Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France;
For ere thou canst report I will be there.
The thunder of my cannon shall be heard--
So, hence! be thou the trumpet of our wrath.
KING JOHN
Had sloth been a temptation by which Durward was easily beset, the noise
with which the caserne of the guards resounded after the first toll
of primes, had certainly banished the siren from his couch; but the
discipline of his father's tower, and of the convent of Aberbrothick,
had taught him to start with the dawn; and he did on his clothes gaily,
amid the sounding of bugles and the clash of armour, which announced the
change of the vigilant guards--some of whom were returning to barracks
after their nightly duty, whilst some were marching out to that of the
morning--and others, again, amongst whom was his uncle, were arming for
immediate attendance upon the person of Louis. Quentin Durward soon
put on, with the feelings of so young a man on such an occasion, the
splendid dress and arms appertaining to his new situation; and his
uncle, who looked with great accuracy and interest to see that he was
completely fitted out in every respect, did not conceal his satisfaction
at the improvement which had been thus made in his nephew's appearance.
“If thou dost prove as faithful and bold as thou art well favoured, I
shall have in thee one of the handsomest and best esquires in the Guard,
which cannot but be an honour to thy mother's family. Follow me to the
presence chamber; and see thou keep close at my shoulder.”
So saying, he took up a partisan, large, weighty, and beautifully inlaid
and ornamented, and directing his nephew to assume a lighter weapon of
a similar description, they proceeded to the inner court of the palace,
where their comrades, who were to form the guard of the interior
apartments, were already drawn up and under arms--the squires each
standing behind their masters, to whom they thus formed a second rank.
Here were also in attendance many yeomen prickers, with gallant horses
and noble dogs, on which Quentin looked with such inquisitive delight
that his uncle was obliged more than once to remind him that the animals
were not there for his private amusement, but for the King's, who had
a strong passion for the chase, one of the few inclinations which he
indulged even when coming in competition with his course of policy;
being so strict a protector of the game in the royal forests that it was
currently said you might kill a man with greater impunity than a stag.
On a signal given, the Guards were put into motion by the command of
Le Balafre, who acted as officer upon the occasion; and, after some
minutiae of word and signal, which all served to show the extreme and
punctilious jealousy with which their duty was performed, they marched
into the hall of audience where the King was immediately expected.
New as Quentin was to scenes of splendour, the effect of that which was
now before him rather disappointed the expectations which he had formed
of the brilliancy of a court. There were household officers, indeed,
richly attired; there were guards gallantly armed, and there were
domestics of various degrees. But he saw none of the ancient counsellors
of the kingdom, none of the high officers of the crown, heard none of
the names which in those days sounded an alarum to chivalry; saw none
either of those generals or leaders, who, possessed of the full prime of
manhood, were the strength of France, or of the more youthful and fiery
nobles, those early aspirants after honour, who were her pride. The
jealous habits, the reserved manners, the deep and artful policy of the
King, had estranged this splendid circle from the throne, and they were
only called around it upon certain stated and formal occasions, when
they went reluctantly, and returned joyfully, as the animals in the
fable are supposed to have approached and left the den of the lion.
The very few persons who seemed to be there in the character of
counsellors were mean looking men, whose countenances sometimes
expressed sagacity, but whose manners showed they were called into a
sphere for which their previous education and habits had qualified them
but indifferently. One or two persons, however, did appear to Durward
to possess a more noble mien, and the strictness of the present duty was
not such as to prevent his uncle's communicating the names of those whom
he thus distinguished.
With the Lord Crawford, who was in attendance, dressed in the rich
habit of his office, and holding a leading staff of silver in his hand,
Quentin, as well as the reader, was already acquainted. Among others,
who seemed of quality, the most remarkable was the Count de Dunois,
the son of that celebrated Dunois, known by the name of the Bastard of
Orleans, who, fighting under the banner of Jeanne d'Arc, acted such a
distinguished part in liberating France from the English yoke. His son
well supported the high renown which had descended to him from such
an honoured source; and, notwithstanding his connexion with the royal
family, and his hereditary popularity both with the nobles and the
people, Dunois had, upon all occasions, manifested such an open, frank
loyalty of character that he seemed to have escaped all suspicion, even
on the part of the jealous Louis, who loved to see him near his person,
and sometimes even called him to his councils. Although accounted
complete in all the exercises of chivalry, and possessed of much of the
character of what was then termed a perfect knight, the person of the
Count was far from being a model of romantic beauty. He was under the
common size, though very strongly built, and his legs rather curved
outwards, into that make which is more convenient for horseback, than
elegant in a pedestrian. His shoulders were broad, his hair black, his
complexion swarthy, his arms remarkably long and nervous. The features
of his countenance were irregular, even to ugliness; yet, after all,
there was an air of conscious worth and nobility about the Count de
Dunois, which stamped, at the first glance, the character of the high
born nobleman and the undaunted soldier. His mien was bold and upright,
his step free and manly, and the harshness of his countenance was
dignified by a glance like an eagle, and a frown like a lion. His dress
was a hunting suit, rather sumptuous than gay, and he acted on most
occasions as Grand Huntsman, though we are not inclined to believe that
he actually held the office.
Upon the arm of his relation Dunois, walking with a step so slow and
melancholy that he seemed to rest on his kinsman and supporter, came
Louis Duke of Orleans, the first prince of the Blood Royal (afterwards
King, by the name of Louis XII), and to whom the guards and attendants
rendered their homage as such. The jealously watched object of Louis's
suspicions, this Prince, who, failing the King's offspring, was heir to
the kingdom, was not suffered to absent himself from Court, and,
while residing there, was alike denied employment and countenance.
The dejection which his degraded and almost captive state naturally
impressed on the deportment of this unfortunate Prince, was at this
moment greatly increased by his consciousness that the King meditated,
with respect to him, one of the most cruel and unjust actions which a
tyrant could commit, by compelling him to give his hand to the Princess
Joan of France, the younger daughter of Louis, to whom he had been
contracted in infancy, but whose deformed person rendered the insisting
upon such an agreement an act of abominable rigour.
The exterior of this unhappy Prince was in no respect distinguished
by personal advantages; and in mind, he was of a gentle, mild and
beneficent disposition, qualities which were visible even through
the veil of extreme dejection with which his natural character was at
present obscured. Quentin observed that the Duke studiously avoided even
looking at the Royal Guards, and when he returned their salute, that he
kept his eyes bent on the ground, as if he feared the King's jealousy
might have construed the gesture of ordinary courtesy as arising from
the purpose of establishing a separate and personal interest among them.
Very different was the conduct of the proud Cardinal and Prelate, John
of Balue, the favourite minister of Louis for the time, whose rise
and character bore as close a resemblance to that of Wolsey, as the
difference betwixt the crafty and politic Louis and the headlong and
rash Henry VIII of England would permit. The former had raised his
minister from the lowest rank, to the dignity, or at least to the
emoluments, of Grand Almoner of France, loaded him with benefices, and
obtained for him the hat of a cardinal; and although he was too cautious
to repose in the ambitious Balue the unbounded power and trust which
Henry placed in Wolsey, yet he was more influenced by him than by any
other of his avowed counsellors. The Cardinal, accordingly, had not
escaped the error incidental to those who are suddenly raised to power
from an obscure situation, for he entertained a strong persuasion,
dazzled doubtlessly by the suddenness of his elevation, that his
capacity was equal to intermeddling with affairs of every kind, even
those most foreign to his profession and studies. Tall and ungainly
in his person, he affected gallantry and admiration of the fair sex,
although his manners rendered his pretensions absurd, and his profession
marked them as indecorous. Some male or female flatterer had, in evil
hour, possessed him with the idea that there was much beauty of contour
in a pair of huge, substantial legs, which he had derived from his
father, a car man of Limoges--or, according to other authorities, a
miller of Verdun, and with this idea he had become so infatuated that he
always had his cardinal's robes a little looped up on one side, that the
sturdy proportion of his limbs might not escape observation. As he swept
through the stately apartment in his crimson dress and rich cope, he
stopped repeatedly to look at the arms and appointments of the cavaliers
on guard, asked them several questions in an authoritative tone, and
took upon him to censure some of them for what he termed irregularities
of discipline, in language to which these experienced soldiers dared
no reply, although it was plain they listened to it with impatience and
with contempt.
[Wolsey (1471-1530): at one time the chief favourite of Henry VIII. He
was raised from obscurity by that sovereign to be Archbishop of York,
Lord Chancellor of England, and Cardinal. As legate of the Pope, he
gained the ill will of Henry by his failure to secure that king's
divorce. He was deprived of his offices, his property was confiscated to
the crown, and in 1530 he was arrested for high treason, but died on his
way to trial.]
“Is the King aware,” said Dunois to the Cardinal, “that the Burgundian
Envoy is peremptory in demanding an audience?”
“He is,” answered the Cardinal; “and here, as I think, comes the all
sufficient Oliver Dain, to let us know the royal pleasure.”
As he spoke, a remarkable person, who then divided the favour of Louis
with the proud Cardinal himself, entered from the inner apartment, but
without any of that important and consequential demeanour which marked
the full blown dignity of the churchman. On the contrary, this was a
little, pale, meagre man, whose black silk jerkin and hose, without
either coat, cloak, or cassock, formed a dress ill qualified to set off
to advantage a very ordinary person. He carried a silver basin in his
hand, and a napkin flung over his arm indicated his menial capacity. His
visage was penetrating and quick, although he endeavoured to banish such
expression from his features by keeping his eyes fixed on the ground,
while, with the stealthy and quiet pace of a cat, he seemed modestly
rather to glide than to walk through the apartment. But though modesty
may easily obscure worth, it cannot hide court favour; and all attempts
to steal unperceived through the presence chamber were vain, on the
part of one known to have such possession of the King's ear as had been
attained by his celebrated barber and groom of the chamber, Oliver
le Dain, called sometimes Oliver le Mauvais, and sometimes Oliver le
Diable, epithets derived from the unscrupulous cunning with which
he assisted in the execution of the schemes of his master's tortuous
policy. At present he spoke earnestly for a few moments with the Count
de Dunois, who instantly left the chamber, while the tonsor glided
quietly back towards the royal apartment whence he had issued, every
one giving place to him; which civility he only acknowledged by the most
humble inclination of the body, excepting in a very few instances,
where he made one or two persons the subject of envy to all the other
courtiers, by whispering a single word in their ear; and at the same
time muttering something of the duties of his place, he escaped from
their replies as well as from the eager solicitations of those who
wished to attract his notice. Ludovic Lesly had the good fortune to be
one of the individuals who, on the present occasion, was favoured by
Oliver with a single word, to assure him that his matter was fortunately
terminated.
Presently afterwards he had another proof of the same agreeable tidings;
for Quentin's old acquaintance, Tristan l'Hermite, the Provost Marshal
of the royal household, entered the apartment, and came straight to the
place where Balafre was posted. This formidable officer's uniform, which
was very rich, had only the effect of making his sinister countenance
and bad mien more strikingly remarkable, and the tone, which he meant
for conciliatory, was like nothing so much as the growling of a bear.
The import of his words, however, was more amicable than the voice in
which they were pronounced. He regretted the mistake which had fallen
between them on the preceding day, and observed it was owing to the
Sieur Le Balafre's nephew's not wearing the uniform of his corps, or
announcing himself as belonging to it, which had led him into the error
for which he now asked forgiveness.
Ludovic Lesly made the necessary reply, and as soon as Tristan had
turned away, observed to his nephew that they had now the distinction
of having a mortal enemy from henceforward in the person of this dreaded
officer.
“But we are above his volee [brood, rank, class]--a soldier,” said he,
“who does his duty, may laugh at the Provost Marshal.”
Quentin could not help being of his uncle's opinion, for, as Tristan
parted from them, it was with the look of angry defiance which the bear
casts upon the hunter whose spear has wounded him. Indeed, even when
less strongly moved, the sullen eye of this official expressed a
malevolence of purpose which made men shudder to meet his glance; and
the thrill of the young Scot was the deeper and more abhorrent, that he
seemed to himself still to feel on his shoulders the grasp of the two
death doing functionaries of this fatal officer.
Meanwhile, Oliver, after he had prowled around the room in the stealthy
manner which we have endeavoured to describe--all, even the highest
officers making way for him, and loading him with their ceremonious
attentions, which his modesty seemed desirous to avoid--again entered
the inner apartment, the doors of which were presently thrown open, and
King Louis entered the presence chamber.
Quentin, like all others, turned his eyes upon him; and started so
suddenly that he almost dropped his weapon, when he recognised in the
King of France that silk merchant, Maitre Pierre, who had been the
companion of his morning walk. Singular suspicions respecting the real
rank of this person had at different times crossed his thoughts; but
this, the proved reality, was wilder than his wildest conjecture.
The stern look of his uncle, offended at this breach of the decorum of
his office, recalled him to himself; but not a little was he astonished
when the King, whose quick eye had at once discovered him, walked
straight to the place where he was posted, without taking notice of any
one else.
“So;” he said, “young man, I am told you have been brawling on your
first arrival in Touraine; but I pardon you, as it was chiefly the fault
of a foolish old merchant, who thought your Caledonian blood required to
be heated in the morning with Vin de Beaulne. If I can find him, I will
make him an example to those who debauch my Guards.--Balafre,” he added,
speaking to Lesly, “your kinsman is a fair youth, though a fiery. We
love to cherish such spirits, and mean to make more than ever we did of
the brave men who are around us. Let the year, day, hour, and minute of
your nephew's birth be written down and given to Oliver Dain.”
Le Balafre bowed to the ground, and re-assumed his erect military
position, as one who would show by his demeanour his promptitude to act
in the King's quarrel or defence. Quentin, in the meantime, recovered
from his first surprise, studied the King's appearance more attentively,
and was surprised to find how differently he now construed his
deportment and features than he had done at their first interview.
These were not much changed in exterior, for Louis, always a scorner of
outward show, wore, on the present occasion, an old dark blue hunting
dress, not much better than the plain burgher suit of the preceding day,
and garnished with a huge rosary of ebony which had been sent to him by
no less a personage than the Grand Seignior, with an attestation that
it had been used by a Coptic hermit on Mount Lebanon, a personage of
profound sanctity. And instead of his cap with a single image, he now
wore a hat, the band of which was garnished with at least a dozen of
little paltry figures of saints stamped in lead. But those eyes, which,
according to Quentin's former impression, only twinkled with the love
of gain, had, now that they were known to be the property of an able and
powerful monarch, a piercing and majestic glance; and those wrinkles
on the brow, which he had supposed were formed during a long series of
petty schemes of commerce, seemed now the furrows which sagacity had
worn while toiling in meditation upon the fate of nations.
Presently after the King's appearance, the Princesses of France, with
the ladies of their suite, entered the apartment. With the eldest,
afterwards married to Peter of Bourbon, and known in French history by
the name of the Lady of Beaujeu, our story has but little to do. She was
tall, and rather handsome, possessed eloquence, talent, and much of her
father's sagacity, who reposed great confidence in her, and loved her as
well perhaps as he loved any one.
The younger sister, the unfortunate Joan, the destined bride of the Duke
of Orleans, advanced timidly by the side of her sister, conscious of a
total want of those external qualities which women are most desirous of
possessing, or being thought to possess. She was pale, thin, and sickly
in her complexion; her shape visibly bent to one side, and her gait was
so unequal that she might be called lame. A fine set of teeth, and eyes
which were expressive of melancholy, softness, and resignation, with
a quantity of light brown locks, were the only redeeming points which
flattery itself could have dared to number, to counteract the general
homeliness of her face and figure. To complete the picture, it was easy
to remark, from the Princess's negligence in dress and the timidity of
her manner, that she had an unusual and distressing consciousness of
her own plainness of appearance, and did not dare to make any of those
attempts to mend by manners or by art what nature had left amiss, or in
any other way to exert a power of pleasing. The King (who loved her not)
stepped hastily to her as she entered.
“How now,” he said, “our world contemning daughter--Are you robed for a
hunting party, or for the convent, this morning? Speak--answer.”
“For which your highness pleases, sire,” said the Princess, scarce
raising her voice above her breath.
“Ay, doubtless, you would persuade me it is your desire to quit the
Court, Joan, and renounce the world and its vanities.--Ha! maiden,
wouldst thou have it thought that we, the first born of Holy Church,
would refuse our daughter to Heaven?--Our Lady and Saint Martin forbid
we should refuse the offering, were it worthy of the altar, or were thy
vocation in truth thitherward!”
So saying, the King crossed himself devoutly, looking in the meantime,
as appeared to Quentin, very like a cunning vassal, who was depreciating
the merit of something which he was desirous to keep to himself, in
order that he might stand excused for not offering it to his chief or
superior.
“Dares he thus play the hypocrite with Heaven,” thought Durward, “and
sport with God and the Saints, as he may safely do with men, who dare
not search his nature too closely?”
Louis meantime resumed, after a moment's mental devotion, “No, fair
daughter, I and another know your real mind better. Ha! fair cousin of
Orleans, do we not? Approach, fair sir, and lead this devoted vestal of
ours to her horse.”
Orleans started when the King spoke and hastened to obey him; but with
such precipitation of step, and confusion, that Louis called out, “Nay,
cousin, rein your gallantry, and look before you. Why, what a headlong
matter a gallant's haste is on some occasions! You had well nigh taken
Anne's hand instead of her sister's.--Sir, must I give Joan's to you
myself?”
The unhappy Prince looked up, and shuddered like a child, when forced
to touch something at which it has instinctive horror--then making an
effort, took the hand which the Princess neither gave nor yet withheld.
As they stood, her cold, damp fingers enclosed in his trembling hand,
with their eyes looking on the ground, it would have been difficult
to say which of these two youthful beings was rendered more utterly
miserable--the Duke, who felt himself fettered to the object of his
aversion by bonds which he durst not tear asunder, or the unfortunate
young woman, who too plainly saw that she was an object of abhorrence to
him, to gain whose kindness she would willingly have died.
“And now to horse, gentlemen and ladies--we will ourselves lead forth
our daughter of Beaujeu,” said the King; “and God's blessing and Saint
Hubert's be on our morning's sport!”
“I am, I fear, doomed to interrupt it, Sire,” said the Comte de Dunois;
“the Burgundian Envoy is before the gates of the Castle and demands an
audience.”
“Demands an audience, Dunois?” replied the King. “Did you not answer
him, as we sent you word by Oliver, that we were not at leisure to see
him today,--and that tomorrow was the festival of Saint Martin, which,
please Heaven, we would disturb by no earthly thoughts--and that on the
succeeding day we were designed for Amboise--but that we would not fail
to appoint him as early an audience, when we returned, as our pressing
affairs would permit.”
“All this I said,” answered Dunois, “but yet, Sire--”
“Pasques dieu! man, what is it that thus sticks in thy throat?” said the
King. “This Burgundian's terms must have been hard of digestion.”
“Had not my duty, your Grace's commands, and his character as an envoy,
restrained me,” said Dunois, “he should have tried to digest them
himself; for, by our Lady of Orleans, I had more mind to have made him
eat his own words, than to have brought them to your Majesty.”
“Body of me,” said the King, “it is strange that thou, one of the most
impatient fellows alive, should have so little sympathy with the like
infirmity in our blunt and fiery cousin, Charles of Burgundy. Why, man,
I mind his blustering messages no more than the towers of this Castle
regard the whistling of the northeast wind, which comes from Flanders,
as well as this brawling Envoy.”
“Know then, Sire,” replied Dunois, “that the Count of Crevecoeur tarries
below, with his retinue of pursuivants and trumpets, and says, that
since your Majesty refuses him the audience which his master has
instructed him to demand, upon matters of most pressing concern, he will
remain there till midnight, and accost your Majesty at whatever hour you
are pleased to issue from your Castle, whether for business, exercise,
or devotion; and that no consideration, except the use of absolute
force, shall compel him to desist from this.”
“He is a fool,” said the King, with much composure. “Does the hot
headed Hainaulter think it any penance for a man of sense to remain for
twenty-four hours quiet within the walls of his Castle, when he hath the
affairs of a kingdom to occupy him? These impatient coxcombs think
that all men, like themselves, are miserable, save when in saddle and
stirrup. Let the dogs be put up, and well looked to, gentle Dunois.--We
will hold council today, instead of hunting.”
“My Liege,” answered Dunois, “you will not thus rid yourself of
Crevecoeur; for his master's instructions are, that if he hath not this
audience which he demands, he shall nail his gauntlet to the palisade
before the Castle in token of mortal defiance on the part of his master,
shall renounce the Duke's fealty to France, and declare instant war.”
“Ay,” said Louis without any perceptible alteration of voice, but
frowning until his piercing dark eyes became almost invisible under
his shaggy eyebrows, “is it even so? will our ancient vassal prove so
masterful--our dear cousin treat us thus unkindly?--Nay, then, Dunois,
we must unfold the Oriflamme, and cry Dennis Montjoye!”
[Montjoie St. Denis, a former war cry of the French soldiers. Saint
Denis was a patron saint of France who suffered martyrdom in the third
century. Montjoie (mont and joie) may be the name of the hill where the
saint met his death; or it may signify that any such place is a “hill of
joy.”]
“Marry and amen, and in a most happy hour!” said the martial Dunois; and
the guards in the hall, unable to resist the same impulse, stirred each
upon his post, so as to produce a low but distinct sound of clashing
arms. The King cast his eye proudly round, and, for a moment, thought
and looked like his heroic father.
But the excitement of the moment presently gave way to the host of
political considerations, which, at that conjuncture, rendered an open
breach with Burgundy so peculiarly perilous. Edward IV, a brave and
victorious king, who had in his own person fought thirty battles, was
now established on the throne of England, was brother to the Duchess of
Burgundy, and, it might well be supposed, waited but a rupture between
his near connexion and Louis, to carry into France, through the ever
open gate of Calais, those arms which had been triumphant in the English
civil wars, and to obliterate the recollection of internal dissensions
by that most popular of all occupations amongst the English, an invasion
of France. To this consideration was added the uncertain faith of the
Duke of Bretagne, and other weighty subjects of reflection. So that,
after a deep pause, when Louis again spoke, although in the same tone,
it was with an altered spirit. “But God forbid,” he said, “that aught
less than necessity should make us, the Most Christian' King, give cause
to the effusion of Christian blood, if anything short of dishonour may
avert such a calamity. We tender our subjects' safety dearer than the
ruffle which our own dignity may receive from the rude breath of a
malapert ambassador, who hath perhaps exceeded the errand with which he
was charged.--Admit the Envoy of Burgundy to our presence.”
“Beati pacifici, [blessed are the peace makers]” said the Cardinal
Balue.
“True; and your Eminence knoweth that they who humble themselves shall
be exalted,” added the King.
The Cardinal spoke an Amen, to which few assented, for even the pale
cheek of Orleans kindled with shame, and Balafre suppressed his feelings
so little, as to let the butt end of his partisan fall heavily on the
floor--a movement of impatience for which he underwent a bitter reproof
from the Cardinal, with a lecture on the mode of handling his arms
when in presence of the Sovereign. The King himself seemed unusually
embarrassed at the silence around him.
“You are pensive, Dunois,” he said. “You disapprove of our giving way to
this hot headed Envoy.”
“By no means,”' said Dunois; “I meddle not with matters beyond my
sphere. I was thinking of asking a boon of your Majesty.”
“A boon, Dunois--what is it? You are an unfrequent suitor, and may count
on our favour.”
“I would, then, your Majesty would send me to Evreux to regulate the
clergy,” said Dunois, with military frankness.
“That were indeed beyond thy sphere,” replied the King, smiling.
“I might order priests as well,” replied the Count, “as my Lord Bishop
of Evreux, or my Lord Cardinal, if he likes the title better, can
exercise the soldiers of your Majesty's guard.”
The King smiled again, and more mysteriously, while he whispered
Dunois, “The time may come when you and I will regulate the priests
together.--But this is for the present a good conceited animal of a
Bishop. Ah, Dunois! Rome, Rome puts him and other burdens upon us.--But
patience, cousin, and shuffle the cards, till our hand is a stronger
one.”
[Dr. Dryasdust here remarks that cards, said to have been invented in a
preceding reign, for the amusement of Charles V during the intervals
of his mental disorder, seem speedily to have become common among the
courtiers.... The alleged origin of the invention of cards produced one
of the shrewdest replies I have ever heard given in evidence. It was
made by the late Dr. Gregory of Edinburgh to a counsel of great eminence
at the Scottish bar. The Doctor's testimony went to prove the insanity
of the party whose mental capacity was the point at issue. On a cross
interrogation, he admitted that the person in question played admirably
at whist. “And do you seriously say, doctor,” said the learned counsel,
“that a person having a superior capacity for a game so difficult,
and which requires in a preeminent degree, memory, judgment, and
combination, can be at the same time deranged in his understanding?”--“I
am no card player,” said the doctor, with great address, “but I have
read in history that cards were invented for the amusement of an insane
king.” The consequences of this reply were decisive. S.]
The flourish of trumpets in the courtyard now announced the arrival
of the Burgundian nobleman. All in the presence chamber made haste to
arrange themselves according to their proper places of precedence, the
King and his daughters remaining in the centre of the assembly.
The Count of Crevecoeur, a renowned and undaunted warrior, entered
the apartment; and, contrary to the usage among the envoys of friendly
powers, he appeared all armed, excepting his head, in a gorgeous suit
of the most superb Milan armour, made of steel, inlaid and embossed with
gold, which was wrought into the fantastic taste called the Arabesque.
Around his neck and over his polished cuirass, hung his master's order
of the Golden Fleece, one of the most honoured associations of chivalry
then known in Christendom. A handsome page bore his helmet behind him, a
herald preceded him, bearing his letters of credence which he offered on
his knee to the King; while the ambassador himself paused in the midst
of the hall, as if to give all present time to admire his lofty look,
commanding stature, and undaunted composure of countenance and manner.
The rest of his attendants waited in the antechamber, or courtyard.
[The military order of the Golden Fleece was instituted by Philip the
Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the year 1429, the King of Spain being grand
master of the order, as Duke of Burgundy.]
“Approach, Seignior Count de Crevecoeur,” said Louis, after a moment's
glance at his commission; “we need not our cousin's letters of credence,
either to introduce to us a warrior so well known, or to assure us of
your highly deserved credit with your master. We trust that your fair
partner, who shares some of our ancestral blood, is in good health. Had
you brought her in your hand, Seignior Count, we might have thought you
wore your armour, on this unwonted occasion, to maintain the superiority
of her charms against the amorous chivalry of France. As it is, we
cannot guess the reason of this complete panoply.”
“Sire,” replied the ambassador, “the Count of Crevecoeur must lament
his misfortune, and entreat your forgiveness, that he cannot, on this
occasion, reply with such humble deference as is due to the royal
courtesy with which your Majesty has honoured him. But, although it is
only the voice of Philip Crevecoeur de Cordes which speaks, the words
which he utters must be those of his gracious Lord and Sovereign, the
Duke of Burgundy.”
“And what has Crevecoeur to say in the words of Burgundy?” said Louis,
with an assumption of sufficient dignity. “Yet hold--remember, that
in this presence, Philip Crevecoeur de Cordes speaks to him who is his
Sovereign's Sovereign.”
Crevecoeur bowed, and then spoke aloud: “King of France, the mighty Duke
of Burgundy once more sends you a written schedule of the wrongs and
oppressions committed on his frontiers by your Majesty's garrisons
and officers; and the first point of inquiry is, whether it is your
Majesty's purpose to make him amends for these injuries?”
The King, looking slightly at the memorial which the herald delivered
to him upon his knee, said, “These matters have been already long before
our Council. Of the injuries complained of, some are in requital of
those sustained by my subjects, some are affirmed without any proof,
some have been retaliated by the Duke's garrisons and soldiers; and if
there remain any which fall under none of those predicaments, we are
not, as a Christian prince, averse to make satisfaction for wrongs
actually sustained by our neighbour, though committed not only without
our countenance, but against our express order.”'
“I will convey your Majesty's answer,” said the ambassador, “to my most
gracious master; yet, let me say, that, as it is in no degree different
from the evasive replies which have already been returned to his
just complaints, I cannot hope that it will afford the means of
re-establishing peace and friendship betwixt France and Burgundy.”
“Be that at God's pleasure,” said the King. “It is not for dread of
thy master's arms, but for the sake of peace only, that I return so
temperate an answer to his injurious reproaches. Proceed with thine
errand.”
“My master's next demand,” said the ambassador, “is that your Majesty
will cease your secret and underhand dealings with his towns of Ghent,
Liege, and Malines. He requests that your Majesty will recall the secret
agents by whose means the discontents of his good citizens of Flanders
are inflamed; and dismiss from your Majesty's dominions, or rather
deliver up to the condign punishment of their liege lord, those
traitorous fugitives, who, having fled from the scene of their
machinations, have found too ready a refuge in Paris, Orleans, Tours,
and other French cities.”
“Say to the Duke of Burgundy,” replied the King, “that I know of no such
indirect practices as those with which he injuriously charges me; that
many subjects of France have frequent intercourse with the good cities
of Flanders, for the purpose of mutual benefit by free traffic, which it
would be as much contrary to the Duke's interest as mine to interrupt;
and that many Flemings have residence in my kingdom, and enjoy the
protection of my laws, for the same purpose; but none, to our knowledge,
for those of treason or mutiny against the Duke. Proceed with your
message--you have heard my answer.”
“As formerly, Sire, with pain,” replied the Count of Crevecoeur; “it not
being of that direct or explicit nature which the Duke, my master, will
accept, in atonement for a long train of secret machinations, not the
less certain, though now disavowed by your Majesty. But I proceed with
my message. The Duke of Burgundy farther requires the King of France to
send back to his dominions without delay, and under a secure safeguard,
the persons of Isabelle Countess of Croye, and of her relation and
guardian the Countess Hameline, of the same family, in respect the
said Countess Isabelle, being, by the law of the country and the feudal
tenure of her estates, the ward of the said Duke of Burgundy, hath fled
from his dominions, and from the charge which he, as a careful guardian,
was willing to extend over her, and is here maintained in secret by the
King of France and by him fortified in her contumacy to the Duke, her
natural lord and guardian, contrary to the laws of God and man, as they
ever have been acknowledged in civilized Europe.--Once more I pause for
your Majesty's reply.”
“You did well, Count de Crevecoeur,” said Louis, scornfully, “to begin
your embassy at an early hour; for if it be your purpose to call on
me to account for the flight of every vassal whom your master's heady
passion may have driven from his dominions, the head roll may last till
sunset. Who can affirm that these ladies are in my dominions? who can
presume to say, if it be so, that I have either countenanced their
flight hither, or have received them with offers of protection? Nay,
who is it will assert, that, if they are in France, their place of
retirement is within my knowledge?”
“Sire,” said Crevecoeur, “may it please your Majesty, I was provided
with a witness on this subject--one who beheld these fugitive ladies in
the inn called the Fleur de Lys, not far from this Castle--one who saw
your Majesty in their company, though under the unworthy disguise of a
burgess of Tours--one who received from them, in your royal presence,
messages and letters to their friends in Flanders--all which he conveyed
to the hand and ear of the Duke of Burgundy.”
“Bring them forward,” said the King; “place the man before my face who
dares maintain these palpable falsehoods.”
“You speak in triumph, my lord, for you are well aware that this witness
no longer exists. When he lived, he was called Zamet Magraubin, by
birth one of those Bohemian wanderers. He was yesterday--as I have
learned--executed by a party of your Majesty's Provost Marshal, to
prevent, doubtless, his standing here to verify what he said of this
matter to the Duke of Burgundy, in presence of his Council, and of me,
Philip Crevecoeur de Cordes.”
“Now, by Our Lady of Embrun,” said the King, “so gross are these
accusations, and so free of consciousness am I of aught that approaches
them, that, by the honour of a King, I laugh, rather than am wroth at
them. My Provost guard daily put to death, as is their duty, thieves and
vagabonds; and is my crown to be slandered with whatever these thieves
and vagabonds may have said to our hot cousin of Burgundy and his
wise counsellors? I pray you, tell my kind cousin, if he loves such
companions, he had best keep them in his own estates; for here they are
like to meet short shrift and a tight cord.”
“My master needs no such subjects, Sir King,” answered the Count, in a
tone more disrespectful than he had yet permitted himself to make
use of; “for the noble Duke uses not to inquire of witches, wandering
Egyptians, or others, upon the destiny and fate of his neighbours and
allies.”
“We have had patience enough, and to spare,” said the King, interrupting
him; “and since thy sole errand here seems to be for the purpose
of insult, we will send some one in our name to the Duke of
Burgundy--convinced, in thus demeaning thyself towards us, thou hast
exceeded thy commission, whatever that may have been.”
“On the contrary,” said Crevecoeur, “I have not yet acquitted myself
of it--Hearken, Louis of Valois, King of France--Hearken, nobles and
gentlemen, who may be present.--Hearken, all good and true men.--And
thou, Toison d'Or,” addressing the herald, “make proclamation after
me.--I, Philip Crevecoeur of Cordes, Count of the Empire, and Knight of
the honourable and princely Order of the Golden Fleece, in the name of
the most puissant Lord and Prince, Charles, by the grace of God, Duke of
Burgundy and Lotharingia, of Brabant and Limbourg, of Luxembourg and of
Gueldres; Earl of Flanders and of Artois; Count Palatine of Hainault, of
Holland, Zealand, Namur, and Zutphen; Marquis of the Holy Empire; Lord
of Friezeland, Salines, and Malines, do give you, Louis, King of France,
openly to know, that you, having refused to remedy the various griefs,
wrongs, and offences, done and wrought by you, or by and through your
aid, suggestion, and instigation, against the said Duke and his loving
subjects, he, by my mouth, renounces all allegiance and fealty towards
your crown and dignity--pronounces you false and faithless; and defies
you as a Prince, and as a man. There lies my gage, in evidence of what I
have said.”
So saying, he plucked the gauntlet off his right hand, and flung it down
on the floor of the hall.
Until this last climax of audacity, there had been a deep silence in the
royal apartment during the extraordinary scene; but no sooner had the
clash of the gauntlet, when cast down, been echoed by the deep voice
of Toison d'Or, the Burgundian herald, with the ejaculation, “Vive
Bourgogne!” than there was a general tumult. While Dunois, Orleans,
old Lord Crawford, and one or two others, whose rank authorized their
interference, contended which should lift up the gauntlet, the others in
the hall exclaimed, “Strike him down! Cut him to pieces! Comes he here
to insult the King of France in his own palace?”
But the King appeased the tumult by exclaiming, in a voice like thunder,
which overawed and silenced every other sound, “Silence, my lieges, lay
not a hand on the man, not a finger on the gage!--And you, Sir Count, of
what is your life composed, or how is it warranted, that you thus place
it on the cast of a die so perilous? or is your Duke made of a different
metal from other princes, since he thus asserts his pretended quarrel in
a manner so unusual?”
“He is indeed framed of a different and more noble metal than the other
princes of Europe,” said the undaunted Count of Crevecoeur; “for,
when not one of them dared to give shelter to you--to you, I say, King
Louis--when you were yet only Dauphin, an exile from France, and pursued
by the whole bitterness of your father's revenge, and all the power of
his kingdom, you were received and protected like a brother by my noble
master, whose generosity of disposition you have so grossly misused.
Farewell, Sire, my mission is discharged.”
So saying, the Count de Crevecoeur left the apartment abruptly, and
without farther leave taking.
“After him--after him--take up the gauntlet and after him!” said the
King. “I mean not you, Dunois, nor you, my Lord of Crawford, who,
methinks, may be too old for such hot frays; nor you, cousin of Orleans,
who are too young for them.--My Lord Cardinal--my Lord Bishop of
Auxerre--it is your holy office to make peace among princes; do you lift
the gauntlet, and remonstrate with Count Crevecoeur on the sin he has
committed, in thus insulting a great monarch in his own Court, and
forcing us to bring the miseries of war upon his kingdom, and that of
his neighbour.”
Upon this direct personal appeal, the Cardinal Balue proceeded to lift
the gauntlet, with such precaution as one would touch an adder--so great
was apparently his aversion to this symbol of war--and presently left
the royal apartment to hasten after the challenger.
Louis paused and looked round the circle of his courtiers, most of whom,
except such as we have already distinguished, being men of low birth,
and raised to their rank in the King's household for other gifts than
courage or feats of arms, looked pale on each other, and had obviously
received an unpleasant impression from the scene which had been just
acted. Louis gazed on them with contempt, and then said aloud, “Although
the Count of Crevecoeur be presumptuous and overweening, it must be
confessed that in him the Duke of Burgundy hath as bold a servant as
ever bore message for a prince. I would I knew where to find as faithful
an Envoy to carry back my answer.”
“You do your French nobles injustice, Sire,” said Dunois; “not one of
them but would carry a defiance to Burgundy on the point of his sword.”
“And, Sire,” said old Crawford, “you wrong also the Scottish gentlemen
who serve you. I, or any of my followers, being of meet rank, would not
hesitate a moment to call yonder proud Count to a reckoning; my own
arm is yet strong enough for the purpose, if I have but your Majesty's
permission.”
“But your Majesty,” continued Dunois, “will employ us in no service
through which we may win honour to ourselves, to your Majesty, or to
France.”
“Say rather,” said the King, “that I will not give way, Dunois, to the
headlong impetuosity, which, on some punctilio of chivalry, would wreck
yourselves, the throne, France, and all. There is not one of you who
knows not how precious every hour of peace is at this moment, when so
necessary to heal the wounds of a distracted country; yet there is
not one of you who would not rush into war on account of the tale of a
wandering gipsy, or of some errant damosel, whose reputation, perhaps,
is scarce higher.--Here comes the Cardinal, and we trust with more
pacific tidings.--How now, my Lord,--have you brought the Count to
reason and to temper?”
“Sire,” said Balue, “my task hath been difficult. I put it to yonder
proud Count, how he dared to use towards your Majesty the presumptuous
reproach with which his audience had broken up, and which must be
understood as proceeding, not from his master, but from his own
insolence, and as placing him therefore in your Majesty's discretion for
what penalty you might think proper.”
“You said right,” replied the King; “and what was his answer?”
“The Count,” continued the Cardinal, “had at that moment his foot in the
stirrup, ready to mount; and, on hearing my expostulation, he turned
his head without altering his position. 'Had I,' said he, 'been fifty
leagues distant, and had heard by report that a question vituperative
of my Prince had been asked by the King of France, I had, even at that
distance, instantly mounted, and returned to disburden my mind of the
answer which I gave him but now.'”
“I said, sirs,” said the King, turning around, without any show of angry
emotion, “that in the Count Philip of Crevecoeur, our cousin the
Duke possesses as worthy a servant as ever rode at a prince's right
hand.--But you prevailed with him to stay?”
“To stay for twenty-four hours; and in the meanwhile to receive again
his gage of defiance,” said the Cardinal; “he has dismounted at the
Fleur de Lys.”
“See that he be nobly attended and cared for, at our charges,” said
the King; “such a servant is a jewel in a prince's crown. Twenty-four
hours?” he added, muttering to himself, and looking as if he were
stretching his eyes to see into futurity; “twenty-four hours? It is of
the shortest. Yet twenty-four hours, ably and skilfully employed, may be
worth a year in the hand of indolent or incapable agents.--Well--to the
forest--to the forest, my gallant lords!--Orleans, my fair kinsman, lay
aside that modesty, though it becomes you; mind not my Joan's coyness.
The Loire may as soon avoid mingling with the Cher, as she from
favouring your suit, or you from preferring it,” he added, as the
unhappy prince moved slowly on after his betrothed bride. “And now for
your boar spears, gentlemen--for Allegre, my pricker, hath harboured one
that will try both dog and man.--Dunois, lend me your spear--take mine,
it is too weighty for me; but when did you complain of such a fault in
your lance?--To horse--to horse, gentlemen.”
And all the chase rode on.