[Illustration: HEREWARD RESISTING THE GREEK ASSASSIN. ]

WAVERLY NOVELSABBOTSFORD EDITION

THE WAVERLY NOVELS, BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. 

COMPLETEIN TWELVE VOLUMES. 

EMBRACINGTHE AUTHOR'S LAST CORRECTIONS, PREFACES, AND NOTES. 

VOL. XII. 

COUNT ROBERT OF PARIS--CASTLE DANGEROUS--MY AUNT MARGARET'S MIRROR, &c. &c. 

Tales of my Landlord. 

COUNT ROBERT OF PARIS. 

 The European with the Asian shore-- Sophia's cupola with golden gleam The cypress groves--Olympus high and hoar-- The twelve isles, and the more than I could dream, Far less describe, present the very view That charm'd the charming Mary Montagu. DON JUAN. 

ADVERTISEMENT. --(1833. )

Sir Walter Scott transmitted from Naples, in February, 1832, anIntroduction for CASTLE DANGEROUS; but if he ever wrote one for asecond Edition of ROBERT OF PARIS, it has not been discovered among hispapers. Some notes, chiefly extracts from the books which he had beenobserved to consult while _dictating_ this novel, are now appendedto its pages; and in addition to what the author had given in the shapeof historical information respecting the principal real personsintroduced, the reader is here presented with what may probably amusehim, the passage of the Alexiad, in which Anna Comnena describes theincident which originally, no doubt, determined Sir Walter's choice ofa hero. 

May, A. D. 1097. --"As for the multitude of those who advanced towardsTHE GREAT CITY, let it be enough to say that they were as the stars inthe heaven, or as the sand upon the sea-shore. They were, in the wordsof Homer, _as many as the leaves and flowers of spring_. But forthe names of the leaders, though they are present in my memory, I willnot relate them. The numbers of these would alone deter me, even if mylanguage furnished the means of expressing their barbarous sounds; andfor what purpose should I afflict my readers with a long enumeration ofthe names of those, whose visible presence gave so much horror to allthat beheld them?

"As soon, therefore, as they approached the Great City, they occupiedthe station appointed for them by the Emperor, near to the monastery ofCosmidius. But this multitude were not, like the Hellenic one of old, to be restrained and governed by the loud voices of nine heralds; theyrequired the constant superintendence of chosen and valiant soldiers, to keep them from violating the commands of the Emperor. 

"He, meantime, laboured to obtain from the other leaders thatacknowledgment of his supreme authority, which had already been drawnfrom Godfrey [Greek: Gontophre] himself. But, notwithstanding thewillingness of some to accede to this proposal, and their assistance inworking on the minds of their associates, the Emperor's endeavours hadlittle success, as the majority were looking for the arrival ofBohemund [Greek: Baimontos], in whom they placed their chief confidence, and resorted to every art with the view of gaining time. The Emperor, whom it was not easy to deceive, penetrated their motives; and bygranting to one powerful person demands which had been supposed out ofall bounds of expectation, and by resorting to a variety of otherdevices, he at length prevailed, and won general assent to thefollowing of the example of Godfrey, who also was sent for in person toassist in this business. 

"All, therefore, being assembled, and Godfrey among them, the oath wastaken; but when all was finished, a certain Noble among these Countshad the audacity to seat himself on the throne of the Emperor. [Greek:Tolmaesas tis apo panton ton komaeton eugenaes eis ton skimpoda tonBasileos ekathisen. ] The Emperor restrained himself and said nothing, for he was well acquainted of old with the nature of the Latins. 

"But the Count Baldwin [Greek: Baldoninos] stepping forth, and seizinghim by the hand, dragged him thence, and with many reproaches said, 'Itbecomes thee not to do such things here, especially after having takenthe oath of fealty. [Greek: douleian haeposchomeno]. It is not thecustom of the Roman Emperors to permit any of their inferiors to sitbeside them, not even of such as are born subjects of their empire; andit is necessary to respect the customs of the country. ' But he, answering nothing to Baldwin, stared yet more fixedly upon the Emperor, and muttered to himself something in his own dialect, which, beinginterpreted, was to this effect--'Behold, what rustic fellow [Greek:choritaes] is this, to be seated alone while such leaders stand aroundhim!' The movement of his lips did not escape the Emperor, who calledto him one that understood the Latin dialect, and enquired what wordsthe man had spoken. When he heard them, the Emperor said nothing to theother Latins, but kept the thing to himself. When, however, thebusiness was all over, he called near to him by himself that swellingand shameless Latin [Greek: hypsaelophrona ekeinon kai anaidae], andasked of him, who he was, of what lineage, and from what region he hadcome. 'I am a Frank, ' said he, 'of pure blood, of the Nobles. One thingI know, that where three roads meet in the place from which I came, there is an ancient church, in which whosoever has the desire tomeasure himself against another in single combat, prays God to help himtherein, and afterwards abides the coming of one willing to encounterhim. At that spot long time did I remain, but the man bold enough tostand against me I found not. ' Hearing these words the Emperor said, 'If hitherto thou hast sought battles in vain, the time is at handwhich will furnish thee with abundance of them. And I advise thee toplace thyself neither before the phalanx, nor in its rear, but to standfast in the midst of thy fellow-soldiers; for of old time I am wellacquainted with the warfare of the Turks. ' With such advice hedismissed not only this man, but the rest of those who were about todepart on that expedition. "--_Alexiad_, Book x. Pp. 237, 238. 

Ducange, as is mentioned in the novel, identifies the church, thusdescribed by the crusader, with that of _Our Lady of Soissons_, ofwhich a French poet of the days of Louis VII. Says--

 Veiller y vont encore li Pelerin Cil qui bataille veulent fere et fournir. DUCANGE _in Alexiad_, p. 86. 

The Princess Anna Comnena, it may be proper to observe, was born on thefirst of December, A. D. 1083, and was consequently in her fifteenthyear when the chiefs of the first crusade made their appearance in herfather's court. Even then, however, it is not improbable that she mighthave been the wife of Nicephorus Bryennius, whom, many years after hisdeath, she speaks of in her history as [Greek: ton emon Kaisara], andin other terms equally affectionate. The bitterness with which sheuniformly mentions Bohemund, Count of Tarentum, afterwards Prince ofAntioch, has, however, been ascribed to a disappointment in love; andon one remarkable occasion, the Princess certainly expressed greatcontempt of her husband. I am aware of no other authorities for theliberties taken with this lady's conjugal character in the novel. 

Her husband, Nicephorus Bryennius, was the grandson of the person ofthat name, who figures in history as the rival, in a contest for theimperial throne, of Nicephorus Botoniates. He was, on his marriage withAnna Comnena, invested with the rank of _Panhypersebastos_, or_Omnium Augustissimus_; but Alexius deeply offended him, byafterwards recognising the superior and simpler dignity of a_Sebastos_. His eminent qualities, both in peace and war, areacknowledged by Gibbon: and he has left us four books of Memoirs, detailing the early part of his father-in-law's history, and valuableas being the work of an eye-witness of the most important events whichhe describes. Anna Comnena appears to have considered it her duty totake up the task which her husband had not lived to complete; and hencethe Alexiad--certainly, with all its defects, the first historical workthat has as yet proceeded from a female pen. 

"The life of the Emperor Alexius, " (says Gibbon, ) "has been delineatedby the pen of a favourite daughter, who was inspired by tender regardfor his person, and a laudable zeal to perpetuate his virtues. Conscious of the just suspicion of her readers, the Princess repeatedlyprotests, that, besides her personal knowledge, she had searched thediscourses and writings of the most respectable veterans; and thatafter an interval of thirty years, forgotten by, and forgetful of theworld, her mournful solitude was inaccessible to hope and fear: thattruth, the naked perfect truth, was more dear than the memory of herparent. Yet instead of the simplicity of style and narrative which winsour belief, an elaborate affectation of rhetoric and science betrays inevery page the vanity of a female author. The genuine character ofAlexius is lost in a vague constellation of virtues; and the perpetualstrain of panegyric and apology awakens our jealousy, to question theveracity of the historian, and the merit of her hero. We cannot, however, refuse her judicious and important remark, that the disordersof the times were the misfortune and the glory of Alexius; and thatevery calamity which can afflict a declining empire was accumulated onhis reign by the justice of Heaven and the vices of his predecessors. In the east, the victorious Turks had spread, from Persia to theHellespont, the reign of the Koran and the Crescent; the west wasinvaded by the adventurous valour of the Normans; and, in the momentsof peace, the Danube poured forth new swarms, who had gained in thescience of war what they had lost in the ferociousness of their manners. The sea was not less hostile than the land; and, while the frontierswere assaulted by an open enemy, the palace was distracted with secretconspiracy and treason. 

"On a sudden, the banner of the Cross was displayed by the Latins;Europe was precipitated on Asia; and Constantinople had almost beenswept away by this impetuous deluge. In the tempest Alexius steered theImperial vessel with dexterity and courage. At the head of his armies, he was bold in action, skilful in stratagem, patient of fatigue, readyto improve his advantages, and rising from his defeats withinexhaustible vigour. The discipline of the camp was reversed, and anew generation of men and soldiers was created by the precepts andexample of their leader. In his intercourse with the Latins, Alexiuswas patient and artful; his discerning eye pervaded the new system ofan unknown world. 

"The increase of the male and female branches of his family adorned thethrone, and secured the succession; but their princely luxury and prideoffended the patricians, exhausted the revenue, and insulted the miseryof the people. Anna is a faithful witness that his happiness wasdestroyed and his health broken by the cares of a public life; thepatience of Constantinople was fatigued by the length and severity ofhis reign; and before Alexius expired, he had lost the love andreverence of his subjects. The clergy could not forgive his applicationof the sacred riches to the defence of the state; but they applaudedhis theological learning, and ardent zeal for the orthodox faith, whichhe defended with his tongue, his pen, and his sword. Even the sincerityof his moral and religious virtues was suspected by the persons who hadpassed their lives in his confidence. In his last hours, when he waspressed by his wife Irene to alter the succession, he raised his head, and breathed a pious ejaculation on the vanity of the world. Theindignant reply of the Empress may be inscribed as an epitaph on histomb, --'You die, as you have lived--a hypocrite. '

"It was the wish of Irene to supplant the eldest of her sons in favourof her daughter, the Princess Anna, whose philosophy would not haverefused the weight of a diadem. But the order of male succession wasasserted by the friends of their country; the lawful heir drew theroyal signet from the finger of his insensible or conscious father, andthe empire obeyed the master of the palace. Anna Comnena was stimulatedby ambition and revenge to conspire against the life of her brother;and when the design was prevented by the fears or scruples of herhusband, she passionately exclaimed that nature had mistaken the twosexes, and had endowed Bryennius with the soul of a woman. After thediscovery of her treason, the life and fortune of Anna were justlyforfeited to the laws. Her life was spared by the clemency of theEmperor, but he visited the pomp and treasures of her palace, andbestowed the rich confiscation on the most deserving of his friends. "--_History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, chap. Xlviii. 

The year of Anna's death is nowhere recorded. She appears to havewritten the _Alexiad_ in a convent; and to have spent nearlythirty years in this retirement, before her book was published. 

For accurate particulars of the public events touched on in _Robertof Paris, _ the reader is referred to the above quoted author, chapters xlviii. Xlix. And l. ; and to the first volume of Mills'History of the Crusades. 

J. G. L. London, _1st March_, 1833. 

INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 

JEDEDIAH CLEISHBOTHAM, A. M. 

TO THE LOVING READER WISHETH HEALTH AND PROSPERITY. 

It would ill become me, whose name has been spread abroad by thoseformer collections bearing this title of "Tales of my Landlord, " andwho have, by the candid voice of a numerous crowd of readers, beentaught to think that I merit not the empty fame alone, but also themore substantial rewards, of successful pencraft--it would, I say, illbecome me to suffer this my youngest literary babe, and, probably atthe same time, the last child of mine old age, to pass into the worldwithout some such modest apology for its defects, as it has been mycustom to put forth on preceding occasions of the like nature. Theworld has been sufficiently instructed, of a truth, that I am notindividually the person to whom is to be ascribed the actual inventingor designing of the scheme upon which these Tales, which men have foundso pleasing, were originally constructed, as also that neither am I theactual workman, who, furnished by a skilful architect with an accurateplan, including elevations and directions both general and particular, has from thence toiled to bring forth and complete the intended shapeand proportion of each division of the edifice. Nevertheless, I havebeen indisputably the man, who, in placing my name at the head of theundertaking, have rendered myself mainly and principally responsiblefor its general success. When a ship of war goeth forth to battle withher crew, consisting of sundry foremast-men and various officers, suchsubordinate persons are not said to gain or lose the vessel which theyhave manned or attacked, (although each was natheless sufficientlyactive in his own department;) but it is forthwith bruited and noisedabroad, without further phrase, that Captain Jedediah Cleishbotham hathlost such a seventy-four, or won that which, by the united exertions ofall thereto pertaining, is taken from the enemy. In the same manner, shame and sorrow it were, if I, the voluntary Captain and founder ofthese adventures, after having upon three divers occasions assumed tomyself the emolument and reputation thereof, should now withdraw myselffrom the risks of failure proper to this fourth and last out-going. No!I will rather address my associates in this bottom with the constantspirit of Matthew Prior's heroine:

 "Did I but purpose to embark with thee On the smooth surface of some summer sea, But would forsake the waves, and make the shore, When the winds whistle, and the billows roar!"

As little, nevertheless, would it become my years and station not toadmit without cavil certain errors which may justly be pointed out inthese concluding "Tales of my Landlord, "--the last, and, it is manifest, never carefully revised or corrected handiwork, of Mr. Peter Pattison, now no more; the same worthy young man so repeatedly mentioned in theseIntroductory Essays, and never without that tribute to his good senseand talents, nay, even genius, which his contributions to this myundertaking fairly entitled him to claim at the hands of his survivingfriend and patron. These pages, I have said, were the _ultimuslabor_ of mine ingenious assistant; but I say not, as the great Dr. Pitcairn of his hero--_ultimus atque optitmis_. Alas! even thegiddiness attendant on a journey on this Manchester rail-road is not soperilous to the nerves, as that too frequent exercise in the merry-go-round of the ideal world, whereof the tendency to render the fancyconfused, and the judgment inert, hath in all ages been noted, not onlyby the erudite of the earth, but even by many of the thick-wittedOfelli themselves; whether the rapid pace at which the fancy moveth insuch exercitations, where the wish of the penman is to him like PrinceHoussain's tapestry, in the Eastern fable, be the chief source ofperil--or whether, without reference to this wearing speed of movement, and dwelling habitually in those realms of imagination, be as littlesuited for a man's intellect, as to breathe for any considerable space"the difficult air of the mountain top" is to the physical structure ofhis outward frame--this question belongeth not to me; but certain it is, that we often discover in the works of the foremost of this order ofmen, marks of bewilderment and confusion, such as do not so frequentlyoccur in those of persons to whom nature hath conceded fancy weaker ofwing, or less ambitious in flight. 

It is affecting to see the great Miguel Cervantes himself, even likethe sons of meaner men, defending himself against the critics of theday, who assailed him upon such little discrepancies and inaccuraciesas are apt to cloud the progress even of a mind like his, when theevening is closing around it. "It is quite a common thing, " says DonQuixote, "for men who have gained a very great reputation by theirwritings before they were printed, quite to lose it afterwards, or, atleast, the greater part. "--"The reason is plain, " answers the BachelorCarrasco; "their faults are more easily discovered after the books areprinted, as being then more read, and more narrowly examined, especially if the author has been much cried up before, for then theseverity of the scrutiny is sure to be the greater. Those who haveraised themselves a name by their own ingenuity, great poets andcelebrated historians, are commonly, if not always, envied by a set ofmen who delight in censuring the writings of others, though they couldnever produce any of their own. "--"That is no wonder, " quoth DonQuixote; "there are many divines that would make but very dullpreachers, and yet are quick enough at finding faults and superfluitiesin other men's sermons. "--"All this is true, " says Carrasco, "andtherefore I could wish such censurers would be more merciful and lessscrupulous, and not dwell ungenerously upon small spots that are in amanner but so many atoms on the face of the clear sun they murmur at. If _aliquando dormitat Homerus_, let them consider how many nightshe kept himself awake to bring his noble works to light as littledarkened with defects as might be. But, indeed, it may many timeshappen, that what is censured for a fault, is rather an ornament, asmoles often add to the beauty of a face. When all is said, he thatpublishes a book, runs a great risk, since nothing can be so unlikelyas that he should have composed one capable of securing the approbationof every reader. "--"Sure, " says Don Quixote, "that which treats of mecan have pleased but few?"--"Quite the contrary, " says Carrasco; "foras _infinitus est numerus stultorum_, so an infinite number haveadmired your history. Only some there are who have taxed the authorwith want of memory or sincerity, because he forgot to give an accountwho it was that stole Sancho's Dapple, for that particular is notmentioned there, only we find, by the story, that it was stolen; andyet, by and by, we find him riding the same ass again, without anyprevious light given us into the matter. Then they say that the authorforgot to tell the reader what Sancho did with the hundred pieces ofgold he found in the portmanteau in the Sierra Morena, for there is nota word said of them more; and many people have a great mind to knowwhat he did with them, and how he spent them; which is one of the mostmaterial points in which the work is defective. "

How amusingly Sancho is made to clear up the obscurities thus alludedto by the Bachelor Carrasco--no reader can have forgotten; but thereremained enough of similar _lacunas_, inadvertencies, and mistakes, to exercise the ingenuity of those Spanish critics, who were too wisein their own conceit to profit by the good-natured and modest apologyof this immortal author. 

There can be no doubt, that if Cervantes had deigned to use it, hemight have pleaded also the apology of indifferent health, under whichhe certainly laboured while finishing the second part of "Don Quixote. "It must be too obvious that the intervals of such a malady as thenaffected Cervantes, could not be the most favourable in the world forrevising lighter compositions, and correcting, at least, those grossererrors and imperfections which each author should, if it were but forshame's sake, remove from his work, before bringing it forth into thebroad light of day, where they will never fail to be distinctly seen, nor lack ingenious persons, who will be too happy in discharging theoffice of pointing them out. 

It is more than time to explain with what purpose we have called thusfully to memory the many venial errors of the inimitable Cervantes, andthose passages in which he has rather defied his adversaries thanpleaded his own justification; for I suppose it will be readily granted, that the difference is too wide betwixt that great wit of Spain andourselves, to permit us to use a buckler which was renderedsufficiently formidable only by the strenuous hand in which it wasplaced. 

The history of my first publications is sufficiently well known. Nordid I relinquish the purpose of concluding these "Tales of myLandlord, " which had been so remarkably fortunate; but Death, whichsteals upon us all with an inaudible foot, cut short the ingeniousyoung man to whose memory I composed that inscription, and erected, atmy own charge, that monument which protects his remains, by the side ofthe river Gander, which he has contributed so much to render immortal, and in a place of his own selection, not very distant from the schoolunder my care. [Footnote: See Vol. II. Of the present Edition, for somecircumstances attending this erection. ] In a word, the ingenious Mr. Pattison was removed from his place. 

Nor did I confine my care to his posthumous fame alone, but carefullyinventoried and preserved the effects which he left behind him, namely, the contents of his small wardrobe, and a number of printed books ofsomewhat more consequence, together with certain, wofully blurredmanuscripts, discovered in his repository. On looking these over, Ifound them to contain two Tales called "Count Robert of Paris, " and"Castle Dangerous;" but was seriously disappointed to perceive thatthey were by no means in that state of correctness, which would inducean experienced person to pronounce any writing, in the technicallanguage of bookcraft, "prepared for press. " There were not only_hiatus valde deflendi_, but even grievous inconsistencies, andother mistakes, which the penman's leisurely revision, had he beenspared to bestow it, would doubtless have cleared away. After aconsiderate perusal, I no question flattered myself that thesemanuscripts, with all their faults, contained here and there passages, which seemed plainly to intimate that severe indisposition had beenunable to extinguish altogether the brilliancy of that fancy which theworld had been pleased to acknowledge in the creations of Old Mortality, the Bride of Lammermoor, and others of these narratives. But I, nevertheless, threw the manuscripts into my drawer, resolving not tothink of committing them to the Ballantynian ordeal, until I couldeither obtain the assistance of some capable person to supplydeficiencies, and correct errors, so as they might face the public withcredit, or perhaps numerous and more serious avocations might permit meto dedicate my own time and labour to that task. 

While I was in this uncertainty, I had a visit from a stranger, who wasannounced as a young gentleman desirous of speaking with me onparticular business. I immediately augured the accession of a newboarder, but was at once checked by observing that the outward man ofthe stranger was, in a most remarkable degree, what mine host of theSir William Wallace, in his phraseology, calls _seedy_. His blackcloak had seen service; the waistcoat of grey plaid bore yet strongermarks of having encountered more than one campaign; his third piece ofdress was an absolute veteran compared to the others; his shoes were soloaded with mud as showed his journey must have been pedestrian; and agrey _maud_, which fluttered around his wasted limbs, completedsuch an equipment as, since Juvenal's days, has been the livery of thepoor scholar. I therefore concluded that I beheld a candidate for thevacant office of usher, and prepared to listen to his proposals withthe dignity becoming my station; but what was my surprise when I foundI had before me, in this rusty student, no less a man than Paul, thebrother of Peter Pattison, come to gather in his brother's succession, and possessed, it seemed, with no small idea of the value of that partof it which consisted in the productions of his pen!

By the rapid study I made of him, this Paul was a sharp lad, imbuedwith some tincture of letters, like his regretted brother, but totallydestitute of those amiable qualities which had often induced me to saywithin myself, that Peter was, like the famous John Gay, --

 "In wit a man, simplicity a child. "

He set little by the legacy of my deceased assistant's wardrobe, nordid the books hold much greater value in his eyes: but he peremptorilydemanded to be put in possession of the manuscripts, alleging, withobstinacy, that no definite bargain had been completed between his latebrother and me, and at length produced the opinion to that effect of awriter, or man of business, --a class of persons with whom I have alwayschosen to have as little concern as possible. 

But I had one defence left, which came to my aid, _tanquam deus exmachina_. This rapacious Paul Pattison could not pretend to wrestthe disputed manuscripts out of my possession, unless upon repayment ofa considerable sum of money, which I had advanced from time to time tothe deceased Peter, and particularly to purchase a small annuity forhis aged mother. These advances, with the charges of the funeral andother expenses, amounted to a considerable sum, which the poverty-struck student and his acute legal adviser equally foresaw greatdifficulty in liquidating. The said Mr. Paul Pattison, therefore, listened to a suggestion, which I dropped as if by accident, that if hethought himself capable of filling his brother's place of carrying thework through the press, I would make him welcome to bed and boardwithin my mansion while he was thus engaged, only requiring hisoccasional assistance at hearing the more advanced scholars. Thisseemed to promise a close of our dispute, alike satisfactory to allparties, and the first act of Paul was to draw on me for a round sum, under pretence that his wardrobe must be wholly refitted. To this Imade no objection, though it certainly showed like vanity to purchasegarments in the extremity of the mode, when not only great part of thedefunct's habiliments were very fit for a twelvemonth's use, but as Imyself had been, but yesterday as it were, equipped in a becoming newstand of black clothes, Mr. Pattison would have been welcome to the useof such of my quondam raiment as he thought suitable, as indeed hadalways been the case with his deceased brother. 

The school, I must needs say, came tolerably on. My youngster was verysmart, and seemed to be so active in his duty of usher, if I may sospeak, that he even overdid his part therein, and I began to feelmyself a cipher in my own school. 

I comforted myself with the belief that the publication was advancingas fast as I could desire. On this subject, Paul Pattison, like ancientPistol, "talked bold words at the bridge, " and that not only at ourhouse, but in the society of our neighbours, amongst whom, instead ofimitating the retired and monastic manner of his brother deceased, hebecame a gay visitor, and such a reveller, that in process of time hewas observed to vilipend the modest fare which had at first beenesteemed a banquet by his hungry appetite, and thereby highlydispleased my wife, who, with justice, applauds herself for theplentiful, cleanly, and healthy victuals, wherewith she maintains herushers and boarders. 

Upon the whole, I rather hoped than entertained a sincere confidencethat all was going on well, and was in that unpleasant state of mindwhich precedes the open breach between two associates who have beenlong jealous of each other, but are as yet deterred by a sense ofmutual interest from coming to an open rupture. 

The first thing which alarmed me was a rumour in the village, that PaulPattison intended, in some little space, to undertake a voyage to theContinent--on account of his health, as was pretended, but, as the samereport averred, much more with the view of gratifying the curiositywhich his perusal of the classics had impressed upon him, than for anyother purpose. I was, I say, rather alarmed at this _susurrus_, and began to reflect that the retirement of Mr. Pattison, unless hisloss could be supplied in good time, was like to be a blow to theestablishment; for, in truth, this Paul had a winning way with the boys, especially those who were gentle-tempered; so that I must confess mydoubts whether, in certain respects, I myself could have fully suppliedhis place in the school, with all my authority and experience. My wife, jealous as became her station, of Mr. Pattison's intentions, advised meto take the matter up immediately, and go to the bottom at once; and, indeed, I had always found that way answered best with my boys. 

Mrs. Cleishbotham was not long before renewing the subject; for, likemost of the race of Xantippe, (though my help-mate is a well-spokenwoman, ) she loves to thrust in her oar where she is not able to pull itto purpose. "You are a sharp-witted man, Mr. Cleishbotham, " would sheobserve, "and a learned man, Mr. Cleishbotham--and the schoolmaster ofGandercleuch, Mr. Cleishbotham, which is saying all in one word; butmany a man almost as great as yourself has lost the saddle by sufferingan inferior to get up behind him' and though, with the world, Mr. Cleishbotham, you have the name of doing every thing, both in directingthe school and in this new profitable book line which you have taken up, yet it begins to be the common talk of Gandercleuch, both up the waterand down the water, that the usher both writes the dominie's books andteaches the dominie's school. Ay, ay, ask maid, wife, or widow, andshe'll tell ye, the least gaitling among them all comes to PaulPattison with his lesson as naturally as they come to me for theirfour-hours, puir things; and never ane things of applying to you aboota kittle turn or a crabbed word, or about ony thing else, unless itwere for _licet exire_, or the mending of an auld pen. "

Now this address assailed me on a summer evening, when I was whilingaway my leisure hours with the end of a cutty pipe and indulging insuch bland imaginations as the Nicotian weed is wont to produce, moreespecially in the case of the studious persons, devoted _musisseverioribus_. I was naturally loth to leave my misty sanctuary; andendeavoured to silence the clamour of Mrs. Cleishbotham's tongue, whichhas something in it peculiarly shrill and penetrating. "Woman, " said Iwith a tone of domestic authority befitting the occasion, "_res tuasagas_;--mind your washings and your wringings, your stuffings andyour physicking, or whatever concerns the outward persons of the pupils, and leave the progress of their education to my usher, Paul Pattison, and myself. "

"I am glad to see, " added the accursed woman, (that I should say so!)"that ye have the grace to name him foremost, for there is little doubt, that he ranks first of the troop, if ye wad but hear what theneighbours speak--or whisper. "

"What do they whisper, thou sworn sister of the Eumenides?" cried I, --the irritating _aestrum_ of the woman's objurgation totallycounterbalancing the sedative effects both of pipe and pot. 

"Whisper?" resumed she in her shrillest note--"why, they whisper loudenough for me at least to hear them, that the schoolmaster ofGandercleuch is turned a doited auld woman, and spends all his time intippling strong drink with the keeper of the public-house, and leavesschool and book-making, and a' the rost o't, to the care of his usher;and, also, the wives in Gandercleuch say, that you have engaged PaulPattison to write a new book, which is to beat a' the lave that gaedafore it; and to show what a sair lift you have o' the job, you didnasae muckle as ken the name o't--no nor whether it was to be about someHeathen Greek, or the Black Douglas. "

This was said with such bitterness that it penetrated to the very quick, and I hurled the poor old pipe, like one of Homer's spears, not in theface of my provoking helpmate, though the temptation was strong, butinto the river Gander, which as is now well known to tourists from theuttermost parts of the earth, pursues its quiet meanders beneath thebank on which the school-house is pleasantly situated; and, starting up, fixed on my head the cocked hat, (the pride of Messrs. Grieve andScott's repository, ) and plunging into the valley of the brook, pursuedmy way upwards, the voice of Mrs. Cleishbotham accompanying me in myretreat with something like the angry scream of triumph with which thebrood-goose pursues the flight of some unmannerly cur or idle boy whohas intruded upon her premises, and fled before her. Indeed, so greatwas the influence of this clamour of scorn and wrath which hung upon myrear, that while it rung in my ears I was so moved that I instinctivelytucked the skirts of my black coat under my arm, as if I had been inactual danger of being seized on by the grasp of the pursuing enemy. Nor was it till I had almost reached the well-known burial-place, inwhich it was Peter Pattison's hap to meet the far-famed personagecalled Old Mortality, that I made a halt for the purpose of composingmy perturbed spirits, and considering what was to be done; for as yetmy mind was agitated by a chaos of passions, of which anger waspredominant; and for what reason, or against whom, I entertained suchtumultuous displeasure, it was not easy for me to determine. 

Nevertheless, having settled my cocked hat with becoming accuracy on mywell-powdered wig, and suffered it to remain uplifted for a moment tocool my flushed brow--having, moreover, re-adjusted and shaken torights the skirts of my black coat, I came into case to answer to myown questions, which, till these manoeuvres had been sedatelyaccomplished, I might have asked myself in vain. 

In the first place, therefore, to use the phrase of Mr. Docket, thewriter (that is, the attorney) of our village of Gandercleuch, I becamesatisfied that my anger was directed against all and sundry, or, in lawLatin, _contre omnes mortales_, and more particularly against theneighbourhood of Gandercleuch, for circulating reports to the prejudiceof my literary talents, as well as my accomplishments as a pedagogue, and transferring the fame thereof to mine own usher. Secondly, againstmy spouse, Dorothea Cleishbotham, for transferring the sad calumniousreports to my ears in a prerupt and unseemly manner, and without duerespect either to the language which she made use of, or the person towhom she spoke, --treating affairs in which I was so intimatelyconcerned as if they were proper subjects for jest among gossips at achristening, where the womankind claim the privilege of worshipping the_Bona Dea_ according to their secret female rites. 

Thirdly, I became clear that I was entitled to respond to any whom itconcerned to enquire, that my wrath was kindled against Paul Pattison, my usher, for giving occasion both for the neighbours of Gandercleuchentertaining such opinions, and for Mrs. Cleishbotham disrespectfullyurging them to my face, since neither circumstance could have existed, without he had put forth sinful misrepresentations of transactions, private and confidential, and of which I had myself entirely refrainedfrom dropping any the least hint to any third person. 

This arrangement of my ideas having contributed to soothe the stormyatmosphere of which they had been the offspring, gave reason a time topredominate, and to ask me, with her calm but clear voice, whether, under all the circumstances, I did well to nourish so indiscriminate anindignation? In fine, on closer examination, the various spleneticthoughts I had been indulging against other parties, began to be mergedin that resentment against my perfidious usher, which, like the serpentof Moses, swallowed up all subordinate objects of displeasure. To putmyself at open feud with the whole of my neighbours, unless I had beencertain of some effectual mode of avenging myself upon them, would havebeen an undertaking too weighty for my means, and not unlikely, ifrashly grappled withal, to end in my ruin. To make a public quarrelwith my wife, on such an account as her opinion of my literaryaccomplishments, would sound ridiculous: and, besides, Mrs. C. Was sureto have all the women on her side, who would represent her as a wifepersecuted by her husband for offering him good advice, and urging itupon him with only too enthusiastic sincerity. 

There remained Paul Pattison, undoubtedly, the most natural and properobject of my indignation, since I might be said to have him in my ownpower, and might punish him by dismissal, at my pleasure. Yet evenvindictive proceedings against the said Paul, however easy to beenforced, might be productive of serious consequences to my own purse;and I began to reflect, with anxiety, that in this world it is notoften that the gratification of our angry passions lies in the sameroad with the advancement of our interest, and that the wise man, the_vere sapiens_, seldom hesitates which of these two he ought toprefer. 

I recollected also that I was quite uncertain how far the present usherhad really been guilty of the foul acts of assumption charged againsthim. 

In a word, I began to perceive that it would be no light matter, atonce, and without maturer perpending of sundry collateral_punctiuncula_, to break up a joint-stock adventure, or society, as civilians term it, which, if profitable to him, had at leastpromised to be no less so to me, established in years and learning andreputation so much his superior. Moved by which, and other the likeconsiderations, I resolved to proceed with becoming caution on theoccasion, and not, by stating my causes of complaint too hastily in theoutset, exasperate into a positive breach what might only prove somesmall misunderstanding, easily explained or apologized for, and which, like a leak in a new vessel, being once discovered and carefullystopped, renders the vessel but more sea-worthy than it was before. 

About the time that I had adopted this healing resolution, I reachedthe spot where the almost perpendicular face of a steep hill seems toterminate the valley, or at least divides it into two dells, eachserving as a cradle to its own mountain-stream, the Gruff-quack, namely, and the shallower, but more noisy, Gusedub, on the left hand, which, attheir union, form the Gander, properly so called. Each of these littlevalleys has a walk winding up to its recesses, rendered more easy bythe labours of the poor during the late hard season, and one of whichbears the name of Pattison's path, while the other had been kindlyconsecrated to my own memory, by the title of the Dominie's Daidling-bit. Here I made certain to meet my associate, Paul Pattison, for byone or other of these roads he was wont to return to my house of anevening, after his lengthened rambles. 

Nor was it long before I espied him descending the Gusedub by thattortuous path, marking so strongly the character of a Scottish glen. Hewas easily distinguished, indeed, at some distance, by his jauntyswagger, in which he presented to you the flat of his leg, like themanly knave of clubs, apparently with the most perfect contentment, notonly with his leg and boot, but with every part of his outward man, andthe whole fashion of his garments, and, one would almost have thought, the contents of his pockets. 

In this, his wonted guise, he approached me, where I was seated nearthe meeting of the waters, and I could not but discern, that his firstimpulse was to pass me without any prolonged or formal greeting. But asthat would not have been decent, considering the terms on which westood, he seemed to adopt, on reflection, a course directly opposite;bustled up to me with an air of alacrity, and, I may add, impudence;and hastened at once into the middle of the important affairs which ithad been my purpose to bring under discussion in a manner more becomingtheir gravity. "I am glad to see you, Mr. Cleishbotham, " said he, withan inimitable mixture of confusion and effrontery; "the most wonderfulnews which has been heard in the literary world in my time--allGandercleuch rings with it--they positively speak of nothing else, fromMiss Buskbody's youngest apprentice to the minister himself, and askeach other in amazement, whether the tidings are true or false--to besure they are of an astounding complexion, especially to you and me. "

"Mr. Pattison, " said I, "I am quite at a loss to guess at your meaning. _Davus sum, non Oedipus_--I am Jedediah Cleishbotham, Schoolmasterof the parish of Gandercleuch; no conjuror, and neither reader ofriddles, nor expounder of enigmata. "

"Well, " replied Paul Pattison, "Mr. Jedediah Cleishbotham, Schoolmasterof the parish of Gandercleuch, and so forth, all I have to inform youis, that our hopeful scheme is entirely blown up. The tales, onpublishing which we reckoned with so much confidence, have already beenprinted; they are abroad, over all America, and the British papers areclamorous. "

I received this news with the same equanimity with which I should haveaccepted a blow addressed to my stomach by a modern gladiator, with thefull energy of his fist. "If this be correct information, Mr. Pattison, " said I, "I must of necessity suspect you to be the personwho have supplied the foreign press with the copy which the printershave thus made an unscrupulous use of, without respect to the rights ofthe undeniable proprietors of the manuscripts; and I request to knowwhether this American production embraces the alterations which you aswell as I judged necessary, before the work could be fitted to meet thepublic eye?" To this my gentleman saw it necessary to make a directanswer, for my manner was impressive, and my tone decisive. His nativeaudacity enabled him, however, to keep his ground, and he answered withfirmness--

"Mr. Cleishbotham, in the first place, these manuscripts, over whichyou claim a very doubtful right, were never given to any one by me, andmust have been sent to America either by yourself, or by some one ofthe various gentlemen to whom, I am well aware, you have affordedopportunities of perusing my brother's MS. Remains. "

"Mr. Pattison, " I replied, "I beg to remind you that it never could bemy intention, either by my own hands, or through those of another, toremit these manuscripts to the press, until, by the alterations which Imeditated, and which you yourself engaged to make, they were renderedfit for public perusal. "

Mr. Pattison answered me with much heat:--"Sir, I would have you toknow, that if I accepted your paltry offer, it was with less regard toits amount, than to the honour and literary fame of my late brother. Iforesaw that if I declined it, you would not hesitate to throw the taskinto incapable hands, or, perhaps, have taken it upon yourself, themost unfit of all men to tamper with the works of departed genius, andthat, God willing, I was determined to prevent--but the justice ofHeaven has taken the matter into its own hands. Peter Pattison's lastlabours shall now go down to posterity unscathed by the scalping-knifeof alteration, in the hands of a false friend--shame on the thoughtthat the unnatural weapon could ever be wielded by the hand of abrother!"

I heard this speech not without a species of vertigo or dizziness in myhead, which would probably have struck me lifeless at his feet, had nota thought like that of the old ballad--

 "Earl Percy sees my fall, "

called to my recollection, that I should only afford an additionaltriumph by giving way to my feelings in the presence of Mr. PaulPattison, who, I could not doubt, must be more or less directly at thebottom of the Transatlantic publication, and had in one way or anotherfound his own interest in that nefarious transaction. 

To get quit of his odious presence I bid him an unceremonious good-night, and marched down the glen with the air not of one who has partedwith a friend, but who rather has shaken off an intrusive companion. Onthe road I pondered the whole matter over with an anxiety which did notin the smallest degree tend to relieve me. Had I felt adequate to theexertion, I might, of course, have supplanted this spurious edition (ofwhich the literary gazettes are already doling out copious specimens)by introducing into a copy, to be instantly published at Edinburgh, adequate correction of the various inconsistencies and imperfectionswhich have already been alluded to. I remember the easy victory of thereal second part of these "Tales of my Landlord" over the performancesent forth by an interloper under the same title; and why should notthe same triumph be repeated now? There would, in short, have been apride of talent in this manner of avenging myself, which would havebeen justifiable in the case of an injured man; but the state of myhealth has for some time been such as to render any attempt of thisnature in every way imprudent. 

Under such circumstances, the last "Remains" of Peter Pattison musteven be accepted, as they were left in his desk; and I humbly retire inthe hope that, such as they are, they may receive the indulgence ofthose who have ever been but too merciful to the productions of his pen, and in all respects to the courteous reader's obliged servant, J. C. 

GANDERCLEUCH, _15th Oct. _ 1831. 

COUNT ROBERT OF PARIS. 

CHAPTER THE FIRST. 

 _Leontius_. -------- That power that kindly spreads The clouds, a signal of impending showers, To warn the wandering linnet to the shade, Beheld without concern expiring Greece, And not one prodigy foretold our fate. 

 _Demetrius_. A thousand horrid prodigies foretold it: A feeble government, eluded laws, A factious populace, luxurious nobles, And all the maladies of sinking states. When public villany, too strong for justice, Shows his bold front, the harbinger of ruin, Can brave Leontius call for airy wonders, Which cheats interpret, and which fools regard? IRENE, _Act I_. 

The close observers of vegetable nature have remarked, that when a newgraft is taken from an aged tree, it possesses indeed in exterior formthe appearance of a youthful shoot, but has in fact attained to thesame state of maturity, or even decay, which has been reached by theparent stem. Hence, it is said, arises the general decline and deaththat about the same season is often observed to spread itself throughindividual trees of some particular species, all of which, derivingtheir vital powers from the parent stock, are therefore incapable ofprotracting their existence longer than it does. 

In the same manner, efforts have been made by the mighty of the earthto transplant large cities, states, and communities, by one great andsudden exertion, expecting to secure to the new capital the wealth, thedignity, the magnificent decorations and unlimited extent of theancient city, which they desire to renovate; while, at the same time, they hope to begin a new succession of ages from the date of the newstructure, to last, they imagine, as long, and with as much fame, asits predecessor, which the founder hopes his new metropolis may replacein all its youthful glories. But nature has her laws, which seem toapply to the social, as well as the vegetable system. It appears to bea general rule, that what is to last long should be slowly matured andgradually improved, while every sudden effort, however gigantic, tobring about the speedy execution of a plan calculated to endure forages, is doomed to exhibit symptoms of premature decay from its verycommencement. Thus, in a beautiful Oriental tale, a dervise explains tothe sultan how he had reared the magnificent trees among which theywalked, by nursing their shoots from the seed; and the prince's prideis damped when he reflects, that those plantations, so simply raised, were gathering new vigour from each returning sun, while his ownexhausted cedars, which had been transplanted by one violent effort, were drooping their majestic heads in the Valley of Orez. [Footnote:Tale of Mirglip the Persian, in the Tales of the Genii. ]

It has been allowed, I believe, by all men of taste, many of whom havebeen late visitants of Constantinople, that if it were possible tosurvey the whole globe with a view to fixing a seat of universal empire, all who are capable of making such a choice, would give theirpreference to the city of Constantine, as including the greatrecommendations of beauty, wealth, security, and eminence. Yet with allthese advantages of situation and climate, and with all thearchitectural splendour of its churches and halls, its quarries ofmarble, and its treasure-houses of gold, the imperial founder musthimself have learned, that although he could employ all these richmaterials in obedience to his own wish, it was the mind of man itself, those intellectual faculties refined by the ancients to the highestdegree, which had produced the specimens of talent at which men pausedand wondered, whether as subjects of art or of moral labour. The powerof the Emperor might indeed strip other cities of their statues andtheir shrines, in order to decorate that which he had fixed upon as hisnew capital; but the men who had performed great actions, and those, almost equally esteemed, by whom such deeds were celebrated, in poetry, in painting, and in music, had ceased to exist. The nation, thoughstill the most civilised in the world, had passed beyond that period ofsociety, when the desire of fair fame is of itself the sole or chiefmotive for the labour of the historian or the poet, the painter or thestatuary. The slavish and despotic constitution introduced into theempire, had long since entirely destroyed that public spirit whichanimated the free history of Rome, leaving nothing but feeblerecollections, which produced no emulation. 

To speak as of an animated substance, if Constantine could haveregenerated his new metropolis, by transfusing into it the vital andvivifying principles of old Rome, --that brilliant spark no longerremained for Constantinople to borrow, or for Rome to lend. 

In one most important circumstance, the state of the capital ofConstantine had been totally changed, and unspeakably to its advantage. The world was now Christian, and, with the Pagan code, had got rid ofits load of disgraceful superstition. Nor is there the least doubt, that the better faith produced its natural and desirable fruits insociety, in gradually ameliorating the hearts, and taming the passions, of the people. But while many of the converts were turning meeklytowards their new creed, some, in the arrogance of their understanding, were limiting the Scriptures by their own devices, and others failednot to make religious character or spiritual rank the means of risingto temporal power. Thus it happened at this critical period, that theeffects of this great change in the religion of the country, althoughproducing an immediate harvest, as well as sowing much good seed whichwas to grow hereafter, did not, in the fourth century, flourish so asto shed at once that predominating influence which its principles mighthave taught men to expect. 

Even the borrowed splendour, in which Constantine decked his city, borein it something which seemed to mark premature decay. The imperialfounder, in seizing upon the ancient statues, pictures, obelisks, andworks of art, acknowledged his own incapacity to supply their placewith the productions of later genius; and when the world, andparticularly Rome, was plundered to adorn Constantinople, the Emperor, under whom the work was carried on, might be compared to a prodigalyouth, who strips an aged parent of her youthful ornaments, in order todecorate a flaunting paramour, on whose brow all must consider them asmisplaced. 

Constantinople, therefore, when in 324 it first arose in imperialmajesty out of the humble Byzantium, showed, even in its birth, andamid its adventitious splendour, as we have already said, someintimations of that speedy decay to which the whole civilised world, then limited within the Roman empire, was internally and imperceptiblytending. Nor was it many ages ere these prognostications of declensionwere fully verified. 

In the year 1080, Alexius Comnenus [Footnote: See Gibbon, Chap. Xlviii, for the origin and early history of the house of the Comneni. ] ascendedthe throne of the Empire; that is, he was declared sovereign ofConstantinople, its precincts and dependencies; nor, if he was disposedto lead a life of relaxation, would the savage incursions of theScythians or the Hungarians frequently disturb the imperial slumbers, if limited to his own capital. It may be supposed that this safety didnot extend much farther; for it is said that the Empress Pulcheria hadbuilt a church to the Virgin Mary, as remote as possible from the gateof the city, to save her devotions from the risk of being interruptedby the hostile yell of the barbarians, and the reigning Emperor hadconstructed a palace near the same spot, and for the same reason. 

Alexius Comnenus was in the condition of a monarch who rather derivesconsequence from the wealth and importance of his predecessors, and thegreat extent of their original dominions, than from what remnants offortune had descended to the present generation. This Emperor, exceptnominally, no more ruled over his dismembered provinces, than a half-dead horse can exercise power over those limbs, on which the hoodedcrow and the vulture have already begun to settle and select their prey. 

In different parts of his territory, different enemies arose, who wagedsuccessful or dubious war against the Emperor; and, of the numerousnations with whom he was engaged in hostilities, whether the Franksfrom the west, the Turks advancing from the east, the Cumans andScythians pouring their barbarous numbers and unceasing storm of arrowsfrom the north, and the Saracens, or the tribes into which they weredivided, pressing from the south, there was not one for whom theGrecian empire did not spread a tempting repast. Each of these variousenemies had their own particular habits of war, and a way ofmanoeuvring in battle peculiar to themselves. But the Roman, as theunfortunate subject of the Greek empire was still called, was by farthe weakest, the most ignorant, and most timid, who could be draggedinto the field; and the Emperor was happy in his own good luck, when hefound it possible to conduct a defensive war on a counterbalancingprinciple, making use of the Scythian to repel the Turk, or of boththese savage people to drive back the fiery-footed Frank, whom Peterthe Hermit had, in the time of Alexius, waked to double fury, by thepowerful influence of the crusades. 

If, therefore, Alexius Comnenus was, during his anxious seat upon thethrone of the East, reduced to use a base and truckling course ofpolicy--if he was sometimes reluctant to fight when he had a consciousdoubt of the valour of his troops--if he commonly employed cunning anddissimulation instead of wisdom, and perfidy instead of courage--hisexpedients were the disgrace of the age, rather than his own. 

Again, the Emperor Alexius may be blamed for affecting a degree ofstate which was closely allied to imbecility. He was proud of assumingin his own person, and of bestowing upon others, the painted show ofvarious orders of nobility, even now, when the rank within the prince'sgift was become an additional reason for the free barbarian despisingthe imperial noble. That the Greek court was encumbered with unmeaningceremonies, in order to make amends for the want of that venerationwhich ought to have been called forth by real worth, and the presenceof actual power, was not the particular fault of that prince, butbelonged to the system of the government of Constantinople for ages. Indeed, in its trumpery etiquette, which provided rules for the mosttrivial points of a man's behaviour during the day, the Greek empireresembled no existing power in its minute follies, except that ofPekin; both, doubtless, being influenced by the same vain wish, to addseriousness and an appearance of importance to objects, which, fromtheir trivial nature, could admit no such distinction. 

Yet thus far we must justify Alexius, that humble as were theexpedients he had recourse to, they were more useful to his empire thanthe measures of a more proud and high-spirited prince might have provedin the same circumstances. He was no champion to break a lance againstthe breast-plate of his Frankish rival, the famous Bohemond ofAntioch, [Footnote: Bohemond, son of Robert Guiscard, the Normanconqueror of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily, was, at the time when thefirst crusade began, Count of Tarentum. Though far advanced in life, heeagerly joined the expedition of the Latins, and became Prince ofAntioch. For details of his adventures, death, and extraordinarycharacter, see Gibbon, chap. Lix, and Mills' History of the Crusades, vol. I. ] but there were many occasions on which he hazarded his lifefreely; and, so far as we can see, from a minute perusal of hisachievements, the Emperor of Greece was never so dangerous "undershield, " as when any foeman desired to stop him while retreating from aconflict in which he had been worsted. 

But, besides that he did not hesitate, according to the custom of thetime, at least occasionally, to commit his person to the perils ofclose combat, Alexius also possessed such knowledge of a general'sprofession, as is required in our modern days. He knew how to occupymilitary positions to the best advantage, and often covered defeats, orimproved dubious conflicts, in a manner highly to the disappointment ofthose who deemed that the work of war was done only on the field ofbattle. 

If Alexius Comnenus thus understood the evolutions of war, he was stillbetter skilled in those of politics, where, soaring far above theexpress purpose of his immediate negotiation, the Emperor was sure togain some important and permanent advantage; though very often he wasultimately defeated by the unblushing fickleness, or avowed treacheryof the barbarians, as the Greeks generally termed all other nations, and particularly those tribes, (they can hardly be termed states, ) bywhich their own empire was surrounded. 

We may conclude our brief character of Comnenus, by saying, that, hadhe not been called on to fill the station of a monarch who was underthe necessity of making himself dreaded, as one who was exposed to allmanner of conspiracies, both in and out of his own family, he might, inall probability, have been regarded as an honest and humane prince. Certainly he showed himself a good-natured man, and dealt less incutting off heads and extinguishing eyes, than had been the practice ofhis predecessors, who generally took this method of shortening theambitious views of competitors. 

It remains to be mentioned, that Alexius had his full share of thesuperstition of the age, which he covered with a species of hypocrisy. It is even said, that his wife, Irene, who of course was bestacquainted with the real character of the Emperor, taxed her dyinghusband with practising, in his last moments, the dissimulation whichhad been his companion during life. [Footnote: See Gibbon, chap. Lvi. ]He took also a deep interest in all matters respecting the Church, where heresy, which the Emperor held, or affected to hold, in greathorror, appeared to him to lurk. Nor do we discover in his treatment ofthe Manichaeans, or Paulicians, that pity for their speculative errors, which modern times might think had been well purchased by the extent ofthe temporal services of these unfortunate sectaries. Alexius knew noindulgence for those who misinterpreted the mysteries of the Church, orof its doctrines; and the duty of defending religion againstschismatics was, in his opinion, as peremptorily demanded from him, asthat of protecting the empire against the numberless tribes ofbarbarians who were encroaching on its boundaries on every side. 

Such a mixture of sense and weakness, of meanness and dignity, ofprudent discretion and poverty of spirit, which last, in the Europeanmode of viewing things, approached to cowardice, formed the leadingtraits of the character of Alexius Comnenus, at a period when the fateof Greece, and all that was left in that country of art andcivilization, was trembling in the balance, and likely to be saved orlost, according to the abilities of the Emperor for playing the verydifficult game which was put into his hands. 

These few leading circumstances will recall, to any one who istolerably well read in history, the peculiarities of the period atwhich we have found a resting-place for the foundation of our story. 

CHAPTER THE SECOND. 

 _Othus_. ------------- This superb successor Of the earth's mistress, as thou vainly speakest, Stands midst these ages as, on the wide ocean, The last spared fragment, of a spacious land, That in some grand and awful ministration Of mighty nature has engulfed been, Doth lift aloft its dark and rocky cliffs O'er the wild waste around, and sadly frowns In lonely majesty. CONSTANTINE PALEOLOGUS, _Scene I_. 

Our scene in the capital of the Eastern Empire opens at what is termedthe Golden Gate of Constantinople; and it may be said in passing, thatthis splendid epithet is not so lightly bestowed as may be expectedfrom the inflated language of the Greeks, which throws such anappearance of exaggeration about them, their buildings, and monuments. 

The massive, and seemingly impregnable walls with which Constantinesurrounded the city, were greatly improved and added to by Theodosius, called the Great. A triumphal arch, decorated with the architecture ofa better, though already a degenerate age, and serving, at the sametime, as a useful entrance, introduced the stranger into the city. Onthe top, a statue of bronze represented Victory, the goddess who hadinclined the scales of battle in favour of Theodosius; and, as theartist determined to be wealthy if he could not be tasteful, the gildedornaments with which the inscriptions were set off, readily led to thepopular name of the gate. Figures carved in a distant and happierperiod of the art, glanced from the walls, without assorting happilywith the taste in which these were built. The more modern ornaments ofthe Golden Gate bore, at the period of our story, an aspect verydifferent from those indicating the "conquest brought back to thecity, " and the "eternal peace" which the flattering inscriptionsrecorded as having been extorted by the sword of Theodosius. Four orfive military engines, for throwing darts of the largest size, wereplaced upon the summit of the arch; and what had been originallydesigned as a specimen of architectural embellishment, was now appliedto the purposes of defence. 

It was the hour of evening, and the cool and refreshing breeze from thesea inclined each passenger, whose business was not of a very urgentdescription, to loiter on his way, and cast a glance at the romanticgateway, and the various interesting objects of nature and art, whichthe city of Constantinople presented, as well to the inhabitants as tostrangers. [Footnote: The impression which the imperial city wascalculated to make on such visitors as the Crusaders of the West, isgiven by the ancient French chronicler Villehardouin, who was presentat the capture of A. D. 1203. "When we had come, " he says, "withinthree leagues, to a certain Abbey, then we could plainly surveyConstantinople. There the ships and the galleys came to anchor; andmuch did they who had never been in that quarter before, gaze upon thecity. That such a city could be in the world they had never conceived, and they were never weary of staring at the high walls and towers withwhich it was entirely encompassed, the rich palaces and lofty churches, of which there were so many that no one could have believed it, if hehad not seen with his own eyes that city, the Queen of all cities. Andknow that there was not so bold a heart there, that it did not feelsome terror at the strength of Constantinople. "--Chap. 66. 

Again, --"And now many of those of the host went to see Constantinoplewithin, and the rich palaces and stately churches, of which itpossesses so many, and the riches of the place, which are such as noother city ever equalled. I need not speak of the sanctuaries, whichare as many as are in all the world beside. "--Chap. 100. ]

One individual, however, seemed to indulge more wonder and curiositythan could have been expected from a native of the city, and lookedupon the rarities around with a quick and startled eye, that marked animagination awakened by sights that were new and strange. Theappearance of this person bespoke a foreigner of military habits, whoseemed, from his complexion, to have his birthplace far from theGrecian metropolis, whatever chance had at present brought him to theGolden Gate, or whatever place he filled in the Emperor's service. 

This young man was about two-and-twenty years old, remarkably finely-formed and athletic--qualities well understood by the citizens ofConstantinople, whose habits of frequenting the public games had taughtthem at least an acquaintance with the human person, and where, in theselect of their own countrymen, they saw the handsomest specimens ofthe human race. 

These were, however, not generally so tall as the stranger at theGolden Gate, while his piercing blue eyes, and the fair hair whichdescended from under a light helmet gaily ornamented with silver, bearing on its summit a crest resembling a dragon in the act ofexpanding his terrible jaws, intimated a northern descent, to which theextreme purity of his complexion also bore witness. His beauty, however, though he was eminently distinguished both in features and in person, was not liable to the charge of effeminacy. From this it was rescued, both by his strength, and by the air of confidence and self-possessionwith which the youth seemed to regard the wonders around him, notindicating the stupid and helpless gaze of a mind equally inexperienced, and incapable of receiving instruction, but expressing the boldintellect which at once understands the greater part of the informationwhich it receives, and commands the spirit to toil in search of themeaning of that which it has not comprehended, or may fear it hasmisinterpreted. This look of awakened attention and intelligence gaveinterest to the young barbarian; and while the bystanders were amazedthat a savage from some unknown or remote corner of the universe shouldpossess a noble countenance bespeaking a mind so elevated, theyrespected him for the composure with which he witnessed so many things, the fashion, the splendour, nay, the very use of which, must have beenrecently new to him. 

The young man's personal equipments exhibited a singular mixture ofsplendour and effeminacy, and enabled the experienced spectators toascertain his nation, and the capacity in which he served. We havealready mentioned the fanciful and crested helmet, which was adistinction of the foreigner, to which the reader must add in hisimagination a small cuirass, or breastplate of silver, so sparinglyfashioned as obviously to afford little security to the broad chest, onwhich it rather hung like an ornament than covered as a buckler; nor, if a well-thrown dart, or strongly-shod arrow, should alight full onthis rich piece of armour, was there much hope that it could protectthe bosom which it partially shielded. 

From betwixt the shoulders hung down over the back what had theappearance of a bearskin; but, when more closely examined, it was onlya very skilful imitation, of the spoils of the chase, being in realitya surcoat composed of strong shaggy silk, so woven as to exhibit, at alittle distance, no inaccurate representation of a bear's hide. A lightcrooked sword, or scimitar, sheathed in a scabbard of gold and ivory, hung by the left side of the stranger, the ornamented hilt of whichappeared much too small for the large-jointed hand of the youngHercules who was thus gaily attired. A dress, purple in colour, andsetting close to the limbs, covered the body of the soldier to a littleabove the knee; from thence the knees and legs were bare to the calf, to which the reticulated strings of the sandals rose from the instep, the ligatures being there fixed by a golden coin of the reigningEmperor, converted into a species of clasp for the purpose. 

But a weapon which seemed more particularly adapted to the youngbarbarian's size, and incapable of being used by a man of lessformidable limbs and sinews, was a battle-axe, the firm iron-guardedstaff of which was formed of tough elm, strongly inlaid and defendedwith brass, while many a plate and ring were indented in the handle, tohold the wood and the steel parts together. The axe itself was composedof two blades, turning different ways, with a sharp steel spikeprojecting from between them. The steel part, both spike and blade, wasburnished as bright as a mirror; and though its ponderous size musthave been burdensome to one weaker than himself, yet the young soldiercarried it as carelessly along, as if it were but a feather's weight. It was, indeed, a skilfully constructed weapon, so well balanced, thatit was much lighter in striking and in recovery, than he who saw it inthe hands of another could easily have believed. 

The carrying arms of itself showed that the military man was a stranger. The native Greeks had that mark of a civilized people, that they neverbore weapons during the time of peace, unless the wearer chanced to benumbered among those whose military profession and employment requiredthem to be always in arms. Such soldiers by profession were easilydistinguished from the peaceful citizens; and it was with some evidentshow of fear as well as dislike, that the passengers observed to eachother, that the stranger was a Varangian, an expression which intimateda barbarian of the imperial body-guard. 

To supply the deficiency of valour among his own subjects, and toprocure soldiers who should be personally dependent on the Emperor, theGreek sovereigns had been, for a great many years, in the custom ofmaintaining in their pay, as near their person as they could, thesteady services of a select number of mercenaries in the capacity ofbody-guards, which were numerous enough, when their steady disciplineand inflexible loyalty were taken in conjunction with their personalstrength and indomitable courage, to defeat, not only any traitorousattempt on the imperial person, but to quell open rebellions, unlesssuch were supported by a great proportion of the military force. Theirpay was therefore liberal; their rank and established character forprowess gave them a degree of consideration among the people, whosereputation for valour had not for some ages stood high; and if, asforeigners, and the members of a privileged body, the Varangians weresometimes employed in arbitrary and unpopular services, the nativeswere so apt to fear, while they disliked them, that the hardy strangersdisturbed themselves but little about the light in which they wereregarded by the inhabitants of Constantinople. Their dress andaccoutrements, while within the city, partook of the rich, or rathergaudy costume, which we have described, bearing only a sort of affectedresemblance to that which the Varangians wore in their native forests. But the individuals of this select corps were, when their services wererequired beyond the city, furnished with armour and weapons moreresembling those which they were accustomed to wield in their owncountry, possessing much less of the splendour of war, and a fargreater portion of its effective terrors; and thus they were summonedto take the field. 

This body of Varangians (which term is, according to one interpretationmerely a general expression for barbarians) was, in an early age of theempire, formed of the roving and piratical inhabitants of the north, whom a love of adventure, the greatest perhaps that ever was indulged, and a contempt of danger, which never had a parallel in the history ofhuman nature, drove forth upon the pathless ocean. "Piracy, " saysGibbon, with his usual spirit, "was the exercise, the trade, the glory, and the virtue of the Scandinavian youth. Impatient of a bleak climateand narrow limits, they started from the banquet, grasped their arms, sounded their horn, ascended their ships, and explored every coast thatpromised either spoil or settlement. " [Footnote: Decline and Fall ofthe Roman Empire. Chap. Lv. Vol. X. P. 221, 8vo edition. ]

The conquests made in France and Britain by these wild sea-kings, asthey were called, have obscured the remembrance of other northernchampions, who, long before the time of Comnenus, made excursions asfar as Constantinople, and witnessed with their own eyes the wealth andthe weakness of the Grecian empire itself. Numbers found their waythither through the pathless wastes of Russia; others navigated theMediterranean in their sea-serpents, as they termed their piraticalvessels. The Emperors, terrified at the appearance of these daringinhabitants of the frozen zone, had recourse to the usual policy of arich and unwarlike people, bought with gold the service of their swords, and thus formed a corps of satellites more distinguished for valourthan the famed Praetorian Bands of Rome, and, perhaps because fewer innumber, unalterably loyal to their new princes. 

But, at a later period of the empire, it began to be more difficult forthe Emperors to obtain recruits for their favourite and selected corps, the northern nations having now in a great measure laid aside thepiratical and roving habits, which had driven their ancestors from thestraits of Elsinore to those of Sestos and Abydos. The corps of theVarangians must therefore have died out, or have been filled up withless worthy materials, had not the conquests made by the Normans in thefar distant west, sent to the aid of Comnenus a large body of thedispossessed inhabitants of the islands of Britain, and particularly ofEngland, who furnished recruits to his chosen body-guard. These were, in fact, Anglo-Saxons; but, in the confused idea of geography receivedat the court of Constantinople, they were naturally enough calledAnglo-Danes, as their native country was confounded with the Thule ofthe ancients, by which expression the archipelago of Zetland and Orkneyis properly to be understood, though, according to the notions of theGreeks, it comprised either Denmark or Britain. The emigrants, however, spoke a language not very dissimilar to the original Varangians, andadopted the name more readily, that it seemed to remind them of theirunhappy fate, the appellation being in one sense capable of beinginterpreted as exiles. Excepting one or two chief commanders, whom theEmperor judged worthy of such high trust, the Varangians were officeredby men of their own nation; and with so many privileges, being joinedby many of their countrymen from time to time, as the crusades, pilgrimages, or discontent at home, drove fresh supplies of the Anglo-Saxons, or Anglo-Danes, to the east, the Varangians subsisted instrength to the last days of the Greek empire, retaining their nativelanguage, along with the unblemished loyalty, and unabated martialspirit, which characterised their fathers. 

This account of the Varangian Guard is strictly historical, and mightbe proved by reference to the Byzantine historians; most of whom, andalso Villehardouin's account of the taking of the city ofConstantinople by the Franks and Venetians, make repeated mention ofthis celebrated and singular body of Englishmen, forming a mercenaryguard attendant on the person of the Greek Emperors. [Footnote: Ducangehas poured forth a tide of learning on this curious subject, which willbe found in his Notes on Villehardouin's Constantinople under theFrench Emperors. --Paris, 1637, folio, p. 196. Gibbon's History may alsobe consulted, vol. X. P. 231. 

Villehardouin, in describing the siege of Constantinople, A. D. 1203, says, "'Li murs fu mult garnis d'Anglois et de Danois, "--hence thedissertation of Ducange here quoted, and several articles besides inhis Glossarium, as _Varangi_, Warengangi, &c. The etymology of thename is left uncertain, though the German _fort-ganger_, _i. E. _ forth-goer, wanderer, _exile_, seems the most probable. Theterm occurs in various Italian and Sicilian documents, anterior to theestablishment of the Varangian Guards at Constantinople, and collectedby Muratori: as, for instance, in an edict of one of the Lombard kings, "Omnes Warengrangi, qui de extens finibus in regni nostri finibusadvenerint seque sub scuto potestatis nostrae subdiderint, legibusnostris Longobardorum vivere debeant, "--and in another, "De Warengangis, nobilibus, mediocribus, et rusticis hominibus, qui usque nune in terravestra fugiti sunt, habeatis eos. "--_Muratori_, vol. Ii. P. 261. 

With regard to the origin of the Varangian Guard, the most distincttestimony is that of Ordericus Vittalis, who says, "When therefore theEnglish had lost their liberty, they turned themselves with zeal todiscover the means of throwing off the unaccustomed yoke. Some fled toSueno, King of the Danes, to excite him to the recovery of theinheritance of his grandfather, Canute. Not a few fled into exile inother regions, either from the mere desire of escaping from under theNorman rule, or in the hope of acquiring wealth, and so being one dayin a condition to renew the struggle at home. Some of these, in thebloom of youth, penetrated into a far distant land, and offeredthemselves to the military service of the Constantinopolitan Emperor--that wise prince, against whom Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia, hadthen raised all his forces. The English exiles were favourably received, and opposed in battle to the Normans, for whose encounter the Greeksthemselves were too weak. Alexius began to build a town for the English, a little above Constantinople, at a place called _Chevelot_, butthe trouble of the Normans from Sicily still increasing, he soonrecalled them to the capital, and intrusted the princial palace withall its treasures to their keeping. This was the method in which theSaxon English found their way to Ionia, where they still remain, highlyvalued by the Emperor and the people. "--Book iv. P. 508. ]

Having said enough to explain why an individual Varangian should bestrolling about the Golden Gate, we may proceed in the story which wehave commenced. 

Let it not be thought extraordinary, that this soldier of the life-guard should be looked upon with some degree of curiosity by thepassing citizens. It must be supposed, that, from their peculiar duties, they were not encouraged to hold frequent intercourse or communicationwith the inhabitants; and, besides that they had duties of policeoccasionally to exercise amongst them, which made them generally moredreaded than beloved, they were at the same time conscious, that theirhigh pay, splendid appointments, and immediate dependence on theEmperor, were subjects of envy to the other forces. They, therefore, kept much in the neighbourhood of their own barracks, and were seldomseen straggling remote from them, unless they had a commission ofgovernment intrusted to their charge. 

This being the case, it was natural that a people so curious as theGreeks should busy themselves in eyeing the stranger as he loitered inone spot, or wandered to and fro, like a man who either could not findsome place which he was seeking, or had failed to meet some person withwhom he had an appointment, for which the ingenuity of the passengersfound a thousand different and inconsistent reasons. "A Varangian, "said one citizen to another, "and upon duty--ahem! Then I presume tosay in your ear"----

"What do you imagine is his object?" enquired the party to whom thisinformation was addressed. 

"Gods and goddesses! do you think I can tell you? but suppose that heis lurking here to hear what folk say of the Emperor, " answered the_quid-nunc_ of Constantinople. 

"That is not likely, "' said the querist; "these Varangians do not speakour language, and are not extremely well fitted for spies, since few ofthem pretend to any intelligible notion of the Grecian tongue. It isnot likely, I think, that the Emperor would employ as a spy a man whodid not understand the language of the country. "

"But if there are, as all men fancy, " answered the politician, "personsamong these barbarian soldiers who can speak almost all languages, youwill admit that such are excellently qualified for seeing clearlyaround them, since they possess the talent of beholding and reporting, while no one has the slightest idea of suspecting them. "

"It may well be, " replied his companion; "but since we see so clearlythe fox's foot and paws protruding from beneath the seeming sheep'sfleece, or rather, by your leave, the _bear's_ hide yonder, had wenot better be jogging homeward, ere it be pretended we have insulted aVarangian Guard?"

This surmise of danger insinuated by the last speaker, who was a mucholder and more experienced politician than his friend, determined bothon a hasty retreat. They adjusted their cloaks, caught hold of eachother's arm, and, speaking fast and thick as they started new subjectsof suspicion, they sped, close coupled together, towards theirhabitations, in a different and distant quarter of the town. 

In the meantime, the sunset was nigh over; and the long shadows of thewalls, bulwarks, and arches, were projecting from the westward indeeper and blacker shade. The Varangian seemed tired of the short andlingering circle in which he had now trodden for more than an hour, andin which he still loitered like an unliberated spirit, which cannotleave the haunted spot till licensed by the spell which has brought ithither. Even so the barbarian, casting an impatient glance to the sun, which was setting in a blaze of light behind a rich grove of cypress-trees, looked for some accommodation on the benches of stone which wereplaced under shadow of the triumphal arch of Theodosius, drew the axe, which was his principal weapon, close to his side, wrapped his cloakabout him, and, though his dress was not in other respects a fit attirefor slumber, any more than the place well selected for repose, yet inless than three minutes he was fast asleep. The irresistible impulsewhich induced him to seek for repose in a place very indifferentlyfitted for the purpose, might be weariness consequent upon the militaryvigils, which had proved a part of his duty on the preceding evening. At the same time, his spirit was so alive within him, even while hegave way to this transient fit of oblivion, that he remained almostawake even with shut eyes, and no hound ever seemed to sleep morelightly than our Anglo-Saxon at the Golden Gate of Constantinople. 

And now the slumberer, as the loiterer had been before, was the subjectof observation to the accidental passengers. Two men entered the porchin company. One was a somewhat slight made, but alert-looking man, byname Lysimachus, and by profession a designer. A roll of paper in hishand, with a little satchel containing a few chalks, or pencils, completed his stock in trade; and his acquaintance with the remains ofancient art gave him a power of talking on the subject, whichunfortunately bore more than due proportion to his talents of execution. His companion, a magnificent-looking man in form, and so far resemblingthe young barbarian, but more clownish and peasant-like in theexpression of his features, was Stephanos the wrestler, well known inthe Palestra. 

"Stop here, my friend, " said the artist, producing his pencils, "till Imake a sketch for my youthful Hercules. "

"I thought Hercules had been a Greek, " said the wrestler. "Thissleeping animal is a barbarian. "

The tone intimated some offence, and the designer hastened to soothethe displeasure which he had thoughtlessly excited. Stephanos, known bythe surname of Castor, who was highly distinguished for gymnasticexercises, was a sort of patron to the little artist, and not unlikelyby his own reputation to bring the talents of his friend into notice. 

"Beauty and strength, " said the adroit artist, "are of no particularnation; and may our Muse never deign me her prize, but it is mygreatest pleasure to compare them, as existing in the uncultivatedsavage of the north, and when they are found in the darling of anenlightened people, who has added the height of gymnastic skill to themost distinguished natural qualities, such as we can now only see inthe works of Phidias and Praxiteles--or in our living model of thegymnastic champions of antiquity. "

"Nay, I acknowledge that the Varangian is a proper man, " said theathletic hero, softening his tone; "but the poor savage hath not, perhaps, in his lifetime, had a single drop of oil on his bosom!Hercules instituted the Isthmian Games"---

"But hold! what sleeps he with, wrapt so close in his bear-skin?" saidthe artist. "Is it a club?"

"Away, away, my friend!" cried Stephanos, as they looked closer on thesleeper. "Do you not know that is the instrument of their barbarousoffice? They do not war with swords or lances, as if destined to attackmen of flesh and blood; but with maces and axes, as if they were tohack limbs formed of stone, and sinews of oak. I will wager my crown[of withered parsley] that he lies here to arrest some distinguishedcommander who has offended the government! He would not have been thusformidably armed otherwise--Away, away, good Lysimachus; let us respectthe slumbers of the bear. "

So saying, the champion of the Palestra made off with less apparentconfidence than his size and strength might have inspired. 

Others, now thinly straggling, passed onward as the evening closed, andthe shadows of the cypress-trees fell darker around. Two females of thelower rank cast their eyes on the sleeper. "Holy Maria!" said one, "ifhe does not put me in mind of the Eastern tale, how the Genie brought agallant young prince from his nuptial chamber in Egypt, and left himsleeping at the gate of Damascus. I will awake the poor lamb, lest hecatch harm from the night dew. "

"Harm?" answered the older and crosser looking woman. "Ay, such harm asthe cold water of the Cydnus does to the wild-swan. A lamb?--ay, forsooth! Why he's a wolf or a bear, at least a Varangian, and nomodest matron would exchange a word with such an unmannered barbarian. I'll tell you what one of, these English Danes did to me"----

So saying, she drew on her companion, who followed with some reluctance, seeming to listen to her gabble, while she looked back upon the sleeper. 

The total disappearance of the sun, and nearly at the same time thedeparture of the twilight, which lasts so short time in that tropicalregion--one of the few advantages which a more temperate climatepossesses over it, being the longer continuance of that sweet andplacid light--gave signal to the warders of the city to shut thefolding leaves of the Golden Gate, leaving a wicket lightly bolted forthe passage of those whom business might have detained too late withoutthe walls, and indeed for all who chose to pay a small coin. Theposition and apparent insensibility of the Varangian did not escapethose who had charge of the gate, of whom there was a strong guard, which belonged to the ordinary Greek forces. 

"By Castor and by Pollux, " said the centurion--for the Greeks swore bythe ancient deities, although they no longer worshipped them, andpreserved those military distinctions with which "the steady Romansshook the world, " although they were altogether degenerated from theiroriginal manners--"By Castor and Pollux, comrades, we cannot gathergold in this gate, according as its legend tells us: yet it will be ourfault if we cannot glean a goodly crop of silver; and though the goldenage be the most ancient and honourable, yet in this degenerate time itis much if we see a glimpse of the inferior metal. "

"Unworthy are we to follow the noble centurion Harpax, " answered one ofthe soldiers of the watch, who showed the shaven head and the singletuft [Footnote: One tuft is left on the shaven head of the Moslem, forthe angel to grasp by when conveying him to Paradise. ] of a Mussulman, "if we do not hold silver a sufficient cause to bestir ourselves, whenthere has been no gold to be had--as, by the faith of an honest man, Ithink we can hardly tell its colour--whether out of the imperialtreasury, or obtained at the expense of individuals, for many longmoons !"

"But this silver, " said the centurion, "thou shalt see with thine owneye, and hear it ring a knell in the purse which holds our commonstock. " "Which _did_ hold it, as thou wouldst say, most valiantcommander, " replied the inferior warder; "but what that purse holds now, save a few miserable oboli for purchasing certain pickled potherbs andsalt fish, to relish our allowance of stummed wine, I cannot tell, butwillingly give my share of the contents to the devil, if either purseor platter exhibits symptom of any age richer than the age of copper. "

"I will replenish our treasury, " said the centurion, "were our stockyet lower than it is. Stand up close by the wicket, my masters. Bethinkyou we are the Imperial Guards, or the guards of the Imperial City, itis all one, and let us have no man rush past us on a sudden;--and nowthat we are on our guard, I will unfold to you--But stop, " said thevaliant centurion, "are we all here true brothers? Do all wellunderstand the ancient and laudable customs of our watch--keeping allthings secret which concern the profit and advantage of this our vigil, and aiding and abetting the common cause, without information ortreachery?"

"You are strangely suspicious to-night, " answered the sentinel. "Methinks we have stood by you without tale-telling in matters whichwere more weighty. Have you forgot the passage of the jeweller--whichwas neither the gold nor silver age; but if there were a diamond one"--

"Peace, good Ismail the Infidel, " said the centurion, --"for, I thankHeaven, we are of all religions, so it is to be hoped we must have thetrue one amongst us, --Peace, I say; it is unnecessary to prove thoucanst keep new secrets, by ripping up old ones. Come hither--lookthrough the wicket to the stone bench, on the shady side of the grandporch--tell me, old lad, what dost thou see there?"

"A man asleep, " said Ismail. "By Heaven, I think from what I can see bythe moonlight, that it is one of those barbarians, one of those islanddogs, whom the Emperor sets such store by!"

"And can thy fertile brain, " said the centurion, "spin nothing out ofhis present situation, tending towards our advantage?"

"Why, ay, " said Ismail; "they have large pay, though they are not onlybarbarians, but pagan dogs, in comparison with us Moslems and Nazarenes. That fellow hath besotted himself with liquor, and hath not found hisway home to his barracks in good time. He will be severely punished, unless we consent to admit him; and to prevail on us to do so, he mustempty the contents of his girdle. "

"That, at least--that, at least, " answered the soldiers of the citywatch, but carefully suppressing their voices, though they spoke in aneager tone. "And is that all that you would make of such anopportunity?" said Harpax, scornfully. "No, no, comrades. If thisoutlandish animal indeed escape us, he must at least leave his fleecebehind. See you not the gleams from his headpiece and his cuirass? Ipresume these betoken substantial silver, though it may be of thethinnest. There lies the silver mine I spoke of, ready to enrich thedexterous hands who shall labour it. "

"But, " said timidly a young Greek, a companion of their watch latelyenlisted in the corps, and unacquainted with their habits, "still thisbarbarian, as you call him, is a soldier of the Emperor; and if we areconvicted of depriving him of his arms, we shall be justly punished fora military crime. "

"Hear to a new Lycurgus come to teach us our duty!" said the centurion. "Learn first, young man, that the metropolitan cohort never can commita crime; and next, of course, that they can never be convicted of one. Suppose we found a straggling barbarian, a Varangian, like thisslumberer, perhaps a Frank, or some other of these foreigners bearingunpronounceable names, while they dishonour us by putting on the armsand apparel of the real Roman soldier, are we, placed to defend animportant post, to admit a man so suspicious within our postern, whenthe event may probably be to betray both the Golden Gate and the heartsof gold who guard it, --to have the one seized, and the throats of theothers handsomely cut?"

"Keep him without side of the gate, then, " replied the novice, "if youthink him so dangerous. For my part, I should not fear him, were hedeprived of that huge double-edged axe, which gleams from under hiscloak, having a more deadly glare than the comet which astrologersprophesy such strange things of. "

"Nay, then, we agree together, " answered Harpax, "and you speak like ayouth of modesty and sense; and I promise you the state will losenothing in the despoiling of this same barbarian. Each of these savageshath a double set of accoutrements, the one wrought with gold, silver, inlaid work, and ivory, as becomes their duties in the prince'shousehold; the other fashioned of triple steel, strong, weighty, andirresistible. Now, in taking from this suspicious character his silverhelmet and cuirass, you reduce him to his proper weapons, and you willsee him start up in arms fit for duty. "

"Yes, " said the novice; "but I do not see that this reasoning will domore than warrant our stripping the Varangian of his armour, to beafterwards heedfully returned to him on the morrow, if he prove a trueman. How, I know not, but I had adopted some idea that it was to beconfiscated for our joint behoof. "

"Unquestionably, " said Harpax; "for such has been the rule of our watchever since the days of the excellent centurion Sisyphus, in whose timeit first was determined, that all contraband commodities or suspiciousweapons, or the like, which were brought into the city during thenightwatch, should be uniformly forfeited to the use of the soldiery ofthe guard; and where the Emperor finds the goods or arms unjustlyseized, I hope he is rich enough to make it up to the sufferer. "

"But still--but still, " said Sebastes of Mitylene, the young Greekaforesaid, "were the Emperor to discover"--

"Ass!" replied Harpax, "he cannot discover, if he had all the eyes ofArgus's tail. --Here are twelve of us sworn according to the rules ofthe watch, to abide in the same story. Here is a barbarian, who, if heremembers any thing of the matter--which I greatly doubt--his choice ofa lodging arguing his familiarity with the wine-pot--tells but a wildtale of losing his armour, which we, my masters, " (looking round to hiscompanions, ) "deny stoutly--I hope we have courage enough for that--andwhich party will be believed? The companions of the watch, surely!"

"Quite the contrary, " said Sebastes. "I was born at a distance fromhence; yet even in the island of Mitylene, the rumour had reached methat the cavaliers of the city-guard of Constantinople were soaccomplished in falsehood, that the oath of a single barbarian wouldoutweigh the Christian oath of the whole body, if Christians some ofthem are--for example, this dark man with a single tuft on his head. "

"And if it were even so, " said the centurion, with a gloomy andsinister look, "there is another way of making the transaction a safeone. "

Sebastes, fixing his eye on his commander, moved his hand to the hiltof an Eastern poniard which he wore, as if to penetrate his exactmeaning. The centurion nodded in acquiescence. 

"Young as I am, " said Sebastes, "I have been already a pirate fiveyears at sea, and a robber three years now in the hills, and it is thefirst time I have seen or heard a man hesitate, in such a case, to takethe only part which is worth a brave man's while to resort to in apressing affair. "

Harpax struck his hand into that of the soldier, as sharing hisuncompromising sentiments; but when he spoke, it was in a tremulousvoice. 

"How shall we deal with him?" said he to Sebastes, who, from the mostraw recruit in the corps, had now risen to the highest place in hisestimation. 

"Any how, " returned the islander; "I see bows here and shafts, and ifno other person can use them"--

"They are not, " said the centurion, "the regular arms of our corps. "

"The fitter you to guard the gates of a city, " said the young soldier, with a horse-laugh, which had something insulting in it. "Well--be itso. I can shoot like a Scythian, " he proceeded; "nod but with your head, one shaft shall crash among the splinters of his skull and his brains;the second shall quiver in his heart. "

"Bravo, my noble comrade!" said Harpax, in a tone of affected rapture, always lowering his voice, however, as respecting the slumbers of theVarangian. "Such were the robbers of ancient days, the Diomedes, Corvnetes, Synnes, Scyrons, Procrustes, whom it required demigods tobring to what was miscalled justice, and whose compeers and fellowswill remain masters of the continent and isles of Greece, untilHercules and Theseus shall again appear upon earth. Nevertheless, shootnot, my valiant Sebastes--draw not the bow, my invaluable Mitylenian;you may wound and not kill. " "I am little wont to do so, " said Sebastes, again repeating the hoarse, chuckling, discordant laugh, which gratedupon the ears of the centurion, though he could hardly tell the reasonwhy it was so uncommonly unpleasant. "If I look not about me, " was hisinternal reflection, "we shall have two centurions of the watch, instead of one. This Mitylenian, or be he who the devil will, is abow's length beyond me. I must keep my eye on him. " He then spoke aloud, in a tone of authority. "But, come, young man, it is hard to discouragea young beginner. If you have been such a rover of wood and river asyou tell us of, you know how to play the Sicarius: there lies yourobject, drunk or asleep, we know not which;--you will deal with him ineither case. "

"Will you give me no odds to stab a stupefied or drunken man, mostnoble centurion?" answered the Greek. "You would perhaps love thecommission yourself?" he continued, somewhat ironically. 

"Do as you are directed, friend, " said Harpax, pointing to the turretstaircase which led down from the battlement to the arched entranceunderneath the porch. 

"He has the true cat-like stealthy pace, " half muttered the centurion, as his sentinel descended to do such a crime as he was posted there toprevent. "This cockerel's comb must be cut, or he will become king ofthe roost. But let us see if his hand be as resolute as his tongue;then we will consider what turn to give to the conclusion. "

As Harpax spoke between his teeth, and rather to himself than any ofhis companions, the Mitylenian emerged from under the archway, treadingon tiptoe, yet swiftly, with an admirable mixture of silence andcelerity. His poniard, drawn as he descended, gleamed in his hand, which was held a little behind the rest of his person, so as to concealit. The assassin hovered less than an instant over the sleeper, as ifto mark the interval between the ill-fated silver corslet, and the bodywhich it was designed to protect, when, at the instant the blow wasrushing to its descent, the Varangian started up at once, arrested thearmed hand of the assassin, by striking it upwards with the head of hisbattle-axe; and while he thus parried the intended stab, struck theGreek a blow heavier than Sebastes had ever learned at the Pancration, which left him scarce the power to cry help to his comrades on thebattlements. They saw what had happened, however, and beheld thebarbarian set his foot on their companion, and brandish high hisformidable weapon, the whistling sound of which made the old arch ringominously, while he paused an instant, with his weapon upheaved, ere hegave the finishing blow to his enemy. The warders made a bustle, as ifsome of them would descend to the assistance of Sebastes, without, however, appearing very eager to do so, when Harpax, in a rapid whisper, commanded them to stand fast. 

"Each man to his place, " he said, "happen what may. Yonder comes acaptain of the guard--the secret is our own, if the savage has killedthe Mitylenian, as I well trust, for he stirs neither hand nor foot. But if he lives, my comrades, make hard your faces as flints--he is butone man, we are twelve. We know nothing of his purpose, save that hewent to see wherefore the barbarian slept so near the post. "

While the centurion thus bruited his purpose in busy insinuation to thecompanions of his watch, the stately figure of a tall soldier, richlyarmed, and presenting a lofty crest, which glistened as he stept fromthe open moonlight into the shade of the vault, became visible beneath. A whisper passed among the warders on the top of the gate. 

"Draw bolt, shut gate, come of the Mitylenian what will, " said thecenturion; "we are lost men if we own him. --Here comes the chief of theVarangian axes, the Follower himself. "

"Well, Hereward, " said the officer who came last upon the scene, in asort of _lingua Franca_, generally used by the barbarians of theguard, "hast thou caught a night-hawk?"

"Ay, by Saint George!" answered the soldier; "and yet, in my country, we would call him but a kite. "

"What is he?" said the leader. 

"He will tell you that himself, " replied the Varangian, "when I take mygrasp from his windpipe. "

"Let him go, then, " said the officer. 

The Englishman did as he was commanded; but, escaping as soon as hefelt himself at liberty, with an alertness which could scarce have beenanticipated, the Mitylenian rushed out at the arch, and, availinghimself of the complicated ornaments which had originally graced theexterior of the gateway, he fled around buttress and projection, closely pursued by the Varangian, who, encumbered with his armour, washardly a match in the course for the light-footed Grecian, as he dodgedhis pursuer from one skulking place to another. The officer laughedheartily, as the two figures, like shadows appearing and disappearingas suddenly, held rapid flight and chase around the arch of Theodosius. 

"By Hercules! it is Hector pursued round the walls of Ilion byAchilles, " said the officer; "but my Pelides will scarce overtake theson of Priam. What, ho! goddess-born--son of the white-footed Thetis!--But the allusion is lost on the poor savage--Hollo, Hereward! I say, stop--know thine own most barbarous name. " These last words weremuttered; then raising his voice, "Do not out-run thy wind, goodHereward. Thou mayst have more occasion for breath to-night. "

"If it had been my leader's will, " answered the Varangian, coming backin sulky mood, and breathing like one who had been at the top of hisspeed, "I would have had him as fast as ever grey-hound held hare, ereI left off the chase. Were it not for this foolish armour, whichencumbers without defending one, I would not have made two boundswithout taking him by the throat. "

"As well as it is, " said the officer, who was, in fact, the Acoulonthos, or _Follower_, so called because it was the duty of this highly-trusted officer of the Varangian Guards constantly to attend on theperson of the Emperor. "But let us now see by what means we are toregain our entrance through the gate; for if, as I suspect, it was oneof those warders who was willing to have played thee a trick, hiscompanions may not let us enter willingly. " "And is it not, " said theVarangian, "your Valour's duty to probe this want of discipline to thebottom?"

"Hush thee here, my simple-minded savage! I have often told you, mostignorant Hereward, that the skulls of those who come from your cold andmuddy Boentia of the North, are fitter to bear out twenty blows with asledge-hammer, than turn off one witty or ingenious idea. But follow me, Hereward, and although I am aware that showing the fine meshes ofGrecian policy to the coarse eye of an unpractised barbarian like thee, is much like casting pearls before swine, a thing forbidden in theBlessed Gospel, yet, as thou hast so good a heart, and so trusty, as isscarce to be met with among my Varangians themselves, I care not if, while thou art in attendance on my person, I endeavour to indoctrinatethee in some of that policy by which I myself--the Follower--the chiefof the Varangians, and therefore erected by their axes into the mostvaliant of the valiant, am content to guide myself, although every wayqualified to bear me through the cross currents of the court by mainpull of oar and press of sail--a condescension in me, to do that bypolicy, which no man in this imperial court, the chosen sphere ofsuperior wits, could so well accomplish by open force as myself. Whatthink'st thou, good savage?"

"I know, " answered the Varangian, who walked about a step and a halfbehind his leader, like an orderly of the present day behind hisofficer's shoulder, "I should be sorry to trouble my head with what Icould do by my hands at once. "

"Did I not say so?" replied the Follower, who had now for some minutesled the way from the Golden Gate, and was seen gliding along theoutside of the moonlight walls, as if seeking an entrance elsewhere. "Lo, such is the stuff of what you call your head is made! Your handsand arms are perfect Ahitophels, compared to it. Hearken to me, thoumost ignorant of all animals, --but, for that very reason, thou stoutestof confidants, and bravest of soldiers, --I will tell thee the veryriddle of this night-work, and yet, even then I doubt if thou canstunderstand me. "

"It is my present duty to try to comprehend your Valour, " said theVarangian--"I would say your policy, since you condescend to expound itto me. As for your valour, " he added, "I should be unlucky if I did notthink I understand its length and breadth already. "

The Greek General coloured a little, but replied, with unaltered voice, "True, good Hereward. We have seen each other in battle. "

Hereward here could not suppress a short cough, which to thosegrammarians of the day who were skilful in applying the use of accents, would have implied no peculiar eulogium on his officer's militarybravery. Indeed, during their whole intercourse, the conversation ofthe General, in spite of his tone of affected importance andsuperiority, displayed an obvious respect for his companion, as one who, in many points of action, might, if brought to the test, prove a moreeffective soldier than himself. On the other hand, when the powerfulNorthern warrior replied, although it was with all observance ofdiscipline and duty, yet the discussion might sometimes resemble thatbetween an ignorant macaroni officer, before the Duke of York'sreformation of the British army, and a steady sergeant of the regimentin which they both served. There was a consciousness of superiority, disguised by external respect, and half admitted by the leader. 

"You will grant me, my simple friend, " continued the chief, in the sametone as before, "in order to lead thee by a short passage into thedeepest principle of policy which pervades this same court ofConstantinople, that the favour of the Emperor"--(here the officerraised his casque, and the soldier made a semblance of doing so also)--"who (be the place where he puts his foot sacred!) is the vivifyingprinciple of the sphere in which we live, as the sun itself is that ofhumanity"----

"I have heard something like this said by our tribunes, " said theVarangian. 

"It is their duty so to instruct you, " answered the leader; "and Itrust that the priests also, in their sphere, forget not to teach myVarangians their constant service to their Emperor. "

"They do not omit it, " replied the soldier, "though we of the exilesknow our duty. "

"God forbid I should doubt it, " said the commander of the battle-axes. "All I mean is to make thee understand, my dear Hereward, that as thereare, though perhaps such do not exist in thy dark and gloomy climate, arace of insects which are born in the first rays of the morning, andexpire with those of sunset, (thence called by us ephemeras, asenduring one day only, ) such is the case of a favourite at court, whileenjoying the smiles of the most sacred Emperor. And happy is he whosefavour, rising as the person of the sovereign emerges from the levelspace which extends around the throne, displays itself in the firstimperial blaze of glory, and who, keeping his post during the meridiansplendour of the crown, has only the fate to disappear and die with thelast beam of imperial brightness. "

"Your Valour, " said the islander, "speaks higher language than myNorthern wits are able to comprehend. Only, methinks, rather than partwith life at the sunset, I would, since insect I must needs be, becomea moth for two or three dark hours. "

"Such is the sordid desire of the vulgar, Hereward, " answered theFollower, with assumed superiority, "who are contented to enjoy life, lacking distinction; whereas we, on the other hand, we of choicerquality, who form the nearest and innermost circle around the ImperialAlexius, in which he himself forms the central point, are watchful, towoman's jealousy, of the distribution of his favours, and omit noopportunity, whether by leaguing with or against each other, torecommend ourselves individually to the peliar light of hiscountenance. "

"I think I comprehend what you mean, " said the guardsman; "although asfor living such a life of intrigue--but that matters not. "

"It does indeed matter not, my good Hereward, " said his officer, "andthou art lucky in having no appetite for the life I have described. Yethave I seen barbarians rise high in the empire, and if they have notaltogether the flexibility, the malleability, as it is called--thathappy ductility which can give way to circumstances, I have yet knownthose of barbaric tribes, especially if bred up at court from theiryouth, who joined to a limited portion of this flexile quality enoughof a certain tough durability of temper, which, if it does not excel inavailing itself of opportunity, has no contemptible talent at creatingit. But letting comparisons pass, it follows, from this emulation ofglory, that is, of royal favour, amongst the servants of the imperialand most sacred court, that each is desirous of distinguishing himselfby showing to the Emperor, not only that he fully understands theduties of his own employments, but that he is capable, in case ofnecessity, of discharging those of others. "

"I understand, " said the Saxon; "and thence it happens that the underministers, soldiers, and assistants of the great crown-officers, areperpetually engaged, not in aiding each other, but in acting as spieson their neighbours' actions?"

"Even so, " answered the commander; "it is but few days since I had adisagreeable instance of it. Every one, however dull in the intellect, hath understood thus much, that the great Protospathaire, [Footnote:Literally, the First Swordsman. ] which title thou knowest signifies theGeneral-in-chief of the forces of the empire, hath me at hatred, because I am the leader of those redoubtable Varangians, who enjoy andwell deserve, privileges exempting them from the absolute command whichhe possesses over all other corps of the army--an authority whichbecomes Nicanor, notwithstanding the victorious sound of his name, nearly as well as a war-saddle would become a bullock. "

"How!" said the Varangian, "does the Protospathaire pretend to anyauthority over the noble exiles?--By the red dragon, under which wewill live and die, we will obey no man alive but Alexius Comnenushimself, and our own officers!"

"Rightly and bravely resolved, " said the leader; "but, my good Hereward, let not your just indignation hurry you so far as to name the mostsacred Emperor, without raising your hand to your casque, and addingthe epithets of his lofty rank. "

"I will raise my hand often enough and high enough, " said the Norseman, "when the Emperor's service requires it. "

"I dare be sworn thou wilt, " said Achilles Tatius, the commander of theVarangian Imperial Body Guard, who thought the time was unfavourablefor distinguishing himself by insisting on that exact observance ofetiquette, which was one of his great pretensions to the name of asoldier. "Yet were it not for the constant vigilance of your leader, mychild, the noble Varangians would be trode down, in the common mass ofthe army, with the heathen cohorts of Huns, Scythians, or thoseturban'd infidels the renegade Turks; and even for this is yourcommander here in peril, because he vindicates his axe-men as worthy ofbeing prized above the paltry shafts of the Eastern tribes and thejavelins of the Moors, which are only fit to be playthings forchildren. "

"You are exposed to no danger, " said the soldier, closing up toAchilles in a confidential manner, "from which these axes can protectyou. "

"Do I not know it?" said Achilles. "But it is to your arms alone thatthe Follower of his most sacred Majesty now intrusts his safety. "

"In aught that a soldier may do, " answered Hereward; "make your owncomputation, and then reckon this single arm worth two against any manthe Emperor has, not being of our own corps. "

"Listen, my brave friend, " continued Achilles. "This Nicanor was daringenough to throw a reproach on our noble corps, accusing them--gods andgoddesses!--of plundering in the field, and, yet more sacrilegious, ofdrinking the precious wine which was prepared for his most sacredMajesty's own blessed consumption. I, the sacred person of the Emperorbeing present, proceeded, as thou may'st well believe"--

"To give him the lie in his audacious throat!" burst in the Varangian--"named a place of meeting somewhere in the vicinity, and called theattendance of your poor follower, Hereward of Hampton, who is yourbond-slave for life long, for such an honour! I wish only you had toldme to get my work-day arms; but, however, I have my battle-axe, and"--Here his companion seized a moment to break in, for he was somewhatabashed at the lively tone of the young soldier. 

"Hush thee, my son, " said Achilles Tatius; "speak low, my excellentHereward. Thou mistakest this thing. With thee by my side, I would not, indeed, hesitate to meet five such as Nicanor; but such is not the lawof this most hallowed empire, nor the sentiments of the three timesillustrious Prince who now rules it. Thou art debauched, my soldier, with the swaggering stories of the Franks, of whom we hear more andmore every day. "

"I would not willingly borrow any thing from those whom you call Franks, and we Normans, " answered the Varangian, in a disappointed, dogged tone. 

"Why, listen, then, " said the officer as they proceeded on their walk, "listen to the reason of the thing, and consider whether such a customcan obtain, as that which they term the duello, in any country ofcivilization and common sense, to say nothing of one which is blessedwith the domination of the most rare Alexius Comnenus. Two great lords, or high officers, quarrel in the court, and before the reverend personof the Emperor. They dispute about a point of fact. Now, instead ofeach maintaining his own opinion by argument or evidence, suppose theyhad adopted the custom of these barbarous Franks, --'Why, thou liest inthy throat, ' says the one; 'and thou liest in thy very lungs, ' saysanother; and they measure forth the lists of battle in the next meadow. Each swears to the truth of his quarrel, though probably neither wellknows precisely how the fact stands. One, perhaps the hardier, truer, and better man of the two, the Follower of the Emperor, and father ofthe Varangians, (for death, my faithful follower, spares no man, ) liesdead on the ground, and the other comes back to predominate in thecourt, where, had the matter been enquired into by the rules of commonsense and reason, the victor, as he is termed, would have been sent tothe gallows. And yet this is the law of arms, as your fancy pleases tocall it, friend Hereward!"

"May it please your Valour, " answered the barbarian, "there is a showof sense in what you say; but you will sooner convince me that thisblessed moonlight is the blackness of a wolf's mouth, than that I oughtto hear myself called liar, without cramming the epithet down thespeaker's throat with the spike of my battle-axe. The lie is to a manthe same as a blow, and a blow degrades him into a slave and a beast ofburden, if endured without retaliation. "

"Ay, there it is!" said Achilles; "could I but get you to lay asidethat inborn barbarism, which leads you, otherwise the most disciplinedsoldiers who serve the sacred Emperor, into such deadly quarrels andfeuds"--

"Sir Captain, " said the Varangian, in a sullen tone, "take my advice, and take the Varangians as you have them; for, believe my word, that ifyou could teach them to endure reproaches, bear the lie, or toleratestripes, you would hardly find them, when their discipline is completed, worth the single day's salt which they cost to his holiness, if that behis title. I must tell you, moreover, valorous sir, that the Varangianswill little thank their leader, who heard them called marauders, drunkards, and what not, and repelled not the charge on the spot. "

"Now, if I knew not the humours of my barbarians, " thought Tatius, inhis own mind, "I should bring on myself a quarrel with these untamedislanders, who the Emperor thinks can be so easily kept in discipline. But I will settle this sport presently. " Accordingly, he addressed theSaxon in a soothing tone. 

"My faithful soldier, " he proceeded aloud, "we Romans, according to thecustom of our ancestors, set as much glory on actually telling thetruth, as you do in resenting the imputation of falsehood; and I couldnot with honour return a charge of falsehood upon Nicanor, since whathe said was substantially true. "

"What! that we Varangians were plunderers, drunkards, and the like?"said Hereward, more impatient than before. 

"No, surely, not in that broad sense, " said Achilles; "but there wastoo much foundation for the legend. "

"When and where?" asked the Anglo-Saxon. 

"You remember, " replied his leader, "the long march near Laodicea, where the Varangians beat off a cloud of Turks, and retook a train ofthe imperial baggage? You know what was done that day--how you quenchedyour thirst, I mean?"

"I have some reason to remember it, " said Hereward of Hampton; "for wewere half choked with dust, fatigue, and, which was worst of all, constantly fighting with our faces to the rear, when we found somefirkins of wine in certain carriages which were broken down--down ourthroats it went, as if it had been the best ale in Southampton. "

"Ah, unhappy!" said the Follower; "saw you not that the firkins werestamped with the thrice excellent Grand Butler's own inviolable seal, and set apart for the private use of his Imperial Majesty's most sacredlips?"

"By good Saint George of merry England, worth a dozen of your SaintGeorge of Cappadocia, I neither thought nor cared about the matter, "answered Hereward. "And I know your Valour drank a mighty draughtyourself out of my head-piece; not this silver bauble, but my steel-cap, which is twice as ample. By the same token, that whereas before youwere giving orders to fall back, you were a changed man when you hadcleared your throat of the dust, and cried, 'Bide the other brunt, mybrave and stout boys of Britain!'"

"Ay, " said Achilles, "I know I am but too apt to be venturous in action. But you mistake, good Hereward; the wine I tasted in the extremity ofmartial fatigue, was not that set apart for his sacred Majesty's ownpeculiar mouth, but a secondary sort, preserved for the Grand Butlerhimself, of which, as one of the great officers of the household, Imight right lawfully partake--the chance was nevertheless sinfullyunhappy. "

"On my life, " replied Hereward, "I cannot see the infelicity ofdrinking when we are dying of thirst. "

"But cheer up, my noble comrade, " said Achilles, after he had hurriedover his own exculpation, and without noticing the Varangian's lightestimation of the crime, "his Imperial Majesty, in his ineffablegraciousness, imputes these ill-advised draughts as a crime to no onewho partook of them. He rebuked the Protospathaire for fishing up thisaccusation, and said, when he had recalled the bustle and confusion ofthat toilsome day, 'I thought myself well off amid that seven timesheated furnace, when we obtained a draught of the barley-wine drank bymy poor Varangians; and I drank their health, as well I might, since, had it not been for their services, I had drunk my last; and well faretheir hearts, though they quaffed my wine in return!' And with that heturned off, as one who said, 'I have too much of this, being a findingof matter and ripping up of stories against Achilles Tatius and hisgallant Varangians. '"

"Now, may God bless his honest heart for it!" said Hereward, with moredownright heartiness than formal respect. "I'll drink to his health inwhat I put next to my lips that quenches thirst, whether it may be ale, wine, or ditch-water. "

"Why, well said, but speak not above thy breath! and remember to putthy hand to thy forehead, when naming, or even thinking of theEmperor!--Well, thou knowest, Hereward, that having thus obtained theadvantage, I knew that the moment of a repulsed attack is always thatof a successful charge; and so I brought against the Protospathaire, Nicanor, the robberies which have been committed at the Golden Gate, and other entrances of the city, where a merchant was but of latekidnapped and murdered, having on him certain jewels, the property ofthe Patriarch. "

"Ay! indeed?" said the Varangian; "and what said Alex--I mean the mostsacred Emperor, when he heard such things said of the city warders?--though he had himself given, as we say in our land, the fox the geeseto keep. "

"It may be he did, " replied Achilles; "but he is a sovereign of deeppolicy, and was resolved not to proceed against these treacherouswarders, or their general, the Protospathaire, without decisive proof. His Sacred Majesty, therefore, charged me to obtain specificcircumstantial proof by thy means. "

"And that I would have managed in two minutes, had you not called meoff the chase of yon cut-throat vagabond. But his grace knows the wordof a Varangian, and I can assure him that either lucre of my silvergaberdine, which they nickname a cuirass, or the hatred of my corps, would be sufficient to incite any of these knaves to cut the throat ofa Varangian, who appeared to be asleep. --So we go, I suppose, captain, to bear evidence before the Emperor to this night's work?"

"No, my active soldier, hadst thou taken the runaway villain, my firstact must have been to set him free again; and my present charge to youis, to forget that such an adventure has ever taken place. "

"Ha!" said the Varangian; "this is a change of policy indeed!"

"Why, yes, brave Hereward; ere I left the palace this night, thePatriarch made overtures of reconciliation betwixt me and theProtospathaire, which, as our agreement is of much consequence to thestate, I could not very well reject, either as a good soldier or a goodChristian. All offences to my honour are to be in the fullest degreerepaid, for which the Patriarch interposes his warrant. The Emperor, who will rather wink hard than see disagreements, loves better thematter should be slurred over thus. "

"And the reproaches upon the Varangians. " said Hereward----

"Shall be fully retracted and atoned for, " answered Achilles; "and aweighty donative in gold dealt among the corps of the Anglo-Danishaxemen. Thou, my Hereward, mayst be distributor; and thus, if well-managed, mayst plate thy battle-axe with gold. "

"I love my axe better as it is, " said the Varangian. "My father bore itagainst the robber Normans at Hastings. Steel instead of gold for mymoney. "

"Thou mayst make thy choice, Hereward, " answered his officer; "only, ifthou art poor, say the fault was thine own. "

But here, in the course of their circuit round Constantinople, theofficer and his soldier came to a very small wicket or sallyport, opening on the interior of a large and massive advanced work, whichterminated an entrance to the city itself. Here the officer halted, andmade his obedience, as a devotee who is about to enter a chapel ofpeculiar sanctity. 

CHAPTER THE THIRD. 

 Here, youth, thy foot unbrace, Here, youth, thy brow unbraid; Each tribute that may grace The threshold here be paid. Walk with the stealthy pace Which Nature teaches deer, When, echoing in the chase, The hunter's horn they hear. THE COURT. 

Before entering, Achilles Tatius made various gesticulations, whichwere imitated roughly and awkwardly by the unpractised Varangian, whoseservice with his corps had been almost entirely in the field, hisroutine of duty not having, till very lately, called him to serve asone of the garrison of Constantinople. He was not, therefore, acquainted with the minute observances which the Greeks, who were themost formal and ceremonious soldiers and courtiers in the world, rendered not merely to the Greek Emperor in person, but throughout thesphere which peculiarly partook of his influence. 

Achilles, having gesticulated after his own fashion, at length touchedthe door with a rap, distinct at once and modest. This was thricerepeated, when the captain whispered to his attendant, "The interior!--for thy life, do as thou seest me do. " At the same moment he startedback, and, stooping his head on his breast, with his hands over hiseyes, as if to save them from being dazzled by an expected burst oflight, awaited the answer to his summons. The Anglo-Dane, desirous toobey his leader, imitating him as near as he could, stood side by sidein the posture of Oriental humiliation. The little portal openedinwards, when no burst of light was seen, but four of the Varangianswere made visible in the entrance, holding each his battle-axe, as ifabout to strike down the intruders who had disturbed the silence oftheir watch. 

"Acoulouthos, " said the leader, by way of password. 

"Tatius and Acoulouthos, " murmured the warders, as a countersign. 

Each sentinel sunk his weapon. 

Achilles then reared his stately crest, with a conscious dignity atmaking this display of court influence in the eyes of his soldiers. Hereward observed an undisturbed gravity, to the surprise of hisofficer, who marvelled in his own mind how he could be such a barbarianas to regard with apathy a scene, which had in his eyes the mostimpressive and peculiar awe. This indifference he imputed to the stupidinsensibility of his companion. 

They passed on between the sentinels, who wheeled backward in file, oneach side of the portal, and gave the strangers entrance to a longnarrow plank, stretched across the city-moat, which was here drawnwithin the enclosure of an external rampart, projecting beyond theprincipal wall of the city. 

"This, " he whispered to Hereward, "is called the Bridge of Peril, andit is said that it has been occasionally smeared with oil, or strewedwith dried peas, and that the bodies of men, known to have been incompany with the Emperor's most sacred person, have been taken out ofthe Golden Horn, [Footnote: The harbour of Constantinople. ] into whichthe moat empties itself. "

"I would not have thought, " said the islander, raising his voice to itsusual rough tone, "that Alexius Comnenus"--

"Hush, rash and regardless of your life!" said Achilles Tatius; "toawaken the daughter of the imperial arch, [Footnote: The daughter ofthe arch was a courtly expression for the echo, as we find explained bythe courtly commander himself. ] is to incur deep penalty at all times;but when a rash delinquent has disturbed her with reflections on hismost sacred Highness the Emperor, death is a punishment far too lightfor the effrontery which has interrupted her blessed slumber!--Ill hathbeen my fate, to have positive commands laid on me, enjoining me tobring into the sacred precincts a creature who hath no more of the saltof civilization in him than to keep his mortal frame from corruption, since of all mental culture he is totally incapable. Consider thyself, Hereward, and bethink thee what thou art. By nature a poor barbarian--thy best boast that thou hast slain certain Mussulmans in thy sacredmaster's quarrel; and here art thou admitted into the inviolableenclosure of the Blaquernal, and in the hearing not only of the royaldaughter of the imperial arch, which means, " said the eloquent leader, "the echo of the sublime vaults; but--Heaven be our guide, --for what Iknow, within the natural hearing of the Sacred Ear itself!"

"Well, my captain, " replied the Varangian, "I cannot presume to speakmy mind after the fashion of this place; but I can easily suppose I ambut ill qualified to converse in the presence of the court, nor do Imean therefore to say a word till I am spoken to, unless when I shallsee no better company than ourselves. To be plain, I find difficulty inmodelling my voice to a smoother tone than nature has given it. So, henceforth, my brave captain, I will be mute, unless when you give me asign to speak. "

"You will act wisely, " said the captain. "Here be certain persons ofhigh rank, nay, some that have been born in the purple itself, thatwill, Hereward, (alas, for thee!) prepare to sound with the line oftheir courtly understanding the depths of thy barbarous and shallowconceit. Do not, therefore, then, join their graceful smiles with thyinhuman bursts of cachinnation, with which thou art wont to thunderforth when opening in chorus with thy messmates. "

"I tell thee I will be silent, " said the Varangian, moved somewhatbeyond his mood. "If you trust my word, so; if you think I am a jackdawthat must be speaking, whether in or out of place and purpose, I amcontented to go back again, and therein we can end the matter. "

Achilles, conscious perhaps that it was his best policy not to drivehis subaltern to extremity, lowered his tone somewhat in reply to theuncourtly note of the soldier, as if allowing something for the rudemanners of one whom he considered as not easily matched among theVarangians themselves, for strength and valour; qualities which, indespite of Hereward's discourtesy, Achilles suspected in his heart werefully more valuable than all those nameless graces which a more courtlyand accomplished soldier might possess. 

The expert navigator of the intricacies of the imperial residence, carried the Varangian through two or three small complicated courts, forming a part of the extensive Palace of the Blaquernal, [Footnote:This palace derived its name from the neighbouring Blachernian Gate andBridge. ] and entered the building itself by a side door--watched inlike manner by a sentinel of the Varangian Guard, whom they passed onbeing recognized. In the next apartment was stationed the Court ofGuard, where were certain soldiers of the same corps amusing themselvesat games somewhat resembling the modern draughts and dice, while theyseasoned their pastime with frequent applications to deep flagons ofale, which were furnished to them while passing away their hours ofduty. Some glances passed between Hereward and his comrades, and hewould have joined them, or at least spoke to them; for, since theadventure of the Mitylenian, Hereward had rather thought himselfannoyed than distinguished by his moonlight ramble in the company ofhis commander, excepting always the short and interesting period duringwhich he conceived they were on the way to fight a duel. Still, howevernegligent in the strict observance of the ceremonies of the sacredpalace, the Varangians had, in their own way, rigid notions ofcalculating their military duty; in consequence of which Hereward, without speaking to his companions, followed his leader through theguard-room, and one or two antechambers adjacent, the splendid andluxurious furniture of which convinced him that he could be nowhereelse save in the sacred residence of his master the Emperor. 

At length, having traversed passages and apartments with which thecaptain seemed familiar, and which he threaded with a stealthy, silent, and apparently reverential pace, as if, in his own inflated phrase, afraid to awaken the sounding echoes of those lofty and monumentalhalls, another species of inhabitants began to be visible. In differententrances, and in different apartments, the northern soldier beheldthose unfortunate slaves, chiefly of African descent, raisedoccasionally under the Emperors of Greece to great power and honours, who, in that respect, imitated one of the most barbarous points ofOriental despotism. These slaves were differently occupied; somestanding, as if on guard, at gates or in passages, with their drawnsabres in their hands; some were sitting in the Oriental fashion, oncarpets, reposing themselves, or playing at various games, all of acharacter profoundly silent. Not a word passed between the guide ofHereward, and the withered and deformed beings whom they thusencountered. The exchange of a glance with the principal soldier seemedall that was necessary to ensure both an uninterrupted passage. 

After making their way through several apartments, empty or thusoccupied, they, at length entered one of black marble, or some otherdark-coloured stone, much loftier and longer than the rest. Sidepassages opened into it, so far as the islander could discern, descending from several portals in the wall; but as the oils and gumswith which the lamps in these passages were fed diffused a dim vapouraround, it was difficult to ascertain, from the imperfect light, eitherthe shape of the hall, or the style of its architecture. At the upperand lower ends of the chamber, there was a stronger and clearer light. It was when they were in the middle of this huge and long apartment, that Achilles said to the soldier, in the sort of cautionary whisperwhich he appeared to have substituted in place of his natural voicesince he had crossed the Bridge of Peril--

"Remain here till I return, and stir from this hall on no account. "

"To hear is to obey, " answered the Varangian, an expression ofobedience, which, like many other phrases and fashions, the empire, which still affected the name of Roman, had borrowed from thebarbarians of the East. Achilles Tatius then hastened up the stepswhich led to one of the side-doors of the hall, which being slightlypressed, its noiseless hinge gave way and admitted him. 

Left alone to amuse himself as he best could, within the limitspermitted to him, the Varangian visited in succession both ends of thehall, where the objects were more visible than elsewhere. The lower endhad in its centre a small low-browed door of iron. Over it wasdisplayed the Greek crucifix in bronze, and around and on every side, the representation of shackles, fetter bolts, and the like, were alsoexecuted in bronze, and disposed as appropriate ornaments over theentrance. The door of the dark archway was half open, and Herewardnaturally looked in, the orders of his chief not prohibiting hissatisfying his curiosity thus far. A dense red light, more like adistant spark than a lamp, affixed to the wall of what seemed a verynarrow and winding stair, resembling in shape and size a draw-well, theverge of which opened on the threshold of the iron door, showed adescent which seemed to conduct to the infernal regions. The Varangian, however obtuse he might be considered by the quick-witted Greeks, hadno difficulty in comprehending that a staircase having such a gloomyappearance, and the access to which was by a portal decorated in such amelancholy style of architecture, could only lead to the dungeons ofthe imperial palace, the size and complicated number of which wereneither the least remarkable, nor the least awe-imposing portion of thesacred edifice. Listening profoundly, he even thought he caught suchaccents as befit those graves of living men, the faint echoing ofgroans and sighs, sounding as it were from the deep abyss beneath. Butin this respect his fancy probably filled up the sketch which hisconjectures bodied out. 

"I have done nothing, " he thought, "to merit being immured in one ofthese subterranean dens. Surely though my captain, Achilles Tatius, is, under favour, little better than an ass, he cannot be so false of wordas to train me to prison under false pretexts? I trow he shall firstsee for the last time how the English axe plays, if such is to be thesport of the evening. But let us see the upper end of this enormousvault; it may bear a better omen. "

Thus thinking, and not quite ruling the tramp of his armed footstepaccording to the ceremonies of the place, the large-limbed Saxon strodeto the upper end of the black marble hall. The ornament of the portalhere was a small altar, like those in the temples of the heathendeities, which projected above the centre of the arch. On this altarsmoked incense of some sort, the fumes of which rose curling in a thincloud to the roof, and thence extending through the hall, enveloped inits column of smoke a singular emblem, of which the Varangian couldmake nothing. It was the representation of two human arms and hands, seeming to issue from the wall, having the palms extended and open, asabout to confer some boon on those who approached the altar. These armswere formed of bronze, and being placed farther back than the altarwith its incense, were seen through the curling smoke by lamps sodisposed as to illuminate the whole archway. "The meaning of this, "thought the simple barbarian, "I should well know how to explain, werethese fists clenched, and were the hall dedicated to the_pancration_, which we call boxing; but as even these helplessGreeks use not their hands without their fingers being closed, by St. George I can make out nothing of their meaning. "

At this instant Achilles entered the black marble hall at the same doorby which he had left it, and came up to his neophyte, as the Varangianmight be termed. 

"Come with me now, Hereward, for here approaches the thick of the onset. Now, display the utmost courage that thou canst summon up, for believeme thy credit and name also depend on it. "

"Fear nothing for either, " said Hereward, "if the heart or hand of oneman can bear him through the adventure by the help of a toy like this. "

"Keep thy voice low and submissive, I have told thee a score of times, "said the leader, "and lower thine axe, which, as I bethink me, thouhadst better leave in the outer apartment. "

"With your leave, noble captain, " replied Hereward, "I am unwilling tolay aside my bread-winner. I am one of those awkward clowns who cannotbehave seemly unless I have something to occupy my hands, and myfaithful battle-axe comes most natural to me. "

"Keep it then; but remember thou dash it not about according to thycustom, nor bellow, nor shout, nor cry as in a battle-field; think ofthe sacred character of the place, which exaggerates riot intoblasphemy, and remember the persons whom thou mayst chance to see, anoffence to some of whom, it may be, ranks in the same sense withblasphemy against Heaven itself. "

This lecture carried the tutor and the pupil so far as to the side-door, and thence inducted them into a species of anteroom, from whichAchilles led his Varangian forward, until a pair of folding-doors, opening into what proved to be a principal apartment of the palace, exhibited to the rough-hewn native of the north a sight equally new andsurprising. 

It was an apartment of the palace of the Blaquernal, dedicated to thespecial service of the beloved daughter of the Emperor Alexius, thePrincess Anna Comnena, known to our times by her literary talents, which record the history of her father's reign. She was seated, thequeen and sovereign of a literary circle, such as an imperial Princess, porphyrogenita, or born in the sacred purple chamber itself, couldassemble in those days, and a glance around will enable us to form anidea of her guests or companions. 

The literary Princess herself had the bright eyes, straight features, and comely and pleasing manners, which all would have allowed to theEmperor's daughter, even if she could not have been, with severe truth, said to have possessed them. She was placed upon a small bench, or sofa, the fair sex here not being permitted to recline, as was the fashion ofthe Roman ladies. A table before her was loaded with books, plants, herbs, and drawings. She sat on a slight elevation, and those whoenjoyed the intimacy of the Princess, or to whom she wished to speak inparticular, were allowed, during such sublime colloquy, to rest theirknees on the little dais, or elevated place where her chair found itsstation, in a posture half standing, half kneeling. Three other seats, of different heights, were placed on the dais, and under the samecanopy of state which overshadowed that of the Princess Anna. 

The first, which strictly resembled her own chair in size andconvenience, was one designed for her husband, Nicephorus Briennius. Hewas said to entertain or affect the greatest respect for his wife'serudition, though the courtiers were of opinion he would have liked toabsent himself from her evening parties more frequently than wasparticularly agreeable to the Princess Anna and her imperial parents. This was partly explained by the private tattle of the court, whichaverred, that the Princess Anna Comnena had been more beautiful whenshe was less learned; and that, though still a fine woman, she hadsomewhat lost the charms of her person as she became enriched in hermind. 

To atone for the lowly fashion of the seat of Nicephorus Briennius, itwas placed as near to his princess as it could possibly be edged by theushers, so that she might not lose one look of her handsome spouse, norhe the least particle of wisdom which might drop from the lips of hiserudite consort. 

Two other seats of honour, or rather thrones, --for they had footstoolsplaced for the support of the feet, rests for the arms, and embroideredpillows for the comfort of the back, not to mention the glories of theoutspreading canopy, were destined for the imperial couple, whofrequently attended their daughter's studies, which she prosecuted inpublic in the way we have intimated. On such occasions, the EmpressIrene enjoyed the triumph peculiar to the mother of an accomplisheddaughter, while Alexius, as it might happen, sometimes listened withcomplacence to the rehearsal of his own exploits in the inflatedlanguage of the Princess, and sometimes mildly nodded over herdialogues upon the mysteries of philosophy, with the Patriarch Zosimus, and other sages. 

All these four distinguished seats for the persons of the Imperialfamily, were occupied at the moment which we have described, exceptingthat which ought to have been filled by Nicephorus Briennius, thehusband of the fair Anna Comnena. To his negligence and absence wasperhaps owing the angry spot on the brow of his fair bride. Beside heron the platform were two white-robed nymphs of her household; femaleslaves, in a word, who reposed themselves on their knees on cushions, when their assistance was not wanted as a species of living book-desks, to support and extend the parchment rolls, in which the Princessrecorded her own wisdom, or from which she quoted that of others. Oneof these young maidens, called Astarte, was so distinguished as acalligrapher, or beautiful writer of various alphabets and languages, that she narrowly escaped being sent as a present to the Caliph, (whocould neither read nor write, ) at a time when it was necessary to bribehim into peace. Violante, usually called the Muse, the other attendantof the Princess, a mistress of the vocal and instrumental art of music, was actually sent in a compliment to soothe the temper of RobertGuiscard, the Archduke of Apulia, who being aged and stone-deaf, andthe girl under ten years old at the time, returned the valued presentto the imperial donor, and, with the selfishness which was one of thatwily Norman's characteristics, desired to have some one sent him whocould contribute to his pleasure, instead of a twangling squallinginfant. 

Beneath these elevated seats there sat, or reposed on the floor of thehall, such favourites as were admitted. The Patriarch Zosimus, and oneor two old men, were permitted the use of certain lowly stools, whichwere the only seats prepared for the learned members of the Princess'sevening parties, as they would have been called in our days. As for theyounger magnates, the honour of being permitted to join the imperialconversation was expected to render them far superior to the paltryaccommodation of a joint-stool. Five or six courtiers, of differentdress and ages, might compose the party, who either stood, or relievedtheir posture by kneeling, along the verge of an adorned fountain, which shed a mist of such very small rain as to dispel almostinsensibly, cooling the fragrant breeze which breathed from the flowersand shrubs, that were so disposed as to send a waste of sweets around. One goodly old man, named Michael Agelastes, big, burly, and dressedlike an ancient Cynic philosopher, was distinguished by assuming, in agreat measure, the ragged garb and mad bearing of that sect, and by hisinflexible practice of the strictest ceremonies exigible by theImperial family. He was known by an affectation of cynical principleand language, and of republican philosophy, strangely contradicted byhis practical deference to the great. It was wonderful how long thisman, now sixty years old and upwards, disdained to avail himself of theaccustomed privilege of leaning, or supporting his limbs, and with whatregularity he maintained either the standing posture or that ofabsolute kneeling; but the first was so much his usual attitude, thathe acquired among his court friends the name of Elephas, or theElephant, because the ancients had an idea that the half-reasoninganimal, as it is called, has joints incapable of kneeling down. 

"Yet I have seen them kneel when I was in the country of theGymnosophists, " said a person present on the evening of Hereward'sintroduction. 

"To take up their master on their shoulders? so will ours, " said thePatriarch Zosimus, with the slight sneer which was the nearest advanceto a sarcasm that the etiquette of the Greek court permitted; for onall ordinary occasions, it would not have offended the Presence moresurely, literally, to have drawn a poniard, than to exchange a reparteein the imperial circle. Even the sarcasm, such as it was, would havebeen thought censurable by that ceremonious court in any but thePatriarch, to whose high rank some license was allowed. 

Just as he had thus far offended decorum, Achilles Tatius, and hissoldier Hereward, entered the apartment. The former bore him with evenmore than his usual degree of courtliness, as if to set his own good-breeding off by a comparison with the inexpert bearing of his follower;while, nevertheless, he had a secret pride in exhibiting, as one underhis own immediate and distinct command, a man whom he was accustomed toconsider as one of the finest soldiers of the army of Alexius, whetherappearance or reality were to be considered. 

Some astonishment followed the abrupt entrance of the new comers. Achilles indeed glided into the presence with the easy and quietextremity of respect which intimated his habitude in these regions. ButHereward started on his entrance, and perceiving himself in company ofthe court, hastily strove to remedy his disorder. His commander, throwing round a scarce visible shrug of apology, made then aconfidential and monitory sign to Hereward to mind his conduct. What hemeant was, that he should doff his helmet and fall prostrate on theground. But the Anglo-Saxon, unaccustomed to interpret obscureinferences, naturally thought of his military duties, and advanced infront of the Emperor, as when he rendered his military homage. He madereverence with his knee, half touched his cap, and then recovering andshouldering his axe, stood in advance of the imperial chair, as if onduty as a sentinel. 

A gentle smile of surprise went round the circle as they gazed on themanly appearance, and somewhat unceremonious but martial deportment ofthe northern soldier. The various spectators around consulted theEmperor's face, not knowing whether they were to take the intrusivemanner of the Varangian's entrance as matter of ill-breeding, andmanifest their horror, or whether they ought rather to consider thebearing of the life-guardsman as indicating blunt and manly zeal, andtherefore to be received with applause. 

It was some little time ere the Emperor recovered himself sufficientlyto strike a key-note, as was usual upon such occasions. AlexiusComnenus had been wrapt for a moment into some species of slumber, orat least absence of mind. Out of this he had been startled by thesudden appearance of the Varangian; for though he was accustomed tocommit the outer guards of the palace to this trusty corps, yet thedeformed blacks whom we have mentioned, and who sometimes rose to beministers of state and commanders of armies, were, on all ordinaryoccasions, intrusted with the guard of the interior of the palace. Alexius, therefore, awakened from his slumber, and the military phraseof his daughter still ringing in his ears as she was reading adescription of the great historical work, in which she had detailed theconflicts of his reign, felt somewhat unprepared for the entrance andmilitary deportment of one of the Saxon guard, with whom he wasaccustomed to associate, in general, scenes of blows, danger, and death. 

After a troubled glance around, his look rested on Achilles Tatius. "Why here, " he said, "trusty Follower? why this soldier here at thistime of night?" Here, of course, was the moment for modelling thevisages _regis ad exemplum;_ but, ere the Patriarch could framehis countenance into devout apprehension of danger, Achilles Tatius hadspoken a word or two, which reminded Alexius' memory that the soldierhad been brought there by his own special orders. "Oh, ay! true, goodfellow, " said he, smoothing his troubled brow; "we had forgot thatpassage among the cares of state. " He then spoke to the Varangian witha countenance more frank, and a heartier accent than he used to hiscourtiers; for, to a despotic monarch, a faithful life-guardsman is aperson of confidence, while an officer of high rank is always in somedegree a subject of distrust. "Ha!" said he, "our worthy Anglo-Dane, how fares he?"--This unceremonious salutation surprised all but him towhom it was addressed. Hereward answered, accompanying his words with amilitary obeisance which partook of heartiness rather than reverence, with a loud unsubdued voice, which startled the presence still morethat the language was Saxon, which these foreigners occasionally used, "_Waes hael Kaisar mirrig und machtigh!_"--that is, Be of goodhealth, stout and mighty Emperor. The Emperor, with a smile ofintelligence, to show he could speak to his guards in their own foreignlanguage, replied, by the well-known counter-signal--"_Drinkhael!_'"

Immediately a page brought a silver goblet of wine. The Emperor put hislips to it, though he scarce tasted the liquor, then commanded it to behanded to Hereward, and bade the soldier drink. The Saxon did not waittill he was desired a second time, but took off the contents withouthesitation. A gentle smile, decorous as the presence required, passedover the assembly, at a feat which, though by no means wonderful in ahyperborean, seemed prodigious in the estimation of the moderate Greeks. Alexius himself laughed more loudly than his courtiers thought might bebecoming on their part, and mustering what few words of Varangian hepossessed, which he eked out with Greek, demanded of his life-guardsman--"Well, my bold Briton, or Edward, as men call thee, dostthou know the flavour of that wine?"

"Yes, " answered the Varangian, without change of countenance, "I tastedit once before at Laodicea"--

Here his officer, Achilles Tatius, became sensible that his soldierapproached delicate ground, and in vain endeavoured to gain hisattention, in order that he might furtively convey to him a hint to besilent, or at least take heed what he said in such a presence. But thesoldier, who, with proper military observance, continued to have hiseye and attention fixed on the Emperor, as the prince whom he was boundto answer or to serve, saw none of the hints, which Achilles at lengthsuffered to become so broad, that Zosimus and the Protospathaireexchanged expressive glances, as calling on each other to notice theby-play of the leader of the Varangians. In the meanwhile, the dialoguebetween the Emperor and his soldier continued:--"How, " said Alexius, "did this draught relish compared with the former?"

"There is fairer company here, my liege, than that of the Arabianarchers, " answered Hereward, with a look and bow of instinctive good-breeding; "Nevertheless, there lacks the flavour which the heat of thesun, the dust of the combat, with the fatigue of wielding such a weaponas this" (advancing his axe) "for eight hours together, give to a cupof rare wine. "

"Another deficiency there might be, " said Agelastes the Elephant, "provided I am pardoned hinting at it, " he added, with a look to thethrone, --"it might be the smaller size of the cup compared with that atLaodicea. " "By Taranis, you say true, " answered the life-guardsman; "atLaodicea I used my helmet. "

"Let us see the cups compared together, good friend, " said Agelastes, continuing his raillery, "that we may be sure thou hast not swallowedthe present goblet; for I thought, from the manner of the draught, there was a chance of its going down with its contents. "

"There are some things which I do not easily swallow, " answered theVarangian, in a calm and indifferent tone; "but they must come from ayounger and more active man than you. "

The company again smiled to each other, as if to hint that thephilosopher, though also parcel wit by profession, had the worst of theencounter. The Emperor at the same time interfered--"Nor did I send forthee hither, good fellow, to be baited by idle taunts. "

Here Agelastes shrunk back in the circle, as a hound that has beenrebuked by the huntsman for babbling--and the Princess Anna Comnena, who had indicated by her fair features a certain degree of impatience, at length spoke--"Will it then please you, my imperial and much-belovedfather, to inform those blessed with admission to the Muses' temple, for what it is that you have ordered this soldier to be this nightadmitted to a place so far above his rank in life? Permit me to say, weought not to waste, in frivolous and silly jests, the time which issacred to the welfare of the empire, as every moment of your leisuremust be. "

"Our daughter speaks wisely, " said the Empress Irene, who, like mostmothers who do not possess much talent themselves, and are not verycapable of estimating it in others, was, nevertheless, a great admirerof her favourite daughter's accomplishments, and ready to draw them outon all occasions. "Permit me to remark, that in this divine andselected palace of the Muses, dedicated to the studies of our well-beloved and highly-gifted daughter, whose pen will preserve yourreputation, our most imperial husband, till the desolation of theuniverse, and which enlivens and delights this society, the very flowerof the wits of our sublime court;--permit me to say, that we have, merely by admitting a single life-guardsman, given our conversation thecharacter of that which distinguishes a barrack. "

Now the Emperor Alexius Comnenus had the same feeling with many anhonest man in ordinary life when his wife begins a long oration, especially as the Empress Irene did not always retain the observanceconsistent with his awful rule and right supremacy, although especiallysevere in exacting it from all others, in reference to her lord. Therefore, though, he had felt some pleasure in gaining a short releasefrom the monotonous recitation of the Princess's history, he now sawthe necessity of resuming it, or of listening to the matrimonialeloquence of the Empress. He sighed, therefore, as he said, "I craveyour pardon, good our imperial spouse, and our daughter born in thepurple chamber. I remember me, our most amiable and accomplisheddaughter, that last night you wished to know the particulars of thebattle of Laodicea, with the heathenish Arabs, whom Heaven confound. And for certain considerations which moved ourselves to add otherenquiries to our own recollection, Achilles Tatius, our most trustyFollower, was commissioned to introduce into this place one of thosesoldiers under his command, being such a one whose courage and presenceof mind could best enable him to remark what passed around him on thatremarkable and bloody day. And this I suppose to be the man brought tous for that purpose. "

"If I am permitted to speak, and live, " answered the Follower, "yourImperial Highness, with those divine Princesses, whose name is to us asthose of blessed saints, have in your presence the flower of my Anglo-Danes, or whatsoever unbaptized name is given to my soldiers. He is, asI may say, a barbarian of barbarians; for, although in birth andbreeding unfit to soil with his feet the carpet of this precinct ofaccomplishment and eloquence, he is so brave--so trusty--so devotedlyattached--and so unhesitatingly zealous, that"--

"Enough, good Follower, " said the Emperor; "let us only know that he iscool and observant, not confused and fluttered during close battle, aswe have sometimes observed in you and other great commanders--and, tospeak truth, have even felt in our imperial self on extraordinaryoccasions. Which difference in man's constitution is not owing to anyinferiority of courage, but, in us, to a certain consciousness of theimportance of our own safety to the welfare of the whole, and to afeeling of the number of duties which at once devolve on us. Speak then, and speak quickly, Tatius; for I discern that our dearest consort, andour thrice fortunate daughter born in the imperial chamber of purple, seem to wax somewhat impatient. "

"Hereward, " answered Tatius, "is as composed and observant in battle, as another in a festive dance. The dust of war is the breath of hisnostrils; and he will prove his worth in combat against any fourothers, (Varangians excepted, ) who shall term themselves your ImperialHighness's bravest servants. "

"Follower, " said the Emperor, with a displeased look and tone, "insteadof instructing these poor, ignorant barbarians in the rules andcivilization of our enlightened empire, you foster, by such boastfulwords, the idle pride and fury of their temper, which hurries them intobrawls with the legions of other foreign countries, and even breedsquarrels among themselves. "

"If my mouth may be opened in the way of most humble excuse, " said theFollower, "I would presume to reply, that I but an hour hence talkedwith this poor ignorant Anglo-Dane, on the paternal care with which theImperial Majesty of Greece regards the preservation of that concordwhich unites the followers of his standard, and how desirous he is topromote that harmony, more especially amongst the various nations whohave the happiness to serve you, in spite of the bloodthirsty quarrelsof the Franks, and other northern men, who are never free from civilbroil. I think the poor youth's understanding can bear witness to thismuch in my behalf. " He then looked towards Hereward, who gravelyinclined his head in token of assent to what his captain said. Hisexcuse thus ratified, Achilles proceeded in his apology more firmly. "What I have said even now was spoken without consideration; for, instead of pretending that this Hereward would face four of yourImperial Highness's servants, I ought to have said, that he was willingto defy six of your Imperial Majesty's most deadly _enemies_, andpermit them to choose every circumstance of time, arms, and place ofcombat. "

"That hath a better sound, " said the Emperor; "and in truth, for theinformation of my dearest daughter, who piously has undertaken torecord the things which I have been the blessed means of doing for theEmpire, I earnestly wish that she should remember, that though thesword of Alexius hath not slept in its sheath, yet he hath never soughthis own aggrandizement of fame at the price of bloodshed among hissubjects. "

"I trust, " said Anna Comnena, "that in my humble sketch of the life ofthe princely sire from whom I derive my existence, I have not forgot tonotice his love of peace, and care for the lives of his soldiery, andabhorrence of the bloody manners of the heretic Franks, as one of hismost distinguishing characteristics. "

Assuming then an attitude more commanding, as one who was about toclaim the attention of the company, the Princess inclined her headgently around to the audience, and taking a roll of parchment from thefair amanuensis, which she had, in a most beautiful handwriting, engrossed to her mistress's dictation, Anna Comnena prepared to readits contents. 

At this moment, the eyes of the Princess rested for an instant on thebarbarian Hereward, to whom she deigned this greeting--"Valiantbarbarian, of whom my fancy recalls some memory, as if in a dream, thouart now to hear a work, which, if the author be put into comparisonwith the subject, might be likened to a portrait of Alexander, inexecuting which, some inferior dauber has usurped the pencil ofApelles; but which essay, however it may appear unworthy of the subjectin the eyes of many, must yet command some envy in those who candidlyconsider its contents, and the difficulty of portraying the greatpersonage concerning whom it is written. Still, I pray thee, give thineattention to what I have now to read, since this account of the battleof Laodicea, the details thereof being principally derived from hisImperial Highness, my excellent father, from the altogether valiantProtospathaire, his invincible general, together with Achilles Tatius, the faithful Follower of our victorious Emperor, may nevertheless be insome circumstances inaccurate. For it is to be thought, that the highoffices of those great commanders retained them at a distance from someparticularly active parts of the fray, in order that they might havemore cool and accurate opportunity to form a judgment upon the whole, and transmit their orders, without being disturbed by any thoughts ofpersonal safety. Even so, brave barbarian, in the art of embroidery, (marvel not that we are a proficient in that mechanical process, sinceit is patronized by Minerva, whose studies we affect to follow, ) wereserve to ourselves the superintendence of the entire web, and committo our maidens and others the execution of particular parts. Thus, inthe same manner, thou, valiant Varangian, being engaged in the verythickest of the affray before Laodicea, mayst point out to us, theunworthy historian of so renowned a war, those chances which befellwhere men fought hand to hand, and where the fate of war was decided bythe edge of the sword. Therefore, dread not, thou bravest of the axe-men to whom we owe that victory, and so many others, to correct anymistake or misapprehension which we may have been led into concerningthe details of that glorious event. "

"Madam, " said the Varangian, "I shall attend with diligence to whatyour Highness may be pleased to read to me; although, as to presumingto blame the history of a Princess born in the purple, far be such apresumption from me; still less would it become a barbaric Varangian topass a judgment on the military conduct of the Emperor, by whom he isliberally paid, or of the commander, by whom he is well treated. Beforean action, if our advice is required, it is ever faithfully tendered;but according to my rough wit, our censure after the field is foughtwould be more invidious than useful. Touching the Protospathaire, if itbe the duty of a general to absent himself from close action, I cansafely say, or swear, were it necessary, that the invincible commanderwas never seen by me within a javelin's cast of aught that looked likedanger. "

This speech, boldly and bluntly delivered, had a general effect on thecompany present. The Emperor himself, and Achilles Tatius, looked likemen who had got off from a danger better than they expected. TheProtospathaire laboured to conceal a movement of resentment. Agelasteswhispered to the Patriarch, near whom he was placed, "The northernbattle-axe lacks neither point nor edge. "

"Hush!" said Zosimus, "let us hear how this is to end; the Princess isabout to speak. "

CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 

 We heard the Tecbir, so these Arabs call Their shout of onset, when with loud acclaim They challenged Heaven, as if demanding conquest. The battle join'd, and through the barb'rous herd, Fight, fight! and Paradise was all their cry. THE SIEGE OF DAMASCUS. 

The voice of the northern soldier, although modified by feelings ofrespect to the Emperor, and even attachment to his captain, had more ofa tone of blunt sincerity, nevertheless, than was usually heard by thesacred echoes of the imperial palace; and though the Princess AnnaComnena began to think that she had invoked the opinion of a severejudge, she was sensible, at the same time, by the deference of hismanner, that his respect was of a character more real, and his applause, should she gain it, would prove more truly flattering, than the gildedassent of the whole court of her father. She gazed with some surpriseand attention on Hereward, already described as a very handsome youngman, and felt the natural desire to please, which is easily created inthe mind towards a fine person of the other sex. His attitude was easyand bold, but neither clownish nor uncourtly. His title of a barbarian, placed him at once free from the forms of civilized life, and the rulesof artificial politeness. But his character for valour, and the nobleself-confidence of his bearing, gave him a deeper interest than wouldhave been acquired by a more studied and anxious address, or an excessof reverential awe. 

In short, the Princess Anna Comnena, high in rank as she was, and bornin the imperial purple, which she herself deemed the first of allattributes, felt herself, nevertheless, in preparing to resume therecitation of her history, more anxious to obtain the approbation ofthis rude soldier, than that of all the rest of the courteous audience. She knew them well, it is true, and felt nowise solicitous about theapplause which the daughter of the Emperor was sure to receive withfull hands from those of the Grecian court to whom she might choose tocommunicate the productions of her father's daughter. But she had now ajudge of a new character, whose applause, if bestowed, must havesomething in it intrinsically real, since it could only be obtained byaffecting his head or his heart. 

It was perhaps under the influence of these feelings, that the Princesswas somewhat longer than usual in finding out the passage in the rollof history at which she purposed to commence. It was also noticed, thatshe began her recitation with a diffidence and embarrassment surprisingto the noble hearers, who had often seen her in full possession of herpresence of mind before what they conceived a more distinguished, andeven more critical audience. 

Neither were the circumstances of the Varangian such as rendered thescene indifferent to him. Anna Comnena had indeed attained her fifthlustre, and that is a period after which Grecian beauty is understoodto commence its decline. How long she had passed that critical period, was a secret to all but the trusted ward-women of the purple chamber. Enough, that it was affirmed by the popular tongue, and seemed to beattested by that bent towards philosophy and literature, which is notsupposed to be congenial to beauty in its earlier buds, to amount toone or two years more. She might be seven-and-twenty. 

Still Anna Comnena was, or had very lately been, a beauty of the veryfirst rank, and must be supposed to have still retained charms tocaptivate a barbarian of the north; if, indeed, he himself was notcareful to maintain an heedful recollection of the immeasurabledistance between them. Indeed, even this recollection might hardly havesaved Hereward from the charms of this enchantress, bold, free-born, and fearless as he was; for, during that time of strange revolutions, there were many instances of successful generals sharing the couch ofimperial princesses, whom perhaps they had themselves rendered widows, in order to make way for their own pretensions. But, besides theinfluence of other recollections, which the reader may learn hereafter, Hereward, though flattered by the unusual degree of attention which thePrincess bestowed upon him, saw in her only the daughter of his Emperorand adopted liege lord, and the wife of a noble prince, whom reason andduty alike forbade him to think of in any other light. 

It was after one or two preliminary efforts that the Princess Annabegan her reading, with an uncertain voice, which gained strength andfortitude as she proceeded with the following passage from a well-knownpart of her history of Alexius Comnenus, but which unfortunately hasnot been republished in the Byzantine historians. The narrative cannot, therefore, be otherwise than acceptable to the antiquarian reader; andthe author hopes to receive the thanks of the learned world for therecovery of a curious fragment, which, without his exertions, mustprobably have passed to the gulf of total oblivion. 

THE RETREAT OF LAODICEA. 

NOW FIRST PUBLISHED FROM THE GREEK OF THE PRINCESS COMNENA'S HISTORY OFHER FATHER. 

"The sun had betaken himself to his bed in the ocean, ashamed, it wouldseem, to see the immortal army of our most sacred Emperor Alexiussurrounded by those barbarous hordes of unbelieving barbarians, who, asdescribed in our last chapter, had occupied the various passes both infront and rear of the Romans, [Footnote: More properly termed theGreeks; but we follow the phraseology of the fair authoress. ] securedduring the preceding night by the wily barbarians. Although, therefore, a triumphant course of advance had brought us to this point, it nowbecame a serious and doubtful question whether our victorious eaglesmight be able to penetrate any farther into the country of the enemy, or even to retreat with safety into their own. 

"The extensive acquaintance of the Emperor with military affairs, inwhich he exceeds most living princes, had induced him, on the precedingevening, to ascertain, with marvellous exactitude and foresight, theprecise position of the enemy. In this most necessary service heemployed certain light-armed barbarians, whose habits and disciplinehad been originally derived from the wilds of Syria; and, if I amrequired to speak according to the dictation of Truth, seeing she oughtalways to sit upon the pen of a historian, I must needs say they wereinfidels like their enemies; faithfully attached, however, to the Romanservice, and, as I believe, true slaves of the Emperor, to whom theycommunicated the information required by him respecting the position ofhis dreaded opponent Jezdegerd. These men did not bring in theirinformation till long after the hour when the Emperor usually betookhimself to rest. 

"Notwithstanding this derangement of his most sacred time, our imperialfather, who had postponed the ceremony of disrobing, so important werethe necessities of the moment, continued, until deep in the night, tohold a council of his wisest chiefs, men whose depth of judgment mighthave saved a sinking world, and who now consulted what was to be doneunder the pressure of the circumstances in which they were now placed. And so great was the urgency, that all ordinary observances of thehousehold were set aside, since I have heard from those who witnessedthe fact, that the royal bed was displayed in the very room where thecouncil assembled, and that the sacred lamp, called the Light of theCouncil, and which always burns when the Emperor presides in personover the deliberations of his servants, was for that night--a thingunknown in our annals--fed with unperfumed oil!!"

The fair speaker here threw her fine form into an attitude whichexpressed holy horror, and the hearers intimated their sympathy in theexciting cause by corresponding signs of interest; as to which we needonly say, that the sigh of Achilles Tatius was the most pathetic; whilethe groan of Agelastes the Elephant was deepest and most tremendouslybestial in its sound. Hereward seemed little moved, except by a slightmotion of surprise at the wonder expressed by the others. The Princess, having allowed due time for the sympathy of her hearers to exhibititself, proceeded as follows:--

"In this melancholy situation, when even the best-established and mostsacred rites of the imperial household gave way to the necessity of ahasty provision for the morrow, the opinions of the counsellors weredifferent, according to their tempers and habits; a thing, by the way, which may be remarked as likely to happen among the best and wisest onsuch occasions of doubt and danger. 

"I do not in this place put down the names and opinions of those whosecounsels were proposed and rejected, herein paying respect to thesecrecy and freedom of debate justly attached to the imperial cabinet. Enough it is to say, that some there were who advised a speedy attackupon the enemy, in the direction of our original advance. Othersthought it was safer, and might be easier, to force our way to the rear, and retreat by the same course which had brought us hither; nor must itbe concealed, that there were persons of unsuspected fidelity, whoproposed a third course, safer indeed than the others, but totallyalien to the mind of our most magnanimous father. They recommended thata confidential slave, in company with a minister of the interior of ourimperial palace, should be sent to the tent of Jezdegerd, in order toascertain upon what terms the barbarian would permit our triumphantfather to retreat in safety at the head of his victorious army. Onlearning such opinion, our imperial father was heard to exclaim, 'Sancta Sophia!' being the nearest approach to an adjuration which hehas been known to permit himself, and was apparently about to saysomething violent both concerning the dishonour of the advice, and thecowardice of those by whom, it was preferred, when, recollecting themutability of human things, and the misfortune of several of hisMajesty's gracious predecessors, some of whom had been compelled tosurrender their sacred persons to the infidels in the same region, hisImperial Majesty repressed his generous feelings, and only suffered hisarmy counsellors to understand his sentiments by a speech, in which hedeclared so desperate and so dishonourable a course would be the lastwhich he would adopt, even in the last extremity of danger. Thus didthe judgment of this mighty Prince at once reject counsel that seemedshameful to his arms, and thereby encourage the zeal of his troops, while privately he kept this postern in reserve, which in utmost needmight serve for a safe, though not altogether, in less urgentcircumstances, an honourable retreat. 

"When the discussion had reached this melancholy crisis, the renownedAchilles Tatius arrived with the hopeful intelligence, that he himselfand some soldiers of his corps had discovered an opening on the leftflank of our present encampment, by which, making indeed a considerablecircuit, but reaching, if we marched with vigour, the town of Laodicea, we might, by falling back on our resources, be in some measure insurety from the enemy. 

"So soon as this ray of hope darted on the troubled mind of ourgracious father, he proceeded to make such arrangements as might securethe full benefit of the advantage. His Imperial Highness would notpermit the brave Varangians, whose battle-axes he accounted the flowerof his imperial army, to take the advanced posts of assailants on thepresent occasion. He repressed the love of battle by which thesegenerous foreigners have been at all times distinguished, and directedthat the Syrian forces in the army, who have been before mentioned, should be assembled with as little noise as possible in the vicinity ofthe deserted pass, with instructions to occupy it. The good genius ofthe empire suggested that, as their speech, arms, and appearance, resembled those of the enemy, they might be permitted unopposed to takepost in the defile with their light-armed forces, and thus secure itfor the passage of the rest of the army, of which he proposed that theVarangians, as immediately attached to his own sacred person, shouldform the vanguard. The well-known battalions, termed the Immortals, came next, comprising the gross of the army, and forming the centre andrear. Achilles Tatius, the faithful Follower of his Royal Master, although mortified that he was not permitted to assume the charge ofthe rear, which he had proposed for himself and his valiant troops, asthe post of danger at the time, cheerfully acquiesced, nevertheless, inthe arrangement proposed by the Emperor, as most fit to effect theimperial safety, and that of the army. 

"The imperial orders, as they were sent instantly abroad, were in likemanner executed with the readiest punctuality, the rather that theyindicated a course of safety which had been almost despaired of even bythe oldest soldiers. During the dead period of time, when, as thedivine Homer tells us, gods and men are alike asleep, it was found thatthe vigilance and prudence of a single individual had provided safetyfor the whole Roman army. The pinnacles of the mountain passes werescarcely touched by the earliest beams of the dawn, when these beamswere also reflected from the steel caps and spears of the Syrians, under the command of a captain named Monastras, who, with his tribe, had attached himself to the empire. The Emperor, at the head of hisfaithful Varangians, defiled through the passes in order to gain thatdegree of advance on the road to the city of Laodicea which was desired, so as to avoid coming into collision with the barbarians. 

"It was a goodly sight to see the dark mass of northern warriors, whonow led the van of the army, moving slowly and steadily through thedefiles of the mountains, around the insulated rocks and precipices, and surmounting the gentler acclivities, like the course of a strongand mighty river; while the loose bands of archers and javelin-men, armed after the Eastern manner, were dispersed on the steep sides ofthe defiles, and might be compared to light foam upon the edge of thetorrent. In the midst of the squadrons of the life-guard might be seenthe proud war-horse of his Imperial Majesty, which pawed the earthindignantly, as if impatient at the delay which separated, him from hisaugust burden. The Emperor Alexius himself travelled in a litter, borneby eight strong African slaves, that he might rise perfectly refreshedif the army should be overtaken by the enemy. The valiant AchillesTatius rode near the couch of his master, that none of those luminousideas, by which our august sire so often decided the fate of battle, might be lost for want of instant communication to those whose duty itwas to execute them. I may also say, that there were close to thelitter of the Emperor, three or four carriages of the same kind; oneprepared for the Moon, as she may be termed, of the universe, thegracious Empress Irene. Among the others which might be mentioned, wasthat which contained the authoress of this history, unworthy as she maybe of distinction, save as the daughter of the eminent and sacredpersons whom the narration chiefly concerns. In this manner theimperial army pressed on through the dangerous defiles, where theirmarch was exposed to insults from the barbarians. They were happilycleared without any opposition. When we came to the descent of the passwhich looks down on the city of Laodicea, the sagacity of the Emperorcommanded the van--which, though the soldiers composing the same wereheavily armed, had hitherto marched extremely fast--to halt, as wellthat they themselves might take some repose and refreshment, as to givethe rearward forces time to come up, and close various gaps which therapid movement of those in front had occasioned in, the line of march. 

"The place chosen for this purpose was eminently beautiful, from thesmall and comparatively insignificant ridge of hills which meltirregularly down into the plains stretching between the pass which weoccupied and Laodicea. The town was about one hundred stadia distant, and some of our more sanguine warriors pretended that they couldalready discern its towers and pinnacles, glittering in the early beamsof the sun, which had not as yet risen high into the horizon. Amountain torrent, which found its source at the foot of a huge rock, that yawned to give it birth, as if struck by the rod of the prophetMoses, poured its liquid treasure down to the more level country, nourishing herbage and even large trees, in its descent, until, at thedistance of some four or five miles, the stream, at least in dryseasons, was lost amid heaps of sand and stones, which in the rainyseason marked the strength and fury of its current. 

"It was pleasant to see the attention of the Emperor to the comforts ofthe companions and guardians of his march. The trumpets from time totime gave license to various parties of the Varangians to lay downtheir arms, to eat the food which was distributed to them, and quenchtheir thirst at the pure stream, which poured its bounties down thehill, or they might be seen to extend their bulky forms upon the turfaround them. The Emperor, his most serene spouse, arid the princessesand ladies, were also served with breakfast, at the fountain formed bythe small brook in its very birth, and which the reverent feelings ofthe soldiers had left unpolluted by vulgar touch, for the use of thatfamily, emphatically said to be born in the purple. Our beloved husbandwas also present on this occasion, and was among the first to detectone of the disasters of the day. For, although all the rest of therepast had been, by the dexterity of the officers of the imperial mouth, so arranged, even on so awful an occasion, as to exhibit littledifference from the ordinary provisions of the household, yet, when hisImperial Highness called for wine, behold, not only was the sacredliquor, dedicated to his own peculiar imperial use, wholly exhausted orleft behind, but, to use the language of Horace, not the vilest Sabinevintage could be procured; so that his Imperial Highness was glad toaccept the offer of a rude Varangian, who proffered his modicum ofdecocted barley, which these barbarians prefer to the juice of thegrape. The Emperor, nevertheless, accepted of this coarse tribute. "

"Insert, " said the Emperor, who had been hitherto either plunged indeep contemplation or in an incipient slumber, "insert, I say, thesevery words: 'And with the heat of the morning, and anxiety of so rapida march, with a numerous enemy in his rear, the Emperor was so thirsty, as never in his life to think beverage more delicious. '"

In obedience to her imperial father's orders, the Princess resigned themanuscript to the beautiful slave by whom it was written, repeating tothe fair scribe the commanded addition, requiring her to note it, asmade by the express sacred command of the Emperor, and then proceededthus:--"More had I said here respecting the favourite liquor of yourImperial Highnesses faithful Varangians; but your Highness having oncegraced it with a word of commendation, this _ail_, as they call it, doubtless because removing all disorders, which they term 'ailments, 'becomes a theme too lofty for the discussion of any inferior person. Suffice it to say, that thus were we all pleasantly engaged, the ladiesand slaves trying to find some amusement for the imperial ears; thesoldiers, in a long line down the ravine, seen in different postures, some straggling to the watercourse, some keeping guard over the arms oftheir comrades, in which duty they relieved each other, while bodyafter body of the remaining troops, under command of the Protospathaire, and particularly those called Immortals, [Footnote: The [Greek:Athanatoi], or Immortals, of the army of Constantinople, were a selectbody, so named, in imitation of the ancient Persians. They were firstembodied, according to Ducange, by Michael Ducas] joined the main armyas they came up. Those soldiers who were already exhausted, wereallowed to take a short repose, after which they were sent forward, with directions to advance steadily on the road to Laodicea; whiletheir leader was instructed, so soon as he should open a freecommunication with that city, to send thither a command forreinforcements and refreshments, not forgetting fitting provision ofthe sacred wine for the imperial mouth. Accordingly, the Roman bands ofImmortals and others had resumed their march, and held some way ontheir journey, it being the imperial pleasure that the Varangians, lately the vanguard, should now form the rear of the whole army, so asto bring off in safety the Syrian light troops, by whom the hilly passwas still occupied, when we heard upon the other side of this defile, which he had traversed with so much safety, the awful sound of the_Lelies_, as the Arabs name their shout of onset, though in whatlanguage it is expressed, it would be hard to say. Perchance some inthis audience may enlighten my ignorance. "

"May I speak and live, " said the Acoulouthos Achilles, proud of hisliterary knowledge, "the words are, _Alla illa alla, Mohamed resoulalla_. [Footnote: i. E. "God is god--Mahomet is the prophet of God. "]These, or something like them, contain the Arabs' profession of faith, which they always call out when they join battle; I have heard themmany times. "

"And so have I, " said the Emperor; "and as thou didst, I warrant me, Ihave sometimes wished myself anywhere else than within hearing. "

All the circle were alive to hear the answer of Achilles Tatius. He wastoo good a courtier, however, to make any imprudent reply. "It was myduty, " he replied, "to desire to be as near your Imperial Highness asyour faithful Follower ought, wherever you might wish yourself for thetime. "

Agelastes and Zosimus exchanged looks, and the Princess Anna Comnenaproceeded in her recitation. 

"The cause of these ominous sounds, which came in wild confusion up therocky pass, was soon explained to us by a dozen cavaliers, to whom thetask of bringing intelligence had been assigned. 

"These informed us, that the barbarians, whose host had been dispersedaround the position in which they had encamped the preceding day, hadnot been enabled to get their forces together until our light troopswere evacuating the post they had occupied for securing the retreat ofour army. They were then drawing off from the tops of the hills intothe pass itself, when, in despite of the rocky ground, they werecharged furiously by Jezdegerd, at the head of a large body of hisfollowers, which, after repeated exertions, he had at length brought tooperate on the rear of the Syrians. Notwithstanding that the pass wasunfavourable for cavalry, the personal exertions of the infidel chiefmade his followers advance with a degree of resolution unknown to theSyrians of the Roman army, who, finding themselves at a distance fromtheir companions, formed the injurious idea that they were left theretobe sacrificed, and thought of flight in various directions, rather thanof a combined and resolute resistance. The state of affairs, therefore, at the further end of the pass, was less favourable than we could wish, and those whose curiosity desired to see something which might betermed the rout of the rear of an army, beheld the Syrians pursued fromthe hill tops, overwhelmed, and individually cut down and madeprisoners by the bands of caitiff Mussulmans. 

"His Imperial Highness looked upon the scene of battle for a fewminutes, and, much commoved at what he saw, was somewhat hasty in hisdirections to the Varangians to resume their arms, and precipitatetheir march towards Laodicea; whereupon one of those northern soldierssaid boldly, though in opposition to the imperial command, 'If weattempt to go hastily down this hill, our rear-guard will be confused, not only by our own hurry, but by these runaway scoundrels of Syrians, who in their headlong flight will not fail to mix themselves among ourranks. Let two hundred Varangians, who will live and die for the honourof England, abide in the very throat of this pass with me, while therest escort the Emperor to this Laodicea, or whatever it is called. Wemay perish in our defence, but we shall die in our duty; and I havelittle doubt but we shall furnish such a meal as will stay the stomachof these yelping hounds from seeking any farther banquet this day. '

"My imperial father at once discovered the importance of this advice, though it made him wellnigh weep to see with what unshrinking fidelitythese poor barbarians pressed to fill up the number of those who wereto undertake this desperate duty--with what kindness they took leave oftheir comrades, and with what jovial shouts they followed theirsovereign with their eyes as he proceeded on his march down the hill, leaving them behind to resist and perish. The Imperial eyes were filledwith tears; and I am not ashamed to confess, that amid the terror ofthe moment, the Empress, and I myself, forgot our rank in paying asimilar tribute to these bold and self-devoted men. 

"We left their leader carefully arraying his handful of comrades indefence of the pass, where the middle path was occupied by their centre, while their wings on either side were so disposed as to act upon theflanks of the enemy, should he rashly press upon such as appearedopposed to him in the road. We had not proceeded half way towards theplain, when a dreadful shout arose, in which the yells of the Arabswere mingled with the deep and more regular shouts which thesestrangers usually repeat thrice, as well when bidding hail to theircommanders and princes, as when in the act of engaging in battle. Manya look was turned back by their comrades, and many a form was seen inthe ranks which might have claimed the chisel of a sculptor, while thesoldier hesitated whether to follow the line of his duty, which calledhim to march forward with his Emperor, or the impulse of courage, whichprompted him to rush back to join his companions. Discipline, however, prevailed, and the main body marched on. 

"An hour had elapsed, during which we heard, from time to time, thenoise of battle, when a mounted Varangian presented himself at the sideof the Emperor's litter. The horse was covered with foam, and hadobviously, from his trappings, the fineness of his limbs, and thesmallness of his joints, been the charger of some chief of the desert, which had fallen by the chance of battle into the possession of thenorthern warrior. The broad axe which the Varangian bore was alsostained with blood, and the paleness of death itself was upon hiscountenance. These marks of recent battle were held sufficient toexcuse the irregularity of his salutation, while he exclaimed, --'NoblePrince, the Arabs are defeated, and you may pursue your march at moreleisure. '

"'Where is Jezdegerd?' said the Emperor, who had many reasons fordreading this celebrated chief. 

"'Jezdegerd, ' continued the Varangian, 'is where brave men are who fallin their duty. '

"'And that is'--said the Emperor, impatient to know distinctly the fateof so formidable an adversary--

"'Where I am now going, ' answered the faithful soldier, who droppedfrom his horse as he spoke, and expired at the feet of the litter-bearers. The Emperor called to his attendants to see that the body ofthis faithful retainer, to whom he destined an honourable sepulchre, was not left to the jackal or vulture; and some of his brethren, theAnglo-Saxons, among whom he was a man of no mean repute, raised thebody on their shoulders, and resumed their march with this additionalencumbrance, prepared to fight for their precious burden, like thevaliant Menelaus for the body of Patroclus. "

The Princess Anna Comnena here naturally paused; for, having attainedwhat she probably considered as the rounding of a period, she waswilling to gather an idea of the feelings of her audience. Indeed, butthat she had been intent upon her own manuscript, the emotions of theforeign soldier must have more early attracted her attention. In thebeginning of her recitation, he had retained the same attitude which hehad at first assumed, stiff and rigid as a sentinel upon duty, andapparently remembering nothing save that he was performing that duty inpresence of the imperial court. As the narrative advanced, however, heappeared to take more interest in what was read. The anxious fearsexpressed by the various leaders in the midnight council, he listenedto with a smile of suppressed contempt, and he almost laughed at thepraises bestowed upon the leader of his own corps, Achilles Tatius. Nordid, even the name of the Emperor, though listened to respectfully, gain that applause for which his daughter fought so hard, and used somuch exaggeration. 

Hitherto the Varangian's countenance indicated very slightly anyinternal emotions; but they appeared to take a deeper hold on his mindas she came to the description of the halt after the main army hadcleared the pass; the unexpected advance of the Arabs; the retreat ofthe column which escorted the Emperor; and the account of the distantengagement. He lost, on hearing the narration of these events, therigid and constrained look of a soldier, who listened to the history ofhis Emperor with the same feelings with which he would have mountedguard at his palace. His colour began to come and go; his eyes to filland to sparkle; his limbs to become more agitated than their ownerseemed to assent to; and his whole appearance was changed into that ofa listener, highly interested by the recitation which he hears, andinsensible, or forgetful, of whatever else is passing before him, aswell as of the quality of those who are present. 

As the historian proceeded, Hereward became less able to conceal hisagitation; and at the moment the Princess looked round, his feelingsbecame so acute, that, forgetting where he was, he dropped hisponderous axe upon the floor, and, clasping his hands together, exclaimed, --"My unfortunate brother!"

All were startled by the clang of the falling weapon, and severalpersons at once attempted to interfere, as called upon to explain acircumstance so unusual. Achilles Tatius made some small progress in aspeech designed to apologize for the rough mode of venting his sorrowsto which Hereward had given way, by assuring the eminent personspresent, that the poor uncultivated barbarian was actually youngerbrother to him who had commanded and fallen at the memorable defile. The Princess said nothing, but was evidently struck, and affected, andnot ill-pleased, perhaps, at having given rise to feelings of interestso flattering to her as an authoress. The others, each in theircharacter, uttered incoherent words of what was meant to beconsolation; for distress which flows from a natural cause, generallyattracts sympathy even from the most artificial characters. The voiceof Alexius silenced all these imperfect speakers: "Hah, my bravesoldier, Edward!" said the Emperor, "I must have been blind that I didnot sooner recognise thee, as I think there is a memorandum entered, respecting five hundred pieces of gold due from us to Edward theVarangian; we have it in our secret scroll of such liberalities forwhich we stand indebted to our servitors, nor shall the payment belonger deferred. " "Not to me, if it may please you, my liege, " said theAnglo-Dane, hastily composing his countenance into its rough gravity oflineament, "lest it should be to one who can claim no interest in yourimperial munificence. My name is Hereward; that of Edward is borne bythree of my companions, all of them as likely as I to have deservedyour Highness's reward for the faithful performance of their duty. "

Many a sign was made by Tatius in order to guard his soldier againstthe folly of declining the liberality of the Emperor. Agelastes spokemore plainly: "Young man, " he said, "rejoice in an honour so unexpected, and answer henceforth to no other name save that of Edward, by which ithath pleased the light of the world, as it poured a ray upon thee, todistinguish thee from other barbarians. What is to thee the font-stone, or the priest officiating thereat, shouldst thou have derived fromeither any epithet different from that by which it hath now pleased theEmperor to distinguish thee from the common mass of humanity, and bywhich proud distinction thou hast now a right to be known everafterwards?"

"Hereward was the name of my father, " said the soldier, who had nowaltogether recovered his composure. "I cannot abandon it while I honourhis memory in death. Edward is the title of my comrade--I must not runthe risk of usurping his interest. "

"Peace all!" interrupted the Emperor. "If we have made a mistake, weare rich enough to right it; nor shall Hereward be the poorer, if anEdward shall be found to merit this gratuity. "

"Your Highness may trust that to your affectionate consort, " answeredthe Empress Irene. 

"His most sacred Highness, " said the Princess Anna Comnena, "is soavariciously desirous to do whatever is good and gracious, that heleaves no room even for his nearest connexions to display generosity ormunificence. Nevertheless, I, in my degree, will testify my gratitudeto this brave man; for where his exploits are mentioned in this history, I will cause to be recorded, --'This feat was done by Hereward theAnglo-Dane, whom it hath pleased his Imperial Majesty to call Edward. 'Keep this, good youth, " she continued, bestowing at the same time aring of price, "in token that we will not forget our engagement. "

Hereward accepted the token with a profound obeisance, and adiscomposure which his station rendered not unbecoming. It was obviousto most persons present, that the gratitude of the beautiful Princesswas expressed in a manner more acceptable to the youthful life-guardsman, than that of Alexius Comnenus. He took the ring with greatdemonstration of thankfulness:--"Precious relic!" he said, as hesaluted this pledge of esteem by pressing it to his lips; "we may notremain long together, but be assured, " bending reverently to thePrincess, "that death alone shall part us. "

"Proceed, our princely daughter, " said the Empress Irene; "you havedone enough to show that valour is precious to her who can confer fame, whether it be found in a Roman or a barbarian. "

The Princess resumed her narrative with some slight appearance ofembarrassment. 

"Our movement upon Laodicea was now resumed, and continued with goodhopes on the part of those engaged in the march. Yet instinctively wecould not help casting our eyes to the rear, which had been so long thedirection in which we feared attack. At length, to our surprise, athick cloud of dust was visible on the descent of the hill, half waybetwixt us and the place at which we had halted. Some of the troops whocomposed our retreating body, particularly those in the rear, began toexclaim 'The Arabs! the Arabs!' and their march assumed a moreprecipitate character when they believed themselves pursed by the enemy. But the Varangian guards affirmed with one voice, that the dust wasraised by the remains of their own comrades, who, left in the defenceof the pass, had marched off after having so valiantly maintained thestation intrusted to them. They fortified their opinion by professionalremarks that the cloud of dust was more concentrated than if raised bythe Arab horse, and they even pretended to assert, from their knowledgeof such cases, that the number of their comrades had been muchdiminished in the action. Some Syrian horsemen, despatched toreconnoitre the approaching body, brought intelligence correspondingwith the opinion of the Varangians in every particular. The portion ofthe body-guard had beaten back the Arabs, and their gallant leader hadslain their chief Jezdegerd, in which service he was mortally wounded, as this history hath already mentioned. The survivors of the detachment, diminished by one half, were now on their march to join the Emperor, asfast as the encumbrance of bearing their wounded to a place of safetywould permit. 

"The Emperor Alexius, with one of those brilliant and benevolent ideaswhich mark his paternal character towards his soldiers, ordered all thelitters, even that for his own most sacred use, to be instantly sentback to relieve the bold Varangians of the task of bearing the wounded. The shouts of the Varangians' gratitude may be more easily conceivedthan described, when they beheld the Emperor himself descend from hislitter, like an ordinary cavalier, and assume his war-horse, at thesame time that the most sacred Empress, as well as the authoress ofthis history, with other princesses born in the purple, mounted uponmules in order to proceed upon the march, while their litters wereunhesitatingly assigned for the accommodation of the wounded men. Thiswas indeed a mark, as well of military sagacity as of humanity; for therelief afforded to the bearers of the wounded, enabled the survivors ofthose who had defended the defile at the fountain, to join us soonerthan would otherwise have been possible. 

"It was an awful thing to see those men who had left us in the fullsplendour which military equipment gives to youth and strength, againappearing in diminished numbers--their armour shattered--their shieldsfull of arrows--their offensive weapons marked with blood, and theythemselves exhibiting all the signs of desperate and recent battle. Norwas it less interesting to remark the meeting of the soldiers who hadbeen engaged, with the comrades whom they had rejoined. The Emperor, atthe suggestion of the trusty Acoulouthos, permitted them a few momentsto leave their ranks, and learn from each other the fate of the battle. 

"As the two bands mingled, it seemed a meeting where grief and joy hada contest together. The most rugged of these barbarians, --and I who sawit can bear witness to the fact, --as he welcomed with a grasp of hisstrong hand some comrade whom he had given up for lost, had his largeblue eyes filled with tears at hearing of the loss of some one whom hehad hoped might have survived. Other veterans reviewed the standardswhich had been in the conflict, satisfied themselves that they had allbeen brought back in honour and safety, and counted the fresh arrow-shots with which they had been pierced, in addition to similar marks offormer battles. All were loud in the praises of the brave young leaderthey had lost, nor were the acclamations less general in laud of himwho had succeeded to the command, who brought up the party of hisdeceased brother--and whom, " said the Princess, in a few words whichseemed apparently interpolated for the occasion, "I now assure of thehigh honour and estimation in which he is held by the author of thishistory--that is, I would say, by every member of the imperial family--for his gallant services in such an important crisis. "

Having hurried over her tribute to her friend the Varangian, in whichemotions mingled that are not willingly expressed before so manyhearers, Anna Comnena proceeded with composure in the part of herhistory which was less personal. 

"We had not much time to make more observations on what passed amongthose brave soldiers; for a few minutes having been allowed to theirfeelings, the trumpet sounded the advance towards Laodicea, and we soonbeheld the town, now about four miles from us, in fields which werechiefly covered with trees. Apparently the garrison had already somenotice of our approach, for carts and wains were seen advancing fromthe gates with refreshments, which the heat of the day, the length ofthe march, and columns of dust, as well as the want of water, hadrendered of the last necessity to us. The soldiers joyfully mendedtheir pace in order to meet the sooner with the supplies of which theystood so much in need. But as the cup doth not carry in all cases theliquid treasure to the lips for which it was intended, however much itmay be longed for, what was our mortification to behold a cloud ofArabs issue at full gallop from the wooded plain betwixt the Roman armyand the city, and throw themselves upon the waggons, slaying thedrivers, and making havoc and spoil of the contents! This, weafterwards learned, was a body of the enemy, headed by Varanes, equalin military fame, among those infidels, to Jezdegerd, his slain brother. When this chieftain saw that it was probable that the Varangians wouldsucceed in their desperate defence of the pass, he put himself at thehead of a large body of the cavalry; and as these infidels are mountedon horses unmatched either in speed or wind, performed a long circuit, traversed the stony ridge of hills at a more northerly defile, andplaced himself in ambuscade in the wooded plain I have mentioned, withthe hope of making an unexpected assault upon the Emperor and his army, at the very time when they might be supposed to reckon upon anundisputed retreat. This surprise would certainly have taken place, andit is not easy to say what might have been the consequence, had not theunexpected appearance of the train of waggons awakened the unbridledrapacity of the Arabs, in spite of their commander's prudence, andattempts to restrain them. In this manner the proposed ambuscade wasdiscovered. 

"But Varanes, willing still to gain some advantage from the rapidity ofhis movements, assembled as many of his horsemen as could be collectedfrom the spoil, and pushed forward towards the Romans, who had stoppedshort on their march at so unlooked for an apparition. There was anuncertainty and wavering in our first ranks which made their hesitationknown even to so poor a judge of military demeanour as myself. On thecontrary, the Varangians joined in a unanimous cry of 'Bills'[Footnote: Villehardouin says, "Les Anglois et Danois mult bienrombattoint avec leurs _haches_. "] (that is, in their language, battle-axes, ) 'to the front!' and the Emperor's most gracious willacceding to their valorous desire, they pressed forward from the rearto the head of the column. I can hardly say how this manoeuvre wasexecuted, but it was doubtless by the wise directions of my most serenefather, distinguished for his presence of mind upon such difficultoccasions. It was, no doubt, much facilitated by the good will of thetroops themselves; the Roman bands, called the Immortals, showing, asit seemed to me, no less desire to fall into the rear, than did theVarangians to occupy the places which the Immortals left vacant infront. The manoeuvre was so happily executed, that before Varanes andhis Arabs had arrived at the van of our troops, they found it occupiedby the inflexible guard of northern soldiers. I might have seen with myown eyes, and called upon them as sure evidences of that which chancedupon the occasion. But, to confess the truth, my eyes were little usedto look upon such sights; for of Varanes's charge I only beheld, as itwere, a thick cloud of dust rapidly driven forward, through which wereseen the glittering points of lances, and the waving plumes of turban'dcavaliers imperfectly visible. The tecbir was so loudly uttered, that Iwas scarcely aware that kettle-drums and brazen cymbals were soundingin concert with it. But this wild and outrageous storm was met aseffectually as if encountered by a rock. 

"The Varangians, unshaken by the furious charge of the Arabs, receivedhorse and rider with a shower of blows from their massive battle-axes, which the bravest of the enemy could not face, nor the strongest endure. The guards strengthened their ranks also, by the hindmost pressing soclose upon those that went before, after the manner of the ancientMacedonians, that the fine-limbed, though slight steeds of thoseIdumeans could not make the least inroad upon the northern phalanx. Thebravest men, the most gallant horses, fell in the first rank. Theweighty, though short, horse javelins, flung from the rear ranks of thebrave Varangians, with good aim and sturdy arm, completed the confusionof the assailants, who turned their back in affright, and fled from thefield in total confusion. 

"The enemy thus repulsed, we proceeded on our march, and only haltedwhen we recovered our half-plundered waggons. Here, also, someinvidious remarks were made by certain officers of the interior of thehousehold, who had been on duty over the stores, and having fled fromtheir posts on the assault of the infidels, had only returned upontheir being repulsed. These men, quick in malice, though slow inperilous service, reported that, on this occasion, the Varangians sofar forgot their duty as to consume a part of the sacred wine reservedfor the imperial lips alone. It would be criminal to deny that this wasa great and culpable oversight; nevertheless, our imperial hero passedit over as a pardonable offence; remarking, in a jesting manner, thatsince he had drunk the _ail_, as they termed it, of his trustyguard, the Varangians had acquired a right to quench the thirst, and torelieve the fatigue, which they had undergone that day in his defence, though they used for these purposes the sacred contents of the imperialcellar. 

"In the meantime, the cavalry of the army were despatched in pursuit ofthe fugitive Arabs; and having succeeded in driving them behind thechain of hills which had so recently divided them from the Romans, theimperial arms might justly be considered as having obtained a completeand glorious victory. 

"We are now to mention the rejoicings of the citizens of Laodicea, who, having witnessed from their ramparts, with alternate fear and hope, thefluctuations of the battle, now descended to congratulate the imperialconqueror. "

Here the fair narrator was interrupted. The principal entrance of theapartment flew open, noiselessly indeed, but with both folding leavesat once, not as if to accommodate the entrance of an ordinary courtier, studying to create as little disturbance as possible, but as if therewas entering a person, who ranked so high as to make it indifferent howmuch attention was drawn to his motions. It could only be one born inthe purple, or nearly allied to it, to whom such freedom was lawful;and most of the guests, knowing who were likely to appear in thatTemple of the Muses, anticipated, from the degree of bustle, thearrival of Nicephorus Briennius, the son-in-law of Alexius Comnenus, the husband to the fair historian, and in the rank of Caesar, which, however, did not at that period imply, as in early ages, the dignity ofsecond person in the empire. The policy of Alexius had interposed morethan one person of condition between the Caesar and his original rightsand rank, which had once been second to those only of the Emperorhimself. 

CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 

 The storm increases--'tis no sunny shower, Foster'd in the moist breast of March or April, Or such as parched Summer cools his lip with: Heaven's windows are flung wide; the inmost deeps Call in hoarse greeting one upon another; On comes the flood in all its foaming horrors, And where's the dike shall stop it! THE DELUGE, _a Poem_. 

The distinguished individual who entered was a noble Grecian, ofstately presence, whose habit was adorned with every mark of dignity, saving those which Alexius had declared sacred to the Emperor's ownperson and that of the Sebastocrator, whom he had established as nextin rank to the head of the empire. Nicephorus Briennius, who was in thebloom of youth, retained all the marks of that manly beauty which hadmade the match acceptable to Anna Comnena; while politicalconsiderations, and the desire of attaching a powerful house asfriendly adherents of the throne, recommended the union to the Emperor. 

We have already hinted that the royal bride had, though in no greatdegree, the very doubtful advantage of years. Of her literary talentswe have seen tokens. Yet it was not believed by those who best knew, that, with the aid of those claims to respect, Anna Comnena wassuccessful in possessing the unlimited attachment of her handsomehusband. To treat her with apparent neglect, her connexion with thecrown rendered impossible; while, on the other hand, the power ofNicephorus's family was too great to permit his being dictated to evenby the Emperor himself. He was possessed of talents, as it was believed, calculated both for war and peace. His advice was, therefore, listenedto, and his assistance required, so that he claimed complete libertywith respect to his own time, which he sometimes used with less regularattendance upon the Temple of the Muses, than the goddess of the placethought herself entitled to, or than the Empress Irene was disposed toexact on the part of her daughter. The good-humoured Alexius observed asort of neutrality in this matter, and kept it as much as possible frombecoming visible to the public, conscious that it required the wholeunited strength of his family to maintain his place in so agitated anempire. 

He pressed his son-in-law's hand, as Nicephorus, passing his father-in-law's seat, bent his knee in token of homage. The constrained manner ofthe Empress indicated a more cold reception of her son-in-law, whilethe fair muse herself scarcely deigned to signify her attention to hisarrival, when her handsome mate assumed the vacant seat by her side, which we have already made mention of. 

There was an awkward pause, during which the imperial son-in-law, coldly received when he expected to be welcomed, attempted to enterinto some light conversation with the fair slave Astarte, who kneltbehind her mistress. This was interrupted by the Princess commandingher attendant to enclose the manuscript within its appropriate casket, and convey it with her own hands to the cabinet of Apollo, the usualscene of the Princess's studies, as the Temple of the Muses was thatcommonly dedicated to her recitations. 

The Emperor himself was the first to break an unpleasant silence. "Fairson-in-law, " he said, "though it now wears something late in the night, you will do yourself wrong if you permit our Anna to send away thatvolume, with which this company have been so delectably entertainedthat they may well say, that the desert hath produced roses, and thebarren rocks have poured forth milk and honey, so agreeable is thenarrative of a toilsome and dangerous campaign, in the language of ourdaughter. "

"The Caesar, " said the Empress, "seems to have little taste for suchdainties as this family can produce. He hath of late repeatedlyabsented himself from this Temple of the Muses, and found doubtlessmore agreeable conversation and amusement elsewhere. "

"I trust, madam, " said Nicephorus, "that my taste may vindicate me fromthe charge implied. But it is natural that our sacred father should bemost delighted with the milk and honey which is produced for his ownspecial use. "

The Princess spoke in the tone of a handsome woman offended by herlover, and feeling the offence, yet not indisposed to a reconciliation. 

"If, " she said, "the deeds of Nicephorus Briennius are less frequentlycelebrated in that poor roll of parchment than those of my illustriousfather, he must do me the justice to remember that such was his ownspecial request; either proceeding from that modesty which is justlyascribed to him as serving to soften and adorn his other attributes, orbecause he with justice distrusts his wife's power to compose theireulogium. "

"We will then summon back Astarte, " said the Empress, "who cannot yethave carried her offering to the cabinet of Apollo. "

"With your imperial pleasure, " said Nicephorus, "it might incense thePythian god were a deposit to be recalled of which he alone can fitlyestimate the value. I came hither to speak with the Emperor uponpressing affairs of state, and not to hold a literary conversation witha company which I must needs say is something of a miscellaneousdescription, since I behold an ordinary life-guardsman in the imperialcircle. "

"By the rood, son-in-law, " said Alexius, "you do this gallant man wrong. He is the brother of that brave Anglo-Dane who secured the victory atLaodicea by his valiant conduct and death; he himself is that Edmund--or Edward---or Hereward---to whom we are ever bound for securing thesuccess of that victorious day. He was called into our presence, son-in-law, since it imports that you should know so much, to refresh thememory of any Follower, Achilles Tatius, as well as mine own, concerning some transactions of the day of which we had become in somedegree oblivious. "

"Truly, imperial sir, " answered Briennius, "I grieve that, by havingintruded on some such important researches, I may have, in some degree, intercepted a portion of that light which is to illuminate future ages. Methinks that in a battle-field, fought under your imperial guidance, and that of your great captains, your evidence might well supersede thetestimony of such a man as this. --Let me know, " he added, turninghaughtily to the Varangian, "what particular thou canst add, that isunnoticed in the Princess's narrative?"

The Varangian replied instantly, "Only that when we made a halt at thefountain, the music that was there made by the ladies of the Emperor'shousehold, and particularly by those two whom I now behold, was themost exquisite that ever reached my ears. "

"Hah! darest thou to speak so audacious an opinion?" exclaimedNicephorus; "is it for such as thou to suppose for a moment that themusic which the wife and daughter of the Emperor might condescend tomake, was intended to afford either matter of pleasure or of criticismto every plebeian barbarian who might hear them? Begone from thisplace! nor dare, on any pretext, again to appear before mine eyes--under allowance always of our imperial father's pleasure. "

The Varangian bent his looks upon Achilles Tatius, as the person fromwhom he was to take his orders to stay or withdraw. But the Emperorhimself took up the subject with considerable dignity. 

"Son, " he said, "we cannot permit this. On account of some love quarrel, as it would seem, betwixt you and our daughter, you allow yourselfstrangely to forget our imperial rank, and to order from our presencethose whom we have pleased to call to attend us. This is neither rightnor seemly, nor is it our pleasure that this same Hereward--or Edward--or whatever be his name--either leave us at this present moment, or doat any time hereafter regulate himself by any commands save our own, orthose of our Follower, Achilles Tatius. And now, allowing this foolishaffair, which I think was blown among us by the wind, to pass as itcame, without farther notice, we crave to know the grave matters ofstate which brought you to our presence at so late an hour. --You lookagain at this Varangian. --Withhold not your words, I pray you, onaccount of his presence; for he stands as high in our trust, and we areconvinced with as good reason, as any counsellor who has been sworn ourdomestic servant. "

"To hear is to obey, " returned the Emperor's son-in-law, who saw thatAlexius was somewhat moved, and knew that in such cases it was neithersafe nor expedient to drive him to extremity. "What I have to say, "continued he, "must so soon be public news, that it little matters whohears it; and yet the West, so full of strange changes, never sent tothe Eastern half of the globe tidings so alarming as those I now cometo tell your Imperial Highness. Europe, to borrow an expression fromthis lady, who honours me by calling me husband, seems loosened fromits foundations and about to precipitate itself upon Asia"----

"So I did express myself, " said the Princess Anna Comnena, "and, as Itrust, not altogether unforcibly, when we first heard that the wildimpulse of those restless barbarians of Europe had driven a tempest asof a thousand nations upon our western frontier, with the extravagantpurpose, as they pretended, of possessing themselves of Syria, and theholy places there marked as the sepulchres of prophets, the martyrdomof saints, and the great events detailed in the blessed gospel. Butthat storm, by all accounts, hath burst and passed away, and we wellhoped that the danger had gone with it. Devoutly shall we sorrow tofind it otherwise. "

"And otherwise we must expect to find it, " said her husband. "It is verytrue, as reported to us, that a huge body of men, of low rank andlittle understanding, assumed arms at the instigation of a mad hermit, and took the road from Germany to Hungary, expecting miracles to bewrought in their favour, as when Israel was guided through thewilderness by a pillar of flame and a cloud. But no showers of manna orof quails relieved their necessities, or proclaimed them the chosenpeople of God. No waters gushed from the rock for their refreshment. They were enraged at their sufferings, and endeavoured to obtainsupplies by pillaging the country. The Hungarians, and other nations onour western frontiers, Christians, like themselves, did not hesitate tofall upon this disorderly rabble; and immense piles of bones, in wildpasses and unfrequented deserts, attest the calamitous defeats whichextirpated these unholy pilgrims. "

"All this, " said the Emperor, "we knew before;--but what new evil nowthreatens, since we have already escaped so important a one?"

"Knew before?" said the Prince Nicephorus. "We knew nothing of our realdanger before, save that a wild herd of animals, as brutal and asfurious as wild bulls, threatened to bend their way to a pasture forwhich they had formed a fancy, and deluged the Grecian empire, and itsvicinity, in their passage, expecting that Palestine, with its streamsof milk and honey, once more awaited them, as God's predestined people. But so wild and disorderly an invasion had no terrors for a civilizednation like the Romans. The brute herd was terrified by our Greek fire;it was snared and shot down by the wild nations who, while they pretendto independence, cover our frontier as with a protecting fortification. The vile multitude has been consumed even by the very quality of theprovisions thrown in their way, --those wise means of resistance whichwere at once suggested by the paternal care of the Emperor, and by hisunfailing policy. Thus wisdom has played its part, and the bark overwhich the tempest had poured its thunder, has escaped, notwithstandingall its violence. But the second storm, by which the former is soclosely followed, is of a new descent of these Western nations, moreformidable than any which we or our fathers have yet seen. Thisconsists not of the ignorant or of the fanatical--not of the base, theneedy, and the improvident. Now, --all that wide Europe possesses ofwhat is wise and worthy, brave and noble, are united by the mostreligious vows, in the same purpose. "

"And what is that purpose? Speak plainly, " said Alexius. "Thedestruction of our whole Roman empire, and the blotting out the veryname of its chief from among the princes of the earth, among which ithas long been predominant, can alone be an adequate motive for aconfederacy such as thy speech infers. "

"No such design is avowed, " said Nicephorus; "and so many princes, wisemen, and statesmen of eminence, aim, it is pretended, at nothing elsethan the same extravagant purpose announced by the brute multitude whofirst appeared in these regions. Here, most gracious Emperor, is ascroll, in which you will find marked down a list of the various armieswhich, by different routes, are approaching the vicinity of the empire. Behold, Hugh of Vermandois, called from his dignity Hugh the Great, hasset sail from the shores of Italy. Twenty knights have alreadyannounced their coming, sheathed in armour of steel, inlaid with gold, bearing this proud greeting:--'Let the Emperor of Greece, and hislieutenants, understand that Hugo, Earl of Vermandois, is approachinghis territories. He is brother to the king of kings--The King ofFrance, [Footnote: Ducange pours out a whole ocean of authorities toshow that the King of France was in those days styled _Rex_, byway of eminence. See his notes on the Alexiad. Anna Comnena in herhistory makes Hugh, of Vermandois assume to himself the titles whichcould only, in the most enthusiastic Frenchman's opinion, have beenclaimed by his older brother, the reigning monarch. ] namely--and isattended by the flower of the French nobility. He bears the blessedbanner of St. Peter, intrusted to his victorious care by the holysuccessor of the apostle, and warns thee of all this, that thou maystprovide a reception suitable to his rank. '"

"Here are sounding words, " said the Emperor; "but the wind whichwhistles loudest is not always most dangerous to the vessel. We knowsomething of this nation of France, and have heard more. They are aspetulant at least as they are valiant; we will flatter their vanitytill we get time and opportunity for more effectual defence. Tush! ifwords can pay debt, there is no fear of our exchequer becominginsolvent. --What follows here, Nicephorus? A list, I suppose, of thefollowers of this great count?"

"My liege, no!" answered Nicephorus Briennius; "so many independentchiefs, as your Imperial Highness sees in that memorial, so manyindependent European armies are advancing by different routes towardsthe East, and announce the conquest of Palestine from the infidels astheir common object. "

"A dreadful enumeration, " said the Emperor, as he perused the list;"yet so far happy, that its very length assures us of the impossibilitythat so many princes can be seriously and consistently united in sowild a project. Thus already my eyes catch the well-known name of anold friend, our enemy--for such are the alternate chances of peace andwar--Bohemond of Antioch. Is not he the son of the celebrated Robert ofApulia, so renowned among his countrymen, who raised himself to therank of grand duke from a simple cavalier, and became sovereign ofthose of his warlike nation, both in Sicily and Italy? Did not thestandards of the German Emperor, of the Roman Pontiff, nay, our ownimperial banners, give way before him; until, equally a wily statesmanand a brave warrior, he became the terror of Europe, from being aknight whose Norman castle would have been easily garrisoned by sixcross-bows, and as many lances? It is a dreadful family, a race ofcraft as well as power. But Bohemond, the son of old Robert, willfollow his father's politics. He may talk of Palestine and of theinterests of Christendom, but if I can make his interests the same withmine, he is not likely to be guided by any other object. So then, withthe knowledge I already possess of his wishes and projects, it maychance that Heaven sends us an ally in the guise of an enemy. --Whomhave we next? Godfrey [Footnote: Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of LowerLorraine--the great Captain of the first Crusade, afterwards King ofJerusalem. See Gibbon, --or Mills, _passim_. ] Duke of Bouillon--leading, I see, a most formidable band from the banks of a huge rivercalled the Rhine. What is this person's character?"

"As we hear, " replied Nicephorus, "this Godfrey is one of the wisest, noblest, and bravest of the leaders who have thus strangely putthemselves in motion; and among a list of independent princes, as manyin number as those who assembled for the siege of Troy, and followed, most of them, by subjects ten times more numerous, this Godfrey may beregarded as the Agamemnon. The princes and counts esteem him, becausehe is the foremost in the ranks of those whom they fantastically callKnights, and also on account of the good faith and generosity which hepractises in all his transactions. The clergy give him credit for thehighest zeal for the doctrines of religion, and a corresponding respectfor the Church and its dignitaries. Justice, liberality, and frankness, have equally attached to this Godfrey the lower class of the people. His general attention to moral obligations is a pledge to them that hisreligion is real; and, gifted with so much that is excellent, he isalready, although inferior in rank, birth, and power to many chiefs ofthe crusade, justly regarded as one of its principal leaders. "

"Pity, " said the Emperor, "that a character such as you describe thisPrince to be, should be under the dominion of a fanaticism scarceworthy of Peter the Hermit, or the clownish multitude which he led, orof the very ass which he rode upon! which I am apt to think the wisestof the first multitude whom we beheld, seeing that it ran away towardsEurope as soon as water and barley became scarce. "

"Might I be permitted here to speak, and yet live, " said Agelastes, "Iwould remark that the Patriarch himself made a similar retreat so soonas blows became plenty and food scarce. "

"Thou hast hit it, Agelastes, " said the Emperor; "but the question nowis, whether an honorable and important principality could not be formedout of part of the provinces of the Lesser Asia, now laid waste by theTurks. Such a principality, methinks, with its various advantages ofsoil, climate, industrious inhabitants, and a healthy atmosphere, werewell worth the morasses of Bouillon. It might be held as a dependenceupon the sacred Roman empire, and garrisoned, as it were, by Godfreyand his victorious Franks, would be a bulwark on that point to our justand sacred person. Ha! most holy patriarch, would not such a prospectshake the most devout Crusader's attachment to the burning sands ofPalestine?"

"Especially, " answered the Patriarch, "if the prince for whom such arich _theme_ [Footnote: These provinces were called _Themes_. ] waschanged into a feudal appanage, should be previously converted to theonly true faith, as your Imperial Highness undoubtedly means. "

"Certainly--most unquestionably, " answered the Emperor, with a dueaffectation of gravity, notwithstanding he was internally conscious howoften he had been compelled, by state necessities, to admit, not onlyLatin Christians, but Manicheans, and other heretics, nay, Mahomedanbarbarians, into the number of his subjects, and that withoutexperiencing opposition from the scruples of the Patriarch. "Here Ifind, " continued the Emperor, "such a numerous list of princes andprincipalities in the act of approaching our boundaries, as might wellrival the armies of old, who were said to have drunk up rivers, exhausted realms, and trode down forests, in their wasteful advance. "As he pronounced these words, a shade of paleness came over theImperial brow, similar to that which had already clothed in sadnessmost of his counsellors. 

"This war of nations, " said Nicephorus, "has also circumstancesdistinguishing it from every other, save that which his ImperialHighness hath waged in former times against those whom we areaccustomed to call Franks. We must go forth against a people to whomthe strife of combat is as the breath of their nostrils; who, ratherthan not be engaged in war, will do battle with their nearestneighbours, and challenge each other to mortal fight, as much in sportas we would defy a comrade to a chariot-race. They are covered with animpenetrable armour of steel, defending them from blows of the lanceand sword, and which the uncommon strength of their horses renders themable to support, though one of ours could as well bear Mount Olympusupon his loins. Their foot-ranks carry a missile weapon unknown to us, termed an arblast, or cross-bow. It is not drawn with the right hand, like the bow of other nations, but by placing the feet upon the weaponitself, and pulling with the whole force of the body; and it despatchesarrows called bolts, of hard wood pointed with iron, which the strengthof the bow can send through the strongest breastplates, and eventhrough stone walls, where not of uncommon thickness. "

"Enough, " said the Emperor; "we have seen with our own eyes the lancesof Frankish knights, and the cross-bows of their infantry. If Heavenhas allotted them a degree of bravery, which to other nations seemswellnigh preternatural, the Divine will has given to the Greek councilsthat wisdom which it hath refused to barbarians; the art of achievingconquest by wisdom rather than brute force--obtaining by our skill intreaty advantages which victory itself could not have procured. If wehave not the use of that dreadful weapon, which our son-in-law termsthe cross-bow, Heaven, in its favour, has concealed from these westernbarbarians the composition and use of the Greek fire--well so called, since by Grecian hands alone it is prepared, and by such only can itslightnings be darted upon the astonished foe. " The Emperor paused, andlooked around him; and although the faces of his counsellors stilllooked blank, he boldly proceeded:--"But to return yet again to thisblack scroll, containing the names of those nations who approach ourfrontier, here occur more than one with which, methinks, old memoryshould make us familiar, though our recollections are distant andconfused. It becomes us to know who these men are, that we may availourselves of those feuds and quarrels among them, which, being blowninto life, may happily divert them from the prosecution of thisextraordinary attempt in which they are now united. Here is, forexample, one Robert, styled Duke of Normandy, who commands a goodlyband of counts, with which title we are but too well acquainted; of_earls_, a word totally strange to us, but apparently somebarbaric title of honour; and of knights whose names are compounded, aswe think, chiefly of the French language, but also of another jargon, which we are not ourselves competent to understand. To you, mostreverend and most learned Patriarch, we may fittest apply forinformation on this subject. "

"The duties of my station, " replied the patriarch Zosimus, "havewithheld my riper years from studying the history of distant realms;but the wise Agelastes, who hath read as many volumes as would fill theshelves of the famous Alexandrian library, can no doubt satisfy yourImperial Majesty's enquiries. "

Agelastes erected himself on those enduring legs which had procured himthe surname of Elephant, and began a reply to the enquiries of theEmperor, rather remarkable for readiness than accuracy. "I have read, "said he, "in that brilliant mirror which reflects the time of ourfathers, the volumes of the learned Procopius, that the peopleseparately called Normans and Angles are in truth the same race, andthat Normandy, sometimes so called, is in fact a part of a district ofGaul. Beyond, and nearly opposite to it, but separated by an arm of thesea, lies a ghastly region, on which clouds and tempests for ever rest, and which is well known to its continental neighbours as the abode towhich departed spirits are sent after this life. On one side of thestrait dwell a few fishermen, men possessed of a strange charter, andenjoying singular privileges, in consideration of their being theliving ferrymen who, performing the office of the heathen Charon, carrythe spirits of the departed to the island which is their residenceafter death. At the dead of night, these fishermen are, in rotation, summoned to perform the duty by which they seem to hold the permissionto reside on this strange coast. A knock is heard at the door of hiscottage who holds the turn of this singular service, sounded by nomortal hand. A whispering, as of a decaying breeze, summons theferryman to his duty. He hastens to his bark on the sea-shore, and hasno sooner launched it than he perceives its hull sink sensibly in thewater, so as to express the weight of the dead with whom it is filled. No form is seen, and though voices are heard, yet the accents areundistinguishable, as of one who speaks in his sleep. Thus he traversesthe strait between the continent and the island, impressed with themysterious awe which affects the living when they are conscious of thepresence of the dead. They arrive upon the opposite coast, where thecliffs of white chalk form a strange contrast with the eternal darknessof the atmosphere. They stop at a landing-place appointed, butdisembark not, for the land is never trodden by earthly feet. Here thepassage-boat is gradually lightened of its unearthly inmates, whowander forth in the way appointed to them, while the mariners slowlyreturn to their own side of the strait, having performed for the timethis singular service, by which they hold their fishing-huts and theirpossessions on that strange coast. " Here he ceased, and the Emperorreplied, --

"If this legend be actually told us by Procopius, most learnedAgelastes, it shows that that celebrated historian came more near theheathen than the Christian belief respecting the future state. In truth, this is little more than the old fable of the infernal Styx. Procopius, we believe, lived before the decay of heathenism, and, as we wouldgladly disbelieve much which he hath told us respecting our ancestorand predecessor Justinian, so we will not pay him much credit in futurein point of geographical knowledge. --Meanwhile, what ails thee, Achilles Tatius, and why dost thou whisper with that soldier?"

"My head, " answered Achilles Tatius, "is at your imperial command, prompt to pay for the unbecoming trespass of my tongue. I did but askof this Hereward here what he knew of this matter; for I have heard myVarangians repeatedly call themselves Anglo-Danes, Normans, Britons, orsome other barbaric epithet, and I am sure that one or other, or it maybe all, of these barbarous sounds, at different times serve todesignate the birth-place of these exiles, too happy in being banishedfrom the darkness of barbarism, to the luminous vicinity of yourimperial presence. "

"Speak, then, Varangian, in the name of Heaven, " said the Emperor, "andlet us know whether we are to look for friends or enemies in those menof Normandy who are now approaching our frontier. Speak with courage, man; and if thou apprehendest danger, remember thou servest a princewell qualified to protect thee. "

"Since I am at liberty to speak, " answered the life-guardian, "althoughmy knowledge of the Greek language, which you term the Roman, is butslight, I trust it is enough to demand of his Imperial Highness, inplace of all pay, donative, or gift whatsoever, since he has beenpleased to talk of designing such for me, that he would place me in thefirst line of battle which shall be formed against these same Normans, and their Duke Robert; and if he pleases to allow me the aid of suchVarangians as, for love of me, or hatred of their ancient tyrants, maybe disposed to join their arms to mine, I have little doubt so tosettle our long accounts with these men, that the Grecian eagles andwolves shall do them the last office, by tearing the flesh from theirbones. "

"What dreadful feud is this, my soldier, " said the Emperor, "that afterso many years still drives thee to such extremities when the very nameof Normandy is mentioned?"

"Your Imperial Highness shall be judge!" said the Varangian. "Myfathers, and those of most, though not all of the corps to whom Ibelong, are descended from a valiant race who dwelt in the North ofGermany, called Anglo-Saxons. Nobody, save a priest possessed of theart of consulting ancient chronicles, can even guess how long it issince they came to the island of Britain, then distracted with civilwar. They came, however, on the petition of the natives of the island, for the aid of the Angles was requested by the southern inhabitants. Provinces were granted in recompense of the aid thus liberally afforded, and the greater proportion of the island became, by degrees, theproperty of the Anglo-Saxons, who occupied it at first as severalprincipalities, and latterly as one kingdom, speaking the language, andobserving the laws, of most of those who now form your imperial body-guard of Varangians, or exiles. In process of time, the Northmen becameknown to the people of the more southern climates. They were so calledfrom their coming from the distant regions of the Baltic Sea--animmense ocean, sometimes frozen with ice as hard as the cliffs of MountCaucasus. They came seeking milder regions than nature had assignedthem at home; and the climate of France being delightful, and itspeople slow in battle, they extorted from them the grant of a largeprovince which was, from the name of the new settlers, called Normandy, though I have heard my father say that was not its proper appellation. They settled there under a Duke, who acknowledged the superiorauthority of the King of France, that is to say, obeying him when itsuited his convenience so to do. 

"Now, it chanced many years since, while these two nations of Normansand Anglo-Saxons were quietly residing upon different sides of thesalt-water channel which divides France from England, that William, Duke of Normandy, suddenly levied a large army, came over to Kent, which is on the opposite side of the channel, and there defeated in agreat battle, Harold, who was at that time King of the Anglo-Saxons. Itis but grief to tell what followed. Battles have been fought in oldtime, that have had dreadful results, which years, nevertheless, couldwash away; but at Hastings--O woe's me!--the banner of my country fell, never again to be raised up. Oppression has driven her wheel over us. All that was valiant amongst us have left the land; and of Englishmen--for such is our proper designation--no one remains in England save asthe thrall of the invaders. Many men of Danish descent, who had foundtheir way on different occasions to England, were blended in the commoncalamity. All was laid desolate by the command of the victors. Myfather's home lies now an undistinguished ruin, amid an extensiveforest, composed out of what were formerly fair fields and domesticpastures, where a manly race derived nourishment by cultivating afriendly soil. The fire has destroyed the church where sleep thefathers of my race; and I, the last of their line, am a wanderer inother climates--a fighter of the battles of others--the servant of aforeign, though a kind master; in a word, one of the banished--aVarangian. "

"Happier in that station" said Achilles Tatius, "than in all thebarbaric simplicity which your forefathers prized so highly, since youare now under the cheering influence of that smile which is the life ofthe world. "

"It avails not talking of this, " said the Varangian, with a coldgesture. 

"These Normans" said the Emperor, "are then the people by whom thecelebrated island of Britain is now conquered and governed?"

"It is but too true" answered the Varangian. 

"They are, then, a brave and warlike people?"--said Alexius. 

"It would be base and false to say otherwise of an enemy" said Hereward. "Wrong have they done me, and a wrong never to be atoned; but to speakfalsehood of them were but a woman's vengeance. Mortal enemies as theyare to me, and mingling with all my recollections as that which ishateful and odious, yet were the troops of Europe mustered, as it seemsthey are likely to be, no nation or tribe dared in gallantry claim theadvance of the haughty Norman. "

"And this Duke Robert, who is he?"

"That, " answered the Varangian, "I cannot so well explain. He is theson--the eldest son, as men say, of the tyrant William, who subduedEngland when I hardly existed, or was a child in the cradle. ThatWilliam, the victor of Hastings, is now dead, we are assured byconcurring testimony; but while it seems his eldest son Duke Robert hasbecome his heir to the Duchy of Normandy, some other of his childrenhave been so fortunate as to acquire the throne of England, --unless, indeed, like the petty farm of some obscure yeoman, the fair kingdomhas been divided among the tyrant's issue. "

"Concerning this, " said the Emperor, "we have heard something, which weshall try to reconcile with the soldier's narrative at leisure, holdingthe words of this honest Varangian as positive proof, in whatsoever heavers from his own knowledge. --And now, my grave and worthy counsellors, we must close this evening's service in the Temple of the Muses, thisdistressing news, brought us by our dearest son-in-law the Caesar, having induced us to prolong our worship of these learned goddesses, deeper into the night than is consistent with the health of our belovedwife and daughter; while to ourselves, this intelligence brings subjectfor grave deliberation. "

The courtiers exhausted their ingenuity in forming the most ingeniousprayers, that all evil consequences should be averted which couldattend this excessive vigilance. 

Nicephorus and his fair bride spoke together as a pair equally desirousto close an accidental breach between them. "Some things thou hast said, my Caesar, " observed the lady, "in detailing this dreadful intelligence, as elegantly turned as if the nine goddesses, to whom this temple isdedicated, had lent each her aid to the sense and expression. "

"I need none of their assistance, " answered Nicephorus, "since Ipossess a muse of my own, in whose genius are included all thoseattributes which the heathens vainly ascribed to the nine deities ofParnassus!"

"It is well, " said the fair historian, retiring by the assistance ofher husband's arm; "but if you will load your wife with praises farbeyond her merits, you must lend her your arm to support her under theweighty burden you have been pleased to impose. " The council partedwhen the imperial persons had retired, and most of them sought toindemnify themselves in more free though less dignified circles, forthe constraint which they had practised in the Temple of the Muses. 

CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 

 Vain man! thou mayst, esteem thy love as fair As fond hyperboles suffice to raise. She may be all that's matchless in her person, And all-divine in soul to match her body; But take this from me--thou shalt never call her Superior to her sex, while _one_ survives, And I am her true votary. OLD PLAY. 

Achilles Tatius, with his faithful Varangian close by his shoulder, melted from the dispersing assembly silently and almost invisibly, assnow is dissolved from its Alpine abodes as the days become more genial. No lordly step, nor clash of armour, betokened the retreat of themilitary persons. The very idea of the necessity of guards was notostentatiously brought forward, because, so near the presence of theEmperor, the emanation supposed to flit around that divinity of earthlysovereigns, had credit for rendering it impassive and unassailable. Thus the oldest and most skilful courtiers, among whom our friendAgelastes was not to be forgotten, were of opinion, that, although theEmperor employed the ministry of the Varangians and other guards, itwas rather for form's sake, than from any danger of the commission of acrime of a kind so heinous, that it was the fashion to account italmost impossible. And this doctrine, of the rare occurrence of such acrime, was repeated from month to month in those very chambers, whereit had oftener than once been perpetrated, and sometimes by the verypersons who monthly laid schemes for carrying some dark conspiracyagainst the reigning Emperor into positive execution. 

At length the captain of the life-guardsmen, and his faithful attendant, found themselves on the outside of the Blacquernal Palace. The passagewhich Achilles found for their exit, was closed by a postern which asingle Varangian shut behind, them, drawing, at the same time, bolt andbar with an ill-omened and jarring sound. Looking back at the mass ofturrets, battlements, and spires, out of which they had at lengthemerged, Hereward could not but feel his heart lighten to find "himselfonce more under the deep blue of a Grecian heaven, where the planetswere burning with unusual lustre. He sighed and rubbed his hands withpleasure, like a man newly restored to liberty. He even spoke to hisleader, contrary to his custom unless addressed:--"Methinks the air ofyonder halls, valorous Captain, carries with it a perfume, which, though it may be well termed sweet, is so suffocating, as to be moresuitable to sepulchrous chambers, than to the dwellings of men. Happy Iam that I am free, as I trust, from its influences. "

"Be happy, then, " said Achilles Tatius, "since thy vile, cloddishspirit feels suffocation rather than refreshment in gales, which, instead of causing death, might recall the dead themselves to life. Yetthis I will say for thee, Hereward, that, born a barbarian, within thenarrow circle of a savage's desires and pleasures, and having no ideaof life, save what thou derivest from such vile and base connexions, thou art, nevertheless, designed by nature for better things, and hastthis day sustained a trial, in which, I fear me, not even one of mineown noble corps, frozen as they are into lumps of unfashioned barbarity, could have equalled thy bearing. And speak now in true faith, hast notthou been rewarded?"

"That will I never deny, " said the Varangian. "The pleasure of knowing, twenty-four hours perhaps before my comrades, that the Normans arecoming hither to afford us a full revenge of the bloody day of Hastings, is a lordly recompense, for the task of spending some hours in hearingthe lengthened chat of a lady, who has written about she knows not what, and the flattering commentaries of the bystanders, who pretended togive her an account of what they did not themselves stop to witness. "

"Hereward, my good youth, " said Achilles Tatius, "thou ravest, and Ithink I should do well to place thee under the custody of some personof skill. Too much hardihood, my valiant soldier, is in sobernessallied to over-daring. It was only natural that thou shouldst feel abecoming pride in thy late position; yet, let it but taint thee withvanity, and the effect will be little short of madness. Why, thou hastlooked boldly in the face of a Princess born in the purple, before whommy own eyes, though well used to such spectacles, are never raisedbeyond the foldings of her veil. "

"So be it in the name of Heaven!" replied Hereward. "Nevertheless, handsome faces were made to look upon, and the eyes of young men to seewithal. "

"If such be their final end, " said Achilles, "never did thine, I willfreely suppose, find a richer apology for the somewhat overbold licensewhich thou tookest in thy gaze upon the Princess this evening. "

"Good leader, or Follower, whichever is your favourite title, " said theAnglo-Briton, "drive not to extremity a plain man, who desires to holdhis duty in all honour to the imperial family. The Princess, wife ofthe Caesar, and born, you tell me, of a purple colour, has nowinherited, notwithstanding, the features of a most lovely woman. Shehath composed a history, of which I presume not to form a judgment, since I cannot understand it; she sings like an angel; and to conclude, after the fashion of the knights of this day--though I deal notordinarily with their language--I would say cheerfully, that I am readyto place myself in lists against any one whomsoever, who dares detractfrom the beauty of the imperial Anna Comnena's person, or from thevirtues of her mind. Having said this, my noble captain, we have saidall that it is competent for you to inquire into, or for me to answer. That there are hansomer women than the Princess, is unquestionable; andI question it the less, that I have myself seen a person whom I thinkfar her superior; and with that let us close the dialogue. "

"Thy beauty, thou unparalleled fool, " said Achilles, "must, I ween, bethe daughter of the large-bodied northern boor, living next door to himupon whose farm was brought up the person of an ass, curst with suchintolerable want of judgment. "

"You may say your pleasure, captain, " replied Hereward: "because it isthe safer for us both that thou canst not on such a topic either offendme, who hold thy judgment as light as thou canst esteem mine, or speakany derogation of a person whom you never saw, but whom, if you hadseen, perchance I might not so patiently have brooked any reflectionsupon, even at the hands of a military superior. "

Achilles Tatius had a good deal of the penetration necessary for one inhis situation. He never provoked to extremity the daring spirits whomhe commanded, and never used any freedom with them beyond the extentthat he knew their patience could bear. Hereward was a favouritesoldier, and had, in that respect at least, a sincere liking and regardfor his commander: when, therefore, the Follower, instead of resentinghis petulance, good-humouredly apologized for having hurt his feelings, the momentary displeasure between them was at an end; the officer atonce reassumed his superiority, and the soldier sunk back with a deepsigh, given to some period which was long past, into his wonted silenceand reserve. Indeed the Follower had another and further design uponHereward, of which he was as yet unwilling to do more than give adistant hint. 

After a long pause, during which they approached the barracks, a gloomyfortified building constructed for the residence of their corps, thecaptain motioned his soldier to draw close up to his side, andproceeded to ask him, in a confidential tone--"Hereward, my friend, although it is scarce to be supposed that in the presence of theimperial family thou shouldst mark any one who did not partake of theirblood, or rather, as Homer has it, who did not participate of thedivine _ichor_, which, in their sacred persons, supplies the placeof that vulgar fluid; yet, during so long an audience, thou mightstpossibly, from his uncourtly person and attire, have distinguishedAgelastes, whom we courtiers call the Elephant, from his strictobservation of the rule which forbids any one to sit down or rest inthe Imperial presence?"

"I think, " replied the soldier, "I marked the man you mean; his age wassome seventy and upwards, --a big burly person;--and the baldness whichreached to the top of his head was well atoned for by a white beard ofprodigious size, which descended in waving curls over his breast, andreached to the towel with which his loins were girded, instead of thesilken sash used by other persons of rank. "

"Most accurately marked, my Varangian, " said the officer. "What elsedidst thou note about this person?"

"His cloak was in its texture as coarse as that of the meanest of thepeople, but it was strictly clean, as if it had been the intention ofthe wearer to exhibit poverty, or carelessness and contempt of dress, avoiding, at the same time, every particular which implied anythingnegligent, sordid, or disgusting. "

"By St. Sophia!" said the officer, "thou astonishest me! The ProphetBaalam was not more surprised when his ass turned round her head andspoke to him!--And what else didst thou note concerning this man? I seethose who meet thee must beware of thy observation, as well as of thybattle-axe. "

"If it please your Valour" answered the soldier, "we English have eyesas well as hands; but it is only when discharging our duty that wepermit our tongues to dwell on what we have observed. I noted butlittle of this man's conversation, but from what I heard, it seemed hewas not unwilling to play what we call the jester, or jack-pudding, inthe conversation, a character which, considering the man's age andphysiognomy, is not, I should be tempted to say, natural, but assumedfor some purpose of deeper import. "

"Hereward, " answered his officer, "thou hast spoken like an angel sentdown to examine men's bosoms: that man, Agelastes, is a contradiction, such as earth has seldom witnessed. Possessing all that wisdom which informer times united the sages of this nation with the gods themselves, Agelastes has the same cunning as the elder Brutus, who disguised histalents under the semblance of an idle jester. He appears to seek nooffice--he desires no consideration--he pays suit at court only whenpositively required to do so; yet what shall I say, my soldier, concerning the cause of an influence gained without apparent effort, and extending almost into the very thoughts of men, who appear to actas he would desire, without his soliciting them to that purpose? Mensay strange things concerning the extent of his communications withother beings, whom our fathers worshipped with prayer and sacrifice. Iam determined, however, to know the road by which he climbs so high andso easily towards the point to which all men aspire at court, and itwill go hard but he shall either share his ladder with me, or I willstrike its support from under him. Thee, Hereward, I have chosen toassist me in this matter, as the knights among these Frankish infidelsselect, when going upon an adventure, a sturdy squire, or inferiorattendant, to share the dangers and the recompense; and this I am movedto, as much by the shrewdness thou hast this night manifested, as bythe courage which thou mayst boast, in common with, or rather beyond, thy companions. "

"I am obliged, and I thank your Valour, " replied the Varangian, morecoldly perhaps than his officer expected; "I am ready, as is my duty, to serve you in anything consistent with God and the Emperor's claimsupon my service. I would only say, that, as a sworn inferior soldier, Iwill do nothing contrary to the laws of the empire, and, as a sincerethough ignorant Christian, I will have nothing to do with the gods ofthe heathens, save to defy them in the name and strength of the holysaints. "

"Idiot!" said Achilles Tatius, "dost thou think that I, alreadypossessed of one of the first dignities of the empire, could meditateanything contrary to the interests of Alexius Comnenus? or, what wouldbe scarce more atrocious, that I, the chosen friend and ally of thereverend Patriarch Zosimus, should meddle with anything bearing arelation, however remote, to heresy or idolatry?"

"Truly, " answered the Varangian, "no one would be more surprised orgrieved than I should; but when we walk in a labyrinth, we must assumeand announce that we have a steady and forward purpose, which is onemode at least of keeping a straight path. The people of this countryhave so many ways of saying the same thing, that one can hardly know atlast what is their real meaning. We English, on the other hand, canonly express ourselves in one set of words, but it is one out of whichall the ingenuity of the world could not extract a double meaning. "

"'Tis well, " said his officer, "to-morrow we will talk more of this, for which purpose thou wilt come to my quarters a little after sunset. And, hark thee, to-morrow, while the sun is in heaven, shall be thineown, either to sport thyself or to repose. Employ thy time in thelatter, by my advice, since to-morrow night, like the present, may findus both watchers. "

So saying, they entered the barracks, where they parted company--thecommander of the life-guards taking his way to a splendid set ofapartments which belonged to him in that capacity, and the Anglo-Saxonseeking his humble accommodations as a subaltern officer of the samecorps. 

CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 

 Such forces met not, nor so vast a camp, When Agrican, with all his northern powers, Besieged Albraeca, as romances tell. The city of Gallaphron, from thence to win The fairest of her sex, Angelica, His daughter, sought by many prowess'd knights, Both Paynim, and the Peers of Charlemagne. PARADISE REGAINED. 

Early on the morning of the day following that which we havecommemorated, the Imperial Council was assembled, where the number ofgeneral officers with sounding titles, disguised under a thin veil thereal weakness of the Grecian empire. The commanders were numerous andthe distinctions of their rank minute, but the soldiers were very fewin comparison. The offices formerly filled by prefects, praetors, andquestors, were now held by persons who had gradually risen into theauthority of those officers, and who, though designated from theirdomestic duties about the Emperor, yet, from that very circumstance, possessed what, in that despotic court, was the most effectual sourceof power. A long train of officers entered the great hall of the Castleof Blacquernal, and proceeded so far together as their different gradesadmitted, while in each chamber through which they passed in succession, a certain number of the train whose rank permitted them to advance nofarther, remained behind the others. Thus, when the interior cabinetof audience was gained, which was not until their passage through tenanterooms, five persons only found themselves in the presence of theEmperor in this innermost and most sacred recess of royalty, decoratedby all the splendour of the period. 

The Emperor Alexius sat upon a stately throne, rich with barbaric gemsand gold, and flanked on either hand, in imitation probably ofSolomon's magnificence, with the form of a couchant lion in the sameprecious metal. Not to dwell upon other marks of splendour, a treewhose trunk seemed also of gold, shot up behind the throne, which itover-canopied with its branches. Amid the boughs were birds of variouskinds curiously wrought and enamelled, and fruit composed of preciousstones seemed to glisten among the leaves. Five officers alone, thehighest in the state, had the privilege of entering this sacred recesswhen the Emperor held council. These were--the Grand Domestic, whomight be termed of rank with a modern prime minister--the Logothete, orchancellor--the Protospathaire, or commander of the guards, alreadymentioned--the Acolyte, or Follower, and leader of the Varangians--andthe Patriarch. 

The doors of this secret apartment, and the adjacent antechamber, wereguarded by six deformed Nubian slaves, whose writhen and witheredcountenances formed a hideous contrast with their snow-white dressesand splendid equipment. They were mutes, a species of wretches borrowedfrom the despotism of the East, that they might be unable to proclaimthe deeds of tyranny of which they were the unscrupulous agents. Theywere generally held in a kind of horror, rather than compassion, formen considered that slaves of this sort had a malignant pleasure inavenging upon others the irreparable wrongs which had severedthemselves from humanity. It was a general custom, though, like manyother usages of the Greeks, it would be held childish in modern times, that by means of machinery easily conceived, the lions, at the entranceof a stranger, were made, as it were, to rouse themselves and roar, after which a wind seemed to rustle the foliage of the tree, the birdshopped from branch to branch, pecked the fruit, and appeared to fillthe chamber with their carolling. This display had alarmed many anignorant foreign ambassador, and even the Grecian counsellorsthemselves were expected to display the same sensations of fear, succeeded by surprise, when they heard the roar of the lions, followedby the concert of the birds, although perhaps it was for the fiftiethtime. On this occasion, as a proof of the urgency of the presentmeeting of the council, these ceremonies were entirely omitted. 

The speech of the Emperor himself seemed to supply by its commencementthe bellowing of the lions, while it ended in a strain more resemblingthe warbling of the birds. 

In his first sentences, he treated of the audacity and unheard-ofboldness of the millions of Franks, who, under the pretence of wrestingPalestine from the infidels, had ventured to invade the sacredterritories of the empire. He threatened them with such chastisement ashis innumerable forces and officers would, he affirmed, find it easy toinflict. To all this the audience, and especially the military officers, gave symptoms of ready assent. Alexius, however, did not long persistin the warlike intentions which he at first avowed. The Franks, he atlength seemed to reflect, were, in profession, Christians. They mightpossibly be serious in their pretext of the crusade, in which casetheir motives claimed a degree of indulgence, and, although erring, acertain portion of respect. Their numbers also were great, and theirvalour could not be despised by those who had seen them fight atDurazzo, [Footnote: For the battle of Durazzo, Oct. 1081, in whichAlexius was defeated with great slaughter by Robert Guiscard, andescaped only by the swiftness of his horse, see Gibbon, ch. 56. ] andelsewhere. They might also, by the permission of Supreme Providence, be, in the long run, the instruments of advantage to the most sacred empire, though they approached it with so little ceremony. He had, therefore, mingling the virtues of prudence, humanity, and generosity, with thatvalour which must always burn in the heart of an Emperor, formed a plan, which he was about to submit to their consideration, for presentexecution; and, in the first place, he requested of the Grand Domestic, to let him know what forces he might count upon on the western side ofthe Bosphorus. 

"Innumerable are the forces of the empire as the stars in heaven, orthe sand on the sea-shore, " answered the Grand Domestic. 

"That is a goodly answer, " said the Emperor, "provided there werestrangers present at this conference; but since we hold consultation inprivate, it is necessary that I know precisely to what number that armyamounts which I have to rely upon. Reserve your eloquence till somefitter time, and let me know what you, at this present moment, mean bythe word _innumerable?_"

The Grand Domestic paused, and hesitated for a short space; but as hebecame aware that the moment was one in which the Emperor could not betrifled with, (for Alexius Comnenus was at times dangerous, ) heanswered thus, but not without hesitation. "Imperial master and lord, none better knows that such an answer cannot be hastily made, if it isat the same time to be correct in its results. The number of theimperial host betwixt this city and the western frontier of the empire, deducting those absent on furlough, cannot be counted upon as amountingto more than twenty-five thousand men, or thirty thousand at most. "

Alexius struck his forehead with his hand; and the counsellors, seeinghim give way to such violent expressions of grief and surprise, beganto enter into discussions, which they would otherwise have reserved fora fitter place and time. 

"By the trust your Highness reposes in me, " said the Logothete, "therehas been drawn from your Highness's coffers during the last year, goldenough to pay double the number of the armed warriors whom the GrandDomestic now mentions. "

"Your Imperial Highness, " retorted the impeached minister, with nosmall animation, "will at once remember the stationary garrisons, inaddition to the movable troops, for which this figure-caster makes noallowance. "

"Peace, both of you!" said Alexius, composing himself hastily; "ouractual numbers are in truth less than we counted on, but let us not bywrangling augment the difficulties of the time. Let those troops bedispersed in valleys, in passes, behind ridges of hills, and indifficult ground, where a little art being used in the position, canmake few men supply the appearance of numbers, between this city andthe western frontier of the empire. While this disposal is made, wewill continue to adjust with these crusaders, as they call themselves, the terms on which we will consent to let them pass through ourdominions; nor are we without hope of negotiating with them, so as togain great advantage to our kingdom. We will insist that they passthrough our country only by armies of perhaps fifty thousand at once, whom we will successively transport into Asia, so that no greaternumber shall, by assembling beneath our walls, ever endanger the safetyof the metropolis of the world. 

"On their way towards the banks of the Bosphorus, we will supply themwith provisions, if they march peaceably, and in order; and if anystraggle from their standards, or insult the country by marauding, wesuppose our valiant peasants will not hesitate to repress theirexcesses, and that without our giving positive orders, since we wouldnot willingly be charged with any thing like a breach of engagement. Wesuppose, also, that the Scythians, Arabs, Syrians, and othermercenaries in our service, will not suffer our subjects to beoverpowered in their own just defence; as, besides that there is nojustice in stripping our own country of provisions, in order to feedstrangers, we will not be surprised nor unpardonably displeased tolearn, that of the ostensible quantity of flour, some sacks should befound filled with chalk, or lime, or some such substance. It is, indeed, truly wonderful, what the stomach of a Frank will digest comfortably. Their guides, also, whom you shall choose with reference to such duty, will take care to conduct the crusaders by difficult and circuitousroutes; which will be doing them a real service, by inuring them to thehardships of the country and climate, which they would otherwise haveto face without seasoning. 

"In the meantime, in your intercourse with their chiefs, whom they callcounts, each of whom thinks himself as great as an Emperor, you willtake care to give no offence to their natural presumption, and omit noopportunity of informing them of the wealth and bounty of ourgovernment. Sums of money may be even given to persons of note, andlargesses of less avail to those under them. You, our Logothete, willtake good order for this, and you, our Grand Domestic, will take carethat such soldiers as may cut off detached parties of the Franks shallbe presented, if possible, in savage dress, and under the show ofinfidels. In commending these injunctions to your care, I purpose that, the crusaders having found the value of our friendship, and also insome sort the danger of our enmity, those whom we shall safelytransport to Asia, shall be, however unwieldy, still a smaller and morecompact body, whom we may deal with in all Christian prudence. Thus, byusing fair words to one, threats to another, gold to the avaricious, power to the ambitious, and reasons to those that are capable oflistening to them, we doubt not but to prevail upon those Franks, metas they are from a thousand points, and enemies of each other, toacknowledge us as their common superior, rather than choose a leaderamong themselves, when they are made aware of the great fact, thatevery village in Palestine, from Dan to Beersheba, is the originalproperty of the sacred Roman empire, and that whatever Christian goesto war for their recovery, must go as our subject, and hold anyconquest which he may make, as our vassal. Vice and virtue, sense andfolly, ambition and disinterested devotion, will alike recommend to thesurvivors of these singular-minded men, to become the feudatories ofthe empire, not its foe, and the shield, not the enemy, of yourpaternal Emperor. "

There was a general inclination of the head among the courtiers, withthe Eastern acclamation of, --"Long live the Emperor!"

When the murmur of this applausive exclamation had subsided, Alexiusproceeded:--"Once more, I say, that my faithful Grand Domestic, andthose who act under him, will take care to commit the execution of suchpart of these orders as may seem aggressive, to troops of foreignappearance and language, which, I grieve to say, are more numerous inour imperial army than our natural-born and orthodox subjects. "

The Patriarch here interposed his opinion. --"There is a consolation, "he said, "in the thought, that the genuine Romans in the imperial armyare but few, since a trade so bloody as war, is most fitly prosecutedby those whose doctrines, as well as their doings, on earth, meriteternal condemnation in the next world. "

"Reverend Patriarch, " said the Emperor, "we would not willingly holdwith the wild infidels, that Paradise is to be gained by the sabre;nevertheless, we would hope that a Roman dying in battle for hisreligion and his Emperor, may find as good hope of acceptation, afterthe mortal pang is over, as a man who dies in peace, and with unbloodedhand. "

"It is enough for me to say, " resumed the Patriarch, "that the Church'sdoctrine is not so indulgent: she is herself peaceful, and her promisesof favour are for those who have been men of peace. Yet think not I barthe gates of Heaven against a soldier, as such, if believing all thedoctrines of our Church, and complying with all our observances; farless would I condemn your Imperial Majesty's wise precautions, both fordiminishing the power and thinning the ranks of those Latin heretics, who come hither to despoil us, and plunder perhaps both church andtemple, under the vain pretext that Heaven would permit them, stainedwith so many heresies, to reconquer that Holy Land, which true orthodoxChristians, your Majesty's sacred predecessors, have not been enabledto retain from the infidel. And well I trust that no settlement madeunder the Latins will be permitted by your Majesty to establish itself, in which the Cross shall not be elevated with limbs of the same length, instead of that irregular and most damnable error which prolongs, inwestern churches, the nether limb of that most holy emblem. "

"Reverend Patriarch, " answered the Emperor, "do not deem that we thinklightly of your weighty scruples; but the question is now, not in whatmanner we may convert these Latin heretics to the true faith, but howwe may avoid being overrun by their myriads, which resemble those ofthe locusts by which their approach was preceded and intimated. "

"Your Majesty, " said the Patriarch, "will act with your usual wisdom;for my part, I have only stated my doubts, that I may save my own soulalive. "

"Our construction, " said the Emperor, "does your sentiments no wrong, most reverend Patriarch; and you, " addressing himself to the othercounsellors, "will attend to these separate charges given out fordirecting the execution of the commands which have been generallyintimated to you. They are written out in the sacred ink, and oursacred subscription is duly marked with the fitting tinge of green andpurple. Let them, therefore, be strictly obeyed. Ourselves will assumethe command of such of the Immortal Bands as remain in the city, andjoin to them the cohorts of our faithful Varangians. At the head ofthese troops, we will await the arrival of these strangers under thewalls of the city, and, avoiding combat while our policy can postponeit, we will be ready, in case of the worst, to take whatsoever chanceit shall please the Almighty to send us. "

Here the council broke up, and the different chiefs began to exertthemselves in the execution of their various instructions, civil andmilitary, secret or public, favourable or hostile to the crusaders. Thepeculiar genius of the Grecian people was seen upon this occasion. Their loud and boastful talking corresponded with the ideas which theEmperor wished to enforce upon the crusaders concerning the extent ofhis power and resources. Nor is it to be disguised, that the wilyselfishness of most of those in the service of Alexius, endeavoured tofind some indirect way of applying the imperial instruction, so asmight best suit their own private ends. 

Meantime, the news had gone abroad in Constantinople of the arrival ofthe huge miscellaneous army of the west upon the limits of the Grecianempire, arid of their purpose to pass to Palestine. A thousand reportsmagnified, if that was possible, an event so wonderful. Some said, thattheir ultimate view was the conquest of Arabia, the destruction of theProphet's tomb, and the conversion of his green banner into a horse-cloth for the King of France's brother. Others supposed that the ruinand sack of Constantinople was the real object of the war. A thirdclass thought it was in order to compel the Patriarch to submit himselfto the Pope, adopt the Latin form of the cross, and put an end to theschism. 

The Varangians enjoyed an addition to this wonderful news, seasoned asit everywhere was with something peculiarly suited to the prejudices ofthe hearers. It was gathered originally from what our friend Hereward, who was one of their inferior officers, called sergeants or constables, had suffered to transpire of what he had heard the preceding evening. Considering that the fact must be soon matter of notoriety, he had nohesitation to give his comrades to understand that a Norman army wascoming hither under Duke Robert, the son of the far-famed William theConqueror, and with hostile intentions, he concluded, against them inparticular. Like all other men in peculiar circumstances, theVarangians adopted an explanation applicable to their own condition. These Normans, who hated the Saxon nation, and had done so much todishonour and oppress them, were now following them, they supposed, tothe foreign capital where they had found refuge, with the purpose ofmaking war on the bountiful prince who protected their sad remnant. Under this belief, many a deep oath was sworn in Norse and Anglo-Saxon, that their keen battle-axes should avenge the slaughter of Hastings, and many a pledge, both in wine and ale, was quaffed who should mostdeeply resent, and most effectually revenge, the wrongs which theAnglo-Saxons of England had received at the hand of their oppressors. 

Hereward, the author of this intelligence, began soon to be sorry thathe had ever suffered it to escape him, so closely was he cross-examinedconcerning its precise import, by the enquiries of his comrades, fromwhom he thought himself obliged to keep concealed the adventures of thepreceding evening, and the place in which he had gained his information. 

About noon, when he was effectually tired with returning the sameanswer to the same questions, and evading similar others which wererepeatedly put to him, the sound of trumpets announced the presence ofthe Acolyte, Achilles Tatius, who came immediately, it wasindustriously whispered, from the sacred Interior, with news of theimmediate approach of war. 

The Varangians, and the Roman bands called Immortal, it was said, wereto form a camp under the city, in order to be prompt to defend it atthe shortest notice. This put the whole barracks into commotion, eachman making the necessary provision for the approaching campaign. Thenoise was chiefly that of joyful bustle and acclamation; and it was sogeneral, that Hereward, whose rank permitted him to commit to a page oresquire the task of preparing his equipments, took the opportunity toleave the barracks, in order to seek some distant place apart from hiscomrades, and enjoy his solitary reflections upon the singularconnexion into which he had been drawn, and his direct communicationwith the Imperial family. 

Passing through the narrow streets, then deserted, on account of theheat of the sun, he reached at length one of those broad terraces, which, descending as it were by steps, upon the margin of the Bosphorus, formed one of the most splendid walks in the universe, and still, it isbelieved, preserved as a public promenade for the pleasure of the Turks, as formerly for that of the Christians. These graduated terraces wereplanted with many trees, among which the cypress, as usual, was mostgenerally cultivated. Here bands of the inhabitants were to be seen:some passing to and fro, with business and anxiety in their faces; somestanding still in groups, as if discussing the strange and weightytidings of the day, and some, with the indolent carelessness of aneastern climate, eating their noontide refreshment in the shade, andspending their time as if their sole object was to make much of the dayas it passed, and let the cares of to-morrow answer for themselves. 

While the Varangian, afraid of meeting some acquaintance in thisconcourse, which would have been inconsistent with the desire ofseclusion which had brought him thither, descended or passed from oneterrace to another, all marked him with looks of curiosity and enquiry, considering him to be one, who, from his arms and connexion with thecourt, must necessarily know more than others concerning the singularinvasion by numerous enemies, and from various quarters, which was thenews of the day. 

None, however, had the hardihood to address the soldier of the guard, though all looked at him with uncommon interest. He walked from thelighter to the darker alleys, from the more closed to the more openterraces, without interruption from any one, yet not without a feelingthat he must not consider himself as alone. 

The desire that he felt to be solitary rendered him at last somewhatwatchful, so that he became sensible that he was dogged by a blackslave, a personage not so unfrequent in the streets of Constantinopleas to excite any particular notice. His attention, however, being atlength fixed on this individual, he began to be desirous to escape hisobservation; and the change of place which he had at first adopted toavoid society in general, he had now recourse to, in order to ridhimself of this distant, though apparently watchful attendant. Still, however, though he by change of place had lost sight of the negro for afew minutes, it was not long ere he again discovered him at a distancetoo far for a companion, but near enough to serve all the purposes of aspy. Displeased at this, the Varangian turned short in his walk, andchoosing a spot where none was in sight but the object of hisresentment, walked suddenly up to him, and demanded wherefore, and bywhose orders, he presumed to dog his footsteps. The negro answered in ajargon as bad as that in which he was addressed though of a differentkind, "that he had orders to remark whither he went. "

"Orders from whom?" said the Varangian. 

"From my master and yours, " answered the negro, boldly. 

"Thou infidel villain!" exclaimed the angry soldier, "when was it thatwe became fellow-servants, and who is it that thou darest to call mymaster?"

"One who is master of the world, " said the slave, "since he commandshis own passions. "

"I shall scarce command mine, " said the Varangian, "if thou repliest tomy earnest questions with thine affected quirks of philosophy. Oncemore, what dost thou want with me? and why hast thou the boldness towatch me?"

"I have told thee already, " said the slave, "that I do my master'scommands. "

"But I must know who thy master is, " said Hereward. 

"He must tell thee that himself, " replied the negro; "he trusts not apoor slave like me with the purpose of the errands on which he sendsme. "

"He has left thee a tongue, however, " said the Varangian, "which someof thy countrymen would. I think, be glad to possess. Do not provoke meto abridge it by refusing me the information which I have a right todemand. "

The black meditated, as it seemed from the grin on his face, furtherevasions, when Hereward cut them short by raising the staff of hisbattle-axe. "Put me not" he said, "to dishonour myself by striking theewith this weapon, calculated for a use so much more noble. "

"I may not do so, valiant sir, " said the negro, laying aside animpudent, half-gibing tone which he had hitherto made use of, andbetraying personal fear in his manner. "If you beat the poor slave todeath, you cannot learn what his master hath forbid him to tell. Ashort walk will save your honour the stain, and yourself the trouble, of beating what cannot resist, and me the pain of enduring what I canneither retaliate nor avoid. "

"Lead on then, " said the Varangian. "Be assured thou shalt not fool meby thy fair words, and I will know the person who is impudent enough toassume the right of watching my motions. "

The black walked on with a species of leer peculiar to his physiognomy, which might be construed as expressive either of malice or of merehumour. The Varangian followed him with some suspicion, for it happenedthat he had had little intercourse with the unhappy race of Africa, andhad not totally overcome the feeling of surprise with which he had atfirst regarded them, when he arrived a stranger from the north. Sooften did this man look back upon him during their walk, and with sopenetrating and observing a cast of countenance, that Hereward feltirresistibly renewed in his mind the English prejudices, which assignedto the demons the sable colour and distorted cast of visage of hisconductor. The scene into which he was guided, strengthened anassociation which was not of itself unlikely to occur to the ignorantand martial islander. 

The negro led the way from the splendid terraced walks which we havedescribed, to a path descending to the sea-shore, when a place appeared, which, far from being trimmed, like other parts of the coast, intowalks of embankments, seemed, on the contrary, abandoned to neglect, and was covered with the mouldering ruins of antiquity, where these hadnot been overgrown by the luxuriant vegetation of the climate. Thesefragments of building, occupying a sort of recess of the bay, werehidden by steep banks on each side, and although in fact they formedpart of the city, yet they were not seen from any part of it, and, embosomed in the manner we have described, did not in turn command anyview of the churches, palaces, towers, and fortifications, amongstwhich they lay. The sight of this solitary, and apparently desertedspot, encumbered with ruins, and overgrown with cypress and other trees, situated as it was in the midst of a populous city, had something in itimpressive and awful to the imagination. The ruins were of an ancientdate, and in the style of a foreign people. The gigantic remains of aportico, the mutilated fragments of statues of great size, but executedin a taste and attitude so narrow and barbaric as to seem perfectly thereverse of the Grecian, and the half-defaced hieroglyphics which couldbe traced on some part of the decayed sculpture, corroborated thepopular account of their origin, which we shall briefly detail. 

According to tradition, this had been a temple dedicated to theEgyptian goddess Cybele, built while the Roman Empire was yet heathen, and while Constantinople was still called by the name of Byzantium. Itis well known that the superstition of the Egyptians--vulgarly gross inits literal meaning as well as in its mystical interpretation, andpeculiarly the foundation of many wild doctrines, --was disowned by theprinciples of general toleration, and the system of polytheism receivedby Rome, and was excluded by repeated laws from the respect paid by theempire to almost every other religion, however extravagant or absurd. Nevertheless, these Egyptian rites had charms for the curious and thesuperstitious, and had, after long opposition, obtained a footing inthe empire. 

Still, although tolerated, the Egyptian priests were rather consideredas sorcerers than as pontiffs, and their whole ritual had a nearerrelation, to magic in popular estimation, than to any regular system ofdevotion. 

Stained with these accusations, even among the heathen themselves, theworship of Egypt was held in more mortal abhorrence by the Christians, than the other and more rational kinds of heathen devotion; that is, ifany at all had a right to be termed so. The brutal worship of Apis andCybele was regarded, not only as a pretext for obscene and profligatepleasures, but as having a direct tendency to open and encourage adangerous commerce with evil spirits, who were supposed to take uponthemselves, at these unhallowed altars, the names and characters ofthese foul deities. Not only, therefore, the temple of Cybele, with itsgigantic portico, its huge and inelegant statues, and its fantastichieroglyphics, was thrown down and defaced when the empire wasconverted to the Christian faith, but the very ground on which it stoodwas considered as polluted and unhallowed; and no Emperor having yetoccupied the site with a Christian church, the place still remainedneglected and deserted as we have described it. 

The Varangian Hereward was perfectly acquainted with the evilreputation of the place; and when the negro seemed disposed to advanceinto the interior of the ruins, he hesitated, and addressed his guidethus:--"Hark thee, my black friend, these huge fantastic images, somehaving dogs' heads, some cows' heads, and some no heads at all, are notheld reverently in popular estimation. Your own colour, also, mycomrade, is greatly too like that of Satan himself, to render you anunsuspicious companion amid ruins, in which the false spirit, it issaid, daily walks his rounds. Midnight and Noon are the times, it isrumoured, of his appearance. I will go no farther with you, unless youassign me a fit reason for so doing. "

"In making so childish a proposal" said the negro, "you take from me, in effect, all desire to guide you to my master. I thought I spoke to aman of invincible courage, and of that good sense upon which courageis best founded. But your valour only emboldens you to beat a blackslave, who has neither strength nor title to resist you; and yourcourage is not enough to enable you to look without trembling on thedark side of a wall, even when the sun is in the heavens. "

"Thou art insolent, " said Hereward, raising his axe. 

"And thou art foolish, " said the negro, "to attempt to prove thymanhood and thy wisdom by the very mode which gives reason for callingthem both in question. I have already said there can be little valourin beating a wretch like me; and no man, surely, who wishes to discoverhis way, would begin by chasing away his guide. "

"I follow thee" said Hereward, stung with the insinuation of cowardice;"but if thou leadest me into a snare, thy free talk shall not save thybones, if a thousand of thy complexion, from earth or hell, werestanding ready to back thee. "

"Thou objectest sorely to my complexion, " said the negro; "how knowestthou that it is, in fact, a thing to be counted and acted upon asmatter of reality? Thine own eyes daily apprize thee, that the colourof the sky nightly changes from bright to black, yet thou knowest thatthis is by no means owing to any habitual colour of the heavensthemselves. The same change that takes place in the hue of the heavens, has existence in the tinge of the deep sea--How canst thou tell, butwhat the difference of my colour from thine own may be owing to somedeceptions change of a similar nature--not real in itself, but onlycreating an apparent reality?"

"Thou mayst have painted thyself, no doubt, " answered the Varangian, upon reflection, "and thy blackness, therefore, may be only apparent;but I think thy old friend himself could hardly have presented thesegrinning lips, with the white teeth and flattened nose, so much to thelife, unless that peculiarity of Nubian physiognomy, as they call it, had accurately and really an existence; and to save thee some trouble, my dark friend, I will tell thee, that though thou speakest to anuneducated Varangian, I am not entirely unskilled in the Grecian art ofmaking subtle words pass upon the hearers instead of reason. "

"Ay?" said the negro, doubtfully, and somewhat surprised; "and may theslave Diogenes--for so my master has christened me--enquire into themeans by which you reached knowledge so unusual?"

"It is soon told, " replied Hereward. "My countryman, Witikind, being aconstable of our bands, retired from active service, and spent the endof a long life in this city of Constantinople. Being past all toils ofbattle, either those of reality, as you word it, or the pomp andfatigue of the exercising ground, the poor old man, in despair ofsomething to pass his time, attended the lectures of the philosophers. "

"And what did he learn there?" said the negro; "for a barbarian, growngrey under the helmet, was not, as I think, a very hopeful student inour schools. "

"As much though, I should think, as a menial slave, which I understandto be thy condition, " replied the soldier. "But I have understood fromhim, that the masters of this idle science make it their business tosubstitute, in their argumentations, mere words instead of ideas; andas they never agree upon the precise meaning of the former, theirdisputes can never arrive at a fair or settled conclusion, since theydo not agree in the language in which they express them. Their theories, as they call them, are built on the sand, and the wind and tide shallprevail against them. "

"Say so to my master, " answered the black, in a serious tone. 

"I will, " said the Varangian; "and he shall know me as an ignorantsoldier, having but few ideas, and those only concerning my religionand my military duty. But out of these opinions I will neither bebeaten by a battery of sophisms, nor cheated by the arts or the terrorsof the friends of heathenism, either in this world or the next. "

"You may speak your mind to him then yourself, " said Diogenes. Hestepped aside as if to make way for the Varangian, to whom he motionedto go forward. 

Hereward advanced accordingly, by a half-worn and almost imperceptiblepath leading through the long rough grass, and, turning round a half-demolished shrine, which exhibited the remains of Apis, the bovinedeity, he came immediately in front of the philosopher, Agelastes, who, sitting among the ruins, reposed his limbs on the grass. 

CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 

 Through the vain webs which puzzle sophists' skill, Plain sense and honest meaning work their way; So sink the varying clouds upon the hill, When the clear dawning--brightens into day. DR. WATTS. 

The old man rose from the ground with alacrity, as Hereward approached. "My bold Varangian" he said, "thou who valuest men and things notaccording to the false estimate ascribed to them in this world, but totheir real importance and actual value, thou art welcome, whatever hasbrought thee hither--thou art welcome to a place, where it is held thebest business of philosophy to strip man of his borrowed ornaments, andreduce him to the just value of his own attributes of body and mind, singly considered. "

"You are a courtier, sir, " said the Saxon, "and as a permittedcompanion of the Emperor's Highness, you must be aware, that there aretwenty times more ceremonies than such a man as I can be acquaintedwith, for regulating the different ranks in society; while a plain manlike myself may be well excused from pushing himself into the companyof those above him, where he does not exactly know how he shouldcomport himself. "

"True, " said the philosopher; "but a man like yourself, noble Hereward, merits more consideration in the eyes of a real philosopher, than athousand of those mere insects, whom the smiles of a court call intolife, and whom its frowns reduce to annihilation. "

"You are yourself, grave sir, a follower of the court, " said Hereward. 

"And a most punctilious one, " said Agelastes. "There is not, I trust, asubject in the empire who knows better the ten thousand punctiliosexigible from those of different ranks, and clue to differentauthorities. The man is yet to be born who has seen me take advantageof any more commodious posture than that of standing in presence of theroyal family. But though I use those false scales in society, and sofar conform to its errors, my real judgment is of a more gravecharacter, and more worthy of man, as said to be formed in the image ofhis Creator. "

"There can be small occasion, " said the Varangian, "to exercise yourjudgment in any respect upon me, nor am I desirous that any one shouldthink of me otherwise than I am; a poor exile, namely, who endeavoursto fix his faith upon Heaven, and to perform his duty to the world helives in, and to the prince in whose service he is engaged. And now, grave sir, permit me to ask, whether this meeting is by your desire, and for what is its purpose? An African slave, whom I met in the publicwalks, and who calls himself Diogenes, tells me that you desired tospeak with me; he hath somewhat the humour of the old scoffer, and sohe may have lied. If so, I will even forgive him the beating which Iowe his assurance, and make my excuse at the same time for havingbroken in upon your retirement, which I am totally unfit to share. "

"Diogenes has not played you false, " answered Agelastes; "he has hishumours, as you remarked even now, and with these some qualities alsothat put him upon a level with those of fairer complexion and betterfeatures. "

"And for what, " said the Varangian, "have you so employed him? Can yourwisdom possibly entertain a wish to converse with me?"

"I am an observer of nature and of humanity, " answered the philosopher;"is it not natural that I should tire of those beings who are formedentirely upon artifice, and long to see something more fresh from thehand of nature?"

"You see not that in me, " said the Varangian; "the rigour of militarydiscipline, the camp--the centurion--the armour--frame a man'ssentiments and limbs to them, as the sea-crab is framed to its shell. See one of us, and you see us all. "

"Permit me to doubt that, " said Agelastes; "and to suppose that inHereward, the son of Waltheoff, I see an extraordinary man, although hehimself may be ignorant, owing to his modesty, of the rarity of his owngood qualities. "

"The son of Waltheoff!" answered the Varangian, somewhat startled. --"Doyou know my father's name?"

"Be not surprised, " answered the philosopher, "at my possessing sosimple a piece of information. It has cost me but little trouble toattain it, yet I would gladly hope that the labour I have taken in thatmatter may convince you of my real desire to call you friend. "

"It was indeed an unusual compliment, " said Hereward, "that a man ofyour knowledge and station should be at the trouble to enquire, amongthe Varangian cohorts, concerning the descent of one of theirconstables. I scarcely think that my commander, the Acolyte himself, would think such knowledge worthy of being collected or preserved. "

"Greater men than he, " said Agelastes, "certainly would not-----Youknow one in high office, who thinks the names of his most faithfulsoldiers of less moment than those of his hunting dogs or his hawks, and would willingly save himself the trouble of calling them otherwisethan by a whistle. "

"I may not hear this, " answered the Varangian. 

"I would not offend you, " said the philosopher, "I would not even shakeyour good opinion of the person I allude to; yet it surprises me thatsuch should be entertained by one of your great qualities. "

"A truce with this, grave sir, which is in fact trifling in a person ofyour character and appearance, " answered the Anglo-Saxon. "I am likethe rocks of my country; the fierce winds cannot shake me, the softrains cannot melt me; flattery and loud words are alike lost upon me. "

"And it is even for that inflexibility of mind, " replied Agelastes, "that steady contempt of every thing that approaches thee, save in thelight of a duty, that I demand, almost like a beggar, that personalacquaintance, which thou refusest like a churl. "

"Pardon me, " said Hereward, "if I doubt this. Whatever stories you mayhave picked up concerning me, not unexaggerated probably--since theGreeks do not keep the privilege of boasting so entirely to themselvesbut the Varangians have learned a little of it--you can have heardnothing of me which can authorise your using your present language, excepting in jest. "

"You mistake, my son, " said Agelastes; "believe me not a person to mixin the idle talk respecting you, with your comrades at the ale-cup. Such as I am, I can strike on this broken image of Anubis"--(here hetouched a gigantic fragment of a statue by his side)--"and bid thespirit who long prompted the oracle, descend, and once more reanimatethe trembling mass. We that are initiated enjoy high privileges--westamp upon those ruined vaults, and the echo which dwells there answersto our demand. Do not think, that although I crave thy friendship, IHeed therefore supplicate thee for information either respectingthyself or others. "

"Your words are wonderful, " said the Anglo-Saxon; "but by suchpromising words I have heard that many souls have been seduced from thepath of heaven. My grandsire, Kenelm, was wont to say, that the fairwords of the heathen philosophy were more hurtful to the Christianfaith than the menaces of the heathen tyrants. "

"I know him, " said Agelastes. "What avails it whether it was in thebody or in the spirit?--He was converted from the faith of Woden by anoble monk, and died a priest at the shrine of saint Augustin. "[Footnote: At Canterbury. ]

"True"--said Hereward; "all this is certain--and I am the rather boundto remember his words now that he is dead and gone. When I hardly knewhis meaning, he bid me beware of the doctrine which causeth to err, which is taught by false prophets, who attest their doctrine by unrealmiracles. "

"This, " said Agelastes, "is mere superstition. Thy grandsire was a goodand excellent man, but narrow-minded, like other priests; and, deceivedby their example, he wished but to open a small wicket in the gate oftruth, and admit the world only on that limited scale. Seest thou, Hereward, thy grandsire and most men of religion would fain narrow ourintellect to the consideration of such parts of the Immaterial world asare essential to our moral guidance here, and our final salvationhereafter; but it is not the less true, that man has liberty, providedhe has wisdom and courage, to form intimacies with beings more powerfulthan himself, who can defy the bounds of space by which he iscircumscribed, and overcome, by their metaphysical powers, difficultieswhich, to the timid and unlearned, may appear wild and impossible. "

"You talk of a folly, " answered Hereward, "at which childhood gapes andmanhood smiles. "

"On the contrary, " said the sage, "I talk of a longing wish which everyman feels at the bottom of his heart, to hold communication with beingsmore powerful than himself, and who are not naturally accessible to ourorgans. Believe me, Hereward, so ardent and universal an aspiration hadnot existed in our bosoms, had there not also been means, if steadilyand wisely sought, of attaining its accomplishment. I will appeal tothine own heart, and prove to thee even by a single word, that what Isay is truth. Thy thoughts are even now upon a being long absent ordead, and with the name of BERTHA, a thousand emotions rush to thyheart, which in thy ignorance thou hadst esteemed furled up for ever, like spoils of the dead hung above a tombstone!--Thou startest andchangest thy colour--I joy to see by these signs, that the firmness andindomitable courage which men ascribe to thee, have left the avenues ofthe heart as free as ever to kindly and to generous affections, whilethey have barred them against those of fear, uncertainty, and all thecaitiff tribe of meatier sensations. I have proffered to esteem thee, and I have no hesitation in proving it. I will tell thee, If thoudesirest to know it, the fate of that very Bertha, whose memory thouhast cherished in thy breast in spite of thee, amidst the toil of theday and the repose of the night, in the battle and in the truce, whensporting with thy companions in fields of exercise, or attempting toprosecute the study of Greek learning, in which if thou wouldst advance, I can teach it by a short road. "

While Agelastes thus spoke, the Varangian in some degree recovered hiscomposure, and made answer, though his voice was somewhat tremulous, --"Who thou art, I know not--what thou wouldst with me, I cannot tell--bywhat means thou hast gathered intelligence of such consequence to me, and of so little to another, I have no conception--But this I know, that by intention or accident, thou hast pronounced a name whichagitates my heart to its deepest recesses; yet am I a Christian andVarangian, and neither to my God nor to my adopted prince will Iwillingly stagger in my faith. What is to be wrought by idols or byfalse deities, must be a treason to the real divinity. Nor is it lesscertain that thou hast let glance some arrows, though the rules of thyallegiance strictly forbid it, at the Emperor himself. Henceforward, therefore, I refuse to communicate with thee, be it for weal or woe. Iam the Emperor's waged soldier, and although I affect not the niceprecisions of respect and obedience, which are exacted in so manyvarious cases, and by so many various rules, yet I am his defence, andmy battle-axe is his body-guard. "

"No one doubts it, " said the philosopher. "But art not thou also boundto a nearer dependence upon' the great Acolyte, Achilles Tatius?"

"No. He is my general, according to the rules of our service, " answeredthe Varangian; "to me he has always shown himself a kind and good-natured man, and, his dues of rank apart, I may say has deportedhimself as a friend rather than a commander. He is, however, mymaster's servant as well as I am; nor do I hold the difference of greatamount, which the word of a man can give or take away at pleasure. "

"It is nobly spoken, " said Agelastes; "and you yourself are surelyentitled to stand erect before one whom you supersede in courage and inthe art of war. "

"Pardon me, " returned the Briton, "if I decline the attributedcompliment, as what in no respect belongs to me. The Emperor chooseshis own officers, in respect of their power of serving him as hedesires to be served. In this it is likely I might fail; I have saidalready, I owe my Emperor my obedience, my duty, and my service, nordoes it seem to me necessary to carry our explanation farther. "

"Singular man!" said Agelastes; "is there nothing than can move theebut things that are foreign to thyself? The name of thy Emperor and thycommander are no spell upon thee, and even that of the object thou hasloved"--

Here the Varangian interrupted him. 

"I have thought, " he said, "upon the words thou hast spoken--thou hastfound the means to shake my heart-strings, but not to unsettle myprinciples. I will hold no converse with thee on a matter in which thoucanst not have interest. --Necromancers, it is said, perform theirspells by means of the epithets of the Holiest; no marvel, then, shouldthey use the names of the purest of his creation to serve theirunhallowed purposes. I will none of such truckling, disgraceful to thedead perhaps as to the living. Whatever has been thy purpose, old man--for, think not thy strange words have passed unnoticed--be thou assuredI bear that in my heart which defies alike the seduction of men and offiends. "

With this the soldier turned, and left the ruined temple, after aslight inclination of his head to the philosopher. 

Agelastes, after the departure of the soldier, remained alone, apparently absorbed in meditation, until he was suddenly disturbed bythe entrance, into the ruins, of Achilles Tatius. The leader of theVarangians spoke not until he had time to form some result from thephilosopher's features. He then said, "Thou remainest, sage Agelastes, confident in the purpose of which we have lately spoke together?"

"I do, " said Agelastes, with gravity and firmness. 

"But, " replied Achilles Tatius, "thou hast not gained to our side thatproselyte, whose coolness and courage would serve us better in our hourof need than the service of a thousand cold-hearted slaves?"

"I have not succeeded, " answered the philosopher. 

"And thou dost not blush to own it?" said the imperial officer in reply. 

"Thou, the wisest of those who yet pretend to Grecian wisdom, the mostpowerful of those who still assert the skill by words, signs, names, periapts, and spells, to exceed the sphere to which thy facultiesbelong, hast been foiled in thy trade of persuasion, like an infantworsted in debate with its domestic tutor? Out upon thee, that thoucanst not sustain in argument the character which thou wouldst so fain, assume to thyself!"

"Peace!" said the Grecian. "I have as yet gained nothing, it is true, over this obstinate and inflexible man; but, Achilles Tatius, neitherhave I lost. We both stand where yesterday we did, with this advantageon my side, that I have suggested to him such an object of interest ashe shall never be able to expel from his mind, until he hath hadrecourse to me to obtain farther knowledge concerning it. --And now letthis singular person remain for a time unmentioned; yet, trust me, though flattery, avarice, and ambition may fail to gain him, a baitnevertheless remains, that shall make him as completely our own as anythat is bound within our mystic and inviolable contract. Tell me then, how go on the affairs of the empire? Does this tide of Xiatin warriors, so strangely set aflowing, still rush on to the banks of the Bosphorus?and does Alexius still entertain hopes to diminish and divide thestrength of numbers, which he could in vain hope to defy?"

"Something further of intelligence has been gained, even within a veryfew hours, " answered Achilles Tatius. "Bohemond came to the city withsome six or eight light horse, and in a species of disguise. Considering how often he had been the Emperor's enemy, his project wasa perilous one. But when is it that these Franks draw back on accountof danger? The Emperor perceived at once that the Count was come to seewhat he might obtain, by presenting himself as the very first object ofhis liberality, and by offering his assistance as mediator with Godfreyof Bouillon and the other princes of the crusade. "

"It is a species of policy, " answered the sage, "for which he wouldreceive full credit from the Emperor. "

Achilles Tatius proceeded:--"Count Bohemond was discovered to theimperial court as if it were by mere accident, and he was welcomed withmarks of favour and splendour which had never been even mentioned asbeing fit for any one of the Frankish race. There was no word ofancient enmity or of former wars, no mention of Bohemond as the ancientusurper of Antioch, and the encroacher upon the empire. But thanks toHeaven were returned on all sides, which had sent a faithful ally tothe imperial assistance at a moment of such imminent peril. "

"And what said Bohemond?" enquired the philosopher. 

"Little or nothing, " said the captain of the Varangians, "until, as Ilearned from the domestic slave Narses, a large sum of gold had beenabandoned to him. Considerable districts were afterwards agreed to beceded to him, and other advantages granted, on condition he shouldstand on this occasion the steady friend of the empire and its master. Such was the Emperor's munificence towards the greedy barbarian, that achamber in the palace was, by chance, as it were, left exposed to hisview, containing large quantities of manufactured silks, of jewellers'work, of gold and silver, and other articles of great value. When therapacious Frank could not forbear some expressions of admiration, hewas assured, that the contents of the treasure-chamber were his own, provided he valued them as showing forth the warmth and sincerity ofhis imperial ally towards his friends; and these precious articles wereaccordingly conveyed to the tent of the Norman leader. By such measures, the Emperor must make himself master of Bohemond, both body and soul, for the Franks themselves say it is strange to see a man of undauntedbravery, and towering ambition, so infected, nevertheless, with avarice, which they term a mean and unnatural vice. "

"Bohemond, " said Agelastes, "is then the Emperor's for life and death--always, that is, till the recollection of the royal munificence beeffaced by a greater gratuity. Alexius, proud as he naturally is of hismanagement with this important chieftain, will no doubt expect toprevail by his counsels, on most of the other crusaders, and even onGodfrey of Bouillon himself, to take an oath of submission and fidelityto the Emperor, which, were it not for the sacred nature of theirwarfare, the meanest gentleman among them would not submit to, were itto be lord of a province. There, then, we rest. A few days mustdetermine what we have to do. An earlier discovery would bedestruction. "

"We meet not then to-night?" said the Acolyte. 

"No, " replied the sage; "unless we are summoned to that foolish stage-play or recitation; and then we meet as playthings in the hand of asilly woman, the spoiled child of a weak-minded parent. "

Tatius then took his leave of the philosopher, and, as if fearful ofbeing seen in each other's company, they left their solitary place ofmeeting by different routes. The Varangian, Hereward, received, shortlyafter, a summons from his superior, who acquainted him, that he shouldnot, as formerly intimated, require his attendance that evening. 

Achilles then paused, and added, --"Thou hast something on thy lips thouwouldst say to me, which, nevertheless hesitates to break forth. "

"It is only this, " answered the soldier: "I have had an interview withthe man called Agelastes, and he seems something so different from whathe appeared when we last spoke of him, that I cannot forbear mentioningto you what I have seen. He is not an insignificant trifler, whoseobject it is to raise a laugh at his own expense, or that of any other. He is a deep-thinking and far-reaching man, who, for some reason orother, is desirous of forming friends, and drawing a party to himself. Your own wisdom will teach you to beware of him. "

"Thou art an honest fellow, my poor Hereward, " said Achilles Tatius, with an affectation of good-natured contempt. "Such men as Agelastes dooften frame their severest jests in the shape of formal gravity--theywill pretend to possess the most unbounded power over elements andelemental spirits--they will make themselves masters of the names andanecdotes best known to those whom they make their sport; and any onewho shall listen to them, shall, in the words of the Divine Homer, onlyexpose himself to a flood of inextinguishable laughter. I have oftenknown him select one of the rawest and most ignorant persons inpresence, and to him for the amusement of the rest, he has pretended tocause the absent to appear, the distant to draw near, and the deadthemselves to burst the cerements of the grave. Take care, Hereward, that his arts make not a stain on the credit of one of my bravestVarangians. "

"There is no danger, " answered Hereward. "I shall not be fond of beingoften with this man. If he jests upon one subject which he hathmentioned to me, I shall be but too likely to teach him seriousnessafter a rough manner. And if he is serious in his pretensions in suchmystical matters, we should, according to the faith of my grandfather, Kenelm, do insult to the deceased, whose name is taken in the mouth ofa soothsayer, or impious enchanter. I will not, therefore, again gonear this Agelastes, be he wizard, or be he impostor. "

"You apprehend me not, " said the Acolyte, hastily; "you mistake mymeaning. He is a man from whom, if he pleases to converse with such asyou, you may derive much knowledge; keeping out of the reach of thosepretended secret arts, which he will only use to turn thee intoridicule. " With these words, which he himself would perhaps have feltit difficult to reconcile, the leader and his follower parted. 

CHAPTER THE NINTH. 

 Between the foaming jaws of the white torrent, The skilful artist draws a sudden mound; By level long he subdivides their strength, Stealing the waters from their rocky bed, First to diminish what he means to conquer; Then, for the residue he forms a road, Easy to keep, and painful to desert, And guiding to the end the planner aim'd at. THE ENGINEER

It would have been easy for Alexius, by a course of avowed suspicion, or any false step in the manner of receiving this tumultuary invasionof the European nations, to have blown into a flame the numerous butsmothered grievances under which they laboured; and a similarcatastrophe would not have been less certain, had he at once abandonedall thoughts of resistance, and placed his hope of safety insurrendering to the multitudes of the west whatsoever they accountedworth taking. The Emperor chose a middle course; and, unquestionably, in the weakness of the Greek empire, it was the only one which wouldhave given him at once safety, and a great degree of consequence in theeyes of the Frank invaders and those of his own subjects. The meanswith, which he acted were of various kinds, and, rather from policythan inclination, were often stained with falsehood or meanness;therefore it follows that the measures of the Emperor resembled thoseof the snake, who twines himself through the grass, with the purpose ofstinging insidiously those whom he fears to approach with the step ofthe bold and generous lion. We are not, however, writing the History ofthe Crusades, and what we have already said of the Emperor'sprecautions on the first appearance of Godfrey of Bouillon, and hisassociates, may suffice for the elucidation of our story. 

About four weeks had now passed over, marked by quarrels andreconcilements between the crusaders and the Grecians of the empire. The former were, as Alexius's policy dictated, occasionally andindividually, received with extreme honour, and their leaders loadedwith respect and favour; while, from time to time, such bodies of themas sought distant or circuitous routes to the capital, were interceptedand cut to pieces by light-armed troops, who easily passed upon theirignorant opponents for Turks, Scythians, or other infidels, andsometimes were actually such, but in the service of the Grecian monarch. Often, too, it happened, that while the more powerful chiefs of thecrusade were feasted by the Emperor and his ministers with the richestdelicacies, and their thirst slaked with iced wines, their followerswere left at a distance, where, intentionally supplied with adulteratedflour, tainted provisions, and bad water, they contracted diseases, anddied in great numbers, without having once seen a foot of the Holy Land, for the recovery of which they had abandoned their peace, theircompetence, and their native country. These aggressions did not passwithout complaint. Many of the crusading chiefs impugned the fidelityof their allies, exposed the losses sustained by their armies as evilsvoluntarily inflicted on them by the Greeks, and on more than oneoccasion, the two nations stood opposed to each other on such termsthat a general war seemed to be inevitable. 

Alexius, however, though obliged to have recourse to every finesse, still kept his ground, and made peace with the most powerful chiefs, under one pretence or other. The actual losses of the crusaders by thesword he imputed to their own aggressions--their misguidance, toaccident and to wilfulness--the effects produced on them by theadulterated provisions, to the vehemence of their own appetite for rawfruits and unripened wines. In short, there was no disaster of any kindwhatsoever which could possibly befall the unhappy pilgrims, but theEmperor stood prepared to prove that it was the natural consequence oftheir own violence, wilfulness of conduct, or hostile precipitancy. 

The chiefs, who were not ignorant of their strength, would not, it waslikely, have tamely suffered injuries from a power so inferior to theirown, were it not that they had formed extravagant ideas of the wealthof the Eastern empire, which Alexius seemed willing to share with themwith an excess of bounty as new to the leaders as the rich productionsof the East were tempting to their followers. 

The French nobles would perhaps have been the most difficult to bebrought into order when differences arose; but an accident, which theEmperor might have termed providential, reduced the high-spirited Countof Vermandois to the situation, of a suppliant, when he expected tohold that of a dictator. A fierce tempest surprised his fleet after heset sail from Italy, and he was finally driven on the coast of Greece. Many ships were destroyed, and those troops who got ashore were so muchdistressed, that they were obliged to surrender themselves to thelieutenants of Alexius. So that the Count of Vermandois, so haughty inhis bearing when he first embarked, was sent to the court ofConstantinople, not as a prince, but as a prisoner. In this case, theEmperor instantly set the soldiers at liberty, and loaded them withpresents. [Footnote: See Mills' History of the Crusades, vol. I, p. 96]

Grateful, therefore, for attentions in which Alexius was unremitting, Count Hugh was by gratitude as well as interest, inclined to join theopinion of those who, for other reasons, desired the subsistence ofpeace betwixt the crusaders and the empire of Greece. A betterprinciple determined the celebrated Godfrey, Raymond of Thoulouse, andsome others, in whom devotion was something more than a mere burst offanaticism. These princes considered with what scandal their wholejourney must be stained, if the first of their exploits should be a warupon the Grecian empire, which might justly be called the barrier ofChristendom. If it was weak, and at the same time rich--if at the sametime it invited rapine, and was unable to protect itself against it--itwas the more their interest and duty, as Christian soldiers, to protecta Christian state, whose existence was of so much consequence to thecommon cause, even when it could not defend itself. It was the wish ofthese frank-hearted men to receive the Emperor's professions offriendship with such sincere returns of amity--to return his kindnesswith so much usury, as to convince him that their purpose towards himwas in every respect fair and honourable, and that it would be hisinterest to abstain from every injurious treatment which might induceor compel them to alter their measures towards him. 

It was with this accommodating spirit towards Alexius, which, for manydifferent and complicated reasons, had now animated most of thecrusaders, that the chiefs consented to a measure which, in othercircumstances, they would probably have refused, as undue to the Greeks, and dishonourable to themselves. This was the famous resolution, that, before crossing the Bosphorus to go in quest of that Palestine whichthey had vowed to regain, each chief of crusaders would acknowledgeindividually the Grecian Emperor, originally lord paramount of allthese regions, as their liege lord and suzerain. 

The Emperor Alexius, with trembling joy, beheld the crusaders approacha conclusion to which he had hoped to bribe them rather by interestedmeans than by reasoning, although much might be said why provincesreconquered from the Turks or Saracens should, if recovered from theinfidel, become again a part of the Grecian empire, from which they hadbeen rent without any pretence, save that of violence. 

Though fearful, and almost despairing of being able to manage the rudeand discordant army of haughty chiefs, who were wholly independent ofeach other, Alexius failed not, with eagerness and dexterity, to seizeupon the admission of Godfrey and his compeers, that the Emperor wasentitled to the allegiance of all who should war on Palestine, andnatural lord paramount of all the conquests which should be made in thecourse of the expedition. He was resolved to make this ceremony sopublic, and to interest men's minds in it by such a display of theimperial pomp and munificence, that it should not either pass unknown, or be readily forgotten. 

An extensive terrace, one of the numerous spaces which extend along thecoast of the Propontis, was chosen for the site of the magnificentceremony. Here was placed an elevated and august throne, calculated forthe use of the Emperor alone. On this occasion, by suffering no otherseats within view of the pageant, the Greeks endeavoured to secure apoint of ceremony peculiarly dear to their vanity, namely, that none ofthat presence, save the Emperor himself, should be seated. Around thethrone of Alexius Comnenus were placed in order, but standing, thevarious dignitaries of his splendid court, in their different ranks, from the Protosebastos and the Caesar, to the Patriarch, splendid inhis ecclesiastical robes, and to Agelastes, who, in his simple habit, gave also the necessary attendance. Behind and around the splendiddisplay of the Emperor's court, were drawn many dark circles of theexiled Anglo-Saxons. These, by their own desire, were not, on thatmemorable day, accoutred in the silver corslets which were the fashionof an idle court, but sheathed in mail and plate. They desired, theysaid, to be known as warriors to warriors. This was the more readilygranted, as there was no knowing what trifle might infringe a trucebetween parties so inflammable as were now assembled. 

Beyond the Varangians, in much greater numbers, were drawn up the bandsof Grecians, or Romans, then known by the title of Immortals, which hadbeen borrowed by the Romans originally from the empire of Persia. Thestately forms, lofty crests, and splendid apparel of these guards, would have given the foreign princes present a higher idea of theirmilitary prowess, had there not occurred in their ranks a frequentindication of loquacity and of motion, forming a strong contrast to thesteady composure and death-like silence with which the well-trainedVarangians stood in the parade, like statues made of iron. 

The reader must then conceive this throne in all the pomp of Orientalgreatness, surrounded by the foreign and Roman troops of the empire, and closed on the rear by clouds of light-horse, who shifted theirplaces repeatedly, so as to convey an idea of their multitude, withoutaffording the exact means of estimating it. Through the dust which theyraised by these evolutions, might be seen banners and standards, amongwhich could be discovered by glances, the celebrated LABARUM, [Footnote: Ducange fills half a column of his huge page with the merenames of the authors who have written at length on the _Labarum_, or principal standard of the empire for the time of Constantine. Itconsisted of a spear of silver, or plated with that metal, havingsuspended from, a cross beam below the spoke a small square silkenbanner, adorned with portraits of the reigning family, and over thesethe famous Monogram which expresses at once the figure of the cross andthe initial letters of the name of Christ. The bearer of the_Labarum_ was an officer of high rank down to the last days of theByzantine government. --See Gibbon, chap. 20. 

Ducange seems to have proved, from the evidence of coins and triumphialmonuments, that a standard of the form of the _Labarum_ was usedby various barbarous nations long before it was adopted by their Romanconquerors, and he is of opinion that its name also was borrowed fromeither Teutonic Germany, or Celtic Gaul, or Sclavonic Illyria. It iscertain that either the German language or the Welsh may afford at thisday a perfectly satisfactory etymon: _Lap-heer_ in the former and_Lab-hair_ in the latter, having precisely the same meaning--_the cloth of the host_. 

The form of the _Labarum_ may still be recognised in the bannerscarried in ecclesiastical processions in all Roman Catholic countries. ]the pledge of conquest to the imperial banners, but whose sacredefficacy had somewhat failed of late days. The rude soldiers of theWest, who viewed the Grecian army, maintained that the standards whichwere exhibited in front of their line, were at least sufficient for thearray of ten times the number of soldiers. 

Far on the right, the appearance of a very large body of Europeancavalry drawn up on the sea-shore, intimated the presence of thecrusaders. So great was the desire to follow the example of the chiefPrinces, Dukes, and Counts, in making the proposed fealty, that thenumber of independent knights and nobles who were to perform thisservice, seemed very great when collected together for that purpose;for every crusader who possessed a tower, and led six lances, wouldhave thought himself abridged of his dignity if he had not been calledto acknowledge the Grecian Emperor, and hold the lands he shouldconquer of his throne, as well as Godfrey of Bouillon, or Hugh theGreat, Count of Vermandois. And yet, with strange inconsistency, thoughthey pressed to fulfil the homage, as that which was paid by greaterpersons than themselves, they seemed, at the very same time, desirousto find some mode of intimating that the homage which they renderedthey felt as an idle degradation, and in fact held the whole show as amere piece of mockery. 

The order of the procession had been thus settled:--The Crusaders, or, as the Grecians called them, the _Counts_, --that being the mostcommon title among them, --were to advance from the left of their body, and passing the Emperor one by one, were apprized, that, in passing, each was to render to him, in as few words as possible, the homagewhich had been previously agreed on. Godfrey of Bouillon, his brotherBaldwin, Bohemond of Antioch, and several other crusaders of eminence, were the first to perform the ceremony, alighting when their own partwas performed, and remaining in attendance by the Emperor's chair, toprevent, by the awe of their presence, any of their numerous associatesfrom being guilty of petulance or presumption during the solemnity. Other crusaders of less degree retained their station near the Emperor, when they had once gained it, out of mere curiosity, or to show thatthey were as much at liberty to do so as the greater commanders whoassumed that privilege. 

Thus two great bodies of troops, Grecian and European, paused at somedistance from each other on the banks of the Bosphorus canal, differingin language, arms, and appearance. The small troops of horse which fromtime to time issued forth from these bodies, resembled the flashes oflightning passing from one thunder-cloud to another, which communicateto each other by such emissaries their overcharged contents. After somehalt on the margin of the Bosphorus, the Franks who had performedhomage, straggled irregularly forward to a quay on the shore, whereinnumerable galleys and smaller vessels, provided for the purpose, laywith sails and oars prepared to waft the warlike pilgrims across thepassage, and place them on that Asia which they longed so passionatelyto visit, and from which but few of them were likely to return. The gayappearance of the vessels which were to receive them, the readinesswith which they were supplied with refreshments, the narrowness of thestrait they had to cross, the near approach of that active servicewhich they had vowed and longed to discharge, put the warriors into gayspirits, and songs and music bore chorus to the departing oars. 

While such was the temper of the crusaders, the Grecian Emperor did hisbest through the whole ceremonial to impress on the armed multitude thehighest ideas of his own grandeur, and the importance of the occasionwhich had brought them together. This was readily admitted by thehigher chiefs; some because their vanity had been propitiated, --somebecause their avarice had been gratified, --some because their ambitionhad been inflamed, --and a few, a very few, because to remain friendswith Alexius was the most probable means of advancing the purposes oftheir expedition. Accordingly the great lords, from these variousmotives, practised a humility which perhaps they were far from feeling, and carefully abstained from all which might seem like irreverence atthe solemn festival of the Grecians. But there were very many of adifferent temper. 

Of the great number of counts, lords, and knights, under whose varietyof banners the crusaders were led to the walls of Constantinople, manywere too insignificant to be bribed to this distasteful measure ofhomage; and these, though they felt it dangerous to oppose resistance, yet mixed their submission with taunts, ridicule, and suchcontraventions of decorum, as plainly intimated that they entertainedresentment and scorn at the step they were about to take, and esteemedit as proclaiming themselves vassals to a prince, heretic in his faith, limited in the exercise of his boasted power, their enemy when he daredto show himself such, and the friend of those only among their number, who were able to compel him to be so; and who, though to them anobsequious ally, was to the others, when occasion offered, an insidiousand murderous enemy. 

The nobles of Frankish origin and descent were chiefly remarkable fortheir presumptuous contempt of every other nation engaged in thecrusade, as well as for their dauntless bravery, and for the scorn withwhich they regarded the power and authority of the Greek empire. It wasa common saying among them, that if the skies should fall, the Frenchcrusaders alone were able to hold them up with their lances. The samebold and arrogant disposition showed itself in occasional quarrels withtheir unwilling hosts, in which the Greeks, notwithstanding all theirart, were often worsted; so that Alexius was determined, at all events, to get rid of these intractable and fiery allies, by ferrying them overthe Bosphorus with all manner of diligence. To do this with safety, heavailed himself of the presence of the Count of Vermandois, Godfrey ofBouillon, and other chiefs of great influence, to keep in order thelesser Frankish knights, who were so numerous and unruly. [Footnote:See Mills, vol. I. Chap. 3. ]

Struggling with his feelings of offended pride, tempered by a prudentdegree of apprehension, the Emperor endeavoured to receive withcomplacence a homage tendered in mockery. An incident shortly tookplace of a character highly descriptive of the nations brought togetherin so extraordinary a manner, and with such different feelings andsentiments. Several bands of French had passed, in a sort of procession, the throne of the Emperor, and rendered, with some appearance ofgravity, the usual homage. On this occasion they bent their knees toAlexius, placed their hands within his, and in that posture paid theceremonies of feudal fealty. But when it came to the turn of Bohemondof Antioch, already mentioned, to render this fealty, the Emperor, desirous to show every species of honour to this wily person, hisformer enemy, and now apparently his ally, advanced two or three pacestowards the sea-side, where the boats lay as if in readiness for hisuse. 

The distance to which the Emperor moved was very small, and it wasassumed as a piece of deference to Bohemond; but it became the means ofexposing Alexius himself to a cutting affront, which his guards andsubjects felt deeply, as an intentional humiliation. A half score ofhorsemen, attendants of the Frankish Count who was next to perform thehomage, with their lord at their head, set off at full gallop from theright flank of the French squadrons, and arriving before the throne, which was yet empty, they at once halted. The rider at the head of theband was a strong herculean figure, with a decided and sterncountenance, though extremely handsome, looking out from thick blackcurls. His head was surmounted with a barret cap, while his hands, limbs, and feet were covered with garments of chamois leather, overwhich he in general wore the ponderous and complete armour of hiscountry. This, however, he had laid aside for personal convenience, though in doing so he evinced a total neglect of the ceremonial whichmarked so important a meeting. He waited not a moment for the Emperor'sreturn, nor regarded the impropriety of obliging Alexius to hurry hissteps back to his throne, but sprung from his gigantic horse, and threwthe reins loose, which were instantly seized by one of the attendantpages. Without a moment's hesitation the Frank seated himself in thevacant throne of the Emperor, and extending his half-armed and robustfigure on the golden cushions which were destined for Alexius, heindolently began to caress a large wolf-hound which had followed him, and which, feeling itself as much at ease as its master, reposed itsgrim form on the carpets of silk and gold damask, which tapestried theimperial foot-stool. The very hound stretched itself with a bold, ferocious insolence, and seemed to regard no one with respect, save thestern knight whom it called master. 

The Emperor, turning back from the short space which, as a special markof favour, he had accompanied Bohemond, beheld with astonishment hisseat occupied by this insolent Frank. The bands of the half-savageVarangians who were stationed around, would not have hesitated aninstant in avenging the insult, by prostrating the violator of theirmaster's throne even in this act of his contempt, had they not beenrestrained by Achilles Tatius and other officers, who were uncertainwhat the Emperor would do, and somewhat timorous of taking a resolutionfor themselves. 

Meanwhile, the unceremonious knight spoke aloud, in a speech which, though provincial, might be understood by all to whom the Frenchlanguage was known, while even those who understood it not, gatheredits interpretation from his tone and manner. "What churl is this, " hesaid, "who has remained sitting stationary like a block of wood, or thefragment of a rock, when so many noble knights, the flower of chivalryand muster of gallantry, stand uncovered around, among the thriceconquered Varangians?"

A deep, clear accent replied, as if from the bottom of the earth, solike it was to the accents of some being from the other world, --"If theNormans desire battle of the Varangians, they will meet them in thelists man to man, without the poor boast of insulting the Emperor ofGreece, who is well known to fight only by the battle-axes of hisguard. "

The astonishment was so great when this answer was heard, as to affecteven the knight, whose insult upon the Emperor had occasioned it; andamid the efforts of Achilles to retain his soldiers within the boundsof subordination and silence, a loud murmur seemed to intimate thatthey would not long remain so. Bohemond returned through the press witha celerity which did not so well suit the dignity of Alexius, andcatching the crusader by the arm, he, something between fair means anda gentle degree of force, obliged him to leave the chair of the Emperor, in which he had placed himself so boldly. 

"How is it, " said Bohemond, "noble Count of Paris? Is there one of thisgreat assembly who can see with patience, that your name, so widelyrenowned for valour, is now to be quoted in an idle brawl withhirelings, whose utmost boast it is to bear a mercenary battle-axe inthe ranks of the Emperor's guards? For shame--for shame--do not, forthe discredit of Norman chivalry, let it be so!"

"I know not, " said the crusader, rising reluctantly--"I am not nice inchoosing the degree of my adversary, when he bears himself like one whois willing and forward in battle. I am good-natured, I tell thee, CountBohemond; and Turk or Tartar, or wandering Anglo-Saxon, who onlyescapes from the chain of the Normans to become the slave of the Greek, is equally welcome to whet his blade clean against my armour, if hedesires to achieve such an honourable office. "

The Emperor had heard what passed--had heard it with indignation, mixedwith fear; for he imagined the whole scheme of his policy was about tobe overturned at once by a premeditated plan of personal affront, andprobably an assault upon his person. He was about to call to arms, when, casting his eyes on the right flank of the crusaders, he saw that allremained quiet after the Frank Baron had transferred himself fromthence. He therefore instantly resolved to let the insult pass, as oneof the rough pleasantries of the Franks, since the advance of moretroops did not give any symptom of an actual onset. 

Resolving on his line of conduct with the quickness of thought, heglided back to his canopy, and stood beside his throne, of which, however, he chose not instantly to take possession, lest he should givethe insolent stranger some ground for renewing and persisting in acompetition for it. 

"What bold Vavasour is this, " said he to Count Baldwin, "whom, as isapparent from his dignity, I ought to have received seated upon mythrone, and who thinks proper thus to vindicate his rank?"

"He is reckoned one of the bravest men in our host, " answered Baldwin, "though the brave are as numerous there as the sands of the sea. Hewill himself tell you his name and rank. "

Alexius looked at the Vavasour. He saw nothing in his large, well-formed features, lighted by a wild touch of enthusiasm which spoke inhis quick eye, that intimated premeditated insult, and was induced tosuppose that what had occurred, so contrary to the form and ceremonialof the Grecian court, was neither an intentional affront, nor designedas the means of introducing a quarrel. He therefore spoke withcomparative ease, when he addressed the stranger thus:--"We know not bywhat dignified name to salute you: but we are aware, from CountBaldwin's information, that we are honoured in having in our presenceone of the bravest knights whom a sense of the wrongs done to the HolyLand has brought thus far on his way to Palestine, to free it from itsbondage. "

"If you mean to ask my name, " answered the European knight, "any one ofthese pilgrims can readily satisfy you, and more gracefully than I canmyself; since we use to say in our country, that many a fierce quarrelis prevented from being fought out by an untimely disclosure of names, when men, who might have fought with the fear of God before their eyes, must, when their names are manifested, recognise each other asspiritual allies, by baptism, gossipred, or some such irresistible bondof friendship; whereas, had they fought first and told their namesafterwards, they could have had some assurance of each other's valour, and have been able to view their relationship as an honour to both. "

"Still, " said the Emperor, "methinks I would know if you, who, in thisextraordinary press of knights, seem to assert a precedence to yourself, claim the dignity due to a king or prince?"

"How speak you that?" said the Frank, with a brow somewhat over-clouded; "do you feel that I have not left you unjostled by my advanceto these squadrons of yours?"

Alexius hastened to answer, that he felt no particular desire toconnect the Count with an affront or offence; observing, that in theextreme necessity of the Empire, it was no time for him, who was at thehelm, to engage in idle or unnecessary quarrels. 

The Frankish knight heard him, and answered drily--"Since such are yoursentiments, I wonder that you have ever resided long enough within thehearing of the French language to learn to speak it as you do. I wouldhave thought some of the sentiments of the chivalry of the nation, since you are neither a monk nor a woman, would, at the same time withthe words of the dialect, have found their way into your heart. " "Hush, Sir Count, " said Bohemond, who remained by the Emperor to avert thethreatening quarrel. "It is surely requisite to answer the Emperor withcivility; and those who are impatient for warfare, will have infidelsenough to wage it with. He only demanded your name and lineage, whichyou of all men can have the least objection to disclose. "

"I know not if it will interest this prince, or Emperor as you termhim, " answered the Frank Count; "but all the account I can give ofmyself is this:--In the midst of one of the vast forests which, occupythe centre of France, my native country, there stands a chapel, sunk solow into the ground, that it seems as if it were become decrepid by itsown great age. The image of the Holy Virgin who presides over its altar, is called by all men our Lady of the Broken Lances, and is accountedthrough the whole kingdom the most celebrated for military adventures. Four beaten roads, each leading from an opposite point in the compass, meet before the principal door of the chapel; and ever and anon, as agood knight arrives at this place, he passes in to the performance ofhis devotions in the chapel, having first sounded his horn three times, till ash and oak-tree quiver and ring. Having then kneeled down to hisdevotions, he seldom arises from the mass of Her of the Broken Lances, but there is attending on his leisure some adventurous knight ready tosatisfy the new comer's desire of battle. This station have I held fora month and more against all comers, and all gave me fair thanks forthe knightly manner of quitting myself towards them, except one, whohad the evil hap to fall from his horse, and did break his neck; andanother, who was struck through the body, so that the lance came outbehind his back about a cloth-yard, all dripping with blood. Allowingfor such accidents, which cannot easily be avoided, my opponents partedwith me with fair acknowledgment of the grace I had done them. "

"I conceive, Sir Knight, " said the Emperor, "that a form like yours, animated by the courage you display, is likely to find few equals evenamong your adventurous countrymen; far less among men who are taughtthat to cast away their lives in a senseless quarrel among themselves, is to throw away, like a boy, the gift of Providence. "

"You are welcome to your opinion, " said the Frank, somewhatcontemptuously; "yet I assure you, if you doubt that our gallant strifewas unmixed with sullenness and anger, and that we hunt not the hart orthe boar with merrier hearts in the evening, than we discharge our taskof chivalry by the morn had arisen, before the portal of the old chapel, you do us foul injustice. "

"With the Turks you will not enjoy this amiable exchange ofcourtesies, " answered Alexius. "Wherefore I would advise you neither tostray far into the van nor into the rear, but to abide by the standardwhere the best infidels make their efforts, and the best knights arerequired to repel them. "

"By our Lady of the Broken Lances, " said the Crusader, "I would notthat the Turks were more courteous than they are Christian, and am wellpleased that unbeliever and heathen hound are a proper description forthe best of them, as being traitor alike to their God and to the lawsof chivalry; and devoutly do I trust that I shall meet with them in thefront rank of our army, beside our standard, or elsewhere, and have anopen field to my devoir against them, both as the enemies of our Ladyand the holy saints, and as, by their evil customs, more expressly myown. Meanwhile you have time to seat yourself and receive my homage, and I will be bound to you for despatching this foolish ceremony withas little waste and delay of time as the occasion will permit. "

The Emperor hastily seated himself, and received into his the sinewyhands of the Crusader, who made the acknowledgment of his homage, andwas then guided off by Count Baldwin, who walked with the stranger tothe ships, and then, apparently well pleased at seeing him in thecourse of going on board, returned back to the side of the Emperor. 

"What is the name, " said the Emperor, "of that singular and assumingman?"

"It is Robert, Count of Paris, " answered Baldwin, "accounted one of thebravest peers who stand around the throne of France. "

After a moment's recollection, Alexius Comnenus issued orders, that theceremonial of the day should be discontinued, afraid, perhaps, lest therough and careless humour of the strangers should produce some newquarrel. The crusaders were led, nothing loth, back to palaces in whichthey had been hospitably received, and readily resumed the interruptedfeast, from which they had been called to pay their homage. Thetrumpets of the various leaders blew the recall of the few troops of anordinary character who were attendant, together with the host ofknights and leaders, who, pleased with the indulgences provided forthem, and obscurely foreseeing that the passage of the Bosphorus wouldbe the commencement of their actual suffering, rejoiced in being calledto the hither side. 

It was not probably intended; but the hero, as he might be styled, ofthe tumultuous day, Count Robert of Paris, who was already on his roadto embarkation on the strait, was disturbed in his purpose by the soundof recall which was echoed around; nor could Bohemond, Godfrey, or anyone who took upon him to explain the signal, alter his resolution ofreturning to Constantinople. He laughed to scorn the threateneddispleasure of the Emperor, and seemed to think there would be apeculiar pleasure in braving Alexius at his own board, or, at least, that nothing could be more indifferent than whether he gave offence ornot. 

To Godfrey of Bouillon, to whom he showed some respect, he was stillfar from paying deference; and that sagacious prince, having used everyargument which might shake his purpose of returning to the imperialcity, to the very point of making it a quarrel with him in person, atlength abandoned him to his own discretion, and pointed him out to theCount of Thoulouse, as he passed, as a wild knight-errant, incapable ofbeing influenced by any thing save his own wayward fancy. "He bringsnot five hundred men to the crusade, " said Godfrey; "and I dare besworn, that even in this, the very outset of the undertaking, he knowsnot where these five hundred men are, and how their wants are providedfor. There is an eternal trumpet in his ear sounding to assault, norhas he room or time to hear a milder or more rational signal. See howhe strolls along yonder, the very emblem of an idle schoolboy, brokeout of the school-bounds upon a holyday, half animated by curiosity andhalf by love of mischief. "

"And, " said Raymond, Count of Thoulouse, "with resolution sufficient tosupport the desperate purpose of the whole army of devoted crusaders. And yet so passionate a Rodomont is Count Robert, that he would ratherrisk the success of the whole expedition, that omit an opportunity ofmeeting a worthy antagonist _en champ-clos_, or lose, as he termsit, a chance of worshipping our Lady of the Broken Lances. Who are yonwith whom he has now met, and who are apparently walking, or ratherstrolling in the same way with him, back to Constantinople?"

"An armed knight, brilliantly equipped--yet of something less thanknightly stature, " answered Godfrey. "It is, I suppose, the celebratedlady who won Robert's heart in the lists of battle, by bravery andvalour equal to his own; and the pilgrim form in the long vestments maybe their daughter or niece. "

"A singular spectacle, worthy Knight, " said the Count of Thoulouse, "doour days present to us, to which we have had nothing similar, sinceGaita, [Footnote: This Amazon makes a conspicuous figure in AnnaComnena's account of her father's campaigns against Robert Guiscard. Onone occasion (Alexiad, lib. Iv. P. 93) she represents her as thusrecalling the fugitive soldiery of her husband to their duty, --[Greek:Hae de ge Taita Aeallas allae, kan mae Athaenae kat auton megisaenapheisa phonaen, monon ou to Homaerikon epos tae idia dialektio legeineokei. Mechri posou pheuxesthou; ataete aneres ese. Hos de etipheugontas toutous eora, dory makron enagkalisamenae, holous rhytaerasendousa kata ton pheugonton ietai]. --That is, exhorting them, in allbut Homeric language, at the top of her voice; and when this failed, brandishing a long spear, and rushing upon the fugitives at the utmostspeed of her horse. 

This heroic lady, according to the _Chronigue Scandaleuse_, ofthose days, was afterwards deluded by some cunning overtures of theGreek Emperor, and poisoned her husband in expectation of gaining aplace on the throne of Constantinople. Ducange, however, rejects thestory, and so does Gibbon. ] wife of Robert Guiscard, first took uponher to distinguish herself by manly deeds of emprise, and rival herhusband, as well in the front of battle as at the dancing-room orbanquet. "

"Such is the custom of this pair, most noble knight, " answered anotherCrusader, who had joined them, "and Heaven pity the poor man who has nopower to keep domestic peace by an appeal to the stronger hand!"

"Well!" replied Raymond, "if it be rather a mortifying reflection, thatthe lady of our love is far past the bloom of youth, it is aconsolation that she is too old-fashioned to beat us, when we returnback with no more of youth or manhood than a long crusade has left. Butcome, follow on the road to Constantinople, and in the rear of thismost doughty knight. "

CHAPTER THE TENTH. 

 Those were wild times--the antipodes of ours: Ladies were there, who oftener saw themselves In the broad lustre of a foeman's shield Than in a mirror, and who rather sought To match themselves in battle, than in dalliance To meet a lover's onset. --But though Nature Was outraged thus, she was not overcome. FEUDAL TIMES. 

Brenhilda, Countess of Paris, was one of those stalwart dames whowillingly hazarded themselves in the front of battle, which, during thefirst crusade, was as common as it was possible for a very unnaturalcustom to be, and, in fact, gave the real instances of the Marphisasand Bradamantes, whom the writers of romance delighted to paint, assigning them sometimes the advantage of invulnerable armour, or aspear whose thrust did not admit of being resisted, in order to softenthe improbability of the weaker sex being frequently victorious overthe male part of the creation. 

But the spell of Brenhilda was of a more simple nature, and restedchiefly in her great beauty. 

From a girl she despised the pursuits of her sex; and they who venturedto become suitors for the hand of the young Lady of Aspramonte, towhich warlike fief she had succeeded, and which perhaps encouraged herin her fancy, received for answer, that they must first merit it bytheir good behaviour in the lists. The father of Brenhilda was dead;her mother was of a gentle temper, and easily kept under management bythe young lady herself. 

Brenhilda's numerous suitors readily agreed to terms which were toomuch according to the manners of the age to be disputed. A tournamentwas held at the Castle of Aspramonte, in which one half of the gallantassembly rolled headlong before their successful rivals, and withdrewfrom the lists mortified and disappointed. The successful party amongthe suitors were expected to be summoned to joust among themselves. Butthey were surprised at being made acquainted with the lady's furtherwill. She aspired to wear armour herself, to wield a lance, and back asteed, and prayed the knights that they would permit a lady, whom theyprofessed to honour so highly, to mingle in their games of chivalry. The young knights courteously received their young mistress in thelists, and smiled at the idea of her holding them triumphantly againstso many gallant champions of the other sex. But the vassals and oldservants of the Count, her father, smiled to each other, and intimateda different result than the gallants anticipated. The knights whoencountered the fair Brenhilda were one by one stretched on the sand;nor was it to be denied, that the situation of tilting with one of thehandsomest women of the time was an extremely embarrassing one. Eachyouth was bent to withhold his charge in full volley, to cause hissteed to swerve at the full shock, or in some other way to flinch fromdoing the utmost which was necessary to gain the victory, lest, in sogaining it, he might cause irreparable injury to the beautiful opponenthe tilted with. But the Lady of Aspramonte was not one who could beconquered by less than the exertion of the whole strength and talentsof the victor. The defeated suitors departed from the lists the moremortified at their discomfiture, because Robert of Paris arrived atsunset, and, understanding what was going forward, sent his name to thebarriers, as that of a knight who would willingly forego the reward ofthe tournament, in case he had the fortune to gain it, declaring, thatneither lauds nor ladies' charms were what he came thither to seek. Brenhilda, piqued and mortified, chose a new lance, mounted her beststeed, and advanced into the lists as one determined to avenge upon thenew assailant's brow the slight of her charms which he seemed toexpress. But whether her displeasure had somewhat interfered with herusual skill, or whether she had, like others of her sex, felt apartiality towards one whose heart was not particularly set upongaining hers--or whether, as is often said on such occasions, her fatedhour was come, so it was that Count Robert tilted with his usualaddress and good fortune. Brenhilda of Aspramonte was unhorsed andunhelmed, and stretched on the earth, and the beautiful face, whichfaded from very red to deadly pale before the eyes of the victor, produced its natural effect in raising the value of his conquest. Hewould, in conformity with his resolution, have left the castle afterhaving mortified the vanity of the lady; but her mother opportunelyinterposed; and when she had satisfied herself that no serious injuryhad been sustained by the young heiress, she returned her thanks to thestranger knight who had taught her daughter a lesson, which, shetrusted, she would not easily forget. Thus tempted to do what hesecretly wished, Count Robert gave ear to those sentiments, whichnaturally whispered to him to be in no hurry to withdraw. 

He was of the blood of Charlemagne, and, what was still of moreconsequence in the young lady's eyes, one of the most renowned ofNorman knights in that jousting day. After a residence of ten days inthe castle of Aspramonte, the bride and bridegroom set out, for suchwas Count Robert's will, with a competent train, to our Lady of theBroken Lances, where it pleased him to be wedded. Two knights who werewaiting to do battle, as was the custom of the place, were ratherdisappointed at the nature of the cavalcade, which seemed to interrupttheir purpose. But greatly were they surprised when they received acartel from the betrothed couple, offering to substitute their ownpersons in the room of other antagonists, and congratulating themselvesin commencing their married life in a manner so consistent with thatwhich they had hitherto led. They were victorious as usual; and theonly persons having occasion to rue the complaisance of the Count andhis bride, were the two strangers, one of whom broke an arm in therencontre, and the other dislocated a collar-bone. 

Count Robert's course of knight-errantry did not seem to be in theleast intermitted by his marriage; on the contrary, when he was calledupon to support his renown, his wife was often known also in militaryexploits, nor was she inferior to him in thirst after fame. They bothassumed the cross at the same time, that being then the predominatingfolly in Europe. 

The Countess Brenhilda was now above six-and-twenty years old, with asmuch beauty as can well fall to the share of an Amazon. A figure, ofthe largest feminine size, was surmounted by a noble countenance, towhich even repeated warlike toils had not given more than a sunny hue, relieved by the dazzling whiteness of such parts of her face as werenot usually displayed. 

As Alexius gave orders that his retinue should return to Constantinople, he spoke in private to the Follower, Achilles Tatius. The Satrapanswered with a submissive bend of the head, and separated with a fewattendants from the main body of the Emperor's train. The principalroad to the city was, of course, filled with the troops, and with thenumerous crowds of spectators, all of whom were inconvenienced in somedegree by the dust and heat of the weather. 

Count Robert of Paris had embarked his horses on board of ship, and allhis retinue, except an old squire or valet of his own, and an attendantof his wife. He felt himself more incommoded in this crowd than hedesired, especially as his wife shared it with him, and began to lookamong the scattered trees which fringed the shores, down almost to thetide-mark, to see if he could discern any by-path which might carrythem more circuitously, but more pleasantly, to the city, and affordthem at the same time, what was their principal object in the East, strange sights, or adventures of chivalry. A broad and beaten pathseemed to promise them all the enjoyment which shade could give in awarm climate. The ground through which it wound its way was beautifullybroken by the appearance of temples, churches, and kiosks, and here andthere a fountain distributed its silver produce, like a benevolentindividual, who, self-denying to himself, is liberal to all others whoare in necessity. The distant sound of the martial music still regaledtheir way; and, at the same time, as it detained the populace on thehigh-road, prevented the strangers from becoming incommoded withfellow-travellers. 

Rejoicing in the abated heat of the day-wondering, at the same time, atthe various kinds of architecture, the strange features of thelandscape, or accidental touches of manners, exhibited by those who metor passed them upon their journey, they strolled easily onwards. Onefigure particularly caught the attention of the Countess Brenhilda. This was an old man of great stature, engaged, apparently, so deeplywith the roll of parchment which he held in his hand, that he paid noattention to the objects which were passing around him. Deep thoughtappeared to reign on his brow, and his eye was of that piercing kindwhich seems designed to search and winnow the frivolous from theedifying part of human discussion, and limit its inquiry to the last. Raising his eyes slowly from the parchment on which he had been gazing, the look of Agelastes--for it was the sage himself--encountered thoseof Count Robert and his lady, and addressing them, with the kindlyepithet of "my children, " he asked if they had missed their road, orwhether there was any thing in which he could do them any pleasure. 

"We are strangers, father, " was the answer, "from a distant country, and belonging to the army which has passed hither upon pilgrimage; oneobject brings us here in common, we hope, with all that host. We desireto pay our devotions where the great ransom was paid for us, and tofree, by our good swords, enslaved Palestine, from the usurpation andtyranny of the infidel. When we have said this, we have announced ourhighest human motive. Yet Robert of Paris and his Countess would notwillingly set their foot on a land, save what should resound its echo. They have not been accustomed to move in silence upon the face of theearth, and they would purchase an eternal life of fame, though it wereat the price of mortal existence. "

"You seek, then, to barter safety for fame, " said Agelastes, "thoughyou may, perchance, throw death into the scale by which you hope togain it?"

"Assuredly, " said Count Robert; "nor is there one wearing such a beltas this, to whom such a thought is stranger. "

"And as I understand, " said Agelastes, "your lady shares with yourhonourable self in these valorous resolutions?--Can this be?"

"You may undervalue my female courage, father, if such is your will, "said the Countess; "but I speak in presence of a witness who can attestthe truth, when I say that a man of half your years had not doubted thetruth with impunity. "

"Nay, Heaven protect me from the lightning of your eyes, " saidAgelastes, "whether in anger or in scorn. I bear an aegis about myselfagainst what I should else have feared. But age, with its incapacities, brings also its apologies. Perhaps, indeed, it is one like me whom youseek to find, and in that case I should be happy to render to you suchservices as it is my duty to offer to all worthy knights. "

"I have already said, " replied Count Robert, "that after theaccomplishment of my vow, "--he looked upwards and crossed himself, --"there is nothing on earth to which I am more bound than to celebratemy name in arms as becomes a valiant cavalier. When men die obscurely, they die for ever. Had my ancestor Charles never left the paltry banksof the Saale, he had not now been much better known than any vine-dresser who wielded his pruning-hook in the same territories. But hebore him like a brave man, and his name is deathless in the memory ofthe worthy. "

"Young man, " said the old Grecian, "although it is but seldom that suchas you, whom I was made to serve and to value, visit this country, itis not the less true that I am well qualified to serve you in thematter which you have so much at heart. My acquaintance with nature hasbeen so perfect and so long, that, during its continuance, she hasdisappeared, and another world has been spread before me, in which shehas but little to do. Thus the curious stores which I have assembledare beyond the researches of other men, and not to be laid before thosewhose deeds of valour are to be bounded by the ordinary probabilitiesof everyday nature. No romancer of your romantic country ever devisedsuch extraordinary adventures out of his own imagination, and to feedthe idle wonder of those who sat listening around, as those which Iknow, not of idle invention, but of real positive existence, with themeans of achieving and accomplishing the conditions of each adventure. "

"If such be your real profession, " said the French Count, "you have metone of those whom you chiefly search for; nor will my Countess and Istir farther upon our road until you have pointed out to us some one ofthose adventures which, it is the business of errant-knights to beindustrious in seeking out. "

So saying, he sat down by the side of the old man; and his lady, with adegree of reverence which had something in it almost diverting, followed his example. 

"We have fallen right, Brenhilda, " said Count Robert; "our guardian. Angel has watched his charge carefully. Here have we come among an, ignorant set of pedants, chattering their absurd language, and holdingmore important the least look that a cowardly Emperor can give, thanthe best blow that a good knight can deal. Believe me, I was wellnighthinking that we had done ill to take the cross--God forgive such animpious doubt! Yet here, when we were even despairing to find the roadto fame, we have met with one of those excellent men whom the knightsof yore were wont to find sitting by springs, by crosses, and by altars, ready to direct the wandering knight where fame was to be found. Disturb him not, my Brenhilda, " said the Count, "but let him recall tohimself his stories of the ancient time, and thou shalt see he willenrich us with the treasures of his information. "

"If, " replied Agelastes, after some pause, "I have waited for a longerterm than human life is granted to most men, I shall still be overpaidby dedicating what remains of existence to the service of a pair sodevoted to chivalry. What first occurs to me is a story of our Greekcountry, so famous in adventures, and which I shall briefly detail toyou:--

"Afar hence, in our renowned Grecian Archipelago, amid storms andwhirlpools, rocks which, changing their character, appear toprecipitate themselves against each other, and billows that are neverin a pacific state, lies the rich island of Zulichium, inhabited, notwithstanding its wealth, by a very few natives, who live only uponthe sea-coast. The inland part of the island is one immense mountain, or pile of mountains, amongst which, those who dare approach nearenough, may, we are assured, discern the moss-grown and antiquatedtowers and pinnacles of a stately, but ruinous castle, the habitationof the sovereign of the island, in which she has been, enchanted for agreat many years. 

"A bold knight, who came upon, a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, made a vow todeliver this unhappy victim of pain and sorcery; feeling, with justice, vehemently offended, that the fiends of darkness should exercise anyauthority near the Holy Land, which might be termed the very fountainof light. Two of the oldest inhabitants of the island undertook toguide him as near to the main gate as they durst, nor did they approachit more closely than the length of a bow-shot. Here, then, abandoned tohimself, the brave Frank set forth upon his enterprise, with a stoutheart, and Heaven alone to friend. The fabric which he approachedshowed, by its gigantic size, and splendour of outline, the power andwealth of the potentate who had erected it. The brazen gates unfoldedthemselves as if with hope and pleasure; and aerial voices swept aroundthe spires and turrets, congratulating the genius of the place, itmight be, upon the expected approach of its deliverer. 

"The knight passed on, not unmoved with wonder, though untainted byfear; and the Gothic splendours which he saw were of a kind highly toexalt his idea of the beauty of the mistress for whom a prison-househad been so richly decorated. Guards there were in Eastern dress andarms, upon bulwark and buttress, in readiness, it appeared, to bendtheir bows; but the warriors were motionless and silent, and took nomore notice of the armed step of the knight than if a monk or hermithad approached their guarded post. They were living, and yet, as to allpower and sense, they might be considered among the dead. If there wastruth in the old tradition, the sun had shone and the rain had fallenupon them for more than four hundred changing seasons, without theirbeing sensible of the genial warmth of the one or the coldness of theother. Like the Israelites in the desert, their shoes had not decayed, nor their vestments waxed old. As Time left them, so and withoutalteration was he again to find them. " The philosopher began now torecall what he had heard of the cause of their enchantment. 

"The sage to whom this potent charm is imputed, was one of the Magi whofollowed the tenets of Zoroaster. He had come to the court of thisyouthful Princess, who received him with every attention whichgratified vanity could dictate, so that in a short time her awe of thisgrave personage was lost in the sense of ascendency which her beautygave her over him. It was no difficult matter--in fact it happens everyday--for the beautiful woman to lull the wise man into what is notinaptly called a fool's paradise. The sage was induced to attempt featsof youth which his years rendered ridiculous; he could command theelements, but the common course of nature was beyond his power. When, therefore, he exerted his magic strength, the mountains bent and theseas receded; but when the philosopher attempted to lead forth thePrincess of Zulichium in the youthful dance, youths and maidens turnedtheir heads aside lest they should make too manifest the ludicrousideas with which they were impressed. 

"Unhappily, as the aged, even the wisest of them, will forgetthemselves, so the young naturally enter into an alliance to spy out, ridicule, and enjoy their foibles. Many were the glances which thePrincess sent among her retinue, intimating the nature of the amusementwhich she received from the attentions of her formidable lover. Inprocess of time she lost her caution, and a glance was detected, expressing to the old man the ridicule and contempt in which he hadbeen all along held by the object of his affections. Earth has nopassion so bitter as love converted to hatred; and while the sagebitterly regretted what he had done, he did not the less resent thelight-hearted folly of the Princess by whom he had been duped. 

"If, however, he was angry, he possessed the art to conceal it. Not aword, not a look expressed the bitter disappointment which he hadreceived. A shade of melancholy, or rather gloom, upon his brow, aloneintimated the coming storm. The Princess became somewhat alarmed; shewas besides extremely good-natured, nor had her intentions of leadingthe old man into what would render him ridiculous, been so accuratelyplanned with malice prepense, as they were the effect of accident andchance. She saw the pain which he suffered, and thought to end it bygoing up to him, when about to retire, and kindly wishing him good-night. 

"'You say well, daughter, ' said the sage, 'good-night--but who, of thenumbers who hear me, shall say good-morning?'

"The speech drew little attention, although two or three persons towhom the character of the sage was known, fled from the island thatvery night, and by their report made known the circumstances attendingthe first infliction of this extraordinary spell on those who remainedwithin the Castle. A sleep like that of death fell upon them, and wasnot removed. Most of the inhabitants left the island; the few whoremained were cautious how they approached the Castle, and watcheduntil some bold adventurer should bring that happy awakening which thespeech of the sorcerer seemed in some degree to intimate. 

"Never seemed there a fairer opportunity for that awakening to takeplace than when the proud step of Artavan de Hautlieu was placed uponthose enchanted courts. On the left, lay the palace and donjon-keep;but the right, more attractive, seemed to invite to the apartment ofthe women. At a side door, reclined on a couch, two guards of the haram, with their naked swords grasped in their hands, and features fiendishlycontorted between sleep and dissolution, seemed to menace death to anywho should venture to approach. This threat deterred not Artavan deHautlieu. He approached the entrance, when the doors, like those of thegreat entrance to the Castle, made themselves instantly accessible tohim. A guard-room of the same effeminate soldiers received him, norcould the strictest examination have discovered to him whether it wassleep or death which arrested the eyes that seemed to look upon andprohibit his advance. Unheeding the presence of these ghastly sentinels, Artavan pressed forward into an inner apartment, where female slaves ofthe most distinguished beauty were visible in the attitude of those whohad already assumed their dress for the night. There was much in thisscene which might have arrested so young a pilgrim as Artavan ofHautlieu; but his heart was fixed on achieving the freedom of thebeautiful Princess, nor did he suffer himself to be withdrawn from thatobject by any inferior consideration. He passed on, therefore, to alittle ivory door, which, after a moment's pause, as if in maidenlyhesitation, gave way like the rest, and yielded access to the sleepingapartment of the Princess herself. A soft light, resembling that ofevening, penetrated into a chamber where every thing seemed contrivedto exalt the luxury of slumber. The heaps of cushions, which formed astately bed, seemed rather to be touched than impressed by the form ofa nymph of fifteen, the renowned Princess of Zulichium. "

"Without interrupting you, good father, " said the Countess Brenhilda, "it seems to me that we can comprehend the picture of a woman asleepwithout much dilating upon it, and that such a subject is littlerecommended either by our age or by yours. "

"Pardon me, noble lady, " answered Agelastes, "the most approved part ofmy story has ever been this passage, and while I now suppress it inobedience to your command, bear notice, I pray you, that I sacrificethe most beautiful part of the tale. "

"Brenhilda, " added the Count, "I am surprised you think of interruptinga story which has hitherto proceeded with so much fire; the telling ofa few words more or less will surely have a much greater influence upon, the sense of the narrative, than such an addition can possibly possessover our sentiments of action. "

"As you will, " said his lady, throwing herself carelessly back upon theseat; "but methinks the worthy father protracts this discourse, till itbecomes of a nature more trifling than interesting. "

"Brenhilda, " said the Count, "this is the first time I have remarked inyou a woman's weakness. "

"I may as well say, Count Robert, that it is the first time, " answeredBrenhilda, "that you have shown to me the inconstancy of your sex. "

"Gods and goddesses, " said the philosopher, "was ever known a quarrelmore absurdly founded! The Countess is jealous of one whom her husbandprobably never will see, nor is there any prospect that the Princess ofZulichium will be hereafter better known, to the modern world, than ifthe curtain hung before her tomb. "

"Proceed, " said Count Robert of Paris; "if Sir Artavan of Hautlieu hasnot accomplished the enfranchisement of the Princess of Zulichium, Imake a vow to our Lady of the Broken Lances, "--

"Remember, " said his lady interfering, "that you are already under avow to free the Sepulchre of God; and to that, methinks, all lighterengagements might give place. "

"Well, lady--well, " said Count Robert, but half satisfied with thisinterference, "I will not engage myself, you may be assured, on anyadventure which may claim precedence of the enterprise of the HolySepulchre, to which we are all bound. "

"Alas!" said Agelastes, "the distance of Zulichium from the speediestroute to the sepulchre is so small that"--

"Worthy father, " said the Countess, "we will, if it pleases you, hearyour tale to an end, and then determine what we will do. We Normanladies, descendants of the old Germans, claim a voice with our lords inthe council which precedes the battle; nor has our assistance in theconflict been deemed altogether useless. "

The tone in which this was spoken conveyed an awkward innuendo to thephilosopher, who began to foresee that the guidance of the Normanknight would be more difficult than he had foreseen, while his consortremained by his side. He took up, therefore, his oratory on somewhat alower key than before, and avoided those warm descriptions which hadgiven such offence to the Countess Brenhilda. 

"Sir Artavan de Hautlieu, says the story, considered in what way heshould accost the sleeping damsel, when it occurred to him in whatmanner the charm would be most likely to be reversed. I am in yourjudgment, fair lady, if he judged wrong in resolving that the method ofhis address should be a kiss upon the lips. " The colour of Brenhildawas somewhat heightened, but she did not deem the observation worthy ofnotice. 

"Never had so innocent an action, " continued the philosopher, "aneffect more horrible. The delightful light of a summer evening wasinstantly changed into a strange lurid hue, which, infected withsulphur, seemed to breathe suffocation through the apartment. The richhangings, and splendid furniture of the chamber, the very wallsthemselves, were changed into huge stones tossed together at random, like the inside of a wild beast's den, nor was the den without aninhabitant. The beautiful and innocent lips to which Artavan deHautlieu had approached his own, were now changed into the hideous andbizarre form, and bestial aspect of a fiery dragon. A moment shehovered upon the wing, and it is said, had Sir Artavan found courage torepeat his salute three times, he would then have remained master ofall the wealth, and of the disenchanted princess. But the opportunitywas lost, and the dragon, or the creature who seemed such, sailed outat a side window upon its broad pennons, uttering loud wails ofdisappointment. "

Here ended the story of Agelastes. "The Princess, " he said, "is stillsupposed to abide her doom in the Island of Zulichium, and severalknights have undertaken the adventure; but I know not whether it wasthe fear of saluting the sleeping maiden, or that of approaching thedragon into which she was transformed, but so it is, the spell remainsunachieved. I know the way, and if you say the word, you may be to-morrow on the road to the castle of enchantment. "

The Countess heard this proposal with the deepest anxiety, for she knewthat she might, by opposition, determine her husband irrevocably uponfollowing out the enterprise. She stood therefore with a timid andbashful look, strange in a person whose bearing was generally sodauntless, and prudently left it to the uninfluenced mind of CountRobert to form the resolution which should best please him. 

"Brenhilda, " he said, taking her hand, "fame and honour are dear to thyhusband as ever they were to knight who buckled a brand upon his side. Thou hast done, perhaps, I may say, for me, what I might in vain havelooked for from ladies of thy condition; and therefore thou mayst wellexpect a casting voice in such points of deliberation. --Why dost thouwander by the side of a foreign and unhealthy shore, instead of thebanks of the lovely Seine?--Why dost thou wear a dress unusual to thysex?--Why dost thou seek death, and think it little in comparison ofshame?--Why? but that the Count of Paris may have a bride worthy ofhim. --Dost thou think that this affection is thrown away? No, by thesaints! Thy knight repays it as he best ought, and sacrifices to theeevery thought which thy affection may less than entirely approve. "

Poor Brenhilda, confused as she was by the various emotions with whichshe was agitated, now in vain endeavoured to maintain the heroicdeportment which her character as an Amazon required from her. Sheattempted to assume the proud and lofty look which was properly her own, but failing in the effort, she threw herself into the Count's arms, hung round his neck, and wept like a, village maiden, whose true loveis pressed for the wars. Her husband, a little ashamed, while he wasmuch moved by this burst of affection in one to whose character itseemed an unusual attribute, was, at the same time, pleased and proudthat he could have awakened an affection so genuine and so gentle in asoul so high-spirited and so unbending. 

"Not thus, " he said, "my Brenhilda! I would not have it thus, eitherfor thine own sake or for mine. Do not let this wise old man supposethat thy heart is made of the malleable stuff which forms that of othermaidens; and apologize to him, as may well become thee, for havingprevented my undertaking the adventure of Zulichium, which herecommends. "

It was not easy for Brenhilda to recover herself, after having affordedso notable an instance how nature can vindicate her rights, withwhatever rigour she may have been disciplined and tyrannized over. Witha look of ineffable affection, she disjoined herself from her husband, still keeping hold of his hand, and turning to the old man with acountenance in which the half-effaced tears were succeeded by smiles ofpleasure and of modesty, she spoke to Agelastes as she would to aperson whom she respected, and towards whom she had some offence toatone. "Father, " she said, respectfully, "be not angry with me that Ishould have been an obstacle to one of the best knights that everspurred steed, undertaking the enterprise of thine enchanted Princess;but the truth is, that in our land, where knighthood and religion agreein permitting only one lady love, and one lady wife, we do not quite sowillingly see our husbands run into danger--especially of that kindwhere lonely ladies are the parties relieved--and--and kisses are theransom paid. I have as much confidence in my Robert's fidelity, as alady can have in a loving knight, but still"--

"Lovely lady, " said Agelastes, who, notwithstanding his highlyartificial character, could not help being moved by the simple andsincere affection of the handsome young pair, "you have done no evil. The state of the Princess is no worse than it was, and there cannot bea doubt that the knight fated to relieve her, will appear at thedestined period. " The Countess smiled sadly, and shook her head. "Youdo not know, " she said, "how powerful is the aid of which I haveunhappily deprived this unfortunate lady, by a jealousy which I nowfeel to have been alike paltry and unworthy; and, such is my regret, that I could find in my heart to retract my opposition to CountRobert's undertaking this adventure. " She looked at her husband withsome anxiety, as one that had made an offer she would not willingly seeaccepted, and did not recover her courage until he said, decidedly, "Brenhilda, that may not be. "

"And why, then, may not Brenhilda herself take the adventure, "continued the Countess, "since she can neither fear the charms of thePrincess nor the terrors of the dragon?"

"Lady, " said Agelastes, "the Princess must be awakened by the kiss oflove, and not by that of friendship. "

"A sufficient reason, " said the Countess, smiling, "why a lady may notwish her lord to go forth upon an adventure of which the conditions areso regulated. "

"Noble minstrel, or herald, or by whatever name this country callsyou, " said Count Robert, "accept a small remuneration for an hourpleasantly spent, though spent, unhappily, in vain. I should make someapology for the meanness of my offering, but French knights, you mayhave occasion to know, are more full of fame than of wealth. "

"Not for that, noble sir, " replied Agelastes, "would I refuse yourmunificence; a besant from your worthy hand, or that of your noble-minded lady, were centupled in its value, by the eminence of thepersons from whom it came. I would hang it round my neck by a string ofpearls, and when I came into the presence of knights and of ladies, Iwould proclaim that this addition to my achievement of armorialdistinction, was bestowed by the renowned Count Robert of Paris, andhis unequalled lady. " The Knight and the Countess looked on each other, and the lady, taking from her finger a ring of pure gold, prayed theold man to accept of it, as a mark of her esteem and her husband's. "With one other condition, " said the philosopher, "which I trust youwill not find altogether unsatisfactory. I have, on the way to the cityby the most pleasant road, a small kiosk, or hermitage, where Isometimes receive my friends, who, I venture to say, are among the mostrespectable personages of this empire. Two or three of these willprobably honour my residence today, and partake of the provision itaffords. Could I add to these the company of the noble Count andCountess of Paris, I should deem my poor habitation honoured for ever. "

"How say you, my noble wife?" said the Count. "The company of aminstrel befits the highest birth, honours the highest rank, and addsto the greatest achievements; and the invitation does us too muchcredit to be rejected. "

"It grows somewhat late, " said the Countess: "but we came not here toshun a sinking sun or a darkening sky, and I feel it my duty, as wellas my satisfaction, to place at the command of the good father everypleasure which it is in my power to offer to him, for having been themeans of your neglecting his advice. "

"The path is so short, " said Agelastes, "that we had better keep ourpresent mode of travelling, if the lady should not want the assistanceof horses. "

"No horses on my account, " said the Lady Brenhilda. "My waiting-woman, Agatha, has what necessaries I may require; and, for the rest, noknight ever travelled so little embarrassed with baggage as myhusband. "

Agelastes, therefore, led the way through the deepening wood, which wasfreshened by the cooler breath of evening, and his guests accompaniedhim. 

CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH. 

 Without, a ruin, broken, tangled, cumbrous, Within, it was a little paradise, Where Taste had made her dwelling. Statuary, First-born of human art, moulded her images, And bade men. Mark and worship. ANONYMOUS. 

The Count of Paris and his lady attended the old man, whose advancedage, his excellence in the use of the French language, which he spoketo admiration, --above all, his skill in applying it to poetical andromantic subjects, which was essential to what was then termed historyand belles lettres, --drew from the noble hearers a degree of applause, which, as Agelastes had seldom been vain enough to consider as his due, so, on the part of the Knight of Paris and his lady, had it been butrarely conferred. They had walked for some time by a path whichsometimes seemed to hide itself among the woods that came down to theshore of the Propontis, sometimes emerged from concealment, and skirtedthe open margin of the strait, while, at every turn, it seemed guidedby the desire to select a choice and contrast of beauty. Variety ofscenes and manners enlivened, from their novelty, the landscape to thepilgrims. By the sea-shore, nymphs were seen dancing, and shepherdspiping, or beating the tambourine to their steps, as represented insome groups of ancient statuary. The very faces had a singularresemblance to the antique. If old, their long robes, their attitudes, and magnificent heads, presented the ideas which distinguish prophetsand saints; while, on the other hand, the features of the youngrecalled the expressive countenances of the heroes of antiquity, andthe charms of those lovely females by whom their deeds were inspired. But the race of the Greeks was no longer to be seen, even in its nativecountry, unmixed, or in absolute purity; on the contrary, they sawgroups of persons with features which argued a different descent. 

In a retiring bosom of the shore, which was traversed by the path, therocks, receding from the beach, rounded off a spacious portion of levelsand, and, in some degree, enclosed it. A party of heathen Scythianswhom they beheld, presented the deformed features of the demons theywere said to worship--flat noses with expanded nostrils, which seemedto admit the sight to their very brain; faces which extended rather inbreadth than length, with strange unintellectual eyes placed in theextremity; figures short and dwarfish, yet garnished with legs and armsof astonishing sinewy strength, disproportioned to their bodies. As thetravellers passed, the savages held a species of tournament, as theCount termed it. In this they exercised themselves by darting at eachother long reeds, or canes, balanced for the purpose, which, in thisrude sport, they threw with such force, as not unfrequently to strikeeach other from their steeds, and otherwise to cause serious damage. Some of the combatants being, for the time, out of the play, devouredwith greedy looks the beauty of the Countess, and eyed her in such amanner, that she said to Count Robert, --"I have never known fear, myhusband, nor is it for me to acknowledge it now; but if disgust be aningredient of it, these misformed brutes are qualified to inspire it. ""What, ho, Sir Knight!" exclaimed one of the infidels, "your wife, oryour lady love, has committed a fault against the privileges of theImperial Scythians, and not small will be the penalty she has incurred. You may go your way as fast as you will out of this place, which is, for the present; our hippodrome, or atmeidan, call it which you will, as you prize the Roman or the Saracen language; but for your wife, ifthe sacrament has united you, believe my word, that she parts not sosoon or so easy. "

"Scoundrel heathen, " said the Christian Knight, "dost thou hold thatlanguage to a Peer of France?"

Agelastes here interposed, and using the sounding language of a Greciancourtier, reminded the Scythians, (mercenary soldiers, as they seemed, of the empire, ) that all violence against the European pilgrims was, bythe Imperial orders, strictly prohibited under pain of death. 

"I know better, " said the exulting savage, shaking one or two javelinswith broad steel heads, and wings of the eagle's feather, which lastwere dabbled in blood. "Ask the wings of my javelin, " he said, "inwhose heart's blood these feathers have been dyed. They shall reply toyou, that if Alexius Comnenus be the friend of the European pilgrims, it is only while he looks upon them; and we are too exemplary soldiersto serve our Emperor otherwise than he wishes to be served. "

"Peace, Toxartis, " said the philosopher, "thou beliest thine Emperor. "

"Peace thou!" said Toxartis, "or I will do a deed that misbecomes asoldier, and rid the world of a prating old man. "

So saying, he put forth his hand to take hold of the Countess's veil. With the readiness which frequent use had given to the warlike lady, she withdrew herself from the heathen's grasp, and with her trenchantsword dealt him so sufficient a blow, that Toxartis lay lifeless on theplain. The Count leapt on the fallen leader's steed, and crying hiswar-cry, "Son of Charlemagne, to the rescue!" he rode amid the rout ofheathen cavaliers with a battle-axe, which he found at the saddlebow ofthe deceased chieftain, and wielding it with remorseless dexterity, hesoon slew or wounded, or compelled to flight, the objects of hisresentment; nor was there any of them who abode an instant to supportthe boast which they had made. "The despicable churls!" said theCountess to Agelastes; "it irks me that a drop of such coward bloodshould stain the hands of a noble knight. They call their exercise atournament, although in their whole exertions every blow is aimedbehind the back, and not one has the courage to throw his windlestrawwhile he perceives that of another pointed against himself. "

"Such is their custom, " said Agelastes; "not perhaps so much fromcowardice as from habit, in exercising before his Imperial Majesty. Ihave seen that Toxartis literally turn his back upon the mark when hebent his bow in full career, and when in the act of galloping thefarthest from his object, he pierced it through the very centre with abroad arrow. "

"A force of such soldiers, " said Count Robert, who had now rejoined hisfriends, "could not, methinks, be very formidable, where there was butan ounce of genuine courage in the assailants. "

"Mean time, let us pass on to my kiosk, " said Agelastes, "lest thefugitives find friends to encourage them in thoughts of revenge. "

"Such friends, " said Count Robert, "methinks the insolent heathensought not to find in any land which calls itself Christian; and if Isurvive the conquest of the Holy Sepulchre, I shall make it my firstbusiness to enquire by what right your Emperor retains in his service aband of Paynim and unmannerly cut-throats, who dare offer injury uponthe highway, which ought to be sacred to the peace of God and the king, and to noble ladies and inoffensive pilgrims. It is one of a list ofmany questions which, my vow accomplished, I will not fail to put tohim; ay, and expecting an answer, as they say, prompt and categorical. "

"You shall gain no answer from me though, " said Agelastes to himself. "Your demands, Sir Knight, are over-peremptory, and imposed under toorigid conditions, to be replied to by those who can evade them. " Hechanged the conversation, accordingly, with easy dexterity; and theyhad not proceeded much farther, before they reached a spot, the naturalbeauties of which called forth the admiration of his foreign companions. A copious brook, gushing out of the woodland, descended to the sea withno small noise and tumult; and, as if disdaining a quieter course, which it might have gained by a little circuit to the right, it tookthe readiest road to the ocean, plunging over the face of a lofty andbarren precipice which overhung the sea-shore, and from thence led itslittle tribute, with as much noise as if it had the stream of a fullriver to boast of, to the waters of the Hellespont. 

The rock, we have said, was bare, unless in so far as it was clothedwith the foaming waters of the cataract; but the banks on each sidewere covered with plane-trees, walnut-trees, cypresses, and other kindsof large timber proper to the East. The fall of water, always agreeablein a warm climate, and generally produced by artificial means, was herenatural, and had been chosen, something like the Sibyl's temple atTivoli, for the seat of a goddess to whom the invention of Polytheismhad assigned a sovereignty over the department around. The shrine wassmall and circular, like many of the lesser temples of the rusticdeities, and enclosed by the wall of an outer court. After itsdesecration, it had probably been converted into a luxurious summerretreat by Agelastes, or some Epicurean philosopher. As the building, itself of a light, airy, and fantastic character, was dimly seenthrough the branches and foliage on the edge of the rock, so the modeby which it was accessible was not at first apparent amongst the mistof the cascade. A pathway, a good deal hidden, by vegetation, ascendedby a gentle acclivity, and prolonged by the architect by means of a fewbroad and easy marble steps, making part of the original approach, conducted the passenger to a small, but exquisitely lovely velvet lawn, in front of the turret or temple we have described, the back part ofwhich building overhung the cataract. 

CHAPTER THE TWELFTH. 

 The parties met. The wily, wordy Greek, Weighing each word, and canvassing each syllable; Evading, arguing, equivocating. And the stern Frank came with his two-hand sword, Watching to see which way the balance sways, That he may throw it in, and turn the scales. PALESTINE. 

At a signal made by Agelastes, the door of this romantic retreat wasopened by Diogenes, the negro slave, to whom our readers have beenalready introduced; nor did it escape the wily old man, that the Countand his lady testified some wonder at his form and lineaments, beingthe first African perhaps whom they had ever seen so closely. Thephilosopher lost not the opportunity of making an impression on theirminds, by a display of the superiority of his knowledge. 

"This poor being, " he observed, "is of the race of Ham, the undutifulson of Noah; for his transgressions against his parent, he was banishedto the sands of Africa, and was condemned to be the father of a racedoomed to be the slaves of the issue of his more dutiful brethren. "

The knight and his lady gazed on the wonderful appearance before them, and did not, it may be believed, think of doubting the informationwhich was so much of a piece with their prejudices, while their opinionof their host was greatly augmented by the supposed extent of hisknowledge. 

"It gives pleasure to a man of humanity, " continued Agelastes, "when, in old age, or sickness, we must employ the services of others, whichis at other times scarce lawful, to choose his assistants out of a raceof beings, hewers of wood and drawers of water--from their birthupwards destined to slavery; and to whom, therefore, by employing themas slaves, we render no injury, but carry into effect, in a slightdegree, the intentions of the Great Being who made us all. "

"Are there many of a race, " said the Countess, "so singularly unhappyin their destination? I have hitherto thought the stories of black menas idle as those which minstrels tell of fairies and ghosts. "

"Do not believe so, " said the philosopher; "the race is numerous as thesands of the sea, neither are they altogether unhappy in dischargingthe duties which their fate has allotted them. Those who are of worsecharacter suffer even in this life the penance due to their guilt; theybecome the slaves of the cruel and tyrannical, are beaten, starved, andmutilated. To those whose moral characters are better, better mastersare provided, who share with their slaves, as with their children, foodand raiment, and the other good things which they themselves enjoy. Tosome, Heaven allots the favour of kings and of conquerors, and to a few, but those the chief favourites of the species, hath been assigned aplace in the mansions of philosophy, where, by availing themselves ofthe lights which their masters can afford, they gain a prospect intothat world which is the residence of true happiness. "

"Methinks I understand you, " replied the Countess, "and if so, I oughtrather to envy our sable friend here than to pity him, for having beenallotted in the partition of his kind to the possession of his presentmaster, from whom, doubtless, he has acquired the desirable knowledgewhich you mention. "

"He learns, at least, " said Agelastes, modestly, "what I can teach, and, above all, to be contented with his situation. --Diogenes, my goodchild, " said he, changing his address to the slave, "thou seest I havecompany--What does the poor hermit's larder afford, with which he mayregale his honoured guests?"

Hitherto they had advanced no farther than a sort of outer room, orhall of entrance, fitted up with no more expense than might have suitedone who desired at some outlay, and more taste, to avail himself of theancient building for a sequestered and private retirement. The chairsand couches were covered with Eastern wove mats, and were of thesimplest and most primitive form. But on touching a spring, an interiorapartment was displayed, which had considerable pretension to splendourand magnificence. The furniture and hangings of this apartment were ofstraw-coloured silk, wrought on the looms of Persia, and crossed withembroidery, which produced a rich, yet simple effect. The ceiling wascarved in Arabesque, and the four corners of the apartment were formedinto recesses for statuary, which had been produced in a better age ofthe art than that which existed at the period of our story. In one nook, a shepherd seemed to withdraw himself, as if ashamed to produce hisscantily-covered person, while he was willing to afford the audiencethe music of the reed which he held in his hand. Three damsels, resembling the Graces in the beautiful proportions of their limbs, andthe slender clothing which they wore, lurked in different attitudes, each in her own niche, and seemed but to await the first sound of themusic, to bound forth from thence and join in the frolic dance. Thesubject was beautiful, yet somewhat light, to ornament the study ofsuch a sage as Agelastes represented himself to be. 

He seemed to be sensible that this might attract observation. --"Thesefigures, " he said, "executed at the period of the highest excellence ofGrecian art, were considered of old as the choral nymphs assembled toadore the goddess of the place, waiting but the music to join in theworship of the temple. And, in truth, the wisest may be interested inseeing how near to animation the genius of these wonderful men couldbring the inflexible marble. Allow but for the absence of the divineafflatus, or breath of animation, and an unenlightened heathen mightsuppose the miracle of Prometheus was about to be realized. But we, "said he, looking upwards, "are taught to form a better judgment betweenwhat man can do and the productions of the Deity. "

Some subjects of natural history were painted on the walls, and thephilosopher fixed the attention of his guests upon the half-reasoningelephant, of which he mentioned several anecdotes, which they listenedto with great eagerness. 

A distant strain was here heard, as if of music in the woods, penetrating by fits through the hoarse roar of the cascade, which, asit sunk immediately below the windows, filled the apartment with itsdeep voice. 

"Apparently, " said Agelastes, "the friends whom I expected areapproaching, and bring with them the means of enchanting another sense. It is well they do so, since wisdom tells us that we best honour theDeity by enjoying the gifts he has provided us. "

These words called the attention of the philosopher's Frankish gueststo the preparations exhibited in this tasteful saloon. These were madefor an entertainment in the manner of the ancient Romans, and couches, which were laid beside a table ready decked, announced that the maleguests, at least, were to assist at the banquet in the usual recumbentposture of the ancients; while seats, placed among the couches, seemedto say that females were expected, who would observe the Greciancustoms, in eating seated. The preparations for good cheer were such as, though limited in extent, could scarce be excelled in quality, eitherby the splendid dishes which decked Trimalchio's banquet of former days, or the lighter delicacies of Grecian cookery, or the succulent andhighly-spiced messes indulged in by the nations of the East, towhichever they happened to give the preference; and it was with an airof some vanity that Agelastes asked his guests to share a poorpilgrim's meal. 

"We care little for dainties, " said the Count; "nor does our presentcourse of life as pilgrims, bound by a vow, allow us much choice onsuch subjects. Whatever is food for soldiers, suffices the Countess andmyself; for, with our will, we would at every hour be ready for battle, and the less time we use in preparing for the field, it is even so muchthe better. Sit then, Brenhilda, since the good man will have it so, and let us lose no time in refreshment, lest we waste that which shouldbe otherwise employed. " "A moment's forgiveness, " said Agelastes, "until the arrival of my other friends, whose music you may now hear isclose at hand, and who will not long, I may safely promise, divide youfrom your meal. "

"For that, " said the Count, "there is no haste; and since you seem toaccount it a part of civil manners, Brenhilda and I can with easepostpone our repast, unless you will permit us, what I own would bemore pleasing, to take a morsel of bread and a cup of water presently;and, thus refreshed, to leave the space clear for your more curious andmore familiar guests. "

"The saints above forbid!" said Agelastes; "guests so honoured neverbefore pressed these cushions, nor could do so, if the sacred family ofthe imperial Alexius himself even now stood at the gate. "

He had hardly uttered these words, when the full-blown peal of atrumpet, louder in a tenfold degree than the strains of music they hadbefore heard, was now sounded in the front of the temple, piercingthrough the murmur of the waterfall, as a Damascus blade penetrates thearmour, and assailing the ears of the hearers, as the sword pierces theflesh of him who wears the harness. 

"You seem surprised or alarmed, father, " said Count Robert. "Is theredanger near, and do you distrust our protection?"

"No, " said Agelastes, "that would give me confidence in any extremity;but these sounds excite awe, not fear. They tell me that some of theImperial family are about to be my guests. Yet fear nothing, my noblefriends--they, whose look is life, are ready to shower their favourswith profusion upon strangers so worthy of honour as they will see here. Meantime, my brow must touch my threshold, in order duly to welcomethem. " So saying, he hurried to the outer door of the building. 

"Each land has its customs, " said the Count, as he followed his host, with his wife hanging on his arm; "but, Brenhilda, as they are sovarious, it is little wonder that they appear unseemly to each other. Here, however, in deference to my entertainer, I stoop my crest, in themanner which seems to be required. " So saying, he followed Agelastesinto the anteroom, where a new scene awaited them. 

CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH. 

Agelastes gained his threshold before Count Robert of Paris and hislady. He had, therefore, time to make his prostrations before a hugeanimal, then unknown to the western world, but now universallydistinguished as the elephant. On its back was a pavilion or palanquin, within which were enclosed the august persons of the Empress Irene, andher daughter Anna Comnena. Nicephorus Briennius attended the Princessesin the command of a gallant body of light horse, whose splendid armourwould have given more pleasure to the crusader, if it had possessedless an air of useless wealth and effeminate magnificence. But theeffect which it produced in its appearance was as brilliant as couldwell be conceived. The officers alone of this _corps de garde_followed Nicephorus to the platform, prostrated themselves while theladies of the Imperial house descended, and rose up again under a cloudof waving plumes and flashing lances, when they stood secure upon theplatform in front of the building. Here the somewhat aged, butcommanding form of the Empress, and the still juvenile beauties of thefair historian, were seen to great advantage. In the front of a deepback-ground of spears and waving crests, stood the sounder of thesacred trumpet, conspicuous by his size and the richness of hisapparel; he kept his post on a rock above the stone staircase, and, byan occasional note of his instrument, intimated to the squadronsbeneath that they should stay their progress, and attend the motions ofthe Empress and the wife of the Caesar. 

The fair form of the Countess Brenhilda, and the fantastic appearanceof her half masculine garb, attracted the attention of the ladies ofAlexius' family, but was too extraordinary to command their admiration. Agelastes became sensible there was a necessity that he shouldintroduce his guests to each other, if he desired they should meet onsatisfactory terms. "May I speak, " he said, "and live? The armedstrangers whom you find now with me are worthy companions of thosemyriads, whom zeal for the suffering inhabitants of Palestine hasbrought from the western extremity of Europe, at once to enjoy thecountenance of Alexius Comnenus, and to aid him, since it pleases himto accept their assistance, in expelling the Paynims from the bounds ofthe sacred empire, and garrison those regions in their stead, asvassals of his Imperial Majesty. "

"We are pleased, " said the Empress, "worthy Agelastes, that you shouldbe kind to those who are disposed to be so reverent to the Emperor. AndWe are rather disposed to talk with them ourselves, that our daughter(whom Apollo hath gifted with the choice talent of recording what shesees) may become acquainted with one of those female warriors of theWest, of whom we have heard so much by common fame, and yet know solittle with certainty. "

"Madam, " said the Count, "I can but rudely express to you what I haveto find fault with in the explanation which this old man hath given ofour purpose in coming hither. Certain it is, we neither owe Alexiusfealty, nor had we the purpose of paying him any, when we took the vowupon ourselves which brought us against Asia. We came, because weunderstood that the Holy Land had been torn from the Greek Emperor bythe Pagans, Saracens, Turks, and other infidels, from whom we are cometo win it back. The wisest and most prudent among us have judged itnecessary to acknowledge the Emperor's authority, since there was nosuch safe way of passing to the discharge of our vow, as that ofacknowledging fealty to him, as the best mode of preventing quarrelsamong Christian States. We, though independent of any earthly king, donot pretend to be greater men than they, and therefore havecondescended to pay the same homage. "

The Empress coloured several times with indignation in the course ofthis speech, which, in more passages than one, was at variance withthose imperial maxims of the Grecian court, which held its dignity sohigh, and plainly intimated a tone of opinion which was depreciating tothe Emperor's power. But the Empress Irene had received instructionsfrom her imperial spouse to beware how she gave, or even took, anyground of quarrel with the crusaders, who, though coming in theappearance of subjects, were, nevertheless, too punctilious and readyto take fire, to render them safe discussers of delicate differences. She made a graceful reverence accordingly, as if she had scarceunderstood what the Count of Paris had explained so bluntly. 

At this moment the appearance of the principal persons on either handattracted, in a wonderful degree, the attention of the other party, andthere seemed to exist among them a general desire of furtheracquaintance, and, at the same time, a manifest difficulty inexpressing such a wish. 

Agelastes--to begin with the master of the house--had risen from theground indeed, but without venturing to assume an upright posture; heremained before the Imperial ladies with his body and head still bent, his hand interposed between his eyes and their faces, like a man thatwould shade his eyesight from the level sun, and awaited in silence thecommands of those to whom he seemed to think it disrespectful topropose the slightest action, save by testifying in general, that hishouse and his slaves were at their unlimited command. The Countess ofParis, on the other hand, and her warlike husband, were the peculiarobjects of curiosity to Irene, and her accomplished daughter, AnnaComnena; and it occurred to both these Imperial ladies, that they hadnever seen finer specimens of human strength and beauty; but by anatural instinct, they preferred the manly bearing of the husband tothat of the wife, which seemed to her own sex rather too haughty andtoo masculine to be altogether pleasing. 

Count Robert and his lady had also their own object of attention in thenewly arrived group, and, to speak truth, it was nothing else than thepeculiarities of the monstrous animal which they now saw, for the firsttime, employed as a beast of burden in the service of the fair Ireneand her daughter. The dignity and splendour of the elder Princess, thegrace and vivacity of the younger, were alike lost in Brenhilda'searnest inquiries into the history of the elephant, and the use whichit made of its trunk, tusks, and huge ears, upon different occasions. 

Another person, who took a less direct opportunity to gaze on Brenhildawith a deep degree of interest, was the Caesar, Nicephorus. This Princekept his eye as steadily upon the Frankish Countess as he could well do, without attracting the attention, and exciting perhaps the suspicions, of his wife and mother-in-law; he therefore endeavoured to restorespeech to an interview which would have been awkward without it. "It ispossible, " he said, "beautiful Countess, that this being your firstvisit to the Queen, of the world, you have never hitherto seen thesingularly curious animal called the elephant. "

"Pardon me, " said the Countess, "I have been treated by this learnedgentleman to a sight, and some account of that wonderful creature. "

By all who heard this observation, the Lady Brenhilda was supposed tohave made a satirical thrust at the philosopher himself, who, in theimperial court, usually went by the name of the elephant. 

"No one could describe the beast more accurately than Agelastes, " saidthe Princess, with a smile of intelligence, which went round herattendants. 

"He knows its docility, its sensibility, and its fidelity, " said thephilosopher, in a subdued tone. 

"True, good Agelastes, " said the Princess; "we should not criticise theanimal which kneels to take us up. --Come, lady of a foreign land, " shecontinued, turning to the Frank Count, and especially his Countess--"and you her gallant lord! When you return to your native country, youshall say you have seen the imperial family partake of their food, andin so far acknowledge themselves to be of the same clay with othermortals, sharing their poorest wants, and relieving them in the samemanner. "

"That, gentle lady, I can well believe, " said Count Robert; "mycuriosity would be more indulged by seeing this strange animal at hisfood. "

"You will see the elephant more conveniently at his mess within doors, "answered the Princess, looking at Agelastes. 

"Lady, " said Brenhilda, "I would not willingly refuse an invitationgiven in courtesy, but the sun has waxed low unnoticed, and we mustreturn to the city. "

"Be not afraid, " said the fair historian; "you shall have the advantageof our Imperial escort to protect you in your return. "

"Fear?---afraid?--escort?--protect?--These are words I know not. Know, lady, that my husband, the noble Count of Paris, is my sufficientescort; and even were he not with me, Brenhilda de Aspramonte fearsnothing, and can defend herself. "

"Fair daughter, " said Agelastes, "if I may be permitted to speak, youmistake the gracious intentions of the Princess, who expresses herselfas to a lady of her own land. What she desires is to learn from yousome of the most marked habits and manners of the Franks, of which youare so beautiful an example; and in return for such information theillustrious Princess would be glad to procure your entrance to thosespacious collections, where animals from all corners of the habitableworld have been assembled at the command of our Emperor Alexius, as ifto satisfy the wisdom of those sages to whom all creation is known, from the deer so small in size that it is exceeded by an ordinary rat, to that huge and singular inhabitant of Africa that can browse on thetops of trees that are forty feet high, while the length of its hind-legs does not exceed the half of that wondrous height. "

"It is enough, " said the Countess, with some eagerness; but Agelasteshad got a point of discussion after his own mind. 

"There is also, " he said, "that huge lizard, which, resembling in shapethe harmless inhabitant of the moors of other countries, is in Egypt amonster thirty feet in length, clothed in impenetrable scales, andmoaning over his prey when he catches it, with the hope and purpose ofdrawing others within his danger, by mimicking the lamentations ofhumanity. "

"Say no more, father!" exclaimed the lady. "My Robert, we will go--willwe not, where such objects are to be seen?"

"There is also, " said Agelastes, who saw that he would gain his pointby addressing himself to the curiosity of the strangers, "the hugeanimal, wearing on its back an invulnerable vestment, having on itsnose a horn, and sometimes two, the folds of whose hide are of the mostimmense thickness, and which never knight was able to wound. "

"We will go, Robert--will we not?" reiterated the Countess. 

"Ay, " replied the Count, "and teach, these Easterns how to judge of aknight's sword, by a single blow of my trusty Tranchefer. "

"And who knows, " said Brenhilda, "since this is a land of enchantment, but what some person, who is languishing in a foreign shape, may havetheir enchantment unexpectedly dissolved by a stroke of the goodweapon?"

"Say no more, father!" exclaimed the Count. "We will attend thisPrincess, since such she is, were her whole escort bent to oppose ourpassage, instead of being by her command to be our guard. For know, allwho hear me, thus much of the nature of the Franks, that when you tellus of danger and difficulties, you give us the same desire to travelthe road where they lie, as other men have in seeking either pleasureor profit in the paths in which such are to be found. "

As the Count pronounced these words, he struck his hand upon hisTranchefer, as an illustration of the manner in which he purposed uponoccasion to make good his way. The courtly circle startled somewhat atthe clash of steel, and the fiery look of the chivalrous Count Robert. The Empress indulged her alarm by retreating into the inner apartmentof the pavilion. 

With a grace, which was rarely deigned to any but those in closealliance with the Imperial family, Anna Comnena took the arm of thenoble Count. "I see, " she said, "that the Imperial Mother has honouredthe house of the learned Agelastes, by leading the way; therefore, toteach you Grecian breeding must fall to my share. " Saying this sheconducted him to the inner apartment. 

"Fear not for your wife, " she said, as she noticed the Frank lookround; "our husband, like ourselves, has pleasure in showing attentionto the stranger, and will lead the Countess to our board. It is not thecustom of the Imperial family to eat in company with strangers; but wethank Heaven for having instructed us in that civility, which can knowno degradation in dispensing with ordinary rules to do honour tostrangers of such merit as yours. I know it will be my mother's request, that you will take your places without ceremony; and also, although thegrace be somewhat particular, I am sure that it will have my Imperialfather's approbation. 

"Be it as your ladyship lists, " said Count Robert. "There are few mento whom I would yield place at the board, if they had not gone beforeme in the battle-field. To a lady, especially so fair a one, Iwillingly yield my place, and bend my knee, whenever I have the goodhap to meet her. "

The Princess Anna, instead of feeling herself awkward in the dischargeof the extraordinary, and, as she might have thought it, degradingoffice of ushering a barbarian chief to the banquet, felt, on thecontrary, flattered, at having bent to her purpose a heart so obstinateas that of Count Robert, and elated, perhaps, with a certain degree ofsatisfied pride while under his momentary protection. 

The Empress Irene had already seated herself at the head of the table. She looked with some astonishment, when her daughter and son-in-law, taking their seats at her right and left hand, invited the Count andCountess of Paris, the former to recline, the latter to sit at theboard, in the places next to themselves; but she had received thestrictest orders from her husband to be deferential in every respect tothe strangers, and did not think it right, therefore, to interpose anyceremonious scruples. 

The Countess took her seat, as indicated, beside the Caesar; and theCount, instead of reclining in the mode of the Grecian men, also seatedhimself in the European fashion by the Princess. 

"I will not lie prostrate, " said he, laughing, "except in considerationof a blow weighty enough to compel me to do so; nor then either, if Iam able to start up and return it. "

The service of the table then began, and, to say truth, it appeared tobe an important part of the business of the day. The officers whoattended to perform their several duties of deckers of the table, sewers of the banquet, removers and tasters to the Imperial family, thronged into the banqueting room, and seemed to vie with each other incalling upon Agelastes for spices, condiments, sauces, and wines ofvarious kinds, the variety and multiplicity of their demands beingapparently devised _ex preposito_, for stirring the patience ofthe philosopher. But Agelastes, who had anticipated most of theirrequests, however unusual, supplied them completely, or in the greatestpart, by the ready agency of his active slave Diogenes, to whom, at thesame time, he contrived to transfer all blame for the absence of sucharticles as he was unable to provide. 

"Be Homer my witness, the accomplished Virgil, and the curious felicityof Horace, that, trifling and unworthy as this banquet was, my note ofdirections to this thrice unhappy slave gave the instructions toprocure every ingredient necessary to convey to each dish its propergusto. --Ill-omened carrion that thou art, wherefore placedst thou thepickled cucumber so far apart from the boar's head? and why are thesesuperb congers unprovided with a requisite quantity of fennel? Thedivorce betwixt the shell-fish and the Chian wine, in a presence likethis, is worthy of the divorce of thine own soul from thy body; or, tosay the least, of a lifelong residence in the Pistrinum. " While thusthe philosopher proceeded with threats, curses, and menaces against hisslave, the stranger might have an opportunity of comparing the littletorrent of his domestic eloquence, which the manners of the times didnot consider as ill-bred, with the louder and deeper share of adulationtowards his guests. They mingled like the oil with the vinegar andpickles which Diogenes mixed for the sauce. Thus the Count and Countesshad an opportunity to estimate the happiness and the felicity reservedfor those slaves, whom the Omnipotent Jupiter, in the plenitude ofcompassion for their state, and in guerdon of their good morals, haddedicated to the service of a philosopher. The share they themselvestook in the banquet, was finished with a degree of speed which gavesurprise not only to their host, but also to the Imperial guests. 

The Count helped himself carelessly out of a dish which stood near him, and partaking of a draught of wine, without enquiring whether it was ofthe vintage which the Greeks held it matter of conscience to minglewith that species of food, he declared himself satisfied; nor could theobliging entreaties of his neighbour, Anna Comnena, induce him topartake of other messes represented as being either delicacies orcuriosities. His spouse ate still more moderately of the food whichseemed most simply cooked, and stood nearest her at the board, andpartook of a cup of crystal water, which she slightly tinged with wine, at the persevering entreaty of the Caesar. They then relinquished thefarther business of the banquet, and leaning back upon their seats, occupied themselves in watching the liberal credit done to the feast bythe rest of the guests present. 

A modern synod of gourmands would hardly have equalled the Imperialfamily of Greece seated, at a philosophical banquet, whether in thecritical knowledge displayed of the science of eating in all itsbranches, or in the practical cost and patience with which theyexercised it. The ladies, indeed, did not eat much of any one dish, butthey tasted of almost all that were presented to them, and their namewas Legion. Yet, after a short time, in Homeric phrase, the rage ofthirst and hunger was assuaged, or, more probably, the Princess AnnaComnena was tired of being an object of some inattention to the guestwho sat next her, and who, joining his high military character to hisvery handsome presence, was a person by whom few ladies would willinglybe neglected. There is no new guise, says our father Chaucer, but whatresembles an old one; and the address of Anna Comnena to the FrankishCount might resemble that of a modern lady of fashion, in her attemptsto engage in conversation the _exquisite_, who sits by her side inan apparently absent fit. "We have piped unto you, " said the Princess, "and you have not danced! We have sung to you the jovial chorus of_Evoe, evoe, _ and you will neither worship Comus nor Bacchus! Arewe then to judge you a follower of the Muses, in whose service, as wellas in that of Phoebus, we ourselves pretend to be enlisted?"

"Fair lady, " replied the Frank, "be not offended at my stating once forall, in plain terms, that I am a Christian man, spitting at, andbidding defiance to Apollo, Bacchus, Comus, and all other heathendeities whatsoever. "

"O! cruel interpretation of my unwary words!" said the Princess; "I didbut mention the gods of music, poetry, and eloquence, worshipped by ourdivine philosophers, and whose names are still used to distinguish thearts and sciences over which they presided--and the Count interprets itseriously into a breach of the second commandment! Our Lady preserve me, we must take care how we speak, when our words are so sharplyinterpreted. "

The Count laughed as the Princess spoke. "I had no offensive meaning, madam, " he said, "nor would I wish to interpret your words otherwisethan as being most innocent and praiseworthy. I shall suppose that yourspeech contained all that was fair and blameless. You are, I haveunderstood, one of those who, like our worthy host, express incomposition the history and feats of the warlike time in which you live, and give to the posterity which shall succeed us, the knowledge of thebrave deeds which have been achieved in our day. I respect the task towhich you have dedicated yourself, and know not how a lady could layafter ages under an obligation to her in the same degree, unless, likemy wife, Brenhilda, she were herself to be the actress of deeds whichshe recorded. And, by the way, she now looks towards her neighbour atthe table, as if she were about to rise and leave him; her inclinationsare towards Constantinople, and, with your ladyship's permission, Icannot allow her to go thither alone. "

"That you shall neither of you do, " said Anna Comnena; "since we all goto the capital directly, and for the purpose of seeing those wonders ofnature, of which numerous examples have been collected by the splendourof my Imperial father. --If my husband seems to have given offence tothe Countess, do not suppose that it was intentionally dealt to her; onthe contrary, you will find the good man, when you are betteracquainted with him, to be one of those simple persons who manage sounhappily what they mean for civilties, that those to whom they areaddressed receive them frequently in another sense. "

The Countess of Paris, however, refused again to sit down to the tablefrom which she had risen, so that Agelastes and his Imperial guests sawthemselves under the necessity either to permit the strangers to depart, which they seemed unwilling to do, or to detain them by force, toattempt which might not perhaps have been either safe or pleasant; or, lastly, to have waived the etiquette of rank and set out along withthem, at the same time managing their dignity, so as to take theinitiatory step, though the departure took place upon the motion oftheir wilful guests. Much tumult there was--bustling, disputing, andshouting--among the troops and officers who were thus moved from theirrepast, two hours at least sooner than had been experienced uponsimilar occasions in the memory of the oldest among them. A differentarrangement of the Imperial party likewise seemed to take place bymutual consent. 

Nicephorus Briennius ascended the seat upon the elephant, and remainedthere placed beside his august mother-in-law. Agelastes, on a sober-minded palfrey, which permitted him to prolong his philosophicalharangues at his own pleasure, rode beside the Countess Brenhilda, whomhe made the principal object of his oratory. The fair historian, thoughshe usually travelled in a litter, preferred upon this occasion aspirited horse, which enabled her to keep pace with Count Robert ofParis, on whose imagination, if not his feelings, she seemed to have itin view to work a marked impression. The conversation of the Empresswith her son-in-law requires no special detail. It was a tissue ofcriticisms upon the manners and behaviour of the Franks, and a heartywish that they might be soon transported from the realms of Greece, never more to return. Such was at least the tone of the Empress, nordid the Caesar find it convenient to express any more tolerant opinionof the strangers. On the other hand, Agelastes made a long circuit erehe ventured to approach the subject which he wished to introduce. Hespoke of the menagerie of the Emperor as a most superb collection ofnatural history; he extolled different persons at court for havingencouraged Alexius Comnenus in this wise and philosophical amusement. But, finally, the praise of all others was abandoned that thephilosopher might dwell upon that of Nicephorus Briennius, to whom thecabinet or collection of Constantinople was indebted, he said, for theprincipal treasures it contained. 

"I am glad it is so, " said the haughty Countess, without lowering hervoice or affecting any change of manner; "I am glad that he understandssome things better worth understanding than whispering with strangeryoung women. Credit me, if he gives much license to his tongue amongsuch women of nay country as these stirring times may bring hither, some one or other of them will fling him into the cataract which dashesbelow. "

"Pardon me, fair lady, " said Agelastes; "no female heart could meditatean action so atrocious against so fine a form as that of the CaesarNicephorus Briennius. "

"Put it not on that issue, father, " said the offended Countess; "for, by my patroness Saint, our Lady of the Broken Lances, had it not beenfor regard to these two ladies, who seemed to intend some respect to myhusband and myself, that same Nicephorus should have been as perfectlya Lord of the Broken Bones as any Caesar who has borne the title sincethe great Julius!"

The philosopher, upon this explicit information, began to entertainsome personal fear for himself, and hastened, by diverting theconversation, which he did with great dexterity, to the story of Heroand Leander, to put the affront received out of the head of thisunscrupulous Amazon. 

Meantime, Count Robert of Paris was engrossed, as it may be termed, bythe fair Anna Comnena. She spoke on all subjects, on some better, doubtless, others worse, but on none did she suspect herself of anydeficiency; while the good Count wished heartily within himself thathis companion had been safely in bed with the enchanted Princess ofZulichium. She performed, right or wrong, the part of a panegyrist ofthe Normans, until at length the Count, tired of hearing her prate ofshe knew not exactly what, broke in as follows:--

"Lady, " he said, "notwithstanding I and my followers are sometimes sonamed, yet we are not Normans, who come hither as a numerous andseparate body of pilgrims, under the command of their Duke Robert, avaliant, though extravagant, thoughtless, and weak man. I say nothingagainst the fame of these Normans. They conquered, in our fathers' days, a kingdom far stronger than their own, which men call England; I seethat you entertain some of the natives of which country in your pay, under the name of Varangians. Although defeated, as I said, by theNormans, they are, nevertheless, a brave race; nor would we thinkourselves much dishonoured by mixing in battle with them. Still we arethe valiant Franks, who had their dwelling on the eastern banks of theRhine and of the Saale, who were converted to the Christian faith bythe celebrated Clovis, and are sufficient, by our numbers and courage, to re-conquer the Holy Land, should all Europe besides stand neutral inthe contest. "

There are few things more painful to the vanity of a person like thePrincess, than the being detected in an egregious error, at the momentshe is taking credit to herself for being peculiarly accuratelyinformed. 

"A false slave, who knew not what he was saying, I suppose, " said thePrincess, "imposed upon me the belief that the Varangians were thenatural enemies of the Normans. I see him marching there by the side ofAchilles Tatius, the leader of his corps. --Call him hither, youofficers!--Yonder tall man, I mean, with the battle-axe upon hisshoulder. "

Hereward, distinguished by his post at the head of the squadron, wassummoned from thence to the presence of the Princess, where he made hismilitary obeisance with a cast of sternness in his aspect, as hisglance lighted upon the proud look of the Frenchman who rode besideAnna Comnena. 

"Did I not understand thee, fellow, " said Anna Comnena, "to haveinformed me, nearly a month ago, that the Normans and the Franks werethe same people, and enemies to the race from which you spring?"

"The Normans are our mortal enemies, Lady, " answered Hereward, "by whomwe were driven from our native land. The Franks are subjects of thesame Lord-Paramount with the Normans, and therefore they neither lovethe Varangians, nor are beloved by them. "

"Good fellow, " said the French Count, "you do the Franks wrong, andascribe to the Varangians, although not unnaturally, an undue degree ofimportance, when you suppose that a race which has ceased to exist asan independent nation for more than a generation, can be either anobject of interest or resentment to such as we are. "

"I am no stranger, " said the Varangian, "to the pride of your heart, orthe precedence which you assume over those who have been less fortunatein war than yourselves. It is God who casteth down and who buildeth up, nor is there in the world a prospect to which the Varangians would lookforward with more pleasure than that a hundred of their number shouldmeet in a fair field, either with the oppressive Normans, or theirmodern compatriots, the vain Frenchmen, and let God be the judge whichis most worthy of victory. "

"You take an insolent advantage of the chance, " said the Count of Paris, "which gives you an unlooked-for opportunity to brave a nobleman. "

"It is my sorrow and shame, " said the Varangian, "that that opportunityis not complete; and that there is a chain around me which forbids meto say, Slay me, or I'll kill thee before we part from this spot!"

"Why, thou foolish and hot-brained churl, " replied the Count, "whatright hast thou to the honour of dying by my blade? Thou art mad, orhast drained the ale-cup so deeply that thou knowest not what thouthinkest or sayest. "

"Thou liest, " said the Varangian; "though such a reproach be the utmostscandal of thy race. "

The Frenchman motioned his hand quicker than light to his sword, butinstantly withdrew it, and said with dignity, "thou canst not offendme. "

"But thou, " said the exile, "hast offended me in a matter which canonly be atoned by thy manhood. "

"Where and how?" answered the Count; "although it is needless to askthe question, which thou canst not answer rationally. "

"Thou hast this day, " answered the Varangian, "put a mortal affrontupon a great prince, whom thy master calls his ally, and by whom thouhast been received with every rite of hospitality. Him thou hastaffronted as one peasant at a merry-making would do shame to another, and this dishonour thou hast done to him in the very face of his ownchiefs and princes, and the nobles from every court of Europe. "

"It was thy master's part to resent my conduct, " said the Frenchman, "if in reality he so much felt it as an affront. "

"But that, " said Hereward, "did not consist with the manners of hiscountry to do. Besides that, we trusty Varangians esteem ourselvesbound by our oath as much to defend our Emperor, while the servicelasts, on every inch of his honour as on every foot of his territory; Itherefore tell thee, Sir Knight, Sir Count, or whatever thou callestthyself, there is mortal quarrel between thee and the Varangian guard, ever and until thou hast fought it out in fair and manly battle, bodyto body, with one of the said Imperial Varangians, when duty andopportunity shall permit:--and so God schaw the right!"

As this passed in the French language, the meaning escaped theunderstanding of such Imperialists as were within hearing at the time;and the Princess, who waited with some astonishment till the Crusaderand the Varangian had finished their conference, when it was over, saidto him with interest, "I trust you feel that poor man's situation to betoo much at a distance from your own, to admit of your meeting him inwhat is termed knightly battle?"

"On such a question, " said the knight, "I have but one answer to anylady who does not, like my Brenhilda, cover herself with a shield, andbear a sword by her side, and the heart of a knight in her bosom. "

"And suppose for once, " said the Princess Anna Comnena, "that Ipossessed such titles to your confidence, what would your answer be tome?"

"There can be little reason for concealing it, " said the Count. "TheVarangian is a brave man, and a strong one; it is contrary to my vow toshun his challenge, and perhaps I shall derogate from my rank byaccepting it; but the world is wide, and he is yet to be born who hasseen Robert of Paris shun the face of mortal man. By means of somegallant officer among the Emperor's guards, this poor fellow, whonourishes so strange an ambition, shall learn that he shall have hiswish gratified. "

"And then?"--said Anna Comnena. 

"Why, then, " said the Count, "in the poor man's own language, God schawthe right!"

"Which is to say, " said the Princess, "that if my father has an officerof his guards honourable enough to forward so pious and reasonable apurpose, the Emperor must lose an ally, in whose faith he putsconfidence, or a most trusty and faithful soldier of his personal guard, who has distinguished himself upon many occasions?"

"I am happy to hear, " said the Count, "that the man bears such acharacter. In truth, his ambition ought to have some foundation. Themore I think of it, the rather am I of opinion that there is somethinggenerous, rather than derogatory, in giving to the poor exile, whosethoughts are so high and noble, those privileges of a man of rank, which some who were born in such lofty station are too cowardly toavail themselves of. Yet despond not, noble Princess; the challenge isnot yet accepted of, and if it was, the issue is in the hand of God. Asfor me, whose trade is war, the sense that I have something so seriousto transact with this resolute man, will keep me from other lesshonourable quarrels, in which a lack of occupation might be apt toinvolve me. "

The Princess made no farther observation, being resolved, by privateremonstrance to Achilles Tatius, to engage him to prevent a meetingwhich might be fatal to the one or the other of two brave men. The townnow darkened before them, sparkling, at the same time, through itsobscurity, by the many lights which illuminated the houses of thecitizens. The royal cavalcade held their way to the Golden Gate, wherethe trusty centurion put his guard under arms to receive them. 

"We must now break off, fair ladies, " said the Count, as the party, having now dismounted, were standing together at the private gate ofthe Blacquernal Palace, "and find as we can, the lodgings which weoccupied last night. "

"Under your favour, no, " said the Empress. "You must be content to takeyour supper and repose in quarters more fitting your rank; and, " addedIrene, "with no worse quartermaster than one of the Imperial family whohag been your travelling companion. "

This the Count heard, with considerable inclination to accept thehospitality which was so readily offered. Although as devoted as a mancould well be to the charms of his Brenhilda, the very idea neverhaving entered his head of preferring another's beauty to hers, yet, nevertheless, he had naturally felt himself flattered by the attentionsof a woman of eminent beauty and very high rank; and the praises withwhich the Princess had loaded him, had not entirely fallen to theground. He was no longer in the humour in which the morning had foundhim, disposed to outrage the feelings of the Emperor, and to insult hisdignity; but, flattered by the adroit sycophancy which the oldphilosopher had learned from the schools, and the beautiful Princesshad been gifted with by nature, he assented to the Empress's proposal;the more readily, perhaps, that the darkness did not permit him to seethat there was distinctly a shade of displeasure on the brow ofBrenhilda. Whatever the cause, she cared not to express it, and themarried pair had just entered that labyrinth of passages through whichHereward had formerly wandered, when a chamberlain, and a femaleattendant, richly dressed, bent the knee before them, and offered themthe means and place to adjust their attire, ere they entered theImperial presence. Brenhilda looked upon her apparel and arms, spottedwith the blood of the insolent Scythian, and, Amazon as she was, feltthe shame of being carelessly and improperly dressed. The arms of theknight were also bloody, and in disarrangement. 

"Tell my female squire, Agatha, to give her attendance, " said theCountess. "She alone is in the habit of assisting to unarm and toattire me. "

"Now, God be praised, " thought the Grecian lady of the bed-chamber, "that I am not called to a toilet where smiths' hammers and tongs arelike to be the instruments most in request!"

"Tell Marcian, my armourer, " said the Count, "to attend with the silverand blue suit of plate and mail which I won in a wager from the Countof Thoulouse. " [Footnote: Raymond Count of Thoulouse, and St. Giles, Duke of Carboune, and Marquis of Provence, an aged warrior who had wonhigh distinction in the contests against the Saracens in Spain, was thechief leader of the Crusaders from the south of France. His title of St. Giles is corrupted by Anna Comnena into _Sangles_, by which nameshe constantly mentions him in the Alexiad. ]

"Might I not have the honour of adjusting your armour, " said asplendidly drest courtier, with some marks of the armourer's profession, "since I have put on that of the Emperor himself?--may his name besacred!"

"And how many rivets hast thou clenched upon the occasion with thishand, " said the Count, catching hold of it, "which looks as if it hadnever been washed, save with milk of roses, --and with this childishtoy?" pointing to a hammer with ivory haft and silver head, which, stuck into a milk-white kidskin apron, the official wore as badges ofhis duty. The armourer fell back in some confusion. "His grasp, " hesaid to another domestic, "is like the seizure of a vice!"

While this little scene passed apart, the Empress Irene, her daughter, and her son-in-law, left the company, under pretence of making anecessary change in their apparel. Immediately after, Agelastes wasrequired to attend the Emperor, and the strangers were conducted to twoadjacent chambers of retirement, splendidly fitted up, and placed forthe present at their disposal, and that of their attendants. There weshall for a time leave them, assuming, with the assistance of their ownattendants, a dress which their ideas regarded as most fit for a greatoccasion; those of the Grecian court willingly keeping apart from atask which they held nearly as formidable as assisting at the lair of aroyal tiger or his bride. 

Agelastes found the Emperor sedulously arranging his most splendidcourt-dress; for, as in the court of Pekin, the change of ceremonialattire was a great part of the ritual observed at Constantinople. 

"Thou hast done well, wise Agelastes, " said Alexius to the philosopher, as he approached with abundance of prostrations and genuflexions--"Thouhast done well, and we are content with thee. Less than thy wit andaddress must have failed in separating from their company this tamelessbull, and unyoked heifer, over whom, if we obtain influence, we shallcommand, by every account, no small interest among those who esteemthem the bravest in the host. "

"My humble understanding, " said Agelastes, "had been infinitelyinferior to the management of so prudent and sagacious a scheme, had itnot been shaped forth and suggested by the inimitable wisdom of yourmost sacred Imperial Highness. "

"We are aware, " said Alexius, "that we had the merit of blocking forththe scheme of detaining these persons, either by their choice as allies, or by main force as hostages. Their friends, ere yet they have missedthem, will be engaged in war with the Turks, and at no liberty, if thedevil should suggest such an undertaking, to take arms against thesacred empire. Thus, Agelastes, we shall obtain hostages at least asimportant and as valuable as that Count of Vermandois, whose libertythe tremendous Godfrey of Bouillon extorted from us by threats ofinstant war. "

"Pardon, " said Agelastes, "if I add another reason to those which ofthemselves so heavily support your august resolution. It is possiblethat we may, by observing the greatest caution and courtesy towardsthese strangers, win them in good earnest to our side. "

"I conceive you, I conceive you, "--said the Emperor; "and this verynight I will exhibit myself to this Count and his lady in the royalpresence chamber, in the richest robes which our wardrobe can furnish. The lions of Solomon shall roar, the golden tree of Comnenus shalldisplay its wonders, and the feeble eyes of these Franks shall bealtogether dazzled by the splendour of the empire. These spectaclescannot but sink into their minds, and dispose them to become the alliesand servants of a nation so much more powerful, skilful, and wealthythan their own--Thou hast something to say, Agelastes. Years and longstudy have made thee wise; though we have given our opinion, thou maystspeak thine own, and live. "

Thrice three times did Agelastes press his brow against the hem of theEmperor's garment, and great seemed his anxiety to find such words asmight intimate his dissent from his sovereign, yet save him from theinformality of contradicting him expressly. 

"These sacred words, in which your sacred Highness has uttered yourmost just and accurate opinions, are undeniable, and incapable ofcontradiction, were any vain enough to attempt to impugn them. Nevertheless, be it lawful to say, that men show the wisest argumentsin vain to those who do not understand reason, just as you would invain exhibit a curious piece of limning to the blind, or endeavour tobribe, as scripture saith, a sow by the offer of a precious stone. Thefault is not, in such case, in the accuracy of your sacred reasoning, but in the obtuseness and perverseness of the barbarians to whom it isapplied. "

"Speak more plainly, " said the Emperor; "how often must we tell thee, that in cases in which we really want counsel, we know we must becontented to sacrifice ceremony?"

"Then in plain words, " said Agelastes, "these European barbarians arelike no others under the cope of the universe, either on the things onwhich they look with desire, or on those which they consider asdiscouraging. The treasures of this noble empire, so far as theyaffected their wishes, would merely inspire them with the desire to goto war with a nation possessed of so much wealth, and who, in theirself-conceited estimation, were less able to defend, than theythemselves are powerful to assail. Of such a description, for instance, is Bohemond of Tarentum, --and such, a one is many a crusader less ableand sagacious than he;--for I think I need not tell your ImperialDivinity, that he holds his own self-interest to be the devoted guideof his whole conduct through this extraordinary war; and that, therefore, you can justly calculate his course, when once you are awarefrom which point of the compass the wind of avarice and self-interestbreathes with respect to him. But there are spirits among the Franks ofa very different nature, and who must be acted upon by very differentmotives, if we would make ourselves masters of their actions, and theprinciples by which they are governed. If it were lawful to do so, Iwould request your Majesty to look at the manner by which an artfuljuggler of your court achieves his imposition upon the eyes ofspectators, yet needfully disguises the means by which he attains hisobject. This people--I mean the more lofty-minded of these crusaders, who act up to the pretences of the doctrines which they call chivalry--despise the thirst of gold, and gold itself, unless to hilt theirswords, or to furnish forth some necessary expenses, as alike uselessand contemptible. The man who can be moved by the thirst of gain, theycontemn, scorn, and despise, and liken him, in the meanness of hisobjects, to the most paltry serf that ever followed the plough, orwielded the spade. On the other hand, if it happens that they actuallyneed gold, they are sufficiently unceremonious in taking it where theycan most easily find it. Thus, they are neither easily to be bribed bygiving them sums of gold, nor to be starved into compliance bywithholding what chance may render necessary for them. In the one case, they set no value upon the gift of a little paltry yellow dross; in theother, they are accustomed to take what they want. "

"Yellow dross, " interrupted Alexius. "Do they call that noble metal, equally respected by Roman and barbarian, by rich and poor, by greatand mean, by churchmen and laymen, which all mankind are fighting for, plotting for, planning for, intriguing for, and damning themselves for, both soul and body--by the opprobrious name of yellow dross? They aremad, Agelastes, utterly mad. Perils and dangers, penalties and scourges, are the arguments to which men who are above the universal influencewhich moves all others, can possibly be accessible. "

"Nor are they, " said Agelastes, "more accessible to fear than they areto self-interest. They are indeed, from their boyhood, brought up toscorn those passions which influence ordinary minds, whether by meansof avarice to impel, or of fear to hold back. So much is this the case, that what is enticing to other men, must, to interest them, have thepiquant sauce of extreme danger. I told, for instance, to this veryhero, a legend of a Princess of Zulichium, who lay on an enchantedcouch, beautiful as an angel, awaiting the chosen knight who should, bydispelling her enchanted slumbers, become master of her person, of herkingdom of Zulichium, and of her countless treasures; and, would yourImperial Majesty believe me, I could scarce get the gallant to attendto my legend or take any interest in the adventure, till I assured himhe would have to encounter a winged dragon, compared to which thelargest of those in the Frank romances was but like a mere dragon-fly?"

"And did this move the gallant?" said the Emperor. 

"So much so, " replied the philosopher, "that had I not unfortunately, by the earnestness of my description, awakened the jealousy of hisPenthesilea of a Countess, he had forgotten the crusade and allbelonging to it, to go in quest of Zulichium and its slumberingsovereign. "

"Nay, then, " said the Emperor, "we have in our empire (make us sensibleof the advantage!) innumerable tale-tellers who are not possessed inthe slightest degree of that noble scorn of gold which is proper to theFranks, but shall, for a brace of besants, lie with the devil, and beathim to boot, if in that manner we can gain, as mariners say, theweathergage of the Franks. "

"Discretion, " said Agelastes, "is in the highest degree necessary. Simply to lie is no very great matter; it is merely a departure fromthe truth, which is little different from missing a mark at archery, where the whole horizon, one point alone excepted, will alike serve theshooter's purpose; but to move the Frank as is desired, requires aperfect knowledge of his temper and disposition, great caution andpresence of mind, and the most versatile readiness in changing from onesubject to another. Had I not myself been, somewhat alert, I might havepaid the penalty of a false step in your Majesty's service, by beingflung into my own cascade by the virago whom I offended. "

"A perfect Thalestris!" said the Emperor; "I shall take care whatoffence I give her. "

"If I might speak and live, " said Agelastes, "the Caesar NicephorusBriennius had best adopt the same precaution. "

"Nicephorus, " said the Emperor, "must settle that with our daughter. Ihave ever told her that she gives him too much of that history, ofwhich a page or two is sufficiently refreshing; but by our own self wemust swear it, Agelastes, that, night after night, hearing nothing else, would subdue the patience of a saint!--Forget, good Agelastes, thatthem hast heard me say such a thing--more especially, remember it notwhen thou art in presence of our Imperial wife and daughter. "

"Nor were the freedoms taken by the Caesar beyond the bounds of aninnocent gallantry, " said Agelastes; "but the Countess, I must needssay, is dangerous. She killed this day the Scythian Toxartis, by whatseemed a mere fillip on the head. "

"Hah!" said the Emperor; "I knew that Toxartis, and he was like enoughto deserve his death, being a bold unscrupulous marauder. Take notes, however, how it happened, the names of witnesses, &c. , that, ifnecessary, we may exhibit the fact as a deed of aggression on the partof the Count and Countess of Paris, to the assembly of the crusaders. "

"I trust, " said Agelastes, "your Imperial Majesty will not easilyresign the golden opportunity of gaining to your standard persons whosecharacter stands so very high in chivalry. It would cost you but littleto bestow upon them a Grecian island, worth a hundred of their ownpaltry lordship of Paris; and if it were given under the condition oftheir expelling the infidels or the disaffected who may have obtainedthe temporary possession, it would be so much the more likely to be anacceptable offer. I need not say that the whole knowledge, wisdom, andskill of the poor Agelastes is at your Imperial Majesty's disposal. "

The Emperor paused for a moment, and then said, as if on fullconsideration, "Worthy Agelastes, I dare trust thee in this difficultand somewhat dangerous matter; but I will keep my purpose of exhibitingto them the lions of Solomon, and the golden tree of our Imperialhouse. "

"To that there can be no objection, " returned the philosopher; "onlyremember to exhibit few guards, for these Franks are like a fieryhorse; when in temper he may be ridden with a silk thread, but when hehas taken umbrage or suspicion, as they would likely do if they sawmany armed men, a steel bridle would not restrain him. "

"I will be cautious, " said the Emperor, "in that particular, as well asothers. --Sound the silver bell, Agelastes, that the officers of ourwardrobe may attend. "

"One single word, while your Highness is alone, " said Agelastes. "Willyour Imperial Majesty transfer to me the direction of your menagerie, or collection of extraordinary creatures?"

"You make me wonder, " said the Emperor, taking a signet, bearing uponit a lion, with the legend, _Vicit Leo ex tribu Judae_. "This, " hesaid, "will give thee the command of our dens. And now, be candid foronce with thy master--for deception is thy nature even with me--By whatcharm wilt thou subdue these untamed savages?"

"By the power of falsehood, " replied Agelastes, with deep reverence. 

"I believe thee an adept in it, " said the Emperor. "And to which oftheir foibles wilt thou address it?"

"To their love of fame, " said the philosopher; and retreated backwardsout of the royal apartment, as the officers of the wardrobe entered tocomplete the investment of the Emperor in his Imperial habiliments. 

CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH. 

 I will converse with iron-witted fools, And unrespective boys; none are for me, That look into me with considerate eyes;-- High-reaching Buckingham grows circumspect. RICHARD III. 

As they parted from each other, the Emperor and philosopher had eachtheir own anxious thoughts on the interview which had passed betweenthem; thoughts which they expressed in broken sentences andejaculations, though for the better understanding of the degree ofestimation in which they held each other, we will give them a moreregular and intelligible form. 

"Thus, then, " half muttered half said Alexius, but so low as to hidehis meaning from the officers of the wardrobe, who entered to do theiroffice, --"thus, then, this bookworm--this remnant of old heathenphilosophy, who hardly believes, so God save me, the truth of theChristian creed, has topp'd his part so well that he forces his Emperorto dissemble in his presence. Beginning by being the buffoon of thecourt, he has wormed himself into all its secrets, made himself masterof all its intrigues, conspired with my own son-in-law against me, debauched my guards, --indeed so woven his web of deceit, that my lifeis safe no longer, than he believes me the imperial dolt which I haveaffected to seem, in order to deceive him; fortunate that even so can Iescape his cautionary anticipation of my displeasure, by avoiding toprecipitate his measures of violence. But were this sudden storm of thecrusade fairly passed over, the ungrateful Caesar, the boastful cowardAchilles Tatius, and the bosom serpent Agelastes, shall know whetherAlexius Comnenus has been born their dupe. When Greek meets Greek, comes the strife of subtlety, as well as the tug of war. " Thus saying, he resigned himself to the officers of his wardrobe, who proceeded toornament him as the solemnity required, "I trust him not, " said Agelastes, the meaning of whose gestures andexclamations, we, in like manner, render into a connected meaning. "Icannot, and do not trust him--he somewhat overacts his part. He hasborne himself upon other occasions with the shrewd wit of his familythe Comneni; yet he now trusts to the effect of his trumpery lions uponsuch a shrewd people as the Franks and Normans, and seems to rely uponme for the character of men with whom he has been engaged in peace andwar for many years. This can be but to gain my confidence; for therewere imperfect looks, and broken sentences, which seemed to say, 'Agelastes, the Emperor knows thee and confides not in thee. ' Yet theplot is successful and undiscovered, as far as can be judged; and wereI to attempt to recede now, I were lost for ever. A little time tocarry on this intrigue with the Frank, when possibly, by the assistanceof this gallant, Alexius shall exchange the crown for a cloister, or astill narrower abode; and then, Agelastes, thou deservest to be blottedfrom the roll of philosophers, if thou canst not push out of the thronethe conceited and luxurious Caesar, and reign in his stead, a secondMarcus Antoninus, when the wisdom of thy rule, long unfelt in a worldwhich has been guided by tyrants and voluptuaries, shall soonobliterate recollection of the manner in which thy power was acquired. To work then--be active, and be cautious. The time requires it, and theprize deserves it. "

While these thoughts passed through his mind, he arrayed himself, bythe assistance of Diogenes, in a clean suit of that simple apparel inwhich he always frequented the court; a garb as unlike that of acandidate for royalty, as it was a contrast to the magnificent robeswith which Alexius was now investing himself, In their separate apartments, or dressing-rooms, the Count of Paris andhis lady put on the best apparel which they had prepared to meet such achance upon their journey. Even in France, Robert was seldom seen inthe peaceful cap and sweeping mantle, whose high plumes and flowingfolds were the garb of knights in times of peace. He was now arrayed ina splendid suit of armour, all except the head, which was bareotherwise than as covered by his curled locks. The rest of his personwas sheathed in the complete mail of the time, richly inlaid withsilver, which contrasted with the azure in which the steel was damasked. His spurs were upon his heels--his sword was by his side, and histriangular shield was suspended round his neck, bearing, painted uponit, a number of _fleures-de-lis semees_, as it is called, upon thefield, being the origin of those lily flowers which after times reducedto three only; and which were the terror of Europe, until they sufferedso many reverses in our own time. 

The extreme height of Count Robert's person adapted him for a garb, which had a tendency to make persons of a lower stature appear ratherdwarfish and thick when arrayed _cap-a-pie_. The features, withtheir self-collected composure, and noble contempt of whatever couldhave astounded or shaken an ordinary mind, formed a well-fitted capitalto the excellently proportioned and vigorous frame which theyterminated. The Countess was in more peaceful attire; but her robeswere short and succinct, like those of one who might be called to hastyexercise. The upper part of her dress consisted of more than one tunic, sitting close to the body, while a skirt, descending from the girdle, and reaching to the ankles, embroidered elegantly but richly, completedan attire which a lady might have worn in much more modern times. Hertresses were covered with a light steel head-piece, though some of them, escaping, played round her face, and gave relief to those handsomefeatures which might otherwise have seemed too formal, if closedentirely within the verge of steel. Over these undergarments was flunga rich velvet cloak of a deep green colour, descending from the head, where a species of hood was loosely adjusted over the helmet, deeplylaced upon its verges and seams, and so long as to sweep the groundbehind. A dagger of rich materials ornamented a girdle of curiousgoldsmith's work, and was the only offensive weapon which, notwithstanding her military occupation, she bore upon this occasion. 

The toilet--as modern times would say--of the Countess, was not nearlyso soon ended as that of Count Robert, who occupied his time, ashusbands of every period are apt to do, in little sub-acid complaintsbetween jest and earnest, upon the dilatory nature of ladies, and thetime which they lose in doffing and donning their garments. But whenthe Countess Brenhilda came forth in the pride of loveliness, from theinner chamber where she had attired herself, her husband, who was stillher lover, clasped her to his breast and expressed his privilege by thekiss which he took as of right from a creature so beautiful. Chidinghim for his folly, yet almost returning the kiss which she received, Brenhilda began now to wonder how they were to find their way to thepresence of the Emperor. 

The query was soon solved, for a gentle knock at the door announcedAgelastes, to whom, as best acquainted with the Frankish manners, hadbeen committed, by the Emperor, the charge of introducing the noblestrangers. A distant sound, like that of the roaring of a lion, or notunsimilar to a large and deep gong of modern times, intimated thecommencement of the ceremonial. The black slaves upon guard, who, ashath been observed, were in small numbers, stood ranged in their statedresses of white and gold, bearing in one hand a naked sabre, and inthe other a torch of white wax, which served to guide the Count andCountess through the passages that led to the interior of the palace, and to the most secret hall of audience. 

The door of this _sanctum sanctorum_ was lower than usual, asimple stratagem devised by some superstitious officer of the Imperialhousehold, to compel the lofty-crested Frank to lower his body, as hepresented himself in the Imperial presence. Robert, when the door flewopen, and he discovered in the background the Emperor seated upon histhrone amidst a glare of light, which was broken and reflected in tenthousand folds by the jewels with which his vestments were covered, stopt short, and demanded the meaning of introducing him through so lowan arch? Agelastes pointed to the Emperor by way of shifting fromhimself a question which he could not have answered. The mute, toapologize for his silence, yawned, and showed the loss of his tongue. 

"Holy Virgin!" said the Countess, "what can these unhappy Africans havedone, to have deserved a condemnation which involves so cruel a fate?"

"The hour of retribution is perhaps come, " said the Count, in adispleased tone, while Agelastes, with such hurry as time and placepermitted, entered, making his prostrations and genuflexions, littledoubting that the Frank must follow him, and to do so must lower hisbody to the Emperor. The Count, however, in the height of displeasureat the trick which he conceived had been, intended him, turned himselfround, and entered the presence-chamber with his back purposely turnedto the sovereign, and did not face Alexius until he reached the middleof the apartment, when he was joined by the Countess, who had made herapproach in a more seemly manner. The Emperor, who had prepared toacknowledge the Count's expected homage in the most gracious manner, found himself now even more unpleasantly circumstanced than when thisuncompromising Frank had usurped the royal throne in the course of theday. 

The officers and nobles who stood around, though a very select number, were more numerous than usual, as the meeting was not held for counsel, but merely for state. These assumed such an appearance of mingleddispleasure and confusion as might best suit with the perplexity ofAlexius, while the wily features of the Norman-Italian, Bohemond ofTarentum, who was also present, had a singular mixture of fantasticalglee and derision. It is the misfortune of the weaker on such occasions, or at least the more timid, to be obliged to take the petty part ofwinking hard, as if not able to see what they cannot avenge. 

Alexius made the signal that the ceremonial of the grand receptionshould immediately commence. Instantly the lions of Solomon, which hadbeen newly furbished, raised their heads, erected their manes, brandished their tails, until they excited the imagination of CountRobert, who, being already on fire at the circumstances of hisreception, conceived the bellowing of these automata to be the actualannunciation of immediate assault. Whether the lions, whose forms hebeheld, were actually lords of the forest, --whether they were mortalswho had suffered transformation, --whether they were productions of theskill of an artful juggler or profound naturalist, the Count neitherknew nor cared. All that he thought of the danger was, it was worthy ofhis courage; nor did his heart permit him a moment's irresolution. Hestrode to the nearest lion, which seemed in the act of springing up, and said, in a tone loud and formidable as its own, "How now, dog!" Atthe same time he struck the figure with his clenched fist and steelgauntlet with so much force, that its head burst, and the steps andcarpet of the throne were covered with wheels, springs, and othermachinery, which had been the means of producing its mimic terrors. 

On this display of the real nature of the cause of his anger, CountRobert could not but feel a little ashamed of having given way topassion on such an occasion. He was still more confused when Bohemond, descending from his station near the Emperor, addressed him in theFrank language;--"You have done a gallant deed, truly, Count Robert, infreeing the court of Byzantium from an object of fear which has longbeen used to frighten peevish children and unruly barbarians!"

Enthusiasm has no greater enemy than ridicule. "Why, then, " said CountRobert, blushing deeply at the same time, "did they exhibit itsfantastic terrors to me? I am neither child nor barbarian. "

"Address yourself to the Emperor, then, as an intelligent man, "answered Bohemond. "Say something to him in excuse of your conduct, andshow that our bravery has not entirely run away with our common sense. And hark you also, while I have a moment's speech of you, --do you andyour wife heedfully follow my example at supper!" These words werespoken with a significant tone and corresponding look. 

The opinion of Bohemond, from his long intercourse, both in peace andwar, with the Grecian Emperor, gave him great influence with the othercrusaders, and Count Robert yielded to his advice. He turned towardsthe Emperor with something liker an obeisance than he had hitherto paid. "I crave your pardon, " he said, "for breaking that gilded piece ofpageantry; but, in sooth, the wonders of sorcery, and the portents ofaccomplished and skilful jugglers, are so numerous in this country, that one does not clearly distinguish what is true from what is false, or what is real from what is illusory. "

The Emperor, notwithstanding the presence of mind for which he wasremarkable, and the courage in which he was not held by his countrymento be deficient, received this apology somewhat awkwardly. Perhaps therueful complaisance with which he accepted the Count's apology, mightbe best compared to that of a lady of the present day when an awkwardguest has broken a valuable piece of china. He muttered something aboutthe machines having been long preserved in the Imperial family, asbeing made on the model of those which guarded the throne of the wiseKing of Israel; to which the blunt plain-spoken Count expressed hisdoubt in reply, whether the wisest prince in the world evercondescended to frighten his subjects or guests by the mimic roaringsof a wooden lion. "If, " said he, "I too hastily took it for a livingcreature, I have had the worst, by damaging my excellent gauntlet indashing to pieces its timber skull. "

The Emperor, after a little more had been said, chiefly on the samesubject, proposed that they should pass to the banquet-room. Marshalled, accordingly, by the grand sewer of the Imperial table, and attended byall present, excepting the Emperor and the immediate members of hisfamily, the Frankish guests were guided through a labyrinth ofapartments, each of which was filled with wonders of nature and art, calculated to enhance their opinion of the wealth and grandeur whichhad assembled together so much that was wonderful. Their passage beingnecessarily slow and interrupted, gave the Emperor time to change hisdress, according to the ritual of his court, which did not permit hisappearing twice in the same vesture before the same spectators. He tookthe opportunity to summon Agelastes into his presence, and, that theirconference might be secret, he used, in assisting his toilet, theagency of some of the mutes destined for the service of the interior. 

The temper of Alexius Comnenus was considerably moved, although it wasone of the peculiarities of his situation to be ever under thenecessity of disguising the emotions of his mind, and of affecting, inpresence of his subjects, a superiority to human passion, which he wasfar from feeling. It was therefore with gravity, and even reprehension, that he asked, "By whose error it was that the wily Bohemond, half-Italian, and half-Norman, was present at this interview? Surely, ifthere be one in the crusading army likely to conduct that foolish youthand his wife behind the scenes of the exhibition by which we hoped toimpose upon them, the Count of Tarentum, as he entitles himself, isthat person. "

"It was that old man, " said Agelastes, "(if I may reply and live, )Michael Cantacuzene, who deemed that his presence was peculiarlydesired; but he returns to the camp this very night. "

"Yes, " said Alexius, "to inform Godfrey, and the rest of the crusaders, that one of the boldest and most highly esteemed of their number isleft, with his wife, a hostage in our Imperial city, and to bring back, perhaps, an alternative of instant war, unless they are delivered up!"

"If it is your Imperial Highness's will to think so, " said Agelastes, "you can suffer Count Robert and his wife to return to the camp withthe Italian-Norman. "

"What?" answered the Emperor, "and so lose all the fruits of anenterprise, the preparations for which have already cost us so much inactual expense; and, were our heart made of the same stuff with that ofordinary mortals, would have cost us so much more in vexation andanxiety? No, no; issue warning to the crusaders, who are still on thehither side, that farther rendering of homage is dispensed with, andthat they repair to the quays on the banks of the Bosphorus, by peep oflight to-morrow. Let our admiral, as he values his head, pass every manof them over to the farther side before noon. Let there be largesses, aprincely banquet on the farther bank--all that may increase theiranxiety to pass. Then, Agelastes, we will trust to ourselves to meetthis additional danger, either by bribing the venality of Bohemond, orby bidding defiance to the crusaders. Their forces are scattered, andthe chief of them, with the leaders themselves, are all now--or by farthe greater part--on the east side of the Bosphorus. --And now to thebanquet! seeing that the change of dress has been made sufficient toanswer the statutes of the household; since our ancestors chose to makerules for exhibiting us to our subjects, as priests exhibit theirimages at their shrines!"

"Under grant of life, " said Agelastes, "it was not done inconsiderately, but in order that the Emperor, ruled ever by the same laws from fatherto son, might ever be regarded as something beyond the common laws ofhumanity--the divine image of a saint, therefore, rather than a humanbeing. "

"We know it, good Agelastes, " answered the Emperor, with a smile, "andwe are also aware, that many of our subjects, like the worshippers ofBel in holy writ, treat us so far as an image, as to assist us indevouring the revenues of our provinces, which are gathered in our name, and for our use. These things we now only touch lightly, the time notsuiting them. "

Alexius left the secret council accordingly, after the order for thepassage of the crusaders had been written out and subscribed in dueform, and in the sacred ink of the Imperial chancery. 

Meantime, the rest of the company had arrived in a hall, which, likethe other apartments in the palace, was most tastefully as well asgorgeously fitted up, except that a table, which presented a princelybanquet, might have been deemed faulty in this respect, that the dishes, which were most splendid, both in the materials of which they werecomposed, and in the viands which they held, were elevated by means offeet, so as to be upon a level with female guests as they sat, and withmen as they lay recumbent at the banquet which it offered. 

Around stood a number of black slaves richly attired, while the grandsewer, Michael Cantazucene, arranged the strangers with his golden wand, and conveyed orders to them, by signs, that all should remain standingaround the table, until a signal should be given. 

The upper end of the board, thus furnished, and thus surrounded, washidden by a curtain of muslin and silver, which fell from the top ofthe arch under which the upper part seemed to pass. On this curtain thesewer kept a wary eye; and when he observed it slightly shake, he wavedhis wand of office, and all expected the result. 

As if self-moved, the mystic curtain arose, and discovered behind it athrone eight steps higher than the end of the table, decorated in themost magnificent manner, and having placed before it a small table ofivory inlaid with silver, behind which was seated Alexius Comnenus, ina dress entirely different from what he had worn in the course of theday, and so much more gorgeous than his former vestments, that itseemed not unnatural that his subjects should prostrate themselvesbefore a figure so splendid. His wife, his daughter, and his son-in-lawthe Caesar, stood behind him with faces bent to the ground, and it waswith deep humility, that, descending from the throne at the Emperor'scommand, they mingled with the guests of the lower table, and, exaltedas they were, proceeded to the festive board at the signal of the grandsewer. So that they could not be said to partake of the repast with theEmperor, nor to be placed at the Imperial table, although they suppedin his presence, and were encouraged by his repeated request to them tomake good cheer. No dishes presented at the lower table were offered atthe higher; but wines, and more delicate sorts of food, which arosebefore the Emperor as if by magic, and seemed designed for his ownproper use, were repeatedly sent, by his special directions, to one orother of the guests whom Alexius delighted to honour--among these theFranks being particularly distinguished. 

The behaviour of Bohemond was on this occasion particularly remarkable. 

Count Robert, who kept an eye upon him, both from his recent words, andowing to an expressive look which he once or twice darted towards him, observed, that in no liquors or food, not even those sent from theEmperor's own table, did this astucious prince choose to indulge. Apiece of bread, taken from the canister at random, and a glass of purewater, was the only refreshment of which he was pleased to partake. Hisalleged excuse was, the veneration due to the Holy Festival of theAdvent, which chanced to occur that very night, and which both theGreek and Latin rule agree to hold sacred. 

"I had not expected this of you, Sir Bohemond, " said the Emperor, "thatyou should have refused my personal hospitality at my own board, on thevery day on which you honoured me by entering into my service as vassalfor the principality of Antioch. "

"Antioch is not yet conquered, " said Sir Bohemond; "and conscience, dread sovereign, must always have its exceptions, in whatever temporalcontracts we may engage. "

"Come, gentle Count, " said the Emperor, who obviously regardedBohemond's inhospitable humour as something arising more from suspicionthan devotion, "we invite, though it is not our custom, our children, our noble guests, and our principal officers here present, to a generalcarouse. Fill the cups called the Nine Muses! let them be brimful ofthe wine which is said to be sacred to the Imperial lips!"

At the Emperor's command the cups were filled; they were of pure gold, and there was richly engraved upon each the effigy of the Muse to whomit was dedicated. 

"You at least, " said the Emperor, "my gentle Count Robert, you and yourlovely lady, will not have any scruple to pledge your Imperial host?"

"If that scruple is to imply suspicion of the provisions with which weare here served, I disdain to nourish such, " said Count Robert. "If itis a sin which I commit by tasting wine to-night, it is a venial one;nor shall I greatly augment my load by carrying it, with the rest of mytrespasses, to the next confessional. "

"Will you then, Prince Bohemond, not be ruled by the conduct of yourfriend?" said the Emperor. 

"Methinks, " replied the Norman-Italian, "my friend might have donebetter to have been, ruled by mine; but be it as his wisdom pleases. The flavour of such exquisite wine is sufficient for me. "

"So saying, he emptied the wine into another goblet, and seemedalternately to admire the carving of the cup, and the flavour of whatit had lately contained. 

"You are right, Sir Bohemond, " said the Emperor; "the fabric of thatcup is beautiful; it was done by one of the ancient gravers of Greece. The boasted cup of Nestor, which Homer has handed down to us, was agood deal larger perhaps, but neither equalled these in the value ofthe material, nor the exquisite beauty of the workmanship. Let each one, therefore, of my stranger guests, accept of the cup which he either hasor might have drunk out of, as a recollection of me; and may theexpedition against the infidels be as propitious as their confidenceand courage deserve!"

"If I accept your gift, mighty Emperor, " said Bohemond, "it is only toatone for the apparent discourtesy, when my devotion, compels me todecline your Imperial pledge, and to show you that we part on the mostintimate terms of friendship. "

So saying, he bowed deeply to the Emperor, who answered him with asmile, into which was thrown, a considerable portion of sarcasticexpression. 

"And I, " said the Count of Paris, "having taken upon my conscience thefault of meeting your Imperial pledge, may stand excused from incurringthe blame of aiding to dismantle your table of these curious drinkingcups. We empty them to your health, and we cannot in any other respectprofit by them. "

"But Prince Bohemond can, " said the Emperor; "to whose quarters theyshall be carried, sanctioned by your generous use. And we have still aset for you, and for your lovely Countess, equal to that of the Graces, though no longer matching in number the nymphs of Parnassus. --Theevening bell rings, and calls us to remember the hour of rest, that wemay be ready to meet the labours of to-morrow. "

The party then broke up for the evening. Bohemond left the palace thatnight, not forgetting the Muses, of whom he was not in general adevotee. The result was, as the wily Greek had intended, that he hadestablished between Bohemond and the Count, not indeed a quarrel, but akind of difference of opinion; Bohemond feeling that the fiery Count ofParis must think his conduct sordid and avaricious, while Count Robertwas far less inclined than before to rely on him as a counsellor. 

CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH. 

The Count of Paris and his lady were that night lodged in the ImperialPalace of the Blacquernal. Their apartments were contiguous, but thecommunication between them was cut off for the night by the mutual doorbeing locked and barred. They marvelled somewhat at this precaution. The observance, however, of the festival of the Church, was pleaded asan admissible, and not unnatural excuse for this extraordinarycircumstance. Neither the Count nor his lady entertained, it may bebelieved, the slightest personal fear for any thing which could happento them. Their attendants, Marcian and Agatha, having assisted theirmaster and mistress in the performance of their usual offices, leftthem, in order to seek the places of repose assigned to them amongpersons of their degree. 

The preceding day had been one of excitation, and of much bustle andinterest; perhaps, also, the wine, sacred to the Imperial lips, ofwhich Count Robert had taken a single, indeed, but a deep draught, wasmore potent than the delicate and high-flavoured juice of the Gascognegrape, to which he was accustomed; at any rate, it seemed to him that, from the time he felt that he had slept, daylight ought to have beenbroad in his chamber when he awaked, and yet it was still darknessalmost palpable. Somewhat surprised, he gazed eagerly around, but coulddiscern nothing, except two balls of red light which shone from amongthe darkness with a self-emitted brilliancy, like the eyes of a wildanimal while it glares upon its prey. The Count started from bed to puton his armour, a necessary precaution if what he saw should really be awild creature and at liberty; but the instant he stirred, a deep growlwas uttered, such as the Count had never heard, but which might becompared to the sound of a thousand monsters at once; and, as thesymphony, was heard the clash of iron chains, and the springing of amonstrous creature towards the bedside, which appeared, however, to bewithheld by some fastening from attaining the end of its bound. Theroars which it uttered now ran thick on each other. They were mosttremendous, and must have been heard throughout the whole palace. Thecreature seemed to gather itself many yards nearer to the bed than byits glaring eyeballs it appeared at first to be stationed, and how muchnearer, or what degree of motion, might place him within the monster'sreach, the Count was totally uncertain. Its breathing was even heard, and Count Robert thought he felt the heat of its respiration, while hisdefenceless limbs might not be two yards distant from the fangs whichhe heard grinding against each other, and the claws which tore upfragments of wood from the oaken floor. The Count of Paris was one ofthe bravest men who lived in a time when bravery was the universalproperty of all who claimed a drop of noble blood, and the knight was adescendant of Charlemagne. He was, however, a man, and therefore cannotbe said to have endured unappalled a sense of danger so unexpected andso extraordinary. But his was not a sudden alarm or panic, it was acalm sense of extreme peril, qualified by a resolution to exert hisfaculties to the uttermost, to save his life if it were possible. Hewithdrew himself within the bed, no longer a place of rest, being thusa few feet further from the two glaring eyeballs which remained soclosely fixed upon him, that, in spite of his courage, nature painfullysuggested the bitter imagination of his limbs being mangled, torn, andchurned with their life-blood, in the jaws of some monstrous beast ofprey. One saving thought alone presented itself--this might be a trial, an experiment of the philosopher Agelastes, or of the Emperor hismaster, for the purpose of proving the courage of which the Christiansvaunted so highly, and punishing the thoughtless insult which the Counthad been misadvised enough to put upon the Emperor the preceding day. 

"Well is it said, " he reflected in his agony, "beard not the lion inhis den! Perhaps even, now some base slave deliberates whether I haveyet tasted enough of the preliminary agonies of death, and whether heshall yet slip the chain which keeps the savage from doing his work. But come death when it will, it shall never be said that Count Robertwas heard to receive it with prayers for compassion, or with cries ofpain or terror. " He turned his face to the wall, and waited, with astrong mental exertion, the death which he conceived to be fastapproaching. 

His first feelings had been unavoidably of a selfish nature. The dangerwas too instant, and of a description too horrible, to admit of anywhich involved a more comprehensive view of his calamity; and otherreflections of a more distant kind, were at first swallowed up in theall-engrossing thought of immediate death. But as his ideas becameclearer, the safety of his Countess rushed upon his mind--what mightshe now be suffering! and, while he was subjected to a trial soextraordinary, for what were her weaker frame and female couragereserved? Was she still within a few yards of him, as when he lay downthe last night? or had the barbarians, who had devised for him a sceneso cruel, availed themselves of his and his lady's incautiousconfidence to inflict upon her some villany of the same kind, or evenyet more perfidious? Did she sleep or wake, or could she sleep withinthe close hearing of that horrible cry, which shook all around? Heresolved to utter her name, warning her, if possible, to be upon herguard, and to answer without venturing rashly into the apartment whichcontained a guest so horribly perilous. 

He uttered, therefore, his wife's name, but in trembling accents, as ifhe had been afraid of the savage beast overhearing him. 

"Brenhilda! Brenhilda!--there is danger-awake, and speak to me, but donot arise. " There was no answer. --"What am I become, " he said tohimself, "that I call upon Brenhilda of Aspramonte, like a child on itssleeping nurse, and all because there is a wild-cat in the same roomwith me? Shame on thee, Count of Paris! Let thy arms be rent, and thyspurs be hacked from thy heels!--What ho!" he cried aloud, but stillwith a tremulous voice, "Brenhilda, we are beset, the foe are upon us!--Answer me, but stir not. "

A deep growl from the monster which garrisoned his apartment was theonly answer. The sound seemed to say, "Thou hast no hope!" and it ranto the knight's bosom as the genuine expression of despair. 

"Perhaps, however, I am still too cold in making my misery known. Whatho! my love! Brenhilda!"

A voice, hollow and disconsolate as that which might have served aninhabitant of the grave, answered as if from a distance. "Whatdisconsolate wretch art thou, who expectest that the living can answerthee from the habitations of the dead?"

"I am a Christian man, a free noble of the kingdom of France, " answeredthe Count. "Yesterday the captain of five hundred men, the bravest inFrance--the bravest, that is, who breathe mortal air--and I am herewithout a glimpse of light, to direct me how to avoid the corner inwhich lies a wild tiger-cat, prompt to spring upon and to devour me. "

"Thou art an example, " replied the voice, "and wilt not long be thelast, of the changes of fortune. I, who am now suffering in my thirdyear, was that mighty Ursel, who rivalled Alexius Comnenus for theCrown of Greece, was betrayed by my confederates, and being deprived ofthat eyesight which is the chief blessing of humanity, I inhabit thesevaults, no distant neighbour of the wild animals by whom they aresometimes occupied, and whose cries of joy I hear when unfortunatevictims like thyself are delivered up to their fury. "

"Didst thou not then hear, " said Count Robert, in return, "a warlikeguest and his bride conducted hither last night, with sounds as itmight seem, of bridal music?--O, Brenhilda! hast thou, so young--sobeautiful--been so treacherously done to death by means so unutterablyhorrible!"

"Think not, " answered Ursel, as the voice had called its owner, "thatthe Greeks pamper their wild beasts on such lordly fare. For theirenemies, which term includes not only all that are really such, but allthose whom they fear or hate, they have dungeons whose locks neverrevolve; hot instruments of steel, to sear the eyeballs in the head;lions and tigers, when it pleases them to make a speedy end of theircaptives--but these are only for the male prisoners. While for thewomen--if they be young and beautiful, the princes of the land haveplaces in their bed and bower; nor are they employed like the captivesof Agamemnon's host, to draw water from an Argive spring, but areadmired and adored by those whom fate has made the lords of theirdestiny. "

"Such shall never be the doom of Brenhilda!" exclaimed Count Robert;"her husband still lives to assist her, and should he die, she knowswell how to follow him without leaving a blot in the epitaph ofeither. "

The captive did not immediately reply, and a short pause ensued, whichwas broken by Ursel's voice. "Stranger, " he said, "what noise is that Ihear?"

"Nay, I hear nothing, " said Count Robert. 

"But I do, " said Ursel. "The cruel deprivation of my eyesight rendersmy other senses more acute. "

"Disquiet not thyself about the matter, fellow-prisoner, " answered theCount, "but wait the event in silence. "

Suddenly a light arose in the apartment, lurid, red, and smoky. Theknight had bethought him of a flint and match which he usually carriedabout him, and with as little noise as possible had lighted the torchby the bedside; this he instantly applied to the curtains of the bed, which, being of thin muslin, were in a moment in flames. The knightsprung, at the same instant, from his bed. The tiger, for such it was, terrified at the flame, leaped backwards as far as his chain wouldpermit, heedless of any thing save this new object of terror. CountRobert upon this seized on a massive wooden stool, which was the onlyoffensive weapon on which he could lay his hand, and, marking at thoseeyes which now reflected the blaze of fire, and which had recentlyseemed so appalling, he discharged against them this fragment ofponderous oak, with a force which less resembled human strength thanthe impetus with which an engine hurls a stone. He had employed hisinstant of time so well, and his aim was so true, that the missile wentright to the mark and with incredible force. The skull of the tiger, which might be, perhaps, somewhat exaggerated if described as being ofthe very largest size, was fractured by the blow, and with theassistance of his dagger, which had fortunately been left with him, theFrench Count despatched the monster, and had the satisfaction to seehim grin his last, and roll, in the agony of death, those eyes whichwere lately so formidable. 

Looking around him, he discovered, by the light of the fire which hehad raised, that the apartment in which he now lay was different fromthat in which he had gone to bed overnight; nor could there be astronger contrast between the furniture of both, than the flickeringhalf-burnt remains of the thin muslin curtains, and the strong, bare, dungeon-looking walls of the room itself, or the very serviceablewooden stool, of which he had made such good use. 

The knight had no leisure to form conclusions upon such a subject. Hehastily extinguished the fire, which had, indeed, nothing that it couldlay hold of, and proceeded, by the light of the flambeau, to examinethe apartment, and its means of entrance. It is scarce necessary to say, that he saw no communication with the room of Brenhilda, whichconvinced him that they had been separated the evening before underpretence of devotional scruples, in order to accomplish some mostvillanous design upon one or both of them. His own part of the night'sadventure we have already seen, and success, so far, over so formidablea danger, gave him a trembling hope that Brenhilda, by her own worthand valour, would be able to defend herself against all attacks offraud or force, until he could find his way to her rescue. "I shouldhave paid more regard, " he said, "to Bohemond's caution last night, who, I think, intimated to me as plainly as if he had spoke it in directterms, that that same cup of wine was a drugged potion. But then, fieupon him for an avaricious hound! How was it possible I should think hesuspected any such thing, when he spoke not out like a man, but, forsheer coldness of heart, or base self-interest, suffered me to run therisk of being poisoned by the wily despot?"

Here he heard a voice from the same quarter as before. "Ho, there! Ho, stranger! Do you live, or have you been murdered? What means thisstifling smell of smoke? For God's sake, answer him who can receive noinformation from eyes, closed, alas, for ever!"

"I am at liberty, " said the Count, "and the monster destined to devourme has groaned its last. I would, my friend Ursel, since such is thyname, thou hadst the advantage of thine eyes, to have borne witness toyonder combat; it had been worth thy while, though thou shouldst havelost them a minute afterwards, and it would have greatly advantagedwhoever shall have the task of compiling my history. "

While he gave a thought to that vanity which strongly ruled him, helost no time in seeking some mode of escape from the dungeon, for bythat means only might he hope to recover his Countess. At last he foundan entrance in the wall, but it was strongly locked and bolted. "I havefound the passage, "--he called out; "and its direction is the same inwhich thy voice is heard--But how shall I undo the door?"

"I'll teach thee that secret, " said Ursel. "I would I could as easilyunlock each bolt that withholds us from the open air; but, as for thyseclusion within the dungeon, heave up the door by main strength, andthou shalt lift the locks to a place where, pushing then the door fromthee, the fastenings will find a grooved passage in the wall, and thedoor itself will open. Would that I could indeed see thee, not onlybecause, being a gallant man, thou must be a goodly sight, but alsobecause I should thereby know that I was not caverned in darkness forever. "

While he spoke thus, the Count made a bundle of his armour, from whichhe missed nothing except his sword, Tranchefer, and then proceeded totry what efforts he could make, according to the blind man'sinstructions, to open the door of his prison-house. Pushing in a directline was, he soon found, attended with no effect; but when he appliedhis gigantic strength, and raised the door as high as it would go, hehad the satisfaction to find that the bolts yielded, though reluctantly. A space had been cut so as to allow them to move out of the socket intowhich they had been forced; and without the turn of a key, but by apowerful thrust forwards, a small passage was left open. The knightentered, bearing his armour in his hand. 

"I hear thee, " said Ursel, "O stranger! and am aware thou art come intomy place of captivity. For three years have I been employed in cuttingthese grooves, corresponding to the sockets which hold these iron bolts, and preserving the knowledge of the secret from the prison-keepers. Twenty such bolts, perhaps, must be sawn through, ere my steps shallapproach the upper air. What prospect is there that I shall havestrength of mind sufficient to continue the task? Yet, credit me, noblestranger, I rejoice in having been thus far aiding to thy deliverance;for if Heaven blesses not, in any farther degree, our aspirations afterfreedom, we may still be a comfort to each other, while tyranny permitsour mutual life. "

Count Robert looked around, and shuddered that a human being shouldtalk of any thing approaching to comfort, connected with his residencein what seemed a living tomb. Ursel's dungeon was not above twelve feetsquare, vaulted in the roof, and strongly built in the walls by stoneswhich the chisel had morticed closely together. A bed, a coarsefootstool, like that which Robert had just launched at the head of thetiger, and a table of equally massive materials, were its only articlesof furniture. On a long stone, above the bed, were these few, butterrible words:--Zedekias Ursel, imprisoned here on the Ides of March, A. D. ----. Died and interred on the spot"--A blank was left for fillingup the period. The figure of the captive could hardly be discerned amidthe wildness of his dress and dishabille. The hair of his head, uncutand uncombed, descended in elf-locks, and mingled with a beard ofextravagant length. 

"Look on me, " said the captive, "and rejoice that thou canst yet seethe wretched condition to which iron-hearted tyranny can reduce afellow-creature, both in mortal existence and in future hope. "

"Was it thou, " said Count Robert, whose blood ran cold in his veins, "that hadst the heart to spend thy time in sawing through the blocks ofstone by which these bolts are secured?"

"Alas!" said Ursel, "what could a blind man do? Busy I must be, if Iwould preserve my senses. Great as the labour was, it was to me thetask of three years; nor can you wonder that I should have devoted toit my whole time, when I had no other means of occupying it. Perhaps, and most likely, my dungeon does not admit the distinction of day andnight; but a distant cathedral clock told me how hour after hour fledaway, and found me expending them in rubbing one stone against another. But when the door gave way, I found I had only cut an access into aprison more strong than that which held me. I rejoice, nevertheless, since it has brought us together, given thee an entrance to my dungeon, and me a companion in my misery. "

"Think better than that, " said Count Robert, "think of liberty--thinkof revenge! I cannot believe such unjust treachery will endsuccessfully, else needs must I say, the heavens are less just thanpriests tell us of. How art thou supplied with food in this dungeon ofthine?"

"A warder, " said Ursel, "and who, I think, understands not the Greeklanguage--at least he never either answers or addresses me--brings aloaf and a pitcher of water, enough to supply my miserable life tilltwo days are past. I must, therefore, pray that you will retire for aspace into the next prison, so that the warder may have no means ofknowing that we can hold correspondence together. "

"I see not, " said Count Robert, "by what access the barbarian, if he isone, can enter my dungeon without passing through yours; but no matter, I will retire into the inner or outer room, whichever it happens to be, and be thou then well aware that the warder will have some one tograpple with ere he leaves his prison-work to-day. Meanwhile, thinkthyself dumb as thou art blind, and be assured that the offer offreedom itself would not induce me to desert the cause of a companionin adversity. "

"Alas, " said the old man, "I listen to thy promises as I should tothose of the morning gale, which tells me that the sun is about to rise, although I know that I at least shall never behold it. Thou art one ofthose wild and undespairing knights, whom for so many years the west ofEurope hath sent forth to attempt impossibilities, and from thee, therefore, I can only hope for such a fabric of relief as an idle boywould blow out of soap bubbles. "

"Think better of us, old man, " said Count Robert, retiring; "at leastlet me die with my blood warm, and believing it possible for me to beonce more united to my beloved Brenhilda. "

So saying, he retired into his own cell, and replaced the door, so thatthe operations of Ursel, which indeed were only such as three years'solitude could have achieved, should escape observation when againvisited by the Warder. "It is ill luck, " said he, when once morewithin his own prison--for that in which the tiger had been secured, heinstinctively concluded to be destined for him--"It is ill luck that Ihad not found a young and able fellow-captive, instead of one decrepitby imprisonment, blind, and broken down past exertion. But God's willbe done! I will not leave behind me the poor wretch whom I have foundin such a condition, though he is perfectly unable to assist me inaccomplishing my escape, and is rather more likely to retard it. Meantime, before we put out the torch, let us see, if, by closeexamination, we can discover any door in the wall save that to theblind man's dungeon. If not, I much suspect that my descent has beenmade through the roof. That cup of wine--that Muse, as they called it, had a taste more like medicine than merry companions' pledge. "

He began accordingly a strict survey of the walls, which he resolved toconclude by extinguishing the torch, that he might take the person whoshould enter his dungeon darkling and by surprise, For a similar reason, he dragged into the darkest corner the carcass of the tiger, andcovered it with the remains of the bed-clothes, swearing at the sametime, that a half tiger should be his crest in future, if he had thefortune, which his bold heart would not suffer him to doubt, of gettingthrough the present danger. "But, " he added, "if these necromanticvassals of hell shall raise the devil upon, me, what shall I do then?And so great is the chance, that methinks I would fain dispense withextinguishing the flambeau. Yet it is childish for one dubbed in thechapel of Our Lady of the Broken Lances, to make much differencebetween a light room and a dark one. Let them come, as many fiends asthe cell can hold, and we shall see if we receive them not as becomes aChristian knight; and surely, Our Lady, to whom I was ever a truevotary, will hold it an acceptable sacrifice that I tore myself from myBrenhilda, even for a single moment, in honour of her advent, and thusled the way for our woful separation. Fiends! I defy ye in the body asin the spirit, and I retain the remains of this flambeau until somemore convenient opportunity. " He dashed it against the wall as he spoke, and then quietly sat down in a corner, to watch what should next happen. 

Thought after thought chased each other through his mind. Hisconfidence in his wife's fidelity, and his trust in her uncommonstrength and activity, were the greatest comforts which he had; norcould her danger present itself to him in any shape so terrible, butthat he found consolation in these reflections: "She is pure, " he said, "as the dew of heaven, and heaven will not abandon its own. "

CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH. 

 Strange ape of man! who loathes thee while he scorns thee. Half a reproach to us and half a jest. What fancies can be ours ere we have pleasure In viewing our own form, our pride and passions, Reflected in a shape grotesque as thine! ANONYMOUS. 

Count Robert of Paris having ensconced himself behind the ruins of thebed, so that he could not well be observed, unless a strong light wasat once flung upon the place of his retreat, waited with anxiety howand in what manner the warder of the dungeon, charged with the task ofbringing food to the prisoners, should make himself visible; nor was itlong ere symptoms of his approach began to be heard and observed. 

A light was partially seen, as from a trap-door opening in the roof, and a voice was heard to utter these words in Anglo-Saxon, "Leap, sirrah; come, no delay; leap, my good Sylvan, show your honour'sactivity. " A strange chuckling hoarse voice, in a language totallyunintelligible to Count Robert, was heard to respond, as if disputingthe orders which were received. 

"What, sir, " said his companion, "you must contest the point, must you?Nay, if thou art so lazy, I must give your honour a ladder, and perhapsa kick to hasten your journey. " Something then, of very great size, inthe form of a human being, jumped down from the trap-door, though theheight might be above fourteen feet. This figure was gigantic, beingupwards of seven feet high. In its left hand it held a torch, and inits right a skein of fine silk, which unwinding itself as it descended, remained unbroken, though it was easy to conceive it could not haveafforded a creature so large any support in his descent from the roof. He alighted with perfect safety and activity upon his feet, and, as ifrebounding from the floor, he sprung upwards again, so as almost totouch the roof. In this last gambaud the torch which he bore wasextinguished; but this extraordinary warder whirled it round his headwith infinite velocity, so that it again ignited. The bearer, whoappeared to intend the accomplishment of this object, endeavoured tosatisfy himself that it was really attained by approaching, as ifcautiously, its left hand to the flame of the torch. This practicalexperiment seemed attended with consequences which the creature had notexpected, for it howled with pain, shaking the burnt hand, andchattering as if bemoaning itself. 

"Take heed there, Sylvanus!" said the same voice in Anglo-Saxon, and ina tone of rebuke. "Ho, there! mind thy duty, Sylvan! Carry food to theblind man, and stand not there to play thyself, lest I trust thee notagain alone on such an errand!"

The creature--for it would have been rash to have termed it a man--turning its eye upwards to the place from whence the voice came, answered with a dreadful grin and shaking of its fist, yet presentlybegan to undo a parcel, and rummage in the pockets of a sort of jerkinand pantaloons which it wore, seeking, it appeared, a bunch of keys, which at length it produced, while it took from the pocket a loaf ofbread. Heating the stone of the wall, it affixed the torch to it by apiece of wax, and then cautiously looked out for the entrance to theold man's dungeon, which it opened with a key selected from the bunch. Within the passage it seemed to look for and discover the handle of apump, at which it filled a pitcher that it bore, and bringing back thefragments of the former loaf, and remains of the pitcher of water, itate a little, as if it were in sport, and very soon making a frightfulgrimace, flung the fragments away. The Count of Paris, in the meanwhile, watched anxiously the proceedings of this unknown animal. His firstthought was, that the creature, whose limbs were so much larger thanhumanity, whose grimaces were so frightful, and whose activity seemedsupernatural, could be no other than the Devil himself, or some of hisimps, whose situation and office in those gloomy regions seemed by nomeans hard to conjecture. The human voice, however, which he had heard, was less that of a necromancer conjuring a fiend than that of a persongiving commands to a wild animal, over whom he had, by training, obtained a great superiority. 

"A shame on it, " said the Count, "if I suffer a common jackanapes, --forsuch I take this devil-seeming beast to be, although twice as large asany of its fellows whom I have ever seen, --to throw an obstacle in theway of my obtaining daylight and freedom! Let us but watch, and thechance is that we make that furry gentleman our guide to the upperregions. "

Meantime the creature, which rummaged about everywhere, at length. Discovered the body of the tiger, --touched it, stirred it, with manystrange motions, and seemed to lament and wonder at its death. At onceit seemed struck with the idea that some one must have slain it, andCount Robert had the mortification to see it once more select the key, and spring towards the door of Ursel's prison with such alacrity, thathad its intention been to strangle him, it would have accomplished itspurpose before the interference of Count Robert could have preventedits revenge taking place. Apparently, however, it reflected, that forreasons which seemed satisfactory, the death of the tiger could not becaused by the unfortunate Ursel, but had been accomplished by some oneconcealed within the outer prison. 

Slowly grumbling, therefore, and chattering to itself, and peepinganxiously into every corner, the tremendous creature, so like yet sovery unlike to the human form, came stealing along the walls, movingwhatever he thought could seclude a man from his observation. Itsextended legs and arms were protruded forward with great strides, andits sharp eyes, on the watch to discover the object of its search, keptprying, with the assistance of the torch, into every corner. 

Considering the vicinity of Alexius's collection of animals, the reader, by this time, can have little doubt that the creature in question, whose appearance seemed to the Count of Paris so very problematical, was a specimen of that gigantic species of ape--if it is not indeedsome animal more nearly allied to ourselves--to which, I believe, naturalists have given the name of the Ourang Outang. This creaturediffers from the rest of its fraternity, in being comparatively moredocile and serviceable: and though possessing the power of imitationwhich is common to the whole race, yet making use of it less in meremockery, than in the desire of improvement and instruction perfectlyunknown to his brethren. The aptitude which it possesses of acquiringinformation, is surprisingly great, and probably, if placed in afavourable situation, it might admit of being domesticated in aconsiderable degree; but such advantages the ardour of scientificcuriosity has never afforded this creature. The last we have heard ofwas seen, we believe, in the Island of Sumatra--it was of great sizeand strength, and upwards of seven feet high. It died defendingdesperately its innocent life against a party of Europeans, who, wecannot help thinking, might have better employed the superiority whichtheir knowledge gave them over the poor native of the forest. It wasprobably this creature, seldom seen, but when once seen never forgotten, which occasioned the ancient belief in the god Pan, with his sylvansand satyrs. Nay, but for the gift of speech, which we cannot supposeany of the family to have attained, we should have believed the satyrseen by St. Anthony in the desert to have belonged to this tribe. 

We can, therefore, the more easily credit the annals which attest thatthe collection of natural history belonging to Alexius Comnenus, preserved an animal of this kind, which had been domesticated andreclaimed to a surprising extent, and showed a degree of intelligencenever perhaps to be attained in any other case. These explanationsbeing premised, we return to the thread of our story. 

The animal advanced with long noiseless steps; its shadow on the wall, when it held the torch so as to make it visible to the Frank, forminganother fiend-resembling mimicry of its own large figure andextravagant-looking members. Count Robert remained in his lurking hole, in no hurry to begin a strife, of which it was impossible to foretellthe end. In the meantime, the man of the woods came nigh, and everystep by which he approached, caused the Count's heart to vibrate almostaudibly, at the idea of meeting danger of a nature so strange and new. At length the creature approached the bed--his hideous eyes were fixedon those of the Count; and, as much surprised at seeing him as Robertwas at the meeting, he skipped about fifteen paces backwards at onespring, with a cry of instinctive terror, and then advanced on tiptoe, holding his torch as far forward as he could, between him and theobject of his fears, as if to examine him at the safest possibledistance. Count Robert caught up a fragment of the bedstead, largeenough to form a sort of club, with which he menaced the native of thewilds. 

Apparently this poor creature's education, like education of most kinds, had not been acquired without blows, of which the recollection was asfresh as that of the lessons which they enforced. Sir Robert of Pariswas a man at once to discover and to avail himself of the advantageobtained by finding that he possessed a degree of ascendancy over hisenemy, which he had not suspected. He erected his warlike figure, assumed a step as if triumphant in the lists, and advanced threateninghis enemy with his club, as he would have menaced his antagonist withthe redoutable Tranchefer. The man of the woods, on the other hand, obviously gave way, and converted his cautious advance into a retreatno less cautious. Yet apparently the creature had not renounced someplan of resistance; he chattered in an angry and hostile tone, held outhis torch in opposition, and seemed about to strike the crusader withit. Count Robert, however, determined to take his opponent at advantage, while his fears influenced him, and for this purpose resolved, ifpossible, to deprive him of his natural superiority in strength andagility, which his singular form showed he could not but possess overthe human species. A master of his weapon, therefore, the Count menacedhis savage antagonist with a stroke on the right side of his head, butsuddenly averting the blow, struck him with his whole force on the lefttemple, and in an instant was kneeling above him, when, drawing hisdagger, he was about to deprive him of life. 

The Ourang Outang, ignorant of the nature of this new weapon with whichhe was threatened, attempted at one and the same moment, to rise fromthe ground, overthrow his antagonist, and wrench the dagger from hisgrasp. In the first attempt, he would probably have succeeded; and asit was, he gained his knees, and seemed likely to prevail in thestruggle, when he became sensible that the knight, drawing his poniardsharply through his grasp, had cut his paw severely, and seeing him aimthe trenchant weapon at his throat, became probably aware that hisenemy had his life at command. He suffered himself to be bornebackwards without further resistance, with a deep wailing andmelancholy cry, having in it something human, which excited compassion. He covered his eyes with the unwounded hand, as if he would have hidfrom his own sight the death which seemed approaching him. 

Count Robert, notwithstanding his military frenzy, was, in ordinarymatters, a calm-tempered and mild man, and particularly benevolent tothe lower classes of creation. The thought rushed through his mind, "Why take from this unfortunate monster the breath which is in itsnostrils, after which it cannot know another existence? And then, mayit not be some prince or knight changed to this grotesque shape, thatit may help to guard these vaults, and the wonderful adventures thatattach to them? Should I not, then, be guilty of a crime by slaying him, when he has rendered himself, rescue or no rescue, which he has done ascompletely as his transformed figure permits; and if he be actually abestial creature, may he not have some touch of gratitude? I have heardthe minstrels sing the lay of Androcles and the Lion. I will be on myguard with him. "'

So saying, he rose from above the man of the woods, and permitted him. Also to arise. The creature seemed sensible of the clemency, for hemuttered in a low and supplicating tone, which seemed at once to cravefor mercy, and to return thanks for what he had already experienced. Hewept too, as he saw the blood dropping from his wound, and with ananxious countenance, which had more of the human now that it wascomposed into an expression of pain and melancholy, seemed to await interror the doom of a being more powerful than himself. 

The pocket which the knight wore under his armour, capable ofcontaining but few things, had, however, some vulnerary balsam, forwhich its owner had often occasion, a little lint, and a small roll oflinen; these the knight took out, and motioned to the animal to holdforth his wounded hand. The man of the woods obeyed with hesitation andreluctance, and Count Robert applied the balsam and the dressings, acquainting his patient, at the same time, in a severe tone of voice, that perhaps he did wrong in putting to his use a balsam compounded forthe service of the noblest knights; but that, if he saw the least signof his making an ungrateful use of the benefit he had conferred, hewould bury the dagger, of which he had felt the efficacy, to the veryhandle, in his body. 

The Sylvan looked fixedly upon Count Robert, almost as if he understoodthe language used to him, and, making one of its native murmurs, itstooped to the earth, kissed the feet of the knight, and embracing hisknees, seemed to swear to him eternal gratitude and fidelity. Accordingly, when the Count retired to the bed and assumed his armour, to await the re-opening of the trap-door, the animal sat down by hisside, directing its eyes in the line with his, and seemed quietly towait till the door should open. After waiting about an hour, a slightnoise was heard in the upper chamber, and the wild man plucked theFrank by the cloak, as if to call his attention to what was about tohappen. The same voice which had before spoken, was, after a whistle ortwo, heard to call, "Sylvan, Sylvan! where loiterest thou? Comeinstantly, or, by the rood, thou shalt abye thy sloth!"

The poor monster, as Trinculo might have called him, seemed perfectlyaware of the meaning of this threat, and showed his sense of it bypressing close to the side of Count Robert, making at the same time akind of whining, entreating, it would seem, the knight's protection. Forgetting the great improbability there was, even in his own opinion, that the creature could understand him, Count Robert said, "Why, myfriend, thou hast already learned the principal court prayer of thiscountry, by which men. Entreat permission, to speak and live. Fearnothing, poor creature--I am thy protector. "

"Sylvan! what, ho!" said the voice again; "whom hast thou got for acompanion?--some of the fiends, or ghosts of murdered men, who they sayare frequent in these dungeons? or dost thou converse with the oldblind rebel Grecian?--or, finally, is it true what men say of thee, that thou canst talk intelligibly when thou wilt, and only gibberestand chatterest for fear thou art sent to work? Come, thou lazy rascal!thou shalt have the advantage of the ladder to ascend by, though thouneedest it no more than a daw to ascend the steeple of the Cathedral ofSt. Sophia. [Footnote: Now the chief mosque of the Ottoman capital. ]Come along then, " he said, putting a ladder down the trap-door, "andput me not to the trouble of descending to fetch thee, else, by St. Swithin, it shall be the worse for thee. Come along, therefore, like agood fellow, and for once I shall spare the whip. "

The animal, apparently, was moved by this rhetoric, for, with a dolefullook, which Count Robert saw by means of the nearly extinguished torch, he seemed to bid him farewell, and to creep away towards the ladderwith the same excellent good-will wherewith a condemned criminalperforms the like evolution. But no sooner did the Count look angry, and shake the formidable dagger, than the intelligent animal seemed atonce to take his resolution, and clenching his hands firmly together inthe fashion of one who has made up his mind, he returned from theladder's foot, and drew up behind Count Robert, --with the air, however, of a deserter, who feels himself but little at home when called intothe field against his ancient commander. 

In a short time the warder's patience was exhausted, and despairing ofthe Sylvan's voluntary return, he resolved to descend in quest of him. Down the ladder he came, a bundle of keys in one hand, the otherassisting his descent, and a sort of dark lantern, whose bottom was sofashioned that he could wear it upon his head like a hat. He had scarcestept on the floor, when he was surrounded by the nervous arms of theCount of Paris. At first the warder's idea was, that he was seized bythe recusant Sylvan. 

"How now, villain!" he said; "let me go, or thou shalt die the death. "

"Thou diest thyself, " said the Count, who, between the surprise and hisown skill in wrestling, felt fully his advantage in the struggle. 

"Treason! treason!" cried the warder, hearing by the voice that astranger had mingled in the contest; "help, ho! above there! help, Hereward--Varangian!--Anglo-Saxon, or whatever accursed name thoucallest thyself!"

While he spoke thus, the irresistible grasp of Count Robert seized histhroat, and choked his utterance. They fell heavily, the jailorundermost, upon the floor of the dungeon, and Robert of Paris, thenecessity of whose case excused the action, plunged his dagger in thethroat of the unfortunate. Just as he did so, a noise of armour washeard, and, rattling down the ladder, our acquaintance Hereward stoodon the floor of the dungeon. The light, which had rolled from the headof the warder, continued to show him streaming with blood, and in thedeath-grasp of a stranger. Hereward hesitated not to fly to hisassistance, and, seizing upon the Count of Paris at the same advantagewhich that knight had gained over his own adversary a moment before, held him forcibly down with his face to the earth. Count Robert was oneof the strongest men of that military age; but then so was theVarangian; and save that the latter had obtained a decided advantage byhaving his antagonist beneath him, it could not certainly have beenconjectured which way the combat was to go. 

"Yield, as your own jargon goes, rescue or no rescue, " said theVarangian, "or die on the point of my dagger!"

"A French Count never yields, " answered Robert, who began to conjecturewith what sort of person he was engaged, "above all to a vagabond slavelike thee!" With this he made an effort to rise, so sudden, so strong, so powerful, that he had almost freed himself from the Varangian'sgrasp, had not Hereward, by a violent exertion of his great strength, preserved the advantage he had gained, and raised his poniard to endthe strife for ever; but a loud chuckling laugh of an unearthly soundwas at this instant heard. The Varangian's extended arm was seized withvigour, while a rough arm embracing his throat, turned him over on hisback, and gave the French Count an opportunity of springing up. 

"Death to thee, wretch!" said the Varangian, scarce knowing whom hethreatened; but the man of the woods apparently had an awfulrecollection of the prowess of human beings. He fled, therefore, swiftly up the ladder, and left Hereward and his deliverer to fight itout with what success chance might determine between them. 

The circumstances seemed to argue a desperate combat; both were tall, strong, and courageous, both had defensive armour, and the fatal anddesperate poniard was their only offensive weapon. They paused facingeach other, and examined eagerly into their respective means of defencebefore hazarding a blow, which, if it missed, its attaint wouldcertainly be fatally requited. During this deadly pause, a gleam shonefrom the trapdoor above, as the wild and alarmed visage of the man ofthe woods was seen peering down by the light of a newly kindled torchwhich he held as low into the dungeon as he well could. 

"Fight bravely, comrade, " said Count Robert of Paris, "for we no longerbattle in private; this respectable person, having chosen to constitutehimself judge of the field. "

Hazardous as his situation was, the Varangian looked up, and was sostruck with the wild and terrified expression which the creature hadassumed, and the strife between curiosity and terror which itsgrotesque features exhibited, that he could not help bursting into afit of laughter. 

"Sylvan is among those, " said Hereward, "who would rather hold thecandle to a dance so formidable than join in it himself. "

"Is there then, " said Count Robert, "any absolute necessity that thouand I perform this dance at all?"

"None but our own pleasure, " answered Hereward; "for I suspect there isnot between us any legitimate cause of quarrel demanding to be foughtout in such a place, and before such a spectator. Thou art, if Imistake not, the bold Frank, who was yesternight imprisoned in thisplace with, a tiger, chained within no distant spring of his bed?"

"I am, " answered the Count. 

"And where is the animal who was opposed to thee?"

"He lies yonder, " answered the Count, "never again to be the object ofmore terror than the deer whom he may have preyed on in his day. " Hepointed to the body of the tiger, which Hereward examined by the lightof the dark lantern already mentioned. 

"And this, then, was thy handiwork?" said the wondering Anglo-Saxon. 

"Sooth to say it was, " answered the Count, with indifference. 

"And thou hast slain my comrade of this strange watch?" said theVarangian. 

"Mortally wounded him at the least, " said Count Robert. 

"With your patience, I will be beholden to you for a moment's truce, while I examine his wound, " said Hereward. 

"Assuredly, " answered the Count; "blighted be the arm which strikes afoul blow at an open antagonist!"

Without demanding further security, the Varangian quitted his postureof defence and precaution, and set himself, by the assistance of thedark lantern, to examine the wound of the first warder who appeared onthe field, who seemed, by his Roman military dress, to be a soldier ofthe bands called Immortals. Pie found him in the death-agony, but stillable to speak. 

"So, Varangian, thou art come at last, --and is it to thy sloth ortreachery that I am to impute my fate?--Nay, answer me not!--Thestranger struck me over the collar-bone--had we lived long together, ormet often, I had done the like by thee, to wipe out the memory ofcertain transactions at the Golden Gate. --I know the use of the knifetoo well to doubt the effect of a blow aimed over the collar-bone by sostrong a hand--I feel it coming. The Immortal, so called, becomes now, if priests say true, an immortal indeed, and Sebastes of Mytilene's bowis broken ere his quiver is half emptied. "

The robber Greek sunk back in Hereward's arms, and closed his life witha groan, which was the last sound he uttered. The Varangian laid thebody at length on the dungeon floor. 

"This is a perplexed matter, " he said; "I am certainly not called uponto put to death a brave man, although my national enemy, because hehath killed a miscreant who was privately meditating my own murder. Neither is this a place or a light by which to fight as becomes thechampions of two nations. Let that quarrel be still for the present. --How say you then, noble sir, if we adjourn the present dispute till weeffect your deliverance from the dungeons of the Blacquernal, and yourrestoration to your own friends and followers? If a poor Varangianshould be of service to you in this matter, would you, when it wassettled, refuse to meet him in fair fight, with your national weaponsor his own?"

"If, " said Count Robert, "whether friend or enemy, thou wilt extend thyassistance to my wife, who is also imprisoned somewhere in thisinhospitable palace, be assured, that whatever be thy rank, whatever bethy country, whatever be thy condition, Robert of Paris will, at thychoice, proffer thee his right hand in friendship, or raise it againstthee in fair and manly battle--a strife not of hatred, but of honourand esteem; and this I vow by the soul of Charlemagne, my ancestor, andby the shrine of my patroness, Our Lady of the Broken Lances. "

"Enough said, " replied Hereward. "I am as much bound to the assistanceof your Lady Countess, being a poor exile, as if I were the first inthe ranks of chivalry; for if any thing can make the cause of worth andbravery yet more obligatory, it must be its being united with that of ahelpless and suffering female. "

"I ought, " said Count Robert, "to be here silent, without loading thygenerosity with farther requests; yet thou art a man, whom, if fortunehas not smiled at thy birth, by ordaining thee to be born within theranks of noblesse and knighthood, yet Providence hath done thee morejustice by giving thee a more gallant heart than is always possessed, Ifear, by those who are inwoven in the gayest wreath of chivalry. Therelingers here in these dungeons, for I cannot say he lives--a blind oldman, to whom for three years every thing beyond his prison has been auniversal blot. His food is bread and water, his intercourse limited tothe conversation of a sullen warder, and if death can ever come as adeliverer, it must be to this dark old man. What sayst thou? Shall he, so unutterably miserable, not profit by perhaps the only opportunity offreedom that may ever occur to him?"

"By St. Dunstan, " answered the Varangian, "thou keepest over truly theoath thou hast taken as a redresser of wrongs! Thine own case is well-nigh desperate, and thou art willing to make it utterly so by unitingwith it that of every unhappy person whom fate throws in thy way!"

"The more of human misery we attempt to relieve, " said Robert of Paris, "the more we shall carry with us the blessing of our merciful saints, and Our Lady of the Broken Lances, who views with so much pain everyspecies of human suffering or misfortune, save that which occurs withinthe enclosure of the lists. But come, valiant Anglo-Saxon, resolve meon my request as speedily as thou canst. There is something in thy faceof candour as well as sense, and it is with no small confidence that Idesire to see us set forth in quest of my beloved Countess, who, whenher deliverance is once achieved, will be a powerful aid to us inrecovering that of others. "

"So be it, then, " said the Varangian; "we will proceed in quest of theCountess Brenhilda; and if, on recovering her, we find ourselves strongenough to procure the freedom of the dark old man, my cowardice, orwant of compassion, shall never stop the attempt. "

CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH. 

 'Tis strange that, in the dark sulphureous mine, Where wild ambition piles its ripening stores Of slumbering thunder, Love will interpose His tiny torch, and cause the stern explosion To burst, when the deviser's least aware. ANONYMOUS. 

About noon of the same day, Agelastes met with Achilles Tatius, thecommander of the Varangian guard, in those ruins of the Egyptian templein which we formerly mentioned Hereward having had an interview withthe philosopher. They met, as it seemed, in a very different humour. Tatius was gloomy, melancholy, and downcast; while the philosophermaintained the calm indifference which procured for him, and in somesort deserved, the title of the Elephant. "Thou blenchest, AchillesTatius, " said the philosopher, "now that thou hast frankly opposedthyself to all the dangers which stood between thee and greatness. Thouart like the idle boy who turned the mill-stream upon the machine, andthat done, instead of making a proper use of it, was terrified atseeing it in motion. "

"Thou dost me wrong, Agelastes, " answered the Acolyte, "foul wrong; Iam but like the mariner, who although determined upon his voyage, yetcannot forbear a sorrowing glance at the shore, before he parts with it, it may be, for ever. "

"It may have been right to think of this, but pardon me, valiant Tatius, when I tell you the account should have been made up before; and thegrandson of Alguric the Hun ought to have computed chances andconsequences ere he stretched his hand to his master's diadem. "

"Hush! for Heaven's sake, " said Tatius, looking round; "that, thouknowest, is a secret between our two selves; for if Nicephorus, theCaesar, should learn it, where were we and our conspiracy?"

"Our bodies on the gibbet, probably, " answered Agelastes, "and oursouls divorced from them, and in the way of discovering the secretswhich thou hast hitherto taken upon trust. "

"Well, " said Achilles, "and should not the consciousness of thepossibility of this fate render us cautious?"

"Cautious _men_, if you will, " answered Agelastes, "but not timidchildren. "

"Stone walls can hear, "--said the Follower, lowering his voice. "Dionysius the tyrant, I have read, had an ear which conveyed to himthe secrets spoken within his state-prison at Syracuse. "

"And that Ear is still stationary at Syracuse, " said the philosopher. "Tell me, my most simple friend, art thou afraid it has beentransported hither in one night, as the Latins believe of Our Lady'shouse of Loretto?"

"No, " answered Achilles, "but in an affair so important too muchcaution cannot be used. "

"Well, thou most cautious of candidates for empire, and most cold ofmilitary leaders, know that the Caesar, deeming, I think, that there isno chance of the empire falling to any one but himself, hath taken inhis head to consider his succession to Alexius as a matter of course, whenever the election takes place. In consequence, as matters of courseare usually matters of indifference, he has left all thoughts ofsecuring his interest upon, this material occasion to thee and to me, while the foolish voluptuary hath himself run mad--for what think you?Something between man and woman, --female in her lineaments, her limbs, and a part at least of her garments; but, so help me St. George, mostmasculine in the rest of her attire, in her propensities, and in herexercises. "

"The Amazonian wife, thou meanest, " said Achilles, "of that iron-handedFrank, who dashed to pieces last night the golden lion of Solomon witha blow of his fist? By St. George, the least which can come of such anamour is broken bones. "

"That, " said Agelastes, "is not quite so improbable as that Dionysius'sEar should fly hither from Syracuse in a single night; but he ispresumptuous in respect of the influence which his supposed good lookshave gained him among the Grecian dames. "

"He was too presumptuous, I suppose, " said Achilles Tatius, "to make aproper allowance for his situation as Caesar, and the prospect of hisbeing Emperor. "

"Meantime, " said Agelastes, "I have promised him an interview with hisBradamante, who may perhaps reward his tender epithets of _Zoe kaipsyche_, [Footnote: "Life and Soul. "] by divorcing his amorous soulfrom his unrivalled person. "

"Meantime, " said the Follower, "thou obtainest, I conclude, such ordersand warrants as the Caesar can give for the furtherance of our plot?"

"Assuredly, " said Agelastes, "it is an opportunity not to be lost. Thislove fit, or mad fit, has blinded him; and without exciting too muchattention to the progress of the plot, we can thus in safety conductmatters our own way, without causing malevolent remarks; and though Iam conscious that, in doing so, I act somewhat at variance with my ageand character, yet the end being to convert a worthy Follower into anImperial Leader, I shame me not in procuring that interview with thelady, of which the Caesar, as they term him, is so desirous. --Whatprogress, meanwhile, hast thou made with the Varangians, who are, inrespect of execution, the very arm of our design?"

"Scarce so good as I could wish, " said Achilles Tatius; "yet I havemade sure of some two or three score of those whom I found mostaccessible; nor have I any doubt, that when the Caesar is set aside, their cry will be for Achilles Tatius. "

"And what of the gallant who assisted at our prelections?" saidAgelastes; "your Edward, as Alexius termed him?"

"I have made no impression upon him, " said the Follower; "and I amsorry for it, for he is one whom his comrades think well of, and wouldgladly follow. Meantime I have placed him as an additional sentinelupon the iron-witted Count of Paris, whom, both having an inveteratelove of battle, he is very likely to put to death; and if it isafterwards challenged by the crusaders as a cause of war, it is onlydelivering up the Varangian, whose personal hatred will needs berepresented as having occasioned the catastrophe. All this beingprepared beforehand, how and when shall we deal with the Emperor?"

"For that, " said Agelastes, "we must consult the Caesar, who, althoughhis expected happiness of to-day is not more certain than the statepreferment that he expects to-morrow, and although his ideas are muchmore anxiously fixed upon his success with this said Countess than hissuccession to the empire, will, nevertheless, expect to be treated asthe head of the enterprise for accelerating the latter. But, to speakmy opinion, valiant Tatius, to-morrow will be the last day that Alexiusshall hold the reins of empire. "

"Let me know for certain, " said the Follower, "as soon as thou canst, that I may warn our brethren, who are to have in readiness theinsurgent citizens, and those of the Immortals who are combined with us, in the neighbourhood of the court, and in readiness to act--And, aboveall, that I may disperse upon distant guards such Varangians as Icannot trust. "

"Rely upon me, " said Agelastes, "for the most accurate information andinstructions, so soon as I have seen Nicephorus Briennius. One wordpermit me to ask--in what manner is the wife of the Caesar to bedisposed of?"

"Somewhere, " said the Follower, "where I can never be compelled to hearmore of her history. Were it not for that nightly pest of her lectures, I could be good-natured enough to take care of her destiny myself, andteach her the difference betwixt a real emperor and this Briennius, whothinks so much of himself. " So saying, they separated; the Followerelated in look and manner considerably above what he had been when theymet. 

Agelastes looked after his companion with a scornful laugh. "There, " hesaid, "goes a fool, whose lack of sense prevents his eyes from beingdazzled by the torch which cannot fail to consume them. A half-bred, half-acting, half-thinking, half-daring caitiff, whose poorestthoughts--and those which deserve that name must be poor indeed--arenot the produce of his own understanding. He expects to circumvent thefiery, haughty, and proud Nicephorus Briennius! If he does so, it willnot be by his own policy, and still less by his valour. Nor shall AnnaComnena, the soul of wit and genius, be chained to such anunimaginative log as yonder half-barbarian. No--she shall have ahusband of pure Grecian extraction, and well stored with that learningwhich was studied when Rome was great, and Greece illustrious. Nor willit be the least charm of the Imperial throne, that it is partaken by apartner whose personal studies have taught her to esteem and valuethose of the Emperor. " He took a step or two with conscious elevation, and then, as conscience-checked, he added, in a suppressed voice, "Butthen, if Anna were destined for Empress, it follows of course thatAlexius must die--no consent could be trusted. --And what then?--thedeath of an ordinary man is indifferent, when it plants on the throne aphilosopher and a historian; and at what time were possessors of theempire curious to enquire when or by whose agency their predecessorsdied?--Diogenes! Ho, Diogenes!" The slave did not immediately come, sothat Agelastes, wrapt in the anticipation of his greatness, had time toadd a few more words "Tush--I must reckon with Heaven, say the priests, for many things, so I will throw this also into the account. The deathof the Emperor may be twenty ways achieved without my having the blameof it. The blood which we have shed may spot our hand, if closelyregarded, but it shall scarce stain our forehead. " Diogenes hereentered--"Has the Frank lady been removed?" said the philosopher. 

The slave signified his assent. 

"How did she bear her removal?"

"As authorised by your lordship, indifferently well. She had resentedher separation from her husband, and her being detained in the palace, and committed some violence upon the slaves of the Household, severalof whom were said to be slain, although we perhaps ought only to readsorely frightened. She recognised me at once, and when I told her thatI came to offer her a day's retirement in your own lodgings, until itshould be in your power to achieve the liberation of her husband, sheat once consented, and I deposited her in the secret Cytherean garden-house. "

"Admirably done, my faithful Diogenes, " said the philosopher; "thou artlike the genii who attended on the Eastern talisman; I have but tointimate my will to thee, and it is accomplished. "

Diogenes bowed deeply, and withdrew. 

"Yet remember, slave!" said Agelastes, speaking to himself; "there isdanger in knowing too much---and should my character ever becomequestioned, too many of my secrets are in the power of Diogenes. "

At this moment a blow thrice repeated, and struck upon one of theimages without, which had been so framed as to return a tingling sound, and in so far deserved the praise of being vocal, interrupted hissoliloquy. 

"There knocks, " said he, "one of our allies; who can it be that comesso late?" He touched the figure of Iris with his staff, and the CaesarNicephorus Briennius entered in the full Grecian habit, and thatgraceful dress anxiously arranged to the best advantage. "Let me hope, my Lord, " said Agelastes, receiving the Caesar with an apparently graveand reserved face, "your Highness comes to tell me that your sentimentsare changed on reflection, and that whatever you had to confer aboutwith this Frankish lady, may be at least deferred until the principalpart of our conspiracy has been successfully executed. "

"Philosopher, " answered the Caesar, "no. My resolution, once taken, isnot the sport of circumstances. Believe me, that I have not finished somany labours without being ready to undertake others. The favour ofVenus is the reward of the labours of Mars, nor would I think it worthwhile to worship the god armipotent with the toil and risk attendinghis service, unless I had previously attained some decided proofs thatI was wreathed with the myrtle, intimating the favour of his beautifulmistress. "

"I beg pardon for my boldness, " said Agelastes; "but has your ImperialHighness reflected, that you were wagering, with the wildest rashness, an empire, including thine own life, mine, and all who are joined withus, in a hardy scheme? And against what were they waged? Against thevery precarious favour of a woman, who is altogether divided betwixtfiend and female, and in either capacity is most likely to be fatal toour present scheme, either by her good will, or by the offence whichshe may take. If she prove such as you wish, she will desire to keepher lover by her side, and to spare him the danger of engaging in aperilous conspiracy; and if she remains, as the world believe her, constant to her husband, and to the sentiments she vowed to him at thealtar, you may guess what cause of offence you are likely to give, byurging a suit which she has already received so very ill. "

"Pshaw, old man! Thou turnest a dotard, and in the great knowledge thoupossessest of other things, hast forgotten the knowledge best worthknowing---that of the beautiful part of the creation. Think of theimpression likely to be made by a gallant neither ignoble in situation, nor unacceptable in presence, upon a lady who must fear theconsequences of refusal! Come, Agelastes, let me have no more of thycroaking, auguring bad fortune like the raven from the blasted oak onthe left hand; but declaim, as well thou canst, how faint heart neverwon fair lady, and how those best deserve empire who can wreathe themyrtles of Venus with the laurels of Mars. Come, man, undo me thesecret entrance which combines these magical ruins with groves that arefashioned rather like those of Cytheros or Naxos. "

"It must be as you will!" said the philosopher, with a deep andsomewhat affected sigh. 

"Here, Diogenes!" called aloud the Caesar; "when thou art summoned, mischief is not far distant. Come, undo the secret entrance. Mischief, my trusty negro, is not so distant but she will answer the firstclatter of the stones. "

The negro looked at his master, who returned him a glance acquiescingin the Caesar's proposal. Diogenes then went to a part of the ruinedwall which was covered by some climbing shrubs, all of which hecarefully removed. This showed a little postern door, closedirregularly, and filled up, from the threshold to the top, with largesquare stones, all of which the slave took out and piled aside, as iffor the purpose of replacing them. "I leave thee, " said Agelastes tothe negro, "to guard this door, and let no one enter, except he has thesign, upon the peril of thy life. It were dangerous it should be leftopen at this period of the day. "

The obsequious Diogenes put his hand to his sabre and to his head, asif to signify the usual promise of fidelity or death, by which those inhis condition generally expressed their answer to their master'scommands. Diogenes then lighted a small lantern, and pulling out a key, opened an inner door of wood, and prepared to step forward. 

"Hold, friend Diogenes, " said the Caesar; "thou wantest not my lantern, to discern an honest man, whom, if thou didst seek, I must needs saythou hast come to the wrong place to find one. Nail thou up thesecreeping shrubs before the entrance of the place, and abide thou thereas already directed, till our return, to parry the curiosity of any whomay be attracted by the sight of the private passage. "

The black slave drew back as he gave the lamp to the Caesar, andAgelastes followed the light through a long, but narrow, arched passage, well supplied with air from space to space, and not neglected in theinside to the degree which its exterior would have implied. 

"I will not enter with you into the Gardens, " said Agelastes, "or tothe bower of Cytherea, where I am too old to be a worshipper. Thouthyself, I think, Imperial Caesar, art well aware of the road, havingtravelled it divers times! and, if I mistake not, for the fairestreasons. "

"The more thanks, " said the Caesar, "are due to mine excellent friendAgelastes, who forgets his own age to accommodate the youth of hisfriends. "

CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH. 

We must now return to the dungeon of the Blacquernal, wherecircumstances had formed at least a temporary union between the stoutVarangian and Count Robert of Paris, who had a stronger resemblance toeach other in their dispositions than probably either of them wouldhave been willing to admit. The virtues of the Varangian were all ofthat natural and unrefined kind which Nature herself dictates to agallant man, to whom a total want of fear, and the most prompt alacrityto meet danger, had been attributes of a life-long standing. The Count, on the other hand, had all that bravery, generosity, and love ofadventure, which was possessed by the rude soldier, with the virtues, partly real, partly fantastic, which those of his rank and countryacquired from the spirit of chivalry. The one might be compared to thediamond as it came from the mine, before it had yet received theadvantages of cutting and setting; the other was the ornamented gem, which, cut into facets and richly set, had lost perhaps a little of itsoriginal substance, yet still, at the same time, to the eye of aninspector, had something more showy and splendid than when it was, according to the phrase of lapidaries, _en brut_. In the one case, the value was more artificial; in the other, it was the more naturaland real of the two. Chance, therefore, had made a temporary alliancebetween two men, the foundation of whose characters bore such strongresemblance to each other, that they were only separated by a course ofeducation, which had left rigid prejudices on both sides, and whichprejudices were not unlikely to run counter to each other. TheVarangian commenced his conversation with the Count in a tone offamiliarity, approaching nearer to rudeness than the speaker was awareof, and much of which, though most innocently intended by Hereward, might be taken amiss by his new brother in arms. The most offensivepart of his deportment, however, was a blunt, bold disregard to thetitle of those whom he addressed, adhering thereby to the manners ofthe Saxons, from whom he drew his descent, and which was likely to beat least unpleasing to the Franks as well as Normans, who had alreadyreceived and become very tenacious of the privileges of the feudalsystem, the mummery of heraldry, and the warlike claims assumed byknights, as belonging only to their own order. 

Hereward was apt, it must be owned, to think too little of thesedistinctions; while he had at least a sufficient tendency to thinkenough of the power and wealth of the Greek empire which he served, --ofthe dignity inherent in Alexius Comnenus, and which he was alsodisposed to grant to the Grecian officers, who, under the Emperor, commanded his own corps, and particularly to Achilles Tatius. This manHereward knew to be a coward, and half-suspected to be a villain. Still, however, the Follower was always the direct channel through which theImperial graces were conferred on the Varangians in general, as well asupon Hereward himself; and he had always the policy to represent suchfavours as being more or less indirectly the consequence of his ownintercession. He was supposed vigorously to espouse the quarrel of theVarangians, in all the disputes between them and the other corps; hewas liberal and open-handed; gave every soldier his due; and, batingthe trifling circumstance of valour, which was not particularly hisforte, it would have been difficult for these strangers to havedemanded a leader more to their wishes. Besides this, our friendHereward was admitted by him into his society, attended him, as we haveseen, upon secret expeditions, and shared, therefore, deeply, in whatmay be termed by an expressive, though vulgar phrase, the sneakingkindness entertained for this new Achilles by the greater part of hismyrmidons. Their attachment might be explained, perhaps, as a liking totheir commander, as strong as could well exist with a marvellous lackof honour and esteem. The scheme, therefore, formed by Hereward toeffect the deliverance of the Count of Paris, comprehended as muchfaith to the Emperor, and his representative, the Acolyte or Follower, as was consistent with rendering justice to the injured Frank. 

In furtherance of this plan, he conducted Count Robert from thesubterranean vaults of the Blacquernal, of the intricacies of which hewas master, having been repeatedly, of late, stationed sentinel there, for the purpose of acquiring that knowledge of which Tatius promisedhimself the advantage in the ensuing conspiracy. When they were in theopen air, and at some distance from the gloomy towers of the Palace, hebluntly asked the Count of Paris whether he knew Agelastes thePhilosopher. The other answered in the negative. 

"Look you now, Sir Knight, you hurt yourself in attempting to imposeupon me, " said Hereward. "You must know him; for I saw you dined withhim yesterday. "

"O! with that learned old man?" said the Count. "I know nothing of himworth owning or disguising to thee or any one. A wily person he is, half herald and half minstrel. "

"Half procurer and whole knave, " subjoined the Varangian. "With themask of apparent good-humour he conceals his pandering to the vices ofothers; with the specious jargon of philosophy, he has argued himselfout of religious belief and moral principle; and, with the appearanceof the most devoted loyalty, he will, if he is not checked in time, either argue his too confiding master out of life and empire, or, if hefails in this, reason his simple associates into death and misery. "

"And do you know all this, " said Count Robert, "and permit this man togo unimpeached?"

"O, content you, sir, " replied the Varangian; "I cannot yet form anyplot which Agelastes may not countermine; but the time will come, nayit is already approaching, when the Emperor's attention shall beirresistibly turned to the conduct of this man, and then let thephilosopher sit fast, or by St. Dunstan the barbarian overthrows him!I would only fain, methinks, save from his clutches a foolish friend, who has listed to his delusions. "

"But what have I to do, " said the Count, "with this man, or with hisplots?"

"Much, " said Hereward, "although you know it not. The main supporter ofthis plot is no other than the Caesar, who ought to be the mostfaithful of men; but ever since Alexius has named a Sebastocrator, anofficer that is higher in rank, and nearer to the throne than theCaesar himself, so long has Nicephorus Briennius been displeased anddissatisfied, though for what length of time he has joined the schemesof the astucious Agelastes it is more difficult to say. This I know, that for many months he has fed liberally, as his riches enable him todo, the vices and prodigality of the Caesar. He has encouraged him toshow disrespect to his wife, although the Emperor's daughter; has putill-will between him and the royal family. And if Briennius bears nolonger the fame of a rational man, and the renown of a good leader, heis deprived of both by following the advice of this artful sycophant. "

"And what is all this to me?" said, the Frank. "Agelastes may be a trueman or a time-serving slave; his master, Alexius Comnenus, is not somuch allied to me or mine that I should meddle in the intrigues of hiscourt. "

"You may be mistaken in that, " said the blunt Varangian; "if theseintrigues involve the happiness and virtue"'--

"Death of a thousand martyrs!" said the Frank, "doth paltry intriguesand quarrels of slaves involve a single thought of suspicion of thenoble Countess of Paris? The oaths of thy whole generation wereineffectual to prove but that one of her hairs had changed its colourto silver!"

"Well imagined, gallant knight, " said the Anglo-Saxon; "thou art ahusband fitted for the atmosphere of Constantinople, which calls forlittle vigilance and a strong belief. Thou wilt find many followers andfellows in this court of ours. "

"Hark thee, friend, " replied the Frank, "let us have no more words, norwalk farther together than just to the most solitary nook of thisbewildered city, and let us there set to that work which we left evennow unfinished. "

"If thou wert a Duke, Sir Count, " replied the Varangian, "thou couldstnot invite to a combat one who is more ready for it. Yet consider theodds on which we fight. If I fall, my moan is soon made; but will mydeath set thy wife at liberty if she is under restraint, or restore herhonour if it is tarnished?--Will it do any thing more than remove fromthe world the only person who is willing to give thee aid, at his ownrisk and danger, and who hopes to unite thee to thy wife, and replacethee at the head of thy forces?"

"I was wrong, " said the Count of Paris; "I was entirely wrong; butbeware, my good friend, how thou couplest the name of Brenhilda ofAspramonte with the word of dishonour, and tell me, instead of thisirritating discourse, whither go we now?"

"To the Cytherean gardens of Agelastes, from which we are not fardistant, " said the Anglo-Saxon; "yet he hath a nearer way to it thanthat by which we now travel, else I should be at a loss to account forthe short space in which he could exchange the charms of his garden forthe gloomy ruins of the Temple of Isis, and the Imperial palace of theBlacquernal. "

"And wherefore, and how long, " said Count Robert, "dost thou concludethat my Countess is detained in these gardens?"

"Ever since yesterday, " replied Hereward. "When both I, and several ofmy companions, at my request, kept close watch upon the Caesar and yourlady, we did plainly perceive passages of fiery admiration on his part, and anger as it seemed on hers, which Agelastes, being Nicephorus'sfriend, was likely, as usual, to bring to an end, by a separation ofyou both from the army of the crusaders, that your wife, like many amatron before, might have the pleasure of taking up her residence inthe gardens of that worthy sage; while you, my Lord, might take up yourown permanently in the castle of Blacquernal. "

"Villain! why didst thou not apprize me of this yesterday?"

"A likely thing, " said Hereward, "that I should feel myself at libertyto leave the ranks, and make such a communication to a man, whom, farfrom a friend, I then considered in the light of a personal enemy!Methinks, that instead of such language as this, you should be thankfulthat so many chance circumstances have at length brought me to befriendand assist you. "

Count Robert felt the truth of what was said, though at the same timehis fiery temper longed to avenge itself, according to its wont, uponthe party which was nearest at hand. 

But now they arrived at what the citizens of Constantinople called thePhilosopher's Gardens. Here Hereward hoped to obtain entrance, for hehad gained a knowledge of some part, at least, of the private signalsof Achilles and Agelastes, since he had been introduced to the last atthe ruins of the Temple of Isis. They had not indeed admitted him totheir entire secret; yet, confident in his connexion with the Follower, they had no hesitation in communicating to him snatches of knowledge, such as, committed to a man of shrewd natural sense like the Anglo-Saxon, could scarce fail, in time and by degrees, to make him master ofthe whole. Count Robert and his companion stood before an arched door, the only opening in a high wall, and the Anglo-Saxon was about to knock, when, as if the idea had suddenly struck him, --

"What if the wretch Diogenes opens the gate? We must kill him, ere hecan fly back and betray us. Well, it is a matter of necessity, and thevillain has deserved his death by a hundred horrid crimes. "

"Kill him then, thyself, " retorted Count Robert; "he is nearer thydegree, and assuredly I will not defile the name of Charlemagne withthe blood of a black slave. "

"Nay, God-a-mercy!" answered the Anglo-Saxon, "but you must bestiryourself in the action, supposing there come rescue, and that I beover-borne by odds. "

"Such odds, " said the knight, "will render the action more like a_melee_, or general battle; and assure yourself, I will not beslack when I may, with my honour, be active. "

"I doubt it not, " said the Varangian; "but the distinction seems astrange one, that before permitting a man to defend himself, or annoyhis enemy, requires him to demand the pedigree of his ancestor. "

"Fear you not, sir, " said Count Robert. "The strict rule of chivalryindeed bears what I tell thee, but when the question is, Fight or not?there is great allowance to be made for a decision in the affirmative. "

"Let me give then the exorciser's rap, " replied Hereward, "and see whatfiend will appear. "

So saying, he knocked in a particular manner, and the door openedinwards; a dwarfish negress stood in the gap--her white hair contrastedsingularly with her dark complexion, and with the broad laughing lookpeculiar to those slaves. She had something in her physiognomy which, severely construed, might argue malice, and a delight in human misery. 

"Is Agelastes"---said the Varangian; but he had not completed thesentence, when she answered him, by pointing down a shadowed walk. 

The Anglo-Saxon and Frank turned in that direction, when the hag rathermuttered, than said distinctly, "You are one of the initiated, Varangian; take heed whom you take with you, when you may hardly, peradventure, be welcomed even going alone. "

Hereward made a sign that he understood her, and they were instantlyout of her sight. The path winded beautifully through the shades of anEastern garden, where clumps of flowers and labyrinths of floweringshrubs, and the tall boughs of the forest trees, rendered even thebreath of noon cool and acceptable. 

"Here we must use our utmost caution, " said Hereward, speaking in a lowtone of voice; "for here it is most likely the deer that we seek hasfound its refuge. Better allow me to pass before, since you are toodeeply agitated to possess the coolness necessary for a scout. Keepconcealed beneath yon oak, and let no vain scruples of honour deter youfrom creeping beneath the underwood, or beneath the earth itself, ifyou should hear a footfall. If the lovers have agreed, Agelastes, it isprobable, walks his round, to prevent intrusion. "

"Death and furies! it cannot be!" exclaimed the fiery Frank. --"Lady ofthe Broken Lances, take thy votary's life, ere thou torment him withthis agony!"

He saw, however, the necessity of keeping a strong force upon himself, and permitted, without further remonstrance, the Varangian to pursuehis way, looking, however, earnestly after him. 

By advancing forward a little, he could observe Hereward draw near to apavilion which arose at no great distance from the place where they hadparted. Here he observed him apply, first his eye, and then his ear, toone of the casements, which were in a great measure grown over, andexcluded from the light, by various flowering shrubs. He almost thoughthe saw a grave interest take place in the countenance of the Varangian, and he longed to have his share of the information which he haddoubtless obtained. 

He crept, therefore, with noiseless steps, through the same labyrinthof foliage which had covered the approaches of Hereward; and so silentwere his movements, that he touched the Anglo-Saxon, in order to makehim aware of his presence, before he observed his approach. 

Hereward, not aware at first by whom he was approached, turned on theintruder with a countenance like a burning coal. Seeing, however, thatit was the Frank, he shrugged his shoulders, as if pitying theimpatience which could not be kept under prudent restraint, and drawinghimself back allowed the Count the privilege of a peeping place throughplinths of the casement, which could not be discerned by the sharpesteye from the inner side. The sombre character of the light whichpenetrated into this abode of pleasure, was suited to that species ofthought to which a Temple of Cytherea was supposed to be dedicated. Portraits and groups of statuary were also to be seen, in the taste ofthose which they had beheld at the Kiosk of the waterfall, yetsomething more free in the ideas which they conveyed than were to befound at their first resting-place. Shortly after, the door of thepavilion opened, and the Countess entered, followed by her attendantAgatha. The lady threw herself on a couch as she came in, while herattendant, who was a young and very handsome woman, kept herselfmodestly in the background, so much so as hardly to be distinguished. 

"What dost thou think, " said the Countess, "of so suspicious a friendas Agelastes? so gallant an enemy as the Caesar, as he is called?"

"What should I think, " returned the damsel, "except that what the oldman calls friendship is hatred, and what the Caesar terms a patrioticlove for his country, which will not permit him to set its enemies atliberty, is in fact too strong an affection for his fair captive?"

"For such an affection, " said the Countess, "he shall have the samerequital as if it were indeed the hostility of which he would give itthe colour. --My true and noble lord; hadst thou an idea of thecalamities to which they have subjected me, how soon wouldst thou breakthrough every restraint to hasten to my relief!"

"Art thou a man, " said Count Robert to his companion; "and canst thouadvise me to remain still and hear this?"

"I am one man, " said the Anglo-Saxon; "you, sir, are another; but allour arithmetic will not make us more than two; and in this place, it isprobable that a whistle from the Caesar, or a scream from Agelastes, would bring a thousand to match us, if we were as bold as Bevis ofHampton. --Stand still and keep quiet. I counsel this, less asrespecting my own life, which, by embarking upon a wild-goose chasewith so strange a partner, I have shown I put at little value, than forthy safety, and that of the lady thy Countess, who shows herself asvirtuous as beautiful. "

"I was imposed on at first, " said the Lady Brenhilda to her attendant. "Affectation of severe morals, of deep learning, and of rigid rectitude, assumed by this wicked old man, made me believe in part the characterwhich he pretended; but the gloss is rubbed off since he let me seeinto his alliance with the unworthy Caesar, and the ugly pictureremains in its native loathsomeness. Nevertheless, if I can, by addressor subtlety, deceive this arch-deceiver, --as he has taken from me, in agreat measure, every other kind of assistance, --I will not refuse thatof craft, which he may find perhaps equal to his own?"

"Hear you that?" said the Varangian to the Count of Paris. "Do not letyour impatience mar the web of your lady's prudence. I will weigh awoman's wit against a man's valour where there is aught to do! Let usnot come in with our assistance until time shall show us that it isnecessary for her safety and our success. "

"Amen, " said the Count of Paris; "but hope not, Sir Saxon, that thyprudence shall persuade me to leave this garden without taking fullvengeance on that unworthy Caesar, and the pretended philosopher, ifindeed he turns out to have assumed a character"---The Count was herebeginning to raise his voice, when the Saxon, without ceremony, placedhis hand on his mouth. "Thou takest a liberty, " said Count Robert, lowering however his tones. 

"Ay, truly, " said Hereward; "when the house is on fire, I do not stopto ask whether the water which I pour on it be perfumed or no. "

This recalled the Frank to a sense of his situation; and if notcontented with the Saxon's mode of making an apology, he was at leastsilenced. A distant noise was now heard--the Countess listened, andchanged colour. "Agatha, " she said, "we are like champions in the lists, and here comes the adversary. Let us retreat into this side apartment, and so for a while put off an encounter thus alarming. " So saying, thetwo females withdrew into a sort of anteroom, which opened from theprincipal apartment behind the seat which Brenhilda had occupied. 

They had scarcely disappeared, when, as the stage direction has it, enter from the other side the Caesar and Agelastes. They had perhapsheard the last words of Brenhilda, for the Caesar repeated in a lowtone--

 "Militat omnis amans, habet et sua castra Cupido. 

"What, has our fair opponent withdrawn her forces? No matter, it showsshe thinks of the warfare, though the enemy be not in sight. Well, thoushalt not have to upbraid me this time, Agelastes, with precipitatingmy amours, and depriving myself of the pleasure of pursuit. By Heavens, I will be as regular in my progress as if in reality I bore on myshoulders the whole load of years which make the difference between us;for I shrewdly suspect that with thee, old man, it is that enviouschurl Time that hath plucked the wings of Cupid. "

"Say not so, mighty Caesar, " said the old man; "it is the hand ofPrudence, which, depriving Cupid's wing of some wild feathers, leaveshim still enough to fly with an equal and steady flight. "

"Thy flight, however, was less measured, Agelastes, when thou didstcollect that armoury--that magazine of Cupid's panoply, out of whichthy kindness permitted me but now to arm myself, or rather to repair myaccoutrements. "

So saying, he glanced his eye over his own person, blazing with gems, and adorned with a chain of gold, bracelets, rings, and other ornaments, which, with a new and splendid habit, assumed since his arrival atthese Cytherean gardens, tended to set off his very handsome figure. 

"I am glad, " said Agelastes, "if you have found among toys, which I nownever wear, and seldom made use of even when life was young with me, anything which may set off your natural advantages. Remember only thisslight condition, that such of these trifles as have made part of yourwearing apparel on this distinguished day, cannot return to a meanerowner, but must of necessity remain the property of that greatness ofwhich they had once formed the ornament. "

"I cannot consent to this, my worthy friend, " said the Caesar; "I knowthou valuest these jewels only in so far as a philosopher may valuethem; that is, for nothing save the remembrances which attach to them. This large seal-ring, for instance, was--I have heard you say--theproperty of Socrates; if so, you cannot view it save with devoutthankfulness, that your own philosophy has never been tried with theexercise of a Xantippe. These clasps released, in older times, thelovely bosom of Phryne; and they now belong to one who could do betterhomage to the beauties they concealed or discovered than could thecynic Diogenes. These buckles, too"---

"I will spare thy ingenuity, good youth, " said Agelastes, somewhatnettled; "or rather, noble Caesar. Keep thy wit--thou wilt have ampleoccasion for it. "

"Fear not me, " said the Caesar. "Let us proceed, since you will, toexercise the gifts which we possess, such as they are, either naturalor bequeathed to us by our dear and respected friend. Hah!" he said, the door opening suddenly, and the Countess almost meeting him, "ourwishes are here anticipated. "

He bowed accordingly with the deepest deference to the Lady Brenhilda, who, having made some alterations to enhance the splendour of herattire, now moved forward from the withdrawing-room into which she hadretreated. 

"Hail, noble lady, " said the Caesar, "whom I have visited with theintention of apologizing for detaining you, in some degree against yourwill, in those strange regions in which yon unexpectedly findyourself. "

"Not in some degree, " answered the lady, "but entirely contrary to myinclinations, which are, to be with my husband, the Count of Paris, andthe followers who have taken the cross under his banner. "

"Such, doubtless, were your thoughts when you left the land of thewest, " said Agelastes; "but, fair Countess, have they experienced nochange? You have left a shore streaming with human blood when theslightest provocation occurred, and thou hast come to one whoseprincipal maxim is to increase the sum of human happiness by every modewhich can be invented. In the west yonder, he or she is respected mostwho can best exercise their tyrannical strength in making othersmiserable, while, in these more placid realms, we reserve our garlandsfor the ingenious youth, or lovely lady, who can best make happy theperson whose affection is fixed upon her. "

"But, reverend philosopher, " said the Countess, "who labourest soartificially in recommending the yoke of pleasure, know that youcontradict every notion which I have been taught from my infancy. Inthe land where my nurture lay, so far are we from acknowledging yourdoctrines, that we match not, except like the lion and the lioness, when the male has compelled the female to acknowledge his superiorworth and valour. Such is our rule, that a damsel, even of mean degree, would think herself heinously undermatched, if wedded to a gallantwhose fame in arms was yet unknown. "

"But, noble lady, " said the Caesar, "a dying man may then find room forsome faint hope. Were there but a chance that distinction in arms couldgain those affections which have been stolen, rather than fairlyconferred, how many are there who would willingly enter into thecompetition where the prize is so fair! What is the enterprise too boldto be under-taken on such a condition! And where is the individualwhose heart would not feel, that in baring his sword for the prize, hemade vow never to return it to the scabbard, without the proud boast, What I have not yet won, I have deserved!"

"You see, lady, " said Agelastes, who, apprehending that the last speechof the Caesar had made some impression, hastened to follow it up with asuitable observation---"You see that the fire of chivalry burns asgallantly in the bosom of the Grecians as in that of the westernnations. "

"Yes, " answered Brenhilda, "and I have heard of the celebrated siege ofTroy, on which occasion a dastardly coward carried off the wife of abrave man, shunned every proffer of encounter with the husband whom hehad wronged, and finally caused the death of his numerous brothers, thedestruction of his native city, with all the wealth which it contained, and died himself the death of a pitiful poltroon, lamented only by hisworthless leman, to show how well the rules of chivalry were understoodby your predecessors. "

"Lady, you mistake, " said the Caesar; "the offences of Paris were thoseof a dissolute Asiatic; the courage which avenged them was that of theGreek Empire. "

"You are learned, sir, " said the lady; "but think not that I will trustyour words until you produce before me a Grecian knight, gallant enoughto look upon the armed crest of my husband without quaking. "

"That, methinks, were not extremely difficult, " returned the Caesar;"if they have not flattered me, I have myself been thought equal inbattle to more dangerous men than him who has been strangely mated withthe Lady Brenhilda. "

"That is soon tried, " answered the Countess. "You will hardly, I think, deny, that my husband, separated from me by some unworthy trick, isstill at thy command, and could be produced at thy pleasure. I will askno armour for him save what he wears, no weapon but his good swordTranchefer; then place him in this chamber, or any other lists equallynarrow, and if he flinch, or cry craven, or remain dead under shield, let Brenhilda be the prize of the conqueror. --Merciful Heaven!" sheconcluded, as she sunk back upon her seat, "forgive me for the crime ofeven imagining such a termination, which is equal almost to doubtingthine unerring judgment!"

"Let me, however, " said the Caesar, "catch up these precious wordsbefore they fall to the ground, --Let me hope that he, to whom theheavens shall give power and strength to conquer this highly-esteemedCount of Paris, shall succeed him in the affections of Brenhilda; andbelieve me, the sun plunges not through the sky to his resting-place, with the same celerity that I shall hasten to the encounter. "

"Now, by Heaven!" said Count Robert, in an anxious whisper to Hereward, "it is too much to expect me to stand by and hear a contemptible Greek, who durst not stand even the rattling farewell which Tranchefer takesof his scabbard, brave me in my absence, and affect to make love to mylady _par amours!_ And she, too--methinks Brenhilda allows morelicense than she is wont to do to yonder chattering popinjay. By therood! I will spring into the apartment, front them with my personalappearance, and confute yonder braggart in a manner he is like toremember. "

"Under favour, " said the Varangian, who was the only auditor of thisviolent speech, "you shall be ruled by calm reason while I am with you. When we are separated, let the devil of knight-errantry, which has suchpossession of thee, take thee upon his shoulders, and carry thee fulltilt wheresoever he lists. "

"Thou art a brute, " said the Count, looking at him with a contemptcorresponding to the expression he made use of; "not only withouthumanity, but without the sense of natural honour or natural shame. Themost despicable of animals stands not by tamely and sees another assailhis mate. The bull offers his horns to a rival--the mastiff uses hisjaws--and even the timid stag becomes furious, and gores. "

"Because they are beasts, " said the Varangian, "and their mistressesalso creatures without shame or reason, who are not aware of thesanctity of a choice. But thou, too, Count, canst thou not see theobvious purpose of this poor lady, forsaken by all the world, to keepher faith towards thee, by eluding the snares with which wicked menhave beset her? By the souls of my fathers! my heart is so much movedby her ingenuity, mingled as I see it is with the most perfect candourand faith, that I myself, in fault of a better champion, wouldwillingly raise the axe in her behalf!"

"I thank thee, my good friend, " said the Count; "I thank thee asheartily as if it were possible thou shouldst be left to do that goodoffice for Brenhilda, the beloved of many a noble lord, the mistress ofmany a powerful vassal; and, what is more, much more than thanks, Icrave thy pardon for the wrong I did thee but now. "

"My pardon you cannot need" said the Varangian; "for I take no offencethat is not seriously meant. --Stay, they speak again. "

"It is strange it should be so, " said the Caesar, as he paced theapartment; "but methinks, nay, I am almost certain, Agelastes, that Ihear voices in the vicinity of this apartment of thy privacy. " "It isimpossible, " said Agelastes; "but I will go and see. " Perceiving him toleave the pavilion, the Varangian made the Frank sensible that theymust crouch down among a little thicket of evergreens, where they laycompletely obscured. The philosopher made his rounds with a heavy step, but a watchful eye; and the two listeners were obliged to observe thestrictest silence, without motion of any kind, until he had completedan ineffectual search, and returned into the pavilion. "By my faith, brave man, " said the Count, "ere we return to our skulking-place, Imust tell thee in thine ear, that never, in my life, was temptation sostrong upon me, as that which prompted me to beat out that oldhypocrite's brains, provided I could have reconciled it with my honour;and heartily do I wish that thou, whose honour no way withheld thee, had experienced and given way to some impulse of a similar nature. "

"Such fancies have passed through my head, " said the Varangian; "but Iwill not follow them till they are consistent both with our own safety, and more particularly with that of the Countess. "

"I thank thee again for thy good-will to her, " said Count Robert; "and, by Heaven! if fight we must at length, as it seems likely, I willneither grudge thee an honourable antagonist, nor fair quarter if thecombat goes against thee. "

"Thou hast my thanks, " was the reply of Hereward; "only, for Heaven'ssake, be silent in this conjecture, and do what thou wilt afterwards. "Before the Varangian and the Count had again resumed their posture oflisteners, the parties within the pavilion, conceiving themselvesunwatched, had resumed their conversation, speaking low, yet withconsiderable animation. 

"It is in vain you would persuade me, " said the Countess, "that youknow not where my husband is, or that you have not the most absoluteinfluence over his captivity. Who else could have an interest inbanishing or putting to death the husband, but he that affects toadmire the wife?" "You do me wrong, beautiful lady, " answered theCaesar, "and forget that I can in no shape be termed the moving-springof this empire; that my father-in-law, Alexius, is the Emperor; andthat the woman who terms herself my wife, is jealous as a fiend can beof my slightest motion. -What possibility was there that I should workthe captivity of your husband and your own? The open affront which theCount of Paris put upon the Emperor, was one which he was likely toavenge, either by secret guile or by open force. Me it no way touched, save as the humble vassal of thy charms; and it was by the wisdom andthe art of the sage Agelastes, that I was able to extricate thee fromthe gulf in which thou hadst else certainly perished. Nay, weep not, lady, for as yet we know not the fate of Count Robert; but, credit me, it is wisdom to choose a better protector, and consider him as nomore. "

"A better than him, " said Brenhilda, "I can never have, were I tochoose out of the knighthood of all the world!"

"This hand, " said the Caesar, drawing himself into a martial attitude, "should decide that question, were the man of whom thou thinkest somuch yet moving on the face of this earth and at liberty. "

"Thou art, " said Brenhilda, looking fixedly at him with the fire ofindignation flashing from every feature--"thou art--but it avails nottelling thee what is thy real name; believe me, the world shall one dayring with it, and be justly sensible of its value. Observe what I amabout to say--Robert of Paris is gone--or captive, I know not where. Hecannot fight the match of which thou seemest so desirous--but herestands Brenhilda, born heiress of Aspramonte, by marriage the weddedwife of the good Count of Paris. She was never matched in the lists bymortal man, except the valiant Count, and since thou art so grievedthat thou canst not meet her husband in battle, thou canst not surelyobject, if she is willing to meet thee in his stead!"

"How, madam?" said the Caesar, astonished; "do you propose yourself tohold the lists against me?"

"Against you!" said the Countess; "against all the Grecian Empire, ifthey shall affirm that Robert of Paris is justly used and lawfullyconfined. "

"And are the conditions, " said the Caesar, "the same as if Count Roberthimself held the lists? The vanquished must then be at the pleasure ofthe conqueror for good or evil. "

"It would seem so, " said the Countess, "nor do I refuse the hazard;only, that if the other champion shall bite the dust, the noble CountRobert shall be set at liberty, and permitted to depart with allsuitable honours. "

"This I refuse not, " said the Caesar, "provided it is in my power. "

A deep growling sound, like that of a modern gong, here interrupted theconference. 

CHAPTER THE NINETEENTH. 

The Varangian and Count Robert, at every risk of discovery, hadremained so near as fully to conjecture, though they could notexpressly overhear, the purport of the conversation. 

"He has accepted her challenge!" said the Count of Paris. 

"And with apparent willingness, " said Hereward. 

"O, doubtless, doubtless, "--answered the Crusader; "but he knows notthe skill in war which a woman may attain; for my part, God knows Ihave enough depending upon the issue of this contest, yet such is myconfidence, that I would to God I had more. I vow to our Lady of theBroken Lances, that I desire every furrow of land I possess--everyhonour which I can call my own, from the Countship of Paris, down tothe leather that binds my spur, were dependent and at issue upon thisfair field, between your Caesar, as men term him, and Brenhilda ofAspramonte. "

"It is a noble confidence, " said the Varangian, "nor durst I say it isa rash one; only I cannot but remember that the Caesar is a strong man, as well as a handsome, expert in the use of arms, and, above all, lessstrictly bound than you esteem yourself by the rules of honour. Thereare many ways in which advantage may be given and taken, which will not, in the Caesar's estimation, alter the character of the field from anequal one, although it might do so in the opinion of the chivalrousCount of Paris, or even in that of the poor Varangian. But first let meconduct you to some place of safety, for your escape must be soon, ifit is not already, detected. The sounds which we heard intimate thatsome of his confederate plotters have visited the garden on other thanlove affairs. I will guide thee to another avenue than that by which weentered. But you would hardly, I suppose, be pleased to adopt thewisest alternative?"

"And what may that be?" said the Count. 

"To give thy purse, though it were thine all, to some poor ferryman towaft thee over the Hellespont, then hasten to carry thy complaint toGodfrey of Bouillon, and what friends thou mayst have among thybrethren crusaders, and determine, as thou easily canst, on asufficient number of them to come back and menace the city with instantwar, unless the Emperor should deliver up thy lady, most unfairly madeprisoner, and prevent, by his authority, this absurd and unnaturalcombat. "

"And would you have me, then, " said Count Robert, "move the crusadersto break a fairly appointed field of battle? Do you think that Godfreyof Bouillon would turn back upon his pilgrimage for such an unworthypurpose; or that the Countess of Paris would accept as a service, meansof safety which would stain her honour for ever, by breaking anappointment solemnly made on her own challenge?--Never!"

"My judgment is then at fault, " said the Varangian, "for I see I canhammer out no expedient which is not, in some extravagant manner oranother, controlled by your foolish notions. Here is a man who has beentrapped into the power of his enemy, that he might not interfere toprevent a base stratagem upon his lady, involving both her life andhonour; yet he thinks it a matter of necessity that he keeps faith asprecisely with these midnight poisoners, as he would had it beenpledged to the most honourable men!"

"Thou say'st a painful truth, " said Count Robert; "but my word is theemblem of my faith; and if it pass to a dishonourable or faithless foe, it is imprudently done on my part; but if I break it, being oncepledged, it is a dishonourable action, and the disgrace can never bewashed from my shield. "

"Do you mean, then, " said the Varangian, "to suffer your wife's honourto remain pledged as it at present is, on the event of an unequalcombat?"

"God and the saints pardon thee such a thought!" said the Count ofParis. "I will go to see this combat with a heart as firm, if not aslight, as any time I ever saw spears splintered. If by the influence ofany accident or treachery, --for fairly, and with such an antagonist, Brenhilda of Aspramonte cannot be overthrown, --I step into the lists, proclaim the Caesar as he is--a villain--show the falsehood of hisconduct from beginning to end, --appeal to every noble heart that hearsme, and then--God show the right!"

Hereward paused, and shook his head. "All this, " he said, "might befeasible enough provided the combat were to be fought in the presenceof your own countrymen, or even, by the mass! if the Varangians were tobe guards of the lists. But treachery of every kind is so familiar tothe Greeks, that I question if they would view the conduct of theirCaesar as any thing else than a pardonable and natural stratagem of DanCupid, to be smiled at, rather than subjected to disgrace orpunishment. "

"A nation, " said Count Robert, "who could smile at such a jest, mayheaven refuse them sympathy at their utmost need, when their sword isbroken in their hand, and their wives and daughters shrieking in therelentless grasp of a barbarous enemy!"

Hereward looked upon his companion, whose flushed cheeks and sparklingeyes bore witness to his enthusiasm. 

"I see, " he said, "you are resolved, and I know that your resolutioncan in justice be called by no other name than an act of heroic folly:--What then? it is long since life has been bitter to the Varangianexile. Morn has raised him from a joyless bed, which night has seen himlie down upon, wearied with wielding a mercenary weapon in the wars ofstrangers. He has longed to lay down his life in an honourable cause, and this is one in which the extremity and very essence of honour isimplicated. It tallies also with my scheme of saving the Emperor, whichwill be greatly facilitated by the downfall of his ungrateful son-in-law. " Then addressing himself to the Count, he continued, "Well, SirCount, as thou art the person principally concerned, I am willing toyield to thy reasoning in this affair; but I hope you will permit me tomingle with your resolution some advices of a more everyday and lessfantastic nature. For example, thy escape from the dungeons of theBlacquernal must soon be generally known. In prudence, indeed, I myselfmust be the first to communicate it, since otherwise the suspicion willfall on me--Where do you think of concealing yourself? for assuredlythe search will be close and general. "

"For that, " said the Count of Paris, "I must be indebted to thysuggestion, with thanks for every lie which thou findest thyselfobliged to make, to contrive, and produce in my behalf, entreating theeonly to render them as few as possible, they being a coin which Imyself never fabricate. "

"Sir knight, " answered Hereward, "let me begin first by saying, that noknight that ever belted sword is more a slave to truth, when truth isobserved towards him, than the poor soldier who talks to thee; but whenthe game depends not upon fair play, but upon lulling men'scautiousness asleep by falsehood, and drugging their senses by opiatedraughts, they who would scruple at no means of deceiving me, canhardly expect that I, who am paid in such base money, should passnothing on my part but what is lawful and genuine. For the present thoumust remain concealed within my poor apartment, in the barracks of theVarangians, which is the last place where they will think of seekingfor thee. Take this, my upper cloak, and follow me; and now that we areabout to leave these gardens, thou mayst follow me unsuspected as asentinel attending his officer; for, take it along with you, nobleCount, that we Varangians are a sort of persons upon whom the Greekscare not to look very long or fixedly. "

They now reached the gate where they had been admitted by the negress, and Hereward, who was intrusted with the power, it seems, of lettinghimself out of the philosopher's premises, though not of enteringwithout assistance from the portress, took out a key which turned thelock on the garden side, so that they soon found themselves at liberty. They then proceeded by by-paths through the city, Hereward leading theway, and the Count following, without speech or remonstrance, untilthey stood before the portal of the barracks of the Varangians. 

"Make haste, " said the sentinel who was on duty, "dinner is alreadybegun. " The communication sounded joyfully in the ears of Hereward, whowas much afraid that his companion might have been stopt and examined. By a side passage he reached his own quarters, and introduced the Countinto a small room, the sleeping chamber of his squire, where heapologized for leaving him for some time; and, going out, locked thedoor, for fear, as he said, of intrusion. 

The demon of suspicion was not very likely to molest a mind so franklyconstituted as that of Count Robert, and yet the last action ofHereward did not fail to occasion some painful reflections. 

"This man, " he said, "had needs be true, for I have reposed in him amighty trust, which few hirelings in his situation would honourablydischarge. What is to prevent him to report to the principal officer ofhis watch, that the Frank prisoner, Robert, Count of Paris, whose wifestands engaged for so desperate a combat with the Caesar, has escaped, indeed, this morning, from the prisons of the Blacquernal, but hassuffered himself to be trepanned at noon, and is again a captive in thebarracks of the Varangian Guard?---what means of defence are mine, wereI discovered to these mercenaries?--What man could do, by the favour ofour Lady of the Broken Lances, I have not failed to achieve. I haveslain a tiger in single combat--I have killed one warder, and conqueredthe desperate and gigantic creature by whom he was supported. I havehad terms enough at command to bring over this Varangian to my side, inappearance at least; yet all this does not encourage me to hope that Icould long keep at bay ten or a dozen such men as these beef-fed knavesappear to be, led in upon me by a fellow of thewes and sinews such asthose of my late companion. --Yet for shame, Robert! such thoughts areunworthy a descendant of Charlemagne. When wert thou wont so curiouslyto count thine enemies, and when wert thou wont to be suspicious, sincehe, whose bosom may truly boast itself incapable of fraud, ought inhonesty to be the last to expect it in another? The Varangian's look isopen, his coolness in danger is striking, his speech is more frank andready than ever was that of a traitor. If he is false, there is nofaith in the hand of nature, for truth, sincerity, and courage arewritten upon his forehead. "

While Count Robert was thus reflecting upon his condition, andcombating the thick-coming doubts and suspicions which itsuncertainties gave rise to, he began to be sensible that he had noteaten for many hours; and amidst many doubts and fears of a more heroicnature, he half entertained a lurking suspicion, that they meant to lethunger undermine his strength before they adventured into the apartmentto deal with him. 

We shall best see how far these doubts were deserved by Hereward, orhow far they were unjust, by following his course after he left hisbarrack-room. Snatching a morsel of dinner, which he ate with anaffectation of great hunger, but, in fact, that his attention to hisfood might be a pretence for dispensing with disagreeable questions, orwith conversation of any kind, he pleaded duty, and immediately leavinghis comrades, directed his course to the lodgings of Achilles Tatius, which were a part of the same building. A Syrian slave, who opened thedoor, after a deep reverence to Hereward, whom he knew as a favouriteattendant of the Acolyte, said to him that his master was gone forth, but had desired him to say, that if he wished to see him, he would findhim at the Philosopher's Gardens, so called, as belonging to the sageAgelastes. 

Hereward turned about instantly, and availing himself of his knowledgeof Constantinople to thread its streets in the shortest time possible, at length stood alone before the door in the garden-wall, at which heand the Count of Paris had previously been admitted in the earlier partof the day. The same negress appeared at the same private signal, andwhen he asked for Achilles Tatius, she replied, with some sharpness, "Since you were here this morning, I marvel you did not meet him, orthat, having business with him, you did not stay till he arrived. SureI am, that not long after you entered the garden the Acolyte wasenquiring for you. "

"It skills not, old woman" said the Varangian; "I communicate thereason of my motions to my commander, but not to thee. " He entered thegarden accordingly, and avoiding the twilight path that led to theBower of Love, --so was the pavilion named in which he had overheard thedialogue between the Caesar and the Countess of Paris, --he arrivedbefore a simple garden-house, whose humble and modest front seemed toannounce that it was the abode of philosophy and learning. Here, passing before the windows, he made some little noise, expecting toattract the attention either of Achilles Tatius, or his accompliceAgelastes, as chance should determine. It was the first who heard, andwho replied. The door opened; a lofty plume stooped itself, that itsowner might cross the threshold, and the stately form of AchillesTatius entered the gardens. "What now, " he said, "our trusty sentinel?what hast thou, at this time of day, come to report to us? Thou art ourgood friend, and highly esteemed soldier, and well we wot thine errandmust be of importance, since thou hast brought it thyself, and at anhour so unusual. "

"Pray Heaven, " said Hereward, "that the news I have brought deserve awelcome. "

"Speak them instantly, " said the Acolyte, "good or bad; thou speakestto a man to whom fear is unknown. " But his eye, which quailed as helooked on the soldier--his colour, which went and came--his hands, which busied themselves in an uncertain manner in adjusting the belt ofhis sword, --all argued a state of mind very different from that whichhis tone of defiance would fain have implied. "Courage, " he said, "mytrusty soldier! speak the news to me. I can bear the worst thou hast totell. "

"In a word, then, " said the Varangian, "your Valour directed me thismorning to play the office of master of the rounds upon those dungeonsof the Blacquernal palace, where last night the boisterous Count Robertof Paris was incarcerated"--

"I remember well, " said Achilles Tatius. --"What then?"

"As I reposed me, " said Hereward, "in an apartment above the vaults, Iheard cries from beneath, of a kind which attracted my attention. Ihastened to examine, and my surprise was extreme, when looking downinto the dungeon, though I could see nothing distinctly, yet, by thewailing and whimpering sounds, I conceived that the Man of the Forest, the animal called Sylvan, whom our soldiers have so far indoctrinatedin our Saxon tongue as to make him useful in the wards of the prison, was bemoaning himself on account of some violent injury. Descendingwith a torch, I found the bed on which the prisoner had been let downburnt to cinders; the tiger which had been chained within a spring ofit, with its skull broken to pieces; the creature called Sylvan, prostrate, and writhing under great pain and terror, and no prisonerwhatever in the dungeon. There were marks that all the fastenings hadbeen withdrawn by a Mytilenian soldier, companion of my watch, when hevisited the dungeon at the usual hour; and as, in my anxious search, Iat length found his dead body, slain apparently by a stab in the throat, I was obliged to believe that while I was examining the cell, he, thisCount Robert, with whose daring life the adventure is well consistent, had escaped into the upper air, by means, doubtless, of the ladder andtrap-door by which I had descended. "

"And wherefore didst thou not instantly call treason, and raise the hueand cry?" demanded the Acolyte. 

"I dared not venture to do so, " replied the Varangian, "till I hadinstructions from your Valour. The alarming cry of treason, and thevarious rumours likely at this moment to ensue, might have involved asearch so close, as perchance would have discovered matters in whichthe Acolyte himself would have been rendered subject to suspicion. "

"Thou art right, " said Achilles Tatius, in a whisper: "and yet it willbe necessary that we do not pretend any longer to conceal the flight ofthis important prisoner, if we would not pass for being his accomplices. Where thinkest thou this unhappy fugitive can have taken refuge?"

"That I was in hopes of learning from your Valour's greater wisdom, "said Hereward. 

"Thinkest thou not, " said Achilles, "that he may have crossed theHellespont, in order to rejoin his own countrymen and adherents?"

"It is much to be dreaded, " said Hereward. "Undoubtedly, if the Countlistened to the advice of any one who knew the face of the country, such would be the very counsel he would receive. "

"The danger, then, of his return at the head of a vengeful body ofFranks, " said the Acolyte, "is not so immediate as I apprehended atfirst, for the Emperor gave positive orders that the boats and galleyswhich yesterday transported the crusaders to the shores of Asia shouldrecross the strait, and bring back no single one of them from the stepupon their journey on which he had so far furthered them. --Besides, they all, --their leaders, that is to say, --made their vows beforecrossing, that they would not turn back so much as a foot's pace, nowthat they had set actually forth on the road to Palestine. "

"So, therefore, " said Hereward, "one of the two propositions isunquestionable; either Count Robert is on the eastern side of thestrait, having no means of returning with his brethren to avenge theusage he has received, and may therefore be securely set, atdefiance, --or else he lurks somewhere in Constantinople, without afriend or ally to take his part, or encourage him openly to state hissupposed wrongs; in either case, there can, I think, be no tact inconveying to the palace the news that he has freed himself, since itwould only alarm the court, and afford the Emperor ground for manysuspicions. --But it is not for an ignorant barbarian like me toprescribe a course of conduct to your valour and wisdom, and methinksthe sage Agelastes were a fitter counsellor than such as I am. "

"No, no, no, " said the Acolyte, in a hurried whisper; "the philosopherand I are right good friends, sworn good friends, very especially boundtogether; but should it come to this, that one of us must needs throwbefore the footstool of the Emperor the head of the other, I think thouwouldst not advise that I, whose hairs have not a trace of silver, should be the last in making the offering; therefore we will saynothing of this mishap, but give thee full power, and the highestcharge to seek for Count Robert of Paris, be he dead or alive, tosecure him within the dungeons set apart for the discipline of our owncorps, and when thou hast done so, to bring me notice. I may make himmy friend in many ways, by extricating his wife from danger by the axesof my Varangians. What is there in this metropolis that they have tooppose them?"

"When raised in a just cause, " answered Hereward, "nothing. "

"Hah!--say'st thou?" said the Acolyte; "how meanest thou by that?--butI know--Thou art scrupulous about having the just and lawful command ofthy officer in every action in which thou art engaged, and, thinking inthat dutiful and soldierlike manner, it is my duty as thine Acolyte tosee thy scruples satisfied. A warrant shalt thou have, with full powers, to seek for and imprison this foreign Count of whom we have beenspeaking--And, hark thee, my excellent friend, " he continued, with somehesitation, "I think thou hadst better begone, and begin, or rathercontinue thy search. It is unnecessary to inform our friend Agelastesof what has happened, until his advice be more needful than as yet itis on the occasion. Home--home to the barracks; I will account to himfor thy appearance here, if he be curious on the subject, which, as asuspicious old man, he is likely to be. Go to the barracks, and act asif thou hadst a warrant in every respect full and ample. I will providethee with one when I come back to my quarters. "

The Varangian turned hastily homewards. 

"Now, is it not, " he said, "a strange thing, and enough to make a man arogue for life--to observe how the devil encourages young beginners infalsehood! I have told a greater lie--at least I have suppressed moretruth--than on any occasion before in my whole life--and what is theconsequence? Why, my commander throws almost at my head a warrantsufficient to guarantee and protect me in all I have done, or proposeto do! If the foul fiend were thus regular in protecting his votaries, methinks they would have little reason to complain of him, or bettermen to be astonished at their number. But a time comes, they say, whenhe seldom fails to desert them. Therefore, get thee behind me, Satan!If I have seemed to be thy servant for a short time, it is but with anhonest and Christian purpose. "

As he entertained these thoughts, he looked back upon the path, and wasstartled at an apparition of a creature of a much greater size, and astranger shape than human, covered, all but the face, with a reddishdun fur; his expression an ugly, and yet a sad melancholy; a cloth waswrapped round one hand, and an air of pain and languor bespokesuffering from a wound. So much was Hereward pre-occupied with his ownreflections, that at first he thought his imagination had actuallyraised the devil; but after a sudden start of surprise, he recognisedhis acquaintance Sylvan. "Hah! old friend, " he said, "I am happy thouhast made thy escape to a place where them wilt find plenty of fruit tosupport thee. Take my advice--keep out of the way of discovery--Keepthy friend's counsel. "

The Man of the Wood uttered a chattering noise in return to thisaddress. 

"I understand thee, " said Hereward, "thou wilt tell no tales, thousayest; and faith, I will trust thee rather than the better part of myown two-legged race, who are eternally circumventing or murdering eachother. "

A minute after the creature was out of sight, Hereward heard the shriekof a female, and a voice which cried for help. The accents must havebeen uncommonly interesting to the Varangian, since, forgetting his owndangerous situation, he immediately turned and flew to the suppliant'sassistance. 

CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH. 

 She comes! she comes! in all the charms of youth, Unequall'd love, and unsuspected truth!

Hereward was not long in tracing the cry through the wooded walks, whena female rushed into his arms; alarmed, as it appeared, by Sylvan, whowas pursuing her closely. The figure of Hereward, with his axe uplifted, put an instant stop to his career, and with a terrified note of hisnative cries, he withdrew into the thickest of the adjoining foliage. 

Relieved from his presence, Hereward had time to look at the femalewhom he had succoured: She was arrayed in a dress which consisted ofseveral colours, that which predominated being a pale yellow; her tunicwas of this colour, and, like a modern gown, was closely fitted to thebody, which, in the present case, was that of a tall, but very well-formed person. The mantle, or upper garment, in which the whole figurewas wrapped, was of fine cloth; and the kind of hood which was attachedto it having flown back with the rapidity of her motion, gave to viewthe hair beautifully adorned and twisted into a natural head-dress. Beneath this natural head-gear appeared a face pale as death, from asense of the supposed danger, but which preserved, even amidst itsterrors, an exquisite degree of beauty. 

Hereward was thunderstruck at this apparition. The dress was neitherGrecian, Italian, nor of the costume of the Franks;--it was_Saxon!_--connected by a thousand tender remembrances withHereward's childhood and youth. The circumstance was most extraordinary. Saxon women, indeed, there were in Constantinople, who had united theirfortunes with those of the Varangians; and those often chose to weartheir national dress in the city, because the character and conduct oftheir husbands secured them a degree of respect, which they might nothave met with either as Grecian or as stranger females of a similarrank. But almost all these were personally known to Hereward. It was notime, however, for reverie--he was himself in danger---the situation ofthe young female might be no safe one. In every case, it was judiciousto quit the more public part of the gardens; he therefore lost not amoment in conveying the fainting Saxon to a retreat he fortunately wasacquainted with. A covered path, obscured by vegetation, led through aspecies of labyrinth to an artificial cave, at the bottom of which, half-paved with shells, moss, and spar, lay the gigantic and half-recumbent statue of a river deity, with its usual attributes--that is, its front crowned with water-lilies and sedges, and its ample handhalf-resting upon an empty urn. The attitude of the whole figurecorresponded with the motto, --"I SLEEP--AWAKE ME NOT. "

"Accursed relic of paganism, " said Hereward, who was, in proportion tohis light, a zealous Christian--"brutish stock or stone that thou art!I will wake thee with a vengeance. " So saying, he struck the head ofthe slumbering deity with his battle-axe, and deranged the play of thefountain so much that the water began to pour into the basin. 

"Thou art a good block, nevertheless, " said the Varangian, "to sendsuccour so needful to the aid of my poor countrywoman. Thou shalt giveher also, with thy leave, a portion of thy couch. " So saying hearranged his fair burden, who was as yet insensible, upon the pedestalwhere the figure of the River God reclined. In doing this, hisattention was recalled to her face, and again and again he was thrilledwith an emotion of hope, but so excessively like fear, that it couldonly be compared to the flickering of a torch, uncertain whether it isto light up or be instantly extinguished. With a sort of mechanicalattention, he continued to make such efforts as he could to recall theintellect of the beautiful creature before him. His feelings were thoseof the astronomical sage, to whom the rise of the moon slowly restoresthe contemplation of that heaven, which is at once, as a Christian, hishope of felicity, and, as a philosopher, the source of his knowledge. The blood returned to her cheek, and reanimation, and even recollection, took place in her earlier than in the astonished Varangian. 

"Blessed Mary!" she said, "have I indeed tasted the last bitter cup, and is it here where thou reunitest thy votaries after death!--Speak, Hereward! if thou art aught but an empty creature of the imagination!--speak, and tell me, if I have but dreamed of that monstrous ogre!"

"Collect thyself, my beloved Bertha, " said the Anglo-Saxon, recalled bythe sound of her voice, "and prepare to endure what thou livest towitness, and thy Hereward survives to tell. That hideous thing exists--nay, do not start, and look for a hiding-place--thy own gentle handwith a riding rod is sufficient to tame its courage. And am I not here, Bertha? Wouldst thou wish another safeguard?"

"No--no, " exclaimed she, seizing on the arm of her recovered lover. "DoI not know you now?"

"And is it but now you know me, Bertha?" said Hereward. 

"I suspected before, " she said, casting down her eyes; "but I know withcertainty that mark of the boar's tusk. "

Hereward suffered her imagination to clear itself from the shock it hadreceived so suddenly, before he ventured to enter upon present events, in which there was so much both to doubt and to fear. He permitted her, therefore, to recall to her memory all the circumstances of the rousingthe hideous animal, assisted by the tribes of both their fathers. Shementioned in broken words the flight of arrows discharged against theboar by young and old, male and female, and how her own well aimed, butfeeble shaft, wounded him sharply; she forgot not how, incensed at thepain, the creature rushed upon her as the cause, laid her palfrey deadupon the spot, and would soon have slain her, had not Hereward, whenevery attempt failed to bring his horse up to the monster, thrownhimself from his seat, and interposed personally between the boar andBertha. The battle was not decided without a desperate struggle; theboar was slain, but Hereward received the deep gash upon his brow whichshe whom he had saved how recalled to her memory. "Alas!" she said, "what have we been to each other since that period? and what are we now, in this foreign land?"

"Answer for thyself, my Bertha, " said the Varangian, "if thou canst;--and if thou canst with truth say that thou art the same Bertha whovowed affection to Hereward, believe me, it were sinful to suppose thatthe saints have brought us together with a view of our being afterwardsseparated. "

"Hereward, " said Bertha, "you have not preserved the bird in your bosomsafer than I have; at home or abroad, in servitude or in freedom, amidst sorrow or joy, plenty or want, my thought was always on thetroth I had plighted to Hereward at the stone of Odin. "

"Say no more of that, " said Hereward; "it was an impious rite, and goodcould not come of it. "

"Was it then so impious?" she said, the unbidden tear rushing into herlarge blue eyes. --"Alas! it was a pleasure to reflect that Hereward wasmine by that solemn engagement!"

"Listen to me, my Bertha, " said Hereward, taking her hand: "We werethen almost children; and though our vow was in itself innocent, yet itwas so far wrong, as being sworn in the presence of a dumb idol, representing one who was, while alive, a bloody and cruel magician. Butwe will, the instant an opportunity offers itself, renew our vow beforea shrine of real sanctity, and promise suitable penance for ourignorant acknowledgment of Odin, to propitiate the real Deity, who canbear us through those storms of adversity which are like to surroundus. "

Leaving them for the time to their love-discourse, of a nature pure, simple, and interesting, we shall give, in a few words, all that thereader needs to know of their separate history between the boar's huntand the time of their meeting in the gardens of Agelastes. 

In that doubtful state experienced by outlaws, Waltheoff, the father ofHereward, and Engelred, the parent of Bertha, used to assemble theirunsubdued tribes, sometimes in the fertile regions of Devonshire, sometimes in the dark wooded solitudes of Hampshire, but as much aspossible within the call of the bugle of the famous Edric the Forester, so long leader of the insurgent Saxons. The chiefs we have mentionedwere among the last bold men who asserted the independence of the Saxonrace of England; and like their captain Edric, they were generallyknown by the name of Foresters, as men who lived by hunting, when theirpower of making excursions was checked and repelled. Hence they made astep backwards in civilization, and became more like to their remoteancestors of German descent, than they were to their more immediate andcivilized predecessors, who before the battle of Hastings, had advancedconsiderably in the arts of civilized life. 

Old superstitions had begun to revive among them, and hence thepractice of youths and maidens plighting their troth at the stonecircles dedicated, as it was supposed, to Odin, in whom, however, theyhad long ceased to nourish any of the sincere belief which wasentertained by their heathen ancestors. 

In another respect these outlaws were fast resuming a strikingpeculiarity of the ancient Germans. Their circumstances naturallybrought the youth of both sexes much together, and by early marriage, or less permanent connexions, the population would have increased farbeyond the means which the outlaws had to maintain, or even to protectthemselves. The laws of the Foresters, therefore, strictly enjoinedthat marriages should be prohibited until the bridegroom was twenty-oneyears complete. Future alliances were indeed often formed by the youngpeople, nor was this discountenanced by their parents, provided thatthe lovers waited until the period when the majority of the bridegroomshould permit them to marry. Such youths as infringed this rule, incurred the dishonourable epithet of _niddering_, or worthless, --an epithet of a nature so insulting, that men were known to have slainthemselves, rather than endure life under such opprobrium. But theoffenders were very few amidst a race trained in moderation and self-denial; and hence it was that woman, worshipped for so many years likesomething sacred, was received, when she became the head of a family, into the arms and heart of a husband who had so long expected her, wastreated as something more elevated than the mere idol of the moment;and feeling the rate at which she was valued, endeavoured by heractions to make her life correspond with it. 

It was by the whole population of these tribes, as well as theirparents, that after the adventure of the boar hunt, Hereward and Berthawere considered as lovers whose alliance was pointed out by Heaven, andthey were encouraged to approximate as much as their mutualinclinations prompted them. The youths of the tribe avoided askingMartha's hand at the dance, and the maidens used no maidenly entreatyor artifice to detain Hereward beside them, if Bertha was present atthe feast. They clasped each other's hands through the perforated stone, which they called the altar of Odin, though later ages have ascribed itto the Druids, and they implored that if they broke their faith to eachother, their fault might be avenged by the twelve swords which were nowdrawn around them during the ceremony by as many youths, and that theirmisfortunes might be so many as twelve maidens, who stood around withtheir hair loosened, should be unable to recount, either in prose orverse. 

The torch of the Saxon Cupid shone for some years as brilliant as whenit was first lighted. The time, however, came when they were to betried by adversity, though undeserved by the perfidy of either. Yearshad gone past, and Hereward had to count with anxiety how many monthsand weeks were to separate him from the bride, who was beginningalready by degrees to shrink less shyly from the expressions andcaresses of one who was soon to term her all his own. William Rufus, however, had formed a plan of totally extirpating the Foresters, whoseimplacable hatred, and restless love of freedom, had so often disturbedthe quiet of his kingdom, and despised his forest laws. He assembledhis Norman forces, and united to them a body of Saxons who hadsubmitted to his rule. He thus brought an overpowering force upon thebands of Waltheoff and Engelred, who found no resource but to throw thefemales of their tribe, and such as could, not bear arms, into aconvent dedicated to St. Augustin, of which Kenelm their relation wasprior, and then turning to the battle, vindicated their ancient valourby fighting it to the last. Both the unfortunate chiefs remained deadon the field, and Hereward and his brother had wellnigh shared theirfate; but some Saxon inhabitants of the neighbourhood, who adventuredon the field of battle, which the victors had left bare of every thingsave the booty of the kites and the ravens, found the bodies of theyouths still retaining life. As they were generally well known and muchbeloved by these people, Hereward and his brother were taken care oftill their wounds began to close, and their strength returned. Herewardthen heard the doleful news of the death of his father and Engelred. His next enquiry was concerning his betrothed bride and her mother. Thepoor inhabitants could give him little information. Some of the femaleswho had taken refuge in the convent, the Norman knights and nobles hadseized upon as their slaves, and the rest, with the monks who hadharboured them, were turned adrift, and their place of retreat wascompletely sacked and burnt to the ground. 

Half-dead himself at hearing these tidings, Hereward sallied out, andat every risk of death, for the Saxon Foresters were treated as outlaws, commenced enquiries after those so dear to him. He asked concerning theparticular fate of Bertha and her mother, among the miserable creatureswho yet hovered about the neighbourhood of the convent, like a fewhalf-scorched bees about their smothered hive. But, in the magnitude oftheir own terrors, none had retained eyes for their neighbours, and allthat they could say was, that the wife and daughter of Engelred werecertainly lost; and their imaginations suggested so many heart-rendingdetails to this conclusion, that Hereward gave up all thoughts offurther researches, likely to terminate so uselessly and so horribly. 

The young Saxon had been all his life bred up in a patriotic hatred tothe Normans, who did not, it was likely, become dearer to his thoughtsin consequence of this victory. He dreamed at first of crossing thestrait, to make war against the hated enemy in their own country; butan idea so extravagant did not long retain possession of his mind. Hisfate was decided by his encountering an aged palmer, who knew orpretended to have known, his father, and to be a native of England. This man was a disguised Varangian, selected for the purpose, possessedof art and dexterity, and well provided with money. He had littledifficulty in persuading Hereward, in the hopeless desolation of hiscondition, to join the Varangian Guard, at this moment at war with theNormans, under which name it suited Hereward's prepossessions torepresent the Emperor's wars with Robert Guiscard, his son Bohemond, and other adventurers, in Italy, Greece, or Sicily. A journey to theEast also inferred a pilgrimage, and gave the unfortunate Hereward thechance of purchasing pardon for his sins by visiting the Holy Land. Ingaining Hereward, the recruiter also secured the services of his elderbrother, who had vowed not to separate from him. 

The high character of both brothers for courage, induced this wilyagent to consider them as a great prize, and it was from the memorandarespecting the history and character of those whom he recruited, inwhich the elder had been unreservedly communicative, that Agelastespicked up the information respecting Hereward's family andcircumstances, which, at their first secret interview, he made use ofto impress upon the Varangian the idea of his supernatural knowledge. Several of his companions in arms were thus gained over; for it willeasily be guessed, that these memorials were intrusted to the keepingof Achilles Tatius, and he, to further their joint purposes, impartedthem to Agelastes, who thus obtained a general credit for supernaturalknowledge among these ignorant men. But Hereward's blunt faith andhonesty enabled him to shun the snare. 

Such being the fortunes of Hereward, those of Bertha formed the subjectof a broken and passionate communication between the lovers, brokenlike an April day, and mingled with many a tender caress, such asmodesty permits to lovers when they meet again unexpectedly after aseparation, which threatened to be eternal. But the story may becomprehended in few words. Amid the general sack of the monastery, anold Norman knight seized upon Bertha as his prize. Struck with herbeauty, he designed her as an attendant upon his daughter, just thencome out of the years of childhood, and the very apple of her father'seye, being the only child of his beloved Countess, and sent late inlife to bless their marriage-bed. It was in the order of things thatthe lady of Aspramonte, who was considerably younger than the knight, should govern her husband, and that Brenhilda, their daughter, shouldgovern both her parents. 

The Knight of Aspramonte, however, it may be observed, entertained somedesire to direct his young offspring to more feminine amusements thanthose which began already to put her life frequently in danger. Contradiction was not to be thought of, as the good old knight knew byexperience. The influence and example of a companion a little olderthan herself might be of some avail, and it was with this view that, inthe confusion of the sack, Aspramonte seized upon the youthful Bertha. Terrified to the utmost degree, she clung to her mother, and the Knightof Aspramonte, who had a softer heart than was then usually found undera steel cuirass, moved by the affliction of the mother and daughter, and recollecting that the former might also be a useful attendant uponhis lady, extended his protection to both, and conveying them out ofthe press, paid the soldiers who ventured to dispute the spoil with him, partly in some small pieces of money, and partly in dry blows with thereverse of his lance. 

The well-natured knight soon after returned to his own castle, andbeing a man of an orderly life and virtuous habits, the charmingbeauties of the Saxon virgin, and the more ripened charms of her mother, did not prevent their travelling in all honour as well as safety to hisfamily fortress, the castle of Aspramonte. Here such masters as couldbe procured were got together to teach the young Bertha every sort offemale accomplishment, In the hope that her mistress, Brenhilda, mightbe inspired with a desire to partake in her education; but althoughthis so far succeeded, that the Saxon captive became highly skilled insuch music, needle-work, and other female accomplishments as were knownto the time, yet her young mistress, Brenhilda, retained the taste forthose martial amusements which had so sensibly grieved her father, butto which her mother, who herself had nourished such fancies in heryouth, readily gave sanction. 

The captives, however, were kindly treated. Brenhilda became infinitelyattached to the young Anglo-Saxon, whom she loved less for heringenuity in arts, than for her activity in field sports, to which herearly state of independence had trained her. 

The Lady of Aspramonte was also kind to both the captives; but, in oneparticular, she exercised a piece of petty tyranny over them. She hadimbibed an idea, strengthened by an old doting father-confessor, thatthe Saxons were heathens at that time, or at least heretics, and made apositive point with her husband that the bondswoman and girl who wereto attend on her person and that of her daughter, should be qualifiedfor the office by being anew admitted into the Christian Church bybaptism. 

Though feeling the falsehood and injustice of the accusation, themother had sense enough to submit to necessity, and received the nameof Martha in all form at the altar, to which she answered during therest of her life. 

But Bertha showed a character upon this occasion inconsistent with thegeneral docility and gentleness of her temper. She boldly refused to beadmitted anew into the pale of the Church, of which her conscience toldher she was already a member, or to exchange for another the nameoriginally given her at the font. It was in vain that the old knightcommanded, that the lady threatened, and that her mother advised andentreated. More closely pressed in private by her mother, she let hermotive be known, which had not before been suspected. "I know, " shesaid, with a flood of tears, "that my father would have died ere I wassubjected to this insult; and then--who shall assure me that vows whichwere made to the Saxon Bertha, will be binding if a French Agatha besubstituted in her stead? They may banish me, " she said, "or kill me ifthey will, but if the son of Waltheoff should again meet with thedaughter of Engelred, he shall meet that Bertha whom he knew in theforests of Hampton. "

All argument was in vain; the Saxon maiden remained obstinate, and totry to break her resolution, the Lady of Aspramonte at length spoke ofdismissing her from the service of her young mistress, and banishingher from the castle. To this also she had made up her mind, and sheanswered firmly though respectfully, that she would sorrow bitterly atparting with her young lady; but as to the rest, she would rather begunder her own name, than be recreant to the faith of her fathers andcondemn it as heresy, by assigning one of Frank origin. The LadyBrenhilda, in the meantime, entered the chamber, where her mother wasjust about to pass the threatened doom of banishment. --"Do not stop formy entrance, madam, " said the dauntless young lady; "I am as muchconcerned in the doom which you are about to pass as is Bertha; If shecrosses the drawbridge of Aspramonte as an exile, so will I, when shehas dried her tears, of which even my petulance could never wring onefrom her eyes. She shall be my squire and body attendant, and Launcelot, the bard, shall follow with my spear and shield. "

"And you will return, mistress, " said her mother, "from so foolish anexpedition, before the sun sets?"

"So heaven further me in my purpose, lady, " answered the young heiress, "the sun shall neither rise nor set that sees us return, till this nameof Bertha, and of her mistress, Brenhilda, are wafted as far as thetrumpet of fame can sound them. --Cheer up, my sweetest Bertha!" shesaid, taking her attendant by the hand, "If heaven hath torn thee fromthy country and thy plighted troth, it hath given thee a sister and afriend, with whom thy fame shall be forever blended. "

The Lady of Aspramonte was confounded: She knew that her daughter wasperfectly capable of the wild course which she had announced, and thatshe herself, even with her husband's assistance, would be unable toprevent her following it. She passively listened, therefore, while theSaxon matron, formerly Urica, but now Martha, addressed her daughter. "My child, " she said, "as you value honour, virtue, safety, andgratitude, soften your heart towards your master and mistress, andfollow the advice of a parent, who has more years and more judgmentthan you. And you, my dearest young lady, let not your lady-motherthink that an attachment to the exercises you excel in, has destroyedin your bosom filial affection, and a regard to the delicacy of yoursex!--As they seem both obstinate, madam, " continued the matron, afterwatching the influence of this advice upon the young woman, "perhaps, if it may be permitted me. I could state an alternative, which might, in the meanwhile, satisfy your ladyship's wishes, accommodate itself tothe wilfulness of my obstinate daughter, and answer the kind purpose ofher generous mistress. " The Lady of Aspramonte signed to the Saxonmatron to proceed. She went on accordingly: "The Saxons, dearest lady, of the present day, are neither pagans nor heretics; they are, in thetime of keeping Easter, as well as in all other disputable doctrine, humbly obedient to the Pope of Rome; and this our good Bishop wellknows, since he upbraided some of the domestics for calling me an oldheathen. Yet our names are uncouth in the ears of the Franks, and bear, perhaps, a heathenish sound. If it be not exacted that my daughtersubmit to a new rite of baptism, she will lay aside her Saxon name ofBertha upon all occasions while in your honourable household. This willcut short a debate which, with forgiveness, I think is scarce ofimportance enough to break the peace of this castle. I will engage that, in gratitude for this indulgence of a trifling scruple, my daughter, ifpossible, shall double the zeal and assiduity of her service to heryoung lady. "

The Lady of Aspramonte was glad to embrace the means which this offerpresented, of extricating herself from the dispute with as littlecompromise of dignity as could well be. "If the good Lord Bishopapproved of such a compromise, " she said, "she would for herselfwithdraw her opposition. " The prelate approved accordingly, the morereadily that he was informed that the young heiress desired earnestlysuch an agreement. The peace of the castle was restored, and Bertharecognized her new name of Agatha as a name of service, but not a nameof baptism. 

One effect the dispute certainly produced, and that was, increasing inan enthusiastic degree the love of Bertha for her young mistress. Withthat amiable failing of attached domestics and humble friends, sheendeavoured to serve her as she knew she loved to be served; andtherefore indulged, her mistress in those chivalrous fancies whichdistinguished her even in her own age, and in ours would have renderedher a female Quixote. Bertha, indeed, never caught the frenzy of hermistress; but, strong, willing, and able-bodied, she readily qualifiedherself to act upon occasion as a squire of the body to a LadyAdventuress; and, accustomed from her childhood to see blows dealt, blood flowing, and men dying, she could look with an undazzled eye uponthe dangers which her mistress encountered, and seldom teased her withremonstrances, unless when those were unusually great. This complianceon most occasions, gave Bertha a right of advice upon some, which, always given with the best intentions and at fitting times, strengthened her influence with her mistress, which a course of conductsavouring of diametrical opposition would certainly have destroyed. 

A few more words serve to announce the death of the Knight ofAspramonte--the romantic marriage of the young lady with the Count ofParis--their engagement in the crusade--and the detail of events withwhich the reader is acquainted. 

Hereward did not exactly comprehend some of the later incidents of thestory, owing to a slight strife which arose between Bertha and himduring the course of her narrative. When she avowed the girlishsimplicity with which she obstinately refused to change her name, because, in her apprehension, the troth-plight betwixt her and herlover might be thereby prejudiced, it was impossible for Hereward notto acknowledge her tenderness, by snatching her to his bosom, andimpressing his grateful thanks upon her lips. She extricated herselfimmediately from his grasp, however, with cheeks more crimsoned inmodesty than in anger, and gravely addressed her lover thus: "Enough, enough, Hereward! this may be pardoned to so unexpected a meeting; butwe must in future remember, that we are probably the last of our race;and let it not be said, that the manners of their ancestors wereforgotten by Hereward and by Bertha; think, that though we are alone, the shades of our fathers are not far off, and watch to see what use wemake of the meeting, which, perhaps, their intercession has procuredus. "

"You wrong me, Bertha, " said Hereward, "if you think me capable offorgetting my own duty and yours, at a moment when our thanks are dueto Heaven, to be testified very differently than by infringing on itsbehests, or the commands of our parents. The question is now, How weshall rejoin each other when we separate? since separate, I fear, wemust. "

"O! do not say so!" exclaimed the unfortunate Bertha. 

"It must be so, " said Hereward, "for a time; but I swear to thee by thehilt of my sword, and the handle of my battle-axe, that blade was neverso true to shaft as I will be to thee!"

"But wherefore, then, leave me, Hereward?" said the maiden; "and oh!wherefore not assist me in the release of my mistress?"

"Of thy mistress!" said Hereward. "Shame! that thou canst give thatname to mortal woman!"

"But she _is_ my mistress, " answered Bertha, "and by a thousandkind ties which cannot be separated so long as gratitude is the rewardof kindness. "

"And what is her danger, " said Hereward; "what is it she wants, thisaccomplished lady whom thou callest mistress?"

"Her honour, her life, are alike in danger, " said Bertha. "She hasagreed to meet the Caesar in the field, and he will not hesitate, likea baseborn miscreant, to take every advantage in the encounter, which, I grieve to say, may in all likelihood be fatal to my mistress. "

"Why dost thou think so?" answered Hereward. "This lady has won manysingle combats, unless she is belied, against adversaries moreformidable than the Caesar. "

"True, " said the Saxon maiden; "but you speak of things that passed ina far different land, where faith and honour are not empty sounds; as, alas! they seem but too surely to be here. Trust me, it is no girlishterror which sends me out in this disguise of my country dress, which, they say, finds respect at Constantinople: I go to let the chiefs ofthe Crusade know the peril in which the noble lady stands, and trust totheir humanity, to their religion, to their love of honour, and fear ofdisgrace, for assistance in this hour of need; and now that I have hadthe blessing of meeting with thee, all besides will go well--all willgo well--and I will back to my mistress and report whom I have seen. "

"Tarry yet another moment, my recovered treasure!" said Hereward, "andlet me balance this matter carefully. This Frankish lady holds theSaxons like the very dust that thou brushest from the hem of hergarment. She treats--she regards--the Saxons as pagans and heretics. She has dared to impose slavish tasks upon thee, born in freedom. Herfather's sword has been embrued to the hilt with Anglo-Saxon blood--perhaps that of Waltheoff and Engelred has added death to the stain!She has been, besides, a presumptuous fool, usurping for herself thetrophies and warlike character which belong to the other sex. Lastly, it will be hard to find a champion to fight in her stead, since all thecrusaders have passed over to Asia, which is the land, they say, inwhich they have come to war; and by orders of the Emperor, no means ofreturn to the hither shore will be permitted to any of them. "

"Alas! alas!" said Bertha, "how does this world change us! The son ofWaltheoff I once knew brave, ready to assist distress, bold andgenerous. Such was what I pictured him to myself during his absence. Ihave met him again, and he is calculating, cold, and selfish!"

"Hush, damsel, " said the Varangian, "and know him of whom thou speakest, ere thou judgest him. The Countess of Paris is such as I have said; yetlet her appear boldly in the lists, and when the trumpet shall soundthrice, another shall reply, which shall announce the arrival of herown noble lord to do battle in her stead; or should he fail to appear--I will requite her kindness to thee, Bertha, and be ready in hisplace. "

"Wilt thou? wilt thou indeed?" said the damsel; "that was spoken likethe son of Waltheoff--like the genuine stock! I will home, and comfortmy mistress; for surely if the judgment of God ever directed the issueof a judicial combat, its influence will descend upon this. But youhint that the Count is here--that he is at liberty--she will enquireabout that. "

"She must be satisfied, " replied Hereward, "to know that her husband isunder the guidance of a friend, who will endeavour to protect him fromhis own extravagances and follies; or, at all events, of one who, if hecannot properly be called a friend, has certainly not acted, and willnot act, towards him the part of an enemy. --And now, farewell, longlost--long loved!"--Before he could say more, the Saxon maiden, aftertwo or three vain attempts to express her gratitude, threw herself intoher lover's arms, and despite the coyness which she had recently shown, impressed upon his lips the thanks which she could not speak. 

They parted, Bertha returning to her mistress at the lodge, which shehad left both with trouble and danger, and Hereward by the portal keptby the negro-portress, who, complimenting the handsome Varangian on hissuccess among the fair, intimated, that she had been in some sort awitness of his meeting with the Saxon damsel. A piece of gold, part ofa late largesse, amply served to bribe her tongue; and the soldier, clear of the gardens of the philosopher, sped back as he might to thebarrack--judging that it was full time to carry some supply to CountRobert, who had been left without food the whole day. 

It is a common popular saying, that as the sensation of hunger is notconnected with any pleasing or gentle emotion, so it is particularlyremarkable for irritating those of anger and spleen. It is not, therefore, very surprising that Count Robert, who had been so unusuallylong without sustenance, should receive Hereward with a degree ofimpatience beyond what the occasion merited, and injurious certainly tothe honest Varangian, who had repeatedly exposed his life that day forthe interest of the Countess and the Count himself. 

"Soh, sir!" he said, in that accent of affected restraint by which asuperior modifies his displeasure against his inferior into a cold andscornful expression--"You have played a liberal host to us!--Not thatit is of consequence; but methinks a Count of the most Christiankingdom dines not every day with a mercenary soldier, and might expect, if not the ostentatious, at least the needful part of hospitality. "

"And methinks, " replied the Varangian, "O most Christian Count, thatsuch of your high rank as, by choice or fate, become the guests of suchas I, may think themselves pleased, and blame not their host'sniggardliness, but the difficulty of his circumstances, if dinnershould not present itself oftener than once in four-and-twenty hours. "So saying, he clapt his hands together, and his domestic Edric entered. His guest looked astonished at the entrance of this third party intotheir retirement. "I will answer for this man, " said Hereward, andaddressed him in the following words:--"What food hast thou, Edric, toplace before the honourable Count?"

"Nothing but the cold pasty, " replied the attendant, "marvellouslydamaged by your honour's encounter at breakfast. "

The military domestic, as intimated, brought forward a large pasty, butwhich had already that morning sustained a furious attack, insomuch, that Count Robert of Paris, who, like all noble Normans, was somewhatnice and delicate in his eating, was in some doubt whether hisscrupulousness should not prevail over his hunger; but on looking moreclosely, sight, smell, and a fast of twenty hours, joined to convincehim that the pasty was an excellent one, and that the charger on whichit was presented possessed corners yet untouched. At length, havingsuppressed his scruples, and made bold inroad upon the remains of thedish, he paused to partake of a flask of strong red wine which stoodinvitingly beside him, and a lusty draught increased the good-humourwhich had begun to take place towards Hereward, in exchange for thedispleasure with which he had received him. 

"Now, by heaven!" he said, "I myself ought to be ashamed to lack thecourtesy which I recommend to others! Here have I, with the manners ofa Flemish boor, been devouring the provisions of my gallant host, without even asking him to sit down at his own table, and to partake ofhis own good cheer!"

"I will not strain courtesies with you for that, " said Hereward; andthrusting his hand into the pasty, he proceeded with great speed anddexterity to devour the miscellaneous contents, a handful of which wasenclosed in his grasp. The Count now withdrew from the table, partly indisgust at the rustic proceedings of Hereward, who, however, by nowcalling Edric to join him in his attack upon the pasty, showed that hehad, in fact, according to his manners, subjected himself previously tosome observance of respect towards his guest; while the assistance ofhis attendant enabled him to make a clear cacaabulum of what was left. Count Robert at length summoned up courage sufficient to put a question, which had been trembling upon his lips ever since Hereward had returned. 

"Have thine enquiries, my gallant friend, learned more concerning myunfortunate wife, my faithful Brenhilda?"

"Tidings I have, " said the Anglo-Saxon, "but whether pleasing or not, yourself must be the judge. This much I have learned;--she hath, as youknow, come under an engagement to meet the Caesar in arms in the lists, but under conditions which you may perhaps think strange; these, however, she hath entertained without scruple. "

"Let me know these terms, ", said the Count of Paris; "they will, Ithink, appear less strange in my eyes than in thine. "

But while he affected to speak with the utmost coolness, the husband'ssparkling eye and crimsoned cheek betrayed the alteration which hadtaken place in his feelings. "The lady and the Caesar, " said Hereward, "as you partly heard yourself, are to meet in fight; if the Countesswins, of course she remains the wife of the noble Count of Paris; ifshe loses, she becomes the paramour of the Caesar NicephorusBriennius. "

"Saints and angels forbid!" said Count Robert; "were they to permitsuch treason to triumph, we might be pardoned for doubting theirdivinity!"

"Yet methinks, " said the Anglo-Saxon, "it were no disgracefulprecaution that both you and I, with other friends, if we can obtainsuch, should be seen under shield in the lists on the morning of theconflict. To triumph, or to be defeated, is in the hand of fate; butwhat we cannot fail to witness is, whether or not the lady receivesthat fair play which is the due of an honourable combatant, and which, as you have yourself seen, can be sometimes basely transgressed in thisGrecian empire. "

"On that condition, " said the Count, "and protesting, that not even theextreme danger of my lady shall make me break through the rule of afair fight, I will surely attend the lists, if thou, brave Saxon, canstfind me any means of doing so. --Yet stay, " he continued, afterreflecting for a moment, "thou shalt promise not to let her know thather Count is on the field, far less to point him out to her eye amongthe press of warriors. O, thou dost not know that the sight of thebeloved will sometimes steal from us our courage, even when it has mostto achieve!"

"We will endeavour, " said the Varangian, "to arrange matters accordingto thy pleasure, so that thou findest out no more fantasticaldifficulties; for, by my word, an affair so complicated in itself, requires not to be confused by the fine-spun whims of thy nationalgallantry. Meantime, much must be done this night; and while I go aboutit, thou, Sir Knight, hadst best remain here, with such disguise ofgarments, and such food, as Edric may be able to procure for thee. Fearnothing from intrusion on the part of thy neighbours. We Varangiansrespect each other's secrets, of whatever nature they may chance tobe. "

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST. 

 But for our trusty brother-in-law-and the Abbot, With all the rest of that consorted crew, -- Destruction straight shall dog them at the heels:-- Good uncle, help to order several powers To Oxford, or where'er these traitors are: They shall not live within this world, I swear. RICHARD II. 

As Hereward spoke the last words narrated in the foregoing chapter, heleft the count in his apartment, and proceeded to the BlacquernalPalace. We traced his first entrance into the court, but since then hehad frequently been summoned, not only by order of the Princess AnnaComnena, who delighted in asking him questions concerning the customsof his native country, and marking down the replies in her own inflatedlanguage; but also by the direct command of the Emperor himself, whohad the humour of many princes, that of desiring to obtain directinformation from persons in a very inferior station in their Court. Thering which the Princess had given to the Varangian, served as a pass-token more than once, and was now so generally known by the slaves ofthe palace, that Hereward had only to slip it into the hand of aprincipal person among them, and was introduced into a small chamber, not distant from the saloon already mentioned, dedicated to the Muses. In this small apartment, the Emperor, his spouse Irene, and theiraccomplished daughter Anna Comnena, were seated together, clad in veryordinary apparel, as indeed the furniture of the room itself was of thekind used by respectable citizens, saving that mattrasses, composed ofeiderdown, hung before each door to prevent the risk of eavesdropping. 

"Our trusty Varangian, " said the Empress. 

"My guide and tutor respecting the manners of those steel-clad men, "said the Princess Anna Comnena, "of whom it is so necessary that Ishould form an accurate idea. "

"Your Imperial Majesty, " said the Empress, "will not, I trust, thinkyour consort and your muse-inspired daughter, are too many to sharewith you the intelligence brought by this brave and loyal man?"

"Dearest wife and daughter, " returned the Emperor, "I have hithertospared you the burden of a painful secret, which I have locked in myown bosom, at whatever expense of solitary sorrow and unimpartedanxiety. Noble daughter, you in particular will feel this calamity, learning, as you must learn, to think odiously of one, of whom it hashitherto been your duty to hold a very different opinion. "

"Holy Mary!" exclaimed the Princess. 

"Rally yourself, " said the Emperor; "remember you are a child of thepurple chamber, born, not to weep for your father's wrongs, but toavenge them, --not to regard even him who has lain by your side as halfso important as the sacred Imperial grandeur, of which you are yourselfa partaker. "

"What can such words preface?" said Anna Comnena, in great agitation. 

"They say, " answered the Emperor, "that the Caesar is an ungrateful manto all my bounties, and even to that which annexed him to my own. House, and made him by adoption my own son. He hath consorted himself with aknot of traitors, whose very names are enough to raise the foul fiend, as if to snatch his assured prey!"

"Could Nicephorus do this?" said the astonished and forlorn Princess;"Nicephorus, who has so often called my eyes the lights by which hesteered his path? Could he do this to my father, to whose exploits hehas listened hour after hour, protesting that he knew not whether itwas the beauty of the language, or the heroism of the action, whichmost enchanted him? Thinking with the same thought, seeing with thesame eye, loving with the same heart, --O, my father! it is impossiblethat he could be so false. Think of the neighbouring Temple of theMuses!"

"And if I did, " murmured Alexius in his heart, "I should think of theonly apology which could be proposed for the traitor. A little is wellenough, but the full soul loatheth the honey-comb. " Then speaking aloud, "My daughter, " he said, "be comforted; we ourselves were unwilling tobelieve the shameful truth; but our guards have been debauched; theircommander, that ungrateful Achilles Tatius, with the equal traitor, Agelastes, have been seduced to favour our imprisonment or murder; and, alas for Greece in the very moment when she required the fostering careof a parent, she was to be deprived of him by a sudden and mercilessblow!"

Here the Emperor wept, whether for the loss to be sustained by hissubjects, or of his own life, it is hard to say. 

"Methinks, " said Irene, "your Imperial Highness is slow in takingmeasures against the danger. "

"Under your gracious permission, mother, " answered the Princess, "Iwould rather say he was hasty in giving belief to it. Methinks theevidence of a Varangian, granting him to be ever so stout a man-at-arms, is but a frail guarantee against the honour of your son-in-law--theapproved bravery and fidelity of the captain of your guards--the deepsense, virtue, and profound wisdom, of the greatest of yourphilosophers"--

"And the conceit of an over-educated daughter, " said the Emperor, "whowill not allow her parent to judge in what most concerns him. I willtell thee, Anna, I know every one of them, and the trust which may bereposed in them; the honour of your Nicephorus--the bravery andfidelity of the Acolyte--and the virtue and wisdom of Agelastes--have Inot had them all in my purse? And had my purse continued well filled, and my arm strong as it was of late, there they would have stillremained. But the butterflies went off as the weather became cold, andI must meet the tempest without their assistance. You talk of want ofproof? I have proof sufficient when I see danger; this honest soldierbrought me indications which corresponded with my own private remarks, made on purpose. Varangian he shall be of Varangians; Acolyte he shallbe named, in place of the present traitor; and who knows what may comethereafter?"

"May it please your Highness, " said the Varangian, who had beenhitherto silent, "many men in this empire rise to dignity by the fallof their original patrons, but it is a road to greatness to which Icannot reconcile my conscience; moreover, having recovered a friend, from whom I was long ago separated, I shall require, in short space, your Imperial license for going hence, where I shall leave thousands ofenemies behind me, and spending my life, like many of my countrymen, under the banner of King William of Scotland"--

"Part with _thee_, most inimitable man!" cried the Emperor, withemphasis; "where shall I get a soldier--a champion--a friend--sofaithful?"

"Noble sir, " replied the Anglo-Saxon, "I am every way sensible to yourgoodness and munificence; but let me entreat you to call me by my ownname, and to promise me nothing but your forgiveness, for my havingbeen the agent of such confusion among your Imperial servants. Not onlyis the threatened fate of Achilles Tatius, my benefactor; of the Caesar, whom I think my well-wisher; and even of Agelastes himself, painful, sofar as it is of my bringing round; but also I have known it somehowhappen, that those on whom your Imperial Majesty has lavished the mostvaluable expressions of your favour one day, were the next day food tofatten the chough and crow. And this, I acknowledge, is a purpose, forwhich I would not willingly have it said I had brought my English limbsto these Grecian shores. "

"Call thee by thine own name, my Edward, " said the Emperor, (while hemuttered aside--"by Heaven, I have again forgot the name of thebarbarian!")--"by thine own name certainly for the present, but onlyuntil we shall devise one more fitted for the trust we repose in thee. Meantime, look at this scroll, which contains, I think, all theparticulars which we have been able to learn of this plot, and give itto these unbelieving women, who will not credit that an Emperor is indanger, till the blades of the conspirators' poniards are clashingwithin his ribs. "

Hereward did as he was commanded, and having looked at the scroll, andsignified, by bending his head, his acquiescence in its contents, hepresented it to Irene, who had not read long, ere, with a countenanceso embittered that she had difficulty in pointing out the cause of herdispleasure to her daughter, she bade her, with animation, "Read that--read that, and judge of the gratitude and affection of thy Caesar!"

The Princess Anna Comnena awoke from a state of profound andoverpowering melancholy, and looked at the passage pointed out to her, at first with an air of languid curiosity, which presently deepenedinto the most intense interest. She clutched the scroll as a falcondoes his prey, her eye lightened with indignation; and it was with thecry of the bird when in fury that she exclaimed, "Bloody-minded, double-hearted traitor! what wouldst thou have? Yes, father, " she said, rising in fury, "it is no longer the voice of a deceived princess thatshall intercede to avert from the traitor Nicephorus the doom he hasdeserved! Did he think that one born in the purple chamber could bedivorced--murdered, perhaps--with the petty formula of the Romans, 'Restore the keys---be no longer my domestic drudge?'[Footnote: Thelaconic form of the Roman divorce. ] Was a daughter of the blood ofComnenus liable to such insults as the meanest of Quirites might bestowon a family housekeeper!"

So saying, she dashed the tears from her eyes, and her countenance, naturally that of beauty and gentleness, became animated with theexpression of a fury. Hereward looked at her with a mixture of fear, dislike and compassion. She again burst forth, for nature having givenher considerable abilities, had lent her at the same time an energy ofpassion, far superior in power to the cold ambition of Irene, or thewily, ambidexter, shuffling policy of the Emperor. 

"He shall abye it, " said the Princess; "he shall dearly abye it! False, smiling, cozening traitor!--and for that unfeminine barbarian!Something of this I guessed, even at that old fool's banqueting-house;and yet if this unworthy Caesar submits his body to the chance of arms, he is less prudent than I have some reason to believe. Think you hewill have the madness to brand us with such open neglect, my father?and will you not invent some mode of ensuring our revenge?"

"Soh!" thought the Emperor, "this difficulty is over; she will run downhill to her revenge, and will need the snaffle and curb more than thelash. If every jealous dame in Constantinople were to pursue her furyas unrelentingly, our laws should be written, like Draco's, not in ink, but in blood. --Attend to me now, " he said aloud, "my wife, my daughter, and thou, dear Edward, and you shall learn, and you three only, my modeof navigating the vessel of the state through these shoals. "

"Let us see distinctly, " continued Alexius, "the means by which theypropose to act, and these shall instruct us how to meet them. A certainnumber of the Varangians are unhappily seduced, under pretence ofwrongs, artfully stirred up by their villanous general. A part of themare studiously to be arranged nigh our person--the traitor Ursel, someof them suppose, is dead, but if it were so, his name is sufficient todraw together his old factionaries--I have a means of satisfying themon that point, on which I shall remain silent for the present. --Aconsiderable body of the Immortal Guards have also given way toseduction; they are to be placed to support the handful of treacherousVarangians, who are in the plot to attack our person. --Now. A slightchange in the stations of the soldiery, which thou, my faithful Edward--or--a--a--whatever thou art named, --for which thou, I say, shalt havefull authority, will derange the plans of the traitors, and place thetrue men in such position around them as to cut them to pieces withlittle trouble. "

"And the combat, my lord?" said the Saxon. 

"Thou hadst been no true Varangian hadst thou not enquired after that, "said the Emperor, nodding good-humouredly towards him. "As to thecombat, the Caesar has devised it, and it shall be my care that heshall not retreat from the dangerous part of it. He cannot in honouravoid fighting with this woman, strange as the combat is; and howeverit ends, the conspiracy will break forth, and as assuredly as it comesagainst persons prepared, and in arms, shall it be stifled in the bloodof the conspirators!"

"My revenge does not require this, " said the Princess; "and yourImperial honour is also interested that this Countess shall beprotected. "

"It is little business of mine, " said the Emperor. "She comes here withher husband altogether uninvited. He behaves with insolence in mypresence, and deserves whatever may be the issue to himself or his ladyof their mad adventure. In sooth, I desired little more than to givehim a fright with those animals whom their ignorance judged enchanted, and to give his wife a slight alarm about the impetuosity of a Grecianlover, and there my vengeance should have ended. But it may be that hiswife may be taken under my protection, now that little revenge isover. "

"And a paltry revenge it was, " said the Empress, "that you, a man pastmiddle life, and with a wife who might command some attention, shouldconstitute yourself the object of alarm to such a handsome man as CountRobert, and the Amazon his wife. "

"By your favour, dame Irene, no, " said the Emperor. "I left that partof the proposed comedy to my son-in-law the Caesar. "

But when the poor Emperor had in some measure stopt one floodgate, heeffectually opened another, and one which was more formidable. "Themore shame to your Imperial wisdom, my father!" exclaimed the PrincessAnna Comnena; "it is a shame, that with wisdom and a beard like yours, you should be meddling in such indecent follies as admit disturbanceinto private families, and that family your own daughter's! Who can saythat the Caesar Nicephorus Briennius ever looked astray towards anotherwoman than his wife, till the Emperor taught him to do so, and involvedhim in a web of intrigue and treachery, in which he has endangered thelife of his father-in-law?"

"Daughter! daughter! daughter!"--said the Empress; "daughter of a she-wolf, I think, to goad her parent at such an unhappy time, when all theleisure he has is too little to defend his life!"

"Peace, I pray you, women both, with your senseless clamours, " answeredAlexius, "and let me at least swim for my life undisturbed with yourfolly. God knows if I am a man to encourage, I will not say the realityof wrong, but even its mere appearance!"

These words he uttered, crossing himself, with a devout groan. His wifeIrene, in the meantime, stept before him, and said, with a bitternessin her looks and accent, which only long-concealed nuptial hatredbreaking forth at once could convey, --"Alexius, terminate this affairhow it will, you have lived a hypocrite, and thou wilt not fail to dieone. " So saying, with an air of noble indignation, and carrying herdaughter along with her, she swept out of the apartment. 

The Emperor looked after her in some confusion. He soon, however, recovered his self-possession, and turning to Hereward, with a look ofinjured majesty, said, "Ah! my dear Edward, "---for the word had becomerooted in his mind, instead of the less euphonic name of Hereward, --"thou seest how it is even with the greatest, and that the Emperor, inmoments of difficulty, is a subject of misconstruction, as well as themeanest burgess of Constantinople; nevertheless, my trust is so greatin thee, Edward, that I would have thee believe, that my daughter, AnnaComnena, is not of the temper of her mother, but rather of my own;honouring, thou mayst see, with religious fidelity, the unworthy tieswhich I hope soon to break, and assort her with other fetters of Cupid, which shall be borne more lightly. Edward, my main trust is in thee. Accident presents us with an opportunity, happy of the happiest, so itbe rightly improved, of having all the traitors before us assembled onone fair field. Think, _then_, on that day, as the Franks say attheir tournaments, that fair eyes behold thee. Thou canst not devise agift within my power, but I will gladly load thee with it. "

"It needs not, " said the Varangian, somewhat coldly; "my highestambition is to merit the epitaph upon my tomb, 'Hereward was faithful. 'I am about, however, to demand a proof of your imperial confidence, which, perhaps, you may think a startling one. "

"Indeed!" said the Emperor. "What, in one word, is thy demand?"

"Permission, " replied Hereward, "to go to the Duke of Bouillon'sencampment, and entreat his presence in the lists, to witness thisextraordinary combat. "

"That he may return with his crusading madmen, " said the Emperor, "andsack Constantinople, under pretence of doing justice to hisConfederates? This, Varangian, is at least speaking thy mind openly. "

"No, by Heavens!" said Hereward suddenly; "the Duke of Bouillon shallcome with no more knights than may be a reasonable guard, shouldtreachery be offered to the Countess of Paris. "

"Well, even in this, " said the Emperor, "will I be conformable; and ifthou, Edward, betrayest my trust, think that thou forfeitest all thatmy friendship has promised, and dost incur, besides, the damnation thatis due to the traitor who betrays with a kiss. "

"For thy reward, noble sir, " answered the Varangian, "I hereby renounceall claim to it. When the diadem is once more firmly fixed upon thybrow, and the sceptre in thy hand, if I am then alive, if my poorservices should deserve so much, I will petition thee for the means ofleaving this court, and returning to the distant island in which I wasborn. Meanwhile, think me not unfaithful, because I have for a time themeans of being so with effect. Your Imperial Highness shall learn thatHereward is as true as is your right hand to your left. "--So saying, hetook his leave with a profound obeisance. 

The Emperor gazed after him with a countenance in which doubt wasmingled with admiration. 

"I have trusted him, " he said, "with all he asked, and with the powerof ruining me entirely, if such be his purpose. He has but to breathe awhisper, and the whole mad crew of crusaders, kept in humour at theexpense of so much current falsehood, and so much more gold, willreturn with fire and sword to burn down Constantinople, and sow withsalt the place where it stood. I have done what I had resolved never todo, --I have ventured kingdom and life on the faith of a man born ofwoman. How often have I said, nay, sworn, that I would not hazardmyself on such peril, and yet, step by step, I have done so! I cannottell--there is in that man's looks and words a good faith whichoverwhelms me; and, what is almost incredible, my belief in him hasincreased in proportion to his showing me how slight my power was overhim. I threw, like the wily angler, every bait I could devise, and someof them such as a king would scarcely have disdained; to none of thesewould he rise; but yet he gorges, I may say, the bare hook, and entersupon my service without a shadow of self-interest. --Can this be double-distilled treachery?--or can it be what men call disinterestedness?--IfI thought him false, the moment is not yet past--he has not yet crossedthe bridge--he has not passed the guards of the palace, who have nohesitation, and know no disobedience--But no--I were then alone in theland, and without a friend or confidant. --I hear the sound of the outergate unclose, the sense of danger certainly renders my ears more acutethan usual. --It shuts again--the die is cast. He is at liberty--andAlexius Comnenus must stand or fall, according to the uncertain faithof a mercenary Varangian. " He clapt his hands; a slave appeared, ofwhom he demanded wine. He drank, and his heart was cheered within him. "I am decided, " he said, "and will abide with resolution the cast ofthe throw, for good or for evil. "

So saying, he retired to his apartment, and was not again seen duringthat night. 

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND. 

 And aye, as if for death, some lonely trumpet peal'd. CAMPBELL. 

The Varangian, his head agitated with the weighty matters which imposedon him, stopt from time to time as he journeyed through the moonlightstreets, to arrest passing ideas as they shot through his mind, andconsider them with accuracy in all their bearings. His thoughts weresuch as animated or alarmed him alternately, each followed by aconfused throng of accompaniments which it suggested, and banishedagain in its turn by reflections of another description. It was one ofthose conjunctures when the minds of ordinary men feel themselvesunable to support a burden which is suddenly flung upon them, and when, on the contrary, those of uncommon fortitude, and that best of Heaven'sgifts, good sense, founded on presence of mind, feel their talentsawakened and regulated for the occasion, like a good steed under themanagement of a rider of courage and experience. 

As he stood in one of those fits of reverie, which repeatedly duringthat night arrested his stern military march, Hereward thought that hisear caught the note of a distant trumpet. This surprised him; a trumpetblown at that late hour, and in the streets of Constantinople, arguedsomething extraordinary; for as all military movements were the subjectof special ordinance, the etiquette of the night could hardly have beentransgressed without some great cause. The question was, what thatcause could be?

Had the insurrection broken out unexpectedly, and in a different mannerfrom what the conspirators proposed to themselves?--If so, his meetingwith his plighted bride, after so many years' absence, was but adelusive preface to their separating for ever. Or had the crusaders, arace of men upon whose motions it was difficult to calculate, suddenlytaken arms and returned from the opposite shore to surprise the city?This might very possibly be the case; so numerous had been thedifferent causes of complaint afforded to the crusaders, that, whenthey were now for the first time assembled into one body, and had heardthe stories which they could reciprocally tell concerning the perfidyof the Greeks, nothing was so likely, so natural, even perhaps sojustifiable, as that they should study revenge. 

But the sound rather resembled a point of war regularly blown, than thetumultuous blare of bugle-horns and trumpets, the accompaniments atonce, and the annunciation, of a taken town, in which the horridcircumstances of storm had not yet given place to such stern peace asthe victors' weariness of slaughter and rapine allows at length to thewretched inhabitants. Whatever it was, it was necessary that Herewardshould learn its purport, and therefore he made his way into a broadstreet near the barracks, from, which the sound seemed to come, towhich point, indeed, his way was directed for other reasons. 

The inhabitants of that quarter of the town did not appear violentlystartled by this military signal. The moonlight slept on the street, crossed by the gigantic shadowy towers of Sancta Sophia. No human beingappeared in the streets, and such as for an instant looked from theirdoors or from their lattices, seemed to have their curiosity quicklysatisfied, for they withdrew their heads, and secured the openingthrough which they had peeped. 

Hereward could not help remembering the traditions which were recountedby the fathers of his tribe, in the deep woods, of Hampshire, and whichspoke of invisible huntsmen, who were heard to follow with viewlesshorses and hounds the unseen chase through the depths of the forests ofGermany. Such it seemed were the sounds with which these haunted woodswere wont to ring while the wild chase was up; and with such apparentterror did the hearers listen to their clamour. 

"Fie!" he said, as he suppressed within him a tendency to the samesuperstitious fears; "do such childish fancies belong to a man trustedwith so much, and from whom so much is expected?" He paced down thestreet, therefore, with his battle-axe over his shoulder, and the firstperson whom he saw venturing to look out of his door, he questionedconcerning the cause of this military music at such an unaccustomedhour. 

"I cannot tell, so please you, my lord, " said the citizen, unwilling, it appeared, to remain in the open air, or to enter into conversation, and greatly disposed to decline further questioning. This was thepolitical citizen of Constantinople whom we met with at the beginningof this history, and who, hastily stepping into his habitation, eschewed all further conversation. 

The wrestler Stephanos showed himself at the next door, which wasgarlanded with oak and ivy leaves, in honour of some recent victory. Hestood unshrinking, partly encouraged by the consciousness of personalstrength, and partly by a rugged surliness of temper, which is oftenmistaken among persons of this kind for real courage. His admirer andflatterer, Lysimachus, kept himself ensconced behind his ampleshoulders. 

As Hereward passed, he put the same question as he did to the formercitizen, --"Know you the meaning of these trumpets sounding so late?"

"You should know best yourself, " answered Stephanos, doggedly; "for, tojudge by your axe and helmet, they are your trumpets, and not ours, which disturb honest men in their first sleep. "

"Varlet!" answered the Varangian, with an emphasis which made theprizer start, --"but--when that trumpet sounds, it is no time for asoldier to punish insolence as it deserves. "

The Greek started back and bolted into his house, nearly overthrowingin the speed of his retreat the artist Lysimachus, who was listening towhat passed. 

Hereward passed on to the barracks, where the military music had seemedto halt; but on the Varangian crossing the threshold of the amplecourtyard, it broke forth again with a tremendous burst, whose clangouralmost stunned him, though well accustomed to the sounds. "What is themeaning of this, Engelbrecht?" he said to the Varangian sentinel, whopaced axe in hand before the entrance. 

"The proclamation of a challenge and combat, " answered Engelbrecht. "Strange things towards, comrade; the frantic crusaders have bit theGrecians, and infected them with their humour of tilting, as they saydogs do each other with madness. "

Hereward made no reply to the sentinel's speech, but pressed forwardinto a knot of his fellow-soldiers who were assembled in the court, half-armed, or, more properly, in total disarray, as just arisen fromtheir beds, and huddled around the trumpets of their corps, which weredrawn out in full pomp. He of the gigantic instrument, whose duty itwas to intimate the express commands of the Emperor, was not wanting inhis place, and the musicians were supported by a band of the Varangiansin arms, headed by Achilles Tatius himself. Hereward could also notice, on approaching nearer, as his comrades made way for him, that six ofthe Imperial heralds were on duty on this occasion; four of these (twoacting at the same time) had already made proclamation, which was to berepeated for the third time by the two last, as was the usual fashionin Constantinople with Imperial mandates of great consequence. AchillesTatius, the moment he saw his confidant, made him a sign, whichHereward understood as conveying a desire to speak with him after theproclamation was over. The herald, after the flourish of trumpets wasfinished, commenced in. These words:

"By the authority of the resplendent and divine Prince Alexius Comnenus, Emperor of the most holy Roman Empire, his Imperial Majesty desires itto be made known to all and sundry the subjects of his empire, whatevertheir race of blood may be, or at whatever shrine of divinity theyhappen, to bend--Know ye, therefore, that upon the second day afterthis is dated, our beloved son-in-law, the much esteemed Caesar, hathtaken upon, him to do battle with our sworn enemy, Robert, Count ofParis, on account of his insolent conduct, by presuming publicly tooccupy our royal seat, and no less by breaking, in our Imperialpresence, those curious specimens of art, ornamenting our throne, called by tradition the Lions of Solomon. And that there may not remaina man in Europe who shall dare to say that the Grecians are behindother parts of the world in any of the manly exercises which Christiannations use, the said noble enemies, renouncing all assistance fromfalsehood, from spells, or from magic, shall debate this quarrel inthree courses with grinded spears, and three passages of arms withsharpened swords; the field to be at the judgment of the honourableEmperor, and to be decided at his most gracious and unerring pleasure. And so God show the right!"

Another formidable flourish of the trumpets concluded the ceremony. Achilles then dismissed the attendant troops, as well as the heraldsand musicians, to their respective quarters; and having got Herewardclose to his side, enquired of him whether he had learned any thing ofthe prisoner, Robert, Count of Paris. 

"Nothing, " said the Varangian, "save the tidings your proclamationcontains. "

"You think, then, " said Achilles, "that the Count has been a party toit. "

"He ought to have been so, " answered the Varangian. "I know no one buthimself entitled to take burden for his appearance in the lists. "

"Why, look you, " said the Acolyte, "my most excellent, though blunt-witted Hereward, this Caesar of ours hath had the extravagance toventure his tender wit in comparison to that of Achilles Tatius. Hestands upon his honour, too, this ineffable fool, and is displeasedwith the idea of being supposed either to challenge a woman, or toreceive a challenge at her hand. He has substituted, therefore, thename of the lord instead of the lady. If the Count fail to appear, theCaesar walks forward challenger and successful combatant at a cheaprate, since no one has encountered him, and claims that the lady shouldbe delivered up to him as a captive of his dreaded bow and spear. Thiswill be the signal for a general tumult, in which, if the Emperor benot slain on the spot, he will be conveyed to the dungeon of his ownBlacquernal, there to endure the doom which his cruelty has inflictedupon so many others. "

"But"---said the Varangian. 

"But---but--but, " said his officer; "but thou art a fool. Canst thounot see that this gallant Caesar is willing to avoid the risk ofencountering with this lady, while he earnestly desires to be supposedwilling to meet her husband? It is our business to fix the combat insuch a shape as to bring all who are prepared for insurrection togetherin arms to play their parts. Do thou only see that our trusty friendsare placed near to the Emperor's person, and in such a manner as tokeep from him the officious and meddling portion of guards, who may bedisposed to assist him; and whether the Caesar fights a combat withlord or lady, or whether there be any combat at all or not, therevolution shall be accomplished, and the Tatii shall replace theComneni upon the Imperial throne of Constantinople. Go, my trustyHereward. Thou wilt not forget that the signal word of the insurrectionis Ursel, who lives in the affections of the people, although his body, it is said, has long lain a corpse in the dungeons of the Blacquernal. "

"What was this Ursel, " said Hereward, "of whom I hear men talk sovariously?"

"A competitor for the crown with Alexius Comnenus--good, brave, andhonest; but overpowered by the cunning, rather than the skill orbravery of his foe. He died, as I believe, in the Blacquernal; thoughwhen, or how, there are few that can say. But, up and be doing, myHereward! Speak encouragement to the Varangians--Interest whomsoeverthou canst to join us. Of the Immortals, as they are called, and of thediscontented citizens, enough are prepared to fill up the cry, andfollow in the wake of those on whom we must rely as the beginners ofthe enterprise. No longer shall Alexius's cunning, in avoiding popularassemblies, avail to protect him; he cannot, with regard to his honour, avoid being present at a combat to be fought beneath his own eye; andMercury be praised for the eloquence which inspired him, after somehesitation, to determine for the proclamation!"

"You have seen him, then, this evening?" said the Varangian. 

"Seen him! Unquestionably, " answered the Acolyte. "Had I ordered thesetrumpets to be sounded without his knowledge, the blast had blown thehead from my shoulders. "

"I had wellnigh met you at the palace, " said Hereward; while his heartthrobbed almost as high as if he had actually had such a dangerousencounter. 

"I heard something of it, " said Achilles; "that you came to take theparting orders of him who now acts the sovereign. Surely, had I seenyou there, with that steadfast, open, seemingly honest countenance, cheating the wily Greek by very dint of bluntness, I had not forbornelaughing at the contrast between that and the thoughts of thy heart. "

"God alone, " said Hereward, "knows the thoughts of our hearts; but Itake him to witness, that I am faithful to my promise, and willdischarge the task intrusted to me. "

"Bravo! mine honest Anglo-Saxon, " said Achilles. "I pray thee to callmy slaves to unarm me; and when thou thyself doffest those weapons ofan ordinary life-guardsman, tell them they never shall above twicemore enclose the limbs of one for whom fate has much more fittinggarments in store. "

Hereward dared not intrust his voice with an answer to so critical aspeech; he bowed profoundly, and retired to his own quarters in thebuilding. 

Upon entering the apartment, he was immediately saluted by the voice ofCount Robert, in joyful accents, not suppressed by the fear of makinghimself heard, though prudence should have made that uppermost in hismind. 

"Hast thou heard it, my dear Hereward, " he said--"hast thou heard theproclamation, by which this Greek antelope hath defied me to tiltingwith grinded spears, and fighting three passages of arms with sharpenedswords? Yet there is something strange, too, that he should not thinkit safer to hold my lady to the encounter! He may think, perhaps, thatthe crusaders would not permit such a battle to be fought. But, by ourLady of the Broken Lances! he little knows that the men of the Westhold their ladies' character for courage as jealously as they do theirown. This whole night have I been considering in what armour I shallclothe me; what shift I shall make for a steed; and whether I shall nothonour him sufficiently by using Tranchefer, as my only weapon, againsthis whole armour, offensive and defensive. "

"I shall take care, however, " said Hereward, "that, thou art betterprovided in case of need. --Thou knowest not the Greeks. "

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-THIRD. 

The Varangian did not leave the Count of Paris until the latter had inhis hands his signet-ring, _semee_, (as the heralds express it, )_with lances splintered_, and bearing the proud motto, "Mine yetunscathed. " Provided with this symbol of confidence, it was now hisbusiness to take order for communicating the approaching solemnity tothe leader of the crusading army, and demanding from him, in the nameof Robert of Paris, and the Lady Brenhilda, such a detachment ofwestern cavaliers as might ensure strict observance of honour andhonesty in the arrangement of the lists, and during the progress of thecombat. The duties imposed on Hereward were such as to render itimpossible for him to proceed personally to the camp of Godfrey: andthough there were many of the Varangians in whose fidelity he couldhave trusted, he knew of none among those under his immediate commandwhose intelligence, on so novel an occasion, might be entirely dependedon. In this perplexity, he strolled, perhaps without well knowing why, to the gardens of Agelastes, where fortune once more produced him aninterview with Bertha. 

No sooner had Hereward made her aware of his difficulty, than thefaithful bower-maiden's resolution was taken. 

"I see, " said she, "that the peril of this part of the adventure mustrest with me; and wherefore should it not? My mistress, in the bosom ofprosperity, offered herself to go forth into the wide world for mysake; I will for hers go to the camp of this Frankish lord. He is anhonourable man, and a pious Christian, and his followers are faithfulpilgrims. A woman can have nothing to fear who goes to such men uponsuch an errand. "

The Varangian, however, was too well acquainted with the manners ofcamps to permit the fair Bertha to go alone. He provided, therefore, for her safe-guard a trusty old soldier, bound to his person by longkindness and confidence, and having thoroughly possessed her of theparticulars of the message she was to deliver, and desired her to be inreadiness without the enclosure at peep of dawn, returned once more tohis barracks. 

With the earliest light, Hereward was again at the spot where he hadparted overnight with Bertha, accompanied by the honest soldier towhose care he meant to confide her. In a short time, he had seen themsafely on board of a ferry-boat lying in the harbour; the master ofwhich readily admitted them, after some examination of their license, to pass to Scutari, which was forged in the name of the Acolyte, asauthorised by that foul conspirator, and which agreed with theappearance of old Osmund and his young charge. 

The morning was lovely; and erelong the town of Scutari opened on theview of the travellers, glittering, as now, with a variety ofarchitecture, which, though it might be termed fantastical, could notbe denied the praise of beauty. These buildings rose boldly out of athick grove of cypresses, and other huge trees, the larger, probably, as they were respected for filling the cemeteries, and being theguardians of the dead. 

At the period we mention, another circumstance, no less striking thanbeautiful, rendered doubly interesting a scene which must have been atall times greatly so. A large portion of that miscellaneous army whichcame to regain the holy places of Palestine, and the blessed Sepulchreitself, from the infidels, had established themselves in a camp withina mile, or thereabouts, of Scutari. Although, therefore, the crusaderswere destitute in a great measure of the use of tents, the army(excepting the pavilions of some leaders of high rank) had constructedfor themselves temporary huts, not unpleasing to the eye, beingdecorated with leaves and flowers, while the tall pennons and bannersthat floated over them with various devices, showed that the flower ofEurope were assembled at that place. A loud and varied murmur, resembling that of a thronged hive, floated from the camp of thecrusaders to the neighbouring town of Scutari, and every now and thenthe deep tone was broken by some shriller sound, the note of somemusical instrument, or the treble scream of some child or female, infear or in gaiety. 

The party at length landed in safety; and as they approached one of thegates of the camp, there sallied forth a brisk array of gallantcavaliers, pages, and squires, exercising their masters' horses ortheir own. From the noise they made, conversing at the very top oftheir voices, galloping, curvetting, and prancing their palfreys, itseemed as if their early discipline had called them to exercise ere thefumes of last night's revel were thoroughly dissipated by repose. Sosoon as they saw Bertha and her party, they approached them with crieswhich marked their country was Italy--"Al'erta! al'erta!--Roba deguadagno, cameradi!" [Footnote: That is--"Take heed! take heed! thereis booty, comrades!"]

They gathered round the Anglo-Saxon maiden and her companions, repeating their cries in a manner which made Bertha tremble. Theirgeneral demand was, "What was her business in their camp?"

"I would to the general-in-chief, cavaliers, " answered Bertha, "havinga secret message to his ear. "

"For whose ear?" said a leader of the party, a handsome youth of abouteighteen years of age, who seemed either to have a sounder brain thanhis fellows, or to have overflowed it with less wine. "Which of ourleaders do you come hither to see?" he demanded. 

"Godfrey of Bouillon. "

"Indeed!" said the page who had spoken first; "can nothing of lessconsequence serve thy turn? Take a look amongst us; young are we all, and reasonably wealthy. My Lord of Bouillon is old, and if he has anysequins, he is not like to lavish them in this way. "

"Still I have a token to Godfrey of Bouillon, " answered Bertha, "anassured one; and he will little thank any who obstructs my free passageto him;" and therewithal showing a little case, in which the signet ofthe Count of Paris was enclosed, "I will trust it in your hands, " shesaid, "if you promise not to open it, but to give me free access to thenoble leader of the crusaders. "

"I will, " said the youth, "and if such be the Duke's pleasure, thoushalt be admitted to him. "

"Ernest the Apulian, thy dainty Italian wit is caught in a trap, " saidone of his companions. 

"Thou art an ultramontane fool, Polydore, " returned Ernest; "there maybe more in this than either thy wit or mine is able to fathom. Thismaiden and one of her attendants wear a dress belonging to theVarangian Imperial guard. They have perhaps been intrusted with amessage from the Emperor, and it is not irreconcilable with Alexius'spolitics to send it through such messengers as these. Let us, therefore, convey them in all honour to the General's tent. "

"With all my heart, " said Polydore. "A blue-eyed wench is a prettything, but I like not the sauce of the camp-marshal, nor his taste inattiring men who gave way to temptation. [Footnote: Persons among theCrusaders found guilty of certain offences, did penance in a dress oftar and feathers though it is supposed a punishment of moderninvention. ] Yet, ere I prove a fool like my companion, I would ask whoor what this pretty maiden is, who comes to put noble princes and holypilgrims in mind that they have in their time had the follies of men?"

Bertha advanced and whispered in the ear of Ernest. Meantime jokefollowed jest, among Polydore and the rest of the gay youths, inriotous and ribald succession, which, however characteristic of therude speakers, may as well be omitted here. Their effect was to shakein some degree the fortitude of the Saxon maiden, who had somedifficulty in mustering courage to address them. "As you have mothers, gentlemen, " she said, "as you have fair sisters, whom you would protectfrom dishonour with your best blood--as you love and honour those holyplaces which you are sworn to free from the infidel enemy, havecompassion on me, that you may merit success in your undertaking!"

"Fear nothing, maiden, " said Ernest, "I will be your protector; and you, my comrades, be ruled by me. I have, during your brawling, taken a view, though somewhat against my promise, of the pledge which she bears, andif she who presents it is affronted or maltreated, be assured Godfreyof Bouillon will severely avenge the wrong done her. "

"Nay, comrade, if thou canst warrant us so much, " said Polydore, "Iwill myself be most anxious to conduct the young woman in honour andsafety to Sir Godfrey's tent. "

"The Princes, " said Ernest, "must be nigh meeting there in council. What I have said I will warrant and uphold with hand and life. More Imight guess, but I conclude this sensible young maiden can speak forherself. "

"Now, Heaven bless thee, gallant squire, " said Bertha, "and make theealike brave and fortunate! Embarrass yourself no farther about me, thanto deliver me safe to your leader, Godfrey. "

"We spend time, " said Ernest, springing from his horse. "You are nosoft Eastern, fair maid, and I presume you will find yourself under nodifficulty in managing a quiet horse?"

"Not the least, " said Bertha, as, wrapping herself in her cassock, shesprung from the ground, and alighted upon the spirited palfrey, as alinnet stoops upon a rose-bush. "And now, sir, as my business reallybrooks no delay, I will be indebted to you to show me instantly to thetent of Duke Godfrey of Bouillon. "

By availing herself of this courtesy of the young Apulian, Berthaimprudently separated herself from the old Varangian; but theintentions of the youth were honourable, and he conducted her throughthe tents and huts to the pavilion of the celebrated General-in-chiefof the Crusade. 

"Here, " he said, "you must tarry for a space, under the guardianship ofmy companions, " (for two or three of the pages had accompanied them, out of curiosity to see the issue, ) "and I will take the commands ofthe Duke of Bouillon upon the subject. "

To this nothing could be objected, and Bertha had nothing better to do, than to admire the outside of the tent, which, in one of Alexius's fitsof generosity and munificence, had been presented by the Greek Emperorto the Chief of the Franks. It was raised upon tall spear-shaped poles, which had the semblance of gold; its curtains were of thick stuff, manufactured of silk, cotton, and gold thread. The warders who stoodround, were (at least during the time that the council was held) oldgrave men, the personal squires of the body, most of them, of thesovereigns who had taken the Cross, and who could, therefore, betrusted as a guard over the assembly, without danger of their blabbingwhat they might overhear. Their appearance was serious and considerate, and they looked like men who had taken upon them the Cross, not as anidle adventure of arms, but as a purpose of the most solemn and seriousnature. One of these stopt the Italian, and demanded what businessauthorized him to press forward into the council of the crusaders, whowere already taking their seats. The page answered by giving his name, "Ernest of Otranto, page of Prince Tancred;" and stated that heannounced a young woman, who bore a token to the Duke of Bouillon, adding that it was accompanied by a message for his own ear. 

Bertha, meantime, laid aside her mantle, or upper garment, and disposedthe rest of her dress according to the Anglo-Saxon costume. She hadhardly completed this task, before the page of Prince Tancred returned, to conduct her into the presence of the council of the Crusade. Shefollowed his signal; while the other young men who had accompanied her, wondering at the apparent ease with which she gained admittance, drewback to a respectful distance from the tent, and there canvassed thesingularity of their morning's adventure. 

In the meanwhile, the ambassadress herself entered the council chamber, exhibiting an agreeable mixture of shamefacedness and reserve, togetherwith a bold determination to do her duty at all events. There wereabout fifteen of the principal crusaders assembled in council, withtheir chieftain Godfrey. He himself was a tall strong man, arrived atthat period of life in--which men are supposed to have lost none oftheir resolution, while they have acquired a wisdom and circumspectionunknown to their earlier years. The countenance of Godfrey bespoke bothprudence and boldness, and resembled his hair, where a few threads ofsilver were already mingled with his raven locks. 

Tancred, the noblest knight of the Christian chivalry, sat at no greatdistance from him, with Hugh, Earl of Vermandois, generally called theGreat Count, the selfish and wily Bohemond, the powerful Raymond ofProvence, and others of the principal crusaders, all more or lesscompletely sheathed in armour. 

Bertha did not allow her courage to be broken down, but advancing witha timid grace towards Godfrey, she placed in his hands the signet whichhad been restored to her by the young page, and after a deep obeisance, spoke these words: "Godfrey, Count of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine theLower, Chief of the Holy Enterprise called the Crusade, and you, hisgallant comrades, peers, and companions, by whatever titles you may behonoured, I, an humble maiden of England, daughter of Engelred, originally a franklin of Hampshire, and since Chieftain of theForesters, or free Anglo-Saxons, under the command of the celebratedEdric, do claim what credence is due to the bearer of the true pledgewhich I put into your hand, on the part of one not the leastconsiderable of your own body, Count Robert of Paris"---

"Our most honourable confederate, " said Godfrey, looking at the ring. "Most of you, my lords, must, I think, know this signet--a field sownwith the fragments of many splintered lances. " The signet was handedfrom one of the Assembly to another, and generally recognised. 

When Godfrey had signified so much, the maiden resumed her message. "Toall true crusaders, therefore, comrades of Godfrey of Bouillon, andespecially to the Duke himself, --to all, I say, excepting Bohemond ofTarentum, whom he counts unworthy of his notice"--

"Hah! me unworthy of his notice, " said Bohemond. "What mean you by that, damsel?--But the Count of Paris shall answer it to me. "

"Under your favour, Sir Bohemond, " said Godfrey, "no. Our articlesrenounce the sending of challenges among ourselves, and the matter, ifnot dropt betwixt the parties, must be referred to the voice of thishonourable council. "

"I think I guess the business now, my lord, " said Bohemond. "The Countof Paris is disposed to turn and tear me, because I offered him goodcounsel on the evening before we left Constantinople, when he neglectedto accept or be guided by it"--

"It will be the more easily explained when we have heard his message, "said Godfrey. --"Speak forth Lord Robert of Paris's charge, damsel, thatwe may take some order with that which now seems a perplexed business. "

Bertha resumed her message; and, having briefly narrated the recentevents, thus concluded:--"The battle is to be done to-morrow, about twohours after daybreak, and the Count entreats of the noble Duke ofLorraine that he will permit some fifty of the lances of France toattend the deed of arms, and secure that fair and honourable conductwhich he has otherwise some doubts of receiving at the hands of hisadversary. Or if any young and gallant knight should, of his own freewill, wish to view the said combat, the Count will feel his presence asan honour; always he desires that the name of such knight be numberedcarefully with the armed crusaders who shall attend in the lists, andthat the whole shall be limited, by Duke Godfrey's own inspection, tofifty lances only, which are enough to obtain the protection required, while more would be considered as a preparation for aggression upon theGrecians, and occasion the revival of disputes which are now happily atrest. "

Bertha had no sooner finished delivering her manifesto, and made withgreat grace her obeisance to the council, than a sort of whisper tookplace in the assembly, which soon assumed a more lively tone. 

Their solemn vow not to turn their back upon Palestine, now that theyhad set their hands to the plough, was strongly urged by some of theelder knights of the council, and two or three high prelates, who hadby this time entered to take share in the deliberations. The youngknights, on the other hand, were fired with indignation on hearing themanner in which their comrade had been trepanned; and few of them couldthink of missing a combat in the lists in a country in which suchsights were so rare, and where one was to be fought so near them. 

Godfrey rested his brow on his hand, and seemed in great perplexity. Tobreak with the Greeks, after having suffered so many injuries in orderto maintain the advantage of keeping the peace with them, seemed veryimpolitic, and a sacrifice of all he had obtained by a long course ofpainful forbearance towards Alexius Comnenus. On the other hand, hewas bound as a man of honour to resent the injury offered to CountRobert of Paris, whose reckless spirit of chivalry made him the darlingof the army. It was the cause, too, of a beautiful lady, and a braveone: every knight in the host would think himself bound, by his vow, tohasten to her defence. When Godfrey spoke, it was to complain of thedifficulty of the determination, and the short time there was toconsider the case. 

"With submission to my Lord Duke of Lorraine, " said Tancred, "I was aknight ere I was a crusader, and took on me the vows of chivalry, ere Iplaced this blessed, sign upon my shoulder: the vow first made must befirst discharged. I will therefore do penance for neglecting, for aspace, the obligations of the second vow, while I observe that whichrecalls me to the first duty of knighthood, --the relief of a distressedlady in the hands of men whose conduct towards her, and towards thishost, in every respect entitles me to call them treacherous faitours. "

"If my kinsman Tancred, " said Bohemond, "will check his impetuosity, and you, my lords, will listen, as you have sometimes deigned to do, tomy advice, I think I can direct you how to keep clear of any breach ofyour oath, and yet fully to relieve our distressed fellow-pilgrims. --Isee some suspicious looks are cast towards me, which are caused perhapsby the churlish manner in which this violent, and, in this case, almostinsane young warrior, has protested against receiving my assistance. Mygreat offence is the having given him warning, by precept and example, of the treachery which was about to be practised against him, andinstructed him to use forbearance and temperance. My warning healtogether contemned--my example he neglected to follow, and fell intothe snare which was spread, as it were, before his very eyes. Yet theCount of Paris, in rashly contemning me, has acted only from a temperwhich misfortune and disappointment have rendered irrational andfrantic. I am so far from bearing him ill-will, that, with yourlordship's permission, and that of the present council, I will haste tothe place of rendezvous with fifty lances, making up the retinue whichattends upon each to at least ten men, which will make the stipulatedauxiliary force equal to five hundred; and with these I can have littledoubt of rescuing the Count and his lady. "

"Nobly proposed, " said the Duke of Bouillon; "and with a charitableforgiveness of injuries which becomes our Christian expedition. Butthou hast forgot the main difficulty, brother Bohemond, that we aresworn never to turn back upon the sacred journey. "

"If we can elude that oath upon the present occasion, " said Bohemond, "it becomes our duty to do so. Are we such bad horsemen, or are oursteeds so awkward, that we cannot rein them back from this to thelanding-place at Scutari? We can get them on shipboard in the sameretrograde manner, and when we arrive in Europe, where our vow binds usno longer, the Count and Countess of Paris are rescued, and our vowremains entire in the Chancery of Heaven. "

A general shout arose--"Long life to the gallant Bohemond!--Shame to usif we do not fly to the assistance of so valiant a knight, and a ladyso lovely, since we can do so without breach of our vow. "

"The question, " said Godfrey, "appears to me to be eluded rather thansolved; yet such evasions have been admitted by the most learned andscrupulous clerks; nor do I hesitate to admit of Bohemond's expedient, any more than if the enemy had attacked our rear, which might haveoccasioned our countermarching to be a case of absolute necessity. "

Some there were in the assembly, particularly the churchmen, inclinedto think that the oath by which the crusaders had solemnly boundthemselves, ought to be as literally obeyed. But Peter the Hermit, whohad a place in the council, and possessed great weight, declared it ashis opinion, "That since the precise observance of their vow would tendto diminish the forces of the crusade, it was in fact unlawful, andshould not be kept according to the literal meaning, if, by a fairconstruction, it could be eluded. "

He offered himself to back the animal which he bestrode--that is, hisass; and though he was diverted from showing this example by theremonstrances of Godfrey of Bouillon, who was afraid of his becoming ascandal in the eyes of the heathen, yet he so prevailed by hisarguments, that the knights, far from scrupling to countermarch, eagerly contended which should have the honour of making one of theparty which should retrograde to Constantinople, see the combat, andbring back to the host in safety the valorous Count of Paris, of whosevictory no one doubted, and his Amazonian Countess. 

This emulation was also put an end to by the authority of Godfrey, whohimself selected the fifty knights who were to compose the party. Theywere chosen from different nations, and the command of the whole wasgiven to young Tancred of Otranto. Notwithstanding the claim ofBohemond, Godfrey detained the latter, under the pretext that hisknowledge of the country and people was absolutely necessary to enablethe council to form the plan of the campaign in Syria; but in realityhe dreaded the selfishness of a man of great ingenuity as well asmilitary skill, who, finding himself in a separate command, might betempted, should opportunities arise, to enlarge his own power anddominion, at the expense of the pious purposes of the crusade ingeneral. The younger men of the expedition were chiefly anxious toprocure such horses as had been thoroughly trained, and could gothrough with ease and temper the manoeuvre of equitation, by which itwas designed to render legitimate the movement which they had recourseto. The selection was at length made, and the detachment ordered todraw up in the rear, or upon the eastward line of the Christianencampment. In the meanwhile, Godfrey charged Bertha with a message forthe Count of Paris, in which, slightly censuring him for not observingmore caution in his intercourse with the Greeks, he informed him thathe had sent a detachment of fifty lances, with the correspondingsquires, pages, men-at-arms, and cross-bows, five hundred in number, commanded by the valiant Tancred, to his assistance. The Duke alsoinformed him, that he had added a suit of armour of the best temperMilan could afford, together with a trusty war-horse, which heentreated him to use upon the field of battle; for Bertha had notomitted to intimate Count Robert's want of the means of knightlyequipment. The horse was brought before the pavilion accordingly, completely barbed or armed in steel, and laden with armour for theknight's body. Godfrey himself put the bridle into Bertha's hand. 

"Thou need'st not fear to trust thyself with this steed, he is asgentle and docile as he is fleet and brave. Place thyself on his back, and take heed thou stir not from the side of the noble Prince Tancredof Otranto, who will be the faithful defender of a maiden that has thisday shown dexterity, courage, and fidelity. "

Bertha bowed low, as her cheeks glowed at praise from one whose talentsand worth were in such general esteem, as to have raised him to thedistinguished situation of leader of a host which numbered in it thebravest and most distinguished captains of Christendom. 

"Who are yon two persons?" continued Godfrey, speaking of thecompanions of Bertha, whom he saw in the distance before the tent. 

"The one, " answered the damsel, "is the master of the ferry-boat whichbrought me over; and the other an old Varangian who came hither as myprotector. "

"As they may come to employ their eyes here, and their tongues on theopposite side, " returned the general of the crusaders, "I do not thinkit prudent to let them accompany you. They shall remain here for someshort time. The citizens of Scutari will not comprehend for some spacewhat our intention is, and I could wish Prince Tancred and hisattendants to be the first to announce their own arrival. "

Bertha accordingly intimated the pleasure of the French general to theparties, without naming his motives; when the ferryman began to exclaimon the hardship of intercepting him in his trade; and Osmund tocomplain of being detained from his duties. But Bertha, by the ordersof Godfrey, left them, with the assurance that they would be soon atliberty. Finding themselves thus abandoned, each applied himself to hisfavourite amusement. The ferryman occupied himself in staring about atall that was new; and Osmund, having in the meantime accepted an offerof breakfast from some of the domestics, was presently engaged with aflask of such red wine as would have reconciled him to a worse lot thanthat which he at present experienced. 

The detachment of Tancred, fifty spears and their armed retinue, whichamounted fully to five hundred men, after having taken a short andhasty refreshment, were in arms and mounted before the sultry hour ofnoon. After some manoeuvres, of which the Greeks of Scutari, whosecuriosity was awakened by the preparations of the detachment, were at aloss to comprehend the purpose, they formed into a single column, having four men in front. When the horses were in this position, thewhole riders at once began to rein back. The action was one to whichboth the cavaliers and their horses were well accustomed, nor did it atfirst afford much surprise to the spectators; but when the sameretrograde evolution was continued, and the body of crusaders seemedabout to enter the town of Scutari in so extraordinary a fashion, someidea of the truth began to occupy the citizens. The cry at length wasgeneral, when Tancred and a few others, whose horses were unusuallywell-trained, arrived at the port, and possessed themselves of a galley, into which they led their horses, and, disregarding all opposition fromthe Imperial officers of the haven, pushed the vessel off from theshore. 

Other cavaliers did not accomplish their purpose so easily; the riders, or the horses, were less accustomed to continue in the constrained pacefor such a considerable length of time, so that many of the knights, having retrograded for one or two hundred yards, thought their vow wassufficiently observed by having so far deferred to it, and riding inthe ordinary manner into the town, seized without farther ceremony onsome vessels, which, notwithstanding the orders of the Greek Emperor, had been allowed to remain on the Asiatic side of the strait. Some lessable horsemen met with various accidents; for though it was a proverbof the time, that nothing was so bold as a blind horse, yet from thismode of equitation, where neither horse nor rider saw the way he wasgoing, some steeds were overthrown, others backed upon dangerousobstacles; and the bones of the cavaliers themselves suffered much morethan would have been the case in an ordinary march. 

Those horsemen, also, who met with falls, incurred the danger of beingslain by the Greeks, had not Godfrey, surmounting his religiousscruples, despatched a squadron to extricate them--a task which theyperformed with great ease. The greater part of Tancred's followerssucceeded in embarking, as was intended, nor was there more than ascore or two finally amissing. To accomplish their voyage, however, even the Prince of Otranto himself, and most of his followers, wereobliged to betake themselves to the unknightly labours of the oar. Thisthey found extremely difficult, as well from the state both of the tideand the wind, as from the want of practice at the exercise. Godfrey inperson viewed their progress anxiously, from a neighbouring height, andperceived with regret the difficulty which they found in making theirway, which was still more increased by the necessity for their keepingin a body, and waiting for the slowest and worst manned vessels, whichconsiderably detained those that were more expeditious. They made someprogress, however; nor had the commander-in-chief the least doubt, thatbefore sunset they would safely reach the opposite side of the strait. 

He retired at length from his post of observation, having placed acareful sentinel in his stead, with directions to bring him word theinstant that the detachment reached the opposite shore. This thesoldier could easily discern by the eye, if it was daylight at thetime; if, on the contrary, it was night before they could arrive, thePrince of Otranto had orders to show certain lights, which, in case oftheir meeting resistance from the Greeks, should be arranged in apeculiar manner, so as to indicate danger. 

Godfrey then explained to the Greek authorities of Scutari, whom hesummoned before him, the necessity there was that he should keep inreadiness such vessels as could be procured, with which, in case ofneed, he was determined to transport a strong division from his army tosupport those who had gone before. He then rode back to his camp, theconfused murmurs of which, rendered more noisy by the variousdiscussions concerning the events of the day, rolled off from thenumerous host of the crusaders, and mingled with the hoarse sound ofthe many-billowed Hellespont. 

CHAPTER THE TWENTH-FOURTH. 

 All is prepared--the chambers of the mine Are cramm'd with the combustible, which, harmless While yet unkindled, as the sable sand, Needs but a spark to change its nature so, That he who wakes it from its slumbrous mood, Dreads scarce the explosion less than he who knows That 'tis his towers which meet its fury. ANONYMOUS. 

When the sky is darkened suddenly, and the atmosphere grows thick andstifling, the lower ranks of creation entertain the ominous sense of acoming tempest. The birds fly to the thickets, the wild creaturesretreat to the closest covers which their instinct gives them the habitof frequenting, and domestic animals show their apprehension of theapproaching thunderstorm by singular actions and movements inferringfear and disturbance. 

It seems that human nature, when its original habits are cultivated andattended to, possesses, on similar occasions, something of thatprescient foreboding, which announces the approaching tempest to theinferior ranks of creation. The cultivation of our intellectual powersgoes perhaps too far, when it teaches us entirely to suppress anddisregard those natural feelings, which were originally designed assentinels by which nature warned us of impending danger. 

Something of the kind, however, still remains, and that species offeeling which announces to us sorrowful or alarming tidings, may besaid, like the prophecies of the weird sisters, to come over us like asudden cloud. 

During the fatal day which was to precede the combat of the Caesar withthe Count of Paris, there were current through the city ofConstantinople the most contradictory, and at the same time the mostterrific reports. Privy conspiracy, it was alleged, was on the very eveof breaking out; open war, it was reported by others, was about toshake her banners over the devoted city; the precise cause was notagreed upon, any more than the nature of the enemy. Some said that thebarbarians from the borders of Thracia, the Hungarians, as they weretermed, and the Comani, were on their march from the frontiers tosurprise the city; another report stated that the Turks, who, duringthis period, were established in Asia, had resolved to prevent thethreatened attack of the crusaders upon Palestine, by surprising notonly the Western Pilgrims, but the Christians of the East, by one oftheir innumerable invasions, executed with their characteristicrapidity. 

Another report, approaching more near to the truth, declared that thecrusaders themselves, having discovered their various causes ofcomplaint against Alexius Comnenus, had resolved to march back theirunited forces to the capital, with a view of dethroning or chastisinghim; and the citizens were dreadfully alarmed for the consequences ofthe resentment of men so fierce in their habits and so strange in theirmanners. In short, although they did not all agree on the precise causeof danger, it was yet generally allowed that something of a dreadfulkind was impending, which appeared to be in a certain degree confirmedby the motions that were taking place among the troops. The Varangians, as well as the Immortals, were gradually assembled, and placed inoccupation of the strongest parts of the city, until at length thefleet of galleys, row-boats, and transports, occupied by Tancred andhis party, were observed to put themselves in motion from Scutari, andattempt to gain such a height in the narrow sea, as upon the turn ofthe tide should transport them to the port of the capital. 

Alexius Comnenus was himself struck at this unexpected movement on thepart of the crusaders. Yet, after some conversation with Hereward, onwhom he had determined to repose his confidence, and had now gone toofar to retreat, he became reassured, the more especially by the limitedsize of the detachment which seemed to meditate so bold a measure as anattack upon his capital. To those around him he said with carelessness, that it was hardly to be supposed that a trumpet could blow to thecharge, within hearing of the crusaders' camp, without some out of somany knights coming forth to see the cause and the issue of theconflict. 

The conspirators also had their secret fears when the little armamentof Tancred had been seen on the straits. Agelastes mounted a mule, andwent to the shore of the sea, at the place now called Galata. He metBertha's old ferryman, whom Godfrey had set at liberty, partly incontempt, and partly that the report he was likely to make, might serveto amuse the conspirators in the city. Closely examined by Agelastes, he confessed that the present detachment, so far as he understood, wasdespatched at the instance of Bohemond, and was under the command ofhis kinsman Tancred, whose well-known banner was floating from theheadmost vessel. This gave courage to Agelastes, who, in the course ofhis intrigues, had opened a private communication with the wily andever mercenary Prince of Antioch. The object of the philosopher hadbeen to obtain from Bohemond a body of his followers to co-operate inthe intended conspiracy, and fortify the party of insurgents. It istrue, that Bohemond had returned no answer, but the account now givenby the ferryman, and the sight of Tancred the kinsman of Bohemond'sbanner displayed on the straits, satisfied the philosopher that hisoffers, his presents, and his promises, had gained to his side theavaricious Italian, and that this band had been selected by Bohemond, and were coming to act in his favour. 

As Agelastes turned to go off, he almost jostled a person, as muchmuffled up, and apparently as unwilling to be known, as the philosopherhimself. Alexius Comnenus, however--for it was the Emperor himself--knew Agelastes, though rather from his stature and gestures, than hiscountenance; and could not forbear whispering in his ear, as he passed, the well-known lines, to which the pretended sage's variousacquisitions gave some degree of point:--

 "Grammaticus, rhetor, geometres, pictor, aliptes, Augur, schoenobates, medicus, magus; omnia novit. Graeculus esuriens in caelum, jusseris, ibit. " [Footnote: Thelines of Juvenal imitated by Johnson in his _London_-- "All sciences a fasting Monsieur knows, And bid him go to hell--to hell he goes. "]

Agelastes first started at the unexpected sound of the Emperor's voice, yet immediately recovered presence of mind, the want of which had madehim suspect himself betrayed; and without taking notice of the rank ofthe person to whom he spoke, he answered by a quotation which shouldreturn the alarm he had received. The speech that suggested itself wassaid to be that which the Phantom of Cleonice dinned into the ears ofthe tyrant who murdered her:--

 "Tu cole justitiam; toque atque alios manet ultor. " [Footnote: "Dothou cultivate justice: for thee and for others there remains anavenger. "--_Ovid. Met. _]

The sentence, and the recollections which accompanied it, thrilledthrough the heart of the Emperor, who walked on, however, without anynotice or reply. 

"The vile conspirator, " he said, "had his associates around him, otherwise he had not hazarded that threat. Or it may have been worse--Agelastes himself, on the very brink of this world, may have obtainedthat singular glance into futurity proper to that situation, andperhaps speaks less from his own reflection than from a strange spiritof prescience, which dictates his words. Have I then in earnest sinnedso far in my imperial duty, as to make it just to apply to me thewarning used by the injured Cleonice to her ravisher and murderer?Methinks I have not. Methinks that at less expense than that of a justseverity, I could ill have kept my seat in the high place where Heavenhas been pleased to seat me, and where, as a ruler, I am bound tomaintain my station. Methinks the sum of those who have experienced myclemency may be well numbered with that of such as have sustained thedeserved punishments of their guilt--But has that vengeance, howeverdeserved in itself, been always taken in a legal or justifiable manner?My conscience, I doubt, will hardly answer so home a question; andwhere is the man, had he the virtues of Antoninus himself, that canhold so high and responsible a place, yet sustain such an interrogationas is implied in that sort of warning which I have received from thistraitor? _Tu cole justitiam_--we all need to use justice toothers--_Teque atque alios manet ultor_--we are all amenable to anavenging being--I will see the Patriarch--instantly will I see him; andby confessing my transgressions to the Church, I will, by her plenaryindulgence, acquire the right of spending the last day of my reign in aconsciousness of innocence, or at least of pardon--a state of mindrarely the lot of those whose lines have fallen in lofty places. "

So saying, he passed to the palace of Zosimus the Patriarch, to whom hecould unbosom himself with more safety, because he had long consideredAgelastes as a private enemy to the Church, and a man attached to theancient doctrines of heathenism. In the councils of the state they werealso opposed to each other, nor did the Emperor doubt, that incommunicating the secret of the conspiracy to the Patriarch, he wassure to attain a loyal and firm supporter in the defence which heproposed to himself. He therefore gave a signal by a low whistle, and aconfidential officer, well mounted, approached him, who attended him inhis ride, though unostentatiously, and at some distance. 

In this manner, therefore, Alexius Comnenus proceeded to the palace ofthe Patriarch, with as much speed as was consistent with his purpose ofavoiding to attract any particular notice as he passed through thestreet. During the whole ride, the warning of Agelastes repeatedlyoccurred to him, and his conscience reminded him of too many actions ofhis reign which could only be justified by necessity, emphatically saidto be the tyrant's plea, and which were of themselves deserving thedire vengeance so long delayed. 

When he came in sight of the splendid towers which adorned the front ofthe patriarchal palace, he turned aside from the lofty gates, repairedto a narrow court, and again giving his mule to his attendant, he stoptbefore a postern, whose low arch and humble architrave seemed toexclude the possibility of its leading to any place of importance. Onknocking, however, a priest of an inferior order opened the door, who, with a deep reverence, received the Emperor so soon as he had madehimself known, and conducted him into the interior of the palace. Demanding a secret interview with the Patriarch, Alexius was thenushered into his private library, where he was received by the agedpriest with the deepest respect, which the nature of his communicationsoon changed into horror and astonishment. 

Although Alexius was supposed by many of his own court, andparticularly by some members of his own family, to be little betterthan a hypocrite in his religious professions, yet such severeobservers were unjust in branding him with a name so odious. He wasindeed aware of the great support which he received from the goodopinion of the clergy, and to them he was willing to make sacrificesfor the advantage of the Church, or of individual prelates whomanifested fidelity to the crown; but though, on the one hand, suchsacrifices were rarely made by Alexius, without a view to temporalpolicy, yet, on the other, he regarded them as recommended by hisdevotional feelings, and took credit to himself for various grants andactions, as dictated by sincere piety, which, in another aspect, werethe fruits of temporal policy. His mode of looking on these measureswas that of a person with oblique vision, who sees an object in adifferent manner, according to the point from which he chances tocontemplate it. 

The Emperor placed his own errors of government before the Patriarch inhis confession, giving due weight to every branch of morality as itoccurred, and stripping from them the lineaments and palliativecircumstances which had in his own imagination lessened their guilt. The Patriarch heard, to his astonishment, the real thread of many acourt intrigue, which had borne a very different appearance, till theEmperor's narrative either justified his conduct upon the occasion, orleft it totally unjustifiable. Upon the whole, the balance wascertainly more in favour of Alexius than the Patriarch had supposedlikely in that more distant view he had taken of the intrigues of thecourt, when, as usual, the ministers and the courtiers endeavoured tomake up for the applause which they had given in council in the mostblameable actions of the absolute monarch, by elsewhere imputing to hismotives greater guilt than really belonged to them. Many men who hadfallen sacrifices, it was supposed to the personal spleen or jealousyof the Emperor, appeared to have been in fact removed from life, orfrom liberty, because their enjoying either was inconsistent with thequiet of the state and the safety of the monarch. 

Zosimus also learned, what he perhaps already suspected, that amidstthe profound silence of despotism which seemed to pervade the Grecianempire, it heaved frequently with convulsive throes, which ever andanon made obvious the existence of a volcano under the surface. Thus, while smaller delinquencies, or avowed discontent with the Imperialgovernment, seldom occurred, and were severely punished when they did, the deepest and most mortal conspiracies against the life and theauthority of the Emperor were cherished by those nearest to his person;and he was often himself aware of them, though it was not until theyapproached an explosion that he dared act upon his knowledge, andpunish the conspirators. 

The whole treason of the Caesar, with his associates, Agelastes andAchilles Tatius, was heard by the Patriarch with wonder andastonishment, and he was particularly surprised at the dexterity withwhich the Emperor, knowing the existence of so dangerous a conspiracyat home, had been able to parry the danger from the crusaders occurringat the same moment. 

"In that respect, " said the Emperor, to whom indeed the churchmanhinted his surprise, "I have been singularly unfortunate. Had I beensecure of the forces of my own empire, I might have taken one out oftwo manly and open courses with these frantic warriors of the west--Imight, my reverend father, have devoted the sums paid to Bohemond andother of the more selfish among the crusaders, to the honest and opensupport of the army of western Christians, and safely transported themto Palestine, without exposing them to the great loss which they arelikely to sustain by the opposition of the Infidels; their successwould have been in fact my own, and a Latin kingdom in Palestine, defended by its steel-clad warriors, would have been a safe andunexpugnable barrier of the empire against the Saracens, Or, if it wasthought more expedient for the protection of the empire and the holyChurch, over which you are ruler, we might at once, and by open force, have defended the frontiers of our states, against a host commanded byso many different and discording chiefs, and advancing upon us withsuch equivocal intentions. If the first swarm of these locusts, underhim whom they called Walter the Penniless, was thinned by theHungarians, and totally destroyed by the Turks, as the pyramids ofbones on the frontiers of the country still keep in memory, surely theunited forces of the Grecian empire would have had little difficulty inscattering this second flight, though commanded by these Godfreys, Bohemonds, and Tancreds. "

The Patriarch was silent, for though he disliked, or rather detestedthe crusaders, as members of the Latin Church, he yet thought it highlydoubtful that in feats of battle they could have been met and overcomeby the Grecian forces. 

"At any rate, " said Alexius, rightly interpreting his silence, "ifvanquished, I had fallen under my shield as a Greek emperor should, norhad I been forced into these mean measures of attacking men by stealth, and with forces disguised as infidels; while the lives of the faithfulsoldiers of the empire, who have fallen in obscure skirmishes, hadbetter, both for them and me, been lost bravely in their ranks, avowedly fighting for their native emperor and their native country. Now, and as the matter stands, I shall be handed down to posterity as awily tyrant, who engaged his subjects in fatal feuds for the safety ofhis own obscure life. Patriarch! these crimes rest not with me, butwith the rebels whose intrigues compelled me into such courses--What, reverend father, will be my fate hereafter?--and in what light shall Idescend to posterity, the author of so many disasters?"

"For futurity, " said the Patriarch, "your grace hath referred yourselfto the holy Church, which hath power to bind and loose; your means ofpropitiating her are ample, and I have already indicated such as shemay reasonably expect, in consequence of your repentance andforgiveness. "

"They shall be granted, " replied the Emperor, "in their fullest extent;nor will I injure you in doubting their effect in the next world. Inthis present state of existence, however, the favourable opinion of theChurch may do much for me during this important crisis. If weunderstand each other, good Zosimus, her doctors and bishops are tothunder in my behalf, nor is my benefit from her pardon, to be deferredtill the funeral monument closes upon me?"

"Certainly not, " said Zosimus; "the conditions which I have alreadystipulated being strictly attended to. "

"And my memory in history, " said Alexius, "in what manner is that to bepreserved?"

"For that, " answered the Patriarch, "your Imperial Majesty must trustto the filial piety and literary talents of your accomplished daughter, Anna Comnena. "

The Emperor shook his head. "This unhappy Caesar, " he said, "is like tomake a quarrel between us; for I shall scarce pardon so ungrateful arebel as he is, because my daughter clings to him with a woman'sfondness. Besides, good Zosimus, it is not, I believe, the page of ahistorian such as my daughter that is most likely to be receivedwithout challenge by posterity. Some Procopius, some philosophicalslave, starving in a garret, aspires to write the life of an Emperorwhom he durst not approach; and although the principal merit of hisproduction be, that it contains particulars upon the subject which noman durst have promulgated while the prince was living, yet no manhesitates to admit such as true when he has passed from the scene. "

"On that subject, " said Zosimus, "I can neither afford your ImperialMajesty relief or protection. If, however, your memory is unjustlyslandered upon earth, it will be a matter of indifference to yourHighness, who will be then, I trust, enjoying a state of beatitudewhich idle slander cannot assail. The only way, indeed, to avoid itwhile on this side of time, would be to write your Majesty's ownmemoirs while you are yet in the body; so convinced am I that it is inyour power to assign legitimate excuses for those actions of your life, which, without your doing so, would seem most worthy of censure. "

"Change we the subject, " said the Emperor; "and since the danger isimminent, let us take care for the present, and leave future ages tojudge for themselves. --What circumstance is it, reverend father, inyour opinion, which encourages these conspirators to make so audaciousan appeal to the populace and the Grecian soldiers?"

"Certainly, " answered the Patriarch, "the most irritating incident ofyour highness's reign was the fate of Ursel, who, submitting, it issaid, upon capitulation, for life, limb, and liberty, was starved todeath by your orders, in the dungeons of the Blacquernal, and whosecourage, liberality, and other popular virtues, are still fondlyremembered by the citizens of this metropolis, and by the soldiers ofthe guard, called Immortal. "

"And this, " said the Emperor, fixing his eye upon his confessor, "yourreverence esteems actually the most dangerous point of the populartumult?"

"I cannot doubt, " said the Patriarch, "that his very name, boldlypronounced, and artfully repeated, will be the watchword, as has beenplotted, of a horrible tumult. "

"I thank Heaven!" said the Emperor; "on that particular I will be on myguard. Good-night to your reverence! and, believe me, that all in thisscroll, to which I have set my hand, shall be with the utmost fidelityaccomplished. Be not, however, over-impatient in this business;--such ashower of benefits falling at once upon the Church, would make mensuspicious that the prelates and ministers proceeded rather as actingupon a bargain between the Emperor and Patriarch, than as paying orreceiving an atonement offered by a sinner in excuse of his crimes. This would be injurious, father, both to yourself and me. "

"All regular delay, " said the Patriarch, "shall be interposed at yourhighness's pleasure; and we shall trust to you for recollection thatthe bargain, if it could be termed one, was of your own seeking, andthat the benefit to the Church was contingent upon the pardon and thesupport which she has afforded to your majesty. "

"True, " said the Emperor--"most true--nor shall I forget it. Once moreadieu, and forget not what I have told thee. This is a night, Zosimus, in which the Emperor must toil like a slave, if he means not to returnto the humble Alexius Comnenus, and even then there were no resting-place. "

So saying, he took leave of the Patriarch, who was highly gratifiedwith the advantages he had obtained for the Church, which many of hispredecessors had struggled for in vain. He resolved, therefore, tosupport the staggering Alexius. 

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIFTH. 

 Heaven knows its time; the bullet has its billet, Arrow and javelin each its destined purpose; The fated beasts of Nature's lower strain Have each their separate task. OLD PLAY. 

Agelastes, after crossing the Emperor in the manner we have alreadydescribed, and after having taken such measures as occurred to him toensure the success of the conspiracy, returned to the lodge of hisgarden, where the lady of the Count of Paris still remained, her onlycompanion being an old woman named Vexhelia, the wife of the soldierwho accompanied Bertha to the camp of the Crusaders; the kind-heartedmaiden having stipulated that, during her absence, her mistress was notto be left without an attendant, and that attendant connected with theVarangian guard. He had been all day playing the part of the ambitiouspolitician, the selfish time-server, the dark and subtle conspirator;and now it seemed, as if to exhaust the catalogue of his various partsin the human drama, he chose to exhibit himself in the character of thewily sophist, and justify, or seem to justify, the arts by which he hadrisen to wealth and eminence, and hoped even now to arise to royaltyitself. 

"Fair Countess, " he said, "what occasion is there for your wearing thisveil of sadness over a countenance so lovely?"

"Do you suppose me, " said Brenhilda, "a stock, or stone, or a creaturewithout the feelings of a sensitive being, that I should enduremortification, imprisonment, danger and distress, without expressingthe natural feelings of humanity? Do you imagine that to a lady like me, as free as the unreclaimed falcon, you can offer the insult ofcaptivity, without my being sensible to the disgrace, or incensedagainst the authors of it? And dost thou think that I will receiveconsolation at thy hands--at thine--one of the most active artificersin this web of treachery in which I am so basely entangled?"

"Not entangled certainly by my means"--answered Agelastes; "clap yourhands, call for what you wish, and the slave who refuses instantobedience had better been unborn. Had I not, with reference to yoursafety and your honour, agreed for a short time to be your keeper, thatoffice would have been usurped by the Caesar, whose object you know, and may partly guess the modes by which it would be pursued. Why thendost thou childishly weep at being held for a short space in anhonourable restraint, which the renowned arms of your husband willprobably put an end to long ere to-morrow at noon?"

"Canst thou not comprehend, " said the Countess, "thou man of many words, but of few honourable thoughts, that a heart like mine, which has beentrained in the feelings of reliance upon my own worth and valour, mustbe necessarily affected with shame at being obliged to accept, evenfrom the sword of a husband, that safety which I would gladly have owedonly to my own?"

"Thou art misled, Countess, " answered the philosopher, "by thy pride, afailing predominant in woman. Thinkest thou there has been no offensiveassumption in laving aside the character of a mother and a wife, andadopting that of one of those brain-sick female fools, who, like thebravoes of the other sex, sacrifice every thing that is honourable oruseful to a frantic and insane affectation of courage? Believe me, fairlady, that the true system of virtue consists in filling thine ownplace gracefully in society, breeding up thy children, and delightingthose of the other sex, and any thing beyond this, may well render theehateful or terrible, but can add nothing to thy amiable qualities. "

"Thou pretendest, " said the Countess, "to be a philosopher; methinksthou shouldst know, that the fame which hangs its chaplet on the tombof a brave hero or heroine, is worth all the petty engagements in whichordinary persons spend the current of their time. One hour of life, crowded to the full with glorious action, and filled with noble risks, is worth whole years of those mean observances of paltry decorum, inwhich men steal through existence, like sluggish waters through a marsh, without either honour or observation. "

"Daughter, " said Agelastes, approaching near to the lady, "it is withpain I see you bewildered in errors which a little calm reflectionmight remove. We may flatter ourselves, and human vanity usually doesso, that beings infinitely more powerful than those belonging to merehumanity, are employed daily in measuring out the good and evil of thisworld, the termination of combats, or the fate of empires, according totheir own ideas of what is right or wrong, or, more properly, accordingto what we ourselves conceive to be such. The Greek heathens, renownedfor their wisdom, and glorious for their actions, explained to men ofordinary minds the supposed existence of Jupiter and his Pantheon, where various deities presided over various virtues and vices, andregulated the temporal fortune and future happiness of such aspractised them. The more learned and wise of the ancients rejected suchthe vulgar interpretation, and wisely, although affecting a deferenceto the public faith, denied before their disciples in private, thegross fallacies of Tartarus and Olympus, the vain doctrines concerningthe gods themselves, and the extravagant expectations which the vulgarentertained of an immortality, supposed to be possessed by creatureswho were in every respect mortal, both in the conformation of theirbodies, and in the internal belief of their souls. Of these wrise andgood men some granted the existence of the supposed deities, but deniedthat they cared about the actions of mankind any more than those of theinferior animals. A merry, jovial, careless life, such as the followersof Epicurus would choose for themselves, was what they assigned forthose gods whose being they admitted. Others, more bold or moreconsistent, entirely denied the existence of deities who apparently hadno proper object or purpose, and believed that such of them, whosebeing and attributes were proved to us by no supernatural appearances, had in reality no existence whatever. "

"Stop, wretch!" said the Countess, "and know that thou speakest not toone of those blinded heathens, of whose abominable doctrines you aredetailing the result. Know, that if an erring, I am nevertheless asincere daughter of the Church, and this cross displayed on my shoulder, is a sufficient emblem of the vows I have undertaken in its cause. Botherefore wary, as thou art wily; for, believe me, if thou scoffest orutterest reproach against my holy religion, what I am unable to answerin language, I will reply to, without hesitation, with the point of mydagger. "

"To that argument" said Agelastes, drawing back from the neighbourhoodof Brenhilda, "believe me, fair lady, I am very willing to urge yourgentleness. But although I shall not venture to say any thing of thosesuperior and benevolent powers to whom you ascribe the management ofthe world, you will surely not take offence at my noticing those basesuperstitions which have been adopted in explanation of what is calledby the Magi, the Evil Principle. Was there ever received into a humancreed, a being so mean--almost so ridiculous--as the Christian Satan? Agoatish figure and limbs, with grotesque features, formed to expressthe most execrable passions; a degree of power scarce inferior to thatof the Deity; and a talent at the same time scarce equal to that of thestupidest of the lowest order! What is he, this being, who is at leastthe second arbiter of the human race, save an immortal spirit, with thepetty spleen and spite of a vindictive old man or old woman?"

Agelastes made a singular pause in this part of his discourse. A mirrorof considerable size hung in the apartment, so that the philosophercould see in its reflection the figure of Brenhilda, and remark thechange of her countenance, though she had averted her face from him inhatred of the doctrines which he promulgated. On this glass thephilosopher had his eyes naturally fixed, and he was confounded atperceiving a figure glide from behind the shadow of a curtain, andglare at him with the supposed mien and expression of the Satan ofmonkish mythology, or a satyr of the heathen age. 

"Man!" said Brenhilda, whose attention was attracted by thisextraordinary apparition, as it seemed, of the fiend, "have thy wickedwords, and still more wicked thoughts, brought the devil amongst us? Ifso, dismiss him instantly, else, by Our Lady of the Broken Lances! thoushalt know better than at present, what is the temper of a Frankishmaiden, when in presence of the fiend himself, and those who pretendskill to raise him! I wish not to enter into a contest unlesscompelled; but if I am obliged to join battle with an enemy so horrible, believe me, no one shall say that Brenildha feared him. "

Agelastes, after looking with surprise and horror at the figure asreflected in the glass, turned back his head to examine the substance, of which the reflection was so strange. The object, however, haddisappeared behind the curtain, under which it probably lay hid, and itwas after a minute or two that the half-gibing, half-scowlingcountenance showed itself again in the same position in the mirror. 

"By the gods!" said Agelastes--

"In whom but now, " said the Countess, "you professed unbelief. "

"By the gods!" repeated Agelastes, in part recovering himself, "it isSylvan! that singular mockery of humanity, who was said to have beenbrought from Taprobana. I warrant he also believes in his jolly god Pan, or the veteran Sylvanus. He is to the uninitiated a creature whoseappearance is full of terrors, but he shrinks before the philosopherlike ignorance before knowledge. " So saying, he with one hand pulleddown the curtain, under which the animal had nestled itself when itentered from the garden-window of the pavilion, and with the other, inwhich he had a staff uplifted, threatened to chastise the creature, with the words, --"How now, Sylvanus! what insolence is this?--To yourplace!"

As, in uttering these words, he struck the animal, the blow unluckilylighted upon his wounded hand, and recalled its bitter smart. The wildtemper of the creature returned, unsubdued for the moment by any awe ofman; uttering a fierce, and, at the same time, stifled cry, it flew onthe philosopher, and clasped its strong and sinewy arms about histhroat with the utmost fury. The old man twisted and struggled todeliver himself from the creature's grasp, but in vain. Sylvan kepthold of his prize, compressed his sinewy arms, and abode by his purposeof not quitting his hold of the philosopher's throat till he hadbreathed his last. Two more bitter yells, accompanied each with adesperate contortion of the countenance, and squeeze of the hands, concluded, in less than five minutes, the dreadful strife. Agelasteslay dead upon the ground, and his assassin Sylvan, springing from thebody as if terrified and alarmed at what he had done, made his escapeby the window. The Countess stood in astonishment, not knowing exactlywhether she had witnessed a supernatural display of the judgment ofHeaven, or an instance of its vengeance by mere mortal means. Her newattendant Vexhelia was no less astonished, though her acquaintance withthe animal was considerably more intimate. 

"Lady, " she said, "that gigantic creature is an animal of greatstrength, resembling mankind in form, but huge in its size, and, encouraged by its immense power, sometimes malevolent in itsintercourse with mortals. I have heard the Varangians often talk of itas belonging to the Imperial museum. It is fitting we remove the bodyof this unhappy man, and hide it in a plot of shrubbery in the garden. It is not likely that he will be missed to-night, and to-morrow therewill be other matter astir, which will probably prevent much enquiryabout him. " The Countess Brenhilda assented, for she was not one ofthose timorous females to whom the countenances of the dead are objectsof terror. 

Trusting to the parole which she had given, Agelastes had permitted theCountess and her attendant the freedom of his gardens, of that part atleast adjacent to the pavilion. They therefore were in little risk ofinterruption as they bore forth the dead body between them, and withoutmuch trouble disposed of it in the thickest part of one of the bosquetswith which the garden was studded. 

As they returned to their place of abode or confinement, the Countess, half speaking to herself, half addressing Vexhelia, said, "I am sorryfor this; not that the infamous wretch did not deserve the fullpunishment of Heaven coming upon him in the very moment of blasphemyand infidelity, but because the courage and truth of the unfortunateBrenhilda may be brought into suspicion, as his slaughter took placewhen he was alone with her and her attendant, and as no one was witnessof the singular manner in which the old blasphemer met his end. --Thouknowest, " she added, addressing herself to Heaven--"thou! blessed Ladyof the Broken Lances, the protectress both of Brenhilda and her husband, well knowest, that whatever faults may be mine, I am free from theslightest suspicion of treachery; and into thy hands I put my cause, with a perfect reliance upon thy wisdom and bounty to bear evidence inmy favour. " So saying, they returned to the lodge unseen, and withpious and submissive prayers, the Countess closed that eventful evening. 

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SIXTH. 

 Will you hear of a Spanish lady, How she wooed an Englishman? Garments gay, as rich as may be, Deck'd with jewels she had on. Of a comely countenance and grace was she, And by birth and parentage of high degree. OLD BALLAD. 

We left Alexius Comnenus after he had unloaded his conscience in theears of the Patriarch, and received from him a faithful assurance ofthe pardon and patronage of the national Church. He took leave of thedignitary with some exulting exclamations, so unexplicitly expressed, however, that it was by no means easy to conceive the meaning of whathe said. His first enquiry, when he reached the Blacquernal, being forhis daughter, he was directed to the room encrusted with beautifullycarved marble, from which she herself, and many of her race, derivedthe proud appellation of _Porphyrogenita_, or born in the purple. Her countenance was clouded with anxiety, which, at the sight of herfather, broke out into open and uncontrollable grief. 

"Daughter, " said the Emperor, with a harshness little common to hismanner, and a seriousness which he sternly maintained, instead ofsympathizing with his daughter's affliction, "as you would prevent thesilly fool with whom you are connected, from displaying himself to thepublic both as an ungrateful monster and a traitor, you will not failto exhort him, by due submission, to make his petition for pardon, accompanied with a full confession of his crimes, or, by my sceptre andmy crown, he shall die the death! Nor will I pardon any who rushes uponhis doom in an open tone of defiance, under such a standard ofrebellion as my ungrateful son-in-law has hoisted. 

"What can you require of me, father?" said the Princess. "Can youexpect that I am to dip my own hands in the blood of this unfortunateman; or wilt thou seek a revenge yet more bloody than that which wasexacted by the deities of antiquity, upon those criminals who offendedagainst their divine power?"

"Think not so, my daughter!" said the Emperor; "but rather believe thatthou hast the last opportunity afforded by my filial affection, ofrescuing, perhaps from death, that silly fool thy husband, who has sorichly deserved it. "

"My father, " said the Princess, "God knows it is not at your risk thatI would wish to purchase the life of Nicephorus; but he has been thefather of my children, though they are now no more, and women cannotforget that such a tie has existed, even though it has been broken byfate. Permit me only to hope that the unfortunate culprit shall have anopportunity of retrieving his errors; nor shall it, believe me, be myfault, if he resumes those practices, treasonable at once, andunnatural, by which his life is at present endangered. "

"Follow me, then, daughter, " said the Emperor, "and know, that to theealone I am about to intrust a secret, upon which the safety of my lifeand crown, as well as the pardon of my son-in-law's life, will be foundeventually to depend. "

He then assumed in haste the garment of a slave of the Seraglio, andcommanded his daughter to arrange her dress in a more succinct form, and to take in her hand a lighted lamp. 

"Whither are we going, my father?" said Anna Comnena. 

"It matters not, " replied her father, "since my destiny calls me, andsince thine ordains thee to be my torch-bearer. Believe it, and recordit, if thou darest, in thy book, that Alexius Comnenus does not, without alarm, descend into those awful dungeons--which hispredecessors built for men, even when his intentions are innocent, andfree from harm. --Be silent, and should we meet any inhabitant of thoseinferior regions, speak not a word nor make any observation upon hisappearance. "

Passing through the intricate apartments of the palace, they now cameto that large hall through which Hereward had passed on the first nightof his introduction to the place of Anna's recitation called the Templeof the Muses. It was constructed, as we have said, of black marble, dimly illuminated. At the upper end of the apartment was a small altar, on which was laid some incense, while over the smoke was suspended, asif projecting from the wall, two imitations of human hands and arms, which were but imperfectly seen. 

At the bottom of this hall, a small iron door led to a narrow andwinding staircase, resembling a draw-well in shape and size, the stepsof which were excessively steep, and which the Emperor, after a solemngesture to his daughter commanding her attendance, began to descendwith the imperfect light, and by the narrow and difficult steps bywhich those who visited the under regions of the Blacquernal seemed tobid adieu to the light of day. Door after door they passed in theirdescent, leading, it was probable, to different ranges of dungeons, from which was obscurely heard the stifled voice of groans and sighs, such as attracted Hereward's attention on a former occasion. TheEmperor took no notice of these signs of human misery, and threestories or ranges of dungeons had been already passed, ere the fatherand daughter arrived at the lowest story of the building, the base ofwhich was the solid rock, roughly carved, upon which were erected theside-walls and arches of solid but unpolished marble. 

"Here, " said Alexius Comnenus, "all hope, all expectation takesfarewell, at the turn of a hinge or the grating of a lock. Yet shallnot this be always the case--the dead shall revive and resume theirright, and the disinherited of these regions shall again prefer theirclaim to inhabit the upper world. If I cannot entreat Heaven to myassistance, be assured, my daughter, that rather than be the pooranimal which I have stooped to be thought, and even to be painted inthy history, I would sooner brave every danger of the multitude whichnow erect themselves betwixt me and safety. Nothing is resolved savethat I will live and die an Emperor; and thou, Anna, be assured, thatif there is power in the beauty or in the talents, of which so much hasbeen boasted, that power shall be this evening exercised to theadvantage of thy parent, from whom it is derived. "

"What is it that you mean, Imperial father?--Holy Virgin! is this thepromise you made me to save the life of the unfortunate Nicephorus?"

"And so I will, " said the Emperor; "and I am now about that action ofbenevolence. But think not I will once more warm in my bosom thehousehold snake which had so nearly stung me to death. No, daughter, Ihave provided for thee a fitting husband, in one who is able tomaintain and defend the rights of the Emperor thy father;--and bewarehow thou opposest an obstacle to what is my pleasure! for behold thesewalls of marble, though unpolished, and recollect it is as possible todie within the marble as to be born there. "

The Princess Anna Comnena was frightened at seeing her father in astate of mind entirely different from any which she had beforewitnessed. "O, heaven! that my mother were here!" she ejaculated, inthe terror of something she hardly knew what. 

"Anna, " said the Emperor, "your fears and your screams are alike invain. I am one of those, who, on ordinary occasions, hardly nourish awish of my own, and account myself obliged to those who, like my wifeand daughter, take care to save me all the trouble of free judgment. But when the vessel is among the breakers, and the master is called tothe helm, believe that no meaner hand shall be permitted to interferewith him, nor will the wife and daughter, whom he indulged inprosperity, be allowed to thwart his will while he can yet call it hisown. Thou couldst scarcely fail to understand that I was almostprepared to have given thee, as a mark of my sincerity, to yonderobscure Varangian, without asking question of either birth or blood. Thou mayst hear when I next promise thee to a three years' inhabitantof these vaults, who shall be Caesar in Briennius's stead, if I canmove him to accept a princess for his bride, and an imperial crown forhis inheritance, in place of a starving dungeon. "

"I tremble at your words, father, " said Anna Comnena; "how canst thoutrust a man who has felt thy cruelty?--How canst thou dream that aughtcan ever in sincerity reconcile thee to one whom thou hast deprived ofhis eyesight?"

"Care not for that, " said Alexius; "he becomes mine, or he shall neverknow what it is to be again his own. --And thou, girl, mayst restassured that, if I will it, thou art next day the bride of my presentcaptive, or thou retirest to the most severe nunnery, never again tomix with society. Be silent, therefore, and await thy doom, as it shallcome, and hope not that thy utmost endeavours can avert the current ofthy destiny. "

As he concluded this singular dialogue, in which he had assumed a toneto which his daughter was a stranger, and before which she trembled, hepassed on through more than one strictly fastened door, while hisdaughter, with a faltering step, illuminated him on the obscure road. At length he found admittance by another passage into the cell in whichUrsel was confined, and found him reclining in hopeless misery, --allthose expectations having faded from his heart which the Count of Parishad by his indomitable gallantry for a time excited. He turned hissightless eyes towards the place where he heard the moving of bolts andthe approach of steps. 

"A new feature, " he said, "in my imprisonment--a man comes with a heavyand determined step, and a woman or a child with one that scarcelypresses the floor!--is it my death that you bring?--Believe me, that Ihave lived long enough in these dungeons to bid my doom welcome. "

"It is not thy death, noble Ursel, " said the Emperor, in a voicesomewhat disguised. Life, liberty, whatever the world has to give, isplaced by the Emperor Alexius at the feet of his noble enemy, and hetrusts that many years of happiness and power, together with thecommand of a large share of the empire, will soon obliterate therecollection of the dungeons of the Blacquernal. "

"It cannot be, " said Ursel, with a sigh. "He upon whose eyes the sunhas set even at middle day, can have nothing left to hope from the mostadvantageous change of circumstances. "

"You are not entirely assured of that, " said the Emperor; "allow us toconvince you that what is intended towards you is truly favourable andliberal, and I hope you will be rewarded by finding that there is morepossibility of amendment in your case, than your first apprehensionsare willing to receive. Make an effort, and try whether your eyes arenot sensible of the light of the lamp. "

"Do with, me, " said Ursel, "according to your pleasure; I have neitherstrength to remonstrate, nor the force of mind equal to make me setyour cruelty at defiance. Of something like light I am sensible; butwhether it is reality or illusion, I cannot determine. If you are cometo deliver me from this living sepulchre, I pray God to requite you;and if, under such deceitful pretence, you mean to take my life, I canonly commend my soul to Heaven, and the vengeance due to my death toHim who can behold the darkest places in which injustice can shrouditself. "

So saying, and the revulsion of his spirits rendering him unable togive almost any other signs of existence, Ursel sunk back upon his seatof captivity, and spoke not another word during the time that Alexiusdisembarrassed him of those chains which had so long hung about him, that they almost seemed to make a part of his person. 

"This is an affair in which thy aid can scarce be sufficient, Anna, "said the Emperor; "it would have been well if you and I could haveborne him into the open air by our joint strength, for there is littlewisdom in showing the secrets of this prison-house to those to whomthey are not yet known; nevertheless, go, my child, and at a shortdistance from the head of the staircase which we descended, thou wiltfind Edward, the bold and trusty Varangian, who on your communicatingto him my orders, will come hither and render his assistance; and seethat you send also the experienced leech, Douban. " Terrified, half-stifled, and half struck with horror, the lady yet felt a degree ofrelief from the somewhat milder tone in which her father addressed her. With tottering steps, yet in some measure encouraged by the tenor ofher instructions, she ascended the staircase which yawned upon theseinfernal dungeons. As she approached the top, a large and strong figurethrew its broad shadow between the lamp and the opening of the hall. Frightened nearly to death at the thoughts of becoming the wife of asqualid wretch like Ursel, a moment of weakness seized upon thePrincess's mind, and, when she considered the melancholy option whichher father had placed before her, she could not but think that thehandsome and gallant Varangian, who had already rescued the royalfamily from such imminent danger, was a fitter person with whom tounite herself, if she must needs make a second choice, than thesingular and disgusting being whom her father's policy had raked fromthe bottom of the Blacquernal dungeons. 

I will not say of poor Anna Comnena, who was a timid but not anunfeeling woman, that she would have embraced such a proposal, had notthe life of her present husband Nicephorus Briennius been in extremedanger; and it was obviously the determination of the Emperor, that ifhe spared him, it should be on the sole condition of unloosing hisdaughter's hand, and binding her to some one of better faith, andpossessed of a greater desire to prove an affectionate son-in-law. Neither did the plan of adopting the Varangian as a second husband, enter decidedly into the mind of the Princess. The present was a momentof danger, in which her rescue to be successful must be sudden, andperhaps, if once achieved, the lady might have had an opportunity offreeing herself both from Ursel and the Varangian, without disjoiningeither of them from her father's assistance, or of herself losing it. At any rate, the surest means of safety were to secure, if possible, the young soldier, whose features and appearance were of a kind whichrendered the task no way disagreeable to a beautiful woman. The schemesof conquest are so natural to the fair sex, and the whole idea passedso quickly through Anna Comnena's mind, that having first entered whilethe soldier's shadow was interposed between her and the lamp, it hadfully occupied her quick imagination, when, with deep reverence andgreat surprise at her sudden appearance on the ladder of Acheron, theVarangian advancing, knelt down, and lent his arm to the assistance ofthe fair lady, in order to help her out of the dreary staircase. 

"Dearest Hereward, " said the lady, with a degree of intimacy whichseemed unusual, "how much do I rejoice, in this dreadful night, to havefallen under your protection! I have been in places which the spirit ofhell appears to have contrived for the human race. " The alarm of thePrincess, the familiarity of a beautiful woman, who, while in mortalfear, seeks refuge, like a frightened dove, in the bosom of the strongand the brave, must be the excuse of Anna Comnena for the tenderepithet with which she greeted Hereward; nor, if he had chosen toanswer in the same tone, which, faithful as he was, might have provedthe case if the meeting had chanced before he saw Bertha, would thedaughter of Alexius have been, to say the truth, irreconcilablyoffended. Exhausted as she was, she suffered herself to repose upon, the broad breast and shoulder of the Anglo-Saxon; nor did she make anattempt to recover herself, although the decorum of her sex and stationseemed to recommend such an exertion. Hereward was obliged himself toask her, with the unimpassioned and reverential demeanour of a privatesoldier to a princess, whether he ought to summon her femaleattendants? to which she faintly uttered a negative. "No, no, " said she, "I have a duty to execute for my father, and I must not summon eye-witnesses;--he knows me to be in safety, Hereward, since he knows I amwith thee; and if I am a burden to you in my present state of weakness, I shall soon recover, if you will set me down upon the marble steps. "

"Heaven forbid, lady, " said Hereward, "that I were thus neglectful ofyour Highness's gracious health! I see your two young ladies, Astarteand Violante, are in quest of you--Permit me to summon them hither, andI will keep watch upon you, if you are unable to retire to your chamber, where, methinks, the present disorder of your nerves will be mostproperly treated. "

"Do as thou wilt, barbarian, " said the Princess, rallying herself, witha certain degree of pique, arising perhaps from her not thinking more_dramatis personae_ were appropriate to the scene, than the twowho were already upon the stage. Then, as if for the first time, appearing to recollect the message with which she had been commissioned, she exhorted the Varangian to repair instantly to her father. 

On such occasions, the slightest circumstances have their effect on theactors. The Anglo-Saxon was sensible that the Princess was somewhatoffended, though whether she was so, on account of her being actuallyin Hereward's arms, or whether the cause of her anger was the beingnearly discovered there by the two young maidens, the sentinel did notpresume to guess, but departed for the gloomy vaults to join Alexius, with the never-failing double-edged axe, the bane of many a Turk, glittering upon his shoulder. 

Astarte and her companion had been despatched by the Empress Irene insearch of Anna Comnena, through those apartments of the palace whichshe was wont to inhabit. The daughter of Alexius could nowhere be found, although the business on which they were seeking her was described bythe Empress as of the most pressing nature. Nothing, however, in apalace, passes altogether unespied, so that the Empress's messengers atlength received information that their mistress and the Emperor hadbeen seen to descend that gloomy access to the dungeons, which, byallusion to the classical infernal regions, was termed the Pit ofAcheron. They came thither, accordingly, and we have related theconsequences. Hereward thought it necessary to say that her ImperialHighness had swooned upon being suddenly brought into the upper air. The Princess, on the other part, briskly shook off her juvenileattendants, and declared herself ready to proceed to the chamber of hermother. The obeisance which she made Hereward at parting, had somethingin it of haughtiness, yet evidently qualified by a look of friendshipand regard. As she passed an apartment in which some of the royalslaves were in waiting, she addressed to one of them, an oldrespectable man, of medical skill, a private and hurried order, desiring him to go to the assistance of her father, whom he would findat the bottom of the staircase called the Pit of Acheron, and to takehis scimitar along with him. To hear, as usual, was to obey, and Douban, for that was his name, only replied by that significant sign whichindicates immediate acquiescence. In the meantime, Anna Comnena herselfhastened onward to her mother's apartments, in which she found theEmpress alone. 

"Go hence, maidens, " said Irene, "and do not let any one have access tothese apartments, even if the Emperor himself should command it. Shutthe door, " she said, "Anna Comnena; and if the jealousy of the strongersex do not allow us the masculine privileges of bolts and bars, tosecure the insides of our apartments, let us avail ourselves, asquickly as may be, of such opportunities as are permitted us; andremember, Princess, that however implicit your duty to your father, itis yet more so to me, who am of the same sex with thyself, and maytruly call thee, even according to the letter, blood of my blood, andbone of my bone. Be assured thy father knows not, at this moment, thefeelings of a woman. Neither he nor any man alive can justly conceivethe pangs of the heart which beats under a woman's robe. These men, Anna, would tear asunder without scruple the tenderest ties ofaffection, the whole structure of domestic felicity, in which lie awoman's cares, her joy, her pain, her love, and her despair. Trust, therefore, to me, my daughter, and believe me, I will at once save thyfather's crown and thy happiness. The conduct of thy husband has beenwrong, most cruelly wrong; but, Anna, he is a man--and in calling himsuch, I lay to his charge, as natural frailties, thoughtless treachery, wanton infidelity, every species of folly and inconsistency, to whichhis race is subject. You ought not, therefore, to think of his faults, unless it be to forgive them. "

"Madam, " said Anna Comnena, "forgive me if I remind you that yourecommend to a princess, born in the purple itself, a line of conductwhich would hardly become the female who carries the pitcher for theneedful supply of water to the village well. All who are around me havebeen taught to pay me the obeisance due to my birth, and while thisNicephorus Briennius crept on his knees to your daughter's hand, whichyou extended towards him, he was rather receiving the yoke of amistress than accepting a household alliance with a wife. He hasincurred his doom, without a touch even of that temptation which may bepled by lesser culprits in his condition; and if it is the will of myfather that he should die, or suffer banishment, or imprisonment, forthe crime he has committed, it is not the business of Anna Comnena tointerfere, she being the most injured among the imperial family, whohave in so many, and such gross respects, the right to complain of hisfalsehood. "

"Daughter, " replied the Empress, "so far I agree with you, that thetreason of Nicephorus towards your father and myself has been in agreat degree unpardonable; nor do I easily see on what footing, savethat of generosity, his life could be saved. But still you are yourselfin different circumstances from me, and may, as an affectionate andfond wife, compare the intimacies of your former habits with the bloodychange which is so soon to be the consequence and the conclusion of hiscrimes. He is possessed of that person and of those features whichwomen most readily recall to their memory, whether alive or dead. Thinkwhat it will cost you to recollect that the rugged executioner receivedhis last salute, --that the shapely neck had no better repose than therough block--that the tongue, the sound of which you used to prefer tothe choicest instruments of music, is silent in the dust!"

Anna, who was not insensible to the personal graces of her husband, wasmuch affected by this forcible appeal. "Why distress me thus, mother?"she replied in a weeping accent. "Did I not feel as acutely as youwould have me to do, this moment, however awful, would be easily borne. I had but to think of him as he is, to contrast his personal qualitieswith those of the mind, by which they are more than overbalanced, andresign myself to his deserved fate with unresisting submission to myfather's will. "

"And that, " said the Empress, "would be to bind thee, by his sole fiat, to some obscure wretch, whose habits of plotting and intriguing had, bysome miserable chance, given him the opportunity of becoming ofimportance to the Emperor, and who is, therefore, to be rewarded by thehand of Anna Comnena. "

"Do not think so meanly of me, madam, " said the Princess--"I know, aswell as ever Grecian maiden did, how I should free myself fromdishonour; and, you may trust me, you shall never blush for yourdaughter. "

"Tell me not that, " said the Empress, "since I shall blush alike forthe relentless cruelty which gives up a once beloved husband to anignominious death, and for the passion, for which I want a name, whichwould replace him by an obscure barbarian from the extremity of Thule, or some wretch escaped from the Blacquernal dungeons. "

The Princess was astonished to perceive that her mother was acquaintedwith the purposes, even the most private, which her father had formedfor his governance during this emergency. She was ignorant that Alexiusand his royal consort, in other respects living together with a decencyever exemplary in people of their rank, had, sometimes, on interestingoccasions, family debates, in which the husband, provoked by theseeming unbelief of his partner, was tempted to let her guess more ofhis real purposes than he would have coolly imparted of his own calmchoice. 

The Princess was affected at the anticipation of the death of herhusband, nor could this have been reasonably supposed to be otherwise;but she was still more hurt and affronted by her mother taking it forgranted that she designed upon the instant to replace the Caesar by anuncertain, and at all events an unworthy successor. Whateverconsiderations had operated to make Hereward her choice, their effectwas lost when the match was placed in this odious and degrading pointof view; besides which is to be remembered, that women almostinstinctively deny their first thoughts in favour of a suitor, andseldom willingly reveal them, unless time and circumstance concur tofavour them. She called Heaven therefore passionately to witness, whileshe repelled the charge. 

"Bear witness, " she said, "Our Lady, Queen of Heaven! Bear witness, saints and martyrs all, ye blessed ones, who are, more than ourselves, the guardians of our mental purity! that I know no passion which I darenot avow, and that if Nicephorus's life depended on my entreaty to Godand men, all his injurious acts towards me disregarded and despised, itshould be as long as Heaven gave to those servants whom it snatchedfrom the earth without suffering the pangs of mortality!"

"You have sworn boldly, " said the Empress. "See, Anna Comnena, that youkeep your word, for believe me it will be tried. "

"What will be tried, mother?" said the Princess; "or what have I to doto pronounce the doom of the Caesar, who is not subject to my power?"

"I will show you, " said the Empress, gravely; and, leading her towardsa sort of wardrobe, which formed a closet in the wall, she withdrew acurtain which hung before it, and placed before her her unfortunatehusband, Nicephorus Briennius, half-attired, with his sword drawn inhis hand. Looking upon him as an enemy, and conscious of some schemeswith respect to him which had passed through her mind in the course ofthese troubles, the Princess screamed faintly, upon perceiving him sonear her with a weapon in his hand. 

"Be more composed, " said the Empress, "or this wretched man, ifdiscovered, falls no less a victim to thy idle fears than to thybaneful revenge. "

Nicephorus at this speech seemed to have adopted his cue, for, droppingthe point of his sword, and falling on his knees before the Princess, he clasped his hands to entreat for mercy. 

"What hast thou to ask from me?" said his wife, naturally assured, byher husband's prostration, that the stronger force was upon her ownside--"what hast thou to ask from me, that outraged gratitude, betrayedaffection, the most solemn vows violated, and the fondest ties ofnature torn asunder like the spider's broken web, will permit thee toput in words for very shame?"

"Do not suppose, Anna, " replied the suppliant, "that I am at thiseventful period of my life to play the hypocrite, for the purpose ofsaving the wretched remnant of a dishonoured existence. I am butdesirous to part in charity with thee, to make my peace with Heaven, and to nourish the last hope of making my way, though burdened withmany crimes, to those regions in which alone I can find thy beauty, thytalents, equalled at least, if not excelled. "

"You hear him, daughter?" said Irene; "his boon is for forgivenessalone; thy condition is the more godlike, since thou mayst unite thesafety of his life with the pardon of his offences. "

"Thou art deceived, mother, " answered Anna. "It is not mine to pardonhis guilt, far less to remit his punishment. You have taught me tothink of myself as future ages shall know me; what will they say of me, those future ages, when I am described as the unfeeling daughter, whopardoned the intended assassin of her father, because she saw in himher own unfaithful husband?"

"See there, " said the Caesar, "is not that, most serene Empress, thevery point of despair? and have I not in vain offered my life-blood towipe out the stain of parricide and ingratitude? Have I not alsovindicated myself from the most unpardonable part of the accusation, which charged me with attempting the murder of the godlike Emperor?Have I not sworn by all that is sacred to man, that my purpose went nofarther than to sequestrate Alexius for a little time from the fatiguesof empire, and place him where he should quietly enjoy ease andtranquillity? while, at the same time, his empire should be asimplicitly regulated by himself, his sacred pleasure being transmittedthrough me, as in any respect, or at any period, it had ever been?"

"Erring man!" said the Princess, "hast thou approached so near to thefootstool of Alexius Comnenus, and durst thou form so false an estimateof him, as to conceive it possible that he would consent to be a merepuppet by whose intervention you might have brought his empire intosubmission? Know that the blood of Comnenus is not so poor; my fatherwould have resisted the treason in arms; and by the death of thybenefactor only couldst thou have gratified the suggestions of thycriminal ambition. "

"Be such your belief, " said the Caesar; "I have said enough for a lifewhich is not and ought not to be dear to me. Call your guards, and letthem take the life of the unfortunate Briennius, since it has becomehateful to his once beloved Anna Comnena. Be not afraid that anyresistance of mine shall render the scene of my apprehension dubious orfatal. Nicephorus Briennius is Caesar no longer, and he thus throws atthe feet of his Princess and spouse, the only poor means which he hasof resisting the just doom which is therefore at her pleasure to pass. "

He cast his sword before the feet of the Princess, while Ireneexclaimed, weeping, or seeming to weep bitterly, "I have indeed read ofsuch scenes! but could I ever have thought that my own daughter wouldhave been the principal actress in one of them--could I ever havethought that her mind, admired by every one as a palace for theoccupation of Apollo and the Muses, should not have had room enough forthe humbler, but more amiable virtue of feminine charity and compassion, which builds itself a nest in the bosom of the lowest village girl? Dothy gifts, accomplishments, and talents, spread hardness as well aspolish over thy heart? If so, a hundred times better renounce them all, and retain in their stead those gentle and domestic virtues which arethe first honours of the female heart. A woman who is pitiless, is aworse monster than one who is unsexed by any other passion. "

"What would you have me do?" said Anna. "You, mother, ought to knowbetter than I, that the life of my father is hardly consistent with theexistence of this bold and cruel man. O, I am sure he still meditateshis purpose of conspiracy! He that could deceive a woman in the mannerhe has done me, will not relinquish a plan which is founded upon thedeath of his benefactor. "

"You do me injustice, Anna, " said Briennius, starting up, andimprinting a kiss upon her lips ere she was aware. "By this caress, thelast that will pass between us, I swear, that if in my life I haveyielded to folly, I have, notwithstanding, never been guilty of atreason of the heart towards a woman as superior to the rest of thefemale world in talents and accomplishments, as in personal beauty. "

The Princess, much softened, shook her head, as she replied--"Ah, Nicephorus!--such were once your words! such, perhaps, were then yourthoughts! But who, or what, shall now warrant to me the veracity ofeither?"

"Those very accomplishments, and that very beauty itself, " repliedNicephorus. 

"And if more is wanting, " said Irene, "thy mother will enter hersecurity for him. Deem her not an insufficient pledge in this affair;she is thy mother, and the wife of Alexius Comnenus, interested beyondall human beings in the growth and increase of the power and dignity ofher husband and her child; and one who sees on this occasion anopportunity for exercising generosity, for soldering up the breaches ofthe Imperial house, and reconstructing the frame of government upon abasis, which, if there be faith and gratitude in man, shall never beagain exposed to hazard. "

"To the reality of that faith and gratitude, then, " said the Princess, "we must trust implicitly, as it is your will, mother; although even myown knowledge of the subject, both through study and experience of theworld, has called me to observe the rashness of such confidence. Butalthough we two may forgive Nicephorus's errors, the Emperor is stillthe person to whom the final reference must be had, both as to pardonand favour. "

"Fear not Alexius, " answered her mother; "he will speak determinedlyand decidedly; but, if he acts not in the very moment of forming theresolution, it is no more to be relied on than an icicle in time ofthaw. Do thou apprize me, if thou canst, what the Emperor is at presentdoing, and take my word I will find means to bring him round to ouropinion. "

"Must I then betray secrets which my father has intrusted to me?" saidthe Princess; "and to one who has so lately held the character of hisavowed enemy?"

"Call it not betray, " said Irene, "since it is written thou shaltbetray no one, least of all thy father, and the father of the empire. Yet again it is written, by the holy Luke, that men shall be betrayed, both by parents and brethren, and kinsfolk and friends, and thereforesurely also by daughters; by which I only mean thou shalt discover tous thy father's secrets, so far as may enable us to save the life ofthy husband. The necessity of the case excuses whatever may beotherwise considered as irregular. "

"Be it so then, mother. Having yielded my consent perhaps too easily, to snatch this malefactor from my father's justice, I am sensible Imust secure his safety by such means as are in my power. I left myfather at the bottom of those stairs, called the Pit of Acheron, in thecell of a blind man, to whom he gave the name of Ursel. "

"Holy Mary!" exclaimed the Empress, "thou hast named a name which hasbeen long unspoken in the open air. "

"Has the Emperor's sense of his danger from the living, " said theCaesar, "induced him to invoke the dead?--for Ursel has been no livingman for the space of three years. "

"It matters not, " said Anna Comnena; "I tell you true. My father evennow held conference with a miserable-looking prisoner, whom he sonamed. "

"It is a danger the more, " said the Caesar; "he cannot have forgottenthe zeal with which I embraced the cause of the present Emperor againsthis own; and so soon as he is at liberty, he will study to avenge it. For this we must endeavour to make some provision, though it increasesour difficulties. --Sit down then, my gentle, my beneficent mother; andthou, my wife, who hast preferred thy love for an unworthy husband tothe suggestions of jealous passion and of headlong revenge, sit down, and let us see in what manner it may be in our power, consistently withyour duty to the Emperor, to bring our broken vessel securely intoport. "

He employed much natural grace of manner in handing the mother anddaughter to their seats; and, taking his place confidentially betweenthem, all were soon engaged in concerting what measures should be takenfor the morrow, not forgetting such as should at once have the effectof preserving the Caesar's life, and at the same time of securing theGrecian empire against the conspiracy of which he had been the chiefinstigator. Briennius ventured to hint, that perhaps the best way wouldbe to suffer the conspiracy to proceed as originally intended, pledginghis own faith that the rights of Alexius should be held inviolateduring the struggle; but his influence over the Empress and herdaughter did not extend to obtaining so great a trust. They plainlyprotested against permitting him to leave the palace, or taking theleast share in the confusion which to-morrow was certain to witness. 

"You forget, noble ladies, " said the Caesar, "that my honour isconcerned in meeting the Count of Paris. "

"Pshaw! tell me not of your honour, Briennius, " said Anna Comnena; "doI not well know, that although the honour of the western knights be aspecies of Moloch, a flesh-devouring, blood-quaffing demon, yet thatwhich is the god of idolatry to the eastern warriors, though equallyloud and noisy in the hall, is far less implacable in the field?Believe not that I have forgiven great injuries and insults, in orderto take such false coin as _honour_ in payment; your ingenuity isbut poor, if you cannot devise some excuse which will satisfy theGreeks; and in good sooth, Briennius, to this battle you go not, whether for your good or for your ill. Believe not that I will consentto your meeting either Count or Countess, whether in warlike combat oramorous parley. So you may at a word count upon remaining prisoner hereuntil the hour appointed for such gross folly be past and over. "

The Caesar, perhaps, was not in his heart angry that his wife'spleasure was so bluntly and resolutely expressed against the intendedcombat. "If, " said he, "you are determined to take my honour into yourown keeping, I am here for the present your prisoner, nor have I themeans of interfering with your pleasure. When once at liberty, the freeexercise of my valour and my lance is once more my own. "

"Be it so, Sir Paladin, " said the Princess, very composedly. "I havegood hope that neither of them will involve you with any of yon dare-devils of Paris, whether male or female, and that we will regulate thepitch to which your courage soars, by the estimation of Greekphilosophy, and the judgment of our blessed Lady of Mercy, not her ofthe Broken Lances. "

At this moment an authoritative knock at the door alarmed theconsultation of the Caesar and the ladies. 

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEVENTH. 

 Physician. Be comforted, good madam; the great rage, You see is cured in him: and yet it is danger To make him even o'er the time he has lost. Desire him to go in: trouble him no more, Till further settling. KING LEAR. 

We left the Emperor Alexius Comnenus at the bottom of a subterraneanvault, with a lamp expiring, and having charge of a prisoner, whoseemed himself nearly reduced to the same extremity. For the first twoor three moments, he listened after his daughter's retiring footsteps. He grew impatient, and began to long for her return before it waspossible she could have traversed the path betwixt him and the summitof these gloomy stairs. A minute or two he endured with patience theabsence of the assistance which he had sent her to summon; but strangesuspicions began to cross his imagination. Could it be possible? Hadshe changed her purpose on account of the hard words which he had usedtowards her? Had she resolved to leave her father to his fate in hishour of utmost need? and was he to rely no longer upon the assistancewhich he had implored her to send?

The short time which the Princess trifled away in a sort of gallantrywith the Varangian Hereward, was magnified tenfold by the impatience ofthe Emperor, who began to think that she was gone to fetch theaccomplices of the Caesar to assault their prince in his defencelesscondition, and carry into effect their half-disconcerted conspiracy. 

After a considerable time, filled up with this feeling of agonizinguncertainty, he began at length, more composedly, to recollect thelittle chance there was that the Princess would, even for her own sake, resentful as she was in the highest degree of her husband's illbehaviour, join her resources to his, to the destruction of one who hadso generally showed himself an indulgent and affectionate father. Whenhe had adopted this better mood, a step was heard upon the staircase, and after a long and unequal descent, Hereward, in his heavy armour, atlength coolly arrived at the bottom of the steps. Behind him, pantingand trembling, partly with cold and partly with terror, came Douban, the slave well skilled in medicine. 

"Welcome, good Edward! Welcome, Douban!" he said, "whose medical skillis sufficiently able to counterbalance the weight of years which hangupon him. "

"Your Highness is gracious, " said Douban--but what he would havefarther said was cut off by a violent fit of coughing, the consequenceof his age, of his feeble habit, of the damps of the dungeon, and therugged exercise of descending the long and difficult staircase. 

"Thou art unaccustomed to visit thy patients in so rough an abode, "said Alexius; "and, nevertheless, to the damps of these dreary regionsstate necessity obliges us to confine many, who are no less our belovedsubjects in reality than they are in title. "

The medical man continued his cough, perhaps as an apology for notgiving that answer of assent, with which his conscience did not easilypermit him to reply to an observation, which, though stated by one whoshould know the fact, seemed not to be in itself altogether likely. 

"Yes, my Douban, " said the Emperor, "in this strong case of steel andadamant have we found it necessary to enclose the redoubted Ursel, whose fame is spread through the whole world, both for military skill, political wisdom, personal bravery, and other noble gifts, which wehave been obliged to obscure for a time, in order that we might, at thefittest conjuncture, which is now arrived, restore them to the world intheir full lustre. Feel his pulse, therefore, Douban--consider him asone who hath suffered severe confinement, with all its privations, andis about to be suddenly restored to the full enjoyment of life, andwhatever renders life valuable. "

"I will do my best, " said Douban; "but your Majesty must consider, thatwe work upon a frail and exhausted subject, whose health seems alreadywellnigh gone, and may perhaps vanish in an instant--like this pale andtrembling light, whose precarious condition the life-breath of thisunfortunate patient seems closely to resemble. "

"Desire, therefore, good Douban, one or two of the mutes who serve inthe interior, and who have repeatedly been thy assistants in suchcases--or stay--Edward, thy motions will be more speedy; do thou go forthe mutes--make them bring some kind of litter to transport thepatient; and, Douban, do thou superintend the whole. Transport himinstantly to a suitable apartment, only taking care that it be secret, and let him enjoy the comforts of the bath, and whatever else may tendto restore his feeble animation--keeping in mind, that he must, ifpossible, appear to-morrow in the field. "

"That will be hard, " said Douban, "after having been, it would appear. Subjected to such fare and such usage as his fluctuating pulseintimates but too plainly. "

"'Twas a mistake of the dungeon-keeper, the inhuman villain, who shouldnot go without his reward, " continued the Emperor, "had not Heavenalready bestowed it by the strange means of a sylvan man, or native ofthe woods, who yesterday put to death the jailor who meditated thedeath of his prisoner--Yes, my dear Douban, a private sentinel of ourguards called the Immortal, had wellnigh annihilated this flower of ourtrust, whom for a time we were compelled to immure in secret. Then, indeed, a rude hammer had dashed to pieces an unparalleled brilliant, but the fates have arrested such a misfortune. "

The assistance having arrived, the physician, who seemed moreaccustomed to act than to speak, directed a bath to be prepared withmedicated herbs, and gave it as his opinion, that the patient shouldnot be disturbed till to-morrow's sun was high in the heavens. Urselaccordingly was assisted to the bath, which was employed according tothe directions of the physician; but without affording any materialsymptoms of recovery. From thence he was transferred to a cheerfulbedchamber, opening by an ample window to one of the terraces of thepalace, which commanded an extensive prospect. These operations wereperformed upon a frame so extremely stupified by previous suffering, sodead to the usual sensations of existence, that it was not till thesensibility should be gradually restored by friction of the stiffenedlimbs, and other means, that the leech hoped the mists of the intellectshould at length begin to clear away. 

Douban readily undertook to obey the commands of the Emperor, andremained by the bed of the patient until the dawn of morning, ready tosupport nature as far as the skill of leechcraft admitted. 

From the mutes, much more accustomed to be the executioners of theEmperor's displeasure than of his humanity, Douban selected one man ofmilder mood, and by Alexius's order, made him understand, that the askin which he was engaged was to be kept most strictly secret, while thehardened slave was astonished to find that the attentions paid to thesick were to be rendered with yet more mystery than the bloody officesof death and torture. 

The passive patient received the various acts of attention which wererendered to him in silence; and if not totally without consciousness, at least without a distinct comprehension of their object. After thesoothing operation of the bath, and the voluptuous exchange of the rudeand musty pile of straw, on which he had stretched himself for years, for a couch of the softest down, Ursel was presented with a sedativedraught, slightly tinctured with an opiate. The balmy restorer ofnature came thus invoked, and the captive sunk into a delicious slumberlong unknown to him, and which seemed to occupy equally his mentalfaculties and his bodily frame, while the features were released fromtheir rigid tenor, and the posture of the limbs, no longer disturbed byfits of cramp, and sudden and agonizing twists and throes, seemedchanged for a placid state of the most perfect ease and tranquillity. 

The morn was already colouring the horizon, and the freshness of thebreeze of dawn had insinuated itself into the lofty halls of the palaceof the Blacquernal, when a gentle tap at the door of the chamberawakened Douban, who, undisturbed from the calm state of his patient, had indulged himself in a brief repose. The door opened, and a figureappeared, disguised in the robes worn by an officer of the palace, andconcealed, beneath an artificial beard of great size, and of a whitecolour, the features of the Emperor himself. "Douban, " said Alexius, "how fares it with thy patient, whose safety is this day of suchconsequence to the Grecian state?"

"Well, my lord, " replied the physician, "excellently well; and if he isnot now disturbed, I will wager whatever skill I possess, that nature, assisted by the art of the physician, will triumph over the damps andthe unwholesome air of the impure dungeon. Only be prudent, my lord, and let not an untimely haste bring this Ursel forward into the contestere he has arranged the disturbed current of his ideas, and recovered, in some degree, the spring of his mind, and the powers of his body. "

"I will rule my impatience, " said the Emperor, "or rather, Douban, Iwill be ruled by thee. Thinkest thou he is awake?"

"I am inclined to think so, " said the leech, "but he opens not his eyes, and seems to me as if he absolutely resisted the natural impulse torouse himself and look around him. "

"Speak to him, " said the Emperor, "and let us know what is passing inhis mind. "

"It is at some risk, " replied the physician, "but you shall be obeyed. --Ursel, " he said, approaching the bed of his blind patient, and then, in a louder tone, he repeated again, "Ursel! Ursel!"

"Peace--Hush!" muttered the patient; "disturb not the blest in theirecstacy--nor again recall the most miserable of mortals to finish thedraught of bitterness which his fate had compelled him to commence. "

"Again, again, " said the Emperor, aside to Douban, "try him yet again;it is of importance for me to know in what degree he possesses hissenses, or in what measure they have disappeared from him. "

"I would not, however, " said the physician, "be the rash and guiltyperson, who, by an ill-timed urgency, should produce a total alienationof mind and plunge him back either into absolute lunacy, or produce astupor in which he might remain for a long period. "

"Surely not, " replied the Emperor: "my commands are those of oneChristian to another, nor do I wish them farther obeyed than as theyare consistent with the laws of God and man. "

He paused for a moment after this declaration, and yet but few minuteshad elapsed ere he again urged the leech to pursue the interrogation ofhis patient. "If you hold me not competent, " said Douban, somewhat vainof the trust necessarily reposed in him, "to judge of the treatment ofmy patient, your Imperial Highness must take the risk and the troubleupon yourself. "

"Marry, I shall, " said the Emperor, "for the scruples of leeches arenot to be indulged, when the fate of kingdoms and the lives of monarchsare placed against them in the scales. --Rouse thee, my noble Ursel!hear a voice, with which thy ears were once well acquainted, welcomethee back to glory and command! Look around thee, and see how the worldsmiles to welcome thee back from imprisonment to empire!"

"Cunning fiend!" said Ursel, "who usest the most wily baits in order toaugment the misery of the wretched! Know, tempter, that I am consciousof the whole trick of the soothing images of last night--thy baths--thybeds--and thy bowers of bliss. --But sooner shalt thou be able to bringa smile upon the cheek of St. Anthony the Eremite, than induce me tocurl mine after the fashion of earthly voluptuaries. "

"Try it, foolish man, " insisted the Emperor, "and trust to the evidenceof thy senses for the reality of the pleasures by which thou art nowsurrounded; or, if thou art obstinate in thy lack of faith, tarry asthou art for a single moment, and I will bring with me a being sounparalleled in her loveliness, that a single glance of her were worththe restoration of thine eyes, were it only to look upon her for amoment. " So saying he left the apartment. 

"Traitor, " said Ursel, "and deceiver of old, bring no one hither! andstrive not, by shadowy and ideal forms of beauty, to increase thedelusion that gilds my prison-house for a moment, in order, doubtless, to destroy totally the spark of reason, and then exchange this earthlyhell for a dungeon in the infernal regions themselves. "

"His mind is somewhat shattered, " mused the physician, "which is oftenthe consequence of a long solitary confinement. I marvel much, " was hisfarther thought, "if the Emperor can shape out any rational servicewhich this man can render him, after being so long immured in sohorrible a dungeon. --Thou thinkest, then, " continued he, addressing thepatient, "that the seeming release of last night, with its baths andrefreshments, was only a delusive dream, without any reality?"

"Ay--what else?" answered Ursel. 

"And that the arousing thyself, as we desire thee to do, would be but aresigning to a vain temptation, in order to wake to more unhappinessthan formerly?"

"Even so, " returned the patient. 

"What, then, are thy thoughts of the Emperor by whose command thousufferest so severe a restraint?"

Perhaps Douban wished he had forborne this question, for, in the verymoment when he put it, the door of the chamber opened, and the Emperorentered, with his daughter hanging upon his arm, dressed withsimplicity, yet with becoming splendour. She had found time, it seems, to change her dress for a white robe, which resembled a kind ofmourning, the chief ornament of which was a diamond chaplet, ofinestimable value, which surrounded and bound the long sable tresses, that reached from her head to her waist. Terrified almost to death, shehad been surprised by her father in the company of her husband theCaesar, and her mother; and the same thundering mandate had at onceordered Briennius, in the character of a more than suspected traitor, under the custody of a strong guard of Varangians, and commanded her toattend her father to the bedchamber of Ursel, in which she now stood;resolved, however, that she would stick by the sinking fortunes of herhusband, even in the last extremity, yet no less determined that shewould not rely upon her own entreaties or remonstrances, until sheshould see whether her father's interference was likely to reassume aresolved and positive character. Hastily as the plans of Alexius hadbeen formed, and hastily as they had been disconcerted by accident, there remained no slight chance that he might be forced to come roundto the purpose on which his wife and daughter had fixed their heart, the forgiveness, namely, of the guilty Nicephorus Briennius. To hisastonishment, and not perhaps greatly to his satisfaction, he heard thepatient deeply engaged with the physician in canvassing his owncharacter. 

"Think not, " said Ursel in reply to him, "that though I am immured inthis dungeon, and treated as something worse than an outcast ofhumanity--and although I am, moreover, deprived of my eyesight, thedearest gift of Heaven--think not, I say, though I suffer all this bythe cruel will of Alexius Comnenus, that therefore I hold him to bemine enemy; on the contrary, it is by his means that the blinded andmiserable prisoner has been taught to seek a liberty far moreunconstrained than this poor earth can afford, and a vision far moreclear than any Mount Pisgah on this wretched side of the grave can giveus: Shall I therefore account the Emperor among mine enemies? He whohas taught me the vanity of earthly things--the nothingness of earthlyenjoyments--and the pure hope of a better world, as a certain exchangefor the misery of the present? No!"

The Emperor had stood somewhat disconcerted at the beginning of thisspeech, but hearing it so very unexpectedly terminate, as he waswilling to suppose, much in his own favour, he threw himself into anattitude which was partly that of a modest person listening to his ownpraises, and partly that of a man highly struck with the commendationsheaped upon him by a generous adversary. 

"My friend, " he said aloud, "how truly do you read my purpose, when yousuppose that the knowledge which men of your disposition can extractfrom evil, was all the experience which I wished you to derive from acaptivity protracted by adverse circumstances, far, very far, beyond mywishes! Let me embrace the generous man who knows so well how toconstrue the purpose of a perplexed, but still faithful friend. "

The patient raised himself in his bed. 

"Hold there!" he said, "methinks my faculties begin to collectthemselves. Yes, " he muttered, "that is the treacherous voice whichfirst bid me welcome as a friend, and then commanded fiercely that Ishould be deprived of the sight of my eyes!--Increase thy rigour ifthou wilt, Comnenus--add, if thou canst, to the torture of myconfinement--but since I cannot see thy hypocritical and inhumanfeatures, spare me, in mercy, the sound of a voice, more distressing tomine ear than toads, than serpents, --than whatever nature has mostoffensive and disgusting!"

This speech was delivered with so much energy, that it was in vain thatthe Emperor strove to interrupt its tenor; although he himself, as wellas Douban and his daughter, heard a great deal more of the language ofunadorned and natural passion than he had counted upon. 

"Raise thy head, rash man, " he said, "and charm thy tongue, ere itproceed in a strain which may cost thee dear. Look at me, and see if Ihave not reserved a reward capable of atoning for all the evil whichthy folly may charge to my account. "

Hitherto the prisoner had remained with his eyes obstinately shut, regarding the imperfect recollection he had of sights which had beenbefore his eyes the foregoing evening, as the mere suggestion of adeluded imagination, if not actually presented by some seducing spirit. But now when his eyes fairly encountered the stately figure of theEmperor, and the graceful form of his lovely daughter, painted in thetender rays of the morning dawn, he ejaculated faintly, "I see!--Isee!"--And with that ejaculation fell back on the pillow in a swoon, which instantly found employment for Douban and his restoratives. 

"A most wonderful cure indeed!" exclaimed the physician; "and theheight of my wishes would be to possess such another miraculousrestorative. "

"Fool!" said the Emperor; "canst thou not conceive that what has neverbeen taken away is restored with little difficulty? He was made, " hesaid, lowering his voice, "to undergo a painful operation, which ledhim to believe that the organs of sight were destroyed; and as lightscarcely ever visited him, and when it did, only in doubtful andinvisible glimmerings, the prevailing darkness, both physical andmental, that surrounded him, prevented him from being sensible of theexistence of that precious faculty, of which he imagined himself bereft. Perhaps thou wilt ask my reason for inflicting upon him so strange adeception?--Simply it was, that being by it conceived incapable ofreigning, his memory might pass out of the minds of the public, while, at the same time, I reserved his eyesight, that in case occasion shouldcall, it might be in my power once more to liberate him from hisdungeon, and employ, as I now propose to do, his courage and talents inthe service of the empire, to counterbalance those of otherconspirators. "

"And can your imperial Highness, " said Douban, "hope that you haveacquired this man's duty and affection by the conduct you have observedto him?"

"I cannot tell, " answered the Emperor; "that must be as futurity shalldetermine. All I know is, that it is no fault of mine, if Ursel doesnot reckon freedom and a long course of Empire--perhaps sanctioned byan alliance with our own blood--and the continued enjoyment of theprecious organs of eyesight, of which a less scrupulous man would havedeprived him, against a maimed and darkened existence. "

"Since such is your Highness's opinion and resolution, " said Douban, "it is for me to aid, and not to counteract it. Permit me, therefore, to pray your Highness and the Princess to withdraw, that I may use suchremedies as may confirm a mind which has been so strangely shaken, andrestore to him fully the use of those eyes, of which he has been solong deprived. "

"I am content, Douban, " said the Emperor; "but take notice, Ursel isnot totally at liberty until he has expressed the resolution to becomeactually mine. It may behove both him and thee to know, that althoughthere is no purpose of remitting him to the dungeons of the Blacquernalpalace, yet if he, or any on his part, should aspire to head a party inthese feverish times, --by the honour of a gentleman, to swear aFrankish oath, he shall find that he is not out of the reach of thebattle-axes of my Varangians. I trust to thee to communicate this fact, which concerns alike him and all who have interest in his fortunes. --Come, daughter, we will withdraw, and leave the leech with his patient--Take notice, Douban, it is of importance that you acquaint me the veryfirst moment when the patient can hold rational communication with me. "

Alexius and his accomplished daughter departed accordingly. 

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-EIGHTH. 

 Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Bears yet a precious jewel in its head. AS YOU LIKE IT. 

From a terraced roof of the Blacquernal palace, accessible by a sash-door, which opened from the bed-chamber of Ursel, there was commandedone of the most lovely and striking views which the romanticneighbourhood of Constantinople afforded. 

After suffering him to repose and rest his agitated faculties, it wasto this place that the physician led his patient; for when somewhatcomposed, he had of himself requested to be permitted to verify thetruth of his restored eyesight, by looking out once more upon themajestic face of nature. 

On the one hand, the scene which he beheld was a masterpiece of humanart. The proud city, ornamented with stately buildings, as became thecapital of the world, showed a succession of glittering spires andorders of architecture, some of them chaste and simple, like those thecapitals of which were borrowed from baskets-full of acanthus; somederiving the fluting of their shafts from the props made originally tosupport the lances of the earlier Greeks--forms simple, yet moregraceful in their simplicity, than any which human ingenuity has beenable since to invent. With the most splendid specimens which ancientart could afford of those strictly classical models were associatedthose of a later age, where more modern taste had endeavoured atimprovement, and, by mixing the various orders, had produced such aswere either composite, or totally out of rule. The size of thebuildings in which they were displayed, however, procured them respect;nor could even the most perfect judge of architecture avoid beingstruck by the grandeur of their extent and effect, although hurt by theincorrectness of the taste in which they were executed. Arches oftriumph, towers, obelisks, and spires, designed for various purposes, rose up into the air in confused magnificence; while the lower view wasfilled by the streets of the city, the domestic habitations forminglong narrow alleys, on either side of which the houses arose to variousand unequal heights, but, being generally finished with terracedcoverings, thick set with plants and flowers, and fountains, had, whenseen from an eminence, a more noble and interesting aspect than is everafforded by the sloping and uniform roofs of streets in the capitals ofthe north of Europe. 

It has taken us some time to give, in words, the idea which was at asingle glance conveyed to Ursel, and affected him at first with greatpain. His eyeballs had been long strangers to that daily exercise, which teaches us the habit of correcting the scenes as they appear toour sight, by the knowledge which we derive from the use of our othersenses. His idea of distance was so confused, that it seemed as if allthe spires, turrets, and minarets which he beheld, were crowded forwardupon his eyeballs, and almost touching them. With a shriek of horror, Ursel turned himself to the further side, and cast his eyes upon adifferent scene. Here also he saw towers, steeples, and turrets, butthey were those of the churches and public buildings beneath his feet, reflected from the dazzling piece of water which formed the harbour ofConstantinople, and which, from the abundance of wealth which ittransported to the city, was well termed the Golden Horn. In one place, this superb basin was lined with quays, where stately dromonds andargosies unloaded their wealth, while, by the shore of the haven, galleys, feluccas, and other small craft, idly flapped the singularlyshaped and snow-white pinions which served them for sails. In otherplaces the Golden Horn lay shrouded in a verdant mantle of trees, wherethe private gardens of wealthy or distinguished individuals, or placesof public recreation, shot down upon and were bounded by the glassywaters. 

On the Bosphorus, which might be seen in the distance, the little fleetof Tancred was lying in the same station they had gained during thenight, which was fitted to command the opposite landing; this theirgeneral had preferred to a midnight descent upon Constantinople, notknowing whether, so coming, they might be received as friends orenemies. This delay, however, had given the Greeks an opportunity, either by the orders of Alexius, or the equally powerful mandates ofsome of the conspirators, to tow six ships of war, full of armed men, and provided with the maritime offensive weapons peculiar to the Greeksat that period, which they had moored so as exactly to cover the placewhere the troops of Tancred must necessarily land. 

This preparation gave some surprise to the valiant Tancred, who did notknow that such vessels had arrived in the harbour from Lemnos on thepreceding night. The undaunted courage of that prince was, however, inno respect to be shaken by the degree of unexpected danger with whichhis adventure now appeared to be attended. 

This splendid view, from the description of which we have in somedegree digressed, was seen by the physician and Ursel from a terrace, the loftiest almost on the palace of the Blacquernal. To the city-ward, it was bounded by a solid wall, of considerable height, giving aresting-place for the roof of a lower building, which, sloping outward, broke to the view the vast height unobscured otherwise save by a highand massy balustrade, composed of bronze, which, to the havenward, sunksheer down upon an uninterrupted precipice. 

No sooner, therefore, had Ursel turned his eyes that way, than, thoughplaced far from the brink of the terrace, he exclaimed, with a shriek, "Save me--save me! if you are not indeed the destined executors of theEmperor's will. "

"We are indeed such, " said Douban, "to save, and if possible to bringyou to complete recovery; but by no means to do you injury, or tosuffer it to be offered by others. "

"Guard me then from myself, " said Ursel, "and save me from the reelingand insane desire which I feel to plunge myself into the abyss, to theedge of which you have guided me. "

"Such a giddy and dangerous temptation is, " said the physician, "commonto those who have not for a long time looked down from precipitousheights, and are suddenly brought to them. Nature, however bounteous, hath not provided for the cessation of our faculties for years, and fortheir sudden resumption in full strength and vigour. An interval, longer or shorter, must needs intervene. Can you not believe thisterrace a safe station while you have my support and that of thisfaithful slave?"

"Certainly, " said Ursel; "but permit me to turn my face towards thisstone wall, for I cannot bear to look at the flimsy piece of wire, which is the only battlement of defence that interposes betwixt me andthe precipice. " He spoke of the bronze balustrade, six feet high, andmassive in proportion. Thus saying, and holding fast by the physician'sarm, Ursel, though himself a younger and more able man, trembled, andmoved his feet as slowly as if made of lead, until he reached thesashed-door, where stood a kind of balcony-seat, in which he placedhimself. --"Here, " he said, "will I remain. "

"And here, " said Douban, "will I make the communication of the Emperor, which it is necessary you should be prepared to reply to. It places you, you will observe, at your own disposal for liberty or captivity, but itconditions for your resigning that sweet but sinful morsel termedrevenge, which, I must not conceal from you, chance appears willing toput into your hand. You know the degree of rivalry in which you havebeen held by the Emperor, and you know the measure of evil you havesustained at his hand. The question is, Can you forgive what has takenplace?"

"Let me wrap my head round with my mantle, " said Ursel, "to dispel thisdizziness which still oppresses my poor brain, and as soon as the powerof recollection is granted me, you shall know my sentiments. "

He sunk upon the seat, muffled in the way which he described, and aftera few minutes' reflection, with a trepidation which argued the patientstill to be under the nervous feeling of extreme horror mixed withterror, he addressed Douban thus: "The operation of wrong and cruelty, in the moment when they are first inflicted, excites, of course, theutmost resentment of the sufferer; nor is there, perhaps, a passionwhich lives so long in his bosom as the natural desire of revenge. If, then, during the first month, when I lay stretched upon my bed of wantand misery, you had offered me an opportunity of revenge upon my crueloppressor, the remnant of miserable life which remained to me shouldhave been willingly bestowed to purchase it. But a suffering of weeks, or even months, must not be compared in effect with that of years. Fora short space of endurance, the body, as well as the mind, retains thatvigorous habit which holds the prisoner still connected with life, andteaches him to thrill at the long-forgotten chain of hopes, of wishes, of disappointments, and mortifications, which affected his formerexistence. But the wounds become callous as they harden, and other andbetter feelings occupy their place, while they gradually die away inforgetfulness. The enjoyments, the amusements of this world, occupy nopart of his time upon whom the gates of despair have once closed. Itell thee, my kind physician, that for a season, in an insane attemptto effect my liberty, I cut through a large portion of the living rock. But Heaven cured me of so foolish an idea; and if I did not actuallycome to love Alexius Comnenus--for how could that have been a possibleeffect in any rational state of my intellects?--yet as I becameconvinced of my own crimes, sins, and follies, the more and more I wasalso persuaded that Alexius was but the agent through whom Heavenexercised a dearly-purchased right of punishing me for my manifoldoffences and transgressions; and that it was not therefore upon theEmperor that my resentment ought to visit itself. And I can now say tothee, that so far as a man who has undergone so dreadful a change canbe supposed to know his own mind, I feel no desire either to rivalAlexius in a race for empire, or to avail myself of any of the variousproffers which he proposes to me as the price of withdrawing my claim. Let him keep unpurchased the crown, for which he has paid, in myopinion, a price which it is not worth. "

"This is extraordinary stoicism, noble Ursel, " answered the physicianDouban. "Am I then to understand that you reject the fair offers ofAlexius, and desire, instead of all which he is willing--nay, anxiousto bestow--to be committed safely back to thy old blinded dungeon inthe Blacquernal, that you may continue at ease those pietisticmeditations which have already conducted thee to so extravagant aconclusion?"

"Physician, " said Ursel, while a shuddering fit that affected his wholebody testified his alarm at the alternative proposed--"one wouldimagine thine own profession might have taught thee, that no meremortal man, unless predestined to be a glorified saint, could everprefer darkness to the light of day; blindness itself to the enjoymentof the power of sight; the pangs of starving to competent sustenance, or the damps of a dungeon to the free air of God's creation. No!--itmay be virtue to do so, but to such a pitch mine does not soar. All Irequire of the Emperor for standing by him with all the power my namecan give him at this crisis is, that he will provide for my receptionas a monk in some of those pleasant and well endowed seminaries ofpiety, to which his devotion, or his fears, have given rise. Let me notbe again the object of his suspicion, the operation of which is moredreadful than that of being the object of his hate. Forgotten by power, as I have myself lost the remembrance of those that wielded it, let mefind my way to the grave, unnoticed, unconstrained, at liberty, inpossession of my dim and disused organs of sight, and, above all, atpeace. "

"If such be thy serious and earnest wish, noble Ursel, " said thephysician, "I myself have no hesitation to warrant to thee the fullaccomplishment of thy religious and moderate desires. But, bethink thee, thou art once more an inhabitant of the court, in which thou maystobtain what thou wilt to-day; while to-morrow, shouldst thou regret thyindifference, it may be thy utmost entreaty will not suffice to gainfor thee the slightest extension of thy present conditions. "

"Be it so, " said Ursel; "I will then stipulate for another condition, which indeed has only reference to this day. I will solicit hisImperial Majesty, with all humility, to spare me the pain of a personaltreaty between himself and me, and that he will be satisfied with thesolemn assurance that I am most willing to do in his favour all that heis desirous of dictating; while, on the other hand, I desire only theexecution of those moderate conditions of my future aliment which Ihave already told thee at length. "

"But wherefore, " said Douban, "shouldst thou be afraid of announcing tothe Emperor thy disposition to an agreement, which cannot be esteemedotherwise than extremely moderate on thy part? Indeed, I fear theEmperor will insist on a brief personal conference. "

"I am not ashamed, " said Ursel, "to confess the truth. It is true, thatI have, or think I have, renounced what the Scripture calls the prideof life; but the old Adam still lives within us, and maintains againstthe better part of our nature an inextinguishable quarrel, easy to bearoused from its slumber, but as difficult to be again couched in peace. While last night I but half understood that mine enemy was in mypresence, and while my faculties performed but half their duty inrecalling his deceitful and hated accents, did not my heart throb in mybosom with all the agitation of a taken bird, and shall I again have toenter into a personal treaty with the man who, be his general conductwhat it may, has been, the constant and unprovoked cause of myunequalled misery? Douban, no!--to listen to his voice again, were tohear an alarm sounded to every violent and vindictive passion, of myheart; and though, may Heaven so help me as my intentions towards himare upright, yet it is impossible for me to listen to his professionswith a chance of safety either to him or to myself. "

"If you be so minded, " replied Douban, "I shall only repeat to him yourstipulation, and you must swear to him that you will strictly observeit. Without this being done, it must be difficult, or perhapsimpossible, to settle the league of which both are desirous. "

"Amen!" said Ursel; "and as I am pure in my purpose, and resolved tokeep it to the uttermost, so may Heaven guard me from the influence ofprecipitate revenge, ancient grudge, or new quarrel!"

An authoritative knock at the door of the sleeping chamber was nowheard, and Ursel, relieved by more powerful feelings, from thegiddiness of which he had complained, walked firmly into the bedroom, and seating himself, waited with averted eyes the entrance of theperson who demanded admittance, and who proved to be no other thanAlexius Comnenus. 

The Emperor appeared at the door in a warlike dress, suited for thedecoration of a prince who was to witness a combat in the lists foughtout before him. 

"Sage Douban, " he said, "has our esteemed prisoner, Ursel, made hischoice between our peace and enmity?"

"He hath, my lord, " replied the physician, "embraced the lot of thathappy portion of mankind, whose hearts and lives are devoted to theservice of your Majesty's government. "

"He will then this day, " continued the Emperor, "render me the officeof putting down all those who may pretend to abet insurrection in hisname, and under pretext of his wrongs?"

"He will, my lord, " replied the physician, "act to the fullest the partwhich you require. "

"And in what way, " said the Emperor, adopting his most gracious tone ofvoice, "would our faithful Ursel desire that services like these, rendered in the hour of extreme need; should be acknowledged by theEmperor?"

"Simply, " answered Douban, "by saying nothing upon the subject. Hedesires only that all jealousies between you and him may be henceforthforgotten, and that he may be admitted into one of your Highness'smonastic institutions, with leave to dedicate the rest of his life tothe worship of Heaven and its saints. "

"Hath he persuaded thee of this, Douban?"--said the Emperor, in a lowand altered voice. "By Heaven! when I consider from what prison he wasbrought, and in what guise he inhabited it, I cannot believe in thisgall-less disposition. He must at least speak to me himself, ere I canbelieve, in some degree, the transformation of the fiery Ursel into abeing so little capable of feeling the ordinary impulses of mankind. "

"Hear me, Alexius Comnenus, " said the prisoner; "and so may thine ownprayers to Heaven find access and acceptation, as thou believest thewords which I speak to thee in simplicity of heart. If thine empire ofGreece were made of coined gold, it would hold out no bait for myacceptance; nor, I thank Heaven, have even the injuries I haveexperienced at thy hand, cruel and extensive as they have been, impressed upon me the slightest desire of requiting treachery withtreachery. Think of me as thou wilt, so thou seek'st not again toexchange words with me; and believe me, that when thou hast put meunder the most rigid of thy ecclesiastical foundations, the discipline, the fare, and the vigils, will be far superior to the existence fallingto the share of those whom the King delights to honour, and whotherefore must afford the King their society whenever they are summonedto do so. "

"It is hardly for me, " said the physician, "to interpose in so high amatter; yet, as trusted both by the noble Ursel, and by his Highnessthe Emperor, I have made a brief abstract of these short conditions tobe kept by the high parties towards each other, _sub criminefalsi_. "

The Emperor protracted the intercourse with Ursel, until he more fullyexplained to him the occasion which he should have that very day forhis services. When they parted, Alexius, with a great show of affection, embraced his late prisoner, while it required all the self-command andstoicism of Ursel to avoid expressing in plain terms the extent towhich he abhorred the person who thus caressed him. 

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-NINTH. 

 * * * * O, Conspiracy! Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free? O, then, by day, Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, Conspiracy; Hide it in smiles and affability; For if thou path thy native semblance on, Not Erebus itself were dim enough To hide thee from prevention. JULIUS CAESAR

The important morning at last arrived, on which, by the Imperialproclamation, the combat between the Caesar and Count Robert of Pariswas appointed to take place. This was a circumstance in a great measureforeign to the Grecian manners, and to which, therefore, the peopleannexed different ideas from those which were associated with the samesolemn decision of God, as the Latins called it, by the Western nations. The consequence was a vague, but excessive agitation among the people, who connected the extraordinary strife which they were to witness, withthe various causes which had been whispered abroad as likely to giveoccasion to some general insurrection of a great and terrible nature. 

By the Imperial order, regular lists had been prepared for the combat, with opposite gates, or entrances, as was usual, for the admittance ofthe two champions; and it was understood that the appeal was to be madeto the Divinity by each, according to the forms prescribed by theChurch of which the combatants were respectively members. The situationof these lists was on the side of the shore adjoining on the west tothe continent. At no great distance, the walls of the city were seen, of various architecture, composed of lime and of stone, and furnishedwith no less than four-and-twenty gates, or posterns, five of whichregarded the land, and nineteen the water. All this formed a beautifulprospect, much of which is still visible. The town itself is aboutnineteen miles in circumference; and as it is on all sides surroundedwith lofty cypresses, its general appearance is that of a city arisingout of a stately wood of these magnificent trees, partly shrouding thepinnacles, obelisks, and minarets, which then marked the site of manynoble Christian temples; but now, generally speaking, intimate theposition of as many Mahomedan mosques. 

These lists, for the convenience of spectators, were surrounded on allsides by long rows of seats, sloping downwards. In the middle of theseseats, and exactly opposite the centre of the lists, was a high throne, erected for the Emperor himself; and which was separated from the morevulgar galleries by a circuit of wooden barricades, which anexperienced eye could perceive, might, in case of need, be madeserviceable for purposes of defence. 

The lists were sixty yards in length, by perhaps about forty in breadth, and these afforded ample space for the exercise of the combat, both onhorseback and on foot. Numerous bands of the Greek citizens began, withthe very break of day, to issue from the gates and posterns of the city, to examine and wonder at the construction of the lists, pass theircriticisms upon the purposes of the peculiar parts of the fabric, andoccupy places, to secure them for the spectacle. Shortly after arriveda large band of those soldiers who were called the Roman Immortals. These entered without ceremony, and placed themselves on either hand ofthe wooden barricade which fenced the Emperor's seat. Some of them tookeven a greater liberty; for, affecting to be pressed against theboundary, there were individuals who approached the partition itself, and seemed to meditate climbing over it, and placing themselves on thesame side with the Emperor. Some old domestic slaves of the householdnow showed themselves, as if for the purpose of preserving this sacredcircle for Alexius and his court; and, in proportion as the Immortalsbegan to show themselves encroaching and turbulent, the strength of thedefenders of the prohibited precincts seemed gradually to increase. 

There was, though scarcely to be observed, besides the grand access tothe Imperial seat from without, another opening also from the outside, secured by a very strong door, by which different persons receivedadmission beneath the seats destined for the Imperial party. Thesepersons, by their length of limb, breadth of shoulders, by the fur oftheir cloaks, and especially by the redoubted battle-axes which all ofthem bore, appeared to be Varangians; but, although neither dressed intheir usual habit of pomp, nor in their more effectual garb of war, still, when narrowly examined, they might be seen to possess theirusual offensive weapons. These men, entering in separate and stragglingparties, might be observed to join the slaves of the interior of thepalace in opposing the intrusion of the Immortals upon the seat of theEmperor, and the benches around. Two or three Immortals, who hadactually made good their frolic, and climbed over the division, wereflung back again, very unceremoniously, by the barbaric strength andsinewy arms of the Varangians. 

The people around, and in the adjacent galleries, most of whom had theair of citizens in their holyday dresses, commented a good deal onthese proceedings, and were inclined strongly to make part with theImmortals. "It was a shame to the Emperor, " they said, "to encouragethese British barbarians to interpose themselves by violence betweenhis person and the Immortal cohorts of the city, who were in some sorthis own children. "

Stephanos, the gymnastic, whose bulky strength and stature rendered himconspicuous amid this party, said, without hesitation, "If there aretwo people here who will join in saying that the Immortals are unjustlydeprived of their right of guarding the Emperor's person, here is thehand that shall place them beside the Imperial chair. "

"Not so, " quoth a centurion of the Immortals, whom we have alreadyintroduced to our readers by the name of Harpax; "Not so, Stephanos;that happy time may arrive, but it is not yet come, my gem of thecircus. Thou knowest that on this occasion it is one of these Counts, or western Franks, who undertakes the combat; and the Varangians, whocall these people their enemies, have some reason to claim a precedencyin guarding the lists, which it might not at this moment be convenientto dispute with them. Why, man, if thou wert half so witty as thou artlong, thou wouldst be sensible that it were bad woodmanship to raisethe hollo upon the game, ere it had been driven within compass of thenets. "

While the athlete rolled his huge grey eyes as if to conjure out thesense of this intimation, his little friend Lysimachus, the artist, putting himself to pain to stand upon his tiptoe, and look intelligent, said, approaching as near as he could to Harpax's ear, "Thou maysttrust me, gallant centurion, that this man. Of mould and muscle shallneither start like a babbling hound on a false scent, nor become muteand inert, when the general signal is given. But tell me, " said he, speaking very low, and for that purpose mounting a bench, which broughthim on a level with the centurion's ear, "would it not have been betterthat a strong guard of the valiant Immortals had been placed in thiswooden citadel, to ensure the object of the day?"

"Without question, " said the centurion, "it was so meant; but thesestrolling Varangians have altered their station of their ownauthority. "

"Were it not--well, " said Lysimachus, "that you, who are greatly morenumerous than the barbarians, should begin a fray before more of thesestrangers arrive?"

"Content ye, friend, " said the centurion, coldly, "we know our time. Anattack commenced too early would be worse than thrown away, nor wouldan opportunity occur of executing our project in the fitting time, ifan alarm were prematurely given at this moment. "

So saying, he shuffled off among his fellow-soldiers, so as to avoidsuspicious intercourse with such persons as were only concerned withthe civic portion of the conspirators. 

As the morning advanced, and the sun took a higher station in thehorizon, the various persons whom curiosity, or some more decidedmotive, brought to see the proposed combat, were seen streaming fromdifferent parts of the town, and rushing to occupy such accommodationas the circuit round the lists afforded them. In their road to theplace where preparation for combat was made, they had to ascend a sortof cape, which, in the form of a small hill, projected into theHellespont, and the butt of which, connecting it with the shore, afforded a considerable ascent, and of course a more commanding view ofthe strait between Europe and Asia, than either the immediate vicinityof the city, or the still lower ground upon which the lists wereerected. In passing this height, the earlier visitants of the listsmade little or no halt; but after a time, when it became obvious thatthose who had hurried forward to the place of combat were lingeringthere without any object or occupation, they that followed them in thesame route, with natural curiosity, paid a tribute to the landscape, bestowing some attention on its beauty, and paused to see what auguriescould be collected from the water, which were likely to have anyconcern in indicating the fate of the events that were to take place. Some straggling seamen were the first who remarked that a squadron ofthe Greek small craft (being that of Tancred) were in the act of makingtheir way from Asia, and threatening a descent upon Constantinople. 

"It is strange, " said a person, by rank the captain of a galley, "thatthese small vessels, which were ordered to return to Constantinople assoon as they disembarked the Latins, should have remained so long atScutari, and should not be rowing back to the imperial city until thistime, on the second day after their departure from thence. "

"I pray to Heaven, " said another of the same profession, "that theseseamen may come alone. It seems to me as if their ensign-staffs, bowsprits, and topmasts were decorated with the same ensigns, or nearlythe same, with those which the Latins displayed upon them, when, by theEmperor's order, they were transported towards Palestine; so methinksthe voyage back again resembles that of a fleet of merchant vessels, who have been prevented from discharging their cargo at the place oftheir destination. "

"There is little good, " said one of the politicians whom we formerlynoticed, "in dealing with such commodities, whether they are importedor exported. Yon ample banner which streams over the foremost galley, intimates the presence of a chieftain of no small rank among the Counts, whether it be for valour or for nobility. "

The seafaring leader added, with the voice of one who hints alarmingtidings, "They seem to have got to a point in the straits as high aswill enable them to run down--with the tide, and clear the cape whichwe stand on, although with what purpose they aim to land so closebeneath the walls of the city, he is a wiser man than I who pretends todetermine. "

"Assuredly, " returned his comrade, "the intention is not a kind one. The wealth of the city has temptations to a poor people, who only valuethe iron which they possess as affording them the means of procuringthe gold which they covet. "

"Ay, brother, " answered Demetrius the politician, "but see you not, lying at anchor within this bay which is formed by the cape, and at thevery point where these heretics are likely to be carried by the tide, six strong vessels, having the power of sending forth, not merelyshowers of darts and arrows, but of Grecian fire, as it is called, fromtheir hollow decks? If these Frank gentry continue directing theircourse upon the Imperial city, being, as they are, ------'propago Contemptrix Superum sane, saevaeque avidissima caedis Et violenta;' [Footnote: Ovid, Met. ]

we shall speedily see a combat better worth witnessing than thatannounced by the great trumpet of the Varangians. If you love me, letus sit down here for a moment, and see how this matter is to end. "

"An excellent motion, my ingenious friend, " said Lascaris, which wasthe name of the other citizen; "but bethink you, shall we not be indanger from the missiles with which the audacious Latins will not failto return the Greek fire, if, according to your conjecture, it shall bepoured upon them by the Imperial squadron?"

"That is not ill argued, my friend, " said Demetrius; "but know that youhave to do with a man who has been in such extremities before now; andif such a discharge should open from the sea, I would propose to you tostep back some fifty yards inland, and thus to interpose the very crestof the cape between us and the discharge of missiles; a mere childmight thus learn to face them without any alarm. "

"You are a wise man, neighbour, " said Lascaris, "and possess such amixture of valour and knowledge as becomes a man whom a friend might besupposed safely to risk his life with. There be those, for instance, who cannot show you the slightest glimpse of what is going on, withoutbringing you within peril of your life; whereas you, my worthy friendDemetrius, between your accurate knowledge of military affairs, andyour regard for your friend, are sure to show him all that is to beseen without the least risk to a person, who is naturally unwilling tothink of exposing himself to injury. But, Holy Virgin! what is themeaning of that red flag which the Greek Admiral has this instanthoisted?"

"Why, you see, neighbour, " answered Demetrius, "yonder western hereticcontinues to advance without minding the various signs which ourAdmiral has made to him to desist, and now he hoists the bloody colours, as if a man should clench his fist and say, If you persevere in youruncivil intention, I will do so and so. "

"By St. Sophia, " said Lascaris, "and that is giving him fair warning. But what is it the Imperial Admiral is about to do?"

"Run! run! friend Lascaris, " said Demetrius, "or you will see more ofthat than perchance you have any curiosity for. "

Accordingly, to add the strength of example to precept, Demetriushimself girt up his loins, and retreated with the most edifying speedto the opposite side of the ridge, accompanied by the greater part ofthe crowd, who had tarried there to witness the contest which thenewsmonger promised, and were determined to take his word for their ownsafety. The sound and sight which had alarmed Demetrius, was thedischarge of a large portion of Greek fire, which perhaps may be bestcompared to one of those immense Congreve rockets of the present day, which takes on its shoulders a small grapnel or anchor, and proceedsgroaning through the air, like a fiend overburdened by the mandate ofsome inexorable magician, and of which the operation was so terrifying, that the crews of the vessels attacked by this strange weaponfrequently forsook every means of defence, and ran themselves ashore. One of the principal ingredients of this dreadful fire was supposed tobe naphtha, or the bitumen which is collected on the banks of the DeadSea, and which, when in a state of ignition, could only be extinguishedby a very singular mixture, and which it was not likely to come incontact with. It produced a thick smoke and loud explosion, and wascapable, says Gibbon, of communicating its flames with equal vehemencein descent or lateral progress, [Footnote: For a full account of theGreek five, see Gibbon, chapter 53] In sieges, it was poured from theramparts, or launched like our bombs, in red-hot balls of stone or iron, or it was darted in flax twisted round arrows and in javelins. It wasconsidered as a state secret of the greatest importance; and forwellnigh four centuries it was unknown to the Mahomedans. But at lengththe composition was discovered by the Saracens, and used by them forrepelling the crusaders, and overpowering the Greeks, upon whose sideit had at one time been the most formidable implement of defence. Someexaggeration--we must allow for a barbarous period; but there seems nodoubt that the general description of the crusader Joinville should beadmitted as correct:--"It came flying through the air, " says that goodknight, "like a winged dragon, about the thickness of a hogshead, withthe report of thunder and the speed of lightning, and the darkness ofthe night was dispelled by this horrible illumination. "

Not only the bold Demetrius and his pupil Lascaris, but all the crowdwhom they influenced, fled manfully when the commodore of the Greeksfired the first discharge; and as the other vessels in the squadronfollowed his example, the heavens were filled with the unusual andoutrageous noise, while the smoke was so thick as to darken the veryair. As the fugitives passed the crest of the hill, they saw the seaman, whom we formerly mentioned as a spectator, snugly reclining under coverof a dry ditch, where he managed so as to secure himself as far aspossible from any accident. He could not, however, omit breaking hisjest on the politicians. 

"What, ho!" he cried, "my good friends, " without raising himself abovethe counterscarp of his ditch, "will you not remain upon your stationlong enough to finish that hopeful lecture upon battle by sea and land, which you had so happy an opportunity of commencing? Believe me, thenoise is more alarming than hurtful; the fire is all pointed in adirection opposite to yours, and if one of those dragons which you seedoes happen to fly landward instead of seaward, it is but the mistakeof some cabin-boy, who has used his linstock with more willingness thanability. "

Demetrius and Lascaris just heard enough of the naval hero's harangue, to acquaint them with the new danger with which they might be assailedby the possible misdirection of the weapons, and, rushing clown towardsthe lists at the head of a crowd half-desperate with fear, they hastilypropagated the appalling news, that the Latins were coming back fromAsia with the purpose of landing in arms, pillaging, and burning thecity. The uproar, in the meantime, of this unexpected occurrence, wassuch as altogether to vindicate, in public opinion, the reported cause, however exaggerated. The thunder of the Greek fire came successively, one hard upon the other, and each, in its turn, spread a blot of blacksmoke upon the face of the landscape, which, thickened by so manysuccessive clouds, seemed at last, like that raised by a sustained fireof modern artillery to overshadow the whole horizon. 

The small squadron of Tancred were completely hid from view in thesurging volumes of darkness, which the breath of the weapons of theenemy had spread around him; and it seemed by a red light, which beganto show itself among the thickest of the veil of darkness, that one ofthe flotilla at least had caught fire. Yet the Latins resisted, with anobstinacy worthy of their own courage, and the fame of their celebratedleader. Some advantage they had, on account of their small size, andtheir lowness in the water, as well as the clouded state of theatmosphere, which rendered them difficult marks for the fire of theGreeks. 

To increase these advantages, Tancred, as well by boats as by the kindof rude signals made use of at the period, dispersed orders to hisfleet, that each bark, disregarding the fate of the others, shouldpress forward individually, and that the men from each should be put onshore wheresoever and howsoever they could effect that manoeuvre. Tancred himself set a noble example; he was on board a stout vessel, fenced in some degree against the effect of the Greek fire by being ina great measure covered with raw hides, which hides had also beenrecently steeped in water. This vessel contained upwards of a hundredvaliant warriors, several of them of knightly order, who had all nighttoiled at the humble labours of the oar, and now in the morning appliedtheir chivalrous hands to the arblast and to the bow, which were ingeneral accounted the weapons of persons of a lower rank. Thus armed, and thus manned. Prince Tancred bestowed upon his bark the fullvelocity which wind, and tide, and oar, could enable her to obtain, andplacing her in the situation to profit by them as much as his maritimeskill could direct, he drove with the speed of lightning among thevessels of Lemnos, plying on either side, bows, crossbows, javelins, and military missiles of every kind, with the greater advantage thatthe Greeks, trusting to their artificial fire, had omitted armingthemselves with other weapons; so that when the valiant Crusader boredown on them with so much fury, repaying the terrors of their fire witha storm of bolts and arrows no less formidable, they began to feel thattheir own advantage was much less than they had supposed, and that, like most other dangers, the maritime fire of the Greeks, whenundauntedly confronted, lost at least one-half of its terrors. TheGrecian sailors, too, when they observed the vessels approach so near, filled with the steel-clad Latins, began to shrink from a contest to bemaintained hand to hand with so terrible an enemy. 

By degrees, smoke began to issue from the sides of the great Grecianargosy, and the voice of Tancred announced to his soldiers that theGrecian Admiral's vessel had taken fire, owing to negligence in themanagement of the means of destruction she possessed, and that all theyhad now to do was to maintain such a distance as to avoid sharing herfate. Sparkles and flashes of flame were next seen leaping from placeto place on board of the great hulk, as if the element had had thesense and purpose of spreading wider the consternation, and disablingthe few who still paid attention to the commands of their Admiral, andendeavoured to extinguish the fire. The consciousness of thecombustible nature of the freight, began to add despair to terror; fromthe boltsprit, the rigging, the yards, the sides, and every part of thevessel, the unfortunate crew were seen dropping themselves, to exchangefor the most part a watery death for one by the more dreadful agency offire. The crew of Tancred's bark, ceasing, by that generous prince'scommands, to offer any additional annoyance to an enemy who was at oncethreatened by the perils of the ocean and of conflagration, ran theirvessel ashore in a smooth part of the bay, and jumping into the shallowsea, made the land without difficulty; many of their steeds being, bythe exertions of the owners, and the docility of the animals, broughtashore at the same time with their masters. Their commander lost notime in forming their serried ranks into a phalanx of lancers, fewindeed at first, but perpetually increasing as ship after ship of thelittle flotilla ran ashore, or, having more deliberately moored theirbarks, landed their men, and joined their companions. 

The cloud which had been raised by the conflict was now driven toleeward before the wind, and the strait exhibited only the relics ofthe combat. Here tossed upon the billows the scattered and brokenremains of one or two of the Latin vessels which had been burnt at thecommencement of the combat, though their crews, by the exertions oftheir comrades, had in general been saved. Lower down were seen theremaining five vessels of the Lemnos squadron, holding a disorderly anddifficult retreat, with the purpose of gaining the harbour ofConstantinople. In the place so late the scene of combat, lay mooredthe hulk of the Grecian Admiral, burnt to the water's edge, and stillsending forth a black smoke from its scathed beams and planks. Theflotilla of Tancred, busied in discharging its troops, lay irregularlyscattered along the bay, the men making ashore as they could, andtaking their course to join the standard of their leader. Various blacksubstances floated on the surface of the water, nearer, or more distantto the shore; some proved to be the wreck of the vessels which had beendestroyed, and others, more ominous still, the lifeless bodies ofmariners who had fallen in the conflict. 

The standard had been borne ashore by the Prince's favourite page, Ernest of Apulia, so soon as the keel of Tancred's galley had grazedupon the sand. It was then pitched on the top of that elevated capebetween Constantinople and the lists, where Lascaris, Demetrius, andother gossips, had held their station at the commencement of theengagement, but from which all had fled, between the mingled dread ofthe Greek fire and the missiles of the Latin crusaders. 

CHAPTER THE THIRTIETH. 

Sheathed in complete armour, and supporting with his right hand thestandard of his fathers, Tancred remained with his handful of warriorslike so many statues of steel, expecting some sort of attack from theGrecian party which had occupied the lists, or from the numbers whomthe city gates began now to pour forth--soldiers some of them, andothers citizens, many of whom were arrayed as if for conflict. Thesepersons, alarmed by the various accounts which were given of thecombatants, and the progress of the fight, rushed towards the standardof Prince Tancred, with the intention of beating it to the earth, anddispersing the guards who owed it homage and defence. But if the readershall have happened to have ridden at any time through a pastoralcountry, with a clog of a noble race following him, he must haveremarked, in the deference ultimately paid to the high-bred animal bythe shepherd's cur as he crosses the lonely glen, of which the latterconceives himself the lord and guardian, something very similar to thedemeanour of the incensed Greeks, when they approached near to thelittle band of Franks. At the first symptom of the intrusion of astranger, the dog of the shepherd starts from his slumbers, and rushestowards the noble intruder with a clamorous declaration of war; butwhen the diminution of distance between them shows to the aggressor thesize and strength of his opponent, he becomes like a cruiser, who, in achase, has, to his surprise and alarm, found two tier of guns opposedto him instead of one. He halts--suspends his clamorous yelping, and, in fine, ingloriously retreats to his master, with, all thedishonourable marks of positively declining the combat. 

It was in this manner that the troops of the noisy Greeks, with muchhallooing and many a boastful shout, hastened both from the town andfrom the lists, with the apparent intention of sweeping from the fieldthe few companions of Tancred. As they advanced, however, within thepower of remarking the calm and regular order of those men who hadlanded, and arranged themselves under this noble chieftain's banner, their minds were altogether changed as to the resolution of instantcombat; their advance became an uncertain and staggering gait, theirheads were more frequently turned back to the point from which theycame, than towards the enemy; and their desire to provoke an instantscuffle vanished totally, when there did not appear the least symptomthat their opponents cared about the matter. 

It added to the extreme confidence with which the Latins kept theirground, that they were receiving frequent, though small reinforcementsfrom their comrades, who were landing by detachments all along thebeach; and that, in the course of a short hour, their amount had beenraised, on horseback and foot, to a number, allowing for a fewcasualties, not much less than that which set sail from Scutari. 

Another reason why the Latins remained unassailed, was certainly theindisposition of the two principal armed parties on shore to enter intoa quarrel with them. The guards of every kind, who were faithful to theEmperor, more especially the Varangians, had their orders to remainfirm at their posts, some in the lists, and others at various places ofrendezvous in Constantinople, where their presence was necessary toprevent the effects of the sudden insurrection which Alexius knew to bemeditated against him. These, therefore, made no hostile demonstrationtowards the band of Latins, nor was it the purpose of the Emperor theyshould do so. 

On the other hand, the greater part of the Immortal Guards, and thosecitizens who were prepared to play a part in the conspiracy, had beenimpressed by the agents of the deceased Agelastes with the opinion, that this band of Latins, commanded by Tancred, the relative ofBohemond, had been despatched by the latter to their assistance. Thesemen, therefore, stood still, and made no attempt to guide or direct thepopular efforts of such as inclined to attack these unexpectedvisitors; in which purpose, therefore, no very great party were united, while the majority were willing enough to find an apology for remainingquiet. 

In the meantime, the Emperor, from his palace of Blacquernal, observedwhat passed upon the straits, and beheld his navy from Lemnos totallyfoiled in their attempt, by means of the Greek fire, to check, theintended passage of Tancred and his men. He had no sooner seen theleading ship of the squadron, begin to beacon the darkness with its ownfire, than the Emperor formed a secret resolution to disown theunfortunate Admiral, and make peace with the Latins, if that should beabsolutely necessary, by sending them his head. He had hardly, therefore, seen the flames burst forth, and the rest of the vesselsretreat from their moorings, than in his own mind, the doom of theunfortunate Phraortes, for such was the name of the Admiral, was signedand sealed. 

Achilles Tatius, at the same instant, determining to keep a close eyeupon the Emperor at this important crisis, came precipitately into thepalace, with an appearance of great alarm. 

"My Lord!---my Imperial Lord! I am unhappy to be the messenger of suchunlucky news; but the Latins have in great numbers succeeded incrossing the strait from Scutari. The Lemnos squadron endeavoured tostop them, as was last night determined upon in the Imperial Council ofWar. By a heavy discharge of the Greek fire, one or two of thecrusaders' vessels were consumed, but by far the greater number of thempushed on their course, burnt the leading ship of the unfortunatePhraortes, and It is strongly reported he has himself perished, withalmost all his men. The rest have cut their cables, and abandoned thedefence of the passage of the Hellespont. "

"And you, Achilles Tatius, " said the Emperor, "with what purpose is itthat you now bring me this melancholy news, at a period so late, when Icannot amend the consequences!"

"Under favour, most gracious Emperor, " replied the conspirator, notwithout colouring and stammering, "such was not my intention--I hadhoped to submit a plan, by which I might easily have prepared the wayfor correcting this little error. "

"Well, your plan, sir?" said the Emperor, dryly. 

"With your sacred Majesty's leave, " said the Acolyte, "I would myselfhave undertaken instantly to lead against this Tancred and his Italiansthe battle-axes of the faithful Varangian guard, who will make no moreaccount of the small number of Franks who have come ashore, than thefarmer holds of the hordes of rats and mice, and such like mischievousvermin, who have harboured in his granaries. "

"And what mean you, " said the Emperor, "that I am to do, while myAnglo-Saxons fight for my sake?"

"Your Majesty, " replied Achilles, not exactly satisfied with the dryand caustic manner in which the Emperor addressed him, "may putyourself at the head of the Immortal cohorts of Constantinople; and Iam your security, that you may either perfect the victory over theLatins, or at least redeem the most distant chance of a defeat, byadvancing at the head of this choice body of domestic troops, shouldthe day appear doubtful. "

"You, yourself, Achilles Tatius, " returned the Emperor, "haverepeatedly assured us, that these Immortals retain a perverseattachment to our rebel Ursel. How is it, then, you would have usintrust our defence to these bands, when we have engaged our valiantVarangians in the proposed conflict with the flower of the westernarmy?--Did you think of this risk, Sir Follower?"

Achilles Tatius, much alarmed at an intimation indicative of hispurpose being known, answered, "That in his haste he had been moreanxious to recommend the plan which should expose his own person to thegreater danger, than that perhaps which was most attended with personalsafety to his Imperial Master. "

"I thank you for so doing, " said the Emperor; "you have anticipated mywishes, though it is not in my power at present to follow the adviceyou have given me. I would have been well contented, undoubtedly, hadthese Latins measured their way over the strait again, as suggested bylast night's council; but since they have arrived, and stand embattledon our shores, it is better that we pay them with money and with spoil, than with the lives of our gallant subjects. We cannot, after all, believe that they come with any serious intention of doing us injury;it is but the insane desire of witnessing feats of battle and singlecombat, which is to them the breath of their nostrils, that can haveimpelled them to this partial countermarch. I impose upon you, AchillesTatius, combining the Protospathaire in the same commission with you, the duty of riding up to yonder standard, and learning of their chief, called the Prince Tancred, if he is there in person, the purpose of hisreturn, and the cause of his entering into debate with Phraortes andthe Lemnos squadron. If they send us any reasonable excuse, we shallnot be averse to receive it at their hands; for we have not made somany sacrifices for the preservation of peace, to break forth into war, if, after all, so great an evil can be avoided. Thou wilt receive, therefore, with a candid and complacent mind, such apologies as theymay incline to bring forward; and, be assured, that the sight of thispuppet-show of a single combat, will be enough of itself to banishevery other consideration from the reflection of these giddycrusaders. "

A knock was at this moment heard at the door of the Emperor'sapartment; and upon the word being given to enter, the Protospathairemade his appearance. He was arrayed in a splendid suit of ancient Romanfashioned armour. The want of a visor left his countenance entirelyvisible; which, pale and anxious as it was, did not well become themartial crest and dancing plume with which it was decorated. Hereceived the commission already mentioned with the less alacrity, because the Acolyte was added to him as his colleague; for, as thereader may have observed, these two officers were of separate factionsin the army, and on indifferent terms with each other. Neither did theAcolyte consider his being united in commission with the Protospathaire, as a mark either of the Emperor's confidence, or of his own safety. Hewas, however, in the meantime, in the Blacquernal, where the slaves ofthe interior made not the least hesitation, when ordered, to executeany officer of the court. The two generals had, therefore, no otheralternative, than that which is allowed to two greyhounds who arereluctantly coupled together. The hope of Achilles Tatius was, that hemight get safely through his mission to Tancred, after which he thoughtthe successful explosion of the conspiracy might take place and haveits course, either as a matter desired and countenanced by those Latins, or passed over as a thing in which they took no interest on either side. 

By the parting order of the Emperor, they were to mount on horseback atthe sounding of the great Varangian trumpet, put themselves at the headof those Anglo-Saxon guards in the court-yard of their barrack, andawait the Emperor's further orders. 

There was something in this arrangement which pressed hard on theconscience of Achilles Tatius, yet he was at a loss to justify hisapprehensions to himself, unless from a conscious feeling of his ownguilt, he felt, however, that in being detained, under pretence of anhonourable mission, at the head of the Varangians, he was deprived ofthe liberty of disposing of himself, by which he had hoped tocommunicate with the Caesar and Hereward, whom he reckoned upon as hisactive accomplices, not knowing that the first was at this moment aprisoner in the Blacquernal, where Alexius had arrested him in theapartments of the Empress, and that the second was the most importantsupport of Comnenus during the whole of that eventful day. 

When the gigantic trumpet of the Varangian guards sent forth its deepsignal through the city, the Protospathaire hurried Achilles along withhim to the rendezvous of the Varangians, and on the way said to him, inan easy and indifferent tone, "As the Emperor is in the field in person, you, his representative, or Follower, will of course transmit no ordersto the body guard, except such as shall receive their origin fromhimself, so that you will consider your authority as this daysuspended. "

"I regret, " said Achilles, "that there should have seemed any cause forsuch precautions; I had hoped my own truth and fidelity--but--I amobsequious to his imperial pleasure in all things. "

"Such are his orders, " said the other officer, "and you know under whatpenalty obedience is enforced. "

"If I did not, " said Achilles, "the composition of this body of guardswould remind me, since it comprehends not only great part of thoseVarangians, who are the immediate defenders of the Emperor's throne, but those slaves of the interior, who are the executioners of hispleasure. " To this the Protospathaire returned no answer, while themore closely the Acolyte looked upon the guard which attended, to theunusual number of nearly three thousand men, the more had he reason tobelieve that he might esteem himself fortunate, if, by the interventionof either the Caesar, Agelastes, or Hereward, he could pass to theconspirators a signal to suspend the intended explosion, which seemedto be provided against by the Emperor with unusual caution. He wouldhave given the full dream of empire, with which he had been for a shorttime lulled to sleep, to have seen but a glimpse of the azure plume ofNicephorus, the white mantle of the philosopher, or even a glimmer ofHereward's battle-axe. No such objects could be seen anywhere, and nota little was the faithless Follower displeased to see that whicheverway he turned his eyes, those of the Protospathaire, but especially ofthe trusty domestic officers of the empire, seemed to follow and watchtheir occupation. 

Amidst the numerous soldiers whom he saw on all sides, his eye did notrecognise a single man with whom he could exchange a friendly orconfidential glance, and he stood in all that agony of terror, which isrendered the more discomfiting, because the traitor is conscious that, beset by various foes, his own fears are the most likely of all tobetray him. Internally, as the danger seemed to increase, and as hisalarmed imagination attempted to discern new reasons for it, he couldonly conclude that either one of the three principal conspirators, orat least some of the inferiors, had turned informers; and his doubt was, whether he should not screen his own share of what had beenpremeditated, by flinging himself at the feet of the Emperor, andmaking a full confession. But still the fear of being premature inhaving recourse to such base means of saving himself, joined to theabsence of the Emperor, united to keep within his lips a secret, whichconcerned not only all his future fortunes, but life itself. He was inthe meantime, therefore, plunged as it were in a sea of trouble anduncertainty, while the specks of land, which seemed to promise himrefuge, were distant, dimly seen, and extremely difficult of attainment. 

CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FIRST. 

 To-morrow--oh, that's sudden! Spare him, spare him! He's not prepared to die. SHAKSPEARE. 

At the moment when Achilles Tatius, with a feeling of much insecurity, awaited the unwinding of the perilous skein of state politics, aprivate council of the Imperial family was held in the hall termed theTemple of the Muses, repeatedly distinguished as the apartment in whichthe Princess Anna Comnena was wont to make her evening recitations tothose who were permitted the honour of hearing prelections of herhistory. The council consisted of the Empress Irene, the Princessherself, and the Emperor, with the Patriarch of the Greek Church, as asort of mediator between a course of severity and a dangerous degree oflenity. 

"Tell not me, Irene, " said the Emperor, "of the fine things attached tothe praise of mercy. Here have I sacrificed my just revenge over myrival Ursel, and what good do I obtain by it? Why, the old obstinateman, instead of being tractable, and sensible of the generosity whichhas spared his life and eyes, can be with difficulty brought to exerthimself in favour of the Prince to whom he owes them. I used to thinkthat eyesight and the breath of life were things which one wouldpreserve at any sacrifice; but, on the contrary, I now believe menvalue them like mere toys. Talk not to me, therefore, of the gratitudeto be excited by saving this ungrateful cub; and believe me, girl, "turning to Anna, "that not only will all my subjects, should I followyour advice, laugh at me for sparing a man so predetermined to work myruin, but even thou thyself wilt be the first to upbraid me with thefoolish kindness thou art now so anxious to extort from me. "

"Your Imperial pleasure, then, " said the Patriarch, "is fixed that yourunfortunate son-in-law shall suffer death for his accession to thisconspiracy, deluded by that heathen villain Agelastes, and thetraitorous Achilles Tatius?"

"Such is my purpose, " said the Emperor; "and in evidence that I meannot again to pass over a sentence of this kind with a seeming executiononly, as in the case of Ursel, this ungrateful traitor of ours shall beled from the top of the staircase, or ladder of Acheron, as it iscalled, through the large chamber named the Hall of Judgment, at theupper end of which are arranged the apparatus for execution, by which Iswear"----

"Swear not at all!" said the Patriarch; "I forbid thee, in the name ofthat Heaven whose voice (though unworthy) speaks in my person, toquench the smoking flax, or destroy the slight hope which there mayremain, that you may finally be persuaded to alter your purposerespecting your misguided son-in-law, within the space allotted to himto sue for your mercy. Remember, I pray you, the remorse ofConstantine. "

"What means your reverence?" said Irene. 

"A trifle, " replied the Emperor, "not worthy being quoted from such amouth as the Patriarch's, being, as it probably is, a relic ofpaganism. "

"What is it?" exclaimed the females anxiously, in the hope of hearingsomething which might strengthen their side of the argument, andsomething moved, perhaps, by curiosity, a motive which seldom slumbersin a female bosom, even when the stronger passions are in arms. 

"The Patriarch will tell you, " answered Alexius, "since you must needsknow; though I promise you, you will not receive any assistance in yourargument from a silly legendary tale. "

"Hear it, however, " said the Patriarch; "for though it is a tale of theolden time, and sometimes supposed to refer to the period whenheathenism predominated, it is no less true, that it was a vow made andregistered in the chancery of the rightful Deity, by an Emperor ofGreece. "

"What I am now to relate to you, " continued he, "is, in truth, a talenot only of a Christian Emperor, but of him who made the whole empireChristian; and of that very Constantine, who was also the first whodeclared Constantinople to be the metropolis of the empire. This hero, remarkable alike for his zeal for religion and for his warlikeachievements, was crowned by Heaven with repeated victory, and with allmanner of blessings, save that unity in his family which wise men aremost ambitious to possess. Not only was the blessing of concord amongbrethren denied to the family of this triumphant Emperor, but adeserving son of mature age, who had been supposed to aspire to sharethe throne with his father, was suddenly, and at midnight, called uponto enter his defence against a capital charge of treason. You willreadily excuse my referring to the arts by which the son was renderedguilty in the eyes of the father. Be it enough to say, that theunfortunate young man fell a victim to the guilt of his step-mother, Fausta, and that he disdained to exculpate himself from a charge sogross and so erroneous. It is said, that the anger of the Emperor waskept up against his son by the sycophants who called upon Constantineto observe that the culprit disdained even to supplicate for mercy, orvindicate his innocence from so foul a charge. 

"But the death-blow had no sooner struck the innocent youth, than hisfather obtained proof of the rashness with which he had acted. He hadat this period been engaged in constructing the subterranean parts ofthe Blacquernal palace, which his remorse appointed to contain a recordof his paternal grief and contrition. At the upper part of thestaircase, called the Pit of Acheron, he caused to be constructed alarge chamber, still called the Hall of Judgment, for the purpose ofexecution. A passage through an archway in the upper wall leads fromthe hall to the place of misery, where the axe, or other engine, isdisposed for the execution of state prisoners of consequence. Over thisarchway was placed a species of marble altar, surmounted by an image ofthe unfortunate Crispus--the materials were gold, and it bore thememorable inscription, TO MY SON, WHOM I RASHLY CONDEMNED, AND TOOHASTILY EXECUTED. When constructing this passage, Constantine made avow, that he himself and his posterity, being reigning Emperors, wouldstand beside the statue of Crispus, at the time when any individual oftheir family should be led to execution, and before they suffered himto pass from the Hall of Judgment to the Chamber of Death, that theyshould themselves be personally convinced of the truth of the chargeunder which he suffered. 

"Time rolled on--the memory of Constantine was remembered almost likethat of a saint, and the respect paid to it threw into shadow theanecdote of his son's death. The exigencies of the state rendered itdifficult to keep so large a sum in specie invested in a statue, whichcalled to mind the unpleasant failings of so great a man. Your ImperialHighness's predecessors applied the metal which formed the statue tosupport the Turkish wars; and the remorse and penance of Constantinedied away in an obscure tradition of the Church or of the palace. Still, however, unless your Imperial Majesty has strong reasons to thecontrary, I shall give it as my opinion, that you will hardly achievewhat is due to the memory of the greatest of your predecessors, unlessyou give this unfortunate criminal, being so near a relation of yourown, an opportunity of pleading his cause before passing by the altarof refuge; being the name which is commonly given to the monument ofthe unfortunate Crispus, son of Constantine, although now deprived bothof the golden letters which composed the inscription, and the goldenimage which represented the royal sufferer. "

A mournful strain of music was now heard to ascend the stair so oftenmentioned. 

"If I must hear the Caesar Nicephorus Briennius, ere he pass the altarof refuge, there must be no loss of time, " said the Emperor; "for thesemelancholy sounds announce that he has already approached the Hall ofJudgment. "

Both the Imperial ladies began instantly, with the utmost earnestness, to deprecate the execution of the Caesar's doom, and to conjure Alexius, as he hoped for quiet in his household, and the everlasting gratitudeof his wife and daughter, that he would listen to their entreaties inbehalf of an unfortunate man, who had been seduced into guilt, but notfrom his heart. 

"I will at least see him, " said the Emperor, "and the holy vow ofConstantine shall be in the present instance strictly observed. Butremember, you foolish women, that the state of Crispus and the presentCaesar, is as different as guilt from innocence, and that their fates, therefore, may be justly decided upon opposite principles, and withopposite results. But I will confront this criminal; and you, Patriarch, may be present to render what help is in your power to a dying man; foryou, the wife and mother of the traitor, you will, methinks, do well toretire to the church, and pray God for the soul of the deceased, ratherthan disturb his last moments with unavailing lamentations. "

"Alexius, " said the Empress Irene, "I beseech you to be contented; beassured that we will not leave you in this dogged humour of blood-shedding, lest you make such materials for history as are fitter forthe time of Nero than of Constantine. "

The Emperor, without reply, led the way into the Hall of Judgment, where a much stronger light than usual was already shining up the stairof Acheron, from which were heard to sound, by sullen and intermittedfits, the penitential psalms which the Greek Church has appointed to besung at executions. Twenty mute slaves, the pale colour of whoseturbans gave a ghastly look to the withered cast of their features, andthe glaring whiteness of their eyeballs, ascended two by two, as itwere from the bowels of the earth, each of them bearing in one hand anaked sabre, and in the other a lighted torch. After these came theunfortunate Nicephorus; his looks were those of a man half-dead fromthe terror of immediate dissolution, and what he possessed of remainingattention, was turned successively to two black-stoled monks, who wereanxiously repeating religious passages to him alternately from theGreek scripture, and the form of devotion adopted by the court ofConstantinople. The Caesar's dress also corresponded to his mournfulfortunes: His legs and arms were bare, and a simple white tunic, theneck of which was already open, showed that ho had assumed the garmentswhich were to serve his last turn. A tall muscular Nubian slave, whoconsidered himself obviously as the principal person in the procession, bore on his shoulder a large heavy headsman's axe, and, like a demonwaiting on a sorcerer, stalked step for step after his victim. The rearof the procession was closed by a band of four priests, each of whomchanted from time to time the devotional psalm which was thunderedforth on the occasion; and another of slaves, armed with bows andquivers, and with lances, to resist any attempt at rescue, if suchshould be offered. 

It would have required a harder heart than that of the unlucky princessto have resisted this gloomy apparatus of fear and sorrow, surrounding, at the same time directed against, a beloved object, the lover of heryouth, and the husband of her bosom, within a few minutes of thetermination of his mortal career. 

As the mournful train approached towards the altar of refuge, half-encircled as it now was by the two great and expanded arms whichprojected from the wall, the Emperor, who stood directly in the passage, threw upon the flame of the altar some chips of aromatic wood, steepedin spirit of wine, which, leaping at once into a blaze, illuminated thedoleful procession, the figure of the principal culprit, and the slaves, who had most of them extinguished their flambeaux so soon as they hadserved the purpose of lighting them up the staircase. 

The sudden light spread from the altar failed not to make the Emperorand the Princess visible to the mournful group which approached throughthe hall. All halted--all were silent. It was a meeting, as thePrincess has expressed herself in her historical work, such as tookplace betwixt Ulysses and the inhabitants of the other world, who, whenthey tasted of the blood of his sacrifices, recognised him indeed, butwith empty lamentations, and gestures feeble and shadowy. The hymn ofcontrition sunk also into silence; and, of the whole group, the onlyfigure rendered more distinct, was the gigantic executioner, whose highand furrowed forehead, as well as the broad steel of his axe, caughtand reflected back the bright gleam from the altar. Alexius saw thenecessity of breaking the silence which ensued, lest it should, givethe intercessors for the prisoner an opportunity of renewing theirentreaties. 

"Nicephorus Briennius, " he said, with a voice which, although generallyinterrupted by a slight hesitation, which procured him, among hisenemies, the nickname of the Stutterer, yet, upon important occasionslike the present, was so judiciously tuned and balanced in itssentences, that no such defect was at all visible--"NicephorusBriennius, " he said, "late Caesar, the lawful doom hath been spoken, that, having conspired against the life of thy rightful sovereign andaffectionate father, Alexius Comnenus, thou shalt suffer theappropriate sentence, by having thy head struck from thy body. Here, therefore, at the last altar of refuge, I meet thee, according to thevow of the immortal Constantine, for the purpose of demanding whetherthou hast any thing to allege why this doom should not be executed?Even at this eleventh hour, thy tongue is unloosed to speak withfreedom what may concern thy life. All is prepared in this world and inthe next. Look forward beyond yon archway--the block is fixed. Lookbehind thee, thou seest the axe already sharpened--thy place for goodor evil in the next world is already determined--time flies--eternityapproaches. If thou hast aught to say, speak it freely--if nought, confess the justice of thy sentence, and pass on to death. "

The Emperor commenced this oration, with those looks described by hisdaughter as so piercing, that they dazzled like lightning, and hisperiods, if not precisely flowing like burning lava, were yet theaccents of a man having the power of absolute command, and as suchproduced an effect not only on the criminal, but also upon the Princehimself, whose watery eyes and faltering voice acknowledged his senseand feeling of the fatal import of the present moment. 

Rousing himself to the conclusion of what he had commenced, the Emperoragain demanded whether the prisoner had any thing to say in his owndefence. 

Nicephorus was not one of those hardened criminals who may be termedthe very prodigies of history, from the coolness with which theycontemplated the consummation of their crimes, whether in their ownpunishment, or the misfortunes of others. "I have been tempted, " hesaid, dropping on his knees, "and I have fallen. I have nothing toallege in excuse of my folly and ingratitude; but I stand prepared todie to expiate my guilt, " A deep sigh, almost amounting to a scream, was here heard, close behind the Emperor, and its cause assigned by thesudden exclamation of Irene, --"My lord! my lord! your daughter isgone!" And in fact Anna Comnena had sunk into her mother's arms withouteither sense or motion. The father's attention was instantly called tosupport his swooning child, while the unhappy husband strove with theguards to be permitted to go to the assistance of his wife. "Give mebut five minutes of that time which the law has abridged--let myefforts but assist in recalling her to a life which should be as longas her virtues and her talents deserve; and then let me die at her feet, for I care not to go an inch beyond. "

The Emperor, who in fact had been more astonished at the boldness andrashness of Nicephorus, than alarmed by his power, considered him as aman rather misled than misleading others, and felt, therefore, the fulleffect of this last interview. He was, besides, not naturally cruel, where severities were to be enforced under his own eye. 

"The divine and immortal Constantine, " he said, "did not, I ampersuaded, subject his descendants to this severe trial, in orderfurther to search out the innocence of the criminals, but rather togive to those who came after him an opportunity of generously forgivinga crime which could not, without pardon--the express pardon of thePrince--escape unpunished. I rejoice that I am born of the willowrather than of the oak, and I acknowledge my weakness, that not eventhe safety of my own life, or resentment of this unhappy man'streasonable machinations, have the same effect with me as the tears ofmy wife, and the swooning of my daughter. Rise up, Nicephorus Briennius, freely pardoned, and restored even to the rank of Caesar. We willdirect thy pardon to be made out by the great Logothete, and sealedwith the golden bull. For four-and-twenty hours thou art a prisoner, until an arrangement is made for preserving the public peace. Meanwhile, thou wilt remain under the charge of the Patriarch, who will beanswerable for thy forthcoming. --Daughter and wife, you must now gohence to your own apartment; a future time will come, during which youmay have enough of weeping and embracing, mourning and rejoicing. PrayHeaven that I, who, having been trained on till I have sacrificedjustice and true policy to uxorious compassion and paternal tendernessof heart, may not have cause at last for grieving in good earnest forall the events of this miscellaneous drama. "

The pardoned Caesar, who endeavoured to regulate his ideas according tothis unexpected change, found it as difficult to reconcile himself tothe reality of his situation as Ursel to the face of nature, afterhaving been long deprived of enjoying it; so much do the dizziness andconfusion of ideas, occasioned by moral and physical causes of surpriseand terror, resemble each other in their effects on the understanding. 

At length he stammered forth a request that he might be permitted to goto the field with the Emperor, and divert, by the interposition of hisown body, the traitorous blows which some desperate man might aimagainst that of his Prince, in a day which was too likely to be one ofdanger and bloodshed. 

"Hold there!" said Alexius Comnenus;--"we will not begin thy newly-redeemed life by renewed doubts of thine allegiance; yet it is butfitting to remind thee, that thou art still the nominal and ostensiblehead of those who expect to take a part in this day's insurrection, andit will be the safest course to trust its pacification to others thanto thee. Go, sir, compare notes with the Patriarch, and merit yourpardon by confessing to him any traitorous intentions concerning thisfoul conspiracy with which we may be as yet unacquainted. --Daughter andwife, farewell! I must now depart for the lists, where I have to speakwith the traitor Achilles Tatius and the heathenish infidel Agelastes, if he still lives, but of whose providential death I hear a confirmedrumour. "

"Yet do not go, my dearest father!" said the Princess; "but let merather go to encourage the loyal subjects in your behalf. The extremekindness which you have extended towards my guilty husband, convincesme of the extent of your affection towards your unworthy daughter, andthe greatness of the sacrifice which you have made to her almostchildish affection for an ungrateful man who put your life in danger. "

"That is to say, daughter, " said the Emperor, smiling, "that the pardonof your husband is a boon which has lost its merit when it is granted. Take my advice, Anna, and think otherwise; wives and their husbandsought in prudence to forget their offences towards each other as soonas human nature will permit them. Life is too short, and conjugaltranquillity too uncertain, to admit of dwelling long upon suchirritating subjects. To your apartments, Princesses, and prepare thescarlet-buskins, and the embroidery which is displayed on the cuffs andcollars of the Caesar's robe, indicative of his high rank. He must notbe seen without them on the morrow. --Reverend father, I remind you oncemore that the Caesar is in your personal custody from this moment untilto-morrow at the same hour. "

They parted; the Emperor repairing to put himself at the head of hisVarangian guards--the Caesar, under the superintendence of thePatriarch, withdrawing into the interior of the Blacquernal Palace, where Nicephorus Briennius was under the necessity of "unthreading therude eye of rebellion, " and throwing such lights as were in his powerupon the progress of the conspiracy. 

"Agelastes, " he said, "Achilles Tatius, and Hereward the Varangian, were the persons principally entrusted in its progress. But whetherthey had been all true to their engagements, he did not pretend to beassured. "

In the female apartments, there was a violent discussion betwixt AnnaComnena and her mother. The Princess had undergone during the day manychanges of sentiment and feeling; and though they had finally unitedthemselves into one strong interest in her husband's favour, yet nosooner was the fear of his punishment removed, than the sense of hisungrateful behaviour began to revive. She became sensible also that awoman of her extraordinary attainments, who had been by a universalcourse of flattery disposed to entertain a very high opinion of her ownconsequence, made rather a poor figure when she had been the passivesubject of a long series of intrigues, by which she was destined to bedisposed of in one way or the other, according to the humour of a setof subordinate conspirators, who never so much as dreamed of regardingher as a being capable of forming a wish in her own behalf, or evenyielding or refusing a consent. Her father's authority over her, andright to dispose of her, was less questionable; but even then it wassomething derogatory to the dignity of a Princess born in the purple--an authoress besides, and giver of immortality--to be, without her ownconsent, thrown, as it were, at the head now of one suitor, now ofanother, however mean or disgusting, whose alliance could for the timebenefit the Emperor. The consequence of these moody reflections, wasthat Anna Comnena deeply toiled in spirit for the discovery of somemeans by which she might assert her sullied dignity, and various werethe expedients which she revolved. 

CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SECOND. 

 But now the hand of fate is on the curtain, And brings the scene to light. DON SEBASTIAN. 

The gigantic trumpet of the Varangians sounded its loudest note ofmarch, and the squadrons of the faithful guards, sheathed in completemail, and enclosing in their centre the person of their Imperial master, set forth upon their procession through the streets of Constantinople. The form of Alexius, glittering in his splendid armour, seemed nounmeet central point for the force of an empire; and while the citizenscrowded in the train of him and his escort, there might be seen avisible difference between those who came with the premeditatedintention of tumult, and the greater part, who, like the multitude ofevery great city, thrust each other and shout for rapture on account ofany cause for which a crowd may be collected together. The hope of theconspirators was lodged chiefly in the Immortal Guards, who were leviedprincipally for the defence of Constantinople, partook of the generalprejudices of the citizens, and had been particularly influenced bythose in favour of Ursel, by whom, previous to his imprisonment, theyhad themselves been commanded. The conspirators had determined thatthose of this body who were considered as most discontented, shouldearly in the morning take possession of the posts in the lists mostfavourable for their purpose of assaulting the Emperor's person. But, in spite of all efforts short of actual violence, for which the timedid not seem to be come, they found themselves disappointed in thispurpose, by parties of the Varangian guards, planted with apparentcarelessness, but in fact, with perfect skill, for the prevention oftheir enterprise. Somewhat confounded at perceiving that a design, which they could not suppose to be suspected, was, nevertheless, onevery part controlled and counter-checked, the conspirators began tolook for the principal persons of their own party, on whom theydepended for orders in this emergency; but neither the Caesar norAgelastes was to be seen, whether in the lists or on the military marchfrom Constantinople: and though Achilles Tatius rode in the latterassembly, yet it might be clearly observed that he was rather attendingupon the Protospathaire, than, assuming that independence as an officerwhich he loved to affect. 

In this manner, as the Emperor with his glittering bands approached thephalanx of Tancred and his followers, who were drawn up, it will beremembered, upon a rising cape between the city and the lists, the mainbody of the Imperial procession deflected in some degree from thestraight road, in order to march past them without interruption; whilethe Protospathaire and the Acolyte passed under the escort of a band ofVarangians, to bear the Emperor's inquiries to Prince Tancred, concerning the purpose of his being there with his band. The shortmarch was soon performed--the large trumpet which attended the twoofficers sounded a parley, and Tancred himself, remarkable for thatpersonal beauty which Tasso has preferred to any of the crusaders, except Rinaldo d'Este, the creatures of his own poetical imagination, advanced to parley with them. 

"The Emperor of Greece, " said the Protospathaire to Tancred, "requiresthe Prince of Otranto to show, by the two high officers who shalldeliver him this message, with what purpose he has returned, contraryto his oath, to the right side of these straits; assuring PrinceTancred at the same time, that nothing will so much please the Emperor, as to receive an answer not at variance with his treaty with the Dukeof Bouillon, and the oath which was taken by the crusading nobles andtheir soldiers; since that would enable the Emperor, in conformity tohis own wishes, by his kind reception of Prince Tancred and his troop, to show how high is his estimation of the dignity of the one, and thebravery of both--We wait an answer. "

The tone of the message had nothing in it very alarming, and itssubstance cost Prince Tancred very little trouble to answer. "Thecause, " he said, "of the Prince of Otranto appearing here with fiftylances, is this cartel, in which a combat is appointed betwixtNicephorus Briennius, called the Caesar, a high member of this empire, and a worthy knight of great fame, the partner of the Pilgrims who havetaken the Cross, in their high vow to rescue Palestine from theinfidels. The name of the said Knight is the redoubted Robert of Paris. It becomes, therefore, an obligation, indispensable upon the HolyPilgrims of the Crusade, to send one chief of their number, with a bodyof men-at-arms, sufficient to see, as is usual, fair play between thecombatants. That such is their intention, may be seen from, theirsending no more than fifty lances, with their furniture and following;whereas it would have cost them no trouble to have detached ten timesthe number, had they nourished any purpose of interfering by force, ordisturbing the fair combat which is about to take place. The Prince ofOtranto, therefore, and his followers, will place themselves at thedisposal of the Imperial Court, and witness the proceedings of thecombat, with the most perfect confidence that the rules of fair battlewill be punctually observed. "

The two Grecian officers transmitted this reply to the Emperor, whoheard it with pleasure, and immediately proceeding to act upon theprinciple which he had laid down, of maintaining peace, if possible, with the crusaders, named Prince Tancred with the Protospathaire asField Marshals of the lists, fully empowered, under the Emperor, todecide all the terms of the combat, and to have recourse to Alexiushimself where their opinions disagreed. This was made known to theassistants, who were thus prepared for the entry into the lists of theGrecian officer and the Italian Prince in full armour, while aproclamation announced to all the spectators their solemn office. Thesame annunciation commanded the assistants of every kind to clear aconvenient part of the seats which surrounded the lists on one side, that it might serve for the accommodation of Prince Tancred's followers. 

Achilles Tatius, who was a heedful observer of all these passages, sawwith alarm, that by the last collocation the armed Latins wereinterposed between the Immortal Guards and the discontented citizens, which made it most probable that the conspiracy was discovered, andthat Alexius found he had a good right to reckon upon the assistance ofTancred and his forces in the task of suppressing it. This, added tothe cold and caustic manner in which the Emperor communicated hiscommands to him, made the Acolyte of opinion, that his best chance ofescape from the danger in which he was now placed, was, that the wholeconspiracy should fall to the ground, and that the day should passwithout the least attempt to shake the throne of Alexius Comnenus. Eventhen it continued highly doubtful, whether a despot, so wily and sosuspicious as the Emperor, would think it sufficient to rest satisfiedwith the private knowledge of the undertaking, and its failure, withwhich he appeared to be possessed, without putting into exercise thebow-strings and the blinding-irons of the mutes of the interior. Therewas, however, little possibility either of flight or of resistance. Theleast attempt to withdraw himself from the neighbourhood of thosefaithful followers of the Emperor, personal foes of his own, by whom hewas gradually and more closely surrounded, became each moment moreperilous, and more certain to provoke a rupture, which it was theinterest of the weaker party to delay, with whatever difficulty. Andwhile the soldiers under Achilles's immediate authority seemed still totreat him as their superior officer, and appeal to him for the word ofcommand, it became more and more evident that the slightest degree ofsuspicion which should be excited, would be the instant signal for hisbeing placed under arrest. With a trembling heart, therefore, and eyesdimmed by the powerful idea of soon parting with the light of day, andall that it made visible, the Acolyte saw himself condemned to watchthe turn of circumstances over which he could have no influence, and tocontent himself with waiting the result of a drama, in which his ownlife was concerned, although the piece was played by others. Indeed, itseemed as if through the whole assembly some signal was waited for, which no one was in readiness to give. 

The discontented citizens and soldiers looked in vain for Agelastes andthe Caesar, and when they observed the condition of Achilles Tatius, itseemed such as rather to express doubt and consternation, than to giveencouragement to the hopes they had entertained. Many of the lowerclasses, however, felt too secure in their own insignificance to fearthe personal consequences of a tumult, and were desirous, therefore, toprovoke the disturbance, which seemed hushing itself to sleep. 

A hoarse murmur, which attained almost the importance of a shout, exclaimed, --"Justice, justice!--Ursel, Ursel!--The rights of theImmortal Guards!" &c. At this the trumpet of the Varangians awoke, andits tremendous tones were heard to peal loudly over the whole assembly, as the voice of its presiding deity. A dead silence prevailed in themultitude, and the voice of a herald announced, in the name of AlexiusComnenus, his sovereign will and pleasure. 

"Citizens of the Roman Empire, your complaints, stirred up by factiousmen, have reached the ear of your Emperor; you shall yourselves bewitness to his power of gratifying his people. At your request, andbefore your own sight, the visual ray which hath been quenched shall bere-illumined--the mind whose efforts were restricted to the imperfectsupply of individual wants shall be again extended, if such is theowner's will, to the charge of an ample Theme or division of the empire. Political jealousy, more hard to receive conviction than the blind toreceive sight, shall yield itself conquered, by the Emperor's paternallove of his people, and his desire to give them satisfaction. Ursel, the darling of your wishes, supposed to be long dead, or at leastbelieved to exist in blinded seclusion, is restored to you well inhealth, clear in eyesight, and possessed of every faculty necessary toadorn the Emperor's favour, or merit the affection of the people. "

As the herald thus spoke, a figure, which had hitherto stood shroudedbehind some officers of the interior, now stepped forth, and flingingfrom him a dusky veil, in which he was wrapt, appeared in a dazzlingscarlet garment, of which the sleeves and buskins displayed thoseornaments which expressed a rank nearly adjacent to that of the Emperorhimself. He held in his hand a silver truncheon, the badge of delegatedcommand over the Immortal Guards, and kneeling before the Emperor, presented it to his hands, intimating a virtual resignation of thecommand which it implied. The whole assembly were electrified at theappearance of a person long supposed either dead, or by cruel meansrendered incapable of public trust. Some recognised the man, whoseappearance and features were not easily forgot, and gratulated him uponhis most unexpected return to the service of his country. Others stoodsuspended in amazement, not knowing whether to trust their eyes, whilea few determined malecontents eagerly pressed upon the assembly anallegation that the person presented as Ursel was only a counterfeit, and the whole a trick of the Emperor. 

"Speak to them, noble Ursel, " said the Emperor. "Tell them, that if Ihave sinned against thee, it has been because I was deceived, and thatmy disposition to make thee amends is as ample as ever was my purposeof doing thee wrong. "

"Friends and countrymen, " said Ursel, turning himself to the assembly, "his Imperial Majesty permits me to offer my assurance, that if in anyformer part of my life I have suffered at his hand, it is more thanwiped out by the feelings of a moment so glorious as this; and that Iam well satisfied, from the present instant, to spend what remains ofmy life in the service of the most generous and beneficent ofsovereigns, or, with his permission, to bestow it in preparing, bydevotional exercises, for an infinite immortality to be spent in thesociety of saints and angels. Whichever choice I shall make, I reckonthat you, my beloved countrymen, who have remembered me so kindlyduring years of darkness and captivity, will not fail to afford me theadvantage of your prayers. "

This sudden apparition of the long-lost Ursel had too much of thatwhich elevates and surprises not to captivate the multitude, and theysealed their reconciliation with three tremendous shouts, which aresaid to have shaken the air, that birds, incapable of sustainingthemselves, sunk down exhausted out of their native element. 

CHAPTER THE THIRTY-THIRD. 

 "What, leave the combat out!" exclaimed the knight. "Yea! or we must renounce the Stagyrite. So large a crowd the stage will ne'er contain. " --"Then build a new, or act it on a plain. " POPE. 

The sounds of the gratulating shout had expanded over the distantshores of the Bosphorus by mountain and forest, and died at length inthe farthest echoes, when the people, in the silence which ensued, appeared to ask each other what next scene was about to adorn a pauseso solemn and a stage so august. The pause would probably have soongiven place to some new clamour, for a multitude, from whatever causeassembled, seldom remains long silent, had not a new signal from theVarangian trumpet given notice of a fresh purpose to solicit theirattention. The blast had something in its tone spirit-stirring and yetmelancholy, partaking both of the character of a point of war, and ofthe doleful sounds which might be chosen to announce an execution ofpeculiar solemnity. Its notes were high and widely extended, andprolonged and long dwelt upon, as if the brazen clamour had been wakedby something more tremendous than the lungs of mere mortals. 

The multitude appeared to acknowledge these awful sounds, which wereindeed such as habitually solicited their attention to Imperial edicts, of melancholy import, by which rebellions were announced, dooms oftreason discharged, and other tidings of a great and affecting importintimated to the people of Constantinople. When the trumpet had in itsturn ceased, with its thrilling and doleful notes, to agitate theimmense assembly, the voice of the herald again addressed them. 

It announced in a grave and affecting strain, that it sometimes chancedhow the people failed in their duty to a sovereign, who was unto themas a father, and how it became the painful duty of the prince to usethe rod of correction rather than the olive sceptre of mercy. 

"Fortunate, " continued the herald, "it is, when the supreme Deityhaving taken on himself the preservation of a throne, in beneficenceand justice resembling his own, has also assumed the most painful taskof his earthly delegate, by punishing those whom his unerring judgmentacknowledges as most guilty, and leaving to his substitute the moreagreeable task of pardoning such of those as art has misled, andtreachery hath involved in its snares. 

"Such being the case, Greece and its accompanying Themes are calledupon to listen and learn that a villain, namely Agelastes, who hadinsinuated himself into the favour of the Emperor, by affection of deepknowledge and severe virtue, had formed a treacherous plan for themurder of the Emperor Alexius Comnenus, and a revolution in the state. This person, who, under pretended wisdom, hid the doctrines of aheretic and the vices of a sensualist, had found proselytes to hisdoctrines even among the Emperor's household, and those persons whowere most bound to him, and down to the lower order, to excite the lastof whom were dispersed a multitude of forged rumours, similar to thoseconcerning Ursol's death and blindness, of which your own eyes havewitnessed the falsehood. "

The people, who had hitherto listened in silence, upon this appealbroke forth in a clamorous assent. They had scarcely been again silent, ere the iron-voiced herald continued his proclamation. 

"Not Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, " he said, "had more justly, or moredirectly fallen under the doom of an offended Deity, than this villain, Agelastes. The steadfast earth gaped to devour the apostate sons ofIsrael, but the termination of this wretched man's existence has been, as far as can now be known, by the direct means of an evil spirit, whomhis own arts had evoked into the upper air. By the spirit, as wouldappear by the testimony of a noble lady, and other females, whowitnessed the termination of his life, Agelastes was strangled, a fatewell-becoming his odious crimes. Such a death, even of a guilty man, must, indeed, be most painful to the humane feelings of the Emperor, because it involves suffering beyond this world. But the awfulcatastrophe carries with it this comfort, that it absolves the Emperorfrom the necessity of carrying any farther a vengeance which Heavenitself seems to have limited to the exemplary punishment of theprincipal conspirator. Some changes of offices and situations shall bemade, for the sake of safety and good order; but the secret who had orwho had not, been concerned in this awful crime, shall sleep in thebosoms of the persons themselves implicated, since the Emperor isdetermined to dismiss their offence from his memory, as the effect of atransient delusion. Let all, therefore, who now hear me, whateverconsciousness they may possess of a knowledge of what was this dayintended, return to their houses, assured that their own thoughts willbe their only punishment. Let them rejoice that Almighty goodness hassaved them from the meditations of their own hearts, and, according tothe affecting language of Scripture, --'Let them repent and sin no more, lest a worse thing befall them. '"

The voice of the herald then ceased, and was again answered by theshouts of the audience. These were unanimous; for circumstancescontributed to convince the malecontent party that they stood at theSovereign's mercy, and the edict that they heard having shown hisacquaintance with their guilt, it lay at his pleasure to let loose uponthem the strength of the Varangians, while, from the terms on which ithad pleased him to receive Tancred, it was probable that the Apuleianforces were also at his disposal. 

The voices, therefore, of the bulky Stephanos, of Harpax the centurion, and other rebels, both of the camp and city, were the first to thunderforth their gratitude for the clemency of the Emperor, and their thanksto Heaven for his preservation. 

The audience, reconciled to the thoughts of the discovered andfrustrated conspiracy, began meantime, according to their custom, toturn themselves to the consideration of the matter which had moreavowedly called them together, and private whispers, swelling bydegrees into murmurs, began to express the dissatisfaction of thecitizens at being thus long assembled, without receiving anycommunication respecting the announced purpose of their meeting. 

Alexius was not slow to perceive the tendency of their thoughts; and, on a signal from his hand, the trumpets blew a point of war, in soundsfar more lively than those which had prefaced the Imperial edict. "Robert, Count of Paris, " then said a herald, "art thou here in thyplace, or by knightly proxy, to answer the challenge brought againstthee by his Imperial Highness Nicephorus Briennius, Caesar of thisempire?"

The Emperor conceived himself to have equally provided against theactual appearance at this call of either of the parties named, and hadprepared an exhibition of another kind, namely, certain cages, tenantedby wild animals, which being now loosened should do their pleasure witheach other in the eyes of the assembly. His astonishment and confusion, therefore, were great, when, as the last note of the proclamation diedin the echo, Count Robert of Paris stood forth, armed cap-a-pie, hismailed charger led behind him from within the curtained enclosure, atone end of the lists, as if ready to mount at the signal of the marshal. 

The alarm and the shame that were visible in every countenance near theImperial presence when no Caesar came forth in like fashion to confrontthe formidable Frank, were not of long duration. Hardly had the styleand title of the Count of Paris been duly announced by the heralds, andtheir second summons of his antagonist uttered in due form, when aperson, dressed like one of the Varangian Guards, sprung into the lists, and announced himself as ready to do battle in the name and place ofthe Caesar Nicephorus Briennius, and for the honour of the empire. 

Alexius, with the utmost joy, beheld this unexpected assistance, andreadily gave his consent to the bold soldier who stood thus forward inthe hour of utmost need, to take upon himself the dangerous office ofchampion. He the more readily acquiesced, as, from the size andappearance of the soldier, and the gallant bearing he displayed, he hadno doubt of his individual person, and fully confided in his valour. But Prince Tancred interposed his opposition. 

"The lists, " he said, "were only open to knights and nobles; or, at anyrate, men were not permitted to meet therein who were not of someequality of birth and blood; nor could he remain a silent witness wherethe laws of chivalry are in such respects forgotten. "

"Let Count Robert of Paris, " said the Varangian, "look upon mycountenance, and say whether he has not, by promise, removed allobjection to our contest which might be founded upon an inequality ofcondition, and let him be judge himself, whether, by meeting me in thisfield, he will do more than comply with a compact which he has longsince become bound by. "

Count Robert, upon this appeal, advanced and acknowledged, withoutfurther debate, that, notwithstanding their difference of rank, he heldhimself bound by his solemn word to give this valiant soldier a meetingin the field. That he regretted, on account of this gallant man'seminent virtues, and the high services he had received at his hands, that they should now stand upon terms of such bloody arbitration; butsince nothing was more common, than that the fate of war called onfriends to meet each other in mortal combat, he would not shrink fromthe engagement he had pledged himself to; nor did he think his qualityin the slightest degree infringed or diminished, by meeting in battle awarrior so well known and of such good account as Hereward, the braveVarangian. He added, that "he willingly admitted that the combat shouldtake place on foot, and with the battle-axe, which was the ordinaryweapon of the Varangian guard. "

Hereward had stood still, almost like a statue, while this discoursepassed; but when the Count of Paris had made this speech, he inclinedhimself towards him with a grateful obeisance, and expressed himselfhonoured and gratified by the manly manner in which the Count acquittedhimself, according to his promise, with complete honour and fidelity. 

"What we are to do, " said Count Robert, with a sigh of regret, whicheven his love of battle could not prevent, "let us do quickly; theheart may be affected, but the hand must do its duty. "

Hereward assented, with the additional remark, "Let us then lose nomore time, which is already flying fast. " And, grasping his axe, hestood prepared for combat. 

"I also am ready, " said Count Robert of Paris, taking the same weaponfrom a Varangian soldier, who stood by the lists. Both were immediatelyupon the alert, nor did further forms or circumstances put off theintended duel. 

The first blows were given and parried with great caution, and PrinceTancred and others thought that on the part of Count Robert the cautionwas much greater than usual; but, in combat as in food, the appetiteincreases with the exercise. The fiercer passions began, as usual, toawaken with the clash of arms and the sense of deadly blows, some ofwhich were made with great fury on either side, and parried withconsiderable difficulty, and not so completely but that blood flowed onboth their parts. The Greeks looked with astonishment on a singlecombat, such as they had seldom witnessed, and held their breath asthey beheld the furious blows dealt by either warrior, and expectedwith each stroke the annihilation of one or other of the combatants. Asyet their strength and agility seemed somewhat equally matched, although those who judged with more pretension to knowledge, were ofopinion, that Count Robert spared putting forth some part of themilitary skill for which he was celebrated; and the remark wasgenerally made and allowed that he had surrendered a great advantage bynot insisting upon his right to fight upon horseback. On the other hand, it was the general opinion that the gallant Varangian omitted to takeadvantage of one or two opportunities afforded him by the heat of CountRobert's temper, who obviously was incensed at the duration of thecombat. 

Accident at length seemed about to decide what had been hitherto anequal contest. Count Robert, making a feint on one side of hisantagonist, struck him on the other, which was uncovered, with the edgeof his weapon, so that the Varangian reeled, and seemed in the act offalling to the earth. The usual sound made by spectators at the sightof any painful or unpleasant circumstance, by drawing the breathbetween the teeth, was suddenly heard to pass through the assembly, while a female voice loud and eagerly exclaimed, --"Count Robert ofParis!--forget not this day that thou owest a life to Heaven and me. "The Count was in the act of again seconding his blow, with what effectcould hardly be judged, when this cry reached his ears, and apparentlytook away his disposition for farther combat. 

"I acknowledge the debt, " he said, sinking his battle-axe, andretreating two steps from his antagonist, who stood in astonishment, scarcely recovered from the stunning effect of the blow by which he wasso nearly prostrated. He sank the blade of his battle-axe in imitationof his antagonist, and seemed to wait in suspense what was to be thenext process of the combat. "I acknowledge my debt, " said the valiantCount of Paris, "alike to Bertha of Britain and to the Almighty, whohas preserved me from the crime of ungrateful blood-guiltiness. --Youhave seen the fight, gentlemen, " turning to Tancred and his chivalry, "and can testify, on your honour, that it has been maintained fairly onboth sides, and without advantage on either. I presume my honourableantagonist has by this time satisfied the desire which brought me underhis challenge, and which certainly had no taste in it of personal orprivate quarrel. On my part, I retain towards him such a sense ofpersonal obligation as would render my continuing this combat, unlesscompelled to it by self-defence, a shameful and sinful action. "

Alexius gladly embraced the terms of truce, which he was far fromexpecting, and threw down his warder, in signal that the duel was ended. Tancred, though somewhat surprised, and perhaps even scandalized, thata private soldier of the Emperor's guard should have so long resistedthe utmost efforts of so approved a knight, could not but own that thecombat had been fought with perfect fairness and equality, and decidedupon terms dishonourable to neither party. The Count's character beingwell known and established amongst the crusaders, they were compelledto believe that some motive of a most potent nature formed theprinciple upon which, very contrary to his general practice, he hadproposed a cessation of the combat before it was brought to a deadly, or at least to a decisive conclusion. The edict of the Emperor upon theoccasion, therefore, passed into a law, acknowledged by the assent ofthe chiefs present, and especially affirmed and gratulated by theshouts of the assembled spectators. 

But perhaps the most interesting figure in the assembly was that of thebold Varangian, arrived so suddenly at a promotion of military renown, which the extreme difficulty he had experienced in keeping his groundagainst Count Robert had prevented him from anticipating, although hismodesty had not diminished the indomitable courage with which hemaintained the contest. He stood in the middle of the lists, his faceruddy with the exertion of the combat, and not less so from the modestconsciousness proper to the plainness and simplicity of his character, which was disconcerted by finding himself the central point of the gazeof the multitude. 

"Speak to me, my soldier, " said Alexius, strongly affected by thegratitude which he felt was due to Hereward upon so singular anoccasion, "speak to thine Emperor as his superior, for such thou art atthis moment, and tell him if there is any manner, even at the expenseof half his kingdom, to atone for his own life saved, and, what is yetdearer, for the honour of his country, which thou hast so manfullydefended and preserved?"

"My Lord, " answered Hereward, "your Imperial Highness values my poorservices over highly, and ought to attribute them to the noble Count ofParis, first, for his condescending to accept of an antagonist so meanin quality as myself; and next, in generously relinquishing victorywhen he might have achieved it by an additional blow; for I hereconfess before your Majesty, my brethren, and the assembled Grecians, that my power of protracting the combat was ended, when the gallantCount, by his generosity, put a stop to it. "

"Do not thyself that wrong, brave man, " said Count Robert; "for I vowto our Lady of the Broken Lances, that the combat was yet within theundetermined doom of Providence, when the pressure of my own feelingsrendered me incapable of continuing it, to the necessary harm, perhapsto the mortal damage, of an antagonist to whom I owe so much kindness. Choose, therefore, the recompense which the generosity of thy Emperoroffers in a manner so just and grateful, and fear not lest mortal voicepronounces that reward unmerited which Robert of Paris shall avouchwith his sword to have been gallantly won upon his own crest. "

"You are too great, my lord, and too noble, " answered the Anglo-Saxon, "to be gainsaid by such as I am, and I must not awaken new strifebetween us by contesting the circumstances under which our combat sosuddenly closed, nor would it be wise or prudent in me further tocontradict you. My noble Emperor generously offers me the right ofnaming what he calls my recompense; but let not his generosity bedispraised, although it is from you, my lord, and not from his ImperialHighness, that I am to ask a boon, to me the dearest to which my voicecan give utterance. "

"And that, " said the Count, "has reference to Bertha, the faithfulattendant of my wife?"

"Even so, " said Hereward; "it is my proposal to request my dischargefrom the Varangian guard, and permission to share in your lordship'spious and honourable vow for the recovery of Palestine, with liberty tofight under your honoured banner, and permission from time to time torecommend my love-suit to Bertha, the attendant of the Countess ofParis, and the hope that it may find favour in the eyes of her noblelord and lady. I may thus finally hope to be restored to a country, which I have never ceased to love over the rest of the world. "

"Thy service, noble soldier, " said the Count, "shall be as acceptableto me as that of a born earl; nor is there an opportunity of acquiringhonour which I can shape for thee, to which, as it occurs, I will notgladly prefer thee. I will not boast of what interest I have with theKing of England, but something I can do with him, and it shall bestrained to the uttermost to settle thee in thine own beloved nativecountry. "

The Emperor then spoke. "Bear witness, heaven and earth, and you myfaithful subjects, and you my gallant allies; above all, you my boldand true Varangian Guard, that we would rather have lost the brightestjewel from our Imperial crown, than have relinquished the service ofthis true and faithful Anglo-Saxon. But since go he must and will, itshall be my study to distinguish him by such marks of beneficence asmay make it known through his future life, that he is the person towhom the Emperor Alexius Comnenus acknowledged a debt larger than hisempire could discharge. You, my Lord Tancred, and your principalleaders, will sup with us this evening, and to-morrow resume yourhonourable and religious purpose of pilgrimage. We trust both thecombatants will also oblige us by their presence. --Trumpets, give thesignal for dismission. "

The trumpets sounded accordingly, and the different classes ofspectators, armed and unarmed, broke up into various parties, or formedinto their military ranks, for the purpose of their return to the city. 

The screams of women suddenly and strangely raised, was the first thingthat arrested the departure of the multitude, when those who glancedtheir eyes back, saw Sylvan, the great ourang-outang, produce himselfin the lists, to their surprise and astonishment. The women, and manyof the men who were present, unaccustomed to the ghastly look andsavage appearance of a creature so extraordinary, raised a yell ofterror so loud, that it discomposed the animal who was the occasion ofits being raised. Sylvan, in the course of the night, having escapedover the garden-wall of Agelastes, and clambered over the rampart ofthe city, found no difficulty in hiding himself in the lists which werein the act of being raised, having found a lurking-place in some darkcorner under the seats of the spectators. From this he was probablydislodged by the tumult of the dispersing multitude, and had beencompelled, therefore, to make an appearance in public when he leastdesired it, not unlike that of the celebrated Puliccinello, at theconclusion of his own drama, when he enters in mortal strife with thefoul fiend himself, a scene which scarcely excites more terror amongthe juvenile audience, than did the unexpected apparition of Sylvanamong the spectators of the duel. Bows were bent, and javelins pointedby the braver part of the soldiery, against an animal of an appearanceso ambiguous, and whom his uncommon size and grizzly look caused mostwho beheld him to suppose either the devil himself, or the apparitionof some fiendish deity of ancient days, whom the heathens worshipped. Sylvan had so far improved such opportunities as had been afforded him, as to become sufficiently aware that the attitudes assumed by so manymilitary men, inferred immediate danger to his person, from which hehastened to shelter himself by flying to the protection of Hereward, with whom he had been in some degree familiarized. He seized him, accordingly, by the cloak, and, by the absurd and alarmed look of hisfantastic features, and a certain wild and gibbering chatter, endeavoured to express his fear and to ask protection. Herewardunderstood the terrified creature, and turning to the Emperor's throne, said aloud, --"Poor frightened being, turn thy petition, and gestures, and tones, to a quarter which, having to-day pardoned so many offenceswhich were wilfully and maliciously schemed, will not be, I am sure, obdurate to such as thou, in thy half-reasoning capacity, may have beencapable of committing. "

The creature, as is the nature of its tribe, caught from Herewardhimself the mode of applying with most effect his gestures and pitiablesupplication, while the Emperor, notwithstanding the serious scenewhich had just past, could not help laughing at the touch of comedyflung into it by this last incident. 

"My trusty Hereward, "--he said aside, ("I will not again call himEdward if I can help it)--thou art the refuge of the distressed, whether it be man or beast, and nothing that sues through thyintercession, while thou remainest in our service, shall find itssupplication in vain. Do thou, good Hereward, " for the name was nowpretty well established in his Imperial memory, "and such of thycompanions as know the habits of the creature, lead him back to his oldquarters in the Blacquernal; and that done, my friend, observe that werequest thy company, and that of thy faithful mate Bertha, to partakesupper at our court, with our wife and daughter, and such of ourservants and allies as we shall request to share the same honour. Beassured, that while thou remainest with us, there is no point ofdignity which shall not be willingly paid to thee. --And do thouapproach, Achilles Tatius, as much favoured by thine Emperor as beforethis day dawned. What charges are against thee have been only whisperedin a friendly ear, which remembers them not, unless (which Heavenforefend!) their remembrance is renewed by fresh offences. "

Achilles Tatius bowed till the plume of his helmet mingled with themane of his fiery horse, but held it wisest to forbear any answer inwords, leaving his crime and his pardon to stand upon those generalterms in which the Emperor had expressed them. 

Once more the multitude of all ranks returned on their way to the city, nor did any second interruption arrest their march. Sylvan, accompaniedby one or two Varangians, who led him in a sort of captivity, took hisway to the vaults of the Blacquernal, which were in fact his properhabitation. 

Upon the road to the city, Harpax, the notorious corporal of theImmortal Guards, held a discourse with one or two of his own soldiers, and of the citizens who had been members of the late conspiracy. 

"So, " said Stephanos, the prize-fighter, "a fine affair we have made ofit, to suffer ourselves to be all anticipated and betrayed by a thick-sculled Varangian; every chance turning against us as they wouldagainst Corydon, the shoemaker, if he were to defy me to the circus. Ursel, whose death made so much work, turns out not to be dead afterall; and what is worse, he lives not to our advantage. This fellowHereward, who was yesterday no better than myself--What do I say?--better!--he was a great deal worse--an insignificant nobody in everyrespect!--is now crammed with honours, praises, and gifts, till hewellnigh returns what they have given him, and the Caesar and theAcolyte, our associates, have lost the Emperor's love and confidence, and if they are suffered to survive, it must be like the tame domesticpoultry, whom we pamper with food, one day, that upon the next theirnecks may be twisted for spit or spot. "

"Stephanos, " replied the centurion, "thy form of body fits thee wellfor the Palaestra, but thy mind is not so acutely formed as to detectthat which is real from that which is only probable, in the politicalworld, of which thou art now judging. Considering the risk incurred bylending a man's ear to a conspiracy, thou oughtest to reckon it asaving in every particular, where he escapes with his life andcharacter safe. This has been the case with Achilles Tatius, and withthe Caesar. They have remained also in their high places of trust andpower, and maybe confident that the Emperor will hardly dare to removethem at a future period, since the possession of the full knowledge oftheir guilt has not emboldened him to do so. Their power, thus leftwith them, is in fact ours; nor is there a circumstance to be supposed, which can induce them to betray their confederates to the government. It is much more likely that they will remember them with theprobability of renewing, at a finer time, the alliance which binds themtogether. Cheer up thy noble resolution, therefore, my Prince of theCircus, and think that thou shalt still retain that predominantinfluence which the favourites of the amphitheatre are sure to possessover the citizens of Constantinople. "

"I cannot tell, " answered Stephanos; "but it gnaws at my heart like theworm that dieth not, to see this beggarly foreigner betray the noblestblood in the land, not to mention the best athlete in the Palaestra, and move off not only without punishment for his treachery, but withpraise, honour, and preferment. "

"True, " said Harpax; "but observe, my friend, that he does move off topurpose. He leaves the land, quits the corps in which he might claimpreferment and a few vain honours, being valued at what such triflesamount to. Hereward, in the course of one or two days, shall be littlebetter than a disbanded soldier, subsisting by the poor bread which hecan obtain as a follower of this beggarly Count, or which he is ratherbound to dispute with the infidel, by encountering with his battle-axethe Turkish sabres. What will it avail him amidst the disasters, theslaughter, and the famine of Palestine, that he once upon a time wasadmitted to supper with the Emperor? We know Alexius Comnenus---he iswilling to discharge, at the highest cost, such obligations as areincurred to men like this Hereward; and, believe me, I think that I seethe wily despot shrug his shoulders in derision, when one morning he issaluted with the news of a battle in Palestine lost by the crusaders inwhich his old acquaintance has fallen a dead man. I will not insultthee, by telling thee how easy it might be to acquire the favour of agentlewoman in waiting upon a lady of quality; nor do I think it wouldbe difficult, should that be the object of the prize-fighter, toacquire the property of a large baboon like Sylvan, which no doubtwould set up as a juggler any Frank who had meanness of spirit topropose to gain his bread in such a capacity, from the alms of thestarving chivalry of Europe. But he who can stoop to envy the lot ofsuch a person, ought not to be one whose chief personal distinctionsare sufficient to place him first in rank over all the favourites ofthe amphitheatre. "

There was something in this sophistical kind of reasoning, which wasbut half satisfactory to the obtuse intellect of the prize-fighter, towhom it was addressed, although the only answer which he attempted wascouched in this observation:--

"Ay, but, noble centurion, you forget that, besides empty honours, thisVarangian Hereward, or Edward, whichever is his name, is promised amighty donative of gold. "

"Marry, you touch me there, " said the centurion; "and when you tell methat the promise is fulfilled, I will willingly agree that the Anglo-Saxon hath gained something to be envied for; but while it remains inthe shape of a naked promise, you shall pardon me, my worthy Stephanos, if I hold it of no more account than the mere pledges which aredistributed among ourselves as well as to the Varangians, promisingupon future occasions mints of money, which we are likely to receive atthe same time with the last year's snow. Keep up your heart, therefore, noble Stephanos, and believe not that your affairs are worse for themiscarriage of this day; and let not thy gallant courage sink, butremembering those principles upon which it was called into action, believe that thy objects are not the less secure because fate hasremoved their acquisition to a more distant day. " The veteran andunbending conspirator, Harpax, thus strengthened for some futurerenewal of their enterprise the failing spirits of Stephanos. 

After this, such leaders as were included in the invitation given bythe Emperor, repaired to the evening meal, and, from the generalcontent and complaisance expressed by Alexius and his guests of everydescription, it could little have been supposed that the day justpassed over was one which had inferred a purpose so dangerous andtreacherous. 

The absence of the Countess Brenhilda, during this eventful day, created no small surprise to the Emperor and those in his immediateconfidence, who knew her enterprising spirit, and the interest she musthave felt in the issue of the combat. Bertha had made an earlycommunication to the Count, that his lady, agitated with the manyanxieties of the few preceding days, was unable to leave her apartment. The valiant knight, therefore, lost no time in acquainting his faithfulCountess of his safety; and afterwards joining those who partook of thebanquet at the palace, he bore himself as if the least recollection didnot remain on his mind of the perfidious conduct of the Emperor at theconclusion of the last entertainment. He knew, in truth, that theknights of Prince Tancred not only maintained a strict watch round thehouse where Brenhilda remained, but also that they preserved a severeward in the neighbourhood of the Blacquernal, as well for the safety oftheir heroic leader, as for that of Count Robert, the respectedcompanion of their military pilgrimage. 

It was the general principle of the European chivalry, that distrustwas rarely permitted to survive open quarrels, and that whatever wasforgiven, was dismissed from their recollection, as unlikely to recur;but on the present occasion there was a more than usual assemblage oftroops, which the occurrences of the day had drawn together, so thatthe crusaders were called upon to be particularly watchful. 

It may be believed that the evening passed over without any attempt torenew the ceremonial in the council chamber of the Lions, which hadbeen upon a former occasion terminated in such misunderstanding. Indeedit would have been lucky if the explanation between the mighty Emperorof Greece and the chivalrous Knight of Paris had taken place earlier;for reflection on what had passed, had convinced the Emperor that theFranks were not a people to be imposed upon by pieces of clockwork, andsimilar trifles, and that what they did not understand, was sure, instead of procuring their awe or admiration, to excite their anger anddefiance. Nor had it altogether escaped Count Robert, that the mannersof the Eastern people were upon a different scale from those to whichhe had been accustomed; that they neither were so deeply affected bythe spirit of chivalry, nor, in his own language, was the worship ofthe Lady of the Broken Lances so congenial a subject of adoration. Thisnotwithstanding, Count Robert observed, that Alexius Comnenus was awise and politic prince; his wisdom perhaps too much allied to cunning, but yet aiding him to maintain with great address that empire over theminds of his subjects, which was necessary for their good, and formaintaining his own authority. He therefore resolved to receive withequanimity whatever should be offered by the Emperor, either incivility or in the way of jest, and not again to disturb anunderstanding which might be of advantage to Christendom, by a quarrelfounded upon misconception of terms or misapprehension of manners. Tothis prudent resolution the Count of Paris adhered during the wholeevening; with some difficulty, however, since it was somewhatinconsistent with his own fiery and inquisitive temper, which wasequally desirous to know the precise amount of whatever was addressedto him, and to take umbrage at it, should it appear in the least degreeoffensive, whether so intended or not. 

CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FOURTH. 

It was not until after the conquest of Jerusalem that Count Robert ofParis returned to Constantinople, and with his wife, and suchproportion of his followers as the sword and pestilence had left afterthat bloody warfare, resumed his course to his native kingdom. Uponreaching Italy, the first care of the noble Count and Countess was tocelebrate in princely style the marriage of Hereward and his faithfulBertha, who had added to their other claims upon their master andmistress, those acquired by Hereward's faithful services in Palestine, and no less by Bertha's affectionate ministry to her lady inConstantinople. 

As to the fate of Alexius Comnenus, it may be read at large in thehistory of his daughter Anna, who has represented him as the hero ofmany a victory, achieved, says the purple-born, in the third chapterand fifteenth book of her history, sometimes by his arms and sometimesby his prudence. 

"His boldness alone has gained some battles, at other times his successhas been won by stratagem. He has erected the most illustrious of histrophies by confronting danger, by combating like a simple soldier, andthrowing himself bareheaded into the thickest of the foe. But there areothers, " continues the accomplished lady, "which he gained anopportunity of erecting by assuming the appearance of terror, and evenof retreat. In a word, he knew alike how to triumph either in flight orin pursuit, and remained upright even before those enemies who appearedto have struck him down; resembling the military implement termed thecalthrop, which remains always upright in whatever direction it isthrown on the ground. "

It would be unjust to deprive the Princess of the defence she herselfmakes against the obvious charge of partiality. 

"I must still once more repel the reproach which some bring against me, as if my history was composed merely according to the dictates of thenatural love for parents which is engraved in the hearts of children. In truth, it is not the effect of that affection which I bear to mine, but it is the evidence of matter of fact, which obliges me to speak asI have done. Is it not possible that one can have at the same time anaffection for the memory of a father and for truth? For myself, I havenever directed my attempt to write history, otherwise than for theascertainment of the matter of fact. With this purpose, I have takenfor my subject the history of a worthy man. Is it just, that, by thesingle accident of his being the author of my birth, his quality of myfather ought to form a prejudice against me, which would ruin my creditwith my readers? I have given, upon other occasions, proofssufficiently strong of the ardour which I had for the defence of myfather's interests, which those that know me can never doubt but, onthe present, I have been limited by the inviolable fidelity with whichI respect the truth, which I should have felt conscience to have veiled, under pretence of serving the renown of my father. "--_Alexiad_, chap. Iii. Book xv. 

This much we have deemed it our duty to quote, in justice to the fairhistorian; we will extract also her description of the Emperor's death, and are not unwilling to allow, that the character assigned to thePrincess by our own Gibbon, has in it a great deal of fairness and oftruth. 

Notwithstanding her repeated protests of sacrificing rather to theexact and absolute truth than to the memory of her deceased parent, Gibbon remarks truly, that "instead of the simplicity of style andnarrative which wins a belief, an elaborate affectation of rhetoric andscience betrays in every page the vanity of a female author. Thegenuine character of Alexius is lost in a vague constellation ofvirtues; and the perpetual strain of panegyric and apology awakens ourjealousy to question the veracity of the historian, and the merit ofthe hero. We cannot, however, refuse her judicious and important remark, that the disorders of the times were the misfortune and the glory ofAlexius; and that every calamity which can afflict a declining empirewas accumulated on his reign by the justice of Heaven and the vices ofhis predecessors. "--GIBBON'S _Roman Empire_, vol. Ix. P. 83, foot-note. 

The Princess accordingly feels the utmost assurance, that a number ofsigns which appeared in heaven and on earth, were interpreted by thesoothsayers of the day as foreboding the death of the Emperor. By thesemeans, Anna Comnena assigned to her father those indications ofconsequence, which ancient historians represent as necessaryintimations of the sympathy of nature, with the removal of greatcharacters from the world; but she fails not to inform the Christianreader that her father's belief attached to none of these prognostics, and that even on the following remarkable occasion he maintained hisincredulity:--A splendid statue, supposed generally to be a relic ofpaganism, holding in its hand a golden sceptre, and standing upon abase of porphyry, was overturned by a tempest, and was generallybelieved to be an intimation of the death of the Emperor. This, however, he generously repelled. Phidias, he said, and other great sculptors ofantiquity, had the talent of imitating the human frame with surprisingaccuracy; but to suppose that the power of foretelling future eventswas reposed in these master-pieces of art, would be to ascribe to theirmakers the faculties reserved by the Deity for himself, when he says, "It is I who kill and make alive. " During his latter days, the Emperorwas greatly afflicted with the gout, the nature of which has exercisedthe wit of many persons of science as well as of Anna Comnena. The poorpatient was so much exhausted, that when the Empress was talking ofmost eloquent persons who should assist in the composition of hishistory, he said, with a natural contempt of such vanities, "Thepassages of my unhappy life call rather for tears and lamentation thanfor the praises you speak of. "

A species of asthma having come to the assistance of the gout, theremedies of the physicians became as vain as the intercession of themonks and clergy, as well as the alms which were indiscriminatelylavished. Two or three deep successive swoons gave ominous warning ofthe approaching blow; and at length was terminated the reign and lifeof Alexius Comnenus, a prince who, with all the faults which may beimputed to him, still possesses a real right, from the purity of hisgeneral intentions, to be accounted one of the best sovereigns of theLower Empire. 

For some time, the historian forgot her pride of literary rank, and, like an ordinary person, burst into tears and shrieks, tore her hair, and defaced her countenance, while the Empress Irene cast from her herprincely habits, cut off her hair, changed her purple buskins for blackmourning shoes, and her daughter Mary, who had herself been a widow, took a black robe from one of her own wardrobes, and presented it toher mother. "Even in the moment when she put it on, " says Anna Comnena, "the Emperor gave up the ghost, and in that moment the sun of my lifeset. "

We shall not pursue her lamentations farther. She upbraids herself that, after the death of her father, that light of the world, she had alsosurvived Irene, the delight alike of the east and of the west, andsurvived her husband also. "I am indignant, " she said, "that my soul, suffering under such torrents of misfortune, should still deign toanimate my body. Have I not, " said she, "been more hard and unfeelingthan the rocks themselves; and is it not just that one, who couldsurvive such a father and mother, and such a husband, should besubjected to the influence of so much calamity? But let me finish thishistory, rather than any longer fatigue my readers with my unavailingand tragical lamentation. "

Having thus concluded her history, she adds the following two lines:--

 "The learned Comnena lays her pen aside, What time her subject and her father died. " [Footnote: [Greek: Laexen hopou biotoio Alexios d Komnaenos Entha kalae thygataer laexen Alexiados. ]]

These quotations will probably give the readers as much as they wish toknow of the real character of this Imperial historian. Fewer words willsuffice to dispose of the other parties who have been selected from herpages, as persons in the foregoing drama. 

There is very little doubt that the Count Robert of Paris, whoseaudacity in seating himself upon the throne of the Emperor gives apeculiar interest to his character, was in fact a person of the highestrank; being no other, as has been conjectured by the learned Du Cange, than an ancestor of the house of Bourbon, which has so long given Kingsto France. He was a successor, it has been conceived, of the Counts ofParis, by whom the city was valiantly defended against the Normans, andan ancestor of Hugh Capet. There are several hypotheses upon thissubject, deriving the well-known Hugh Capet, first, from the family ofSaxony; secondly, from St. Arnoul, afterwards Bishop of Altex; third, from Nibilong; fourth, from the Duke of Bavaria; and fifth, from anatural son of the Emperor Charlemagne. Variously placed, but in eachof these contested pedigrees, appears this Robert surnamed the_Strong_, who was Count of that district, of which Paris was thecapital, most peculiarly styled the County, or Isle of France. AnnaComnena, who has recorded the bold usurpation of the Emperor's seat bythis haughty chieftain, has also acquainted us with his receiving asevere, if not a mortal wound, at the battle of Dorylseum, owing to hisneglecting the warlike instructions with which her father had favouredhim on the subject of the Turkish wars. The antiquary who is disposedto investigate this subject, may consult the late Lord Ashburnham'selaborate Genealogy of the Royal House of France; also a note of DuCange's on the Princess's history, p. 362, arguing for the identity ofher "Robert of Paris, a haughty barbarian, " with the "Robert called theStrong, " mentioned as an ancestor of Hugh Capet. Gibbon, vol. Xi. P. 52, may also be consulted. The French antiquary and the English historianseem alike disposed to find the church, called in the tale that of theLady of the Broken Lances, in that dedicated to St. Drusas, or Drosinof Soissons, who was supposed to have peculiar influence on the issueof combats, and to be in the habit of determining them in favour ofsuch champions as spent the night preceding at his shrine. 

In consideration of the sex of one of the parties concerned, the authorhas selected our Lady of the Broken Lances as a more appropriatepatroness than St. Drusas himself, for the Amazons, who were notuncommon in that age. Gaita, for example, the wife of Robert Guiscard, a redoubted hero, and the parent of a most heroic race of sons, washerself an Amazon, fought in the foremost ranks of the Normans, and isrepeatedly commemorated by our Imperial historian, Anna Comnena. 

The reader can easily conceive to himself that Robert of Parisdistinguished himself among his brethren-at-arms and fellow-crusaders. His fame resounded from the walls of Antioch; but at the battle ofDorylaeum, he was so desperately wounded, as to be disabled from takinga part in the grandest scene of the expedition. His heroic Countess, however, enjoyed the great satisfaction of mounting the walls ofJerusalem, and in so far discharging her own vows and those of herhusband. This was the more fortunate, as the sentence of the physicianspronounced that the wounds of the Count had been inflicted by apoisoned weapon, and that complete recovery was only to be hoped for byhaving recourse to his native air. After some time spent in the vainhope of averting by patience this unpleasant alternative, Count Robertsubjected himself to necessity, or what was represented as such, and, with his wife and the faithful Hereward, and all others of hisfollowers who had been like himself disabled from combat, took the wayto Europe by sea. 

A light galley, procured at a high rate, conducted them safely toVenice, and from that then glorious city, the moderate portion of spoilwhich had fallen to the Count's share among the conquerors of Palestine, served to convey them to his own dominions, which, more fortunate thanthose of most of his fellow-pilgrims, had been left uninjured by theirneighbours during the time of their proprietor's absence on the Crusade. The report that the Count had lost his health, and the power ofcontinuing his homage to the Lady of the Broken Lances, brought uponhim the hostilities of one or two ambitious or envious neighbours, whose covetousness was, however, sufficiently repressed by the braveresistance of the Countess and the resolute Hereward. Less than atwelvemonth was required to restore the Count of Paris to his fullhealth, and to render him, as formerly, the assured protector of hisown vassals, and the subject in whom the possessors of the Frenchthrone reposed the utmost confidence. This latter capacity enabledCount Robert to discharge his debt towards Hereward in a manner asample as he could have hoped or expected. Being now respected alike forhis wisdom and his sagacity, as much as he always was for hisintrepidity and his character as a successful crusader, he wasrepeatedly employed by the Court of France in settling the troublesomeand intricate affairs in which the Norman possessions of the Englishcrown involved the rival nations. William Rufus was not insensible tohis merit, nor blind to the importance of gaining his good will; andfinding out his anxiety that Hereward should be restored to the land ofhis fathers, he took, or made an opportunity, by the forfeiture of somerebellious noble, of conferring upon our Varangian a large districtadjacent to the New Forest, being part of the scenes which his fatherchiefly frequented, and where it is said the descendants of the valiantsquire and his Bertha have subsisted for many a long year, survivingturns of time and chance, which are in general fatal to the continuanceof more distinguished families. 

[Illustration]

Tales of my Landlord. 

CASTLE DANGEROUS

 As I stood by yon roofless tower, Where the wa'flower scents the dewy air, Where the howlet mourns in her ivy bower, And tells the midnight moon her care: The winds were laid, the air was still, The stars they shot along the sky; The Fox was howling on the hill, And the distant echoing glens reply. ROBERT BURNS. 

INTRODUCTION. --(1832. )

[The following Introduction to "Castle Dangerous" was forwarded by SirWalter Scott from Naples in February 1832, together with somecorrections of the text, and notes on localities mentioned in the Novel. 

The materials for the Introduction must have been collected before heleft Scotland in September 1831; but in the hurry of preparing for hisvoyage, he had not been able to arrange them so as to accompany thefirst edition of this Romance. A few notes, supplied by the Editor, areplaced within brackets. ]

The incidents on which the ensuing Novel mainly turns, are derived fromthe ancient Metrical Chronicle of "The Brace, " by Archdeacon Barbour, and from the "History of the Houses of Douglas and Angus, " by DavidHume of Godscroft; and are sustained by the immemorial tradition of thewestern parts of Scotland. They are so much in consonance with thespirit and manners of the troubled age to which they are referred, thatI can see no reason for doubting their being founded in fact; the names, indeed, of numberless localities in the vicinity of Douglas Castle, appear to attest, beyond suspicion, many even of the smallestcircumstances embraced in the story of Godscroft. 

Among all the associates of Robert the Brace, in his great enterpriseof rescuing Scotland from the power of Edward, the first place isuniversally conceded to James, the eighth Lord Douglas, to this dayvenerated by his countrymen as "the Good Sir James:"

 "The Gud Schyr James of Douglas, That in his time sa worthy was, That off his price and his bounte, In far landis renownyt was he. " BARBOUR. 

 "The Good Sir James, the dreadful blacke Douglas, That in his dayes so wise and worthie was, Wha here, and on the infidels of Spain, Such honour, praise, and triumphs did obtain. " GORDON. 

From the time when the King of England refused to reinstate him, on hisreturn from France, where he had received the education of chivalry, inthe extensive possessions of his family, --which had been held forfeitedby the exertions of his father, William the Hardy--the young knight ofDouglas appears to have embraced the cause of Bruce with enthusiasticardour, and to have adhered to the fortunes of his sovereign withunwearied fidelity and devotion. "The Douglasse, " says Hollinshed, "wasright joyfully received of King Robert, in whose service he faithfullycontinued, both in peace and war, to his life's end. Though the surnameand familie of the Douglasses was in some estimation of nobilitiebefore those daies, yet the rising thereof to honour chanced throughthis James Douglasse; for, by meanes of his advancement, others of thatlineage tooke occasion, by their singular manhood and noble prowess, shewed at sundrie times in defence of the realme, to grow to suchheight in authoritie and estimation, that their mightie puissance inmainrent, [Footnote: Vassalage. ] lands, and great possessions, atlength was (through suspicion conceived by the kings that succeeded)the cause in part of their ruinous decay. "

In every narrative of the Scottish war of independence, a considerablespace is devoted to those years of perilous adventure and sufferingwhich were spent by the illustrious friend of Bruce, in harassing theEnglish detachments successively occupying his paternal territory, andin repeated and successful attempts to wrest the formidable fortress ofDouglas Castle itself from their possession. In the English, as well asScotch Chronicles, and in Rymer's Foedera, occur frequent notices ofthe different officers intrusted by Edward with the keeping of thisrenowned stronghold; especially Sir Robert de Clifford, ancestor of theheroic race of the Cliffords, Earls of Cumberland; his lieutenant, SirRichard de Thurlewalle, (written sometimes Thruswall, ) of ThirwallCastle, on the Tippal, in Northumberland; and Sir John de Walton, theromantic story of whose love pledge, to hold the Castle of Douglas fora year and day, or surrender all hope of obtaining his mistress'sfavour, with the tragic consequences, softened in the Novel, is givenat length in Godscroft, and has often been pointed out as one of theaffecting passages in the chronicles of chivalry. [Footnote: [Thereader will find both this story, and that of Robert of Paris, in Sir W. Scott's Essay on Chivalry, published in 1818, in the Supplement to theEncyclopaedia Britannica. --_E_. ]]

The Author, before he had made much progress in this, probably the lastof his Novels, undertook a journey to Douglasdale, for the purpose ofexamining the remains of the famous Castle, the Kirk of St. Bride ofDouglas, the patron saint of that great family, and the variouslocalities alluded to by Godscroft, in his account of the earlyadventures of good Sir James; but though he was fortunate enough tofind a zealous and well-informed _cicerone_ in Mr. Thomas Haddow, and had every assistance from the kindness of Mr. Alexander Finlay, theresident Chamberlain of his friend Lord Douglas, the state of hishealth at the time was so feeble, that he found himself incapable ofpursuing his researches, as in better days he would have delighted todo, and was obliged to be contented with such a cursory view of scenes, in themselves most interesting, as could be snatched in a singlemorning, when any bodily exertion was painful. Mr. Haddow was attentiveenough to forward subsequently some notes on the points which theAuthor had seemed desirous of investigating; but these did not reachhim until, being obliged to prepare matters for a foreign excursion inquest of health and strength, he had been compelled to bring his work, such as it is, to a conclusion. 

The remains of the old Castle of Douglas are inconsiderable. Theyconsist indeed of but one ruined tower, standing at a short distancefrom the modern mansion, which itself is only a fragment of the designon which the Duke of Douglas meant to reconstruct the edifice, afterits last accidental destruction by fire. [Footnote: [The followingnotice of Douglas Castle, &c. , is from the Description of theSheriffdom of Lanark, by William Hamilton of Wishaw, written in thebeginning of the last century, and printed by the Maitland Club ofGlasgow in 1831:]--

"Douglass parish, and baronie and lordship, heth very long appertainedto the family of Douglass, and continued with the Earles of Douglassuntill their fatall forfeiture, anno 1455; during which tyme there aremany noble and important actions recorded in histories performed bythem, by the lords and earls of that great family. It was thereaftergiven to Douglass, Earle of Anguse, and continued with them untillWilliam, Earle of Anguse, was created Marquess of Douglass, anno 1633;and is now the principal seat, of the Marquess of Douglass his family. It is a large baronie and parish, and ane laick patronage; and theMarquess is both titular and patron. He heth there, near to the church, a very considerable great house, called the Castle of Douglas; and nearthe church is a fyne village called the town of Douglass, long sinceerected in a burgh of baronie. It heth ane handsome church, with manyancient monuments and inscriptions on the old, interments of the Earlesof this place. 

"The water of Douglas runs quyte through the whole length of thisparish, and upon either side of the water it is called Douglasdale. Ittoucheth Clyde towards the north, and is bounded by Lesmahagow to thewest, Kyle to the southwest, Crawford John and Carmichaell to the southand southeast. It is a pleasant strath, plentifull in grass and corn, and coal; and the minister is well provided. 

"The lands of Heysleside belonging to Samuel Douglass, has a good houseand pleasant seat, close by wood, " &c. --P. 65. ] His Grace had kept inview the ancient prophecy, that as often as Douglas Castle might bedestroyed, it should rise again in enlarged dimensions and improvedsplendour, and projected a pile of building, which, if it had beencompleted, would have much exceeded any nobleman's residence thenexisting in Scotland--as, indeed, what has been finished, amounting toabout one-eighth part of the plan, is sufficiently extensive for theaccommodation of a large establishment, and contains some apartmentsthe dimensions of which are magnificent. The situation is commanding;and though the Duke's successors have allowed the mansion to continueas he left it, great expense has been lavished on the environs, whichnow present a vast sweep of richly undulated woodland, stretching tothe borders of the Cairntable mountains, repeatedly mentioned as thefavourite retreat of the great ancestor of the family in the days ofhis hardship and persecution. There remains at the head of theadjoining _bourg_, the choir of the ancient church of St. Bride, having beneath it the vault which was used till lately as the burial-place of this princely race, and only abandoned when their stone andleaden coffins had accumulated, in the course of five or six hundredyears, in such a way that it could accommodate no more. Here a silvercase, containing the dust of what was once the brave heart of Good SirJames, is still pointed out; and in the dilapidated choir above appears, though in a sorely ruinous state, the once magnificent tomb of thewarrior himself. After detailing the well-known circumstances of SirJames's death in Spain, 20th August, 1330, where he fell, assisting theKing of Arragon in an expedition against the Moors, when on his wayback to Scotland from Jerusalem, to which he had conveyed the heart ofBruce, --the old poet Barbour tells us that--

 "Quhen his men lang had mad murnyn, Thai debowalyt him, and syne Gert scher him swa, that mycht be tane The flesch all haly frae the bane. And the carioune thar in haly place Erdyt, with rycht gret worschip, was. 

 "The banys haue thai with them tane; And syne ar to thair schippis gane; Syne towart Scotland held thair way, And thar ar cummyn in full gret hy. And the banys honbrabilly In till the Kyrk of Douglas war Erdyt, with dule and mekill car. Schyr Archebald his sone gert syn Off alabastre, bath fair and fyne, Ordane a tumbe sa richly As it behowyt to swa worthy. "

The monument is supposed to have been wantonly mutilated and defaced bya detachment of Cromwell's troops, who, as was their custom, convertedthe kirk of St. Bride of Douglas into a stable for their horses. Enough, however, remains to identify the resting-place of the great Sir James. The effigy, of dark stone, is crossed-legged, marking his character asone who had died after performing the pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, and in actual conflict with the infidels of Spain; and the introductionof the HEART, adopted as an addition to the old arms of Douglas, inconsequence of the knight's fulfilment of Bruce's dying injunction, appears, when taken in connexion with the posture of the figure, to setthe question at rest. The monument, in its original state, must havebeen not inferior in any respect to the best of the same period inWestminster Abbey; and the curious reader is referred for fartherparticulars of it to "The Sepulchral Antiquities of Great Britain, byEdward Blore, F. S. A. " London, 4to, 1826: where may also be foundinteresting details of some of the other tombs and effigies in thecemetery of the first house of Douglas. 

As considerable liberties have been taken, with the historicalincidents on which this novel is founded, it is due to the reader toplace before him such extracts from Godscroft and Barbour as may enablehim to correct any mis-impression. The passages introduced in theAppendix, from the ancient poem of "The Bruce, " will moreover gratifythose who have not in their possession a copy of the text of Barbour, as given in the valuable quarto edition of my learned friend Dr. Jamieson, as furnishing on the whole a favourable specimen of the styleand manner of a venerable classic, who wrote when Scotland was stillfull of the fame and glory of her liberators from the yoke ofPlantagenet, and especially of Sir James Douglas, "of whom, " saysGodscroft, "we will not omit here, (to shut up all, ) the judgment ofthose times concerning him, in a rude verse indeed, yet such as bearethwitness of his true magnanimity and invincible mind in either fortune:--

 "Good Sir James Douglas (who wise, and wight, and worthy was, ) Was never over glad in no winning, nor yet oversad for no lineing; Good fortune and evil chance he weighed both in one balance. " W. S. 

APPENDIX. 

No. I. 

EXTRACTS FROM "THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSES OF DOUGLAS AND ANGUS. BYMASTER DAVID HUME OF GODSCROFT. " FOL. EDIT. 

 * * * And here indeed the course of the King's misfortunes begins tomake some halt and stay by thus much prosperous successe in his ownperson; but more in the person of Sir James, by the reconquests of hisowne castles and countries. From hence he went into Douglasdale, where, by the means of his father's old servant, Thomas Dickson, he took inthe Castle of Douglas, and not being able to keep it, he caused burn it, contenting himself with this, that his enemies had one strength fewerin that country than before. The manner of his taking of it is said tohave beene thus:--Sir James taking only with him two of his servants, went to Thomas Dickson, of whom he was received with tears, after hehad revealed himself to him, for the good old man knew him not at first, being in mean and homely apparel. There he kept him secretly in a quietchamber, and brought unto him such as had been trusty servants to hisfather, not all at, once, but apart by one and one, for fear ofdiscoverie. Their advice was, that on Palm-Sunday, when the Englishwould come forth to the church, and his partners were conveened, thatthen he should give the word, and cry the Douglas slogan, and presentlyset upon them that should happen to be there, who being despatched, theCastle might be taken easily. This being concluded, and they come, sosoon as the English were entered into the church with palms in theirhands, (according to the costume of that day, ) little suspecting orfearing any such thing, Sir James, according to their appointment, cryed too soon (a Douglas, a Douglas!) which being heard in the church, (this was Saint Bride's church of Douglas, ) Thomas Dickson, supposinghe had beene hard at hand, drew out his sword, and ran upon them, having none to second him but another man, so that, oppressed by thenumber of his enemies, he was beaten downe and slaine. In the meantime, Sir James being come, the English that were in the chancel kept off theScots, and having the advantage of the strait and narrow entrie, defended themselves manfully. But Sir James encouraging his men, not somuch by words as by deeds and good example, and having slain theboldest resisters, prevailed at last, and entring the place, slew sometwenty-six of their number, and took the rest, about ten or twelvepersons, intending by them to get the Castle upon composition, or toenter with them when the gates should be opened to let them in: but itneeded not, for they of the Castle were so secure, that there was noneleft to keep it save the porter and the cooke, who knowing nothing ofwhat had hapned at the church, which stood a large quarter of a milefrom thence, had left the gate wide open, the porter standing without, and the cooke dressing the dinner within. They entered withoutresistance, and meat being ready, and the cloth laid, they shut thegates, and tooke their refection at good leasure. 

Now that he had gotten the Castle into his hands, considering withhimselfe (as he was a man no lesse advised than valiant) that it washard for him to keep it, the English being as yet the stronger in thatcountrey, who if they should besiege him, he knewe of no reliefe, hethought better to carry away such things as be most easily transported, gold, silver, and apparell, with ammunition and armour, whereof he hadgreatest use and need, and to destroy the rest of the provision, together with the Castle itselfe, then to diminish the number of hisfollowers for a garrison there where it could do no good. And so hecaused carrie the meale and malt, and other cornes and graine, into thecellar, and laid altogether in one heape: then he took the prisonersand slew them, to revenge the death of his trustie and valiant servant, Thomas Dickson, mingling the victuals with their bloud, and buryingtheir carkasses in the heap of corne: after that he struck out theheads of the barrells and puncheons, and let the drink runn throughall; and then he cast the carkasses of dead horses and other carrionamongst it, throwing the salt above all, so as to make altogetherunuseful to the enemie; and this cellar is called yet the DouglasLairder. Last of all, he set the house on fire, and burnt all thetimber, and what else the fire could overcome, leaving nothing but thescorched walls behind him. And this seemes to be the first taking ofthe Castle of Douglas, for it is supposed that he took it twice. Forthis service, and others done to Lord William his father, Sir Jamesgave unto Thomas Dickson the lands of Hisleside, which hath beene givenhim before the Castle was taken as an encouragement to whet him on, andnot after, for he was slain in the church; which was both liberally andwisely done of him, thus to hearten and draw men to his service by sucha noble beginning. The Castle being burnt, Sir James retired, andparting his men into divers companies, so as they might be most secret, he caused cure such as were wounded in the fight, and he himselfe keptas close as he could, waiting ever for an occasion to enterprisesomething against the enemie. So soone as he was gone, the LordClifford being advertised of what had happened, came himselfe in personto Douglas, and caused re-edifie and repair the Castle in a very shorttime, unto which he also added a Tower, which is yet called HarriesTower from him, and so returned into England, leaving one Thurswall tobe Captain thereof. --Pp. 26-28. 

 * * * * * * *

He (Sir James Douglas) getting him again into Douglasdale, did use thisstratagem against Thurswall, Captain of the Castle, under the said LordClifford. He caused some of his folk drive away the cattle that fednear unto the Castle, and when the Captain of the garrison followed torescue, gave orders to his men to leave them and to flee away. Thus hedid often to make the Captain slight such frays, and to make himsecure, that he might not suspect any further end to be on it; whichwhen he had wrought sufficiently (as he thought), he laid some men inambuscado, and sent others away to drive such beasts as they shouldfind in the view of the Castle, as if they had been thieves and robbers, as they had done often before. The Captain hearing of it, and supposingthere was no greater danger now than had been before, issued forth ofthe Castle, and followed after them with such haste that his men(running who should be first) were disordered and out of their ranks. The drivers also fled as fast as they could till they had drawn theCaptain a little way beyond the place of ambuscado, which when theyperceived, rising quickly out of their covert, they set fiercely uponhim and his company, and so slew himself and chased his men back to theCastle, some of whom were overtaken and slain, others got into theCastle and so were saved. Sir James, not being able to force the house, took what booty he could get without in the fields, and so departed. Bythis means, and such other exploits, he so affrighted the enemy, thatit was counted a matter of such great jeopardy to keep this Castle, that it began to be called the adventurous (or hazardous) Castle ofDouglas: Whereupon Sir John Walton being in suit of an English lady, she wrote to him that when he had kept the adventurous Castle ofDouglas seven years, then, he might think himself worthy to be a suitorto her. Upon this occasion Walton took upon him the keeping of it, andsucceeded to Thurswall; but he ran the same fortune with the rest thatwere before him. 

For, Sir James having first dressed an ambuscado near unto the place, he made fourteen of his men take so many sacks, and fill them withgrass, as though it had been corn, which they carried in the way towardLanark, the chief market town in that county: so hoping to draw forththe Captain by that bait, and either to take him or the Castle, or both. 

Neither was this expectation frustrate, for the Captain did bite, andcame forth to have taken this victual (as he supposed). But ere hecould reach these carriers, Sir James, with his company, had gottenbetween the Castle and him; and these disguised carriers, seeing theCaptain following after them, did quickly cast off their upper garments, wherein they had masked themselves, and throwing off their sacks, mounted themselves on horseback, and met the Captain with a sharpencounter, he being so much the more amazed that it was unlooked for:wherefore, when he saw these carriers metamorphosed into warriors, andready to assault him, fearing (that which was) that there was sometrain laid for them, he turned about to have retired into the Castle;but there also he met with his enemies; between which two companies heand his followers were slain, so that none escaped; the Captainafterwards being searched, they found (as it is reported) hismistress's letters about him. Then he went and took in the Castle, butit is uncertain (say our writers) whether by force or composition; butit seems that the Constable, and those that were within, have yieldedit up without force; in regard that he used them so gently, which hewould not have done if he had taken it at utterance. For he sent themall safe home to the Lord Clifford, and gave them also provision andmoney for their entertainment by the way. The Castle, which he hadburnt only before, now he razeth, and casts down the walls thereof tothe ground. By these and the like proceedings, within a short while hefreed Douglasdale, Attrict Forest, and Jedward Forest, of the Englishgarrisons and subjection. --_Ibid_. P. 29. 

No. II. 

[Extracts from THE BRUCE. --"Liber compositus per Magistrum JohannemBarber Archidiaeonum Abyrdonensem, de gestis, bellis, et vertutibus, Domini Roberti Brwyes, Regis Scocie illustrissimi, et de conquesturegni Scocie per eundem, et de Domino Jacobo de Douglas. "--Edited byJohn Jamieson, D. D. F. R. S. F. &c. &c. Edinburgh, 1820. ]

Now takis James his waigeTowart Dowglas, his heretage, With twa yemen, for his owtyn ma;That wes a symple stuff to ta, A land or a castell to win. The quhethir he yarnyt to begynTill bring purposs till ending;For gud help is in gud begynnyng, For gud begynning, and hardy, Gyff it be folwit wittily, May ger oftsyss unlikly thingCum to full conabill ending. Swa did it here: but he wes wyssAnd saw he mycht, on nakyn wyss, Werray his fa with evyn mycht;Tharfur he thocht to wyrk with slycht. And in Dowglas daile, his countre, Upon an evymiyng entryt he. And than a man wonnyt tharby. That was off freyndis weill mychty, And ryche of moble, and off cateill;And had bene till his fadyr leyll;And till him selff in his yowthed. He haid done mony a thankfull deid. Thom Dicson wes his name perlay. Till him he send; and gan him pray, That he wald cum all anerlyFor to spek with him priuely. And he but daunger till him gais:Bot fra he tauld him quhat he wais, He gret for joy, and for pite;And him rycht till his houss had he;Quhar in a chambre priuelyHe held him, and his cumpany, That nane had off him persaving. Off mete, and drynk, and othyr thing, That mycht thuim eyss, thai had plente. Sa wrocht he thorow sutelte, That all the lele men off that land, That with his fadyr war duelland, This gud man gert cum, ane and ane, And mak him manrent cuir ilkane;And he him selff fyrst homage maid. Dowglas in part gret glaidschip haid, That the gud men off his cuntreWald swagate till him bundyn be. He speryt the conwyne off the land, And quha the castell had in hand. And thai him tauld all halily;And syne amang them priuelyThai ordanyt, that he still suld beIn hiddillis, and in priwete, Till Palme Sonday, that wes ner hand, The thrid day eftyr folowand. For than the folk off that countreAssemblyt at the kyrk wald be;And thai, that in the castell wer, Wald als be thar, thar palmys to ber, As folk that had na dreid off ill;For thai thoucht all wes at thair will. Than suld he cum with his twa men. Bot, for that men suld nocht him ken, He suld ane mantill haiff auld and bar, And a flaill, as he a thresscher war. Undyr the mantill nocht for thiHe suld be armyt priuely. And quhen the men off his countre, That suld all boune befor him be, His ensenye mycht her hym cry. Then suld thai, full enforcely, Rycht ymyddys the kyrk assaillThe Ingliss men with hard bataillSwa that nane mycht eschap them fra;For thar throwch trowyt thai to taThe castell, that besid wes nerAnd quhen this, that I tell you her, Wes diuisyt and undertane, Ilkane till his howss hame is gane;And held this spek in priuete, Till the day off thar assembly. 

The folk upon the SonoundayHeld to Saynct Bridis kyrk thair way, And tha that in the castell warIschyt owt, bath les and mar, And went thair palmys for to her;Owtane a cuk and a porter. James off Dowglas off thair cummyng, And quhat thai war, had witting;And sped him till the kyrk in hyBot or he come, too hastilyAne off his criyt, "Dowglas! Dowglas!"Thomas Dicson, that nerrest wasTill thaim that war off the castell, That war all innouth the chancell, Quhen he "Dowglas!" swa hey herd cry, Drew owt his swerd; and fellelyRuschyt amang thaim to and fra. Bot ane or twa, for owtyn ma, Than in hy war left lyandQuhill Dowglas come rycht at hand. And then enforcyt on thaim the cry. Bot thai the chansell sturdelyHeld, and thaim defendyt wele, Till off thair men war slayne sumdell. Bot the Dowglace sa weill him bar, That all the men, that with him war, Had comfort off his wele doyng;And he him sparyt nakyn thing. Bot provyt swa his force in fycht, That throw his worschip, and his mycht, His men sa keynly helpyt than, That thai the chansell on thaim wan. Than dang thai on swa hardyly, That in schort tyme men mycht se lyThe twa part dede, or then deand. The lave war sesyt sone in hand, Swa that off thretty levyt nane, That thai ne war slayne ilkan, or tane. 

James off Dowglas, quhen this wes done, The presoneris has he tane alsone;And, with thaim off his cumpany, Towart the castell went in hy, Or noyiss, or cry, suld ryss. And for he wald thaim sone suppriss, That levyt in the castell war, That war but twa for owtyn mar, Fyve men or sex befor send he, That fand all opyn the entre;And entryt, and the porter tukRycht at the gate, and syne the cuk. With that Dowglas come to the gat, And entryt in for owtyn debate;And fand the mete all ready grathit, With burdys set, and clathis layit. The gaitis then he gert sper, And sat, and eyt all at layser. Syne all the gudis turssyt thaiThat thaim thocht thai mycht haiff away;And namly wapnys, and armyng, Siluer, and tresour, and clethyng. Vyctallis, that, mycht nocht tursyt be, On this manner destroyit he. All the vrctalis, owtane salt, Als quheyt, and flour, and meill, and maltIn the wyne sellar gert he bring;And samyn on the flur all flyng. And the presoneris that he had taneRycht thar in gert he heid ilkane;Syne off the townnys he hedis outstrak:A foule melle thar gane he mak. For meile, and malt, and bluid, and wyneRan all to gidder in a mellyne, That was unsemly for to se. Tharfor the men of that countre, For swa fele thar mellyt wer, Callit it the "Dowglas Lardner. "Syne tuk he salt, as Ic hard tell, And ded horss, and sordid the well. And brynt all, owtakyn stane;And is forth, with his menye, gayneTill his resett; for him thoucht weill, Giff he had haldyn the caslell, It had bene assegyt raith;And that him thoucht to mekill waith. For he ne had hop of reskewyng. And it is to peralous thingIn castell assegyt to be, Quhar want is off thir thingis thre;Victaill, or men with their armyng, Or than gud hop off rescuyng. And for he dred thir thingis suld faile, He chesyt furthwart to trawaill, Quhar he mycht at his larges be;And swa dryve furth his destane. 

On this wise wes the castell tan, And slayne that war tharin ilkan. The Dowglas syne all his menyeGert in ser placis depertyt be;For men suld wyt quhar thai war, That yeid depertyt her and thar. Thim that war woundyt gert he lyIn till hiddillis, all priuely;And gert gud leechis till thaim bringQuhill that thai war in till heling. And him selff, with a few menye, Quhile ane, quhile twa and quhile thre, And umqumll all him allane. In hiddillis throw the land is gane. Sa dred he Inglis men his mycht, That he durst nocht wele cum in sycht. For thai war that tyme all weldandAs maist lordis, our all the land. 

Bot tythandis, that scalis sone, Off this deid that Dowglas has done, Come to the Cliffurd his ere, in hy, That for his tynsaill wes sary;And menyt his men that thai had slayne, And syne has to purpos tane, To big the castell up agayne. Thar for, as man of mekill mayne, He assemblit grret cumpany, And till Dowglas he went in hy. And biggyt wp the castell swyth;And maid it rycht stalwart and stythAnd put tharin victallis and menAne off the Thyrwallys thenHe left behind him Capitane, And syne till Ingland went agayne. Book IV. V. 255-460. 

Bot yeit than Janvss of DowglasIn Dowglas Daile travailland was;Or ellys weill ner hand tharby, In hyddillys sumdeill priuely. For he wald se his gouernyng, That had the castell in keping:And gert mak mony juperty, To se quhethyr he wald ische blythly. And quhen he persavyt that heWald blythly ische with his menye, He maid a gadringr priuelyOff thaim that war on his party;That war sa fele, that thai durst fychWith Thyrwall, and all the mychtOff thaim that in the castell war. He schupe him in the nycht so farTo Sandylandis: and thar ner byHe him enbuschyt priuely, And send a few a trane to ma;That sone in the mornyng gan ga, And tuk catell, that wes the castell by, And syne withdrew thaim hastelyTowart thaim that enbuschit war. Than Thyrwall, for owtyn mar, Gert arme his men, forowtyn baid;Aud ischyt with all the men he haid:And foiowyt fast eftir the cry. He wes armyt at poynt clenly, Owtane [that] his hede wes bar. Than, with the men that with him war, The catell folowit he gud speid, Rycht as a man that had na dreid, Till that he gat off thaim a sycht. Than prekyt thai with all thar mycht, Folowand thaim owt off arayAnd thai sped thaim fleand, quhill thaiFer by thair buschement war past:And Thyrwall ay chassyt fast. And than thai that enbuschyt warIschyt till him, bath les and marAnd rayssyt sudanly the cry. And thai that saw sa sudanlyThat folk come egyrly prikandRycht betuix thairn and thair warank, Thai war in to full gret effray. And, for thai war owt off aray, Sum off thaim fled, and some abad. And Dowglas, that thar with him hadA gret mengye, full egrelyAssaylyt, and scalyt thaim hastyly:And in schort tyme ourraid thaim swa, That weile nane eschapyt thaim fra. Thyrwall, that wes thair capitane, Wes thar in the bargane slane:And off his men the mast party. The lave fled full effraytly. Book V. V. 10-60

CASTLE DANGEROUS. 

CHAPTER THE FIRST. 

 Hosts have been known at that dread sound to yield, And, Douglas dead, his name hath won the field. JOHN HOME. 

It was at the close of an early spring day, when nature, in a coldprovince of Scotland, was reviving from her winter's sleep, and the airat least, though not the vegetation, gave promise of an abatement ofthe rigour of the season, that two travellers, whose appearance at thatearly period sufficiently announced their wandering character, which, in general, secured a free passage even through a dangerous country, were seen coming from the south-westward, within a few miles of theCastle of Douglas, and seemed to be holding their course in thedirection of the river of that name, whose dale afforded a species ofapproach to that memorable feudal fortress. The stream, small incomparison to the extent of its fame, served as a kind of drain to thecountry in its neighbourhood, and at the same time afforded the meansof a rough road to the castle and village. The high lords to whom thecastle had for ages belonged, might, had they chosen, have made thisaccess a great deal smoother and more convenient; but there had been asyet little or no exercise for those geniuses, who have taught all theworld that it is better to take the more circuitous road round the baseof a hill, than the direct course of ascending it on the one side, anddescending it directly on the other, without yielding a single step torender the passage more easy to the traveller; still less were thosemysteries dreamed of which M'Adam has of late days expounded. But, indeed, to what purpose should the ancient Douglasses have employed hisprinciples, even if they had known them in ever so much perfection?Wheel-carriages, except of the most clumsy description, and for themost simple operations of agriculture, were totally unknown. Even themost delicate female had no resource save a horse, or, in case of soreinfirmity, a litter. The men used their own sturdy limbs, or hardyhorses, to transport themselves from place to place; and travellers, females in particular, experienced no small inconvenience from therugged nature of the country. A swollen torrent sometimes crossed theirpath, and compelled them to wait until the waters had abated theirfrenzy. The bank of a small river was occasionally torn away by theeffects of a thunder-storm, a recent inundation, or the likeconvulsions of nature; and the wayfarer relied upon his knowledge ofthe district, or obtained the best local information in his power, howto direct his path so as to surmount such untoward obstacles. 

The Douglas issues from an amphitheatre of mountains which bounds thevalley to the south-west, from whose contributions, and the aid ofsudden storms, it receives its scanty supplies. The general aspect ofthe country is that of the pastoral hills of the south of Scotland, forming, as is usual, bleak and wild farms, many of which had, at nogreat length of time from the date of the story, been covered withtrees; as some of them still attest by bearing the name of _shaw_, that is, wild natural wood. The neighbourhood of the Douglas wateritself was flat land, capable of bearing strong crops of oats and rye, supplying the inhabitants with what they required of these productions. At no great distance from the edge of the river, a few special spotsexcepted, the soil capable of agriculture was more and more mixed withthe pastoral and woodland country, till both terminated in desolate andpartly inaccessible moorlands. 

Above all, it was war-time, and of necessity all circumstances of mereconvenience were obliged to give way to a paramount sense of danger;the inhabitants, therefore, instead of trying to amend the paths whichconnected them with other districts, were thankful that the naturaldifficulties which surrounded them rendered it unnecessary to break upor to fortify the access from more open countries. Their wants, with avery few exceptions, were completely supplied, as we have already said, by the rude and scanty produce of their own mountains and _holms_, [Footnote: Holms, or flat plains, by the sides of the brooks and rivers, termed in the south, _Ings_. ] the last of which served for theexercise of their limited agriculture, while the better part of themountains and forest glens produced pasture for their herds and flocks. The recesses of the unexplored depths of these sylvan retreats beingseldom disturbed, especially since the lords of the district had laidaside, during this time of strife, their constant occupation of hunting, the various kinds of game had increased of late very considerably; sothat not only in crossing the rougher parts of the hilly and desolatecountry we are describing, different varieties of deer wereoccasionally seen, but even the wild cattle peculiar to Scotlandsometimes showed themselves, and other animals, which indicated theirregular and disordered state of the period. The wild-cat wasfrequently surprised in the dark ravines or the swampy thickets; andthe wolf, already a stranger to the more populous districts of theLothians, here maintained his ground against the encroachments of man, and was still himself a terror to those by whom he was finally to beextirpated. In winter especially, and winter was hardly yet past, thesesavage animals were wont to be driven to extremity for lack of food, and used to frequent, in dangerous numbers, the battle-field, thedeserted churchyard--nay, sometimes the abodes of living men, there towatch for children, their defenceless prey, with as much familiarity asthe fox now-a-days will venture to prowl near the mistress's [Footnote:The good dame, or wife of a respectable farmer, is almost universallythus designated in Scotland. ] poultry-yard. 

From what we have said, our readers, if they have made--as who in thesedays has not--the Scottish tour, will be able to form a tolerably justidea of the wilder and upper part of Douglas Dale, during the earlierperiod of the fourteenth century. The setting sun cast his gleams alonga moorland country, which to the westward broke into larger swells, terminating in the mountains called the Larger and Lesser Cairntable. The first of these is, as it were, the father of the hills in theneighbourhood, the source of an hundred streams, and by far the largestof the ridge, still holding in his dark bosom, and in the ravines withwhich his sides are ploughed, considerable remnants of those ancientforests with which all the high grounds of that quarter were oncecovered, and particularly the hills, in which the rivers--both thosewhich run to the east, and those which seek the west to dischargethemselves into the Solway---hide, like so many hermits, their originaland scanty sources. 

The landscape was still illuminated by the reflection of the eveningsun, sometimes thrown back from pool or stream; sometimes resting ongrey rocks, huge cumberers of the soil, which labour and agriculturehave since removed, and sometimes contenting itself with gilding thebanks of the stream, tinged, alternately grey, green, or ruddy, as theground itself consisted of rock, or grassy turf, or bare earthen mound, or looked at a distance like a rampart of dark red porphyry. Occasionally, too, the eye rested on the steep brown extent of moorlandas the sunbeam glanced back from the little tarn or mountain pool, whose lustre, like that of the eye in the human countenance, gives alife and vivacity to every feature around. 

The elder and stouter of the two travellers whom we have mentioned, wasa person well, and even showily dressed, according to the finery of thetimes, and bore at his back, as wandering minstrels were wont, a case, containing a small harp, rote or viol, or some such species of musicalinstrument for accompanying the voice. The leathern case announced somuch, although it proclaimed not the exact nature of the instrument. The colour of the traveller's doublet was blue, and that of his hoseviolet, with slashes which showed a lining of the same colour with thejerkin. A mantle ought, according to ordinary custom, to have coveredthis dress; but the heat of the sun, though the season was so early, had induced the wearer to fold up his cloak in small compass, and formit into a bundle, attached to the shoulders like the militarygreatcoat of the infantry soldier of the present day. The neatness withwhich it was made up, argued the precision of a practised traveller, who had been long accustomed to every resource which change of weatherrequired. A great profusion of narrow ribands or points, constitutingthe loops with which our ancestors connected their doublet and hose, formed a kind of cordon, composed of knots of blue or violet, whichsurrounded the traveller's person, and thus assimilated in colour withthe two garments which it was the office of these strings to combine. The bonnet usually worn with this showy dress, was of that kind withwhich Henry the Eighth and his son, Edward the Sixth, are usuallyrepresented. It was more fitted, from the gay stuff of which it wascomposed, to appear in a public place, than to encounter a storm ofrain. It was party-coloured, being made of different stripes of blueand violet; and the wearer arrogated a certain degree of gentility tohimself, by wearing a plume of considerable dimensions of the samefavourite colours. The features over which this feather drooped were inno degree remarkable for peculiarity of expression. Yet in so desolatea country as the west of Scotland, it would, not have been easy to passthe man without more minute attention than he would have met with wherethere was more in the character of the scenery to arrest the gaze ofthe passengers. 

A quick eye, a sociable look, seeming to say, "Ay, look at me, I am aman worth noticing, and not unworthy your attention, " carried with it, nevertheless, an interpretation which might be thought favourable orotherwise, according to the character of the person whom the travellermet. A knight or soldier would merely have thought that he had met amerry fellow, who could sing a wild song, or tell a wild tale, and helpto empty a flagon, with all the accomplishments necessary for a booncompanion at an hostelry, except perhaps an alacrity at defraying hisshare of the reckoning. A churchman, on the other hand, might havethought he of the blue and violet was of too loose habits, andaccustomed too little to limit himself within the boundaries ofbeseeming mirth, to be fit society for one of his sacred calling. Yetthe Man of Song had a certain steadiness of countenance, which seemedfitted to hold place in scenes of serious business as well as of gaiety. A wayfaring passenger of wealth (not at that time a numerous class)might have feared in him a professional robber, or one whom opportunitywas very likely to convert into such; a female might have beenapprehensive of uncivil treatment; and a youth, or timid person, mighthave thought of murder, or such direful doings. Unless privately armed, however, the minstrel was ill-accoutred for any dangerous occupation. His only visible weapon was a small crooked sword, like what we nowcall a hanger; and the state of the times would have justified any man, however peaceful his intentions, in being so far armed against theperils of the road. 

If a glance at this man had in any respect prejudiced him in theopinion of those whom he met on his journey, a look at his companionwould, so far as his character could be guessed at--for he was closelymuffled up--have passed for an apology and warrant for his associate. The younger traveller was apparently in early youth, a soft and gentleboy, whose Sclavonic gown, the appropriate dress of the pilgrim, hewore more closely drawn about him than the coldness of the weatherseemed to authorize or recommend. His features, imperfectly seen underthe hood of his pilgrim's dress, were prepossessing in a high degree;and though he wore a walking sword, it seemed rather to be incompliance with general fashion than from any violent purpose he did so. There were traces of sadness upon his brow, and of tears upon hischeeks; and his weariness was such, as even his rougher companionseemed to sympathize with, while he privately participated also in thesorrow which left its marks upon a countenance so lovely. They spoketogether, and the elder of the two, while he assumed the deferentialair proper to a man of inferior rank addressing a superior, showed intone and gesture, something that amounted to interest and affection. 

"Bertram, my friend, " said the younger of the two, "how far are westill from Douglas Castle? We have already come farther than the twentymiles, which thou didst say was the distance from Cammock--or how didstthou call the last hostelry which we left by daybreak?"

"Cummock, my dearest lady--I beg ten thousand excuses--my gracious younglord. "

"Call me Augustine, " replied his comrade, "if you mean to speak as isfittest for the time. "

"Nay, as for that, " said Bertram, "if your ladyship can condescend tolay aside your quality, my own good breeding is not so firmly sewed tome but that I can doff it, and resume it again without its losing astitch; and since your ladyship, to whom I am sworn in obedience, ispleased to command that I should treat you as my own son, shame it wereto me if I were not to show you the affection of a father, moreespecially as I may well swear my great oath, that I owe you the dutyof such, though well I wot it has, in our case, been the lot of theparent to be maintained by the kindness and liberality of the child;for when was it that I hungered or thirsted, and the _blackstock_[Footnote: The table dormant, which stood in a baron's hall, was often so designated. ] of Berkley did not relieve my wants?"

"I would have it so, " answered the young pilgrim; "I would have it so. What use of the mountains of beef, and the oceans of beer, which theysay our domains produce, if there is a hungry heart among our vassalage, or especially if thou, Bertram, who hast served as the minstrel of ourhouse for more than twenty years, shouldst experience such a feeling?"

"Certes, lady, " answered Bertram, "it would be like the catastrophewhich is told of the Baron of Fastenough, when his last mouse wasstarved to death in the very pantry; and if I escape this journeywithout such a calamity, I shall think myself out of reach of thirst orfamine for the whole of my life. "

"Thou hast suffered already once or twice by these attacks, my poorfriend, " said the lady. 

"It is little, " answered Bertram, "any thing that I have suffered; andI were ungrateful to give the inconvenience of missing a breakfast, ormaking an untimely dinner, so serious a name. But then I hardly see howyour ladyship can endure this gear much longer. You must yourself feel, that the plodding along these high lands, of which the Scots give ussuch good measure in their miles, is no jesting matter; and as forDouglas Castle, why it is still three good miles off. "

"The question then is, " quoth the lady, heaving a sigh, "what we are todo when we have so far to travel, and when the castle gates must belocked long before we arrive there?"

"For that I will pledge my word, " answered Bertram. "The gates ofDouglas, under the care of Sir John de Walton, do not open so easily asthose of the buttery hatch at our own castle, when it is well oiled;and if your ladyship take my advice, you will turn southward ho! and intwo days at farthest, we shall be in a land where men's wants areprovided for, as the inns proclaim it, with the least possible delay, and the secret of this little journey shall never be known to livingmortal but ourselves, as sure as I am sworn minstrel, and man offaith. "

"I thank thee for thy advice, mine honest Bertram, " said the lady, "butI cannot profit by it. Should thy knowledge of these parts possess theewith an acquaintance with any decent house, whether it belong to richor poor, I would willingly take quarters there, if I could obtain themfrom this time until to-morrow morning. The gates of Douglas Castlewill then be open to guests of so peaceful an appearance as we carrywith us, and--and--it will out--we might have time to make suchapplications to our toilet as might ensure us a good reception, bydrawing a comb through our locks, or such like foppery. "

"Ah, madam!" said Bertram, "were not Sir John de Walton in question, methinks I should venture to reply, that an unwashed brow, an unkempthead of hair, and a look far more saucy than your ladyship ever wears, or can wear, were the proper disguise to trick out that minstrel's boy, whom, you wish to represent in the present pageant. "

"Do you suffer your youthful pupils to be indeed so slovenly and sosaucy, Bertram?" answered the lady. "I for one will not imitate them inthat particular; and whether Sir John be now in the Castle of Douglasor not, I will treat the soldiers who hold so honourable a charge witha washed brow, and a head of hair somewhat ordered. As for going backwithout seeing a castle which has mingled even with my very dreams--ata word, Bertram, thou mayst go that way, but I will not. "

"And if I part with your ladyship on such terms, " responded theminstrel, "now your frolic is so nearly accomplished, it shall be thefoul fiend himself, and nothing more comely or less dangerous, thatshall tear me from your side; and for lodging, there is not far fromhence the house of one Tom Dickson of Hazelside, one of the most honestfellows of the Dale, and who, although a labouring man, ranked as highas a warrior, when I was in this country, as any noble gentleman thatrode in the band of the Douglas. "

"He is then a soldier?" said the lady. 

"When his country or his lord need his sword, " replied Bertram--"and, to say the truth, they are seldom at peace; but otherwise, he is noenemy, save to the wolf which plunders his herds. "

"But forget not, my trusty guide, " replied the lady, "that the blood inour veins is English, and consequently, that we are in danger from allwho call themselves foes to the ruddy Cross. "

"Do not fear this man's faith, " answered Bertram. "You may trust to himas to the best knight or gentleman of the land. We may make good ourlodging by a tune or a song; and it may remember you that I undertook(provided it pleased your ladyship) to temporize a little with theScots, who, poor souls, love minstrelsy, and when they have but asilver penny, will willingly bestow it to encourage the _gayscience_--I promised you, I say, that we should be as welcome tothem as if we had been born amidst their own wild hills; and for thebest that such a house as Dickson's affords, the glee-man's son, fairlady, shall not breathe a wish in vain. And now, will you speak yourmind to your devoted friend and adopted father, or rather your swornservant and guide, Bertram the Minstrel, what it is your pleasure to doin this matter?"

"O, we will certainly accept of the Scot's hospitality, " said the lady, "your minstrel word being plighted that he is a true man. Tom Dickson, call you him?"

"Yes, " replied Bertram, "such is his name; and by looking on thesesheep, I am assured that we are now upon his land. "

"Indeed?" said the lady, with some surprise; "and how is your wisdomaware of that?"

"I see the first letter of his name marked upon this flock, " answeredthe guide. "Ah, learning is what carries a man through the world, aswell as if he had the ring by virtue of which old minstrels tell thatAdam understood the language of the beasts in paradise. Ah, madam!there is more wit taught in the shepherd's shieling than the ladythinks of, who sews her painted seam in her summer bower. "

"Be it so, good Bertram. And although not so deeply skilled in theknowledge of written language as you are, it is impossible for me toesteem its value more than I actually do; so hold we on the nearestroad to this Tom Dickson's, whose very sheep tell of his whereabout. Itrust we have not very far to go, although the knowledge that ourjourney is shortened by a few miles has so much recovered my fatigue, that methinks I could dance all the rest of the way. "

CHAPTER THE SECOND. 

 _Rosalind_. Well, this is the Forest of Arden. _Touchstone_. Ay, now am I in Arden; the more fool I. When Iwas at home I was in a better place; but travellers must be content. _Rosalind_. Ay, be so, good Touchstone. Look you, who comeshere; a young man and an old, in solemn talk. As You Like It. _Scene IV. Act 2_. 

As the travellers spoke together, they reached a turn of the path whichpresented a more extensive prospect than the broken face of the countryhad yet shown them. A valley, through which flowed a small tributarystream, exhibited the wild, but not unpleasant, features of "a lonevale of green braken;" here and there besprinkled with groups of alder-trees, of hazels, and of copse-oakwood, which had maintained theirstations in the recesses of the valley, although they had vanished fromthe loftier and more exposed sides of the hills. The farm-house ormansion-house, (for, from its size and appearance, it might have beenthe one or the other, ) was a large but low building, and the walls ofthe out-houses were sufficiently strong to resist any band of casualdepredators. There was nothing, however, which could withstand a morepowerful force; for, in a country laid waste by war, the farmer wasthen, as now, obliged to take his chance of the great evils attendantupon that state of things; and his condition, never a very eligible one, was rendered considerably worse by the insecurity attending it. Abouthalf a mile farther was seen a Gothic building of very small extent, having a half dismantled chapel, which the minstrel pronounced to bethe Abbey of Saint Bride. "The place, " he said, "I understand, isallowed to subsist, as two or three old monks and as many nuns, whom itcontains, are permitted by the English to serve God there, andsometimes to give relief to Scottish travellers; and who haveaccordingly taken assurance with Sir John de Walton, and accepted astheir superior a churchman on whom he thinks he can depend. But ifthese guests happen to reveal any secrets, they are, by some means orother, believed to fly towards the English governor; and therefore, unless your ladyship's commands be positive, I think we had best nottrust ourselves to their hospitality. "

"Of a surety, no, " said the lady, "if thou canst provide me withlodgings where we shall have more prudent hosts. "

At this moment, two human forms were seen to approach the farm-house ina different direction from the travellers, and speaking so high, in atone apparently of dispute, that the minstrel and his companion coulddistinguish their voices though the distance was considerable. Havingscreened his eyes with his hand for some minutes, Bertram at lengthexclaimed, "By our Lady, it is my old friend, Tom Dickson, sureenough!--What can make him in such bad humour with the lad, who, Ithink, may be the little wild boy, his son Charles, who used to runabout and plait rushes some twenty years ago? It is lucky, however, wehave found our friends astir; for I warrant, Tom hath a hearty piece ofbeef in the pot ere he goes to bed, and he must have changed his wontif an old friend hath not his share; and who knows, had we come later, at what hour they may now find it convenient to drop latch and drawbolt so near a hostile garrison; for if we call things by their rightnames, such is the proper term for an English garrison in the castle ofa Scottish nobleman. "

"Foolish man, " answered the lady, "thou judgest of Sir John de Waltonas thou wouldst of some rude boor, to whom the opportunity of doingwhat he wills is a temptation and license to exercise cruelty andoppression. Now, I could plight you my word, that, setting apart thequarrel of the kingdoms, which, of course, will be fought out in fairbattles on both sides, you will find that English and Scottish, withinthis domain, and within the reach of Sir John de Walton's influence, live together as that same flock of sheep and goats do with theshepherd's dog; a foe from whom they fly upon certain occasions, butaround whom they nevertheless eagerly gather for protection should awolf happen to show himself. "

"It is not to your ladyship, " answered Bertram, "that I should ventureto state my opinion of such matters; but the young knight, when he issheathed in armour, is a different being from him who feasts in hallsamong press of ladies; and he that feeds by another man's fireside, andwhen his landlord, of all men in the world, chances to be the BlackDouglas, has reason to keep his eyes about him as he makes his meal:--but it were better I looked after our own evening refreshment, thanthat I stood here gaping and talking about other folk's matters. " Sosaying, he called out in a thundering tone of voice, "Dickson!--what ho, Thomas Dickson!--will you not acknowledge an old friend who is muchdisposed to trust his supper and night's lodging to your hospitality?"

The Scotchman, attracted by the call, looked first along the banks ofthe river, then upward to the bare side of the hill, and at length casthis eyes upon the two figures who were descending from it. 

As if he felt the night colder while he advanced from the moresheltered part of the valley to meet them, the Douglas Dale farmerwrapped closer around him the grey plaid, which, from an early period, has been used by the shepherds of the south of Scotland, and theappearance of which gives a romantic air to the peasantry and middleclasses; and which, although less brilliant and gaudy in its colours, is as picturesque in its arrangement as the more military tartan mantleof the Highlands. When they approached near to each other, the ladymight observe that this friend of her guide was a stout athletic man, somewhat past the middle of life, and already showing marks of theapproach, but none of the infirmities, of age, upon a countenance whichhad been exposed to many a storm. Sharp eyes, too, and a quickobservation, exhibited signs of vigilance, acquired by one who hadlived long in a country where he had constant occasion for lookingaround him with caution. His features were still swollen withdispleasure; and the handsome young man who attended him seemed to bediscontented, like one who had undergone no gentle marks of hisfather's indignation, and who, from the sullen expression which mingledwith an appearance of shame on his countenance, seemed at once affectedby anger and remorse. 

"Do you not remember me, old friend?" said Bertram, as they approachedwithin a distance for communing; "or have the twenty years which havemarched over us since we met, carried along with them all remembranceof Bertram, the English minstrel?"

"In troth, " answered the Scot, "it is not for want of plenty of yourcountrymen to keep you in my remembrance, and I have hardly heard oneof them so much as whistle

 'Hey, now the day dawns, '

but it has recalled some note of your blythe rebeck; and yet, suchanimals are we, that I had forgot the mien of my old friend, andscarcely knew him at a distance. But we have had trouble lately; thereare a thousand of your countrymen that keep garrison in the PerilousCastle of Douglas yonder, as well as in other places through the vale, and that is but a woful sight for a true Scotchman--even my own poorhouse has not escaped the dignity of a garrison of a man-at-arms, besides two or three archer knaves, and one or two slips of mischievousboys called pages, and so forth, who will not let a man say, 'this ismy own, ' by his own fireside. Do not, therefore, think hardly of me, old comrade, if I show you a welcome something colder than you mightexpect from a friend of other days; for, by Saint Bride of Douglas, Ihave scarcely anything left to which I can say welcome. "

"Small welcome will serve, " said Bertram. "My son, make thy reverenceto thy father's old friend. Augustine is learning my joyous trade, buthe will need some practice ere he can endure its fatigues. If you couldgive him some little matter of food, and a quiet bed for the night, there's no fear but that we shall both do well enough; for I dare say, when you travel with my friend Charles there, --if that tall youthchance to be my old acquaintance Charles, --you will find yourselfaccommodated when his wants are once well provided for. "

"Nay, the foul fiend take me if I do, " answered the Scottish husbandman. "I know not what the lads of this day are made of--not of the same clayas their fathers, to be sure--not sprung from their heather, whichfears neither wind nor rain, but from some delicate plant of a foreigncountry, which will not thrive unless it be nourished under glass, witha murrain to it. The good Lord of Douglas--I have been his henchman, and can vouch for it--did not in his pagehood desire such food andlodging as, in the present day, will hardly satisfy such a lad as yourfriend Charles. "

"Nay, " said Bertram, "it is not that my Augustine is over nice; but, for other reasons, I must request of you a bed to himself; he hath oflate been unwell. "

"Ay, I understand, " said Dickson, "your son hath had a touch of thatillness which terminates so frequently in the black death you Englishfolk die of? We hear much of the havoc it has made to the southward. Comes it hitherward?"

Bertram nodded. 

"Well, my father's house, " continued the farmer, "hath more rooms thanone, and your son shall have one well-aired and comfortable; and forsupper, ye shall have a part of what is prepared for your countrymen, though I would rather have their room than their company. Since I ambound to feed a score of them, they will not dispute the claim of sucha skilful minstrel as thou art to a night's hospitality. I am ashamedto say that I must do their bidding even in my own house, Well-a-day, if my good lord were in possession of his own, I have heart and handenough to turn the whole of them out of my house, like--like"----

"To speak plainly, " said Bertram, "like a southern strolling gang fromRedesdale, whom I have seen you fling out of your house like a litterof blind puppies, when not one of them looked behind to see who haddone him the courtesy until he was half-way to Cairntable. "

"Ay, " answered the Scotchman, drawing himself up at least six inchestaller than before; "then I had a house of my own, and a cause and anarm to keep it. Now I am--what signifies it what I am?--the noblestlord in Scotland is little better. "

"Truly, friend, " said Bertram, "now you view this matter in a rationallight. I do not say that the wisest, the richest, or the strongest manin this world has any right to tyrannize over his neighbour, because heis the more weak, ignorant, and the poorer; but yet if he does enterinto such a controversy, he must submit to the course of nature, andthat will always give the advantage in the tide of battle to wealth, strength, and health. "

"With permission, however, " answered Dickson, "the weaker party, if heuse his facilities to the utmost, may, in the long run, obtain revengeupon the author of his sufferings, which would be at least compensationfor his temporary submission; and he acts simply as a man, and mostfoolishly as a Scotchman, whether he sustain these wrongs with theinsensibility of an idiot, or whether he endeavour to revenge thembefore Heaven's appointed time has arrived. --But if I talk thus I shallscare you, as I have scared some of your countrymen, from accepting ameal of meat and a night's lodging, in a house where you might becalled with the morning to a bloody settlement of a national quarrel. "

"Never mind, " said Bertram, "we have been known to each other of old;and I am no more afraid of meeting unkindness in your house, than youexpect me to come here for the purpose of adding to the injuries ofwhich you complain. "

"So be it, " said Dickson; "and you, my old friend, are as welcome to myabode as when it never held any guest, save of my own inviting. --Andyou, my young friend, Master Augustine, shall be looked after as wellas if you came with a gay brow and a light cheek, such as best becomesthe _gay science_. "

"But wherefore, may I ask, " said Bertram, "so much displeased but nowat my young friend Charles?"

The youth answered before his father had time to speak. "My father, good sir, may put what show upon it he will, but shrewd and wise menwax weak in the brain these troublous times. He saw two or three wolvesseize upon three of our choicest wethers; and because I shouted to givethe alarm to the English garrison, he was angry as if he could havemurdered me---just for saving the sheep from the jaws that would havedevoured them. "

"This is a strange account of thee, old friend, " said Bertram. "Dostthou connive with the wolves in robbing thine own fold?"

"Why, let it pass, if thou lovest me, " answered the countryman;"Charles could tell thee something nearer the truth if he had a mind;but for the present let it pass. "

The minstrel, perceiving that the Scotchman was fretted and embarrassedwith the subject, pressed it no farther. 

At this moment, in crossing the threshold of Thomas Dickson's house, they were greeted with sounds from two English soldiers within. "Quiet, Anthony, " said one voice, --"quiet, man!--for the sake of common sense, if not common manners;--Robin Hood himself never sat down to his boardere the roast was ready. "

"Ready!" quoth another rough voice; "It is roasting to rags, and smallhad been the knave Dickson's share, even of these rags, had it not beenthe express orders of the worshipful Sir John de Walton, that thesoldiers who lie at outposts should afford to the inmates suchprovisions as are not necessary for their own subsistence. "

"Hush, Anthony, --hush, for shame!" replied his fellow-soldier, "if everI heard our host's step, I heard it this instant; so give over thygrumbling, since our captain, as we all know, hath prohibited, understrict penalties, all quarrels between his followers and the people ofthe country. "

"I am sure, " replied Anthony, "that I have ministered occasion to none;but I would I were equally certain of the good meaning of this sullen-browed Thomas Dickson towards the English soldiers, for I seldom go tobed in this dungeon of a house, but I expect my throat will gape aswide as a thirsty oyster before I awaken. Here he comes, however, "added Anthony, sinking his sharp tones as he spoke; "and I hope to beexcommunicated if he has not brought with him that mad animal, his sonCharles, and two other strangers, hungry enough, I'll be sworn, to eatup the whole supper, if they do us no other injury. "

"Shame of thyself, Anthony, " repeated his comrade; "a good archer thouas ever wore Kendal green, and yet affect to be frightened for twotired travellers, and alarmed for the inroad their hunger may make onthe night's meal. There are four or five of us here--we have our bowsand our bills within reach, and scorn to be chased from our supper, orcheated out of our share of it by a dozen Scotchmen, whether stationaryor strollers. How say'st thou?" he added, turning to Dickson--"How sayye, quartermaster? it is no secret, that by the directions given to ourpost, we must enquire into the occupations of such guests as you mayreceive besides ourselves, your unwilling inmates; you are as ready forsupper, I warrant, as supper is for you, and I will only delay you andmy friend Anthony, --who becomes dreadfully impatient, until you answertwo or three questions which you wot of. "

"Bend-the-Bow, " answered Dickson, "thou art a civil fellow; andalthough it is something hard to be constrained to give an account ofone's friends, because they chance to quarter in one's own house for anight or two, yet I must submit to the times, and make no vainopposition. You may mark down in your breviary there, that upon thefourteenth day before Palm Sunday, Thomas Dickson brought to his houseof Hazelside, in which you hold garrison, by orders from the Englishgovernor, Sir John de Walton, two strangers, to whom the said ThomasDickson had promised refreshment, and a bed for the evening, if it belawful at this time and place. "

"But what are they, these strangers?" said Anthony, somewhat sharply. 

"A fine world the while, " murmured Thomas Dickson, "that an honest manshould be forced to answer the questions of every paltry companion!"--But he mitigated his voice and proceeded. "The eldest of my guests isBertram, an ancient English minstrel, who is bound on his own errand tothe Castle of Douglas, and will communicate what he has to say of newsto Sir John de Walton himself. I have known him for twenty years, andnever heard any thing of him save that he was good man and true. Theyounger stranger is his son, a lad recovering from the English disorder, which has been raging far and wide in Westmoreland and Cumberland. "

"Tell me, " said Bend-the-Bow, "this same Bertram, --was he not about ayear since in the service of some noble lady in our own country?"

"I have heard so, " answered Dickson. 

"We shall, in that case, I think, incur little danger, " replied Bend-the-Bow, "by allowing this old man and his son to proceed on theirjourney to the castle. "

"You are my elder and my better, " answered Anthony; "but I may remindyou that it is not so clearly our duty to give free passage, into agarrison of a thousand men of all ranks, to a youth who has been solately attacked by a contagious disorder; and I question if ourcommander would not rather hear that the Black Douglas, with a hundreddevils as black as himself, since such is his colour, had takenpossession of the outposts of Hazelside with sword and battle-axe, thanthat one person suffering under this fell sickness had enteredpeaceably, and by the open wicket of the castle. "

"There is something in what thou sayest, Anthony, " replied his comrade;"and considering that our governor, since he has undertaken thetroublesome job of keeping a castle which is esteemed so much moredangerous than any other within Scotland, has become one of the mostcautious and jealous men in the world, we had better, I think, informhim of the circumstance, and take his commands how the stripling is tobe dealt with. "

"Content am I, " said the archer; "and first, methinks, I would just, inorder to show that we know what belongs to such a case, ask thestripling a few questions, as how long he has been ill, by whatphysicians he has been attended, when he was cured, and how his cure iscertified, &e. "

"True, brother, " said Bend-the-Bow. "Thou hearest, minstrel, we wouldask thy son some questions--What has become of him?--he was in thisapartment but now. "

"So please you, " answered Bertram, "he did but pass through theapartment. Mr. Thomas Dickson, at my entreaty, as well as in respectfulreverence to your honour's health, carried him through the room withouttarriance, judging his own bed-chamber the fittest place for a youngman recovering from a severe illness, and after a day of no smallfatigue. "

"Well, " answered the elder archer, "though it is uncommon for men who, like us, live by bow-string and quiver, to meddle with interrogationsand examinations; yet, as the case stands, we must make some enquiriesof your son, ere we permit him to set forth to the Castle of Douglas, where you say his errand leads him. "

"Rather my errand, noble sir, " said the minstrel, "than that of theyoung man himself. "

"If such be the case, " answered Bend-the-Bow, "we may sufficiently doour duty by sending yourself, with the first grey light of dawn, to thecastle, and letting your son remain in bed, which I warrant is thefittest place for him, until we shall receive Sir John de Walton'scommands whether he is to be brought onward or not. "

"And we may as well, " said Anthony, "since we are to have this man'scompany at supper, make him acquainted with the rules of the out-garrison stationed here for the time. " So saying, he pulled a scrollfrom his leathern pouch, and said, "Minstrel, canst thou read?"

"It becomes my calling, " said the minstrel. 

"It has nothing to do with mine, though, " answered the archer, "andtherefore do thou read these regulations aloud; for since I do notcomprehend these characters by sight, I lose no chance of having themread over to me as often as I can, that I may fix their sense in mymemory. So beware that thou readest the words letter for letter as theyare set down; for thou dost so at thy peril, Sir Minstrel, if thoureadest not like a true man. "

"On my minstrel word, " said Bertram, and began to read excessivelyslow; for he wished to gain a little time for consideration, which heforesaw would be necessary to prevent his being separated from hismistress, which was likely to occasion her much anxiety and distress. He therefore began thus:--"'Outpost at Hazelside, the steading ofGoodman Thomas Dickson'--Ay, Thomas, and is thy house so called?"

"It is the ancient name of the steading, " said the Scot, "beingsurrounded by a hazel-shaw, or thicket. "

"Hold your chattering tongue, minstrel, " said Anthony, "and proceed, asyou value your ears, which you seem disposed to make less use of. "

"'His garrison'" proceeded the minstrel, reading, "'consists of a lancewith its furniture. ' What, then, a lance, in other words, a beltedknight, commands this party?"

"'Tis no concern of thine, " said the archer. 

"But it is, " answered the minstrel; "we have a right to be examined bythe highest person in presence. "

"I will show thee, thou rascal, " said the archer, starting up, "that Iam lance enough for thee to reply to, and I will break thy head if thousay'st a word more. "

"Take care, brother Anthony, " said his comrade, "we are to usetravellers courteously--and, with your leave, those travellers best whocome from our native land. "

"It is even so stated here, " said the minstrel, and he proceeded toread:--"'The watch at this outpost of Hazelside [Footnote: HazelsidePlace, the fief granted to Thomas Dickson by William the Hardy, seventhLord Douglas, is still pointed out about two miles to the southwest ofthe Castle Dangerous. Dickson was sixty years of age at the time whenLord James first appeared in Douglasdale. His heirs kept possession ofthe fief for centuries; and some respectable gentlemen's families inLanarkshire still trace themselves to this ancestor. --_From Notes byMr. Haddow_. ] shall stop and examine all travellers passing by thesaid station, suffering such to pass onward to the town of Douglas orto Douglas Castle, always interrogating them with civility, anddetaining and turning them back if there arise matter of suspicion; butconducting themselves in all matters civilly and courteously to thepeople of the country, and to those who travel in it. ' You see, mostexcellent and valiant archer, " added the commentator Bertram, "thatcourtesy and civility are, above all, recommended to your worship inyour conduct towards the inhabitants, and those passengers who, like us, may chance to fall under your rules in such matters. "

"I am not to be told at this time of day, " said the archer, "how toconduct myself in the discharge of my duties. Let me advise you, SirMinstrel, to be frank and open in your answers to our enquiries, andyou shall have no reason to complain. "

"I hope at all events, " said the minstrel, "to have your favour for myson, who is a delicate stripling, and not accustomed to play his partamong the crew which inhabit this wild world. "

"Well, " continued the elder and more civil of the two archers, "if thyson be a novice in this terrestrial navigation, I warrant that thou, myfriend, from thy look and manner of speech, hast enough of skill to usethy compass. To comfort thee, although thou must thyself answer thequestions of our governor or deputy-governor, in order that he may seethere is no offence in thee, I think there may be permission grantedfor thy son's residing here in the convent hard by, (where the nuns, bythe way, are as old as the monks, and have nearly as long beards, sothou mayst be easy about thy son's morals, ) until thou hast done thybusiness at Douglas Castle, and art ready to resume thy journey. "

"If such permission, " said the minstrel, "can be obtained, I should bebetter pleased to leave him at the abbey, and go myself, in the firstplace, to take the directions of your commanding officer. "

"Certainly, " answered the archer, "that will be the safest and bestway; and with a piece or two of money, thou mayst secure the protectionof the abbot. "

"Thou say'st well, " answered the minstrel; "I have known life, I haveknown every stile, gap, pathway, and pass of this wilderness of oursfor some thirty years; and he that cannot steer his course fairlythrough it like an able seaman, after having served such anapprenticeship, can hardly ever be taught, were a century to be givenhim to learn it in. "

"Since thou art so expert a mariner, " answered the archer Anthony, "thou hast, I warrant me, met in thy wanderings a potation called amorning's draught, which they who are conducted by others, where theythemselves lack experience, are used to bestow upon those who undertakethe task of guide upon such an occasion?"

"I understand you, sir, " quoth the minstrel; "and although money, or_drink-geld_, as the Fleming calls it, is rather a scarcecommodity in the purse of one of my calling, yet according to my feebleability, thou shalt have no cause to complain that thine eyes or thoseof thy comrades have been damaged by a Scottish mist, while we can findan English coin to pay for the good liquor which would wash themclear. "

"Content, " said the archer; "we now understand each other; and ifdifficulties arise on the road, thou shalt not want the countenance ofAnthony to sail triumphantly through them. But thou hadst better letthy son know soon of the early visit to the abbot to-morrow, for thoumayst guess that we cannot and dare not delay our departure for theconvent a minute after the eastern sky is ruddy; and, with otherinfirmities, young men often are prone to laziness and a love of ease. "

"Thou shalt have no reason to think so, " answered the minstrel; "notthe lark himself, when waked by the first ray peeping over the blackcloud, springs more lightly to the sky, than will my Augustine answerthe same brilliant summons. And now we understand each other, I wouldonly further pray you to forbear light talk while my son is in yourcompany, --a boy of innocent life, and timid in conversation. "

"Nay, jolly minstrel, " said the elder archer, "thou givest us here toogross an example of Satan reproving sin. If thou hast followed thycraft for twenty years, as thou pretendest, thy son, having kept theecompany since childhood, must by this time be fit to open a school toteach even devils the practice of the seven deadly sins, of which noneknow the theory if those of the _gay science_ are lacking. "

"Truly, comrade, thou speakest well, " answered Bertram, "and Iacknowledge that we minstrels are too much to blame in this matter. Nevertheless, in good sooth, the fault is not one of which I myself amparticularly guilty; on the contrary, I think that he who would wish tohave his own hair honoured when time has strewed it with silver, shouldso rein his mirth when in the presence of the young, as may show inwhat respect he holds innocence. I will, therefore, with yourpermission, speak a word to Augustine, that to-morrow we must be onfoot early. "

"Do so, my friend, " said the English soldier; "and do the same the morespeedily that our poor supper is still awaiting until thou art ready topartake of it. "

"To which, I promise thee, " said Bertram, "I am disposed to entertain, no delay. "

"Follow me, then, " said Dickson, "and I will show thee where this youngbird of thine has his nest. "

Their host accordingly tripped up the wooden stair, and tapped at adoor, which he thus indicated was that of his younger guest. 

"Your father, " continued he, as the door opened, "would speak with you, Master Augustine. "

"Excuse me, my host, " answered Augustine, "the truth is, that this roombeing directly above your eating-chamber, and the flooring not in thebest possible repair, I have been compelled to the unhandsome practiceof eavesdropping, and not a word has escaped me that passed concerningmy proposed residence at the abbey, our journey to-morrow, and thesomewhat early hour at which I must shake off sloth, and, according tothy expression, fly down from the roost. "

"And how dost thou relish, " said Dickson, "being left with the Abbot ofSaint Bride's little flock here. "

"Why, well, " said the youth, "if the abbot is a man of respectabilitybecoming his vocation, and not one of those swaggering churchmen, whostretch out the sword, and bear themselves like rank soldiers in thesetroublous times. "

"For that, young master, " said Dickson, "if you let him put his handdeep enough into your purse, he will hardly quarrel with any thing. ""Then I will leave him to my father, " replied Augustine, "who will notgrudge him any thing he asks in reason. "

"In that case, " replied the Scotchman, "you may trust to our abbot forgood accommodation--and so both sides are pleased. "

"It is well, my son, " said Bertram, who now joined in the conversation;"and that thou mayst be ready for early travelling, I shall presentlyget our host to send thee some food, after partaking of which thoushouldst go to bed and sleep off the fatigue of to-day, since to-morrowwill bring work for itself. "

"And as for thy engagement to these honest archers, " answered Augustine, "I hope you will be able to do what will give pleasure to our guides, if they are disposed to be civil and true men. "

"God bless thee, my child!" answered Bertram; "thou knowest alreadywhat would drag after thy beck all the English archers that were everon this side of the Solway. There is no fear of a grey goose shaft, ifyou sing a _reveillez_ like to that which chimed even now fromthat silken nest of dainty young goldfinches. "

"Hold me as in readiness, then, " said the seeming youth, "when youdepart to-morrow morning. I am within hearing, I suppose, of the bellsof Saint Bride's chapel, and have no fear, through my sloth, of keepingyou or your company waiting. "

"Good night, and God bless thee, my child!" again said the minstrel;"remember that your father sleeps not far distant, and on the slightestalarm will not fail to be with you. I need scarce bid thee recommendthyself, meantime, to the great Being, who is the friend and father ofus all. "

The pilgrim thanked his supposed father for his evening blessing, andthe visitors withdrew without farther speech at the time, leaving theyoung lady to those engrossing fears, which, the novelty of hersituation, and the native delicacy of her sex being considered, naturally thronged upon her. 

The tramp of a horse's foot was not long after heard at the house ofHazelside, and the rider was welcomed by its garrison with marks ofrespect. Bertram understood so much as to discover from theconversation of the warders that this late arrival was Aymer de Valence, the knight who commanded the little party, and to the furniture ofwhose lance, as it was technically called, belonged the archers withwhom we have already been acquainted, a man-at-arms or two, a certainproportion of pages or grooms, and, in short, the command and guidanceof the garrison at Thomas Dickson's, while in rank he was Deputy-governor of Douglas Castle. 

To prevent all suspicion respecting himself and his companion, as wellas the risk of the latter being disturbed, the minstrel thought itproper to present himself to the inspection of this knight, the greatauthority of the little place. He found him with as little scruple asthe archers heretofore, making a supper of the relics of the roast beef. 

Before this young knight Bertram underwent an examination, while an oldsoldier took down in writing such items of information as the examinatethought proper to express in his replies, both with regard to theminutiae of his present journey, his business at Castle Douglas, andhis route when that business should be accomplished; a much more minuteexamination, in a word, than he had hitherto undergone by the archers, or perhaps than was quite agreeable to him, being encumbered with atleast the knowledge of one secret, whatever more. Not that this newexaminator had any thing stern or severe in his looks or his questions. As to the first, he was mild, gentle, and "meek as a maid, " andpossessed exactly of the courteous manners ascribed by our fatherChaucer to the pattern of chivalry whom he describes upon hispilgrimage to Canterbury. But with all his gentleness, De Valenceshowed a great degree of acuteness and accuracy in his queries; andwell pleased was Bertram that the young knight did not insist uponseeing his supposed son, although even in that case his ready wit hadresolved, like a seaman in a tempest, to sacrifice one part to preservethe rest. He was not, however, driven to this extremity, being treatedby Sir Aymer with that degree of courtesy which in that age men of songwere in general thought entitled to. The knight kindly and liberallyconsented to the lad's remaining in the convent, as a fit and quietresidence for a stripling and an invalid, until Sir John de Waltonshould express his pleasure on the subject; and Sir Aymer consented tothis arrangement the more willingly, as it averted all possible dangerof bringing disease into the English garrison. 

By the young knight's order, all in Dickson's house were despatchedearlier to rest than usual; the matin bell of the neighbouring chapelbeing the signal for their assembly by daybreak. They rendezvousedaccordingly, and proceeded to Saint Bride's, where they heard mass, after which an interview took place between the abbot Jerome and theminstrel, in which the former undertook, with the permission of DeValence, to receive Augustine into his abbey as a guest for a few days, less or more, and for which Bertram promised an acknowledgment in nameof alms, which was amply satisfactory. 

"So be it, " said Bertram, taking leave of his supposed son; "rely on itI will not tarry a day longer at Douglas Castle than shall suffice fortransacting my business there, which is to look after the old books youwot of, and I will speedily return for thee to the Abbey of Saint Bride, to resume in company our journey homeward. "

"O father, " replied the youth, with a smile, "I fear if you get amongromances and chronicles, you will be so earnest in your researches, that you will forget poor Augustine and his concerns. "

"Never fear me, Augustine, " said the old man, making the motion ofthrowing a kiss towards the boy; "thou art good and virtuous, andHeaven will not neglect thee, were thy father unnatural enough to do so. Believe me, all the old songs since Merlin's day shall not make meforget thee. "

Thus they separated, the minstrel, with the English knight and hisretinue, to move towards the castle, and the youth in dutifulattendance on the venerable abbot, who was delighted to find that hisguest's thoughts turned rather upon spiritual things than on themorning repast, of the approach of which he could not help beinghimself sensible. 

CHAPTER THE THIRD. 

 This night, methinks, is but the daylight sick. It looks a little paler; 'tis a day Such as the day is when the sun is hid. MERCHANT OF VENICE. 

To facilitate the progress of the party on its way to Douglas Castle, the Knight of Valence offered the minstrel the convenience of a horse, which the fatigues of yesterday made him gladly accept. Any oneacquainted with equestrian exercise, is aware that no means ofrefreshment carries away the sense of fatigue from over walking soeasily, as the exchange to riding, which calls into play another set ofmuscles, and leaves those which have been over exerted an opportunityof resting through change of motion, more completely than they could inabsolute repose. Sir Aymer de Valence was sheathed in armour, andmounted on his charger, two of the archers, a groom of mean rank, and asquire, who looked in his day for the honour of knighthood, completedthe detachment, which seemed so disposed as to secure the minstrel fromescape, and to protect him against violence. "Not, " said the youngknight, addressing himself to Bertram, "that there is usually danger intravelling in this country any more than in the most quiet districts ofEngland; but some disturbances, as you may have learnt, have broken outhere within this last year, and have caused the garrison of CastleDouglas to maintain a stricter watch. But let us move on, for thecomplexion of the day is congenial with the original derivation of thename of the country, and the description of the chiefs to whom itbelonged--_Sholto Dhu Glass_--(see yon dark grey man, ) and darkgrey will our route prove this morning, though by good luck it is notlong. "

The morning was indeed what the original Gaelic words implied, adrizzly, dark, moist day; the mist had settled upon the hills, andunrolled itself upon brook, glade, and tarn, and the spring breeze wasnot powerful enough to raise the veil, though from the wild soundswhich were heard occasionally on the ridges, and through the glens, itmight be supposed to wail at a sense of its own inability. The route ofthe travellers was directed by the course which the river had ploughedfor itself down the valley, the banks of which bore in general thatdark grey livery which Sir Aymer de Valence had intimated to be theprevalent tint of the country. Some ineffectual struggles of the sunshot a ray here and there to salute the peaks of the hills; yet thesewere unable to surmount the dulness of a March morning, and, at soearly an hour, produced a variety of shades, rather than a gleam ofbrightness upon the eastern horizon. The view was monotonous anddepressing, and apparently the good knight Aymer sought some amusementin occasional talk with Bertram, who, as was usual with his craft, possessed a fund of knowledge, and a power of conversation, well suitedto pass away a dull morning. The minstrel, well pleased to pick up suchinformation as he might be able concerning the present state of thecountry, embraced every opportunity of sustaining the dialogue. 

"I would speak with you, Sir Minstrel, " said the young knight. "If thoudost not find the air of this morning too harsh for thine organs, heartily do I wish thou wouldst fairly tell me what can have inducedthee, being, as thou seemst, a man of sense, to thrust thyself into awild country like this, at such a time. --And you, my masters, "addressing the archers and the rest of the party, "methinks it would beas fitting and seeming if you reined back your steeds for a horse'slength or so, since I apprehend you can travel on your way without thepastime of minstrelsy. " The bowmen took the hint, and fell back, but, as was expressed by their grumbling observations, by no means pleasedthat there seemed little chance of their overhearing what conversationshould pass between the young knight and the minstrel, which proceededas follows--

"I am, then, to understand, good minstrel, " said the knight, "that you, who have in your time borne arms, and even followed Saint George's red-cross banner to the Holy Sepulchre, are so little tired of the dangerattending our profession, that you feel yourself attractedunnecessarily to regions where the sword, for ever loose in itsscabbard, is ready to start on the slightest provocation?"

"It would be hard, " replied the minstrel bluntly, "to answer such aquestion in the affirmative; and yet, when you consider how nearlyallied is his profession who celebrates deeds of arms with that of theknight who performs them, your honour, I think, will hold it advisablethat a minstrel desirous of doing his devoir, should, like a youngknight, seek the truth of adventures where it is to be found, andrather visit countries where the knowledge is preserved of high andnoble deeds, than those lazy and quiet realms, in which men liveindolently, and die ignobly in peace, or by sentence of law. Youyourself, sir, and those like you, who hold life cheap in respect ofglory, guide your course through this world on the very same principlewhich brings your poor rhyming servant Bertram from a far province ofmerry England, to this dark country of rugged Scotland called DouglasDale. You long to see adventures worthy of notice, and I (under favourfor naming us two in the same breath) seek a scanty and precarious, butnot a dishonourable living, by preparing for immortality, as well as Ican, the particulars of such exploits, especially the names of thosewho were the heroes of these actions. Each, therefore, labours in hisvocation; nor can the one be justly wondered at more than the other, seeing that if there be any difference in the degrees of danger towhich both the hero and the poet are exposed, the courage, strength, arms, and address of the valiant knight, render it safer for him toventure into scenes of peril, than for the poor man of rhyme. "

"You say well, " answered the warrior; "and although it is something ofnovelty to me to hear your craft represented as upon a level with myown mode of life, yet shame were it to say that the minstrel who toilsso much to keep in memory the feats of gallant knights should nothimself prefer fame to existence, and a single achievement of valour toa whole age without a name, or to affirm that he follows a mean andunworthy profession. "

"Your worship will then acknowledge, " said the minstrel, "that it is alegitimate object in such as myself, who, simple as I am, have taken myregular degrees among the professors of the _gay science_ at thecapital town of Aigues-Mortos, to struggle forward into this northerndistrict, where I am well assured many things have happened which havebeen adapted to the harp by minstrels of great fame in ancient days, and have become the subject of lays which lie deposited in the libraryof Castle Douglas, where, unless copied over by some one whounderstands the old British characters and language, they must, withwhatever they may contain, whether of entertainment or edification, bespeedily lost to posterity. If these hidden treasures were preservedand recorded by the minstrel art of my poor self and others, it mightbe held well to compensate for the risk of a chance blow of abroadsword, or the sweep of a brown bill, while I am engaged incollecting them; and I were unworthy of the name of a man, much more ofan inventor or finder, [Footnote: The name of Maker stands for_Poet_ (with the original sense of which word it exactlycorresponds) in the old Scottish language. That of _Trouveur_ orTroubadour--Finder, in short--has a similar meaning, and almost inevery country the poetical tribes have been graced with the sameepithets, inferring the property of those who employ invention orcreation. ] should I weigh the loss of life, a commodity always souncertain, against the chance of that immortality which will survive inmy lay after my broken voice and shivered harp shall no longer be ableeither to express tune or accompany tale. "

"Certainly, " said Sir Aymer, "having a heart to feel such a motive, youhave an undoubted right to express it; nor should I have been in anydegree disposed to question it had I found many minstrels prepared, like yourself, to prefer renown even to life itself, which most menthink of greatly more consequence. "

"There are, indeed, noble sir, " replied Bertram, "minstrels, and, withyour reverence, even belted knights themselves, who do not sufficientlyvalue that renown which is acquired at the risk of life. To suchignoble men we must leave their own reward--let us abandon to themearth, and the things of earth, since they cannot aspire to that glorywhich is the _best_ reward of others. "

The minstrel uttered these last words with such enthusiasm, that theknight drew his bridle, and stood fronting Bertram, with hiscountenance kindling at the same theme, on which, after a short silence, he expressed himself with a like vivacity. 

"Well fare thy heart, gay companion! I am happy to see there is stillso much enthusiasm surviving in the world. Thou hast fairly won theminstrel groat; and if I do not pay it in conformity to my sense of thymerit, it shall be the fault of dame Fortune, who has graced my laboursin these Scottish wars with the niggard pay of Scottish money. A goldpiece or two there must be remaining of the ransom of one French knight, whom chance threw into my hands, and that, my friend, shall surely bethine own; and hark thee, I, Aymer de Valence, who now speak to thee, am born of the noble House of Pembroke; and though now landless, shall, by the grace of Our Lady, have in time a fitting establishment, whereinI will find room for a minstrel like thee, if thy talents have not bythat time found thee a better patron. "

"Thank thee, noble knight, " said the minstrel, "as well for thy presentintentions, as I hope I shall for thy future performance; but I may say, with truth, that I have not the sordid inclination of many of mybrethren. "

"He who partakes the true thirst of noble fame, " said the young knight, "can have little room in his heart for the love of gold. But thou hastnot yet told me, friend minstrel, what are the motives, in particularwhich have attracted thy wandering steps to this wild country?"

"Were I to do so, " replied Bertram, rather desirous to avoid thequestion, as in some respects too nearly bordering on the secretpurpose of his journey, "it might sound like a studied panegyric onthine own bold deeds, Sir Knight, and those of your companions in arms;and such adulation, minstrel as I am, I hate like an empty cup at acompanion's lips. But let me say in few words, that Douglas Castle, andthe deeds of valour which it has witnessed, have sounded wide throughEngland; nor is there a gallant knight or trusty minstrel, whose heartdoes not throb at the name of the stronghold, which, in former days, the foot of an Englishman never entered, except in hospitality. Thereis a magic in the very names of Sir John de Walton and Sir Aymer deValence, the gallant defenders of a place so often won back by itsancient lords, and with such circumstances of valour and cruelty, thatit bears, in England, the name of the Dangerous Castle. "

"Yet I would fain hear, " answered the knight, "your own minstrelaccount of those legends which have induced you, for the amusement offuture times, to visit a country which, at this period, is sodistracted and perilous. "

"If you can endure the length of a minstrel tale, " said Bertram--"I forone am always amused by the exercise of my vocation, and have noobjection to tell my story, provided you do not prove an impatientlistener. "

"Nay, for that matter, " said the young knight, "a fair listener thoushalt have of me; and if my reward be not great, my attention at leastshall be remarkable. "

"And he, " said the minstrel, "must be a poor gleeman who does not holdhimself better paid with that, than with gold or silver, were thepieces English rose-nobles. On this condition, then, I begin a longstory, which may, in one or other of its details, find subject forbetter minstrels than myself, and be listened to by such warriors asyou hundreds of years hence. "

CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 

 While many a merry lay and many a song Cheer'd the rough road, we wish'd the rough road long; The rough road then returning in a round, Mark'd their impatient steps, for all was fairy ground. DR. JOHNSON. 

"It was about the year of redemption one thousand two hundred andeighty-five years, " began, the minstrel, "when King Alexander the Thirdof Scotland lost his daughter Margaret, whose only child of the samename, called the Maiden of Norway, (as her father was king of thatcountry, ) became the heiress of this kingdom of Scotland, as well as ofher father's crown. An unhappy death was this for Alexander, who had nonearer heirs left of his own body than this grandchild. She indeedmight claim his kingdom by birthright; but the difficulty ofestablishing such a claim of inheritance must have been anticipated byall who bestowed a thought upon the subject. The Scottish king, therefore, endeavoured to make up for his loss by replacing his lateQueen, who was an English princess, sister of our Edward the First, with Juletta, daughter of the Count de Dreux. The solemnities at thenuptial ceremony, which took place in the town of Jedburgh, were verygreat and remarkable, and particularly when, amidst the display of apageant which was exhibited on the occasion, a ghastly spectre made itsappearance in the form of a skeleton, as the King of Terrors is said tobe represented. --Your worship is free to laugh at this, if you think ita proper subject for mirth; but men are alive who viewed it with theirown eyes, and the event showed too well of what misfortunes thisapparition was the singular prognostication. "

"I have heard the story, " said the knight; "but the monk who told it me, suggested that the figure, though unhappily chosen, was perhapspurposely introduced as a part of the pageant. "

"I know not that, " said the minstrel, dryly; "but there is no doubtthat shortly after this apparition King Alexander died, to the greatsorrow of his people. The Maid of Norway, his heiress, speedilyfollowed her grandfather to the grave, and our English king, Sir Knight, raked up a claim of dependency and homage due, he said, by Scotland, which neither the lawyers, nobles, priests, nor the very minstrels ofScotland, had ever before heard of. "

"Now, beshrew me, " interrupted Sir Aymer de Valence, "this is beyondbargain. I agreed to hear your tale with patience, but I did not pledgemyself that it should contain matter to the reproach of Edward theFirst, of blessed memory; nor will I permit his name to be mentioned inmy hearing without the respect due his high rank and noble qualities. "

"Nay, " said the minstrel, "I am no highland bagpiper or genealogist, tocarry respect for my art so far as to quarrel with a man of worship whostops me at the beginning of a pibroch. I am an Englishman, and wishdearly well to my country; and, above all, I must speak the truth. ButI will avoid disputable topics. Your age, sir, though none of theripest, authorizes me to suppose you may have seen the battle ofFalkirk, and other onslaughts in which the competition of Bruce andBaliol has been fiercely agitated, and you will permit me to say, thatif the Scottish have not had the right upon their side, they have atleast defended the wrong with the efforts of brave men and true. "

"Of brave men I grant you, " said the knight, "for I have seen nocowards amongst them; but as for truth, they can best judge of it whoknow how often they have sworn faith to England, and how repeatedlythey have broken their vow. "

"I shall not stir the question, " said the minstrel, "leaving it to yourworship to determine which has most falsehood--he who compels a weakerperson to take an unjust path, or he who, compelled by necessity, takesthe imposed oath without the intention of keeping his word. "

"Nay, nay, " said De Valence, "let us keep our opinions, for we are notlikely to force each other from the faith we have adopted on thissubject. But take my advice, and whilst thou travellest under anEnglish pennon, take heed that thou keepest off this conversation inthe hall and kitchen, where perhaps the soldier may be less tolerantthan the officer; and now, in a word, what is thy legend of thisDangerous Castle?"

"For that, " replied Bertram, "methinks your worship is most likely tohave a better edition than I, who have not been in this country formany years; but it is not for me to bandy opinions with your knightship. I will even proceed with the tale as I have heard it. I need not, Ipresume, inform your worship that the Lords of Douglas, who foundedthis castle, are second to no lineage in Scotland in the antiquity oftheir descent. Nay, they have themselves boasted that their family isnot to be seen or distinguished, like other great houses, until it isfound at once in a certain degree of eminence. 'You may see us in thetree, ' they say, 'you cannot discover us in the twig; you may see us inthe stream, you cannot trace us to the fountain. ' In a word, they denythat historians or genealogists can point out the first mean man namedDouglas, who originally elevated the family; and true it is, that sofar back as we have known this race, they have always been renowned forvalour and enterprise, accompanied with the power which made thatenterprise effectual. "

"Enough, " said the knight, "I have heard of the pride and power of thatgreat family, nor does it interest me in the least to deny or detractfrom their bold claims to consideration in this respect. "

"Without doubt you must also have heard, noble sir, " replied theminstrel, "many things of James, the present heir of the house ofDouglas?" "More than enough, " answered the English knight; "he is knownto have been a stout supporter of that outlawed traitor, WilliamWallace; and again, upon the first raising of the banner by this RobertBruce, who pretends to be King of Scotland, this young springald, JamesDouglas, must needs start into rebellion anew. He plunders his uncle, the Archbishop of St. Andrews, of a considerable sum of money, to fillthe Scottish Usurper's not over-burdened treasury, debauches theservants of his relation, takes arms, and though repeatedly chastisedin the field, still keeps his vaunt, and threatens mischief to those, who, in the name of his rightful sovereign, defend the Castle ofDouglasdale. "

"It is your pleasure to say so, Sir Knight, " replied Bertram; "yet I amsure, were you a Scot, you would with patience hear me tell over whathas been said of this young man by those who have known him, and whoseaccount of his adventures shows how differently the same tale may betold. These men talk of the present heir of this ancient family asfully adequate to maintain and augment its reputation; ready, indeed, to undergo every peril in the cause of Robert the Bruce, because theBruce is esteemed by him his lawful king; and sworn and devoted, withsuch small strength as he can muster, to revenge himself on thoseSouthrons who have, for several years, as he thinks, unjustly, possessed themselves of his father's abode. "

"O, " replied Sir Aymer de Valence, "we have heard much of hisachievements in this respect, and of his threats against our governorand ourselves; yet we think it scarce likely that Sir John de Waltonwill move from Douglasdale without the King's order, although thisJames Douglas, a mere chicken, take upon himself to crack his voice bycrowing like a cock of the game. "

"Sir, " answered Bertram, "our acquaintance is but brief, and yet I feelit has been so beneficial to me, that I trust there is no harm, inhoping that James Douglas and you may never meet in bodily presencetill the state of the two countries shall admit of peace being betweenyou. "

"Thou art obliging, friend, " answered Sir Aymer, "and, I doubt not, sincere; and truly thou seemest to have a wholesome sense of therespect due to this young knight, when men talk of him in his nativevalley of Douglas. For me, I am only poor Aymer of Valence, without anacre of land, or much hope of acquiring any, unless I cut somethinghuge with my broadsword out of the middle of these hills. Only this, good minstrel, if thou livest to tell my story, may I pray thee to usethy scrupulous custom of searching out the verity, and whether I liveor die thou shalt not, I think, discover that thy late acquaintance ofa spring morning hath added more to the laurels of James of Douglas, than any man's death must give to him by whose stronger arm, or morelucky chance, it is his lot to fall. "

"I nothing fear you, Sir Knight, " said the minstrel, "for yours is thathappy brain, which, bold in youth as beseems a young knight, is in moreadvanced life the happy source of prudent counsel, of which I would not, by an early death, wish thy country to be deprived. "

"Thou art so candid, then, as to wish Old England the benefit of goodadvice" said Sir Aymer, "though thou leanest to the side of Scotland inthe controversy?"

"Assuredly, Sir Knight, " said the minstrel, "since in wishing thatScotland and England each knew their own true interest, I am bound towish them both alike well; and they should, I think, desire to live infriendship together. Occupying each their own portion of the sameisland, and living under the same laws, and being at peace with eachother, they might without fear, face the enmity of the whole world. "

"If thy faith be so liberal, " answered the Knight, "as becomes a goodman, thou must certainly pray, Sir Minstrel, for the success of Englandin the war, by which alone these murderous hostilities of the northernnation can end in a solid peace. The rebellions of this obstinatecountry are but the struggles of the stag when he is mortally wounded;the animal grows weaker and weaker with every struggle, till hisresistance is effectually tamed by the hand of death. "

"Not so, Sir Knight, " said the minstrel; "if my creed is well taught me, we ought not so to pray. We may, without offence, intimate in ourprayers the end we wish to obtain; but it is not for us, poor mortals, to point out to an all-seeing Providence the precise manner in whichour petitions are to be accomplished, or to wish the downfall of acountry to end its commotions, as the death-stab terminates the agoniesof the wounded stag. Whether I appeal to my heart or to myunderstanding, the dictate would be to petition Heaven for what is justand equal in the case; and if I should fear for thee, Sir Knight, in anencounter with James of Douglas, it is only because he upholds, as Iconceive, the better side of the debate; and powers more earthly havepresaged to him success. "

"Do you tell me so, Sir Minstrel, " said De Valence in a threateningtone, "knowing me and my office?"

"Your personal dignity and authority" said Bertram, "cannot change theright into wrong, or avert what Providence has decreed to take place. You know, I must presume, that the Douglas hath, by various devices, already contrived to make himself master of this Castle of Douglasthree several times, and that Sir John de Walton, the present governor, holds it with a garrison trebled in force, and under the assurance thatif, without surprise, he should keep it from the Scottish power for ayear and a day, he shall obtain the barony of Douglas, with itsextensive appendages, in free property for his reward; while, on theother hand, if he shall suffer the fortress during this space to betaken, either by guile or by open force, as has happened successivelyto the holders of the Dangerous Castle, he will become liable todishonour as a knight, and to attainder as a subject; and the chiefswho take share with him, and serve under him, will participate also inhis guilt and his punishment?"

"All this I know well" said Sir Aymer; "and I only wonder that, havingbecome public, the conditions have, nevertheless, been told with somuch accuracy; but what has this to do with the issue of the combat, ifthe Douglas and I should chance to meet? I will not surely be disposedto fight with less animation because I wear my fortune upon my sword, or become coward because I fight for a portion of the Douglas's estate, as well as for fame and for fatherland? And after all"--

"Hear me, " said the minstrel; "an ancient gleeman has said, that in afalse quarrel there is no true valour, and the _los_ or praise wontherein, is, when balanced against honest fame, as valueless as awreath formed out of copper, compared to a chaplet of pure gold; but Ibid you not take me for thy warrant in this important question. Thouwell knowest how James of Thirlwall, the last English commander beforeSir John de Walton, was surprised, and the castle sacked withcircumstances of great inhumanity. "

"Truly, " said Sir Aymer, "I think that Scotland and England both haveheard of that onslaught, and of the disgusting proceedings of theScottish chieftain, when he caused transport into the wild forest gold, silver, ammunition, and armour, and all things that could be easilyremoved, and destroyed a large quantity of provisions in a mannerequally savage and unheard-of. "

"Perhaps, Sir Knight, " said Bertram, "you were yourself an eyewitnessof that transaction, which has been spoken of far and wide, and iscalled the Douglas Larder?"

"I saw not the actual accomplishment of the deed, " said De Valence;"that is, I witnessed it not a-doing, but I beheld enough of the sadrelics to make the Douglas Larder never by me to be forgotten as arecord of horror and abomination. I would speak it truly, by the handof my father and by my honour as a knight! and I will leave it to theeto judge whether it was a deed calculated to secure the smiles ofHeaven in favour of the actors. This is my edition of the story:--

"A large quantity of provisions had during two years or thereaboutsbeen collected from different points, and the Castle of Douglas, newlyrepaired, and, as was thought, carefully guarded, was appointed as theplace where the said provisions were to be put in store for the serviceof the King of England, or of the Lord Clifford, whichever should firstenter the Western Marches with an English army, and stand in need ofsuch a supply. This army was also to relieve our wants, I mean those ofmy uncle the Earl of Pembroke, who for some time before had lain with aconsiderable force in the town called Ayr, near the old CaledonianForest, and where we had hot wars with the insurgent Scots. Well, sir, it happened, as in similar cases, that Thirlwall, though a bold andactive soldier, was surprised in the Castle of Douglas, aboutHallowmass, by this same worthy, young James Douglas. In no very goodhumour was he, as you may suppose; for his father, called William theHardy, or William Longlegs, having refused, on any terms, to becomeAnglicized, was made a lawful prisoner, and died as such, closelyconfined in Berwick, or, as some say, in Newcastle. The news of hisfather's death had put young Douglas into no small rage, and tended, Ithink, to suggest what he did in his resentment. Embarrassed by thequantity of provisions which he found in the castle, which, the Englishbeing superior in the country, he had neither the means to remove, northe leisure to stay and consume, the fiend, as I think, inspired himwith a contrivance to render them unfit for human use. You shall judgeyourself whether it was likely to be suggested by a good or an evilspirit. 

"According to this device, the gold, silver, and other transportablecommodities being carried to secret places of safety, Douglas causedthe meat, the malt, and other corn or grain, to be brought down intothe castle cellar, where he emptied the contents of the sacks into oneloathsome heap, striking out the heads of the barrels and puncheons, soas to let the mingled drink run through the heap of meal, grain, and soforth. The bullocks provided for slaughter were in like manner knockedon the head, and their blood suffered to drain into the mass of ediblesubstances; and lastly, the flesh of these oxen was buried in the samemass, in which was also included the dead bodies of those in the castle, who, receiving no quarter from the Douglas, paid dear enough for havingkept no better watch. This base and unworthy abuse of provisionsintended for the use of man, together with throwing into the well ofthe castle carcasses of men and horses, and other filth for pollutingthe same, has since that time been called the DOUGLAS LARDER. "

"I pretend not, good Sir Aymer, " said the minstrel, "to vindicate whatyou justly reprove, nor can I conceive any mode of rendering provisionsarranged after the form of the Douglas Larder, proper for the use ofany Christian; yet this young gentleman might perhaps act under thesting of natural resentment, rendering his singular exploit moreexcusable than it may seem at first. Think, if your own noble fatherhad just died in a lingering captivity, his inheritance seized upon, and occupied as a garrison by a foreign enemy, would not these thingsstir you to a mode of resentment, which in cold blood, and judging ofit as the action of an enemy, your honour might hold in natural andlaudable abhorrence?--Would you pay respect to dead and senselessobjects, which no one could blame your appropriating to your own use, or even scruple the refusal of quarter to prisoners, which is so oftenpractised even in wars which are otherwise termed fair and humane?"

"You press me close, minstrel, " said Aymer de Valence. "I at least haveno great interest to excuse the Douglas in this matter, since itsconsequences were, that I myself, and the rest of my uncle's host, laboured with Clifford and his army to rebuild this same DangerousCastle; and feeling no stomach for the cheer that the Douglas had leftus, we suffered hard commons, though I acknowledge we did not hesitateto adopt for our own use such sheep and oxen as the miserable Scots hadstill left around their farm-houses; and I jest not, Sir Minstrel, whenI acknowledge in sad earnest, that we martial men ought to make ourpetitions with peculiar penitence to Heaven for mercy, when we reflecton the various miseries which the nature of our profession compels usto inflict on each other. "

"It seems to me, " answered the minstrel, "that those who feel the stingsof their own conscience should be more lenient when they speak of theoffences of others; nor do I greatly rely on a sort of prophecy whichwas delivered, as the men of this hill district say, to the youngDouglas, by a man who in the course of nature should have been longsince dead, promising him a course of success against the English forhaving sacrificed his own castle to prevent their making it agarrison. "

"We have time enough for the story, " said Sir Aymer, "and methinks itwould suit a knight and a minstrel better than the grave converse wehave hitherto held, which would have beseemed--so God save me--themouths of two travelling friars. "

"So be it, " said the minstrel; "the rote or the viol easily changes itstime and varies its note. "

CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 

 A tale of sorrow, for your eyes may weep; A tale of horror, for your flesh may tingle; A tale of wonder, for the eyebrows arch, And the flesh curdles if you read it rightly OLD PLAY. 

"Your honour must be informed, gentle Sir Aymer de Valence, that I haveheard this story told at a great distance from the land in which ithappened, by a sworn minstrel, the ancient friend and servant of thehouse of Douglas, one of the best, it is said, who ever belonged tothat noble family. This minstrel, Hugo Hugonet by name, attended hisyoung master when on this fierce exploit, as was his wont. 

"The castle was in total tumult; in one corner the war-men were busybreaking up and destroying provisions; in another, they were slayingmen, horses, and cattle, and these actions were accompanied withappropriate sounds. The cattle, particularly, had become sensible oftheir impending fate, and with awkward resistance and piteous cries, testified that reluctance with which these poor creatures lookinstinctively on the shambles. The groans and screams of men, undergoing, or about to undergo, the stroke of death, and the screechesof the poor horses which were in mortal agony, formed a fearful chorus. Hugonet was desirous to remove himself from such unpleasant sights andsounds; but his master, the Douglas, had been a man of some reading, and his old servant was anxious to secure a book of poetry, to which hehad been attached of old. This contained the Lays of an ancientScottish Bard, who, if an ordinary human creature while he was in thislife, cannot now perhaps be exactly termed such. 

"He was, in short, that Thomas, distinguished by the name of the Rhymer, and whose intimacy, it is said, became so great with the gifted people, called the Faery folk, that he could, like them, foretell the futuredeed before it came to pass, and united in his own person the qualityof bard and of soothsayer. But of late years he had vanished almostentirely from this mortal scene; and although the time and manner ofhis death were never publicly known, yet the general belief was, thathe was not severed from the land of the living, but removed to the landof Faery, from whence he sometimes made excursions, and concernedhimself only about matters which were to come hereafter. Hugonet wasthe more earnest to prevent the loss of the works of this ancient bard, as many of his poems and predictions were said to be preserved in thecastle, and were supposed to contain much especially connected with theold house of Douglas, as well as other families of ancient descent, whohad been subjects of this old man's prophecy; and accordingly hedetermined to save this volume from destruction in the generalconflagration to which the building was about to be consigned by theheir of its ancient proprietors. With this view he hurried up into thelittle old vaulted room, called 'the Douglas's study, ' in which theremight be some dozen old books written by the ancient chaplains, in whatthe minstrels call _the letter black_. He immediately discoveredthe celebrated lay, called Sir Tristrem, which has been so oftenaltered and abridged as to bear little resemblance to the original. Hugonet, who well knew the value in which this poem was held by theancient lords of the castle, took the parchment volume from the shelvesof the library, and laid it upon a small desk adjacent to the Baron'schair. Having made such preparation for putting it in safety, he fellinto a brief reverie, in which the decay of light, and the preparationsfor the Douglas Larder, but especially the last sight of objects whichhad been familiar to his eyes, now on the eve of destruction, engagedhim at that moment. 

"The bard, therefore, was thinking within himself upon the uncommonmixture of the mystical scholar and warrior in his old master, when, ashe bent his eyes upon the book of the ancient Rhymer, he was astonishedto observe it slowly removed from the desk on which it lay by aninvisible hand. The old man looked with horror at the spontaneousmotion of the book, for the safety of which he was interested, and hadthe courage to approach a little nearer the table, in order to discoverby what means it had been withdrawn. 

"I have said the room was already becoming dark, so as to render itdifficult to distinguish any person in the chair, though it nowappeared, on closer examination, that a kind of shadowy outline of ahuman form was seated in it, but neither precise enough to convey itsexact figure to the mind, nor so detailed as to intimate distinctly itsmode of action. The Bard of Douglas, therefore, gazed upon the objectof his fear, as if he had looked upon something not mortal;nevertheless, as he gazed more intently, he became more capable ofdiscovering the object which offered itself to his eyes, and they grewby degrees more keen to penetrate what they witnessed. A tall thin form, attired in, or rather shaded with, a long flowing dusky robe, having aface and physiognomy so wild and overgrown with hair as to be hardlyhuman, were the only marked outlines of the phantom; and, looking moreattentively, Hugonet was still sensible of two other forms, theoutlines, it seemed, of a hart and a hind, which appeared half toshelter themselves behind the person and under the robe of thissupernatural figure. "

"A probable tale, " said the knight, "for you, Sir Minstrel, a man ofsense as you seem to be, to recite so gravely! From what wise authorityhave you had this tale, which, though it might pass well enough amidclanging beakers, must be held quite apocryphal in the sober hours ofthe morning?"

"By my minstrel word, Sir Knight, " answered Bertram, "I am nopropagator of the fable, if it be one; Hugonet, the violer, when he hadretired into a cloister near the Lake of Pembelmere in Wales, communicated the story to me as I now tell it. Therefore, as it wasupon the authority of an eyewitness, I apologize not for relating it toyou, since I could hardly discover a more direct source of knowledge. "

"Be it so, Sir Minstrel, " said the knight; "tell on thy tale, and maythy legend escape criticism from others as well as from me. "

"Hugonet, Sir Knight, " answered Bertram, "was a holy man, andmaintained a fair character during his whole life, notwithstanding histrade may be esteemed a light one. The vision spoke to him in anantique language, like that formerly used in the kingdom of Strath-Clyde, being a species of Scots or Gaelic, which few would havecomprehended. 

"'You are a learned man, ' said the apparition, 'and not unacquaintedwith the dialects used in your country formerly, although they are nowout of date, and you are obliged to translate them into the vulgarSaxon of Deira or Northumberland; but highly must an ancient Britishbard prize one in this "remote term of time, " who sets upon the poetryof his native country a value which invites him to think of itspreservation at a moment of such terror as influences the presentevening. '

"'It is, indeed, ' said Hugonet, 'a night of terror, that calls even thedead from the grave, and makes them the ghastly and fearful companionsof the living--Who or what art thou, in God's name, who breakest thebounds which divide them, and revisitest thus strangely the state thouhast so long bid adieu to?'

"'I am, ' replied the vision, 'that celebrated Thomas the Rhymer, bysome called Thomas of Erceldoun, or Thomas the True Speaker. Like othersages, I am permitted at times to revisit the scenes of my former life, nor am I incapable of removing the shadowy clouds and darkness whichoverhang futurity; and know, thou afflicted man, that what thou nowseest in this woeful country, is not a general emblem of what shalltherein befall hereafter, but in proportion as the Douglasses are nowsuffering the loss and destruction of their home for their loyalty tothe rightful heir of the Scottish kingdom, so hath Heaven appointed forthem a just reward; and as they have not spared to burn and destroytheir own house and that of their fathers in the Bruce's cause, so isit the doom of Heaven, that as often as the walls of Douglas Castleshall be burnt to the ground, they shall be again rebuilt still morestately and more magnificent than before. '

"A cry was now heard like that of a multitude in the courtyard, joiningin a fierce shout of exultation; at the same time a broad and ruddyglow seemed to burst from the beams and rafters, and sparks flew fromthem as from the smith's stithy, while the element caught to its fuel, and the conflagration broke its way through every aperture. 

"'See ye that?' said the vision, casting his eye towards the windowsand disappearing--'Begone! The fated hour of removing this book is notyet come, nor are thine the destined hands. But it will be safe where Ihave placed it, and the time of its removal shall come. ' The voice washeard after the form had vanished, and the brain of Hugonet almostturned round at the wild scene which he beheld; his utmost exertion wasscarcely sufficient to withdraw him from the terrible spot, and DouglasCastle that night sunk into ashes and smoke, to arise, in no greatlength of time, in a form stronger than ever. " The minstrel stopt, andhis hearer, the English knight, remained silent for some minutes ere atlength he replied. 

"It is true, minstrel, " answered Sir Aymer, "that your tale is so farundeniable, that this castle--three times burned down by the heir ofthe house and of the barony--has hitherto been as often reared again byHenry Lord Clifford, and other generals of the English, who endeavouredon every occasion to build it up more artificially and more stronglythan it had formerly existed, since it occupies a position tooimportant to the safety of our Scottish border to permit our yieldingit up. This I myself have partly witnessed. But I cannot think, thatbecause the castle has been so destroyed, it is therefore decreed so tobe repaired in future, considering that such cruelties, as surelycannot meet the approbation of Heaven, have attended the feats of theDouglasses. But I see thou art determined to keep thine own faith, norcan I blame thee, since the wonderful turns of fate which have attendedthis fortress, are sufficient to warrant any one to watch for what seemthe peculiar indications of the will of Heaven; but thou mayst believe, good minstrel, that the fault shall not be mine, if the young Douglasshall have opportunity to exercise his cookery upon a second edition ofhis family larder, or to profit by the predictions of Thomas theRhymer. "

"I do not doubt due circumspection upon your own part and Sir John deWalton's, " said Bertram; "but there is no crime in my saying thatHeaven can accomplish its own purposes. I look upon Douglas Castle asin some degree a fated place, and I long to see what changes time mayhave made in it during the currency of twenty years. Above all, Idesire to secure, if possible, the volume of this Thomas of Erceldoun, having in it such a fund of forgotten minstrelsy, and of propheciesrespecting the future fates of the British kingdom, both northern andsouthern. "

The knight made no answer, but rode a little space forward, keeping theupper part of the ridge of the water, by which the road down the valeseemed to be rather sharply conducted. It at length attained the summitof an acclivity of considerable length. From this point, and behind aconspicuous rock, which appeared to have been pushed aside, as it were, like the scene of a theatre to admit a view of the under part of thevalley, the travellers beheld the extensive vale, parts of which havebeen already shown in detail, but which, as the river became narrower, was now entirely laid bare in its height and depth as far as itextended, and displayed in its precincts, at a little distance from thecourse of the stream, the towering and lordly castle to which it gavethe name. The mist which continued to encumber the valley with itsfleecy clouds, showed imperfectly the rude fortifications which servedto defend the small town of Douglas, which was strong enough to repel adesultory attack, but not to withstand what was called in those days aformal siege. The most striking feature was its church, an ancientGothic pile raised on an eminence in the centre of the town, and eventhen extremely ruinous. To the left, and lying in the distance, mightbe seen other towers and battlements; and divided from the town by apiece of artificial water, which extended almost around it, arose theDangerous Castle of Douglas. 

Sternly was it fortified, after the fashion of the middle ages, withdonjon and battlements; displaying, above others, the tall tower, whichbore the name of Lord Henry's, or the Clifford's Tower. 

"Yonder is the castle, " said Aymer de Valence, extending his arm with asmile of triumph upon his brow; "thou mayst judge thyself, whether thedefences added to it under the Clifford are likely to render its nextcapture a more easy deed than the last. "

The minstrel barely shook his head, and quoted from the Psalmist--"_Nisi Dominus custodiet_. " Nor did he prosecute the discourse, though De Valence answered eagerly, "My own edition of the text is notvery different from thine; but, methinks thou art more spiritually-minded than can always be predicated of a wandering minstrel. "

"God knows, " said Bertram, "that if I, or such as I, are forgetful ofthe finger of Providence in accomplishing its purposes in this lowerworld, we have heavier blame than that of other people, since we areperpetually called upon, in the exercise of our fanciful profession, toadmire the turns of fate which bring good out of evil, and which renderthose who think only of their own passions and purposes the executorsof the will of Heaven. "

"I do submit to what you say, Sir Minstrel, " answered the knight, "andit would be unlawful to express any doubt of the truths which you speakso solemnly, any more than of your own belief in them. Let me add, sir, that I think I have power enough in this garrison to bid you welcome, and Sir John de Walton, I hope, will not refuse access to hall, castle, or knight's bower, to a person of your profession, and by whoseconversation we shall, perhaps, profit somewhat. I cannot, however, lead you to expect such indulgence for your son, considering thepresent state of his health; but if I procure him the privilege toremain at the convent of Saint Bride, he will be there unmolested andin safety, until you have renewed your acquaintance with Douglas Daleand its history, and are disposed to set forward on your journey. "

"I embrace your honour's proposal the more willingly, " said theminstrel, "that I can recompense the Father Abbot. "

"A main point with holy men or women, " replied De Valence, "who, intime of warfare, subsist by affording the visitors of their shrine themeans of maintenance in their cloisters for a passing season. "

The party now approached the sentinels on guard at the castle, who wereclosely and thickly stationed, and who respectfully admitted Sir Aymerde Valence, as next in command under Sir John de Walton. Fabian--for sowas the young squire named who attended on De Valence--mentioned it ashis master's pleasure that the minstrel should also be admitted. An oldarcher, however, looked hard at the minstrel as he followed Sir Aymer. "It is not for us, " said he, "or any of our degree, to oppose thepleasure of Sir Aymer do Valence, nephew to the Earl of Pembroke, insuch a matter; and for us, Master Fabian, welcomes are you to make thegleeman your companion both at bed and board, as well as your visitant, a week or two at the Castle of Douglas; but your worship is well awareof the strict order of watch laid upon us, and if Solomon, King ofIsrael, were to come here as a travelling minstrel, by my faith I durstnot give him entrance, unless I had positive authority from Sir John deWalton. "

"Do you doubt, sirrah, " said Aymer de Valence, who returned on hearingan altercation betwixt Fabian and the archer--"do you doubt that I havegood authority to entertain a guest, or do you presume to contest it?"

"Heaven forbid!" said the old man, "that I should presume to place myown desire in opposition to your worship, who has so lately and sohonourably acquired your spurs; but in this matter I must think whatwill be the wish of Sir John de Walton, who is your governor, SirKnight, as well as mine; and so far I hold it worth while to detainyour guest until Sir John return from a ride to the outposts of thecastle; and this, I conceive, being my duty, will be no matter ofoffence to your worship. "

"Methinks, " said the knight, "it is saucy in thee to suppose that mycommands can have any thing in them improper, or contradictory to thoseof Sir John de Walton; thou mayst trust to me at least that thou shaltcome to no harm. Keep this man in the guard-room; let him not want goodcheer, and when Sir John de Walton returns, report him as a personadmitted by my invitation, and if any thing more be wanted to make outyour excuse, I shall not be reluctant in stating it to the governor. "

The archer made a signal of obedience with the pike which he held inhis hand, and resumed the grave and solemn manner of a sentinel uponhis post. He first, however, ushered in the minstrel, and furnished himwith food and liquor, speaking at the same time to Fabian, who remainedbehind. The smart young stripling had become very proud of late, inconsequence of obtaining the name of Sir Aymer's squire, and advancinga step in chivalry, as Sir Aymer himself had, somewhat earlier than theusual period, been advanced from squire to knight. 

"I tell thee, Fabian, " said the old archer, (whose gravity, sagacity, and skill in his vocation, while they gained him the confidence of allin the castle, subjected him, as he himself said, occasionally to theridicule of the young coxcombs; and at the same time we may add, rendered him somewhat pragmatic and punctilious towards those who stoodhigher than himself in birth and rank;) "I tell thee, Fabian, thou wiltdo thy master, Sir Aymer, good service, if thou wilt give him a hint tosuffer an old archer, man-at-arms, or such like, to give him a fair andcivil answer respecting that which he commands; for undoubtedly it isnot in the first score of a man's years that he learns the variousproper forms of military service; and Sir John de Walton, a mostexcellent commander no doubt, is one earnestly bent on pursuing thestrict line of his duty, and will be rigorously severe, as well, believe me, with thy master as with a lesser person. Nay, he alsopossesses that zeal for his duty which induces him to throw blame, ifthere be the slightest ground for it, upon Aymer de Valence himself, although his uncle, the Earl of Pembroke, was John de Walton's steadypatron, and laid the beginning of his good fortune; for all which, bytraining up his nephew in the true discipline of the French wars, SirJohn has taken the best way of showing himself grateful to the eldEarl. "

"Be it as you will, old Gilbert Greenleaf, " answered Fabian, "thouknowest I never quarrel with thy sermonizing, and therefore give mecredit for submitting to many a lecture from Sir John de Walton andthyself; but thou drivest this a little too far, if thou canst not leta day pass without giving me a flogging. Credit me, Sir John de Waltonwill not thank thee, if thou term him one too old to remember that hehimself had once some green sap in his veins. Ay, thus it is, the oldman will not forget that he has once been young, nor the young that hemust some day be old; and so the one changes his manners into thelingering formality of advanced age, and the other remains like amidsummer torrent swoln with rain, every drop of water in it noise, froth, and overflow. There is a maxim for thee, Gilbert!--Heardest thouever better? hang it up amidst thy axioms of wisdom, and see if it willnot pass among them like fifteen to the dozen. It will serve to bringthee off, man, when the wine-pot (thine only fault, good Gilbert) hathbrought thee on occasion into something of a scrape. "

"Best keep it for thyself, good Sir Squire, " said the old man;"methinks it is more like to stand thyself one day in good stead. Whoever heard of a knight, or of the wood of which a knight is made, andthat is a squire, being punished corporally like a poor old archer orhorseboy? Your worst fault will be mended by some of these wittysayings, and your best service will scarce be rewarded more thankfullythan by giving thee the name of Fabian the Fabler, or some such wittytitle. "

Having unloosed his repartee to this extent, old Greenleaf resumed acertain acidity of countenance, which may be said to characterise thosewhose preferment hath become frozen under the influence of the slownessof its progress, and who display a general spleen against such as haveobtained the advancement for which all are struggling, earlier, and, asthey suppose, with less merit than their own. From time to time the eyeof the old sentinel stole from the top of his pike, and with an air oftriumph rested upon the young man Fabian, as if to see how deeply thewound had galled him, while at the same time he held himself on thealert to perform whatever mechanical duty his post might require. BothFabian and his master were at the happy period of life when suchdiscontent as that of the grave archer affected them lightly, and, atthe very worst, was considered as the jest of an old man and a goodsoldier; the more especially, as he was always willing to do the dutyof his companions, and was much trusted by Sir John de Walton, who, though very much younger, had been bred up like Greenleaf in the warsof Edward the First, and was tenacious in upholding strict discipline, which, since the death of that great monarch, had been considerablyneglected by the young and warm-blooded valour of England. 

Meantime it occurred to Sir Aymer de Valence, that though in displayingthe usual degree of hospitality shown, to such a man as Bertram, he hadmerely done what was becoming his own rank, as one possessed of thehighest honours of chivalry--the self-styled minstrel might not inreality be a man of that worth which he assumed. There was certainlysomething in his conversation, at least more grave, if not more austere, than was common to those of his calling; and when he recollected manypoints of Sir John de Walton's minuteness, a doubt arose in his mind, that the governor might not approve of his having introduced into thecastle a person of Bertram's character, who was capable of makingobservations from which the garrison might afterwards feel much dangerand inconvenience. Secretly, therefore, he regretted that he had notfairly intimated to the wandering minstrel, that his reception, or thatof any stranger, within the Dangerous Castle, was not at presentpermitted by the circumstances of the times. In this case, the expressline of his duty would have been his vindication, and instead, perhapsof discountenance and blame, he would have had praise and honour fromhis superior. 

With these thoughts passing through his mind, some tacit apprehension. Arose of a rebuke on the part of his commanding-officer; for thisofficer, notwithstanding his strictness, Sir Aymer loved as well asfeared. He went, therefore, towards the guard-room of the castle, underthe pretence of seeing that the rites of hospitality had been dulyobserved towards his late travelling companion. The minstrel aroserespectfully, and from the manner in which he paid his compliments, seemed, if he had not expected this call of enquiry, at least to be inno degree surprised at it. Sir Aymer, on the other hand, assumed an airsomething more distant than he had yet used towards Bertram, and inreverting to his former invitation, he now so far qualified it as tosay, that the minstrel knew that he was only second in command, andthat effectual permission to enter the castle ought to be sanctioned bySir John de Walton. 

There is a civil way of seeming to believe any apology which people aredisposed to receive in payment, without alleging suspicion of itscurrency. The minstrel, therefore, tendered his thanks for the civilitywhich had so far been shown to him. "It was a mere wish of passingcuriosity, " he said, "which, if not granted, could be attended with noconsequences either inconvenient or disagreeable to him. Thomas ofErceldoun was, according to the Welsh triads, _one of the three bardsof Britain_, who never stained a spear with blood, or was guiltyeither of taking or retaking castles and fortresses, and thus far not aperson likely, after death, to be suspected of such warlike feats. ButI can easily conceive why Sir John de Walton should have allowed theusual rites of hospitality to fall into disuse, and why a man of publiccharacter like myself ought not to desire food or lodging where it isaccounted so dangerous; and it can surprise no one why the governor didnot even invest his worthy young lieutenant with the power ofdispensing with so strict and unusual a rule. "

These words, very coolly spoken, had something of the effect ofaffronting the young knight, as insinuating, that he was not heldsufficiently trustworthy by Sir John de Walton, with whom he had livedon terms of affection and familiarity, though the governor had attainedhis thirtieth year and upwards, and his lieutenant did not yet writehimself one-and-twenty, the full age of chivalry having been in hiscase particularly dispensed with, owing to a feat of early manhood. Erehe had fully composed the angry thoughts which were chafing in his mind, the sound of a hunting bugle was heard at the gate, and from the sortof general stir which it spread through the garrison, it was plain thatthe governor had returned from his ride. Every sentinel, seeminglyanimated by his presence, shouldered his pike more uprightly, gave theword of the post more sharply, and seemed more fully awake andconscious of his duty. Sir John de Walton having alighted from hishorse, asked Greenleaf what had passed during his absence; the oldarcher thought it his duty to say that a minstrel, who seemed like aScotchman, or wandering borderer, had been admitted into the castle, while his son, a lad sick of the pestilence so much talked of, had beenleft for a time at the Abbey of Saint Bride. This he said on Fabian'sinformation. The archer added, that the father was a man of tale andsong, who could keep the whole garrison amused, without giving themleave to attend to their own business. 

"We want no such devices to pass the time, " answered the governor; "andwe would have been better satisfied if our lieutenant had been pleasedto find us other guests, and fitter for a direct and frankcommunication, than one who, by his profession, is a detractor of Godand a deceiver of man. "

"Yet, " said the old soldier, who could hardly listen even to hiscommander without indulging the humour of contradiction, "I have heardyour honour intimate that the trade of a minstrel, when it is justlyacted up to, is as worthy as even the degree of knighthood itself. "

"Such it may have been in former days, " answered the knight; "but inmodern minstrelsy, the duty of rendering the art an incentive to virtueis forgotten, and it is well if the poetry which fired our fathers tonoble deeds, does not now push on their children to such as are baseand unworthy. But I will speak upon this to my friend Aymer, than whomI do not know a more excellent, or a more high-spirited young man. "

While discoursing with the archer in this manner, Sir John de Walton, of a tall and handsome figure, advanced and stood within the ample archof the guard-room chimney, and was listened to in reverential silenceby trusty Gilbert, who filled up with nods and signs, as an attentiveauditor, the pauses in the conversation. The conduct of another hearerof what passed was not equally respectful, but, from his position, heescaped observation. 

This third person was no other than the squire Fabian, who wasconcealed from observation by his position behind the hob, orprojecting portion of the old-fashioned fireplace, and hid himself yetmore carefully when he heard the conversation between the governor andthe archer turn to the prejudice, as he thought, of his master. Thesquire's employment at this time was the servile task of cleaning SirAymer's arms, which was conveniently performed by heating, upon theprojection already specified, the pieces of steel armour for the usualthin coating of varnish. He could not, therefore, if he should bediscovered, be considered as guilty of any thing insolent ordisrespectful. He was better screened from view, as a thick smoke arosefrom a quantity of oak panelling, carved in many cases with the crestand achievements of the Douglas family, which being the fuel nearest athand, lay smouldering in the chimney, and gathering to a blaze. 

The governor, unconscious of this addition to his audience, pursued hisconversation, with Gilbert Greenleaf: "I need not tell you, " he said, "that I am interested in the speedy termination of this siege orblockade, with which Douglas continues to threaten us; my own honourand affections are engaged in keeping this Dangerous Castle safe inEngland's behalf, but I am troubled at the admission of this stranger;and young De Valence would have acted more strictly in the line of hisduty, if he had refused to this wanderer any communication with thisgarrison without my permission. "

"Pity it is, " replied old Greenleaf, shaking his head, "that this good-natured and gallant young knight is somewhat drawn aside by the rashadvices of his squire, the boy Fabian, who has bravery, but as littlesteadiness in him as a bottle of fermented small beer. "

"Now hang thee, " thought Fabian to himself, "for an old relic of thewars, stuffed full of conceit and warlike terms, like the soldier who, to keep himself from the cold, has lapped himself so close in atattered ensign for a shelter, that his very outside may show nothingbut rags and blazonry. "

"I would not think twice of the matter, were the party less dear tome, " said Sir John de Walton. "But I would fain be of use to this youngman, even although I should purchase his improvement in militaryknowledge at the expense of giving him a little pain. Experience should, as it were, be burnt in upon the mind of a young man, and not merelyimpressed by marking the lines of his chart out for him with chalk; Iwill remember the hint you, Greenleaf, have given, and take anopportunity of severing these two young men; and though I most dearlylove the one, and am far from wishing ill to the other, yet at present, as you well hint, the blind is leading the blind, and the young knighthas for his assistant and counsellor too young a squire, and that mustbe amended. "

"Marry! out upon thee, old palmer-worm!" said the page within himself;"have I found thee in the very fact of maligning myself and my master, as it is thy nature to do towards all the hopeful young buds ofchivalry? If it were not to dirty the arms of an _eleve_ ofchivalry, by measuring them with one of thy rank, I might honour theewith a knightly invitation to the field, while the scandal which thouhast spoken is still foul upon thy tongue; as it is, thou shalt notcarry one kind of language publicly in the castle, and another beforethe governor, upon the footing of having served with him under thebanner of Longshanks. I will carry to my master this tale of thine evilintentions; and when we have concerted together, it shall appearwhether the youthful spirits of the garrison or the grey beards aremost likely to be the hope and protection, of this same Castle ofDouglas. "

It is enough to say that Fabian pursued his purpose, in carrying to hismaster, and in no very good humour, the report of what had passedbetween Sir John de Walton and the old soldier. He succeeded inrepresenting the whole as a formal offence intended to Sir Aymer deValence; while all that the governor did to remove the suspicionsentertained by the young knight, could not in any respect bring him totake a kindly view of the feelings of his commander towards him. Heretained the impression which he had formed from Fabian's recital ofwhat he had heard, and did not think he was doing Sir John de Waltonany injustice, in supposing him desirous to engross the greatest shareof the fame acquired in the defence of the castle, and thrusting backhis companions, who might reasonably pretend to a fair portion of it. 

The mother of mischief, says a Scottish proverb, is no bigger than amidge's wing. [Footnote: i. E. Gnat's wing] In this matter of quarrel, neither the young man nor the older knight had afforded each other anyjust cause of offence. De Walton was a strict observer of militarydiscipline, in which he had been educated from his extreme youth, andby which he was almost as completely ruled as by his naturaldisposition; and his present situation added force to his originaleducation. 

Common report had even exaggerated the military skill, the love ofadventure, and the great variety of enterprise, ascribed to James, theyoung Lord of Douglas. He had, in the eyes of this Southern garrison, the faculties of a fiend, rather than those of a mere mortal; for ifthe English soldiers cursed the tedium of the perpetual watch and wardupon the Dangerous Castle, which admitted of no relaxation from theseverity of extreme duty, they agreed that a tall form was sure toappear to them with a battle-axe in his hand, and entering intoconversation in the most insinuating manner, never failed, with aningenuity and eloquence equal to that of a fallen spirit, to recommendto the discontented sentinel some mode in which, by giving hisassistance to betray the English, he might set himself at liberty. Thevariety of these devices, and the frequency of their recurrence, keptSir John de Walton's anxiety so perpetually upon the stretch, that heat no time thought himself exactly out of the Black Douglas's reach, any more than the good Christian supposes himself out of reach of thewiles of the Devil; while every new temptation, instead of confirminghis hope, seems to announce that the immediate retreat of the Evil Onewill be followed by some new attack yet more cunningly devised. Underthis general state of anxiety and apprehension, the temper of thegovernor changed somewhat for the worse, and they who loved him best, regretted most that he became addicted to complain of the want ofdiligence on the part of those, who, neither invested withresponsibility like his, nor animated by the hope of such splendidrewards, did not entertain the same degree of watchful and incessantsuspicion as himself. The soldiers muttered that the vigilance of theirgovernor was marked with severity; the officers and men of rank, ofwhom there were several, as the castle was a renowned school of arms, and there was a certain merit attained even by serving within its walls, complained, at the same time, that Sir John de Walton no longer madeparties for hunting, for hawking, or for any purpose which might softenthe rigours of warfare, and suffered nothing to go forward but theprecise discipline of the castle. On the other hand, it may be usuallygranted that the castle is well kept where the governor is adisciplinarian; and where feuds and personal quarrels are found in thegarrison, the young men are usually more in fault than those whosegreater experience has convinced them of the necessity of using thestrictest precautions. 

A generous mind--and such was Sir John de Walton's--is often in thisway changed and corrupted by the habit of over-vigilance, and pushedbeyond its natural limits of candour. Neither was Sir Aymer de Valencefree from a similar change; suspicion, though from a different cause, seemed also to threaten to bias his open and noble disposition, inthose qualities which had hitherto been proper to him. It was in vainthat Sir John de Walton studiously sought opportunities to give hisyounger friend indulgences, which at times were as far extended as theduty of the garrison permitted. The blow was struck; the alarm had beengiven to a proud and fiery temper on both sides; and while De Valenceentertained an opinion that he was unjustly suspected by a friend, whowas in several respects bound to him, De Walton, on the other hand, wasled to conceive that a young man, of whom he took a charge asaffectionate as if he had been a son of his own, and who owed to hislessons what he knew of warfare, and what success he had obtained inlife, had taken offence at trifles, and considered himself ill-treatedon very inadequate grounds. The seeds of disagreement, thus sownbetween them, failed not, like the tares sown by the Enemy among thewheat, to pass from one class of the garrison to another; the soldiers, though without any better reason than merely to pass the time, tookdifferent sides between their governor and his young lieutenant; and sothe ball of contention being once thrown up between them, never lackedsome arm or other to keep it in motion. 

CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 

 Alas! they had been friends in youth; But whispering tongues can poison truth; And constancy lives in realms above; And life is thorny, and youth is vain; And to be wroth with one we love, Doth work like madness in' the brain. * * * * * * Each spoke words of high disdain, And insult to his heart's dear brother, But never either found another To free the hollow heart from paining-- They stood aloof, the scars remaining, Like cliffs which had been rent asunder; A dreary sea now flows between, But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder, Shall wholly do away, I ween, The marks of that which once hath been. CHRISTABELLE OF COLERIDGE. 

In prosecution of the intention which, when his blood was cool, seemedto him wisest, Sir John de Walton resolved that he would go to theverge of indulgence with his lieutenant and his young officers, furnishthem with every species of amusement which the place rendered possible, and make them ashamed of their discontent, by overloading them withcourtesy. The first time, therefore, that he saw Aymer de Valence afterhis return to the castle, he addressed him in high spirits, whetherreal or assumed. 

"What thinkest thou, my young friend, " said De Walton, "if we try someof the woodland sports proper, they say, to this country? There arestill in our neighbourhood some herds of the Caledonian breed of wildcattle, which are nowhere to be found except among the moorlands--theblack and rugged frontier of what was anciently called the Kingdom ofStrath-Clyde. There are some hunters, too, who have been accustomed tothe sport, and who vouch that these animals are by far the most boldand fierce subjects of chase in the island of Britain. "

"You will do as you please, " replied Sir Aymer, coldly; "but it is notI, Sir John, who would recommend, for the sake of a hunting-match, thatyou should involve the whole garrison in danger; you know best theresponsibilities incurred by your office here, and no doubt must haveheedfully attended to them before making a proposal of such a nature. "

"I do indeed know my own duty, " replied De Walton, offended in turn, "and might be allowed to think of yours also, without assuming morethan my own share of responsibility; but it seems to me as if thecommander of this Dangerous Castle, among other inabilities, were, asold people in this country say, subjected to a spell--and one whichrenders it impossible for him to guide his conduct so as to affordpleasure to those whom he is most desirous to oblige. Not a great manyweeks since, whose eyes would have sparkled like those of Sir Aymer deValence at the proposal of a general hunting-match after a new objectof game; and now what is his bearing when such sport is proposed, merely, I think, to disappoint my purpose of obliging him?--a coldacquiescence drops half frozen from his lips, and he proposes to go torouse the wild cattle with an air of gravity, as if he were undertakinga pilgrimage to the tomb of a martyr. "

"Not so, Sir John, " answered the young knight. "In our presentsituation we stand conjoined in more charges than one, and although thegreater and controlling trust is no doubt laid upon you as the elderand abler knight, yet still I feel that I myself have my own share of aserious responsibility. I trust, therefore, you will indulgently hearmy opinion, and bear with it, even though it should appear to haverelation to that part of our common charge which is more especiallyintrusted to your keeping. The dignity of knighthood, which I have thehonour to share with you, the _accolade_ laid on my shoulder bythe royal Plantagenet, entitles me, methinks, to so much grace. "

"I cry you mercy, " said the elder cavalier; "I forgot how important aperson I had before me, dubbed by King Edward himself, who was moved nodoubt by special reasons to confer such an early honour; and Icertainly feel that I overstep my duty when I propose any thing thatsavours like idle sport to a person of such grave pretensions. "

"Sir John de Walton, " retorted De Valence, "we have had something toomuch of this--let it stop here. All that I mean to say is, that in thiswardship of Douglas Castle, it will not be by my consent, if anyamusement, which distinctly infers a relaxation of discipline, beunnecessarily engaged in, and especially such as compels us to summonto our assistance a number of the Scots, whose evil disposition towardsus we well know; nor will I, though my years have rendered me liable tosuch suspicion, suffer any thing of this kind to be imputed to me; andif unfortunately--though I am sure I know not why--we are in future tolay aside those bonds of familiar friendship which formerly linked usto each other, yet I see no reason why we should not bear ourselves inour necessary communications like knights and gentlemen, and put thebest construction on each other's motives, since there can be no reasonfor imputing the worst to any thing that comes from either of us. "

"You may be right, Sir Aymer de Valence, " said the governor, bendingstiffly: "and since you say we are no longer bound to each other asfriends, you may be certain, nevertheless, that I will never permit ahostile feeling, of which you are the object, to occupy my bosom. Youhave been long, and I hope not uselessly, my pupil in the duties ofchivalry. You are the near relation of the Earl of Pembroke, my kindand constant patron; and if these circumstances are well weighed, theyform a connexion which it would be difficult, at least for me, to breakthrough. If you feel yourself, as you seem to intimate, less strictlytied by former obligations, you must take your own choice in fixing ourrelations towards each other. "

"I can only say, " replied De Valence, "that my conduct will naturallybe regulated by your own; and you, Sir John, cannot hope more devoutlythan I do that our military duties may be fairly discharged, withoutinterfering with our friendly intercourse. "

The knights here parted, after a conference which once or twice hadvery nearly terminated in a full and cordial explanation; but stillthere was wanting one kind heartfelt word from either to break, as itwere, the ice which was fast freezing upon their intercourse, andneither chose to be the first in making the necessary advances withsufficient cordiality, though each would have gladly done so, had theother appeared desirous of meeting it with the same ardour; but theirpride was too high, and prevented either from saying what might at oncehave put them upon an open and manly footing. They parted, therefore, without again returning to the subject of the proposed diversion; untilit was afterwards resumed in a formal note, praying Sir Aymer deValence to accompany the commandant of Douglas Castle upon a solemnhunting-match, which had for its object the wild cattle of theneighbouring dale. 

The time of meeting was appointed at six in the morning, beyond thegate of the outer barricade; and the chase was declared to be ended inthe afternoon, when the _recheat_ should be blown beneath thegreat oak, known by the name of Sholto's Club, which stood a remarkableobject, where Douglas Dale was bounded by several scattered trees, theoutskirts of the forest and hill country. The usual warning was sentout to the common people, or vassals of the district, which they, notwithstanding their feeling of antipathy, received in general withdelight, upon the great Epicurean principle of _carpe diem_, thatis to say, in whatever circumstances it happens to present itself, besure you lose no recreation which life affords. A hunting-match hasstill its attractions, even though an English knight take his pleasurein the woods of the Douglas. 

It was no doubt afflicting to these faithful vassals, to acknowledgeanother lord than the redoubted Douglas, and to wait by wood and riverat the command of English officers, and in the company of their archers, whom they accounted their natural enemies. Still it was the onlyspecies of amusement which had been permitted them for a long time, andthey were not disposed to omit the rare opportunity of joining in it. The chase of the wolf, the wild boar, or even the timid stag, requiredsilvan arms; the wild cattle still more demanded this equipment of war-bows and shafts, boar-spears and sharp swords, and other tools of thechase similar to those used in actual war. Considering this, theScottish inhabitants were seldom allowed to join in the chase, exceptunder regulations as to number and arms, and especially in preserving abalance of force on the side of the English soldiers, which was veryoffensive to them. The greater part of the garrison was upon suchoccasions kept on foot, and several detachments, formed according tothe governor's direction, were stationed in different positions in caseany quarrel should suddenly break out. 

CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 

 The drivers thorough the wood went, For to raise the deer; Bowmen bickered upon the bent, With their broad arrows clear. 

 The wylde thorough the woods went, On every side shear; Grehounds thorough the groves glent, For to kill thir deer. BALLAD OF CHEVY CHASE, _Old Edit_. 

The appointed morning came in cold and raw, after the manner of theScottish March weather. Dogs yelped, yawned, and shivered, and thehuntsmen, though hardy and cheerful in expectation of the day's sport, twitched their mauds, or Lowland plaids, close to their throats, andlooked with some dismay at the mists which floated about the horizon, now threatening to sink down on the peaks and ridges of prominentmountains, and now to shift their position under the influence of someof the uncertain gales, which rose and fell alternately, as they sweptalong the valley. 

Nevertheless, the appearance of the whole formed, as is usual in almostall departments of the chase, a gay and a jovial spectacle. A brieftruce seemed to have taken place between the nations, and the Scottishpeople appeared for the time rather as exhibiting the sports of theirmountains in a friendly manner to the accomplished knights and bonnyarchers of Old England, than as performing a feudal service, neithereasy nor dignified in itself, at the instigation of usurping neighbours. The figures of the cavaliers, now half seen, now exhibited fully, andat the height, of strenuous exertion, according to the character of thedangerous and broken ground, particularly attracted the attention ofthe pedestrians, who, leading the dogs or beating the thickets, dislodged such objects of chase as they found in the dingles, and kepttheir eyes fixed upon their companions, rendered more remarkable frombeing mounted, and the speed at which they urged their horses; thedisregard of all accidents being as perfect as Melton-Mowbray itself, or any other noted field of hunters of the present day, can exhibit. 

The principles on which modern and ancient hunting were conducted, are, however, as different as possible. A fox, or even a hare is, in our ownday, considered as a sufficient apology for a day's exercise to fortyor fifty dogs, and nearly as many men and horses; but the ancient chase, even though not terminating, as it often did, in battle, carried withit objects more important, and an interest immeasurably more stirring. If indeed one species of exercise can be pointed out as moreuniversally exhilarating and engrossing than others, it is certainlythat of the chase. The poor over-laboured drudge, who has served outhis day of life, and wearied all his energies in the service of hisfellow-mortals--he who has been for many years the slave of agriculture, or (still worse) of manufactures, engaged in raising a single peck ofcorn from year to year, or in the monotonous labours of the desk--canhardly remain dead to the general happiness when the chase sweeps pasthim with hound and horn, and for a moment feels all the exultation ofthe proudest cavalier who partakes the amusement. Let any one who haswitnessed the sight recall to his imagination the vigour and livelyinterest which he has seen inspired into a village, including theoldest and feeblest of its inhabitants. In the words of Wordsworth, itis, on such occasions, "Up, Timothy, up with your staff and away, Not a soul will remain in the village to-day; The hare has just started from Hamilton's grounds, And Skiddaw is glad with the cry of the hounds. "

But compare those inspiring sounds to the burst of a whole feudalpopulation enjoying the sport, whose lives, instead of being spent inthe monotonous toil of modern avocations, have been agitated by thehazards of war, and of the chase, its near resemblance, and you mustnecessarily suppose that the excitation is extended, like a fire whichcatches to dry heath. To use the common expression, borrowed fromanother amusement, all is fish that comes in the net on such occasions. An ancient hunting-match (the nature of the carnage excepted) wasalmost equal to a modern battle, when the strife took place on thesurface of a varied and unequal country. A whole district poured forthits inhabitants, who formed a ring of great extent, called technically, a tinchel, and, advancing and narrowing their circle by degrees, drovebefore them the alarmed animals of every kind; all and each of which, as they burst from the thicket or the moorland, were objects of the bow, the javelin, or whatever missile weapons the hunters possessed; whileothers were run down and worried by large greyhounds, or morefrequently brought to bay, when the more important persons presentclaimed for themselves the pleasure of putting them to death with theirchivalrous hands, incurring individually such danger as is inferredfrom a mortal contest even with the timid buck, when he is brought tothe death-struggle, and has no choice but yielding his life or puttinghimself upon the defensive, by the aid of his splendid antlers, andwith all the courage of despair. 

The quantity of game found in Douglas Dale on this occasion was veryconsiderable, for, as already noticed, it was a long time since ahunting upon a great scale had been attempted under the Douglassesthemselves, whose misfortunes had commenced several years before, withthose of their country. The English garrison, too, had not soonerjudged themselves strong or numerous enough to exercise these valuedfeudal privileges. In the meantime, the game increased considerably. The deer, the wild cattle, and the wild boars, lay near the foot of themountains, and made frequent irruptions into the lower part of thevalley, which in Douglas Dale bears no small resemblance to an oasis, surrounded by tangled woods, and broken moors, occasionally rocky, andshowing large tracts of that bleak dominion to which wild creaturesgladly escape when pressed by the neighbourhood of man. 

As the hunters traversed the spots which separated the field from thewood, there was always a stimulating uncertainty what sort of game wasto be found, and the marksman, with his bow ready bent, or his javelinpoised, and his good and well-bitted horse thrown upon its haunches, ready for a sudden start, observed watchfully what should rush from thecovert, so that, were it deer, boar, wolf, wild cattle, or any otherspecies of game, he might be in readiness. 

The wolf, which, on account of its ravages, was the most obnoxious ofthe beasts of prey, did not, however, supply the degree of diversionwhich his name promised; he usually fled far--in some instances manymiles--before he took courage to turn to bay, and though formidable atsuch moments, destroying both dogs and men by his terrible bite, yet atother times was rather despised for his cowardice. The boar, on theother hand, was a much more irascible and courageous animal. 

The wild cattle, the most formidable of all the tenants of the ancientCaledonian forest, were, however, to the English cavaliers, by far themost interesting objects of pursuit. [Footnote: These Bulls are thusdescribed by Hector Boetius, concerning whom he says--"In this wood(namely the Caledonian wood) were sometime white bulls, with crisp andcurling manes, like fierce lions; and though they seemed meek and tamein the remanent figure of their bodies, they were more wild than anyother beasts, and had such hatred against the society and company ofmen, that they never came in the woods nor lesuries where they foundany foot or hand thereof, and many days after they eat not of the herbsthat were touched or handled by man. These bulls were so wild, thatthey were never taken but by slight and crafty labour, and so impatient, that after they were taken they died from insupportable dolour. As soonas any man, invaded these bulls, they rushed with such, terrible pressupon him that they struck him to the earth, taking no fear of hounds, sharp lances, or other most penetrative weapons. "--_Boetius, Chron. Scot_. Vol. I. Page xxxix. 

The wild cattle of this breed, which are now only known in one manor inEngland, that of Chillingham Castle, in Northumberland, (the seat ofthe Earl of Tankerville, ) were, in the memory of man, still preservedin three places in Scotland, namely, Drumlanrig, Cumbernauld, and theupper park at Hamilton Palace, at all of which places, except the last, I believe, they have now been destroyed, on account of their ferocity. But though those of modern days are remarkable for their white colour, with black muzzles, and exhibiting, in a small degree, the black mane, about three or four inches long, by which the bulls in particular aredistinguished, they do not by any means come near the terrificdescription given us by the ancient authors, which has made somenaturalists think that these animals should probably be referred to adifferent species, though possessing the same general habits, andincluded in the same genus. The bones, which are often discovered inScottish mosses, belong certainly to a race of animals much larger thanthose of Chillingham, which seldom grow to above 80 stone (of 14 lbs. ), the general weight varying from 60 to 80 stone. We should be accountedvery negligent by one class of readers, did we not record that the beeffurnished by those cattle is of excellent flavour, and finely marbled. 

[The following is an extract from, a letter received by Sir WalterScott, some time after the publication of the novel. --

"When it is wished to kill any of the cattle at Chillingham, the keepergoes into the herd on horseback, in which way they are quite accessible, and singling out his victim, takes aim with a large rifle-gun, andseldom fails in bringing him down. If the poor animal makes muchbellowing in his agony, and especially if the ground be stained withhis blood, his companions become very furious, and are themselves, Ibelieve, accessory to his death. After which, they fly off to a distantpart of the park, and he is drawn away on a sledge. Lord Tankerville isvery tenacious of these singular animals; he will on no account partwith a living one, and hardly allows of a sufficient number beingkilled, to leave pasturage for those that remain. 

"It happened on one occasion, three or four years ago, that a partyvisiting at the castle, among whom were some men of war, who had huntedbuffaloes in foreign parts, obtained permission to do the keeper's work, and shoot one of the wild cattle. They sallied out on horseback, andduly equipped for the enterprise, attacked their object. The pooranimal received several wounds, but none of them proving fatal, heretired before his pursuers, roaring with pain and rage, till, plantinghimself against a wall or tree, he stood at bay, offering a front ofdefiance. In this position the youthful heir of the castle, LordOssulston, rode up to give him the fatal shot. Though warned of thedanger of approaching near to the enraged animal, and especially offiring without first having turned his horse's head in a direction tohe ready for flight, he discharged his piece; but ere he could turn hishorse round to make his retreat, the raging beast had plunged hisimmense horns into its flank. The horse staggered and was near falling, but recovering by a violent effort, he extricated himself from hisinfuriated pursuer, making off with all the speed his wasting strengthsupplied, his entrails meanwhile dragging on the ground, till at lengthhe fell, and died at the same moment. The animal was now close upon hisrear, and the young Lord would unquestionably have shared the fate ofhis unhappy steed, had not the keeper, deeming it full time to concludethe day's diversion, fired at the instant. His shot brought the beastto the ground, and running in with his large knife, he put a period tohis existence. 

"This scene of gentlemanly pastime was viewed from a turret of thecastle by Lady Tankerville and her female visitors. Such a situationfor the mother of the young hero, was anything but enviable. "]]Altogether, the ringing of bugles, the clattering of horses' hoofs, thelowing and bellowing of the enraged mountain cattle, the sobs of deermingled by throttling dogs, the wild shouts of exultation of the men, --made a chorus which extended far through the scene in which it arose, and seemed to threaten the inhabitants of the valley even in its inmostrecesses. 

During the course of the hunting, when a stag or a boar was expected, one of the wild cattle often came rushing forward, bearing down theyoung trees, crashing the branches in its progress, and in generaldispersing whatever opposition was presented to it by the hunters. SirJohn de Walton was the only one of the chivalry of the party whoindividually succeeded in mastering one of these powerful animals. Likea Spanish tauridor, he bore down and killed with his lance a ferociousbull; two well-grown calves and three kine were also slain, beingunable to carry off the quantity of arrows, javelins, and othermissiles, directed against them by the archers and drivers; but manyothers, in spite of every endeavour to intercept them, escaped to theirgloomy haunts in the remote skirts of the mountain called Cairntable, with their hides well feathered with those marks of human enmity. 

A large portion of the morning was spent in this way, until aparticular blast from the master of the hunt announced that he had notforgot the discreet custom of the repast, which, on such occasions, wasprovided for upon a scale proportioned to the multitude who had beenconvened to attend the sport. 

The blast peculiar to the time, assembled the whole party in an openspace in a wood, where their numbers had room and accommodation to sitdown upon the green turf, the slain game affording a plentiful supplyfor roasting or broiling, an employment in which the lower class wereall immediately engaged; while puncheons and pipes, placed in readiness, and scientifically opened, supplied Gascoigne wine, and mighty ale, atthe pleasure of those who chose to appeal to them. 

The knights, whose rank did not admit of interference, were seated bythemselves, and ministered to by their squires and pages, to whom suchmenial services were not accounted disgraceful, but, on the contrary, aproper step of their education. The number of those distinguishedpersons seated upon the present occasion at the table of dais, as itwas called, (in virtue of a canopy of green boughs with which it wasovershadowed, ) comprehended Sir John de Walton, Sir Aymer de Valance, and some reverend brethren dedicated to the service of Saint Bride, who, though Scottish ecclesiastics, were treated with becoming respect bythe English soldiers. One or two Scottish retainers, or vavasours, maintaining, perhaps in prudence, a suitable deference to the Englishknights, sat at the bottom of the table, and as many English archers, peculiarly respected by their superiors, were invited, according to themodern phrase, to the honours of the sitting. 

Sir John de Walton sat at the head of the table; his eye, though itseemed to have no certain object, yet never for a moment remainedstationary, but glanced from one countenance to another of the ringformed by his guests, for such they all were, no doubt, though hehimself could hardly have told upon what principle he had issued theinvitations; and even apparently was at a loss to think what, in one ortwo cases, had procured him the honour of their presence. 

One person in particular caught De Walton's eye, as having the air of aredoubted man-at-arms, although it seemed as if fortune had not of latesmiled upon his enterprises. He was a tall raw-boned man, of anextremely rugged countenance, and his skin, which showed itself throughmany a loophole in his dress, exhibited a complexion which must haveendured all the varieties of an outlawed life; and akin to one who had, according to the customary phrase, "ta'en the bent with Robin Bruce, "in other words occupied the moors with him as an insurgent. Some suchidea certainly crossed De Walton's mind. Yet the apparent coolness, andabsence of alarm, with which the stranger sat at the board of anEnglish officer, at the same time being wholly in his power, had muchin it which was irreconcilable with any such suggestion. De Walton, andseveral of those about him, had in the course of the day observed thatthis tattered cavalier, the most remarkable parts of whose garb andequipments consisted of an old coat-of-mail and a rusted yet massivepartisan about eight feet long, was possessed of superior skill in theart of hunting to any individual of their numerous party. The governorhaving looked at this suspicious figure until he had rendered thestranger aware of the special interest which he attracted, at lengthfilled a goblet of choice wine, and requested him, as one of the bestpupils of Sir Tristem who had attended upon the day's chase, to pledgehim in a vintage superior to that supplied to the general company. 

"I suppose, however, sir, " said De Walton, "you will have no objectionsto put off my challenge of a brimmer, until you can answer my pledge inGascoigne wine, which grew in the king's own demesne, was pressed forhis own lip, and is therefore fittest to be emptied to his majesty'shealth and prosperity. "

"One half of the island of Britain, " said the woodsman, with greatcomposure, "will be of your honour's opinion; but as I belong to theother half, even the choicest liquor in Gascony cannot render thathealth acceptable to me. "

A murmur of disapprobation ran through the warriors present; thepriests hung their heads, looked deadly grave, and muttered theirpater-nosters. 

"You see, stranger, " said De Walton sternly, "that your speechdiscomposes the company. "

"It may be so, " replied the man, in the same blunt tone; "and it mayhappen that there is no harm in the speech notwithstanding. "

"Do you consider that it is made in my presence?" answered De Walton. 

"Yes, Sir Governor. "

"And have you thought what must be the necessary inference?" continuedDe Walton. 

"I may form a round guess, " answered the stranger, "what I might haveto fear, if your safe conduct and word of honour, when inviting me tothis hunting, were less trustworthy than I know full well it really is. But I am your guest--your meat is even now passing my throat--your cup, filled with right good wine, I have just now quaffed off--and I wouldnot fear the rankest Paynim infidel, if we stood in such relationtogether, much less an English knight. I tell you, besides, Sir Knight, you undervalue the wine we have quaffed. The high flavour and contentsof your cup, grow where it will, give me spirit to tell you one or twocircumstances, which cold cautious sobriety would, in a moment likethis, have left unsaid. You wish, I doubt not, to know who I am? MyChristian name is Michael--my surname is that of Turnbull, a redoubtedclan, to whose honours, even in the field of hunting or of battle, Ihave added something. My abode is beneath the mountain of Rubieslaw, bythe fair streams of Teviot. You are surprised that I know how to huntthe wild cattle, --I, who have made them my sport from infancy in thelonely forests of Jed and Southdean, and have killed more of them thanyou or any Englishman in your host ever saw, even if you include thedoughty deeds of this day. "

The bold borderer made this declaration with the same provoking degreeof coolness which predominated in his whole demeanour, and was indeedhis principal attribute. His effrontery did not fail to produce itseffect upon Sir John De Walton, who instantly called out, "To arms! toarms!--Secure the spy and traitor! Ho! pages and yeomen--William, Anthony, Bend-the-bow, and Greenleaf--seize the traitor, and bind himwith your bow-strings and dog-leashes--bind him, I say, until the bloodstart from beneath his nails!"

"Here is a goodly summons!" said Turnbull, with a sort of horselaugh. "Were I as sure of being answered by twenty men I could name, therewould be small doubt of the upshot of this day. "

The archers thickened around the hunter, yet laid no hold on him, noneof them being willing to be the first who broke the peace proper to theoccasion. 

"Tell me, " said De Walton, "thou traitor, for what waitest thou here?"

"Simply and solely, " said the Jed forester, "that I may deliver up tothe Douglas the castle of his ancestors, and that I may ensure thee, Sir Englishman, the payment of thy deserts, by cutting that very throatwhich thou makest such a brawling use of. "

At the same time, perceiving that the yeomen were crowding behind himto carry their lord's commands into execution so soon as they should bereiterated, the huntsman turned himself short round upon those whoappeared about to surprise him, and having, by the suddenness of theaction, induced them to step back a pace, he proceeded--"Yes, John deWalton, my purpose was ere now to have put thee to death, as one whom Ifind in possession of that castle and territory which belong to mymaster, a knight much more worthy than thyself; but I know not why Ihave paused--thou hast given me food when I have hungered for twenty-four hours, I have not therefore had the heart to pay thee at advantageas thou hast deserved. Begone from this place and country, and take thefair warning of a foe; thou hast constituted thyself the mortal enemyof this people, and there are those among them who have seldom beeninjured or defied with impunity. Take no care in searching after me, itwill be in vain, --until I meet thee at a time which will come at mypleasure, not thine. Push not your inquisition into cruelty, todiscover by what means I have deceived you, for it is impossible foryou to learn; and with this friendly advice, look at me and take yourleave, for although we shall one day meet, it may be long ere I see youagain. "

De Walton remained silent, hoping that his prisoner, (for he saw nochance of his escaping, ) might, in his communicative humour, drop somemore information, and was not desirous to precipitate a fray with whichthe scene was likely to conclude, unconscious at the same time of theadvantage which he thereby gave the daring hunter. 

As Turnbull concluded his sentence, he made a sudden spring backwards, which carried him out of the circle formed around him, and before theywere aware of his intentions, at once disappeared among the underwood. 

"Seize him--seize him!" repeated De Walton: "let us have him at leastat our discretion, unless the earth has actually swallowed him. "

This indeed appeared not unlikely, for near the place where Turnbullhad made the spring, there yawned a steep ravine, into which he plunged, and descended by the assistance of branches, bushes, and copsewood, until he reached the bottom, where he found some road to the outskirtsof the forest, through which he made his escape, leaving the mostexpert woodsmen among the pursuers totally at fault, and unable totrace his footsteps. 

CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 

This interlude carried some confusion into the proceedings of the hunt, thus suddenly surprised by the apparition of Michael Turnbull, an armedand avowed follower of the House of Douglas, a sight so little to beexpected in the territory where his master was held a rebel and abandit, and where he himself must have been well known to most of thepeasantry present. The circumstance made an obvious impression on theEnglish chivalry. Sir John de Walton looked grave and thoughtful, ordered the hunters to be assembled on the spot, and directed hissoldiers to commence a strict search among the persons who had attendedthe chase, so as to discover whether Turnbull had any companions amongthem; but it was too late to make that enquiry in the strict fashionwhich De Walton directed. 

The Scottish attendants on the chase, when they beheld that the hunting, under pretence of which they were called together, was interrupted forthe purpose of laying hands upon their persons, and subjecting them toexamination, took care to suit their answers to the questions put tothem; in a word, they kept their own secret, if they had any. Many ofthem, conscious of being the weaker party, became afraid of foul play, slipt away from the places to which they had been appointed, and leftthe hunting-match like men who conceived they had been invited with nofriendly intent. Sir John de Walton became aware of the decreasingnumbers of the Scottish--their gradual disappearance awakening in theEnglish knight that degree of suspicion which had of late become hispeculiar characteristic. 

"Take, I pray thee, " said he to Sir Aymer de Valence, "as many men-at-arms as thou canst get together in five minutes' space, and at least ahundred of the mounted archers, and ride as fast as thou canst, withoutpermitting them to straggle from thy standard, to reinforce thegarrison of Douglas; for I have my own thoughts what may have beenattempted on the castle, when we observe with our own eyes such a nestof traitors here assembled. "

"With reverence, Sir John, " replied Aymer, "you shoot in this matterrather beyond the mark. That the Scottish peasants have had badthoughts against us, I will be the last to deny; but, long debarredfrom any silvan sport, you cannot wonder at their crowding to anydiversion by wood or river, and still less at their being easilyalarmed as to the certainty of the safe footing on which they standwith us. The least rough usage is likely to strike them with fear, andwith the desire of escape, and so"--

"And so, " said Sir John de Walton, who had listened with a degree ofimpatience scarce consistent with the grave and formal politeness whichone knight was accustomed to bestow upon another, "and so I wouldrather see Sir Aymer de Valence busy his horse's heels to execute myorders, than give his tongue the trouble of impugning them. "

At this sharp reprimand, all present looked at each other withindications of marked displeasure. Sir Aymer was highly offended, butsaw it was no time to indulge in reprisal. He bowed until the featherwhich was in his barret-cap mingled with his horse's mane, and withoutreply--for he did not even choose to trust his voice in reply at themoment--headed a considerable body of cavalry by the straightest roadback to the Castle of Douglas. 

When he came to one of those eminences from which he could observe themassive and complicated towers and walls of the old fortress, with theglitter of the broad lake which surrounded it on three sides, he feltmuch pleasure at the sight of the great banner of England, whichstreamed from the highest part of the building. "I knew it, " heinternally said; "I was certain that Sir John de Walton had become avery woman in the indulgence of his fears and suspicions. Alas! that asituation of responsibility should so much have altered a dispositionwhich I have known so noble and so knightly! By this good day, I scarceknow in what manner I should demean me when thus publicly rebukedbefore the garrison. Certainly he deserves that I should, at some timeor other, let him understand, that however he may triumph in theexercise of his short-lived command, yet, when man is to meet with man, it will puzzle Sir John de Walton to show himself the superior of Aymerde Valence, or perhaps to establish himself as his equal. But if, onthe contrary, his fears, however fantastic, are sincere at the momenthe expresses them, it becomes me to obey punctually commands which, however absurd, are imposed in consequence of the governor's beliefthat they are rendered necessary by the times, and not inventionsdesigned to vex and domineer over his officers in the indulgence of hisofficial powers. I would I knew which is the true statement of the case, and whether the once famed De Walton is become afraid of his enemiesmore than fits a knight, or makes imaginary doubts the pretext oftyrannizing over his friend. I cannot say it would make much differenceto me, but I would rather have it that the man I once loved had turneda petty tyrant than a weak-spirited coward; and I would be content thathe should study to vex me, rather than be afraid of his own shadow. "

With these ideas passing in his mind, the young knight crossed thecauseway which traversed the piece of water that fed the moat, and, passing under the strongly fortified gateway, gave strict orders forletting down the portcullis, and elevating the drawbridge, even at theappearance of De Walton's own standard before it. 

A slow and guarded movement from the hunting-ground to the Castle ofDouglas, gave the governor ample time to recover his temper, and toforget that his young friend had shown less alacrity than usual inobeying his commands. He was even disposed to treat as a jest thelength of time and extreme degree of ceremony with which every point ofmartial discipline was observed on his own re-admission to the castle, though the raw air of a wet spring evening whistled around his ownunsheltered person, and those of his followers, as they waited beforethe castle gate for the exchange of pass-words, the delivery of keys, and all the slow minutiae attendant upon the movements of a garrison ina well-guarded fortress. 

"Come, " said he to an old knight, who was peevishly blaming thelieutenant-governor, "it was my own fault; I spoke but now to Aymer deValence with more authoritative emphasis than his newly-dubbed dignitywas pleased with, and this precise style of obedience is a piece of notunnatural and very pardonable revenge. Well, we will owe him a return, Sir Philip--shall we not? This is not a night to keep a man at thegate. "

This dialogue, overheard by some of the squires and pages, was bandiedabout from one to another, until it entirely lost the tone of good-humour in which it was spoken, and the offence was one for which SirJohn de Walton and old Sir Philip were to meditate revenge, and wassaid to have been represented by the governor as a piece of mortal andintentional offence on the part of his subordinate officer. 

Thus an increasing feud went on from day to day between two warriors, who, with no just cause of quarrel, had at heart every reason to esteemand love each other. It became visible in the fortress even to those ofthe lower rank, who hoped to gain some consequence by intermingling inthe species of emulation produced by the jealousy of the commandingofficers--an emulation which may take place, indeed, in the present day, but can hardly have the same sense of wounded pride and jealous dignityattached to it, which existed in times when the personal honour ofknighthood rendered those who possessed it jealous of every punctilio. 

So many little debates took place between the two knights, that SirAymer de Valence thought himself under the necessity of writing to hisuncle and namesake, the Earl of Pembroke, stating that his officer, SirJohn de Walton, had unfortunately of late taken some degree ofprejudice against him, and that after having borne with many provokinginstances of his displeasure, he was now compelled to request that hisplace of service should be changed from the Castle of Douglas, towherever honour could be acquired, and time might be given to put anend to his present cause of complaint against his commanding officer. Through the whole letter, young Sir Aymer was particularly cautious howhe expressed his sense of Sir John de Walton's jealousy or severeusage: but such sentiments are not easily concealed, and in spite ofhim an air of displeasure glanced out from several passages, andindicated his discontent with his uncle's old friend and companion inarms, and with the sphere of military duty which his uncle had himselfassigned him. An accidental movement among the English troops broughtSir Aymer an answer to his letter sooner than he could have hoped forat that time of day, in the ordinary course of correspondence, whichwas then extremely slow and interrupted. 

Pembroke, a rigid old warrior, entertained the most partial opinion ofSir John de Walton, who was a work as it were of his own hands, and wasindignant to find that his nephew, whom he considered as a mere boy, elated by having had the dignity of knighthood conferred upon him at anage unusually early, did not absolutely coincide with him in thisopinion. He replied to him, accordingly, in a tone of high displeasure, and expressed himself as a person of rank would write to a young anddependent kinsman upon the duties of his profession; and, as hegathered his nephew's cause of complaint from his own letter, heconceived that he did him no injustice in making it slighter than itreally was. He reminded the young man that the study of chivalryconsisted in the faithful and patient discharge of military service, whether of high or low degree, according to the circumstances in whichwar placed the champion. That above all, the post of danger, whichDouglas Castle had been termed by common consent, was also the post ofhonour; and that a young man should be cautious how he incurred thesupposition of being desirous of quitting his present honourablecommand, because he was tired of the discipline of a military directorso renowned as Sir John de Walton. Much also there was, as was naturalin a letter of that time, concerning the duty of young men, whether incouncil or in arms, to be guided implicitly by their elders; and it wasobserved, with justice, that the commanding officer, who had puthimself into the situation of being responsible with his honour, if nothis life, for the event of the siege or blockade, might, justly, and ina degree more than common, claim the implicit direction of the wholedefence. Lastly, Pembroke reminded his nephew that he was, in a greatmeasure, dependent upon the report of Sir John de Walton for thecharacter which he was to sustain in after life; and reminded him, thata few actions of headlong and inconsiderate valour would not so firmlyfound his military reputation, as months and years spent in regular, humble, and steady obedience to the commands which the governor ofDouglas Castle might think necessary in so dangerous a conjuncture. 

This missive arrived within so short a time after the despatch of theletter to which it was a reply, that Sir Aymer was almost tempted tosuppose that his uncle had some mode of corresponding with De Walton, unknown to the young knight himself, and to the rest of the garrison. And as the earl alluded to some particular displeasure which had beenexhibited by De Valence on a late trivial occasion, his uncle'sknowledge of this, and other minutiae, seemed to confirm his idea thathis own conduct was watched in a manner which he did not feelhonourable to himself, or dignified on the part of his relative; in aword, he conceived himself exposed to that sort of surveillance ofwhich, in all ages, the young have accused the old. It hardly needs tosay that the admonition of the Earl of Pembroke greatly chafed thefiery spirit of his nephew; insomuch, that if the earl had wished towrite a letter purposely to increase the prejudices which he desired toput an end to, he could not have made use of terms better calculatedfor that effect. 

The truth was, that the old archer, Gilbert Greenleaf, had, without theknowledge of the young knight, gone to Pembroke's camp, in Ayrshire, and was recommended by Sir John de Walton to the earl, as a person whocould give such minute information respecting Aymer de Valence, as hemight desire to receive. The old archer was, as we have seen, aformalist, and when pressed on some points of Sir Aymer de Valence'sdiscipline, he did not hesitate to throw out hints, which, connectedwith those in the knight's letter to his uncle, made the severe oldearl adopt too implicitly the idea that his nephew was indulging aspirit of insubordination, and a sense of impatience under authority, most dangerous to the character of a young soldier. A littleexplanation might have produced a complete agreement in the sentimentsof both; but for this, fate allowed neither time nor opportunity; andthe old earl was unfortunately induced to become a party, instead of anegotiator, in the quarrel, "And by decision more embroil'd the fray. "

Sir John de Walton soon perceived, that the receipt of Pembroke'sletter did not in any respect alter the cold ceremonious conduct of hislieutenant towards him, which limited their intercourse to what theirsituation rendered indispensable, and exhibited no advances to any morefrank or intimate connexion. Thus, as may sometimes be the case betweenofficers in their relative situations even at the present day, theyremained in that cold stiff degree of official communication, in whichtheir intercourse was limited to as few expressions as the respectiveduties of their situation absolutely demanded. Such a state ofmisunderstanding is, in fact, worse than a downright quarrel;--thelatter may be explained or apologized for, or become the subject ofmediation; but in such a case as the former, an _eclaircissement_is as unlikely to take place as a general engagement between two armieswhich have taken up strong defensive positions on both sides. Duty, however, obliged the two principal persons in the garrison of DouglasCastle to be often together, when they were so far from seeking anopportunity of making up matters, that they usually revived ancientsubjects of debate. 

It was upon such an occasion that De Walton, in a very formal manner, asked De Valence in what capacity, and for how long time, it was hispleasure that the minstrel, called Bertram, should remain at the castle. 

"A week, " said the governor, "is certainly long enough, in this timeand place, to express the hospitality due to a minstrel. "

"Certainly, " replied the young man, "I have not interest enough in thesubject to form a single wish upon it. "

"In that case, " resumed De Walton, "I shall request of this person tocut short his visit at the Castle of Douglas. "

"I know no particular interest, " replied Aymer de Valence, "which I canpossibly have in this man's motions. He is here under pretence ofmaking some researches after the writings of Thomas of Erceldoun, called the Rhymer, which he says are infinitely curious, and of whichthere is a volume in the old Baron's study, saved somehow from theflames at the last conflagration. This told, you know as much of hiserrand as I do; and if you hold the presence of a wandering old man, and the neighbourhood of a boy, dangerous to the castle under yourcharge, you will no doubt do well to dismiss them--it will cost but aword of your mouth. "

"Pardon me, " said De Walton; "the minstrel came here as one of yourretinue, and I could not, in fitting courtesy, send him away withoutyour leave. "

"I am sorry, then, " answered Sir Aymer, "in my turn, that you did notmention your purpose sooner. I never entertained a dependent, vassal orservant, whose residence in the castle I would wish to have prolonged amoment beyond your honourable pleasure. "

"I am sorry, " said Sir John de Walton, "that we two have of late grownso extremely courteous that it is difficult for us to understand eachother. This minstrel and his son come from we know not where, and arebound we know not whither. There is a report among some of your escort, that this fellow Bertram upon the way had the audacity to impugn, evento your face, the King of England's right to the crown of Scotland, andthat he debated the point with you, while your other attendants weredesired by you to keep behind and out of hearing. "

"Hah!" said Sir Aymer, "do you mean to found on that circumstance anycharge against my loyalty? I pray you to observe, that such an avermentwould touch mine honour, which I am ready and willing to defend to thelast gasp. "

"No doubt of it, Sir Knight, " answered the governor; "but it is thestrolling minstrel, and not the high-born English knight, against whomthe charge is brought. Well! the minstrel comes to this castle, and heintimates a wish that his son should be allowed to take up his quartersat the little old convent of Saint Bride, where two or three Scottishnuns and friars are still permitted to reside, most of them rather outof respect to their order, than for any good will which they aresupposed to bear the English or their sovereign. It may also be noticedthat his leave was purchased by a larger sum of money, if myinformation be correct, than is usually to be found in the purses oftravelling minstrels, a class of wanderers alike remarkable for theirpoverty and for their genius. What do you think of all this?"

"I?"--replied De Valence; "I am happy that my situation, as a soldier, under command, altogether dispenses with my thinking of it at all. Mypost, as lieutenant of your castle, is such, that if I can managematters so as to call my honour and my soul my own, I must think thatquite enough of free-will is left at my command; and I promise youshall not have again to reprove, or send a bad report of me to my uncle, on that account. "

"This is beyond sufferance!" said Sir John de Walton half aside, andthen proceeded aloud--"Do not, for Heaven's sake, do yourself and methe injustice of supposing that I am endeavouring to gain an advantageover you by these questions. Recollect, young knight, that when youevade giving your commanding officer your advice when required, youfail as much in point of duty, as if you declined affording him theassistance of your sword and lance. "

"Such being the case, " answered De Valence, "let me know plainly onwhat matter it is that you require my opinion? I will deliver itplainly, and stand by the result, even if I should have the misfortune(a crime unpardonable in so young a man, and so inferior an officer) todiffer from that of Sir John de Walton. "

"I would ask you then. Sir Knight of Valence, " answered the governor, "what is your opinion with respect to this minstrel, Bertram, andwhether the suspicions respecting him and his son are not such as tocall upon me, in performance of my duty, to put them to a closeexamination, with the question ordinary and extraordinary, as is usualin such cases, and to expel them not only from the castle, but from thewhole territory of Douglas Dale, under pain of scourging, if they beagain found wandering in these parts?"

"You ask me my opinion, " said De Valence, "and you shall have it, SirKnight of Walton, and freely and fairly, as if matters stood betwixt uson a footing as friendly as they ever did. I agree with you, that mostof those who in this day profess the science of minstrelsy, arealtogether unqualified to support the higher pretensions of that nobleorder. Minstrels by right, are men who have dedicated themselves to thenoble occupation of celebrating knightly deeds and generous principles;it is in their verse that the valiant knight is handed down to fame, and the poet has a right, nay is bound, to emulate the virtues which hepraises. The looseness of the times has diminished the consequence, andimpaired the morality of this class of wanderers; their satire andtheir praise are now too often distributed on no other principle thanlove of gain; yet let us hope that there are still among them some whoknow, and also willingly perform, their duty. My own opinion is thatthis Bertram holds himself as one who has not shared in the degradationof his brethren, nor bent the knee to the mammon of the times; it mustremain with you, sir, to judge whether such a person, honourably andmorally disposed, can cause any danger to the Castle of Douglas. Butbelieving, from the sentiments he has manifested to me, that he isincapable of playing the part of a traitor, I must strongly remonstrateagainst his being punished as one, or subjected to the torture withinthe walls of an English garrison. I should blush for my country, if itrequired of us to inflict such wanton misery upon wanderers, whose solefault is poverty; and your own knightly sentiments will suggest morethan would become me to state to Sir John de Walton, unless in so faras is necessary to apologize for retaining my own opinion. "

Sir John de Walton's dark brow was stricken with red when he heard anopinion delivered in opposition to his own, which plainly went tostigmatize his advice as ungenerous, unfeeling, and unknightly. He madean effort to preserve his temper while he thus replied with a degree ofcalmness. "You have given your opinion, Sir Aymer de Valence; and thatyou have given it openly and boldly, without regard to my own, I thankyou. It is not quite so clear that I am obliged to defer my ownsentiments to yours, in case the rules on which I hold my office--thecommands of the king--and the observations which I may personally havemade, shall recommend to me a different line of conduct from that whichyou think it right to suggest. "

De Walton bowed, in conclusion, with great gravity; and the youngknight returning the reverence with exactly the same degree of stiffformality, asked whether there were any particular orders respectinghis duty in the castle; and having received an answer in the negativetook his departure. 

Sir John de Walton, after an expression of impatience, as ifdisappointed at finding that the advance which he had made towards anexplanation with his young friend had proved unexpectedly abortive, composed his brow as if to deep thought, and walked several times toand fro in the apartment, considering what course he was to take inthese circumstances. "It is hard to censure him severely, " he said, "when I recollect that, on first entering upon life, my own thoughtsand feelings would have been the same with those of this giddy and hot-headed, but generous boy. Now prudence teaches me to suspect mankind ina thousand instances where perhaps there is not sufficient ground. If Iam disposed to venture my own honour and fortune, rather than an idletravelling minstrel should suffer a little pain, which at all events Imight make up to him by money, still, have I a right to run the risk ofa conspiracy against the king, and thus advance the treasonablesurrender of the Castle of Douglas, for which I know so many schemesare formed; for which, too, none can be imagined so desperate butagents will be found bold enough to undertake the execution? A man whoholds my situation, although the slave of conscience, ought to learn toset aside those false scruples which assume the appearance of flowingfrom our own moral feeling, whereas they are in fact instilled by thesuggestion of affected delicacy. I will not, I swear by Heaven, beinfected by the follies of a boy, such as Aymer; I will not, that I maydefer to his caprices, lose all that love, honour, and ambition canpropose, for the reward of twelve months' service, of a nature the mostwatchful and unpleasant. I--will go straight to my point, and use theordinary precautions in Scotland which I should employ in Normandy orGascoigny. --What ho! page! who waits there?"

One of his attendants replied to his summons--"Seek me out GilbertGreenleaf the archer, and tell him I would speak with him touching thetwo bows and the sheaf of arrows, concerning which I gave him acommission to Ayr. "

A few minutes intervened after the order was given, when the archerentered, holding in his hand two bow-staves, not yet fashioned, and anumber of arrows secured together with a thong. He bore the mysteriouslooks of one whose apparent business is not of very great consequence, but is meant as a passport for other affairs which are in themselves ofa secret nature. Accordingly, as the knight was silent, and afforded noother opening for Greenleaf, that judicious negotiator proceeded toenter upon such as was open to him. 

"Here are the bow-staves, noble sir, which you desired me to obtainwhile I was at Ayr with the Earl of Pembroke's army. They are not sogood as I could have wished, yet are perhaps of better quality thancould have been procured by any other than a fair judge of the weapon. The Earl of Pembroke's whole camp are frantic mad in order to procurereal Spanish staves from the Groyne, and other ports in Spain; butthough two vessels laden with such came into the port of Ayr, said tobe for the King's army, yet I believe never one half of them have comeinto English hands. These two grew in Sherwood, which having beenseasoned since the time of Robin Hood, are not likely to fail either instrength or in aim, in so strong a hand, and with so just an eye, asthose of the men who wait on your worship. "

"And who has got the rest, since two ships' cargoes of new bow-stavesare arrived at Ayr, and thou with difficulty hast only procured me twoold ones?" said the governor. 

"Faith, I pretend not skill enough to know, " answered Greenleaf, shrugging his shoulders. "Talk there is of plots in that country aswell as here. It is said that their Bruce, and the rest of his kinsmen, intend a new May-game, and that the outlawed king proposes to land nearTurnberry, early in summer, with a number of stout kernes from Ireland;and no doubt the men of his mock earldom of Garrick are getting themready with bow and spear for so hopeful an undertaking. I reckon thatit will not cost us the expense of more than a few score of sheaves ofarrows to put all that matter to rights. "

"Do you talk then of conspiracies in this part of the country, Greenleaf?" said De Walton. "I know you are a sagacious fellow, wellbred for many a day to the use of the bent stick and string, and willnot allow such a practice to go on under thy nose, without takingnotice of it. "

"I am old enough, Heaven knows, " said Greenleaf, "and have had goodexperience of these Scottish wars, and know well whether these nativeScots are a people to be trusted to by knight or yeoman. Say they are afalse generation, and say a good archer told you so, who, with a fairaim, seldom missed a handsbreadth of the white. Ah! sir, your honourknows how to deal with them---ride them strongly, and rein them hard, --you are not like those simple novices who imagine that all is to bedone by gentleness, and wish to parade themselves as courteous andgenerous to those faithless mountaineers, who never, in the course oftheir lives, knew any tincture either of courteousness or generosity. "

"Thou alludest to some one, " said the governor, "and I charge thee, Gilbert, to be plain and sincere with me. Thou knowest, methinks, thatin trusting me thou wilt come to no harm?"

"It is true, it is true, sir, " said the old remnant of the wars, carrying his hand to his brow, "but it were imprudent to communicateall the remarks which float through an old man's brain in the idlemoments of such a garrison as this. One stumbles unawares on fantasies, as well as realities, and thus one gets, not altogether undeservedly, the character of a tale-bearer and mischief-maker among his comrades, and methinks I would not willingly fall under that accusation. "

"Speak frankly to me, " answered De Walton, "and have no fear of beingmisconstrued, whosoever the conversation may concern. "

"Nay, in plain truth, " answered Gilbert, "I fear not the greatness ofthis young knight, being, as I am, the oldest soldier in the garrison, and having drawn a bow-string long and many a day ere he was weanedfrom his nurse's breast. "

"It is, then. " said De Walton, "my lieutenant and friend, Aymer deValence, at whom your suspicions point?"

"At nothing, " replied the archer, "touching the honour of the youngknight himself, who is as brave as the sword he wears, and, his youthconsidered, stands high in the roll of English chivalry; but he isyoung, as your worship knows, and I own that in the choice of hiscompany he disturbs and alarms me. "

"Why, you know, Greenleaf, " answered the governor, "that in the leisureof a garrison a knight cannot always confine his sports and pleasuresamong those of his own rank, who are not numerous, and may not be sogamesome or fond of frolic, as he would desire them to be. "

"I know that well, " answered the archer, "nor would I say a wordconcerning your honour's lieutenant for joining any honest fellows, however inferior their rank, in the wrestling ring, or at a bout ofquarterstaff. But if Sir Aymer de Valence has a fondness for martialtales of former days, methinks he had better learn them from theancient soldiers who have followed Edward the First, whom God assoilzie, and who have known before his time the Barons' wars and Otheronslaughts, in which the knights and archers of merry Englandtransmitted so many gallant actions to be recorded by fame; this truly, I say, were more beseeming the Earl of Pembroke's nephew, than to seehim closet himself day after day with a strolling minstrel, who gainshis livelihood by reciting nonsense and lies to such young men as arefond enough to believe him, of whom hardly any one knows whether he beEnglish or Scottish in his opinions, and still less can any one pretendto say whether he is of English or Scottish birth, or with what purposehe lies lounging about this castle, and is left free to communicateevery thing which passes within it to those old mutterers of matins atSt. Bride's, who say with their tongues God save King Edward, but prayin their hearts God save King Robert the Bruce. Such a communication hecan easily carry on by means of his son, who lies at Saint Bride's cell, as your worship knows, under pretence of illness. "

"How do you say?" exclaimed the governor, "under pretence?--is he notthen really indisposed?"

"Nay, he may be sick to the death for aught I know, " said the archer;"but if so, were it not then more natural that the father should attendhis son's sick-bed, than that he should be ranging about this castle, where one eternally meets him in the old Baron's study, or in somecorner, where you least expect to find him?"

"If he has no lawful object, " replied the knight, "it might be as yousay; but he is said to be in quest of ancient poems or prophecies ofMerlin, of the Rhymer, or some other old bard; and in truth it isnatural for him to wish to enlarge his stock of knowledge and power ofgiving amusement, and where should he find the means save in a studyfilled with ancient books?"

"No doubt, " replied the Archer, with a sort of dry civil sneer ofincredulity; "I have seldom known an insurrection in Scotland but thatit was prophesied by some old forgotten rhyme, conjured out of dust andcobwebs, for the sake of giving courage to these North Country rebels, who durst not otherwise have abidden the whistling of the grey-gooseshaft; but curled heads are hasty, and, with license, even your owntrain, Sir Knight, retains too much of the fire of youth for suchuncertain times as the present. "

"Thou hast convinced me, Gilbert Greenleaf, and I will look into thisman's business and occupation more closely than hitherto. This is notime to peril the safety of a royal castle for the sake of affectinggenerosity towards a man of whom we know so little, and to whom, tillwe receive a very full explanation, we may, without doing him injustice, attach grave suspicions. Is he now in the apartment called the Baron'sstudy?"

"Your worship will be certain to find him there, " replied Greenleaf. 

"Then follow me, with two or three of thy comrades, and keep out ofsight, but within hearing; it may be necessary to arrest this man. "

"My assistance, " said the old archer, "shall be at hand when you call, but"--

"But what?" said the knight; "I hope I am not to find doubts anddisobedience on all hands?"

"Certainly not on mine, " replied Greenleaf; "I would only remind yourworship that what I have said was a sincere opinion expressed in answerto your worship's question; and that, as Sir Aymer de Valence hasavowed himself the patron of this man, I would not willingly be left tothe hazard of his revenge. "

"Pshaw" answered De Walton, "is Aymer de Valence governor of thiscastle, or am I? or to whom do you imagine you are responsible foranswering such questions as I may put to you?"

"Nay, " replied the archer, secretly not displeased at seeing De Waltonshow some little jealousy of his own authority, "believe me, Sir Knight, that I know my own station and your worship's, and that I am not now tobe told to whom I owe obedience. "

"To the study, then, and let us find the man, " said the governor. 

"A fine matter, indeed, " subjoined Greenleaf, following him, "that yourworship should have to go in person to look after the arrest of so meanan individual. But your honour is right; these minstrels are oftenjugglers, and possess the power of making their escape by means whichborrel [Footnote: Unlearned. ] folk like myself are disposed to attributeto necromancy. "

Without attending to these last words, Sir John de Walton set forthtowards the study, walking at a quick pace, as if this conversation hadaugmented his desire to find himself in possession of the person of thesuspected minstrel. 

Traversing the ancient passages of the castle, the governor had nodifficulty in reaching the study, which was strongly vaulted with stone, and furnished with a sort of iron cabinet, intended for thepreservation of articles and papers of value, in case of fire. Here hefound the minstrel seated at a small table, sustaining before him amanuscript, apparently of great antiquity, from which he seemed engagedin making extracts. The windows of the room were very small, and stillshowed some traces that they had originally been glazed with a paintedhistory of Saint Bride--another mark of the devotion of the greatfamily of Douglas to their tutelar saint. 

The minstrel, who had seemed deeply wrapped in the contemplation of histask, on being disturbed by the unlooked-for entrance of Sir John deWalton, rose with every mark of respect and humility, and, remainingstanding in the governor's presence, appeared to wait for hisinterrogations, as if he had anticipated that the visit concernedhimself particularly. 

"I am to suppose, Sir Minstrel, " said Sir John de Walton, "that youhave been successful in your search, and have found the roll of poetryor prophecies that you proposed to seek after amongst these brokenshelves and tattered volumes?"

"More successful than I could have expected, " replied the minstrel, "considering the effects of the conflagration. This, Sir Knight, isapparently the fatal volume for which I sought, and strange it is, considering the heavy chance of other books contained in this library, that I have been able to find a few though imperfect fragments of it. "

"Since, therefore, you have been permitted to indulge your curiosity, "said the governor, "I trust, minstrel, you will have no objection tosatisfy mine?"

The minstrel replied with the same humility, "that if there was anything within the poor compass of his skill which could gratify Sir Johnde Walton in any degree, he would but reach his lute, and presentlyobey his commands. "

"You mistake, Sir, " said Sir John, somewhat harshly. "I am none ofthose who have hours to spend in listening to tales or music of formerdays; my life has hardly given me time enough for learning the dutiesof my profession, far less has it allowed me leisure for such twanglingfollies. I care not who knows it, but my ear is so incapable judging ofyour art, which you doubtless think a noble one, that I can scarcelytell the modulation of one tune from another. "

"In that case, " replied the minstrel composedly, "I can hardly promisemyself the pleasure of affording your worship the amusement which Imight otherwise have done. "

"Nor do I look for any from your hand, " said the governor, advancing astep nearer to him, and speaking in a sterner tone. "I want information, sir, which I am assured you can give me, if you incline; and it is myduty to tell you, that if you show unwillingness to speak the truth, Iknow means by which it will become my painful duty to extort it in amore disagreeable manner than I would wish. "

"If your questions, Sir Knight, " answered Bertram, "be such as I can orought to answer, there shall be no occasion to put them more than once. If they are such as I cannot, or ought not to reply to, believe me thatno threats of violence will extort an answer from me. "

"You speak boldly, " said Sir John de Walton; "but take my word for it, that your courage will be put to the test. I am as little fond ofproceeding to such extremities as you can be of undergoing them, butsuch will be the natural consequence of your own obstinacy. I thereforeask you, whether Bertram be your real name--whether you have any otherprofession than that of a travelling minstrel--and, lastly, whether youhave any acquaintance or connexion with any Englishman or Scottishmanbeyond the walls of this Castle of Douglas?"

"To these questions, " replied the minstrel, "I have already answeredthe worshipful knight, Sir Aymer de Valence, and having fully satisfiedhim, it is not, I conceive, necessary that I should undergo a secondexamination; nor is it consistent either with your worship's honour, orthat of the lieutenant-governor, that such a re-examination should takeplace. "

"You are very considerate, " replied the governor, "of my honour and ofthat of Sir Aymer de Valence. Take my word for it, they are both inperfect safety in our own keeping, and may dispense with your attention. I ask you, will you answer the enquiries which it is my duty to make, or am I to enforce obedience by putting you under the penalties of thequestion? I have already, it is my duty to say, seen the answers youhave returned to my lieutenant, and they do not satisfy me. "

He at the same time clapped his hands, and two or three archers showedthemselves stripped of their tunics, and only attired in their shirtsand hose. 

"I understand, " said the minstrel, "that you intend to inflict upon mea punishment which is foreign to the genius of the English laws, inthat no proof is adduced of my guilt. I have already told that I am bybirth an Englishman, by profession a minstrel, and that I am totallyunconnected with any person likely to nourish any design against thisCastle of Douglas, Sir John de Walton, or his garrison. What answersyou may extort from me by bodily agony, I cannot, to speak as a plain-dealing Christian, hold myself responsible for. I think that I canendure as much pain as any one; I am sure that I never yet felt adegree of agony, that I would not willingly prefer to breaking myplighted word, or becoming a false informer against innocent persons:but I own I do not know the extent to which the art of torture may becarried; and though I do not fear you, Sir John de Walton, yet I mustacknowledge that I fear myself, since I know not to what extremity yourcruelty may be capable of subjecting me, or how far I may be enabled tobear it. I, therefore, in the first place, protest, that I shall in nomanner be liable for any words which I may utter in the course of anyexamination enforced from me by torture; and you must therefore, undersuch circumstances, proceed to the execution of an office, which, permit me to say, is hardly that which I expected to have found thusadministered by an accomplished knight like yourself. "

"Hark you, sir, " replied the governor, "you and I are at issue, and indoing my duty, I ought instantly to proceed to the extremities I havethreatened; but perhaps you yourself feel less reluctance to undergothe examination as proposed, than I shall do in commanding it; I willtherefore consign you for the present to a place of confinement, suitable to one who is suspected of being a spy upon this fortress. Until you are pleased to remove such suspicions, your lodgings andnourishment are those of a prisoner. In the meantime, before subjectingyou to the question, take notice, I will myself ride to the Abbey ofSaint Bride, and satisfy myself whether the young person whom you wouldpass as your son, is possessed of the same determination as that whichyou yourself seem to assert. It may so happen that his examination andyours may throw such light upon each other as will decidedly proveeither your guilt or innocence, without its being confirmed by the useof the extraordinary question. If it be otherwise, tremble for yourson's sake, if not for your own. --Have I shaken you, sir?--or do youfear, for your boy's young sinews and joints, the engines which, inyour case, you seem willing to defy?"

"Sir, " answered the minstrel, recovering from the momentary emotion hehad shown, "I leave it to yourself, as a man of honour and candour, whether you ought, in common fairness, to form a worse opinion of anyman, because he is not unwilling to incur, in his own person, severities which he would not desire to be inflicted upon his child, asickly youth, just recovering from a dangerous disease. "

"It is my duty, " answered De Walton, after a short pause, "to leave nostone unturned by which this business may be traced to the source; andif thou desirest mercy for thy son, thou wilt thyself most easilyattain it, by setting him the example of honesty and plain-dealing. "

The minstrel threw himself back on the seat, as if fully resolved tobear every extremity that could be inflicted, rather than make anyfarther answer than he had already offered. Sir John de Walton himselfseemed in some degree uncertain what might now be his best course. Hefelt an invincible repugnance to proceed, without due consideration, inwhat most people would have deemed the direct line of his duty, byinflicting the torture both upon father and son; but deep as was hissense of devotion towards the King, and numerous as were the hopes andexpectations he had formed upon the strict discharge of his presenthigh trust, he could not resolve upon having recourse at once to thiscruel method of cutting the knot. Bertram's appearance was venerable, and his power of words not unworthy of his aspect and bearing. Thegovernor remembered that Aymer de Valence, whose judgment in general itwas impossible to deny, had described him as one of those rareindividuals, who vindicated the honour of a corrupted profession bytheir personal good behaviour; and he acknowledged to himself, thatthere was gross cruelty and injustice in refusing to admit the prisonerto the credit of being a true and honest man, until, by way of provinghis rectitude, he had strained every sinew, and crushed every joint inhis body, as well as those of his son. "I have no touchstone, " he saidinternally, "which can distinguish truth from falsehood; the Bruce andhis followers are on the alert, -he has certainly equipped the galleyswhich lay at Rachrin during winter. This story, too, of Greenleaf, about arms being procured for a new insurrection, tallies strangelywith the appearance of that savage-looking forester at the hunt; andall tends to show, that something is upon the anvil which it is my dutyto provide against. I will, therefore, pass over no circumstance bywhich I can affect the mind through hope or fear; but, please God togive me light from any other source, I will not think it lawful totorment these unfortunate, and, it may yet be, honest men. " Heaccordingly took his departure from the library, whispering a word toGreenleaf respecting the prisoner. 

He had reached the outward door of the study, and his satellites hadalready taken the minstrel into their grasp, when the voice of the oldman was heard calling upon De Walton to return for a single moment. 

"What hast thou to say, sir?" said the governor; "be speedy, for I havealready lost more time in listening to thee than I am answerable for;and so I advise thee for thine own sake"--

"I advise thee, " said the minstrel, "for thine own sake, Sir John deWalton, to beware how thou dost insist on thy present purpose, by whichthou thyself alone, of all men living, --will most severely suffer. Ifthou harmest a hair of that young man's head--nay, if thou permittesthim to undergo any privation which it is in thy power to prevent, thouwilt, in doing so, prepare for thine own suffering a degree of agonymore acute than anything else in this mortal world could cause thee. Iswear by the most blessed objects of our holy religion; I call towitness that holy sepulchre, of which I have been an unworthy visitor, that I speak nothing but the truth, and that thou wilt one day testifythy gratitude for the part I am now acting. It is my interest, as wellas yours, to secure you in the safe possession of this castle, althoughassuredly I know some things respecting it, and respecting your worship, which I am not at liberty to tell without the consent of that youth. Bring me but a note under his hand, consenting to my taking you intoour mystery, and believe me, you will soon see those clouds charmedaway; since there was never a doleful uncertainty which more speedilychanged to joy, or a thunder-cloud of adversity which more instantlygave way to sunshine, than would then the suspicions which appear nowso formidable. "

He spoke with so much earnestness as to make some impression upon SirJohn de Walton, who was once more wholly at a loss to know what linehis duty called upon him to pursue. 

"I would most gladly, " said the governor, "follow out my purpose by thegentlest means in my power; and I shall bring no further distress uponthis poor lad, than thine own obstinacy and his shall appear to deserve. In the meantime, think, Sir Minstrel, that my duty has limits, and if Islack it for a day, it will become thee to exert every effort in thypower to meet my condescension. I will give thee leave to address thyson by a line under thy hand, and I will await his answer before Iproceed farther in this matter, which seems to be very mysterious. Meantime, as thou hast a soul to be saved, I conjure thee to speak thetruth, and tell me whether the secrets of which thou seemest to be atoo faithful treasurer, have regard to the practices of Douglas, ofBruce, or of any in their names, against this Castle of Douglas?"

The prisoner thought a moment, and then replied--"I am aware, SirKnight, of the severe charge under which this command is intrusted toyour hands, and were it in my power to assist you, as a faithfulminstrel and loyal subject, either with hand or tongue, I should feelmyself called upon so to do; but so far am I from being the characteryour suspicions have apprehended, that I should have held it forcertain that the Bruce and Douglas had assembled their followers, forthe purpose of renouncing their rebellious attempts, and taking theirdeparture for the Holy Land, but for the apparition of the forester, who, I hear, bearded you at the hunting, which impresses upon me thebelief, that when so resolute a follower and henchman of the Douglaswas sitting fearless among you, his master and comrades could be at nogreat distance--how far his intentions could be friendly to you, I mustleave it to yourself to judge; only believe me thus far, that the rack, pulley, or pincers, would not have compelled me to act the informer, oradviser, in a quarrel wherein I have little or no share, if I had notbeen desirous of fixing the belief upon you, that you are dealing witha true man, and one who has your welfare at heart. --Meanwhile, permitme to have writing materials, or let my own be restored, for I possess, in some degree, the higher arts of my calling; nor do I fear but that Ican procure for you an explanation of these marvels, without much moreloss of time. "

"God grant it prove so, " said the governor; "though I see not well howI can hope for so favourable a termination, and I may sustain greatharm by trusting too much on the present occasion. My duty, however, requires that, in the meantime, you be removed into strictconfinement. "

He handed to the prisoner, as he spoke, the writing materials, whichhad been seized upon by the archers on their first entrance, and thencommanded those satellites to unhand the minstrel. 

"I must, then, " said Bertram, "remain subjected to all the severitiesof a strict captivity; but I deprecate no hardship whatever in my ownperson, so I may secure you from acting with a degree of rashness, ofwhich you will all your life repent, without the means of atoning. "

"No more words, minstrel, " said the governor; "but since I have made mychoice, perhaps a very dangerous one for myself, let us carry thisspell into execution, which thou sayest is to serve me, as mariners saythat oil spread upon the raging billows will assuage their fury. "

CHAPTER THE NINTH. 

 Beware! beware! of the black Friar, He still retains his sway, For he is yet the Church's heir by right, Whoever may be the lay. Amundeville is lord by day, But the monk is lord by night, Nor wine nor wassel could raise a vassal To question that friar's right. Don Juan, CANTO XVII. 

The minstrel made no vain boast of the skill which he possessed in theuse of pen and ink. In fact, no priest of the time could have producedhis little scroll more speedily, more neatly composed, or more fairlywritten, than were the lines addressed "To the youth called Augustine, son of Bertram the Minstrel. "

"I have not folded this letter, " said he, "nor tied it with silk, forit is not expressed so as to explain the mystery to you; nor, to speakfrankly, do I think that it can convey to you any intelligence; but itmay be satisfactory to show you what the letter does not contain, andthat it is written from and to a person, who both mean kindly towardsyou and your garrison. "

"That, " said the governor, "is a deception which is easily practised;it tends, however, to show, though not with certainty, that you aredisposed to act upon good faith; and until the contrary appear, I shallconsider it a point of duty to treat you with as much gentleness as thematter admits of. Meantime, I will myself ride to the Abbey of SaintBride, and in person examine the young prisoner; and as you say he hasthe power, so I pray to Heaven he may have the will, to read thisriddle, which seems to throw us all into confusion. " So saying, heordered his horse, and while it was getting ready, he perused withgreat composure the minstrel's letter. Its contents ran thus:--

"DEAR AUGUSTINE, "Sir John de Walton, the governor of this castle, has conceived thosesuspicions which I pointed out as likely to be the consequence of ourcoming to this country without an avowed errand. I at least am seized, and threatened with examination under torture, to force me to tell thepurpose of our journey; but they shall tear the flesh from my bones, ere they force me to break the oath which I have taken. And the purportof this letter is to apprize you of the danger in which you stand ofbeing placed in similar circumstances, unless you are disposed toauthorize me to make the discovery to this knight; but on this subjectyou are only to express your own wishes, being assured they shall be inevery respect attended to by your devoted

"BERTRAM. "

This letter did not throw the smallest light upon the mystery of thewriter. The governor read it more than once, and turned it repeatedlyin his hand, as if he had hoped by that mechanical process to drawsomething from the missive, which at a first view the words did notexpress; but as no result of this sort appeared, De Walton retired tothe hall, where he informed Sir Aymer de Valence, that he was goingabroad as far as the Abbey of Saint Bride, and that he would be obligedby his taking upon him the duties of governor during his absence. SirAymer, of course, intimated his acquiescence in the charge; and thestate of disunion in which they stood to each other, permitted nofurther explanation. 

Upon the arrival of Sir John de Walton at the dilapidated shrine, theabbot, with trembling haste, made it his business immediately to attendthe commander of the English garrison, upon whom for the present, theirhouse depended for every indulgence they experienced, as well as forthe subsistence and protection necessary to them in so perilous aperiod. Having interrogated this old man respecting the youth residingin the Abbey, De Walton was informed that he had been indisposed sinceleft there by his father, Bertram, a minstrel. It appeared to the abbot, that his indisposition might be of that contagious kind which, at thatperiod, ravaged the English Borders, and made some incursions intoScotland, where it afterwards worked a fearful progress. After somefarther conversation, Sir John de Walton put into the abbot's hand theletter to the young person under his roof, on delivering which toAugustine, the reverend father was charged with a message to theEnglish governor, so bold, that he was afraid to be the bearer of it. It signified, that the youth could not, and would not, at that moment, receive the English knight; but that, if he came back on the morrowafter mass, it was probable he might learn something of what wasrequested. 

"This is not an answer, " said Sir John de Walton, "to be sent by a boylike this to a person in my charge; and me thinks, Father Abbot, youconsult your own safety but slenderly in delivering such an insolentmessage. "

The abbot trembled under the folds of his large coarse habit; and DeWalton, imagining that his discomposure was the consequence of guiltyfear, called upon him to remember the duties which he owed to England, the benefits which he had received from himself, and the probableconsequence of taking part in a pert boy's insolent defiance of thepower of the governor of the province. 

The abbot vindicated himself from these charges with the utmost anxiety. He pledged his sacred word, that the inconsiderate character of theboy's message was owing to the waywardness arising from indisposition. He reminded the governor that, as a Christian and an Englishman, he hadduties to observe towards the community of Saint Bride, which had nevergiven the English government the least subject of complaint. As hespoke, the churchman seemed to gather courage from the immunities ofhis order. He said he could not permit a sick boy who had taken refugewithin the sanctuary of the Church, to be seized or subjected to anyspecies of force, unless he was accused of a specific crime, capable ofbeing immediately proved. The Douglasses, a headstrong race, had, informer days, uniformly respected the sanctuary of Saint Bride, and itwas not to be supposed that the king of England, the dutiful andobedient child of the Church of Rome, would act with less venerationfor her rights, than the followers of a usurper, homicide, andexcommunicated person like Robert Bruce. 

Walton was considerably shaken with this remonstrance. He knew that, inthe circumstances of the times, the Pope had great power in everycontroversy in which it was his pleasure to interfere. He knew thateven in the dispute respecting the supremacy of Scotland, his Holinesshad set up a claim to the kingdom which, in the temper of the times, might perhaps have been deemed superior both to that of Robert Bruce, and that of Edward of England, and he conceived his monarch would givehim little thanks for any fresh embroilment which might take place withthe Church. Moreover, It was easy to place a watch, so as to preventAugustine from escaping during the night; and on the following morninghe would be still as effectually in the power of the English governoras if he were seized on by open force at the present moment. Sir Johnde Walton, however, so far exerted his authority over the abbot, thathe engaged, in consideration of the sanctuary being respected for thisspace of time, that, when it expired, he would be aiding and assistingwith his spiritual authority to surrender the youth, should he notallege a sufficient reason to the contrary. This arrangement, whichappeared still to flatter the governor with the prospect of an easytermination of this troublesome dispute, induced him to grant the delaywhich Augustine rather demanded than petitioned for. 

"At your request, Father Abbot, whom I have hitherto found a true man, I will indulge this youth with the grace he asks, before taking himinto custody, understanding that he shall not be permitted to leavethis place; and thou art to be responsible to this effect, giving thee, as is reasonable, power to command our little, garrison at Hazelside, to which I will send a reinforcement on my return to the Castle, incase it should be necessary to use the strong hand, or circumstancesimpose upon me other measures. "

"Worthy Sir Knight, " replied the Abbot, "I have no idea that thefrowardness of this youth will render any course necessary, saving thatof persuasion; and I venture to say, that you yourself will in thehighest degree approve of the method in which I shall acquit myself ofmy present trust. "

The abbot went through the duties of hospitality, enumerating whatsimple cheer the cloister of the convent permitted him to offer to theEnglish knight. Sir John de Walton declined the offer of refreshment, however--took a courteous leave of the churchman, and did not spare hishorse until the noble animal had brought him again before the Castle ofDouglas. Sir Aymer De Valence met him on the drawbridge, and reportedthe state of the garrison to be the same in winch he had left it, excepting that intimation had been received that twelve or fifteen menwere expected on their way to the town of Lanark; and being on marchfrom the neighbourhood of Ayr, would that night take up their quartersat the outpost of Hazelside. 

"I am glad of it, " replied the governor; "I was about to strengthenthat detachment. This stripling, the son of Bertram the minstrel, orwhoever he is, has engaged to deliver himself up for examination in themorning. As this party of soldiers are followers of your uncle, LordPembroke, may I request you will ride to meet them, and command them toremain at Hazelside until you make farther enquiries about this youth, who has still to clear up the mystery which hangs about him, and replyto a letter which I delivered with my own hand to the Abbot of SaintBride. I have shown too much forbearance in this matter, and I trust toyour looking to the security of this young man, and conveying himhither, with all due care and attention, as being a prisoner of someimportance. "

"Certainly, Sir John, " answered Sir Aymer; "your orders shall be obeyed, since you have none of greater importance for one who hath the honourto be second only to yourself in this place. "

"I crave your mercy, Sir Aymer, " returned the governor, "if thecommission be in any degree beneath your dignity; but it is ourmisfortune to misunderstand each other, when we endeavour to be mostintelligible. "

"But what am I to do, " said Sir Aymer--"no way disputing your command, but only asking for information--what am I to do, if the Abbot of SaintBride offers opposition?"

"How!" answered Sir John de Walton; "with the reinforcement from. MyLord of Pembroke, you will command at least twenty war-men, with bowand spear, against five or six timid old monks, with only gown and, hood. "

"True, " said Sir Aymer, "but ban and excommunication are sometimes; Inthe present day, too hard for the mail coat, and I would not willinglybe thrown out of the pale of the Christian Church. "

"Well, then, thou very suspicious and scrupulous young man, " replied DeWalton, "know that if this youth does not deliver himself up to thee ofhis own accord, the abbot has promised to put him into thy hands. "

There was no farther answer to be made, and De Valence, though stillthinking himself unnecessarily harassed with the charge of a pettycommission, took the sort of half arms which were always used when theknights stirred, beyond the walls of the garrison, and proceeded toexecute the commands of De Walton. A horseman or two, together with hissquire Fabian, accompanied him. 

The evening closed in with one of those Scottish mists which arecommonly said to be equal to the showers of happier climates; the pathbecame more and more dark, the hills more wreathed in vapours, and moredifficult to traverse; and all the little petty inconveniences whichrendered travelling through the district slow and uncertain, wereaugmented by the density of the fog which overhung every thing. 

Sir Aymer, therefore, occasionally mended his pace, and often incurredthe fate of one who is over-late, delaying himself by his efforts tomake greater expedition. The knight bethought himself that he would getinto a straight road by passing through the almost deserted town ofDouglas--the inhabitants of which had been treated so severely by theEnglish, in the course of those fierce troubles, that most of them whowere capable of bearing arms had left it, and withdrawn themselves todifferent parts of the country. This almost deserted place was defendedby a rude palisade, and a ruder drawbridge, which gave entrance intostreets so narrow, as to admit with difficulty three horses abreast, and evincing with what strictness the ancient lords of the villageadhered to their prejudice against fortifications, and their opinion infavour of keeping the field, so quaintly expressed in the well-knownproverb of the family, --"It is better to hear the lark sing than themouse cheep. " The streets, or rather the lanes, were dark, but for ashifting gleam of moonlight, which, as that planet began to rise, wasnow and then visible upon some steep and narrow gable. No sound ofdomestic industry, or domestic festivity, was heard, and no ray ofcandle or firelight glanced from the windows of the houses; the ancientordinance called the curfew, which the Conqueror had introduced intoEngland, was at this time in full force in such parts of Scotland aswere thought doubtful, and likely to rebel; under which description itneed not be said the ancient possessions of the Douglas were mostespecially regarded. The Church, whose Gothic monuments were of amagnificent character, had been, as far as possible, destroyed by fire;but the ruins, held together by the weight of the massive stones ofwhich they were composed, still sufficiently evinced the greatness ofthe family at whose cost it had been raised, and whose bones, fromimmemorial time, had been entombed in its crypts. 

Paying little attention to these relics of departed splendour, SirAymer de Valence advanced with his small detachment, and had passed thescattered fragments of the cemetery of the Douglasses, when to hissurprise, the noise of his horse's feet was seemingly replied to bysounds which rung like those of another knightly steed advancingheavily up the street, as if it were to meet him. Valence was unable toconjecture what might be the cause of these warlike sounds; the ringand the clang of armour was distinct, and the heavy tramp of a war-horse was not to be mistaken by the ear of a warrior. The difficulty ofkeeping soldiers from straying out of quarters by night, would havesufficiently accounted for the appearance of a straggling foot-soldier;but it was more difficult to account for a mounted horseman, in fullarmour; and such was the apparition which a peculiarly bright glimpseof moonlight now showed at the bottom of the causewayed hill. Perhapsthe unknown warrior obtained at the same time a glance of Aymer deValence and his armed followers--at least each of them shouted "Whogoes there?"--the alarm of the times; and on the instant the deepanswers of "St. George!" on the one side, and "The Douglas!" on theother, awakened the still echoes of the small and ruinous street, andthe silent arches of the dilapidated church. Astonished at a war-crywith which so many recollections were connected, the English knightspurred his horse at full gallop down the steep and broken descentleading out at the south or south-east gate of the town; and it was thework of an instant to call out, "Ho! Saint George! upon the insolentvillain all of you!--To the gate, Fabian, and cut him off from flight!--Saint George! I say, for England! Bows and bills!--bows and bills!" Atthe same time Aymer de Valence laid in rest his own long lance, whichhe snatched from the squire by whom it was carried. But the light wasseen and gone in an instant, and though De Valence concluded that thehostile warrior had hardly room to avoid his career, yet he could takeno aim for the encounter, unless by mere guess, and continued to plungedown the dark declivity, among shattered stones and other encumbrances, without groping out with his lance the object of his pursuit. He rode, in short, at a broken gallop, a descent of about fifty or sixty yards, without having any reason to suppose that he had met the figure whichhad appeared to him, although the narrowness of the street scarcelyadmitted his having passed him, unless both horse and horseman couldhave melted at the moment of encounter like an air-bubble. The ridersof his suite, meanwhile, were struck with a feeling like supernaturalterror, which a number of singular adventures, had caused most of themto attach to the name of Douglas; and when he reached the gate by whichthe broken street was terminated, there was none close behind him butFabian, in whose head no suggestions of a timorous nature could outlivethe sound of his dear master's voice. 

Here there were a post of English, archers, who were turning out inconsiderable alarm, when De Valence and his page rode in amongst them. "Villains!" shouted De Valence, "why were you not upon your duty? Whowas it passed through your post even now, with the traitorous cry ofDouglas?"

"We know of no such, " said the captain of the watch. 

"That is to say, you besotted villains, " answered the young knight, "you have been drinking, and have slept?"

The men protested the contrary, but in a confused manner, which was farfrom overcoming De Valence's suspicions. He called loudly to bringcressets, torches, and candles; and a few remaining inhabitants beganto make their unwilling appearance, with such various means of givinglight as they chanced to possess. They heard the story of the youngEnglish knight with wonder; nor, although it was confirmed by all hisretinue, did they give credit to the recital, more than that theEnglishmen wished somehow or other to pick a quarrel with the people ofthe palace, under the pretence of their having admitted a retainer oftheir ancient lord by night into the town. They protested, therefore, their innocence of the cause of tumult, and endeavoured to seem activein hastening from house to house, and corner to corner, with theirtorches, in order to discover the invisible cavalier. The Englishsuspected them no less of treachery, than the Scottish imagined thewhole matter a pretext for bringing an accusation, on the part of theyoung knight, against the citizens. The women, however, who now beganto issue from the houses, had a key for the solution of the apparition, which at that time was believed of efficacy sufficient to solve anymystery. "The devil, " they said, "must have appeared visibly amongstthem, " an explanation which had already occurred to the followers ofthe young knight; for that a living man and horse, both as it seemed, of a gigantic size, could be conjured in the twinkling of an eye, andappear in a street secured at one end by the best of the archers, andat the other by the horsemen under Valence himself, was altogether, itseemed, a thing impossible. The inhabitants did not venture to puttheir thoughts on the subject into language, for fear of giving offence, and only indicated by a passing word to each other the secret degree ofpleasure which they felt in the confusion and embarrassment of theEnglish garrison. Still, however, they continued to affect a great dealof interest in the alarm which De Valence had received, and the anxietywhich he expressed to discover the cause. 

At length a female voice spoke above the Babel of confused sounds, saying, "Where is the Southern Knight? I am sure that I can tell himwhere he can find the only person who can help him out of his presentdifficulty. "

"And who is that, good woman?" said Aymer de Valence, who was growingevery moment more impatient at the loss of time, which was flying fast, in an investigation which had something vexatious in it, and evenridiculous. At the same time, the sight of an armed partisan of theDouglasses, in their own native town, seemed to bode too seriousconsequences, if it should be suffered to pass without being probed tothe bottom. 

"Come hither to me, " said the female voice, "and I will name to you theonly person who can explain all matters of this kind that chance inthis country. " On this the knight snatched a torch from some of thosewho were present, and holding it up, descried the person who spoke, atall woman, who evidently endeavoured to render herself remarkable. When he approached her, she communicated her intelligence in a graveand sententious tone of voice. 

"We had once wise men, that could have answered any parables whichmight have been put to them for explanation in this country side. Whether you yourselves, gentlemen, have not had some hand in weedingthem out, good troth, it is not for the like of me to say; at any rate, good counsel is not so easy come by as it was in this Douglas country, nor, may be, is it a safe thing to pretend to the power of giving it. "

"Good woman, " said De Valence, "if you will give me an explanation ofthis mystery, I will owe you a kirtle of the best raploch grey. "

"It is not I, " said the old woman, "that pretend to possess theknowledge which may assist you; but I would fain know that the man whomI shall name to you shall be skaithless and harmless. Upon yourknighthood and your honour, will you promise to me so much?"

"Assuredly, " said De Valence, "such a person shall even have thanks andreward, if he is a faithful informer; ay, and pardon, moreover, although he may have listened to any dangerous practices, or beenconcerned in any plots. "

"Oh! not he, " replied the female; "it is old Goodman Powheid, who hasthe charge of the muniments, " (meaning probably monuments, ) "that is, such part of them as you English have left standing; I mean the oldsexton of the kirk of Douglas, who can tell more stories of these oldfolk, whom your honour is not very fond of hearing named, than wouldlast us from this day to Yule. "

"Does anybody, " said the knight, "know whom it is that this old womanmeans?"

"I conjecture, " replied Fabian, "that she speaks of an old dotard, whois, I think, the general referee concerning the history and antiquitiesof this old town, and of the savage family that lived here perhapsbefore the flood. "

"And who, I dare say, " said the knight, "knows as much about the matteras she herself does. But where is this man? a sexton is he? He may beacquainted with places of concealment, which are often fabricated inGothic buildings, and known to those whose business calls them tofrequent them. Come, my good old dame, bring this man to me; or, whatmay be better, I will go to him, for we have already spent too muchtime. "

"Time!" replied the old woman, --"is time an object with your honour? Iam sure I can hardly get so much for mine as will hold soul and bodytogether. You are not far from the old man's house. "

She led the way accordingly, blundering over heaps of rubbish, andencountering all the embarrassments of a ruinous street, in lightingthe way to Sir Aymer, who, giving his horse to one of his attendants, and desiring Fabian to be ready at a call, scrambled after as well asthe slowness of his guide would permit. 

Both were soon involved in the remains of the old church, muchdilapidated as it had been by wanton damage done to it by the soldiery, and so much impeded by rubbish, that the knight marvelled how the oldwoman could find the way. She kept talking all the while as shestumbled onward. Sometimes she called out in a screeching tone, "Powheid! Lazarus Powheid!"--and then muttered---"Ay, ay, the old manwill be busy with some of his duties, as he calls them; I wonder hefashes wi' them in these times. But never mind, I warrant they willlast for his day and for mine; and the times, Lord help us! for allthat I can see, are well enough for those that are to live in them. "

"Are you sure, good woman, " replied the knight, "that there is anyinhabitant in these ruins? For my part, I should rather suppose thatyou are taking me to the charnel-house of the dead. "

"Maybe you are right, " said the old woman, with a ghastly laugh;"carles and carlines agree weel with funeral vaults and charnel-houses, and when an auld bedral dwells near the dead, he is living, ye ken, among his customers--Halloo! Powheid! Lazarus Powheid! there is agentleman would speak with you;" and she added, with some sort ofemphasis, "an. English noble gentleman---one of the honourablegarrison. "

An old man's step was now heard advancing, so slowly that theglimmering light which he held in his hand was visible on the ruinedwalls of the vault some time before it showed the person who bore it. 

The shadow of the old man was also projected upon the illuminated wallere his person came in view; his dress was in considerable confusion, owing to his having been roused from his bed; and since artificiallight was forbidden by the regulations of the garrison, the natives ofDouglas Dale spent in sleep the time that they could not very well getrid of by any other means. The sexton was a tall thin man, emaciated byyears and by privations; his body was bent habitually by his occupationof grave-digging, and his eye naturally inclined downward to the sceneof his labours. His hand sustained the cruise or little lamp, which heheld so as to throw light upon his visitant; at the same time itdisplayed to the young knight the features of the person with whom hewas now confronted, which, though neither handsome nor pleasing, werestrongly marked, sagacious, and venerable, indicating, at the same time, a certain air of dignity, which age, even mere poverty, may be foundoccasionally to bestow, as conferring that last melancholy species ofindependence proper to those whose situation can hardly by anyimaginable means, be rendered much worse than years and fortune havealready made it. The habit of a lay brother added somewhat of religiousimportance to his appearance. 

"What would you with me, young man?" said the sexton. "Your youthfulfeatures, and your gay dress, bespeak one who stands in need of myministry neither for himself nor for others. "

"I am indeed, " replied the knight, "a living man, and therefore neednot either shovel or pick-axe for my own behoof. I am not, as you see, attired in mourning, and therefore need not your offices in behalf ofany friend; I would only ask you a few questions. "

"What you would have done must needs be done, you being at present oneof our rulers, and, as I think, a man of authority, " replied thesexton; "follow me this way into my poor habitation; I have had abetter in my day; and yet, Heaven knows, it is good enough for me, whenmany men of much greater consequence must perforce content themselveswith worse. "

He opened a lowly door, which was fitted, though irregularly, to serveas the entrance of a vaulted apartment, where it appeared that the oldman held, apart from the living world, his wretched and solitarydwelling. [Footnote: [This is a most graphic and accurate descriptionof the present state of the ruin. Its being occupied by the sexton as adwelling-place, and the whole scene of the old man's interview with DeValence, may be classed with our illustrious author's most felicitousimaginings. _--Note by the Rev. Mr. Stewart of Douglas. _]] Thefloor, composed of paving stones, laid together with some accuracy, andhere and there inscribed with letters and hieroglyphics, as if they hadonce upon a time served to distinguish sepulchres, was indifferentlywell swept, and a fire at the upper end directed its smoke into a holewhich served for a chimney. The spade and pick-axe, (with other tools, )which the chamberlain of mortality makes use of, lay scattered aboutthe apartment, and, with a rude stool or two, and a table, where someinexperienced hand had unquestionably supplied the labours of thejoiner, were nearly the only furniture, if we include the old man's bedof straw, lying in a corner, and discomposed, as if he had been justraised from it. At the lower end of the apartment, the wall was almostentirely covered by a large escutcheon, such as is usually hung overthe graves of men of very high rank, having the appropriate quarters, to the number of sixteen, each properly blazoned and distinct, placedas ornaments around the principal armorial coat itself. 

"Let us sit, " said the old man; "the posture will better enable myfailing ears to apprehend your meaning, and the asthma will deal withme more mercifully in permitting me to make you understand mine. "

A peal of short asthmatic coughs attested the violence of the disorderwhich he had last named, and the young knight followed his host'sexample, in sitting down on one of the rickety stools by the side ofthe fire. The old man brought from one corner of the apartment an apron, which he occasionally wore, full of broken boards in irregular pieces, some of which were covered with black cloth, or driven full of nails, black, as it might happen, or gilded. 

"You will find this fresh fuel necessary, " said the old man, "to keepsome degree of heat within this waste apartment; nor are the vapours ofmortality, with which this vault is apt to be filled, if the fire ispermitted to become extinct, indifferent to the lungs of the dainty andthe healthy, like your worship, though to me they are become habitual. The wood will catch fire, although it is some time ere the damps of thegrave are overcome by the drier air, and the warmth of the chimney. "

Accordingly, the relics of mortality with which the old man had heapedhis fireplace, began by degrees to send forth a thick unctuous vapour, which at length leaped to light, and blazing up the aperture, gave adegree of liveliness to the gloomy scene. The blazonry of the hugeescutcheon met and returned the rays with as brilliant a reflection asthat lugubrious object was capable of, and the whole apartment lookedwith a fantastic gaiety, strangely mingled with the gloomy ideas whichits ornaments were calculated to impress upon the imagination. 

"You are astonished, " said the old man, "and perhaps, Sir Knight, youhave never before seen these relics of the dead applied to the purposeof rendering the living, in some degree, more comfortable than theircondition would otherwise admit of. "

"Comfortable!" returned the Knight of Valence, shrugging his shoulders;"I should be sorry, old man, to know that I had a dog that was asindifferently quartered as thou art, whose grey hairs have certainlyseen better days. "

"It may be, " answered the sexton, "and it may be otherwise; but it wasnot, I presume, concerning my own history that your worship seemeddisposed to ask me some questions; and I would venture to enquire, therefore, to whom they have relation?"

"I will speak plainly to you, " replied Sir Aymer, "and you will at onceacknowledge the necessity of giving a short and distinct reply. I haveeven now met in the streets of this village a person only shown to meby a single flash of light, who had the audacity to display thearmorial insignia and utter the war-cry of the Douglasses; nay, if Icould trust a transient glance, this daring cavalier had the featuresand the dark complexion proper to the Douglas. I am referred to thee asto one who possesses means of explaining this extraordinarycircumstance, which, as an English knight, and one holding a chargeunder King Edward, I am particularly called upon to make enquiry into. "

"Let me make a distinction, " said the old man. "The Douglasses offormer generations are my near neighbours, and, according to mysuperstitious townsmen, my acquaintances and visitors; I can take itupon my conscience to be answerable for their good behaviour, and tobecome bound that none of the old barons, to whom the roots of thatmighty tree may, it is said, be traced, will again disturb with theirwar-cry the towns or villages of their native country--not one willparade in moonshine the black armour which has long rusted upon theirtombs. 

 'The knights are dust. And their good swords are rust; Their souls are with the saints, we trust. ' [Footnote: [The authorhas somewhat altered part of a beautiful unpublished fragment ofColeridge:-- "Where is the grave of Sir Arthur Orellan, -- Where may the grave of that good knight be? By the marge of a brook, on the slope of Helvellyn, Under the boughs of a young birch tree. The Oak that in summer was pleasant to hear, That rustled in Autumn all withered and sear, That whistled and groan'd thro' the Winter alone, He hath gone, and a birch in his place is grown. The knight's bones are dust, His good sword is rust; His spirit is with, the saints, we trust. " _Edit_. ]]

Look around, Sir Knight, you have above and around you the men of whomwe speak. Beneath us, in a little aisle, (which hath not been openedsince these thin grey locks were thick and brown, ) there lies the firstman whom I can name as memorable among those of this mighty line. It ishe whom the Thane of Athol pointed out to the King of Scotland asSholto Dhuglass, or the dark iron-coloured man, whose exertions hadgained the battle for his native prince; and who, according to thislegend, bequeathed his name to our dale and town, though others saythat the race assumed the name of Douglass from the stream so called inunrecorded times, before they had their fastness on its banks. Others, his descendants, called Eachain, or Hector the first, and Orodh, orHugh, William, the first of that name, and Gilmour, the theme of many aminstrel song, commemorating achievements done under the oriflamme ofCharles the Great, Emperor of France, have all consigned themselves totheir last sleep, nor has their memory been sufficiently preserved fromthe waste of time. Something we know concerning their great deeds, their great power, and, alas! their great crimes. Something we alsoknow of a Lord of Douglas who sat in a parliament at Forfar, held byKing Malcolm the First, and we are aware that from his attachment tohunting the wild hart, he built himself a tower called Blackhouse, inthe forest of Ettrick, which perhaps still exists. "

"I crave your forgiveness, old man, " said the knight, "but I have notime at present to bestow upon the recitation of the pedigree of theHouse of Douglas. A less matter would hold a well-breathed minstrel insubject for recitation for a calendar month, Sundays and holidaysincluded. "

"What other information can you expect from me, " said the sexton, "thanthat respecting those heroes, some of whom it has been my lot toconsign to that eternal rest, which will for ever divide the dead fromthe duties of this world? I have told you where the race sleep, down tothe reign of the royal Malcolm. I can tell you also of another vault, in which lie Sir John of Douglas-burn, with his son Lord Archibald, anda third William, known by an indenture with Lord Abernethy. Lastly, Ican tell you of him to whom that escutcheon, with its appurtenances ofsplendour and dignity, justly belong. Do you envy that nobleman, whom, if death were in the sound, I would not hesitate to term my honourablepatron? and have you any design of dishonouring his remains? It will bea poor victory! nor does it become a knight and nobleman to come inperson to enjoy such a triumph over the dead, against whom, when helived, there were few knights dared spur their horses. He fought indefence of his country, but he had not the good fortune of most of hisancestors, to die on the field of battle. Captivity, sickness, andregret for the misfortunes of his native land, brought his head to thegrave in his prison-house, in the land of the stranger. "

The old man's voice here became interrupted by emotion, and the Englishknight found it difficult to continue his examination in the sternfashion which his duty required. 

"Old man, " he said, "I do not require from thee this detail, which mustbe useless to me, as well as painful to thyself. Thou dost but thy dutyin rendering justice to thy ancient lord; but thou hast not yetexplained to me why I have met in this town, this very night, and nothalf an hour since, a person in the arms, and bearing the complexion, of one of the Black Douglasses, who cried his war-cry as if in contemptof his conquerors. "

"Surely, " replied the sexton, "it is not my business to explain such afancy, otherwise than by supposing that the natural fears of theSouthron will raise the spectre of a Douglas at any time, when he iswithin sight of their sepulchre. Methinks, in such a night as this, thefairest cavalier would wear the complexion of this swarthy race, norcan I hold it wonderful that the war-cry which was once in the throatsof so many thousands in this country, should issue upon occasion fromthe mouth of a single champion. "

"You are bold, old man, " returned the English knight; "do you considerthat your life is in my power, and that it may, in certain cases, be myduty to inflict death with that degree of pain at which humanityshudders?"

The old man rose up slowly in the light of the blazing fire, displayinghis emaciated features, which resembled those ascribed by artists toSaint Anthony of the desert; and pointing to the feeble lamp, which heplaced upon the coarse table, thus addressed his interrogator, with anappearance of perfect firmness, and something even resembling dignity:--

"Young knight of England, you see that utensil constructed for thepurpose of dispensing light amid these fatal vaults, --it is as frail asany thing can well be, whose flame is supplied by living element, contained in a frame composed of iron. It is doubtless in your powerentirely to end its service, by destroying the frame, or extinguishingthe light. Threaten it with such annihilation, Sir Knight, and seewhether your menace will impress any sense of fear either on theelement or the iron. Know that you have no more power over the frailmortal whom you threaten with similar annihilation. You may tear frommy body the skin in which it is now swathed, but although my nervesmight glow with agony during the inhuman operation, it would produce nomore impression on me than flaying on the stag which an arrow haspreviously pierced through the heart. My age sets me beyond yourcruelty: if you think otherwise, call your agents, and commence youroperations; neither threats nor inflictions will enable you to extortfrom me any thing that I am not ready to tell you of my own accord. "

"You trifle with me, old man, " said De Valence; "you talk as if youpossessed some secret respecting the motions of these Douglasses, whoare to you as gods, yet you communicate no intelligence to mewhatever. "

"You may soon know, " replied the old man, "all that a poor sexton hasto communicate; and it will not increase your knowledge respecting theliving, though it may throw some light upon my proper domains, whichare those of the dead. The spirits of the deceased Douglasses do notrest in their graves during the dishonour of their monuments, and thedownfall of their house. That, upon death, the greater part of any lineare consigned to the regions of eternal bliss, or of never-endingmisery, religion will not suffer us to believe, and amidst a race whohad so great a share of worldly triumph and prosperity, we must supposethere have existed many who have been justly subjected to the doom ofan intermediate space of punishment. You have destroyed the temples--which were built by their posterity to propitiate Heaven for thewelfare of their souls; you have silenced the prayers and stopt thechoirs, by the mediation of which the piety of children had sought toappease the wrath of Heaven in behalf of their ancestors, subjected toexpiatory fires. Can you wonder that the tormented spirits, thusdeprived of the relief which had been proposed to them, should not, according to the common phrase, rest in their graves? Can you wonderthey should show themselves like discontented loiterers near to theplaces which, but for the manner in which you have prosecuted yourremorseless warfare, might have ere now afforded them rest? Or do youmarvel that these fleshless warriors should interrupt your marches, anddo what else their airy nature may permit to disturb your councils, andmeet as far as they may the hostilities which you make it your boast tocarry on, as well against those who are deceased, as against any whomay yet survive your cruelty?"

"Old man, " replied Aymer de Valence, "you cannot expect that I am totake for answer a story like this, being a fiction too gross to charmto sleep a schoolboy tormented with the toothache; nevertheless, Ithank God that thy doom does not remain in my hands. My squire and twoarchers shall carry thee captive to the worshipful Sir John de Walton, Governor of the Castle and Valley, that he may deal with thee as seemsmeet; nor is he a person to believe in your apparitions and ghosts frompurgatory. --What ho! Fabian! Come hither, and bring with thee twoarchers of the guard. "

Fabian accordingly, who had waited at the entrance of the ruinedbuilding, now found his way, by the light of the old sexton's lamp, andthe sound of his master's voice, into the singular apartment of the oldman, the strange decorations of which struck the youth with greatsurprise, and some horror. 

"Take the two archers with thee, Fabian, " said the Knight of Valence, "and, with their assistance, convey this old man, on horseback, or in alitter, to the presence of the worshipful Sir John de Walton. Tell himwhat we have seen, which thou didst witness as well as I; and tell himthat this old sexton, whom I send to be examined by his superior wisdom, seems to know more than he is willing to disclose respecting ourghostly cavalier, though he will give us no account of him, exceptintimating that he is a spirit of the old Douglasses from purgatory, towhich Sir John de Walton will give what faith he pleases. You may say, that, for my part, my belief is, either that the sexton is crazed byage, want, and enthusiasm, or that he is connected with some plot whichthe country people are hatching. You may also say that I shall not usemuch ceremony with the youth under the care of the Abbot of St. Bride;there is something suspicious in all the occurrences that are nowpassing around us. "

Fabian promised obedience; and the knight, pulling him aside, gave himan additional caution, to behave with attention in this business, seeing he must recollect that neither the judgment of himself, nor thatof his master, were apparently held in very much esteem by thegovernor; and that it would ill become them to make any mistake in amatter where the safety of the Castle was perhaps concerned. 

"Fear me not, worshipful sir, " replied the youth; "I am returning topure air in the first place, and a good fire in the second, bothacceptable exchanges for this dungeon of suffocating vapours andexecrable smells. You may trust to my making no delay; a very shorttime will carry me back to Castle Douglas, even moving with suitableattention to this old man's bones. "

"Use him humanely, " answered the knight. "And thou, old man, if thouart insensible to threats of personal danger in this matter, remember, that if thou art found paltering with us, thy punishment will perhapsbe more severe than any we can inflict upon thy person. "

"Can you administer the torture to the soul?" said the sexton. 

"As to thee, " answered the knight, "we have that power;--we willdissolve every monastery or religious establishment held for the soulsof these Douglasses, and will only allow the religious people to holdtheir residence there upon condition of their praying for the soul ofKing Edward the First of glorious memory, the _malleus Scotorum_;and if the Douglasses are deprived of the ghostly benefit of theprayers and services of such shrines, they may term thy obstinacy thecause. "

"Such a species of vengeance, " answered the old man, in the same boldunsubdued tone which he had hitherto used, "were more worthy of theinfernal fiends than of Christian men. "

The squire raised his hand. The knight interposed: "Forbear him, " hesaid, "Fabian, he is very old, and perhaps insane. --And you, sexton, remember that the vengeance threatened is lawfully directed towards afamily which have been the obstinate supporters of the excommunicatedrebel, who murdered the Red Comyn at the High Church in Dumfries. "

So saying, Aymer strode out of the ruins, picking his way with muchdifficulty--took his horse, which he found at the entrance--repeated acaution to Fabian, to conduct himself with prudence--and, passing on tothe south-western gate, gave the strongest injunctions concerning thenecessity of keeping a vigilant watch, both by patrols and by sentinels, intimating, at the same time, that it must have been neglected duringthe preceding part of the evening. The men murmured an apology, theconfusion of which seemed to express that there had existed someoccasion for the reprimand. 

Sir Aymer then proceeded on his journey to Hazelside, his traindiminished by the absence of Fabian and his assistants. After a hasty, but not a short journey, the knight alighted at Thomas Dickson's, wherehe found the detachment from Ayr had arrived before him, and weresnugly housed for the night. He sent one of the archers to announce hisapproach to the Abbot of Saint Bride and his young guest, intimating atthe same time, that the archer must keep sight of the latter until hehimself arrived at the chapel, which would be instantly. 

CHAPTER THE TENTH. 

 When the nightengale singes, the wodes waxes grene, Lef, and gras, and blosme, springeth in April I wene, And love is to myne herte gone with one speare so kene. Night and day my blood hyt drynkes, mine herte deth me fane. _MSS. Hail. Quoted by Warton. _

Sir Aymer De Valance had no sooner followed his archer to the conventof Saint Bride, than he summoned the abbot to his presence, who camewith the air of a man who loves his ease, and who is suddenly calledfrom the couch where he has consigned himself to a comfortable repose, at the summons of one whom he does not think it safe to disobey, and towhom he would not disguise his sense of peevishness, if he durst. 

"It is a late ride, " he said, "which has brought your worthy honourhither from the castle. May I be informed of the cause, after thearrangement so recently gone into with the governor?"

"It is my hope, " replied the knight, "that you, Father Abbot, are notalready conscious of it; suspicions are afloat, and I myself have thisnight seen something to confirm them, that some of the obstinate rebelsof this country are again setting afoot dangerous practices, to theperil of the garrison; and I come, father, to see whether, in requitalof many favours received from the English monarch, you will not merithis bounty and protection, by contributing to the discovery of thedesigns of his enemies. "

"Assuredly so, " answered Father Jerome, in an agitated voice. "Mostunquestionably my information should stand at your command; that is, ifI knew any thing the communication of which could be of advantage toyou. "

"Father Abbot, " replied the English knight, "although it is rash tomake myself responsible for a North-country man in these times, yet Iown I do consider you as one who has ever been faithfully subject tothe King of England, and I willingly hope that you will still continueso. "

"And a fine encouragement I have!" said the abbot; "to be called out ofmy bed at midnight, in this raw weather, to undergo the examination ofa knight, who is the youngest, perhaps, of his own honourable rank, andwho will not tell me the subject of the interrogatories, but detains meon this cold pavement, till, according to the opinion of Celsus, thepodagra which lurks in my feet may be driven into my stomach, and thengood-night to abbacy and examinations from henceforward. "

"Good father, " said the young man, "the spirit of the times must teachthee patience; recollect that I can feel no pleasure in this duty, andthat if an insurrection should take place, the rebels, who aresufficiently displeased with thee for acknowledging the English monarch, would hang thee from thine own steeple to feed the crows; or that, ifthou hast secured thy peace by some private compact with the insurgents, the English governor, who will sooner or later gain the advantage, willnot fail to treat thee as a rebel to his sovereign. "

"It may appear to you, my noble son, " answered the abbot, obviouslydiscomposed, "that I am hung up, in this case, on the horns of thedilemma which you have stated; nevertheless, I protest to you, that ifany one accuses me of conspiring with the rebels against the King ofEngland, I am ready, provided you give me time to swallow a potionrecommended by Celsus in my perilous case, to answer with the mostperfect sincerity every question which you can put to me upon thatsubject. " So saying, he called upon a monk who had attended at hislevee, and giving him a large key, whispered something in his ear. Thecup which the monk brought was of such capacity as proved Celsus'sdraught required to be administered in considerable quantity, and astrong smell which it spread through the apartment, accredited theknight's suspicion that the medicine chiefly consisted of what werethen termed distilled waters, a preparation known in the monasteriesfor some time before that comfortable secret had reached the laity ingeneral. The abbot, neither overawed by the strength nor by thequantity of the potion, took it off with what he himself would havecalled a feeling of solace and pleasance, and his voice became muchmore composed; he signified himself as comforted extraordinarily by themedicine, and willing to proceed to answer any questions which could beput to him by his gallant young friend. 

"At present, " said the knight, "you are aware, father, that strangerstravelling through this country, must be the first objects of oursuspicions and enquiries. What is, for example, your own opinion of theyouth termed Augustine, the son, or calling himself so, of a personcalled Bertram the minstrel, who has resided for some days in yourconvent?"

The abbot heard the question with eyes expressive of surprise at thequarter from which it came. 

"Assuredly, " said he, "I think of him as a youth who, from any thing Ihave seen, is of that excellent disposition, both with respect toloyalty and religion, which I should have expected, were I to judgefrom the estimable person who committed him to my care. "

With this the abbot bowed to the knight, as if he had conceived thatthis repartee gave him a silencing advantage in any question whichcould follow upon that subject; and he was probably, therefore, surprised when Sir Aymer replied as follows:

"It is very true, Father Abbot, that I myself did recommend thisstripling to you as a youth of a harmless disposition, and with respectto whom it would be unnecessary to exercise the strict vigilanceextended to others in similar circumstances; but the evidence whichseemed to me to vouch for this young man's innocence, has not appearedso satisfactory to my superior and commander; and it is by his ordersthat I now make farther enquiries of you. You must think they are ofconsequence, since we again trouble you, and at so unwonted an hour. "

"I can only protest by my order, and by the veil of Saint Bride, "replied the abbot, the spirit of Celsus appearing to fail his pupil, "that whatever evil may be in this matter, is totally unknown to me--nor could it be extorted from me by racks or implements of torture. Whatever signs of disloyalty may have been evinced by this young man, Ihave witnessed none of them, although I have been strictly attentive tohis behaviour. "

"In what respect?" said the knight--"and what is the result of yourobservation?"

"My answer, " said the abbot of Saint Bride, "shall be sincere anddownright. The youth condescended upon payment of a certain number ofgold crowns, not by any means to repay the hospitality of the church ofSaint Bride, but merely"--

"Nay, father, " interrupted the knight, "you may cut that short, sincethe governor and I well understand the terms upon which the monks ofSaint Bride exercise their hospitality. In what manner, it is morenecessary to ask, was it received by this boy?"

"With the utmost gentleness and moderation, noble sir, " answered theabbot; "indeed it appeared to me, at first, that he might be atroublesome guest, since the amount of his benevolence to the conventwas such as to encourage, and, in some degree, to authorise, hisdemanding accommodation of a kind superior to what we had to bestow. "

"In which case, " said Sir Aymer, "you would have had the discomfort ofreturning some part of the money you have received?"

"That, " replied the abbot, "would have been a mode of settlementcontrary to our vows. What is paid to the treasury of Saint Bridget, cannot, agreeably to our rule, be on any account restored. But, nobleknight, there was no occasion for this; a crust of white bread and adraught of milk were diet sufficient to nourish this poor youth for aday, and it was my own anxiety for his health that dictated thefurnishing of his cell with a softer bed and coverlet than are quiteconsistent with the rules of our order. "

"Now hearken to what I say, Sir Abbot, and answer me truly, " said theKnight of Valence--"What communication has this youth held with theinmates of your convent, or with those beyond your house? Search yourmemory concerning this, and let me have a distinct answer, for yourguest's safety and your own depend upon it. "

"As I am a Christian man, " said the abbot, "I have observed nothingwhich could give ground for your worship's suspicions. The boyAugustine, unlike those whom I have observed who have been educated inthe world, showed a marked preference to the company of such sisters asthe house of Saint Bride contains, rather than for that of the monks, my brethren, although there are among them pleasant and conversiblemen. "

"Scandal, " said the young knight, "might find a reason for thatpreference. "

"Not in the case of the sisters of Saint Bridget, " said the abbot, "most of whom have been either sorely misused by time, or theircomeliness destroyed by some mishap previously to their being receivedinto the seclusion of the house. "

This observation the good father made with some internal movement ofmirth, which was apparently excited at the idea of the sisterhood ofSaint Bridget becoming attractive to any one by dint of their personalbeauty, in which, as it happened, they were all notably, and almostludicrously, deficient. The English knight, to whom the sisterhood werewell known, felt also inclined to smile at this conversation. 

"I acquit, " he said, "the pious sisterhood of charming, otherwise thanby their kind wishes, and attention to the wants of the sufferingstranger. "

"Sister Beatrice, " continued the father, resuming his gravity, "isindeed blessed with a winning gift of making comfits and syllabubs; but, on minute enquiry, I do not find that the youth has tasted any of them. Neither is sister Ursula so hard-favoured by nature, as from theeffects of an accident; but your honour knows that when a woman is ugly, the men do not trouble themselves about the cause of her hard favour. Iwill go, with your leave, and see in what state the youth now is, andsummon him, before you. "

"I request you to do so, father, for the affair is instant: and Iearnestly advise you to watch, in the closest manner, this Augustine'sbehaviour: you cannot be too particular. I will wait your return, andeither carry the boy to the castle, or leave him here, as circumstancesmay seem to require. "

The abbot bowed, promised his utmost exertions, and hobbled out of theroom to wait on the youth Augustine in his cell, anxious to favour, ifpossible, the wishes of De Valence, whom he looked upon as rendered bycircumstances his military patron. 

He remained long absent, and Sir Aymer began to be of opinion that thedelay was suspicious, when the abbot returned with perplexity anddiscomposure in his countenance. 

"I crave your pardon for keeping your worship waiting, " said Jerome, with much anxiety; "but I have myself been detained and vexed byunnecessary formalities and scruples on the part of this peevish boy. In the first place, hearing my foot approaching his bedroom, my youth, instead of undoing the door, which would have been but proper respectto my place, on the contrary draws a strong bolt on the inside; andthis fastening, forsooth, has been placed on his chamber by Ursula'scommand, that his slumbers might be suitably respected. I intimated tohim as I best could, that he must attend you without delay, and prepareto accompany you to the Castle of Douglas; but he would not answer asingle word, save recommending to me patience, to which I was fain tohave recourse, as well as your archer, whom I found standing sentinelbefore the door of the cell, and contenting himself with the assuranceof the sisters that there was no other passage by which Augustine couldmake his escape. At length the door opens, and my young master presentshimself fully arrayed for his journey. The truth is, I think some freshattack of his malady has affected the youth; he may perhaps bedisturbed with some touch of hypochondria, or black choler, a speciesof dotage of the mind, which is sometimes found concomitant with andsymptomatic of this disorder; but he is at present composed, and ifyour worship chooses to see him, he is at your command. "

"Call him hither, " said the knight. And a considerable space of timeagain elapsed ere the eloquence of the abbot, half chiding and halfsoothing, prevailed on the lady, in her adopted character, to approach, the parlour, in which at last she made her appearance, with acountenance on which the marks of tears might still be discovered, anda pettish sullenness, like that of a boy, or, with reverence, that of agirl, who is determined upon taking her own way in any matter, andequally resolved to give no reason for her doing so. Her hurried leveehad not prevented her attending closely to all the mufflings anddisguisings by which her pilgrim's dress was arranged, so as to alterher appearance, and effectually disguise her sex. But as civilityprevented her wearing her large slouched hat, she necessarily exposedher countenance more than in the open air; and though the knight behelda most lovely set of features, yet they were not such as wereinconsistent with the character she had adopted, and which she hadresolved upon maintaining to the last. She had, accordingly, musteredup a degree of courage which was not natural to her, and which sheperhaps supported by hopes which her situation hardly admitted. So soonas she found herself in the same apartment with De Valence, she assumeda style of manners, bolder and more determined than she had hithertodisplayed. 

"Your worship, " she said, addressing him even before he spoke, "is aknight of England, and possessed, doubtless, of the virtues whichbecome that noble station. I am an unfortunate lad, obliged, by reasonswhich I am under the necessity of keeping secret, to travel in adangerous country, where I am suspected, without any just cause, ofbecoming accessory to plots and conspiracies which are contrary to myown interest, and which my very soul abhors; and which I might safelyabjure, by imprecating upon myself all the curses of our religion andrenouncing all its promises, if I were accessory to such designs, inthought, word, or deed. Nevertheless, you, who will not believe mysolemn protestations, are about to proceed against me as a guiltyperson, and in so doing I must warn you, Sir Knight, that you willcommit a great and cruel injustice. "

"I shall endeavour to avoid that, " said the knight, "by referring theduty to Sir John de Walton, the governor, who will decide what is to bedone; in this case, my only duty will be to place you in his hands atDouglas Castle. "

"Must you do this?" said Augustine. 

"Certainly, " replied the knight, "or be answerable for neglecting myduty. "

"But if I become bound to answer your loss with a large sum of money, alarge tract of land"--

"No treasure, no land, --supposing such at your disposal, " answered theknight, "can atone for disgrace; and, besides, boy, how should I trustto your warrant, were my avarice such as would induce me to listen tosuch proposals?"

"I must then prepare to attend you instantly to the Castle of Douglasand the presence of Sir John de Walton?" replied Augustine. 

"Young man, " answered De Valence, "there is no remedy, since if youdelay me longer, I must carry you thither by force. "

"What will be the consequence to my father?" said the youth. 

"That, " replied the knight, "will depend exactly on the nature of yourconfession and his; something you both have to say, as is evident fromthe terms of the letter Sir John de Walton conveyed to you; and Iassure you, you were better to speak it out at once than to risk theconsequences of more delay. I can admit of no more trifling; and, believe me, that your fate will be entirely ruled by your own franknessand candour. "

"I must prepare, then, to travel at your command, " said the youth. "Butthis cruel disease still hangs around me, and Abbot Jerome, whoseleech-craft is famous, will himself assure you that I cannot travelwithout danger of my life; and that while I was residing in thisconvent, I declined every opportunity of exercise which was offered meby the kindness of the garrison at Hazelside, lest I might by mishapbring the contagion among your men. "

"The youth says right, " said the abbot; "the archers and men-at-armshave more than once sent to invite this lad to join in some of theirmilitary games, or to amuse them, perhaps, with some of his minstrelsy;but he has uniformly declined doing so; and, according to my belief, itis the effects of this disorder which have prevented his accepting anindulgence so natural to his age, and in so dull a place as the conventof Saint Bride must needs seem to a youth bred up in the world. "

"Do you then hold, reverend father, " said Sir Aymer, "that there isreal danger in carrying this youth to the castle to-night, as Iproposed?"

"I conceive such danger, " replied the abbot, "to exist, not only as itmay occasion the relapse of the poor youth himself, but as particularlylikely, no preparations having been made, to introduce the infectionamong your honourable garrison; for it is in these relapses, more thanin the first violence of the malady, that it has been found mostcontagious. "

"Then, " said the knight, "you must be content, my friend, to give ashare of your room to an archer, by way of sentinel. "

"I cannot object, " said Augustine, "provided my unfortunate vicinitydoes not endanger the health of the poor soldier. "

"He will be as ready to do his duty, " said the abbot, "without the doorof the apartment as within it; and if the youth should sleep soundly, which the presence of a guard in his chamber might prevent, he is themore likely to answer your purpose on the morrow. "

"Let it be so, " said Sir Aymer; "so you are sure that you do notminister any facility of escape. "'

"The apartment, " said the monk, "hath no other entrance than that whichis guarded by the archer; but, to content you, I shall secure the doorin your presence. "

"So be it, then, " said the Knight of Valence; "this done, I myself willlie down without doffing my mail-shirt, and snatch a sleep till theruddy dawn calls me again to duty, when you, Augustine, will holdyourself ready to attend me to our Castle of Douglas. "

The bells of the convent summoned the inhabitants and inmates of SaintBride to morning prayers at the first peep of day. When this duty wasover, the knight demanded his prisoner. The abbot marshalled him to thedoor of Augustine's chamber. The sentinel who was stationed there, armed with a brown-bill, or species of partisan, reported that he hadheard no motion in the apartment during the whole night. The abbottapped at the door, but received no answer. He knocked again louder, but the silence was unbroken from within. 

"What means this?" said the reverend ruler of the convent of SaintBride; "my young patient has certainly fallen into a syncope or swoon!"

"I wish, Father Abbot, " said the knight, "that he may not have made hisescape instead, an accident which both you and I may be required toanswer, since, according to our strict duty, we ought to have keptsight of him, and detained him in close custody until daybreak. "

"I trust your worship, " said the abbot, "only anticipates a misfortunewhich I cannot think possible. "

"We shall speedily see, " said the knight; and raising his voice, hecalled aloud, so as to be heard within, "Bring crow-bars and levers, and burst me that door into splinters without an instant's delay. "

The loudness of his voice, and the stern tone in which he spoke, soonbrought around him the brethren of the house, and two or three soldiersof his own party, who were already busy in caparisoning their horses. The displeasure of the young knight was manifested by his flushedfeatures, and the abrupt manner in which he again repeated his commandsfor breaking open the door. This was speedily performed, though itrequired the application of considerable strength, and as the shatteredremains fell crashing into the apartment, De Valence sprung, and theabbot hobbled, into the cell of the prisoner, which, to the fulfilmentof their worst suspicions, they found empty. 

CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH. 

 Where is he? Has the deep earth swallow'd him? Or hath he melted like some airy phantom That shuns the approach of morn and the young sun? Or hath he wrapt him in Cimmerian darkness, And pass'd beyond the circuit of the sight With things of the night's shadows? ANONYMOUS. 

The disappearance of the youth, whose disguise and whose fate have, wehope, inclined our readers to take some interest in him, will requiresome explanation ere we proceed with the other personages of the story, and we shall set about giving it accordingly. 

When Augustine was consigned to his cell for the second time on thepreceding evening, both the monk and the young Knight of Valence hadseen the key turned upon him, and had heard him secure the door in theinside with the bolt which had been put on at his request by sisterUrsula, in whose affections the youth of Augustine, his extremehandsomeness, and, above all, his indisposition of body and hismelancholy of mind, had gained him considerable interest. 

So soon, accordingly, as Augustine re-entered his apartment, he wasgreeted in a whisper by the sister, who, during the interval of hisabsence, had contrived to slip into the cell, and having tappicedherself behind the little bed, came out with great appearance of joy, to greet the return of the youth. The number of little attentions, thedisposal of holly boughs, and such other evergreens as the seasonpermitted, showed the anxiety of the holy sisters to decorate thechamber of their guest, and the greetings of sister Ursula expressedthe same friendly interest, at the same time intimating that she wasalready in some degree in possession of the stranger's mystery. 

As Augustine and the holy sister were busied in exchange of confidence, the extraordinary difference between, their countenances and theirpersons must have struck any one who might have been accidentally awitness of their interview. The dark pilgrim's robe of the disguisedfemale was not a stronger contrast to the white woollen garment worn bythe votaress of Saint Bride, than the visage of the nun, seamed withmany a ghastly scar, and the light of one of her eyes extinguished forever, causing it to roll a sightless luminary in her head, was to thebeautiful countenance of Augustine, now bent with a confidential, andeven affectionate look, upon the extraordinary features of hercompanion. 

"You know, " said the supposed Augustine, "the principal part of mystory; can you, or will you, lend me your assistance? If not, mydearest sister, you must consent to witness my death, rather than myshame. Yes, sister Ursula, I will not be pointed at by the finger ofscorn, as the thoughtless maiden who sacrificed so much for a young man, of whose attachment she was not so well assured as she ought to havebeen. I will not be dragged before De Walton, for the purpose of beingcompelled, by threats of torture, to declare myself the female inhonour of whom he holds the Dangerous Castle. No doubt, he might beglad to give his hand in wedlock to a damsel whose dowry is so ample;but who can tell whether he will regard me with that respect whichevery woman would wish to command, or pardon that boldness of which Ihave been guilty, even though its consequences have been in his ownfavour?"

"Nay, my darling daughter, " answered the nun, "comfort yourself; for inall I can aid you, be assured I will. My means are somewhat more thanmy present situation may express, and, be assured, they shall be triedto the uttermost. Methinks, I still hear that lay which you sung to theother sisters and myself, although I alone, touched by feelings kindredto yours, had the address to comprehend that it told your own tale. "

"I am yet surprised, " said Augustine, speaking beneath her breath, "howI had the boldness to sing in your ears the lay, which, in fact, wasthe history of my disgrace. "

"Alas! that you will say so, " returned the nun; "there was not a wordbut what resembled those tales of love and of high-spirited daringwhich the best minstrels love to celebrate, and the noblest knights andmaidens weep at once and smile to hear. The Lady Augusta of Berkely, agreat heiress, according to the world, both in land and movable goods, becomes the King's ward by the death of her parents; and thus is on thepoint of being given away in marriage to a minion of the King ofEngland, whom in these Scottish valleys, we scruple not to call aperemptory tyrant. "

"I must not say so, my sister, " said the pilgrim; "and yet, true it is, that the cousin of the obscure parasite Gaviston, on whom the kingwished to confer my poor hand, was neither by birth, merit, norcircumstance, worthy of such an alliance. Meantime, I heard of the fameof Sir John de Walton; and I heard of it not with the less interestthat his feats of chivalry were said to adorn a knight, who, rich ineverything else, was poor in worldly goods, and in the smiles offortune. I saw this Sir John de Walton, and I acknowledge that athought, which had already intruded itself on my imagination, became, after this interview, by frequent recurrence, more familiar, and morewelcome to me. Methought that the daughter of a powerful English family, if she could give away with her hand such wealth as the world spoke of, would more justly and honourably bestow it in remedying the errors offortune in regard to a gallant knight like De Walton, than in patchingthe revenues of a beggarly Frenchman, whose only merit was in being thekinsman of a man who was very generally detested by the whole kingdomof England, excepting the infatuated monarch himself. "

"Nobly designed, my daughter, " said the nun; "what more worthy of anoble heart, possessing riches, beauty, birth, and rank, than to conferthem all upon indigent and chivalrous merit?"

"Such, dearest sister, was my intention, " replied Augustine; "but Ihave, perhaps, scarce sufficiently explained the manner in which Imeant to proceed. By the advice of a minstrel of our house, the samewho is now prisoner at Douglas, I caused exhibit a large feast uponChristmas eve, and sent invitations abroad to the young knights ofnoble name who were known to spend their leisure in quest of arms andadventures. When the tables were drawn, and the feast concluded, Bertram, as had been before devised, was called upon to take his harp. He sung, receiving from all who were present the attention due to aminstrel of so much fame. The theme which he chose, was the frequentcapture of this Douglas Castle, or, as the poet termed it, CastleDangerous. 'Where are the champions of the renowned Edward the First, 'said the minstrel, 'when the realm of England cannot furnish a manbrave enough, or sufficiently expert in the wars, to defend a miserablehamlet of the North against the Scottish rebels, who have vowed toretake it over our soldiers' heads ere the year rolls to an end? Whereare the noble ladies, whose smiles used to give countenance to theKnights of Saint George's Cross? Alas! the spirit of love and ofchivalry is alike dead amongst us--our knights are limited to pettyenterprises--and our noblest heiresses are given as prizes to strangers, as if their own country had no one to deserve them. '--Here stopt theharp; and I shame to say, that I myself, as if moved to enthusiasm bythe song of the minstrel, arose, and taking from my neck the chain ofgold which supported a crucifix of special sanctity, I made my vow, always under the King's permission, that I would give my hand, and theinheritance of my fathers, to the good knight, being of noble birth andlineage, who should keep the Castle of Douglas in the King of England'sname, for a year and a day. I sat down, my dearest sister, deafenedwith the jubilee in which my guests expressed their applause of mysupposed patriotism. Yet some degree of pause took place amidst theyoung knights, who might reasonably have been supposed ready to embracethis offer, although at the risk of being encumbered with Augusta ofBerkely. "

"Shame on the man, " said sister Ursula, "who should think so! Put yourbeauty alone, my dearest, into consideration, and a true knight oughtto have embraced the dangers of twenty Castles of Douglas, rather thanlet such an invaluable opportunity of gaining your favour be lost. "

"It may be that some in reality thought so, " said the pilgrim; "but itwas supposed that the king's favour might be lost by those who seemedtoo anxious to thwart his royal purpose upon his ward's hand. At anyrate, greatly to my joy, the only person who availed himself of theoffer I had made was Sir John de Walton; and as his acceptance of itwas guarded by a clause, saving and reserving the king's approbation, Ihope he has not suffered any diminution of Edward's favour. "

"Assure yourself, noble and high-spirited young lady, " replied the nun, "that there is no fear of thy generous devotion hurting thy lover withthe King of England. Something we hear concerning worldly passages, even in this remote nook of Saint Bride's cloister; and the report goesamong the English soldiers that their king was indeed offended at yourputting your will in opposition to his own; yet, on the other hand, this preferred lover, Sir John de Walton, was a man of such extensivefame, and your offer was so much in the character of better but notforgotten times, that even a king could not at the beginning of a longand stubborn war deprive an errant cavalier of his bride, if she shouldbe duly won by his sword and lance. "

"Ah! dearest sister Ursula!" sighed the disguised pilgrim, "but, on theother hand, how much time must pass by in the siege, by defeating whichthat suit must needs be advanced? While I sat in my lonely castle, tidings came to astound me with the numerous, or rather the constantdangers, with which my lover was surrounded, until at length, in amoment I think of madness, I resolved to set out in this masculinedisguise; and having myself with my own eyes seen in what situation Ihad placed my knight, I determined to take such measures in respect toshortening the term of his trial, or otherwise, as a sight of DouglasCastle, and--why should I deny it?--of Sir John de Walton, mightsuggest. Perhaps you, my dearest sister, may not so well understand mybeing tempted into flinching from the resolution which I had laid downfor my own honour, and that of my lover; but consider, that myresolution was the consequence of a moment of excitation, and that thecourse which I adopted was the conclusion of a long, wasting, sickeningstate of uncertainty, the effect of which was to weaken the nerveswhich were once highly strung with love of my country, as I thought;but in reality, alas! with fond and anxious feelings of a more selfishdescription. "

"Alas!" said sister Ursula, evincing the strongest symptoms of interestand compassion, "am I the person, dearest child, whom you suspect ofinsensibility to the distresses which are the fruit of true love? Doyou suppose that the air which is breathed within these walls has theproperty upon the female heart, of such marvellous fountains as theysay change into stone the substances which are immersed into theirwaters? Hear my tale, and judge if it can be thus with one whopossesses my causes of grief. And do not fear for loss of time; we mustlet our neighbours at Hazelside be settled for the evening, ere Ifurnish you with the means of escape; and you must have a trusty guide, for whose fidelity I will be responsible, to direct your path throughthese woods, and protect you in case of any danger, too likely to occurin these troublesome times. It will thus be nigh an hour ere youdepart; and sure I am that in no manner can you spend the time betterthan in listening to distresses too similar to your own, and flowingfrom the source of disappointed affection which you must needssympathize with. "

The distresses of the Lady Augusta did not prevent her being in somedegree affected, almost ludicrously, with the singular contrast betweenthe hideous countenance of this victim of the tender passion, and thecause to which she imputed her sorrows; but it was not a moment forgiving way to a sense of the ridiculous, which would have been in thehighest degree offensive to the sister of Saint Bride, whose good-willshe had so many reasons to conciliate. She readily, therefore, succeeded in preparing herself to listen to the votary--with anappearance of sympathy, which might reward that which she had herselfexperienced at the hands of sister Ursula; while the unfortunaterecluse, with an agitation which made her ugliness still moreconspicuous, narrated, nearly in a whisper, the followingcircumstances:--

"My misfortunes commenced long before I was called sister Ursula, orsecluded as a votaress within these walls. My father was a noble Norman, who, like many of his countrymen, sought and found fortune at the courtof the King of Scotland. He was endowed with the sheriffdom of thiscounty, and Maurice de Hattely, or Hautlieu, was numbered among thewealthy and powerful barons of Scotland. Wherefore should I deny it, that the daughter of this baron, then called Margaret de Hautlieu, wasalso distinguished among the great and fair of the land? It can beno censurable vanity which provokes me to speak the truth, and unless Itell it myself, you could hardly suspect what a resemblance I once boreeven to the lovely Lady Augusta of Berkely. About this time broke outthose unfortunate feuds of Bruce and Baliol, which have been so longthe curse of this country. My father, determined in his choice of partyby the arguments of his wealthy kinsmen at the court of Edward, embraced with passion the faction of the English interest, and becameone of the keenest partisans, at first of John Baliol, and afterwardsof the English monarch. None among the Anglocised-Scottish, as hisparty was called, were so zealous as he for the red cross, and no onewas more detested by his countrymen who followed the national standardof Saint Andrew and the patriot Wallace. Among those soldiers of thesoil, Malcolm Fleming of Biggar was one of the most distinguished byhis noble birth, his high acquirements, and his fame in chivalry. I sawhim; and the ghastly spectre who now addresses you must not be ashamedto say, that she loved, and was beloved by, one of the handsomestyouths in Scotland. Our attachment was discovered to my father almostere we had owned it to each other, and he was furious both against mylover and myself; he placed me under the charge of a religious woman ofthis rule, and I was immured within the house of Saint Bride, where myfather shamed not to announce he would cause me to take the veil byforce, unless I agreed to wed a youth bred at the English court, hisnephew; and, as Heaven had granted him no son, the heir, as he hadresolved, of the house of Hautlieu. I was not long in making myelection. I protested that death should be my choice, rather than anyother husband excepting Malcolm Fleming. Neither was my lover lessfaithful; he found means to communicate to me a particular night onwhich he proposed to attempt to storm the nunnery of Saint Bride, andcarry me from hence to freedom and the greenwood, of which Wallace wasgenerally called the king. In an evil hour--an hour I think ofinfatuation and witchery--I suffered the abbess to wheedle the secretout of me, which I might have been sensible would appear more horriblyflagitious to her than to any other woman that breathed; but I had nottaken the vows, and I thought Wallace and Fleming had the same charmsfor every body as for me, and the artful woman gave me reason tobelieve that her loyalty to Bruce was without a flaw of suspicion, andshe took part in a plot of which my freedom was the object. The abbessengaged to have the English guards removed to a distance, and inappearance the troops were withdrawn. Accordingly, in the middle of thenight appointed, the window of my cell, which was two stories from theground, was opened without noise; and never were my eyes more gladdenedthan, as ready disguised and arrayed for flight, even in a horseman'sdress, like yourself, fairest. Lady Augusta, I saw Malcolm Flemingspring into the apartment. He rushed towards me; but at the same timemy father with ten of his strongest men filled the room, and criedtheir war-cry of Baliol. Blows were instantly dealt on every side. Aform like a giant, however, appeared in the midst of the tumult, anddistinguished himself, even to my half-giddy eye, by the ease withwhich he bore down and dispersed those who fought against our freedom. My father alone offered an opposition which threatened to prove fatalto him; for Wallace, it was said, could foil any two martial championsthat ever drew sword. Brushing from him the armed men, as a lady woulddrive away with her fan a swarm of troublesome flies, he secured me inone arm, used his other for our mutual protection, and I found myselfin the act of being borne in safety down the ladder by which mydeliverers had ascended from without, --but an evil fate awaited thisattempt. 

"My father, whom the Champion of Scotland had spared for my sake, orrather for Fleming's, gained by his victor's compassion and lenity afearful advantage, and made a remorseless use of it. Having only hisleft hand to oppose to the maniac attempts of my father, even thestrength of Wallace could not prevent the assailant, with all theenergy of desperation, from throwing down the ladder, on which hisdaughter was perched like a dove in the grasp of an eagle. The championsaw our danger, and exerting his inimitable strength and agility, cleared himself and me from the ladder, and leaped free of the moat ofthe convent, into which we must otherwise have been precipitated. TheChampion of Scotland was saved in the desperate attempt, but I who fellamong a heap of stones and rubbish, I the disobedient daughter, wellnigh the apostate vestal, waked only from a long bed of sickness, to find myself the disfigured wretch, which you now see me. I thenlearned that Malcolm had escaped from the fray, and shortly after Iheard, with feelings less keen perhaps than they ought to have been, that my father was slain in one of the endless battles which took placebetween the contending factions. If he had lived, I might havesubmitted to the completion of my fate; but since he was no more, Ifelt that it would be a preferable lot to be a beggar in the streets ofa Scottish village, than, an abbess in this miserable house of SaintBride; nor was even that poor object of ambition, on which my fatherused to expatiate when desirous of persuading me to enter the monasticstate by milder means than throwing me off the battlements, long opento me. The old abbess died of a cold caught the evening of the fray;and the place, which might have been kept open until I was capable offilling it, was disposed of otherwise, when the English thought fit toreform, as they termed it, the discipline of the house; and instead ofelecting a new abbess, sent hither two or three friendly monks, whohave now the absolute government of the community, and wield itentirely according to the pleasure of the English. But I, for one, whohave had the honour to be supported by the arms of the Champion of mycountry, will not remain here to be commanded by this Abbot Jerome. Iwill go forth, nor do I fear to find relations and friends, who willprovide a more fitting place of refuge for Margaret de Hautlieu thanthe convent of Saint Bride; you, too, dearest lady, shall obtain yourfreedom, and it will be well to leave such information as will make SirJohn de Walton aware of the devotion with which his happy fate hasinspired you. "

"It is not, then, your own intention, " said the Lady Augusta, "toreturn into the world again, and you are about to renounce the lover, in a union with whom you and he once saw your joint happiness?"

"It is a question, my dearest child, " said sister Ursula, "which I darenot ask myself, and to which I am absolutely uncertain what answer Ishould return. I have not taken the final and irrevocable vows; I havedone nothing to alter my situation with regard to Malcolm Fleming. Healso, by the vows plighted in the Chancery of Heaven, is my affiancedbridegroom, nor am I conscious that I less deserve his faith, in anyrespect now, than at the moment when it was pledged to me; but, Iconfess, dearest lady, that rumours have reached me, which sting me tothe quick; the reports of my wounds and scars are said to haveestranged the knight of my choice. I am now, indeed, poor, " she added, with a sigh, "and I am no longer possessed of those personal charms, which they say attract the love, and fix the fidelity, of the other sex. I teach myself, therefore, to think, in my moments of settledresolution, that all betwixt me and Malcolm Fleming is at an end, saving good wishes on the part of both towards the other; and yet thereis a sensation in my bosom which whispers, in spite of my reason, thatif I absolutely believed that which I now say, there would be no objecton earth worthy my living for in order to attain it. This insinuatingprepossession whispers, to my secret soul, and in very opposition to myreason and understanding, that Malcolm Fleming, who could pledge hisall upon the service of his country, is incapable of nourishing theversatile affection of an ordinary, a coarse, or a venal character. Methinks, were the difference upon his part instead of mine, he wouldnot lose his interest in my eyes, because he was seamed with honourablescars, obtained in asserting the freedom of his choice, but that suchwounds would, in my opinion, add to his merit, whatever they took awayfrom his personal comeliness. Ideas rise on my soul, as if Malcolm andMargaret might yet be to each other all that their affections onceanticipated with so much security, and that a change, which tooknothing from the honour and virtue of the beloved person, must ratheradd to, than diminish, the charms of the union. Look at me, dearestLady Augusta!--look me--if you have courage--full in the face, and tellme whether I do not rave when my fancy is thus converting merepossibilities into that which is natural and probable. "

The Lady of Berkely, conscious of the necessity, raised her eyes on theunfortunate nun, afraid of losing her own chance of deliverance by themode in which she should conduct herself in this crisis; yet notwilling at the same time to flatter the unfortunate Ursula, withsuggesting ideas for which her own sense told her she could hardly findany rational grounds. But her imagination, stored with the minstrelsyof the time, brought back to her recollection the Loathly Lady in "Themarriage of Sir Gawain, " and she conducted her reply in the followingmanner:--

"You ask me, my dear Lady Margaret, a trying question, which it wouldbe unfriendly to answer otherwise than sincerely, and most cruel toanswer with too much rashness. It is true, that what is called beauty, is the first quality on which we of the weaker sex learn to set avalue; we are flattered by the imputation of personal charms, whetherwe actually possess them or not; and no doubt we learn to place uponthem a great deal more consequence than in reality is found to belongto them. Women, however, even, such as are held by their own sex, andperhaps in secret by themselves, as devoid of all pretensions to beauty, have been known to become, from their understanding, their talents, ortheir accomplishments, the undoubted objects of the warmest attachment. Wherefore then should you, in the mere rashness of your apprehension, deem it impossible that your Malcolm Fleming should be made of thatporcelain clay of the earth, which despises the passing captivations ofoutward form in comparison to the charms of true affection, and theexcellence of talents and virtue?"

The nun pressed her companion's hand to her bosom, and answered herwith a deep sigh. 

"I fear, " she said, "you flatter me; and yet in a crisis like this, itdoes one good to be flattered, even as cordials, otherwise dangerous tothe constitution, are wisely given to support a patient through aparoxysm of agony, and enable him to endure at least what they cannotcure. Answer only one question, and it will be time to drop thisconversation. Could you, sweet lady--you upon whom fortune has bestowedso many charms--could any argument make you patient under theirretrievable loss of your personal advantages, with the concomitantloss, as in my case is most probable, of that lover for whom you havealready done so much?"

The English lady cast her eyes again on her friend, and could not helpshuddering a little at the thought of her own beautiful countenancebeing exchanged for the seamed and scarred features of the Lady ofHautlieu, irregularly lighted by the beams of a single eye. 

"Believe me, " she said, looking solemnly upwards, "that even in thecase which you suppose, I would not sorrow so much for myself, as Iwould for the poor-spirited thoughts of the lover who could leave mebecause those transitory charms (which must in any case erelong taketheir departure) had fled ere yet the bridal day. It is, however, concealed by the decrees of Providence, in what manner, or to whatextent, other persons, with whose disposition we are not fullyacquainted, may be affected by such changes. I can only assure you thatmy hopes go with yours, and that there is no difficulty which shallremain in your path in future, if it is in my power to remove it. --Hark!"--

"It is the signal of our freedom, " replied Ursula, giving attention tosomething resembling the whoop of the night-owl. "We must prepare toleave the convent in a few minutes. Have you anything to take withyou?"

"Nothing, " answered the Lady of Berkely, "except the few valuables, which I scarce know why I brought with me on my flight hither. Thisscroll, which I shall leave behind, gives my faithful minstrelpermission to save himself, by confessing to Sir John de Walton who theperson really is whom he has had within his reach. "

"It is strange, " said the novice of Saint Bride, "through whatextraordinary labyrinths this Love, this Will-of-the-Wisp, guides hisvotaries, Take heed as you descend; this trap-door, carefully concealed, curiously jointed and oiled, leads to a secret postern, where Iconceive the horses already wait, which will enable us speedily to bidadieu to Saint Bride's--Heaven's blessing on her, and on her convent!We can have no advantage from any light, until we are in the open air. "

During this time, sister Ursula, to give her for the last time herconventual name, exchanged her stole, or loose upper garment, for themore succinct cloak and hood of a horseman. She led the way throughdivers passages, studiously complicated, until the Lady of Berkely, with throbbing heart, stood in the pale and doubtful moonlight, whichwas shining with grey uncertainty upon the walls of the ancientbuilding. The imitation of an owlet's cry directed them to aneighbouring large elm, and on approaching it, they were aware of threehorses, held by one, concerning whom they could only see that he wastall, strong, and accoutred in the dress of a man-at-arms. 

"The sooner, " he said, "we are gone from this place, Lady Margaret, itis so much the better. You have only to direct the course which weshall hold. "

Lady Margaret's answer was given beneath her breath; and replied towith a caution from the guide to ride slowly and silently for the firstquarter of an hour, by which time inhabited places would be left at adistance. 

CHAPTER THE TWELFTH. 

Great was the astonishment of the young Knight of Valence and thereverend Father Jerome, when, upon breaking into the cell, theydiscovered the youthful pilgrim's absence; and, from the garments whichwere left, saw every reason to think that the one-eyed novice, sisterUrsula, had accompanied him in his escape from custody. A thousandthoughts thronged upon Sir Aymer, how shamefully he had sufferedhimself to be outwitted by the artifices of a boy and of a novice. Hisreverend companion in error felt no less contrition for havingrecommended to the knight a mild exercise of his authority. FatherJerome had obtained his preferment as abbot upon the faith of his zealfor the cause of the English monarch, with the affected interest inwhich he was at a loss to reconcile his proceedings of the last night. A hurried enquiry took place, from which little could be learned, savethat the young pilgrim had most certainly gone off with the LadyMargaret de Hautlieu, an incident at which the females of the conventexpressed surprise, mingled with a great deal of horror; while that ofthe males, whom the news soon reached, was qualified with a degree ofwonder, which seemed to be founded upon the very different personalappearance of the two fugitives. 

"Sacred Virgin, " said a nun, "who could have conceived the hopefulvotaress, sister Ursula, so lately drowned in tears for her father'suntimely fate, capable of eloping with a boy scarce fourteen yearsold!"

"And, holy Saint Bride!" said the Abbot Jerome, "what could have madeso handsome a young man lend his arm to assist such a nightmare assister Ursula, in the commission of so great an enormity? Certainly hecan neither plead temptation nor seduction, but must have gone, as theworldly phrase is, --to the devil with a dish-clout. "

"I must disperse the soldiers to pursue the fugitives, " said De Valence, "unless this letter, which the pilgrim must have left behind him, shallcontain some explanations respecting our mysterious prisoner. "

After viewing the contents with some surprise, he read aloud, --"Theundersigned, late residing in the house of Saint Bride, do you, fatherJerome, the abbot of said house, to know, that finding you weredisposed to treat me as a prisoner and a spy, in the sanctuary to whichyou had received me as a distressed person, I have resolved to use mynatural liberty, with which you have no right to interfere, andtherefore have withdrawn myself from your abbacy. Moreover, findingthat the novice called in your convent sister Ursula (who hath, bymonastic rule and discipline, a fair title to return to the worldunless she is pleased, after a year's novitiate, to profess herselfsister of your order) is determined to use such privilege, I joyfullytake the opportunity of her company in this her lawful resolution, asbeing what is in conformity to the law of God, and the precepts ofSaint Bride, which gave you no authority to detain any person in yourconvent by force, who hath not taken upon her irrevocably the vows ofthe order. 

"To you, Sir John de Walton, and Sir Aymer de Valence, knights ofEngland, commanding the garrison of Douglas Dale, I have only to say, that you have acted and are acting against me under a mystery, thesolution of which is comprehended in a secret known only to my faithfulminstrel, Bertram of the many Lays, as whose son I have found itconvenient to pass myself. But as I cannot at this time prevail uponmyself personally to discover a secret which cannot well be unfoldedwithout feelings of shame, I not only give permission to the saidBertram the minstrel, but I charge and command him that he tell to youthe purpose with which I came originally to the Castle of Douglas. Whenthis is discovered, it will only remain to express my feelings towardsthe two knights, in return for the pain and agony of mind which theirviolence and threats of further severities have occasioned me. 

"And first respecting Sir Aymer de Valence, I freely and willinglyforgive him for having been involved in a mistake to which I myself ledthe way, and I shall at all times be happy to meet with him as anacquaintance, and never to think farther of his part in these few days'history, saving as matter of mirth and ridicule. 

"But respecting Sir John de Walton, I must request of him to considerwhether his conduct towards me, standing as we at present do towardseach, other, is such as he himself ought to forget or I ought toforgive; and I trust he will understand me when I tell him, that allformer connexions must henceforth be at an end between him and thesupposed "AUGUSTINE. "

"This is madness, " said the abbot, when he had read the letter, --"verymidsummer madness; not unfrequently an accompaniment of thispestilential disease, and I should do well in requiring of thosesoldiers who shall first apprehend this youth Augustine, that theyreduce his victuals immediately to water and bread, taking care thatthe diet do not exceed in measure what is necessary to sustain nature;nay, I should be warranted by the learned, did I recommend a sufficientintermixture of flagellation with belts, stirrup-leathers, orsurcingles, and failing those, with riding-whips, switches, and thelike. "

"Hush! my reverend father, " said De Valence, "a light begins to breakin upon me. John de Walton, if my suspicions be true, would soonerexpose his own flesh to be hewn from his bones, than have thisAugustine's finger stung by a gnat. Instead of treating this youth as amadman, I for my own part, will be contented to avow that I myself havebeen bewitched and fascinated; and by my honour, if I send out myattendants in quest of the fugitives, it shall be with the strictcharge, that, when apprehended, they treat them with all respect, andprotect them, if they object to return to this house, to any honourableplace of refuge which they may desire. "

"I hope, " said the abbot, looking strangely confused, "I shall be firstheard in behalf of the Church concerning this affair of an abductednun? You see yourself, Sir Knight, that this scapegrace of a minstrelavouches neither repentance nor contrition at his share in a matter soflagitious. "

"You shall be secured an opportunity of being fully heard, " replied theknight, "if you shall find at last that you really desire one. Meantime, I must back, without a moment's delay, to inform Sir John de Walton ofthe turn which affairs have taken. Farewell, reverend father. By myhonour we may wish each other joy that we have escaped from atroublesome charge, which brought as much terror with it as thephantoms of a fearful dream, and is yet found capable of beingdispelled by a cure as simple as that of awakening the sleeper. But, bySaint Bride! both churchmen and laymen are bound to sympathise with theunfortunate Sir John de Walton. I tell thee, father, that if thisletter"--touching the missive with his finger--"is to be construedliterally, as far as respects him, he is the man most to be pitiedbetwixt the brink of Solway and the place where we now stand. Suspendthy curiosity, most worthy churchman, lest there should be more in thismatter than I myself see; so that, while thinking that I have lightedon the true explanation, I may not have to acknowledge that I have beenagain leading you into error. Sound to horse there! Ho?" he called outfrom the window of the apartment; "and let the party I brought hitherprepare to scour the woods on their return. "

"By my faith!" said Father Jerome, "I am right glad that this youngnut-cracker is going to leave me to my own meditation. I hate when ayoung person pretends to understand whatever passes, while his bettersare obliged to confess that it is all a mystery to them. Such anassumption is like that of the conceited fool, sister Ursula, whopretended to read with a single eye a manuscript which I myself couldnot find intelligible with the assistance of my spectacles. "

This might not have quite pleased the young knight, nor was it one ofthose truths which the abbot would have chosen to deliver in hishearing. But the knight had shaken him by the hand, said adieu, and wasalready at Hazelside, issuing particular orders to little troops of thearchers and others, and occasionally chiding Thomas Dickson, who, witha degree of curiosity which the English knight was not very willing toexcuse, had been endeavouring to get some account of the occurrences ofthe night. 

"Peace, fellow!" he said, "and mind thine own business, being wellassured that the hour will come in which it will require all theattention thou canst give, leaving others to take care of their ownaffairs. "

"If I am suspected of any thing, " answered Dickson, in a tone ratherdogged and surly than otherwise, "methinks it were but fair to let meknow what accusation is brought against me. I need not tell you thatchivalry prescribes that a knight should not attack an enemy undefied. "

"When you are a knight, " answered Sir Aymer de Valence, "it will betime enough for me to reckon with you upon the points of form due toyou by the laws of chivalry. Meanwhile, you had best let me know whatshare you have had in playing off the martial phantom which sounded therebellious slogan of Douglas in the town of that name?"

"I know nothing of what you speak, " answered the goodman of Hazelside. 

"See then, " said the knight, "that you do not engage yourself in theaffairs of other people, even if your conscience warrants that you arein no danger from your own. "

So saying, he rode off, not waiting any answer. The ideas which filledhis head were to the following purpose. 

"I know not how it is, but one mist seems no sooner to clear away than. We find ourselves engaged in another. I take it for granted that thedisguised damsel is no other than the goddess of Walton's privateidolatry, who has cost him and me so much trouble, and some certain, degree of misunderstanding during these last weeks. By my honour! thisfair lady is right lavish in the pardon which she has so franklybestowed upon me, and if she is willing to be less complaisant to SirJohn de Walton, why then--And what then?--It surely does not infer thatshe would receive me into that place in her affections, from which shehas just expelled De Walton? Nor, if she did, could I avail myself of achange in favour of myself, at the expense of my friend and companionin arms. It were a folly even to dream of a thing so improbable. Butwith respect to the other business, it is worth serious consideration. Yon sexton seems to have kept company with dead bodies, until he isunfit for the society of the living; and as to that Dickson ofHazelside, as they call him, there is no attempt against the Englishduring these endless wars, in which that man has not been concerned;had my life depended upon it, I could not have prevented myself fromintimating my suspicions of him, let him take it as he lists. " Sosaying, the knight spurred his horse, and arriving at Douglas Castlewithout farther adventure, demanded in a tone of greater cordialitythan he had of late used, whether he could be admitted to Sir John deWalton, having something of consequence to report to him. He wasimmediately ushered into an apartment, in which the governor was seatedat his solitary breakfast. Considering the terms upon which they hadlately stood, the governor of Douglas Dale was somewhat surprised atthe easy familiarity with which De Valence now approached him. 

"Some uncommon news, " said Sir John, rather gravely, "have brought methe honour of Sir Aymer de Valence's company. "

"It is, " answered Sir Aymer, "what seems of high importance to yourinterest, Sir John de Walton, and therefore I were to blame if I lost amoment in communicating it. "

"I shall be proud to profit by your intelligence, " said Sir John deWalton. 

"And I too, " said the young knight, "am both to lose the credit ofhaving penetrated a mystery which blinded Sir John de Walton. At thesame time, I do not wish to be thought capable of jesting with you, which might be the case were I, from misapprehension, to give a falsekey to this matter. With your permission, then, we will proceed thus:We go together to the place of Bertram the minstrel's confinement. Ihave in my possession a scroll from the young person who was intrustedto the care of the Abbot Jerome; it is written in a delicate femalehand, and gives authority to the minstrel to declare the purpose whichbrought them to this vale of Douglas. "

"It must be as you say, " said Sir John de Walton, "although can scarcesee occasion for adding so much form to a mystery which can beexpressed in such small compass. "

Accordingly the two knights, the warder leading the way, proceeded tothe dungeon to which the minstrel had been removed. 

CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH. 

The doors of the stronghold being undone, displayed a dungeon such asin those days held victims hopeless of escape, but in which theingenious knave of modern times would scarcely have deigned to remainmany hours. The huge rings by which the fetters were soldered together, and attached to the human body, were, when examined minutely, found tobe clenched together by riveting so very thin, that when rubbed withcorrosive acid, or patiently ground with a bit of sandstone, the holdof the fetters upon each other might easily be forced asunder, and thepurpose of them entirely frustrated. The locks also, large, andapparently very strong, were so coarsely made, that an artist of smallingenuity could easily contrive to get the better of their fasteningsupon the same principle. The daylight found its way to the subterraneandungeon only at noon, and through a passage which was purposely madetortuous, so as to exclude the rays of the sun, while it presented noobstacle to wind or rain. The doctrine that a prisoner was to beesteemed innocent until he should be found guilty by his peers, was notunderstood in those days of brute force, and he was only accommodatedwith a lamp or other alleviation of his misery, if his demeanour wasquiet, and he appeared disposed to give his jailor no trouble byattempting to make his escape. Such a cell of confinement was that ofBertram, whose moderation of temper and patience had neverthelessprocured for him such mitigations of his fate as the warder could grant. He was permitted to carry into his cell the old book, in the perusal ofwhich he found an amusement of his solitude, together with writingmaterials, and such other helps towards spending his time as wereconsistent with his abode in the bosom of the rock, and the degree ofinformation with which his minstrel craft had possessed him. He raisedhis head from the table as the knights entered, while the governorobserved to the young knight:--

"As you seem to think yourself possessed of the secret of this prisoner, I leave it to you, Sir Aymer de Valence, to bring it to light in themanner which you shall judge most expedient. If the man or his son havesuffered unnecessary hardship, it shall be my duty to make amends--which, I suppose, can be no very important matter. "

Bertram looked up, and fixed his eyes full upon the governor, but readnothing in his looks which indicated his being better acquainted thanbefore with the secret of his imprisonment. Yet, upon turning his eyetowards Sir Aymer, his countenance evidently lighted up, and the glancewhich passed between them was one of intelligence. 

"You have my secret, then, " said he, "and you know who it is thatpasses under the name of Augustine?"

Sir Aymer exchanged with him a look of acquiescence; while the eyes ofthe governor glancing wildly from the prisoner to the knight of Valence, exclaimed, --

"Sir Aymer de Valence, as you are belted knight and Christian man, asyou have honour to preserve on earth, and a soul to rescue after death, I charge you to tell me the meaning of this mystery! It may be that youconceive, with truth, that you have subject of complaint against me;--If so, I will satisfy you as a knight may. "

The minstrel spoke at the same moment. 

"I charge this knight, " he said, "by his vow of chivalry, that he donot divulge any secret belonging to a person of honour and of character, unless he has positive assurance that it is done entirely by thatperson's own consent. "

"Let this note remove your scruples, " said Sir Aymer, putting thescroll into the hands of the minstrel; "and for you, Sir John de Walton, far from retaining the least feeling of any misunderstanding which mayhave existed between us, I am disposed entirely to bury it inforgetfulness, as having arisen out of a series of mistakes which nomortal could have comprehended. And do not be offended, my dear SirJohn, when I protest, on my knightly faith, that I pity the pain whichI think this scroll is likely to give you, and that if my utmostefforts can be of the least service to you in unravelling this tangledskein, I will contribute them with as much earnestness as ever I didaught in my life. This faithful minstrel will now see that he can haveno difficulty in yielding up a secret, which I doubt not, but for thewriting I have just put into his hands, he would have continued to keepwith unshaken fidelity. "

Sir Aymer now placed in De Walton's hand a note, in which he had, erehe left Saint Bride's convent, signified his own interpretation, of themystery; and the governor had scarcely read the name it contained, before the same name was pronounced aloud by Bertram, who, at the samemoment, handed to the governor the scroll which he had received fromthe Knight of Valence. 

The white plume which floated over the knight's cap of maintenance, which was worn as a headpiece within doors, was not more pale incomplexion than was the knight himself at the unexpected and surprisinginformation, that the lady who was, in chivalrous phrase, empress ofhia thoughts, and commander of his actions, and to whom, even in lessfantastic times, he must have owed the deepest gratitude for thegenerous election which she had made in his favour, was the same personwhom he had threatened with personal violence, and subjected tohardships and affronts which he would not willingly have bestowed evenupon the meanest of her sex. 

Yet Sir John de Walton seemed at first scarcely to comprehend thenumerous ill consequences which might probably follow this unhappycomplication of mistakes. He took the paper from the minstrel's hand, and while his eye, assisted by the lamp, wandered over the characterswithout apparently their conveying any distinct impression to hisunderstanding, De Valence even became alarmed that he was about to losehis faculties. 

"For Heaven's sake, sir, " he said, "be a man, and support with manlysteadiness these unexpected occurrences--I would fain think they willreach to nothing else--which the wit of man could not have prevented. This fair lady, I would fain hope, cannot be much hurt or deeplyoffended by a train of circumstances, the natural consequence of youranxiety to discharge perfectly a duty upon which must depend theaccomplishment of all the hopes she had permitted you to entertain. InGod's name, rouse up, sir; let it not be said, that an apprehendedfrown of a fair lady hath damped to such a degree the courage of theboldest knight in England; be what men have called you, 'Walton theUnwavering;' in Heaven's name, let us at least see that the lady isindeed offended, before we conclude that she is irreconcilably so. Towhose fault are we to ascribe the source of all these errors? Surely, with all due respect, to the caprice of the lady herself, which hasengendered such a nest of mistakes. Think of it as a man, and as asoldier. Suppose that you yourself, or I, desirous of proving thefidelity of our sentinels, or for any other reason, good or bad, attempted to enter this Dangerous Castle of Douglas without giving thepassword to the warders, would we be entitled to blame those upon duty, if, not knowing our persons, they manfully refused us entrance, made usprisoners, and mishandled us while resisting our attempt, in terms ofthe orders which we ourselves had imposed upon them? What is there thatmakes a difference between such a sentinel and yourself, John de Walton, in this curious affair, which, by Heaven! would rather form a gaysubject for the minstrelsy of this excellent bard, than the theme of atragic lay? Come! look not thus, Sir John de Walton; be angry, if youwill, with the lady who has committed such a piece of folly, or with mewho have rode up and down nearly all night on a fool's errand, andspoiled my best horse, in absolute uncertainty how I shall get anothertill my uncle of Pembroke and I shall be reconciled; or, lastly, if youdesire to be totally absurd in your wrath, direct it against thisworthy minstrel on account of his rare fidelity, and punish him forthat for which he better deserves a chain of gold. Let passion out, ifyou will; but chase this desponding gloom from the brow of a man and abelted knight. "

Sir John de Walton made an effort to speak, and succeeded with somedifficulty. 

"Aymer de Valence, " he said, "in irritating a madman you do but sportwith your own life;" and then remained silent. 

"I am glad you can say so much, " replied his friend; "for I was notjesting when I said I would rather that you were at variance with me, than that you laid the whole blame on yourself. It would be courteous, I think, to set this minstrel instantly at liberty. Meantime, for hislady's sake, I will entreat him, in all honour, to be our guest tillthe Lady Augusta de Berkely shall do us the same honour, and to assistus in our search after her place of retirement. --Good minstrel, " hecontinued, "you hear what I say, and you will not, I suppose, besurprised, that in all honour and kind usage, you find yourselfdetained for a short space in this Castle of Douglas?"

"You seem, Sir Knight, " replied the minstrel, "not so much to keep youreye upon the right of doing what you should, as to possess the might ofdoing what you would. I must necessarily be guided by your advice, since you have the power to make it a command. "

"And I trust, " continued De Valence, "that when your mistress and youagain meet, we shall have the benefit of your intercession for anything which we may have done to displeasure her, considering that thepurpose of our action was exactly the reverse. "

"Let me, " said Sir John de Walton, "say a single word. I will offerthee a chain of gold, heavy enough to bear down the weight of theseshackles, as a sign of regret for having condemned thee to suffer somany indignities. "

"Enough said, Sir John, " said De Valence; "let us promise no more tillthis good minstrel shall see some sign of performance. Follow me thisway, and I will tell thee in private of other tidings, which it isimportant that you should know. "

So saying, he withdrew De Walton from the dungeon, and sending for theold knight, Sir Philip de Montenay, already mentioned, who acted asseneschal of the castle, he commanded that the minstrel should beenlarged from the dungeon, well looked to in other respects, yetprohibited, though with every mark of civility, from leaving the castlewithout a trusty attendant. 

"And now, Sir John de Walton, " he said, "methinks you are a littlechurlish in not ordering me some breakfast, after I have been all nightengaged in your affairs; and a cup of muscadel would, I think, be nobad induction to a full consideration of this perplexed matter. "

"Thou knowest, " answered De Walton, "that thou mayest call for whatthou wilt, provided always thou tellest me, without loss of time, whatelse thou knowest respecting the will of the lady, against whom we haveall sinned so grievously--and I, alas, beyond hope of forgiveness!"

"Trust me, I hope, " said the Knight of Valence, "the good lady bears meno malice, as indeed she has expressly renounced any ill-will againstme. The words, you see, are as plain as you yourself may read--'Thelady pardons poor Aymer de Valence, and willingly, for having beeninvolved in a mistake, to which she herself led the way; she herself willat all times be happy to meet with him as an acquaintance, and never tothink farther of these few days' history, except as matter of mirth andridicule. ' So it is expressly written and set down. "

"Yes, " replied Sir John de Walton, "but see you not that her offendinglover is expressly excluded from the amnesty granted to the lesseroffender? Mark you not the concluding paragraph?" He took the scrollwith a trembling hand, and read with a discomposed voice its closingwords. "It is even so: 'All former connexion must henceforth be at anend between him and the supposed Augustine. ' Explain to me how thereading of these words is reconcilable to anything but their plainsense of condemnation and forfeiture of contract, implying destructionof the hopes of Sir John de Walton?"

"You are somewhat an older man than I, Sir Knight, " answered De Valence, "and I will grant, by far the wiser and more experienced; yet I willuphold that there is no adopting the interpretation which you seem tohave affixed in your mind to this letter, without supposing thepreliminary, that the fair writer was distracted in her understanding, --nay, never start, look wildly, or lay your hand on your sword, I donot affirm this is the case. I say again, that no woman in her senseswould have pardoned a common acquaintance for his behaving to her withunintentional disrespect and unkindness, during the currency of acertain masquerade, and, at the same time, sternly and irrevocablybroke off with the lover to whom her troth was plighted, although hiserror in joining in the offence was neither grosser nor more protractedthan that of the person indifferent to her love. "

"Do not blaspheme, " said Sir John do Walton; "and forgive me, if, injustice to truth and to the angel whom I fear I have forfeited for ever, I point out to you the difference which a maiden of dignity and offeeling must make between an offence towards her, committed by anordinary acquaintance, and one of precisely the same kind offered by aperson who is bound by the most undeserved preference, by the mostgenerous benefits, and by every thing which can bind human feeling, tothink and reflect ere he becomes an actor in any case in which it ispossible for her to be concerned. "

"Now, by mine honour, " said Aymer de Valence, "I am glad to hear theemake some attempt at reason, although it is but an unreasonable kind ofreason too, since its object is to destroy thine own hopes, and argueaway thine own chance of happiness; but if I have, in the progress ofthis affair, borne me sometimes towards thee, as to give not only thegovernor, but even the friend, some cause of displeasure, I will makeit up to thee now, John de Walton, by trying to convince thee in spiteof thine own perverse logic. But here comes the muscadel and thebreakfast; wilt thou take some refreshment;--or shall we go on withoutthe spirit of muscadel?"

"For Heaven's sake, " replied De Walton, "do as thou wilt, so thou makeme clear of thy well-intended babble. "

"Nay, thou shalt not brawl me out of my powers of argument, " said DeValence, laughing, and helping himself to a brimming cup of wine; "ifthou acknowledgest thyself conquered, I am contented to give thevictory to the inspiring strength of the jovial liquor. "

"Do as thou listest, " said De Walton, "but make an end of an argumentwhich thou canst not comprehend. "

"I deny the charge, " answered the younger knight, wiping his lips, after having finished his draught; "and listen, Walton the Warlike, toa chapter in the history of woman, in which thou art more unskilledthan I would wish thee to be. Thou canst not deny that, be it right orwrong, the lady Augusta hath ventured more forward with you than isusual upon the sea of affection; she boldly made thee her choice, whilethou wert as yet known to her only as a flower of English chivalry, --faith, and I respect her for her frankness--but it was a choice, whichthe more cold of her own sex might perhaps claim occasion to term rashand precipitate. --Nay, be not, I pray thee, offended--I am far fromthinking or saying so; on the contrary, I will uphold with my lance, her selection of John de Walton against the minions of a court, to be awise and generous choice, and her own behaviour as alike candid andnoble. But she herself is not unlikely to dread unjust misconstruction;a fear of which may not improbably induce her, upon any occasion, toseize some opportunity of showing an unwonted and unusual rigourtowards her lover, in order to balance her having extended towards him, in the beginning of their intercourse, somewhat of an unusual degree offrank encouragement. Nay, it might be easy for her lover so far to takepart against himself, by arguing as thou dost, when out of thy senses, as to make it difficult for her to withdraw from an argument which hehimself was foolish enough to strengthen; and thus, like a maiden toosoon taken at her first nay-say, she shall perhaps be allowed noopportunity of bearing herself according to her real feelings, orretracting a sentence issued with consent of the party whose hopes itdestroys. "

"I have heard thee, De Valence, " answered the governor of Douglas Dale;"nor is it difficult for me to admit, that these thy lessons may serveas a chart to many a female heart, but not to that of Augusta deBerkely. By my life, I say I would much sooner be deprived of the meritof those few deeds of chivalry which thou sayest have procured for mesuch enviable distinction, than I would act upon them with theinsolence, as if I said that my place in the lady's bosom was toofirmly fixed to be shaken even by the success of a worthier man, or bymy own gross failure in respect to the object of my attachment. No, herself alone shall have power to persuade me that even goodness equalto that of an interceding saint will restore me to the place in heraffections which I have most unworthily forfeited, by a stupidity onlyto be compared to that of brutes. "

"If you are so minded, " said Aymer De Valence, "I have only one wordmore--forgive me if I speak it peremptorily--the lady, as you say, andsay truly, must be the final arbitress in this question. My argumentsdo not extend to insisting that you should claim her hand, whether sheherself will or no; but, to learn her determination, it is necessarythat you should find out where she is, of which I am unfortunately notable to inform you. "

"How! what mean you!" exclaimed the governor, who now only began tocomprehend the extent of his misfortune; "whither hath she fled? orwith whom?"

"She is fled, for what I know, " said De Valence, "in search of a moreenterprising lover than one who is so willing to interpret every air offrost as a killing blight to his hopes; perhaps she seeks the BlackDouglas, or some such hero of the Thistle, to reward with her lands, her lordships, and beauty, those virtues of enterprise and courage, ofwhich John de Walton was at one time thought possessed. But, seriously, events are passing around us of strange import. I saw enough last night, on my way to Saint Bride's, to make me suspicious of every one. I sentto you as a prisoner the old sexton of the church of Douglas. I foundhim contumacious as to some enquiries which I thought it proper toprosecute; but of this more at another time. The escape of this ladyadds greatly to the difficulties which encircle this devoted castle. "

"Aymer de Valence, " replied De Walton, in a solemn and animated tone, "Douglas Castle shall be defended, as we have hitherto been able, withthe aid of heaven, to spread from its battlements the broad banner ofSt. George. Come of me what lists during my life, I will die thefaithful lover of Augusta de Berkely, even although I no longer live asher chosen knight. There are cloisters and hermitages"--

"Ay, marry are there, " replied Sir Aymer; "and girdles of hemp, moreover, and beads of oak; but all these we omit in our reckonings, till we discover where the Lady Augusta is, and what she purposes to doin this matter. "

"You say well, " replied De Walton; "let us hold counsel together bywhat means we shall, if possible, discover the lady's too hasty retreat, by which she has done me great wrong; I mean, if she supposed hercommands would not have been fully obeyed, had she honoured with themthe governor of Douglas Dale, or any who are under his command. "

"Now, " replied De Valence, "you again speak like a true son of chivalry. With your permission I would summon this minstrel to our presence. Hisfidelity to his mistress has been remarkable; and, as matters stand now, we must take instant measures for tracing the place of her retreat. "

CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH. 

 The way is long, my children, long and rough The moors are dreary, and the woods are dark; But he that creeps from cradle on to grave, Unskill'd save in the velvet course of fortune, Hath miss'd the discipline of noble hearts. OLD PLAY. 

It was yet early in the day, when, after the Governor and De Valencehad again summoned Bertram to their councils, the garrison of Douglaswas mustered, and a number of small parties, in addition to thosealready despatched by De Valence from Hazelside, were sent out to scourthe woods in pursuit of the fugitives, with strict injunctions to treatthem, if overtaken, with the utmost respect, and to obey their commands, keeping an eye, however, on the place where they might take refuge. Tofacilitate this result, some who were men of discretion were intrustedwith the secret who the supposed pilgrim and the fugitive nun reallywere. The whole ground, whether forest or moorland, within many milesof Douglas Castle, was covered and traversed by parties, whose anxietyto detect the fugitives was equal to the reward for their safe recovery, liberally offered by De Walton and De Valence. They spared not, meantime, to make such enquiries in all directions as might bring tolight any machinations of the Scottish insurgents which might be onfoot in those wild districts, of which, as we have said before, DeValence, in particular, entertained strong suspicions. Theirinstructions were, in case of finding such, to proceed against thepersons engaged, by arrest and otherwise, in the most rigorous manner, such as had been commanded by De Walton himself at the time when theBlack Douglas and his accomplices had been the principal objects of hiswakeful suspicions. These various detachments had greatly reduced thestrength of the garrison; yet, although numerous, alert, and despatchedin every direction, they had not the fortune either to fall on thetrace of the Lady of Berkely, or to encounter any party whatever of theinsurgent Scottish. 

Meanwhile, our fugitives had, as we have seen, set out from the conventof St. Bride under the guidance of a cavalier, of whom the Lady Augustaknew nothing, save that he was to guide their steps in a directionwhere they would not be exposed to the risk of being overtaken. Atlength Margaret de Hautlieu herself spoke upon the subject. 

"You have made no enquiry, " she said, "Lady Augusta, whither you aretravelling, or under whose charge, although methinks it should muchconcern you to know. "

"Is it not enough for me to be aware, " answered Lady Augusta, "that Iam travelling, kind sister, under the protection of one to whom youyourself trust as to a friend; and why need I be anxious for anyfarther assurance of my safety?"

"Simply, " said Margaret, de Hautlieu, "because the persons with whom, from national as well as personal circumstances, I stand connected, areperhaps not exactly the protectors to whom you, lady, can with suchperfect safety intrust yourself. "

"In what sense, " said the Lady Augusta, "do you use these words?"

"Because, " replied Margaret de Hautlieu, "the Bruce, the Douglas, Malcolm Fleming, and others of that party, although they are incapableof abusing such an advantage to any dishonourable purpose, mightnevertheless, under a strong temptation, consider you as an hostagethrown into their hands by Providence, through whom they might meditatethe possibility of gaining some benefit to their dispersed anddispirited party. "

"They might make me, " answered the Lady Augusta, "the subject of such atreaty, when I was dead, but, believe me, never while I drew vitalbreath. Believe me also that, with whatever pain, shame, or agony, Iwould again deliver myself up to the power of De Walton, yes, I wouldrather put myself in his hands--what do I say? _his_!--I wouldrather surrender myself to the meanest archer of my native country, than combine with its foes to work mischief to merry England---my ownEngland--that country which is the envy of every other country, and thepride of all who can term themselves her natives!"

"I thought that your choice might prove so, " said Lady Margaret; "andsince you have honoured me with your confidence, gladly would I providefor your liberty by placing you as nearly in the situation which youyourself desire, as my poor means have the power of accomplishing. Inhalf an hour we shall be in danger of being taken by the Englishparties, which will be instantly dispersed in every direction in questof us. Now, take notice, lady, I know a place in which I can takerefuge with my friends and countrymen, those gallant Scots, who havenever even in this dishonoured age bent the knee to Baal. For theirhonour, their nicety of honour, I could in other days have answeredwith my own; but of late, I am bound to tell you, they have been put tothose trials by which the most generous affections may be soured, anddriven to a species of frenzy, the more wild that it is foundedoriginally on the noblest feelings. A person who feels himself deprivedof his natural birthright, denounced, exposed to confiscation and death, because he avouches the rights of his king, the cause of his country, ceases on his part to be nice or precise in estimating the degree ofretaliation which it is lawful for him to exercise in the requital ofsuch injuries; and, believe me, bitterly should I lament having guidedyou into a situation which you might consider afflicting or degrading. "

"In a word then, " said the English lady, "what is it you apprehend I amlike to suffer at the hands of your friends, whom I must be excused forterming rebels?"

"If, " said the sister Ursula, "_your_ friends, whom I should termoppressors and tyrants, take our land and our lives, seize our castles, and confiscate our property, you must confess, that the rough laws ofwar indulge _mine_ with the privilege of retaliation. There can beno fear, that such men, under any circumstances, would ever exercisecruelty or insult upon a lady of your rank; but it is another thing tocalculate that they will abstain from such means of extorting advantagefrom your captivity as are common in warfare. You would not, I think, wish to be delivered up to the English, on consideration of Sir John deWalton surrendering the Castle of Douglas to its natural lord; yet, were you in the hands of the Bruce or Douglas, although I can answerfor your being treated with all the respect which they have the meansof showing, yet I own, their putting you at such a ransom might be byno means unlikely. "

"I would sooner die, " said the Lady Berkely, "than have my name mixedup in a treaty so disgraceful; and De Walton's reply to it would, I amcertain, be to strike the head from the messenger, and throw it fromthe highest tower of Douglas Castle. "

"Where, then, lady, would you now go, " said sister Ursula, "were thechoice in your power?"

"To my own castle, " answered Lady Augusta, "where, if necessary, Icould be defended even against the king himself, until I could place atleast my person under the protection of the Church. "

"In that case, " replied Margaret de Hautlieu, "my power of renderingyou assistance is only precarious, yet it comprehends a choice which Iwill willingly submit to your decision, notwithstanding I therebysubject the secrets of my friends to some risk of being discovered andfrustrated. But the confidence which you have placed in me, imposes onme the necessity of committing to you a like trust. It rests with you, whether you will proceed with me to the secret rendezvous of theDouglas and his friends, which I may be blamed for making known, andthere take your chance of the reception which you may encounter, sinceI cannot warrant you of any thing save honourable treatment, so far asyour person is concerned; or if you should think this too hazardous, make the best of your way at once for the Border; in which last case Iwill proceed as far as I can with you towards the English line, andthen leave you to pursue your journey, and to obtain a guard and aconductor among your own countrymen. Meantime, it will be well for meif I escape being taken, since the abbot would not shrink at inflictingupon me the death due to an apostate nun. "

"Such cruelty, my sister, could hardly be inflicted upon one who hadnever taken the religious vows, and who still, according to the laws ofthe Church, had a right to make a choice between the world and theveil. "

"Such choice as they gave their gallant victims, " said Lady Margaret, "who have fallen into English hands during these merciless wars, --suchchoice as they gave to Wallace, the Champion of Scotland, --such as theygave to Hay, the gentle and the free, --to Sommerville, the flower ofchivalry, --and to Athol, the blood relation of King Edward himself--allof whom were as much traitors, under which name they were executed, asMargaret de Hautlieu is an apostate nun, and subject to the rule of thecloister. "

She spoke with some eagerness, for she felt as if the English ladyimputed to her more coldness than she was, in such doubtfulcircumstances, conscious of manifesting. 

"And after all, " she proceeded, "you, Lady Augusta de Berkely, what doyou venture, if you run the risk of falling into the hands of yourlover? What dreadful risk do you incur? You need not, methinks, fearbeing immured between four walls, with a basket of bread and a cruiseof water, which, were I seized, would be the only support allowed to mefor the short space that my life would be prolonged. Nay, even were youto be betrayed to the rebel Scots, as you call them, a captivity amongthe hills, sweetened by the hope of deliverance, and rendered tolerableby all the alleviations which the circumstances of your captors allowedthem the means of supplying, were not, I think, a lot so very hard toendure. "

"Nevertheless, " answered the Lady of Berkely, "frightful enough it musthave appeared to me, since, to fly from such, I threw myself upon yourguidance. "

"And, whatever you think or suspect, " answered the novice, "I am astrue to you as ever was one maiden to another; and as sure as eversister Ursula was true to her vows, although they were never completed, so will I be faithful to your secret, even at the risk of betraying myown. "

"Hearken, lady!" she said, suddenly pausing, "do you hear that?"

The sound to which she alluded was the same imitation of the cry of anowlet, which the lady had before heard under the walls of the convent. 

"These sounds, " said Margaret de Hautlieu, "announce that one is near, more able than I am to direct us in this matter. I must go forward andspeak with him; and this man, our guide, will remain by you for alittle space; nor, when he quits your bridle, need you wait for anyother signal, but ride forward on the woodland path, and obey theadvice and directions which will be given you. "

"Stay! stay! sister Ursula!" cried the Lady de Berkely--"abandon me notin this moment of uncertainty and distress!"

"It must be, for the sake of both, " returned Margaret de Hautlieu. "Ialso am in uncertainty--I also am in distress--and patience andobedience are the only virtues which can save us both. "

So saying, she struck her horse with the riding rod, and moving brisklyforward, disappeared among the tangled boughs of a thicket. The Lady ofBerkely would have followed her companion, but the cavalier whoattended them laid a strong hand upon the bridle of her palfrey, with alook which implied that he would not permit her to proceed in thatdirection. Terrified, therefore, though she could not exactly state areason why, the Lady of Berkely remained with her eyes fixed upon thethicket, instinctively, as it were, expecting to see a band of Englisharchers, or rugged Scottish insurgents, issue from its tangled skirts, and doubtful which she should have most considered as the objects ofher terror. In the distress of her uncertainty, she again attempted tomove forward, but the stern check which her attendant again bestowedupon her bridle, proved sufficiently that in restraining her wishes, the stranger was not likely to spare the strength which he certainlypossessed. At length, after some ten minutes had elapsed, the cavalierwithdrew his hand from her bridle, and pointing with his lance towardsthe thicket, through which there winded a narrow, scarce visible path, seemed to intimate to the lady that her road lay in that direction, andthat he would no longer prevent her following it. 

"Do you not go with me?" said the lady, who, having been accustomed tothis man's company since they left the convent, had by degrees come tolook upon him as a sort of protector. He, however, gravely shook hishead, as if to excuse complying with a request, which it was not in hispower to grant; and turning his steed in a different direction, retiredat a pace which soon carried him from her sight. She had then noalternative but to take the path of the thicket, which had beenfollowed by Margaret de Hautlieu, nor did she pursue it long beforecoming in sight of a singular spectacle. The trees grew wider as thelady advanced, and when she entered the thicket, she perceived that, though hedged in as it were by an enclosure of copsewood, it was in theinterior altogether occupied by a few of the magnificent trees, such asseemed to have been the ancestors of the forest, and which, though fewin number, were sufficient to overshade all the unoccupied ground, bythe great extent of their complicated branches. Beneath one of theselay stretched something of a grey colour, which, as it drew itselftogether, exhibited the figure of a man sheathed in armour, butstrangely accoutred, and in a manner so bizarre, as to indicate some ofthe wild fancies peculiar to the knights of that period. His armour wasingeniously painted, so as to represent a skeleton; the ribs beingconstituted by the corselet and its back-piece. The shield representedan owl with its wings spread, a device which was repeated upon thehelmet, which appeared to be completely covered by an image of the samebird of ill omen. But that which was particularly calculated to excitesurprise in the spectator, was the great height and thinness of thefigure, which, as it arose from the ground, and placed itself in anerect posture, seemed rather to resemble an apparition in the act ofextricating itself from the grave, than that of an ordinary man risingupon his feet. The horse, too, upon which the lady rode, started backand snorted, either at the sudden change of posture of this ghastlyspecimen of chivalry, or disagreeably affected by some odour whichaccompanied his presence. The lady herself manifested some alarm, foralthough she did not utterly believe she was in the presence of a supernatural being, yet, among all the strange half-frantic disguises ofchivalry this was assuredly the most uncouth which she had ever seen;and, considering how often the knights of the period pushed theirdreamy fancies to the borders of insanity, it seemed at best no verysafe adventure to meet? one accoutred in the emblems of the King ofTerrors himself, alone, and in the midst of a wild forest. Be theknight's character and purposes what they might, she resolved, however, to accost him in the language and manner observed in romances upon suchoccasions, in the hope even that if he were a madman he might prove apeaceable one, and accessible to civility. 

"Sir Knight, " she said, in as firm a tone as she could assume, "rightsorry am I, if, by my hasty approach, I have disturbed your solitarymeditations. My horse, sensible I think of the presence of yours, brought me hither, without my being aware whom or what I was toencounter. "

"I am one, " answered the stranger, in a solemn tone, "whom few men seekto meet, till the time comes that they can avoid me no longer. "

"You speak, Sir Knight, " replied the Lady de Berkely, "according to thedismal character of which it has pleased you to assume the distinction. May I appeal to one whose exterior is so formidable, for the purpose ofrequesting some directions to guide me through this wild wood; as, forinstance, what is the name of the nearest castle, town, or hostelry, and by what course I am best likely to reach such?"

"It is a singular audacity, " answered the Knight of the Tomb, "thatwould enter into conversation with him who is termed the Inexorable, the Unsparing, and the Pitiless, whom even the most miserable forbearsto call to his assistance, lest his prayers should be too soonanswered. "

"Sir Knight, " replied the Lady Augusta, "the character which you haveassumed, unquestionably for good reasons, dictates to you a peculiarcourse of speech; but although your part is a sad one, it does not, Ishould suppose, render it necessary for you to refuse those acts ofcivility to which you must have bound yourself in taking the high vowsof chivalry. "

"If you will trust to my guidance, " replied the ghastly figure, "thereis only one condition upon which I can grant you the information whichyou require; and that is, that you follow my footsteps without anyquestions asked as to the tendency of our journey. "

"I suppose I must submit to your conditions, " she answered, "if you areindeed pleased to take upon yourself the task of being my guide. In myheart I conceive you to be one of the unhappy gentlemen of Scotland, who are now in arms, as they say, for the defence of their liberties. Arash undertaking has brought me within the sphere of your influence, and now the only favour I have to request of you, against whom I neverdid, nor planned any evil, is the guidance which your knowledge of thecountry permits you easily to afford me in my way to the frontiers ofEngland. Believe that what I may see of your haunts or of yourpractices, shall be to me things invisible, as if they were actuallyconcealed by the sepulchre itself, of the king of which it has pleasedyou to assume the attributes; and if a sum of money, enough to be theransom of a wealthy earl, will purchase such a favour at need, such aransom will be frankly paid, and with as much fidelity as ever it wasrendered by a prisoner to the knight by whom he was taken. Do notreject me, princely Bruce--noble Douglas--if indeed it is to either ofthese that I address myself in this my last extremity--men speak ofboth as fearful enemies, but generous knights and faithful friends. Letme entreat you to remember how much you would wish your own friends andconnexions to meet with compassion under similar circumstances, at thehands of the knights of England. "

"And have they done so?" replied the Knight, in a voice more gloomythan before, "or do you act wisely, while imploring the protection ofone whom you believe to be a true Scottish knight, for no other reasonthan the extreme and extravagant misery of his appearance?--is it, Isay, well or wise to remind him of the mode in which the lords ofEngland have treated the lovely maidens and the high-born dames ofScotland? Have not their prison cages been suspended from thebattlements of castles, that their captivity might be kept in view ofevery base burgher, who should desire to look upon the miseries of thenoblest peeresses, yea, even the Queen of Scotland? [Footnote: TheQueen of Robert the Bruce, and the Countess of Buchan, by whom, as oneof Macduff's descent, he was crowned at Scone, were secured in themanner described. ] Is this a recollection which can inspire a Scottishknight with compassion towards an English lady? or is it a thoughtwhich can do aught but swell the deeply sworn hatred of EdwardPlantagenet, the author of these evils, that boils in every drop ofScottish blood which still feels the throb of life? No;--it is all youcan expect, if, cold and pitiless as the sepulchre I represent, I leaveyou unassisted in the helpless condition in which you describe yourselfto be. "

"You will not be so inhuman, " replied the lady; "in doing so you mustsurrender every right to honest fame, which you have won either bysword or lance. You must surrender every pretence to that justice whichaffects the merit of supporting the weak against the strong. You mustmake it your principle to avenge the wrongs and tyranny of EdwardPlantagenet upon the dames and damosels of England, who have neitheraccess to his councils, nor perhaps give him their approbation in hiswars against Scotland. "

"It would not then, " said the Knight of the Sepulchre, "induce you todepart from your request, should I tell you the evils to which youwould subject yourself should we fall into the hands of the Englishtroops, and should they find you under such ill-omened protection as myown?"

"Be assured, " said the lady, "the consideration of such an event doesnot in the least shake my resolution, or desire of confiding in yourprotection. You may probably know who I am, and may judge how far even, Edward would hold himself entitled to extend punishment towards me. "

"How am I to know you, " replied the ghastly cavalier, "or yourcircumstances? They must be extraordinary indeed, if they could form acheck, either of justice or humanity, upon the revengeful feelings ofEdward. All who know him are well assured that it is no ordinary motivethat will induce him to depart from the indulgence of his evil temper. But be it as it may, you, lady, if a lady you be, throw yourself as aburden upon me, and I must discharge myself of my trust as I best may;for this purpose you must be guided implicitly by my directions, whichwill be given after the fashion of those of the spiritual world, beingintimations, rather than detailed instructions for your conduct, andexpressed rather by commands, than, by any reason or argument. In thisway it is possible that I may be of service to you; in any other case, it is most likely that I may fail you at need, and melt from your sidelike a phantom which dreads the approach of day. "

"You cannot be so cruel!" answered the lady. "A gentleman, a knight, and a nobleman--and I persuade myself I speak to all--hath duties whichhe cannot abandon. "

"He has, I grant it, and they are most sacred to me, " answered theSpectral Knight; "but I have also duties whose obligations are doublybinding, and to which I must sacrifice those which would otherwise leadme to devote myself to your rescue. The only question is whether youfeel inclined to accept my protection on the limited terms on whichalone I can extend it, or whether you deem it better that each go theirown way, and limit themselves to their own resources, and trust therest to Providence?" "Alas!" replied the lady, "beset and hard pressedas I am, to ask me to form a resolution for myself, is like calling onthe wretch in the act of falling from a precipice, to form a calmjudgment by what twig he may best gain the chance of breaking his fall. His answer must necessarily be, that he will cling to that which he caneasiest lay hold of, and trust the rest to Providence. I accepttherefore your offer of protection in the modified way you are pleasedto limit it, and I put my faith in Heaven and in you. To aid meeffectually, however, you must know my name and my circumstances. "

"All these, " answered the Knight of the Sepulchre, "have already beentold me by your late companion; for deem not, young lady, that eitherbeauty, rank, extended domains, unlimited wealth, or the highestaccomplishments, can weigh any thing in the consideration of him whowears the trappings of the tomb, and whose affections and desires arelong buried in the charnel-house. "

"May your faith, " said the Lady Augusta de Berkely, "be as steady asyour words appear severe, and I submit to your guidance, without theleast doubt or fear that it will prove otherwise than as I venture tohope. "

CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH. 

Like the dog following its master, when engaged in training him to thesport in which he desires he should excel, the Lady Augusta feltherself occasionally treated with a severity, calculated to impressupon her the most implicit obedience and attention to the Knight of theTomb, in whom she had speedily persuaded herself she saw a principalman among the retainers of Douglas, if not James of Douglas himself. Still, however, the ideas which the lady had formed of the redoubtedDouglas, were those of a knight highly accomplished in the duties ofchivalry, devoted in particular to the service of the fair sex, andaltogether unlike the personage with whom she found herself sostrangely united, or rather for the present enthralled to. Nevertheless, when, as if to abridge farther communication, he turned short into oneof the mazes of the wood, and seemed to adopt a pace, which, from thenature of the ground, the horse on which the Lady Augusta was mountedhad difficulty to keep up with, she followed him with the alarm andspeed of the young spaniel, which from fear rather than fondness, endeavours to keep up with the track of its severe master. The simile, it is true, is not a very polite one, nor entirely becoming an age, when women were worshipped with a certain degree of devotion; but suchcircumstances as the present were also rare, and the Lady Augusta deBerkely could not but persuade herself that the terrible champion, whose name had been so long the theme of her anxiety, and the terrorindeed of the whole country, might be able, some way or other, toaccomplish her deliverance. She, therefore, exerted herself to theutmost, so as to keep pace with the phantom-like apparition, andfollowed the knight, as the evening shadow keeps watch upon the belatedrustic. 

As the lady obviously suffered under the degree of exertion necessaryto keep her palfrey from stumbling in these steep and broken paths, theKnight of the Tomb slackened his pace, looked anxiously around him, andmuttered apparently to himself, though probably intended for hiscompanion's ear, "There is no occasion for so much haste. "

He proceeded at a slower rate, until they seemed to be on the brink ofa ravine, being one of many irregularities on the surface of the ground, effected by the sudden torrents peculiar to that country, and which, winding among the trees and copse-wood, formed, as it were, a net ofplaces of concealment, opening into each other, so that there wasperhaps no place in the world so fit for the purpose of ambuscade. Thespot where the borderer Turnbull had made his escape at the huntingmatch, was one specimen of this broken country, and perhaps connecteditself with the various thickets and passes through which the knightand pilgrim occasionally seemed to take their way, though that ravinewas at a considerable distance from their present route. 

Meanwhile the knight led the way, as if rather with the purpose ofbewildering the Lady Augusta amidst these interminable woods, thanfollowing any exact or fixed path. Here they ascended, and anonappeared to descend in the same direction, finding only boundlesswildernesses, and varied combinations of tangled woodland scenery. Suchpart of the country as seemed arable, the knight appeared carefully toavoid; yet he could not direct his course with so much certainty butthat he occasionally crossed the path of inhabitants and cultivators, who showed a consciousness of so singular a presence, but never as thelady observed evinced any symptoms of recognition. The inference wasobvious, that the spectre knight was known in the country, and that hepossessed adherents or accomplices there, who were at least so far hisfriends, as to avoid giving any alarm, which might be the means of hisdiscovery. The well-imitated cry of the night-owl, too frequent a guestin the wilderness that its call should be a subject of surprise, seemedto be a signal generally understood among them; for it was heard indifferent parts of the wood, and the Lady Augusta, experienced in suchjourneys by her former travels under the guidance of the minstrelBertram, was led to observe, that on hearing such wild notes, her guidechanged the direction of his course, and betook himself to paths whichled through deeper wilds, and more impenetrable thickets. This happenedso often, that a new alarm came upon the unfortunate pilgrim, whichsuggested other motives of terror. Was she not the confidant, andalmost the tool of some artful design, laid with a view to an extensiveoperation, which was destined to terminate, as the efforts of Douglashad before done, in the surprise of his hereditary castle, the massacreof the English garrison--and finally in the dishonour and death of thatSir John de Walton, upon whose fate she had long believed, or taughtherself to believe, that her own was dependent?

It no sooner flashed across the mind of the Lady Augusta that she wasengaged in some such conspiracy with a Scottish insurgent, than sheshuddered at the consequences of the dark transactions in which she hadnow become involved, and which appeared to have a tendency so verydifferent from what she had at first apprehended. 

The hours of the morning of this remarkable day, being that of PalmSunday, were thus drawn out in wandering from place to place; while theLady de Berkely occasionally interposed by petitions for liberty, whichshe endeavoured to express in the most moving and pathetic manner, andby offers of wealth and treasures, to which no answer whatever wasreturned by her strange guide. 

At length, as if worn out by his captive's importunity, the knight, coming close up to the bridle-rein of the Lady Augusta, said in asolemn tone--

"I am, as you may well believe, none of those knights who roam throughwood and wild, seeking adventures, by which I may obtain grace in theeyes of a fair lady: Yet will I to a certain degree grant the requestwhich thou dost solicit so anxiously, and the arbitration of thy fateshall depend upon the pleasure of him to whose will thou hast expressedthyself ready to submit thine own. I will, on our arrival at the placeof our destination, which is now at hand, write to Sir John de Walton, and send my letter, together with thy fair self, by a special messenger. He will, no doubt, speedily attend our summons, and thou shalt thyselfbe satisfied, that even he who has as yet appeared deaf to entreaty, and insensible to earthly affections, has still some sympathy forbeauty and for virtue. I will put the choice of safety, and thy futurehappiness, into thine own hands, and those of the man whom thou hastchosen; and thou mayst select which thou wilt betwixt those andmisery. "

While he thus spoke, one of those ravines or clefts in the earth seemedto yawn before them, and entering it at the upper end, the spectreknight, with an attention which he had not yet shown, guided the lady'scourser by the rein down the broken and steep path by which alone thebottom of the tangled dingle was accessible. 

When placed on firm ground after the dangers of a descent, in which herpalfrey seemed to be sustained by the personal strength and address ofthe singular being who had hold of the bridle, the lady looked withsome astonishment at a place so well adapted for concealment as thatwhich she had now reached. It appeared evident that it was used forthis purpose, for more than one stifled answer was given to a very lowbugle-note emitted by the Knight of the Tomb; and when the same notewas repeated, about half a score of armed men, some wearing the dressof soldiers, others those of shepherds and agriculturists, showedthemselves imperfectly, as if acknowledging the summons. 

CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH. 

"Hail to you, my gallant friends!" said the Knight of the Tomb to hiscompanions, who seemed to welcome him with the eagerness of men engagedin the same perilous undertaking. "The winter has passed over, thefestival of Palm Sunday is come, and as surely as the ice and snow ofthis season shall not remain to chill the earth through the ensuingsummer, so surely we, in a few hours, keep our word to those southernbraggarts, who think their language of boasting and malice has as muchforce over our Scottish bosoms, as the blast possesses over the autumnfruits; but it is not so. While we choose to remain concealed, they mayas vainly seek to descry us, as a housewife would search for the needleshe has dropped among the withered foliage of yon gigantic oak. Yet afew hours, and the lost needle shall become the exterminating sword ofthe Genius of Scotland, avenging ten thousand injuries, and especiallythe life of the gallant Lord Douglas, cruelly done to death as an exilefrom his native country. "

An exclamation between a yell and a groan burst from the assembledretainers of Douglas, upon being reminded of the recent death of theirchieftain; while they seemed at the same time sensible of the necessityof making little noise, lest they should give the alarm to some of thenumerous English parties which were then traversing different parts ofthe forest. The acclamation, so cautiously uttered, had scarce diedaway in silence, when the Knight of the Tomb, or, to call him by hisproper name, Sir James Douglas, again addressed his handful of faithfulfollowers. 

"One effort, my friends, may yet be made to end our strife with theSouthron without bloodshed. Fate has within a few hours thrown into mypower the young heiress of Berkely, for whose sake it is said Sir Johnde Walton keeps with such obstinacy the castle which is mine byinheritance. Is there one among you who dare go, as the honourableescort of Augusta de Berkely, bearing a letter, explaining the terms onwhich I am willing to restore her to her lover, to freedom, and to herEnglish lordships?"

"If there is none other, " said a tall man, dressed in the tatteredattire of a woodsman, and being, in fact, no other than the veryMichael Turnbull, who had already given so extraordinary a proof of hisundaunted manhood, "I will gladly be the person who will be the lady'shenchman on this expedition. "

"Thou art never wanting, " said the Douglas, "where a manly deed is tobe done; but remember, this lady must pledge to us her word and oaththat she will hold herself our faithful prisoner, rescue or no rescue;that she will consider herself as pledged for the life, freedom, andfair usage of Michael Turnbull; and that if Sir John de Walton refusemy terms, she must hold herself obliged to return with Turnbull to ourpresence, in order to be disposed of at our pleasure. "

There was much in these conditions, which struck the Lady Augusta withnatural doubt and horror; nevertheless, strange as it may seem, thedeclaration of the Douglas gave a species of decision to her situation, which might have otherwise been unattainable; and from the high opinionwhich she entertained of the Douglas's chivalry, she could not bringherself to think, that any part which he might play in the approachingdrama would be other than that which a perfect good knight would, underall circumstances, maintain towards his enemy. Even with respect to DeWalton, she felt herself relieved of a painful difficulty. The idea ofher being discovered by the knight himself, in a male disguise, hadpreyed upon her spirits; and she felt as if guilty of a departure fromthe laws of womanhood, in having extended her favour towards him beyondmaidenly limits; a step, too, which might tend to lessen her in theeyes of the lover for whom she had hazarded so much. 

 "The heart, she said, is lightly prized, That is but lightly won; And Long shall mourn the heartless man, That leaves his love too soon. "

On the other hand, to be brought before him as a prisoner, was indeed acircumstance equally perplexing as unpleasing, but it was one which wasbeyond her control, and the Douglas, into whose hands she had fallen, appeared to her to represent the deity in the play, whose entrance wasalmost sufficient to bring its perplexities to a conclusion; shetherefore not unwillingly submitted to take what oaths and promiseswere required by the party in whose hands she found herself, andaccordingly engaged to be a true prisoner, whatever might occur. Meantime she strictly obeyed the directions of those who had hermotions at command, devoutly praying that circumstances, in themselvesso adverse, might nevertheless work together for the safety of herlover and her own freedom. 

A pause ensued, during which a slight repast was placed before the LadyAugusta, who was well-nigh exhausted with the fatigues of her journey. 

Douglas and his partisans, meanwhile, whispered together, as ifunwilling she should hear their conference; while, to purchase theirgood-will, if possible, she studiously avoided every appearance oflistening. 

After some conversation, Turnbull, who appeared to consider the lady aspeculiarly his charge, said to her in a harsh voice, "Do not fear, lady; no wrong shall be done you; nevertheless, you must be content fora space to be blindfolded. "

She submitted to this in silent terror; and the trooper, wrapping partof a mantle round her head, did not assist her to remount her palfrey, but lent her his arm to support her in this blinded state. 

CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH. 

The ground which they traversed was, as Lady Augusta could feel, verybroken and uneven, and sometimes, as she thought, encumbered with ruins, which were difficult to surmount. The strength of her comrade assistedher forward on such occasions; but his help was so roughly administered, that the lady once or twice, in fear or suffering, was compelled togroan or sigh heavily, whatever was her desire to suppress suchevidence of the apprehension which she underwent, or the pain which sheendured. Presently, upon an occasion of this kind, she was distinctlysensible that the rough woodsman was removed from her side, and anotherof the party substituted in his stead, whose voice, more gentle thanthat of his companions, she thought she had lately heard. 

"Noble lady, " were the words, "fear not the slightest injury at ourhands, and accept of my ministry instead of that of my henchman, whohas gone forward with our letter; do not think me presuming on mysituation if I bear you in my arms through ruins where you could noteasily move alone and blindfold. "

At the same time the Lady Augusta Berkely felt herself raised from theearth in the strong arms of a man, and borne onward with the utmostgentleness, without the necessity of making those painful exertionswhich had been formerly required. She was ashamed of her situation; but, however delicate, it was no time to give vent to complaints, whichmight have given offence to persons whom it was her interest toconciliate. She, therefore, submitted to necessity, and heard thefollowing words whispered in her ear. 

"Fear nothing; there is no evil intended you; nor shall Sir John deWalton, if he loves you as you deserve at his hand, receive any harm onour part. We call on him but to do justice to ourselves and to you; andbe assured you will best accomplish your own happiness by aiding ourviews, which are equally in favour of your wishes and your freedom. "

The Lady Augusta would have made some answer to this, but her breath, betwixt fear and the speed with which she was transported, refused topermit her to use intelligible accents. Meantime she began to besensible that she was enclosed within some building, and probably aruinous one--for although the mode of her transportation no longerpermitted her to ascertain the nature of her path in any respectdistinctly, yet the absence of the external air--which was, however, sometimes excluded, and sometimes admitted in furious gusts--intimatedthat she was conducted through buildings partly entire, and in otherplaces admitting the wind through wide rents and gaps. In one place itseemed to the lady as if she passed through a considerable body ofpeople, all of whom observed silence, although there was sometimesheard among them a murmur, to which every one present in some degreecontributed, although the general sound did not exceed a whisper. Hersituation made her attend to every circumstance, and she did not failto observe that these persons made way for him who bore her, until atlength she became sensible that he descended by the regular steps of astair, and that she was now alone excepting his company. Arrived, as itappeared to the lady, on more level ground, they proceeded on theirsingular road by a course which appeared neither direct nor easy, andthrough an atmosphere which was close to a smothering degree, and feltat the same time damp and disagreeable, as if from the vapours of anew-made grave. Her guide again spoke. 

"Bear up, Lady Augusta, for a little longer, and continue to endurethat atmosphere which must be one day common to us all. By thenecessity of my situation, I must resign my present office to youroriginal guide, and can only give you my assurance, that neither he, nor any one else, shall offer you the least incivility or insult--andon this you may rely, on the faith of a man of honour. "

He placed her, as he said these words, upon the soft turf, and, to herinfinite refreshment, made her sensible that she was once more in theopen air, and free from the smothering atmosphere which had beforeoppressed her like that of a charnel-house. At the same time, shebreathed in a whisper an anxious wish that she might be permitted todisencumber herself from the folds of the mantle which excluded almostthe power of breathing, though intended only to prevent her seeing bywhat road she travelled. She immediately found it unfolded, agreeablyto her request, and hastened, with uncovered eyes, to take note of thescene around her. 

It was overshadowed by thick oak trees, among which stood some remnantsof buildings, or what might have seemed such, being perhaps the same inwhich she had been lately wandering. A clear fountain of living waterbubbled forth from under the twisted roots of one of those trees, andoffered the lady the opportunity of a draught of the pure element, andin which she also bathed her face, which had received more than onescratch in the course of her journey, in spite of the care, and almostthe tenderness, with which she had latterly been borne along. The coolwater speedily stopt the bleeding of those trifling injuries, and theapplication served at the same time to recall the scattered senses ofthe damsel herself. Her first idea was, whether an attempt to escape, if such should appear possible, was not advisable. A moment'sreflection, however, satisfied her that such a scheme was not to bethought of; and such second thoughts were confirmed by the approach ofthe gigantic form of the huntsman Turnbull, the rough tones of whosevoice were heard before his figure was obvious to her eye. 

"Were you impatient for my return, fair lady? Such as I, " he continuedin an ironical tone of voice, "who are foremost in the chase of wildstags and silvan cattle, are not in use to lag behind, when fair ladies, like you, are the objects of pursuit; and if I am not so constant in myattendance as you might expect, believe me, it is because I was engagedin another matter, to which I must sacrifice for a little even the dutyof attending on you. "

"I offer no resistance, " said the lady; "forbear, however, indischarging thy duty, to augment my uneasiness by thy conversation, forthy master hath pledged me his word that he will not suffer me to bealarmed or ill treated. "

"Nay, fair one, " replied the huntsman, "I ever thought it was fit tomake interest by soft words with fair ladies; but if you like it not, Ihave no such pleasure in hunting for fine holyday terms, but that I canwith equal ease hold myself silent. Come, then, since we must wait uponthis lover of yours ere morning closes, and learn his last resolutiontouching a matter which is become so strangely complicated, I will holdno more intercourse with you as a female, but talk to you as a personof sense, although an Englishwoman. "

"You will, " replied the lady, "best fulfil the intentions of those bywhose orders you act, by holding no society with me whatever, otherwisethan is necessary in the character of guide. "

The man lowered his brows, yet seemed to assent to what the Lady ofBerkely proposed, and remained silent as they for some time pursuedtheir course, each pondering over their own share of meditation, whichprobably turned upon matters essentially different. At length the loudblast of a bugle was heard at no great distance from the unsocialfellow-travellers. 

"That is the person we seek, " said Turnbull; "I know his blast from anyother who frequents this forest, and my orders are to bring you tospeech of him. "

The blood darted rapidly through the lady's veins at the thought ofbeing thus unceremoniously presented to the knight, in whose favour shehad confessed a rash preference more agreeable to the manners of thosetimes, when exaggerated sentiments often inspired actions ofextravagant generosity, than in our days, when every thing is accountedabsurd which does not turn upon a motive connected with the immediateselfish interests of the actor himself. When Turnbull, therefore, winded his horn, as if in answer to the blast which they had heard, thelady was disposed to fly at the first impulse of shame and of fear. Turnbull perceived her intention, and caught hold of her with no verygentle grasp, saying--"Nay, lady, it is to be understood that you playyour own part in the drama, which, unless you continue on the stage, will conclude unsatisfactorily to us all, in a combat at outrancebetween your lover and me, when it will appear which of us is mostworthy of your favour. "

"I will be patient, " said the lady, bethinking her that even thisstrange man's presence, and the compulsion which he appeared to usetowards her, was a sort of excuse to her female scruples, for cominginto the presence of her lover, at least at her first appearance beforehim, in a disguise which her feelings confessed was not extremelydecorous, or reconcilable to the dignity of her sex. 

The moment after these thoughts had passed through her mind, the trampof a horse was heard approaching; and Sir John de Walton, pressingthrough the trees, became aware of the presence of his lady, captive, as it seemed, in the grasp of a Scottish outlaw, who was only known tohim by his former audacity at the hunting-match. 

His surprise and joy only supplied the knight with those hastyexpressions--"Caitiff, let go thy hold! or die in thy profane attemptto control the motions of one whom the very sun in heaven should beproud to obey. " At the same time, apprehensive that the huntsman mighthurry the lady from his sight by means of some entangled path--such asupon a former occasion had served him for escape Sir John de Waltondropt his cumbrous lance, of which the trees did not permit him theperfect use, and springing from his horse, approached Turnbull with hisdrawn sword. 

The Scotchman, keeping his left hand still upon the lady's mantle, uplifted with his right his battle-axe, or Jedwood staff, for thepurpose of parrying and returning the blow of his antagonist, but thelady spoke. 

"Sir John de Walton, " she said, "for heaven's sake, forbear allviolence, till you hear upon what pacific object I am brought hither, and by what peaceful means these wars may be put an end to. This man, though an enemy of yours, has been to me a civil and respectfulguardian; and I entreat you to forbear him while he speaks the purposefor which he has brought me hither. "

"To speak of compulsion and the Lady de Berkely in the same breath, would itself be cause enough for instant death, " said the Governor ofDouglas Castle; "but you command, lady, and I spare his insignificantlife, although I have causes of complaint against him, the least ofwhich were good warrant, had he a thousand lives, for the forfeiture ofthem all. "

"John de Walton, " replied Turnbull, "this lady well knows that no fearof thee operates in my mind to render this a peaceful meeting; and wereI not withheld by other circumstances of great consideration to theDouglas as well as thyself, I should have no more fear in facing theutmost thou couldst do, than I have now in levelling that sapling tothe earth it grows upon. "

So saying, Michael Turnbull raised his battle-axe, and struck from aneighbouring oak-tree a branch, wellnigh as thick as a man's arm, which(with all its twigs and leaves) rushed to the ground between De Waltonand the Scotchman, giving a singular instance of the keenness of hisweapon, and the strength and dexterity with which he used it. 

"Let there be truce, then, between us, good fellow, " said Sir John deWalton, "since it is the lady's pleasure that such should be the case, and let me know what thou hast to say to me respecting her?"

"On that subject, " said Turnbull, "my words are few, but mark them, SirEnglishman. The Lady Augusta Berkely, wandering in this country, hasbecome a prisoner of the noble Lord Douglas, the rightful inheritor ofthe Castle and lordship, and he finds himself obliged to attach to theliberty of this lady the following conditions, being in all respectssuch as good and lawful warfare entitles a knight to exact. That is tosay, in all honour and safety the Lady Augusta shall be delivered toSir John de Walton, or those whom he shall name, for the purpose ofreceiving her. On the other hand, the Castle of Douglas itself, together with all out-posts or garrisons thereunto belonging, shall bemade over and surrendered by Sir John de Walton, in the same situation, and containing the same provisions and artillery, as are now withintheir walls; and the space of a month of truce shall be permitted toSir James Douglas and Sir John de Walton farther to regulate the termsof surrender on both parts, having first plighted their knightly wordand oath, that in the exchange of the honourable lady for the foresaidcastle, lies the full import of the present agreement, and that everyother subject of dispute shall, at the pleasure of the noble knightsforesaid, be honourably compounded and agreed betwixt them; or at theirpleasure, settled knightly by single combat according to usage, and ina fair field, before any honourable person, that may possess powerenough to preside. "

It is not easy to conceive the astonishment of Sir John de Walton athearing the contents of this extraordinary cartel; he looked towardsthe Lady of Berkely with that aspect of despair with which a criminalmay be supposed to see his guardian angel prepare for departure. Through her mind also similar ideas flowed, as if they contained aconcession of what she had considered as the summit of her wishes, butunder conditions disgraceful to her lover, like the cherub's fierysword of yore, which was a barrier between our first parents and theblessings of Paradise. Sir John de Walton, after a moment's hesitation, broke silence in these words:--

"Noble lady, you may be surprised if a condition be imposed upon me, having for its object your freedom; and if Sir John de Walton, alreadystanding under those obligations to you, which he is proud ofacknowledging, should yet hesitate on accepting, with the utmosteagerness, what must ensure your restoration to freedom andindependence; but so it is, that the words now spoken have thrilled inmine ear without reaching to my understanding, and I must pray the Ladyof Berkely for pardon if I take time to reconsider them for a shortspace. "

"And I, " replied Turnbull, "have only power to allow you half an hourfor the consideration of an offer, in accepting which, methinks, youshould jump shoulder-height instead of asking any time for reflection. What does this cartel exact, save what your duty as a knight implicitlyobliges you to? You have engaged yourself to become the agent of thetyrant Edward, in holding Douglas Castle, as his commander, to theprejudice of the Scottish nation, and of the Knight of Douglas Dale, who never, as a community or as an individual, were guilty of the leastinjury towards you; you are therefore prosecuting a false path, unworthy of a good knight. On the other hand, the freedom and safety ofyour lady is now proposed to be pledged to you, with a full assuranceof her liberty and honour, on consideration of your withdrawing fromthe unjust line of conduct, in which you have suffered yourself to beimprudently engaged. If you persevere in it, you place your own honour, and the lady's happiness, in the hands of men whom you have doneeverything in your power to render desperate, and whom, thus irritated, it is most probable you may find such. "

"It is not from thee at least, " said the knight, "that I shall learn toestimate the manner in which Douglas will explain the laws of war, orDe Walton receive them at his dictating. "

"I am not, then, " said Turnbull, "received as a friendly messenger?Farewell, and think of this lady as being in any hands but those whichare safe, while you make up at leisure your mind upon the message Ihave brought you. Come, madam, we must be gone. "

So saying, he seized upon the lady's hand, and pulled her, as if toforce her to withdraw. The lady had stood motionless, and almostsenseless, while these speeches were exchanged between the warriors;but when she felt the grasp of Michael Turnbull, she exclaimed, likeone almost beside herself with fear--"Help me, De Walton!"

The knight, stung to instant rage, assaulted the forester with theutmost fury, and dealt him with his long sword, almost at unawares, two or three heavy blows, by which he was so wounded that he sunkbackwards in the thicket, and. De Walton was about to despatch him, when he was prevented by the anxious cry of the lady--"Alas! De Walton, what have you done? This man was only an ambassador, and should havepassed free from injury, while he confined himself to the delivery ofwhat he was charged with; and if thou hast slain him, who knows howfrightful may prove the vengeance exacted!"

The voice of the lady seemed to recover the huntsman from the effectsof the blows he had received: he sprung on his feet, saying--"Nevermind me, nor think of my becoming the means of making mischief. Theknight, in his haste, spoke without giving me warning and defiance, which gave him an advantage which, I think, he would otherwise havescorned to have taken, in such a case, I will renew the combat onfairer terms, or call another champion, as the knight pleases. " Withthese words he disappeared. 

"Fear not, empress of De Walton's thoughts, " answered the knight, "butbelieve, that if we regain together the shelter of Douglas Castle, andthe safeguard of Saint George's Cross, thou may'st laugh at all. And ifyou can but pardon, what I shall never be able to forgive myself, themole-like blindness which did not recognise the sun while under atemporary eclipse, the task cannot be named too hard for mortal valourto achieve which I shall not willingly undertake, to wipe out thememory of my grievous fault. "

"Mention it no more, " said the lady; "it is not at such a time as--this, when our lives are for the moment at stake, that quarrels upon slightertopics are to be recurred to. I can tell you, if you do not yet know, that the Scots are in arms in this vicinity, and that even the earthhas yawned to conceal them from the sight of your garrison. "

"Let it yawn, then, " said Sir John de Walton, "and suffer every fiendin the infernal abyss to escape from his prison-house and reinforce ourenemies--still, fairest, having received in thee a pearl of matchlessprice, my spurs shall be hacked from my heels by the basest scullion, if I turn my horse's head to the rear before the utmost force theseruffians can assemble, either upon earth or from underneath it. In thyname I defy them all to instant combat. "

As Sir John de Walton pronounced these last words, in something of anexalted tone, a tall cavalier, arrayed in black armour of the simplestform, stepped forth from that part of the thicket where Turnbull haddisappeared. "I am, " he said, "James of Douglas, and your challenge isaccepted. I, the challenged, name the arms our knightly weapons as wenow wear them, and our place of combat this field or dingle, called theBloody Sykes, the time being instant, and the combatants, like trueknights, foregoing each advantage on either side. " [Footnote: Theominous name of Bloodmire-sink or Syke, marks a narrow hollow to thenorth-west of Douglas Castle, from which it is distant about the thirdof a mile. Mr. Haddow states, that according to local tradition, thename was given in consequence of Sir James Douglas having at this spotintercepted and slain part of the garrison of the castle, while DeWalton was in command. ]

"So be it, in God's name, " said the English knight, who, thoughsurprised at being called upon to so sudden an encounter with soformidable a warrior as young Douglas, was too proud to dream ofavoiding the combat. Making a sign to the lady to retire behind him, that he might not lose the advantage which he had gained by setting herat liberty from the forester, he drew his sword, and with a deliberateand prepared attitude of offence, moved slowly to the encounter. It wasa dreadful one, for the courage and skill both of the native Lord ofDouglas Dale, and of De Walton, among the most renowned of the times, and perhaps the world of chivalry could hardly have produced twoknights more famous. Their blows fell as if urged by some mighty engine, where they were met and parried with equal strength and dexterity; norseemed it likely, in the course of ten minutes' encounter, that anadvantage would be gained by either combatant over the other. Aninstant they stopped by mutually implied assent, as it seemed, for thepurpose of taking breath, during which Douglas said, "I beg that thisnoble lady may understand, that her own freedom is no way concerned inthe present contest, which entirely regards the injustice done by thisSir John de Walton, and by his nation of England, to the memory of myfather, and to my own natural rights. "

"You are generous, Sir Knight, " replied the lady; "but in whatcircumstances do you place me, if you deprive me of my protector bydeath or captivity, and leave me alone in a foreign land?"

"If such should be the event of the combat, " replied Sir James, "theDouglas himself, lady, will safely restore thee to thy native land; fornever did his sword do an injury for which he was not willing to makeamends with the same weapon; and if Sir John de Walton will make theslightest admission that he renounces maintaining the present strife, were it only by yielding up a feather from the plume of his helmet, Douglas will renounce every purpose on his part which can touch thelady's honour or safety, and the combat may be suspended until thenational quarrel again brings us together. "

Sir John de Walton pondered a moment, and the lady, although she didnot speak, looked at him with eyes which plainly expressed how much shewished that he would choose the less hazardous alternative. But theknight's own scruples prevented his bringing the case to so favourablean arbitrement. 

"Never shall it be said of Sir John de Walton, " he replied, "that hecompromised, in the slightest degree, his own honour, or that of hiscountry. This battle may end in my defeat, or rather death, and in thatcase my earthly prospects are closed, and I resign to Douglas, with mylast breath, the charge of the Lady Augusta, trusting that he willdefend her with his life, and find the means of replacing her withsafety in the halls of her fathers. But while I survive, she may have abetter, but will not need another protector than he who is honoured bybeing her own choice; nor will I yield up, were it a plume from myhelmet, implying that I have maintained an unjust quarrel, either inthe cause of England, or of the fairest of her daughters. Thus faralone I will concede to Douglas--an instant truce, provided the ladyshall not be interrupted in her retreat to England, and the combat befought out upon another day. The castle and territory of Douglas is theproperty of Edward of England, the governor in his name is the rightfulgovernor, and on this point I will fight while my eyelids areunclosed. "

"Time flies, " said Douglas, "without waiting for our resolves; nor isthere any part of his motions of such value as that which is passingwith every breath of vital air which we presently draw. Why should weadjourn till to-morrow that which can be as well finished today? Willour swords be sharper, or our arms stronger to wield them, than theyare at this moment? Douglas will do all which knight can do to succoura lady in distress; but he will not grant to her knight the slightestmark of deference, which Sir John de Walton vainly supposes himselfable to extort by force of arms. "

With these words, the knights engaged once more in mortal combat, andthe lady felt uncertain whether she should attempt her escape throughthe devious paths of the wood, or abide the issue of this obstinatefight. It was rather her desire to see the fate of Sir John de Walton, than any other consideration, which induced her to remain, as iffascinated, upon the spot, where one of the fiercest quarrels everfought--was disputed by two of the bravest champions that ever drewsword. At last the lady attempted to put a stop to the combat, byappealing to the bells which began to ring for the service of the day, which was Palm Sunday. 

"For Heaven's sake, " she said--"for your own sakes, and for that oflady's love, and the duties of chivalry, hold your hands only for anhour, and take chance, that where strength is so equal, means will befound of converting the truce into a solid peace. Think this is PalmSunday, and will you defile with blood such a peculiar festival ofChristianity! Intermit your feud at least so far as to pass to thenearest church, bearing with you branches, not in the ostentatious modeof earthly conquerors, but as rendering due homage to the rules of theblessed Church, and the institutions of our holy religion. "

"I was on my road, fair lady, for that purpose, to the holy church ofDouglas, " said the Englishman, "when I was so fortunate as to meet youat this place; nor do I object to proceed thither even, now, holdingtruce for an hour, and I fear not to find there friends to whom I cancommit you with assurance of safety, in case I am unfortunate in thecombat which is now broken off, to be resumed after the service of theday. "

"I also assent, " said the Douglas, "to a truce for such short space;nor do I fear that there may be good Christians enough at the church, who will not see their master overpowered by odds. Let us go thither, and each take the chance of what Heaven shall please to send us. "

From these words Sir John de Walton little doubted that Douglas hadassured himself of a party among those who should there assemble; buthe doubted not of so many of the garrison being present as would bridleevery attempt at rising; and the risk, he thought, was worth incurring, since ha should thereby secure an opportunity to place Lady Augusta deBerkely in safety, at least so far as to make her liberty depend on theevent of a general conflict, instead of the precarious issue of acombat between himself and Douglas. 

Both these distinguished knights were inwardly of opinion, that theproposal of the lady, though it relieved them from their presentconflict, by no means bound them to abstain from the consequences whichan accession of force might add to their general strength, and eachrelied upon his superiority, in some degree provided for by theirprevious proceedings. Sir John de Walton made almost certain of meetingwith several of his bands of soldiers, who were scouring the countryand traversing the woods by his direction; and Douglas, it may besupposed, had not ventured himself in person, where a price was setupon his head, without being attended by a sufficient number ofapproved adherents, placed in more or less connexion with each other, and stationed for mutual support. Each, therefore, entertained well-grounded hopes, that by adopting the truce proposed, he would ensurehimself an advantage over his antagonist, although neither exactly knewin what manner or to what extent this success was to be obtained. 

CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH. 

 His talk was of another world--his bodiments Strange, doubtful, and mysterious; those who heard him Listen'd as to a man in feverish dreams, Who speaks of other objects than the present, And mutters like to him who sees a vision. OLD PLAY. 

On the same Palm Sunday when De Walton and Douglas measured togethertheir mighty swords, the minstrel Bertram was busied with the ancientBook of Prophecies, which we have already mentioned as the supposedcomposition of Thomas the Rhymer, but not without many anxieties as tothe fate of his lady, and the events which were passing around him. Asa minstrel he was desirous of an auditor to enter into the discoverieswhich he should make in that mystic volume, as well as to assist inpassing away the time; Sir John de Walton had furnished him, in GilbertGreenleaf the archer, with one who was well contented to play thelistener "from morn to dewy eve, " provided a flask of Gascon wine, or astoup of good English ale, remained on the board. It may be rememberedthat De Walton, when he dismissed the minstrel from the dungeon, wassensible that he owed him some compensation for the causeless suspicionwhich had dictated his imprisonment, more particularly as he was avalued servant, and had shown himself the faithful confidant of theLady Augusta de Berkely, and the person who was moreover likely to knowall the motives and circumstances of her Scottish journey. To securehis good wishes was, therefore, politic; and De Walton had intimated tohis faithful archer that he was to lay aside all suspicion of Bertram, but at the same time keep him in sight, and, if possible, in goodhumour with the governor of the castle, and his adherents. Greenleafaccordingly had no doubt in his own mind, that the only way to please aminstrel was to listen with patience and commendation to the lays whichhe liked best to sing, or the tales which he most loved to tell; and inorder to ensure the execution of his master's commands, he judged itnecessary to demand of the butler such store of good liquor, as couldnot fail to enhance the pleasure of his society. 

Having thus fortified himself with the means of bearing a longinterview with the minstrel, Gilbert Greenleaf proposed to confer uponhim the bounty of an early breakfast, which, if it pleased him, theymight wash down with a cup of sack, and, having his master's commandsto show the minstrel any thing about the castle which he might wish tosee, refresh their overwearied spirits by attending a part of thegarrison of Douglas to the service of the day, which, as we havealready seen, was of peculiar sanctity. Against such a proposal theminstrel, a good Christian by profession, and, by his connexion withthe joyous science, a good fellow, having no objections to offer, thetwo comrades, who had formerly little good-will towards each other, commenced their morning's repast on that fated Palm Sunday, with allmanner of cordiality and good fellowship. 

"Do not believe, worthy minstrel, " said the archer, "that my master inany respect disparages your worth or rank in referring you for companyor conversation to so poor a man as myself. It is true I am no officerof this garrison; yet for an old archer, who, for these thirty years, has lived by bow and bowstring, I do not (Our Lady make me thankful!)hold less share in the grace of Sir John de Walton, the Earl ofPembroke, and other approved good soldiers, than many of those giddyyoung men on whom commissions are conferred, and to whom confidencesare intrusted, not on account of what they have done, but what theirancestors have done before them. I pray you to notice among them oneyouth placed at our head in De Walton's absence, and who bears thehonoured name of Aymer de Valence, being the same with that of the Earlof Pembroke, of whom I have spoken; this knight has also a brisk youngpage, whom men call Fabian Harbothel. "

"Is it to these gentlemen that your censure applies?" answered theminstrel; "I should have judged differently, having never, in thecourse of my experience, seen a young man more courteous and amiablethan the young knight you named. "

"I nothing dispute that it may be so, " said the archer, hastening toamend the false step which he had made; "but in order that it should beso, it will be necessary that he conform to the usages of his uncle, taking the advice of experienced old soldiers in the emergencies whichmay present themselves; and not believing, that the knowledge which ittakes many years of observation to acquire, can be at once conferred bythe slap of the flat of a sword, and the magic words, 'Rise up, SirArthur'--or however the case may be. "

"Doubt not, Sir Archer, " replied Bertram, "that I am fully aware of theadvantage to be derived from conversing with men of experience likeyou: it benefiteth men of every persuasion, and I myself am oft reducedto lament my want of sufficient knowledge of armorial bearings, signs, and cognizances, and would right fain have thy assistance, where I am astranger alike to the names of places, of persons, and description ofbanners and emblems by which great families are distinguished from eachother, so absolutely necessary to the accomplishment of my presenttask. "

"Pennons and banners, " answered the archer, "I have seen right many, and can assign, as is a soldier's wont, the name of the leader to theemblem under which he musters his followers; nevertheless, worthyminstrel, I cannot presume to understand what you call prophecies, withor under warranted authority of old painted books, expositions ofdreams, oracles, revelations, invocations of damned spirits, judicials, astrologicals, and other gross and palpable offences, whereby men, pretending to have the assistance of the devil, do impose upon thecommon people, in spite of the warnings of the Privy Council; nothowever, that I suspect you, worthy minstrel, of busying yourself withthese attempts to explain futurity, which are dangerous attempts, andmay be truly said to be penal, and part of treason. "

"There is something in what you say, " replied the minstrel; "yet itapplieth not to books and manuscripts such as I have been consulting;part, of which things therein written having already come to pass, authorize us surely to expect the completion of the rest; nor would Ihave much difficulty in showing you from this volume, that enough hasbeen already proved true, to entitle us to look with certainty to theaccomplishment of that which remains. "

"I should be glad to hear that, " answered the archer, who entertainedlittle more than a soldier's belief respecting prophecies and auguries, but yet cared not bluntly to contradict the minstrel upon such subjects, as he had been instructed by Sir John de Walton to comply with hishumour. Accordingly the minstrel began to recite verses, which, in ourtime, the ablest interpreter could not make sense out of. 

 "When the cook crows, keep well his comb, For the fox and the fulmart they are false both. When the raven and the rook have rounded together, And the kid in his cliff shall accord to the same. Then shall they be bold, and soon to battle thereafter. Then the birds of the raven rugs and reives, And the leal men of Lothian, are louping on their horse; Then shall the poor people be spoiled full near, And the Abbeys be burnt truly that stand upon Tweed They shall burn and slay, and great reif make: There shall no poor man who say whose man he is: Then shall the land be lawless, for love there is none. Then falset shall have foot fully five years; Then truth surely shall be tint, and none shall lippen to other; The one cousing shall not trust the other, Not the son the father, nor the father the son: For to have his goods he would have him hanged. " &c. &c. &c. 

The archer listened to these mystic prognostications, which were notthe less wearisome that they were, in a considerable degree, unintelligible; at the same time subduing his Hotspur-like dispositionto tire of the recitation, yet at brief intervals comforting himselfwith an application to the wine flagon, and enduring as he might whathe neither understood nor took interest in. Meanwhile the minstrelproceeded with his explanation of the dubious and imperfectvaticinations of which we have given a sufficient specimen. 

"Could you wish, " said he to Greenleaf, "a more exact description ofthe miseries which have passed over Scotland in these latter days? Havenot these the raven and rook, the fox and the fulmart, explained;either because the nature of the birds or beasts bear an individualresemblance to those of the knights who display them on their banners, or otherwise are bodied forth by actual blazonry on their shields, andcome openly into the field to ravage and destroy? Is not the totaldisunion of the land plainly indicated by these words, that connexionsof blood shall be broken asunder, that kinsmen shall not trust eachother, and that the father and son, instead, of putting faith in theirnatural connexion, shall seek each other's life, in order to enjoy hisinheritance? The _leal men_ of Lothian are distinctly mentioned astaking arms, and there is plainly allusion to the other events of theselate Scottish troubles. The death of this last William is obscurelyintimated under the type of a hound, which was that good lord'soccasional cognizance. 

 'The hound that was harm'd then muzzled shall be, Who loved him worst shall weep for his wreck; Yet shall a whelp rise of the same race, That rudely shall roar, and rule the whole north, And quit the whole quarrel of old deeds done, Though he from his hold be kept back awhile. True Thomas told me this in a troublesome time, In a harvest morning at Eldoun hills. '"

"This hath a meaning, Sir Archer, " continued the minstrel, "and whichflies as directly to its mark as one of your own arrows, although theremay be some want of wisdom in making the direct explication. Being, however, upon assurance with you, I do not hesitate to tell you, thatin my opinion this lion's whelp that awaits its time, means this samecelebrated Scottish prince, Robert the Bruce, who, though repeatedlydefeated, has still, while hunted with bloodhounds, and surrounded byenemies of every sort, maintained his pretensions to the crown ofScotland, in despite of King Edward, now reigning. "

"Minstrel, " answered the soldier, "you are my guest, and we have satdown together as friends to this simple meal in good comradeship. Imust tell thee, however, though I am loath to disturb our harmony, thatthou art the first who hast adventured to speak a word before GilbertGreenleaf in favour of that outlawed traitor, Robert Bruce, who has byhis seditions so long disturbed the peace of this realm. Take my advice, and be silent on this topic; for, believe me, the sword of a trueEnglish archer will spring from its scabbard without consent of itsmaster, should it hear aught said to the disparagement of bonny St. George and his ruddy cross; nor shall the authority of Thomas theRhymer, or any other prophet in Scotland, England, or Wales, beconsidered as an apology for such unbecoming predictions. "

"I were loth to give offence at any time, " said the minstrel, "muchmore to provoke you to anger, when I am in the very act of experiencingyour hospitality. I trust, however, you will remember that I do notcome your uninvited guest, and that if I speak to you of future events, I do so without having the least intention to add my endeavour to bringthem to pass; for, God knows, it is many years since my sincere prayerhas been for peace and happiness to all men, and particularly honourand happiness to the land of Bowmen, in which I was born, and which Iam bound to remember in my prayers beyond all other nations in theworld. "

"It is well that you do so, " said the archer; "for so you shall bestmaintain your bounden duty to the fair land of your birth, which is therichest that the sun shines upon. Something, however, I would know, ifit suits with your pleasure to tell me, and that is, whether you findanything in these rude rhymes appearing to affect the safety of theCastle of Douglas, where we now are?--for, mark me, Sir Minstrel, Ihave observed that these mouldering parchments, when or by whomsoevercomposed, have so far a certain coincidence with the truth, that whensuch predictions which they contain are spread abroad in the country, and create rumours of plots, conspiracies, and bloody wars, they arevery apt to cause the very mischances which they would be thought onlyto predict. "

"It were not very cautious in me, " said the minstrel, "to choose aprophecy for my theme, which had reference to any attack on thisgarrison; for in such case I should, according to your ideas, laymyself under suspicion of endeavouring to forward what no person couldmore heartily regret than myself. "

"Take my word for it, good friend, " said the archer, "that it shall notbe thus with thee; for I neither will myself conceive ill of thee, norreport thee to Sir John de Walton as meditating harm against him or hisgarrison--nor, to speak truth, would Sir John de Walton be willing tobelieve anyone who did. He thinks highly, and no doubt deservedly, ofthy good faith towards thy lady, and would conceive it unjust tosuspect the fidelity of one who has given evidence of his willingnessto meet death rather than betray the least secret of his mistress. "

"In preserving her secret, " said Bertram, "I only discharged the dutyof a faithful servant, leaving it to her to judge how long such asecret ought to be preserved; for a faithful servant ought to think aslittle of the issue towards himself of the commission which he bears, as the band of flock silk concerns itself with the secret of the letterwhich it secures. And, touching your question--I have no objections, although merely to satisfy your curiosity, to unfold to you that theseold prophecies do contain some intimations of wars befalling in DouglasDale, between an haggard, or wild hawk, which I take to be thecognizance of Sir John de Walton, and the three stars, or martlets, which is the cognizance of the Douglas; and more particulars I couldtell of these onslaughts, did I know whereabouts is a place in thesewoods termed Bloody Sykes, the scene also, as I comprehend, ofslaughter and death, between the followers of the three stars and thosewho hold the part of the Saxon, or King of England. "

"Such a place, " replied Gilbert Greenleaf, "I have heard oftenmentioned by that name among the natives of these parts; neverthelessit is vain to seek to discover the precise spot, as these wily Scotsconceal from us with care every thing respecting the geography of theircountry, as it is called by learned men; but we may here mention theBloody Sykes, Bottomless Myre, and other places, as portentous names, to which their traditions attach some signification of war andslaughter. If it suits your wish, however, we can, on our way to thechurch, try to find this place called Bloody Sykes, which I doubt notwe shall trace out long before the traitors who meditate an attack uponus will find a power sufficient for the attempt. "

Accordingly the minstrel and archer, the latter of whom was by thistime reasonably well refreshed with wine, marched out of the castle ofDouglas, without waiting for others of the garrison, resolving to seekthe dingle bearing the ominous name of Bloody Sykes, concerning whichthe archer only knew that by mere accident he had heard of a placebearing such a name, at the hunting match made under the auspices ofSir John de Walton, and knew that it lay in the woods somewhere nearthe town of Douglas and in the vicinage of the castle. 

CHAPTER THE NINETEENTH. 

 _Hotspur_. I cannot choose; sometimes he angers me With telling me of the moldwarp and the ant, Of the dreamer Merlin, and his prophecies; And of a dragon and a finless fish, A clipt-wing'd griffin and a moulten raven, A couching lion, and a ramping cat. And such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff, As puts me from my faith. KING HENRY IV. 

The conversation between the minstrel and the ancient archer naturallypursued a train somewhat resembling that of Hotspur and Glendower, inwhich Gilbert Greenleaf by degrees took a larger share than wasapparently consistent with his habits and education: but the truth wasthat as he exerted himself to recall the recognisances of militarychieftains, their war-cries, emblems, and other types by which theydistinguished themselves in battle, and might undoubtedly be indicatedin prophetic rhymes, he began to experience the pleasure which most menentertain when they find themselves unexpectedly possessed of a facultywhich the moment calls upon them to employ, and renders them importantin the possession of. The minstrel's sound good sense was certainlysomewhat surprised at the inconsistencies sometimes displayed by hiscompanion, as he was carried off by the willingness to make show of hisnewly-discovered faculty on the one hand, and, on the other, to call tomind the prejudices which he had nourished during his whole lifeagainst minstrels, who, with the train of legends and fables, were themore likely to be false, as being generally derived from the "NorthCountrie. "

As they strolled from one glade of the forest to another, the minstrelbegan to be surprised at the number of Scottish votaries whom they met, and who seemed to be hastening to the church, and, as it appeared bythe boughs which they carried, to assist in the ceremony of the day. Toeach of these the archer put a question respecting the existence of aplace called Bloody Sykes, and where it was to be found--but all seemedeither to be ignorant on the subject, or desirous of evading it, forwhich they found some pretext in the jolly archer's manner ofinterrogation, which savoured a good deal of the genial breakfast. Thegeneral answer was, that they knew no such place, or had other mattersto attend to upon the morn of a holy-tide than answering frivolousquestions. At last, when, in one or two; instances, the answer of theScottish almost approached to sullenness, the minstrel remarked it, observing that there was ever some mischief on foot when the people ofthis country could not find a civil answer to their betters, which isusually so ready among them, and that they appeared to be making astrong muster for the service of Palm Sunday. 

"You will doubtless, Sir Archer, " continued the minstrel, "make yourreport to your knight accordingly; for I promise you, that if you donot, I myself, whose lady's freedom is also concerned, will feel it myduty to place before Sir John de Walton the circumstances which make meentertain suspicion of this extraordinary confluence of Scottish men, and the surliness which has replaced their wonted courtesy of manners. "

"Tush, Sir Minstrel, " replied the archer, displeased at Bertram'sinterference, "believe me, that armies have ere now depended on myreport to the general, which has always been perspicuous and clear, according to the duties of war. Your walk, my worthy friend, has beenin a separate department, such as affairs of peace, old songs, prophecies, and the like, in which it is far from my thoughts tocontend with you; but credit me, it will be most for the reputation, ofboth, that we do not attempt to interfere with what concerns eachother. "

"It is far from my wish to do so, " replied the minstrel; "but I would. Wish that a speedy return should be made to the castle, in order to askSir John de Walton's opinion of that which we have but just seen. "

"To this, " replied Greenleaf, "there can be no objection; but, wouldyou seek the governor at the hour which now is, you will find him mostreadily by going to the church of Douglas, to which he regularly wendson occasions such as the present, with the principal part of hisofficers, to ensure, by his presence, that no tumult arise (of whichthere is no little dread) between the English and the Scottish. Let ustherefore hold to our original intention of attending the service ofthe day, and we shall rid ourselves of these entangled woods, and gainthe shortest road to the church of Douglas. "

"Let us go, then, with all despatch, " said the minstrel; "and with thegreater haste, that it appears to me that something has passed on thisvery spot this morning, which argues that the Christian peace due tothe day has not been inviolably observed. What mean these drops ofblood?" alluding to those which had flowed from the wounds of Turnbull--"Wherefore is the earth impressed with these deep tints, the footstepsof armed men advancing and retreating, doubtless, according to thechances of a fierce and heady conflict?"

"By Our Lady, " returned Greenleaf, "I must own that thou seest clear. What were my eyes made of when they permitted thee to be the firstdiscoverer of these signs of conflict? Here are feathers of a blueplume, which I ought to remember, seeing my knight assumed it, or atleast permitted me to place it in his helmet, this morning, in sign ofreturning hope, from the liveliness of its colour. But here it lies, shorn from his head, and, if I may guess, by no friendly hand. Come, friend, to the church--to the church--and thou shalt have my example ofthe manner in which De Walton ought to be supported when in danger. "

He led the way through the town of Douglas, entering at the southerngate, and up the very street in which Sir Aymer de Valence had chargedthe Phantom Knight. 

We can now say more fully, that the church of Douglas had originallybeen a stately Gothic building, whose towers, arising high above thewalls of the town, bore witness to the grandeur of its originalconstruction. It was now partly ruinous, and the small portion of openspace which was retained for public worship was fitted up in the familyaisle where its deceased lords rested from worldly labours and thestrife of war. From the open ground in the front of the building, theireye could pursue a considerable part of the course of the river Douglas, which approached the town from the south-west, bordered by a line ofhills fantastically diversified in their appearance, and in many placescovered with copsewood, which descended towards the valley, and formeda part of the tangled and intricate woodland by which the town wassurrounded. The river itself, sweeping round the west side of the town, and from thence northward, supplied that large inundation or artificialpiece of water which we have already mentioned. Several of the Scottishpeople, bearing willow branches, or those of yew, to represent thepalms which were the symbol of the day, seemed wandering in thechurchyard as if to attend the approach of some person of peculiarsanctity, or procession, of monks and friars, come to render the homagedue to the solemnity. At the moment almost that Bertram and hiscompanion entered the churchyard, the Lady of Berkely, who was in theact of following Sir John de Walton into the church, after havingwitnessed his conflict with the young Knight of Douglas, caught aglimpse of her faithful minstrel, and instantly determined to regainthe company of that old servant of her house and confidant of herfortunes, and trust to the chance afterwards of being rejoined by SirJohn de Walton, with a sufficient party to provide for her safety, which she in no respect doubted it would be his care to collect. Shedarted away accordingly from the path in which she was advancing, andreached the place where Bertram, with his new acquaintance Greenleaf, were making some enquiries of the soldiers of the English garrison, whom the service of the day had brought there. 

Lady Augusta Berkely, in the meantime, had an opportunity to sayprivately to her faithful attendant and guide, "Take no notice of me, friend Bertram, but take heed, if possible, that we be not againseparated from each other. " Having given him this hint, she observedthat it was adopted by the minstrel, and that he presently afterwardslooked round and set his eye upon her, as, muffled in her pilgrim'scloak, she slowly withdrew to another part of the cemetery, and seemedto halt, until, detaching himself from Greenleaf, he should find anopportunity of joining her. 

Nothing, in truth, could have more sensibly affected the faithfulminstrel than the singular mode of communication which acquainted himthat his mistress was safe, and at liberty to choose her own motions, and, as he might hope, disposed to extricate herself from the dangerswhich surrounded her in Scotland, by an immediate retreat to her owncountry and domain. He would gladly have approached and joined her, butshe took an opportunity by a sign to caution him against doing so, while at the same time he remained somewhat apprehensive of theconsequences of bringing her under the notice of his new friend, Greenleaf, who might perhaps think it proper to busy himself so as togain some favour with the knight who was at the head of the garrison. Meantime the old archer continued his conversation with Bertram, whilethe minstrel, like many other men similarly situated, heartily wishedthat his well-meaning companion had been a hundred fathoms under ground, so his evanishment had given him license to join his mistress; but allhe had in his power was to approach her as near as he could, withoutcreating any suspicion. 

"I would pray you, worthy minstrel, " said Greenleaf, after lookingcarefully round, "that we may prosecute together the theme which wewere agitating before we came hither; is it not your opinion, that theScottish natives have fixed this very morning for some of thosedangerous attempts which they have repeatedly made, and which are socarefully guarded against by the governors placed in this district ofDouglas by our good King Edward, our rightful sovereign?"

"I cannot see, " replied the minstrel, "on what grounds you found suchan apprehension, or what you see here in the churchyard different fromthat you talked of as we approached it, when you held me rather inscorn, for giving way to some suspicions of the same kind. "

"Do you not see, " added the archer, "the numbers of men, with strangefaces, and in various disguisements, who are thronging about theseancient ruins, which are usually so solitary? Yonder, for example, sitsa boy who seems to shun observation, and whose dress, I will be sworn, has never been shaped in Scotland. "

"And if he is an English pilgrim, " replied the minstrel, observing thatthe archer pointed towards the Lady of Berkely, "he surely affords lessmatter of suspicion. "

"I know not that, " said old Greenleaf, "but I think it will bo my dutyto inform Sir John de Walton, if I can reach him, that there are manypersons here, who in outward appearance neither belong to the garrison, nor to this part of the country. '"

"Consider, " said Bertram, "before you harass with accusation a pooryoung man, and subject him to the consequences which must necessarilyattend upon suspicions of this nature, how many circumstances callforth men peculiarly to devotion at this period. Not only is this thetime of the triumphal entrance of the founder of the Christian religioninto Jerusalem, but the day itself is called Dominica Confitentium, orthe Sunday of Confessors, and the palm-tree, or the box and yew, whichare used as its substitutes, and which are distributed to the priests, are burnt solemnly to ashes, and those ashes distributed among thepious, by the priests, upon the Ash-Wednesday of the succeeding year, all which rites and ceremonies in our country, are observed, by orderof the Christian Church; nor ought you, gentle archer, nor can youwithout a crime, persecute those as guilty of designs upon yourgarrison, who can ascribe their presence here to their desire todischarge the duties of the day; and look ye at yon numerous processionapproaching with banner and cross, and, as it appears, consisting ofsome churchman of rank, and his attendants; let us first enquire who heis, and it is probable we shall find in his name and rank sufficientsecurity for the peaceable and orderly behaviour of those whom pietyhas this day assembled at the church of Douglas. "

Greenleaf accordingly made the investigation recommended by hiscompanion, and received information that the holy man who headed theprocession, was no other than the diocesan of the district, the Bishopof Glasgow, who had come to give his countenance to the rites withwhich the day was to be sanctified. 

The prelate accordingly entered the walls of the dilapidated churchyard, preceded by his cross-bearers, and attended by numbers, with boughs ofyew and other evergreens, used on the festivity instead of palms. Amongthem the holy father showered his blessing, accompanied by signs of thecross, which were met with devout exclamations by such of theworshippers as crowded around him:--"To thee, reverend father, we applyfor pardon for our offences, which we humbly desire to confess to thee, in order that we may obtain pardon from Heaven. "

In this manner the congregation and the dignified clergyman mettogether, exchanging pious greeting, and seemingly intent upon nothingbut the rites of the day. The acclamations of the congregation, mingledwith the deep voice of the officiating priest, dispensing the sacredritual; the whole forming a scene which, conducted with the Catholicskill and ceremonial, was at once imposing and affecting. 

The archer, on seeing the zeal with which the people in the churchyard, as well as a number who issued from the church, hastened proudly tosalute the bishop of the diocese, was rather ashamed of the suspicionswhich he had entertained of the sincerity of the good man's purpose incoming hither. Taking advantage of a fit of devotion, not perhaps verycommon with old Greenleaf, who at this moment thrust himself forward toshare in. Those spiritual advantages which the prelate was dispensing, Bertram. Slipped clear of his English friend, and, gliding to the sideof the Lady Augusta, exchanged, by the pressure of the hand, a mutualcongratulation upon having rejoined company. On a sign by the minstrel, they withdrew to the inside of the church, so as to remain unobservedamidst the crowd, in which they were favoured by the dark shadows ofsome parts of the building. 

The body of the church, broken as it was, and hung round with thearmorial trophies of the last Lords of Douglas, furnished rather theappearance of a sacrilegiously desecrated ruin, than the inside of aholy place; yet some care appeared to have been taken to prepare it forthe service of the day. At the lower end hung the great escutcheon ofWilliam Lord of Douglas, who had lately died a prisoner in England;around that escutcheon were placed the smaller shields of his sixteenancestors, and a deep black shadow was diffused by the whole mass, unless where relieved by the glance of the coronets, or the glimmer ofbearings particularly gay in emblazonry. I need not say that in otherrespects the interior of the church was much dismantled, it being thevery same place in which Sir Aymer de Valence held an interview withthe old sexton; and who now, drawing into a separate corner some of thestraggling parties whom he had collected and brought to the church, kept on the alert, and appeared ready for an attack as well at mid-dayas at the witching hour of midnight. This was the more necessary, asthe eye of Sir John de Walton seemed busied in searching from one placeto another, as if unable to find the object he was in quest of, whichthe reader will easily understand to be the Lady Augusta de Berkely, ofwhom he had lost sight in the pressure of the multitude. At the easternpart of the church was fitted up a temporary altar, by the side ofwhich, arrayed in his robes, the Bishop of Glasgow had taken his place, with such priests and attendants as composed his episcopal retinue. Hissuite was neither numerous nor richly attired, nor did his ownappearance present a splendid specimen of the wealth and dignity of theepiscopal order. When he laid down, however, his golden cross, at thestern command of the King of England, that of simple wood, which heassumed instead thereof, did not possess less authority, nor commandless awe among the clergy and people of the diocese. 

The various persons, natives of Scotland, now gathered around, seemedto watch his motions, as those of a descended saint, and the Englishwaited in mute astonishment, apprehensive that at some unexpectedsignal an attack would be made upon them, either by the powers of earthor heaven, or perhaps by both in combination. The truth is, that sogreat was the devotion of the Scottish clergy of the higher ranks tothe interests of the party of Bruce, that the English had becomejealous of permitting them to interfere even with those ceremonies ofthe Church which were placed under their proper management, and thencethe presence of the Bishop of Glasgow, officiating at a high festivalin the church of Douglas, was a circumstance of rare occurrence, andnot unattended both with wonder and suspicion. A council of the Church, however, had lately called the distinguished prelates of Scotland tothe discharge of their duty on the festivity of Palm Sunday, andneither English nor Scottish saw the ceremony with indifference. Anunwonted silence which prevailed in the church, filled, as it appeared, with persons of different views, hopes, wishes, and expectations, resembled one of those solemn pauses which often take place before astrife of the elements, and are well understood to be the forerunnersof some dreadful concussion of nature. All animals, according to theirvarious nature, express their sense of the approaching tempest; thecattle, the deer, and other inhabitants of the walks of the forest, withdraw to the inmost recesses of their pastures; the sheep crowd intotheir fold; and the dull stupor of universal nature, whether animate orinanimate, presages its speedily awakening into general convulsion anddisturbance, when the lurid lightning shall hiss at command of thediapason of the thunder. 

It was thus that, in deep suspense, those who had come to the church inarms, at the summons, of Douglas, awaited and expected every moment asignal to attack, while the soldiers of the English garrison, aware ofthe evil disposition of the natives towards them, were reckoning everymoment when the well-known shouts of "Bows and bills!" should givesignal for a general conflict, and both parties, gazing fiercely uponeach other, seemed to expect the fatal onset. 

Notwithstanding the tempest, which appeared every moment ready to burst, the Bishop of Glasgow proceeded with the utmost solemnity to performthe ceremonies proper to the day; he paused from time to time to surveythe throng, as if to calculate whether the turbulent passions of thosearound him would be so long kept under as to admit of his duties beingbrought to a close in a manner becoming the time and place. 

The prelate had just concluded the service, when a person advancedtowards him with a solemn and mournful aspect, and asked if thereverend father could devote a few moments to administer comfort to adying man, who was lying wounded close by. 

The churchman signified a ready acquiescence, amidst a stillness which, when he surveyed the lowering brows of one party at least of those whowere in the church, boded no peaceful termination to this fated day. The father motioned to the messenger to show him the way, and proceededon his mission, attended by some of those who were understood to befollowers of the Douglas. 

There was something peculiarly striking, if not suspicious, in theinterview which followed. In a subterranean vault was deposited theperson of a large tall man, whose blood flowed copiously through two orthree ghastly wounds, and streamed amongst the trusses of straw onwhich he lay; while his features exhibited a mixture of sternness andferocity, which seemed prompt to kindle into a still more savageexpression. 

The reader will probably conjecture that the person in question was noother than Michael Turnbull, who, wounded in the rencounter of themorning, had been left by some of his friends upon the straw, which wasarranged for him by way of couch, to live or die as he best could. Theprelate, on entering the vault, lost no time in calling the attentionof the wounded man to the state of his spiritual affairs, and assistinghim to such comfort as the doctrine of the Church directed should beadministered to departing sinners. The words exchanged between themwere of that grave and severe character which passes between theghostly father and his pupil, when one world is rolling away from theview of the sinner, and another is displaying itself in all its terrors, and thundering in the ear of the penitent that retribution which thedeeds done in the flesh must needs prepare him to expect. This is oneof the most solemn meetings which can take place between earthlybeings; and the courageous character of the Jedwood forester, as wellas the benevolent and pious expression of the old churchman, considerably enhanced the pathos of the scene. 

"Turnbull, " said the churchman, "I trust you will believe me when I saythat it grieves my heart to see thee brought to this situation bywounds which it is my duty to tell you, you must consider mortal. "

"Is the chase ended, then?" said the Jedwood man with a sigh. "I carenot, good father, for I think I have borne me as becomes a gallantquarry, and that the old forest has lost no credit by me, whether inpursuit, or in bringing to bay; and even in this last matter, methinksthis gay English knight would not have come off with such advantage hadthe ground on which we stood been alike indifferent to both, or had Ibeen aware of his onset; but it will be seen, by any one who takes thetrouble to examine, that poor Michael Turnbull's foot slipped twice inthe _melee_, otherwise it had not been his fate to be lying herein the dead-thraw; [Footnote: Or death agony. ] while yonder southronwould probably have died like a dog, upon this bloody straw, in hisplace. "

The bishop replied, advising his penitent to turn from vindictivethoughts respecting the death of others, and endeavour to fix hisattention upon his own departure from existence, which seemed shortlyabout to take place. 

"Nay, " replied the wounded man, "you, father, undoubtedly know bestwhat is fit for me to do; yet methinks it would not be very well withme if I had prolonged to this time of day the task of revising my life, and I am not the man to deny that mine has been a bloody and adesperate one. But you will grant me I never bore malice to a braveenemy for having done me an injury, and show me the man, being aScotchman born, and having a natural love for his own country, who hathnot, in these times, rather preferred a steel cap to a hat and feather, or who hath not been more conversant with drawn blades than withprayer-book; and you yourself know, father, whether, in our proceedingsagainst the English interest, we have not uniformly had the countenanceof the sincere fathers of the Scottish Church, and whether we have notbeen exhorted to take arms and make use of them, for the honour of theKing of Scotland, and the defence of our own rights. "

"Undoubtedly, " said the prelate, "such have been our exhortationstowards our oppressed countrymen, nor do I now teach you a differentdoctrine; nevertheless, having now blood around me, and a dying manbefore me, I have need to pray that I have not been misled from thetrue path, and thus become the means of misdirecting others. May Heavenforgive me if I have done so, since I have only to plead my sincere andhonest intention in excuse for the erroneous counsel which I may havegiven to you and others touching these wars. I am conscious thatencouraging you so to stain your swords in blood, I have departed insome degree from the character of my profession, which enjoins that weneither shed blood, nor are the occasion of its being shed. May Heavenenable us to obey our duties, and to repent of our errors, especiallysuch as have occasioned the death or distress of our fellow-creatures. And, above all, may this dying Christian become aware of his errors, and repent with sincerity of having done to others that which he wouldnot willingly have suffered at their hand!"

"For that matter, " answered Turnbull, "the time has never been when Iwould not exchange a blow with the best man who ever lived; and if Iwas not in constant practice of the sword, it was because I have beenbrought up to the use of the Jedwood-axe, which the English call apartisan, and which makes little difference, I understand, from thesword and poniard. "

"The distinction is not great, " said the bishop; "but I fear, my friend, that life taken with what you call a Jedwood-axe, gives you noprivilege over him who commits the same deed, and inflicts the sameinjury, with any other weapon. "

"Nay, worthy father, " said the penitent, "I must own that the effect ofthe weapons is the same, as far as concerns the man who suffers; but Iwould pray of you information, why a Jedwood man ought not to use, asis the custom of his country, a Jedwood-axe, being, as is implied inthe name, the offensive weapon proper to his country?"

"The crime of murder, " said the bishop, "consists not in the weaponwith which the crime is inflicted, but in the pain which the murdererinflicts upon his fellow-creature, and the breach of good order whichhe introduces into heaven's lovely and peaceable creation; and it is byturning your repentance upon this crime that you may fairly expect topropitiate Heaven for your offences, and at the same time to escape theconsequences which are denounced in Holy Writ against those by whomman's blood shall be shed. "

"But, good father, " said the wounded man, "you know as well as any one, that in this company, and in this very church, there are upon the watchscores of both Scotchmen and Englishmen, who come here not so much todischarge the religious duties of the day, as literally to bereave eachother of their lives, and give a new example of the horror of thosefeuds which the two extremities of Britain nourish against each other. What conduct, then, is a poor man like me to hold? Am I not to raisethis hand against the English, which methinks I still can make atolerably efficient one--or am I, for the first time in my life, tohear the war-cry when it is raised, and hold back my sword from theslaughter? Methinks it will be difficult, perhaps altogether impossible, for me to do so; but if such is the pleasure of Heaven, and your advice, most reverend father, unquestionably I must do my best to be governedby your directions, as of one who has a right and title to direct us inevery dilemma, or case, as they term it, of troubled conscience. "

"Unquestionably, " said the bishop, "it is my duty, as I have alreadysaid, to give no occasion this day for the shedding of blood, or thebreach of peace; and I must charge you, as my penitent, that upon yoursoul's safety, you do not minister any occasion to affray or bloodshed, either by maintaining such in your own person, or inciting others tothe same; for by following a different course of advice, I am certainthat you, as well as myself, would act sinfully and out of character. "

"So I will endeavour to think, reverend father, " answered the huntsman;"nevertheless, I hope it will be remembered in my favour that I am thefirst person bearing the surname of Turnbull, together with the propername of the Prince of Archangels himself, who has at any time been ableto sustain the affront occasioned by the presence of a southron with adrawn sword, and was not thereby provoked to pluck forth his own weapon, and to lay about him. "

"Take care, my son, " returned the Prelate of Glasgow, "and observe, that even now thou art departing from those resolutions which, but afew minutes since, thou didst adopt upon serious and justconsideration; wherefore do not be, O my son! like the sow that haswallowed in the mire, and, having been washed, repeats its act ofpollution, and becomes again yet fouler than it was before. "

"Well, reverend father, " replied the wounded man, "although it seemsalmost unnatural for Scottishmen and English to meet and part without abuffet, yet I will endeavour most faithfully not to minister anyoccasion of strife, nor, if possible, to snatch at any such occasion asshall be ministered to me. "

"In doing so, " returned the bishop, "thou wilt best atone for theinjury which thou hast done to the law of Heaven upon former occasions, and thou shalt prevent the causes for strife betwixt thee and thybrethren of the southern land, and shalt eschew the temptation towardsthat blood-guiltiness which is so rife in this our day and generation. And do not think that I am imposing upon thee, by these admonitions, aduty more difficult than it is in thy covenant to bear, as a man and asa Christian. I myself am a man and a Scotchman, and, as such, I feeloffended at the unjust conduct of the English towards our country andsovereign; and thinking as you do yourself, I know what you must sufferwhen you are obliged to submit to national insults, unretaliated andunrevenged. But let us not conceive ourselves the agents of thatretributive vengeance which Heaven has, in a peculiar degree, declaredto be its own attribute. Let us, while we see and feel the injuriesinflicted on our own country, not forget that our own raids, ambuscades, and surprisals, have been at least equally fatal to the English astheir attacks and forays have been to us; and, in short, let the mutualinjuries of the crosses of Saint Andrew and of Saint George be nolonger considered as hostile to the inhabitants of the oppositedistrict, at least during the festivals of religion; but as they aremutually signs of redemption, let them be, in like manner, intimationsof forbearance and peace on both sides. "

"I am contented, " answered Turnbull, "to abstain from all offencestowards others, and shall even endeavour to keep myself from resentingthose of others towards me, in the hope of bringing to pass such aquiet and godly state of things as your words, reverend father, induceme to expect. " Turning his face to the wall, the Borderer lay in sternexpectation of approaching death, which the bishop left him tocontemplate. The peaceful disposition which the prelate had inspiredinto Michael Turnbull, had in some degree diffused itself among thosepresent, who heard with awe the spiritual admonition to suspend thenational antipathy, and remain in truce and amity with each other. Heaven had, however, decreed that the national quarrel, in which somuch blood had been sacrificed, should that day again be the occasionof deadly strife. 

A loud flourish of trumpets, seeming to proceed from beneath the earth, now rung through the church, and roused the attention of the soldiersand worshippers then assembled. Most of those who heard these warlikesounds betook themselves to their weapons, as if they considered ituseless to wait any longer for the signal of conflict. Hoarse voices, rude exclamations, the rattle of swords against their sheaths, or theirclashing against other pieces of armour, gave an awful presage of anonset, which, however, was for a time averted by the exhortations ofthe bishop. A second flourish of trumpets having taken place, the voiceof a herald made proclamation to the following purpose:--

"That whereas there were many noble pursuivants of chivalry presentlyassembled in the Kirk of Douglas, and whereas there existed among themthe usual causes of quarrel and points of debate for their advancementin chivalry, therefore the Scottish knights were ready to fight anynumber of the English who might be agreed, either upon the superiorbeauty of their ladies, or upon the national quarrel in any of itsbranches, or upon whatever point might be at issue between them, whichshould be deemed satisfactory ground of quarrel by both; and theknights who should chance to be worsted in such dispute should renouncethe prosecution thereof, or the bearing arms therein thereafter, withsuch other conditions to ensue upon their defeat as might be agreedupon by a council of the knights present at the Kirk of Douglasaforesaid. But foremost of all, any number of Scottish knights, fromone to twenty, will defend the quarrel which has already drawn blood, touching the freedom of Lady Augusta de Berkely, and the rendition ofDouglas Castle to the owner here present. Wherefore it is required thatthe English knights do intimate their consent that such trial of valourtake place, which, according to the rules of chivalry, they cannotrefuse, without losing utterly the reputation of valour, and incurringthe diminution of such other degree of estimation as a courageouspursuivant of arms would willingly be held in, both by the good knightsof his own country, and those of others. "

This unexpected gage of battle realized the worst fears of those whohad looked with suspicion on the extraordinary assemblage this day ofthe dependents of the House of Douglas. After a short pause, thetrumpets again flourished lustily, when the reply of the Englishknights was made in the following terms:--

"That God forbid the rights and privileges of England's knights, andthe beauty of her damsels, should not be asserted by her children, orthat such English knights as were here assembled, should show the leastbackwardness to accept the combat offered, whether grounded upon thesuperior beauty of their ladies, or whether upon the causes of disputebetween the countries, for either or all of which the knights ofEngland here present were willing to do battle in the terms of theindenture aforesaid, while sword and lance shall endure. Saving andexcepting the surrender of the Castle of Douglas, which can be renderedto no one but England's king, or those acting under his orders. "

CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH. 

 Cry the wild war-note, let the champions pass, Do bravely each, and God defend the right; Upon Saint Andrew thrice can they thus cry, And thrice they shout on height, And then marked them on the Englishmen, As I have told you right. Saint George the bright, our ladies' knight, To name they were full fain; Our Englishmen they cried on height, And thrice they shout again. OLD BALLAD. 

The extraordinary crisis mentioned in the preceding chapter, was thecause, as may be supposed, of the leaders on both sides now throwingaside all concealment, and displaying their utmost strength, bymarshalling their respective adherents; the renowned Knight of Douglas, with Sir Malcolm Fleming and other distinguished cavaliers, were seenin close consultation. 

Sir John de Walton, startled by the first flourish of trumpets, whileanxiously endeavouring to secure a retreat for the Lady Augusta, was ina moment seen collecting his followers, in which he was assisted by theactive friendship of the Knight of Valence. 

The Lady of Berkely showed no craven spirit at these warlikepreparations; she advanced, closely followed by the faithful Bertram, and a female in a riding-hood, whose face, though carefully concealed, was no other than that of the unfortunate Margaret de Hautlieu, whoseworst fears had been realized as to the faithlessness of her betrothedknight. 

A pause ensued, which for some time no one present thought himself ofauthority sufficient to break. 

At last the Knight of Douglas stepped forward and said, loudly, "I waitto know whether Sir John de Walton requests leave of James of Douglasto evacuate his castle without further wasting that daylight whichmight show us to judge a fair field, and whether he craves Douglas'sprotection in doing so?"

The Knight of Walton drew his sword. "I hold the Castle of Douglas, " hesaid, "in spite of all deadly, --and never will I ask the protectionfrom any one which my own sword is competent to afford me. "

"I stand by you, Sir John, " said Aymer de Valence, "as your truecomrade, against whatever odds may oppose themselves to us. "

"Courage, noble English, " said the voice of Greenleaf; "take yourweapons in God's name. Bows and bills! bows and bills!--A messengerbrings us notice that Pembroke is in full march hither from the bordersof Ayrshire, and will be with us in half an hour. Fight on, gallantEnglish! Valence to the rescue! and long life to the gallant Earl ofPembroke!"

Those English within and around the church no longer delayed to takearms, and De Walton, crying out at the height of his voice, "I implorethe Douglas to look nearly to the safety of the ladies, " fought his wayto the church door; the Scottish finding themselves unable to resistthe impression of terror which affected them at the sight of thisrenowned knight, seconded by his brother-in-arms, both of whom had beenso long the terror of the district. In the meantime, it is possiblethat De Walton might altogether have forced his way out of the church, had he not been met boldly by the young son of Thomas Dickson ofHazelside, while his father was receiving from Douglas the charge ofpreserving the stranger ladies from all harm from the fight, which, solong suspended, was now on the point of taking place. 

De Walton cast his eye upon the Lady Augusta, with a desire of rushingto the rescue; but was forced to conclude, that he provided best forher safety by leaving her under the protection of Douglas's honour. 

Young Dickson, in the meantime, heaped blow on blow, seconding with allhis juvenile courage every effort he could make, in order to attain theprize due to the conqueror of the renowned De Walton. 

"Silly boy, " at length said Sir John, who had for some time forbornethe stripling, "take, then, thy death from a noble hand, since thoupreferrest that to peace and length of days. "

"I care not, " said the Scottish youth, with his dying breath; "I havelived long enough, since I have kept you so long in the place where younow stand. "

And the youth said truly, for as he fell never again to rise, theDouglas stood in his place, and without a word spoken, again engagedwith De Walton in the same formidable single combat, by which they hadalready been distinguished, but with even additional fury. Aymer deValence drew up to his friend De Walton's left hand, and seemed but todesire the apology of one of Douglas's people attempting to second him, to join in the fray; but as he saw no person who seemed disposed togive him such opportunity, he repressed the inclination, and remainedan unwilling spectator. At length it seemed as if Fleming, who stoodforemost among the Scottish knights, was desirous to measure his swordwith De Valence. Aymer himself, burning with the desire of combat, atlast called out, "Faithless Knight of Boghall! step forth and defendyourself against the imputation of having deserted your lady-love, andof being a man-sworn disgrace to the rolls of chivalry!"

"My answer, " said Fleming, "even to a less gross taunt, hangs by myside. " In an instant his sword was in his hand, and even the practisedwarriors who looked on felt difficulty in discovering the progress ofthe strife, which rather resembled a thunder storm in a mountainouscountry than the stroke and parry of two swords, offending on the oneside, and keeping the defensive on the other. 

Their blows were exchanged with surprising rapidity; and although thetwo combatants did not equal Douglas and De Walton in maintaining acertain degree of reserve, founded upon a respect which these knightsmutually entertained for each other, yet the want of art was suppliedby a degree of fury, which gave chance at least an equal share in theissue. 

Seeing their superiors thus desperately engaged, the partisans, as theywere accustomed, stood still on either side, and looked on with thereverence which they instinctively paid to their commanders and leadersin arms. One or two of the women were in the meanwhile attracted, according to the nature of the sex, by compassion for those who hadalready experienced the casualties of war. Young Dickson, breathing hislast among the feet of the combatants, [Footnote: [The fall of this, brave stripling by the hand of the English governor, and the sternheroism of the father in turning from the spot where he lay, "a modelof beauty and strength, " that he might not be withdrawn from the dutywhich Douglas had assigned him of protecting the Lady of Berkely, excites an interest for both, with which it is almost to be regrettedthat history interferes. It was the old man, Thomas Dickson, not hisson, who fell. The _slogan_, "a Douglas, a Douglas, " having beenprematurely raised, Dickson, who was within the church, thinking thathis young Lord with his armed band was at hand, drew his sword, andwith only one, man to assist him, opposed the English, who now rushedto the door. Cut across the middle by an English sword, he stillcontinued his opposition, till he fell lifeless at the threshold. Suchis tradition, and it is supported by a memorial of some authority--atombstone, still to be seen in the church-yard of Douglas, on winch issculptured a figure of Dickson, supporting with his left arm hisprotruding entrails, and raising his sword with the other in theattitude of combat. ]--_Note by the Rev, Mr. Stewart of Douglas_. ]was in some sort rescued from the tumult by the Lady of Berkely, inwhom the action seemed less strange, owing to the pilgrim's dress whichshe still retained, and who in vain endeavoured to solicit theattention of the boy's father to the task in which she was engaged. 

"Cumber yourself not, lady, about that which is bootless, " said oldDickson, "and distract not your own attention and mine from preservingyou, whom it is the Douglas's wish to rescue, and whom, so please Godand St. Bride, I consider as placed by my Chieftain under my charge. Believe me, this youth's death is in no way forgotten, though this benot the time to remember it. A time will come for recollection, and anhour for revenge. "

So said the stern old man, reverting his eyes from the bloody corpsewhich lay at his feet, a model of beauty and strength. Having taken onemore anxious look, he turned round, and placed himself where he couldbest protect the Lady of Berkely, not again turning his eyes on hisson's body. 

In the interim the combat continued, without the least cessation oneither side, and without a decided advantage. At length, however, fateseemed disposed to interfere; the Knight of Fleming, pushing fiercelyforward, and brought by chance almost close to the person of the LadyMargaret de Hautlieu, missed his blow, and his foot sliding in theblood of the young victim, Dickson, he fell before his antagonist, andwas in imminent danger of being at his mercy, when Margaret de Hautlieu, who inherited the soul of a warrior, and, besides, was a very strong, as well as an undaunted person, seeing a mace of no great weight lyingon the floor, where it had been dropped by the fallen Dickson, it, atthe same instant, caught her eye, armed her hand, and intercepted, orstruck down the sword of Sir Aymer de Valence, who would otherwise haveremained the master of the day at that interesting moment. Fleming hadmore to do to avail himself of an unexpected chance of recovery, thanto make a commentary upon the manner in which it had been so singularlybrought about; he instantly recovered the advantage he had lost, andwas able in the ensuing close to trip up the feet of his antagonist, who fell on the pavement, while the voice of his conqueror, if he couldproperly be termed such, resounded through the church with the fatalwords, "Yield thee, Aymer de Valence--rescue or no rescue--yield thee!--yield ye!" he added, as he placed his sword to the throat of thefallen knight, "not to me, but to this noble lady--rescue or norescue. "

With a heavy heart the English knight perceived that he had lost sofavourable an opportunity of acquiring fame, and was obliged to submitto his destiny, or be slain upon the spot. There was only oneconsolation, that no battle was ever more honourably sustained, beinggained as much by accident as by valour. 

The fate of the protracted and desperate combat between Douglas and DeWalton did not much longer remain in suspense; indeed, the number ofconquests in single combat achieved by the Douglas in these wars, wasso great, as to make it doubtful whether he was not, in personalstrength and skill, even a superior knight to Bruce himself, and he wasat least acknowledged nearly his equal in the art of war. 

So however it was, that when three quarters of an hour had passed inhard contest, Douglas and De Walton, whose nerves were not actually ofiron, began to show some signs that their human bodies were feeling theeffect of the dreadful exertion. Their blows began to be drawn moreslowly, and were parried with less celerity. Douglas, seeing that thecombat must soon come to an end, generously made a signal, intimatingto his antagonist to hold his hand for an instant. 

"Brave De Walton, " he said, "there is no mortal quarrel between us, andyou must be sensible that in this passage of arms, Douglas, though heis only worth his sword and his cloak, has abstained from taking adecisive advantage when the chance of arms has more than once offeredit. My father's house, the broad domains around it, the dwelling, andthe graves of my ancestors, form a reasonable reward for a knight tofight for, and call upon me in an imperative voice the prosecute tostrife which has such an object, while you are as welcome to the noblelady, in all honour and safety, as if you had received her from thehands of King Edward himself; and I give you my word, that the utmosthonours which can attend a prisoner, and a careful absence of everything like injury or insult, shall attend De Walton when he yields upthe castle, as well as his sword to James of Douglas. "

"It is the fate to which I am perhaps doomed, " replied Sir John deWalton; "but never will I voluntarily embrace it, and never shall it besaid that my own tongue, saving in the last extremity, pronounced uponme the fatal sentence to sink the point of my own sword. Pembroke isupon the march with his whole army, to rescue the garrison of Douglas. I hear the tramp of his horse's feet even now; and I will maintain myground while I am within reach of support; nor do I fear that thebreath which now begins to fail will not last long enough to uphold thestruggle till the arrival of the expected succour. Come on, then, andtreat me not as a child, but as one who, whether I stand or fall, fearsnot to encounter the utmost force of my knightly antagonist. "

"So be it then, " said Douglas, a darksome hue, like the lurid colour ofthe thunder-cloud, changing his brow as he spoke, intimating that hemeditated a speedy end to the contest, when, just as the noise ofhorses' feet drew nigh, a Welsh knight, known as such by the diminutivesize of his steed, his naked limbs, and his bloody spear, called outloudly to the combatants to hold their hands. 

"Is Pembroke near?" said De Walton. 

"No nearer than Loudon Hill, " said the Prestantin; "but I bring hiscommands to John de Walton. "

"I stand ready to obey them through every danger, " answered the knight. 

"Woe is me, " said the Welshman, "that my mouth should bring to the earsof so brave a man tidings so unwelcome! The Earl of Pembroke yesterdayreceived information that the castle of Douglas was attacked by the sonof the deceased Earl, and the whole inhabitants of the district. Pembroke, on hearing this, resolved to march to your support, nobleknight, with all the forces he had at his disposal. He did so, andaccordingly entertained every assurance of relieving the castle, whenunexpectedly he met, on Loudon Hill, a body of men of no very inferiorforce to his own, and having at their head that famous Bruce whom theScottish rebels acknowledge as their king. He marched instantly to theattack, swearing he would not even draw a comb through his grey bearduntil he had rid England of his recurring plague. But the fate of warwas against us. "

He stopt here for lack of breath. 

"I thought so!" exclaimed Douglas. "Robert Bruce will now sleep atnight, since he has paid home Pembroke for the slaughter of his friendsand the dispersion of his army at Methuen Wood. His men are, indeed, accustomed to meet with dangers, and to conquer them: those who followhim have been trained under Wallace, besides being partakers of theperils of Bruce himself. It was thought that the waves had swallowedthem when they shipped themselves from the west; but know, that theBruce was determined with the present reviving spring to awaken hispretensions, and that he retires not from Scotland again while he lives, and while a single lord remains to set his foot by his sovereign, inspite of all the power which has been so feloniously employed againsthim. "

"It is even too true, " said the Welshman Meredith, "although it is saidby a proud Scotchman. --The Earl of Pembroke, completely defeated, isunable to stir from Ayr, towards which he has retreated with greatloss: and he sends his instructions to Sir John de Walton, to make thebest terms he can for the surrender of the Castle of Douglas, and trustnothing to his support. "

The Scottish, who heard this unexpected news, joined in a shout so loudand energetic, that the ruins of the ancient church seemed actually torock and threaten to fall on the heads of those who were crowded withinit. 

The brow of De Walton was overclouded at the news of Pembroke's defeat, although in some respects it placed him at liberty to take measures forthe safety of the Lady of Berkely. He could not, however, claim thesame honourable terms which had been offered to him by Douglas beforethe news of the battle of Loudon Hill had arrived. 

"Noble knight, " he said, "it is entirely at your pleasure to dictatethe terms of surrender of your paternal castle; nor have I a right toclaim from you those conditions which, a little while since, yourgenerosity put in my offer. But I submit to my fate; and upon whateverterms you think fit to grant me, I must be content to offer tosurrender to you the weapon, of which I now put the point in the earth, in evidence that I will never more direct it against you until a fairransom shall place it once more at my own disposal. "

"God forbid, " answered the noble James of Douglas, "that I should takesuch advantage of the bravest knight out of not a few who have foundme work in battle! I will take example from the Knight of Fleming, whohas gallantly bestowed his captive in guerdon upon a noble damsel herepresent; and in like manner I transfer my claim upon the person of theredoubted Knight of Walton, to the high and noble Lady Augusta Berkely, who, I hope, will not scorn to accept from the Douglas a gift which thechance of war has thrown into his hands. "

Sir John de Walton, on hearing this unexpected decision, looked up likethe traveller who discovers the beams of the sun breaking through anddispersing the tempest which has accompanied him for a whole morning. The Lady of Berkely recollected what became her rank, and showed hersense of the Douglas's chivalry. Hastily wiping off the tears which hadunwillingly flowed to her eyes, while her lover's safety and her ownwere resting on the precarious issue of a desperate combat, she assumedthe look proper to a heroine of that age, who did not feel averse toaccept the importance which was conceded to her by the general voice ofthe chivalry of the period. Stepping forward, bearing her persongracefully, yet modestly, in the attitude of a lady accustomed to belooked to in difficulties like the present, she addressed the audiencein a tone which might not have misbecome the Goddess of Battledispersing her influence at the close of a field covered with the deadand the dying. 

"The noble Douglas, " she said, "shall not pass without a prize from thefield which he has so nobly won. This rich string of brilliants, whichmy ancestor won from the Sultan of Trebisond, itself a prize of battle, will be honoured by sustaining, under the Douglas's armour, a lock ofhair of the fortunate lady whom the victorious lord has adopted for hisguide in. Chivalry; and if the Douglas, till he shall adorn it withthat lock, will permit the honoured lock of hair which it now bears toretain its station, she on whose head it grew will hold it as a signalthat poor Augusta de Berkely is pardoned for having gaged any mortalman in strife with the Knight of Douglas. "

"Woman's love, " replied the Douglas, "shall not divorce this locketfrom my bosom, which I will keep till the last day of my life, asemblematic of female worth and female virtue. And, not to encroach uponthe valued and honoured province of Sir John de Walton, be it known toall men, that whoever shall say that the Lady Augusta of Berkely has, in this entangled matter, acted otherwise than becomes the noblest ofher sex, he will do well to be ready to maintain such a propositionwith his lance, against James of Douglas, in a fair field. "

This speech was heard with approbation on all sides; and the newsbrought by Meredith of the defeat of the Earl of Pembroke, and hissubsequent retreat, reconciled the fiercest of the English soldiers tothe surrender of Douglas Castle. The necessary conditions were speedilyagreed on, which put the Scottish in possession of this stronghold, together with the stores, both of arms and ammunition, of every kindwhich it contained. The garrison had it to boast, that they obtained afree passage, with their horses and arms, to return by the shortest andsafest route to the marches of England, without either suffering orinflicting damage. 

Margaret of Hautlieu was not behind in acting a generous part; thegallant Knight of Valence was allowed to accompany his friend De Waltonand the Lady Augusta to England, and without ransom. 

The venerable prelate of Glasgow, seeing what appeared at one timelikely to end in a general conflict, terminate so auspiciously for hiscountry, contented himself with bestowing his blessing on the assembledmultitude, and retiring with those who came to assist in the service ofthe day. 

This surrender of Douglas Castle upon the Palm Sunday of 19th March, 1306-7, was the beginning of a career of conquest which wasuninterrupted, in which the greater part of the strengths andfortresses of Scotland were yielded to those who asserted the libertyof their country, until the crowning mercy was gained in the celebratedfield of Bannockburn, where the English sustained a defeat moredisastrous than is mentioned upon any other occasion in their annals. 

Little need be said of the fate of the persons of this story. KingEdward was greatly enraged at Sir John de Walton for having surrenderedthe Castle of Douglas, securing at the same time his own object, theenvied hand of the heiress of Berkely. The knights to whom he referredthe matter as a subject of enquiry, gave it nevertheless as theiropinion that De Walton was void of all censure, having discharged hisduty in its fullest extent, till the commands of his superior officerobliged him to surrender tho Dangerous Castle. 

A singular renewal of intercourse took place, many months afterwards, between Margaret of Hautlieu and her lover, Sir Malcolm Fleming. Theuse which the lady made of her freedom, and of the doom of the ScottishParliament, which put her in possession of her father's inheritance, was to follow her adventurous spirit through dangers not usuallyencountered by those of her sex; and the Lady of Hautlieu was not onlya daring follower of the chase, but it was said that she was even notdaunted in the battlefield. She remained faithful to the politicalprinciples which she had adopted at an early period; and it seemed asif she had formed the gallant resolution of shaking the god Cupid fromher horse's mane, if not treading him beneath her horse's feet. 

The Fleming, although he had vanished from the neighbourhood of thecounties of Lanark and Ayr, made an attempt to state his apology to theLady de Hautlieu herself, who returned his letter unopened, andremained to all appearance resolved never again to enter upon the topicof their original engagement. It chanced, however, at a later period ofthe war with England, while Fleming was one night travelling upon theBorder, after the ordinary fashion of one who sought adventures, awaiting-maid, equipped in a fantastic habit, asked the protection ofhis arm in the name of her lady, who, late in the evening, had beenmade captive, she said, by certain ill-disposed caitiffs, who werecarrying her by force through the forest. The Fleming's lance was, ofcourse, in its rest, and woe betide the faitour whose lot it was toencounter its thrust; the first fell, incapable of further combat, andanother of the felons encountered the same fate with little moreresistance. The lady, released from the discourteous cord whichrestrained her liberty, did not hesitate to join company with the braveknight by whom she had been rescued; and although the darkness did notpermit her to recognise her old lover in her liberator, yet she couldnot but lend a willing ear to the conversation with which heentertained her, as they proceeded on the way. He spoke of the fallencaitiffs as being Englishmen, who found a pleasure in exercisingoppression and barbarities upon the wandering damsels of Scotland, andwhose cause, therefore, the champions of that country were bound toavenge while the blood throbbed in their veins. He spoke of theinjustice of the national quarrel which had afforded a pretence forsuch deliberate oppression; and the lady, who herself had suffered somuch by the interference of the English in the affairs of Scotland, readily acquiesced in the sentiments which he expressed on a subjectwhich she had so much reason for regarding as an afflicting one. Heranswer was given in the spirit of a person who would not hesitate, ifthe times should call for such an example, to defend even with her handthe rights which she asserted with her tongue. 

Pleased with the sentiments which she expressed, and recognising in hervoice that secret charm, which, once impressed upon the human heart, israrely wrought out of the remembrance by a long train of subsequentevents, he almost persuaded himself that the tones were familiar to him, and had at one time formed the key to his innermost affections. Inproceeding on their journey, the knight's troubled state of mind wasaugmented instead of being diminished. The scenes of his earliest youthwere recalled by circumstances so slight, as would in ordinary caseshave produced no effect whatever; the sentiments appeared similar tothose which his life had been devoted to enforce, and he half persuadedhimself that the dawn of day was to be to him the beginning of afortune equally singular and extraordinary. 

In the midst of this anxiety, Sir Malcolm Fleming had no anticipationthat the lady whom he had heretofore rejected was again thrown into hispath, after years of absence; still less, when daylight gave him apartial view of his fair companion's countenance, was he prepared tobelieve that he was once again to term himself the champion of Margaretde Hautlieu, but it was so. The lady, on that direful morning when sheretired from the church of Douglas, had not resolved (indeed what ladyever did?) to renounce, without some struggle, the beauties which shehad once possessed. A long process of time, employed under skilfulhands, had succeeded in obliterating the scars which remained as themarks of her fall. These were now considerably effaced, and the lostorgan of sight no longer appeared so great a blemish, concealed, as itwas, by a black ribbon, and the arts of the tirewoman, who made it herbusiness to shadow it over by a lock of hair. In a word, he saw thesame Margaret de Hautlieu, with no very different style of expressionfrom that which her face, partaking of the high and passionatecharacter of her soul, had always presented. It seemed to both, therefore, that their fate, by bringing them together after aseparation which appeared so decisive, had intimated its _fiat_that their fortunes were inseparable from each other. By the time thatthe summer sun had climbed high in the heavens, the two travellers rodeapart from their retinue, conversing together with an eagerness whichmarked the important matters of discussion between them; and in a shorttime it was made generally known through Scotland, that Sir MalcolmFleming and the Lady Margaret de Hautlieu were to be united at thecourt of the good King Robert, and the husband invested with thehonours of Biggar and Cumbernauld, an earldom so long known in thefamily of Fleming. 

The gentle reader is acquainted, that these are, in all probability, the last tales which it will be the lot of the Author to submit to thepublic. He is now on the eve of visiting foreign parts; a ship of waris commissioned by its Royal Master to carry the Author of Waverley toclimates in which he may possibly obtain such a restoration of healthas may serve him to spin his thread to an end in his own country. Hadhe continued to prosecute his usual literary labours, it seems indeedprobable, that at the term of years he has already attained, the bowl, to use the pathetic language of Scripture, would have been broken atthe fountain; and little can one, who has enjoyed on the whole anuncommon share of the most inestimable of worldly blessings, beentitled to complain, that life, advancing to its period, should beattended with its usual proportions of shadows and storms. They haveaffected him at least in no more painful manner than is inseparablefrom the discharge of this part of the debt of humanity. Of those whoserelation to him in the ranks of life might have ensured him theirsympathy under indisposition, many are now no more; and those who mayyet follow in his wake, are entitled to expect, in bearing inevitableevils, an example of firmness and patience, more especially on the partof one who has enjoyed no small good fortune during the course of hispilgrimage. 

The public have claims on his gratitude, for which the Author ofWaverley has no adequate means of expression; but he may be permittedto hope, that the powers of his mind, such as they are, may not have adifferent date from those of his body; and that he may again meet hispatronising friends, if not exactly in his old fashion of literature, at least in some branch, which may not call forth the remark, that--

 "Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage. "

ABBOTSFORD, _September_, 1831. 

END OF CASTLE DANGEROUS. 

MY AUNT MARGARET'S MIRROR

INTRODUCTION. --(1831. )

The species of publication--which has come to be generally known by thetitle of _Annual_, being a miscellany of prose and verse, equippedwith numerous engravings, and put forth every year about Christmas, hadflourished for a long while in Germany, before it was imitated in thiscountry by an enterprising bookseller, a German by birth, Mr. Ackermann. The rapid success of his work, as is the custom of the time, gave birthto a host of rivals, and, among others, to an Annual styled TheKeepsake, the first volume of which appeared in 1828, and attractedmuch notice, chiefly in consequence of the very uncommon splendour ofits illustrative accompaniments. The expenditure which the spiritedproprietors lavished on this magnificent volume, is understood to havebeen not less than from ten to twelve thousand pounds sterling!

Various gentlemen, of such literary reputation that any one might thinkit an honour to be associated with them, had been announced ascontributors to this Annual, before application was made to me toassist in it; and I accordingly placed with much pleasure at theEditor's disposal a few fragments, originally designed to have beenworked into the Chronicles of the Canongate, besides a MS. Drama, thelong-neglected performance of my youthful days, --the House of Aspen. 

The Keepsake for 1828 included, however, only three of these littleprose tales--of which the first in order was that entitled "My AuntMargaret's Mirror. " By way of _introduction_ to this, when nowincluded in a general collection of my lucubrations, I have only to saythat it is a mere transcript, or at least with very littleembellishment, of a story that I remembered being struck with in mychildhood, when told at the fireside by a lady of eminent virtues, andno inconsiderable share of talent, one of the ancient and honourablehouse of Swinton. She was a kind relation of my own, and met her deathin a manner so shocking, being killed in a fit of insanity by a femaleattendant who had been attached to her person for half a lifetime, thatI cannot now recall her memory, child as I was when the catastropheoccurred, without a painful reawakening of perhaps the first images ofhorror that the scenes of real life stamped on my mind. 

This good spinster had in her composition a strong vein of thesuperstitious, and was pleased, among other fancies, to read alone inher chamber by a taper fixed in a candlestick which she had formed outof a human skull. One night, this strange piece of furniture acquiredsuddenly the power of locomotion, and, after performing some oddcircles on her chimneypiece, fairly leaped on the floor, and continuedto roll about the apartment. Mrs. Swinton calmly proceeded to theadjoining room for another light, and had the satisfaction to penetratethe mystery on the spot. Rats abounded in the ancient building sheinhabited, and one of these had managed to ensconce itself within herfavourite _memento mori_. Though thus endowed with a more thanfeminine share of nerve, she entertained largely that belief insupernaturals, which in those times was not considered as sittingungracefully on the grave and aged of her condition; and the story ofthe Magic Mirror was one for which she vouched with particularconfidence, alleging indeed that one of her own family had been an eye-witness of the incidents recorded in it. 

 "I tell the tale as it was told to me. "

Stories enow of much the same cast will present themselves to therecollection of such of my readers as have ever dabbled in a species oflore to which I certainly gave more hours, at one period of my life, than I should gain any credit by confessing. 

_August_, 1831. 

MY AUNT MARGARET'S MIRROR. 

 "There are times When Fancy plays her gambols, in despite Even of our watchful senses, when in sooth Substance seems shadow, shadow substance seems When the broad, palpabale, and mark'd partition 'Twixt that which is and is not, seems dissolved As if the mental eye gain'd power to gaze Beyond the limits of the existing world. Such hours of shadowy dreams I better love Than all the gross realities of life. " ANONYMOUS. 

 My Aunt Margaret was one of that respected sisterhood, upon whomdevolve all the trouble and solicitude incidental to the possession ofchildren, excepting only that which attends their entrance into theworld. We were a large family, of very different dispositions andconstitutions. Some were dull and peevish--they were sent to AuntMargaret to be amused; some were rude, romping, and boisterous--theywere sent to Aunt Margaret to be kept quiet, or rather that their noisemight be removed out of hearing: those who were indisposed were sentwith the prospect of being nursed--those who were stubborn, with thehope of their being subdued by the kindness of Aunt Margaret'sdiscipline; in short, she had all the various duties of a mother, without the credit and dignity of the maternal character. The busyscene of her various cares is now over--of the invalids and the robust, the kind and the rough, the peevish and pleased children, who throngedher little parlour from morning to night, not one now remains alive butmyself; who, afflicted by early infirmity, was one of the most delicateof her nurslings, yet nevertheless, have outlived them all. 

It is still my custom, and shall be so while I have the use of my limbs, to visit my respected relation at least three times a-week. Her abodeis about half a mile from the suburbs of the town in which I reside;and is accessible, not only by the high-road, from which it stands atsome distance, but by means of a greensward footpath, leading throughsome pretty meadows. I have so little left to torment me in life, thatit is one of my greatest vexations to know that several of thesesequestered fields have been devoted as sites for building. In thatwhich is nearest the town, wheelbarrows have been at work for severalweeks in such numbers, that, I verily believe, its whole surface, tothe depth of at least eighteen inches, was mounted in these monotrochsat the same moment, and in the act of being transported from one placeto another. Huge triangular piles of planks are also reared indifferent parts of the devoted messuage; and a little group of trees, that still grace the eastern end, which rises in a gentle ascent, havejust received warning to quit, expressed by a daub of white paint, andare to give place to a curious grove of chimneys. 

It would, perhaps, hurt others in my situation to reflect that thislittle range of pasturage once belonged to my father, (whose family wasof some consideration in the world, ) and was sold by patches to remedydistresses in which he involved himself in an attempt by commercialadventure to redeem, his diminished fortune. While the building schemewas in full operation, this circumstance was often pointed out to me bythe class of friends who are anxious that no part of your misfortunesshould escape your observation. "Such pasture-ground!--lying at thevery town's end--in turnips and potatoes, the parks would bring20_l_. Per acre, and if leased for building--Oh, it was a goldmine!--And all sold for an old song out of the ancient possessor'shands!" My comforters cannot bring me to repine much on this subject. If I could be allowed to look back on the past without interruption, Icould willingly give up the enjoyment of present income, and the hopeof future profit, to those who have purchased what my father sold. Iregret the alteration of the ground only because it destroysassociations, and I would more willingly (I think) see the Earl'sCloses in the hands of strangers, retaining their silvan appearance, than know them for my own, if torn up by agriculture, or covered withbuildings. Mine are the sensations of poor Logan:

 "The horrid plough has rased the green Where yet a child I stray'd; The axe has fell'd the hawthorn screen, The schoolboy's summer shade. "

I hope, however, the threatened devastation will not be consummated inmy day. Although the adventurous spirit of times short while sincepassed gave rise to the undertaking, I have been encouraged to think, that the subsequent changes have so far damped the spirit ofspeculation, that the rest of the woodland footpath leading to AuntMargaret's retreat will be left undisturbed for her time and mine. I aminterested in this, for every step of the way, after I have passedthrough the green already mentioned, has for me something of earlyremembrance :--There is the stile at which I can recollect a crosschild's-maid upbraiding me with my infirmity, as she lifted me coarselyand carelessly over the flinty steps, which my brothers traversed withshout and bound. I remember the suppressed bitterness of the mo-ment, and, conscious of my own inferiority, the feeling of envy with which Iregarded the easy movements and elastic steps of my more happily formedbrethren. Alas! these goodly barks have all perished on life's wideocean, and only that which seemed so little seaworthy, as the navalphrase goes, has reached the port when the tempest is over. Then thereis the pool, where, manoeuvring our little navy, constructed out of thebroad water flags, my elder brother fell in, and was scarce saved fromthe watery element to die under Nelson's banner. There is the hazelcopse also, in which my brother Henry used to gather nuts, thinkinglittle that he was to die in an Indian jungle in quest of rupees. 

There is so much more of remembrance about the little walk, that--as Istop, rest on my crutch-headed cane, and look round with that speciesof comparison between the thing I was and that which I now am--italmost induces me to doubt my own identity; until I find myself in faceof the honeysuckle porch of Aunt Margaret's dwelling, with itsirregularity of front, and its odd projecting latticed windows; wherethe workmen seem to have made a study that no one of them shouldresemble another, in form, size, or in the old-fashioned stoneentablature and labels which adorn them. This tenement, once the manor-house of Earl's Closes, we still retain a slight hold upon; for, insome family arrangements, it had been settled upon Aunt Margaret duringthe term of her life. Upon this frail tenure depends, in a greatmeasure, the last shadow of the family of Bothwell of Earl's Closes, and their last slight connection with their paternal inheritance. Theonly representative will then be an infirm old man, moving notunwillingly to the grave, which has devoured all that were dear to hisaifections. 

When I have indulged such thoughts for a minute or two, I enter themansion, which is said to have been the gatehouse only of the originalbuilding, and find one being on whom time seems to have made littleimpression; for the Aunt Margaret of to-day bears the same proportionalago to the Aunt Margaret of my early youth, that the boy of ten yearsold does to the man of (by'r Lady!) some fifty-six years. The oldlady's invariable costume has doubtless some share in confirming one inthe opinion, that time has stood still with Aunt Margaret. 

The brown or chocolate-coloured silk gown, with ruffles of the samestuff at the elbow, within which are others of Mechlin lace--the blacksilk gloves, or mitts, the white hair combed back upon a roll, and thecap of spotless cambric, which closes around the venerable countenance, as they were not the costume of 1780, so neither were they that of1826; they are altogether a style peculiar to the individual AuntMargaret. There she still sits, as she sat thirty years since, with herwheel or the stocking, which she works by the fire in winter, and bythe window in summer; or, perhaps, venturing as far as the porch in anunusually fine summer evening. Her frame, like some well-constructedpiece of mechanics, still performs the operations for which it hadseemed destined; going its round with an activity which is graduallydiminished, yet indicating no probability that it will soon come to aperiod. 

The solicitude and affection which had made Aunt Margaret the willingslave to the inflictions of a whole nursery, have now for their objectthe health and comfort of one old and infirm man, the last remainingrelative of her family, and the only one who can still find interest inthe traditional stores which she hoards as some miser hides the goldwhich he desires that no one should enjoy after his death. 

My conversation with Aunt Margaret generally relates little either tothe present or to the future: for the passing day we possess as much aswe require, and we neither of us wish for more; and for that which isto follow we have on this side of the grave neither hopes, nor fears, nor anxiety. We therefore naturally look back to the past; and forgetthe present fallen fortunes and declined importance of our family, inrecalling the hours when it was wealthy and prosperous. 

With this slight introduction, the reader will know as much of AuntMargaret and her nephew as is necessary to comprehend the followingconversation and narrative. 

Last week, when, late in a summer evening, I went to call on the oldlady to whom my reader is now introduced, I was received by her withall her usual affection and benignity; while, at the same time, sheseemed abstracted and disposed to silence. I asked her the reason. "They have been clearing out the old chapel, " she said; "JohnClayhudgeons having, it seems, discovered that the stuff within--being, I suppose, the remains of our ancestors--was excellent for top-dressingthe meadows. "

Here I started up with more alacrity than I have displayed for someyears; but sat down while my aunt added, laying her hand upon my sleeve, "The chapel has been long considered as common ground, my dear, andused for a penfold, and what objection can we have to the man foremploying what is his own, to his own profit? Besides, I did speak tohim, and he very readily and civilly promised, that, if he found bonesor monuments, they should be carefully respected and reinstated; andwhat more could I ask? So, the first stone they found bore the name ofMargaret Bothwell, 1585, and I have caused it to be laid carefullyaside, as I think it betokens death; and having served my namesake twohundred years, it has just been cast up in time to do me the same goodturn. My house has been long put in order, as far as the small earthlyconcerns require it, but who shall say that their account with Heavenis sufficiently revised?"

"After what you have said, aunt, " I replied, "perhaps I ought to takemy hat and go away, and so I should, but that there is on this occasiona little alloy mingled with our devotion. To think of death at alltimes is a duty--to suppose it nearer, from the finding of an oldgravestone, is superstition; and you, with your strong useful commonsense, which was so long the prop of a fallen family, are the lastperson whom I should have suspected of such weakness. "

"Neither would I have deserved your suspicions, kinsman" answered AuntMargaret, "if we were speaking of any incident occurring in the actualbusiness of human life. But for all this I have a sense of superstitionabout me, which I do not wish to part with. It is a feeling whichseparates me from this age, and links me with that to which I amhastening; and even when it seems, as now, to lead me to the brink ofthe grave, and bids me gaze on it, I do not love that it should bedispelled. It soothes my imagination, without influencing my reason orconduct. "

"I profess, my good lady, " replied I, "that had any one but you madesuch a declaration, I should have thought it as capricious as that ofthe clergyman, who, without vindicating his false reading, preferred, from habit's sake, his old Mumpsimus to the modern Sumpsimus. "

"Well, " answered my aunt, "I must explain my inconsistency in thisparticular, by comparing it to another. I am, as you know, a piece ofthat old-fashioned thing called a Jacobite; but I am so in sentimentand feeling only; for a more loyal subject never joined in prayers, forthe health and wealth of George the Fourth, whom God long preserve! ButI dare say that kind-hearted sovereign would not deem that an old womandid him, much injury if she leaned back in her arm-chair, just in sucha twilight as this, and thought of the high-mettled men, whose sense ofduty called them to arms against his grandfather; and how, in a causewhich they deemed that of their rightful prince and country, 'They fought till their hands to the broadsword were glued, They fought against fortune with hearts unsubdued. '

do not come at such a moment, when my head is full of plaids, pibrochs, and claymores, and ask my reason to admit what, I am afraid, it cannotdeny--I mean, that the public advantage peremptorily demanded thatthese things should cease to exist. I cannot, indeed, refuse to allowthe justice of your reasoning; but yet, being convinced against my will, you will gain little by your motion. You might as well read to aninfatuated lover the catalogue of his mistress's imperfections; for, when he has been compelled to listen to the summary, you will only getfor answer, that, 'he lo'es her a' the better. '"

I was not sorry to have changed the gloomy train of Aunt Margaret'sthoughts, and replied in the same tone, "Well, I can't help beingpersuaded that our good king is the more sure of Mrs. Bothwell's loyalaffection, that he has the Stuart right of birth, as well as the Act ofSuccession in his favour. "

"Perhaps my attachment, were its source of consequence, might be foumdwarmer for the union of the rights you mention, " said Aunt Margaret?"but, upon my word, it would be as sincere if the king's right werefounded only on the will of the nation, as declared at the Revolution. I am none of your _jure divino_ folk. "

"And a Jacobite notwithstanding. "

"And a Jacobite notwithstanding; or rather, I will give you leave tocall me one of the party which, in Queen Anne's time, were called_Whimsicals_; because they were sometimes operated upon byfeelings, sometimes by principle. After all, it is very hard that youwill not allow an old woman to be as inconsistent in her politicalsentiments, as mankind in general show themselves in all the variouscourses of life; since you cannot point out one of them, in which thepassions and prejudices of those who pursue it are not perpetuallycarrying us away from the path which our reason points out. "

"True, aunt; but you are a wilful wanderer, who should be forced backinto the right path. "

"Spare me, I entreat you, " replied Aunt Margaret. "You remember theGaelic song, though I dare say I mispronounce the words--

 'Hatil mohatil, na dowski mi. ' 'I am asleep, do not waken me. '

I tell you, kinsman, that the sort of waking dreams which myimagination spins out, in what your favourite Wordsworth calls 'moodsof my own mind, ' are worth all the rest of my more active days. Then, instead of looking forwards as I did in youth, and forming for myselffairy palaces, upon the verge of the grave, I turn my eyes backwardupon the days and manners of my better time; and the sad, yet soothingrecollections come so close and interesting, that I almost think itsacrilege to be wiser, or more rational, or less prejudiced, than thoseto whom I looked up in my younger years. "

"I think I now understand what you mean, " I answered, "and cancomprehend why you should occasionally prefer the twilight of illusionto the steady light of reason. "

"Where there is no task, " she rejoined, "to be performed, we may sit inthe dark if we like it--if we go to work, we must ring for candles. "

"And amidst such shadowy and doubtful light, " continued I, "imaginationframes her enchanted and enchanting visions, and sometimes passes themupon the senses for reality. "

"Yes, " said Aunt Margaret, who is a well-read woman, "to those whoresemble the translator of Tasso, 'Prevailing poet, whose undoubting mind Believed the magic wonders which he sung. '

It is not required for this purpose, that you should be sensible of thepainful horrors which an actual belief in such prodigies inflicts--sucha belief, now-a-days, belongs only to fools and children. It is notnecessary that your ears should tingle, and your complexion change, like that of Theodore, at the approach of the spectral huntsman. Allthat is indispensable for the enjoyment of the milder feeling ofsupernatural awe is, that you should be susceptible of the slightshuddering which creeps over you when you hear a tale of terror--thatwell-vouched tale which the narrator, having first expressed hisgeneral disbelief of all such legendary lore, selects and produces, ashaving something in it which he has been always obliged to give up asinexplicable. Another symptom is, a momentary hesitation to look roundyou, when the interest of the narrative is at the highest; and thethird, a desire to avoid looking into a mirror, when you are alone, inyour chamber, for the evening. I mean such are signs which indicate thecrisis, when a female imagination is in due temperature to enjoy aghost story. I do not pretend to describe those which express the samedisposition in a gentleman. "

"This last symptom, dear aunt, of shunning the mirror, seems likely tobe a rare occurrence amongst the fair sex. "

"You are a novice in toilet fashions, my dear kinsman. All womenconsult the looking-glass with anxiety before they go into company; butwhen they return home, the mirror has not the same charm. The die hasbeen cast-the party has been successful or unsuccessful, in theimpression which she desired to make. But, without going deeper intothe mysteries of the dressing-table, I will tell you that I myself, like many other honest folk, do not like to see the blank black frontof a large mirror in a room dimly lighted, and where the reflection ofthe candle seems rather to lose itself in the deep obscurity of theglass, than to be reflected back again into the apartment. That spaceof inky darkness seems to be a field for Fancy to play her revels in. She may call up other features to meet us, instead of the reflection ofour own; or, as in the spells of Hallowe'en, which we learned inchildhood some unknown form may be seen peeping over our shoulder. Inshort, when I am in a ghost-seeing humour, I make my handmaiden drawthe green curtains over the mirror, before I go into the room, so thatshe may have the first shock of the apparition, if there be any to beseen. But, to tell you the truth, this dislike to look into a mirror inparticular times and places, has, I believe, its original foundation ina story which came to me by tradition from my grandmother, who was aparty concerned in the scene of which I will now tell you. "

THE MIRROR. 

CHAPTER THE FIRST. 

You are fond (said my aunt) of sketches of the society which has passedaway. I wish I could describe to you Sir Philip Forester, the"chartered libertine" of Scottish good company, about the end of thelast century. I never saw him indeed; but my mother's traditions werefull of his wit, gallantry and dissipation. This gay knight flourishedabout the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. He was theSir Charles Easy and the Lovelace of his day and country; renowned forthe number of duels he had fought, and the successful intrigues whichhe had carried on. The supremacy which he had attained in thefashionable world was absolute; and when we combine with it one or twoanecdotes, for which, "if laws were made for every degree, " he oughtcertainly to have been hanged, the popularity of such a person reallyserves to show, either that the present times are much more decent, ifnot more virtuous, than they formerly were; or, that high breeding thenwas of more difficult attainment than that which is now so called; and, consequently, entitled the successful professor to a proportionabledegree of plenary indulgences and privileges. No beau of this day couldhave borne out so ugly a story as that of Pretty Peggy Grindstone, themiller's daughter at Sillermills--it had well-nigh made work for theLord Advocate. But it hurt Sir Philip Forester no more than the hailhurts the hearth-stone. He was as well received in society as ever, anddined with the Duke of A---- the day the poor girl was buried. She diedof heart-break. But that has nothing to do with my story. 

Now, you must listen to a single word upon kith, kin, and ally; Ipromise you I will not be prolix. But it is necessary to theauthenticity of my legend, that you should know that Sir PhilipForester, with his handsome person, elegant accomplishments, andfashionable manners, married the younger Miss Falconer of King'sCopland. The elder sister of this lady had previously become the wifeof my grandfather, Sir Geoffrey Bothwell, and brought into our family agood fortune. Miss Jemima, or Miss Jemmie Falconer, as she was usuallycalled, had also about ten thousand pounds sterling--then thought avery handsome portion indeed. 

The two sisters were extremely different, though each had theiradmirers while they remained single. Lady Bothwell had some touch ofthe old King's Copland blood about her. She was bold, though not to thedegree of audacity; ambitious, and desirous to raise her house andfamily; and was, as has been said, a considerable spur to mygrandfather, who was otherwise an indolent man; but whom, unless he hasbeen slandered, his lady's influence involved in some political matterswhich had been more wisely let alone. She was a woman of high principle, however, and masculine good sense, as some of her letters testify, which are still in my wainscot cabinet. 

Jemmie Falconer was the reverse of her sister in every respect. Herunderstanding did not reach above the ordinary pitch, if, indeed, shecould be said to have attained it. Her beauty, while it lasted, consisted, in a great measure, of delicacy of complexion and regularityof features, without any peculiar force of expression. Even thesecharms faded under the sufferings attendant on an ill-sorted match. Shewas passionately attached to her husband, by whom she was treated witha callous, yet polite indifference, which, to one whose heart was astender as her judgment was weak, was more painful perhaps than absoluteill-usage. Sir Philip was a voluptuary, that is, a completely selfishegotist, whose disposition and character resembled the rapier he wore, polished, keen, and brilliant, but inflexible and unpitying. As heobserved carefully all the usual forms towards his lady, he had the artto deprive her even of the compassion of the world; and useless andunavailing as that may be while actually possessed by the sufferer, itis, to a mind like Lady Forester's, most painful to know she has it not. 

The tattle of society did its best to place the peccant husband abovethe suffering wife. Some called her a poor spiritless thing, anddeclared, that, with a little of her sister's spirit, she might havebrought to reason any Sir Philip whatsoever, were it the termagantFalconbridge himself. But the greater part of their acquaintanceaffected candour, and saw faults on both sides; though, in fact, thereonly existed the oppressor and the oppressed. The tone of such criticswas--"To be sure, no one will justify Sir Philip Forester, but then weall know Sir Philip, and Jemmie Falconer might have known what she hadto expect from the beginning. --What made her set her cap at SirPhilip?--He would never have looked at her if she had not thrownherself at his head, with her poor ten thousand pounds. I am sure, ifit is money he wanted, she spoiled his market. I know where Sir Philipcould have done much better. --And then, if she _would_ have theman, could not she try to make him more comfortable at home, and havehis friends oftener, and not plague him with the squalling children, and take care all was handsome and in good style about the house? Ideclare I think Sir Philip would have made a very domestic man, with awoman who knew how to manage him. "

Now these fair critics, in raising their profound edifice of domesticfelicity, did not recollect that the corner-stone was wanting; and thatto receive good company with good cheer, the means of the banquet oughtto have been furnished by Sir Philip; whose income (dilapidated as itwas) was not equal to the display of hospitality required, and, at thesame time, to the supply of the good knight's _menus plaisirs_. So, in spite of all that was so sagely suggested by female friends, SirPhilip carried his good-humour every where abroad, and left at home asolitary mansion and a pining spouse. 

At length, inconvenienced in his money affairs, and tired even of theshort time which he spent in his own dull house, Sir Philip Foresterdetermined to take a trip to the Continent, in the capacity of avolunteer. It was then common for men of fashion to do so; and ourknight perhaps was of opinion that a touch of the military character, just enough to exalt, but not render pedantic, his qualities as a_beau garcon_, was necessary to maintain possession of theelevated situation which he held in the ranks of fashion. 

Sir Philip's resolution threw his wife into agonies of terror, by whichthe worthy baronet was so much annoyed, that, contrary to his wont, hetook some trouble to soothe her apprehensions; and once more broughther to shed tears, in which sorrow was not altogether unmingled withpleasure. Lady Bothwell asked, as a favour, Sir Philip's permission toreceive her sister and her family into her own house during his absenceon the Continent. Sir Philip readily assented to a proposition whichsaved expense, silenced the foolish people who might have talked of adeserted wife and family, and gratified Lady Bothwell, for whom he feltsome respect, as for one who often spoke to him, always with freedom, and sometimes with severity, without being deterred either by hisraillery, or the _prestige_ of his reputation. 

A day or two before Sir Philip's departure, Lady Bothwell took theliberty of asking him, in her sister's presence, the direct question, which his timid wife had often desired, but never ventured, to put tohim. 

"Pray, Sir Philip, what route do you take when you reach theContinent?"

"I go from Leith to Helvoet by a packet with advices. "

"That I comprehend perfectly, " said Lady Bothwell dryly; "but you donot mean to remain long at Helvoet, I presume, and I should like toknow what is your next object?"

"You ask me, my dear lady, " answered Sir Philip, "a question which Ihave not dared to ask myself. The answer depends on the fate of war. Ishall, of course, go to headquarters, wherever they may happen to befor the time; deliver my letters of introduction; learn as much of thenoble art of war as may suffice a poor interloping amateur; and thentake a glance at the sort of thing of which we read so much in theGazette. "

"And I trust, Sir Philip, " said Lady Bothwell, "that you will rememberthat you are a husband and a father; and that though you think fit toindulge this military fancy, you will not let it hurry you into dangerswhich it is certainly unnecessary for any save professional persons toencounter?"

"Lady Bothwell does me too much honour, " replied the adventurous knight, "in regarding such a circumstance with the slightest interest. But tosoothe your flattering anxiety, I trust your ladyship will recollect, that I cannot expose to hazard the venerable and paternal characterwhich you so obligingly recommend to my protection, without putting insome peril an honest fellow, called Philip Forester, with whom I havekept company for thirty years, and with whom, though some folk considerhim a coxcomb, I have not the least desire to part. "

"Well, Sir Philip, you are the best judge of your own affairs; I havelittle right to interfere--you are not my husband. "

"God forbid!"--said Sir Philip hastily; instantly adding, however, "Godforbid that I should deprive my friend Sir Geoffrey of so inestimable atreasure. "

"But you are my sister's husband, " replied the lady; "and I suppose youare aware of her present distress of mind--"

"If hearing of nothing else from morning to night can make me aware ofit, " said Sir Philip, "I should know something of the matter. "

"I do not pretend to reply to your wit, Sir Philip, " answered LadyBothwell, "but you must be sensible that all this distress is onaccount of apprehensions for your personal safety. "

"In that case, I am surprised that Lady Bothwell, at least, should giveherself so much trouble upon so insignificant a subject. "

"My sister's interest may account for my being anxious to learnsomething of Sir Philip Forester's motions; about which otherwise, Iknow, he would not wish me to concern myself. I have a brother's safety, too, to be anxious for. "

"You mean Major Falconer, your brother by the mother's side:--What canhe possibly have to do with our present agreeable conversation?"

"You have had words together, Sir Philip, " said Lady Bothwell. 

"Naturally; we are connections, " replied Sir Philip, "and as such havealways had the usual intercourse. "

"That is an evasion of the subject, " answered the lady. "By words, Imean angry words, on the subject of your usage of your wife. "

"If, " replied Sir Philip Forester, "you suppose Major Falconer simpleenough to intrude his advice upon me, Lady Bothwell, in my domesticmatters, you are indeed warranted in believing that I might possibly beso far displeased with the interference, as to request him to reservehis advice till it was asked. "

"And, being on these terms, you are going to join the very army inwhich my brother Falconer is now serving?"

"No man knows the path of honour better than Major Falconer, " said SirPhilip. "An aspirant after fame, like me, cannot choose a better guidethan his footsteps. "

Lady Bothwell rose and went to the window, the tears gushing from hereyes. 

"And this heartless raillery, " she said, "is all the consideration thatis to be given to our apprehensions of a quarrel which may bring on themost terrible consequences? Good God! of what can men's hearts be made, who can thus dally with the agony of others?"

Sir Philip Forester was moved; he laid aside the mocking tone in whichhe had hitherto spoken. 

"Dear Lady Bothwell, " he said, taking her reluctant hand, "we are bothwrong:--you are too deeply serious; I, perhaps, too little. The disputeI had with Major Falconer was of no earthly consequence. Had any thingoccurred betwixt us that ought to have been settled _par voie dufait_, as we say in France, neither of us are persons that arelikely to postpone such a meeting. Permit me to say, that were itgenerally known that you or my Lady Forester are apprehensive of such acatastrophe, it might be the very means of bringing about what wouldnot otherwise be likely to happen. I know your good sense, LadyBothwell, and that you will understand me when I say, that really myaffairs require my absence for some months;--this Jemima cannotunderstand; it is a perpetual recurrence of questions, why can you notdo this, or that, or the third thing; and, when you have proved to herthat her expedients are totally ineffectual, you have just to begin thewhole round again. Now, do you tell her, dear Lady Bothwell, that_you_ are satisfied. She is, you must confess, one of thosepersons with whom authority goes farther than reasoning. Do but reposea little confidence in me, and you shall see how amply I will repayit. "

Lady Bothwell shook her head, as one but half satisfied. "How difficultit is to extend confidence, when the basis on which it ought to resthas been so much shaken! But I will do my best to make Jemima easy; andfarther, I can only say, that for keeping your present purpose, I holdyou responsible both to God and man. "

"Do not fear that I will deceive you, " said Sir Philip; "the safestconveyance to me will be through the general post-office, Helvoetsluys, where I will take care to leave orders for forwarding my letters. Asfor Falconer, our only encounter will be over a bottle of Burgundy! somake yourself perfectly easy on his score. "

Lady Bothwell could not make herself easy; yet she was sensible thather sister hurt her own cause by _taking on_, as the maid-servantscall it, too vehemently; and by showing before every stranger, bymanner, and sometimes by words also, a dissatisfaction with herhusband's journey, that was sure to come to his ears, and equallycertain to displease him. But there was no help for this domesticdissension, which ended only with the day of separation. 

I am sorry I cannot tell, with precision, the year in which Sir PhilipForester went over to Flanders; but it was one of those in which thecampaign opened with extraordinary fury; and many bloody, thoughindecisive, skirmishes were fought between the French on the one side, and the Allies on the other. In all our modern improvements, there arenone, perhaps, greater than in the accuracy and speed with whichintelligence is transmitted from any scene of action to those in thiscountry whom it may concern. During Marlborough's campaigns, thesufferings of the many who had relations in, or along with, the army, were greatly augmented by the suspense in which they were detained forweeks, after they had heard of bloody battles in which, in allprobability, those for whom their bosoms throbbed with anxiety had beenpersonally engaged. Amongst those who were most agonized by this stateof uncertainty, was the--I had almost said deserted---wife of the gaySir Philip Forester. A single letter had informed her of his arrival onthe Continent--no others were received. One notice occurred in thenewspapers, in which Volunteer Sir Philip Forester was mentioned ashaving been entrusted with a dangerous reconnoissance, which he hadexecuted with the greatest courage, dexterity, and intelligence, andreceived the thanks of the commanding officer. The sense of his havingacquired distinction brought a momentary glow into the lady's palecheek; but it--was instantly lost in ashen whiteness at therecollection of his danger. After this, they had no news whatever, neither from Sir Philip, nor even from their brother Falconer. The caseof Lady Forester was not indeed different from that of hundreds in thesame situation; but a feeble mind is necessarily an irritable one, andthe suspense which some bear with constitutional indifference orphilosophical resignation, and some with a disposition to believe andhope the best, was intolerable to Lady Forester, at once solitary andsensitive, low-spirited, and devoid of strength of mind, whethernatural or acquired. 

CHAPTER THE SECOND. 

As she received no farther news of Sir Philip, whether directly orindirectly, his unfortunate lady began now to feel a sort ofconsolation, even in those careless habits which had so often given herpain. "He is so thoughtless, " she repeated a hundred times a day to hersister, "he never writes when things are going on smoothly; it is hisway: had any thing happened he would have informed us. "

Lady Bothwell listened to her sister without attempting to console her. Probably she might be of opinion, that even the worst intelligencewhich could be received from Flanders might not be without some touchof consolation; and that the Dowager Lady Forester, if so she wasdoomed to be called, might have a source of happiness unknown to thewife of the gayest and finest gentleman in Scotland. This convictionbecame stronger as they learned from inquiries made at headquarters, that Sir Philip was no longer with the army; though whether he had beentaken or slain in some of those skirmishes which were perpetuallyoccurring, and in which he loved to distinguish himself, or whether hehad, for some unknown reason or capricious change of mind, voluntarilyleft the service, none of his countrymen in the camp of the Alliescould form even a conjecture. Meantime his creditors at home becameclamorous, entered into possession of big property, and threatened hisperson, should he be rash enough to return to Scotland. Theseadditional disadvantages aggravated Lady Bothwell's displeasure againstthe fugitive husband; while her sister saw nothing in any of them, savewhat tended to increase her grief for the absence of him whom herimagination now represented, --as it had before marriage, --gallant, gay, and affectionate. 

About this period there appeared in Edinburgh a man of singularappearance and pretensions. He was commonly called the Paduan Doctor, from having received his education at that famous university. He wassupposed to possess some rare receipts in medicine, with which, it wasaffirmed, he had wrought remarkable cures. But though, on the one hand, the physicians of Edinburgh termed him an empiric, there were manypersons, and among them some of the clergy, who, while they admittedthe truth of the cures and the force of his remedies, alleged thatDoctor Baptisti Damiotti made use of charms and unlawful arts in orderto obtain success in his practice. The resorting to him was evensolemnly preached against, as a seeking of health from idols, and atrusting to the help which was to come from Egypt. But the protectionwhich the Paduan Doctor received from some friends of interest andconsequence, enabled him to set these imputations at defiance, and toassume, even in the city of Edinburgh, famed as it was for abhorrenceof witches and necromancers, the dangerous character of an expounder offuturity. It was at length rumoured, that for a certain gratification, which, of course, was not an inconsiderable one, Doctor BaptistiDamiotti could tell the fate of the absent, and even show his visitorsthe personal form of their absent friends, and the action in which theywere engaged at the moment. This rumour came to the ears of LadyForester, who had reached that pitch of mental agony in which thesufferer will do any thing, or endure any thing, that suspense may beconverted into certainty. 

Gentle and timid in most cases, her state of mind made her equallyobstinate and reckless, and it was with no small surprise and alarmthat her sister, Lady Bothwell, heard her express a resolution to visitthis man of art, and learn from him the fate of her husband. LadyBothwell remonstrated on the improbability that such pretensions asthose of this foreigner could be founded on any thing but imposture. 

"I care not, " said the deserted wife, "what degree of ridicule I mayincur; if there be any one chance out of a hundred that I may obtainsome certainty of my husband's fate, I would not miss that chance forwhatever else the world can offer me. "

Lady Bothwell next urged the unlawfulness of resorting to such sourcesof forbidden knowledge. 

"Sister, " replied the sufferer, "he who is dying of thirst cannotrefrain from drinking poisoned water. She who suffers under suspensemust seek information, even were the powers which offer it unhallowedand infernal. I go to learn my fate alone; and this very evening will Iknow it: the sun that rises to-morrow shall find me, if not more happy, at least more resigned. "

"Sister, " said Lady Bothwell, "if you are determined upon this wildstep, you shall not go alone. If this man be an impostor, you may betoo much agitated by your feelings to detect his villany. If, which Icannot believe, there be any truth in what he pretends, you shall notbe exposed alone to a communication of so extraordinary a nature. Iwill go with you, if indeed you determine to go. But yet reconsideryour project, and renounce inquiries which cannot be prosecuted withoutguilt, and perhaps without danger. "

Lady Forester threw herself into her sister's arms, and, clasping herto her bosom, thanked her a hundred times for the offer of her company;while she declined with a melancholy gesture the friendly advice withwhich it was accompanied. 

When the hour of twilight arrived, --which was the period when thePaduan Doctor was understood to receive the visits of those who came toconsult with him, --the two ladies left their apartments in theCanongate of Edinburgh, having their dress arranged like that of womenof an inferior description, and their plaids disposed around theirfaces as they were worn by the same class; for, in those days ofaristocracy, the quality of the wearer was generally indicated by themanner in which her plaid was disposed, as well as by the fineness ofits texture. It was Lady Bothwell who had suggested this species ofdisguise, partly to avoid observation as they should go to theconjuror's house, and partly in order to make trial of his penetration, by appearing before him in a feigned character. Lady Forester's servant, of tried fidelity, had been employed by her to propitiate the Doctor bya suitable fee, and a story intimating that a soldier's wife desired toknow the fate of her husband; a subject upon which, in all probability, the sage was very frequently consulted. 

To the last moment, when the palace clock struck eight, Lady Bothwellearnestly watched her sister, in hopes that she might retreat from, herrash undertaking; but as mildness, and even timidity, is capable attimes of vehement and fixed purposes, she found Lady Foresterresolutely unmoved and determined when the moment of departure arrived. Ill satisfied with the expedition, but determined not to leave hersister at such a crisis, Lady Bothwell accompanied Lady Foresterthrough more than one obscure street and lane, the servant walkingbefore, and acting as their guide. At length he suddenly turned into anarrow court, and knocked at an arched door, which seemed to belong toa building of some antiquity. It opened, though no one appeared to actas porter; and the servant, stepping aside from the entrance, motionedthe ladies to enter. They had no sooner done so, than it shut, andexcluded their guide. The two ladies found themselves in a smallvestibule, illuminated by a dim lamp, and having, when the door wasclosed, no communication with the external light or air. The door of aninner apartment, partly open, was at the farther side of the vestibule. 

"We must not hesitate now, Jemima, " said Lady Bothwell, and walkedforwards into the inner room, where, surrounded by books, maps, philosophical utensils, and other implements of peculiar shape andappearance, they found the man of art. 

There was nothing very peculiar in the Italian's appearance. He had thedark complexion and marked features of his country, seemed about fiftyyears old, and was handsomely, but plainly, dressed in a full suit ofblack clothes, which was then the universal costume of the medicalprofession. Large wax-lights, in silver sconces, illuminated theapartment, which was reasonably furnished. He rose as the ladiesentered; and, not-withstanding the inferiority of their dress, receivedthem with the marked respect due to their quality, and which foreignersare usually punctilious in rendering to those to whom such honours aredue. 

Lady Bothwell endeavoured to maintain her proposed incognito; and, asthe Doctor ushered them to the upper end of the room, made a motiondeclining his courtesy, as unfitted for their condition. "We are poorpeople, sir, " she said; "only my sister's distress has brought us toconsult your worship whether--"

He smiled as he interrupted her--"I am aware, madam, of your sister'sdistress, and its cause; I am aware, also, that I am honoured with avisit from two ladies of the highest consideration--Lady Bothwell andLady Forester. If I could not distinguish them from the class ofsociety which their present dress would indicate, there would be smallpossibility of my being able to gratify them by giving the informationwhich they come to seek. "

"I can easily understand, " said Lady Bothwell----

"Pardon my boldness to interrupt you, milady, " cried the Italian; "yourladyship was about to say, that you could easily understand that I hadgot possession of your names by means of your domestic. But in thinkingso, you do injustice to the fidelity of your servant, and, I may add, to the skill of one who is also not less your humble servant--BaptistiDamiotti. "

"I have no intention to do either, sir, " said Lady Bothwell, maintaining a tone of composure, though somewhat surprised, "but thesituation is something new to me. If you know who we are, you also know, sir, what brought us here. "

"Curiosity to know the fate of a Scottish gentleman of rank, now, orlately upon the Continent, " answered the seer; "his name is IlCavaliero Philippo Forester; a gentleman who has the honour to behusband to this lady, and, with your ladyship's permission for usingplain language, the misfortune not to value as it deserves thatinestimable advantage. "

Lady Forester sighed deeply, and Lady Bothwell replied--

"Since you know our object without our telling it, the only questionthat remains is, whether you have the power to relieve my sister'sanxiety?"

"I have, madam, " answered the Paduan scholar; "but there is still aprevious inquiry. Have you the courage to behold with your own eyeswhat the Cavaliero Philippo Forester is now doing? or will you take iton my report?"

"That question my sister must answer for herself, " said Lady Bothwell. 

"With my own eyes will I endure to see whatever you have power to showme, " said Lady Forester, with the same determined spirit which hadstimulated her since her resolution was taken upon this subject. 

"There may be danger in it. "

"If gold can compensate the risk, " said Lady Forester, taking out herpurse. 

"I do not such things for the purpose of gain, " answered the foreigner. "I dare not turn my art to such a purpose. If I take the gold of thewealthy, it is but to bestow it on the poor; nor do I ever accept morethan the sum I have already received from your servant. Put up yourpurse, madam; an adept needs not your gold. "

Lady Bothwell considering this rejection of her sister's offer as amere trick of an empiric, to induce her to press a larger sum upon him, and willing that the scene should be commenced and ended, offered somegold in turn, observing that it was only to enlarge the sphere of hischarity. 

"Let Lady Bothwell enlarge the sphere of her own charity, " said thePaduan, "not merely in giving of alms, in which I know she is notdeficient, but in judging the character of others; and let her obligeBaptisti Damiotti by believing him honest, till she shall discover himto be a knave. Do not be surprised, madam, if I speak in answer to yourthoughts rather than your expressions, and tell me once more whetheryou have courage to look on what I am prepared to show?"

"I own, sir, " said Lady Bothwell. "that your words strike me with somesense of fear; but whatever my sister desires to witness, I will notshrink from witnessing along with her. "

"Nay, the danger only consists in the risk of your resolution failingyou. The sight can only last for the space of seven minutes; and shouldyou interrupt the vision by speaking a single word, not only would thecharm be broken, but some danger might result to the spectators. But ifyou can remain steadily silent for the seven minutes, your curiositywill be gratified without the slightest risk; and for this I willengage my honour. "

Internally Lady Bothwell thought the security was but an indifferentone; but she suppressed the suspicion, as if she had believed that theadept, whose dark features wore a half-formed smile, could in realityread even her most secret reflections. A solemn pause then ensued, until Lady Forester gathered courage enough to reply to the physician, as he termed himself, that she would abide with firmness and silencethe sight which he had promised to exhibit to them. Upon this, he madethem a low obeisance, and saying he went to prepare matters to meettheir wish, left the apartment. The two sisters, hand in hand, as ifseeking by that close union to divert any danger which might threatenthem, sat down on two seats in immediate contact with each other:Jemima seeking support in the manly and habitual courage of LadyBothwell; and she, on the other hand, more agitated than she hadexpected, endeavouring to fortify herself by the desperate resolutionwhich circumstances had forced her sister to assume. The one perhapssaid to herself, that her sister never feared anything; and the othermight reflect, that what so feeble a minded woman as Jemima did notfear, could not properly be a subject of apprehension to a person offirmness and resolution like herself. 

In a few moments the thoughts of both were diverted from their ownsituation, by a strain of music so singularly sweet and solemn, that, while it seemed calculated to avert or dispel any feeling unconnectedwith its harmony, increased, at the same time, the solemn excitationwhich the preceding interview was calculated to produce. The music wasthat of some instrument with which they were unacquainted; butcircumstances afterwards led my ancestress to believe that it was, thatof the harmonica, which she heard at a much later period in life. 

When these heaven-born sounds had ceased, a door opened in the upperend of the apartment, and they saw Damiotti, standing at the head oftwo or three steps, sign to them to advance. His dress was so differentfrom that which he had worn a few minutes before, that they couldhardly recognize him; and the deadly paleness of his countenance, and acertain rigidity of muscles, like that of one whose mind is made up tosome strange and daring action, had totally changed the somewhatsarcastic expression with which he had previously regarded them both, and particularly Lady Bothwell. He was barefooted, excepting a speciesof sandals in the antique fashion; his legs were naked beneath theknees; above them he wore hose, and a doublet of dark crimson silkclose to his body; and over that a flowing loose robe, somethingresembling a surplice, of snow-white linen; his throat and neck wereuncovered, and his long, straight, black hair was carefully combed downat full length. 

As the ladies approached at his bidding, he showed no gesture of thatceremonious courtesy of which he had been formerly lavish. On thecontrary, he made the signal of advance with an air of command; andwhen, arm in arm, and with insecure steps, the sisters approached thespot where he stood, it was with a warning frown that he pressed hisfinger to his lips, as if reiterating his condition of absolute silence, while, stalking before them, he led the way into the next apartment. 

This was a large room, hung with black, as if for a funeral. At theupper end was a table, or rather a species of altar, covered with thesame lugubrious colour, on which lay divers objects resembling theusual implements of sorcery. These objects were not indeed visible asthey advanced into the apartment; for the light which displayed them, being only that of two expiring lamps, was extremely faint. The master--to use the Italian phrase for persons of this description--approachedthe upper end of the room with a genuflexion like that of a Catholic tothe crucifix, and at the same time crossed himself. The ladies followedin silence, and arm in arm. Two or three low broad steps led to aplatform in front of the altar, or what resembled such. Here the sagetook his stand, and placed the ladies beside him, once more earnestlyrepeating by signs his injunctions of silence. The Italian then, extending his bare arm from under his linen vestment, pointed with hisforefinger to five large flambeaux, or torches, placed on each side ofthe altar. They took fire successively at the approach of his hand, orrather of his finger, and spread a strong light through the room. Bythis the visitors could discern that, on the seeming altar, weredisposed two naked swords laid crosswise; a large open book, which theyconceived to be a copy of the Holy Scriptures, but in a language tothem unknown; and beside this mysterious volume was placed a humanskull. But what struck the sisters most was a very tall and broadmirror, which occupied all the space behind the altar, and, illuminatedby the lighted torches, reflected the mysterious articles which werelaid upon it. 

The master then placed himself between the two ladies, and, pointing tothe mirror, took each by the hand, but without speaking a syllable. They gazed intently on the polished and sable space to which he haddirected their attention. Suddenly the surface assumed a new andsingular appearance. It no longer simply reflected the objects placedbefore it, but, as if it had self-contained scenery of its own, objectsbegan to appear within it, at first in a disorderly, indistinct, andmiscellaneous manner, like form arranging itself out of chaos; atlength, in distinct and defined shape and symmetry. It was thus that, after some shifting of light and darkness over the face of thewonderful glass, a long perspective of arches and columns began toarrange itself on its sides, and a vaulted roof on the upper part ofit; till, after many oscillations, the whole vision gained a fixed andstationary appearance, representing the interior of a foreign church. The pillars were stately, and hung with scutcheons; the arches werelofty and magnificent; the floor was lettered with funeral inscriptions. But there were no separate shrines, no images, no display of chalice orcrucifix on the altar. It was, therefore, a Protestant church upon theContinent. A clergyman, dressed in the Geneva gown and band, stood bythe communion-table, and, with the Bible opened before him, and hisclerk awaiting in the background, seemed prepared to perform someservice of the church to which he belonged. 

At length there entered the middle aisle of the building a numerousparty, which appeared to be a bridal one, as a lady and gentlemanwalked first, hand in hand, followed by a large concourse of persons ofboth sexes, gaily, nay richly, attired. The bride, whose features theycould distinctly see, seemed not more than sixteen years old, andextremely beautiful. The bridegroom, for some seconds, moved ratherwith his shoulder towards them, and his face averted; but his eleganceof form and step struck the sisters at once with the same apprehension. As he turned his face suddenly, he was frightfully realized, and theysaw, in the gay bridegroom before them, Sir Philip Forester. His wifeuttered an imperfect exclamation, at the sound of which the whole scenestirred and seemed to separate. 

"I could compare it to nothing, " said Lady Bothwell, while recountingthe wonderful tale, "but to the dispersion of the reflection offered bya deep and calm pool, when a stone is suddenly cast into it, and theshadows become dissipated and broken. " The master pressed both theladies' hands severely, as if to remind them of their promise, and ofthe danger which they incurred. The exclamation died away on LadyForester's tongue without attaining perfect utterance, and the scene inthe glass, after the fluctuation of a minute, again resumed to the eyeits former appearance of a real scene, existing within the mirror, asif represented in a picture, save that the figures were moveableinstead of being stationary. 

The representation of Sir Philip Forester, now distinctly visible inform and feature, was seen to lead on towards the clergyman thatbeautiful girl, who advanced at once with diffidence, and with aspecies of affectionate pride. In the meantime, and just as theclergyman had arranged the bridal company before him, and seemed aboutto commence the service, another group of persons, of whom two or threewere officers, entered the church. They moved, at first, forward, asthough they came to witness the bridal ceremony, but suddenly one ofthe officers, whose back was towards the spectators, detached himselffrom his companions, and rushed hastily towards the marriage party, when the whole of them, turned towards him, as if attracted by someexclamation which had accompanied his advance Suddenly the intruderdrew his sword; the bridegroom unsheathed his own, and made towardshim; swords were also drawn by other individuals, both of the marriageparty, and of those who had last entered. They fell into a sort ofconfusion, the clergyman, and some elder and graver persons, labouringapparently to keep the peace, while the hotter spirits on both sidesbrandished their weapons. But now the period of brief space duringwhich the soothsayer, as he pretended, was permitted to exhibit his art, was arrived. The fumes again mixed together, and dissolved graduallyfrom observation; the vaults and columns of the church rolled asunder, and disappeared; and the front of the mirror reflected nothing save theblazing torches, and the melancholy apparatus placed on the altar ortable before it. 

The doctor led the ladies, who greatly required his support, into theapartment from whence they came; where wine, essences, and other meansof restoring suspended animation, had been provided during his absence. He motioned them to chairs, which they occupied in silence; LadyForester, in particular, wringing her hands, and casting her eyes up toheaven, but without speaking a word, as if the spell had been stillbefore her eyes. 

"And what we have seen is even now acting?" said Lady Bothwell, collecting herself with difficulty. 

"That, " answered Baptisti Damiotti, "I cannot justly, or with certainty, say. But it is either now acting, or has been acted, during a shortspace before this. It is the last remarkable transaction in which theCavalier Forester has been engaged. "

Lady Bothwell then expressed anxiety concerning her sister, whosealtered countenance and apparent unconsciousness of what passed aroundher, excited her apprehensions how it might be possible to convey herhome. 

"I have prepared for that, " answered the adept; "I have directed theservant to bring your equipage as near to this place as the narrownessof the street will permit. Fear not for your sister; but give her, whenyou return home, this composing draught, and she will be better to-morrow morning. Few, " he added, in a melancholy tone, "leave this houseas well in health as they entered it. Such being the consequence ofseeking knowledge by mysterious means, I leave you to judge thecondition of those who have the power of gratifying such irregularcuriosity. Farewell, and forget not the potion. "

"I will give her nothing that comes from you, " said Lady Bothwell; "Ihave seen enough of your art already. Perhaps you would poison us bothto conceal your own necromancy. But we are persons who want neither themeans of making our wrongs known, nor the assistance of friends toright them. "

"You have had no wrongs from me, madam, " said the adept. "You soughtone who is little grateful for such honour. He seeks no one, and onlygives responses to those who invite and call upon him. After all, youhave but learned a little sooner the evil which you must still bedoomed to endure. I hear your servant's step at the door, and willdetain your ladyship and Lady Forester no longer. The next packet fromthe continent will explain what you have partly witnessed. Let it not, if I may advise, pass too suddenly into your sister's hands. "

So saying, he bid Lady Bothwell good-night. She went, lighted by theadept, to the vestibule, where he hastily threw a black cloak over hissingular dress, and opening the door intrusted his visitors to the careof the servant. It was with difficulty that Lady Bothwell sustained hersister to the carriage, though it was only twenty steps distant. Whenthey arrived at home, Lady Forester required medical assistance. Thephysician of the family attended, and shook his head on feeling herpulse. 

"Here has been, " he said, "a violent and sudden shock on the nerves. Imust know how it has happened. "

Lady Bothwell admitted they had visited the conjuror, and that LadyForester had received some bad news respecting her husband, Sir Philip. 

"That rascally quack would make my fortune were he to stay inEdinburgh, " said the graduate; "this is the seventh nervous case I haveheard of his making for me, and all by effect of terror. " He nextexamined the composing draught which Lady Bothwell had unconsciouslybrought in her hand, tasted it, and pronounced it very germain to thematter, and what would save an application to the apothecary. He thenpaused, and looking at Lady Bothwell very significantly, at lengthadded, "I suppose I must not ask your ladyship anything about thisItalian warlock's proceedings?"

"Indeed, Doctor, " answered Lady Bothwell, "I consider what passed asconfidential; and though the man may be a rogue, yet, as we were foolsenough to consult him, we should, I think, be honest enough to keep hiscounsel. "

"_May_ be a knave--come, " said the Doctor, "I am glad to hear yourladyship allows such a possibility in any thing that comes from Italy. "

"What comes from Italy may be as good as what conies from Hanover, Doctor. But you and I will remain good friends, and that it may be so, we will say nothing of Whig and Tory. "

"Not I, " said the Doctor, receiving his fee, and taking his hat; "aCarolus serves my purpose as well as a Willielmus. But I should like toknow why old Lady Saint Ringan's, and all that set, go about wastingtheir decayed lungs in puffing this foreign fellow. "

"Ay--you had best set him down a Jesuit, as Scrub says. " On these termsthey parted. 

The poor patient--whose nerves, from an extraordinary state of tension, had at length become relaxed in as extraordinary a degree--continued tostruggle with a sort of imbecility, the growth of superstitious terror, when the shocking tidings were brought from Holland, which fulfilledeven her worst expectations. 

They were sent by the celebrated Earl of Stair, and contained themelancholy event of a duel betwixt Sir Philip Forester, and his wife'shalf-brother, Captain Falconer, of the Scotch-Dutch, as they were thencalled, in which the latter had been killed. The cause of quarrelrendered the incident still more shocking. It seemed that Sir Philiphad left the army suddenly, in consequence of being unable to pay avery considerable sum, which he had lost to another volunteer at play. He had changed his name, and taken up his residence at Rotterdam, wherehe had insinuated himself into the good graces of an ancient and richburgomaster, and, by his handsome person and graceful manners, captivated the affections of his only child, a very young person, ofgreat beauty, and the heiress of much wealth. Delighted with thespecious attractions of his proposed son-in-law, the wealthy merchant--whose idea of the British character was too high to admit of his takingany precaution to acquire evidence of his condition and circumstances--gave his consent to the marriage. It was about to be celebrated in theprincipal church of the city, when it was interrupted by a singularoccurrence. 

Captain Falconer having been detached to Rotterdam to bring up a partof the brigade of Scottish auxiliaries, who were in quarters there, aperson of consideration in the town, to whom he had been formerly known, proposed to him for amusement to go to the high church, to see acountryman of his own married to the daughter of a wealthy burgomaster. Captain Falconer went accordingly, accompanied by his Dutchacquaintance with a party of his friends, and two or three officers ofthe Scotch brigade. His astonishment may be conceived when he saw hisown brother-in-law, a married man, on the point of leading to the altarthe innocent and beautiful creature, upon whom he was about to practisea base and unmanly deceit. He proclaimed his villany on the spot, andthe marriage was interrupted of course. But against the opinion of morethinking men, who considered Sir Philip Forester as having thrownhimself out of the rank of men of honour, Captain Falconer admitted himto the privilege of such, accepted a challenge from him, and in therencounter received a mortal wound. Such are the ways of Heaven, mysterious in our eyes. Lady Forester never recovered the shock of thisdismal intelligence. 

 * * * * *

"And did this tragedy, " said I, "take place exactly at the time whenthe scene in the mirror was exhibited?"

"It is hard to be obliged to maim one's story, " answered my aunt; "but, to speak the truth, it happened some days sooner than the apparitionwas exhibited. "

"And so there remained a possibility, " said I, "that by some secret andspeedy communication the artist might have received early intelligenceof that incident. "

"The incredulous pretended so, " replied my aunt. 

"What became of the adept?" demanded I. 

"Why, a warrant came down shortly afterwards to arrest him for high-treason, as an agent of the Chevalier St. George; and Lady Bothwell, recollecting the hints which had escaped the Doctor, an ardent friendof the Protestant succession, did then call to remembrance, that thisman was chiefly _prone_ among the ancient matrons of her ownpolitical persuasion. It certainly seemed probable that intelligencefrom the continent, which could easily have been transmitted by anactive and powerful agent, might have enabled him to prepare such ascene of phantasmagoria as she had herself witnessed. Yet there were somany difficulties in assigning a natural explanation, that, to the dayof her death, she remained in great doubt on the subject, and muchdisposed to cut the Gordian knot, by admitting the existence ofsupernatural agency. "

"But, my dear aunt, " said I, "what became of the man of skill?"

"Oh, he was too good a fortune-teller not to be able to foresee thathis own destiny would be tragical if he waited the arrival of the manwith the silver greyhound upon his sleeve. He made, as we say, amoonlight flitting, and was nowhere to be seen or heard of. Some noisethere was about papers or letters found in the house, but it died away, and Doctor Baptisti Damiotti was soon as little talked of as Galen orHippocrates. "

"And Sir Philip Forester, " said I, "did he too vanish for ever from thepublic scene?"

"No, " replied my kind informer. "He was heard of once more, and it wasupon a remarkable occasion. It is said that we Scots, when there wassuch a nation in existence, have, among our full peck of virtues, oneor two little barleycorns of vice. In particular, it is alleged that werarely forgive, and never forget, any injuries received; that we usedto make an idol of our resentment, as poor Lady Constance did of hergrief; and are addicted, as Burns says, to 'nursing our wrath to keepit warm. ' Lady Bothwell was not without this feeling; and, I believe, nothing whatever, scarce the restoration of the Stuart line, could havehappened so delicious to her feelings as an opportunity of beingrevenged on Sir Philip Forester, for the deep and double injury whichhad deprived her of a sister and of a brother. But nothing of him washeard or known till many a year had passed away. "

At length--it was on a Fastern's E'en (Shrovetide) assembly, at whichthe whole fashion of Edinburgh attended, full and frequent, and whenLady Bothwell had a seat amongst the lady patronesses, that one of theattendants on the company whispered into her ear, that a gentlemanwished to speak with her in private. 

"In private? and in an assembly-room?--he must be mad--Tell him to callupon me to-morrow morning. "

"I said, so, my lady, " answered the man; "but he desired me to give youthis paper. "

She undid the billet, which was curiously folded and sealed. It onlybore the words, "_On business of life and death_, " written in ahand which she had never seen before. Suddenly it occurred to her, thatit might concern the safety of some of her political friends; shetherefore followed the messenger to a small apartment where therefreshments were prepared, and from which the general company wasexcluded. She found an old man, who, at her approach, rose up and bowedprofoundly. His appearance indicated a broken constitution; and hisdress, though sedulously rendered conforming to the etiquette of aball-room, was worn and tarnished, and hung in folds about hisemaciated person. Lady Bothwell was about to feel for her purse, expecting to get rid of the supplicant at the expense of a little money, but some fear of a mistake arrested her purpose. She therefore gave theman leisure to explain himself. 

"I have the honour to speak with the Lady Bothwell?"

"I am Lady Bothwell; allow me to say, that this is no time or place forlong explanations. --What are your commands with me?"

"Your ladyship, " said the old man, "had once a sister. "

"True; whom I loved as my own soul. "

"And a brother. "

"The bravest, the kindest, the most affectionate!" said Lady Bothwell. 

"Both these beloved relatives you lost by the fault of an unfortunateman, " continued the stranger. 

"By the crime of an unnatural, bloody-minded murderer, " said the lady. 

"I am answered, " replied the old man, bowing, as if to withdraw. 

"Stop, sir, I command you, " said Lady Bothwell. --"Who are you, that, atsuch a place and time, come to recall these horrible recollections? Iinsist upon knowing. "

"I am one who intends Lady Bothwell no injury; but, on the contrary, tooffer her the means of doing a deed of Christian charity, which theworld would wonder at, and which Heaven would reward; but I find her inno temper for such a sacrifice as I was prepared to ask. "

"Speak out, sir; what is your meaning?" said Lady Bothwell. 

"The wretch that has wronged you so deeply, " rejoined the stranger, "isnow on his death-bed. His days have been days of misery, his nightshave been sleepless hours of anguish--yet he cannot die without yourforgiveness. His life has been an unremitting penance--yet he dares notpart from his burden while your curses load his soul. "

"Tell him, " said Lady Bothwell, sternly, "to ask pardon of that Beingwhom he has so greatly offended; not of an erring mortal like himself. What could my forgiveness avail him?"

"Much, " answered the old man. "It will be an earnest of that which hemay then venture to ask from his Creator, lady, and from yours. Remember, Lady Bothwell, you too have a death-bed to look forward to;your soul may, all human souls must, feel the awe of facing thejudgment seat, with the wounds of an untented conscience, raw, andrankling--what thought would it be then that should whisper, 'I havegiven no mercy, how then shall I ask it?'"

"Man, whosoever thou mayst be, " replied Lady Bothwell, "urge me not socruelly. It would be but blasphemous hypocrisy lo utter with my lipsthe words which every throb of my heart protests against. They wouldopen the earth and give to light the wasted form of my sister--thebloody form of my murdered brother--forgive him?--Never, never!"

"Great God!" cried the old man, holding up his hands, "is it thus theworms which thou hast called out of dust obey the commands of theirMaker? Farewell, proud and unforgiving woman. Exult that thou hastadded to a death in want and pain the agonies of religious despair; butnever again mock Heaven by petitioning for the pardon which thou hostrefused to grant. "

He was turning from her. 

"Stop, " she exclaimed; "I will try; yes, I will try to pardon him. "

"Gracious lady, " said the old man, "you will relieve the over-burdenedsoul, which dare not sever itself from its sinful companion of earthwithout being at peace with you. What do I know--your forgiveness mayperhaps preserve for penitence the dregs of a wretched life. "

"Ha!" said the lady, as a sudden light broke on her, "it is the villainhimself!" And grasping Sir Philip Forester--for it was he, and noother--by the collar, she raised a cry of "Murder, murder! Seize themurderer!"

At an exclamation so singular, in such a place, the company throngedinto the apartment, but Sir Philip Forester was no longer there. He hadforcibly extricated himself from Lady Bothwell's hold, and had run outof the apartment which opened on the landing-place of the stair. Thereseemed no escape in that direction, for there were several personscoming up the steps, and others descending. But the unfortunate man wasdesperate. He threw himself over the balustrade, and alighted safely inthe lobby, though a leap of fifteen feet at least, then dashed into thestreet and was lost in darkness. Some of the Bothwell family madepursuit, and, had they come up with the fugitive, they might haveperhaps slain him; for in those days men's blood ran warm in theirveins. But the police did not interfere; the matter most criminalhaving happened long since, and in a foreign land. Indeed, it wasalways thought, that this extraordinary scene originated in ahypocritical experiment, by which Sir Philip desired to ascertainwhether he might return to his native country in safety from theresentment of a family which he had injured so deeply. As the resultfell out so contrary to his wishes, he is believed to have returned tothe Continent, and there died in exile. 

So closed the tale of the MYSTERIOUS MIRROR. 

THE TAPESTRIED CHAMBER;

OR, THE LADY IN THE SACQUE. 

THIS is another little story, from the Keepsake of 1828. It was told tome many years ago, by the late Miss Anna Seward, who, among otheraccomplishments that rendered her an amusing inmate in a country house, had that of recounting narratives of this sort with very considerableeffect; much greater, indeed, than any one would be apt to guess fromthe style of her written performances. There are hours and moods whenmost people are not displeased to listen to such things; and I haveheard some of the greatest and wisest of my contemporaries take theirshare in telling them. 

August, 1831. 

THE following narrative is given from the pen, so far as memory permits, in the same character in which it was presented to the author's ear;nor has he claim to farther praise, or to be more deeply censured, thanin proportion to the good or bad judgment which he has employed inselecting his materials, as he has studiously avoided any attempt atornament, which might interfere with the simplicity of the tale. 

At the same time, it must be admitted, that the particular class ofstories which turns on the marvellous, possesses a stronger influencewhen told than when committed to print. The volume taken up at noonday, though rehearsing the same incidents, conveys a much more feebleimpression than, is achieved by the voice of the speaker on a circle offireside auditors, who hang upon the narrative as the narrator detailsthe minute incidents which serve to give it authenticity, and lowershis voice with an affectation of mystery while he approaches thefearful and wonderful part. It was with such advantages that thepresent writer heard the following events related, more than twentyyears since, by the celebrated Miss Seward, of Litchfield, who, to hernumerous accomplishments, added, in a remarkable degree, the power ofnarrative in private conversation. In its present form, the tale mustnecessarily lose all the interest which was attached to it, by theflexible voice and intelligent features of the gifted narrator. Yetstill, read aloud, to an undoubting audience by the doubtful light ofthe closing evening, or in silence, by a decaying taper, and amidst thesolitude of a half-lighted apartment, it may redeem its character as agood ghost story. Miss Seward always affirmed that she had derived herinformation from an authentic source, although she suppressed the namesof the two persons chiefly concerned. I will not avail myself of anyparticulars I may have since received concerning the localities of thedetail, but suffer them to rest under the same general description inwhich they were first related to me; and, for the same reason, I willnot add to, or diminish the narrative, by any circumstances, whethermore or less material, but simply rehearse, as I heard it, a story ofsupernatural terror. 

About the end of the American war, when the officers of LordCornwallis's army, which surrendered at York-town, and others, who hadbeen made prisoners during the impolitic and ill-fated controversy, were returning to their own country, to relate their adventures, andrepose themselves after their fatigues; there was amongst them ageneral officer, to whom Miss S. Gave the name of Browne, but merely, as I understood, to save the inconvenience of introducing a namelessagent in the narrative. He was an officer of merit, as well as agentleman of high consideration for family and attainments. 

Some business had carried General Browne upon a tour through thewestern counties, when, in the conclusion of a morning stage, he foundhimself in the vicinity of a small country town, which presented ascene of uncommon beauty, and of a character peculiarly English. 

The little town, with its stately church, whose tower bore testimony tothe devotion of ages long past, lay amidst pasture and corn-fields ofsmall extent, but bounded and divided with hedge-row timber of greatage and size. There were few marks of modern improvement. The environsof the place intimated neither the solitude of decay, nor the bustle ofnovelty; the houses were old, but in good repair; and the beautifullittle river murmured freely on its way to the left of the town, neither restrained by a dam, nor bordered by a towing-path. 

Upon a gentle eminence, nearly a mile to the southward of the town, were seen, amongst many venerable oaks and tangled thickets, theturrets of a castle, as old as the wars of York and Lancaster, butwhich seemed to have received important alterations during the age ofElizabeth and her successors. It had not been a place of great size;but whatever accommodation it formerly afforded, was, it must besupposed, still to be obtained within its walls; at least, such was theinference which General Browne drew from observing the smoke arisemerrily from several of the ancient wreathed and carved chimney-stalks. The wall of the park ran alongside of the highway for two or threehundred yards; and through the different points by which the eye foundglimpses into the woodland scenery, it seemed to be well stocked. Otherpoints of view opened in succession; now a full one, of the front ofthe old castle, and now a side glimpse at its particular towers; theformer rich in all the bizarrerie of the Elizabethan school, while thesimple arid solid strength of other parts of the building seemed toshow that they had been raised more for defence than ostentation. Delighted with the partial glimpses which he obtained of the castlethrough the woods and glades by which this ancient feudal fortress wassurrounded, our military traveller was determined to inquire whether itmight not deserve a nearer view, and whether it contained familypictures or other objects of curiosity worthy of a stranger's visit;when, leaving the vicinity of the park, he rolled through a clean andwell-paved street, and stopped at the door of a well-frequented inn. 

Before ordering horses to proceed on his journey, General Browne madeinquiries concerning the proprietor of the chateau which had soattracted his admiration, and was equally surprised and pleased athearing in reply a nobleman named whom we shall call Lord Woodville. How fortunate! Much of Browne's early recollections, both at school andat college, had been connected with young Woodville, whom, by a fewquestions, he now ascertained to be the same with the owner of thisfair domain. He had been raised to the peerage by the decease of hisfather a few months before, and, as the General learned from thelandlord, the term of mourning being ended, was now taking possessionof his paternal estate, in the jovial season of merry autumn, accompanied by a select party of friends to enjoy the sports of acountry famous for game. 

This was delightful news to our traveller. Frank Woodville had beenRichard Browne's fag at Eton, and his chosen intimate at Christ Church;their pleasures and their tasks had been the same; and the honestsoldier's heart warmed to find his early friend in possession of sodelightful a residence, and of an estate, as the landlord assured himwith a nod and a wink, fully adequate to maintain and add to hisdignity. Nothing was more natural than that the traveller shouldsuspend a journey, which there was nothing to render hurried, to pay avisit to an old friend under such agreeable circumstances. 

The fresh horses, therefore, had only the brief task of conveying theGeneral's travelling carriage to Woodville Castle. A porter admittedthem at a modern Gothic Lodge, built in that style to correspond withthe Castle itself, and at the same time rang a bell to give warning ofthe approach of visitors. Apparently the sound of the bell hadsuspended the separation of the company, bent on the various amusementsof the morning; for, on entering the court of the chateau, severalyoung men were lounging about in their sporting dresses, looking at, and criticising, the dogs which the keepers held in readiness to attendtheir pastime. As General Browne alighted, the young lord came to thegate of the hall, and for an instant gazed, as at a stranger, upon thecountenance of his friend, on which war, with its fatigues and itswounds, had made a great alteration. But the uncertainty lasted nolonger than till the visitor had spoken, and the hearty greeting whichfollowed was such as can only be exchanged betwixt those who havepassed together the merry days of careless boyhood or early youth. 

"If I could have formed a wish, my dear Browne, " said Lord Woodville, "it would have been to have you here, of all men, upon this occasion, which my friends are good enough to hold as a sort of holyday. Do notthink you have been unwatched during the years you have been absentfrom us. I have traced you through your dangers, your triumphs, yourmisfortunes, and was delighted to see that, whether in victory ordefeat, the name of my old friend was always distinguished withapplause. "

The General made a suitable reply, and congratulated his friend on hisnew dignities, and the possession of a place and domain so beautiful. 

"Nay, you have seen nothing of it as yet, " said Lord Woodville, "and Itrust you do not mean to leave us till you are better acquainted withit. It is true, I confess, that my present party is pretty large, andthe old house, like other places of the kind, does not possess so muchaccommodation as the extent of the outward walls appears to promise. But we can give you a comfortable old-fashioned room; and I venture tosuppose that your campaigns have taught you to be glad of worsequarters. "

The General shrugged his shoulders, and laughed. "I presume, " he said, "the worst apartment in your chateau is considerably superior to theold tobacco-cask, in which I was fain to take up my night's lodgingwhen I was in the Bush, as the Virginians call it, with the light corps. There I lay, like Diogenes himself, so delighted with my covering fromthe elements, that I made a vain attempt to have it rolled on to mynext quarters; but my commander for the time would give way to no suchluxurious provision, and I took farewell of my beloved cask with tearsin my eyes. "

"Well, then, since you do not fear your quarters, " said Lord Woodville, "you will stay with me a week at least. Of guns, dogs, fishing-rods, flies, and means of sport by sea and land, we have enough and to spare:you cannot pitch on an amusement, but we will pitch on the means ofpursuing it. But if you prefer the gun and pointers, I will go with youmyself, and see whether you have mended your shooting since you havebeen amongst the Indians of the back settlements. "

The General gladly accepted his friendly host's proposal in all itspoints. After a morning of manly exercise, the company met at dinner, where it was the delight of Lord Woodville to conduce to the display ofthe high properties of his recovered friend, so as to recommend him tohis guests, most of whom were persons of distinction. He led GeneralBrowne to speak of the scenes he had witnessed; and as every wordmarked alike the brave officer and the sensible man, who retainedpossession of his cool judgment under the most imminent dangers, thecompany looked upon the soldier with general respect, as no one who hadproved himself possessed of an uncommon portion of personal courage--that attribute, of all others, of which every body desires to bethought possessed. 

The day at Woodville Castle ended as usual in such mansions. Thehospitality stopped within the limits of good order; music, in whichthe young lord was a proficient, succeeded to the circulation of thebottle: cards and billiards, for those who preferred such amusements, were in readiness: but the exercise of the morning required early hours, and not long after eleven o'clock the guests began to retire to theirseveral apartments. 

The young lord himself conducted his friend, General Browne, to thechamber destined for him, which answered the description he had givenof it, being comfortable, but old-fashioned. The bed was of the massiveform used in the end of the seventeenth century, and the curtains offaded silk, heavily trimmed with tarnished gold. But then the sheets, pillows, and blankets looked delightful to the campaigner, when hethought of his mansion, the cask. There was an air of gloom in thetapestry hangings, which, with their worn-out graces, curtained thewalls of the little chamber, and gently undulated as the autumnalbreeze found its way through the ancient lattice-window, which patteredand whistled as the air gained entrance. The toilet too, with itsmirror, turbaned, after the manner of the beginning of the century, with a coiffure of murrey-coloured silk, and its hundred strange-shapedboxes, providing for arrangements which had been obsolete for more thanfifty years, had an antique, and in so far a melancholy, aspect. Butnothing could blaze more brightly and cheerfully than the two large waxcandles; or if aught could rival them, it was the flaming bickeringfagots in the chimney, that sent at once their gleam and their warmththrough the snug apartment; which, notwithstanding the generalantiquity of its appearance, was not wanting in the least conveniencethat modern habits rendered either necessary or desirable. 

"This is an old-fashioned sleeping apartment, General, " said the younglord; "but I hope you will find nothing that makes you envy your oldtobacco-cask. "

"I am not particular respecting my lodgings, " replied the General; "yetwere I to make any choice, I would prefer this chamber by many degrees, to the gayer and more modern rooms of your family mansion. Believe me, that when I unite its modern air of comfort with its venerableantiquity, and recollect that it is your lordship's property, I shallfeel in better quarters here, than if I were in the best hotel Londoncould afford. "

"I trust--I have no doubt--that you will find yourself as comfortableas I wish you, my dear General, " said the young nobleman; and once morebidding his guest good-night, he shook him by the hand, and withdrew. 

The General again looked round him, and internally congratulatinghimself on his return to peaceful life, the comforts of which wereendeared by the recollection of the hardships and dangers he had latelysustained, undressed himself, and prepared himself for a luxuriousnight's rest. 

Here, contrary to the custom of this species of tale, we leave theGeneral in possession of his apartment until the next morning. 

The company assembled for breakfast at an early hour, but without theappearance of General Browne, who seemed the guest that Lord Woodvillewas desirous of honouring above all whom his hospitality had assembledaround him. He more than once expressed surprise at the General'sabsence, and at length sent a servant to make inquiry after him. Theman brought back information that General Browne had been walkingabroad since an early hour of the morning, in defiance of the weather, which was misty and ungenial. 

"The custom of a soldier, "--said the young nobleman to his friends;"many of them acquire habitual vigilance, and cannot sleep after theearly hour at which their duty usually commands them to be alert. "

Yet the explanation which Lord Woodville thus offered to the companyseemed hardly satisfactory to his own mind, and it was in a fit ofsilence and abstraction that he awaited the return of the General. Ittook place near an hour after the breakfast bell had rung. He lookedfatigued and feverish. His hair, the powdering and arrangement of whichwas at this time one of the most important occupations of a man's wholeday, and marked his fashion as much as, in the present time, the tyingof a cravat, or the want of one, was dishevelled, uncurled, void ofpowder, and dank with dew. His clothes were huddled on with a carelessnegligence, remarkable in a military man, whose real or supposed dutiesare usually held to include some attention to the toilet; and his lookswere haggard and ghastly in a peculiar degree. 

"So you have stolen a march upon us this morning, my dear General, "said Lord Woodville; "or you have not found your bed so much to yourmind as I had hoped and you seemed to expect. How did you rest lastnight?"

"Oh, excellently well! remarkably well! never better in my life"--saidGeneral Browne rapidly, and yet with an air of embarrassment which wasobvious to his friend. He then hastily swallowed a cup of tea, andneglecting or refusing whatever else was offered, seemed to fall into afit of abstraction. 

"You will take the gun to-day, General;" said his friend and host, buthad to repeat the question twice ere he received the abrupt answer, "No, my lord; I am sorry I cannot have the honour of spending another daywith your lordship; my post horses are ordered, and will be heredirectly. "

All who were present showed surprise, and Lord Woodville immediatelyreplied, "Post horses, my good friend! what can you possibly want withthem, when you promised to stay with me quietly for at least a week?"

"I believe, " said the General, obviously much embarrassed, "that Imight, in the pleasure of my first meeting with your lordship, havesaid something about stopping here a few days; but I have since foundit altogether impossible. "

"That is very extraordinary, " answered the young nobleman. "You seemedquite disengaged yesterday, and you cannot have had a summons to-day;for our post has not come up from the town, and therefore you cannothave received any letters. "

General Browne, without giving any farther explanation, mutteredsomething of indispensable business, and insisted on the absolutenecessity of his departure in a manner which silenced all opposition onthe part of his host, who saw that his resolution was taken, andforbore farther importunity. 

"At least, however, " he said, "permit me, my dear Browne, since go youwill or must, to show you the view from the terrace, which the mist, that is now rising, will soon display. "

He threw open a sash window, and stepped down upon the terrace as hespoke. The General followed him mechanically, but seemed little toattend to what his host was saying, as, looking across an extended andrich prospect, he pointed out the different objects worthy ofobservation. Thus they moved on till Lord Woodville had attained hispurpose of drawing his guest entirely apart from the rest of thecompany, when, turning round upon him with an air of great solemnity, he addressed him thus:

"Richard Browne, my old and very dear friend, we are now alone. Let meconjure you to answer me upon the word of a friend, and the honour of asoldier. How did you in reality rest during last night?"

"Most wretchedly indeed, my lord, " answered the General, in the sametone of solemnity;--"so miserably, that I would not run the risk ofsuch a second night, not only for all the lands belonging to thiscastle, but for all the country which I see from this elevated point ofview. "

"This is most extraordinary, " said the young lord, as if speaking tohimself; "then there must be something in the reports concerning thatapartment. " Again turning to the General, he said, "For God's sake, mydear friend, be candid with me, and let me know the disagreeableparticulars, which have befallen you under a roof, where, with consentof the owner, you should have met nothing save comfort. "

The General seemed distressed by this appeal, and paused a momentbefore he replied. "My dear lord, " he at length said, "what happened tome last night is of a nature so peculiar and so unpleasant, that Icould hardly bring myself to detail it even to your lordship, were itnot that, independent of my wish to gratify any request of yours, Ithink that sincerity on my part may lead to some explanation about acircumstance equally painful and mysterious. To others, thecommunication I am about to make, might place me in the light of aweak-minded, superstitious fool who suffered his own imagination todelude and bewilder him; but you have known me in childhood and youth, and will not suspect me of having adopted in manhood the feelings andfrailties from which my early years were free. " Here he paused, and hisfriend replied:

"Do not doubt my perfect confidence in the truth of your communication, however strange it may be, " replied Lord Woodville; "I know yourfirmness of disposition too well, to suspect you could be made theobject of imposition, and am aware that your honour and your friendshipwill equally deter you from exaggerating whatever you may havewitnessed. "

"Well then, " said the General, "I will proceed with my story as well asI can, relying upon your candour; and yet distinctly feeling that Iwould rather face a battery than recall to my mind the odiousrecollection's of last night. "

He paused a second time, and then perceiving that Lord Woodvilleremained silent and in an attitude of attention, he commenced, thoughnot without obvious reluctance, the history of his night's adventuresin the Tapestried Chamber. 

"I undressed and went to bed, so soon as your lordship left meyesterday evening; but the wood in the chimney, which nearly fronted mybed, blazed brightly and cheerfully, and, aided by a hundred excitingrecollections of my childhood and youth, which had been recalled by theunexpected pleasure of meeting your lordship, prevented me from fallingimmediately asleep. I ought, however, to say, that these reflectionswere all of a pleasant and agreeable kind, grounded on a sense ofhaving for a time exchanged the labour, fatigues, and dangers of myprofession, for the enjoyments of a peaceful life, and the reunion ofthose friendly and affectionate ties, which I had torn asunder at therude summons of war. 

"While such pleasing reflections were stealing over my mind, andgradually lulling me to slumber, I was suddenly aroused by a sound likethat of the rustling of a silken gown, and the tapping of a pair ofhigh-heeled shoes, as if a woman were walking in the apartment. Ere Icould draw the curtain to see what the matter was, the figure of alittle woman passed between the bed and the fire. The back of this formwas turned to me, and I could observe, from the shoulders and neck, itwas that of an old woman, whose dress was an old-fashioned gown, which, I think, ladies call a sacque; that is, a sort of robe, completelyloose in the body, but gathered into broad plaits upon the neck andshoulders, which fall down to the ground, and terminate in a species oftrain. 

"I thought the intrusion singular enough, but never harboured for amoment the idea that what I saw was any thing more than the mortal formof some old woman about the establishment, who had a fancy to dresslike her grandmother, and who, having perhaps (as your lordshipmentioned that you were rather straitened for room) been dislodged fromher chamber for my accommodation, had forgotten the circumstance, andreturned by twelve to her old haunt. Under this persuasion I movedmyself in bed and coughed a little, to make the intruder sensible of mybeing in possession of the premises. --She turned slowly round, butgracious heaven! my lord, what a countenance did she display to me!There was no longer any question what she was, or any thought of herbeing a living being. Upon a face which wore the fixed features of acorpse, were imprinted the traces of the vilest and most hideouspassions which had animated her while she lived. The body of someatrocious criminal seemed to have been given up from the grave, and thesoul restored from the penal fire, in order to form, for a space, aunion with the ancient accomplice of its guilt. I started up in bed, and sat upright, supporting myself on my palms, as I gazed on thishorrible spectre. The hag made, as it seemed, a single and swift strideto the bed where I lay, and squatted herself down upon it, in preciselythe same attitude which I had assumed in the extremity of horror, advancing her diabolical countenance within half a yard of mine, with agrin which seemed to intimate the malice and the derision of anincarnate fiend. "

Here General Browne stopped, and wiped from his brow the coldperspiration with which the recollection of his horrible vision hadcovered it. 

"My lord, " he said, "I am no coward. I have been in all the mortaldangers incidental to my profession, and I may truly boast, that no manever knew Richard Browne dishonour the sword he wears; but in thesehorrible circumstances, under the eyes, and as it seemed, almost in thegrasp of an incarnation of an evil spirit, all firmness forsook me, allmanhood melted from me like wax in the furnace, and I felt my hairindividually bristle. The current of my life-blood ceased to flow, andI sank back in a swoon, as very a victim to panic terror as ever was avillage girl, or a child of ten years old. How long I lay in thiscondition I cannot pretend to guess. 

"But I was roused by the castle clock striking one, so loud that itseemed as if it were in the very room. It was some time before I daredopen my eyes, lest they should again encounter the horrible spectacle. When, however, I summoned courage to look up, she was no longer visible. My first idea was to pull my bell, wake the servants, and remove to agarret or a hay-loft, to be ensured against a second visitation. Nay, Iwill confess the truth, that my resolution was altered, not by theshame of exposing myself, but by the fear that, as the bell-cord hungby the chimney, I might, in making my way to it, be again crossed bythe fiendish hag, who, I figured to myself, might be still lurkingabout some corner of the apartment. 

"I will not pretend to describe what hot and cold fever-fits tormentedme for the rest of the night, through broken sleep, weary vigils, andthat dubious state which forms the neutral ground between them. Ahundred terrible objects appeared to haunt me; but there was the greatdifference betwixt the vision which I have described, and those whichfollowed, that I knew the last to be deceptions of my own fancy andover-excited nerves. 

"Day at last appeared, and I rose from my bed ill in health, andhumiliated in mind. I was ashamed of myself as a man and a soldier, andstill more so, at feeling my own extreme desire to escape from thehaunted apartment, which, however, conquered all other considerations;so that, huddling on my clothes with the most careless haste, I made myescape from your lordship's mansion, to seek in the open air somerelief to my nervous system, shaken as it was by this horribleencounter with a visitant, for such I must believe her, from the otherworld. Your lordship has now heard the cause of my discomposure, and ofmy sudden desire to leave your hospitable castle. In other places Itrust we may often meet; but God protect me from ever spending a secondnight under that roof!"

Strange as the General's tale was, he spoke with such a deep air ofconviction, that it cut short all the usual commentaries which are madeon such stories. Lord Woodville never once asked him if he was sure hedid not dream of the apparition, or suggested any of the possibilitiesby which it is fashionable to explain supernatural appearances, as wildvagaries of the fancy, or deceptions of the optic nerves. On thecontrary, he seemed deeply impressed with the truth and reality of whathe had heard; and, after a considerable pause, regretted, with muchappearance of sincerity, that his early friend should in his house havesuffered so severely. 

"I am the more sorry for your pain, my dear Browne, " he continued, "that it is the unhappy, though most unexpected, result of anexperiment of my own! You must know, that for my father andgrandfather's time, at least, the apartment which was assigned to youlast night, had been shut on account of reports that it was disturbedby supernatural sights and noises. When I came, a few weeks since, intopossession of the estate, I thought the accommodation, which the castleafforded for my friends, was not extensive enough to permit theinhabitants of the invisible world to retain possession of acomfortable sleeping apartment. I therefore caused the TapestriedChamber, as we call it, to be opened; and without destroying its air ofantiquity, I had such new articles of furniture placed in it as becamethe modern times. Yet as the opinion that the room was haunted verystrongly prevailed among the domestics, and was also known in theneighbourhood and to many of my friends, I feared some prejudice mightbe entertained by the first occupant of the Tapestried Chamber, whichmight tend to revive the evil report which it had laboured under, andso disappoint my purpose of rendering it a useful part of the house. Imust confess, my dear Browne, that your arrival yesterday, agreeable tome for a thousand reasons besides, seemed the most favourableopportunity of removing the unpleasant rumours which attached to theroom, since your courage was indubitable and your mind free of any pre-occupation on the subject. I could not, therefore, have chosen a morefitting subject for my experiment. "

"Upon my life, " said General Browne, somewhat hastily, "I am infinitelyobliged to your lordship--very particularly indebted indeed. I amlikely to remember for some time the consequences of the experiment, asyour lordship is pleased to call it. "

"Nay, now you are unjust, my dear friend, " said Lord Woodville. "Youhave only to reflect for a single moment, in order to be convinced thatI could not augur the possibility of the pain to which you have been sounhappily exposed. I was yesterday morning a complete sceptic on thesubject of supernatural appearances. Nay, I am sure that had I told youwhat was said about that room, those very reports would have inducedyou, by your own choice, to select it for your accommodation. It was mymisfortune, perhaps my error, but really cannot be termed my fault, that you have been afflicted so strangely. "

"Strangely indeed!" said the General, resuming his good temper; "and Iacknowledge that I have no right to be offended with your lordship fortreating me like what I used to think myself--a man of some firmnessand courage. --But I see my post horses are arrived, and I must notdetain your lordship from your amusement. "

"Nay, my old friend, " said Lord Woodville, "since you cannot stay withus another day, which, indeed, I can no longer urge, give me at leasthalf an hour more. You used to love pictures, and I have a gallery ofportraits, some of them by Vandyke, representing ancestry to whom thisproperty and castle formerly belonged. I think that several of themwill strike you as possessing merit. "

General Browne accepted the invitation, though somewhat unwillingly. Itwas evident he was not to breathe freely or at ease till he leftWoodville Castle far behind him. He could not refuse his friend'sinvitation, however; and the less so, that he was a little ashamed ofthe peevishness which he had displayed towards his well-meaningentertainer. 

The General, therefore, followed Lord Woodville through several rooms, into a long gallery hung with pictures, which the latter pointed out tohis guest, telling the names, and giving some account of the personageswhose portraits presented themselves in progression. General Browne wasbut little interested in the details which these accounts conveyed tohim. They were, indeed, of the kind which are usually found in an oldfamily gallery. Here was a cavalier who had ruined the estate in theroyal cause; there a fine lady who had reinstated it by contracting amatch with a wealthy Roundhead. There hung a gallant who had been indanger for corresponding with the exiled Court at St. Germain's; hereone who had taken arms for William at the Revolution; and there a thirdthat had thrown his weight alternately into the scale of whig and tory. 

While Lord Woodville was cramming these words into his guest's ear, "against the stomach of his sense, " they gained the middle of thegallery, when he beheld General Browne suddenly start, and assume anattitude of the utmost surprise, not unmixed with fear, as his eyeswere caught and suddenly riveted by a portrait of an old lady in asacque, the fashionable dress of the end of the seventeenth century. 

"There she is!" he exclaimed; "there she is, in form and features, though inferior in demoniac expression, to the accursed hag who visitedme last night. "

"If that be the case, " said the young nobleman, "there can remain nolonger any doubt of the horrible reality of your apparition. That isthe picture of a wretched ancestress of mine, of whose crimes a blackand fearful catalogue is recorded in a family history in my charter-chest. The recital of them would be too horrible; it is enough to say, that in yon fatal apartment incest and unnatural murder were committed. I will restore it to the solitude, to which the better judgment ofthose who preceded me had consigned it; and never shall any one, solong as I can prevent it, be exposed to a repetition of thesupernatural horrors which could shake such courage as yours. "

Thus the friends, who had met with such glee, parted in a verydifferent mood; Lord Woodville to command the Tapestried Chamber to beunmantled, and the door built up; and General Browne to seek in someless beautiful country, and with some less dignified friend, forgetfulness of the painful night which he had passed in WoodvilleCastle. 

DEATH OF THE LAIRD'S JOCK. 

[The manner in which this trifle was introduced at the time to Mr. F. M. Reynolds, editor of the Keepsake of 1828, leaves no occasion for apreface. ] _August_, 1831. 

TO THE EDITOR OF THE KEEPSAKE. 

You have asked me, sir, to point out a subject for the pencil, and Ifeel the difficulty of complying with your request; although I am notcertainly unaccustomed to literary composition, or a total stranger tothe stores of history and tradition, which afford the best copies forthe painter's art. But although _sicut pictura poesis_ is anancient and undisputed axiom--although poetry and painting both addressthemselves to the same object of exciting the human imagination, bypresenting to it pleasing or sublime images of ideal scenes; yet theone conveying itself through the ears to the understanding, and theother applying itself only to the eyes, the subjects which are bestsuited to the bard or tale-teller are often totally unfit for painting, where the artist must present in a single glance all that his art haspower to tell us. The artist can neither recapitulate the past norintimate the future. The single _now_ is all which he can present;and hence, unquestionably, many subjects which delight us in poetry, orin narrative, whether real or fictitious, cannot with advantage betransferred to the canvass. 

Being in some degree aware of these difficulties, though doubtlessunacquainted both with their extent, and the means by which they may bemodified or surmounted, I have, nevertheless, ventured to draw up thefollowing traditional narrative as a story in which, when the generaldetails are known, the interest is so much concentrated in one strongmoment of agonizing passion, that it can be understood, and sympathizedwith, at a single glance. I therefore presume that it may be acceptableas a hint to some one among the numerous artists, who have of lateyears distinguished themselves as rearing up and supporting the Britishschool. 

Enough has been said and sung about

 The well-contested ground, The warlike border-land--

to render the habits of the tribes who inhabited them before the unionof England and Scotland familiar to most of your readers. The rougherand sterner features of their character were softened by theirattachment to the fine arts, from which has arisen the saying that, onthe frontiers every dale had its battle, and every river its song. Arude species of chivalry was in constant use, and single combats werepractised as the amusement of the few intervals of truce whichsuspended the exercise of war. The inveteracy of this custom may beinferred from the following incident:--

Bernard Gilpin, the apostle of the north, the first who undertook topreach the Protestant doctrines to the Border dalesmen, was surprised, on entering one of their churches, to see a gauntlet, or mail-glove, hanging above the altar. Upon inquiring the meaning of a symbol soindecorous being displayed in that sacred place, he was informed by theclerk, that the glove was that of a famous swordsman who hung it thereas an emblem of a general challenge and gage of battle, to any whoshould dare to take the fatal token down. "Reach it to me, " said thereverend churchman. The clerk and sexton equally declined the perilousoffice: and the good Bernard Gilpin was obliged to remove the glovewith his own hands, desiring those who were present to inform thechampion, that he, and no other, had possessed himself of the gage ofdefiance. But the champion was as much ashamed to face Bernard Gilpinas the officials of the church had been to displace his pledge ofcombat. 

The date of the following story is about the latter years of QueenElizabeth's reign; and the events took place in Liddesdale, a hilly andpastoral district of Roxburghshire, which, on a part of its boundary, is divided from England only by a small river;

During the good old times of _rugging and riving_, (that is, tugging and tearing, ) under which term the disorderly doings of thewarlike age are affectionately remembered, this valley was principallycultivated by the sept or clan of the Armstrongs. The chief of thiswarlike race was the Laird of Mangertown. At the period of which Ispeak, the estate of Mangertown, with the power and dignity of chief, was possessed by John Armstrong, a man of great size, strength andcourage. While his father was alive, he was distinguished from othersof his clan who bore the same name by the epithet of the _Laird'sJock_, that is to say, the Laird's son Jock, or Jack. This name hedistinguished by so many bold and desperate achievements, that heretained it even after his father's death, and is mentioned under itboth in authentic records and in tradition. Some of his feats arerecorded in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, and others mentionedin contemporary chronicles. 

At the species of singular combat which we have described, the Laird'sJock was unrivalled; and no champion of Cumberland, Westmoreland, orNorthumberland, could endure the sway of the huge two-handed swordwhich he wielded, and which few others could even lift. This "awfulsword, " as the common people term it, was as dear to him as Durindanaor Fushberta to their respective masters, and was nearly as formidableto his enemies as those renowned falchions proved to the foes ofChristendom. The weapon had been bequeathed to him by a celebratedEnglish outlaw named Hobbie Noble, who, having committed some deed forwhich he was in danger from justice, fled to Liddesdale, and became afollower, or rather a brother-in-arms, to the renowned Laird's Jock;till, venturing into England with a small escort, a faithless guide, and with a light single-handed sword instead of his ponderous brand, Hobbie Noble, attacked by superior numbers, was made prisoner andexecuted. 

With this weapon, and by means of his own strength and address, theLaird's Jock maintained the reputation of the best swordsman on theBorder side, and defeated or slew many who ventured to dispute with himthe formidable title. 

But years pass on with the strong and the brave as with the feeble andthe timid. In process of time, the Laird's Jock grew incapable ofwielding his weapon, and finally of all active exertion, even of themost ordinary kind. The disabled champion became at length totally bed-ridden, and entirely dependent for his comfort on the pious duties ofan only daughter, his perpetual attendant and companion. 

Besides this dutiful child, the Laird's Jock had an only son, upon whomdevolved the perilous task of leading the clan to battle, andmaintaining the warlike renown of his native country, which was nowdisputed by the English upon many occasions. The young Armstrong wasactive, brave, and strong, and brought home from dangerous adventuresmany tokens of decided success. Still the ancient chief conceived, asit would seem, that his son was scarce yet entitled by age andexperience to be entrusted with the two-handed sword, by the use ofwhich he had himself been so dreadfully distinguished. 

At length, an English champion, one of the name of Foster, (if Irightly recollect, ) had the audacity to send a challenge to the bestswordsman in, Liddesdale; and young Armstrong, burning for chivalrousdistinction, accepted the challenge. 

The heart of the disabled old man swelled with joy when he heard thatthe challenge was passed and accepted, and the meeting fixed at aneutral spot, used as the place of rencontre upon such occasions, andwhich he himself had distinguished by numerous victories. He exulted somuch in the conquest which he anticipated, that, to nerve his son tostill bolder exertions, he conferred upon him, as champion of his clanand province, the celebrated weapon which he had hitherto retained inhis own custody. 

This was not all. When the day of combat arrived, the Laird's Jock, inspite of his daughter's affectionate remonstrances, determined, thoughhe had not left his bed for two years, to be a personal witness of theduel. His will was still a law to his people, who bore him on theirshoulders, wrapped in plaids and blankets, to the spot where the combatwas to take place, and seated him on a fragment of rock, which is stillcalled the Laird's Jock's stone. There he remained with eyes fixed onthe lists or barrier, within which the champions were about to meet. His daughter, having done all she could for his accommodation, stoodmotionless beside him, divided between anxiety for his health, and forthe event of the combat to her beloved brother. Ere yet the fight began, the old men gazed on their chief, now seen for the first time afterseveral years, and sadly compared his altered features and wasted frame, with the paragon of strength and manly beauty which they onceremembered. The young men gazed on his large form and powerful make, asupon some antediluvian giant who had survived the destruction of theFlood. 

But the sound of the trumpets on both sides recalled the attention ofevery one to the lists, surrounded as they were by numbers of bothnations eager to witness the event of the day. The combatants met. Itis needless to describe the struggle: the Scottish champion fell. Foster, placing his foot on his antagonist, seized on the redoubtedsword, so precious in the eyes of its aged owner, and brandished itover his head as a trophy of his conquest. The English shouted intriumph. But the despairing cry of the aged champion, who saw hiscountry dishonoured, and his sword, long the terror of their race, inpossession of an Englishman, was heard high above the acclamations ofvictory. He seemed, for an instant, animated by all his wonted power;for he started from the rock on which he sat, and while the garmentswith which he had been invested fell from his wasted frame, and showedthe ruins of his strength, he tossed his arms wildly to heaven, anduttered a cry of indignation, horror, and despair, which, traditionsays, was heard to a preternatural distance, and resembled the cry of adying lion more than a human sound. 

His friends received him in their arms as he sank utterly exhausted bythe effort, and bore him back to his castle in mute sorrow; while hisdaughter at once wept for her brother, and endeavoured to mitigate andsoothe the despair of her father. But this was impossible; the oldman's only tie to life was rent rudely asunder, and his heart hadbroken with it. The death of his son had no part in his sorrow. If hethought of him at all, it was as the degenerate boy, through whom thehonour of his country and clan had been lost; and he died in the courseof three days, never even mentioning his name, but pouring outuninterrupted lamentations for the loss of his sword. 

I conceive, that the instant when the disabled chief was roused into alast exertion by the agony of the moment is favourable to the object ofa painter. He might obtain the full advantage of contrasting the formof the rugged old man, in the extremity of furious despair, with thesoftness and beauty of the female form. The fatal field might be throwninto perspective, so as to give full effect to these two principalfigures, and with the single explanation that the piece represented asoldier beholding his son slain, and the honour of his country lost, the picture would be sufficiently intelligible at the first glance. Ifit was thought necessary to show more clearly the nature of theconflict, it might be indicated by the pennon of Saint George beingdisplayed at one end of the lists, and that of Saint Andrew at theOther. 

I remain, Sir, Your obedient servant, THE AUTHOR OF WAVERLEY. 

END OF THE WAVERLEY NOVELS.