CHAPTER IV. HOW KING MARSILLUS SAW A VISION.
A SHORT time previous to the foregoing events, Marsillus had a vision atSaragossa.
Come with me now to Spain, my young friends. Do not murmur, for thereexists nothing so lovely as Spain, unless it be "the terrestrialparadise," of which I am not in a position to form an opinion.
There the sandal-wood, the spikenard, the saffron, the ebony, and theclove, the most extraordinary flowers, the most delicious fruits, allgrow wild. The streams prattle more gaily there than anywhere else,joyfully sprinkling with dewy drops the ever-verdant banks. On all sidestrees, clothed with luxuriant foliage, provide shelter for themost musical birds in the world. The choir numbers the tomtit, thenightingale, the phoenix, the turtle-dove, and a thousand others. MustI, at the risk of making your mouths water, mention a few of the fruitsof this marvellous land? What do you say to the fig, the grape, thepomegranate, the almond, the lemon, the pine-apple, the olive, andthe orange? And the flowers!--clumps of roses everywhere, lilies,chrysanthemums! Here, grow ox-eyes; there, spring violets; yonder bloomthe narcissus and the balsam. The cool brooklets, abundant and limpidas glass, flow over pebbles as bright as crystal and topaz. There aregardens like those of Persia, minarets like those of Bagdad, a blue sky'like that of no other part of the world. The nights are so delicious,one is sorry to go to sleep. Everywhere are seen wealth, beauty, joy,and plenty! Such is Spain.
All this, however, was ruined by the presence of the Saracens.
Marsillus was taking a nap. He was lying on cushions of pricelessmaterial. The pavilion in which he had sought repose was of stainedivory, inlaid with gold. In the midst a joyous fountain diffusedcoolness around it; while an incense, compounded of musk, ambergris,and camphor, made into a paste with distilled otto of roses, burning inmarble bowls, filled the air with sweetness.
All at once the daylight turned sickly pale. A chill like that ofthe tomb succeeded the agreeable coolness and the perfumes yielded tosickening odours like those of the grave. The flowers faded; all thatwas brightest became dull and tarnished; and a corpse came and seateditself beside the King of Saragossa. It scarcely retained the humanform, being made up of shreds and rags of flesh, and rendered only themore hideous by the gay robes in which it was enveloped.
"My father!" said the corpse, "have you, then, forgotten me?" Marsillusopened his eyes, uttered a shriek, and, after gazing round vainlyfor some way of escape, sank back motionless, with haggard eyes andbristling locks, and bathed in a cold sweat.
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"Is it thus you receive your son, after a separation of ten years? Openyour arms to me, beloved monarch, for I hunger for your embrace!" Onseeing Murad approaching him, the terrified Marsillus sprang to hisfeet, and strove to get out of his way, but in vain. The corpse caughthim in its arms, folded him to its bosom, which cracked in a ghastly waywith the force of the hug, and "covered with cold and clammy kisses theface and white locks of the King of Saragossa, on which they left gorystains!
"Leave me--depart!" shrieked the old man. "What have I done to you, orwhat would you have me do?"
"I would be avenged on Roland of France."
"I will avenge you, Murad. But now leave me, if you do not wish me toperish on the spot." And Marsillus, putting forth all his strength,freed himself from the embraces of his son, and rushed to the other endof the chamber.
"In truth, my lord, you are not altered. As I left you nine years ago Ifind you now. You have just asked me two questions. I will answer them.You have asked what I would have you do? To that I answer, Avenge mydeath! I would see this accursed Roland and his friends punished ina way that should never be forgotten by the rest of mankind. I amastonished that so affectionate a father and so just a king should havebeen so long thinking about vengeance. Your other question was, 'Whathad you done to me?' Those words, by the Prophet! should have died awayon your lips; but since your conscience does not assist your memory, Iwill take its place. You do not question, of course, my dear lord, thatdeath reveals everything to us? One has reason to complain of it not somuch because it takes us from this world, as because it places the pastbefore us in naked truth--brings in review before us all our errorsand our beliefs--and teaches one, for instance, that one has had such afather as you."
Marsillus dug his nails into the wall, against which he had placed hisback, as if he would fain scoop out for himself some place of refuge.
Murad continued:--"While I was a child, happily for me, I did not occupyany place in your life; but from the hour when you saw me return theconqueror of the lioness and her cubs, you began to keep an eye on me. Igrew up under your personal superintendence, and if the queen, Hadrama,my mother, had not at times pressed me to her bosom, I believe I shouldhave become a wild beast, and not a man. My name became famous; theprodigies of my valour, my wisdom, and bravery won you many kingdoms. Ina short time I had doubled your empire. Your jealousy increased withmy fame, until, unable to look undazzled at the glory of my renown, youdetermined to make away with me. From that moment I had to encountera thousand plots--a thousand treacheries, over which I triumphed by amiracle, but of which I never once suspected the origin."
Marsillus would fain have denied this, but his voice stuck in hisparched throat.
"Your slaves one day found a huge snake, a venomous monster, which theyat once slew. It was a female, and would have left twenty little ones tolament her loss if you had not considerately ordered the destruction ofthe whole family. The father alone escaped. Once in possession of thislittle stock of poison, you asked yourself how you could best disposeof it, and being neither selfish nor thoughtless--you see, I do you thefullest justice--you were not long in remembering me. Your creaturestook the twenty young snakes and scattered them from their nest to myroom, where they concealed the mother's body under my bed. As soon asnight came, the male snake traced from corpse to corpse the path you hadso obligingly mapped out for him, and, full of fury, arrived almostat the bed where I was sleeping. I will spare you the recital of whatfollowed, for it would wring your heart. All I have to observe is, thaton my making my appearance before you next day, you knitted your brows;you were even put out when I laid at your feet the two serpents, oneonly of which owed its destruction to me. It was fortunate for you thaton the previous night I had struck one of your slaves, for it was atonce decided that he had attempted to revenge himself on me, and, inyour anxiety to see me righted, you sliced his head off before he hadtime to utter a word in defence."
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"I shall only briefly recall to you the horse, which, maddened with somenoxious drench, almost leaped with me into a bottomless abyss.Thanks to Allah, I did not lose my self-possession, and gave the animalsuch a blow behind the ear with my fist that he dropped lifeless,sending me rolling within a few paces ot the gulf which you had intendedfor my grave. Next day, on rising, I beheld a startling sight. Youhad, in your stern sense of justice, ordered the impalement of allmy faithful grooms, who were devoted to me, and you replaced them bycreatures of your own."
Marsillus hid his face in his hands.
"Finally, after ten years spent in futile efforts to get rid of me, youdetermined to send me to the French tournament, where I met my death.Now I might certainly desire, and insist, that you should pay dearly foryour past vagaries; but I offer you pardon, and only ask one thing inreturn; but that I must and will have."
Marsillus raised his head.
"Angoulaffre, Priamus, Corsablix, and all the other victims who sharedmy fate, speak to you with my lips. We demand the death of Roland andthe knights of Charlemagne. Swear to avenge us!"
"I swear!" murmured the old man.
"Give me your hand on it!" And Murad strode towards him. But at thatMarsillus shouted so lustily, that his guards rushed in. They foundthe King stretched on the ground, his robes dishevelled, and his lipsuttering disconnected sentences.
"Don't leave me!--don't leave!" he cried, dragging himself to the feetof the guard. "I have seen Murad! He calls
for vengeance! His kisseshave chilled my very marrow. You won't leave me?--promise me you won't!If you do, I'll have you all put to death!"
The most experienced physicians were at once sent for. They agreedthat His Highness was suffering from brain fever. But as nobody had thecourage to convey this intelligence to His Majesty, no attempt was madeto cure him; to which circumstance he owed his recovery.
By degrees the dreadful scene vanished from his mind, and in a month hehad almost forgotten it.
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"Go to war at my age!" said the King to himself. "What nonsense!I have the finest kingdom in the world. Charlemagne leaves me alone: whyshould I provoke him? Not I, i'faith! I must have had a bad dream, andI must mind I don't get an unpleasant waking-up by going to tweakCharlemagne by the beard. Sleep sweetly, Prince Murad, and let me livein peace!"
From that time Marsillus never passed a day without receiving a visitfrom his son. He had a guard constantly in his presence, but it was nouse.
Then he tried to discover some means of ridding himself of thisfrightful spectre; and, at length, one night determined to await itsapproach resolutely, yataghan in hand.
Murad came as usual, and approached his father; but he, with four blowsof his sword, sliced off the head, legs, and arms of the corpse. Then hebreathed more freely. But the head immediately burst out laughing, whilethe right arm politely picked up the weapon Marsillus had let fall, andhanded it to him.
"Take this yataghan, sire; it is one I wore for a long time--the one, inshort, you gave me as a boy. Have you forgotten it?"
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The King, more driven to his wits' end than ever, tremblingly flung hisson's limbs into a mat, and tied the four corners together. Then he ranat full speed into the garden, accompanied by roars of laughter from thehead, which did not cease to move as he bore it. Arrived at the end ofthe park, he dug six deep holes; put the head in the first, the rightarm in the second, the left arm in the third, the right leg; in thefourth, the left leg in the fifth, and the trunk in the sixth. Then hethrew the earth in upon them, and ran in again, without daring to lookbehind him.
Marsillus by this means gained a month's respite. But, at last, theSultana one day begged him to accompany her to the bottom of thegrounds, where she had discovered some unknown description of flowers,which gave out an odour so sweet, it was almost impossible to tearyourself away from them when once you had gone near them. The Kingrefused with such evident horror, that the surprised Hadrama onlypersisted the more, and he had to give way. As he approached nearer,his blood froze in his veins; his eyes were blinded with mist; his teethchattered horribly. Walk slowly as he would, he _must_ at last reach theterrible spot where his son's remains were concealed.
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On arriving there, the Sultana said, "See how thick the turf is! Did youever see anything like it?"
To the terrified Marsillus it seemed as if human hair was growing andcovering the ground on which he trod.
"Is there anything more delicious than the scent of these flowers?" ButMarsillus could only smell the foul odours of a grave.
"See what flocks of birds perch in the branches! Hark! how sweetly theysing!"
But Marsillus seemed but to hear a laugh that came from under theground. He saw that the leaves of this strange tree were shapedlike human tongues, and when the breeze shook them, low' voicesmurmured--"Revered sovereign, avenge my death!"
The King of Saragossa fell on his knees and to his prayers. The bigtears ran down his white beard. "Sow sin, and you will reap remorse!" heexclaimed, with his eyes fixed on the earth.
The next day he called together his nobles, and announced to them hisintention of avenging the death of Murad!
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