CHAPTER XXXVI: THE SALLY
The wretch condemn'd with life to part, Still, still on hope relies, And every pang that rends the heart, Bids expectation rise.
Hope, like the glimmering taper's light, Adorns and cheers the way; And still, the darker grows the night, Emits a brighter ray.
GOLDSMITH
Few days had passed ere Louis had received, with a smile of gratifiedvengeance, the intelligence that his favourite and his councillor,the Cardinal Balue, was groaning within a cage of iron, so disposedas scarce to permit him to enjoy repose in any posture except whenrecumbent, and of which, be it said in passing, he remained the unpitiedtenant for nearly twelve years. The auxiliary forces which the Duke hadrequired Louis to bring up had also appeared, and he comforted himselfthat their numbers were sufficient to protect his person againstviolence, although too limited to cope, had such been his purpose, withthe large army of Burgundy. He saw himself also at liberty, when timeshould suit, to resume his project of marriage between his daughter andthe Duke of Orleans; and, although he was sensible to the indignity ofserving with his noblest peers under the banners of his own vassal, andagainst the people whose cause he had abetted, he did not allow thesecircumstances to embarrass him in the meantime, trusting that a futureday would bring him amends.
"For chance," said he to his trusty Oliver, "may indeed gain one hit,but it is patience and wisdom which win the game at last."
With such sentiments, upon a beautiful day in the latter end of harvest,the King mounted his horse; and, indifferent that he was looked uponrather as a part of the pageant of a victor, than in the light of anindependent Sovereign surrounded by his guards and his chivalry, KingLouis sallied from under the Gothic gateway of Peronne, to join theBurgundian army, which commenced at the same time its march againstLiege.
Most of the ladies of distinction who were in the place attended,dressed in their best array, upon the battlements and defences of thegate, to see the gallant show of the warriors setting forth on theexpedition. Thither had the Countess Crevecoeur brought the CountessIsabelle. The latter attended very reluctantly, but the peremptory orderof Charles had been, that she who was to bestow the palm in the tourneyshould be visible to the knights who were about to enter the lists.
As they thronged out from under the arch, many a pennon and shieldwas to be seen, graced with fresh devices, expressive of the bearer'sdevoted resolution to become a competitor for a prize so fair. Here acharger was painted starting for the goal--there an arrow aimed ata mark--one knight bore a bleeding heart, indicative of hispassion--another a skull and a coronet of laurels, showing hisdetermination to win or die. Many others there were; and some socunningly intricate and obscure, that they might have defied the mostingenious interpreter. Each knight, too, it may be presumed, put hiscourser to his mettle, and assumed his most gallant seat in the saddle,as he passed for a moment under the view of the fair bevy of dames anddamsels, who encouraged their valour by their smiles, and the waving ofkerchiefs and of veils. The Archer Guard, selected almost at will fromthe flower of the Scottish nation, drew general applause, from thegallantry and splendour of their appearance.
And there was one among these strangers who ventured on a demonstrationof acquaintance with the Lady Isabelle, which had not been attemptedeven by the most noble of the French nobility. It was Quentin Durward,who, as he passed the ladies in his rank, presented to the Countess ofCroye, on the point of his lance, the letter of her aunt.
"Now, by my honour," said the Count of Crevecoeur, "that is overinsolent in an unworthy adventurer!"
"Do not call him so, Crevecoeur," said Dunois; "I have good reason tobear testimony to his gallantry--and in behalf of that lady, too."
"You make words of nothing," said Isabelle, blushing with shame, andpartly with resentment; "it is a letter from my unfortunate aunt.--Shewrites cheerfully, though her situation must be dreadful."
"Let us hear, let us hear what says the Boar's bride," said Crevecoeur.
The Countess Isabelle read the letter, in which her aunt seemeddetermined to make the best of a bad bargain, and to console herselffor the haste and indecorum of her nuptials, by the happiness of beingwedded to one of the bravest men of the age, who had just acquired aprincedom by his valour. She implored her niece not to judge of herWilliam (as she called him) by the report of others, but to wait tillshe knew him personally. He had his faults, perhaps, but they weresuch as belonged to characters whom she had ever venerated. Williamwas rather addicted to wine, but so was the gallant Sir Godfrey, hergrandsire--he was something hasty and sanguinary in his temper, such hadbeen her brother Reinold of blessed memory; he was blunt in speech,few Germans were otherwise; and a little wilful and peremptory, but shebelieved all men loved to rule. More there was to the same purpose; andthe whole concluded with the hope and request that Isabelle would, bymeans of the bearer, endeavour her escape from the tyrant of Burgundy,and come to her loving kinswoman's Court of Liege, where any littledifferences concerning their mutual rights of succession to the Earldommight be adjusted by Isabelle's marrying Earl Eberson--a bridegroomyounger indeed than his bride, but that, as she (the Lady Hameline)might perhaps say from experience, was an inequality more easy to beendured than Isabelle could be aware of.
[The marriage of William de la Marck with the Lady Hameline is asapocryphal as the lady herself.--S.]
Here the Countess Isabelle stopped, the Abbess observing, with a primaspect, that she had read quite enough concerning such worldly vanities,and the Count of Crevecoeur, breaking out, "Aroint thee, deceitfulwitch!--Why, this device smells rank as the toasted cheese in a rattrap.--Now fie, and double fie, upon the old decoy duck!"
The Countess of Crevecoeur gravely rebuked her husband for his violence.
"The Lady," she said, "must have been deceived by De la Marck with ashow of courtesy."
"He show courtesy!" said the Count. "I acquit him of all suchdissimulation. You may as well expect courtesy from a literal wildboar, you may as well try to lay leaf gold on old rusty gibbet irons.No--idiot as she is, she is not quite goose enough to fall in love withthe fox who has snapped her, and that in his very den. But you womenare all alike--fair words carry it--and, I dare say, here is my prettycousin impatient to join her aunt in this fool's paradise, and marry theBear Pig."
"So far from being capable of such folly," said Isabelle, "I am doublydesirous of vengeance on the murderers of the excellent Bishop, becauseit will, at the same time, free my aunt from the villain's power."
"Ah! there indeed spoke the voice of Croye!" exclaimed the Count, and nomore was said concerning the letter.
But while Isabelle read her aunt's epistle to her friends, it mustbe observed that she did not think it necessary to recite a certainpostscript, in which the Countess Hameline, lady-like, gave an accountof her occupations, and informed her niece that she had laid aside forthe present a surcoat which she was working for her husband, bearing thearms of Croye and La Marck in conjugal fashion, parted per pale, becauseher William had determined, for purposes of policy, in the first actionto have others dressed in his coat armour and himself to assume the armsof Orleans, with a bar sinister--in other words, those of Dunois. Therewas also a slip of paper in another hand, the contents of which theCountess did not think it necessary to mention, being simply thesewords: "If you hear not of me soon, and that by the trumpet of Fame,conclude me dead, but not unworthy."
A thought, hitherto repelled as wildly incredible, now glanced withdouble keenness through Isabelle's soul. As female wit seldom fails inthe contrivance of means, she so ordered it that ere the troops werefully on march, Quentin Durward received from an unknown hand the billetof Lady Hameline, marked with three crosses opposite to the postscript,and having these words subjoined: "He who feared not the arms of Orleanswhen on the breast of their gallant owner, cannot dread them whendisplayed on that of a tyrant and murderer."
A thousand thousand times was this intimation kissed and pressed to th
ebosom of the young Scot! for it marshalled him on the path where bothHonour and Love held out the reward, and possessed him with a secretunknown to others, by which to distinguish him whose death could alonegive life to his hopes, and which he prudently resolved to lock up inhis own bosom.
But Durward saw the necessity of acting otherwise respecting theinformation communicated by Hayraddin, since the proposed sally of De laMarck, unless heedfully guarded against, might prove the destruction ofthe besieging army, so difficult was it, in the tumultuous warfare ofthose days, to recover from a nocturnal surprise. After pondering onthe matter, he formed the additional resolution, that he would notcommunicate the intelligence save personally, and to both the Princeswhile together, perhaps because he felt that to mention so wellcontrived and hopeful a scheme to Louis whilst in private, might be toostrong a temptation to the wavering probity of that Monarch, and leadhim to assist, rather than repel, the intended sally. He determined,therefore, to watch for an opportunity of revealing the secret whilstLouis and Charles were met, which, as they were not particularly fond ofthe constraint imposed by each other's society, was not likely soon tooccur.
Meanwhile the march continued, and the confederates soon entered theterritories of Liege. Here the Burgundian soldiers, at least a part ofthem, composed of those bands who had acquired the title of Ecorcheurs,or flayers, showed, by the usage which they gave the inhabitants, underpretext of avenging the Bishop's death, that they well deserved thathonourable title; while their conduct greatly prejudiced the causeof Charles, the aggrieved inhabitants, who might otherwise have beenpassive in the quarrel, assuming arms in self defence, harassing hismarch by cutting off small parties, and falling back before the mainbody upon the city itself, thus augmenting the numbers and desperationof those who had resolved to defend it. The French, few in number, andthose the choice soldiers of the country, kept, according to the King'sorders, close by their respective standards, and observed the strictestdiscipline, a contrast which increased the suspicions of Charles, whocould not help remarking that the troops of Louis demeaned themselves asif they were rather friends to the Liegeois than allies of Burgundy.
At length, without experiencing any serious opposition, the army arrivedin the rich valley of the Maes, and before the large and populouscity of Liege. The Castle of Schonwaldt they found had been totallydestroyed, and learned that William de la Marck, whose only talents wereof a military cast, had withdrawn his whole forces into the city, andwas determined to avoid the encounter of the chivalry of Franceand Burgundy in the open field. But the invaders were not long ofexperiencing the danger which must always exist in attacking a largetown, however open, if the inhabitants are disposed to defend itdesperately.
A part of the Burgundian vanguard, conceiving that, from the dismantledand breached state of the walls, they had nothing to do but to marchinto Liege at their ease, entered one of the suburbs with the shoutsof "Burgundy, Burgundy, Kill, kill--all is ours!--Remember Louis ofBourbon!"
But as they marched in disorder through the narrow streets, and werepartly dispersed for the purpose of pillage, a large body of theinhabitants issued suddenly from the town, fell furiously upon them,and made considerable slaughter. De la Marck even availed himself ofthe breaches in the walls, which permitted the defenders to issue outat different points, and, by taking separate routes into the contestedsuburb, to attack, in the front, flank, and rear at once the assailants,who, stunned by the furious, unexpected, and multiplied nature of theresistance offered, could hardly stand to their arms. The evening, whichbegan to close, added to their confusion.
When this news was brought to Duke Charles, he was furious with rage,which was not much appeased by the offer of King Louis to send theFrench men at arms into the suburbs, to rescue and bring off theBurgundian vanguard. Rejecting this offer briefly, he would have puthimself at the head of his own Guards, to extricate those engaged in theincautious advance; but D'Hymbercourt and Crevecoeur entreated him toleave the service to them, and, marching into the scene of action at twopoints with more order and proper arrangement for mutual support, thesetwo celebrated captains succeeded in repulsing the Liegeois, and inextricating the vanguard, who lost, besides prisoners, no fewer thaneight hundred men, of whom about a hundred were men at arms. Theprisoners, however, were not numerous, most of them having been rescuedby D'Hymbercourt, who now proceeded to occupy the contested suburb, andto place guards opposite to the town, from which it was divided by anopen space, or esplanade, of five or six hundred yards, left free ofbuildings for the purposes of defence. There was no moat betwixt thesuburb and town, the ground being rocky in that place. A gate frontedthe suburb, from which sallies might be easily made, and the wall waspierced by two or three of those breaches which Duke Charles had causedto be made after the battle of Saint Tron, and which had been hastilyrepaired with mere barricades of timber.
D'Hymbercourt turned two culverins on the gate, and placed two othersopposite to the principal breach, to repel any sally from the city, andthen returned to the Burgundian army, which he found in great disorder.In fact, the main body and rear of the numerous army of the Duke hadcontinued to advance, while the broken and repulsed vanguard was in theact of retreating; and they had come into collision with each other, tothe great confusion of both. The necessary absence of D'Hymbercourt, whodischarged all the duties of Marechal du Camp, or, as we should now say,of Quartermaster General, augmented the disorder; and to complete thewhole, the night sank down dark as a wolf's mouth; there fell a thickand heavy rain, and the ground on which the beleaguering army must needstake up their position, was muddy and intersected with many canals. Itis scarce possible to form an idea of the confusion which prevailed inthe Burgundian army, where leaders were separated from their soldiers,and soldiers from their standards and officers. Every one, from thehighest to the lowest, was seeking shelter and accommodation where hecould individually find it; while the wearied and wounded, who had beenengaged in the battle, were calling in vain for shelter and refreshment;and while those who knew nothing of the disaster were pressing on tohave their share in the sack of the place, which they had no doubt wasproceeding merrily.
When D'Hymbercourt returned, he had a task to perform of incredibledifficulty, and imbittered by the reproaches of his master, who madeno allowance for the still more necessary duty in which he had beenengaged, until the temper of the gallant soldier began to give way underthe Duke's unreasonable reproaches.
"I went hence to restore some order in the van," he said, "and left themain body under your Grace's own guidance, and now, on my return, Ican neither find that we have front, flank, nor rear, so utter is theconfusion."
"We are the more like a barrel of herrings," answered Le Glorieux,"which is the most natural resemblance for a Flemish army."
The jester's speech made the Duke laugh, and perhaps prevented a fartherprosecution of the altercation betwixt him and his general.
By dint of great exertion, a small lusthaus, or country villa of somewealthy citizen of Liege, was secured and cleared of other occupants,for the accommodation of the Duke and his immediate attendants; and theauthority of D'Hymbercourt and Crevecoeur at length established a guardin the vicinity, of about forty men at arms, who lighted a very largefire, made with the timber of the outhouses, which they pulled down forthe purpose.
A little to the left of this villa, and betwixt it and the suburb,which, as we have said, was opposite to the city gate, and occupied bythe Burgundian Vanguard, lay another pleasure house, surrounded by agarden and courtyard, and having two or three small enclosures orfields in the rear of it. In this the King of France established his ownheadquarters. He did not himself pretend to be a soldier further thana natural indifference to danger and much sagacity qualified him to becalled such; but he was always careful to employ the most skilful inthat profession, and reposed in them the confidence they merited. Louisand his immediate attendants occupied this second villa, a part of hisScottish Guard were placed in the court, where there were outhouses ands
heds to shelter them from the weather; the rest were stationed in thegarden. The remainder of the French men at arms were quartered closelytogether and in good order, with alarm posts stationed, in case of theirhaving to sustain an attack.
Dunois and Crawford, assisted by several old officers and soldiers,amongst whom Le Balafre was conspicuous for his diligence, contrived, bybreaking down walls, making openings through hedges, filling up ditches,and the like, to facilitate the communication of the troops with eachother, and the orderly combination of the whole in case of necessity.
Meanwhile, the King judged it proper to go without farther ceremony tothe quarters of the Duke of Burgundy, to ascertain what was to be theorder of proceeding, and what cooperation was expected from him. Hispresence occasioned a sort of council of war to be held, of whichCharles might not otherwise have dreamed.
It was then that Quentin Durward prayed earnestly to be admitted, ashaving something of importance to deliver to the two Princes. This wasobtained without much difficulty, and great was the astonishment ofLouis, when he heard him calmly and distinctly relate the purpose ofWilliam de la Marck to make a sally upon the camp of the besiegers,under the dress and banners of the French. Louis would probably havebeen much better pleased to have had such important news communicatedin private, but as the whole story had been publicly told in presenceof the Duke of Burgundy, he only observed, that, whether true or false,such a report concerned them most materially.
"Not a whit!--not a whit!" said the Duke carelessly. "Had there beensuch a purpose as this young man announces, it had not been communicatedto me by an Archer of the Scottish Guard."
"However that may be," answered Louis, "I pray you, fair cousin, you andyour captains, to attend, that to prevent the unpleasing consequences ofsuch an attack, should it be made unexpectedly, I will cause my soldiersto wear white scarfs over their armour.--Dunois, see it given out onthe instant--that is," he added, "if our brother and general approves ofit."
"I see no objection," replied the Duke, "if the chivalry of France arewilling to run the risk of having the name of the Knights of the SmockSleeve bestowed on them in future."
"It would be a right well adapted title, friend Charles," said LeGlorieux, "considering that a woman is the reward of the most valiant."
"Well spoken, Sagacity," said Louis. "Cousin, good night, I will go armme.--By the way, what if I win the Countess with mine own hand?
"Your Majesty," said the Duke, in an altered tone of voice, "must thenbecome a true Fleming."
"I cannot," answered Louis, in a tone of the most sincere confidence,"be more so than I am already, could I but bring you, my dear cousin, tobelieve it."
The Duke only replied by wishing the King good night in a toneresembling the snort of a shy horse, starting from the caress of therider when he is about to mount, and is soothing him to stand still.
"I could pardon all his duplicity," said the Duke to Crevecoeur, "butcannot forgive his supposing me capable of the gross folly of beingduped by his professions."
Louis, too, had his confidences with Oliver le Dain, when he returned tohis own quarters. "This," he said, "is such a mixture of shrewdness andsimplicity, that I know not what to make of him. Pasques dieu! think ofhis unpardonable folly in bringing out honest De la Marck's plan of asally before the face of Burgundy, Crevecoeur, and all of them, insteadof rounding it in my ear, and giving me at least the choice of abettingor defeating it!"
"It is better as it is, Sire," said Oliver; "there are many in yourpresent train who would scruple to assail Burgundy undefied, or to allythemselves with De la Marck."
"Thou art right, Oliver. Such fools there are in the world, and we haveno time to reconcile their scruples by a little dose of self interest.We must be true men, Oliver, and good allies of Burgundy, for this nightat least--time may give us a chance of a better game. Go, tell no man tounarm himself; and let them shoot, in case of necessity, as sharply onthose who cry France and St. Denis! as if they cried Hell and Satan! Iwill myself sleep in my armour. Let Crawford place Quentin Durward onthe extreme point of our line of sentinels, next to the city. Let hime'en have the first benefit of the sally which he has announced tous--if his luck bear him out, it is the better for him. But take anespecial care of Martius Galeotti, and see he remain in the rear, in aplace of the most absolute safety--he is even but too venturous, and,like a fool, would be both swordsman and philosopher. See to thesethings, Oliver, and good night.--Our Lady of Clery, and Monseigneur St.Martin of Tours, be gracious to my slumbers!"
[The Duke of Burgundy, full of resentment for the usage which the Bishophad received from the people of Liege (whose death, as already noticed,did not take place for some years after), and knowing that the walls ofthe town had not been repaired since they were breached by himself afterthe battle of Saint Tron, advanced recklessly to their chastisement. Hiscommanders shared his presumptuous confidence: for the advanced guardof his army, under the Marechal of Burgundy, and Seigneur D'Hymbercourt,rushed upon one of the suburbs, without waiting for the rest of theirarmy, which, commanded by the Duke in person, remained about seven oreight leagues in the rear. The night was closing, and, as the Burgundiantroops observed no discipline, they were exposed to a sudden attack froma party of the citizens commanded by Jean de Vilde, who, assaulting themin the front and rear, threw them into great disorder, and killed morethan eight hundred men, of whom one hundred were men at arms. WhenCharles and the King of France came up, they took up their quarters intwo villas situated near to the wall of the city. In the two or threedays which followed, Louis was distinguished for the quiet and regulatedcomposure with which he pressed the siege, and provided for defencein case of sallies; while the Duke of Burgundy, no way deficient incourage, and who showed the rashness and want of order which was hisprincipal characteristic, seemed also extremely suspicious that the Kingwould desert him and join with the Liegeois. They lay before the townfor five or six days, and at length fixed the 30th of October, 1468,for a general storm. The citizens, who had probably information of theirintent, resolved to prevent their purpose and determined on anticipatingit by a desperate sally through the breaches in their walls. Theyplaced at their head six hundred of the men of the little territory ofFraudemont, belonging to the Bishopric of Liege, and reckoned themost valiant of their troops. They burst out of the town on a sudden,surprised the Duke of Burgundy's quarters, ere his guards could put ontheir armour, which they had laid off to enjoy some repose beforethe assault. The King of France's lodgings were also attacked andendangered. A great confusion ensued, augmented incalculably by themutual jealousy and suspicions of the French and Burgundians. The peopleof Liege were, however, unable to maintain their hardy enterprise,when the men at arms of the king and Duke began to recover from theirconfusion, and were finally forced to retire within their walls, afternarrowly missing the chance of surprising both King Louis and the Dukeof Burgundy, the most powerful princes of their time. At daybreak thestorm took place, as had been originally intended, and the citizens,disheartened and fatigued by the nocturnal sally, did not make so muchresistance as was expected. Liege was taken and miserably pillaged,without regard to sex or age, things sacred or things profane. Theseparticulars are fully related by Comines in his Memoires, liv. ii, chap.11, 12, 13, and do not differ much from the account of the same eventsgiven in the text. S.]
CHAPTER XXXVII: THE SALLY
He look'd, and saw what numbers numberless The city gates outpour'd.
PARADISE REGAINED
A dead silence soon reigned over that great host which lay in leaguerbefore Liege. For a long time the cries of the soldiers repeating theirsignals, and seeking to join their several banners, sounded likethe howling of bewildered dogs seeking their masters. But at length,overcome with weariness by the fatigues of the day, the dispersedsoldiers crowded under such shelter as they could meet with, and thosewho could find none sunk down through very fatigue under walls, hedges,and such temporary protection, there to await for morning--a morningwhic
h some of them were never to behold. A dead sleep fell on almostall, excepting those who kept a faint and wary watch by the lodgingsof the King and the Duke. The dangers and hopes of the morrow--even theschemes of glory which many of the young nobility had founded upon thesplendid prize held out to him who should avenge the murdered Bishop ofLiege--glided from their recollection as they lay stupefied with fatigueand sleep. But not so with Quentin Durward. The knowledge that healone was possessed of the means of distinguishing La Marck inthe contest--the recollection by whom that information had beencommunicated, and the fair augury which might be drawn from herconveying it to him--the thought that his fortune had brought him to amost perilous and doubtful crisis indeed, but one where there was still,at least, a chance of his coming off triumphant--banished every desireto sleep and strung his nerves with vigour which defied fatigue.
Posted, by the King's express order, on the extreme point between theFrench quarters and the town, a good way to the right of the suburbwhich we have mentioned, he sharpened his eye to penetrate the masswhich lay before him, and excited his ears to catch the slightest soundwhich might announce any commotion in the beleaguered city. But itshuge clocks had successively knelled three hours after midnight, and allcontinued still and silent as the grave.
At length, and just when Quentin began to think the attack would bedeferred till daybreak, and joyfully recollected that there would bethen light enough to descry the Bar Sinister across the Fleur de lis ofOrleans, he thought he heard in the city a humming murmur, like thatof disturbed bees mustering for the defence of their hives.He listened--the noise continued, but it was of a character soundistinguished by any peculiar or precise sound, that it might be themurmur of a wind arising among the boughs of a distant grove, or perhapssome stream, swollen by the late rain, which was discharging itself intothe sluggish Maes with more than usual clamour. Quentin was preventedby these considerations from instantly giving the alarm, which, if donecarelessly, would have been a heavy offence. But, when the noise roselouder, and seemed pouring at the same time towards his own post, andtowards the suburb, he deemed it his duty to fall back as silently aspossible and call his uncle, who commanded the small body of Archersdestined to his support. All were on their feet in a moment, and withas little noise as possible. In less than a second Lord Crawford wasat their head, and, dispatching an Archer to alarm the King and hishousehold, drew back his little party to some distance behind theirwatchfire, that they might not be seen by its light. The rushing sound,which had approached them more nearly, seemed suddenly to have ceased,but they still heard distinctly the more distant heavy tread of a largebody of men approaching the suburb.
"The lazy Burgundians are asleep on their post," whispered Crawford;"make for the suburb, Cunningham, and awaken the stupid oxen."
"Keep well to the rear as you go," said Durward; "if ever I heard thetread of mortal men, there is a strong body interposed between us andthe suburb."
"Well said, Quentin, my dainty callant," said Crawford; "thou art asoldier beyond thy years. They only made halt till the others comeforward.--I would I had some knowledge where they are!"
"I will creep forward, my Lord," said Quentin, "and endeavour to bringyou information."
"Do so, my bonny chield; thou hast sharp ears and eyes, and goodwill--but take heed--I would not lose thee for two and a plack [anhomely Scottish expression for something you value]."
Quentin, with his harquebuss ready prepared, stole forward, throughground which he had reconnoitred carefully in the twilight of thepreceding evening, until he was not only certain that he was in theneighbourhood of a very large body of men, who were standing fastbetwixt the King's quarters and the suburbs, but also that there was adetached party of smaller number in advance, and very close to him. Theyseemed to whisper together, as if uncertain what to do next. At last thesteps of two or three Enfans perdus [literally, lost children], detachedfrom that smaller party, approached him so near as twice a pike'slength. Seeing it impossible to retreat undiscovered, Quentin calledout aloud, "Qui vive? [who goes there?]" and was answered, by "ViveLi--Li--ege--c'est a dire [that is to say]" (added he who spoke,correcting himself), "Vive--la France!"
Quentin instantly fired his harquebuss--a man groaned and fell, and hehimself, under the instant but vague discharge of a number of pieces,the fire of which ran in a disorderly manner along the column, andshowed it to be very numerous, hastened back to the main guard.
"Admirably done, my brave boy!" said Crawford. "Now, callants, draw inwithin the courtyard--they are too many to mell with in the open field."
They drew within the courtyard and garden accordingly, where they foundall in great order and the King prepared to mount his horse.
"Whither away, Sire!" said Crawford; "you are safest here with your ownpeople."
"Not so," said Louis, "I must instantly to the Duke. He must beconvinced of our good faith at this critical moment, or we shall haveboth Liegeois and Burgundians upon us at once."
And, springing on his horse, he bade Dunois command the French troopswithout the house, and Crawford the Archer Guard and other householdtroops to defend the lusthaus and its enclosures. He commanded themto bring up two sakers and as many falconets (pieces of cannon for thefield), which had been left about half a mile in the rear; and, in themeantime, to make good their posts, but by no means to advance, whateversuccess they might obtain; and having given these orders, he rode off,with a small escort, to the Duke's quarters. The delay which permittedthese arrangements to be carried fully into effect was owing toQuentin's having fortunately shot the proprietor of the house, whoacted as guide to the column which was designed to attack it, and whoseattack, had it been made instantly, might have had a chance of beingsuccessful.
Durward, who, by the King's order, attended him to the Duke's, found thelatter in a state of choleric distemperature, which almost prevented hisdischarging the duties of a general, which were never more necessary;for, besides the noise of a close and furious combat which had nowtaken place in the suburb upon the left of their whole army--besides theattack upon the King's quarters, which was fiercely maintained in thecentre--a third column of Liegeois, of even superior numbers, had filedout from a more distant breach, and, marching by lanes, vineyards,and passes known to themselves, had fallen upon the right flank of theBurgundian army, who, alarmed at their war cries of Vive la France! andDenis Montjoie! which mingled with those of Liege! and Rouge Sanglier!and at the idea thus inspired, of treachery on the part of the Frenchconfederates, made a very desultory and imperfect resistance; whilethe Duke, foaming and swearing and cursing his liege Lord and all thatbelonged to him, called out to shoot with bow and gun on all that wasFrench whether black or white,--alluding to the sleeves with whichLouis's soldiers had designated themselves.
The arrival of the King, attended only by Le Balafre and Quentinand half a score of Archers, restored confidence between France andBurgundy. D'Hymbercourt, Crevecoeur, and others of the Burgundianleaders, whose names were then the praise and dread of war, rusheddevotedly into the conflict; and, while some commanders hastened tobring up more distant troops, to whom the panic had not extended, othersthrew themselves into the tumult, reanimated the instinct of discipline,and while the Duke toiled in the front, shouting, hacking, and hewing,like an ordinary man at arms, brought their men by degrees into array,and dismayed the assailants by the use of their artillery. The conductof Louis, on the other hand, was that of a calm, collected, sagaciousleader, who neither sought nor avoided danger, but showed so much selfpossession and sagacity, that the Burgundian leaders readily obeyed theorders which he issued.
The scene was now become in the utmost degree animated and horrible. Onthe left the suburb, after a fierce contest, had been set on fire, anda wide and dreadful conflagration did not prevent the burning ruins frombeing still disputed. On the centre, the French troops, though pressedby immense odds, kept up so close and constant a fire, that the littlepleasure house shone bright with the glancing flashes, as if surroundedwit
h a martyr's crown of flames. On the left, the battle swayedbackwards and forwards, with varied success, as fresh reinforcementspoured out of the town, or were brought forward from the rear of theBurgundian host; and the strife continued with unremitting fury forthree mortal hours, which at length brought the dawn, so much desired bythe besiegers. The enemy, at this period, seemed to be slackening theirefforts upon the right and in the centre, and several discharges ofcannon were heard from the lusthaus.
"Go," said the King to Le Balafre and Quentin, the instant his earhad caught the sound; "they have got up the sakers and falconets--thepleasure house is safe, blessed be the Holy Virgin!--Tell Dunois tomove this way, but rather nearer the walls of Liege, with all our men atarms, excepting what he may leave for the defence of the house, and cutin between those thick headed Liegeois on the right and the city fromwhich they are supplied with recruits."
The uncle and nephew galloped off to Dunois and Crawford, who, tired oftheir defensive war, joyfully obeyed the summons, and, filing out at thehead of a gallant body of about two hundred French gentlemen, besidessquires, and the greater part of the Archers and their followers,marched across the field, trampling down the wounded till they gainedthe flank of the large body of Liegeois, by whom the right of theBurgundians had been so fiercely assailed. The increasing daylightdiscovered that the enemy were continuing to pour out from the city,either for the purpose of continuing the battle on that point, or ofbringing safely off the forces who were already engaged.
"By Heaven!" said old Crawford to Dunois, "were I not certain it is thouthat art riding by my side, I would say I saw thee among yonder bandittiand burghers, marshalling and arraying them with thy mace--only, if yonbe thou, thou art bigger than thou art wont to be. Art thou sure yonderarmed leader is not thy wraith, thy double man, as these Flemings callit?"
"My wraith!" said Dunois; "I know not what you mean. But yonder is acaitiff with my bearings displayed on crest and shield, whom I willpresently punish for his insolence."
"In the name of all that is noble, my lord, leave the vengeance to me!"said Quentin.
"To thee, indeed, young man," said Dunois; "that is a modest request.
"No--these things brook no substitution." Then turning on his saddle,he called out to those around him, "Gentlemen of France, form your line,level your lances! Let the rising sunbeams shine through the battalionsof yonder swine of Liege and hogs of Ardennes, that masquerade in ourancient coats."
The men at arms answered with a loud shout of "A Dunois! a Dunois! Longlive the bold Bastard!--Orleans to the rescue!"
And, with their leader in the centre, they charged at full gallop. Theyencountered no timid enemy. The large body which they charged consisted(excepting some mounted officers) entirely of infantry, who, setting thebutt of their lances against their feet, the front rank kneeling, thesecond stooping, and those behind presenting their spears over theirheads, offered such resistance to the rapid charge of the men at armsas the hedgehog presents to his enemy. Few were able to make way throughthat iron Wall; but of those few was Dunois, who, giving spur to hishorse, and making the noble animal leap wore than twelve feet at abound, fairly broke his way into the middle of the phalanx, and madetoward the object of his animosity. What was his surprise to findQuentin still by his side, and fighting in the same front withhimself--youth, desperate courage, and the determination to do or diehaving still kept the youth abreast with the best knight in Europe; forsuch was Dunois reported, and truly reported at the period.
Their spears were soon broken, but the lanzknechts Were unable towithstand the blows of their long, heavy swords; while the horses andriders, armed in complete steel, sustained little injury from theirlances. Still Dunois and Durward were contending with rival efforts toburst forward to the spot where he who had usurped the armorial bearingsof Dunois was doing the duty of a good and valiant leader, when Dunois,observing the boar's head and tusks--the usual bearing of William de laMarck--in another part of the conflict, called out to Quentin, "Thou artworthy to avenge the arms of Orleans! I leave thee the task.--Balafre,support your nephew; but let none dare to interfere with Dunois's boarhunt!"
That Quentin Durward joyfully acquiesced in this division of labourcannot be doubted, and each pressed forward upon his separate object,followed, and defended from behind, by such men at arms as were able tokeep up with them.
But at this moment the column which De la Marck had proposed to support,when his own course was arrested by the charge of Dunois, had lost allthe advantages they had gained during the night; while the Burgundians,with returning day, had begun to show the qualities which belong tosuperior discipline. The great mass of Liegeois were compelled toretreat, and at length to fly; and, falling back on those who wereengaged with the French men at arms, the whole became a confused tideof fighters, fliers, and pursuers, which rolled itself towards thecity walls, and at last was poured into the ample and undefended breachthrough which the Liegeois had sallied.
Quentin made more than human exertions to overtake the special object ofhis pursuit, who was still in his sight, striving, by voice andexample, to renew the battle, and bravely supported by a chosen party oflanzknechts. Le Balafre and several of his comrades attached themselvesto Quentin, much marvelling at the extraordinary gallantry displayed byso young a soldier. On the very brink of the breach, De la Marck--forit was himself--succeeded in effecting a momentary stand, and repellingsome of the most forward of the pursuers. He had a mace of iron in hishand, before which everything seemed to go down, and was so much coveredwith blood that it was almost impossible to discern those bearings onhis shield which had so much incensed Dunois.
Quentin now found little difficulty in singling him out, for thecommanding situation of which he had possessed himself, and the use hemade of his terrible mace, caused many of the assailants to seek saferpoints of attack than that where so desperate a defender presentedhimself. But Quentin, to whom the importance attached to victory overthis formidable antagonist was better known, sprung from his horse atthe bottom of the breach, and, letting the noble animal, the gift ofthe Duke of Orleans, run loose through the tumult, ascended the ruins tomeasure swords with the Boar of Ardennes. The latter, as if he had seenhis intention, turned towards Durward with mace uplifted; and they wereon the point of encounter, when a dreadful shout of triumph, of tumult,and of despair, announced that the besiegers were entering the cityat another point, and in the rear of those who defended the breach.Assembling around him, by voice and bugle, the desperate partners of hisdesperate fortune, De la Marck, at those appalling sounds, abandoned thebreach, and endeavoured to effect his retreat towards a part of the cityfrom which he might escape to the other side of the Maes. His immediatefollowers formed a deep body of well disciplined men, who, never havinggiven quarter, were resolved now not to ask it, and who, in that hour ofdespair, threw themselves into such firm order that their front occupiedthe whole breadth of the street, through which they slowly retired,making head from time to time, and checking the pursuers, many ofwhom began to seek a safer occupation, by breaking into the houses forplunder. It is therefore probable that De la Marck might have effectedhis escape, his disguise concealing him from those who promisedthemselves to win honour and grandeur upon his head, but for the stanchpursuit of Quentin, his uncle Le Balafre, and some of his comrades. Atevery pause which was made by the lanzknechts, a furious combat tookplace betwixt them and the Archers, and in every melee Quentin sought Dela Marck; but the latter, whose present object was to retreat, seemedto evade the young Scot's purpose of bringing him to single combat.The confusion was general in every direction. The shrieks and cries ofwomen, the yelling of the terrified inhabitants, now subjected to theextremity of military license, sounded horribly shrill amid the shoutsof battle--like the voice of misery and despair contending with that offury and violence, which should be heard farthest and loudest.
It was just when De la Marck, retiring through this infernal scene, hadpassed the door of a small chapel of peculiar sanctity, that
the shoutsof "France! France!--Burgundy! Burgundy!" apprised him that a part ofthe besiegers were entering the farther end of the street, which was anarrow one, and that his retreat was cut off.
"Comrade," he said, "take all the men with you.--Charge yonder fellowsroundly, and break through if you can--with me it is over. I am manenough, now that I am brought to bay, to send some of these vagabondScots to hell before me."
His lieutenant obeyed, and, with most of the few lanzknechts whoremained alive, hurried to the farther end of the street, for thepurpose of charging those Burgundians who were advancing, and so forcingtheir way, so as to escape. About six of De la Marck's best men remainedto perish with their master, and fronted the Archers, who were not manymore in number.
"Sanglier! Sanglier! Hola! gentlemen of Scotland," said the ruffianbut undaunted chief, waving his mace, "who longs to gain a coronet--whostrikes at the Boar of Ardennes?--You, young man, have, methinks, ahankering; but you must win ere you wear it."
Quentin heard but imperfectly the words, which were partly lost in thehollow helmet; but the action could not be mistaken, and he had but timeto bid his uncle and comrades, as they were gentlemen, to stand back,when De la Marck sprang upon him with a bound like a tiger, aiming, atthe same time a blow with his mace, so as to make his hand and foot keeptime together, and giving his stroke full advantage of the descent ofhis leap, but, light of foot and quick of eye, Quentin leaped aside, anddisappointed an aim which would have been fatal had it taken effect.
They then closed, like the wolf and the wolf dog, their comrades oneither side remaining inactive spectators, for Le Balafre roared outfor fair play, adding that he would venture his nephew on him were he aswight as Wallace.
Neither was the experienced soldier's confidence unjustified; for,although the blows of the despairing robber fell like those of thehammer on the anvil, yet the quick motions and dexterous swordsmanshipof the young Archer enabled him to escape, and to requite them with thepoint of his less noisy, though more fatal weapon; and that so often,and so effectually, that the huge strength of his antagonist began togive way to fatigue, while the ground on which he stood became a puddleof blood. Yet, still unabated in courage and ire, the wild Boar ofArdennes fought on with as much mental energy as at first, and Quentin'svictory seemed dubious and distant, when a female voice behind himcalled him by his name, ejaculating,
"Help! help! for the sake of the blessed Virgin!"
He turned his head, and with a single glance beheld Gertrude Pavillon,her mantle stripped from her shoulders, dragged forcibly along by aFrench soldier, one of several who, breaking into the chapel close by,had seized, as their prey, on the terrified females who had taken refugethere.
"Wait for me but one moment," exclaimed Quentin to De la Marck, andsprang to extricate his benefactress from a situation of which heconjectured all the dangers.
"I wait no man's pleasure," said De la Marck, flourishing his mace, andbeginning to retreat--glad, no doubt, at being free of so formidable anassailant.
"You shall wait mine, though, by your leave," said Balafre; "I will nothave my nephew baulked."
So saying, he instantly assaulted De la Marck with his two handed sword.
Quentin found, in the meanwhile, that the rescue of Gertrude was atask more difficult than could be finished in one moment. Her captor,supported by his comrades, refused to relinquish his prize: and whilstDurward, aided by one or two of his countrymen, endeavoured to compelhim to do so, the former beheld the chance which Fortune had so kindlyafforded him for fortune and happiness glide out of his reach; so thatwhen he stood at length in the street with the liberated Gertrude, therewas no one near them. Totally forgetting the defenceless situation ofhis companion, he was about to spring away in pursuit of the Boar ofArdennes, as the greyhound tracks the deer, when, clinging to him in herdespair, she exclaimed, "For the sake of your mother's honour, leaveme not here!--As you are a gentleman, protect me to my father's house,which once sheltered you and the Lady Isabelle!--For her sake leave menot!"
Her call was agonizing, but it was irresistible; and bidding a mentaladieu, with unutterable bitterness of feeling, to all the gay hopeswhich had stimulated his exertion, carried him through that bloody day,and which at one moment seemed to approach consummation, Quentin,like an unwilling spirit who obeys a talisman which he cannot resist,protected Gertrude to Pavillon's house, and arrived in time to defendthat and the Syndic himself against the fury of the licentious soldiery.
Meantime the King and the Duke of Burgundy entered the city on horsebackand through one of the breaches. They were both in complete armour, butthe latter, covered with blood from the plume to the spur, drove hissteed furiously up the breach, which Louis surmounted with the statelypace of one who leads a procession. They dispatched orders to stop thesack of the city, which had already commenced, and to assemble theirscattered troops. The Princes themselves proceeded towards the greatchurch, both for the protection of many of the distinguished inhabitantswho had taken refuge there, and in order to hold a sort of militarycouncil after they had heard high mass.
Busied, like other officers of his rank, in collecting those under hiscommand, Lord Crawford, at the turning of one of the streets which leadsto the Maes, met Le Balafre sauntering composedly towards the river,holding in his hand, by the gory locks, a human head with as muchindifference as a fowler carries a game pouch.
"How now, Ludovic!" said his commander; "what are ye doing with thatcarrion?"
"It is all that is left of a bit of work which my nephew shaped out andnearly finished and I put the last hand to," said Le Balafre, "a goodfellow that I dispatched yonder and who prayed me to throw his head intothe Maes.--Men have queer fancies when old Small Back [a cant expressionin Scotland for Death, usually delineated as a skeleton. S.] is grippingthem, but Small Back must lead down the dance with us all in our time."
"And you are going to throw that head into the Maes?" said Crawford,looking more attentively on the ghastly memorial of mortality.
"Ay, truly am I," said Ludovic testily. "If you refuse a dying man hisboon, you are likely to be haunted by his ghost, and I love to sleepsound at nights."
"You must take your chance of the ghaist, man," said Crawford; "for, bymy soul, there is more lies on that dead pow than you think for. Comealong with me--not a word more--Come along with me."
"Nay, for that matter," said Le Balafre, "I made him no promise; for, intruth, I had off his head before the tongue had well done wagging; andas I feared him not living, by St. Martin of Tours, I fear him as littlewhen he is dead. Besides, my little gossip, the merry Friar of St.Martin's, will lend me a pot of holy water."
When high mass had been said in the Cathedral Church of Liege and theterrified town was restored to some moderate degree of order, Louis andCharles, with their peers around, proceeded to hear the claims of thosewho had any to make for services performed during the battle. Thosewhich respected the County of Croye and its fair mistress were firstreceived, and to the disappointment of sundry claimants, who had thoughtthemselves sure of the rich prize, there seemed doubt and mystery toinvolve their several pretensions. Crevecoeur showed a boar's hide, suchas De la Marck usually wore; Dunois produced a cloven shield with hisarmorial bearings; and there were others who claimed the merit of havingdispatched the murderer of the Bishop, producing similar tokens--therich reward fixed on De la Marck's head having brought death to all whowere armed in his resemblance.
There was much noise and contest among the competitors, and Charles,internally regretting the rash promise which had placed the hand andwealth of his fair vassal on such a hazard, was in hopes he might findmeans of evading all these conflicting claims, when Crawford pressedforward into the circle, dragging Le Balafre after him, who, awkward andbashful, followed like an unwilling mastiff towed on in a leash, as hisleader exclaimed, "Away with your hoofs and hides and painted iron!--Noone, save he who slew the Boar, can show the tusks!"
So saying, he flung on the floor the bloody head, easily
known asthat of De la Marck by the singular conformation of the jaws, which inreality had a certain resemblance to those of the animal whose name hebore, and which was instantly recognized by all who had seen him.
[We have already noticed the anachronism respecting the crimes of thisatrocious baron; and it is scarce necessary to repeat, that if he inreality murdered the Bishop of Liege in 1482, the Count of La Marckcould not be slain in the defence of Liege four years earlier. In fact,the Wild Boar of Ardennes, as he was usually termed, was of high birth,being the third son of John I, Count of La Marck and Aremberg, andancestor of the branch called Barons of Lumain. He did not escape thepunishment due to his atrocity, though it did not take place at thetime, or in the manner, narrated in the text. Maximilian, Emperor ofAustria, caused him to be arrested at Utrecht, where he was beheaded inthe year 1485, three years after the Bishop of Liege's death. S.]
"Crawford," said Louis, while Charles sat silent in gloomy anddispleased surprise, "I trust it is one of my faithful Scots who has wonthis prize?"
"It is Ludovic Lesly, Sire, whom we call Le Balafre," replied the oldsoldier.
"But is he noble?" said the Duke; "is he of gentle blood?--Otherwise ourpromise is void."
"He is a cross, ungainly piece of wood enough," said Crawford, lookingat the tall, awkward, embarrassed figure of the Archer; "but I willwarrant him a branch of the tree of Rothes for all that--and they havebeen as noble as any house in France or Burgundy ever since it is toldof their founder that--
"'Between the less-lee and the mair, He slew the Knight, and left him there.'"
[An old rhyme by which the Leslies vindicate their descent from anancient knight, who is said to have slain a gigantic Hungarian champion,and to have formed a proper name for himself by a play of words upon theplace where he fought his adversary. S.]
"There is then no help for it," said the Duke, "and the fairest andrichest heiress in Burgundy must be the wife of a rude mercenary soldierlike this, or die secluded in a convent--and she the only child of ourfaithful Reginald de Croye!--I have been too rash."
And a cloud settled on his brow, to the surprise of his peers, whoseldom saw him evince the slightest token of regret for the necessaryconsequences of an adopted resolution.
"Hold but an instant," said the Lord Crawford, "it may be better thanyour Grace conjectures. Hear but what this cavalier has to say.--Speakout, man, and a murrain to thee," he added, apart to Le Balafre.
But that blunt soldier, though he could make a shift to expresshimself intelligibly enough to King Louis, to whose familiarity he washabituated, yet found himself incapable of enunciating his resolutionbefore so splendid an assembly as that before which he then stood; andafter having turned his shoulder to the princes, and preluded witha hoarse chuckling laugh, and two or three tremendous contortionsof countenance, he was only able to pronounce the words, "SaundersSouplejaw"--and then stuck fast.
"May it please your Majesty and your Grace," said Crawford, "I mustspeak for my countryman and old comrade. You shall understand that hehas had it prophesied to him by a seer in his own land, that the fortuneof his house is to be made by marriage; but as he is, like myself,something the worse for the wear--loves the wine house better than alady's summer parlour, and, in short, having some barrack tastesand likings, which would make greatness in his own person ratheran encumbrance to him, he hath acted by my advice, and resigns thepretentions acquired' by the fate of slaying William de la Marck, to himby whom the Wild Boar was actually brought to bay, who is his maternalnephew."
"I will vouch for that youth's services and prudence," said King Louis,overjoyed to see that fate had thrown so gallant a prize to one overwhom he had some influence. "Without his prudence and vigilance, we hadbeen ruined. It was he who made us aware of the night sally."
"I, then," said Charles, "owe him some reparation for doubting hisveracity."
"And I can attest his gallantry as a man at arms," said Dunois.
"But," interrupted Crevecoeur, "though the uncle be a Scottishgentillatre, that makes not the nephew necessarily so."
"He is of the House of Durward," said Crawford, "descended from thatAllan Durward who was High Steward of Scotland."
"Nay, if it be young Durward," said Crevecoeur, "I say no more.--Fortunehas declared herself on his side too plainly for me to struggle fartherwith her humoursome ladyship--but it is strange, from lord to horseboy,how wonderfully these Scots stick by each other."
"Highlander shoulder to shoulder," answered Lord Crawford, laughing atthe mortification of the proud Burgundian.
"We have yet to inquire," said Charles thoughtfully, "what the fairlady's sentiments may be towards this fortunate adventurer."
"By the mass" said Crevecoeur, "I have but too much reason to believeyour Grace will find her more amenable to authority than on formeroccasions.--But why should I grudge this youth his preferment? Since,after all, it is sense, firmness, and gallantry which have put him inpossession of WEALTH, RANK, and BEAUTY!"
* * * * *
I had already sent these sheets to the press, concluding, as I thought,with a moral of excellent tendency for the encouragement of all fairhaired, blue eyed, long legged, stout hearted emigrants from my nativecountry, who might be willing in stirring times to take up the gallantprofession of Cavalieros of Fortune. But a friendly monitor, one ofthose who, like the lump of sugar which is found at the bottom of a teacup, as well as the flavour of the souchong itself, has entered a bitterremonstrance, and insists that I should give a precise and particularaccount of the espousals of the young heir of Glen Houlakin and thelovely Flemish Countess, and tell what tournaments were held, and howmany lances were broken, upon so interesting an occasion; nor withholdfrom the curious reader the number of sturdy boys who inherited thevalour of Quentin Durward, and of bright damsels, in whom were renewedthe charms of Isabelle de Croye. I replied, in course of post, thattimes were changed, and public weddings were entirely out of fashion. Indays traces of which I myself can remember, not only were the "fifteenfriends" of the happy pair invited to witness their Union, but thebridal minstrelsy still continued, as in the "Ancient Mariner," to "nodtheir heads" till morning shone on them. The sack posset was eaten inthe nuptial chamber--the stocking was thrown--and the bride's garter wasstruggled for in presence of the happy couple whom Hymen had made oneflesh. The authors of the period were laudably accurate in followingits fashions. They spared you not a blush of the bride, not a rapturousglance of the bridegroom, not a diamond in her hair, not a button on hisembroidered waistcoat; until at length, with Astraea, "they fairly puttheir characters to bed." [the reference is to the plays of Mrs. AphraBehn. "The stage how loosely doth Astraea tread, who fairly puts eachcharacter to bed."] But how little does this agree with the modestprivacy which induces our modern brides--sweet bashful darlings!--tosteal from pomp and plate, and admiration and flattery, and, likehonest Shenstone [(1714-1763): an English poet best known by TheSchoolmistress],
"Seek for freedom at an inn!"
To these, unquestionably, an exposure of the circumstances of publicitywith which a bridal in the fifteenth century was always celebrated,must appear in the highest degree disgusting. Isabelle de Croye wouldbe ranked in their estimation far below the maid who milks, and does themeanest chores; for even she, were it in the church porch, would rejectthe hand of her journeyman shoemaker, should he propose faire des noces[to celebrate a wedding festivity], as it is called on Parisiansigns, instead of going down on the top of the long coach to spend thehoneymoon incognito at Deptford or Greenwich. I will not, therefore,tell more of this matter, but will steal away from the wedding, asAriosto from that of Angelica, leaving it to whom it may please to addfarther particulars, after the fashion of their own imagination.
"Some better bard shall sing, in feudal state How Bracquemont's Castle op'd its Gothic gate, When on the wand'ring Scot, its lovely heir Bestow'd her beauty and an earldom fair."
[Ariosto (1474-1533): an Italian poet, the auth
or of the poem OrlandoFurioso, whose popularity was due largely to the subject--combats andpaladins, lovers' devotion and mad adventures. Angelica is the heroine.Scott is sometimes called the Ariosto of the North.]
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