Anne of Geierstein; Or, The Maiden of the Mist. Volume 2 (of 2) Read online

  CHAPTER IX.

  My blood hath been too cold and temperate, Unapt to stir at these indignities, And you have found me; for, accordingly, You tread upon my patience. _Henry IV._

  The dawn of morning roused the banished Earl of Oxford and his son,and its lights were scarce abroad on the eastern heaven, ere theirhost, Colvin, entered with an attendant, bearing some bundles, whichhe placed on the floor of the tent, and instantly retired. The officerof the Duke's ordnance then announced that he came with a message fromthe Duke of Burgundy.

  "His Highness," he said, "has sent four stout yeomen, with acommission of credence to my young master of Oxford, and an amplepurse of gold, to furnish his expenses to Aix, and while his affairsmay detain him there. Also a letter of credence to King Rene, toinsure his reception, and two suits of honour for his use, as for anEnglish gentleman, desirous to witness the festive solemnities ofProvence, and in whose safety the Duke deigns to take deep interest.His further affairs there, if he hath any, his Highness recommends tohim to manage with prudence and secrecy. His Highness hath also sent acouple of horses for his use,--one an ambling jennet for the road, andanother a strong barbed horse of Flanders, in case he hath aught todo. It will be fitting that my young master change his dress, andassume attire more near his proper rank. His attendants know the road,and have power, in case of need, to summon, in the Duke's name,assistance from all faithful Burgundians. I have but to add, thesooner the young gentleman sets forward, it will be the better sign ofa successful journey."

  "I am ready to mount, the instant that I have changed my dress," saidArthur.

  "And I," said his father, "have no wish to detain him on the servicein which he is now employed. Neither he nor I will say more than Godbe with you. How and where we are to meet again, who can tell?"

  "I believe," said Colvin, "that must rest on the motions of the Duke,which, perchance, are not yet determined upon; but his Highnessdepends upon your remaining with him, my noble lord, till the affairsof which you come to treat may be more fully decided. Something I havefor your lordship's private ear, when your son hath parted on hisjourney."

  While Colvin was thus talking with his father, Arthur, who was notabove half-dressed when he entered the tent, had availed himself of anobscure corner, in which he exchanged the plain garb belonging to hissupposed condition as a merchant, for such a riding-suit as became ayoung man of some quality attached to the Court of Burgundy. It wasnot without a natural sensation of pleasure that the youth resumed anapparel suitable to his birth, and which no one was personally morefitted to become; but it was with much deeper feeling that he hastily,and as secretly as possible, flung round his neck, and concealedunder the collar and folds of his ornamented doublet, a small thinchain of gold, curiously linked in what was called Morisco work. Thiswas the contents of the parcel which Anne of Geierstein had indulgedhis feelings, and perhaps her own, by putting into his hands as theyparted. The chain was secured by a slight plate of gold, on which abodkin, or a point of a knife, had traced on the one side, in distinctthough light characters, ADIEU FOR EVER! while, on the reverse, therewas much more obscurely traced, the word REMEMBER!--A. VON G.

  All who may read this are, have been, or will be, lovers; and there isnone, therefore, who may not be able to comprehend why this token wascarefully suspended around Arthur's neck, so that the inscriptionmight rest on the region of his heart, without the interruption of anysubstance which could prevent the pledge from being agitated by everythrob of that busy organ.

  This being hastily insured, a few minutes completed the rest of histoilette; and he kneeled before his father to ask his blessing, andhis further commands for Aix.

  His father blessed him almost inarticulately, and then said, withrecovered firmness, that he was already possessed of all the knowledgenecessary for success on his mission.

  "When you can bring me the deeds wanted," he whispered with morefirmness, "you will find me near the person of the Duke of Burgundy."

  They went forth of the tent in silence, and found before it the fourBurgundian yeomen, tall and active-looking men, ready mountedthemselves, and holding two saddled horses--the one accoutred forwar, the other a spirited jennet, for the purposes of the journey. Oneof them led a sumpter-horse, on which Colvin informed Arthur he wouldfind the change of habit necessary when he should arrive at Aix; andat the same time delivered to him a heavy purse of gold.

  "Thiebault," he continued, pointing out the eldest of the attendanttroopers, "may be trusted--I will be warrant for his sagacity andfidelity. The other three are picked men, who will not fear theirskin-cutting."

  Arthur vaulted into the saddle with a sensation of pleasure, which wasnatural to a young cavalier who had not for many months felt aspirited horse beneath him. The lively jennet reared with impatience.Arthur, sitting firm on his seat, as if he had been a part of theanimal, only said, "Ere we are long acquainted, thy spirit, my fairroan, will be something more tamed."

  "One word more, my son," said his father, and whispered in Arthur'sear, as he stooped from the saddle; "if you receive a letter from me,do not think yourself fully acquainted with the contents till thepaper has been held opposite to a hot fire."

  Arthur bowed, and motioned to the elder trooper to lead the way, whenall, giving rein to their horses, rode off through the encampment at around pace, the young leader signing an adieu to his father andColvin.

  The Earl stood like a man in a dream, following his son with his eyes,in a kind of reverie, which was only broken when Colvin said, "Imarvel not, my lord, that you are anxious about my young master; he isa gallant youth, well worth a father's caring for, and the times welive in are both false and bloody."

  "God and St. Mary be my witness," said the Earl, "that if I grieve, itis not for my own house only;--if I am anxious, it is not for the sakeof my own son alone;--but it is hard to risk a last stake in a causeso perilous.--What commands brought you from the Duke?"

  "His Grace," said Colvin, "will get on horseback after he hasbreakfasted. He sends you some garments, which, if not fitting yourquality, are yet nearer to suitable apparel than those you now wear,and he desires that, observing your incognito as an English merchantof eminence, you will join him in his cavalcade to Dijon, where he isto receive the answer of the Estates of Burgundy concerning matterssubmitted to their consideration, and thereafter give public audienceto the Deputies from Switzerland. His Highness has charged me with thecare of finding you suitable accommodation during the ceremonies ofthe day, which, he thinks, you will, as a stranger, be pleased to lookupon. But he probably told you all this himself, for I think you sawhim last night in disguise--Nay, look as strange as you will--the Dukeplays that trick too often to be able to do it with secrecy; the veryhorse-boys know him while he traverses the tents of the commonsoldiery, and sutler women give him the name of the spied spy. If itwere only honest Harry Colvin who knew this, it should not cross hislips. But it is practised too openly, and too widely known. Come,noble lord, though I must teach my tongue to forego that courtesy,will you along to breakfast?"

  The meal, according to the practice of the time, was a solemn andsolid one; and a favoured officer of the Great Duke of Burgundy lackedno means, it may be believed, of rendering due hospitality to a guesthaving claims of such high respect. But ere the breakfast was over aclamorous flourish of trumpets announced that the Duke, with hisattendants and retinue, were sounding to horse. Philipson, as he wasstill called, was, in the name of the Duke, presented with a statelycharger, and with his host mingled in the splendid assembly whichbegan to gather in front of the Duke's pavilion. In a few minutes thePrince himself issued forth, in the superb dress of the Order of theGolden Fleece, of which his father Philip had been the founder, andCharles was himself the patron and sovereign. Several of his courtierswere dressed in the same magnificent robes, and, with their followersand attendants, displayed so much wealth and splendour of appearanceas to warrant the common saying that the Duke of Burgundy
maintainedthe most magnificent court in Christendom. The officers of hishousehold attended in their order, together with heralds andpursuivants, the grotesque richness of whose habits had a singulareffect among those of the high clergy in their albes and dalmatiques,and of the knights and crown vassals who were arrayed in armour. Amongthese last, who were variously equipped, according to the differentcharacter of their service, rode Oxford, but in a peaceful habit,neither so plain as to be out of place amongst such splendour, nor sorich as to draw on him a special or particular degree of attention. Herode by the side of Colvin, his tall muscular figure and deep-markedfeatures forming a strong contrast to the rough, almost ignoble, castof countenance, and stout thick-set form, of the less distinguishedsoldier of fortune.

  Ranged into a solemn procession, the rear of which was closed by aguard of two hundred picked arquebusiers, a description of soldierswho were just then coming into notice, and as many mountedmen-at-arms, the Duke and his retinue, leaving the barriers of thecamp, directed their march to the town, or rather city, of Dijon, inthose days the capital of all Burgundy.

  It was a town well secured with walls and ditches, which last werefilled by means of a small river, named the Ousche, which combines itswaters for that purpose with a torrent called Suzon. Four gates, withappropriate barbicans, outworks, and drawbridges, corresponded nearlyto the cardinal points of the compass, and gave admission to the city.The number of towers, which stood high above its walls, and defendedthem at different angles, was thirty-three; and the walls themselves,which exceeded in most places the height of thirty feet, were built ofstones hewn and squared, and were of great thickness. This statelycity was surrounded on the outside with hills covered with vineyards,while from within its walls rose the towers of many noble buildings,both public and private, as well as the steeples of magnificentchurches, and of well-endowed convents, attesting the wealth anddevotion of the House of Burgundy.

  When the trumpets of the Duke's procession had summoned the burgherguard at the gate of St. Nicholas, the drawbridge fell, the portcullisrose, the people shouted joyously, the windows were hung withtapestry, and as, in the midst of his retinue, Charles himself cameriding on a milk-white steed, attended only by six pages underfourteen years old, with each a gilded partisan in his hand, theacclamations with which he was received on all sides showed that, ifsome instances of misrule had diminished his popularity, enough of itremained to render his reception into his capital decorous at least,if not enthusiastic. It is probable that the veneration attached tohis father's memory counteracted for a long time the unfavourableeffect which some of his own actions were calculated to produce on thepublic mind.

  The procession halted before a large Gothic building in the centre ofDijon. This was then called Maison du Duc, as, after the union ofBurgundy with France, it was termed Maison du Roy. The Maire of Dijonattended on the steps before this palace, accompanied by his officialbrethren, and escorted by a hundred able-bodied citizens, in blackvelvet cloaks, bearing half-pikes in their hands. The Maire kneeled tokiss the stirrup of the Duke, and at the moment when Charles descendedfrom his horse every bell in the city commenced so thundering a peal,that they might almost have awakened the dead who slept in thevicinity of the steeples, which rocked with their clangour. Under theinfluence of this stunning peal of welcome, the Duke entered the greathall of the building, at the upper end of which were erected a thronefor the sovereign, seats for his more distinguished officers of stateand higher vassals, with benches behind for persons of less note. Onone of these, but in a spot from which he might possess a commandingview of the whole assembly, as well as of the Duke himself, Colvinplaced the noble Englishman; and Charles, whose quick stern eyeglanced rapidly over the party when they were seated, seemed, by a nodso slight as to be almost imperceptible to those around him, to givehis approbation of the arrangement adopted.

  When the Duke and his assistants were seated and in order, the Maire,again approaching, in the most humble manner, and kneeling on thelowest step of the ducal throne, requested to know if his Highness'sleisure permitted him to hear the inhabitants of his capital expresstheir devoted zeal to his person, and to accept the benevolence which,in the shape of a silver cup filled with gold pieces, he had thedistinguished honour to place before his feet, in name of the citizensand community of Dijon.

  Charles, who at no time affected much courtesy, answered briefly andbluntly, with a voice which was naturally harsh and dissonant, "Allthings in their order, good Master Maire. Let us first hear what theEstates of Burgundy have to say to us. We will then listen to theburghers of Dijon."

  The Maire rose and retired, bearing in his hand the silver cup, andexperiencing probably some vexation, as well as surprise, that itscontents had not secured an instant and gracious acceptance.

  "I expected," said Duke Charles, "to have met at this hour and placeour Estates of the duchy of Burgundy, or a deputation of them, with ananswer to our message conveyed to them three days since by ourchancellor. Is there no one here on their part?"

  The Maire, as none else made any attempt to answer, said that themembers of the Estates had been in close deliberation the whole ofthat morning, and doubtless would instantly wait upon his Highnesswhen they heard that he had honoured the town with his presence.

  "Go, Toison d'Or," said the Duke to the herald of the Order of theGolden Fleece,[7] "bear to these gentlemen the tidings that we desireto know the end of their deliberations; and that neither in courtesynor in loyalty can they expect us to wait long. Be round with them,Sir Herald, or we shall be as round with you."

  While the herald was absent on his mission, we may remind our readersthat in all feudalised countries (that is to say, in almost all Europeduring the Middle Ages) an ardent spirit of liberty pervaded theconstitution; and the only fault that could be found was, that theprivileges and freedom for which the great vassals contended did notsufficiently descend to the lower orders of society, or extendprotection to those who were most likely to need it. The two firstranks in the estate, the nobles and clergy, enjoyed high and importantprivileges, and even the third estate, or citizens, had this immunityin peculiar, that no new duties, customs, or taxes of any kind couldbe exacted from them save by their own consent.

  The memory of Duke Philip, the father of Charles, was dear to theBurgundians; for during twenty years that sage prince had maintainedhis rank amongst the sovereigns of Europe with much dignity, and hadaccumulated treasure without exacting or receiving any great increaseof supplies from the rich countries which he governed. But theextravagant schemes and immoderate expense of Duke Charles hadalready excited the suspicion of his Estates; and the mutual good-willbetwixt the prince and people began to be exchanged for suspicion anddistrust on the one side, and defiance on the other. The refractorydisposition of the Estates had of late increased; for they haddisapproved of various wars in which their Duke had needlesslyembarked, and from his levying such large bodies of mercenary troops,they came to suspect he might finally employ the wealth voted to himby his subjects for the undue extension of his royal prerogative, andthe destruction of the liberties of the people.

  At the same time, the Duke's uniform success in enterprises whichappeared desperate as well as difficult, esteem for the frankness andopenness of his character, and dread of the obstinacy and headstrongtendency of a temper which could seldom bear persuasion, and neverendured opposition, still threw awe and terror around the throne,which was materially aided by the attachment of the common people tothe person of the present Duke and to the memory of his father. It hadbeen understood that upon the present occasion there was strongopposition amongst the Estates to the system of taxation proposed onthe part of the Duke, and the issue was expected with considerableanxiety by the Duke's counsellors, and with fretful impatience by thesovereign himself.

  After a space of about ten minutes had elapsed, the Chancellor ofBurgundy, who was Archbishop of Vienne, and a prelate of high rank,entered the hall with his train; and passing behind the ducal throneto occupy one
of the most distinguished places in the assembly, hestopped for a moment to urge his master to receive the answer of hisEstates in a private manner, giving him at the same time to understandthat the result of the deliberations had been by no meanssatisfactory.

  "By St. George of Burgundy, my Lord Archbishop," answered the Duke,sternly and aloud, "we are not a prince of a mind so paltry that weneed to shun the moody looks of a discontented and insolent faction.If the Estates of Burgundy send a disobedient and disloyal answer toour paternal message, let them deliver it in open court, that theassembled people may learn how to decide between their Duke and thosepetty yet intriguing spirits, who would interfere with our authority."

  The chancellor bowed gravely, and took his seat; while the EnglishEarl observed, that most of the members of the assembly, exceptingsuch as in doing so could not escape the Duke's notice, passed someobservations to their neighbours, which were received with ahalf-expressed nod, shrug, or shake of the head, as men treat aproposal upon which it is dangerous to decide. At the same time,Toison d'Or, who acted as master of the ceremonies, introduced intothe hall a committee of the Estates, consisting of twelve members,four from each branch of the Estates, announced as empowered todeliver the answer of that assembly to the Duke of Burgundy.

  When the deputation entered the hall, Charles arose from his throne,according to ancient custom, and taking from his head his bonnet,charged with a huge plume of feathers, "Health and welcome," he said,"to my good subjects of the Estates of Burgundy!" All the numeroustrain of courtiers rose and uncovered their heads with the sameceremony. The members of the States then dropped on one knee, the fourecclesiastics, among whom Oxford recognised the Black Priest of St.Paul's, approaching nearest to the Duke's person, the nobles kneelingbehind them, and the burgesses in the rear of the whole.

  "Noble Duke," said the Priest of St. Paul's, "will it best please youto hear the answer of your good and loyal Estates of Burgundy by thevoice of one member speaking for the whole, or by three persons, eachdelivering the sense of the body to which he belongs?"

  "As you will," said the Duke of Burgundy.

  "A priest, a noble, and a free burgher," said the Churchman, still onone knee, "will address your Highness in succession. For though,blessed be the God who leads brethren to dwell together in unity! weare agreed in the general answer, yet each body of the Estates mayhave special and separate reasons to allege for the common opinion."

  "We will hear you separately," said Duke Charles, casting his hat uponhis head, and throwing himself carelessly back into his seat. At thesame time, all who were of noble blood, whether in the committee oramongst the spectators, vouched their right to be peers of theirsovereign by assuming their bonnets; and a cloud of waving plumes atonce added grace and dignity to the assembly.

  When the Duke resumed his seat, the deputation arose from their knees,and the Black Priest of St. Paul's, again stepping forth, addressedhim in these words:--

  "My Lord Duke, your loyal and faithful clergy have considered yourHighness's proposal to lay a talliage on your people, in order tomake war on the confederate Cantons in the country of the Alps. Thequarrel, my liege lord, seems to your clergy an unjust and oppressiveone on your Highness's part; nor can they hope that God will blessthose who arm in it. They are therefore compelled to reject yourHighness's proposal."

  The Duke's eye lowered gloomily on the deliverer of this unpalatablemessage. He shook his head with one of those stern and menacing lookswhich the harsh composition of his features rendered them peculiarlyqualified to express. "You have spoken, Sir Priest," was the onlyreply which he deigned to make.

  One of the four nobles, the Sire de Myrebeau, then expressed himselfthus:--

  "Your Highness has asked of your faithful nobles to consent to newimposts and exactions, to be levied through Burgundy, for the raisingof additional bands of hired soldiers for the maintenance of thequarrels of the State. My lord, the swords of the Burgundian nobles,knights, and gentlemen have been ever at your Highness's command, asthose of our ancestors have been readily wielded for yourpredecessors. In your Highness's just quarrel we will go farther, andfight firmer, than any hired fellows who can be procured, whether fromFrance, or Germany, or Italy. We will not give our consent that thepeople should be taxed for paying mercenaries to discharge thatmilitary duty which it is alike our pride and our exclusive privilegeto render."

  "You have spoken, Sire de Myrebeau," were again the only words of theDuke's reply. He uttered them slowly and with deliberation, as ifafraid lest some phrase of imprudent violence should escape along withwhat he purposed to say. Oxford thought he cast a glance towards himbefore he spoke, as if the consciousness of his presence was someadditional restraint on his passion. "Now, Heaven grant," he said tohimself, "that this opposition may work its proper effect, and inducethe Duke to renounce an imprudent attempt, so hazardous and sounnecessary!"

  While he muttered these thoughts, the Duke made a sign to one of the_tiers etat_, or commons, to speak in his turn. The person who obeyedthe signal was Martin Block, a wealthy butcher and grazier of Dijon.His words were these: "Noble Prince, our fathers were the dutifulsubjects of your predecessors; we are the same to you; our childrenwill be alike the liegemen of your successors. But, touching therequest your chancellor has made to us, it is such as our ancestorsnever complied with; such as we are determined to refuse, and such aswill never be conceded by the Estates of Burgundy, to any princewhatsoever, even to the end of time."

  Charles had borne with impatient silence the speeches of the twoformer orators, but this blunt and hardy reply of the third Estateexcited him beyond what his nature could endure. He gave way to theimpetuosity of his disposition, stamped on the floor till the throneshook, and the high vault rung over their heads, and overwhelmed thebold burgher with reproaches. "Beast of burden," he said, "am I to bestunned with thy braying too? The nobles may claim leave to speak, forthey can fight; the clergy may use their tongues, for it is theirtrade; but thou, that hast never shed blood, save that of bullocks,more stupid than thou art thyself--must thou and thy herd come hither,privileged, forsooth, to bellow at a prince's footstool? Know, bruteas thou art, that steers are never introduced into temples but to besacrificed, or butchers and mechanics brought before their sovereign,save that they may have the honour to supply the public wants fromtheir own swelling hoards!"

  A murmur of displeasure, which even the terror of the Duke's wrathcould not repress, ran through the audience at these words; and theburgher of Dijon, a sturdy plebeian, replied, with little reverence:"Our purses, my Lord Duke, are our own--we will not put the strings ofthem into your Highness's hands, unless we are satisfied with thepurposes to which the money is to be applied; and we know well how toprotect our persons and our goods against foreign ruffians andplunderers."

  Charles was on the point of ordering the deputy to be arrested, when,having cast his eye towards the Earl of Oxford, whose presence, indespite of himself, imposed a certain degree of restraint upon him, heexchanged that piece of imprudence for another.

  "I see," he said, addressing the committee of Estates, "that you areall leagued to disappoint my purposes, and doubtless to deprive me ofall the power of a sovereign, save that of wearing a coronet, andbeing served on the knee like a second Charles the Simple, while theEstates of my kingdom divide the power among them. But you shall knowthat you have to do with Charles of Burgundy, a prince who, though hehas deigned to consult you, is fully able to fight battles withoutthe aid of his nobles, since they refuse him the assistance of theirswords--to defray the expense without the help of his sordidburghers--and, it may be, to find out a path to heaven without theassistance of an ungrateful priesthood. I will show all that are herepresent how little my mind is affected, or my purpose changed, by yourseditious reply to the message with which I honoured you.--Here,Toison d'Or, admit into our presence these men from the confederatedtowns and cantons, as they call themselves, of Switzerland."

  Oxford, and all who really interested themselves in
the Duke'swelfare, heard, with the utmost apprehension, his resolution to givean audience to the Swiss Envoys, prepossessed as he was against them,and in the moment when his mood was chafed to the uttermost by therefusal of the Estates to grant him supplies. They were aware thatobstacles opposed to the current of his passion were like rocks in thebed of a river, whose course they cannot interrupt, while they provokeit to rage and foam. All were sensible that the die was cast, but nonewho were not endowed with more than mortal prescience could haveimagined how deep was the pledge which depended upon it. Oxford, inparticular, conceived that the execution of his plan of a descent uponEngland was the principal point compromised by the Duke in his rashobstinacy; but he suspected not--he dreamed not of supposing--that thelife of Charles himself, and the independence of Burgundy as aseparate kingdom, hung quivering in the same scales.

  FOOTNOTES:

  [7] The chief order of knighthood in the state of Burgundy.