And the bells of Notre Dame tolled for the dead.
"For you also the bells are tolling," said he to Ulenspiegel. "Youwill be hanged. For you have committed murder."
"Is this true?" demanded the bailiff.
Ulenspiegel answered:
"I threw into the water the man who denounced Claes and was the causeof his death. The ashes of my father beat upon my heart."
And the women that were in the crowd said to him:
"Why confess it, Ulenspiegel? No one saw the deed. But now you alsowill die the death."
And the prisoner laughed aloud, leaping in the air with a bitter joy.
"He will die," he said. "He will leave this earth for hell. He willdie. God is just."
"He shall not die," said the bailiff, "for after the lapse of tenyears no murderer can lawfully be brought to punishment in the landof Flanders. Ulenspiegel did a wicked act, but it was done for loveof his father: and for such a deed as that Ulenspiegel shall not besummoned to trial."
"Long live the law!" cried the crowd. "Lang leve de wet!"
And the bells of Notre Dame tolled for the dead. And the prisonerground his teeth and hung his head, and now for the first time he letfall a tear. And his hand was cut off and his tongue pierced with ared-hot iron, and he was burned alive in a slow fire in front of theTown Hall.
And Toria cried out:
"He is paying the penalty! He is paying the penalty! See howthey writhe--those arms and those legs which helped him to hismurdering! See how it smokes, the body of this brute! Burning is thehair of him, all pallid like the hair of a hyena, and burning is hispallid face. He pays! He pays!"
And the fishmonger died, howling like a wolf.
And the bells of Notre Dame tolled for the dead.
And once more did Lamme and Ulenspiegel ride away on their donkeys. AndNele stayed behind in sorrow with Katheline, who never stopped herceaseless refrain:
"Put out the fire! My head is burning! Come back, come back to me,Hanske, my pet."
XXVII
Ulenspiegel and Lamme had come to Heyst-on-the-Dunes, and behold afleet of fishing-boats that were come hither from Ostend and fromBlankenberghe and Knokke. Filled they were with men-at-arms, thefollowers of the Beggarmen of Zeeland, who carried on their hats asilver crescent with this inscription: "Serve rather the Turk thanthe Pope."
Ulenspiegel is glad; he whistles like the lark and from everyside there comes to answer him the warlike cockcrow. And Lamme andUlenspiegel go aboard one of the ships and are carried to Emden andthence to Wieringen, where their ship is hemmed in by the ice. Forby now it is the month of February.
Now all around the ship there was to be seen the most joyous sightimaginable: men all clad in velvet, sledging and skating on the ice;and women skating too, with skirts and jackets broidered with pearland gold, blue and scarlet. And the boys and girls came and wenthither and thither, laughing and following one another in line,or two by two in couples, singing the song of love upon the ice,and running to eat and drink at the stalls decorated with flags,where one could buy all kinds of brandy-wine and oranges and figs andeggs and hot vegetables with heete-koeken--pancakes, that is, withvegetables flavoured with vinegar. And all around them the sailingsledges made the ice to resound under the press of their sharp runners.
Lamme, who was still searching everywhere for his wife, wanderedabout on his skates like the rest of that happy crowd, but he keptfalling down time and again.
Ulenspiegel, meanwhile, to satisfy his hunger and thirst, was wont toresort to a little tavern on the quay where the prices were not high,and where he used to have many a talk with the old lady who kept it.
One Sunday about nine o'clock he went to the inn and asked them togive him some dinner. A charming-looking young woman came forward toserve him.
"Dear me," he cried, "you rejuvenated hostess! Where-ever are thoseold wrinkles of yours gone to? And your mouth has found all its teethagain, and they are white with the whiteness of youth itself! Andyour lips are red like cherries! Is it for me this smile of yours sosweet and roguish?"
"Nay, nay," she said. "But what can I get you?"
"Yourself," he said.
The woman answered:
"That would be too big a meal for a lean little man like you. Willnot some other kind of meat do for you?"
When Ulenspiegel made no answer:
"What have you done," she said, "with that handsome, well-set-up,but rather corpulent gentleman I have so often seen in your company?"
"Do you mean Lamme?" queried Ulenspiegel.
"Yes. What have you done with him?" she repeated.
"He is busy eating," answered Ulenspiegel, "eating anything he can sethis teeth upon--hard-boiled eggs from the street stalls, smoked eelsand salted fish: and all this, forsooth, to help him find his wife. Butwhy are you not she, my sweet? Would you like fifty florins? Wouldyou like a collar of gold?"
But she crossed herself, saying:
"I am not to be bought, nor yet taken."
"Do you love no one?" said Ulenspiegel.
"I love you as my neighbour; but above all I love Our Lord andOur Lady, they that command me to live an honest life. Hard indeedand oftentimes burdensome are the duties that are laid on us poorwomen. Nevertheless God gives us his aid. Yet some there are whosuccumb to temptation. But this fat friend of yours, come, tell me,is he well and happy?"
Ulenspiegel answered:
"He is gay when he is eating, but sad and pensive when he is empty. Iwill get him to come and see you."
"Do not do that," she said; "he would weep and so should I."
"Have you ever seen his wife?" asked Ulenspiegel.
"She sinned with him once," the woman answered, "and was condemnedtherefor to a cruel punishment. She knows that he goes a-seafaring inthe cause of the heretics, and this is a cruel thought for a Christianheart. But protect him, I pray you, if he is attacked, and nurse himif he is wounded: his wife ordered me thus to entreat you."
"Lamme is my brother and my friend," answered Ulenspiegel.
"Ah!" she said. "But why will you not return to the bosom of our HolyMother Church?"
"She eats up her children," answered Ulenspiegel. And he departed.
But one morning in March, while still the cold winds of winter keptthe ice frozen, so that the ship of the Beggarmen could not make away,Ulenspiegel came again to the tavern. And the pretty baesine said tohim (and there was great emotion and sorrow in her voice):
"Poor Lamme! Poor Ulenspiegel!"
"Why do you pity us so?" he asked her.
"Alas! alas!" she cried. "Why will you not believe in the Mass? Andyou did, you would go straight to Paradise without a doubt, and Imight be able to save you in this life also."
Seeing her go to the door and listen there attentively, Ulenspiegelsaid to her:
"Is it the snow that you hear falling?"
"No," she said.
"What then?"
"It is death that comes like a thief in the night."
"Death," exclaimed Ulenspiegel. "I do not understand you. Come backand tell me."
"They are there," she said.
"Who are?"
"Who?" she said. "Why, the soldiers of Simonen Bol, who are about tocome in the name of the Duke and throw themselves upon you all. Andif they treat you well while you are here, it is only as men treatthe oxen they mean to kill. Oh why," she cried all in tears, "whydid I not know all this before, so that I could have warned you!"
"You must not cry," said Ulenspiegel, "and you must stay whereyou are!"
"Do not betray me," she said.
Ulenspiegel went out of the house, ran as fast as he could, and wentround to all the booths and taverns in the place, whispering to thesailors and soldiers these words: "The Spaniards are coming."
At that they ran every one to the ship, and prepared with all thehaste they knew whatever things were necessary for battle. Then theywaited for the evening. While they were waiting thus, Ulenspiegelsaid to Lamme:
"Do you see that pretty-
looking woman on the quay there, in a blackdress embroidered with scarlet?"
"It's all one to me," answered Lamme. "I am cold and I want to goto sleep."
And he threw his great cloak around his head, and became like a manwho was deaf.
But presently Ulenspiegel recognized the woman and cried out to herfrom the vessel:
"Would you like to come with us?"
"Even to the death," she answered, "but I cannot...."
Then she came nearer to the ship.
"Take this ointment," she said. "It is for you and that fat friendof yours who goes to sleep when he ought to be awake."
And she withdrew herself, crying:
"Lamme! Lamme! May God keep you from harm and bring you back safe."
And she uncovered her face.
"My wife! My wife!" cried Lamme.
And he would have jumped down to her.
"Your faithful wife!" she said, running the while as fast as evershe could.
Lamme would have leaped down from the deck on to the ice, but he wasrestrained by a soldier who caught him by his cloak, and the provostaddressed him, saying:
"You will be hanged if you leave the ship."
Yet again did Lamme try to throw himself down, but an old Beggarmanheld him back, telling him that the ice was damp and that he would gethis feet wet. And Lamme sat down on the deck weeping and crying ever:
"My wife! My wife! Let me go and find my wife!"
"You will see her again," said Ulenspiegel. "She loves you, but sheloves God more."
"Mad devil-woman that she is!" cried Lamme. "If she loves God morethan her husband, why does she show herself to me so sweet and sodesirable? And if she loves me, why does she leave me?"
"Can you see clearly to the bottom of a deep well?" demandedUlenspiegel.
In the meanwhile the followers of Simonen Bol had appeared on thescene with a large force of artillery. They shot at the ship, whichpromptly repaid them in similar coin. And the bullets broke up theice all around. And towards evening a warm rain began to fall, and thewest wind blew from the Atlantic, and the sea grew angry beneath itscovering of ice, and the ice was broken into huge blocks which couldbe seen rising and falling to hurl themselves one against the other,not without danger to the ship, which, nevertheless, as dawn beganto dissipate the clouds of night, opened its sails like a bird offreedom and sailed out towards the open sea.
There they were joined by the fleet of Messire de Lumey de la Marche,Admiral of Holland and Zeeland; and on that day the ship of MessireTres-Long captured a vessel from Biscay that carried a cargo ofmercury, gunpowder, wine, and spices. And the vessel was cleaned toits marrow, emptied of its men and its booty, even as the bone ofan ox is cleaned by the teeth of a lion. And the Beggarmen took LaBriele, a strong naval base, well called the Garden of Liberty.
XXVIII
It was at the beginning of May. The sky was clear, the ship sailedproudly on the billows, and Ulenspiegel sang this song:
The ashes beat on my heart, The murderers are come; With daggers have they struck at us, Fiercely, with fire and sword have they struck at us, They have bribed us most vilely and spied on us, Where are love and fidelity now? In exchange for those sweetest of virtues, Betrayal and fraud have they heaped on us. Yet may they that have murdered be murdered themselves! Beat, beat, drum of war!
Long live the Beggarmen! Loud beat the drum! La Briele has fallen, Flushing too, the key to the Scheldt! God is good, for Camp-veere is taken, Taken the place where the guns of all Zeeland were stored! Now cannon-balls, powder, and bullets are ours, Bullets of iron, bullets of brass. God is with us--against us, then, who?
The drum! Beat the drum of glory and war! Long live the Beggarmen! Beat the drum!
And again Ulenspiegel lifted up his voice and sang:
O Duke! Hark to the voice of the People, Murmuring so strong in the distance, Like the sea that swells in the season of tempest! Enough of silver and gold and of blood, Of ruins enough! Beat the drum! Beat the drum! The sword is drawn.
Duke! Duke of Alba, Duke of Blood, Behold the stalls and the shops, they are closed. Brewers and bakers, grocers and butchers, Refuse one and all to do business for nothing. When you pass who'll salute you? None. Do you feel, then, the pestilent mist Of hate and scorn closing around you?
For the fair land of Flanders, The gay land of Brabant, Now are sad as a churchyard. And where once in the days of our liberty Sounded the violas, screamed the fifes and the bagpipes, Now there is silence and death. Beat the drum, the drum of war.
And now, 'stead of all the glad faces Of those that drank and made love to the sound of sweet singing, Now is naught but pale faces Of they that await in dumb resignation The blade of the sword of injustice. Beat the drum, the drum of war.
O land of our fathers, suffering, beloved, Bow not your head 'neath the foot of the murderer! And you, busy bees, fling yourselves now In swarms 'gainst the hornets of Spain. And you bodies of women and girls That are buried alive Cry to Christ: Vengeance!
Wander by night in the fields, poor souls, Cry to God! Every arm now trembles to strike. The sword is drawn. Duke, we will tear out your entrails, Yea, we will whip you in the face! Beat the drum. The sword is drawn. Beat the drum. Long live the Beggarmen!
And all the sailors and soldiers on the ship of Ulenspiegel, andthey also that were on the ships near by, took up the refrain andsang out also:
The sword is drawn. Long live the Beggarmen!
And the sound of their voices was like the growl of the thunderof deliverance.
XXIX
It was the month of January, the cruel month that freezes the calf inthe womb of the cow. Snow had fallen over all the land, and then frozenhard. The boys went out to snare with bird-lime the sparrows thatcame to seek what nourishment they could find on the hardened snow;and whatever they took they brought back to their cottages. Againstthe grey, bright sky the skeletons of the trees detached themselvesin motionless outline, and their branches were covered as it werewith cushions of snow, and the roofs of the cottages likewise, andthe tops of the walls where showed the footprints of the cats whothemselves went out hunting for sparrows in the snow. Far and widethe fields were hidden under that wonderful white fleece which warmsthe earth against the bitter cold of winter. The smoke of houses andcottages showed black as it mounted heavenwards, and over everythingthere brooded a great stillness.
And Katheline and Nele lived alone in their cottage, and Kathelinewagged her head, crying continually:
"Hans, my heart is yours. But you must give back those seven hundredcaroluses. Put out the fire! My head is burning! Alas! Where are yourkisses cold as snow?" And she stood watching at the window.
Suddenly a horseman rode past at the gallop, crying:
"Here comes the bailiff, the high bailiff of Damme!"
And he went on to the Town Hall, crying out all the time, so as togather together the burghers and the aldermen. And thereafter inthe silence that ensued Nele could hear two blasts of a trumpet,and straightway all the people of Damme came running to their doorsthinking that it must be no less a personage than His Royal Majestyhimself whose arrival was announced by such a fanfare. And Kathelinealso went to her door with Nele, and in the distance she could see atroop of splendid horsemen riding all together, and at their head amagnificent figure in a cloak of black velvet edged with sable. Andshe knew him at once for the high bailiff of Damme.
Now behind him there rode a company of youthful Lords clad in longcloaks, and they rode along gaily, and their coats were adorned withbuttons and trimmings of gold, and their hats with long ostrich plumeswaving ga
ily in the wind. And they seemed one and all to be goodcomrades and friends of the high bailiff; and conspicuous among themwas a thin-faced gentleman dressed in green velvet and gold trimmings,and like the others his cloak was of black velvet and his hat alsowas adorned with black plumes. And his nose was like a vulture's beak,his mouth compressed and thin, and his beard was red and his face pale,and very proud was his bearing.
While the company of gentlemen was passing before the cottage,Katheline suddenly ran forward and leapt at the bridle of the palehorseman, and cried out, mad with joy as it seemed:
"Hans! My beloved, I knew you would come back! Oh, you are beautifullike this, all clad in velvet and gold, shining like a sun againstthe snow! Have you brought me those seven hundred caroluses? ShallI hear you again crying like the sea-eagle?"
The high bailiff brought the cavalcade to a stand, and the palegentleman said:
"What does this beggar-woman want with me?"
But Katheline, still holding the horse by the bridle, made answer:"You must be dreaming, Hans. Wake up from your dream! I have criedfor you so long. O nights of love, my beloved! O kisses of snow,O body of ice! See, this is your child!"
And she pointed to Nele, who was gazing at the man with terror,for now he had raised his whip as though he were about to strike atKatheline. But Katheline still continued her entreaties, weeping allthe time:
"Ah! Do you not remember? Have pity on your servant! Take her withyou whithersoever you will! Put out the fire! Hans, have pity!"