Oh, the dull silent hours of the night, when not a sound stirs upon
the heavy air to steal one thought from man's communion with his own
dark heart!--when the stern silence renders the sleep that covers all
the world more like one universal death, and everything around us bids
our conscience scan the brief records of our past existence, and
prejudge us for the long eternity! The days had been, when, on a clear
spring-tide night, like that--while all the countless stars seemed
living diamonds in the heaven--Albert Maurice, full of fine soul and
noble aspirations, would have gazed forth enchanted; and, without one
heavy tie between his heart and the low earth, would have bade his
spirit soar up in grand, calm dreams to heaven--when, between him and
the multitude of bright orbs that sparkled before his eyes, there
would have been felt a communion and a sympathy; and when the
knowledge that each wondrous frame was the creation of the same
Almighty hand, would have awakened in his bosom a feeling of kindred
with the living lights of the sky. But now, how heavy was the night!
how dark! how hopeless! how reproachful! There was a voice even in the
solemn stillness; and the blood, which yet reeked upon the scaffold
beneath the very windows of the apartment where he sat, seemed crying
up, through the silence of the universe, to the Judge enthroned above
those eternal stars.
He was left, too, entirely alone, and had been so during the greater
part of the day; for such was the awful sensation produced in Ghent by
the events of the morning, that all the shops were shut, and every
kind of business was very generally suspended. Even the affairs of the
city seemed to be neglected by general consent. Neither the council of
the town, nor the deputies of the states, returned to consult over the
future. Nor was it the higher functionaries alone that seemed to feel
this sort of bewildered apathy. The clerks and secretaries were
absent; not above one or two of the many couriers usually in
attendance were now found in readiness; and Albert Maurice, after
having endeavoured, in vain, to occupy his mind with business during
the day, found himself, at night, left in utter solitude, to revolve
the tragedy of the morning, without any other thing to distract his
thoughts, or any voice to plead his cause against the accusation of
his own conscience.
He strove, however, to convince himself that he had acted justly. He
read over the evidence against the dead. He read over the sentence of
the judges. He thought over all the many specious reasons that had
before seemed to afford a thousand clear and patriotic excuses for
sweeping away those whose views were likely to thwart his own: but the
reasons had lost their force; the sentence was manifestly unjust; the
evidence was broken and inconclusive.
"At all events," he thought, "the act is not mine; the award has been
pronounced by the lawful magistrates of the land; and I have taken no
part either in the judgment or its execution."
But that pretext would not avail a moment before the stern inquisitor
within; and he felt that he, in whom the real power lay, if he did not
interpose to shield the innocent, made himself responsible for their
blood.
The heart of man cannot long endure such racking self-examination; and
the most dangerous resource, but the only refuge from present pain, is
flight from thought. As sad an hour's commune with himself as ever
sinful human being passed, ended with Albert Maurice, in a resolution
to think no more of the unchangeable hours of the past, and to fix his
mind upon the present. After pausing for a moment, during which his
ideas wandered confusedly over a number of objects, without finding
any subject of contemplation of sufficient importance to withdraw his
thoughts, for an instant, from the engrossing theme that ever called
them back with painful importunity, some sudden memory seemed to come
across him; and, taking up one of the lamps, he proceeded into the
ante-chamber, in which waited several of his attendants. Giving the
light to a page, with orders to go on before, the young citizen paced
slowly through several of the halls and corridors of the town-house,
his footfall, ever firm and proud, taking now a more heavy and
determined step, from the feeling of the dark, stern deeds which he
had done. Descending one of the staircases, he came to that portion of
the building which was set apart as the municipal prison; and,
proceeding to a small chamber or lodge, he demanded the keys of the
gaoler, who was dozing by the fire.
The man immediately delivered them; and, passing onwards, the
President of the States entered the gloomy dwelling, and descended the
staircase which led to the lowest chambers of the prison. He was
surprised, however, to perceive a light; and the moment after, in the
low passage which ran between six or seven small heavy archways
leading to the cells, his eye fell upon a trooper of the Prevot's
guard, seated upon a stone bench at the end, employed in furbishing
the steel of his partisan by the light of a lamp above his head.
The man instantly started on his feet; and, challenging the party that
approached, advanced his weapon, till it nearly touched the bosom of
the page. But Albert Maurice, stepping past the boy, put the pike
aside, and demanded, sternly, what the soldier did there, in the
municipal prison.
He was there, the man replied, by order of his captain, and was
commanded to give admission to none, but the gaoler with food for the
prisoner.
"Your officer is somewhat too bold!" replied the young burgher, "and
must answer for having dared to place a sentry where he himself has no
authority. Get thee gone, good fellow--you know me--get thee gone; and
let me not see your face within these walls again."
The man at first hesitated; and at length refused to obey, alleging,
civilly, the commands of his own captain, which he was bound to
follow. Well knowing the station and power of the person whom he
addressed, he spoke with courtesy and respect; but Albert Maurice was
in that state of dissatisfied irritation, which the first reproaches
of conscience leave upon a fine and energetic mind; and, returning to
the upper chambers, he instantly summoned a guard, and caused the
soldier to be disarmed, and confined him in one of the very dungeons
he had been placed to watch.
There was a stern fierceness in the whole proceeding, unlike his usual
decisive but mild demeanour; and those who watched him well, remarked,
that upon his mind and character, such as they had appeared throughout
the whole course of his life, that day had left a trace which no
after-events could obliterate. When he had seen his orders obeyed, he
dismissed the guard, and bidding the page wait him on the stairs, he
advanced alone to one of the cells and applied the various keys he
carried to the lock. It was some time before he found the right one;
and he thought he heard more than one low groan, while employed in
opening the door. At length, however, he succeeded, and entered the
dungeon, which was dark and dismal enough.
Stripped of arms, both offensive and defensive, and stretched upon a
pile of straw, lay the gallant and enterprising Hugh de Mortmar, as we
have generally called him, with every limb powerless and rigid, in
consequence of the trampling and blows he had received while trodden
under foot in the market-place. His fine head leaned languidly upon
his arm, while, with a motion which, however slight, seemed full of
anguish, he turned a little as he lay, to see who it was that visited
his prison. The light, for a moment, dazzled his eyes; but when he
perceived the face of Albert Maurice, a slight smile of pleasure
played on his lip. It was a face he knew; it was a being on whom he
had some claim, that came to visit him; and it is only necessary to
think over his situation--friendless, a prisoner, and alone, with
every mental power oppressed, and every corporeal faculty rigid and
benumbed--to comprehend what joy such a sight must have given, however
criminal he might hold some of his visitor's deeds to be.
The young citizen set down the lamp, and seated himself on a rude
wooden settle, which was the only article of furniture that the place
contained. Bending down his head over the prisoner, he said, in a kind
and gentle tone, "Do you remember me?"
"Well, very well," replied the young cavalier, faintly; "we have
changed stations since we met."
"You will find me ready," answered Albert Maurice, "to follow the good
example you then set me, and to give you back freedom, for the freedom
you then gave me."
Hugh de Mortmar shook his head mournfully, and cast his eyes on his
stiff and rigid limbs, as if to express the impossibility of his
accepting the proffered liberation.
"Fear not, fear not!" said Albert Maurice, in reply to this mute
language. "Fear not; in two or three days you will be able to use your
limbs as freely as ever, and I will find means to remove from them all
other thraldom."
"But my father," exclaimed Hugh de Mortmar. "Tell me, I beseech you,
tell me! Is he safe? Is he unhurt?"
"Your father!" repeated Albert Maurice in some surprise--"your
father?"
"Yes, yes!" cried the prisoner, raising himself as well as he could
upon his arm, "my father, the Duke of Gueldres! Is he safe? Is he
unhurt? I struck him down before I knew him; but I do not think he was
injured."
"No, no," replied the young citizen, "the duke is safe and well. But
this, indeed, is a strange tale. I do not comprehend you well, I
fear," he added; somewhat inclined to believe that the injuries the
prisoner had received had rendered him delirious. "Can the Duke of
Gueldres be your father? I never heard that he had more than one
child, who was slain, they say, by some of the cruel soldiers of the
late Duke of Burgundy's father, when Adolphus of Gueldres himself was
taken near Namur. I remember all the circumstances; for there was many
an event occurred about that time which impressed the whole story more
deeply on my memory than other things that have happened since. I was
then a boy, travelling with my uncle through the forest of Hannut, and
we had been at Namur not three days before."
"Ha! and were you that boy?" demanded the young cavalier. "I remember
you well. You fell into the hands of the free companions with whom I
then was, and were sent on safely by them, and by my father's noble
cousin, the Lord of Hannut. Mind you the boy who joined you, with good
Matthew Gournay, when you were sitting round the freebooter's fire in
the forest?"
"Well, perfectly well," replied Albert Maurice.
"Then, that was the son of Adolphus of Gueldres," rejoined the
prisoner, "escaped from the hands of the sworders of the Duke of
Burgundy, and flying to seek and find protection and concealment with
his father's cousin, the Lord of Hannut. Such was the boy, and I am
he."
"These things are very strange," said Albert Maurice; "and if you knew
all that I know, you would say so. Most strange, indeed!" he muttered
to himself, "that the bereaved father should become a second parent to
the son of him who made him childless. But let your heart rest
satisfied," he added aloud; "your father is well and safe; and you
have not even an unconscious crime to reproach yourself with."
He spoke mournfully, and then fell into a deep, long fit of thought,
from which he was only roused by the young cavalier demanding, whether
the noble Lord of Imbercourt had been saved, after all?
What were the thoughts at that moment in the bosom of Albert
Maurice--whether his mind rested painfully on the consciousness that
he could no longer boast of a guiltless heart, and pondered, with all
the bitter, wringing agony of crime, upon the blessed sweetness of
innocence--can only be guessed; but an involuntary groan burst from
the lips of the young citizen at the question of the prisoner, and he
clasped his hands upon his eyes.
Removing them an instant after, he answered, gazing somewhat sternly
upon his companion, "He died as he deserved."
Hugh of Gueldres replied not; but, feeble as he was, returned the
stern glance of Albert Maurice with one still more severe and
reproachful. The young citizen recovered himself, however, at once,
banished the frown from his brow, and, for the moment, even stifled
the regret within his bosom. "Let us not speak, my lord," he said, "on
matters of painful discussion. The man you asked for, was tried and
condemned by lawful judges, upon what they considered sufficient
evidence. He suffered this morning according to his sentence. Suffice
it, that I had no personal hand either in his doom or execution."
"Thank God for that!" said Hugh de Mortmar; "for I do believe that I
should look upon even liberty as stained, if received from the hands
of one who, for envy or ambition, could do two such noble men to death
as died this day in Ghent."
The blood rushed violently up to the face and temples of Albert
Maurice; and, for a moment, he felt so giddy, that he started up and
leaned against the wall for support. What he had said was true,
indeed, to the letter; but conscience told him, that he was not only
an accessory, but a principal in the death of Imbercourt; and, though
he had spoken truth, he nevertheless felt that he had deceived. There
was again a bitter struggle in his bosom; but it was soon over, for
the presence of another person shamed him into conquering the
upbraidings of his own heart.
"Let us say no more on that subject, my lord," he rejoined, as soon as
he had somewhat recovered his calmness. "It is a matter on which you
and I cannot, I fear, agree. I am bound, in justice to the States of
Flanders and the magistrates of Ghent, to say boldly, that I think
they have done nobly, firmly, and well; and though I took no part in
the act itself, yet the opinion of no man on earth will make me shrink
from avowing, that I would have done the same. But all this has
nothing to do with the feelings between you and me. Suffice it, that I
owe you a deep debt of gratitude, which I am ready and willing to pay.
You shall be instantly removed from this dungeon to a more convenient
chamber, where you shall be tended with all care, till such time as
you have recovered strength. If you will, your existence and your
situation shall be immediately communicated to the Duke of Gueldres.
But still, I think----"
"No, no," answered the prisoner, quickly; "no, no; if there be any
other means whatever of obtaining my freedom, without revealing who I
am, let me still remain concealed for a certain space. I know not well
whether the news of my existence might, or might not, be well
received. There are new plans and views abroad, I find, with which my
appearance might interfere. My father, I hear, aims at the hand of the
heiress of Burgundy."
A scornful smile curled the lip of Albert Maurice, while the other
proceeded:--"And I know not how he might love to hear, that a son he
has believed to be dead for twenty years, had now arisen to cumber his
inheritance. Let us pause for a time and see. Nor, indeed, would I
willingly be found a prisoner."
"I think you judge rightly, my lord," replied the young citizen;
"though the Duke of Gueldres will never marry Mary of Burgundy. But,
as to your freedom," he added, cutting short something that the
prisoner was about to reply, "for that I will pledge my life; and,
when once more beyond the walls of Ghent, you can act as you will in
regard to discovering yourself."
The motives of Hugh of Gueldres for wishing to conceal his existence
from his father for some time longer, were certainly those which he
had stated; but perhaps he might also be influenced by another
feeling. In mingling with men who knew him not for what he was, the
name of his father had never reached his ears, but coupled with some
opprobrious epithet, or in conjunction with some evil deed; and
perhaps a lingering disinclination to claim kindred with such a man,
might make him still glad to leave his station unacknowledged to the
world.
Some farther conversation then ensued between the President of Ghent
and the son of the Duke of Gueldres; and though Albert Maurice became
often thoughtful and abstracted, though there was a varying and
uncertain tone in everything he said, unlike his usual calm and
dignified manner; yet, from the nature of the subjects to which they
now both restricted themselves, there was something sweet and pleasing
in the commune which they indulged. They spoke of the early days in
which they had first met, of the times, and the scenes, and the
pleasures, and the hopes of other years; and a kindly sympathy
breathing from the past, made for them, even in the prison, and
separate as they were by state, by station, by education, and by
prejudices, a peculiar atmosphere in which they seemed to live alone.
Hugh de Mortmar felt it strongly, and seemed to revive under its
influence. His voice became firmer, and his eye regained its light.
"And what," said Albert Maurice, after they had conversed some time on
the scenes in the forest of Hannut--"and what has become of that good
stout soldier, Matthew Gournay, who was, in some sort, a friend of my
worthy uncle Martin Fruse."
"He was with me, this day, in Ghent," replied the prisoner; "and I
trust in God has escaped beyond the gates. Many a time also has he
been the means by which I have communicated to you, through your
uncle, those proceedings which I thought it necessary that you should
know. Once, not a month since, he was within the walls of Ghent; but
could not obtain a private interview with you. Thus it was that you
received tidings of the march of the base King of France. Thus, of the
coming of his barber ambassador. Thus, too, did I send you a copy of
that degraded slave's instructions."
"Then I owe you far more than I ever dreamed of," replied the young
citizen, "and I will peril my life but I will repay it. Nevertheless,"
he added, after a moment's thought, in which suspicions, vague indeed,
but strong, of the motives and designs of the druggist Ganay, rose up
before his mind; "nevertheless, although for the time I am powerful in
the city, yet several days must elapse ere you can mount a horse. I
have many enemies, too--many false friends--many dangerous rivals; and
I would fain place your security beyond the chance of anything that
may happen to myself. Think you," he added, musing, "that Matthew
Gournay, with twenty of his picked companions, would venture once more
within the gates of Ghent, and, habited like followers of my own, be
ready to aid in your deliverance, whether I be alive or dead."
"If he have escaped," replied the prisoner, "he would come at my
bidding, were it into the jaws of hell. But you must make me certain
of his safety, Sir Citizen."
"That he has escaped, rest assured," replied Albert Maurice; "for no
one but yourself was taken: and as for his future security," he added,
with a smile, "what object think you I could have in shortening an old
man's days?"
A bitter reply rose in the heart of the young cavalier, as he thought
of the unhappy Lord of Imbercourt; but he felt it would be ungenerous
to give it utterance, and he refrained.
"I trust you, sir!" he replied; "I saved you at a moment when you were
an oppressed and injured man; and to doubt you now in such a case,
would be a kind of blasphemy against the God who made the human heart.
Take this ring, and send it by some sure messenger--a young boy,
perchance, were best, though I do not think they would maltreat any
one but an open enemy--but send it by some page in a small skiff down
the Scheldt at two hours after dusk. The boat will undoubtedly be
stopped; and let the page give the ring to Matthew Gournay, whom he
will find in the woods between this and Heusden, if he escaped unhurt
from Ghent. Let the boy add a message, bidding him, in my name, render
himself, with twenty of his comrades, to the house of good Martin
Fruse, at any hour that you may appoint. Fear not that he will meet
you, and then take counsel with him as you may think fit."
Some more explanations ensued; but as Albert Maurice perceived that
the prisoner was exhausted with so long a conversation, he soon after
bade him farewell, and left him. "For two days," he said, as he turned
to depart, "in all probability, I shall not visit you; for it may be
well not to excite any suspicion of my design. But you shall be
watched carefully night and day, that no foul practice be employed
against you; and at the end of the third day I trust to find you well
enough to bear at least a short walk to the river side. In the
meantime, as they have deprived you of your arms, for greater security
take this;" and he placed in his hands a broad double-edged Venetian
poniard, adding, "fear not to use it, should any one attempt to injure
you; for if they do, the means they employ must be of that kind which
does not court examination; and now, once more, farewell!"
The young citizen then retired; and though the more kindly and
noble feelings which his conversation with Hugh of Gueldres had
awakened--feelings untainted by the world's ambition or its
policy--could not; it is true, stifle entirely the cry of remorse; yet
there had been a balm in it all, that sent him forth soothed and
softened. He retired not to his chamber till he had given orders that
care and attendance should be shown to the prisoner, and that he
should be removed to a better chamber; but when, at length, he cast
himself upon his bed, fatigue, and the feeling that his heart was not
all bitterness, brought sleep, though it was disturbed; and he woke
not till the dawn looked in, and roused him from slumber.
Already, when he rose, the first poignancy of regret was gone; and the
wound in his heart had grown stiff and numb. The voice of self-love
was more ready to plead extenuation; and hope, always far more potent
than memory, told him that mighty things might yet be derived for love
and for his country, from the very deeds he so deeply regretted. At
all events, policy whispered that he must not let the moments slip;
and, though the immortal worm, remorse, was still slowly preying on
his heart, he rose prepared to forget the pang, in all the active
energy of watchful policy and great ambition.
Even while he was dressing, messenger after messenger, from different
parts of the country, bearing news, not alone of the movements of
friends and enemies, but also of the preparations which he himself had
been labouring to complete, was admitted to his presence. After
collecting the tidings that each one bore him, with a minute memory
that never failed, and arranging every particular in his own mind with
that methodical accuracy which rendered the whole available at a
moment's notice, he descended early to the hall, where he expected
soon to meet many envious and suspicious visitors, feeling that he
possessed a store of ready information on every subject, which he knew
must confound and overbear them all.
Strange to say--or, perhaps, not strange at all--the state of painful
irritation which he now suffered, appeared to render all the faculties
of his mind more acute and powerful. Naturally energetic, he had
acquired a new degree of energy, from the necessity of withdrawing all
his thoughts from the past, and fixing them on the present or the
future; and his comprehension of the most confused narrative seemed
more clear, his orders to the most stupid messenger more precise, than
ever they had been in the whole course of his public career.
An assembly of all the deputies from Flanders and Brabant had been
appointed for that day; but during the morning a number of persons
crowded the great hall in a desultory manner, long before any general
meeting of the states took place; and amongst the first that appeared
was Maillotin du Bac, with an air which expressed both a knowledge
that he had overstepped his authority, and a determination to resist
every effort to curb his nearly gratified revenge.
At another moment, Albert Maurice might have alone despised him, and
crushed him beneath his feet as a mere worm; but he well knew that
great power often trips at a small obstacle. He felt, too, that the
height he had reached was a giddy one; and that it might require to
stand some time on the dizzy pinnacle of power, in order to acquire
that firmness of footing which alone could justify him in despising
inferior enemies. His very elevation offended many; and, seeing that
the contention must soon commence between himself and the Duke of
Gueldres on the one hand, and the Duke of Cleves on the other, he
determined to leave the way unencumbered by any minor difficulties.
Not that he proposed for a moment to abandon his purpose towards the
prisoner he had left the night before: but he resolved to free him by
quiet policy, more than by bold and sweeping power.
"Sir Prevot," he said, as soon as their first salutation had passed,
"you did wrong, last night, in placing a sentry within the walls of
the municipal prison; and also somewhat harshly, in confining an
untried prisoner in one of the lower dungeons. Hear me, sir, to an
end," he added, seeing the other about to make some dogged reply: "I
have no intention of bringing the matter of your boldness before the
council, as I might have done; but the thing must not be repeated.
Should any like event arise again, I will take care the magistracy of
Ghent shall examine strictly what punishment is to be inflicted on
those who have frequently dared to infringe their privileges! Mark me,
and remember! for I will not pass it over a second time. Now, then,
before the states assemble, take one of my officers and visit the
prisoner. See whether he is able to undergo examination to-day, and
make me your report."
The Prevot was very glad to avoid any collision with the eschevins of
Ghent, and at the same time to see a fair prospect of his revenge
being accomplished; but, as it was far from the wish of Maillotin du
Bac that his prisoner should be examined before the states at all, he
instantly determined to report him as much too ill to meet the
proposed investigation.
At the same time, there was something in the demeanour of the young
citizen that surprised him. As men of shrewd but mean minds sometimes
are, in their estimation of nobler characters, he was generally right
in his appreciation of Albert Maurice, and usually perceived the great
object that the President was likely to seek in any particular
contingency, without, however, at all comprehending the inferior means
he would employ to accomplish his purpose. So much the contrary,
indeed, that after having judged correctly of the ultimate design, he
would often become puzzled and doubtful in regard to the accuracy of
his judgment even on that point, because the course pursued by the
young citizen was almost always totally different from the method
which he himself would have followed in order to arrive at the same
object, and totally opposed to all the axioms of his own meaner
policy.
Thus, in the present instance, he had sought the town-hall so early,
under the perfect conviction that the President of Ghent would attempt
to liberate the man who had before given him his freedom; believing,
at the same time, that the consciousness of such a purpose would cause
the aspiring citizen to avoid the subject, or to speak darkly upon his
own views. But the bold and proud manner in which Albert Maurice
rebuked his assumption of power in the town prison, and spoke of the
immediate examination of the prisoner, shook his conviction, and
almost made him believe that the same stern and uncompromising policy,
which had been pursued towards Hugonet and Imbercourt would be
followed throughout, without regard to any other feeling than selfish
ambition.
The scenes which he soon witnessed tended to confirm this opinion; and
led him, however falsely, to believe that Albert Maurice forgot every
gentler and nobler feeling, every generous tie and private affection,
in the overpowering impulse of an aspiring heart. Scarcely had the
order proceeded from the lips of the young citizen to inspect the
condition of the prisoner, ere two or three members of the states
entered the hall. Several others followed within a very short
interval; and as soon as Albert Maurice perceived that a sufficient
number were assembled to justify the discussion of important matters,
he declared the appointed hour fully arrived, called them to
consultation, and at once boldly proposed that a decree of
banishment--drawn up in the name of the states general of Flanders,
though not ten members of that body were present, and those wholly
devoted to his own views--should be issued against the Lord of
Ravestein and the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy, as parties to the plot
for subjecting the country to the sway of France.
So bold a measure was not, of course, without an object of deep moment
to him who proposed it; but, when it is remembered, that Ravestein and
Margaret of York were the only influential members of what was called
in Ghent the French party, who now remained with the princess, his
motives will be clear enough; for it was that party only which Albert
Maurice feared. The Duke of Gueldres, though dangerous from the
popularity he had suddenly acquired, the young citizen thought himself
strong enough to overthrow when he pleased, supported, as he was sure
of being in such a case, by the Duke of Cleves, and by the manifest
abhorrence which the princess displayed towards the brutal aspirant to
her hand; and the Duke of Cleves himself, the President felt sure, was
too weak to succeed without his aid. Thus the French party was the
only obstacle to his views that he really dreaded; but still, the
measure he counselled was too bold to pass without some debate.
It was carried, however, at length, before any one arrived who had
sufficient influence to oppose it with vigour; and the order for the
instant removal of the Dowager Duchess and the Lord of Ravestein was
sent at once to the palace, enforced by a large body of the burgher
guard.
Gradually the assembly increased, till about forty persons were
gathered round the council table, while a number of others, unentitled
to a seat amongst the deliberative body, filled the vacant places of
the hall, by the favour of the President's adherents. He himself was,
perhaps, not unaware that a multitude of voices, ready to applaud his
words, were collected around him; for the noblest, ay, and the
proudest heart will bend servilely to the senseless shout it despises,
when once it has bound itself as a serf in the golden collar of
ambition. At length, after casting his eye around, to see who were the
members of the states assembled, Albert Maurice rose to speak; but as
he did so, the trampling of horse coming at a rapid rate, and loud
shouts of "Long live the Duke of Gueldres! Health to the noble Duke
and the fair princess! Long life to Ghent and the Duke of Gueldres!"
were heard rising from the square below; and the young citizen again
sat down, with a contracted brow and quivering lip.
In a few moments the Duke of Gueldres entered the hall, and took his
seat on the right of the President, who knew the informal constitution
of their whole assembly too well, to object to that noble's intrusion
on their councils. But the young citizen rose again immediately
himself, and at once addressed the states, as they termed themselves,
in a speech full of fire and energy. He pointed out that the time was
now come, when active and combined exertion throughout the whole land
was necessary to save it from the usurpation of France, when not only
the safety, but the very existence of the country required the energy
of every individual to be employed, without a moment's delay, for the
benefit of the whole; and he touched eloquently upon the necessity of
laying aside all private jealousies, disputes, and feuds, in order to
concentrate all efforts to check the rapid progress of the French
monarch. Of many dangers, he said, it was of course necessary to meet
that which was most imminent, and no one would doubt for a moment that
the usurping and successful arms of France presented the peril they
had most to dread. Severe measures had been pursued, he said, to show
the timid and the traitor that they could not betray their country
with impunity; and it became the states of Flanders and Brabant, even
as a consequence of many of their late acts, to prove to their
countrymen that they could and would protect the honest and the
patriotic, as well as punish the guilty and the disloyal. It was time,
he added to lay aside all differences of opinion, to forget individual
interests and passions, to cast away every thought but patriotism, and
calling forth the whole intelligence and the whole strength of the
state, to join heart and hand, and mind and energy, in defence of
their violated rights and their insulted country.
He spoke with the most powerful oratory, and he spoke true; but he did
not remember that the oil of smooth words will never allay the raging
waves of faction, even though the storm of anarchy threaten to wreck
the state itself. Had he looked into his own heart, indeed, and seen
that, though he was now anxious to repel the common enemy, yet it was
but in order to seize one quiet moment to overthrow his rivals, he
would have learned the secret of every bosom around him, and found
that selfish ambition was the whole.
In the midst of his speech, however, while, in the very vehemence of
declamation, he was inveighing against France, and was about to
proceed, from the general terms which he had been using, to a clear
and minute view of the state of the land, and the measures immediately
necessary for its defence, one of the deputies from some inferior
town, who believed the moment for distinguishing his own small
knowledge and talents was arrived, rose, and boldly cut across the
President's speech, exclaiming, "Perhaps the noble President does not
know the unhappy news----"
"I know all!" thundered Albert Maurice, his eyes lightening with
indignation at the interruption. "God of Heaven! wherefore do I hold
the station that I do, if it be not to learn, and know, and
investigate all that may concern the interest of the state? Do I not
know that Arras has fallen? that Tournay is now in the hands of the
enemy?--that Hesdin, and Boulogne, and Bethune are taken?--that Oudard
has been murdered?--that Descordes is false?--that Vergy lies in
chains? Do I not know that the duchy of Burgundy is invaded; that
Franche-Compte is overrun; and that the troops of Louis are advancing
to the gates of Ghent? What is it that I do not know, that any one
should dare to interrupt me? Let me tell the deputy who has just sat
down, that, if he had all the miserable catalogue of the woes and
dangers of his country, from the first infraction of her frontiers, to
the last base, or mean, or murderous act of her great enemy, so much
by heart as I have, he would turn every thought of his mind to find
means of meeting the perils that menace us, rather than break through
the order of this assembly by speaking before he has heard."
The vehemence with which the young citizen spoke, the picture of
overwhelming misfortunes which he displayed, and the deep tone of
patriotic anxiety which his words breathed forth, combined to make his
hearers forget the angry bitterness with which he rebuked one of their
members, and each turned and gazed, with an expression of terror, in
the faces of the others, as the President counted over the rapid
losses and misfortunes of their country.
Albert Maurice paused, and Ganay, who was present, remarked, without
rising, "Something must be immediately done to remedy all this. Or,
doubtless," he added, not unwilling to bring about some imputation of
blame upon Albert Maurice for neglect, though unwilling to utter one
word of blame himself, "or, doubtless, our noble President has
already, with his usual activity, prepared some means of meeting all
these difficulties."
"I have!" replied Albert Maurice, sternly; and as he did so, a slight
curl of the lip conveyed to the druggist a suspicion that his purpose
had been understood. "I have! The difficulty can only be met, the
enemy can only be opposed in arms, and the means have been prepared.
Seven thousand men have been raised and trained in Ghent, as you all
know. Three thousand men are ready to march in the villages round
about. Before noon, five thousand more will be in the city from Ypres,
and, ere night, five thousand more will have arrived from Bruges;
while Brabant and the other provinces are preparing an army of forty
thousand men besides. Our power is thus already sufficient to keep the
towns of Flanders against the King of France, while forces are
marching up to our aid, which will soon enable us to expel him from
our land for ever. Provisions for forty days have been prepared, and a
magazine of arms is already established at Oudenarde, which is
garrisoned by a sufficient force to ensure it from capture. We have
still a line of fortified places, which we can soon render secure; and
having done so, we can bid the tyrant either retire from our borders,
or let his soldiers rot in the field till we reap them with the sword,
instead of that harvest which they have mowed ere it was ripe."
A loud and long burst of applause followed this recapitulation of the
means which, by the most extraordinary activity, he had collected in
so short a space of time to repel the arms of France; and, satisfied
with the impression that he had made, Albert Maurice sat down, in
order to allow one of the deputies from Ypres to propose a plan of
action, which had been previously laid out between them, for the
employment of the forces thus raised to the general advantage of
Flanders. The worthy burgher, however, though a man of sense, and some
military skill, having served during a considerable time with the
people of his commune under the Duke Philip, was always an unwilling
speaker, and paused for a moment to collect his ideas after the
President had sat down.
The Duke of Gueldres instantly seized the occasion, and, anxious to
gain the command of the army, proposed to lead it himself against the
suburbs of Tournay, together with five hundred men-at-arms which he
had raised since his liberation. "The very appearance of such a force
in the field," he said, "and led on to some rapid and brilliant
expedition, would make Louis XI., who had been well called _Le Roi
Couard_, pause and hesitate, while fresh reinforcements might come up
to swell the army of Flanders, and enable it either to risk a general
battle, or attempt the re-capture of the towns which had been taken."
To this proposal Albert Maurice strongly objected, and declared that,
instead of encountering any further risk than that inevitable in
leading a raw and unexperienced army through a difficult country, they
ought to make it their chief object to strengthen the garrisons of all
the many fortified towns they still possessed, but more especially to
throw a considerable force into Lille and Douai, which still held out
for the princess, and were plentifully supplied with provisions, but
whose respective garrisons were too small to retard the progress of
Louis for three days, whenever he should lead his armies against them.
In support of this opinion, he showed that troops hastily levied, and
unaccustomed to warfare, were much more likely to serve well when
defended by stone walls, and commanded by experienced officers, than
in the open field against a veteran army. He showed, also, that
Tournay itself was not likely long to hold out for France, if Lille
and Douai were properly garrisoned with numbers sufficient to sweep
the whole neighbouring country of provisions; and he ended by calling
upon the states not to be dazzled by the apparent ease of the
enterprise proposed by the Duke of Gueldres, for he could assure them
that it was the best maxim, both in tactics and policy, never to
believe anything impossible, but never to fancy anything easy.
The countenance of the Duke of Gueldres flushed with wrath, to hear
himself so boldly opposed by a simple citizen of Ghent, and he was
about to reply with hasty vehemence, which would infallibly have
ruined all his own designs, had not Ganay started up, and, with all
the smooth and plausible art of which he was master, sketched out a
plan, which, while it seemed to coincide with that of Albert Maurice,
rendered it nearly nugatory, and, at the same time, coincided exactly
with that of the Duke of Gueldres.
"The infinite wisdom and skill," he said, "which have been displayed,
under all circumstances, by our noble President, should make us
receive his opinion with reverence and respect, even were it not
evidently founded in knowledge and experience. There can be no doubt,
however, in the minds of any one here present, that the preservation
of Lille and Douai is absolutely necessary for the security of
Flanders, and may also greatly tend to facilitate the very objects
proposed by the noble Duke of Gueldres. But the two plans are by no
means incompatible. Neither Lille nor Douai can admit of a garrison of
more than two thousand men in addition to that with which they are at
present furnished. Twelve or thirteen thousand men will be quite
sufficient to enable the noble Duke to make his attempt upon Tournay.
Let then the President himself, whose military skill we all witnessed,
when he served with the men of Ghent under the late Duke Charles, some
five or six years ago; let him then lead five thousand men to the aid
of Lille and Douai; and, having thrown what force into those places he
may find necessary, return with the rest to Ghent; while, in the
meantime, the Duke marches forth against Tournay with the rest of the
troops which we can spare from the defence of this city."
The feelings which this speech excited in the mind of Albert Maurice
were of a very mixed and intricate nature. By this time, from many of
those slight and accidental indications by which a skilful observer
may read the changes of the human heart, the young burgher had learned
that Ganay was no longer the zealous friend he had been, and he felt,
rather than remarked, that, with that dark and subtle being there
could be no medium between active support and deadly opposition,
circumstanced as they were and had been. With this conviction
impressed upon his mind, perhaps he might see, or at least suspect,
that one object in the proposal of the druggist was to obtain his
absence from the city. He might see, too, that the command of a large
portion of the army given to the Duke of Gueldres, whose military
abilities were well known, would throw immense power into the hands of
that prince, becoming already too powerful; and he likewise knew the
general dangers attendant upon the absence of a political leader too
well, not to dread the consequences of his own departure from Ghent at
a moment so critical.
Nevertheless, one of his chief weaknesses was the ambition of military
renown; and that ambition had received an impulse which it had never
known before, since he had dared to raise his hopes to a princess
descended from a race of heroes. He felt, too, within himself, great
powers of the kind immediately required, and he trusted that, by the
exertion of that energetic activity which characterized all his
movements, he should be enabled to accomplish his enterprise--to add,
perhaps, some brilliant exploits to all that he had already performed,
and to return to Ghent before any great advantage could be taken of
his absence by his enemies.
An immediate reply, however, was necessary, and long discussions
ensued, in the course of which Albert Maurice did not absolutely
oppose the scheme of Ganay; yet there were in the details so many nice
and delicate points to be determined, that much angry and vehement
dispute took place, in which the violent and overbearing temper of the
Duke of Gueldres more than once broke forth, and was repressed by the
young citizen, in his capacity of President of the states, with a
stern severity, that left them both, with flushed cheeks and frowning
brows, gazing upon each other when the meeting of the states broke up.
By this time all was determined. Albert Maurice had accepted the
command, with the understanding that it was totally distinct and
independent of the one conferred upon the Duke of Gueldres, that the
troops were solely under his own orders, and that the moment he had
performed the specific task he undertook, he was at liberty to return
to Ghent. All this had been conceded. The populace quitted the hall,
and the deputies, one by one, took their leave and retired.
The Duke of Gueldres was among the last that left the apartment, and
it was with a slow step he descended the stairs nearly to the bottom,
biting his lip with ill-repressed passion at the contradiction he had
met with, and at the little reverence that the President of Ghent had
shown either to his opinions or to his rank. His meditations did not
serve to cool him; on the contrary, at every step the words which had
been addressed to him, and the scene in which they had been spoken,
recurred with more and more bitterness to his mind; and when he had
reached the last step but two, passion, as it often did with him, got
the better of all command, and stamping on the ground with his foot,
as he remembered the contemptuous curl of the young citizen's lip, he
turned, and mounting the stairs with wide strides, once more entered
the hall. Albert Maurice was standing alone at the head of the table,
with a countenance of deep melancholy, from which every expression of
anger and scorn was now totally banished. He raised his eyes as the
Duke entered, and gazed upon him with surprise, as advancing close to
him, with flashing eyes and a burning cheek, that rude prince
exclaimed, "You have dared, sir--villain and slave as you are, base
mechanical hind, bred and born amongst looms and shuttles--you have
dared to treat with disrespect a noble of the land, and, by Heaven!
you shall some day pay for it. Were you not as the dirt beneath my
feet, and would not your vile blood sully my sword to shed it, I would
save the hangman the pains he may some day have, and punish you where
you stand."
"Know, Duke of Gueldres," replied Albert Maurice, with calm
sternness, though in other days he might have laughed at the
intemperate insolence of his adversary--"Know, Duke of Gueldres, that
were there anything in the empty assumption of blood, mine is
descended from as pure a stock as your own, though one of my ancestors
wisely and nobly chose to embrace an honourable trade, rather than
follow the example of such as you and yours, and live by rapine,
plunder, oppression, and wrong. Advance not your hand towards me, Sir
Duke, for remember that insult levels all distinctions; and that I,
too, wear a sword, which I should not scruple to dye in nobler blood
than that of the Duke of Gueldres, if he laid but a finger upon me."
"Out, slave!" cried the Duke; "I will take thy boasted descent on
credit, were it but to punish thine insolence!" and striking the young
citizen a violent blow on the breast, he threw back his mantle and
drew his sword.
Albert Maurice was not slack to meet him, and his sword was also in
his hand, when a number of citizens who had heard, through the open
doors, the high words which had lately passed, ran in and beat up
their weapons. The Duke of Gueldres glared round him for a moment in
vain fury, then thrust back his sword into its scabbard, and shaking
his clenched hand towards the young citizen, exclaimed, "When next we
meet!" and, turning on his heel, left the apartment.
Albert Maurice sheathed his weapon also, and only commenting on what
had passed by a contemptuous smile, resumed his look of grave thought,
and proceeded calmly to transact the business of his station.