THE GENERAL'S BANQUET.
I suppose it was not love only that enabled the Waldgrave to carry
himself so prudently at this time; but with it a sense of the peril in
which we all stood. He was so far from betraying this, however, that
no one could have worn an air more gallant or seemed in every way more
free from care. General Tzerclas had supplied us with a couple of
tailors, and there were rich stuffs to be bought in the camp; and the
young lord did not neglect these opportunities. When he came on the
morning of the great day to attend my lady to the banquet, he wore a
suit of dark-blue velvet with a falling collar of white lace, and sash
and points of lighter blue--the latter setting off his fair complexion
to advantage. His hair, which had grown somewhat, flowed from under a
broad-leafed hat decked with an ostrich feather, and he wore golden
spurs, and high boots with the tops turned down. As he caracoled up
and down before the house, with the sun shining on his fair head, he
looked to my eyes as beautiful as Apollo. What the women thought of
him, I do not know, but I saw my lady gazing at him from a window when
his back was turned, and then, again, when he looked towards the
house, she was gone. And I thought I knew what that meant.
She wore, herself, a grey riding-coat with a little silver braid about
it, and a silver belt; and we all made what show we could; so that
when we started to the general's quarters we were something to look
at. The camp itself nothing could cleanse, but the village had been
swept and the street watered. Pennons and cornets waved here and there
in the sunshine, and green boughs garnished the fronts of the houses.
Two tall poles, painted after the Venetian fashion and hung with
streamers, stood before the general's quarters, the windows of which
were almost hidden by a large trophy formed of glittering pikes and
flags of many colours. The road here was strewn with green rushes, and
opposite the house were ranked twelve trumpeters, who proclaimed my
lady's arrival with a blare which shook the village.
On either side of the door a guard of honour was drawn up. I was not
disposed to admire anything much, but it must be confessed that the
sun shining on pike and corselet and steel cap, and on all the gay and
gaudy colours and green leaves, produced a lively and striking effect.
The moment my lady's horse stopped, four officers stepped from the
doorway and stood at attention; after whom the general himself
appeared bare-headed, and held my lady's stirrup while she dismounted.
The Waldgrave performed a like service for Fraulein Anna, and I and
Jacob for Marie Wort and the women.
Our host first conducted my lady into a withdrawing-room, where were
only Count Waska and three colonels. This room, which was small, was
fitted with a rich carpet and chairs covered with Spanish leather, as
good as any my lady had in the castle at Heritzburg; and the walls
were hidden behind Cordovan hangings. Here among other things were a
large cage of larks and a strange, misshapen dwarf that stood hardly
as high as my waist-belt, but was rumoured to be forty years old. He
said several witty things to my lady, and one or two that I fancy the
general had taught him, for they brought the blood to her cheeks. On a
table stood another very rare and curious thing--a gold or silver-gilt
fountain that threw up distilled waters, and continually cooled and
sweetened the air. There were besides, gold cups and plates and
jewelled arms and Venice glass, which fairly dazzled me; so that as I
stood at the door with Jacob and the two maids I wondered at the
richness and splendour of everything, and yet could not get out of my
head the squalor of the hot, seething camp outside, and the poverty of
the country round, which the army had eaten as bare as my hand.
After a short interval spent in listening to the dwarfs quips and
cranks, General Tzerclas conducted my lady with much ceremony to the
next room, where the banquet was laid. The floor of this larger room
was strewn with scented rushes, the walls being adorned with trophies
of arms and heads of deer and wolves, peering from ambushes of green
leaves. At the upper end, where was the private door of entrance, was
a dais table laid for eight persons; below were tables for forty or
more. On the dais the general sat in the middle, having my lady on the
right, and next to her Count Waska; on his left he had the Waldgrave,
and beyond him Fraulein Anna. The two women stood behind my lady,
holding her fan and vinaigrette. At the lower end of the room the
general's band, placed in a kind of cage, played soft airs, while
between the courses a gipsy girl danced very prettily, and a juggler
diverted the company with his tricks.
As for the diversity of meats and fishes, and especially of birds,
which was set on, it surprised me beyond measure; nor can I understand
whence, in the wasted condition of the country, it was procured. For
wines, Burgundy, Frontignac, and Tokay were served at the high table,
and Rhine wines below. The courses continued to succeed one another
for nearly three hours, but such was the skill of the musicians that
the time seemed short. One man in particular won my lady's
approbation. He played on a new instrument, shaped somewhat like a
viol, but smaller and more roundly framed. Though it had three strings
only and was a trifle shrill, it had a wonderful power of touching the
heart, arousing the memory and producing a sweet melancholy. The
general would have had my lady accept it, and said that he could
easily procure another from the Milanese; but she declined gracefully,
on the ground that without the player it would be a dumb boon.
There was so much gaiety in all this--and decent observance too, for
the general's presence kept good order--that I did not wonder that my
lady's eyes sparkled and betrayed the gratification she felt. All was
for her, all in her honour. Even I, who looked at the scene through
green glasses and could not hear a word the general said without
striving to place some ill construction on it--even I felt myself
somewhat carried away, when the first toast, that of the Emperor, was
given in the midst of cheering, partly serious, partly ironical. It
was followed by that of the Elector of Saxony. The King of Sweden came
next, and was received in an equally equivocal manner. Not so,
however, the fourth, which was given by General Tzerclas standing,
with his plumed hat in his hand.
'All in Tokay!' he cried in his deep voice. 'The most noble and
high-born, the Countess Rotha of Heritzburg, who honours us with her
presence! Hoch! Hoch! Hoch!'
And draining his goblet, which was of green Nuremberg glass, and of no
mean value, he dashed it to the floor, an example which was
immediately followed by all present, so that the crash of glass and
clang of sword-hilts filled the room with high-pitched sounds that
seemed to intoxicate the ear.
My lady rose and bowed thrice, with her cheek crimson and her eyes
soft. Then she turned to retire, while all remained standing. The
general accompanied her as far as the door of the withdrawing-room,
the Waldgrave following with Fraulein Anna; while the dwarf marched
side by side with me, keeping step with an absurd gravity which filled
the room with laughter. On the threshold the general and his
companions left us with low bows; but in a trice Tzerclas came back to
say a word in my ear.
'See to the other door,' he muttered, flashing a grim look at me.
'There may be deep drinking. If any offer so much as a word of
rudeness here, he shall hang, drunk or sober. Have a care, therefore,
that no one has the chance.'
Then my heart sank, for I knew, hearing his tone and seeing his face,
as he said that, that Fraulein Anna was right. He loved my mistress.
He loved her! I went away to my place by the door, feeling as if he
had struck me in the face. For if she loved him in return that were
bad enough; and if she did not, what then, seeing that we were in his
power?
Certainly he had omitted nothing on this occasion that might charm
her. I thought the feast over; but in the withdrawing-room a fresh
collation of dainty sweets and syrups awaited my lady, with a great
gold bowl of rosewater. The man, too, who had played on the Italian
viol brought it in, that she might see and examine it more closely.
From my post at the door, I saw Fraulein Anna flitting about, bringing
her short-sighted eyes down to everything, thrusting her face into the
rose-water, and peering at the weapons and stuffs as if she would eat
them. All the while, too, I could hear her prattling ceaseless praise
of everything--the general's taste, the general's wealth, his
generosity, his skill in Latin, his love for Caesar--the fat book I had
seen him studying by the fire--above all, his appreciation of Voetius,
of whom I shrewdly believe he had never heard before.
My lady sat almost silent under the steady shower of words, listening
and thinking, and now and then touching the strings of the viol which
lay forgotten on her lap. Perhaps she was dreaming of her two
admirers, perhaps only giving ear to the growing tumult in the room we
had left, where the revellers were still at their wine. By-and-by we
heard them break into song, and then in thunder the chorus came
rolling out--
'Hoch! Who rides with old Pappenheim knee to knee
The sword is his title, the world is his fee!
He knows nor Monarch, nor Sire, nor clime
Who follows the banner of bold Pappenheim!'
My lady's lip curled. 'Is there no one on our side they can sing?' she
muttered, tapping the viol impatiently with her fingers. 'Have we no
heroes? Has Count Bernard never headed a charge or won a fight?
Pappenheim? I am tired of the man.'
The note jarred on her, as it had on me when I first heard these men,
paid by the north, singing the praises of the great southern raider.
But a moment later she turned her head to hear better, and her face
grew thoughtful. A great shout of 'Waska! Waska!' rang above the
jingling of glasses and snatches of song; and then, 'The Waldgrave!
The Waldgrave!' This time the cry was less boisterous, the voices were
fewer.
My lady turned to me. 'What is it?' she said, a note of anxiety in her
voice.
I was unable to tell her and I listened. By-and-by a roar of laughter
made itself heard, and was followed by a cry of 'Waska!' as before.
And then, 'The Thuringian Code! The Thuringian Code! It is his turn!'
'They are drinking, your excellency,' I said reluctantly. 'It is a
drinking match, I think!'
She rose with a grand gesture, and set the little viol back on the
table. 'I am going,' she said, almost fiercely. 'Let the horses be
called.'
Fraulein Max looked scared, but my lady's face forbade argument or
reply; and for my part I was not a whit unwilling. I turned and gave
the order to Jacob. While he was away the Countess remained standing,
tapping the floor with her foot.
'On this day--on this day they might have abstained!' she muttered
wrathfully, as the chorus of riot and laughter grew each moment louder
and wilder.
I thought so too, and was glad besides of anything which might work a
breach between her and the general. But I little knew what was going
to happen. It came upon us while we waited, with no more warning than
I have described. The door by which we had left the banqueting chamber
flew suddenly open, and three men, borne in on a wave of cheering and
uproar, staggered in upon us, the leader reeling under the blows which
his applauding followers rained upon his shoulders.
'There! Said I not so?' he cried thickly, lurching to one side to
escape them, and almost falling. 'Where ish your Waska. Your Waska now
I'd like to know! Waska is great, but I am--greater--greater, you see.
I can shoot, drink, fight, and make love better than any man here! Eh!
Who shays I can't? Eh? Itsh the Countesh! My cousin the Countesh! Ah!'
Alas, it was the Waldgrave! And yet not the Waldgrave. This man's face
was pale and swollen and covered with perspiration. His eyes were
heavy and sodden, and his hair strayed over them. His collar and his
coat were open at the neck, and his sash and the front of his dress
were stained and reeking with wine. His hands trembled, his legs
reeled, his tongue was too large for his mouth. He smiled fatuously at
us. Yet it _was_ the Waldgrave--drunk!
My lady's face froze as she looked at him. She raised her hand, and
the men behind him fell back abashed and left him standing there,
propping himself uncertainly against the wall.
'Well, your excellenshy,' he stuttered with a hiccough--the sudden
silence surprised him--'you don't congratulatsh me! Waska is under
table. Under table, I shay!'
My lady looked at him, her eyes blazing with scorn. But she said
nothing; only her fingers opened and closed convulsively. I turned to
see if Jacob had come back. He entered at that moment and General
Tzerclas with him.
'Your excellency's horses are coming,' the general said in his usual
tone. Then he saw the Waldgrave and the open door, and he started with
surprise. 'What is this?' he said. His face was flushed and his eyes
were bright. But he was sober.
The drunken man tried to straighten himself. 'Ashk Waska!' he said.
Alas! his good looks were gone. I regarded him with horror, I knew
what he had done.
'The horses?' the general muttered.
My lady drew a deep breath, as a person recovering consciousness does,
and turned slowly towards him. 'Yes,' she said, shuddering from head
to foot, 'if you please. I wish to go.'
The young lord heard the horses come to the door, and staggered
forward. 'Yesh, letsh go. I'll go too,' he stuttered with a foolish
laugh. 'Letsh all go. Except Waska! He is under the table. Letsh all
go, I say! Eh? Whatsh thish?'
I pushed him back and held him against the wall while the general led
my lady out. But, oh the pity of it, the wrath, the disappointment
that filled my breast as I did so! This was the end of my duel! This
was the stay to which I had trusted! The Waldgrave's influence with my
lady? It was gone--gone as if it had never been. A spider's web, a
rope of sand, a straw were after this a stronger thing to depend upon,
a more sure safeguard, a stouter holdfast for a man in peril!
* * * * *
He came to my lady next morning about two hours after sunrise, when
the dew was still on the grass and the birds--such as had lost their
first broods or were mating late--were in full song. The camp was
sleeping off its debauch, and the village street was bright and empty,
with a dog here and there gnawing a bone, or sneaking round the corner
of a building. My lady had gone out early to the fallen tree with her
psalm book; and was sitting there in the freshness of the morning,
with her back to the house and the street, when his shadow fell across
the page and she looked up and saw him.
She said 'good morning' very coldly, and he for a moment said nothing,
but stood, sullenly making a hole in the dust with his toe and looking
down at it. His face was pale, where it was not red with shame, and
his eyes were heavy and dull; but otherwise the wine he had taken had
left no mark on his vigorous youth.
My lady after speaking looked down at her book again, and he continued
to stand before her like a whipped schoolboy, stealing every now and
then a furtive look at her. At length she looked up again.
'Do you want anything?' she said.
This time he returned her gaze, with his face on fire, trying to melt
her. And I think that there were not many more unhappy men at that
moment than he. His fancy, liking, love were centred in the woman
before him; in a mad freak he had outraged, insulted, estranged her.
He did not know what to do, how to begin, what plan to put forward. He
could for the moment only look, with shame and misery in his face.
It was a plea that would have melted many, but my lady only grew
harder. 'Did you hear me?' she said proudly. 'Do you want anything?'
'You know!' he cried impetuously, and his voice broke out fiercely and
seemed to beat against her impassiveness as a bird against the bars of
its cage. 'I was a beast last night. But, oh, Rotha, forgive me.'
'I think that we had better not talk about it,' my lady answered him
stonily. 'It is past, and we need not quarrel over it. I shall be
wiser next time,' she added. 'That is all.'
'Wiser?' he muttered.
'Yes; wiser than to trust myself to your protection,' she replied
ruthlessly.
He shrank back as if she had struck him, and for a moment pain and
rage brought the blood surging to his cheeks. He even took a step as
if to leave her; but when love and pride struggle in a young man, love
commonly has it, and he turned again and stood hesitating, the picture
of misery.
'Is that all you will say to me?' he muttered, his voice unsteady.
My lady moved her feet uneasily. Then she shut her book, and looked
round as if she would have willingly escaped. But she was not stone;
and when at length she turned to him, her face was changed.
'What do you want me to say?' she asked gently.
'That some day you will forgive me.'
'I forgive you now,' she rejoined firmly. 'But I cannot forget. I do
not think I ever can,' she went on. 'Last night I was in your charge
among strangers. If danger had arisen, whose arm was to shield me, if
not yours? If any had insulted me, to whom was I to look, if not to
you? Yes, you may well hide your face,' my lady continued, waxing
bitter, despite herself. 'I am not at Heritzburg now, and you should
have remembered that. I am here with scanty protection, with few means
to exact respect, a refugee, if you like, a mark for scandal, and your
kinswoman. And you? for shame, Rupert!'
He fell on his knees and seized her hand. 'You are killing me!' he
cried in a choking voice, his face pale, his breath coming quickly.
'For I love you, Rotha, I love you! And every word of reproach you
utter is death to me.'
'Hush, Rupert!' she said quickly. And she tried to withdraw her hand.
He had taken her by surprise.
But he was not to be silenced; he kept her hand, though he rose to his
feet. 'It is true,' he answered. 'I have waited long enough. I must
speak now, or it may be too late. I tell you, I love you!'
The Countess's face was crimson, her brow dark with vexation. 'Hush!'
she said again, and more imperatively. 'I have heard enough. It is
useless.'
'You have not heard me!' he answered. 'Don't say so until you have
heard me.' And he sat down suddenly on the tree beside her, and looked
into her face with pleading eyes. 'You are letting last night weigh
against me,' he went on. 'If that be all, I will never drink more than
three cups of wine at a time as long as I live. I swear it.'
She shook her head rather sadly. 'That is not all, Rupert,' she said.
'Then what will you have?' he answered eagerly. He saw the change in
her, and his eyes began to burn with hope as he looked. Her milder
tone, her downcast head, her altered aspect, all encouraged him. 'I
love you, Rotha!' he cried, raising her hand to his lips. 'What more
will you have? Tell me. All I have, and all I ever shall have--and I
am young and may do great things--are yours. I have been riding behind
you day by day, until I know every turn of your head, and every note
of your voice. I know your step when you walk, and the rustle of your
skirt among a hundred! And there is no other woman in the world for
me! What if I am the youngest cadet of my house?' he continued,
leaning towards her; 'this war will last many a year yet, and I will
carve you a second county with my sword. Wallenstein did. Who was he?
A simple gentleman. Now he is Duke of Friedland. And that Englishman
who married a king's sister? They succeeded, why should not I? Only
give me your love, Rotha! Trust me; trust me once more and always, and
I will not fail you.'
He tried to draw her nearer to him, but the Countess shook her head,
and looked at him with tears in her eyes. 'Poor boy,' she said slowly.
'Poor boy! I am sorry, but it cannot be. It can never be.'
'Why?' he cried, starting as if she had stung him.
'Because I do not love you,' she said.
He dropped her hand and sat glaring at her. 'You are thinking of last
night!' he muttered.
She shook her head. 'I am not,' she said simply. 'I suppose that if I
loved you, that and worse would go for nothing. But I do not.'
Her calmness, her even tone went to his heart and chilled it. He
winced, and uttering a low cry turned from her and hid his face in his
hands.
'Why not?' he said thickly, after an interval. 'Why can you not love
me?'
'Why does the swallow nest here and not there?' the Countess answered
gently. 'I do not know. Why did my father love a foreigner and not one
of his own people? I do not know. Neither do I know why I do not love
you. Unless,' she added, with rising colour, 'it is that you are
young, younger than I am; and a woman turns naturally to one older
than herself.'
Her words seemed to point so surely to General Tzerclas that the young
man ground his teeth together. But he had not spirit to turn and
reproach her then; and after remaining silent for some minutes, he
rose.
'Good-bye,' he said in a broken voice. And he lifted her hand to his
lips and kissed it.
The Countess started. The words, the action impressed her
disagreeably. 'You are not going--away I mean?' she said.
'No,' he answered slowly. 'But things are--changed. When we meet again
it will be as----'
'Friends!' she cried, her voice tender almost to yearning. 'Say it
shall be so. Let it be so always. You will not leave me alone here?'
'No,' he said simply, and with dignity. 'I shall not.'
Then he went away, quite quietly; and if the beginning of the
interview had shown him to small advantage, the same could not be said
of the end. He went down the street and through the camp with his head
on his breast and a mist before his eyes. The light was gone out of
the sunshine, the greenness from the trees. The day was grey and
dreary and miserable. The blight was on all he saw. So it is with men.
When they cannot have that which seems to them the best and fairest
and most desirable thing in the world, nothing is good or pleasant or
to be desired any longer.