familiarly exercised in King René's dominions. Pasties, dishes of +game, the gallant boar's head, and other delicacies were placed on the +table, and the seneschal played the merry host, frequently apologising +(unnecessarily) for showing an indifferent example, as it was his duty +to carve before King René, and the good King was never pleased unless +he saw him feed lustily as well as carve featly. + +"But for you, Sir Guest, eat freely, since you may not see food again +till sunset; for the good Queen takes her misfortunes so to heart that +sighs are her food, and her tears a bottle of drink, as the Psalmist +hath it. But I bethink me you will need steeds for yourself and your +equipage to reach Mont St. Victoire, which is seven miles from Aix." + +Arthur intimated that he had a guide and horses in attendance, and +begged permission to take his adieu. The worthy seneschal, his fair +round belly graced with a gold chain, accompanied him to the gate with +a step which a gentle fit of the gout had rendered uncertain, but +which, he assured Arthur, would vanish before three days' use of the +hot springs. Thiebault appeared before the gate, not with the tired +steeds from which they had dismounted an hour since, but with fresh +palfreys from the stable of the King. + +"They are yours from the moment you have put foot in stirrup," said +the seneschal; "the good King René never received back as his property +a horse which he had lent to a guest; and that is perhaps one reason +why his Highness and we of his household must walk often a-foot." + +Here the seneschal exchanged greetings with his young visitor, who +rode forth to seek Queen Margaret's place of temporary retirement at +the celebrated monastery of St. Victoire. He demanded of his guide in +which direction it lay, who pointed, with an air of triumph, to a +mountain three thousand feet and upwards in height, which arose at +five or six miles' distance from the town, and which its bold and +rocky summit rendered the most distinguished object of the landscape. +Thiebault spoke of it with unusual glee and energy, so much so as to +lead Arthur to conceive that his trusty squire had not neglected to +avail himself of the lavish hospitality of _Le bon Roy René_. +Thiebault, however, continued to expatiate on the fame of the mountain +and monastery. They derived their name, he said, from a great victory +which was gained by a Roman general, named Caio Mario, against two +large armies of Saracens with ultramontane names (the Teutones +probably and Cimbri), in gratitude to Heaven for which victory Caio +Mario vowed to build a monastery on the mountain, for the service of +the Virgin Mary, in honour of whom he had been baptised. With all the +importance of a local connoisseur, Thiebault proceeded to prove his +general assertion by specific facts. + +"Yonder," he said, "was the camp of the Saracens, from which, when the +battle was apparently decided, their wives and women rushed, with +horrible screams, dishevelled hair, and the gestures of furies, and +for a time prevailed in stopping the flight of the men." He pointed +out, too, the river, for access to which, cut off by the superior +generalship of the Romans, the barbarians, whom he called Saracens, +hazarded the action, and whose streams they empurpled with their +blood. In short, he mentioned many circumstances which showed how +accurately tradition will preserve the particulars of ancient events, +even whilst forgetting, misstating, and confounding dates and persons. + +Perceiving that Arthur lent him a not unwilling ear,--for it may be +supposed that the education of a youth bred up in the heat of civil +wars was not well qualified to criticise his account of the wars of a +distant period,--the Provençal, when he had exhausted this topic, drew +up close to his master's side, and asked, in a suppressed tone, +whether he knew, or was desirous of being made acquainted with, the +cause of Margaret's having left Aix, to establish herself in the +monastery of St. Victoire? + +"For the accomplishment of a vow," answered Arthur; "all the world +knows it." + +"All Aix knows the contrary," said Thiebault; "and I can tell you the +truth, so I were sure it would not offend your seignorie." + +"The truth can offend no reasonable man, so it be expressed in the +terms of which Queen Margaret must be spoken in the presence of an +Englishman." + +Thus replied Arthur, willing to receive what information he could +gather, and desirous, at the same time, to check the petulance of his +attendant. + +"I have nothing," replied his follower, "to state in disparagement of +the gracious Queen, whose only misfortune is that, like her royal +father, she has more titles than towns. Besides, I know well that you +Englishmen, though you speak wildly of your sovereigns yourselves, +will not permit others to fail in respect to them." + +"Say on, then," answered Arthur. + +"Your seignorie must know, then," said Thiebault, "that the good King +René has been much disturbed by the deep melancholy which afflicted +Queen Margaret, and has bent himself with all his power to change it +into a gayer humour. He made entertainments in public and in private; +he assembled minstrels and Troubadours, whose music and poetry might +have drawn smiles from one on his deathbed. The whole country +resounded with mirth and glee, and the gracious Queen could not stir +abroad in the most private manner, but, before she had gone a hundred +paces, she lighted on an ambush, consisting of some pretty pageant, or +festivous mummery, composed often by the good King himself, which +interrupted her solitude, in purpose of relieving her heavy thoughts +with some pleasant pastime. But the Queen's deep melancholy rejected +all these modes of dispelling it, and at length she confined herself +to her own apartments, and absolutely refused to see even her royal +father, because he generally brought into her presence those whose +productions he thought likely to soothe her sorrow. Indeed she seemed +to hear the harpers with loathing, and, excepting one wandering +Englishman, who sung a rude and melancholy ballad, which threw her +into a flood of tears, and to whom she gave a chain of price, she +never seemed to look at, or be conscious of the presence of any one. +And at length, as I have had the honour to tell your seignorie, she +refused to see even her royal father unless he came alone; and that he +found no heart to do." + +"I wonder not at it," said the young man. "By the White Swan, I am +rather surprised his mummery drove her not to frenzy." + +"Something like it indeed took place," said Thiebault; "and I will +tell your seignorie how it chanced. You must know that good King René, +unwilling to abandon his daughter to the foul fiend of melancholy, +bethought him of making a grand effort. You must know, further, that +the King, powerful in all the craft of Troubadours and Jongleurs, is +held in peculiar esteem for conducting mysteries, and other of those +gamesome and delightful sports and processions, with which our Holy +Church permits her graver ceremonies to be relieved and diversified, +to the cheering of the hearts of all true children of religion. It is +admitted that no one has ever been able to approach his excellence in +the arrangement of the Fête-Dieu; and the tune to which the devils +cudgel King Herod, to the great edification of all Christian +spectators, is of our good King's royal composition. He hath danced at +Tarasconne in the ballet of St. Martha and the Dragon, and was +accounted in his own person the only actor competent to present the +Tarrasque. His Highness introduced also a new ritual into the +consecration of the Boy Bishop, and composed an entire set of +grotesque music for the Festival of Asses. In short, his Grace's +strength lies in those pleasing and becoming festivities which strew +the path of edification with flowers, and send men dancing and singing +on their way to heaven. + +"Now the good King René, feeling his own genius for such recreative +compositions, resolved to exert it to the utmost, in the hope that he +might thereby relieve the melancholy in which his daughter was +plunged, and which infected all that approached her. It chanced, some +short time since, that the Queen was absent for certain days, I know +not where or on what business, but it gave the good King time to make +his preparations. So, when his daughter returned, he with much +importunity prevailed on her to make part of a religious procession to +St. Sauveur, the principal church in Aix. The Queen, innocent of what +was intended, decked herself with solemnity, to witness and partake of +what she expected would prove a work of grave piety. But no sooner had +she appeared on the esplanade in front of the palace, than more than a +hundred masks, dressed up like Turks, Jews, Saracens, Moors, and I +know not whom besides, crowded around, to offer her their homage, in +the character of the Queen of Sheba; and a grotesque piece of music +called them to arrange themselves for a ludicrous ballet, in which +they addressed the Queen in the most entertaining manner, and with the +most extravagant gestures. The Queen, stunned with the noise, and +affronted with the petulance of this unexpected onset, would have gone +back into the palace; but the doors had been shut by the King's order +so soon as she set forth, and her retreat in that direction was cut +off. Finding herself excluded from the palace, the Queen advanced to +the front of the façade, and endeavoured by signs and words to appease +the hubbub, but the maskers, who had their instructions, only answered +with songs, music, and shouts." + +"I would," said Arthur, "there had been a score of English yeomen in +presence, with their quarterstaves, to teach the bawling villains +respect for one that has worn the crown of England!" + +"All the noise that was made before was silence and soft music," +continued Thiebault, "till that when the good King himself appeared, +grotesquely dressed in the character of King Solomon"---- + +"To whom, of all princes, he has the least resemblance," said +Arthur---- + +"With such capers and gesticulations of welcome to the Queen of Sheba +as, I am assured by those who saw it, would have brought a dead man +alive again, or killed a living man with laughing. Among other +properties, he had in his hand a truncheon, somewhat formed like a +fool's bauble"---- + +"A most fit sceptre for such a sovereign," said Arthur---- + +"Which was headed," continued Thiebault, "by a model of the Jewish +Temple, finely gilded and curiously cut in pasteboard. He managed this +with the utmost grace, and delighted every spectator by his gaiety and +activity, excepting the Queen, who, the more he skipped and capered, +seemed to be the more incensed, until, on his approaching her to +conduct her to the procession, she seemed roused to a sort of frenzy, +struck the truncheon out of his hand, and breaking through the crowd, +who felt as if a tigress had leapt amongst them from a showman's cart, +rushed into the royal courtyard. Ere the order of the scenic +representation, which her violence had interrupted, could be restored, +the Queen again issued forth, mounted and attended by two or three +English cavaliers of her Majesty's suite. She forced her way through +the crowd, without regarding either their safety or her own, flew like +a hail-storm along the streets, and never drew bridle till she was as +far up this same Mont St. Victoire as the road would permit. She was +then received into the convent, and has since remained there; and a +vow of penance is the pretext to cover over the quarrel betwixt her +and her father." + +"How long may it be," said Arthur, "since these things chanced?" + +"It is but three days since Queen Margaret left Aix in the manner I +have told you.--But we are come as far up the mountain as men usually +ride. See, yonder is the monastery rising betwixt two huge rocks, +which form the very top of Mont St. Victoire. There is no more open +ground than is afforded by the cleft, into which the convent of St. +Mary of Victory is, as it were, niched; and the access is guarded by +the most dangerous precipices. To ascend the mountain, you must keep +that narrow path, which, winding and turning among the cliffs, leads +at length to the summit of the hill, and the gate of the monastery." + +"And what becomes of you and the horses?" said Arthur. + +"We will rest," said Thiebault, "in the hospital maintained by the +good fathers at the bottom of the mountain, for the accommodation of +those who attend on pilgrims;--for I promise you the shrine is visited +by many who come from afar, and are attended both by man and +horse.--Care not for me,--I shall be first under cover; but there +muster yonder in the west some threatening clouds, from which your +seignorie may suffer inconvenience, unless you reach the convent in +time. I will give you an hour to do the feat, and will say you are as +active as a chamois-hunter if you reach it within the time." + +Arthur looked around him, and did indeed remark a mustering of clouds +in the distant west, which threatened soon to change the character of +the day, which had hitherto been brilliantly clear, and so serene that +the falling of a leaf might have been heard. He therefore turned him +to the steep and rocky path which ascended the mountain, sometimes by +scaling almost precipitous rocks, and sometimes by reaching their tops +by a more circuitous process. It winded through thickets of wild +boxwood and other low aromatic shrubs, which afforded some pasture for +the mountain goats, but were a bitter annoyance to the traveller who +had to press through them. Such obstacles were so frequent, that the +full hour allowed by Thiebault had elapsed before he stood on the +summit of Mont St. Victoire, and in front of the singular convent of +the same name. + +We have already said that the crest of the mountain, consisting +entirely of one bare and solid rock, was divided by a cleft or opening +into two heads or peaks, between which the convent was built, +occupying all the space between them. The front of the building was of +the most ancient and sombre cast of the old Gothic, or rather, as it +has been termed, the Saxon; and in that respect corresponded with the +savage exterior of the naked cliffs, of which the structure seemed to +make a part, and by which it was entirely surrounded, excepting a +small open space of more level ground, where, at the expense of much +toil, and by carrying earth up the hill, from different spots where +they could collect it in small quantities, the good fathers had been +able to arrange the accommodations of a garden. + +A bell summoned a lay brother, the porter of this singularly situated +monastery, to whom Arthur announced himself as an English merchant, +Philipson by name, who came to pay his duty to Queen Margaret. The +porter, with much respect, showed the stranger into the convent, and +ushered him into a parlour, which, looking towards Aix, commanded an +extensive and splendid prospect over the southern and western parts of +Provence. This was the direction in which Arthur had approached the +mountain from Aix; but the circuitous path by which he had ascended +had completely carried him round the hill. The western side of the +monastery, to which the parlour looked, commanded the noble view we +have mentioned; and a species of balcony, which, connecting the two +twin crags, at this place not above four or five yards asunder, ran +along the front of the building, and appeared to be constructed for +the purpose of enjoying it. But on stepping from one of the windows of +the parlour upon this battlemented bartizan, Arthur became aware that +the wall on which the parapet rested stretched along the edge of a +precipice, which sank sheer down five hundred feet at least from the +foundations of the convent. Surprised and startled at finding himself +on so giddy a verge, Arthur turned his eyes from the gulf beneath him +to admire the distant landscape, partly illumined, with ominous +lustre, by the now westerly sun. The setting beams showed in dark red +splendour a vast variety of hill and dale, champaign and cultivated +ground, with towns, churches, and castles, some of which rose from +among trees, while others seemed founded on rocky eminences; others +again lurked by the side of streams or lakes, to which the heat and +drought of the climate naturally attracted them. + +The rest of the landscape presented similar objects when the weather +was serene, but they were now rendered indistinct, or altogether +obliterated, by the sullen shade of the approaching clouds, which +gradually spread over great part of the horizon, and threatened +altogether to eclipse the sun, though the lord of the horizon still +struggled to maintain his influence, and, like a dying hero, seemed +most glorious even in the moment of defeat. Wild sounds, like groans +and howls, formed by the wind in the numerous caverns of the rocky +mountain, added to the terrors of the scene, and seemed to foretell +the fury of some distant storm, though the air in general was even +unnaturally calm and breathless. In gazing on this extraordinary +scene, Arthur did justice to the monks who had chosen this wild and +grotesque situation, from which they could witness Nature in her +wildest and grandest demonstrations, and compare the nothingness of +humanity with her awful convulsions. + +So much was Arthur awed by the scene before him, that he had almost +forgotten, while gazing from the bartizan, the important business +which had brought him to this place, when it was suddenly recalled by +finding himself in the presence of Margaret of Anjou, who, not seeing +him in the parlour of reception, had stept upon the balcony, that she +might meet with him the sooner. + +The Queen's dress was black, without any ornament except a gold +coronal of an inch in breadth, restraining her long black tresses, of +which advancing years and misfortunes had partly altered the hue. +There was placed within the circlet a black plume with a red rose, the +last of the season, which the good father who kept the garden had +presented to her that morning, as the badge of her husband's house. +Care, fatigue, and sorrow seemed to dwell on her brow and her +features. To another messenger she would in all probability have +administered a sharp rebuke, for not being alert in his duty to +receive her as she entered; but Arthur's age and appearance +corresponded with that of her loved and lost son. He was the son of a +lady whom Margaret had loved with almost sisterly affection, and the +presence of Arthur continued to excite in the dethroned Queen the same +feelings of maternal tenderness which had been awakened on their first +meeting in the Cathedral of Strasburg. She raised him as he kneeled at +her feet, spoke to him with much kindness, and encouraged him to +detail at full length his father's message, and such other news as his +brief residence at Dijon had made him acquainted with. + +She demanded which way Duke Charles had moved with his army. + +"As I was given to understand by the master of his artillery," said +Arthur, "towards the Lake of Neufchatel, on which side he proposes his +first attack on the Swiss." + +"The headstrong fool!" said Queen Margaret. "He resembles the poor +lunatic, who went to the summit of the mountain that he might meet the +rain halfway.--Does thy father, then," continued Margaret, "advise me +to give up the last remains of the extensive territories once the +dominions of our royal house, and for some thousand crowns, and the +paltry aid of a few hundred lances, to relinquish what is left of our +patrimony to our proud and selfish kinsman of Burgundy, who extends +his claim to our all, and affords so little help, or even promise of +help, in return?" + +"I should have ill discharged my father's commission," said Arthur, +"if I had left your Highness to think that he recommends so great a +sacrifice. He feels most deeply the Duke of Burgundy's grasping desire +of dominion. Nevertheless, he thinks that Provence must, on King +René's death, or sooner, fall either to the share of Duke Charles, or +to Louis of France, whatever opposition your Highness may make to such +a destination; and it may be that my father, as a knight and a +soldier, hopes much from obtaining the means to make another attempt +on Britain. But the decision must rest with your Highness." + +"Young man," said the Queen, "the contemplation of a question so +doubtful almost deprives me of reason!" + +As she spoke, she sank down, as one who needs rest, on a stone seat +placed on the very verge of the balcony, regardless of the storm, +which now began to rise with dreadful gusts of wind, the course of +which being intermitted and altered by the crags round which they +howled, it seemed as if in very deed Boreas, and Eurus, and Caurus, +unchaining the winds from every quarter of heaven, were contending for +mastery around the convent of Our Lady of Victory. Amid this tumult, +and amid billows of mist which concealed the bottom of the precipice, +and masses of clouds which racked fearfully over their heads, the roar +of the descending waters rather resembled the fall of cataracts than +the rushing of torrents of rain. The seat on which Margaret had placed +herself was in a considerable degree sheltered from the storm, but +its eddies, varying in every direction, often tossed aloft her +dishevelled hair; and we cannot describe the appearance of her noble +and beautiful, yet ghastly and wasted features, agitated strongly by +anxious hesitation and conflicting thoughts, unless to those of our +readers who have had the advantage of having seen our inimitable +Siddons in such a character as this. Arthur, confounded by anxiety and +terror, could only beseech her Majesty to retire before the fury of +the approaching storm into the interior of the convent. + +"No," she replied with firmness; "roofs and walls have ears, and +monks, though they have forsworn the world, are not the less curious +to know what passes beyond their cells. It is in this place you must +hear what I have to say; as a soldier you should scorn a blast of wind +or a shower of rain; and to me, who have often held counsel amidst the +sound of trumpets and clash of arms, prompt for instant fight, the war +of elements is an unnoticed trifle. I tell thee, young Arthur Vere, as +I would to your father--as I would to my son--if indeed Heaven had +left such a blessing to a wretch forlorn"---- + +She paused, and then proceeded. + +"I tell thee, as I would have told my beloved Edward, that Margaret, +whose resolutions were once firm and immovable as these rocks among +which we are placed, is now doubtful and variable as the clouds which +are drifting around us. I told your father, in the joy of meeting once +more a subject of such inappreciable loyalty, of the sacrifices I +would make to assure the assistance of Charles of Burgundy, to so +gallant an undertaking as that proposed to him by the faithful +Oxford. But since I saw him I have had cause of deep reflection. I +met my aged father only to offend and, I say it with shame, to insult +the old man in presence of his people. Our tempers are as opposed as +the sunshine, which a short space since gilded a serene and beautiful +landscape, differs from the tempests which are now wasting it. I +spurned with open scorn and contempt what he, in his mistaken +affection, had devised for means of consolation, and, disgusted with +the idle follies which he had devised for curing the melancholy of a +dethroned Queen, a widowed spouse--and, alas! a childless mother,--I +retired hither from the noisy and idle mirth, which was the bitterest +aggravation of my sorrows. Such and so gentle is René's temper, that +even my unfilial conduct will not diminish my influence over him; and +if your father had announced that the Duke of Burgundy, like a knight +and a sovereign, had cordially and nobly entered into the plan of the +faithful Oxford, I could have found it in my heart to obtain the +cession of territory his cold and ambitious policy requires, in order +to insure the assistance which he now postpones to afford till he has +gratified his own haughty humour by settling needless quarrels with +his unoffending neighbours. Since I have been here, and calmness and +solitude have given me time to reflect, I have thought on the offences +I have given the old man, and on the wrongs I was about to do him. My +father, let me do him justice, is also the father of his people. They +have dwelt under their vines and fig-trees, in ignoble ease, perhaps, +but free from oppression and exaction, and their happiness has been +that of their good King. Must I change all this?--Must I aid in +turning over these contented people to a fierce, headlong, arbitrary +prince?--May I not break even the easy and thoughtless heart of my +poor old father, should I succeed in urging him to do so?--These are +questions which I shudder even to ask myself. On the other hand, to +disappoint the toils, the venturous hopes of your father, to forego +the only opportunity which may ever again offer itself, of revenge on +the bloody traitors of York, and restoration of the House of +Lancaster!--Arthur, the scene around us is not so convulsed by the +fearful tempest and the driving clouds, as my mind is by doubt and +uncertainty." + +"Alas," replied Arthur, "I am too young and inexperienced to be your +Majesty's adviser in a case so arduous. I would my father had been in +presence himself." + +"I know what he would have said," replied the Queen; "but, knowing +all, I despair of aid from human counsellors--I have sought others, +but they also are deaf to my entreaties. Yes, Arthur, Margaret's +misfortunes have rendered her superstitious. Know, that beneath these +rocks, and under the foundation of this convent, there runs a cavern, +entering by a secret and defended passage a little to the westward of +the summit, and running through the mountain, having an opening to the +south, from which, as from this bartizan, you can view the landscape +so lately seen from this balcony, or the strife of winds and confusion +of clouds which we now behold. In the middle of this cavernous +thoroughfare is a natural pit, or perforation, of great but unknown +depth. A stone dropped into it is heard to dash from side to side, +until the noise of its descent, thundering from cliff to cliff, dies +away in distant and faint tinkling, less loud than that of a sheep's +bell at a mile's distance. The common people, in their jargon, call +this fearful gulf Lou Garagoule; and the traditions of the monastery +annex wild and fearful recollections to a place in itself sufficiently +terrible. Oracles, it is said, spoke from thence in pagan days, by +subterranean voices, arising from the abyss; and from these the Roman +general is said to have heard, in strange and uncouth rhymes, promises +of the victory which gives name to this mountain. These oracles, it is +averred, may be yet consulted after performance of strange rites, in +which heathen ceremonies are mixed with Christian acts of devotion. +The abbots of Mont St. Victoire have denounced the consultation of Lou +Garagoule, and the spirits who reside there, to be criminal. But as +the sin may be expiated by presents to the Church, by masses, and +penances, the door is sometimes opened by the complaisant fathers to +those whose daring curiosity leads them, at all risks, and by whatever +means, to search into futurity. Arthur, I have made the experiment, +and am even now returned from the gloomy cavern, in which, according +to the traditional ritual, I have spent six hours by the margin of the +gulf, a place so dismal, that after its horrors even this tempestuous +scene is refreshing." + +The Queen stopped, and Arthur, the more struck with the wild tale that +it reminded him of his place of imprisonment at La Ferette, asked +anxiously if her inquiries had obtained any answer. + +"None whatever," replied the unhappy Princess. "The demons of +Garagoule, if there be such, are deaf to the suit of an unfortunate +wretch like me, to whom neither friends nor fiends will afford counsel +or assistance. It is my father's circumstances which prevent my +instant and strong resolution. Were my own claims on this piping and +paltry nation of Troubadours alone interested, I could, for the chance +of once more setting my foot in merry England, as easily and willingly +resign them, and their paltry coronet, as I commit to the storm this +idle emblem of the royal rank which I have lost." + +As Margaret spoke, she tore from her hair the sable feather and rose +which the tempest had detached from the circlet in which they were +placed, and tossed them from the battlement with a gesture of wild +energy. They were instantly whirled off in a bickering eddy of the +agitated clouds, which swept the feather far distant into empty space, +through which the eye could not pursue it. But while that of Arthur +involuntarily strove to follow its course, a contrary gust of wind +caught the red rose, and drove it back against his breast, so that it +was easy for him to catch hold of and retain it. + +"Joy, joy, and good fortune, royal mistress!" he said, returning to +her the emblematic flower; "the tempest brings back the badge of +Lancaster to its proper owner." + +"I accept the omen," said Margaret; "but it concerns yourself, noble +youth, and not me. The feather, which is borne away to waste and +desolation, is Margaret's emblem. My eyes will never see the +restoration of the line of Lancaster. But you will live to behold it, +and to aid to achieve it, and to dye our red rose deeper yet in the +blood of tyrants and traitors. My thoughts are so strangely poised, +that a feather or a flower may turn the scale. But my head is still +giddy, and my heart sick.--To-morrow you shall see another Margaret, +and till then adieu." + +It was time to retire, for the tempest began to be mingled with +fiercer showers of rain. When they re-entered the parlour, the Queen +clapped her hands, and two female attendants entered. + +"Let the Father Abbot know," she said, "that it is our desire that +this young gentleman receive for this night such hospitality as befits +an esteemed friend of ours.--Till to-morrow, young sir, farewell." + +With a countenance which betrayed not the late emotion of her mind, +and with a stately courtesy that would have become her when she graced +the halls of Windsor, she extended her hand, which the youth saluted +respectfully. After her leaving the parlour, the Abbot entered, and, +in his attention to Arthur's entertainment and accommodation for the +evening, showed his anxiety to meet and obey Queen Margaret's wishes. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + Want you a man + Experienced in the world and its affairs? + Here he is for your purpose.--He's a monk. + He hath forsworn the world and all its work-- + The rather that he knows it passing well, + Special the worst of it, for he's a monk. + _Old Play._ + + +While the dawn of the morning was yet grey, Arthur was awakened by a +loud ringing at the gate of the monastery, and presently afterwards +the porter entered the cell which had been allotted to him for his +lodgings, to tell him that, if his name was Arthur Philipson, a +brother of their order had brought him despatches from his father. The +youth started up, hastily attired himself, and was introduced, in the +parlour, to a Carmelite monk, being of the same order with the +community of St. Victoire. + +"I have ridden many a mile, young man, to present you with this +letter," said the monk, "having undertaken to your father that it +should be delivered without delay. I came to Aix last night during the +storm, and, learning at the palace that you had ridden hither, I +mounted as soon as the tempest abated, and here I am." + +"I am beholden to you, father," said the youth, "and if I could repay +your pains with a small donative to your convent"---- + +"By no means," answered the good father; "I took my personal trouble +out of friendship to your father, and mine own errand led me this way. +The expenses of my long journey have been amply provided for. But open +your packet, I can answer your questions at leisure." + +The young man accordingly stepped into an embrasure of the window, and +read as follows:-- + + "SON ARTHUR,--Touching the state of the country, in so far + as concerns the safety of travelling, know that the same + is precarious. The Duke hath taken the towns of Brie and + Granson, and put to death five hundred men, whom he made + prisoners in garrison there. But the Confederates are + approaching with a large force, and God will judge for the + right. Howsoever the game may go, these are sharp wars, in + which little quarter is spoken of on either side, and + therefore there is no safety for men of our profession, + till something decisive shall happen. In the meantime, you + may assure the widowed lady, that our correspondent + continues well disposed to purchase the property which she + has in hand; but will scarce be able to pay the price till + his present pressing affairs shall be settled, which I + hope will be in time to permit us to embark the funds in + the profitable adventure I told our friend of. I have + employed a friar, travelling to Provence, to carry this + letter, which I trust will come safe. The bearer may be + trusted. + + "Your affectionate father, + "JOHN PHILIPSON." + +Arthur easily comprehended the latter part of the epistle, and +rejoiced he had received it at so critical a moment. He questioned the +Carmelite on the amount of the Duke's army, which the monk stated to +amount to sixty thousand men, while he said the Confederates, though +making every exertion, had not yet been able to assemble the third +part of that number. The young Ferrand de Vaudemont was with their +army, and had received, it was thought, some secret assistance from +France; but as he was little known in arms, and had few followers, the +empty title of General which he bore added little to the strength of +the Confederates. Upon the whole, he reported that every chance +appeared to be in favour of Charles, and Arthur, who looked upon his +success as presenting the only chance in favour of his father's +enterprise, was not a little pleased to find it insured, as far as +depended on a great superiority of force. He had no leisure to make +further inquiries, for the Queen at that moment entered the apartment, +and the Carmelite, learning her quality, withdrew from her presence in +deep reverence. + +The paleness of her complexion still bespoke the fatigues of the day +preceding; but, as she graciously bestowed on Arthur the greetings of +the morning, her voice was firm, her eye clear, and her countenance +steady. "I meet you," she said, "not as I left you, but determined in +my purpose. I am satisfied that if René does not voluntarily yield up +his throne of Provence by some step like that which we propose, he +will be hurled from it by violence, in which, it may be, his life will +not be spared. We will, therefore, to work with all speed--the worst +is, that I cannot leave this convent till I have made the necessary +penances for having visited the Garagoule, without performing which I +were no Christian woman. When you return to Aix, inquire at the palace +for my secretary, with whom this line will give you credence. I have, +even before this door of hope opened to me, endeavoured to form an +estimate of King René's situation, and collected the documents for +that purpose. Tell him to send me, duly sealed, and under fitting +charge, the small cabinet hooped with silver. Hours of penance for +past errors may be employed to prevent others; and from the contents +of that cabinet I shall learn whether I am, in this weighty matter, +sacrificing my father's interests to my own half-desperate hopes. But +of this I have little or no doubt. I can cause the deeds of +resignation and transference to be drawn up here under my own +direction, and arrange the execution of them when I return to Aix, +which shall be the first moment after my penance is concluded." + +"And this letter, gracious madam," said Arthur, "will inform you what +events are approaching, and of what importance it may be to take time +by the forelock. Place me but in possession of these momentous deeds, +and I will travel night and day till I reach the Duke's camp. I shall +find him most likely in the moment of victory, and with his heart too +much open to refuse a boon to the royal kinswoman who is surrendering +to him all. We will--we must--in such an hour, obtain princely +succours; and we shall soon see if the licentious Edward of York, the +savage Richard, the treacherous and perjured Clarence, are hereafter +to be lords of merry England, or whether they must give place to a +more rightful sovereign and better man. But oh! royal madam, all +depends on haste." + +"True--yet a few days may--nay, must--cast the die between Charles and +his opponents; and, ere making so great a surrender, it were as well +to be assured that he whom we would propitiate is in capacity to +assist us. All the events of a tragic and varied life have led me to +see there is no such thing as an inconsiderable enemy. I will make +haste, however, trusting in the interim we may have good news from the +banks of the lake at Neufchatel." + +"But who shall be employed to draw these most important deeds?" said +the young man. + +Margaret mused ere she replied,--"The Father Guardian is complaisant, +and I think faithful; but I would not willingly repose confidence in +one of the Provençal monks. Stay, let me think--your father says the +Carmelite who brought the letter may be trusted--he shall do the turn. +He is a stranger, and will be silent for a piece of money. Farewell, +Arthur de Vere.--You will be treated with all hospitality by my +father. If thou dost receive further tidings, thou wilt let me know +them; or, should I have instructions to send, thou wilt hear from +me.--So, benedicite." + +Arthur proceeded to wind down the mountain at a much quicker pace than +he had ascended on the day before. The weather was now gloriously +serene, and the beauties of vegetation, in a country where it never +totally slumbers, were at once delicious and refreshing. His thoughts +wandered from the crags of Mont St. Victoire to the cliff of the +canton of Unterwalden, and fancy recalled the moments when his walks +through such scenery were not solitary, but when there was a form by +his side whose simple beauty was engraved on his memory. Such thoughts +were of a preoccupying nature; and I grieve to say that they entirely +drowned the recollection of the mysterious caution given him by his +father, intimating that Arthur might not be able to comprehend such +letters as he should receive from him, till they were warmed before a +fire. + +The first thing which reminded him of this singular caution was the +seeing a chafing-dish of charcoal in the kitchen of the hostelry at +the bottom of the mountain, where he found Thiebault and his horses. +This was the first fire which he had seen since receiving his father's +letter, and it reminded him not unnaturally of what the Earl had +recommended. Great was his surprise to see that, after exposing the +paper to the fire as if to dry it, a word emerged in an important +passage of the letter, and the concluding words now read,--"The bearer +may _not_ be trusted." Well-nigh choked with shame and vexation, +Arthur could think of no other remedy than instantly to return to the +convent, and acquaint the Queen with this discovery, which he hoped +still to convey to her in time to prevent any risk being incurred by +the Carmelite's treachery. + +Incensed at himself, and eager to redeem his fault, he bent his manly +breast against the steep hill, which was probably never scaled in so +short time as by the young heir of De Vere; for, within forty minutes +from his commencing the ascent, he stood breathless and panting in the +presence of Queen Margaret, who was alike surprised at his appearance +and his exhausted condition. + +"Trust not the Carmelite!" he exclaimed--"You are betrayed, noble +Queen, and it is by my negligence. Here is my dagger--bid me strike it +into my heart!" + +Margaret demanded and obtained a more special explanation, and when it +was given she said, "It is an unhappy chance; but your father's +instructions ought to have been more distinct. I have told yonder +Carmelite the purpose of the contracts, and engaged with him to draw +them. He has but now left me to serve at the choir. There is no +withdrawing the confidence I have unhappily placed; but I can easily +prevail with the Father Guardian to prevent the monk from leaving the +convent till we are indifferent to his secrecy. It is our best chance +to secure it, and we will take care that what inconvenience he +sustains by his detention shall be well recompensed. Meanwhile, rest +thou, good Arthur, and undo the throat of thy mantle. Poor youth, thou +art well-nigh exhausted with thy haste." + +Arthur obeyed, and sat down on a seat in the parlour; for the speed +which he had exerted rendered him almost incapable of standing. + +"If I could but see," he said, "the false monk, I would find a way to +charm him to secrecy!" + +"Better leave him to me," said the Queen; "and, in a word, I forbid +you to meddle with him. The coif can treat better with the cowl than +the casque can do. Say no more of him. I joy to see you wear around +your neck the holy relic I bestowed on you;--but what Moorish charmlet +is that you wear beside it? Alas! I need not ask. Your heightened +colour, almost as deep as when you entered a quarter of an hour hence, +confesses a true-love token. Alas! poor boy, hast thou not only such a +share of thy country's woes to bear, but also thine own load of +affliction, not the less poignant now that future time will show thee +how fantastic it is! Margaret of Anjou could once have aided wherever +thy affections were placed; but now she can only contribute to the +misery of her friends, not to their happiness. But this lady of the +charm, Arthur, is she fair--is she wise and virtuous--is she of noble +birth--and does she love?"--She perused his countenance with the +glance of an eagle, and continued, "To all, thou wouldst answer Yes, +if shamefacedness permitted thee. Love her then in turn, my gallant +boy, for love is the parent of brave actions. Go, my noble +youth--high-born and loyal, valorous and virtuous, enamoured and +youthful, to what mayst thou not rise? The chivalry of ancient Europe +only lives in a bosom like thine. Go, and let the praises of a Queen +fire thy bosom with the love of honour and achievement. In three days +we meet at Aix." + +Arthur, highly gratified with the Queen's condescension, once more +left her presence. + +Returning down the mountain with a speed very different from that +which he had used in the ascent, he again found his Provençal squire, +who had remained in much surprise at witnessing the confusion in which +his master had left the inn, almost immediately after he had entered +it without any apparent haste or agitation. Arthur explained his hasty +return by alleging he had forgot his purse at the convent. "Nay, in +that case," said Thiebault, "considering what you left and where you +left it, I do not wonder at your speed, though, Our Lady save me, as I +never saw living creature, save a goat with a wolf at his heels, make +his way over crag and briers with half such rapidity as you did." + +They reached Aix after about an hour's riding, and Arthur lost no time +in waiting upon the good King René, who gave him a kind reception, +both in respect of the letter from the Duke of Burgundy, and in +consideration of his being an Englishman, the avowed subject of the +unfortunate Margaret. The placable monarch soon forgave his young +guest the want of complaisance with which he had eschewed to listen to +his compositions; and Arthur speedily found that to apologise for his +want of breeding in that particular was likely to lead to a great deal +more rehearsing than he could find patience to tolerate. He could only +avoid the old King's extreme desire to recite his own poems, and +perform his own music, by engaging him in speaking of his daughter +Margaret. Arthur had been sometimes induced to doubt the influence +which the Queen boasted herself to possess over her aged father; but, +on being acquainted with him personally, he became convinced that her +powerful understanding and violent passions inspired the feeble-minded +and passive King with a mixture of pride, affection, and fear, which +united to give her the most ample authority over him. + +Although she had parted with him but a day or two since, and in a +manner so ungracious on her side, René was as much overjoyed at +hearing of the probability of her speedy return, as the fondest father +could have been at the prospect of being reunited to the most dutiful +child, whom he had not seen for years. The old King was impatient as a +boy for the day of her arrival, and, still strangely unenlightened on +the difference of her taste from his own, he was with difficulty +induced to lay aside a project of meeting her in the character of old +Palemon,-- + + The prince of shepherds, and their pride, + +at the head of an Arcadian procession of nymphs and swains, to inspire +whose choral dances and songs every pipe and tambourine in the country +was to be placed in requisition. Even the old seneschal, however, +intimated his disapprobation of this species of _joyeuse entrée_; so +that René suffered himself at length to be persuaded that the Queen +was too much occupied by the religious impressions to which she had +been of late exposed, to receive any agreeable sensation from sights +or sounds of levity. The King gave way to reasons which he could not +sympathise with; and thus Margaret escaped the shock of welcome, which +would perhaps have driven her in her impatience back to the mountain +of St. Victoire, and the sable cavern of Lou Garagoule. + +During the time of her absence, the days of the court of Provence were +employed in sports and rejoicings of every description; tilting at the +barrier with blunted spears, riding at the ring, parties for +hare-hunting and falconry, frequented by the youth of both sexes, in +the company of whom the King delighted, while the evenings were +consumed in dancing and music. + +Arthur could not but be sensible that not long since all this would +have made him perfectly happy; but the last months of his existence +had developed his understanding and passions. He was now initiated in +the actual business of human life, and looked on its amusements with +an air of something like contempt; so that among the young and gay +noblesse who composed this merry court he acquired the title of the +youthful philosopher, which was not bestowed upon him, it may be +supposed, as inferring anything of peculiar compliment. + +On the fourth day news was received, by an express messenger, that +Queen Margaret would enter Aix before the hour of noon, to resume her +residence in her father's palace. The good King René seemed, as it +drew nigh, to fear the interview with his daughter as much as he had +previously desired it, and contrived to make all around him partake of +his fidgety anxiety. He tormented his steward and cooks to recollect +what dishes they had ever observed her to taste of with +approbation--he pressed the musicians to remember the tunes which she +approved; and when one of them boldly replied he had never known her +Majesty endure any strain with patience, the old monarch threatened to +turn him out of his service for slandering the taste of his daughter. +The banquet was ordered to be served at half past eleven, as if +accelerating it would have had the least effect upon hurrying the +arrival of the expected guests; and the old King, with his napkin over +his arm, traversed the hall from window to window, wearying every one +with questions, whether they saw anything of the Queen of England. +Exactly as the bells tolled noon, the Queen, with a very small +retinue, chiefly English, and in mourning habits like herself, rode +into the town of Aix. King René, at the head of his court, failed not +to descend from the front of his stately palace, and move along the +street to meet his daughter. Lofty, proud, and jealous of incurring +ridicule, Margaret was not pleased with this public greeting in the +market-place. But she was desirous at present to make amends for her +late petulance, and therefore she descended from her palfrey; and, +although something shocked at seeing René equipped with a napkin, she +humbled herself to bend the knee to him, asking at once his blessing +and forgiveness. + +"Thou hast--thou hast my blessing, my suffering dove," said the simple +King to the proudest and most impatient princess that ever wept for a +lost crown.--"And for thy pardon, how canst thou ask it, who never +didst me an offence since God made me father to so gracious a +child?--Rise, I say rise--nay, it is for me to ask thy pardon--True, I +said in my ignorance, and thought within myself, that my heart had +indited a goodly thing--but it vexed thee. It is therefore for me to +crave pardon."--And down sank good King René upon both knees; and the +people, who are usually captivated with anything resembling the trick +of the scene, applauded with much noise, and some smothered laughter, +a situation in which the royal daughter and her parent seemed about to +rehearse the scene of the Roman Charity. + +Margaret, sensitively alive to shame, and fully aware that her present +position was sufficiently ludicrous in its publicity at least, signed +sharply to Arthur, whom she saw in the King's suite, to come to her; +and, using his arm to rise, she muttered to him aside, and in +English,--"To what saint shall I vow myself, that I may preserve +patience when I so much need it!" + +"For pity's sake, royal madam, recall your firmness of mind and +composure," whispered her esquire, who felt at the moment more +embarrassed than honoured by his distinguished office, for he could +feel that the Queen actually trembled with vexation and impatience. + +They at length resumed their route to the palace, the father and +daughter arm in arm--a posture most agreeable to Margaret, who could +bring herself to endure her father's effusions of tenderness, and the +general tone of his conversation, so that he was not overheard by +others. In the same manner, she bore with laudable patience the +teasing attentions which he addressed to her at table, noticed some of +his particular courtiers, inquired after others, led the way to his +favourite subjects of conversation on poetry, painting, and music, +till the good King was as much delighted with the unwonted civilities +of his daughter as ever was lover with the favourable confessions of +his mistress, when, after years of warm courtship, the ice of her +bosom is at length thawed. It cost the haughty Margaret an effort to +bend herself to play this part--her pride rebuked her for stooping to +flatter her father's foibles, in order to bring him over to the +resignation of his dominions--yet having undertaken to do so, and so +much having been already hazarded upon this sole remaining chance of +success in an attack upon England, she saw, or was willing to see, no +alternative. + +Betwixt the banquet and the ball by which it was to be followed, the +Queen sought an opportunity of speaking to Arthur. + +"Bad news, my sage counsellor," she said. "The Carmelite never +returned to the convent after the service was over. Having learned +that you had come back in great haste, he had, I suppose, concluded he +might stand in suspicion, so he left the convent of Mont St. +Victoire." + +"We must hasten the measures which your Majesty has resolved to +adopt," answered Arthur. + +"I will speak with my father to-morrow. Meanwhile, you must enjoy the +pleasures of the evening, for to you they may be pleasures.--Young +lady of Boisgelin, I give you this cavalier to be your partner for the +evening." + +The black-eyed and pretty Provençale curtseyed with due decorum, and +glanced at the handsome young Englishman with an eye of approbation; +but whether afraid of his character as a philosopher, or his doubtful +rank, added the saving clause,--"If my mother approves." + +"Your mother, damsel, will scarce, I think, disapprove of any partner +whom you receive from the hands of Margaret of Anjou. Happy privilege +of youth," she added with a sigh, as the youthful couple went off to +take their place in the _bransle_,[10] "which can snatch a flower even +on the roughest road!" + +Arthur acquitted himself so well during the evening, that perhaps the +young Countess was only sorry that so gay and handsome a gallant +limited his compliments and attentions within the cold bounds of that +courtesy enjoined by the rules of ceremony. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[10] Bransle, in English, brawl--a species of dance. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + For I have given here my full consent + To undeck the pompous body of a king, + Make glory base, and sovereignty a slave, + Proud majesty a subject, state a peasant. + _Richard II._ + + +The next day opened a grave scene. King René had not forgotten to +arrange the pleasures of the day, when, to his horror and +discomfiture, Margaret demanded an interview upon serious business. If +there was a proposition in the world which René from his soul +detested, it was any that related to the very name of business. + +"What was it that his child wanted?" he said. "Was it money? He would +give her whatever ready sums he had, though he owned his exchequer was +somewhat bare; yet he had received his income for the season. It was +ten thousand crowns. How much should he desire to be paid to her?--the +half--three parts--or the whole? All was at her command." + +"Alas, my dear father," said Margaret, "it is not my affairs, but your +own, on which I desire to speak with you." + +"If the affairs are mine," said René, "I am surely master to put them +off to another day--to some rainy dull day, fit for no better purpose. +See, my love, the hawking-party are all on their steeds and ready--the +horses are neighing and pawing--the gallants and maidens mounted, and +ready with hawk on fist--the spaniels struggling in the leash. It were +a sin, with wind and weather to friend, to lose so lovely a morning." + +"Let them ride their way," said Queen Margaret, "and find their sport; +for the matter I have to speak concerning involves honour and rank, +life and means of living." + +"Nay, but I have to hear and judge between Calezon and John of Acqua +Mortis, the two most celebrated Troubadours." + +"Postpone their cause till to-morrow," said Margaret, "and dedicate an +hour or two to more important affairs." + +"If you are peremptory," replied King René, "you are aware, my child, +I cannot say you nay." + +And with reluctance he gave orders for the hawkers to go on and follow +their sport, as he could not attend them that day. + +The old King then suffered himself, like an unwilling greyhound +withheld from the chase, to be led into a separate apartment. To +insure privacy, Margaret stationed her secretary Mordaunt, with +Arthur, in an antechamber, giving them orders to prevent all +intrusion. + +"Nay, for myself, Margaret," said the good-natured old man, "since it +must be, I consent to be put _au secret_; but why keep old Mordaunt +from taking a walk in this beautiful morning; and why prevent young +Arthur from going forth with the rest? I promise you, though they term +him a philosopher, yet he showed as light a pair of heels last night, +with the young Countess de Boisgelin, as any gallant in Provence." + +"They are come from a country," said Margaret, "in which men are +trained from infancy to prefer their duty to their pleasure." + +The poor King, led into the council-closet, saw with internal +shuddering the fatal cabinet of ebony, bound with silver, which had +never been opened but to overwhelm him with weariness, and dolefully +calculated how many yawns he must strangle ere he sustained the +consideration of its contents. They proved, however, when laid before +him, of a kind that excited even his interest, though painfully. + +His daughter presented him with a short and clear view of the debts +which were secured on his dominions, and for which they were mortgaged +in various pieces and parcels. She then showed him, by another +schedule, the large claims of which payment was instantly demanded, to +discharge which no funds could be found or assigned. The King defended +himself like others in his forlorn situation. To every claim of six, +seven, or eight thousand ducats, he replied by the assertion that he +had ten thousand crowns in his chancery, and showed some reluctance to +be convinced, till repeatedly urged upon him, that the same sum could +not be adequate to the discharge of thirty times the amount. + +"Then," said the King, somewhat impatiently, "why not pay off those +who are most pressing, and let the others wait till receipts come +round?" + +"It is a practice which has been too often resorted to," replied the +Queen, "and it is but a part of honesty to pay creditors who have +advanced their all in your Grace's service." + +"But are we not," said René, "King of both the Sicilies, Naples, +Arragon, and Jerusalem? And why is the monarch of such fair kingdoms +to be pushed to the wall, like a bankrupt yeoman, for a few bags of +paltry crowns?" + +"You are indeed monarch of these kingdoms," said Margaret; "but is it +necessary to remind your Majesty that it is but as I am Queen of +England, in which I have not an acre of land, and cannot command a +penny of revenue? You have no dominions which are a source of revenue, +save those which you see in this scroll, with an exact list of the +income they afford. It is totally inadequate, you see, to maintain +your state, and to pay the large engagements incurred to former +creditors." + +"It is cruel to press me to the wall thus," said the poor King. "What +can I do? If I am poor, I cannot help it. I am sure I would pay the +debts you talk of, if I knew the way." + +"Royal father, I will show it you.--Resign your useless and unavailing +dignity, which, with the pretensions attending it, serves but to make +your miseries ridiculous. Resign your rights as a sovereign, and the +income which cannot be stretched out to the empty excesses of a +beggarly court will enable you to enjoy, in ease and opulence, all the +pleasures you most delight in, as a private baron." + +"Margaret, you speak folly," answered René, somewhat sternly. "A king +and his people are bound by ties which neither can sever without +guilt. My subjects are my flock, I am their shepherd. They are +assigned to my governance by Heaven, and I dare not renounce the +charge of protecting them." + +"Were you in condition to do so," answered the Queen, "Margaret would +bid you fight to the death. But don your harness, long disused--mount +your war-steed--cry, René for Provence! and see if a hundred men will +gather round your standard. Your fortresses are in the hands of +strangers; army you have none; your vassals may have good-will, but +they lack all military skill and soldierlike discipline. You stand but +the mere skeleton of monarchy, which France or Burgundy may prostrate +on the earth, whichever first puts forth his arm to throw it down." + +The tears trickled fast down the old King's cheeks, when this +unflattering prospect was set before him, and he could not forbear +owning his total want of power to defend himself and his dominions, +and admitting that he had often thought of the necessity of +compounding for his resignation with one of his powerful neighbours. + +"It was thy interest, Margaret, harsh and severe as you are, which +prevented my entering, before now, into measures most painful to my +feelings, but perhaps best calculated for my advantage. But I had +hoped it would hold on for my day; and thou, my child, with the +talents Heaven has given thee, wouldst, I thought, have found remedy +for distresses which I cannot escape, otherwise than by shunning the +thoughts of them." + +"If it is in earnest you speak of my interest," said Margaret, "know, +that your resigning Provence will satisfy the nearest, and almost the +only wish that my bosom can form; but, so judge me Heaven, as it is on +your account, gracious sire, as well as mine, that I advise your +compliance." + +"Say no more on't, child; give me the parchment of resignation, and I +will sign it: I see thou hast it ready drawn; let us sign it, and then +we will overtake the hawkers. We must suffer woe, but there is little +need to sit down and weep for it." + +"Do you not ask," said Margaret, surprised at his apathy, "to whom you +cede your dominions?" + +"What boots it," answered the King, "since they must be no more my +own? It must be either to Charles of Burgundy, or my nephew +Louis--both powerful and politic princes. God send my poor people may +have no cause to wish their old man back again, whose only pleasure +was to see them happy and mirthful." + +"It is to Burgundy you resign Provence," said Margaret. + +"I would have preferred him," answered René; "he is fierce, but not +malignant. One word more. Are my subjects' privileges and immunities +fully secured?" + +"Amply," replied the Queen; "and your own wants of all kinds +honourably provided for. I would not leave the stipulations in your +favour in blank, though I might perhaps have trusted Charles of +Burgundy, where money alone is concerned." + +"I ask not for myself--with my viol and my pencil, René the Troubadour +will be as happy as ever was René the King." + +So saying, with practical philosophy he whistled the burden of his +last composed ariette, and signed away the rest of his royal +possessions without pulling off his glove, or even reading the +instrument. + +"What is this?" he said, looking at another and separate parchment of +much briefer contents. "Must my kinsman Charles have both the +Sicilies, Catalonia, Naples, and Jerusalem, as well as the poor +remainder of Provence? Methinks, in decency, some greater extent of +parchment should have been allowed to so ample a cession." + +"That deed," said Margaret, "only disowns and relinquishes all +countenance of Ferrand de Vaudemont's rash attempt on Lorraine, and +renounces all quarrel on that account against Charles of Burgundy." + +For once Margaret miscalculated the tractability of her father's +temper. René positively started, coloured, and stammered with passion, +as he interrupted her--"_Only_ disown--_only_ relinquish--_only_ +renounce the cause of my grandchild, the son of my dear Yolande--his +rightful claims on his mother's inheritance!--Margaret, I am ashamed +for thee. Thy pride is an excuse for thy evil temper but what is pride +worth which can stoop to commit an act of dishonourable meanness? To +desert, nay, disown, my own flesh and blood, because the youth is a +bold knight under shield, and disposed to battle for his right--I were +worthy that harp and horn rung out shame on me, should I listen to +thee." + +Margaret was overcome in some measure by the old man's unexpected +opposition. She endeavoured, however, to show that there was no +occasion, in point of honour, why René should engage in the cause of a +wild adventurer, whose right, be it good be it bad, was only upheld by +some petty and underhand supplies of money from France, and the +countenance of a few of the restless banditti who inhabit the borders +of all nations. But ere René could answer, voices, raised to an +unusual pitch, were heard in the antechamber, the door of which was +flung open by an armed knight, covered with dust, who exhibited all +the marks of a long journey. + +"Here I am," he said, "father of my mother--behold your +grandson--Ferrand de Vaudemont; the son of your lost Yolande kneels at +your feet, and implores a blessing on him and his enterprise." + +"Thou hast it," replied René, "and may it prosper with thee, gallant +youth, image of thy sainted mother--my blessings, my prayers, my +hopes, go with you!" + +"And you, fair aunt of England," said the young knight, addressing +Margaret, "you who are yourself dispossessed by traitors, will you not +own the cause of a kinsman who is struggling for his inheritance?" + +"I wish all good to your person, fair nephew," answered the Queen of +England, "although your features are strange to me. But to advise this +old man to adopt your cause, when it is desperate in the eyes of all +wise men, were impious madness." + +"Is my cause then so desperate?" said Ferrand. "Forgive me if I was +not aware of it. And does my aunt Margaret say this, whose strength of +mind supported Lancaster so long, after the spirits of her warriors +had been quelled by defeat? What--forgive me, for my cause must be +pleaded--what would you have said had my mother Yolande been capable +to advise her father to disown your own Edward, had God permitted him +to reach Provence in safety?" + +"Edward," said Margaret, weeping as she spoke, "was incapable of +desiring his friends to espouse a quarrel that was irremediable. His, +too, was a cause for which mighty princes and peers laid lance in +rest." + +"Yet Heaven blessed it not--" said Vaudemont. + +"Thine," continued Margaret, "is but embraced by the robber nobles of +Germany, the upstart burghers of the Rhine cities, the paltry and +clownish Confederates of the Cantons." + +"But Heaven _has blessed it_," replied Vaudemont. "Know, proud woman, +that I come to interrupt your treacherous intrigues; no petty +adventurer, subsisting and maintaining warfare by sleight rather than +force, but a conqueror from a bloody field of battle, in which Heaven +has tamed the pride of the tyrant of Burgundy." + +"It is false!" said the Queen, starting. "I believe it not." + +"It is true," said De Vaudemont, "as true as heaven is above us.--It +is four days since I left the field of Granson (_d_), heaped with +Burgundy's mercenaries--his wealth, his jewels, his plate, his +magnificent decorations, the prize of the poor Swiss, who scarce can +tell their value. Know you this, Queen Margaret?" continued the young +soldier, showing the well-known jewel which decorated the Duke's Order +of the Golden Fleece; "think you not the lion was closely hunted when +he left such trophies as these behind him?" + +Margaret looked, with dazzled eyes and bewildered thoughts, upon a +token which confirmed the Duke's defeat, and the extinction of her +last hopes. Her father, on the contrary, was struck with the heroism +of the young warrior, a quality which, except as it existed in his +daughter Margaret, had, he feared, taken leave of his family. Admiring +in his heart the youth who exposed himself to danger for the meed of +praise, almost as much as he did the poets by whom the warrior's fame +is rendered immortal, he hugged his grandson to his bosom, bidding him +"gird on his sword in strength," and assuring him, if money could +advance his affairs, he, King René, could command ten thousand crowns, +any part, or the whole of which, was at Ferrand's command; thus giving +proof of what had been said of him, that his head was incapable of +containing two ideas at the same time. + +We return to Arthur, who, with the Queen of England's secretary, +Mordaunt, had been not a little surprised by the entrance of the Count +de Vaudemont, calling himself Duke of Lorraine, into the anteroom, in +which they kept a kind of guard, followed by a tall strong Swiss, with +a huge halberd over his shoulder. The prince naming himself, Arthur +did not think it becoming to oppose his entrance to the presence of +his grandfather and aunt, especially as it was obvious that his +opposition must have created an affray. In the huge staring +halberdier, who had sense enough to remain in the anteroom, Arthur was +not a little surprised to recognise Sigismund Biederman, who, after +staring wildly at him for a moment, like a dog which suddenly +recognises a favourite, rushed up to the young Englishman with a wild +cry of gladness, and in hurried accents told him how happy he was to +meet with him, and that he had matters of importance to tell him. It +was at no time easy for Sigismund to arrange his ideas, and now they +were altogether confused, by the triumphant joy which he expressed for +the recent victory of his countrymen over the Duke of Burgundy; and +it was with wonder that Arthur heard his confused and rude but +faithful tale. + +"Look you, King Arthur, the Duke had come up with his huge army as far +as Granson, which is near the outlet of the great lake of Neufchatel. +There were five or six hundred Confederates in the place, and they +held it till provisions failed, and then you know they were forced to +give it over. But though hunger is hard to bear, they had better have +borne it a day or two longer, for the butcher Charles hung them all up +by the neck, upon trees round the place,--and there was no swallowing +for them, you know, after such usage as that. Meanwhile all was busy +on our hills, and every man that had a sword or lance accoutred +himself with it. We met at Neufchatel, and some Germans joined us with +the noble Duke of Lorraine. Ah, King Arthur, there is a leader!--we +all think him second but to Rudolph of Donnerhugel--you saw him even +now--it was he that went into that room--and you saw him before,--it +is he that was the Blue Knight of Bâle; but we called him Laurenz +then, for Rudolph said his presence among us must not be known to our +father, and I did not know myself at that time who he really was. +Well, when we came to Neufchatel we were a goodly company; we were +fifteen thousand stout Confederates, and of others, Germans and +Lorraine men, I will warrant you five thousand more. We heard that the +Burgundian was sixty thousand in the field; but we heard, at the same +time, that Charles had hung up our brethren like dogs, and the man was +not among us--among the Confederates, I mean--who would stay to count +heads, when the question was to avenge them. I would you could have +heard the roar of fifteen thousand Swiss demanding to be led against +the butcher of their brethren! My father himself, who, you know, is +usually so eager for peace, now gave the first voice for battle; so, +in the grey of the morning, we descended the lake towards Granson, +with tears in our eyes and weapons in our hands, determined to have +death or vengeance. We came to a sort of strait, between Vauxmoreux +and the lake; there were horse on the level ground between the +mountain and the lake, and a large body of infantry on the side of the +hill. The Duke of Lorraine and his followers engaged the horse, while +we climbed the hill to dispossess the infantry. It was with us the +affair of a moment. Every man of us was at home among the crags, and +Charles's men were stuck among them as thou wert, Arthur, when thou +didst first come to Geierstein. But there were no kind maidens to lend +them their hands to help them down. No, no--There were pikes, clubs, +and halberds, many a one, to dash and thrust them from places where +they could hardly keep their feet had there been no one to disturb +them. So the horsemen, pushed by the Lorrainers, and seeing us upon +their flanks, fled as fast as their horses could carry them. Then we +drew together again on a fair field, which is _buon campagna_, as the +Italian says, where the hills retire from the lake. But lo you, we had +scarce arrayed our ranks, when we heard such a din and clash of +instruments, such a trample of their great horses, such a shouting and +crying of men, as if all the soldiers, and all the minstrels in France +and Germany, were striving which should make the loudest noise. Then +there was a huge cloud of dust approaching us, and we began to see we +must do or die, for this was Charles and his whole army come to +support his vanguard. A blast from the mountain dispersed the dust, +for they had halted to prepare for battle. Oh, good Arthur! you would +have given ten years of life but to have seen the sight. There were +thousands of horse all in complete array, glancing against the sun, +and hundreds of knights with crowns of gold and silver on their +helmets, and thick masses of spears on foot, and cannon, as they call +them. I did not know what things they were, which they drew on heavily +with bullocks and placed before their army, but I knew more of them +before the morning was over. Well, we were ordered to draw up in a +hollow square, as we are taught at exercise, and before we pushed +forwards we were commanded, as is the godly rule and guise of our +warfare, to kneel down and pray to God, Our Lady, and the blessed +saints; and we afterwards learned that Charles, in his arrogance, +thought we asked for mercy--Ha! ha! ha! a proper jest. If my father +once knelt to him, it was for the sake of Christian blood and godly +peace; but on the field of battle Arnold Biederman would not have +knelt to him and his whole chivalry, though he had stood alone with +his sons on that field. Well, but Charles, supposing we asked grace, +was determined to show us that we had asked it at a graceless face, +for he cried, 'Fire my cannon on the coward slaves; it is all the +mercy they have to expect from me!'--Bang--bang--bang--off went the +things I told you of, like thunder and lightning, and some mischief +they did, but the less that we were kneeling; and the saints +doubtless gave the huge balls a hoist over the heads of those who were +asking grace from them, but from no mortal creatures. So we had the +signal to rise and rush on, and I promise you there were no sluggards. +Every man felt ten men's strength. My halberd is no child's toy--if +you have forgotten it, there it is--and yet it trembled in my grasp as +if it had been a willow wand to drive cows with. On we went, when +suddenly the cannon were silent, and the earth shook with another and +continued growl and battering, like thunder under ground. It was the +men-at-arms rushing to charge us. But our leaders knew their trade, +and had seen such a sight before--it was, Halt, halt--kneel down in +the front--stoop in the second rank--close shoulder to shoulder like +brethren, lean all spears forward and receive them like an iron wall! +On they rushed, and there was a rending of lances that would have +served the Unterwalden old women with splinters of firewood for a +twelvemonth. Down went armed horse--down went accoutred knight--down +went banner and bannerman--down went peaked boot and crowned helmet, +and of those who fell not a man escaped with life. So they drew off in +confusion, and were getting in order to charge again, when the noble +Duke Ferrand and his horsemen dashed at them in their own way, and we +moved onward to support him. Thus on we pressed, and the foot hardly +waited for us, seeing their cavalry so handled. Then if you had seen +the dust and heard the blows! the noise of a hundred thousand +thrashers, the flight of the chaff which they drive about, would be +but a type of it. On my word, I almost thought it shame to dash about +my halberd, the rout was so helplessly piteous. Hundreds were slain +unresisting, and the whole army was in complete flight." + +"My father--my father!" exclaimed Arthur. "In such a rout, what can +have become of him?" + +"He escaped safely," said the Swiss; "fled with Charles." + +"It must have been a bloody field ere he fled," replied the +Englishman. + +"Nay," answered Sigismund, "he took no part in the fight, but merely +remained by Charles; and prisoners said it was well for us, for that +he is a man of great counsel and action in the wars. And as to flying, +a man in such a matter must go back if he cannot press forward, and +there is no shame in it, especially if you be not engaged in your own +person." + +As he spoke thus, their conversation was interrupted by Mordaunt, with +"Hush, hush--the King and Queen come forth." + +"What am I to do?" said Sigismund, in some alarm. "I care not for the +Duke of Lorraine; but what am I to do when kings and queens enter?" + +"Do nothing but rise, unbonnet yourself, and be silent." + +Sigismund did as he was directed. + +King René came forth arm in arm with his grandson; and Margaret +followed, with deep disappointment and vexation on her brow. She +signed to Arthur as she passed, and said to him--"Make thyself master +of the truth of this most unexpected news, and bring the particulars +to me. Mordaunt will introduce thee." + +She then cast a look on the young Swiss, and replied courteously to +his awkward salutation. The royal party then left the room, René bent +on carrying his grandson to the sporting-party, which had been +interrupted, and Margaret to seek the solitude of her private +apartment, and await the confirmation of what she regarded as evil +tidings. + +They were no sooner passed than Sigismund observed,--"And so that is a +King and Queen!--Peste! the King looks somewhat like old Jacomo, the +violer, that used to scrape on the fiddle to us when he came to +Geierstein in his rounds. But the Queen is a stately creature. The +chief cow of the herd, who carries the bouquets and garlands, and +leads the rest to the chalet, has not a statelier pace. And how deftly +you approached her and spoke to her! I could not have done it with so +much grace--But it is like that you have served apprentice to the +court trade?" + +"Leave that for the present, good Sigismund," answered Arthur, "and +tell me more of this battle." + +"By St. Mary, but I must have some victuals and drink first," said +Sigismund, "if your credit in this fine place reaches so far." + +"Doubt it not, Sigismund," said Arthur; and, by the intervention of +Mordaunt, he easily procured, in a more retired apartment, a collation +and wine, to which the young Biederman did great honour, smacking his +lips with much gusto after the delicious wines, to which, in spite of +his father's ascetic precepts, his palate was beginning to be +considerably formed and habituated. When he found himself alone with a +flask of _côté roti_ and a biscuit, and his friend Arthur, he was +easily led to continue his tale of conquest. + +"Well--where was I?--Oh, where we broke their infantry--well--they +never rallied, and fell into greater confusion at every step--and we +might have slaughtered one half of them, had we not stopped to examine +Charles's camp. Mercy on us, Arthur, what a sight was there! Every +pavilion was full of rich clothes, splendid armour, and great dishes +and flagons, which some men said were of silver; but I knew there was +not so much silver in the world, and was sure they must be of pewter, +rarely burnished. Here there were hosts of laced lackeys, and grooms, +and pages, and as many attendants as there were soldiers in the army; +and thousands, for what I knew, of pretty maidens. By the same token, +both menials and maidens placed themselves at the disposal of the +victors; but I promise you that my father was right severe on any who +would abuse the rights of war. But some of our young men did not mind +him, till he taught them obedience with the staff of his halberd. +Well, Arthur, there was fine plundering, for the Germans and French +that were with us rifled everything, and some of our men followed the +example--it is very catching--So I got into Charles's own pavilion, +where Rudolph and some of his people were trying to keep out every +one, that he might have the spoiling of it himself, I think; but +neither he, nor any Bernese of them all, dared lay truncheon over my +pate; so I entered, and saw them putting piles of pewter-trenchers, so +clean as to look like silver, into chests and trunks. I pressed +through them into the inner place, and there was Charles's +pallet-bed--I will do him justice, it was the only hard one in his +camp--and there were fine sparkling stones and pebbles lying about +among gauntlets, boots, vambraces, and suchlike gear--So I thought of +your father and you, and looked for something, when what should I see +but my old friend here" (here he drew Queen Margaret's necklace from +his bosom), "which I knew, because you remember I recovered it from +the Scharfgerichter at Brisach.--'Oho! you pretty sparklers,' said I, +'you shall be Burgundian no longer, but go back to my honest English +friends,' and therefore"---- + +"It is of immense value," said Arthur, "and belongs not to my father +or to me, but to the Queen you saw but now." + +"And she will become it rarely," answered Sigismund. "Were she but a +score, or a score and a half years younger, she were a gallant wife +for a Swiss landholder. I would warrant her to keep his household in +high order." + +"She will reward thee liberally for recovering her property," said +Arthur, scarce suppressing a smile at the idea of the proud Margaret +becoming the housewife of a Swiss shepherd. + +"How--reward!" said the Swiss. "Bethink thee I am Sigismund Biederman, +the son of the Landamman of Unterwalden--I am not a base lanzknecht, +to be paid for courtesy with piastres. Let her grant me a kind word of +thanks, or the matter of a kiss, and I am well contented." + +"A kiss of her hand, perhaps," said Arthur, again smiling at his +friend's simplicity. + +"Umph, the hand! Well, it may do for a queen of some fifty years and +odd, but would be poor homage to a Queen of May." + +Arthur here brought back the youth to the subject of his battle, and +learned that the slaughter of the Duke's forces in the flight had +been in no degree equal to the importance of the action. + +"Many rode off on horseback," said Sigismund; "and our German +_reiters_ flew on the spoil, when they should have followed the chase. +And besides, to speak truth, Charles's camp delayed our very selves in +the pursuit; but had we gone half a mile farther, and seen our friends +hanging on trees, not a Confederate would have stopped from the chase +while he had limbs to carry him in pursuit." + +"And what has become of the Duke?" + +"Charles has retreated into Burgundy, like a boar who has felt the +touch of the spear, and is more enraged than hurt; but is, they say, +sad and sulky. Others report that he has collected all his scattered +army, and immense forces besides, and has screwed his subjects to give +him money, so that we may expect another brush. But all Switzerland +will join us after such a victory." + +"And my father is with him?" said Arthur. + +"Truly he is, and has in a right godly manner tried to set afoot a +treaty of peace with my own father. But it will scarce succeed. +Charles is as mad as ever; and our people are right proud of our +victory, and so they well may. Nevertheless, my father forever +preaches that such victories, and such heaps of wealth, will change +our ancient manners, and that the ploughman will leave his labour to +turn soldier. He says much about it; but why money, choice meat and +wine, and fine clothing should do so much harm, I cannot bring my poor +brains to see--And many better heads than mine are as much +puzzled.--Here's to you, friend Arthur!--This is choice liquor!" + +"And what brings you and your general, Prince Ferrand, post to +Nancy?" said the young Englishman. + +"Faith, you are yourself the cause of our journey." + +"I the cause?" said Arthur.--"Why, how could that be?" + +"Why, it is said you and Queen Margaret are urging this old fiddling +King René to yield up his territories to Charles, and to disown +Ferrand in his claim upon Lorraine. And the Duke of Lorraine sent a +man that you know well--that is, you do not know _him_, but you know +some of his family, and he knows more of you than you wot--to put a +spoke in your wheel, and prevent your getting for Charles the county +of Provence, or preventing Ferrand being troubled or traversed in his +natural rights over Lorraine." + +"On my word, Sigismund, I cannot comprehend you," said Arthur. + +"Well," replied the Swiss, "my lot is a hard one. All our house say +that I can comprehend nothing, and I shall be next told that nobody +can comprehend me.--Well, in plain language, I mean my uncle, Count +Albert, as he calls himself, of Geierstein--my father's brother." + +"Anne of Geierstein's father!" echoed Arthur. + +"Ay, truly; I thought we should find some mark to make you know him +by." + +"But I never saw him." + +"Ay, but you have, though--An able man he is, and knows more of every +man's business than the man does himself. Oh! it was not for nothing +that he married the daughter of a Salamander!" + +"Pshaw, Sigismund, how can you believe that nonsense?" answered +Arthur. + +"Rudolph told me you were as much bewildered as I was that night at +Graffs-lust," answered the Swiss. + +"If I were so, I was the greater ass for my pains," answered Arthur. + +"Well, but this uncle of mine has got some of the old conjuring books +from the library at Arnheim, and they say he can pass from place to +place with more than mortal speed; and that he is helped in his +designs by mightier counsellors than mere men. Always, however, though +so able and highly endowed, his gifts, whether coming from a lawful or +unlawful quarter, bring him no abiding advantage. He is eternally +plunged into strife and danger." + +"I know few particulars of his life," said Arthur, disguising as much +as he could his anxiety to hear more of him; "but I have heard that he +left Switzerland to join the Emperor." + +"True," answered the young Swiss, "and married the young Baroness of +Arnheim,--but afterwards he incurred my namesake's imperial +displeasure, and not less that of the Duke of Austria. They say you +cannot live in Rome and strive with the Pope; so my uncle thought it +best to cross the Rhine, and betake himself to Charles's court, who +willingly received noblemen from all countries, so that they had good +sounding names, with the title of Count, Marquis, Baron, or suchlike, +to march in front of them. So my uncle was most kindly received; but +within this year or two all this friendship has been broken up. Uncle +Albert obtained a great lead in some mysterious societies, of which +Charles disapproved, and set so hard at my poor uncle, that he was +fain to take orders and shave his hair, rather than lose his head. +But though he cut off his hair, his brain remains as busy as ever; and +although the Duke suffered him to be at large, yet he found him so +often in his way, that all men believed he waited but an excuse for +seizing upon him and putting him to death. But my uncle persists that +he fears not Charles; and that, Duke as he is, Charles has more +occasion to be afraid of him.--And so you saw how boldly he played his +part at La Ferette." + +"By St. George of Windsor!" exclaimed Arthur, "the Black Priest of St. +Paul's?" + +"Oho! you understand me now. Well, he took it upon him that Charles +would not dare to punish him for his share in De Hagenbach's death; +and no more did he, although uncle Albert sat and voted in the Estates +of Burgundy, and stirred them up all he could to refuse giving Charles +the money he asked of them. But when the Swiss war broke out, uncle +Albert became assured his being a clergyman would be no longer his +protection, and that the Duke intended to have him accused of +corresponding with his brother and countrymen; and so he appeared +suddenly in Ferrand's camp at Neufchatel, and sent a message to +Charles that he renounced his allegiance, and bid him defiance." + +"A singular story of an active and versatile man," said the young +Englishman. + +"Oh, you may seek the world for a man like uncle Albert. Then he knows +everything; and he told Duke Ferrand what you were about here, and +offered to go and bring more certain information--ay, though he left +the Swiss camp but five or six days before the battle, and the +distance between Arles and Neufchatel be four hundred miles complete, +yet he met him on his return, when Duke Ferrand, with me to show him +the way, was hastening hitherward, having set off from the very field +of battle." + +"Met him!" said Arthur--"Met whom?--Met the Black Priest of St. +Paul's?" + +"Ay, I mean so," replied Sigismund; "but he was habited as a Carmelite +monk." + +"A Carmelite!" said Arthur, a sudden light flashing on him; "and I was +so blind as to recommend his services to the Queen! I remember well +that he kept his face much concealed in his cowl--and I, foolish +beast, to fall so grossly into the snare!--And yet perhaps it is as +well the transaction was interrupted, since I fear, if carried +successfully through, all must have been disconcerted by this +astounding defeat." + +Their conversation had thus far proceeded, when Mordaunt appearing, +summoned Arthur to his royal mistress's apartment. In that gay palace, +a gloomy room, whose windows looked upon some part of the ruins of the +Roman edifice, but excluded every other object, save broken walls and +tottering columns, was the retreat which Margaret had chosen for her +own. She received Albert with a kindness more touching that it was the +inmate of so proud and fiery a disposition,--of a heart assailed with +many woes, and feeling them severely. + +"Alas, poor Arthur!" she said, "thy life begins where thy father's +threatens to end, in useless labour to save a sinking vessel. The +rushing leak pours in its waters faster than human force can lighten +or discharge. All--all goes wrong, when our unhappy cause becomes +connected with it--Strength becomes weakness, wisdom folly, and +valour cowardice. The Duke of Burgundy, hitherto victorious in all his +bold undertakings, has but to entertain the momentary thought of +yielding succour to Lancaster, and behold his sword is broken by a +peasant's flail; and his disciplined army, held to be the finest in +the world, flies like chaff before the wind; while their spoils are +divided by renegade German hirelings, and barbarous Alpine +shepherds!--What more hast thou learned of this strange tale?" + +"Little, madam, but what you have heard. The worst additions are, that +the battle was shamefully cowardlike, and completely lost, with every +advantage to have won it--the best, that the Burgundian army has been +rather dispersed than destroyed, and that the Duke himself has +escaped, and is rallying his forces in Upper Burgundy." + +"To sustain a new defeat, or engage in a protracted and doubtful +contest, fatal to his reputation as defeat itself. Where is thy +father?" + +"With the Duke, madam, as I have been informed," replied Arthur. + +"Hie to him, and say I charge him to look after his own safety, and +care no further for my interests. This last blow has sunk me--I am +without an ally, without a friend, without treasure"---- + +"Not so, madam," replied Arthur. "One piece of good fortune has +brought back to your Grace this inestimable relic of your +fortunes."--And, producing the precious necklace, he gave the history +of its recovery. + +"I rejoice at the chance which has restored these diamonds," said the +Queen, "that in point of gratitude, at least, I may not be utterly +bankrupt. Carry them to your father--tell him my schemes are +over--and my heart, which so long clung to hope, is broken at +last.--Tell him the trinkets are his own, and to his own use let him +apply them. They will but poorly repay the noble earldom of Oxford, +lost in the cause of her who sends them." + +"Royal madam," said the youth, "be assured my father would sooner live +by service as a _schwarzreiter_, than become a burden on your +misfortunes." + +"He never yet disobeyed command of mine," said Margaret; "and this is +the last I will lay upon him. If he is too rich or too proud to +benefit by his Queen's behest, he will find enough of poor +Lancastrians who have fewer means or fewer scruples." + +"There is yet a circumstance I have to communicate," said Arthur, and +recounted the history of Albert of Geierstein, and the disguise of a +Carmelite monk. + +"Are you such a fool," answered the Queen, "as to suppose this man has +any supernatural powers to aid him in his ambitious projects and his +hasty journeys?" + +"No, madam--but it is whispered that the Count Albert of Geierstein, +or this Black Priest of St. Paul's, is a chief amongst the Secret +Societies of Germany, which even princes dread whilst they hate them; +for the man that can command a hundred daggers must be feared even by +those who rule thousands of swords." + +"Can this person," said the Queen, "being now a Churchman, retain +authority amongst those who deal in life and death? It is contrary to +the canons." + +"It would seem so, royal madam; but everything in these dark +institutions differs from what is practised in the light of day. +Prelates are often heads of a Vehmique bench, and the Archbishop of +Cologne exercises the dreadful office of their chief as Duke of +Westphalia, the principal region in which these societies +flourish.[11] Such privileges attach to the secret influence of the +chiefs of this dark association, as may well seem supernatural to +those who are unapprised of circumstances of which men shun to speak +in plain terms." + +"Let him be wizard or assassin," said the Queen, "I thank him for +having contributed to interrupt my plan of the old man's cession of +Provence, which, as events stand, would have stripped René of his +dominions, without furthering our plan of invading England.--Once +more, be stirring with the dawn, and bend thy way back to thy father, +and charge him to care for himself and think no more of me. Bretagne, +where the heir of Lancaster resides, will be the safest place of +refuge for its bravest followers. Along the Rhine, the Invisible +Tribunal, it would seem, haunts both shores, and to be innocent of ill +is no security; even here the proposed treaty with Burgundy may take +air, and the Provençaux carry daggers as well as crooks and pipes. But +I hear the horses fast returning from the hawking-party, and the silly +old man, forgetting all the eventful proceedings of the day, +whistling as he ascends the steps. Well, we will soon part, and my +removal will be, I think, a relief to him. Prepare for banquet and +ball, for noise and nonsense--above all, to bid adieu to Aix with +morning dawn." + +Thus dismissed from the Queen's presence, Arthur's first care was to +summon Thiebault to have all things in readiness for his departure; +his next, to prepare himself for the pleasures of the evening, not +perhaps so heavily affected by the failure of his negotiation as to be +incapable of consolation in such a scene; for the truth was, that his +mind secretly revolted at the thoughts of the simple old King being +despoiled of his dominions to further an invasion of England, in +which, whatever interest he might have in his daughter's rights, there +was little chance of success. + +If such feelings were censurable, they had their punishment. Although +few knew how completely the arrival of the Duke of Lorraine, and the +intelligence he brought with him, had disconcerted the plans of Queen +Margaret, it was well known there had been little love betwixt the +Queen and his mother Yolande; and the young Prince found himself at +the head of a numerous party in the court of his grandfather, who +disliked his aunt's haughty manners, and were wearied by the unceasing +melancholy of her looks and conversation, and her undisguised contempt +of the frivolities which passed around her. Ferrand, besides, was +young, handsome, a victor just arrived from a field of battle, fought +gloriously, and gained against all chances to the contrary. That he +was a general favourite, and excluded Arthur Philipson, as an +adherent of the unpopular Queen, from the notice her influence had on +a former evening procured him, was only a natural consequence of their +relative condition. But what somewhat hurt Arthur's feelings was to +see his friend Sigismund the Simple, as his brethren called him, +shining with the reflected glory of the Duke Ferrand of Lorraine, who +introduced to all the ladies present the gallant young Swiss as Count +Sigismund of Geierstein. His care had procured for his follower a +dress rather more suitable for such a scene than the country attire of +the count, otherwise Sigismund Biederman. + +For a certain time, whatever of novelty is introduced into society is +pleasing, though it has nothing else to recommend it. The Swiss were +little known personally out of their own country, but they were much +talked of; it was a recommendation to be of that country. Sigismund's +manners were blunt--a mixture of awkwardness and rudeness, which was +termed frankness during the moment of his favour. He spoke bad French +and worse Italian--it gave naïveté to all he said. His limbs were too +bulky to be elegant; his dancing, for Count Sigismund failed not to +dance, was the bounding and gambolling of a young elephant; yet they +were preferred to the handsome proportions and courtly movements of +the youthful Englishman, even by the black-eyed countess in whose good +graces Arthur had made some progress on the preceding evening. Arthur, +thus thrown into the shade, felt as Mr. Pepys afterwards did when he +tore his camlet cloak--the damage was not great, but it troubled him. + +Nevertheless, the passing evening brought him some revenge. There are +some works of art the defects of which are not seen till they are +injudiciously placed in too strong a light, and such was the case with +Sigismund the Simple. The quick-witted though fantastic Provençaux +soon found out the heaviness of his intellect, and the extent of his +good-nature, and amused themselves at his expense, by ironical +compliments and well-veiled raillery. It is probable they would have +been less delicate on the subject, had not the Swiss brought into the +dancing-room along with him his eternal halberd, the size and weight +and thickness of which boded little good to any one whom the owner +might detect in the act of making merry at his expense. But Sigismund +did no further mischief that night, except that, in achieving a superb +_entrechat_, he alighted with his whole weight on the miniature foot +of his pretty partner, which he well-nigh crushed to pieces. + +Arthur had hitherto avoided looking towards Queen Margaret during the +course of the evening, lest he should disturb her thoughts from the +channel in which they were rolling, by seeming to lay a claim on her +protection. But there was something so whimsical in the awkward +physiognomy of the maladroit Swiss, that he could not help glancing an +eye to the alcove where the Queen's chair of state was placed, to see +if she observed him. The very first view was such as to rivet his +attention. Margaret's head was reclined on the chair, her eyes +scarcely open, her features drawn up and pinched, her hands closed +with effort. The English lady of honour who stood behind her--old, +deaf, and dim-sighted--had not discovered anything in her mistress's +position more than the abstracted and indifferent attitude with which +the Queen was wont to be present in body and absent in mind during the +festivities of the Provençal court. But when Arthur, greatly alarmed, +came behind the seat to press her attention to her mistress, she +exclaimed, after a minute's investigation, "Mother of Heaven, the +Queen is dead!" And it was so. It seemed that the last fibre of life, +in that fiery and ambitious mind, had, as she herself prophesied, +given way at the same time with the last thread of political hope. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[11] The Archbishop of Cologne was recognised as head of all the Free +Tribunals (_i.e._ the Vehmique benches) in Westphalia, by a writ of +privilege granted in 1335 by the Emperor Charles IV. Winceslaus +confirmed this act by a privilege dated 1382, in which the Archbishop +is termed Grand Master of the Vehme, or Grand Inquisitor. And this +prelate and other priests were encouraged to exercise such office by +Pope Boniface III., whose ecclesiastical discipline permitted them in +such cases to assume the right of judging in matters of life and +death. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + Toll, toll the bell! + Greatness is o'er, + The heart has broke, + To ache no more; + An unsubstantial pageant all-- + Drop o'er the scene the funeral pall. + _Old Poem._ + + +The commotion and shrieks of fear and amazement which were excited +among the ladies of the court by an event so singular and shocking, +had begun to abate, and the sighs, more serious though less intrusive, +of the few English attendants of the deceased Queen began to be heard, +together with the groans of old King René, whose emotions were as +acute as they were shortlived. The leeches had held a busy but +unavailing consultation, and the body that was once a queen's was +delivered to the Priest of St. Sauveur, that beautiful church in which +the spoils of Pagan temples have contributed to fill up the +magnificence of the Christian edifice. The stately pile was duly +lighted up, and the funeral provided with such splendour as Aix could +supply. The Queen's papers being examined, it was found that Margaret, +by disposing of jewels and living at small expense, had realised the +means of making a decent provision for life for her very few English +attendants. Her diamond necklace, described in her last will as in +the hands of an English merchant named John Philipson, or his son, or +the price thereof, if by them sold or pledged, she left to the said +John Philipson and his son Arthur Philipson, with a view to the +prosecution of the design which they had been destined to advance, or, +if that should prove impossible, to their own use and profit. The +charge of her funeral rites was wholly intrusted to Arthur, called +Philipson, with a request that they should be conducted entirely after +the forms observed in England. This trust was expressed in an addition +to her will, signed the very day on which she died. + +Arthur lost no time in despatching Thiebault express to his father, +with a letter explaining, in such terms as he knew would be +understood, the tenor of all that had happened since he came to Aix, +and, above all, the death of Queen Margaret. + +Finally, he requested directions for his motions, since the necessary +delay occupied by the obsequies of a person of such eminent rank must +detain him at Aix till he should receive them. + +The old King sustained the shock of his daughter's death so easily, +that on the second day after the event he was engaged in arranging a +pompous procession for the funeral, and composing an elegy, to be sung +to a tune also of his own composing, in honour of the deceased Queen, +who was likened to the goddesses of heathen mythology, and to Judith, +Deborah, and all the other holy women, not to mention the saints of +the Christian dispensation. It cannot be concealed that, when the +first burst of grief was over, King René could not help feeling that +Margaret's death cut a political knot which he might have otherwise +found it difficult to untie, and permitted him to take open part with +his grandson, so far indeed as to afford him a considerable share of +the contents of the Provençal treasury, which amounted to no larger +sum than ten thousand crowns. Ferrand having received the blessing of +his grandfather, in a form which his affairs rendered most important +to him, returned to the resolutes whom he commanded; and with him, +after a most loving farewell to Arthur, went the stout but +simple-minded young Swiss, Sigismund Biederman. + +The little court of Aix were left to their mourning. King René, for +whom ceremonial and show, whether of a joyful or melancholy character, +was always matter of importance, would willingly have bestowed on +solemnising the obsequies of his daughter Margaret what remained of +his revenue, but was prevented from doing so, partly by remonstrances +from his ministers, partly by the obstacles opposed by the young +Englishman, who, acting upon the presumed will of the dead, interfered +to prevent any such fantastic exhibitions being produced at the +obsequies of the Queen as had disgusted her during her life. + +The funeral, therefore, after many days had been spent in public +prayers and acts of devotion, was solemnised with the mournful +magnificence due to the birth of the deceased, and with which the +Church of Rome so well knows how to affect at once the eye, ear, and +feelings. + +Amid the various nobles who assisted on the solemn occasion, there was +one who arrived just as the tolling of the great bells of St. Sauveur +had announced that the procession was already on its way to the +cathedral. The stranger hastily exchanged his travelling-dress for a +suit of deep mourning, which was made after the fashion proper to +England. So attired, he repaired to the cathedral, where the noble +mien of the cavalier imposed such respect on the attendants that he +was permitted to approach close to the side of the bier; and it was +across the coffin of the Queen for whom he had acted and suffered so +much that the gallant Earl of Oxford exchanged a melancholy glance +with his son. The assistants, especially the English servants of +Margaret, gazed on them both with respect and wonder, and the elder +cavalier, in particular, seemed to them no unapt representative of the +faithful subjects of England, paying their last duty at the tomb of +her who had so long swayed the sceptre, if not faultlessly, yet always +with a bold and resolved hand. + +The last sound of the solemn dirge had died away, and almost all the +funeral attendants had retired, when the father and son still lingered +in mournful silence beside the remains of their sovereign. The clergy +at length approached, and intimated they were about to conclude the +last duties, by removing the body, which had been lately occupied and +animated by so haughty and restless a spirit, to the dust, darkness, +and silence of the vault where the long-descended Counts of Provence +awaited dissolution. Six priests raised the bier on their shoulders, +others bore huge waxen torches before and behind the body, as they +carried it down a private staircase which yawned in the floor to admit +their descent. The last notes of the requiem, in which the churchmen +joined, had died away along the high and fretted arches of the +cathedral, the last flash of light which arose from the mouth of the +vault had glimmered and disappeared, when the Earl of Oxford, taking +his son by the arm, led him in silence forth into a small cloistered +court behind the building, where they found themselves alone. They +were silent for a few minutes, for both, and particularly the father, +were deeply affected. At length the Earl spoke. + +"And this, then, is her end," said he. "Here, royal lady, all that we +have planned and pledged life upon falls to pieces with thy +dissolution! The heart of resolution, the head of policy is gone; and +what avails it that the limbs of the enterprise still have motion and +life? Alas, Margaret of Anjou! may Heaven reward thy virtues, and +absolve thee from the consequence of thine errors! Both belonged to +thy station, and, if thou didst hoist too high a sail in prosperity, +never lived there princess who defied more proudly the storms of +adversity, or bore up against them with such dauntless nobility of +determination. With this event the drama has closed, and our parts, my +son, are ended." + +"We bear arms, then, against the infidels, my lord?" said Arthur, with +a sigh that was, however, hardly audible. + +"Not," answered the Earl, "until I learn that Henry of Richmond, the +undoubted heir of the House of Lancaster, has no occasion for my +services. In these jewels, of which you wrote me, so strangely lost +and recovered, I may be able to supply him with resources more needful +than either your services or mine. But I return no more to the camp of +the Duke of Burgundy; for in him there is no help." + +"Can it be possible that the power of so great a +sovereign has been overthrown in one fatal battle?" said Arthur. + + [Illustration: THE FUNERAL OF THE QUEEN. + Drawn and Etched by R. de Los Rios.] + +"By no means," replied his father. "The loss at Granson was very +great; but to the strength of Burgundy it is but a scratch on the +shoulders of a giant. It is the spirit of Charles himself, his wisdom +at least, and his foresight, which have given way under the +mortification of a defeat by such as he accounted inconsiderable +enemies, and expected to have trampled down with a few squadrons of +his men-at-arms. Then his temper is become froward, peevish, and +arbitrary, devoted to those who flatter and, as there is too much +reason to believe, betray him, and suspicious of those counsellors who +give him wholesome advice. Even I have had my share of distrust. Thou +knowest I refused to bear arms against our late hosts the Swiss; and +he saw in that no reason for rejecting my attendance on his march. But +since the defeat of Granson, I have observed a strong and sudden +change, owing, perhaps, in some degree to the insinuations of +Campo-basso, and not a little to the injured pride of the Duke, who +was unwilling that an indifferent person in my situation, and thinking +as I do, should witness the disgrace of his arms. He spoke in my +hearing of lukewarm friends, cold-blooded neutrals,--of those who, not +being with him, must be against him. I tell thee, Arthur de Vere, the +Duke has said that which touched my honour so nearly, that nothing but +the commands of Queen Margaret, and the interests of the House of +Lancaster, could have made me remain in his camp. That is over--My +royal mistress has no more occasion for my poor services--the Duke can +spare no aid to our cause--and if he could, we can no longer dispose +of the only bribe which might have induced him to afford us succours. +The power of seconding his views on Provence is buried with Margaret +of Anjou." + +"What, then, is your purpose?" demanded his son. + +"I propose," said Oxford, "to wait at the court of King René until I +can hear from the Earl of Richmond, as we must still call him. I am +aware that banished men are rarely welcome at the court of a foreign +prince; but I have been the faithful follower of his daughter +Margaret. I only propose to reside in disguise, and desire neither +notice nor maintenance; so methinks King René will not refuse to +permit me to breathe the air of his dominions, until I learn in what +direction fortune or duty shall call me." + +"Be assured he will not," answered Arthur. "René is incapable of a +base or ignoble thought; and if he could despise trifles as he detests +dishonour, he might be ranked high in the list of monarchs." + +This resolution being adopted, the son presented his father at King +René's court, whom he privately made acquainted that he was a man of +quality, and a distinguished Lancastrian. The good King would in his +heart have preferred a guest of lighter accomplishments and gayer +temper to Oxford, a statesman and a soldier of melancholy and grave +habits. The Earl was conscious of this, and seldom troubled his +benevolent and light-hearted host with his presence. He had, however, +an opportunity of rendering the old King a favour of peculiar value. +This was in conducting an important treaty betwixt René and Louis XI. +of France, his nephew. Upon that crafty monarch René finally settled +his principality; for the necessity of extricating his affairs by such +a measure was now apparent even to himself, every thought of favouring +Charles of Burgundy in the arrangement having died with Queen +Margaret. The policy and wisdom of the English Earl, who was intrusted +with almost the sole charge of this secret and delicate measure, were +of the utmost advantage to good King René, who was freed from personal +and pecuniary vexations, and enabled to go piping and tabouring to his +grave. Louis did not fail to propitiate the plenipotentiary, by +throwing out distant hopes of aid to the efforts of the Lancastrian +party in England. A faint and insecure negotiation was entered into +upon the subject; and these affairs, which rendered two journeys to +Paris necessary on the part of Oxford and his son, in the spring and +summer of the year 1476, occupied them until that year was half spent. + +In the meanwhile, the wars of the Duke of Burgundy with the Swiss +Cantons and Count Ferrand of Lorraine continued to rage. Before +midsummer 1476, Charles had assembled a new army of at least sixty +thousand men, supported by one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, for +the purpose of invading Switzerland, where the warlike mountaineers +easily levied a host of thirty thousand Switzers, now accounted almost +invincible, and called upon their confederates, the Free Cities on the +Rhine, to support them with a powerful body of cavalry. The first +efforts of Charles were successful. He overran the Pays de Vaud, and +recovered most of the places which he had lost after the defeat at +Granson. But instead of attempting to secure a well-defended frontier, +or, what would have been still more politic, to achieve a peace upon +equitable terms with his redoubtable neighbours, this most obstinate +of princes resumed the purpose of penetrating into the recesses of the +Alpine mountains, and chastising the mountaineers even within their +own strongholds, though experience might have taught him the danger, +nay desperation, of the attempt. Thus the news received by Oxford and +his son, when they returned to Aix in midsummer, was, that Duke +Charles had advanced to Morat (or Murten), situated upon a lake of the +same name, at the very entrance of Switzerland. Here report said that +Adrian de Bubenburg, a veteran knight of Berne, commanded, and +maintained the most obstinate defence, in expectation of the relief +which his countrymen were hastily assembling. + +"Alas, my old brother-in-arms!" said the Earl to his son, on hearing +these tidings, "this town besieged, these assaults repelled, this +vicinity of an enemy's country, this profound lake, these inaccessible +cliffs, threaten a second part of the tragedy of Granson, more +calamitous perhaps than even the former!" + +On the last week of June, the capital of Provence was agitated by one +of those unauthorised yet generally received rumours which transmit +great events with incredible swiftness, as an apple flung from hand to +hand by a number of people will pass a given space infinitely faster +than if borne by the most rapid series of expresses. The report +announced a second defeat of the Burgundians, in terms so exaggerated +as induced the Earl of Oxford to consider the greater part, if not the +whole, as a fabrication. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + And is the hostile troop arrived, + And have they won the day? + It must have been a bloody field + Ere Darwent fled away! + _The Ettrick Shepherd._ + + +Sleep did not close the eyes of the Earl of Oxford or his son; for +although the success or defeat of the Duke of Burgundy could not now +be of importance to their own private or political affairs, yet the +father did not cease to interest himself in the fate of his former +companion-in-arms; and the son, with the fire of youth, always eager +after novelty,[12] expected to find something to advance or thwart his +own progress in every remarkable event which agitated the world. + +Arthur had risen from his bed, and was in the act of attiring himself, +when the tread of a horse arrested his attention. He had no sooner +looked out of the window, than, exclaiming, "News, my father, news +from the army!" he rushed into the street, where a cavalier, who +appeared to have ridden very hard, was inquiring for the two +Philipsons, father and son. He had no difficulty in recognising +Colvin, the master of the Burgundian ordnance. His ghastly look +bespoke distress of mind; his disordered array and broken armour, +which seemed rusted with rain or stained with blood, gave the +intelligence of some affray in which he had probably been worsted; and +so exhausted was his gallant steed, that it was with difficulty the +animal could stand upright. The condition of the rider was not much +better. When he alighted from his horse to greet Arthur, he reeled so +much that he would have fallen without instant support. His horny eye +had lost the power of speculation; his limbs possessed imperfectly +that of motion, and it was with a half-suffocated voice that he +muttered, "Only fatigue--want of rest and of food." + +Arthur assisted him into the house, and refreshments were procured; +but he refused all except a bowl of wine, after tasting which he set +it down, and, looking at the Earl of Oxford with an eye of the deepest +affliction, he ejaculated, "The Duke of Burgundy!" + +"Slain?" replied the Earl. "I trust not!" + +"It might have been better if he were," said the Englishman; "but +dishonour has come before death." + +"Defeated, then?" said Oxford. + +"So completely and fearfully defeated," answered the soldier, "that +all that I have seen of loss before was slight in comparison." + +"But how, or where?" said the Earl of Oxford. "You were superior in +numbers, as we were informed." + +"Two to one at least," answered Colvin; "and when I speak of our +encounter at this moment, I could rend my flesh with my teeth for +being here to tell such a tale of shame. We had sat down for about a +week before that paltry town of Murten, or Morat, or whatever it is +called. The governor, one of those stubborn mountain bears of Berne, +bade us defiance. He would not even condescend to shut his gates, but, +when we summoned the town, returned for answer, we might enter if we +pleased,--we should be suitably received. I would have tried to bring +him to reason by a salvo or two of artillery, but the Duke was too +much irritated to listen to good counsel. Stimulated by that black +traitor, Campo-basso, he deemed it better to run forward with his +whole force upon a place which, though I could soon have battered it +about their German ears, was yet too strong to be carried by swords, +lances, and hagbuts. We were beaten off with great loss, and much +discouragement to the soldiers. We then commenced more regularly, and +my batteries would have brought these mad Switzers to their senses. +Walls and ramparts went down before the lusty cannoneers of Burgundy; +we were well secured also by intrenchments against those whom we heard +of as approaching to raise the siege. But, on the evening of the +twentieth of this month, we learned that they were close at hand, and +Charles, consulting only his own bold spirit, advanced to meet them, +relinquishing the advantage of our batteries and strong position. By +his orders, though against my own judgment, I accompanied him with +twenty good pieces, and the flower of my people. We broke up on the +next morning, and had not advanced far before we saw the lances and +thick array of halberds and two-handed swords which crested the +mountain. Heaven, too, added its terrors--a thunderstorm, with all the +fury of those tempestuous climates, descended on both armies, but did +most annoyance to ours, as our troops, especially the Italians, were +more sensible to the torrents of rain which poured down, and the +rivulets which, swelled into torrents, inundated and disordered our +position. The Duke for once saw it necessary to alter his purpose of +instant battle. He rode up to me, and directed me to defend with the +cannon the retreat which he was about to commence, adding that he +himself would in person sustain me with the men-at-arms. The order was +given to retreat. But the movement gave new spirit to an enemy already +sufficiently audacious. The ranks of the Swiss instantly prostrated +themselves in prayer--a practice on the field of battle which I have +ridiculed--but I will do so no more. When, after five minutes, they +sprang again on their feet, and began to advance rapidly, sounding +their horns and crying their war-cries with all their usual +ferocity--behold, my lord, the clouds of heaven opened, shedding on +the Confederates the blessed light of the returning sun, while our +ranks were still in the gloom of the tempest. My men were discouraged. +The host behind them was retreating; the sudden light thrown on the +advancing Switzers showed along the mountains a profusion of banners, +a glancing of arms, giving to the enemy the appearance of double the +numbers that had hitherto been visible to us. I exhorted my followers +to stand fast, but in doing so I thought a thought, and spoke a word, +which was a grievous sin. 'Stand fast, my brave cannoneers!' I said. +'We will presently let them hear louder thunders, and show them more +fatal lightnings, than their prayers have put down!' My men shouted. +But it was an impious thought, a blasphemous speech, and evil came +after it. We levelled our guns on the advancing masses as fairly as +cannon were ever pointed--I can vouch it, for I laid the Grand Duchess +of Burgundy myself--Ah, poor Duchess! what rude hands manage thee +now!--The volley was fired, and, ere the smoke spread from the +muzzles, I could see many a man and many a banner go down. It was +natural to think such a discharge should have checked the attack, and +whilst the smoke hid the enemy from us I made every effort again to +load our cannon, and anxiously endeavoured to look through the mist to +discover the state of our opponents. But ere our smoke was cleared +away, or the cannon again loaded, they came headlong down on us, horse +and foot, old men and boys, men-at-arms and varlets, charging up to +the muzzle of the guns, and over them, with total disregard to their +lives. My brave fellows were cut down, pierced through, and overrun, +while they were again loading their pieces, nor do I believe that a +single cannon was fired a second time." + +"And the Duke?" said the Earl of Oxford. "Did he not support you?" + +"Most loyally and bravely," answered Colvin, "with his own bodyguard +of Walloons and Burgundians. But a thousand Italian mercenaries went +off, and never showed face again. The pass, too, was cumbered with the +artillery, and in itself narrow, bordering on mountains and cliffs, a +deep lake close beside. In short, it was a place totally unfit for +horsemen to act in. In spite of the Duke's utmost exertions, and those +of the gallant Flemings who fought around him, all were borne back in +complete disorder. I was on foot, fighting as I could, without hopes +of my life, or indeed thoughts of saving it, when I saw the guns taken +and my faithful cannoneers slain. But I saw Duke Charles hard pressed, +and took my horse from my page that held him--Thou, too, art lost, my +poor orphan boy!--I could only aid Monseigneur de la Croye and others +to extricate the Duke. Our retreat became a total rout, and when we +reached our rearguard, which we had left strongly encamped, the +banners of the Switzers were waving on our batteries, for a large +division had made a circuit through mountain passes known only to +themselves, and attacked our camp, vigorously seconded by that +accursed Adrian de Bubenburg, who sallied from the beleaguered town, +so that our intrenchments were stormed on both sides at once.--I have +more to say, but having ridden day and night to bring you these evil +tidings, my tongue clings to the roof of my mouth, and I feel that I +can speak no more. The rest is all flight and massacre, disgraceful to +every soldier that shared in it. For my part, I confess my +contumelious self-confidence and insolence to man, as well as +blasphemy to Heaven. If I live, it is but to hide my disgraced head in +a cowl, and expiate the numerous sins of a licentious life." + +With difficulty the broken-minded soldier was prevailed upon to take +some nourishment and repose, together with an opiate, which was +prescribed by the physician of King René, who recommended it as +necessary to preserve even the reason of his patient, exhausted by the +events of the battle, and subsequent fatigue. + +The Earl of Oxford, dismissing other assistance, watched alternately +with his son at Colvin's bedside. Notwithstanding the draught that +had been administered, his repose was far from sound. Sudden starts, +the perspiration which started from his brow, the distortions of his +countenance, and the manner in which he clenched his fists and flung +about his limbs, showed that in his dreams he was again encountering +the terrors of a desperate and forlorn combat. This lasted for several +hours; but about noon fatigue and medicine prevailed over nervous +excitation, and the defeated commander fell into a deep and untroubled +repose till evening. About sunset he awakened, and, after learning +with whom and where he was, he partook of refreshments, and, without +any apparent consciousness of having told them before, detailed once +more all the particulars of the battle of Murten. + +"It were little wide of truth," he said, "to calculate that one half +of the Duke's army fell by the sword, or were driven into the lake. +Those who escaped are great part of them scattered, never again to +unite. Such a desperate and irretrievable rout was never witnessed. We +fled like deer, sheep, or any other timid animals, which only remain +in company because they are afraid to separate, but never think of +order or of defence." + +"And the Duke?" said the Earl of Oxford. + +"We hurried him with us," said the soldier, "rather from instinct than +loyalty, as men flying from a conflagration snatch up what they have +of value, without knowing what they are doing. Knight and knave, +officer and soldier, fled in the same panic, and each blast of the +horn of Uri in our rear added new wings to our flight." + +"And the Duke?" repeated Oxford. + +"At first he resisted our efforts, and strove to turn back on the foe; +but when the flight became general he galloped along with us, without +a word spoken or a command issued. At first we thought his silence and +passiveness, so unusual in a temper so fiery, were fortunate for +securing his personal safety. But when we rode the whole day, without +being able to obtain a word of reply to all our questions,--when he +sternly refused refreshments of every kind, though he had tasted no +food all that disastrous day,--when every variation of his moody and +uncertain temper was sunk into silent and sullen despair, we took +counsel what was to be done, and it was by the general voice that I +was despatched to entreat that you, for whose counsels alone Charles +has been known to have had some occasional deference, would come +instantly to his place of retreat, and exert all your influence to +awaken him from this lethargy, which may otherwise terminate his +existence." + +"And what remedy can I interpose?" said Oxford. "You know how he +neglected my advice, when following it might have served my interest +as well as his own. You are aware that my life was not safe among the +miscreants that surrounded the Duke, and exercised influence over +him." + +"Most true," answered Colvin; "but I also know he is your ancient +companion-in-arms, and it would ill become me to teach the noble Earl +of Oxford what the laws of chivalry require. For your lordship's +safety, every honest man in the army will give willing security." + +"It is for that I care least," said Oxford, indifferently; "and if +indeed my presence can be of service to the Duke,--if I could believe +that he desired it"---- + +"He does--he does, my lord!" said the faithful soldier, with tears in +his eyes. "We heard him name your name, as if the words escaped him in +a painful dream." + +"I will go to him, such being the case," said Oxford.--"I will go +instantly. Where did he purpose to establish his headquarters?" + +"He had fixed nothing for himself on that or other matters; but +Monsieur de Contay named La Rivière, near Salins, in Upper Burgundy, +as the place of his retreat." + +"Thither, then, will we, my son, with all haste of preparation. Thou, +Colvin, hadst better remain here, and see some holy man, to be +assoilzied for thy hasty speech on the battle-field of Morat. There +was offence in it without doubt, but it will be ill atoned for by +quitting a generous master when he hath most need of your good +service; and it is but an act of cowardice to retreat into the +cloister, till we have no longer active duties to perform in this +world." + +"It is true," said Colvin, "that should I leave the Duke now, perhaps +not a man would stay behind that could stell a cannon properly. The +sight of your lordship cannot but operate favourably on my noble +master, since it has waked the old soldier in myself. If your lordship +can delay your journey till to-morrow, I will have my spiritual +affairs settled, and my bodily health sufficiently restored, to be +your guide to La Rivière; and, for the cloister, I will think of it +when I have regained the good name which I have lost at Murten. But I +will have masses said, and these right powerful, for the souls of my +poor cannoneers." + +The proposal of Colvin was adopted, and Oxford, with his son, attended +by Thiebault, spent the day in preparation, excepting the time +necessary to take formal leave of King René, who seemed to part with +them with regret. In company with the ordnance officer of the +discomfited Duke, they traversed those parts of Provence, Dauphiné, +and Franche Compté which lie between Aix and the place to which the +Duke of Burgundy had retreated; but the distance and inconvenience of +so long a route consumed more than a fortnight on the road, and the +month of July 1476 was commenced when the travellers arrived in Upper +Burgundy, and at the Castle of La Rivière, about twenty miles to the +south of the town of Salins. The castle, which was but of small size, +was surrounded by very many tents, which were pitched in a crowded, +disordered, and unsoldierlike manner, very unlike the discipline +usually observed in the camp of Charles the Bold. That the Duke was +present there, however, was attested by his broad banner, which, rich +with all its quarterings, streamed from the battlements of the castle. +The guard turned out to receive the strangers, but in a manner so +disorderly that the Earl looked to Colvin for explanation. The master +of the ordnance shrugged up his shoulders, and was silent. + +Colvin having sent in notice of his arrival, and that of the English +Earl, Monsieur de Contay caused them presently to be admitted, and +expressed much joy at their arrival. + +"A few of us," he said, "true servants of the Duke, are holding +council here, at which your assistance, my noble Lord of Oxford, will +be of the utmost importance. Messieurs De la Croye, De Craon, +Rubempré, and others, nobles of Burgundy, are now assembled to +superintend the defence of the country at this exigence." + +They all expressed delight to see the Earl of Oxford, and had only +abstained from thrusting their attentions on him the last time he was +in the Duke's camp, as they understood it was his wish to observe +incognito. + +"His Grace," said De Craon, "has asked after you twice, and on both +times by your assumed name of Philipson." + +"I wonder not at that, my Lord of Craon," replied the English +nobleman. "The origin of the name took its rise in former days, when I +was here during my first exile. It was then said that we poor +Lancastrian nobles must assume other names than our own, and the good +Duke Philip said, as I was brother-in-arms to his son Charles, I must +be called after himself, by the name of Philipson. In memory of the +good sovereign, I took that name when the day of need actually +arrived, and I see that the Duke thinks of our early intimacy by his +distinguishing me so.--How fares his Grace?" + +The Burgundians looked at each other, and there was a pause. + +"Even like a man stunned, brave Oxford," at length De Contay replied. +"Sieur d'Argentin, you can best inform the noble Earl of the condition +of our sovereign." + +"He is like a man distracted," said the future historian of that busy +period. "After the battle of Granson, he was never, to my thinking, of +the same sound judgment as before. But then, he was capricious, +unreasonable, peremptory, and inconsistent, and resented every counsel +that was offered, as if it had been meant in insult; was jealous of +the least trespass in point of ceremonial, as if his subjects were +holding him in contempt. Now there is a total change, as if this +second blow had stunned him, and suppressed the violent passions which +the first called into action. He is silent as a Carthusian, solitary +as a hermit, expresses interest in nothing, least of all in the +guidance of his army. He was, you know, anxious about his dress, so +much so that there was some affectation even in the rudenesses which +he practised in that matter. But, woe's me, you will see a change now; +he will not suffer his hair or nails to be trimmed or arranged. He is +totally heedless of respect or disrespect towards him, takes little or +no nourishment, uses strong wines, which, however, do not seem to +affect his understanding; he will hear nothing of war or state +affairs, as little of hunting or of sport. Suppose an anchorite +brought from a cell to govern a kingdom, you see in him, except in +point of devotion, a picture of the fiery, active Charles of +Burgundy." + +"You speak of a mind deeply wounded, Sieur d'Argentin," replied the +Englishman. "Think you it fit I should present myself before the +Duke?" + +"I will inquire," said Contay; and, leaving the apartment, returned +presently, and made a sign to the Earl to follow him. + +In a cabinet, or closet, the unfortunate Charles reclined in a large +arm-chair, his legs carelessly stretched on a footstool, but so +changed that the Earl of Oxford could have believed what he saw to be +the ghost of the once fiery Duke. Indeed, the shaggy length of hair +which, streaming from his head, mingled with his beard; the hollowness +of the caverns, at the bottom of which rolled his wild eyes; the +falling in of the breast, and the advance of the shoulders, gave the +ghastly appearance of one who has suffered the final agony which takes +from mortality the signs of life and energy. His very costume (a cloak +flung loosely over him) increased his resemblance to a shrouded +phantom. De Contay named the Earl of Oxford; but the Duke gazed on him +with a lustreless eye, and gave him no answer. + +"Speak to him, brave Oxford," said the Burgundian in a whisper; "he is +even worse than usual, but perhaps he may know your voice." + +Never, when the Duke of Burgundy was in the most palmy state of his +fortunes, did the noble Englishman kneel to kiss his hand with such +sincere reverence. He respected in him, not only the afflicted friend, +but the humbled sovereign, upon whose tower of trust the lightning had +so recently broken. It was probably the falling of a tear upon his +hand which seemed to awake the Duke's attention, for he looked towards +the Earl, and said, "Oxford--Philipson--my old--my only friend, hast +thou found me out in this retreat of shame and misery?" + +"I am not your only friend, my lord," said Oxford. "Heaven has given +you many affectionate friends among your natural and loyal subjects. +But though a stranger, and saving the allegiance I owe to my lawful +sovereign, I will yield to none of them in the respect and deference +which I have paid to your Grace in prosperity, and now come to render +to you in adversity." + +"Adversity indeed!" said the Duke; "irremediable, intolerable +adversity! I was lately Charles of Burgundy, called the Bold--now am I +twice beaten by a scum of German peasants; my standard taken, my +men-at-arms put to flight, my camp twice plundered, and each time of +value more than equal to the price of all Switzerland fairly lost; +myself hunted like a caitiff goat or chamois--The utmost spite of hell +could never accumulate more shame on the head of a sovereign!" + +"On the contrary, my lord," said Oxford, "it is a trial of Heaven, +which calls for patience and strength of mind. The bravest and best +knight may lose the saddle; he is but a laggard who lies rolling on +the sand of the lists after the accident has chanced." + +"Ha, laggard, say'st thou?" said the Duke, some part of his ancient +spirit awakened by the broad taunt. "Leave my presence, sir, and +return to it no more, till you are summoned thither"---- + +"Which I trust will be no later than your Grace quits your dishabille, +and disposes yourself to see your vassals and friends with such +ceremony as befits you and them," said the Earl composedly. + +"How mean you by that, Sir Earl? You are unmannerly." + +"If I be, my lord, I am taught my ill-breeding by circumstances. I can +mourn over fallen dignity; but I cannot honour him who dishonours +himself, by bending, like a regardless boy, beneath the scourge of +evil fortune." + +"And who am I that you should term me such?" said Charles, starting up +in all his natural pride and ferocity; "or who are you but a +miserable exile, that you should break in upon my privacy with such +disrespectful upbraiding?" + +"For me," replied Oxford, "I am, as you say, an unrespected exile; nor +am I ashamed of my condition, since unshaken loyalty to my King and +his successors has brought me to it. But in you, can I recognise the +Duke of Burgundy in a sullen hermit, whose guards are a disorderly +soldiery, dreadful only to their friends; whose councils are in +confusion for want of their sovereign, and who himself lurks like a +lamed wolf in its den, in an obscure castle, waiting but a blast of +the Switzer's horn to fling open its gates, which there are none to +defend; who wears not a knightly sword to protect his person, and +cannot even die like a stag at bay, but must be worried like a hunted +fox?" + +"Death and hell, slanderous traitor!" thundered the Duke, glancing a +look at his side, and perceiving himself without a weapon.--"It is +well for thee I have no sword, or thou shouldst never boast of thine +insolence going unpunished.--Contay, step forth like a good knight, +and confute the calumniator. Say, are not my soldiers arrayed, +disciplined, and in order?" + +"My lord," said Contay, trembling (brave as he was in battle) at the +frantic rage which Charles exhibited, "there are a numerous soldiery +yet under your command, but they are in evil order, and in worse +discipline, I think, than they were wont." + +"I see it--I see it," said the Duke; "idle and evil counsellors are ye +all.--Hearken, Sir of Contay, what have you and the rest of you been +doing, holding as you do large lands and high fiefs of us, that I +cannot stretch my limbs on a sick-bed, when my heart is half broken, +but my troops must fall into such scandalous disorder as exposes me to +the scorn and reproach of each beggarly foreigner?" + +"My lord," replied Contay, more firmly, "we have done what we could. +But your Grace has accustomed your mercenary generals, and leaders of +Free Companies, to take their orders only from your own mouth, or +hand. They clamour also for pay, and the treasurer refuses to issue it +without your Grace's order, as he alleges it might cost him his head; +and they will not be guided and restrained, either by us or those who +compose your council." + +The Duke laughed sternly, but was evidently somewhat pleased with the +reply. + +"Ha, ha!" he said, "it is only Burgundy who can ride his own wild +horses, and rule his own wild soldiery. Hark thee, Contay--To-morrow I +ride forth to review the troops--for what disorder has passed, +allowance shall be made. Pay also shall be issued--but woe to those +who shall have offended too deeply! Let my grooms of the chamber know +to provide me fitting dress and arms. I have got a lesson" (glancing a +dark look at Oxford), "and I will not again be insulted without the +means of wreaking my vengeance. Begone, both of you! And, Contay, send +the treasurer hither with his accounts, and woe to his soul if I find +aught to complain of! Begone, I say, and send him hither." + +They left the apartment with suitable obeisance. As they retired, the +Duke said abruptly, "Lord of Oxford, a word with you. Where did you +study medicine? In your own famed university, I suppose. Thy physic +hath wrought a wonder. Yet, Doctor Philipson, it might have cost thee +thy life." + +"I have ever thought my life cheap," said Oxford, "when the object was +to help my friend." + +"Thou art indeed a friend," said Charles, "and a fearless one. But +go--I have been sore troubled, and thou hast tasked my temper closely. +To-morrow we will speak further; meantime, I forgive thee, and I +honour thee." + +The Earl of Oxford retired to the council-hall, where the Burgundian +nobility, aware of what had passed, crowded around him with thanks, +compliments, and congratulations. A general bustle now ensued; orders +were hurried off in every direction. Those officers who had duties to +perform which had been neglected, hastened to conceal or to atone for +their negligence. There was a general tumult in the camp, but it was a +tumult of joy; for soldiers are always most pleased when they are best +in order for performing their military service; and licence or +inactivity, however acceptable at times, are not, when continued, so +agreeable to their nature, as strict discipline and a prospect of +employment. + +The treasurer, who was, luckily for him, a man of sense and method, +having been two hours in private with the Duke, returned with looks of +wonder, and professed that never, in Charles's most prosperous days, +had he showed himself more acute in the department of finance, of +which he had but that morning seemed totally incapable; and the merit +was universally attributed to the visit of Lord Oxford, whose timely +reprimand had, like the shot of a cannon dispersing foul mists, +awakened the Duke from his black and bilious melancholy. + +On the following day Charles reviewed his troops with his usual +attention, directed new levies, made various dispositions of his +forces, and corrected the faults of their discipline by severe orders, +which were enforced by some deserved punishments (of which the Italian +mercenaries of Campo-basso had a large share), and rendered palatable +by the payment of arrears, which was calculated to attach them to the +standard under which they served. + +The Duke also, after consulting with his council, agreed to convoke +meetings of the States in his different territories, redress certain +popular grievances, and grant some boons which he had hitherto denied; +and thus began to open a new account of popularity with his subjects, +in place of that which his rashness had exhausted. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[12] Cupidus novarum rerum. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + Here's a weapon now, + Shall shake a conquering general in his tent, + A monarch on his throne, or reach a prelate, + However holy be his offices, + E'en while he serves the altar. + _Old Play._ + + +From this time all was activity in the Duke of Burgundy's court and +army. Money was collected, soldiers were levied, and certain news of +the Confederates' motions only were wanting to bring on the campaign. +But although Charles was, to all outward appearance, as active as +ever, yet those who were more immediately about his person were of +opinion that he did not display the soundness of mind or the energy of +judgment which had been admired in him before these calamities. He was +still liable to fits of moody melancholy, similar to those which +descended upon Saul, and was vehemently furious when aroused out of +them. Indeed, the Earl of Oxford himself seemed to have lost the power +which he had exercised over him at first. Nay, though in general +Charles was both grateful and affectionate towards him, he evidently +felt humbled by the recollection of his having witnessed his impotent +and disastrous condition, and was so much afraid of Lord Oxford being +supposed to lead his counsels, that he often repelled his advice, +merely, as it seemed, to show his own independence of mind. + +In these froward humours the Duke was much encouraged by Campo-basso. +That wily traitor now saw his master's affairs tottering to their +fall, and he resolved to lend his lever to the work, so as to entitle +him to a share of the spoil. He regarded Oxford as one of the most +able friends and counsellors who adhered to the Duke; he thought he +saw in his looks that he fathomed his own treacherous purpose, and +therefore he hated and feared him. Besides, in order perhaps to colour +over, even to his own eyes, the abominable perfidy he meditated, he +affected to be exceedingly enraged against the Duke for the late +punishment of marauders belonging to his Italian bands. He believed +that chastisement to have been inflicted by the advice of Oxford; and +he suspected that the measure was pressed with the hope of discovering +that the Italians had not pillaged for their own emolument only, but +for that of their commander. Believing that Oxford was thus hostile to +him, Campo-basso would have speedily found means to take him out of +his path, had not the Earl himself found it prudent to observe some +precautions; and the lords of Flanders and Burgundy, who loved him for +the very reasons for which the Italian abhorred him, watched over his +safety with a vigilance of which he himself was ignorant, but which +certainly was the means of preserving his life. + +It was not to be supposed that Ferrand of Lorraine should have left +his victory so long unimproved; but the Swiss Confederates, who were +the strength of his forces, insisted that the first operations should +take place in Savoy and the Pays de Vaud, where the Burgundians had +many garrisons, which, though they received no relief, yet were not +easily or speedily reduced. Besides, the Switzers being, like most of +the national soldiers of the time, a kind of militia, most of them +returned home, to get in their harvest, and to deposit their spoil in +safety. Ferrand, therefore, though bent on pursuing his success with +all the ardour of youthful chivalry, was prevented from making any +movement in advance until the month of December 1476. In the meantime, +the Duke of Burgundy's forces, to be least burdensome to the country, +were cantoned in distant places of his dominions, where every exertion +was made to perfect the discipline of the new levies. The Duke, if +left to himself, would have precipitated the struggle by again +assembling his forces, and pushing forward into the Helvetian +territories; but, though he inwardly foamed at the recollection of +Granson and Murten, the memory of these disasters was too recent to +permit such a plan of the campaign. Meantime, weeks glided past, and +the month of December was far advanced, when one morning, as the Duke +was sitting in council, Campo-basso suddenly entered, with a degree of +extravagant rapture in his countenance, singularly different from the +cold, regulated, and subtle smile which was usually his utmost advance +towards laughter. "_Guantes_,"[13] he said, "_Guantes_, for luck's +sake, if it please your Grace." + +"And what of good fortune comes nigh us?" said the Duke. "Methought +she had forgot the way to our gates." + +"She has returned to them, please your Highness, with her cornucopia +full of choicest gifts, ready to pour her fruit, her flowers, her +treasures, on the head of the sovereign of Europe most worthy to +receive them." + +"The meaning of all this?" said Duke Charles. "Riddles are for +children." + +"The harebrained young madman Ferrand, who calls himself of Lorraine, +has broken down from the mountains, at the head of a desultory army of +scapegraces like himself; and what think you--ha! ha! ha!--they are +overrunning Lorraine, and have taken Nancy--ha! ha! ha!" + +"By my good faith, Sir Count," said Contay, astonished at the gay +humour with which the Italian treated a matter so serious, "I have +seldom heard a fool laugh more gaily at a more scurvy jest, than you, +a wise man, laugh at the loss of the principal town of the province we +are fighting for." + +"I laugh," said Campo-basso, "among the spears, as my war-horse +does--ha! ha!--among the trumpets. I laugh also over the destruction +of the enemy, and the dividing of the spoil, as eagles scream their +joy over the division of their prey; I laugh"---- + +"You laugh," said the Lord of Contay, waxing impatient, "when you have +all the mirth to yourself, as you laughed after our losses at Granson +and Murten." + +"Peace, sir!" said the Duke. "The Count of Campo-basso has viewed the +case as I do. This young knight-errant ventures from the protection +of his mountains; and Heaven deal with me as I keep my oath, when I +swear that the next fair field on which we meet shall see one of us +dead! It is now the last week of the old year, and before Twelfth-Day +we will see whether he or I shall find the bean in the cake.--To arms, +my lords! Let our camp instantly break up, and our troops move forward +towards Lorraine. Send off the Italian and Albanian light cavalry and +the Stradiots to scour the country in the van--Oxford, thou wilt bear +arms in this journey, wilt thou not?" + +"Surely," said the Earl. "I am eating your Highness's bread; and when +enemies invade, it stands with my honour to fight for your Grace as if +I was your born subject. With your Grace's permission, I will despatch +a pursuivant, who shall carry letters to my late kind host, the +Landamman of Unterwalden, acquainting him with my purpose." + +The Duke having given a ready assent, the pursuivant was dismissed +accordingly, and returned in a few hours, so near had the armies +approached to each other. He bore a letter from the Landamman, in a +tone of courtesy and even kindness, regretting that any cause should +have occurred for bearing arms against his late guest, for whom he +expressed high personal regard. The same pursuivant also brought +greetings from the family of the Biedermans to their friend Arthur, +and a separate letter, addressed to the same person, of which the +contents ran thus:-- + + "Rudolph Donnerhugel is desirous to give the young + merchant, Arthur Philipson, the opportunity of finishing + the bargain which remained unsettled between them in the + castle-court of Geierstein. He is the more desirous of + this, as he is aware that the said Arthur has done him + wrong, in seducing the affections of a certain maiden of + rank, to whom he, Philipson, is not, and cannot be, + anything beyond an ordinary acquaintance. Rudolph + Donnerhugel will send Arthur Philipson word when a fair + and equal meeting can take place on neutral ground. In the + meantime, he will be as often as possible in the first + rank of the skirmishers." + +Young Arthur's heart leapt high as he read the defiance, the piqued +tone of which showed the state of the writer's feelings, and argued +sufficiently Rudolph's disappointment on the subject of Anne of +Geierstein, and his suspicion that she had bestowed her affections on +the youthful stranger. Arthur found means of despatching a reply to +the challenge of the Swiss, assuring him of the pleasure with which he +would attend his commands, either in front of the line or elsewhere, +as Rudolph might desire. + +Meantime the armies were closely approaching to each other, and the +light troops sometimes met. The Stradiots from the Venetian territory, +a sort of cavalry resembling that of the Turks, performed much of that +service on the part of the Burgundian army, for which, indeed, if +their fidelity could have been relied on, they were admirably well +qualified. The Earl of Oxford observed that these men, who were under +the command of Campo-basso, always brought in intelligence that the +enemy were in indifferent order, and in full retreat. Besides, +information was communicated through their means that sundry +individuals, against whom the Duke of Burgundy entertained peculiar +personal dislike, and whom he specially desired to get into his +hands, had taken refuge in Nancy. This greatly increased the Duke's +ardour for retaking that place, which became perfectly ungovernable +when he learned that Ferrand and his Swiss allies had drawn off to a +neighbouring position called St. Nicholas, on the news of his arrival. +The greater part of the Burgundian counsellors, together with the Earl +of Oxford, protested against his besieging a place of some strength, +while an active enemy lay in the neighbourhood to relieve it. They +remonstrated on the smallness of his army, on the severity of the +weather, on the difficulty of obtaining provisions, and exhorted the +Duke that, having made such a movement as had forced the enemy to +retreat, he ought to suspend decisive operations till spring. Charles +at first tried to dispute and repel these arguments; but when his +counsellors reminded him that he was placing himself and his army in +the same situation as at Granson and Murten, he became furious at the +recollection, foamed at the mouth, and only answered by oaths and +imprecations, that he would be master of Nancy before Twelfth Day. + +Accordingly, the army of Burgundy sat down before Nancy, in a strong +position, protected by the hollow of a watercourse, and covered with +thirty pieces of cannon, which Colvin had under his charge. + +Having indulged his obstinate temper in thus arranging the campaign, +the Duke seemed to give a little more heed to the advice of his +counsellors touching the safety of his person, and permitted the Earl +of Oxford, with his son, and two or three officers of his household, +men of approved trust, to sleep within his pavilion, in addition to +the usual guard. + +It wanted three days of Christmas when the Duke sat down before Nancy, +and on that very evening a tumult happened which seemed to justify the +alarm for his personal safety. It was midnight, and all in the ducal +pavilion were at rest, when a cry of treason arose. The Earl of +Oxford, drawing his sword, and snatching up a light which burned +beside him, rushed into the Duke's apartment, and found him standing +on the floor totally undressed, but with his sword in his hand, and +striking around him so furiously, that the Earl himself had difficulty +in avoiding his blows. The rest of his officers rushed in, their +weapons drawn, and their cloaks wrapped around their left arms. When +the Duke was somewhat composed, and found himself surrounded by his +friends, he informed them, with rage and agitation, that the officers +of the Secret Tribunal had, in spite of the vigilant precautions +taken, found means to gain entrance into his chamber, and charged him, +under the highest penalty, to appear before the Holy Vehme upon +Christmas night. + +The bystanders heard this story with astonishment, and some of them +were uncertain whether they ought to consider it as a reality, or a +dream of the Duke's irritable fancy. But the citation was found on the +Duke's toilette, written, as was the form, upon parchment, signeted +with three crosses, and stuck to the table with a knife. A slip of +wood had been also cut from the table. Oxford read the summons with +attention. It named, as usual, a place where the Duke was cited to +come unarmed and unattended, and from which it was said he would be +guided to the seat of judgment. + +Charles, after looking at the scroll for some time, gave vent to his +thoughts. + +"I know from what quiver this arrow comes," he said. "It is shot by +that degenerate noble, apostate priest, and accomplice of sorcerers, +Albert of Geierstein. We have heard that he is among the motley group +of murderers and outlaws whom the old fiddler of Provence's grandson +has raked together. But, by St. George of Burgundy! neither monk's +cowl, soldier's casque, nor conjurer's cap shall save him after such +an insult as this. I will degrade him from knighthood, hang him from +the highest steeple in Nancy, and his daughter shall choose between +the meanest herd-boy in my army and the convent of _filles +repentées_!" + +"Whatever are your purposes, my lord," said Contay, "it were surely +best be silent, when, from this late apparition, we may conjecture +that more than we wot of may be within hearing." + +The Duke seemed struck with this hint, and was silent, or at least +only muttered oaths and threats betwixt his teeth, while the strictest +search was made for the intruder on his repose. But it was in vain. + +Charles continued his researches, incensed at a flight of audacity +higher than ever had been ventured upon by these secret societies, +who, whatever might be the dread inspired by them, had not as yet +attempted to cope with sovereigns. A trusty party of Burgundians were +sent on Christmas night to watch the spot (a meeting of four cross +roads) named in the summons, and make prisoners of any whom they could +lay hands upon; but no suspicious persons appeared at or near the +place. The Duke not the less continued to impute the affront he had +received to Albert of Geierstein. There was a price set upon his head; +and Campo-basso, always willing to please his master's mood, undertook +that some of his Italians, sufficiently experienced in such feats, +should bring the obnoxious baron before him, alive or dead. Colvin, +Contay, and others laughed in secret at the Italian's promises. + +"Subtle as he is," said Colvin, "he will lure the wild vulture from +the heavens before he gets Albert of Geierstein into his power." + +Arthur, to whom the words of the Duke had given subject for no small +anxiety, on account of Anne of Geierstein, and of her father for her +sake, breathed more lightly on hearing his menaces held so cheaply. + +It was the second day after this alarm that Oxford felt a desire to +reconnoitre the camp of Ferrand of Lorraine, having some doubts +whether the strength and position of it were accurately reported. He +obtained the Duke's consent for this purpose, who at the same time +made him and his son a present of two noble steeds of great power and +speed, which he himself highly valued. + +So soon as the Duke's pleasure was communicated to the Italian count, +he expressed the utmost joy that he was to have the assistance of +Oxford's age and experience upon an exploratory party, and selected a +chosen band of an hundred Stradiots, whom he said he had sent +sometimes to skirmish up to the very beards of the Switzers. The Earl +showed himself much satisfied with the active and intelligent manner +in which these men performed their duty, and drove before them and +dispersed some parties of Ferrand's cavalry. At the entrance of a +little ascending valley, Campo-basso communicated to the English +noblemen that if they could advance to the farther extremity they +would have a full view of the enemy's position. Two or three Stradiots +then spurred on to examine this defile, and, returning back, +communicated with their leader in their own language, who, pronouncing +the passage safe, invited the Earl of Oxford to accompany him. They +proceeded through the valley without seeing an enemy, but on issuing +upon a plain at the point intimated by Campo-basso, Arthur, who was in +the van of the Stradiots, and separated from his father, did indeed +see the camp of Duke Ferrand within half a mile's distance; but a body +of cavalry had that instant issued from it, and were riding hastily +towards the gorge of the valley from which he had just emerged. He was +about to wheel his horse and ride off, but, conscious of the great +speed of the animal, he thought he might venture to stay for a +moment's more accurate survey of the camp. The Stradiots who attended +him did not wait his orders to retire, but went off, as was indeed +their duty, when attacked by a superior force. + +Meantime, Arthur observed that the knight who seemed leader of the +advancing squadron, mounted on a powerful horse that shook the earth +beneath him, bore on his shield the Bear of Berne, and had otherwise +the appearance of the massive frame of Rudolph Donnerhugel. He was +satisfied of this when he beheld the cavalier halt his party and +advance towards him alone, putting his lance in rest, and moving +slowly, as if to give him time for preparation. To accept such a +challenge, in such a moment, was dangerous, but to refuse it was +disgraceful; and while Arthur's blood boiled at the idea of chastising +an insolent rival, he was not a little pleased at heart that their +meeting on horseback gave him an advantage over the Swiss, through his +perfect acquaintance with the practice of the tourney, in which +Rudolph might be supposed more ignorant. + +They met, as was the phrase of the time, "manful under shield." The +lance of the Swiss glanced from the helmet of the Englishman, against +which it was addressed, while the spear of Arthur, directed right +against the centre of his adversary's body, was so justly aimed, and +so truly seconded by the full fury of the career, as to pierce, not +only the shield which hung round the ill-fated warrior's neck, but a +breast-plate and a shirt of mail which he wore beneath it. Passing +clear through the body, the steel point of the weapon was only stopped +by the back-piece of the unfortunate cavalier, who fell headlong from +his horse, as if struck by lightning, rolled twice or thrice over on +the ground, tore the earth with his hands, and then lay prostrate a +dead corpse. + +There was a cry of rage and grief among those men-at-arms whose ranks +Rudolph had that instant left, and many couched their lances to avenge +him; but Ferrand of Lorraine, who was present in person, ordered them +to make prisoner, but not to harm, the successful champion. This was +accomplished, for Arthur had not time to turn his bridle for flight, +and resistance would have been madness. + +When brought before Ferrand, he raised his visor, and said, "Is it +well, my lord, to make captive an adventurous knight, for doing his +devoir against a personal challenger?" + +"Do not complain, Sir Arthur of Oxford," said Ferrand, "before you +experience injury. You are free, Sir Knight. Your father and you were +faithful to my royal aunt Margaret, and, although she was my enemy, I +do justice to your fidelity in her behalf; and from respect to her +memory, disinherited as she was like myself, and to please my +grandfather, who I think had some regard for you, I give you your +freedom. But I must also care for your safety during your return to +the camp of Burgundy. On this side of the hill we are loyal and +true-hearted men, on the other they are traitors and murderers. You, +Sir Count, will, I think, gladly see our captive placed in safety." + +The knight to whom Ferrand addressed himself, a tall, stately man, put +himself in motion to attend on Arthur, while the former was expressing +to the young Duke of Lorraine the sense he entertained of his +chivalrous conduct. "Farewell, Sir Arthur de Vere," said Ferrand. "You +have slain a noble champion, and to me a most useful and faithful +friend. But it was done nobly and openly, with equal arms, and in the +front of the line; and evil befall him who entertains feud first!" +Arthur bowed to his saddle-bow. Ferrand returned the salutation, and +they parted. + +Arthur and his new companion had ridden but a little way up the +ascent, when the stranger spoke thus:-- + +"We have been fellow-travellers before, young man, yet you remember me +not." + +Arthur turned his eyes on the cavalier, and, observing that the crest +which adorned his helmet was fashioned like a vulture, strange +suspicions began to cross his mind, which were confirmed when the +knight, opening his helmet, showed him the dark and severe features of +the Priest of St. Paul's. + +"Count Albert of Geierstein!" said Arthur. + +"The same," replied the count, "though thou hast seen him in other +garb and headgear. But tyranny drives all men to arms, and I have +resumed, by the licence and command of my superiors, those which I had +laid aside. A war against cruelty and oppression is holy as that waged +in Palestine, in which priests bear armour." + +"My Lord Count," said Arthur, eagerly, "I cannot too soon entreat you +to withdraw to Sir Ferrand of Lorraine's squadron. Here you are in +peril, where no strength or courage can avail you. The Duke has placed +a price on your head; and the country betwixt this and Nancy swarms +with Stradiots and Italian light horsemen." + +"I laugh at them," answered the count. "I have not lived so long in a +stormy world, amid intrigues of war and policy, to fall by the mean +hand of such as they--besides, thou art with me, and I have seen but +now that thou canst bear thee nobly." + +"In your defence, my lord," said Arthur, who thought of his companion +as the father of Anne of Geierstein, "I should try to do my best." + +"What, youth!" replied Count Albert with a stern sneer, that was +peculiar to his countenance; "wouldst thou aid the enemy of the lord +under whose banner thou servest against his waged soldiers?" + +Arthur was somewhat abashed at the turn given to his ready offer of +assistance, for which he had expected at least thanks; but he +instantly collected himself, and replied, "My Lord Count Albert, you +have been pleased to put yourself in peril to protect me from +partisans of your party--I am equally bound to defend you from those +of our side." + +"It is happily answered," said the count; "yet I think there is a +little blind partisan, of whom troubadours and minstrels talk, to +whose instigation I might, in case of need, owe the great zeal of my +protector." + +He did not allow Arthur, who was a good deal embarrassed, time to +reply, but proceeded: "Hear me, young man--Thy lance has this day done +an evil deed to Switzerland, to Berne, and Duke Ferrand, in slaying +their bravest champion. But to me the death of Rudolph Donnerhugel is +a welcome event. Know that he was, as his services grew more +indispensable, become importunate in requiring Duke Ferrand's interest +with me for my daughter's hand. And the Duke himself, the son of a +princess, blushed not to ask me to bestow the last of my house--for my +brother's family are degenerate mongrels--upon a presumptuous young +man, whose uncle was a domestic in the house of my wife's father, +though they boasted some relationship, I believe, through an +illegitimate channel, which yonder Rudolph was wont to make the most +of, as it favoured his suit." + +"Surely," said Arthur, "a match with one so unequal in birth, and far +more in every other respect, was too monstrous to be mentioned?" + +"While I lived," replied Count Albert, "never should such union have +been formed, if the death both of bride and bridegroom by my dagger +could have saved the honour of my house from violation. But when I--I +whose days, whose very hours are numbered--shall be no more, what +could prevent an undaunted suitor, fortified by Duke Ferrand's favour, +by the general applause of his country, and perhaps by the unfortunate +prepossession of my brother Arnold, from carrying his point against +the resistance and scruples of a solitary maiden?" + +"Rudolph is dead," replied Arthur, "and may Heaven assoilzie him from +guilt! But were he alive, and urging his suit on Anne of Geierstein, +he would find there was a combat to be fought"---- + +"Which has been already decided," answered Count Albert. "Now, mark +me, Arthur de Vere! My daughter has told me of the passages betwixt +you and her. Your sentiments and conduct are worthy of the noble house +you descend from, which I well know ranks with the most illustrious in +Europe. You are indeed disinherited, but so is Anne of Geierstein, +save such pittance as her uncle may impart to her of her paternal +inheritance. If you share it together till better days (always +supposing your noble father gives his consent, for my child shall +enter no house against the will of its head), my daughter knows that +she has my willing consent, and my blessing. My brother shall also +know my pleasure. He will approve my purpose; for, though dead to +thoughts of honour and chivalry, he is alive to social feelings, loves +his niece, and has friendship for thee and for thy father. What say'st +thou, young man, to taking a beggarly countess to aid thee in the +journey of life? I believe--nay, I prophesy (for I stand so much on +the edge of the grave, that methinks I command a view beyond it), that +a lustre will one day, after I have long ended my doubtful and stormy +life, beam on the coronets of De Vere and Geierstein." + +De Vere threw himself from his horse, clasped the hand of Count +Albert, and was about to exhaust himself in thanks; but the count +insisted on his silence. + +"We are about to part," he said. "The time is short--the place is +dangerous. You are to me, personally speaking, less than nothing. Had +any one of the many schemes of ambition which I have pursued led me to +success, the son of a banished earl had not been the son-in-law I had +chosen. Rise and remount your horse--thanks are unpleasing when they +are not merited." + +Arthur arose, and, mounting his horse, threw his raptures into a more +acceptable form, endeavouring to describe how his love for Anne, and +efforts for her happiness, should express his gratitude to her father; +and, observing that the count listened with some pleasure to the +picture he drew of their future life, he could not help +exclaiming,--"And you, my lord--you who have been the author of all +this happiness, will you not be the witness and partaker of it? +Believe me, we will strive to soften the effect of the hard blows +which fortune has dealt to you, and, should a ray of better luck shine +upon us, it will be the more welcome that you can share it." + +"Forbear such folly," said the Count Albert of Geierstein. "I know my +last scene is approaching. Hear and tremble. The Duke of Burgundy is +sentenced to die, and the Secret and Invisible Judges, who doom in +secret and avenge in secret, like the Deity, have given the cord and +the dagger to my hand." + +"Oh, cast from you these vile symbols!" exclaimed Arthur, with +enthusiasm; "let them find butchers and common stabbers to do such an +office, and not dishonour the noble Lord of Geierstein!" + +"Peace, foolish boy!" answered the count. "The oath by which I am +sworn is higher than that clouded sky, more deeply fixed than those +distant mountains. Nor think my act is that of an assassin, though for +such I might plead the Duke's own example. I send not hirelings, like +these base Stradiots, to hunt his life, without imperilling mine own. +I give not his daughter--innocent of his offences--the choice betwixt +a disgraceful marriage and a discreditable retreat from the world. No, +Arthur de Vere, I seek Charles with the resolved mind of one who, to +take the life of an adversary, exposes himself to certain death." + +"I pray you speak no further of it," said Arthur, very anxiously. +"Consider I serve for the present the prince whom you threaten"---- + +"And art bound," interrupted the count, "to unfold to him what I tell +you. I desire you should do so; and though he hath already neglected a +summons of the Tribunal, I am glad to have this opportunity of sending +him personal defiance. Say to Charles of Burgundy that he has wronged +Albert of Geierstein. He who is injured in his honour loses all value +for his life, and whoever does so has full command over that of +another man. Bid him keep himself well from me, since, if he see a +second sun of the approaching year rise over the distant Alps, Albert +of Geierstein is forsworn.--And now begone, for I see a party +approach under a Burgundian banner. They will insure your safety, but, +should I remain longer, would endanger mine." + +So saying, the Count of Geierstein turned his horse and rode off. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[13] _Guantes_, used by the Spanish as the French say étrennes, or the +English handsell or luckpenny--phrases used by inferiors to their +patrons as the bringers of good news. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + Faint the din of battle bray'd + Distant down the heavy wind; + War and terror fled before, + Wounds and death were left behind. + MICKLE. + + +Arthur, left alone, and desirous perhaps to cover the retreat of Count +Albert, rode towards the approaching body of Burgundian cavalry, who +were arrayed under the Lord Contay's banner. + +"Welcome, welcome," said that nobleman, advancing hastily to the young +knight. "The Duke of Burgundy is a mile hence, with a body of horse to +support the reconnoitring party. It is not half an hour since your +father galloped up, and stated that you had been led into an ambuscade +by the treachery of the Stradiots, and made prisoner. He has impeached +Campo-basso of treason, and challenged him to the combat. They have +both been sent to the camp, under charge of the Grand Marshal, to +prevent their fighting on the spot, though I think our Italian showed +little desire to come to blows. The Duke holds their gages, and they +are to fight upon Twelfth Day." + +"I doubt that day will never dawn for some who look for it," said +Arthur; "but if it do, I will myself claim the combat, by my father's +permission." + +He then turned with Contay, and met a still larger body of cavalry +under the Duke's broad banner. He was instantly brought before +Charles. The Duke heard, with some apparent anxiety, Arthur's support +of his father's accusations against the Italian, in whose favour he +was so deeply prejudiced. When assured that the Stradiots had been +across the hill, and communicated with their leader just before he +encouraged Arthur to advance, as it proved, into the midst of an +ambush, the Duke shook his head, lowered his shaggy brows, and +muttered to himself,--"Ill will to Oxford, perhaps--these Italians are +vindictive."--Then raising his head, he commanded Arthur to proceed. + +He heard with a species of ecstasy the death of Rudolph Donnerhugel, +and, taking a ponderous gold chain from his own neck, flung it over +Arthur's. + +"Why, thou hast forestalled all our honours, young Arthur--this was +the biggest bear of them all--the rest are but suckling whelps to him! +I think I have found a youthful David to match their huge thick-headed +Goliath. But the idiot, to think his peasant hand could manage a +lance! Well, my brave boy--what more? How camest thou off? By some +wily device or agile stratagem, I warrant." + +"Pardon me, my lord," answered Arthur. "I was protected by their +chief, Ferrand, who considered my encounter with Rudolph Donnerhugel +as a personal duel; and desirous to use fair war, as he said, +dismissed me honourably, with my horse and arms." + +"Umph!" said Charles, his bad humour returning; "your Prince +Adventurer must play the generous--Umph--well, it belongs to his +part, but shall not be a line for me to square my conduct by. Proceed +with your story, Sir Arthur de Vere." + +As Arthur proceeded to tell how and under what circumstances Count +Albert of Geierstein named himself to him, the Duke fixed on him an +eager look, and trembled with impatience as he fiercely interrupted +him with the question--"And you--you struck him with your poniard +under the fifth rib, did you not?" + +"I did not, my Lord Duke--we were pledged in mutual assurance to each +other." + +"Yet you knew him to be my mortal enemy?" said the Duke. "Go, young +man, thy lukewarm indifference has cancelled thy merit. The escape of +Albert of Geierstein hath counterbalanced the death of Rudolph +Donnerhugel." + +"Be it so, my lord," said Arthur, boldly. "I neither claim your +praises, nor deprecate your censure. I had to move me in either case +motives personal to myself--Donnerhugel was my enemy, and to Count +Albert I owe some kindness." + +The Burgundian nobles who stood around were terrified for the effect +of this bold speech. But it was never possible to guess with accuracy +how such things would affect Charles. He looked around him with a +laugh--"Hear you this English cockerel, my lords--what a note will he +one day sound, that already crows so bravely in a prince's presence?" + +A few horsemen now came in from different quarters, recounting that +the Duke Ferrand and his company had retired into their encampment, +and the country was clear of the enemy. + +"Let us then draw back also," said Charles, "since there is no chance +of breaking spears to-day. And thou, Arthur de Vere, attend me +closely." + +Arrived in the Duke's pavilion, Arthur underwent an examination, in +which he said nothing of Anne of Geierstein, or her father's designs +concerning him, with which he considered Charles as having nothing to +do; but he frankly conveyed to him the personal threats which the +count had openly used. The Duke listened with more temper, and when he +heard the expression, "That a man who is desperate of his own life +might command that of any other person," he said, "But there is a life +beyond this, in which he who is treacherously murdered, and his base +and desperate assassin, shall each meet their deserts." He then took +from his bosom a gold cross, and kissed it, with much appearance of +devotion. "In this," said he, "I will place my trust. If I fail in +this world, may I find grace in the next.--Ho, Sir Marshal!" he +exclaimed. "Let your prisoners attend us." + +The Marshal of Burgundy entered with the Earl of Oxford, and stated +that his other prisoner, Campo-basso, had desired so earnestly that he +might be suffered to go and post his sentinels on that part of the +camp intrusted to the protection of his troops, that he, the Marshal, +had thought fit to comply with his request. + +"It is well," said Burgundy, without further remark. "Then to you, my +Lord Oxford, I would present your son, had you not already locked him +in your arms. He has won great los and honour, and done me brave +service. This is a period of the year when good men forgive their +enemies;--I know not why,--my mind was little apt to be charged with +such matters,--but I feel an unconquerable desire to stop the +approaching combat betwixt you and Campo-basso. For my sake, consent +to be friends, and to receive back your gage of battle, and let me +conclude this year--perhaps the last I may see--with a deed of peace." + +"My lord," said Oxford, "it is a small thing you ask of me, since your +request only enforces a Christian duty. I was enraged at the loss of +my son. I am grateful to Heaven and your Grace for restoring him. To +be friends with Campo-basso is to me impossible. Faith and treason, +truth and falsehood, might as soon shake hands and embrace. But the +Italian shall be to me no more than he has been before this rupture; +and that is literally nothing. I put my honour in your Grace's +hands;--if he receives back his gage, I am willing to receive mine. +John de Vere needs not be apprehensive that the world will suppose +that he fears Campo-basso." + +The Duke returned sincere thanks, and detained the officers to spend +the evening in his tent. His manners seemed to Arthur to be more +placid than he had ever seen them before, while to the Earl of Oxford +they recalled the earlier days in which their intimacy commenced, ere +absolute power and unbounded success had spoiled Charles's rough but +not ungenerous disposition. The Duke ordered a distribution of +provisions and wine to the soldiers, and expressed an anxiety about +their lodgings, the cure of the wounded, and the health of the army, +to which he received only unpleasing answers. To some of his +counsellors, apart, he said, "Were it not for our vow, we would +relinquish this purpose till spring, when our poor soldiers might +take the field with less of suffering." + +Nothing else remarkable appeared in the Duke's manner, save that he +inquired repeatedly after Campo-basso, and at length received accounts +that he was indisposed, and that his physician had recommended rest; +he had therefore retired to repose himself, in order that he might be +stirring on his duty at peep of day, the safety of the camp depending +much on his vigilance. + +The Duke made no observation on the apology, which he considered as +indicating some lurking disinclination, on the Italian's part, to meet +Oxford. The guests at the ducal pavilion were dismissed an hour before +midnight. + +When Oxford and his son were in their own tent, the Earl fell into a +deep reverie, which lasted nearly ten minutes. At length, starting +suddenly up, he said, "My son, give orders to Thiebault and thy yeomen +to have our horses before the tent by break of day, or rather before +it; and it would not be amiss if you ask our neighbour Colvin to ride +along with us. I will visit the outposts by daybreak." + +"It is a sudden resolution, my lord," said Arthur. + +"And yet it may be taken too late," said his father. "Had it been +moonlight, I would have made the rounds to-night." + +"It is dark as a wolf's throat," said Arthur. "But wherefore, my lord, +can this night in particular excite your apprehensions?" + +"Son Arthur, perhaps you will hold your father credulous. But my +nurse, Martha Nixon, was a northern woman, and full of superstitions. +In particular, she was wont to say, that any sudden and causeless +change of a man's nature, as from licence to sobriety, from temperance +to indulgence, from avarice to extravagance, from prodigality to love +of money, or the like, indicates an immediate change of his +fortunes--that some great alteration of circumstances, either for good +or evil (and for evil most likely, since we live in an evil world), is +impending over him whose disposition is so much altered. This old +woman's fancy has recurred so strongly to my mind, that I am +determined to see with mine own eyes, ere to-morrow's dawn, that all +our guards and patrols around the camp are on the alert." + +Arthur made the necessary communications to Colvin and to Thiebault, +and then retired to rest. + +It was ere daybreak of the first of January 1477, a period long +memorable for the events which marked it, that the Earl of Oxford, +Colvin, and the young Englishman, followed only by Thiebault and two +other servants, commenced their rounds of the Duke of Burgundy's +encampment. For the greater part of their progress they found +sentinels and guards all on the alert and at their posts. It was a +bitter morning. The ground was partly covered with snow,--that snow +had been partly melted by a thaw, which had prevailed for two days, +and partly congealed into ice by a bitter frost, which had commenced +the preceding evening, and still continued. A more dreary scene could +scarcely be witnessed. + +But what were the surprise and alarm of the Earl of Oxford and his +companions, when they came to that part of the camp which had been +occupied the day before by Campo-basso and his Italians, who, +reckoning men-at-arms and Stradiots, amounted to nigh two thousand +men--not a challenge was given--not a horse neighed--no steeds were +seen at picket--no guard on the camp. They examined several of the +tents and huts--they were empty. + +"Let us back to alarm the camp," said the Earl of Oxford; "here is +treachery." + +"Nay, my lord," said Colvin, "let us not carry back imperfect tidings. +I have a battery an hundred yards in advance, covering the access to +this hollow way; let us see if my German cannoneers are at their post, +and I think I can swear that we shall find them so. The battery +commands a narrow pass, by which alone the camp can be approached, and +if my men are at their duty, I will pawn my life that we make the pass +good till you bring up succours from the main body." + +"Forward, then, in God's name!" said the Earl of Oxford. + +They galloped, at every risk, over broken ground, slippery with ice in +some places, incumbered with snow in others. They came to the cannon, +judiciously placed to sweep the pass, which rose towards the artillery +on the outward side, and then descended gently from the battery into +the lower ground. The waning winter moon, mingling with the dawning +light, showed them that the guns were in their places, but no sentinel +was visible. + +"The villains cannot have deserted!" said the astonished Colvin. "But +see, there is light in their cantonment. Oh, that unhallowed +distribution of wine! Their usual sin of drunkenness has beset them. I +will soon drive them from their revelry." + +He sprang from his horse, and rushed into the tent whence the light +issued. The cannoneers, or most of them, were still there, but +stretched on the ground, their cups and flagons scattered around them; +and so drenched were they in wassail, that Colvin could only, by +commands and threats, awaken two or three, who, staggering, and +obeying him rather from instinct than sense, reeled forward to man the +battery. A heavy rushing sound, like that of men marching fast, was +now heard coming up the pass. + +"It is the roar of a distant avalanche," said Arthur. + +"It is an avalanche of Switzers, not of snow," said Colvin. "Oh, these +drunken slaves! The cannon are deeply loaded and well pointed--this +volley must check them if they were fiends, and the report will alarm +the camp sooner than we can do. But, oh, these drunken villains!" + +"Care not for their aid," said the Earl; "my son and I will each take +a linstock, and be gunners for once." + +They dismounted, and bade Thiebault and the grooms look to the horses, +while the Earl of Oxford and his son took each a linstock from one of +the helpless gunners, three of whom were just sober enough to stand by +their guns. + +"Bravo!" cried the bold master of ordnance, "never was a battery so +noble. Now, my mates--your pardon, my lords, for there is no time for +ceremony,--and you, ye drunken knaves, take heed not to fire till I +give the word, and, were the ribs of these tramplers as flinty as +their Alps, they shall know how old Colvin loads his guns." + +They stood breathless, each by his cannon. The dreaded sound +approached nearer and more near, till the imperfect light showed a +dark and shadowy but dense column of men, armed with long spears, +pole-axes, and other weapons, amidst which banners dimly floated. +Colvin suffered them to approach to the distance of about forty yards, +and then gave the word, Fire! But his own piece alone exploded; a +slight flame flashed from the touch-hole of the others, which had been +spiked by the Italian deserters, and left in reality disabled, though +apparently fit for service. Had they been all in the same condition +with that fired by Colvin, they would probably have verified his +prophecy; for even that single discharge produced an awful effect, and +made a long lane of dead and wounded through the Swiss column, in +which the first and leading banner was struck down. + +"Stand to it yet," said Colvin, "and aid me if possible to reload the +piece." + +For this, however, no time was allowed. A stately form, conspicuous in +the front of the staggered column, raised up the fallen banner, and a +voice as of a giant exclaimed, "What, countrymen! have you seen Murten +and Granson, and are you daunted by a single gun?--Berne--Uri--Schwitz +--banners forward! Unterwalden, here is your standard!--Cry your +war-cries, wind your horns; Unterwalden, follow your Landamman!" + +They rushed on like a raging ocean, with a roar as deafening, and a +course as impetuous. Colvin, still labouring to reload his gun, was +struck down in the act. Oxford and his son were overthrown by the +multitude, the closeness of which prevented any blows being aimed at +them. Arthur partly saved himself by getting under the gun he was +posted at; his father, less fortunate, was much trampled upon, and +must have been crushed to death but for his armour of proof. The human +inundation, consisting of at least four thousand men, rushed down into +the camp, continuing their dreadful shouts, soon mingled with shrill +shrieks, groans, and cries of alarm. + +A broad red glare rising behind the assailants, and putting to shame +the pallid lights of the winter morning, first recalled Arthur to a +sense of his condition. The camp was on fire in his rear, and +resounded with all the various shouts of conquest and terror that are +heard in a town which is stormed. Starting to his feet, he looked +around him for his father. He lay near him senseless, as were the +gunners, whose condition prevented their attempting an escape. Having +opened his father's casque, he was rejoiced to see him give symptoms +of reanimation. + +"The horses, the horses!" said Arthur. "Thiebault, where art thou?" + +"At hand, my lord," said that trusty attendant, who had saved himself +and his charge by a prudent retreat into a small thicket, which the +assailants had avoided that they might not disorder their ranks. + +"Where is the gallant Colvin?" said the Earl. "Get him a horse, I will +not leave him in jeopardy." + +"His wars are ended, my lord," said Thiebault; "he will never mount +steed more." + +A look and a sigh as he saw Colvin, with the ramrod in his hand, +before the muzzle of the piece, his head cleft by a Swiss battle-axe, +was all the moment permitted. + +"Whither must we take our course?" said Arthur to his father. + +"To join the Duke," said the Earl of Oxford. "It is not on a day like +this that I will leave him." + +"So please you," said Thiebault, "I saw the Duke, followed by some +half-score of his guards, riding at full speed across this hollow +watercourse, and making for the open country to the northward. I think +I can guide you on the track." + +"If that be so," replied Oxford, "we will mount and follow him. The +camp has been assailed on several places at once, and all must be over +since he has fled." + +With difficulty they assisted the Earl of Oxford to his horse, and +rode, as fast as his returning strength permitted, in the direction +which the Provençal pointed out. Their other attendants were dispersed +or slain. + +They looked back more than once on the camp, now one great scene of +conflagration, by whose red and glaring light they could discover on +the ground the traces of Charles's retreat. About three miles from the +scene of their defeat, the sound of which they still heard, mingled +with the bells of Nancy, which were ringing in triumph, they reached a +half-frozen swamp, round which lay several dead bodies. The most +conspicuous was that of Charles of Burgundy, once the possessor of +such unlimited power--such unbounded wealth. He was partly stripped +and plundered, as were those who lay round him. His body was pierced +with several wounds, inflicted by various weapons. His sword was still +in his hand, and the singular ferocity which was wont to animate his +features in battle still dwelt on his stiffened countenance. Close +behind him, as if they had fallen in the act of mutual fight, lay the +corpse of Count Albert of Geierstein; and that of Ital Schreckenwald, +the faithful though unscrupulous follower of the latter, lay not far +distant. Both were in the dress of the men-at-arms composing the +Duke's guard, a disguise probably assumed to execute the fatal +commission of the Secret Tribunal. It is supposed that a party of the +traitor Campo-basso's men had been engaged in the skirmish in which +the Duke fell, for six or seven of them, and about the same number of +the Duke's guards, were found near the spot. + +The Earl of Oxford threw himself from his horse, and examined the body +of his deceased brother-in-arms, with all the sorrow inspired by early +remembrance of his kindness. But as he gave way to the feelings +inspired by so melancholy an example of the fall of human greatness, +Thiebault, who was looking out on the path they had just pursued, +exclaimed, "To horse, my lord! here is no time to mourn the dead, and +little to save the living--the Swiss are upon us." + +"Fly thyself, good fellow," said the Earl; "and do thou, Arthur, fly +also, and save thy youth for happier days. I cannot and will not fly +farther. I will render me to the pursuers; if they take me to grace, +it is well; if not, there is one above that will receive me to His." + +"I will not fly," said Arthur, "and leave you defenceless; I will stay +and share your fate." + +"And I will remain also," said Thiebault; "the Switzers make fair war +when their blood has not been heated by much opposition, and they have +had little enough to-day." + +The party of Swiss which came up proved to be Sigismund, with his +brother Ernest, and some of the youths of Unterwalden. Sigismund +kindly and joyfully received them to mercy; and thus, for the third +time, rendered Arthur an important service, in return for the kindness +he had expressed towards him. + +"I will take you to my father," said Sigismund, "who will be right +glad to see you; only that he is ill at ease just now for the death of +brother Rudiger, who fell with the banner in his hand, by the only +cannon that was fired this morning. The rest could not bark: +Campo-basso had muzzled Colvin's mastiffs, or we should many more of +us have been served like poor Rudiger. But Colvin himself is killed." + +"Campo-basso, then, was in your correspondence?" said Arthur. + +"Not in ours--we scorn such companions--but some dealing there was +between the Italian and Duke Ferrand; and having disabled the cannon, +and filled the German gunners soundly drunk, he came off to our camp +with fifteen hundred horse, and offered to act with us. 'But no, no!' +said my father,--'traitors come not into our Swiss host;' and so, +though we walked in at the door which he left open, we would not have +his company. So he marched with Duke Ferrand to attack the other +extremity of the camp, where he found them entrance by announcing them +as the return of a reconnoitring party." + +"Nay, then," said Arthur, "a more accomplished traitor never drew +breath, nor one who drew his net with such success." + +"You say well," answered the young Swiss. + +"The Duke will never, they say, be able to collect another army?" + +"Never, young man," said the Earl of Oxford, "for he lies dead before +you."[14] + +Sigismund started; for he had an inherent respect, and somewhat of +fear, for the lofty name of Charles the Bold, and could hardly believe +that the mangled corpse which now lay before him was once the +personage he had been taught to dread. But his surprise was mingled +with sorrow when he saw the body of his uncle, Count Albert of +Geierstein. + +"Oh, my uncle!" he said--"my dear uncle Albert! has all your greatness +and your wisdom brought you to a death, at the side of a ditch, like +any crazed beggar?--Come, this sad news must be presently told to my +father, who will be concerned to hear of his brother's death, which +will add gall to bitterness, coming on the back of poor Rudiger's. It +is some comfort, however, that father and uncle never could abide each +other." + +With some difficulty they once more assisted the Earl of Oxford to +horseback, and were proceeding to set forward, when the English lord +said,--"You will place a guard here, to save these bodies from further +dishonour, that they may be interred with due solemnity." + +"By Our Lady of Einsiedlen! I thank you for the hint," said Sigismund. +"Yes, we should do all that the Church can for uncle Albert. It is to +be hoped he has not gambled away his soul beforehand, playing with +Satan at odds and evens. I would we had a priest to stay by his poor +body; but it matters not, since no one ever heard of a demon appearing +just before breakfast." + +They proceeded to the Landamman's quarters, through sights and scenes +which Arthur, and even his father, so well accustomed to war in all +its shapes, could not look upon without shuddering. But the simple +Sigismund, as he walked by Arthur's side, contrived to hit upon a +theme so interesting as to divert his sense of the horrors around +them. + +"Have you further business in Burgundy, now this Duke of yours is at +an end?" + +"My father knows best," said Arthur; "but I apprehend we have none. +The Duchess of Burgundy, who must now succeed to some sort of +authority in her late husband's dominion, is sister to this Edward of +York, and a mortal enemy to the House of Lancaster, and to those who +have stood by it faithfully. It were neither prudent nor safe to tarry +where she has influence." + +"In that case," said Sigismund, "my plan will fadge bravely. You shall +go back to Geierstein, and take up your dwelling with us. Your father +will be a brother to mine, and a better one than uncle Albert, whom he +seldom saw or spoke with; while with your father he will converse from +morning till night, and leave us all the work of the farm. And you, +Arthur, you shall go with us, and be a brother to us all, in place of +poor Rudiger, who was, to be sure, my real brother, which you cannot +be: nevertheless, I did not like him so well, in respect he was not so +good-natured. And then Anne--cousin Anne--is left all to my father's +charge, and is now at Geierstein--and you know, King Arthur, we used +to call her Queen Guenover." + +"You spoke great folly then," said Arthur. + +"But it is great truth--For, look you, I loved to tell Anne tales of +our hunting, and so forth, but she would not listen a word till I +threw in something of King Arthur, and then I warrant she would sit +still as a heath-hen when the hawk is in the heavens. And now +Donnerhugel is slain, you know you may marry my cousin when you and +she will, for nobody hath interest to prevent it." + +Arthur blushed with pleasure under his helmet, and almost forgave that +new-year's morning all its complicated distresses. + +"You forget," he replied to Sigismund, with as much indifference as he +could assume, "that I may be viewed in your country with prejudice on +account of Rudolph's death." + +"Not a whit, not a whit; we bear no malice for what is done in fair +fight under shield. It is no more than if you had beat him in +wrestling or at quoits--only it is a game cannot be played over +again." + +They now entered the town of Nancy. The windows were hung with +tapestry, and the streets crowded with tumultuous and rejoicing +multitudes, whom the success of the battle had relieved from great +alarm for the formidable vengeance of Charles of Burgundy. + +The prisoners were received with the utmost kindness by the Landamman, +who assured them of his protection and friendship. He appeared to +support the death of his son Rudiger with stern resignation. + +"He had rather," he said, "his son fell in battle, than that he should +live to despise the old simplicity of his country, and think the +object of combat was the gaining of spoil. The gold of the dead +Burgundy," he added, "would injure the morals of Switzerland more +irretrievably than ever his sword did their bodies." + +He heard of his brother's death without surprise, but apparently with +emotion. + +"It was the conclusion," he said, "of a long tissue of ambitious +enterprises, which often offered fair prospects, but uniformly ended +in disappointment." + +The Landamman further intimated that his brother had apprised him that +he was engaged in an affair of so much danger that he was almost +certain to perish in it, and had bequeathed his daughter to her +uncle's care, with instructions respecting her. + +Here they parted for the present, but shortly after, the Landamman +inquired earnestly of the Earl of Oxford what his motions were like to +be, and whether he could assist them. + +"I think of choosing Bretagne for my place of refuge," answered the +Earl, "where my wife has dwelt since the battle of Tewkesbury expelled +us from England." + +"Do not so," said the kind Landamman, "but come to Geierstein with the +countess, where, if she can, like you, endure our mountain manners and +mountain fare, you are welcome as to the house of a brother, to a soil +where neither conspiracy nor treason ever flourished. Bethink you, the +Duke of Bretagne is a weak prince, entirely governed by a wicked +favourite, Peter Landais. He is as capable--I mean the minister--of +selling brave men's blood, as a butcher of selling bullock's flesh; +and you know, there are those, both in France and Burgundy, that +thirst after yours." + +The Earl of Oxford expressed his thanks for the proposal, and his +determination to profit by it, if approved of by Henry of Lancaster, +Earl of Richmond, whom he now regarded as his sovereign. + +To close the tale, about three months after the battle of Nancy, the +banished Earl of Oxford resumed his name of Philipson, bringing with +his lady some remnants of their former wealth, which enabled them to +procure a commodious residence near to Geierstein; and the Landamman's +interest in the state procured for them the right of denizenship. The +high blood and the moderate fortunes of Anne of Geierstein and Arthur +de Vere, joined to their mutual inclination, made their marriage in +every respect rational; and Annette with her bachelor took up their +residence with the young people, not as servants, but mechanical aids +in the duties of the farm; for Arthur continued to prefer the chase to +the labours of husbandry, which was of little consequence, as his +separate income amounted, in that poor country, to opulence. Time +glided on, till it amounted to five years since the exiled family had +been inhabitants of Switzerland. In the year 1482, the Landamman +Biederman died the death of the righteous, lamented universally, as a +model of the true and valiant, simple-minded and sagacious chiefs who +ruled the ancient Switzers in peace, and headed them in battle. In the +same year, the Earl of Oxford lost his noble countess. + +But the star of Lancaster, at that period, began again to culminate, +and called the banished lord and his son from their retirement, to mix +once more in politics. The treasured necklace of Margaret was then put +to its destined use, and the produce applied to levy those bands which +shortly after fought the celebrated battle of Bosworth, in which the +arms of Oxford and his son contributed so much to the success of Henry +VII. This changed the destinies of De Vere and his lady. Their Swiss +farm was conferred on Annette and her husband; and the manners and +beauty of Anne of Geierstein attracted as much admiration at the +English court as formerly in the Swiss chalet. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[14] Note III. + + + + +AUTHOR'S NOTES. + + +Note I. p. 201.--THE TROUBADOURS. + +The smoothness of the Provençal dialect, partaking strongly of the +Latin, which had been spoken for so many ages in what was called for +distinction's sake the Roman Province of Gaul, and the richness and +fertility of a country abounding in all that could delight the senses +and soothe the imagination, naturally disposed the inhabitants to +cultivate the art of poetry, and to value and foster the genius of +those who distinguished themselves by attaining excellence in it. +Troubadours, that is, _finders_ or _inventors_, equivalent to the +northern term of _makers_, arose in every class, from the lowest to +the highest, and success in their art dignified men of the meanest +rank, and added fresh honours to those who were born in the patrician +file of society. War and love, more especially the latter, were +dictated to them by the chivalry of the times as the especial subjects +of their verse. Such, too, were the themes of our northern minstrels. +But whilst the latter confined themselves in general to those +well-known metrical histories in which scenes of strife and combat +mingled with adventures of enchantment, and fables of giants and +monsters subdued by valiant champions, such as best attracted the ears +of the somewhat duller and more barbarous warriors of northern France, +of Britain, and of Germany--the more lively Troubadours produced poems +which turned on human passion, and on love, affection, and dutiful +observance, with which the faithful knight was bound to regard the +object of his choice, and the honour and respect with which she was +bound to recompense his faithful services. + +Thus far it cannot be disputed that the themes selected by the +Troubadours were those on which poetry is most naturally exerted, and +with the best chance of rising to excellence. But it usually happens, +that when any one of the fine arts is cultivated exclusively, the +taste of those who practise and admire its productions loses sight of +nature, simplicity, and true taste, and the artist endeavours to +discover, while the public learn to admire, some more complicated +system, in which pedantry supersedes the dictates of natural feeling, +and metaphysical ingenuity is used instead of the more obvious +qualifications of simplicity and good sense. Thus, with the unanimous +approbation of their hearers, the Troubadours framed for themselves a +species of poetry describing and inculcating a system of metaphysical +affection as inconsistent with nature as the minstrel's tales of +magicians and monsters; with this evil to society, that it was +calculated deeply to injure its manners and its morals. Every +Troubadour, or good Knight, who took the maxims of their poetical +school for his rule, was bound to choose a lady love, the fairest and +noblest to whom he had access, to whom he dedicated at once his lyre +and his sword, and who, married or single, was to be the object to +whom his life, words, and actions were to be devoted. On the other +hand, a lady thus honoured and distinguished was bound, by accepting +the services of such a gallant, to consider him as her lover, and on +all due occasions to grace him as such with distinguished marks of +personal favour. It is true that, according to the best authorities, +the intercourse betwixt her lover and herself was to be entirely of a +Platonic character, and the loyal swain was not to require, or the +chosen lady to grant, anything beyond the favour she might in strict +modesty bestow. Even under this restriction, the system was like to +make wild work with the domestic peace of families, since it +permitted, or rather enjoined, such familiarity betwixt the fair dame +and her poetical admirer; and very frequently human passions, placed +in such a dangerous situation, proved too strong to be confined within +the metaphysical bounds prescribed to them by so fantastic and +perilous a system. The injured husbands on many occasions avenged +themselves with severity, and even with dreadful cruelty, on the +unfaithful ladies, and the musical skill and chivalrous character of +the lover proved no protection to his person. But the real spirit of +the system was seen in this, that in the poems of the other +Troubadours, by whom such events are recorded, their pity is all +bestowed on the hapless lovers, while, without the least allowance for +just provocation, the injured husband is held up to execration. + + +Note II. p. 203.--HIGH AND NOBLE PARLIAMENT OF LOVE. + +In Provence, during the flourishing time of the Troubadours, Love was +esteemed so grave and formal a part of the business of life, that a +Parliament or High Court of Love was appointed for deciding such +questions. This singular tribunal was, it may be supposed, conversant +with more of imaginary than of real suits; but it is astonishing with +what cold and pedantic ingenuity the Troubadours of whom it consisted +set themselves to plead and to decide, upon reasoning which was not +less singular and able than out of place, the absurd questions which +their own fantastic imaginations had previously devised. There, for +example, is a reported case of much celebrity, where a lady sitting in +company with three persons, who were her admirers, listened to one +with the most favourable smiles, while she pressed the hand of the +second, and touched with her own the foot of the third. It was a case +much agitated and keenly contested in the Parliament of Love, which of +these rivals had received the distinguishing mark of the lady's +favour. Much ingenuity was wasted on this and similar cases, of which +there is a collection, in all judicial form of legal proceedings, +under the title of _Arrêts d'Amour_ (Adjudged Cases of the Court of +Love). + + +Note III. p. 344. + +The following very striking passage is that in which Philip de +Commines sums up the last scene of Charles the Bold, whose various +fortunes he had long watched with a dark anticipation that a character +so reckless, and capable of such excess, must sooner or later lead to +a tragical result:-- + + "As soon as the Count de Campo-basso arrived in the Duke + of Lorrain's army, word was sent him to leave the camp + immediately, for they would not entertain, nor have any + communication with, such traytors. Upon which message he + retir'd with his party to a Castle and Pass not far off, + where he fortified himself with carts and other things as + well as he could, in hopes, that if the Duke of Burgundy + was routed, he might have an opportunity of coming in for + a share of the plunder, as he did afterwards. Nor was this + practice with the Duke of Lorrain the most execrable + action that Campo-basso was guilty of; but before he left + the army he conspir'd with several other officers (finding + it was impracticable to attempt anything against the Duke + of Burgundy's person) to leave him just as they came to + charge, for at that time he suppos'd it would put the Duke + into the greatest terror and consternation, and if he + fled, he was sure he could not escape alive, for he had + order'd thirteen or fourteen sure men, some to run as soon + as the Germans came up to charge 'em, and others to watch + the Duke of Burgundy, and kill him in the rout, which was + well enough contrived; I myself have seen two or three of + those who were employed to kill the Duke. Having thus + settled his conspiracy at home, he went over to the Duke + of Lorrain upon the approach of the German army; but + finding they would not entertain him, he retired to Condé. + + "The German army marched forward, and with 'em a + considerable body of French horse, whom the King had given + leave to be present at that action. Several parties lay in + ambush not far off, that if the Duke of Burgundy was + routed, they might surprise some person of quality, or + take some considerable booty. By this every one may see + into what a deplorable condition this poor Duke had + brought himself, by his contempt of good counsel. Both + armies being joyn'd, the Duke of Burgundy's forces having + been twice beaten before, and by consequence weak and + dispirited, and ill provided besides, were quickly broken + and entirely defeated: Many sav'd themselves and got off; + the rest were either taken or kill'd; and among 'em the + Duke of Burgundy himself was killed on the spot. One + Monsieur Claude of Bausmont, Captain of the Castle of Dier + in Lorrain, kill'd the Duke of Burgundy. Finding his army + routed, he mounted a swift horse, and endeavouring to swim + a little river in order to make his escape, his horse fell + with him, and overset him: The Duke cry'd out for quarter + to this gentleman, who was pursuing him, but he being + deaf, and not hearing him, immediately kill'd and stripp'd + him, not knowing who he was, and left him naked in the + ditch, where his body was found the next day after the + battle; which the Duke of Lorrain (to his eternal honour) + buried with great pomp and magnificence in St. George's + Church, in the old town of Nancy, himself and all his + nobility, in deep mourning, attending the corpse to the + grave. The following epitaph was sometime afterwards + ingrav'd on his tomb:-- + + '_Carolus hoc busto Burgundæ gloria gentis + Conditur, Europæ qui fuit ante timor._' + + I saw a seal ring of his, since his death, at Milan, with + his arms cut curiously upon a sardonix that I have seen + him often wear in a ribbon at his breast, which was sold + at Milan for two ducats, and had been stolen from him by a + rascal that waited on him in his chamber. I have often + seen the Duke dress'd and undress'd in great state and + formality, and attended by very great persons; but at his + death all this pomp and magnificence ceas'd, and his + family was involv'd in the same ruin with himself, and + very likely as a punishment for his having deliver'd up + the Constable not long before, out of a base and + avaricious principle; but God forgive him. I have known + him a powerful and honourable Prince, in as great esteem, + and as much courted by his neighbours (when his affairs + were in a prosperous condition), as any Prince in Europe, + and perhaps more; and I cannot conceive what should + provoke God Almighty's displeasure so highly against him, + unless it was his self-love and arrogance, in + appropriating all the success of his enterprises, and all + the renown he ever acquir'd, to his own wisdom and + conduct, without attributing anything to God. Yet to speak + truth, he was master of several good qualities: No Prince + ever had a greater ambition to entertain young noblemen + than he, nor was more careful of their education: His + presents and bounty were never profuse and extravagant, + because he gave to many, and had a mind everybody should + taste of it. No Prince was ever more easie of access to + his servants and subjects. Whilst I was in his service he + was never cruel, but a little before his death he took up + that humour, which was an infallible sign of the shortness + of his life. He was very splendid and curious in his + dress, and in everything else, and indeed a little too + much. He paid great honours to all ambassadors and + foreigners, and entertain'd them nobly: His ambitious + desire of fame was insatiable, and it was that which + induced him to be eternally in wars, more than any other + motive. He ambitiously desir'd to imitate the old Kings + and Heroes of antiquity, whose actions still shine in + History, and are so much talked of in the world, and his + courage was equal to any Prince's of his time. + + "But all his designs and imaginations were vain and + extravagant, and turn'd afterwards to his own dishonour + and confusion, for 'tis the conquerors and not the + conquer'd that purchase to themselves renown. I cannot + easily determine towards whom God Almighty shew'd his + anger most, whether towards him who died suddenly without + pain or sickness in the field of battle, or towards his + subjects who never enjoy'd peace after his death, but were + continually involv'd in wars, against which they were not + able to maintain themselves, upon account of the civil + dissentions and cruel animosities that arose among 'em; + and that which was the most insupportable, was, that the + very people, to whom they were now oblig'd for their + defence and preservation, were the Germans, who were + strangers, and not long since their profess'd enemies. In + short, after the Duke's death, there was not a + neighbouring state that wished them to prosper, nor even + Germany that defended 'em. And by the management of their + affairs, their understanding seem'd to be as much + infatuated as their master's, for they rejected all good + counsel, and pursued such methods as directly tended to + their destruction; and they are still in such a condition, + that though they have at present some little ease and + relaxation from their sorrows, yet 'tis with great danger + of a relapse, and 'tis well if it turns not in the end to + their utter ruin. + + "I am partly of their opinion who maintain, that God gives + Princes, as he in his wisdom thinks fit, to punish or + chastise the subjects; and he disposes the affection of + subjects to their Princes, as he has determin'd to raise + or depress 'em. Just so it has pleas'd him to deal with + the House of Burgundy; for, after a long series of riches + and prosperity, and six-and-twenty years' peace under + three Illustrious Princes, predecessors to this Charles + (all of 'em excellent persons, and of great prudence and + discretion), it pleas'd God to send this Duke Charles, who + involv'd them in bloody wars, as well winter as summer, to + their great affliction and expense, in which most of their + richest and stoutest men were either kill'd, or utterly + undone. Their misfortunes continu'd successively to the + very hour of his death; and after such a manner, that at + the last, the whole strength of their country was + destroy'd, and all kill'd or taken prisoners who had any + zeal or affection for the House of Burgundy, and had power + to defend the state and dignity of that family; so that in + a manner their losses were equal to, if not over balanc'd + their former prosperity; for as I have seen those Princes + heretofore puissant, rich, and honourable, so it fared the + same with their subjects; for I think, I have seen and + known the greatest part of Europe; yet I never knew any + province, or country, tho' perhaps of a larger extent, so + abounding in money, so extravagantly fine in furniture for + their horses, so sumptuous in their buildings, so profuse + in their expenses, so luxurious in their feasts and + entertainments, and so prodigal in all respects, as the + subjects of these Princes, in my time: but it has pleased + God at one blow to subvert and ruin this illustrious + family. Such changes and revolutions in states and + kingdoms God in his providence has wrought before we were + born, and will do again when we are in our graves; for + this is a certain maxim, that the prosperity or adversity + of Princes are wholly at his disposal." + + COMMINES, Book V. Chap. 9. + + + + +Editor's Notes. + + +(_a_) p. 114. "The good King René." There is a biography of this +prince, by the Comte de Villeneuve Bargemont. René of Anjou, descended +from the second son of John of Valois, King of France, inherited the +duchy of Lorraine in right of his wife, daughter of Charles II., Duke +of Lorraine. His claim was contested by Antoine, Comte de Vaudémont, +representing a collateral male branch of the earlier line. This +claimant was backed by Philip the Good, of Burgundy. René was +defeated, in 1431, at Bulgueville, and passed some years as a captive +in Dijon. Here, like Charles d'Orleans in England, and James I. in the +same country, he amused himself with poetry and art. He succeeded to +the crown of Provence, a remnant of the Neapolitan domains of Anjou, +and his daughter, Yolande, married the son of his rival of Vaudémont. +Lorraine was entailed on them and their issue, failing male issue of +René. After an expedition to Naples he ceded Lorraine to his son, and +passed his time in a pleasing pastoral manner, in Provence. In his old +age Lorraine fell to his grandson René, and the unlucky region was +drawn into disputes of France and Burgundy, between which it lay. +Burgundy conquered Lorraine. Old René negotiated for Burgundian +protection, and for Charles's succession to Provence, which on René's +death would make Burgundy "a Middle Kingdom conterminous with Germany +and France." But the conquest of Lorraine was the last of Charles's +successes: the end of the novel before us tells the story of his fall. + +(_b_) p. 116. "Edward of York has crossed the Sea." The date is 1475. +Louis and Edward met on the bridge over the Somme, at Pequigny, and +made terms. The scheme of Oxford, in the novel, for an invasion of +England during Edward's absence, was thus rendered impossible. + +(_c_) p. 125. "Henry Colvin." Comines calls this soldier "Cohin," in +the oldest texts "Colpin." He commanded three hundred English, and +was killed by a cannon shot: "great loss to the Duke, for a single man +may save his master, though he be of no great lineage, so he have but +sense and virtue." + +(_d_) p. 262. "Granson." The Burgundian defeat is described in +Comines, book v. ch. i. Of Charles, Comines says, "il perdit honneur +et chevance ce jour." Morat he describes in book v. ch. iii. The +narrative of Charles's despair, and the detail of his drinking +_tisane_ in place of wine, is borrowed from Comines, book v. ch. v., +in the sixteenth chapter of the novel. The treachery of Campobasso is +recorded in Comines's sixth-ninth chapter. Mr. Kirk's version of +Charles's last fight is written with much spirit. + + ANDREW LANG. + + May 1894. + + + + +GLOSSARY. + + + =Abettance=, support, encouragement. + + =Abye=, to pay the penalty of, to atone for. + + =Adjected=, appended, added. + + =Albe=, a long white linen robe worn by priests. + + =Ariette=, a little song. + + =Arquebusier=, a soldier armed with an arquebuse, an early + form of musket. + + =Assoilzied=, pardoned. + + =Astucious=, astute, shrewd, cunning. + + + =Baaren-hauter=, a nickname for a German private soldier. + + =Ban=, an imperial edict; the laws of the Empire. + + =Ban-dog=, a large fierce dog. + + =Barbed=, clad in armour. + + =Beauffet=, a sideboard. + + "=Blink out of=," to evade, to escape. + + =Bordel=, a brothel. + + =Botargo=, the roe of the mullet or tunny, salted and dried. + + =Brache=, a kind of sporting dog. + + =Bretagne=, Brittany. + + =Broad-piece=, an old English gold coin. + + =Bruit=, rumour. + + "=Buon campagna=," open country. + + + =Caravansera=, an inn. + + =Carbonado=, a piece of meat or game, seasoned and broiled. + + =Caviare=, the roe of the sturgeon pickled in salt. + + =Chaffron=, =chamfron=, the armoured frontlet of a horse. + + =Chalumeau=, a reed or pipe made into an instrument of + music. + + =Coif=, a woman's headdress. + + =Corso=, the chief street or square in an Italian town. + + "=Côte roti=," wine grown on a sunny slope. + + + =Dalmatic=, =dalmatique=, a long ecclesiastical robe. + + =Debonair=, affable, courteous. + + =Dishabille=, undress, negligent dress. + + =Dorf=, a village. + + =Ducat=, an old gold coin, worth about 9_s._ 4_d._ + + + =Entrechat=, a caper. + + + =Fadge=, to succeed, to turn out well. + + + =Galilee=, a porch or chapel beside a monastery or church, + in which the monks received visitors, where processions + were formed, penitents stationed, and so forth. + + =Gear=, business, affair; property. + + =Geierstein=, vulture-stone. + + =Grave=, a count. + + =Gutter-blooded=, of the meanest birth. + + + =Hagbut=, a musket. + + =Halidome=, on my word of honour. + + =Hypocaust=, a stove, heating apparatus. + + + =Jongleur=, a minstrel-poet of Northern France. + + + =Lauds=, a daily service of the Roman Catholic Church. + + =Los=, praise. + + + =Morgue=, the proud, disdainful look of a superior to an + inferior. + + =Morisco=, a Moor of Spain. + + + =Pardoner=, a licensed seller of papal indulgences. + + =Pavin=, a stately Spanish dance. + + =Pennoncelle=, a little flag fixed to a lance. + + =Peste!= plague on't! + + =Piastre=, a silver coin, worth 4_s._ + + =Plump=, a clump, collection. + + "=Poz element=," a German oath. + + + =Questionary=, a pedlar of relics or indulgences. + + + =Rebeck=, an instrument resembling the violin. + + =Reiter=, a horse-soldier. + + =Rhein-Thal=, the valley of the Rhine. + + =Ritter=, a knight. + + =Rote=, a kind of harp, played by turning a wheel. + + + =Samite=, a textile made of gold cloth or satin. + + "=Sapperment der Teufel!="--a German oath. + + =Schwarz-reiter=, a German mercenary horse-soldier. + + "=Sibylline leaf=," the oracular or precious saying. + + =Stadtholder=, the emperor's deputy in ancient Westphalia. + + =Stell=, to mount or plant (a cannon). + + =Strick-kind=, the child of the cord--the prisoner on trial + before the Vehmic Tribunal. + + =Stube=, a sitting-room, a public room. + + + =Talliage=, a subsidy, a tax. + + "=Tiers état=," the third estate, or representatives of the + people. + + =Turnpike-stair=, a spiral or winding staircase. + + + =Vambrace=, the piece of armour that covered the forearm. + + =Violer=, a player on a viol, a kind of violin. + + =Visard=, a mask to cover the face. + + + =Wass-ail=, ale or wine sweetened and flavoured with spices. + + =Wassel-song=, a drinking or carousing song. + + =Welked=, marked with protuberances or ridges. + + + =Yungfrau=, =Jungfrau=, a young girl. + + =Yung-herren=, =Jung-herren=, =Junker=, the sons of a German + minor noble. + + + =Zechin=, a Venetian gold coin, worth from 9_s._ to 10_s._ + + +END OF VOL. II. + +Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. + +Edinburgh and London + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Anne of Geierstein, by Walter Scott + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44247 *** |