CHAPTER I.
NOMINOE.
The burg of Mezlean, situated on the coast of Brittany and at aboutequal distances from the port of Vannes and from the druid stones ofKarnak, was inhabited mainly by Protestant families. Their ancestors, atthe time when the Reformation invaded and spread over Brittany, andsubsequently during the religious wars of the Sixteenth Century, hadquitted Vannes and founded, so to speak, this burg, in which they raiseda temple. This temple, destroyed in the reactionary days of the League,of which lower Brittany was the last hot-bed, was replaced by a Catholicchurch, and was later again rebuilt after the promulgation of the Edictof Nantes by Henry IV. Upon that event, and for a long time after, thereformers of Mezlean were not disturbed in the exercise of their faith.The revival of the spirit of intolerance, however, which later causedthe revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV, speedily manifesteditself in Brittany also, and the Bishop of Vannes claimed the right ofrestoring the temple of Mezlean to the Catholic cult. In pursuit of theBishop's designs, a thousand difficulties were thrown in the path of,and a thousand vexations inflicted upon, the Protestants of the burg.The rectors and curates of the neighboring Catholic parishes took thehint, and rekindled religious animosities among their flocks by pointingat their neighbors of Mezlean as stiff-necked heretics.
One day, towards the end of the month of May, in the year 1673, the burgof Mezlean was, since early dawn, in great bustle over the preparationsfor a wedding. The curious blocked the neighborhood of the shop ofPaskou the Long, so nicknamed for his thinness and tall stature. Paskouthe Long was a tailor by trade, besides being renowned for miles aroundas a poet. His songs and plaintive love ditties caused him always to bechosen for the function of "Baz-valan," or messenger of love, to thegirls of the place. Thanks to his good-heartedness, his witty salliesand his irresistible humor, Paskou the Long was greatly beloved by thepeople of Mezlean. The man's personal qualities, coupled with his poetictalents, rendered him a matchless "Baz-valan." When, mounted upon awhite horse with braided mane gaily decked in ribbons, Paskou the Longdeparted to negotiate some marriage, holding in his hands the symbolictwig of broom in bloom, the emblem of love and unity, the lover wasalmost certain to see the "Baz-valan" return the bearer of happytidings, unless, on his outward trip, he encountered a magpie, or saw acrow perched upon a tree--sinister auguries that would cause Paskou theLong to turn back his horse's head. If, on the contrary, a turtle dove,nestled among the leaves, cooed on the passage of the messenger of love,the Baz-valan felt certain of the success of his mission. It was atreat to hear him sing the praises of his client, set into relief thegood points of the swain's personal appearance, laud his character,enumerate the cattle in his stables, the bushels of garnered wheat inhis granary, readily and gaily meet the objections of the parents of the_demanded girl_, in short, exhibit his matchless skill at cheering themost morose, or at proving to the most incredulous that his client wouldbe the Phoenix of all husbands.
On that particular day, the curious of the burg of Mezlean throngedaround the door of Paskou the Long's house, which was contiguous to aninn, the yard and outlying stables of which were crowded with wagonshitched to the oxen or horses of the peasants who were to join thenuptial procession charged with fetching the bride from her paternalhouse, about a league away. The bridegroom, Nominoe Lebrenn, and hisfather, Salaun Lebrenn, were in an upper chamber of Paskou the Long'shouse. Nominoe seemed to be a prey to some secret anxiety. His pale andhaggard face bore the stamp of concentrated grief. Seated near a tablewith his elbow resting upon it, he reclined his care-worn forehead uponhis hand. Standing beside his son, Salaun contemplated him withamazement, and said to him considerately: "Verily, my son, I can hardlybelieve that I heard you rightly. What! our relatives, our friends, allassembled in the neighboring house, are waiting to join you in theprocession to your cousin Tina's house, and to bring her to Mezleanwhere your wedding is to be celebrated in the temple--and all of asudden, without any reason therefor, you appear to waver before thismarriage that has been decided and agreed upon for so long a time!"
"Father," answered Nominoe with an effort, "I am not irrevocably engageduntil the Baz-valan has gone and taken my betrothed from her house--notuntil after that last ceremony has been performed, is it forbidden to meunless I am ready to be taken for a faithless man, heartless and withouthonor, to retract my word."
Salaun listened to his son with increased amazement and replied: "Am Iawake, or am I dreaming? Is not this union, so much desired by yourmother's brother and me, and planned, I may say, since your and Tina'sbirth--is it not also the constant aspiration of you two? Did you notexchange rings shortly after our voyage to The Hague? Finally, was itnot in concert with your uncle, his daughter and yourself, thatrecently, upon our return from our cruise along the coasts of Saintongeand Guyenne, the day for your marriage was fixed? And, now, you mean topretend that, in the absence of an insignificant formality, you wouldstill be free to break an engagement that you voluntarily accepted andremained true to for so many years! I seek in vain for the cause of thischange, an inconceivable change, a change that is so unexpected!"
Nominoe answered without raising his eyes to his father: "I was weak; Ifailed in sincerity; but, I still can draw back before a fatal finalstep. Brought up with Tina, habituated to see in her the futurecompanion of my life, I believed I loved her. I mistook for thatsentiment the fraternal affection that I entertained for her sincechildhood. But little by little the truth dawned upon my heart, and Idiscovered that Tina was not and never could be aught to me but asister. Unfortunately I did not have the courage to destroy the poorgirl's illusion. I recoiled before the thought of the grief that therupture of this alliance between our two families would cause you and myuncle. I admit it--I recoiled before the declaration that, howevertardily, I now feel forced to make, at last. Now, when the hour isapproached in which I was to unite my fate with Tina's, I interrogatemyself with the inexorable severity of a judge, and I declare to you,father, that I fear, were I to marry Tina, I could not render her ashappy as she deserves to be. Finally, there is another grave reason formy decision not to contract this union: At any moment now, theinsurrection, that has so long been brewing in Brittany, may break outwith fury. I hold it would be an act of imprudence on my part to wedTina on the eve of a civil war, in which I may be killed. Looked at fromany side we choose, it is preferable that the wedding do not takeplace."
The face of Salaun Lebrenn grew sadder and more serious. His son'sembarrassment, and the weakness of the reasons that he adduced tojustify his sudden change, clearly betrayed the fact that the young manwas but beating about for pretexts for a rupture, the real reason forwhich he sought to conceal.
"My son," replied Salaun in a firm and grave tone, "this is the firsttime in your life, I think, that you have lowered yourself before me byresorting to a ruse, to equivocation, and even to untruth! You dare notlook me in the face, and you stammer out your pretended reasons for arupture that you feel ashamed of!"
And the father, taking pity upon his son's prostration, softened theseverity of his tone by adding: "Nominoe, I shall now address myself toyour loyalty of heart. I wish to believe, I do believe that yourscruples, so tardily expressed, are sincere. You fear you may not renderTina as happy as the good girl deserves. You fear to plunge her intomortal anxiety for your life, perhaps into the mourning of widowhood,should the insurrection of Brittany break out to-morrow. To all that myanswer is: You would have to be a man of selfish heart before I couldbelieve you capable of rendering unhappy a creature who loves you withall her heart and soul. But you are what you are. Now, then, I swear toGod, whatever the nature may be of your affection for your wife, shewill have nothing for which to envy the happiest of wives. My convictionon that head is complete, absolute. Do you imagine that, if I believedotherwise, I would fail to be the first to wish, in fact, to order you,however late the hour, to break off the match? No, no, my son, I havemore confidence in you than you seem to have in yourself. There, then,remains this one ob
jection--the imminence of an uprising in which wewould take part, and, consequently, Tina's anxiety for your safety. Asto that, you are right, my son; your apprehensions are well founded; butthe sorrows that you foresee for your bride are not pressing, while, onthe other hand, I see a certain sentence of death for the poor girl inyour refusal to marry her."
"Great God!" exclaimed Nominoe with a shudder, unable to prevent himselffrom sharing his father's fears.
"Listen to me. At this very hour that I am speaking to you, Tina,surrounded by her girl companions, her head decked with the bridalribbons, is awaiting you from minute to minute, with her eyes upon theMezlean road, her heart beating with joy and tender impatience. Insteadof the nuptial procession, preceded by the radiant Baz-valan holding inhis hand the twig of broom in bloom, she is to see him from a distanceon the road, coming to her sad, alone and with the twig broken. The poorgirl will understand the symbol, the ruin of her hopes. She will feelherself deserted, considered by you unworthy of being your wife. Shewill not complain. Not a single reproach will escape her lips. She willeven endeavor to appease her father's indignation. She will say to him:'Nominoe is master of his own heart; he has loved me; he loves me nomore; I was his promised wife, but am not to be his wedded wife. Whatdid I do to be deserted? I know not, and am resigned. May he be happy.As children we were put to sleep in the same cradle. He always was thefriend of my youth. My only wish is that he may be happy. It is my lastwish!' And as she utters these words," Salaun proceeded to say in ashaken voice, "tears will wet the pale and sweet countenance of Tina. Insilence the poor girl will untie her bridal ribbons, will put off herwedding robes, and returning to her household work, will resume herdistaff--all without expressing one bitter word. She will sufferwithout complaining. The period of her sufferings will be more or lessprolonged, and then," added Salaun, tears beginning to interfere withhis speech, "and then, at the end of this month, perhaps before the endof this week, the people of the burg of Mezlean will say: 'You knowlittle Tina, the daughter of Tankeru the blacksmith? Well, she died!'"
At these last words, pronounced by Salaun with poignant simplicity,Nominoe could no longer hold back his tears. The natural kindness of hisheart triumphed over his indecision, and he cried:
"Oh, father! You are right. My desertion of her would cause Tina'sdeath! I shall not be guilty of the murder. You shall live, dear child!You shall live! Hap what hap may, I shall make you happy. Let my destinybe fulfilled!"
"And you also will be happy!" replied Salaun with joy, as he took hisson in his arms. "Come, dear boy! My insistence is the presentiment ofthe bliss that awaits you two. You are worthy the one of the other. Youwill both be happy, dear children!"
Saying this, Salaun ran to the door that opened upon the staircase ofthe tailor's shop, opened it and called down from the banister: "Tohorse, Paskou the Long! To horse, joyful Baz-valan! Call our relativesand friends! Worthy herald of nuptial ceremonies, take your gay sprig ofbroom in bloom, and to horse!"
"It is done!" said Nominoe to himself while his father was calling tothe Baz-valan. "Adieu, insane hopes! Adieu, deceitful, senselessvisions, yet so dear to my heart! Adieu, gilded dream, a dream asdistant from reality as heaven is from the pit! This morning, when Ilearned of the arrival of Mademoiselle Plouernel at Mezlean, I intendedto break off this match. Poor fool! Return to your senses, to earth!Your marriage will put an end to the visions that led your mind astray!"
"Let us depart, my son! Make haste! Poor Tina must have begun to feeluneasy," observed Salaun to his son. "All our relatives and friends arewaiting for us. Quick, to horse!"
A moment later the nuptial procession, headed by the Baz-valan andNominoe, left the burg of Mezlean and took the road to the house ofTankeru the blacksmith, the father of Tina, the bride.