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, seemed
to him wisest, Sir John de Walton resolved that he would go to the
verge of indulgence with his lieutenant and his young officers, furnish
them with every species of amusement which the place rendered possible,
and make them ashamed of their discontent, by overloading them with
courtesy. The first time, therefore, that he saw Aymer de Valence after
his return to the castle, he addressed him in high spirits, whether
real or assumed.
"What thinkest thou, my young friend," said De Walton, "if we try some
of the woodland sports proper, they say, to this country? There are
still in our neighbourhood some herds of the Caledonian breed of wild
cattle, which are nowhere to be found except among the moorlands--the
black and rugged frontier of what was anciently called the Kingdom of
Strath-Clyde. There are some hunters, too, who have been accustomed to
the sport, and who vouch that these animals are by far the most bold
and fierce subjects of chase in the island of Britain."
"You will do as you please," replied Sir Aymer, coldly; "but it is not
I, Sir John, who would recommend, for the sake of a hunting-match, that
you should involve the whole garrison in danger; you know best the
responsibilities incurred by your office here, and no doubt must have
heedfully 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 more
than my own share of responsibility; but it seems to me as if the
commander of this Dangerous Castle, among other inabilities, were, as
old people in this country say, subjected to a spell--and one which
renders it impossible for him to guide his conduct so as to afford
pleasure to those whom he is most desirous to oblige. Not a great many
weeks since, whose eyes would have sparkled like those of Sir Aymer de
Valence at the proposal of a general hunting-match after a new object
of game; and now what is his bearing when such sport is proposed,
merely, I think, to disappoint my purpose of obliging him?--a cold
acquiescence drops half frozen from his lips, and he proposes to go to
rouse the wild cattle with an air of gravity, as if he were undertaking
a pilgrimage to the tomb of a martyr."
"Not so, Sir John," answered the young knight. "In our present
situation we stand conjoined in more charges than one, and although the
greater and controlling trust is no doubt laid upon you as the elder
and abler knight, yet still I feel that I myself have my own share of a
serious responsibility. I trust, therefore, you will indulgently hear
my opinion, and bear with it, even though it should appear to have
relation to that part of our common charge which is more especially
intrusted to your keeping. The dignity of knighthood, which I have the
honour to share with you, the _accolade_ laid on my shoulder by the
royal Plantagenet, entitles me, methinks, to so much grace."
"I cry you mercy," said the elder cavalier; "I forgot how important a
person I had before me, dubbed by King Edward himself, who was moved no
doubt by special reasons to confer such an early honour; and I
certainly feel that I overstep my duty when I propose any thing that
savours like idle sport to a person of such grave pretensions."
"Sir John de Walton," retorted De Valence, "we have had something too
much of this--let it stop here. All that I mean to say is, that in this
wardship of Douglas Castle, it will not be by my consent, if any
amusement, which distinctly infers a relaxation of discipline, be
unnecessarily engaged in, and especially such as compels us to summon
to our assistance a number of the Scots, whose evil disposition towards
us we well know; nor will I, though my years have rendered me liable to
such suspicion, suffer any thing of this kind to be imputed to me; and
if unfortunately--though I am sure I know not why--we are in future to
lay aside those bonds of familiar friendship which formerly linked us
to each other, yet I see no reason why we should not bear ourselves in
our necessary communications like knights and gentlemen, and put the
best construction on each other's motives, since there can be no reason
for imputing the worst to any thing that comes from either of us."
"You may be right, Sir Aymer de Valence," said the governor, bending
stiffly: "and since you say we are no longer bound to each other as
friends, you may be certain, nevertheless, that I will never permit a
hostile feeling, of which you are the object, to occupy my bosom. You
have been long, and I hope not uselessly, my pupil in the duties of
chivalry. You are the near relation of the Earl of Pembroke, my kind
and constant patron; and if these circumstances are well weighed, they
form a connexion which it would be difficult, at least for me, to break
through. If you feel yourself, as you seem to intimate, less strictly
tied by former obligations, you must take your own choice in fixing our
relations towards each other."
"I can only say," replied De Valence, "that my conduct will naturally
be regulated by your own; and you, Sir John, cannot hope more devoutly
than I do that our military duties may be fairly discharged, without
interfering with our friendly intercourse."
The knights here parted, after a conference which once or twice had
very nearly terminated in a full and cordial explanation; but still
there was wanting one kind heartfelt word from either to break, as it
were, the ice which was fast freezing upon their intercourse, and
neither chose to be the first in making the necessary advances with
sufficient cordiality, though each would have gladly done so, had the
other appeared desirous of meeting it with the same ardour; but their
pride was too high, and prevented either from saying what might at once
have put them upon an open and manly footing. They parted, therefore,
without again returning to the subject of the proposed diversion; until
it was afterwards resumed in a formal note, praying Sir Aymer de
Valence to accompany the commandant of Douglas Castle upon a solemn
hunting-match, which had for its object the wild cattle of the
neighbouring dale.
The time of meeting was appointed at six in the morning, beyond the
gate of the outer barricade; and the chase was declared to be ended in
the afternoon, when the _recheat_ should be blown beneath the great
oak, known by the name of Sholto's Club, which stood a remarkable
object, where Douglas Dale was bounded by several scattered trees, the
outskirts of the forest and hill country. The usual warning was sent
out to the common people, or vassals of the district, which they,
notwithstanding their feeling of antipathy, received in general with
delight, upon the great Epicurean principle of _carpe diem_, that is to
say, in whatever circumstances it happens to present itself, be sure
you lose no recreation which life affords. A hunting-match has still
its attractions, even though an English knight take his pleasure in the
woods of the Douglas.
It was no doubt afflicting to these faithful vassals, to acknowledge
another lord than the redoubted Douglas, and to wait by wood and river
at the command of English officers, and in the company of their
archers, whom they accounted their natural enemies. Still it was the
only species of amusement which had been permitted them for a long
time, and they 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, required silvan arms; the wild cattle still more demanded this
equipment of war-bows and shafts, boar-spears and sharp swords, and
other tools of the chase similar to those used in actual war.
Considering this, the Scottish inhabitants were seldom allowed to join
in the chase, except under regulations as to number and arms, and
especially in preserving a balance of force on the side of the English
soldiers, which was very offensive to them. The greater part of the
garrison was upon such occasions kept on foot, and several detachments,
formed according to the governor's direction, were stationed in
different positions in case any quarrel should suddenly break out.