CHAPTER VIII.
FAREWELL!
Agreeable to his promise, Joel pushed off his boat early the nextmorning, accompanied by his son Albinik the mariner, and took theunknown traveler to the island of Kellor, seeing he did not dare to landat the sacred precincts of the Isle of Sen. The brenn's guest said a fewwords in a low voice to the ewagh who mounts perpetual guard in theisland's house. He seemed to be struck with respect and answered thatTalyessin, the oldest of the living druids, who then was at the Isle ofSen together with his wife Auria, expected a traveler since the previousevening.
Before leaving Joel, the stranger said to his host: "I hope neither younor your family will forget your resolution of yesterday. This day acall to arms will resound from one end of Breton Gaul to the other."
"You may rest assured that I and the rest of my tribe will be the firstto respond to the call."
"I believe you. The issue now is whether Gaul shall fall into slavery orshall rise again to the height of her one-time power and glory."
"But should I not, at this moment when I am to leave you, know the nameof the brave man who sat at my hearth? The name of the wise man whospeaks with so much soundness and loves his country so warmly?"
"Joel, my name shall be 'Soldier' so long as Gaul is not free; and if weever meet again, I shall call myself 'Your Friend,' seeing that I amthat."
Saying these words the unknown traveler stepped into the ewagh's boatthat was to take him from Kellor to the Isle of Sen. Before the boat,which was under charge of the ewagh, put off, Joel asked the latterwhether he would be permitted to wait at the house for his daughterHena, who was to come on that day to visit the family. The ewaghinformed him that his daughter would not start for the shore untilevening. Sorry at not being able to take Hena with him, the brennre-entered his boat and returned alone with Albinik.
Towards noon, Julyan went to consult the druids of the forest of Karnakupon whether he should take the immediate and voluntary death whichwould be a pleasure to him, seeing he was to rejoin Armel, or seek deathin battle against the Romans. The druids answered him that having swornto Armel upon his brotherhood faith to die with him, he should befaithful to his promise, and that the ewaghs would bring the body ofArmel with the usual ceremonies in order to place it upon the pyre whereJulyan would find his place at moon-rise. Happy at being able so soon tojoin his friend, Julyan was about to leave Karnak, when he saw thestranger, who had been the guest of Joel and who now returned from theIsle of Sen, approaching through the forest in the company of Talyessin.The latter said a few words to the other druids, who forthwithsurrounded the traveler with great eagerness and marks of respect. Theyounger ones of the druids received him as a brother, the elder ones asa son.
Recognizing Julyan, the traveler said to him:
"As you are to return to the brenn of the tribe, wait a little; I shallgive you a letter for him."
Julyan yielded to the wish of the stranger, who withdrew accompanied byTalyessin and other druids. He returned shortly and handed to Julyan alittle scroll of yellow tanned skin, saying:
"This is for Joel.... This evening, Julyan, when the moon rises we shallsee each other again.... Hesus loves those who, like you, are brave andfaithful in their friendship."
Upon arriving at the brenn's house, Julyan learned that the former wason the field gathering in the wheat. He went after him and delivered toJoel the writing sent by the stranger. It said:
"Friend Joel, in the name of Gaul now in danger, this is what the druidsexpect of you: Command all the members of your family who are at work onthe fields to cry out to those of the tribe working not far from them:The mistletoe and the new year! _Let every man, woman and child, allwithout exception, meet this evening in the forest of Karnak at the riseof the moon._ Let those of the tribe who will have heard these words inturn repeat them aloud to those of the other tribes who may also be atwork on the fields, so that the call being repeated from mouth to mouth,from one to another, from village to village, from town to town, fromVannes to Auray, notify all the tribes to convene this evening at theforest of Karnak."
Joel did as ordered by the stranger in the name of the druids of Karnak.The call was carried from mouth to mouth, from the nearest to the mostdistant tribes; all were notified to meet that evening in the forest ofKarnak when the moon rose.
While some of the brenn's family were hurriedly gathering in the wheatharvest that still remained heaped on the fields, in order to deposit aportion of it in cellars that the laborers were digging on dry ground,the women, the girls and even the children, all working under thedirection of Margarid, were as busily engaged disposing of salted meatsinto baskets, flour into bags, hydromel and wine into pouches; otherswere filling coffers with lint and balsam for wounds; others wereadjusting broad and strong tent cloths over the chariots. In all warsconsidered dangerous, the tribes threatened by the enemy, instead ofwaiting for, usually went out to meet him. The houses were abandoned;the field oxen were hitched to the war-chariots, all of which containedthe women, the children, the clothes and the provisions of thecombatants. The horses, ridden by the full grown men of the tribe,constituted the cavalry. The young men, being more agile, went on footas an armed escort. The grain was hidden away; the cattle, let loose,pastured where they pleased and returned instinctively every evening totheir usual stables. Generally, the wolves and bears devoured a part.The fields remained untended and scarcity followed. Often the combatantswho went to war in defence of their country, encouraged by the presenceof their wives and children, and having nothing to expect from the enemybut disgrace, slavery or death, drove back the invader beyond theirfrontiers, and returned home to repair the disasters of the fields.
Knowing that his daughter was due at the house, Joel returned hometowards sun-down. He also expected to be able to take a hand in thepreparations for the war.
Hena, the virgin of the Isle of Sen, soon arrived. When her father,mother and other relatives saw her enter it seemed to them never beforehad she been so beautiful. Never before did her father feel so proud ofhis daughter. The long black tunic that she wore was held around herwaist by a brass belt, from which, on one side, hung a little goldsickle, and on the other a crescent in the shape of the waning moon.Hena had dressed herself with special care in honor of the celebrationof her birthday. A necklace and gold bracelets inlaid with garnetsornamented her arms and neck, whiter than the driven snow. When she tookoff her caped cloak it was noticed that she wore, as ever at religiousceremonies, a crown of green oak leaves on her blonde hair, plaited inbraids over her chaste and mild forehead. The blue of the sea, whenlying calmly under a clear sky, was not purer than the blue of Hena'seyes.
The brenn stretched out his arms to his daughter. She ran into themjoyously and offered him her forehead, as she also did her mother. Thechildren of the family loved Hena dearly and contested with each otherthe privilege of being the first to kiss her hands--sought with greed byall the little innocent mouths. Even old Deber-Trud gamboled and barkedwith joy at the arrival of his young mistress.
Albinik the mariner was the first to whom Hena offered her forehead tokiss after her father and mother; she had not seen her brother for along time. Next came the turn of Guilhern and Mikael and then the swarmof children, whom, stooping to them, Hena, sought to hold all togetherin one embrace. The young priestess then tenderly greeted Henory, herbrother Guilhern's wife, and expressed her regret at not seeingAlbinik's wife Meroe. Nor were the other relatives forgotten; all, downto Stumpy, otherwise everyone's butt, had a kind word from her.
The general exchange of greetings being over, and happy at findingherself among her own, in the house where she was born eighteen yearsbefore, Hena sat down at her mother's feet on the same stool that sheused to occupy when a child. When she saw her child seated at her feet,Mamm' Margarid called the maid's attention to the disorder that reignedin the house due to the preparations for war, and she said sadly:
"We should have celebrated this day of your birth with joy andtranquility, dear chi
ld! Instead, you now find confusion and alarm inour house that soon will be deserted.... War threatens."
"Mother is right," answered Hena sighing; "Great is the anger of Hesus."
"And what say you, dear child, you who are a saint," inquired Joel, "asaint of the Isle of Sen? What must we do to appease the wrath of theAll-Powerful?"
"My father and mother honor me too much by calling me a saint," answeredthe young virgin. "Like the druids, myself and my female companions havemeditated all night under the shadows of the sacred oak-trees at thehour of moon rise. We search for the simplest and divinest principles,and seek to spread them among our fellow-beings. We adore theAll-Powerful in His works, from the mighty oak that is sacred to Him,down to the humble moss that grows on the rocks of our isle; from thestars, whose eternal course we study, down to the insect that is bornand dies in one day; from the sourceless sea, down to the streamlet ofwater that glides under the grass. We search for the cure of diseasesthat cause pain, and we glorify those among our fathers and mothers whohave shed lustre upon Gaul. By the knowledge of the auguries and thestudy of the past, we seek to foresee the future to the end ofenlightening those who are less clear-sighted than ourselves. Finally,like the druids, we teach childhood, we inspire the child with an ardentlove of our common and beloved fatherland--so threatened to-day by thewrath of Hesus, a wrath that comes down upon them because they haveforgotten that _they are all the children of the same God_, and that abrother must resent the wound inflicted upon his brother."
"The stranger who was our guest and whom this morning I took to the Isleof Sen," replied the brenn, "spoke to us as you do, dear daughter."
"My father and mother may listen as sacred words to the words of theChief of the Hundred Valleys. Hesus and love for Gaul inspire him. He isbrave among the bravest."
"He! Is he the Chief of the Hundred Valleys?" exclaimed Joel. "Herefused to give me his name! Do you know it, daughter? Do you know whichis his native province?"
"He was impatiently waited for yesterday evening at the Isle of Sen bythe venerable Talyessin. As to his name, all that I am free to say to myfather and mother is that the day on which our country should besubjugated will also be the day when the Chief of the Hundred Valleyswill see the last drop of his blood flow from his veins. May the wrathof Hesus spare us that disastrous day!"
"Oh, my daughter, if Hesus is angry, how are we to appease him?"
"By obeying the law. He has said--_all men are the children of oneGod_. By offering to him human sacrifices.... May those that are to beoffered to-night calm his wrath."
"The sacrifices of to-night?" asked the brenn; "which are they?"
"Do not my father and mother know that to-night, when the moon rises,there will be three human sacrifices at the stones of the forest ofKarnak?"
"We know," answered Joel, "that all the tribes have been convened toappear this evening at the forest of Karnak. But who are the people thatare to be sacrificed and will be pleasing to Hesus, dear daughter?"
"First of all Daoulas the murderer: he killed Houarne without a fightand in his sleep. The druids have sentenced him to die this evening. Theblood of a cowardly murderer is an expiation agreeable to Hesus."
"And the second sacrifice?"
"Our relative Julyan wishes, out of friendship, to rejoin Armel, whom heloyally killed in a contest. This evening, glorified by the chant of thebards, he will go, agreeable to his vow, and join Armel in the unknownworlds. The blood of a brave man, voluntarily offered to Hesus, isagreeable to him."
"And the third sacrifice, dear child?" asked Mamm' Margarid; "Who isit?"
Hena did not answer. She dropped her blonde and charming head upon theknees of Margarid, remained a while in a revery, kissed her mother'shands and said to her with a sweet smile that brought back oldremembrances:
"How often did not little Hena, when still a child, fall asleep of anevening on your knees, mother, while you spun at your distaff, and whenall of you now present, except Albinik, were gathered at the hearth,narrating the virile virtues of our mothers and our fathers of old!"
"It is true, dear daughter," answered Margarid caressingly passing herhand over the blonde hair of her child; "it is true. And here among uswe all loved you so much for your good heart and your infantine grace,that when we saw you had fallen asleep on my knees, we all spoke in alow voice not to awake you."
Stumpy, who was among the crowd of relatives, put in:
"But who is that third human sacrifice, that is to appease Hesus anddeliver us from war? Who, Hena, is the third to be sacrificed thisevening?"
"I shall tell you, Stumpy, when I shall have had a little time tomeditate upon the past," answered the young maid dreamily, withoutleaving her mother's knees; and passing her hand over her forehead as ifto refreshen her memory, she looked around, pointed to the stone wherestood the copper bowl with the seven twigs of mistletoe and proceededsaying:
"When I was twelve, do my father and mother remember how happy I was athaving been selected by the female druids of the Isle of Sen to receivein a veil of linen, whitened in the dew of night, the mistletoe whichthe druids cut with a gold sickle at the moment when the moon shed itsclearest light? Do my father and mother remember how, bringing home themistletoe to sanctify our home, I was taken hither by the ewaghs in achariot decked with flowers and greens while the bards sang the glory ofHesus? What tender embraces did not my whole family lavish upon me at myreturn! What a feast it was in our tribe!"
"Dear, dear daughter," said Margarid pressing Hena's head against hermaternal breast, "if the female druids chose you to receive the sacredmistletoe in a linen veil, it was because your soul was as pure as theveil."
"It was because little Hena was the bravest of all her companions, shealmost perished in the attempt to save Janed, the daughter of Wor, who,as she was gathering shells on the rocks along the shore of Glen'-Hek,fell into the water and was being carried away by the waves," saidMikael the armorer, tenderly contemplating his sister.
"It was because, beyond all others, little Hena was sweet, patient andkind to the children; it was because, when only twelve, she instructedthem like at matron at the cottage of the female druids of the Isle ofSen," said Guilhern in his turn.
The daughter of Joel blushed with modesty at the words of her mother andbrothers; but Stumpy insisted:
"But who is that third human sacrifice that is to appease Hesus anddeliver us from war? Who is it, Hena, who is it to be sacrificed thisevening?"
"I shall tell you, Stumpy," answered the young maid rising; "I shalltell you after I have once more looked at the dear little chamber whereI used to sleep when, having grown unto maidenhood, I came here from theIsle of Sen to attend our family feasts." And stepping towards the doorof the chamber, she stopped for a moment at the threshold and said:
"What sweet nights have I spent there after retiring for the evening,regretful of leaving you! With what impatience did I not rise in themorning to meet you again!"
Taking two steps into the little chamber, while her family felt evermore astonished at hearing Hena, still so young, thus dwell upon thepast, the young maid proceeded, taking up several articles that lay upona little table:
"This is the sea-shell necklace that I entertained myself making in theevening sitting beside my mother.... These are the little dried twigsthat resemble trees, and that I gathered from our rocks.... This is thenet which I used when the tide was going out to catch little fisheswith; how the sport used to amuse me!... There are the rolls of whiteskin on which, every time I came here, I recorded my joy at meeting myrelatives and again seeing the house of my birth.... I find everythingin its place. I am glad of having gathered these young girl'streasures."
Stumpy, however, whom these mementoes did not seem to affect, againrepeated in his sour and impatient voice:
"But who is to be the third human sacrifice that is to appease Hesusand deliver us from war? Who, Hena, is to be sacrificed this evening?"
"I shall let you know, Stumpy," answered Hena smil
ing. "I shall let youknow after I shall have distributed my little treasures among youall,--you among them, Stumpy."
Saying this, the daughter of the brenn motioned to her relatives toenter the chamber, and in the midst of the silent astonishment of allshe gave a souvenir to each. Each, even of the little ones who loved herso much and also Stumpy received something. In order to make her giftsreach around, she loosened the sea-shell necklace and split up the drytwigs, saying in her sweet voice to each:
"Keep this, I pray you, out of friendship for Hena, your relative andfriend."
Joel, his wife and his three children, to all of whom Hena had not yetgiven aught, looked at one another all the more astonished at what shedid, seeing that towards the end tears appeared in her eyes although theyoung maid gave no other token of sadness. When all the others weresupplied, Hena took from her neck the garnet necklace that she wore andsaid to Margarid while kissing her hand:
"Hena prays her mother to keep this out of love for her."
She then took the little rolls of white skin that had been prepared forwriting on, handed them to Joel and kissing his hand said:
"Hena prays her father to keep this roll out of love for her; he willthere find her most cherished thoughts."
Detaching thereupon from her arm her two garnet bracelets, Hena said tothe wife of her brother Guilhern, the laborer:
"Hena prays her sister Henory to wear this bracelet out of love forher."
And giving the other bracelet to her brother the mariner she said:
"Your wife, Meroe, whom I love as much for her courage as for her nobleheart, is to keep this bracelet as a souvenir from me."
Hena then took from her copper belt the little gold sickle and crescentthat hung from it. She tendered the former to Guilhern the laborer, thesecond to Albinik the mariner, and taking a ring from her finger shegave it to Mikael the armorer, saying to the three:
"I wish my brothers to preserve these keepsakes out of love for theirsister Hena."
All those present remained astonished and holding in their hands thegifts that the virgin of the Isle of Sen had delivered to them. They allremained standing and so speechless with astonishment that none couldutter a word, but looked uneasily at one another as if threatened bysome unknown disaster. Hena finally turned to Stumpy:
"Stumpy," said she, "I shall now let you know who is to be the thirdsacrifice of this evening;" and taking the hands of Joel and Margaridshe gently led them back into the large hall, whither all the othersfollowed. Arrived there, Hena addressed her parents and assembledrelatives:
"My father and mother know that the blood of a cowardly murderer is anexpiatory offering to Hesus, and that it might appease him--"
"Yes--you told us so, dear daughter."
"They also know that the blood of a brave man who dies in pledge offriendship is a valorous offering to Hesus, and that it might appeasehim."
"Yes--you told us so, dear daughter."
"Finally, my father and mother know that the most acceptable of allofferings to Hesus and most likely to appease him is the innocent bloodof a virgin, happy and proud at the thought of offering her blood toHesus, and of doing so voluntarily--voluntarily--in the hope that thatall-powerful god may deliver our beloved fatherland, this dear andsacred fatherland of our fathers, from foreign oppression!... Thus theinnocent blood of a virgin will flow this evening to appease the wrathof Hesus."
"And her name?" asked Stumpy, "the name of that virgin who is to deliverus from war!"
Hena looked towards her father and mother with tenderness and serenityand said:
"The virgin who is to die is one of the nine female druids of the Isleof Sen. Her name is Hena. She is the daughter of Margarid and Joel, thebrenn of the tribe of Karnak!"
Deep silence fell upon the family of Joel. None, not one present,expected to see Hena travel so soon yonder. None, not one present,neither her father, nor her mother, nor her brothers, nor any of herother relatives, was prepared for the farewells of the sudden journey.
The children joined their little hands and said weeping:
"What!... Leave us so soon?... Our Hena?... Why do you journey away?"
The father and mother looked at each other and sighed.
Margarid said to Hena: "Joel and Margarid believed that they would haveto wait for their dear daughter in those unknown worlds, where wecontinue to live and where we meet again those whom we have lovedhere.... But it is to be otherwise. It is Hena who will precede us."
"And perhaps," said the brenn, "our sweet and dear daughter will notlong have to wait for us--"
"May her blood, innocent and pure as a lamb's, appease the wrath ofHesus!" added Margarid; "May we soon be able to follow our dear daughterand inform her that Gaul is delivered from the stranger."
"And the remembrance of the valiant sacrifice of our daughter shall bekept alive in our race," said the father; "so long as the descendants ofJoel, the brenn of the tribe of Karnak, shall live they will be proud tonumber among their ancestors Hena, the virgin of the Isle of Sen."
The young maid made no answer. Her eyes wandered with sweet avidity fromone relative to the other as, at the moment of undertaking a journey,the departing one takes a last look at the beloved beings from whom heis to be separated for a while.
Pointing through the open door at the moon that, now at her fullest, wasseen across the evening mist rising large-orbed and ruddy like a burningdisk, Stumpy cried:
"Hena!... Hena! The moon is rising above the horizon...."
"You are right, Stumpy; this is the hour," she said, unwillingly takingher eyes from the faces of her beloved family. An instant later sheadded:
"Let my father and mother and all the members of my family accompany meto the sacred stones of the forest of Karnak.... The hour of thesacrifice has come."
Walking between Joel and Margarid, and followed by all the members ofthe tribe, Hena walked serenely to the forest of Karnak.