My blood hath been too cold and temperate,
Unapt to stir at these indignities,
And you have found me; for, accordingly,
You tread upon my patience.
_Henry IV._
The dawn of morning roused the banished Earl of Oxford and his son,
and its lights were scarce abroad on the eastern heaven, ere their
host, Colvin, entered with an attendant, bearing some bundles, which
he placed on the floor of the tent, and instantly retired. The officer
of the Duke's ordnance then announced that he came with a message from
the Duke of Burgundy.
"His Highness," he said, "has sent four stout yeomen, with a
commission of credence to my young master of Oxford, and an ample
purse of gold, to furnish his expenses to Aix, and while his affairs
may detain him there. Also a letter of credence to King René, to
insure his reception, and two suits of honour for his use, as for an
English gentleman, desirous to witness the festive solemnities of
Provence, and in whose safety the Duke deigns to take deep interest.
His further affairs there, if he hath any, his Highness recommends to
him to manage with prudence and secrecy. His Highness hath also sent a
couple of horses for his use,--one an ambling jennet for the road, and
another a strong barbed horse of Flanders, in case he hath aught to
do. It will be fitting that my young master change his dress, and
assume attire more near his proper rank. His attendants know the road,
and have power, in case of need, to summon, in the Duke's name,
assistance from all faithful Burgundians. I have but to add, the
sooner the young gentleman sets forward, it will be the better sign of
a successful journey."
"I am ready to mount, the instant that I have changed my dress," said
Arthur.
"And I," said his father, "have no wish to detain him on the service
in which he is now employed. Neither he nor I will say more than God
be with you. How and where we are to meet again, who can tell?"
"I believe," said Colvin, "that must rest on the motions of the Duke,
which, perchance, are not yet determined upon; but his Highness
depends upon your remaining with him, my noble lord, till the affairs
of which you come to treat may be more fully decided. Something I have
for your lordship's private ear, when your son hath parted on his
journey."
While Colvin was thus talking with his father, Arthur, who was not
above half-dressed when he entered the tent, had availed himself of an
obscure corner, in which he exchanged the plain garb belonging to his
supposed condition as a merchant, for such a riding-suit as became a
young man of some quality attached to the Court of Burgundy. It was
not without a natural sensation of pleasure that the youth resumed an
apparel suitable to his birth, and which no one was personally more
fitted to become; but it was with much deeper feeling that he hastily,
and as secretly as possible, flung round his neck, and concealed
under the collar and folds of his ornamented doublet, a small thin
chain of gold, curiously linked in what was called Morisco work. This
was the contents of the parcel which Anne of Geierstein had indulged
his feelings, and perhaps her own, by putting into his hands as they
parted. The chain was secured by a slight plate of gold, on which a
bodkin, or a point of a knife, had traced on the one side, in distinct
though light characters, ADIEU FOR EVER! while, on the reverse, there
was much more obscurely traced, the word REMEMBER!--A. VON G.
All who may read this are, have been, or will be, lovers; and there is
none, therefore, who may not be able to comprehend why this token was
carefully suspended around Arthur's neck, so that the inscription
might rest on the region of his heart, without the interruption of any
substance which could prevent the pledge from being agitated by every
throb of that busy organ.
This being hastily insured, a few minutes completed the rest of his
toilette; and he kneeled before his father to ask his blessing, and
his further commands for Aix.
His father blessed him almost inarticulately, and then said, with
recovered firmness, that he was already possessed of all the knowledge
necessary for success on his mission.
"When you can bring me the deeds wanted," he whispered with more
firmness, "you will find me near the person of the Duke of Burgundy."
They went forth of the tent in silence, and found before it the four
Burgundian yeomen, tall and active-looking men, ready mounted
themselves, and holding two saddled horses--the one accoutred for
war, the other a spirited jennet, for the purposes of the journey. One
of them led a sumpter-horse, on which Colvin informed Arthur he would
find the change of habit necessary when he should arrive at Aix; and
at the same time delivered to him a heavy purse of gold.
"Thiebault," he continued, pointing out the eldest of the attendant
troopers, "may be trusted--I will be warrant for his sagacity and
fidelity. The other three are picked men, who will not fear their
skin-cutting."
Arthur vaulted into the saddle with a sensation of pleasure, which was
natural to a young cavalier who had not for many months felt a
spirited horse beneath him. The lively jennet reared with impatience.
Arthur, sitting firm on his seat, as if he had been a part of the
animal, only said, "Ere we are long acquainted, thy spirit, my fair
roan, will be something more tamed."
"One word more, my son," said his father, and whispered in Arthur's
ear, as he stooped from the saddle; "if you receive a letter from me,
do not think yourself fully acquainted with the contents till the
paper has been held opposite to a hot fire."
Arthur bowed, and motioned to the elder trooper to lead the way, when
all, giving rein to their horses, rode off through the encampment at a
round pace, the young leader signing an adieu to his father and
Colvin.
The Earl stood like a man in a dream, following his son with his eyes,
in a kind of reverie, which was only broken when Colvin said, "I
marvel not, my lord, that you are anxious about my young master; he is
a gallant youth, well worth a father's caring for, and the times we
live in are both false and bloody."
"God and St. Mary be my witness," said the Earl, "that if I grieve, it
is not for my own house only;--if I am anxious, it is not for the sake
of my own son alone;--but it is hard to risk a last stake in a cause
so perilous.--What commands brought you from the Duke?"
"His Grace," said Colvin, "will get on horseback after he has
breakfasted. He sends you some garments, which, if not fitting your
quality, are yet nearer to suitable apparel than those you now wear,
and he desires that, observing your incognito as an English merchant
of eminence, you will join him in his cavalcade to Dijon, where he is
to receive the answer of the Estates of Burgundy concerning matters
submitted to their consideration, and thereafter give public audience
to the Deputies from Switzerland. His Highness has charged me with the
care of finding you suitable accommodation during the ceremonies of
the day, which, he thinks, you will, as a stranger, be pleased to look
upon. But he probably told you all this himself, for I think you saw
him last night in disguise--Nay, look as strange as you will--the Duke
plays that trick too often to be able to do it with secrecy; the very
horse-boys know him while he traverses the tents of the common
soldiery, and sutler women give him the name of the spied spy. If it
were only honest Harry Colvin who knew this, it should not cross his
lips. But it is practised too openly, and too widely known. Come,
noble lord, though I must teach my tongue to forego that courtesy,
will you along to breakfast?"
The meal, according to the practice of the time, was a solemn and
solid one; and a favoured officer of the Great Duke of Burgundy lacked
no means, it may be believed, of rendering due hospitality to a guest
having claims of such high respect. But ere the breakfast was over a
clamorous flourish of trumpets announced that the Duke, with his
attendants and retinue, were sounding to horse. Philipson, as he was
still called, was, in the name of the Duke, presented with a stately
charger, and with his host mingled in the splendid assembly which
began to gather in front of the Duke's pavilion. In a few minutes the
Prince himself issued forth, in the superb dress of the Order of the
Golden Fleece, of which his father Philip had been the founder, and
Charles was himself the patron and sovereign. Several of his courtiers
were dressed in the same magnificent robes, and, with their followers
and attendants, displayed so much wealth and splendour of appearance
as to warrant the common saying that the Duke of Burgundy maintained
the most magnificent court in Christendom. The officers of his
household attended in their order, together with heralds and
pursuivants, the grotesque richness of whose habits had a singular
effect among those of the high clergy in their albes and dalmatiques,
and of the knights and crown vassals who were arrayed in armour. Among
these last, who were variously equipped, according to the different
character of their service, rode Oxford, but in a peaceful habit,
neither so plain as to be out of place amongst such splendour, nor so
rich as to draw on him a special or particular degree of attention. He
rode by the side of Colvin, his tall muscular figure and deep-marked
features forming a strong contrast to the rough, almost ignoble, cast
of countenance, and stout thick-set form, of the less distinguished
soldier of fortune.
Ranged into a solemn procession, the rear of which was closed by a
guard of two hundred picked arquebusiers, a description of soldiers
who were just then coming into notice, and as many mounted
men-at-arms, the Duke and his retinue, leaving the barriers of the
camp, directed their march to the town, or rather city, of Dijon, in
those days the capital of all Burgundy.
It was a town well secured with walls and ditches, which last were
filled by means of a small river, named the Ousche, which combines its
waters for that purpose with a torrent called Suzon. Four gates, with
appropriate barbicans, outworks, and drawbridges, corresponded nearly
to the cardinal points of the compass, and gave admission to the city.
The number of towers, which stood high above its walls, and defended
them at different angles, was thirty-three; and the walls themselves,
which exceeded in most places the height of thirty feet, were built of
stones hewn and squared, and were of great thickness. This stately
city was surrounded on the outside with hills covered with vineyards,
while from within its walls rose the towers of many noble buildings,
both public and private, as well as the steeples of magnificent
churches, and of well-endowed convents, attesting the wealth and
devotion of the House of Burgundy.
When the trumpets of the Duke's procession had summoned the burgher
guard at the gate of St. Nicholas, the drawbridge fell, the portcullis
rose, the people shouted joyously, the windows were hung with
tapestry, and as, in the midst of his retinue, Charles himself came
riding on a milk-white steed, attended only by six pages under
fourteen years old, with each a gilded partisan in his hand, the
acclamations with which he was received on all sides showed that, if
some instances of misrule had diminished his popularity, enough of it
remained to render his reception into his capital decorous at least,
if not enthusiastic. It is probable that the veneration attached to
his father's memory counteracted for a long time the unfavourable
effect which some of his own actions were calculated to produce on the
public mind.
The procession halted before a large Gothic building in the centre of
Dijon. This was then called Maison du Duc, as, after the union of
Burgundy with France, it was termed Maison du Roy. The Maire of Dijon
attended on the steps before this palace, accompanied by his official
brethren, and escorted by a hundred able-bodied citizens, in black
velvet cloaks, bearing half-pikes in their hands. The Maire kneeled to
kiss the stirrup of the Duke, and at the moment when Charles descended
from his horse every bell in the city commenced so thundering a peal,
that they might almost have awakened the dead who slept in the
vicinity of the steeples, which rocked with their clangour. Under the
influence of this stunning peal of welcome, the Duke entered the great
hall of the building, at the upper end of which were erected a throne
for the sovereign, seats for his more distinguished officers of state
and higher vassals, with benches behind for persons of less note. On
one of these, but in a spot from which he might possess a commanding
view of the whole assembly, as well as of the Duke himself, Colvin
placed the noble Englishman; and Charles, whose quick stern eye
glanced rapidly over the party when they were seated, seemed, by a nod
so slight as to be almost imperceptible to those around him, to give
his approbation of the arrangement adopted.
When the Duke and his assistants were seated and in order, the Maire,
again approaching, in the most humble manner, and kneeling on the
lowest step of the ducal throne, requested to know if his Highness's
leisure permitted him to hear the inhabitants of his capital express
their devoted zeal to his person, and to accept the benevolence which,
in the shape of a silver cup filled with gold pieces, he had the
distinguished honour to place before his feet, in name of the citizens
and community of Dijon.
Charles, who at no time affected much courtesy, answered briefly and
bluntly, with a voice which was naturally harsh and dissonant, "All
things in their order, good Master Maire. Let us first hear what the
Estates of Burgundy have to say to us. We will then listen to the
burghers of Dijon."
The Maire rose and retired, bearing in his hand the silver cup, and
experiencing probably some vexation, as well as surprise, that its
contents had not secured an instant and gracious acceptance.
"I expected," said Duke Charles, "to have met at this hour and place
our Estates of the duchy of Burgundy, or a deputation of them, with an
answer to our message conveyed to them three days since by our
chancellor. Is there no one here on their part?"
The Maire, as none else made any attempt to answer, said that the
members of the Estates had been in close deliberation the whole of
that morning, and doubtless would instantly wait upon his Highness
when they heard that he had honoured the town with his presence.
"Go, Toison d'Or," said the Duke to the herald of the Order of the
Golden Fleece,[7] "bear to these gentlemen the tidings that we desire
to know the end of their deliberations; and that neither in courtesy
nor in loyalty can they expect us to wait long. Be round with them,
Sir Herald, or we shall be as round with you."
While the herald was absent on his mission, we may remind our readers
that in all feudalised countries (that is to say, in almost all Europe
during the Middle Ages) an ardent spirit of liberty pervaded the
constitution; and the only fault that could be found was, that the
privileges and freedom for which the great vassals contended did not
sufficiently descend to the lower orders of society, or extend
protection to those who were most likely to need it. The two first
ranks in the estate, the nobles and clergy, enjoyed high and important
privileges, and even the third estate, or citizens, had this immunity
in peculiar, that no new duties, customs, or taxes of any kind could
be exacted from them save by their own consent.
The memory of Duke Philip, the father of Charles, was dear to the
Burgundians; for during twenty years that sage prince had maintained
his rank amongst the sovereigns of Europe with much dignity, and had
accumulated treasure without exacting or receiving any great increase
of supplies from the rich countries which he governed. But the
extravagant schemes and immoderate expense of Duke Charles had
already excited the suspicion of his Estates; and the mutual good-will
betwixt the prince and people began to be exchanged for suspicion and
distrust on the one side, and defiance on the other. The refractory
disposition of the Estates had of late increased; for they had
disapproved of various wars in which their Duke had needlessly
embarked, and from his levying such large bodies of mercenary troops,
they came to suspect he might finally employ the wealth voted to him
by his subjects for the undue extension of his royal prerogative, and
the destruction of the liberties of the people.
At the same time, the Duke's uniform success in enterprises which
appeared desperate as well as difficult, esteem for the frankness and
openness of his character, and dread of the obstinacy and headstrong
tendency of a temper which could seldom bear persuasion, and never
endured opposition, still threw awe and terror around the throne,
which was materially aided by the attachment of the common people to
the person of the present Duke and to the memory of his father. It had
been understood that upon the present occasion there was strong
opposition amongst the Estates to the system of taxation proposed on
the part of the Duke, and the issue was expected with considerable
anxiety by the Duke's counsellors, and with fretful impatience by the
sovereign himself.
After a space of about ten minutes had elapsed, the Chancellor of
Burgundy, who was Archbishop of Vienne, and a prelate of high rank,
entered the hall with his train; and passing behind the ducal throne
to occupy one of the most distinguished places in the assembly, he
stopped for a moment to urge his master to receive the answer of his
Estates in a private manner, giving him at the same time to understand
that the result of the deliberations had been by no means
satisfactory.
"By St. George of Burgundy, my Lord Archbishop," answered the Duke,
sternly and aloud, "we are not a prince of a mind so paltry that we
need to shun the moody looks of a discontented and insolent faction.
If the Estates of Burgundy send a disobedient and disloyal answer to
our paternal message, let them deliver it in open court, that the
assembled people may learn how to decide between their Duke and those
petty yet intriguing spirits, who would interfere with our authority."
The chancellor bowed gravely, and took his seat; while the English
Earl observed, that most of the members of the assembly, excepting
such as in doing so could not escape the Duke's notice, passed some
observations to their neighbours, which were received with a
half-expressed nod, shrug, or shake of the head, as men treat a
proposal upon which it is dangerous to decide. At the same time,
Toison d'Or, who acted as master of the ceremonies, introduced into
the hall a committee of the Estates, consisting of twelve members,
four from each branch of the Estates, announced as empowered to
deliver the answer of that assembly to the Duke of Burgundy.
When the deputation entered the hall, Charles arose from his throne,
according to ancient custom, and taking from his head his bonnet,
charged with a huge plume of feathers, "Health and welcome," he said,
"to my good subjects of the Estates of Burgundy!" All the numerous
train of courtiers rose and uncovered their heads with the same
ceremony. The members of the States then dropped on one knee, the four
ecclesiastics, among whom Oxford recognised the Black Priest of St.
Paul's, approaching nearest to the Duke's person, the nobles kneeling
behind them, and the burgesses in the rear of the whole.
"Noble Duke," said the Priest of St. Paul's, "will it best please you
to hear the answer of your good and loyal Estates of Burgundy by the
voice of one member speaking for the whole, or by three persons, each
delivering the sense of the body to which he belongs?"
"As you will," said the Duke of Burgundy.
"A priest, a noble, and a free burgher," said the Churchman, still on
one knee, "will address your Highness in succession. For though,
blessed be the God who leads brethren to dwell together in unity! we
are agreed in the general answer, yet each body of the Estates may
have special and separate reasons to allege for the common opinion."
"We will hear you separately," said Duke Charles, casting his hat upon
his head, and throwing himself carelessly back into his seat. At the
same time, all who were of noble blood, whether in the committee or
amongst the spectators, vouched their right to be peers of their
sovereign by assuming their bonnets; and a cloud of waving plumes at
once added grace and dignity to the assembly.
When the Duke resumed his seat, the deputation arose from their knees,
and the Black Priest of St. Paul's, again stepping forth, addressed
him in these words:--
"My Lord Duke, your loyal and faithful clergy have considered your
Highness's proposal to lay a talliage on your people, in order to
make war on the confederate Cantons in the country of the Alps. The
quarrel, my liege lord, seems to your clergy an unjust and oppressive
one on your Highness's part; nor can they hope that God will bless
those who arm in it. They are therefore compelled to reject your
Highness's proposal."
The Duke's eye lowered gloomily on the deliverer of this unpalatable
message. He shook his head with one of those stern and menacing looks
which the harsh composition of his features rendered them peculiarly
qualified to express. "You have spoken, Sir Priest," was the only
reply which he deigned to make.
One of the four nobles, the Sire de Myrebeau, then expressed himself
thus:--
"Your Highness has asked of your faithful nobles to consent to new
imposts and exactions, to be levied through Burgundy, for the raising
of additional bands of hired soldiers for the maintenance of the
quarrels of the State. My lord, the swords of the Burgundian nobles,
knights, and gentlemen have been ever at your Highness's command, as
those of our ancestors have been readily wielded for your
predecessors. In your Highness's just quarrel we will go farther, and
fight firmer, than any hired fellows who can be procured, whether from
France, or Germany, or Italy. We will not give our consent that the
people should be taxed for paying mercenaries to discharge that
military duty which it is alike our pride and our exclusive privilege
to render."
"You have spoken, Sire de Myrebeau," were again the only words of the
Duke's reply. He uttered them slowly and with deliberation, as if
afraid lest some phrase of imprudent violence should escape along with
what he purposed to say. Oxford thought he cast a glance towards him
before he spoke, as if the consciousness of his presence was some
additional restraint on his passion. "Now, Heaven grant," he said to
himself, "that this opposition may work its proper effect, and induce
the Duke to renounce an imprudent attempt, so hazardous and so
unnecessary!"
While he muttered these thoughts, the Duke made a sign to one of the
_tiers état_, or commons, to speak in his turn. The person who obeyed
the signal was Martin Block, a wealthy butcher and grazier of Dijon.
His words were these: "Noble Prince, our fathers were the dutiful
subjects of your predecessors; we are the same to you; our children
will be alike the liegemen of your successors. But, touching the
request your chancellor has made to us, it is such as our ancestors
never complied with; such as we are determined to refuse, and such as
will never be conceded by the Estates of Burgundy, to any prince
whatsoever, even to the end of time."
Charles had borne with impatient silence the speeches of the two
former orators, but this blunt and hardy reply of the third Estate
excited him beyond what his nature could endure. He gave way to the
impetuosity of his disposition, stamped on the floor till the throne
shook, and the high vault rung over their heads, and overwhelmed the
bold burgher with reproaches. "Beast of burden," he said, "am I to be
stunned with thy braying too? The nobles may claim leave to speak, for
they can fight; the clergy may use their tongues, for it is their
trade; but thou, that hast never shed blood, save that of bullocks,
more stupid than thou art thyself--must thou and thy herd come hither,
privileged, forsooth, to bellow at a prince's footstool? Know, brute
as thou art, that steers are never introduced into temples but to be
sacrificed, or butchers and mechanics brought before their sovereign,
save that they may have the honour to supply the public wants from
their own swelling hoards!"
A murmur of displeasure, which even the terror of the Duke's wrath
could not repress, ran through the audience at these words; and the
burgher of Dijon, a sturdy plebeian, replied, with little reverence:
"Our purses, my Lord Duke, are our own--we will not put the strings of
them into your Highness's hands, unless we are satisfied with the
purposes to which the money is to be applied; and we know well how to
protect our persons and our goods against foreign ruffians and
plunderers."
Charles was on the point of ordering the deputy to be arrested, when,
having cast his eye towards the Earl of Oxford, whose presence, in
despite of himself, imposed a certain degree of restraint upon him, he
exchanged that piece of imprudence for another.
"I see," he said, addressing the committee of Estates, "that you are
all leagued to disappoint my purposes, and doubtless to deprive me of
all the power of a sovereign, save that of wearing a coronet, and
being served on the knee like a second Charles the Simple, while the
Estates of my kingdom divide the power among them. But you shall know
that you have to do with Charles of Burgundy, a prince who, though he
has deigned to consult you, is fully able to fight battles without
the aid of his nobles, since they refuse him the assistance of their
swords--to defray the expense without the help of his sordid
burghers--and, it may be, to find out a path to heaven without the
assistance of an ungrateful priesthood. I will show all that are here
present how little my mind is affected, or my purpose changed, by your
seditious reply to the message with which I honoured you.--Here,
Toison d'Or, admit into our presence these men from the confederated
towns and cantons, as they call themselves, of Switzerland."
Oxford, and all who really interested themselves in the Duke's
welfare, heard, with the utmost apprehension, his resolution to give
an audience to the Swiss Envoys, prepossessed as he was against them,
and in the moment when his mood was chafed to the uttermost by the
refusal of the Estates to grant him supplies. They were aware that
obstacles opposed to the current of his passion were like rocks in the
bed of a river, whose course they cannot interrupt, while they provoke
it to rage and foam. All were sensible that the die was cast, but none
who were not endowed with more than mortal prescience could have
imagined how deep was the pledge which depended upon it. Oxford, in
particular, conceived that the execution of his plan of a descent upon
England was the principal point compromised by the Duke in his rash
obstinacy; but he suspected not--he dreamed not of supposing--that the
life of Charles himself, and the independence of Burgundy as a
separate kingdom, hung quivering in the same scales.
FOOTNOTES:
[7] The chief order of knighthood in the state of Burgundy.