CHAPTER XXII: THE REVELLERS
Cade.--Where's Dick, the butcher of Ashford? Dick.--Here, sir. Cade.--They fell before thee like sheep and oxen, and thou behavedst thyself as if thou hadst been in thine own slaughter house.
SECOND PART OF KING HENRY V.
There could hardly exist a more strange and horrible change than hadtaken place in the castle hall of Schonwaldt since Quentin had partakenof the noontide meal there, and it was indeed one which painted, inthe extremity of their dreadful features, the miseries of war--moreespecially when waged by those most relentless of all agents, themercenary soldiers of a barbarous age--men who, by habit and profession,had become familiarized with all that was cruel and bloody in the artof war, while they were devoid alike of patriotism and of the romanticspirit of chivalry.
Instead of the orderly, decent, and somewhat formal meal, at which civiland ecclesiastical officers had, a few hours before, sat mingled in thesame apartment, where a light jest could only be uttered in a whisper,and where, even amid superfluity of feasting and of wine, there reigneda decorum which almost amounted to hypocrisy, there was now such a sceneof wild and roaring debauchery as Satan himself, had he taken the chairas founder of the feast, could scarcely have improved.
At the head of the table sat, in the Bishop's throne and state, whichhad been hastily brought thither from his great council chamber, theredoubted Boar of Ardennes himself, well deserving that dreaded name inwhich he affected to delight, and which he did as much as he could thinkof to deserve.
His head was unhelmeted, but he wore the rest of his ponderous andbright armour, which indeed he rarely laid aside. Over his shouldershung a strong surcoat, made of the dressed skin of a huge wild boar, thehoofs being of solid silver and the tusks of the same. The skin of thehead was so arranged, that, drawn over the casque, when the Baron wasarmed, or over his bare head in the fashion of a hood, as he oftenaffected when the helmet was laid aside, and as he now wore it, theeffect was that of a grinning, ghastly monster, and yet the countenancewhich it overshadowed scarce required such horrors to improve thosewhich were natural to its ordinary expression.
The upper part of De la Marck's face, as Nature had formed it, almostgave the lie to his character, for though his hair, when uncovered,resembled the rude and wild bristles of the hood he had drawn overit, yet an open, high, and manly forehead, broad ruddy cheeks, large,sparkling, light coloured eyes, and a nose which looked like the beakof the eagle, promised something valiant and generous. But the effect ofthese more favourable traits was entirely overpowered by his habits ofviolence and insolence, which, joined to debauchery and intemperance,had stamped upon the features a character inconsistent with the roughgallantry which they would otherwise have exhibited. The former had,from habitual indulgence, swollen the muscles of the cheeks and thosearound the eyes, in particular the latter; evil practices and habits haddimmed the eyes themselves, reddened the part of them that should havebeen white, and given the whole face a hideous likeness of the monsterwhich it was the terrible Baron's pleasure to resemble. But from an oddsort of contradiction, De la March, while he assumed in other respectsthe appearance of the Wild Boar, and even seemed pleased with the name,yet endeavoured, by the length and growth of his beard, to conceal thecircumstance that had originally procured him that denomination. Thiswas an unusual thickness and projection of the mouth and upper jaw,which, with the huge projecting side teeth, gave that resemblance to thebestial creation, which, joined to the delight that De la Marck had inhunting the forest so called, originally procured for him the name ofthe Boar of Ardennes. The beard, broad, grisly, and uncombed, neitherconcealed the natural horrors of the countenance, nor dignified itsbrutal expression.
The soldiers and officers sat around the table, intermixed with the menof Liege, some of them of the very lowest description, among whom NikkelBlok the butcher, placed near De la Marck himself, was distinguished byhis tucked up sleeves, which displayed arms smeared to the elbowswith blood, as was the cleaver which lay on the table before him. Thesoldiers wore, most of them, their beards long and grisly, in imitationof their leader, had their hair plaited and turned upwards, in themanner that ought best improve the natural ferocity of their appearance,and intoxicated, as many of them seemed to be, partly with the sense oftriumph, and partly with the long libations of wine which they had beenquaffing, presented a spectacle at once hideous and disgusting. Thelanguage which they held, and the songs which they sang, without evenpretending to pay each other the compliment of listening, were so fullof license and blasphemy, that Quentin blessed God that the extremity ofthe noise prevented them from being intelligible to his companion.
It only remains to say of the better class of burghers who wereassociated with William de la Marck's soldiers in this fearful revelthat the wan faces and anxious mien of the greater part showed that theyeither disliked their entertainment, or feared their companions, whilesome of lower education, or a nature more brutal, saw only in theexcesses of the soldier a gallant bearing, which they would willinglyimitate, and the tone of which they endeavoured to catch so far as waspossible, and stimulated themselves to the task, by swallowing immensedraughts of wine and schwarzbier [black beer]--indulging a vice 'whichat all times was too common in the Low Countries.
The preparations for the feast had been as disorderly as the quality ofthe company. The whole of the Bishop's plate--nay, even that belongingto the service of the Church--for the Boar of Ardennes regarded not theimputation of sacrilege--was mingled with black jacks, or huge tankardsmade of leather, and drinking horns of the most ordinary description.
One circumstance of horror remains to be added and accounted for, and wewillingly leave the rest of the scene to the imagination of the reader.Amidst the wild license assumed by the soldiers of De la Marck, one whowas excluded from the table (a lanzknecht, remarkable for his courageand for his daring behaviour during the storm of the evening), hadimpudently snatched up a large silver goblet, and carried it offdeclaring it should atone for his loss of the share of the feast.The leader laughed till his sides shook at a jest so congenial to thecharacter of the company, but when another, less renowned, it wouldseem, for audacity in battle, ventured on using the same freedom, De laMarck instantly put a check to a jocular practice, which would soon havecleared his table of all the more valuable decorations.
"Ho! by the spirit of the thunder!" he exclaimed, "those who dare not bemen when they face the enemy, must not pretend to be thieves among theirfriends. What! thou frontless dastard, thou--thou who didst wait foropened gate and lowered bridge, when Conrade Horst forced his way overmoat and wall, must thou be malapert?--Knit him up to the stanchions ofthe hall window!--He shall beat time with his feet, while we drink a cupto his safe passage to the devil."
The doom was scarce sooner pronounced than accomplished, and in a momentthe wretch wrestled out his last agonies, suspended from the iron bars.His body still hung there when Quentin and the others entered thehall, and, intercepting the pale moonbeam, threw on the castle floor anuncertain shadow, which dubiously, yet fearfully, intimated the natureof the substance that produced it.
When the Syndic Pavillon was announced from mouth to mouth in thistumultuous meeting, he endeavoured to assume, in right of his authorityand influence, an air of importance and equality, which a glance at thefearful object at the window, and at the wild scene around him, renderedit very difficult for him to sustain, notwithstanding the exhortationsof Peter, who whispered in his ear with some perturbation, "Up heart,master, or we are but gone men!"
The Syndic maintained his dignity, however, as well as he could, ina short address, in which he complimented the company upon the greatvictory gained by the soldiers of De la Marck and the good citizens ofLiege.
"Ay," answered De la Marck, sarcastically, "we have brought down thegame at last, quoth my lady's brach to the wolf hound. But ho! SirBurgomaster, you come like Mars, with Beauty by your side. Who is thisfair one?--Unveil, unveil--no woman calls her beau
ty her own tonight."
"It is my daughter, noble leader," answered Pavillon, "and I am to prayyour forgiveness for her wearing a veil. She has a vow for that effectto the Three Blessed Kings."
"I will absolve her of it presently," said De la Marck, "for here, withone stroke of a cleaver, will I consecrate myself Bishop of Liege, and Itrust one living bishop is worth three dead kings."
There was a shuddering and murmur among the guests, for the communityof Liege, and even some of the rude soldiers, reverenced the Kings ofCologne, as they were commonly called, though they respected nothingelse.
"Nay, I mean no treason against their defunct majesties," said De laMarck, "only Bishop I am determined to be. A prince both secular andecclesiastical, having power to bind and loose, will best suit a band ofreprobates such as you, to whom no one else would give absolution.--Butcome hither, noble Burgomaster--sit beside me, when you shall see memake a vacancy for my own preferment.--Bring in our predecessor in theholy seat."
A bustle took place in the hall, while Pavillon, excusing himself fromthe proffered seat of honour, placed himself near the bottom of thetable, his followers keeping close behind him, not unlike a flock ofsheep which, when a stranger dog is in presence, may be sometimes seento assemble in the rear of an old bell wether, who is, from office andauthority, judged by them to have rather more courage than themselves.Near the spot sat a very handsome lad, a natural son, as was said,of the ferocious De la Marck, and towards whom he sometimes showedaffection, and even tenderness. The mother of the boy, a beautifulconcubine, had perished by a blow dealt her by the ferocious leader ina fit of drunkenness or jealousy, and her fate had caused her tyrantas much remorse as he was capable of feeling. His attachment to thesurviving orphan might be partly owing to these circumstances. Quentin,who had learned this point of the leader's character from the oldpriest, planted himself as close as he could to the youth in question,determined to make him, in some way or other, either a hostage or aprotector, should other means of safety fail them.
While all stood in a kind of suspense, waiting the event of the orderswhich the tyrant had issued, one of Pavillon's followers whisperedPeter, "Did not our master call that wench his daughter?--Why, it cannotbe our Trudchen. This strapping lass is taller by two inches, and thereis a black lock of hair peeps forth yonder from under her veil. By SaintMichael of the Marketplace, you might as well call a black bullock'shide a white heifer's!
"Hush! hush!" said Peter, with some presence of mind. "What if our'master hath a mind to steal a piece of doe venison out of the Bishop'sparks here, without our good dame's knowledge? And is it for thee or meto be a spy on him?"
"That will not I," answered the other, "though I would not have thoughtof his turning deer stealer at his years. Sapperment--what a shy fairyit is! See how she crouches down on yonder seat, behind folks' backs, toescape the gaze of the Marckers.--But hold, hold, what are they about todo with the poor old Bishop?"
As he spoke, the Bishop of Liege, Louis of Bourbon, was dragged into thehall of his own palace by the brutal soldiery. The dishevelled stateof his hair, beard, and attire bore witness to the ill treatment he hadalready received, and some of his sacerdotal robes, hastily flung overhim, appeared to have been put on in scorn and ridicule of his qualityand character. By good fortune, as Quentin was compelled to think it,the Countess Isabelle, whose feelings at seeing her protector in such anextremity might have betrayed her own secret and compromised her safety,was so situated as neither to hear nor see what was about to take place,and Durward sedulously interposed his own person before her, so as tokeep her from observing alike and from observation.
The scene which followed was short and fearful. When the unhappy Prelatewas brought before the footstool of the savage leader, although informer life only remarkable for his easy and good natured temper, heshowed in this extremity a sense of his dignity and noble blood,well becoming the high race from which he was descended. His look wascomposed and undismayed, his gesture, when the rude hands which draggedhim forward were unloosed, was noble, and at the same time resigned,somewhat between the bearing of a feudal noble and of a Christian martyrand so much was even De la Marck himself staggered by the firm demeanourof his prisoner and recollection of the early benefits he had receivedfrom him, that he seemed irresolute, cast down his eyes, and it was notuntil he had emptied a large goblet of wine, that, resuming his haughtyinsolence of look and manner, he thus addressed his unfortunate captive.
"Louis of Bourbon," said the truculent soldier, drawing hard his breath,clenching 'his hands, setting his teeth, and using the other mechanicalactions to rouse up and sustain his native ferocity of temper, "I soughtyour friendship, and you rejected mine. What would you now give that ithad been otherwise?--Nikkel, be ready."
The butcher rose, seized his weapon, and stealing round behind De laMarck's chair, stood with it uplifted in his bare and sinewy hands.
"Look at that man, Louis of Bourbon," said De la Marck again,--"Whatterms wilt thou now offer, to escape this dangerous hour?"
The Bishop cast a melancholy but unshaken look upon the grislysatellite, who seemed prepared to execute the will of the tyrant, andthen he said with firmness, "Hear me, William de la Marck, and good menall, if there be any here who deserve that name, hear the only terms Ican offer to this ruffian.
"William de la Marck, thou hast stirred up to sedition an imperialcity--hast assaulted and taken the palace of a Prince of the Holy GermanEmpire--slain his people--plundered his goods--maltreated his person,for this thou art liable to the Ban of the Empire [to put a princeunder the ban of the empire was to divest him of his dignities, andto interdict all intercourse and all offices of humanity with theoffender]--hast deserved to be declared outlawed and fugitive, landlessand rightless. Thou hast done more than all this. More than merehuman laws hast thou broken, more than mere human vengeance hast thoudeserved. Thou hast broken into the sanctuary of the Lord--laid violenthands upon a Father of the Church--defiled the house of God with bloodand rapine, like a sacrilegious robber--"
"Hast thou yet done?" said De la Marck, fiercely interrupting him, andstamping with his foot.
"No," answered the Prelate, "for I have not yet told thee the termswhich you demanded to hear from me."
"Go on," said De la Marck, "and let the terms please me better than thepreface, or woe to thy gray head!"
And flinging himself back in his seat, he grinded his teeth till thefoam flew from his lips, as from the tusks of the savage animal whosename and spoils he wore.
"Such are thy crimes," resumed the Bishop, with calm determination, "nowhear the terms, which, as a merciful Prince and a Christian Prelate,setting aside all personal offence, forgiving each peculiar injury,I condescend to offer. Fling down thy heading staff--renounce thycommand--unbind thy prisoners--restore thy spoil--distribute what elsethou hast of goods, to relieve those whom thou hast made orphans andwidows--array thyself in sackcloth and ashes--take a palmer's staff inthy hand, and go barefooted on pilgrimage to Rome, and we will ourselvesbe intercessors for thee with the Imperial Chamber at Ratisbon for thylife, With our Holy Father the Pope for thy miserable soul."
While Louis of Bourbon proposed these terms, in a tone as decided as ifhe still occupied his episcopal throne, and as if the usurper kneeleda suppliant at his feet, the tyrant slowly raised himself in his chair,the amazement with which he was at first filled giving way gradually torage, until, as the Bishop ceased, he looked to Nikkel Blok, and raisedhis finger, without speaking a word. The ruffian struck as if he hadbeen doing his office in the common shambles, and the murdered Bishopsunk, without a groan, at the foot of his own episcopal throne. TheLiegeois, who were not prepared for so horrible a catastrophe, and whohad expected to hear the conference end in some terms of accommodation,started up unanimously, with cries of execration, mingled with shouts ofvengeance.
[In assigning the present date to the murder of the Bishop of Liege,Louis de Bourbon, history has been violated. It is true that the Bishopwas made priso
ner by the insurgents of that city. It is also true thatthe report of the insurrection came to Charles with a rumour that theBishop was slain, which excited his indignation against Louis, who wasthen in his power. But these things happened in 1468, and the Bishop'smurder did not take place till 1482. In the months of August andSeptember of that year, William de la Marck, called the Wild Boar ofArdennes, entered into a conspiracy with the discontented citizensof Liege against their Bishop, Louis of Bourbon, being aided withconsiderable sums of money by the King of France. By this means, and theassistance of many murderers and banditti, who thronged to him as to aleader befitting them, De la Marck assembled a body of troops, whom hedressed in scarlet as a uniform, with a boar's head on the left sleeve.With this little army he approached the city of Liege. Upon this thecitizens, who were engaged in the conspiracy, came to their Bishop, and,offering to stand by him to the death, exhorted him to march out againstthese robbers. The Bishop, therefore, put himself at the head of a fewtroops of his own, trusting to the assistance of the people of Liege.But so soon as they came in sight of the enemy, the citizens, as beforeagreed, fled from the Bishop's banner, and he was left with his ownhandful of adherents. At this moment De la Marck charged at the head ofhis banditti with the expected success. The Bishop was brought beforethe profligate Knight, who first cut him over the face, then murderedhim with his own hand, and caused his body to be exposed naked in thegreat square of Liege before Saint Lambert's Cathedral. S.]
But William de la Marck, raising his tremendous voice above the tumult,and shaking his clenched hand and extended arm, shouted aloud, "How now,ye porkers of Liege! ye wallowers in the mud of the Maes!--do ye dare tomate yourselves with the Wild Boar of Ardennes?--Up, ye Boar's brood!"(an expression by which he himself, and others, often designated hissoldiers) "let these Flemish hogs see your tusks!"
Every one of his followers started up at the command, and mingled asthey were among their late allies, prepared too for such a surprisal,each had, in an instant, his next neighbour by the collar, while hisright hand brandished a broad dagger that glimmered against lamplightand moonshine. Every arm was uplifted, but no one struck, for thevictims were too much surprised for resistance, 'and it was probably theobject of De la Marck only to impose terror on his civic confederates.
But the courage of Quentin Durward, prompt and alert in resolutionbeyond his years, and stimulated at the moment by all that could addenergy to his natural shrewdness and resolution, gave a new turn to thescene. Imitating the action of the followers of De la Marck, he sprangon Carl Eberson, the son of their leader, and mastering him with ease,held his dirk at the boy's throat, while he exclaimed, "Is that yourgame? then here I play my part."
"Hold! hold!" exclaimed De la Marck, "it is a jest--a jest.--Think you Iwould injure my good friends and allies of the city of Liege!--Soldiers,unloose your holds, sit down, take away the carrion" (giving theBishop's corpse a thrust with his foot) "which hath caused this strifeamong friends, and let us drown unkindness in a fresh carouse."
All unloosened their holds, and the citizens and the soldiers stoodgazing on each other, as if they scarce knew whether they were friendsor foes. Quentin Durward took advantage of the moment.
"Hear me," he said, "William de la Marck, and you, burghers and citizensof Liege--and do you, young sir, stand still" (for the boy Carl wasattempting to escape from his grip)--"no harm shall befall you unlessanother of these sharp jests shall pass around."
"Who art thou, in the fiend's name," said the astonished De la Marck,"who art come to hold terms and take hostages from us in our ownlair--from us, who exact pledges from others, but yield them to no one?"
"I am a servant of King Louis of France," said Quentin, boldly, "anArcher of his Scottish Guard, as my language and dress may partly tellyou. I am here to behold and to report your proceedings, and I seewith wonder that they are those of heathens, rather than Christians--ofmadmen, rather than men possessed of reason. The hosts of Charles ofBurgundy will be instantly in motion against you all, and if you wishassistance from France, you must conduct yourself in a different manner.
"For you, men of Liege, I advise your instant return to your own city,and if there is any obstruction offered to your departure, I denouncethose by whom it is so offered, foes to my master, his Most GraciousMajesty of France."
"France and Liege! France and Liege!" cried the followers of Pavillon,and several other citizens whose courage began to rise at the boldlanguage held by Quentin.
"France and Liege, and long live the gallant Archer! We will live anddie with him!"
William de la Marck's eyes sparkled, and he grasped his dagger as ifabout to launch it at the heart of the audacious speaker, but glancinghis eye around, he read something in the looks of his soldiers whicheven he was obliged to respect. Many of them were Frenchmen, and all ofthem knew the private support which William had received, both in menand in money, from that kingdom, nay, some of them were rather startledat the violent and sacrilegious action which had been just committed.The name of Charles of Burgundy, a person likely to resent to the utmostthe deeds of that night, had an alarming sound, and the extreme impolicyof at once quarrelling with the Liegeois and provoking the Monarch ofFrance, made an appalling impression on their minds, confused as theirintellects were. De la Marck, in short, saw he would not be supported,even by his own band, in any farther act of immediate violence, andrelaxing the terrors of his brow and eye, declared that he had not theleast design against his good friends of Liege, all of whom were atliberty to depart from Schonwaldt at their pleasure, although he hadhoped they would revel one night with him, at least, in honour of theirvictory. He added, with more calmness than he commonly used, that hewould be ready to enter into negotiation concerning the partition ofspoil, and the arrangement of measures for their mutual defence, eitherthe next day, or as soon after as they would. Meantime he trusted thatthe Scottish gentleman would honour his feast by remaining all night atSchonwaldt.
The young Scot returned his thanks, but said his motions must bedetermined by those of Pavillon, to whom he was directed particularlyto attach himself, but that, unquestionably, he would attend him on hisnext return to the quarters of the valiant William de la Marck.
"If you depend on my motions," said Pavillon, hastily and aloud, "youare likely to quit Schonwaldt without an instant's delay--and, if you donot come back to Schonwaldt, save in my company, you are not likely tosee it again in a hurry."
This last part of the sentence the honest citizen muttered to himself,afraid of the consequences of giving audible vent 'to feelings which,nevertheless, he was unable altogether to suppress.
"Keep close about me, my brisk Kurschner [a worker in fur] lads." hesaid to his bodyguard, "and we will get as fast as we can out of thisden of thieves."
Most of the better classes of the Liegeois seemed to entertain similaropinions with the Syndic, and there had been scarce so much joy amongstthem at the obtaining possession of Schonwaldt as now seemed to arisefrom the prospect of getting safe out of it. They were suffered to leavethe castle without opposition of any kind, and glad was Quentin when heturned his back on those formidable walls.
For the first time since they had entered that dreadful hall, Quentinventured to ask the young Countess how she did.
"Well, well," she answered, in feverish haste, "excellently well--donot stop to ask a question, let us not lose an instant in words.--Let usfly--let us fly!"
She endeavoured to mend her pace as she spoke, but with so littlesuccess that she must have fallen from exhaustion had not Durwardsupported her. With the tenderness of a mother, when she conveys herinfant out of danger, the young Scot raised his precious charge in hisarms, and while she encircled his neck with one arm, lost to every otherthought save the desire of escaping, he would not have wished one of therisks of the night unencountered, since such had been the conclusion.
The honest Burgomaster was, in his turn, supported and dragged forwardby his faithful counsellor Peter, and another of his clerks, a
nd thus,in breathless haste, they reached the banks of the river, encounteringmany strolling bands of citizens, who were eager to know the event ofthe siege, and the truth of certain rumours already afloat that theconquerors had quarrelled among themselves.
Evading their curiosity as they best could, the exertions of Peter andsome of his companions at length procured a boat for the use of thecompany, and with it an opportunity of enjoying some repose, equallywelcome to Isabelle, who continued to lie almost motionless in the armsof her deliverer, and to the worthy Burgomaster, who, after delivering abroken string of thanks to Durward, whose mind was at the time too muchoccupied to answer him, began a long harangue, which he addressed toPeter, upon his own courage and benevolence, and the dangers to whichthese virtues had exposed him, on this and other occasions.
"Peter, Peter," he said, resuming the complaint of the precedingevening, "if I had not had a bold heart, I would never have stood outagainst paying the burghers twentieths, when every other living soulwas willing to pay the same.--Ay, and then a less stout heart had notseduced me into that other battle of Saint Tron, where a Hainault manat arms thrust me into a muddy ditch with his lance, which neither heartnor hand that I had could help me out of till the battle was over.--Ay,and then, Peter, this very night my courage seduced me, moreover, intotoo strait a corselet, which would have been the death of me, butfor the aid of this gallant young gentleman, whose trade is fighting,whereof I wish him heartily joy. And then for my tenderness of heart,Peter, it has made a poor man of me, that is, it would have made apoor man of me, if I had not been tolerably well to pass in this wickedworld--and Heaven knows what trouble it is likely to bring on me yet,with ladies, countesses, and keeping of secrets, which, for aught Iknow, may cost me half my fortune, and my neck into the bargain!"
Quentin could remain no longer silent, but assured him that whateverdanger or damage he should incur on the part of the young lady now underhis protection should be thankfully acknowledged, and, as far as waspossible, repaid.
"I thank you, young Master Squire Archer, I thank you," answered thecitizen of Liege "but who was it told you that I desired any repaymentat your hand for doing the duty of an honest man? I only regretted thatit might cost me so and so, and I hope I may have leave to say so muchto my lieutenant, without either grudging my loss or my peril."
Quentin accordingly concluded that his present friend was one of thenumerous class of benefactors to others, who take out their reward ingrumbling, without meaning more than, by showing their grievances,to exalt a little the idea of the valuable service by which they haveincurred them, and therefore prudently remained silent, and suffered theSyndic to maunder on to his lieutenant concerning the risk and theloss he had encountered by his zeal for the public good, and hisdisinterested services to individuals, until they reached his ownhabitation.
The truth was, that the honest citizen felt that he had lost a littleconsequence, by suffering the young stranger to take the lead at thecrisis which had occurred at the castle hall of Schonwaldt, and, howeverdelighted with the effect of Durward's interference at the moment, itseemed to him, on reflection, that he had sustained a diminutionof importance, for which he endeavoured to obtain compensation byexaggerating the claims which he had upon the gratitude of his countryin general, his friends in particular, and more especially still, on theCountess of Croye, and her youthful protector.
But when the boat stopped at the bottom of his garden, and he had gothimself assisted on shore by Peter, it seemed as if the touch of his ownthreshold had at once dissipated those feelings of wounded self opinionand jealousy, and converted the discontented and obscured demagogue intothe honest, kind, hospitable, and friendly host. He called loudly forTrudchen, who presently appeared, for fear and anxiety would permit fewwithin the walls of Liege to sleep during that eventful night. She wascharged to pay the utmost attention to the care of the beautiful andhalf fainting stranger, and, admiring her personal charms, while shepitied her distress, Gertrude discharged the hospitable duty with thezeal and affection of a sister.
Late as it now was, and fatigued as the Syndic appeared, Quentin, on hisside, had difficulty to escape a flask of choice and costly wine, as oldas the battle of Azincour, and must have submitted to take his share,however unwilling, but for the appearance of the mother of the family,whom Pavillon's loud summons for the keys of the cellar brought forthfrom her bedroom. She was a jolly little roundabout, woman, who hadbeen pretty in her time, but whose principal characteristics for severalyears had been a red and sharp nose, a shrill voice, and a determinationthat the Syndic, in consideration of the authority which he exercisedwhen abroad, should remain under the rule of due discipline at home.
So soon as she understood the nature of the debate between her husbandand his guest, she declared roundly that the former, instead of havingoccasion for more wine, had got too much already, and, far from using,in furtherance of his request, any of the huge bunch of keys whichhung by a silver chain at her waist, she turned her back on him withoutceremony, and ushered Quentin to the neat and pleasant apartment inwhich he was to spend the night, amid such appliances to rest andcomfort as probably he had till that moment been entirely a strangerto, so much did the wealthy Flemings excel, not merely the poor and rudeScots, but the French themselves in all the conveniences of domesticlife.