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, we
hope, inclined our readers to take some interest in him, will require
some 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 the
preceding evening, both the monk and the young Knight of Valence had
seen the key turned upon him, and had heard him secure the door in the
inside with the bolt which had been put on at his request by sister
Ursula, in whose affections the youth of Augustine, his extreme
handsomeness, and, above all, his indisposition of body and his
melancholy of mind, had gained him considerable interest.
So soon, accordingly, as Augustine re-entered his apartment, he was
greeted in a whisper by the sister, who, during the interval of his
absence, had contrived to slip into the cell, and having tappiced
herself behind the little bed, came out with great appearance of joy,
to greet the return of the youth. The number of little attentions, the
disposal of holly boughs, and such other evergreens as the season
permitted, showed the anxiety of the holy sisters to decorate the
chamber of their guest, and the greetings of sister Ursula expressed
the same friendly interest, at the same time intimating that she was
already 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 their
persons must have struck any one who might have been accidentally a
witness of their interview. The dark pilgrim's robe of the disguised
female was not a stronger contrast to the white woollen garment worn by
the votaress of Saint Bride, than the visage of the nun, seamed with
many a ghastly scar, and the light of one of her eyes extinguished for
ever, causing it to roll a sightless luminary in her head, was to the
beautiful countenance of Augustine, now bent with a confidential, and
even affectionate look, upon the extraordinary features of her
companion.
"You know," said the supposed Augustine, "the principal part of my
story; can you, or will you, lend me your assistance? If not, my
dearest sister, you must consent to witness my death, rather than my
shame. Yes, sister Ursula, I will not be pointed at by the finger of
scorn, 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
have been. I will not be dragged before De Walton, for the purpose of
being compelled, by threats of torture, to declare myself the female in
honour of whom he holds the Dangerous Castle. No doubt, he might be
glad 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 which
every woman would wish to command, or pardon that boldness of which I
have been guilty, even though its consequences have been in his own
favour?"
"Nay, my darling daughter," answered the nun, "comfort yourself; for in
all I can aid you, be assured I will. My means are somewhat more than
my present situation may express, and, be assured, they shall be tried
to the uttermost. Methinks, I still hear that lay which you sung to the
other sisters and myself, although I alone, touched by feelings kindred
to yours, had the address to comprehend that it told your own tale."
"I am yet surprised," said Augustine, speaking beneath her breath, "how
I had the boldness to sing in your ears the lay, which, in fact, was
the history of my disgrace."
"Alas! that you will say so," returned the nun; "there was not a word
but what resembled those tales of love and of high-spirited daring
which the best minstrels love to celebrate, and the noblest knights and
maidens weep at once and smile to hear. The Lady Augusta of Berkely, a
great 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 the
point of being given away in marriage to a minion of the King of
England, whom in these Scottish valleys, we scruple not to call a
peremptory 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 king
wished to confer my poor hand, was neither by birth, merit, nor
circumstance, worthy of such an alliance. Meantime, I heard of the fame
of Sir John de Walton; and I heard of it not with the less interest
that his feats of chivalry were said to adorn a knight, who, rich in
everything else, was poor in worldly goods, and in the smiles of
fortune. I saw this Sir John de Walton, and I acknowledge that a
thought, which had already intruded itself on my imagination, became,
after this interview, by frequent recurrence, more familiar, and more
welcome 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 of fortune in regard to a gallant knight like De Walton, than in
patching the revenues of a beggarly Frenchman, whose only merit was in
being the kinsman of a man who was very generally detested by the whole
kingdom of England, excepting the infatuated monarch himself."
"Nobly designed, my daughter," said the nun; "what more worthy of a
noble heart, possessing riches, beauty, birth, and rank, than to confer
them all upon indigent and chivalrous merit?"
"Such, dearest sister, was my intention," replied Augustine; "but I
have, perhaps, scarce sufficiently explained the manner in which I
meant to proceed. By the advice of a minstrel of our house, the same
who is now prisoner at Douglas, I caused exhibit a large feast upon
Christmas eve, and sent invitations abroad to the young knights of
noble name who were known to spend their leisure in quest of arms and
adventures. 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 a
minstrel of so much fame. The theme which he chose, was the frequent
capture of this Douglas Castle, or, as the poet termed it, Castle
Dangerous. 'Where are the champions of the renowned Edward the First,'
said the minstrel, 'when the realm of England cannot furnish a man
brave enough, or sufficiently expert in the wars, to defend a miserable
hamlet of the North against the Scottish rebels, who have vowed to
retake it over our soldiers' heads ere the year rolls to an end? Where
are the noble ladies, whose smiles used to give countenance to the
Knights of Saint George's Cross? Alas! the spirit of love and of
chivalry is alike dead amongst us--our knights are limited to petty
enterprises--and our noblest heiresses are given as prizes to
strangers, as if their own country had no one to deserve them.'--Here
stopt the harp; and I shame to say, that I myself, as if moved to
enthusiasm by the song of the minstrel, arose, and taking from my neck
the chain of gold which supported a crucifix of special sanctity, I
made my vow, always under the King's permission, that I would give my
hand, and the inheritance of my fathers, to the good knight, being of
noble birth and lineage, who should keep the Castle of Douglas in the
King of England's name, for a year and a day. I sat down, my dearest
sister, deafened with the jubilee in which my guests expressed their
applause of my supposed patriotism. Yet some degree of pause took place
amidst the young knights, who might reasonably have been supposed ready
to embrace this offer, although at the risk of being encumbered with
Augusta of Berkely."
"Shame on the man," said sister Ursula, "who should think so! Put your
beauty alone, my dearest, into consideration, and a true knight ought
to have embraced the dangers of twenty Castles of Douglas, rather than
let such an invaluable opportunity of gaining your favour be lost."
"It may be that some in reality thought so," said the pilgrim; "but it
was supposed that the king's favour might be lost by those who seemed
too anxious to thwart his royal purpose upon his ward's hand. At any
rate, greatly to my joy, the only person who availed himself of the
offer I had made was Sir John de Walton; and as his acceptance of it
was guarded by a clause, saving and reserving the king's approbation, I
hope 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 with
the King of England. Something we hear concerning worldly passages,
even in this remote nook of Saint Bride's cloister; and the report goes
among the English soldiers that their king was indeed offended at your
putting your will in opposition to his own; yet, on the other hand,
this preferred lover, Sir John de Walton, was a man of such extensive
fame, and your offer was so much in the character of better but not
forgotten times, that even a king could not at the beginning of a long
and stubborn war deprive an errant cavalier of his bride, if she should
be duly won by his sword and lance."
"Ah! dearest sister Ursula!" sighed the disguised pilgrim, "but, on the
other hand, how much time must pass by in the siege, by defeating which
that suit must needs be advanced? While I sat in my lonely castle,
tidings came to astound me with the numerous, or rather the constant
dangers, with which my lover was surrounded, until at length, in a
moment I think of madness, I resolved to set out in this masculine
disguise; and having myself with my own eyes seen in what situation I
had placed my knight, I determined to take such measures in respect to
shortening the term of his trial, or otherwise, as a sight of Douglas
Castle, and--why should I deny it?--of Sir John de Walton, might
suggest. Perhaps you, my dearest sister, may not so well understand my
being tempted into flinching from the resolution which I had laid down
for my own honour, and that of my lover; but consider, that my
resolution was the consequence of a moment of excitation, and that the
course which I adopted was the conclusion of a long, wasting, sickening
state of uncertainty, the effect of which was to weaken the nerves
which were once highly strung with love of my country, as I thought;
but in reality, alas! with fond and anxious feelings of a more selfish
description."
"Alas!" said sister Ursula, evincing the strongest symptoms of interest
and compassion, "am I the person, dearest child, whom you suspect of
insensibility to the distresses which are the fruit of true love? Do
you suppose that the air which is breathed within these walls has the
property upon the female heart, of such marvellous fountains as they
say change into stone the substances which are immersed into their
waters? Hear my tale, and judge if it can be thus with one who
possesses my causes of grief. And do not fear for loss of time; we must
let our neighbours at Hazelside be settled for the evening, ere I
furnish you with the means of escape; and you must have a trusty guide,
for whose fidelity I will be responsible, to direct your path through
these woods, and protect you in case of any danger, too likely to occur
in these troublesome times. It will thus be nigh an hour ere you
depart; and sure I am that in no manner can you spend the time better
than in listening to distresses too similar to your own, and flowing
from the source of disappointed affection which you must needs
sympathize with."
The distresses of the Lady Augusta did not prevent her being in some
degree affected, almost ludicrously, with the singular contrast between
the hideous countenance of this victim of the tender passion, and the
cause to which she imputed her sorrows; but it was not a moment for
giving way to a sense of the ridiculous, which would have been in the
highest degree offensive to the sister of Saint Bride, whose good-will
she had so many reasons to conciliate. She readily, therefore,
succeeded in preparing herself to listen to the votary--with an
appearance of sympathy, which might reward that which she had herself
experienced at the hands of sister Ursula; while the unfortunate
recluse, with an agitation which made her ugliness still more
conspicuous, narrated, nearly in a whisper, the following
circumstances:--
"My misfortunes commenced long before I was called sister Ursula, or
secluded as a votaress within these walls. My father was a noble
Norman, who, like many of his countrymen, sought and found fortune at
the court of the King of Scotland. He was endowed with the sheriffdom
of this county, and Maurice de Hattely, or Hautlieu, was numbered among
the wealthy and powerful barons of Scotland. Wherefore should I deny
it, that the daughter of this baron, then called Margaret de Hautlieu,
was also distinguished among the great and fair of the land? It can be
no censurable vanity which provokes me to speak the truth, and unless I
tell it myself, you could hardly suspect what a resemblance I once bore
even to the lovely Lady Augusta of Berkely. About this time broke out
those unfortunate feuds of Bruce and Baliol, which have been so long
the curse of this country. My father, determined in his choice of party
by the arguments of his wealthy kinsmen at the court of Edward,
embraced with passion the faction of the English interest, and became
one of the keenest partisans, at first of John Baliol, and afterwards
of the English monarch. None among the Anglocised-Scottish, as his
party was called, were so zealous as he for the red cross, and no one
was more detested by his countrymen who followed the national standard
of Saint Andrew and the patriot Wallace. Among those soldiers of the
soil, Malcolm Fleming of Biggar was one of the most distinguished by
his noble birth, his high acquirements, and his fame in chivalry. I saw
him; and the ghastly spectre who now addresses you must not be ashamed
to say, that she loved, and was beloved by, one of the handsomest
youths in Scotland. Our attachment was discovered to my father almost
ere we had owned it to each other, and he was furious both against my
lover and myself; he placed me under the charge of a religious woman of
this rule, and I was immured within the house of Saint Bride, where my
father shamed not to announce he would cause me to take the veil by
force, unless I agreed to wed a youth bred at the English court, his
nephew; and, as Heaven had granted him no son, the heir, as he had
resolved, of the house of Hautlieu. I was not long in making my
election. I protested that death should be my choice, rather than any
other husband excepting Malcolm Fleming. Neither was my lover less
faithful; he found means to communicate to me a particular night on
which he proposed to attempt to storm the nunnery of Saint Bride, and
carry me from hence to freedom and the greenwood, of which Wallace was
generally called the king. In an evil hour--an hour I think of
infatuation and witchery--I suffered the abbess to wheedle the secret
out of me, which I might have been sensible would appear more horribly
flagitious to her than to any other woman that breathed; but I had not
taken the vows, and I thought Wallace and Fleming had the same charms
for every body as for me, and the artful woman gave me reason to
believe that her loyalty to Bruce was without a flaw of suspicion, and
she took part in a plot of which my freedom was the object. The abbess
engaged to have the English guards removed to a distance, and in
appearance the troops were withdrawn. Accordingly, in the middle of the
night appointed, the window of my cell, which was two stories from the
ground, was opened without noise; and never were my eyes more gladdened
than, as ready disguised and arrayed for flight, even in a horseman's
dress, like yourself, fairest. Lady Augusta, I saw Malcolm Fleming
spring into the apartment. He rushed towards me; but at the same time
my father with ten of his strongest men filled the room, and cried
their war-cry of Baliol. Blows were instantly dealt on every side. A
form like a giant, however, appeared in the midst of the tumult, and
distinguished himself, even to my half-giddy eye, by the ease with
which he bore down and dispersed those who fought against our freedom.
My father alone offered an opposition which threatened to prove fatal
to him; for Wallace, it was said, could foil any two martial champions
that ever drew sword. Brushing from him the armed men, as a lady would
drive away with her fan a swarm of troublesome flies, he secured me in
one arm, used his other for our mutual protection, and I found myself
in the act of being borne in safety down the ladder by which my
deliverers had ascended from without,--but an evil fate awaited this
attempt.
"My father, whom the Champion of Scotland had spared for my sake, or
rather for Fleming's, gained by his victor's compassion and lenity a
fearful advantage, and made a remorseless use of it. Having only his
left hand to oppose to the maniac attempts of my father, even the
strength of Wallace could not prevent the assailant, with all the
energy of desperation, from throwing down the ladder, on which his
daughter was perched like a dove in the grasp of an eagle. The champion
saw our danger, and exerting his inimitable strength and agility,
cleared himself and me from the ladder, and leaped free of the moat of
the convent, into which we must otherwise have been precipitated. The
Champion of Scotland was saved in the desperate attempt, but I who fell
among 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 then
learned that Malcolm had escaped from the fray, and shortly after I
heard, with feelings less keen perhaps than they ought to have been,
that my father was slain in one of the endless battles which took place
between the contending factions. If he had lived, I might have
submitted to the completion of my fate; but since he was no more, I
felt that it would be a preferable lot to be a beggar in the streets of
a Scottish village, than, an abbess in this miserable house of Saint
Bride; nor was even that poor object of ambition, on which my father
used to expatiate when desirous of persuading me to enter the monastic
state by milder means than throwing me off the battlements, long open
to 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 of
filling it, was disposed of otherwise, when the English thought fit to
reform, as they termed it, the discipline of the house; and instead of
electing a new abbess, sent hither two or three friendly monks, who
have now the absolute government of the community, and wield it
entirely according to the pleasure of the English. But I, for one, who
have had the honour to be supported by the arms of the Champion of my
country, will not remain here to be commanded by this Abbot Jerome. I
will go forth, nor do I fear to find relations and friends, who will
provide a more fitting place of refuge for Margaret de Hautlieu than
the convent of Saint Bride; you, too, dearest lady, shall obtain your
freedom, and it will be well to leave such information as will make Sir
John de Walton aware of the devotion with which his happy fate has
inspired you."
"It is not, then, your own intention," said the Lady Augusta, "to
return 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 dare
not ask myself, and to which I am absolutely uncertain what answer I
should return. I have not taken the final and irrevocable vows; I have
done nothing to alter my situation with regard to Malcolm Fleming. He
also, by the vows plighted in the Chancery of Heaven, is my affianced
bridegroom, nor am I conscious that I less deserve his faith, in any
respect now, than at the moment when it was pledged to me; but, I
confess, dearest lady, that rumours have reached me, which sting me to
the quick; the reports of my wounds and scars are said to have
estranged 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 settled
resolution, that all betwixt me and Malcolm Fleming is at an end,
saving good wishes on the part of both towards the other; and yet there
is a sensation in my bosom which whispers, in spite of my reason, that
if I absolutely believed that which I now say, there would be no object
on earth worthy my living for in order to attain it. This insinuating
prepossession whispers, to my secret soul, and in very opposition to my
reason and understanding, that Malcolm Fleming, who could pledge his
all upon the service of his country, is incapable of nourishing the
versatile affection of an ordinary, a coarse, or a venal character.
Methinks, were the difference upon his part instead of mine, he would
not lose his interest in my eyes, because he was seamed with honourable
scars, obtained in asserting the freedom of his choice, but that such
wounds would, in my opinion, add to his merit, whatever they took away
from his personal comeliness. Ideas rise on my soul, as if Malcolm and
Margaret might yet be to each other all that their affections once
anticipated with so much security, and that a change, which took
nothing from the honour and virtue of the beloved person, must rather
add to, than diminish, the charms of the union. Look at me, dearest
Lady Augusta!--look me--if you have courage--full in the face, and tell
me whether I do not rave when my fancy is thus converting mere
possibilities into that which is natural and probable."
The Lady of Berkely, conscious of the necessity, raised her eyes on the
unfortunate nun, afraid of losing her own chance of deliverance by the
mode in which she should conduct herself in this crisis; yet not
willing at the same time to flatter the unfortunate Ursula, with
suggesting ideas for which her own sense told her she could hardly find
any rational grounds. But her imagination, stored with the minstrelsy
of the time, brought back to her recollection the Loathly Lady in "The
marriage of Sir Gawain," and she conducted her reply in the following
manner:--
"You ask me, my dear Lady Margaret, a trying question, which it would
be unfriendly to answer otherwise than sincerely, and most cruel to
answer 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 a
value; we are flattered by the imputation of personal charms, whether
we actually possess them or not; and no doubt we learn to place upon
them a great deal more consequence than in reality is found to belong
to them. Women, however, even, such as are held by their own sex, and
perhaps in secret by themselves, as devoid of all pretensions to
beauty, have been known to become, from their understanding, their
talents, or their 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 that porcelain clay of the earth, which despises the passing
captivations of outward form in comparison to the charms of true
affection, and the excellence of talents and virtue?"
The nun pressed her companion's hand to her bosom, and answered her
with a deep sigh.
"I fear," she said, "you flatter me; and yet in a crisis like this, it
does one good to be flattered, even as cordials, otherwise dangerous to
the constitution, are wisely given to support a patient through a
paroxysm of agony, and enable him to endure at least what they cannot
cure. Answer only one question, and it will be time to drop this
conversation. Could you, sweet lady--you upon whom fortune has bestowed
so many charms--could any argument make you patient under the
irretrievable loss of your personal advantages, with the concomitant
loss, as in my case is most probable, of that lover for whom you have
already done so much?"
The English lady cast her eyes again on her friend, and could not help
shuddering a little at the thought of her own beautiful countenance
being exchanged for the seamed and scarred features of the Lady of
Hautlieu, irregularly lighted by the beams of a single eye.
"Believe me," she said, looking solemnly upwards, "that even in the
case which you suppose, I would not sorrow so much for myself, as I
would for the poor-spirited thoughts of the lover who could leave me
because those transitory charms (which must in any case erelong take
their departure) had fled ere yet the bridal day. It is, however,
concealed by the decrees of Providence, in what manner, or to what
extent, other persons, with whose disposition we are not fully
acquainted, may be affected by such changes. I can only assure you that
my hopes go with yours, and that there is no difficulty which shall
remain 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 to
something resembling the whoop of the night-owl. "We must prepare to
leave the convent in a few minutes. Have you anything to take with you?"
"Nothing," answered the Lady of Berkely, "except the few valuables,
which I scarce know why I brought with me on my flight hither. This
scroll, which I shall leave behind, gives my faithful minstrel
permission to save himself, by confessing to Sir John de Walton who the
person really is whom he has had within his reach."
"It is strange," said the novice of Saint Bride, "through what
extraordinary labyrinths this Love, this Will-of-the-Wisp, guides his
votaries, Take heed as you descend; this trap-door, carefully
concealed, curiously jointed and oiled, leads to a secret postern,
where I conceive the horses already wait, which will enable us speedily
to bid adieu 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 her
conventual name, exchanged her stole, or loose upper garment, for the
more succinct cloak and hood of a horseman. She led the way through
divers passages, studiously complicated, until the Lady of Berkely,
with throbbing heart, stood in the pale and doubtful moonlight, which
was shining with grey uncertainty upon the walls of the ancient
building. The imitation of an owlet's cry directed them to a
neighbouring large elm, and on approaching it, they were aware of three
horses, held by one, concerning whom they could only see that he was
tall, strong, and accoutred in the dress of a man-at-arms.
"The sooner," he said, "we are gone from this place, Lady Margaret, it
is so much the better. You have only to direct the course which we
shall hold."
Lady Margaret's answer was given beneath her breath; and replied to
with a caution from the guide to ride slowly and silently for the first
quarter of an hour, by which time inhabited places would be left at a
distance.