THE DEPARTURE FROM PALESTINE.
1192
Richard's reasons for returning home.--Causes of internal
dissension in England and Normandy.--Longchamp's disguise.--His
escape from England.--Philip's oath broken.--Pretext for invading
Normandy.--Proposed marriage of John and Alice.--Richard's return
unannounced.--Sailing from Palestine.--Richard's apostrophe to the
Holy Land.
One of the chief objects which Richard had in view in concluding the
truce with Saladin was to be able to have an honorable pretext for
leaving the Holy Land and setting out on his return to England. He had
received many letters from his mother urging him to come, and giving
him alarming accounts of the state of things both in England and
Normandy.
In England, the reader will perhaps recollect that Richard, when he
set out on the Crusade, had appointed his brother John regent, in
connection with his mother Eleanora, but that he had also, in order to
raise money, appointed several noblemen of high standing and influence
to offices of responsibility, which they were to exercise, in a great
measure, independent of John. And, not content with appointing a
suitable number of these officers, he multiplied them unnecessarily,
and in some instances conveyed the same jurisdiction, as it were, to
different persons, thus virtually selling the same office to two
different men. Of course, this was not done openly and avowedly. The
transactions were more or less covered up and concealed under
different disguises. For example, after selling the post of chief
justiciary, which was an office of great power and emolument, to one
nobleman, and receiving as much money for it as the nobleman was
willing to pay, he afterward appointed other noblemen as assistant
justiciaries, exacting, of course, a large sum of money from each of
them, and granting them, in consideration of it, much the same powers
as he had bestowed upon the chief justiciary. Of course, such a
proceeding as this could only result in continual contentions and
quarrels among the appointees, to break out as soon as Richard should
be gone. But the king cared little for that, so long as he could get
the money.
The quarrels did break out immediately after Richard sailed. There
were various parties to them. There were Eleanora and John, each
claiming to be the regent. Then there were two powerful noblemen, both
maintaining that they had been invested with the supreme power by
virtue of the offices which they held. The name of one of them was
Longchamp. He contrived to place himself, for a time, quite at the
head of affairs, and the whole country was distracted by the wars
which were waged between him and his partisans and the partisans of
John. Longchamp was at last defeated, and was obliged to fly from the
kingdom in disguise. He was found one day by some fishermen's wives,
on the beach near Dover, in the disguise of an old woman, with a roll
of cloth under his arm, and a yard-stick in his hand. He was waiting
for a boat which was to take him across the Channel into France. He
disguised himself in that way that he might not be known, and when
seen from behind the metamorphosis was almost complete. The women,
however, observed something suspicious in the appearance of the
figure, and so contrived to come nearer and get a peep under the
bonnet, and there they saw the black beard and whiskers of a man.
Notwithstanding this discovery, Longchamp succeeded in making his
escape.
As to Normandy, Richard's interests were in still greater danger than
in England. King Philip had taken the most solemn oaths before he left
the Holy Land, by which he bound himself not to molest any of
Richard's dominions, or to take any steps hostile to him, while
he--that is, Richard--remained away; and that if he should have any
cause of quarrel against him, he would abstain from all attempts to
enforce his rights until at least six months after Richard's return.
It was only on condition of this agreement that Richard would consent
to remain in Palestine in command of the Crusade, and allow Philip to
return.
But, notwithstanding this solemn agreement, and all the oaths by which
it was confirmed, no sooner was Philip safe in France than he
commenced operations against Richard's dominions. He began to make
arrangements for an invasion of some of Richard's territories in
Normandy, under pretext of taking possession again of Alice's dower,
which it was agreed, by the treaty made at Messina, should be restored
to him. But it had also been agreed at that treaty that the time for
the restoration of the dowry should be after Richard's return, so that
the plans of invasion which Philip was now forming involved clearly a
very gross breach of faith, committed without any pretense or
justification whatever. This instance, and multitudes of others like
it to be found in the histories of those times, show how little there
was that was genuine and reliable in the lofty sense of honor often
so highly lauded as one of the characteristics of chivalry.
In justice, however, to all concerned, it must be stated that Philip's
knights and nobles remonstrated so earnestly against this breach of
faith, that Philip was compelled to give up his plan, and to content
himself in his operations against Richard with secret intrigues
instead of open war. As he knew that John was endeavoring to supplant
Richard in his kingdom, he sent to him and proposed to join him in
this plan, and to help him carry it into execution; and he offered him
the hand of Alice, the princess whom Richard had discarded, to seal
and secure the alliance. John was quite pleased with this proposal;
and information of these intrigues, more or less definite, came to
Richard in Palestine about the time of the battle of Jaffa, from
Eleanora, who contrived in some way to find out what was going on. The
tidings threw Richard into a fever of anxiety to leave Palestine and
return home.
It was about the first of October that Richard set sail from Acre on
his return, with a small squadron containing his immediate attendants.
He himself embarked in a war-ship. The queens, taking with them the
captive princess of Cyprus and the other members of their family,
went as they came, in a vessel specially arranged for them, and under
the care of their old protector, Stephen of Turnham. The queens
embarked first in their vessel and sailed away. Richard followed soon
afterward. His plan was to leave the coast as quietly and in as
private a manner as possible. If it were to be understood in France
and England that he was on his return, he did not know what plans
might be formed to intercept him. So he kept his departure as much as
possible a secret, and the more completely to carry out this design,
he gave up for the voyage all his royal style and pretensions, and
dressed himself as a simple knight.
The vessels slipped away from the coast, one after another, in the
evening, in a manner to attract as little attention as possible. They
made but little progress during the night. In the morning the shore
was still in view, though fast disappearing. Richard gazed upon it as
he stood on the deck of his galley, and then took leave of it by
stretching out his hands and exclaiming,
"Most holy land, farewell! I commend thee to God's keeping and care.
May He give me life and health to return and rescue thee from the
hands of the infidel."
The effect of this apostrophe on the by-standers, and on those to whom
the by-standers reported it, was excellent, and it was probably for
the sake of this effect that Richard uttered it.