While the Prevot of Burgundy had remained within ear-shot, Imbercourt
had maintained a profound silence, or, speaking in a low familiar tone
to his daughter, had appeared perfectly inattentive to what was going
on beside him. No sooner, however, had they passed on through the
great hall, and up a flight of steps, into a large sort of withdrawing
room, in which it was the custom of the guests in those days to wash
their hands before dinner, than he closed the door, and earnestly
thanked the two noble gentlemen by whom he was accompanied for their
forbearance on the present occasion. "I have much, much to tell you,
my noble brother-in-law," he said; "and much on which to ask your
advice. Much have I also to tell you, Hugh," he added, laying his hand
on the arm of the younger of the two noblemen; "but I must do it in as
few words as possible, before we are joined by that unworthy man, whom
we must not offend, though he be part spy, part hangman, part
cut-throat. In the first place, in your solitude here, you scarcely
know the state either of the duchy of Burgundy, or of the county of
Flanders; both of which are unhappily in so dangerous a situation,
that it will need infinite moderation, prudence, and skill, on the
part of all true lovers of their country, to keep us from events too
fearful to contemplate. Throughout the whole of Duke Charles's
dominions, the nobles are turbulent and discontented; the citizens
rebellious and insolent; and, to crown all, the duke himself, never
very temperate in his conduct, seems since the defeat of Granson, to
have given unbridled rein to his fury, and to have cast all common
prudence away as a burdensome incumbrance."
"We have heard, indeed," said the Lord of Hannut, "of his having
hanged a garrison of four hundred Swiss, whom he found in a town in
Lorraine, a most barbarous and inhuman act, which, if he commit many
such, will make all good men abandon him."
"Too true, indeed," replied Imbercourt; "but I fear this is but a
prelude to greater outrages."
"Ay, and to greater misfortunes," interrupted the Lord of Hannut. "If
there be any truth in the starry influences, he has met with some deep
misfortune already, and will meet with greater still ere long. When
heard you from the duke?" he added, seeing a doubtful smile curl the
lip of his brother-in-law, as he referred to an art in which
Imbercourt placed less faith than most of his contemporaries.
"Our last news is more than a fortnight old," answered Imbercourt,
"the duke was then marching rapidly towards the mountains. But it was
not of his intemperance towards the Swiss I was about to speak, though
his conduct to them has been cruel enough. Still they were enemies;
but he seems resolved to drive the men of Ghent into revolt also; and
he has commanded his prevot to arrest any one, whether merchant,
mechanic, or noble, who attempts to pass the frontier from Ghent into
France. The prisoner, whom you saw but now, is the first-fruit of this
precious order. That meddling fool, Du Bac, who, like the tiger, loves
blood for blood's sake, takes care to fulfil every intemperate order
of the duke to the very uttermost, especially against the Gandois,
towards whom he and some others of his fellows have a most deadly
hatred. I can hear of no precise offence which the prisoner has
committed, though his captor has shown me some letters found upon him,
which he would fain construe into treason; and if they urge the matter
farther against him, they will drive the men of Ghent mad outright.
Why, one half of their trade is with France!"
"How is it then, my lord," demanded Hugh, "that you do not interfere
to set him at liberty?"
"I dare not for my head," replied Imbercourt. "Besides, I am not here
in the capacity of counsellor: I am now, by the duke's order, marching
to join him with the small force that you see: all, indeed, that I
have been able to raise. But to the object of my coming! Hugh, the
duke needs men, and calls angrily on all his vassals to take the
field. Often and earnestly have I entreated for clemency towards your
father; and my entreaties have been in vain. One good stroke in the
field, however, done by your hand, were worth more than all the
eloquence that the tongue of man could ever boast. Gather together
what forces you can, and follow me to the camp, under the name you
have at present assumed. I will take care that you shall have the
opportunity of distinguishing yourself; and, from your conduct both in
Spain and Italy, I fear not but--"
"It is in vain, my lord, it is in vain," replied Hugh de Mortmar.
"Never will I draw my sword for a man who holds my father a close
prisoner: surely it is enough not to draw my sword against him; and it
has only been for the hope that this fair hand--" and as he spoke he
raised that of Alice, who had been listening, with her deep blue eyes
full of anxious attention--"and it has only been for the hope that
this fair hand would form a bond, which, uniting the fate of
Imbercourt and Gueldres together, would render them too strong for
tyranny to resist, that I have refrained, during the last year, from
attempting to open the gates of my father's prison by force, while the
oppressor is embarrassed with wars and misfortunes that his own
grasping and cruel disposition has brought upon his head."
"I cannot blame your feelings, Hugh," replied the Lord of Imbercourt,
"nor will I hurt you by pointing out the somewhat serious causes of
offence which have induced the duke to treat your father with so great
severity; but do you, at the same time, moderate your angry terms, and
remember that Charles of Burgundy is my sovereign lord, my benefactor,
and my friend. I think I need say no more."
He spoke with grave and impressive earnestness, and seemed about to
proceed to some other part of the subject, when the heavy clanging
step of Maillotin du Bac, as he walked nonchalantly up the stairs,
from the great hall, into the withdrawing room, warned the Lord of
Imbercourt that a suspicious ear was nigh, and he merely added, "We
will speak more to-night."
The Prevot entered the room with a look of great satisfaction,
slipping at the same time the handle of an enormous key over the thong
of his belt, which he again buckled over his shoulder; so that the
key, dropping down till it struck against his sword, hung by the side
of the more chivalrous weapon, offering no bad type of the character
of the wearer.
"Admirable dungeons these, my good Lord of Hannut," he reiterated as
he entered; "Admirable dungeons, admirable dungeons, indeed! Your own
construction, I doubt not, and a good construction it is. I defy the
nimblest cut-purse in the empire to make his way thence, while this
key hangs at my side. The window, indeed, the window is a little too
wide; what the devil the rogues want windows for at all, I don't
understand; but it is just a thought too wide. I have known a fat
young rogue so starve himself down in a week's time, that he would get
through a hole that would not have passed his thigh when first he was
taken. No fear of yon fellow below, however; it would require a
precious hole to pass his chest and shoulders."
"Pray, what is the poor youth's offence?" demanded the Lord of Hannut;
but as the other was about to reply, the pages and varlets, as the
inferior servants were called in that day, brought in basins, ewers,
and napkins, for the guests to wash, while the trumpets sounded loud
without; and, in a few moments afterwards, the whole party were seated
at their evening meal.
As must always be the case in such meetings, when the ingredients of
the assembly are discrepant in themselves, notwithstanding the
fortuitous circumstances which may for the time have brought them
together, the conversation was broken and interrupted. Sometimes the
loud swell of many voices made, for a minute or two, an unspeakable
din. Sometimes one or two protracted the conversation in a lower tone,
after the others had ceased; but still, every subject that was
started, dropped after a few minutes' discussion, and the parties
betook themselves again to demolishing the huge piles of meat which,
according to the custom of those times, were set before them. Wine was
in plenty, but all drank sparingly, except the Prevot, and one or two
of the officers who followed the Lord of Imbercourt. For his part,
Maillotin du Bac seemed determined that, as far as the quality of his
favours went, no jealousy should exist between the trencher and the
pottle-pot. His food swam down his throat in Burgundy, and the
consequences were such as are usual with men of strong constitutions
and well-seasoned brains. He lost not in the least degree the use of
his senses; but his tongue, on which he was never wont to impose any
very strict restraint, obtained an additional degree of liberty after
the fifth or sixth cup he had quaffed; and, perceiving the Lord of
Hannut speaking for a few moments in a low tone to his brother-in-law,
he concluded at once that their conversation must refer to his
prisoner; and, resuming the subject without farther ceremony, he
replied to the question his entertainer had put to him before
dinner--so abruptly, indeed, that for the moment no one understood
what he meant.
"Offence, indeed!" exclaimed Maillotin du Bac; "offence enough, I
trow; why now, I'll tell you how it was. We had just come out of
Namur, where we had supped, not quite so well as we have done here,
it's true; no matter for that, we had wine enough; and we were
quartering ourselves in a little village down below, when one of my
fellows, as stout a hand as ever was born, got saying something civil
to the wife of a draper, just at the door of her shop. What more I
don't know, but the foolish cullion took it into her head to cry out;
when up comes my young gallant there in the dungeon, and at one blow
fells my fellow, Stephen, to the ground with a broken jaw. What the
devil business had he with it? If he had been an old lover of hers,
well enough; but he confesses that he never saw her before till that
moment, and must come up and meddle, because she chose to squeal like
a caught hare."
Hugh de Mortmar turned his eyes upon the Lord of Imbercourt, who bit
his lip, and observed gravely: "Were this all the young man's offence,
Sir Prevot, it would behove us to consider the matter better before we
give way to your hankering for dungeons and cords."
"Ha, ha! my lord," replied the Prevot, with a grin, "not so great a
fool as that either! Had I not thought to make more of the good youth,
I would have split his skull where he stood, with my axe; and his
punishment taking place in _chaudemelee_, as the laws of St. Louis
have it, we should have heard nothing more of the matter: but I knew
the gallant well by sight: one who affects popularity amongst the
turbulent folk of Ghent; and having orders to arrest all who attempted
to cross the frontier into France, I laid hold of him forthwith,
examined his papers, and found sufficient, with a little good
management, to give him a cool dangle by the neck in the fresh air of
some fine September morning. But what need I say more? You yourself
have seen the letters."
"Meddling fool!" muttered Imbercourt to himself; "he will contrive to
drive the duke's subjects into revolt at home, while he is assailed by
enemies abroad." This speech, however, passed no farther than the ears
of the two persons next to him. And the conversation soon turned to
the bands of freebooters which, the Prevot stoutly asserted, harboured
in the forest of Hannut.
A few words passed, in an under tone, between Hugh de Mortmar and the
Lord of Hannut; and at length the old noble proceeded to discuss with
the Prevot of the Duke of Burgundy the infraction of his rights which
had been committed by that officer in the morning. The Prevot,
however, sturdily maintained his ground, declaring that he himself,
and all his band, consisting of about forty persons, had encountered
and pursued a considerable body of men, whose appearance and demeanour
left not the slightest doubt in regard to their general trade and
occupation. Going farther still, he appealed to the Lord of Imbercourt
himself, who came up while the freebooters were still in sight, and
who actually did confirm his account in every particular.
"Well, sir," replied the Lord of Hannut, "since such is the case, far
be it from me to impede the execution of justice. The maintenance of
the law within my own territories I have always hitherto attended to
myself, and that so strictly, that for twenty years I have heard of no
outrage within the limits of my own domain--"
"Why, as to that, my lord," interrupted the Prevot, grinning, "we do
hear that you have an especial police of your own: a sort of airy
archers of the guard, who keep better watch and ward than mortal eyes
can do. Nevertheless I must not neglect my duty, while I am in the
body; and in doing it, I fear neither man nor spirit."
"I know not, to what you are pleased to allude, sir," replied the Lord
of Hannut, frowning: "nevertheless I may find many means to punish
those who are insolent. However, as you say that you have seen
evil-disposed persons in the forest, and my Lord of Imbercourt here
confirms your statement, I will grant you permission for one day to
scour the whole of my domain from side to side; and if you should find
any one strong enough to make head against you, my own vassals shall
be summoned to give you aid. After that day, however, you must
withdraw your troop and retire, nor ever again presume to set foot
within my bounds without my permission."
"One day, my lord," replied the Prevot, "will be hardly--"
"I shall grant no more, sir," said the Lord of Hannut, rising from the
table, in which example he was followed by several of his guests; "I
shall grant no more, sir; and the concession which I make, proceeds
solely from a feeling of respect for my good lord the Duke of
Burgundy. Though I rise," he added, addressing all the party from a
general feeling of courtesy, "though I rise, do not hold it,
gentlemen, as a signal to break off your revelry. Spare not the
flagon, I beseech you; and here are comfits and spices to give zest to
your wine."
Thus saying, he retired from the hall; and, leading the way to the
battlements, entered into a long and, to them, interesting
conversation with Imbercourt and Hugh de Mortmar, as we shall continue
to call the son of the imprisoned Duke of Gueldres.
With all his eloquence, however, Imbercourt failed to persuade the
young cavalier to join the armies of the Duke of Burgundy. To every
argument he replied, that men fought for their friends, not their
enemies; and such he should ever hold Charles of Burgundy to be, till
Adolphus of Gueldres was set at liberty. All that could be obtained
from him was a promise not to attempt his father's liberation by arms,
till one more effort had been made to persuade Charles the Bold to
grant his freedom upon other terms.
"Consider well, Hugh, the peculiar situation in which you stand," said
the Lord of Imbercourt; "the secret of your birth rests with myself
and my good brother here alone; but did the duke know that the son of
Adolphus of Gueldres is still living, the imprisonment of your father
would, in all probability, become more severe, and your own personal
safety might be very doubtful. An ineffectual attempt to liberate him,
must instantly divulge all; nor could I--though I have promised you my
Alice, in case we can obtain by peaceful means that which we so much
desire--nor could I, as a faithful servant of the house of Burgundy,
give you my daughter's hand, if you were once actually in arms against
the lord I serve."
"It is a hard alternative," said Hugh de Mortmar--"it is a hard
alternative;" and as he spoke he bent down his eyes, and pondered for
several minutes on the difficult situation in which he was placed.
His heart, however, was full of the buoyant and rejoicing spirit of
youth; and the cares that ploughed it one minute, only caused it to
bring forth a harvest of fresh hopes the next. Hard as was his fate in
some respects, when he compared it with that of the young man who now
tenanted one of the dungeons of that very castle--a comparison to
which his mind was naturally called--he did not, indeed, feel
gratification, as some would argue, at the evils of his
fellow-creature's lot; but he felt that there was much to be grateful
for in his own. Hope, and liberty, and love, were all before him; and
his expectations rose high, as he thought how much worse his fate
might have been. Such ideas led him to think over, and to pity, the
situation of the unhappy prisoner; and quitting the subject of his own
affairs, he inquired of the Lord of Imbercourt, whether he, as a
counsellor of the duke, could not take upon himself to set the
unfortunate burgher at liberty.
"I would well-nigh give my right hand to do so," replied Imbercourt,
"not alone for the sake of simple justice to an individual, but for
the sake of the peace and tranquillity of the whole state; but I must
not do it, my young friend. I have seen the letters which Du Bac found
upon his person: they consist of little more than the murmurs and
complaints of discontented citizens, such as are to be met with in all
countries and in all times; and which, at any other period would
attract no attention whatever. At present, however, with faction and
turbulence spreading over the whole land; with courtiers, who find it
their interest to urge the duke on to acts of insane violence; and
with a prince, whose temper and power are equally uncontrollable;
those papers _may_ cost the young man's life, _will_ probably set the
city of Ghent into open revolt, and _might_ light a flame in the land
which it would require oceans of blood to extinguish. Nevertheless I
dare not interfere."
Hugh de Mortmar made no reply, but mused for a few moments in silence;
and then, with a gay, light laugh, and a jest about some other matter,
he left his two elder companions, and proceeded to seek his fair Alice
through all the long, rambling chambers, and retired and quiet bowers,
so favourable for whispered words and unmarked meetings, with which
every castle of that day was most conveniently furnished.
Maillotin du Bac, in the meanwhile, continued sturdily to bear up
under the repeated attacks of Burgundy upon his brain. Draught after
draught he swallowed, in company with some of the old and seasoned
soldiers, who were no way loth to join him; but at length the sun went
down, night fell, the cresset was lighted in the large hall; and,
unwillingly giving up his cup, he suffered the board to be removed,
and cast himself down on a seat beside the fire, which the vast extent
of the chamber, and the little sunshine that ever found its way in,
either by the high window or the far door, rendered not unpleasant
even on a summer's evening. A number of others gathered round; and the
wine having produced sufficient effect to render them all rather more
imaginative than usual, the stories of hunting and freebooters, with
which the evening commonly began, in such a castle, soon deviated into
tales of superstition. Every one had something wonderful to relate;
and such, indeed, was the unction with which many a history of ghost,
and spirit, and demon, was told by several of the party and listened
to by the auditory, that two of the Lord of Imbercourt's officers, who
were playing at tables under the light of the lamp, and several
others, who had been amusing themselves at a little distance with the
very ancient and interesting game of "pitch and toss;" abandoned those
occupations, to share more fully in the legends which were going on
round the fire. Each individual helped his neighbour on upon the road
of credulity; and when, at length, Maillotin du Bac rose, from a
sense of duty, to visit his prisoner--an attention which he never
neglected--the greater part of his companions, feeling themselves in a
dwelling whose visitors were very generally reported to be more
frequently of a spiritual than a corporeal nature, got up
simultaneously, and agreed to accompany him on his expedition.
Lighted by a torch, they wound down some of the narrow, tortuous
staircases of the building; and pausing opposite a door, the massive
strength and thickness of which the Prevot did not fail to make his
comrades remark, they were soon gratified farther by beholding the
inside of the dungeon in which the unhappy burgher was confined.
Maillotin du Bac satisfied himself of his presence, by thrusting the
torch rudely towards his face as he half sat, half reclined on a pile
of straw which had been spread out for his bed; and then setting down
a pitcher of wine which he had brought with him, the Prevot closed the
door again without a word. The only further ceremony was that of again
slipping the key over his sword-belt, from which he had detached it to
open the door; and the whole party, once more returning to upper air,
separated for the night, and retired to rest.