SHARP IS THE KISS OF THE FALCON'S BEAR.
Hastings stood in the presence of the girl to whom he had pledged his
truth. They were alone; but in the next chamber might be heard the
peculiar sound made by the mechanism of the Eureka. Happy and
lifeless mechanism, which moves, and toils, and strives on, to change
the destiny of millions, but hath neither ear nor eye, nor sense nor
heart,--the avenues of pain to man! She had--yes, literally--she had
recognized her lover's step upon the stair, she had awakened at once
from that dull and icy lethargy with which the words of Alwyn had
chained life and soul. She sprang forward as Hastings entered; she
threw herself in delirious joy upon his bosom. "Thou art come, thou
art! It is not true, not true. Heaven bless thee! thou art come!"
But sudden as the movement was the recoil. Drawing herself back, she
gazed steadily on his face, and said, "Lord Hastings, they tell me thy
hand is another's. Is it true?"
"Hear me!" answered the nobleman. "When first I--"
"O God! O God! he answers not, he falters! Speak! Is it true?"
"It is true. I am wedded to another."
Sibyll did not fall to the ground, nor faint, nor give vent to noisy
passion. But the rich colour, which before had been varying and
fitful, deserted her cheek, and left it of an ashen whiteness; the
lips, too, grew tightly compressed, and her small fingers, interlaced,
were clasped with strained and convulsive energy, so that the
quivering of the very arms was perceptible. In all else she seemed
composed, as she said, "I thank you, my lord, for the simple truth; no
more is needed. Heaven bless you and yours! Farewell!"
"Stay! you shall--you must hear me on. Thou knowest how dearly in
youth I loved Katherine Nevile. In manhood the memory of that love
haunted me, but beneath thy sweet smile I deemed it at last effaced; I
left thee to seek the king, and demand his assent to our union. I
speak not of obstacles that then arose; in the midst of them I learned
Katherine was lone and widowed,--was free. At her own summons I
sought her presence, and learned that she had loved me ever,--loved me
still. The intoxication of my early dream returned; reverse and exile
followed close; Katherine left her state, her fortunes, her native
land, and followed the banished man; and so memory and gratitude and
destiny concurred, and the mistress of my youth became my wife. None
other could have replaced thy image; none other have made me forget
the faith I pledged thee. The thought of thee has still pursued me,--
will pursue me to the last. I dare not say now that I love thee still,
but yet--" He paused, but rapidly resumed, "Enough, enough! dear art
thou to me, and honoured,--dearer, more honoured than a sister. Thank
Heaven, at least, and thine own virtue, my falsehood leaves thee pure
and stainless. Thy hand may yet bless a worthier man. If our cause
triumphs, thy fortunes, thy father's fate, shall be my fondest care.
Never, never will my sleep be sweet, and my conscience laid to rest,
till I hear thee say, as honoured wife--perchance, as blessed and
blessing mother--'False one, I am happy!'"
A cold smile, at these last words, flitted over the girl's face,--the
smile of a broken heart; but it vanished, and with that strange
mixture of sweetness and pride,--mild and forgiving, yet still
spirited and firm,--which belonged to her character, she nerved
herself to the last and saddest effort to preserve dignity and conceal
despair. "Farther words, my lord, are idle; I am rightly punished for
a proud folly. Let not woman love above her state. Think no more of
my destiny."
"No, no," interrupted the remorseful lord, "thy destiny must haunt me
till thou hast chosen one with a better right to protect thee."
At the repetition of that implied desire to transfer her also to
another, a noble indignation came to mar the calm for which she had
hitherto not vainly struggled. "Oh, man!" she exclaimed, with
passion, "does thy deceit give me the right to deceive another? I--I
wed!--I--I--vow at the altar--a love dead, dead forever--dead as my
own heart! Why dost thou mock me with the hollow phrase, 'Thou art
pure and stainless?' Is the virginity of the soul still left? Do the
tears I have shed for thee; doth the thrill of my heart when I heard
thy voice; doth the plighted kiss that burns, burns now into my brow,
and on my lips,--do these, these leave me free to carry to a new
affection the cinders and ashes of a soul thou hast ravaged and
deflowered? Oh, coarse and rude belief of men, that naught is lost if
the mere form be pure! The freshness of the first feelings, the bloom
of the sinless thought, the sigh, the blush of the devotion--never,
never felt but once! these, these make the true dower a maiden should
bring to the hearth to which she comes as wife. Oh, taunt! Oh,
insult! to speak to me of happiness, of the altar! Thou never
knewest, lord, how I really loved thee!" And for the first time, a
violent gush of tears came to relieve her heart.
Hastings was almost equally overcome. Well experienced as he was in
those partings when maids reproach and gallants pray for pardon, but
still sigh, "Farewell,"--he had now no words to answer that burst of
uncontrollable agony; and he felt at once humbled and relieved, when
Sibyll again, with one of those struggles which exhaust years of life,
and almost leave us callous to all after-trial, pressed back the
scalding tears, and said, with unnatural sweetness: "Pardon me, my
lord, I meant not to reproach; the words escaped me,--think of them no
more. I would fain, at least, part from you now as I had once hoped
to part from you at the last hour of life,--without one memory of
bitterness and anger, so that my conscience, whatever its other
griefs, might say, 'My lips never belied my heart, my words never
pained him!' And now then, Lord Hastings, in all charity, we part.
Farewell forever, and forever! Thou hast wedded one who loves thee,
doubtless, as tenderly as I had done. Ah, cherish that affection!
There are times even in thy career when a little love is sweeter than
much fame. If thou thinkest I have aught to pardon thee, now with my
whole heart I pray, as while life is mine that prayer shall be
murmured, 'Heaven forgive this man, as I do! Heaven make his home the
home of peace, and breathe into those now near and dear to him, the
love and the faith that I once--'" She stopped, for the words choked
her, and, hiding her face, held out her hand, in sign of charity and
of farewell.
"Ah, if I dared pray like thee," murmured Hastings, pressing his lips
upon that burning hand, "how should I weary Heaven to repair, by
countless blessings, the wrong which I have done thee! And Heaven
will--oh, it surely will!" He pressed the hand to his heart, dropped
it, and was gone.
In the courtyard he was accosted by Alwyn--
"Thou hast been frank, my lord?"
"I have."
"And she bears it, and--"
"See how she forgives, and how I suffer!" said Hastings, turning his
face towards his rival; and Alwyn saw that the tears were rolling down
his cheeks--"Question me no more." There was a long silence. They
quitted the precincts of the Tower, and were at the river-side.
Hastings, waving his hand to Alwyn, was about to enter the boat which
was to bear him to the war council assembled at Baynard's Castle, when
the trader stopped him, and said anxiously,--
"Think you not, for the present, the Tower is the safest asylum for
Sibyll and her father? If we fail and Warwick returns, they are
protected by the earl; if we triumph, thou wilt insure their safety
from all foes?"
"Surely; in either case, their present home is the most secure."
The two men then parted. And not long afterwards, Hastings, who led
the on-guard, was on his way towards Barnet; with him also went the
foot volunteers under Alwyn. The army of York was on its march.
Gloucester, to whose vigilance and energy were left the final
preparations, was necessarily the last of the generals to quit the
city. And suddenly, while his steed was at the gate of Baynard's
Castle, he entered, armed cap-a-pie, into the chamber where the
Duchess of Bedford sat with her grandchildren.
"Madame," said he, "I have a grace to demand from you, which will,
methinks, not be displeasing. My lieutenants report to me that an
alarm has spread amongst my men,--a religious horror of some fearful
bombards and guns which have been devised by a sorcerer in Lord
Warwick's pay. Your famous Friar Bungey has been piously amongst
them, promising, however, that the mists which now creep over the
earth shall last through the night and the early morrow; and if he
deceive us not, we may post our men so as to elude the hostile
artillery. But, sith the friar is so noted and influential, and sith
there is a strong fancy that the winds which have driven back Margaret
obeyed his charm, the soldiers clamour out for him to attend us, and,
on the very field itself, counteract the spells of the Lancastrian
nigromancer. The good friar, more accustomed to fight with fiends
than men, is daunted, and resists. As much may depend on his showing
us good will, and making our fellows suppose we have the best of the
witchcraft, I pray you to command his attendance, and cheer up his
courage. He waits without."
"A most notable, a most wise advice, beloved Richard!" cried the
duchess. "Friar Bungey is, indeed, a potent man. I will win him at
once to your will;" and the duchess hurried from the room.
The friar's bodily fears, quieted at last by assurances that he should
be posted in a place of perfect safety during the battle, and his
avarice excited by promises of the amplest rewards, he consented to
accompany the troops, upon one stipulation,--namely, that the
atrocious wizard, who had so often baffled his best spells,--the very
wizard who had superintended the accursed bombards, and predicted
Edward's previous defeat and flight (together with the diabolical
invention, in which all the malice and strength of his sorcery were
centred),--might, according to Jacquetta's former promise, be
delivered forthwith to his mercy, and accompany him to the very spot
where he was to dispel and counteract the Lancastrian nigromancer's
enchantments. The duchess, too glad to purchase the friar's
acquiescence on such cheap terms, and to whose superstitious horror
for Adam's lore in the black art was now added a purely political
motive for desiring him to be made away with,--inasmuch as in the
Sanctuary she had at last extorted from Elizabeth the dark secret
which might make him a very dangerous witness against the interests
and honour of Edward,--readily and joyfully consented to this
proposition.
A strong guard was at once despatched to the Tower with the friar
himself, followed by a covered wagon, which was to serve for
conveyance to Bungey and his victim.
In the mean while, Sibyll, after remaining for some time in the
chamber which Hastings had abandoned to her solitary woe, had passed
to the room in which her father held mute commune with his Eureka.
The machine was now thoroughly completed,--improved and perfected, to
the utmost art the inventor ever could attain. Thinking that the
prejudice against it might have arisen from its uncouth appearance,
the poor philosopher had sought now to give it a gracious and imposing
appearance. He had painted and gilt it with his own hands; it looked
bright and gaudy in its gay hues; its outward form was worthy of the
precious and propitious jewel which lay hidden in its centre.
"See, child, see!" said Adam; "is it not beautiful and comely?"
"My dear father, yes!" answered the poor girl, as still she sought to
smile; then, after a short silence, she continued, "Father, of late,
methinks, I have too much forgotten thee; pardon me, if so.
Henceforth, I have no care in life but thee; henceforth let me ever,
when thou toilest, come and sit by thy side. I would not be alone,--I
dare not! Father, Father! God shield thy harmless life! I have
nothing to love under heaven but thee!"
The good man turned wistfully, and raised, with tremulous hands, the
sad face that had pressed itself on his bosom. Gazing thereon
mournfully, he said, "Some new grief hath chanced to thee, my child.
Methought I heard another voice besides thine in yonder room. Ah, has
Lord Hastings--"
"Father, spare me! Thou wert too right; thou didst judge too wisely.
Lord Hastings is wedded to another! But see, I can smile still, I am
calm. My heart will not break so long as it hath thee to love and
pray for!"
She wound her arms round him as she spoke, and he roused himself from
his world out of earth again. Though he could bring no comfort, there
was something, at least, to the forlorn one, in his words of love, in
his tears of pity.
They sat down together, side by side, as the evening darkened,--the
Eureka forgotten in the hour of its perfection! They noted not the
torches which flashed below, reddened at intervals the walls of their
chamber, and gave a glow to the gay gilding and bright hues of the
gaudy model. Yet those torches flickered round the litter that was to
convey Henry the Peaceful to the battlefield, which was to decide the
dynasty of his realm! The torches vanished, and forth from the dark
fortress went the captive king.
Night succeeded to eve, when again the red glare shot upward on the
Eureka, playing with fantastic smile on its quaint aspect. Steps and
voices, and the clatter of arms, sounded in the yard, on the stairs,
in the adjoining chamber; and suddenly the door was flung open, and,
followed by some half score soldiers, strode in the terrible friar.
"Aha, Master Adam! who is the greater nigromancer now? Seize him!
Away! And help you, Master Sergeant, to bear this piece of the foul
fiend's cunning devising. Ho, ho! see you how it is tricked out and
furbished up,--all for the battle, I warrant ye!"
The soldiers had already seized upon Adam, who, stupefied by
astonishment rather than fear, uttered no sound, and attempted no
struggle. But it was in vain they sought to tear from him Sibyll's
clinging and protecting arms. A supernatural strength, inspired by a
kind of superstition that no harm could chance to him while she was
by, animated her slight form; and fierce though the soldiers were,
they shrunk from actual and brutal violence to one thus young and
fair. Those small hands clung so firmly, that it seemed that nothing
but the edge of the sword could sever the child's clasp from the
father's neck.
"Harm him not, harm him at your peril, friar!" she cried, with
flashing eyes. "Tear him from me, and if King Edward win the day,
Lord Hastings shall have thy life; if Lord Warwick, thy days are
numbered, too. Beware, and avaunt!"
The friar was startled. He had forgotten Lord Hastings in the zest of
his revenge. He feared that, if Sibyll were left behind, the tale she
might tell would indeed bring on him a powerful foe in the daughter's
lover; on the other hand, should Lord Warwick get the better, what
vengeance would await her appeal to the great protector of her father!
He resolved, therefore, on the instant, to take Sibyll as well as her
father; and if the fortune of the day allowed him to rid himself of
Warner, a good occasion might equally occur to dispose forever of the
testimony of Sibyll. He had already formed a cunning calculation in
desiring Warner's company; for while, should Edward triumph, the
sacrifice of the hated Warner was resolved upon, yet, should the earl
get the better, he could make a merit to Warner that he (the friar)
had not only spared, but saved, his life, in making him his companion.
It was in harmony with this double policy that the friar mildly
answered to Sibyll,--
"Tusk, my daughter! Perhaps if your father be true to King Edward,
and aid my skill instead of obstructing it, he may be none the worse
for the journey he must take; and if thou likest to go with him,
there's room in the vehicle, and the more the merrier. Harm them not,
soldiers; no doubt they will follow quietly."
As he said this, the men, after first crossing themselves, had already
hoisted up the Eureka; and when Adam saw it borne from the room, he
instinctively followed the bearers. Sibyll, relieved by the thought
that, for weal or for woe, she should, at least, share her father's
fate, and scarce foreboding much positive danger from the party which
contained Hastings and Alwyn, attempted no further remonstrance.
The Eureka was placed in the enormous vehicle,--it served as a barrier
between the friar and his prisoners.
The friar himself, as soon as the wagon was in motion, addressed
himself civilly enough to his fellow-travellers, and assured them
there was nothing to fear, unless Adam thought fit to disturb his
incantations. The captives answered not his address, but nestled
close to each other, interchanging, at intervals, words of comfort,
and recoiling as far as possible from the ex-tregetour, who, having
taken with him a more congenial companion in the shape of a great
leathern bottle, finally sunk into the silent and complacent doze
which usually rewards the libations to the Bromian god.
The vehicle, with many other baggage-wagons in the rear of the army in
that memorable night-march, moved mournfully on; the night continued
wrapped in fog and mist, agreeably to the weatherwise predictions of
the friar. The rumbling groan of the vehicle, the tramp of the
soldiers, the dull rattle of their arms, with now and then the neigh
of some knight's steed in the distance, were the only sounds that
broke the silence, till once, as they neared their destination, Sibyll
started from her father's bosom, and shudderingly thought she
recognized the hoarse chant and the tinkling bells of the ominous
tymbesteres.