CHAPTER IX.
This is the prince of leeches; fever, plague, Cold rheum, and hot podagra, do but look on him, And quit their grasp upon the tortured sinews. ANONYMOUS.
The Baron of Gilsland walked with slow step and an anxious countenancetowards the royal pavilion. He had much diffidence of his own capacity,except in a field of battle, and conscious of no very acute intellect,was usually contented to wonder at circumstances which a man of livelierimagination would have endeavoured to investigate and understand, orat least would have made the subject of speculation. But it seemed veryextraordinary, even to him, that the attention of the bishop should havebeen at once abstracted from all reflection on the marvellous cure whichthey had witnessed, and upon the probability it afforded of Richardbeing restored to health, by what seemed a very trivial piece ofinformation announcing the motions of a beggardly Scottish knight, thanwhom Thomas of Gilsland knew nothing within the circle of gentleblood more unimportant or contemptible; and despite his usual habitof passively beholding passing events, the baron's spirit toiled withunwonted attempts to form conjectures on the cause.
At length the idea occurred at once to him that the whole might be aconspiracy against King Richard, formed within the camp of the allies,and to which the bishop, who was by some represented as a politic andunscrupulous person, was not unlikely to have been accessory. It wastrue that, in his own opinion, there existed no character so perfect asthat of his master; for Richard being the flower of chivalry, and thechief of Christian leaders, and obeying in all points the commands ofHoly Church, De Vaux's ideas of perfection went no further. Still, heknew that, however unworthily, it had been always his master's fateto draw as much reproach and dislike as honour and attachment from thedisplay of his great qualities; and that in the very camp, and amongstthose princes bound by oath to the Crusade, were many who would havesacrificed all hope of victory over the Saracens to the pleasure ofruining, or at least of humbling, Richard of England.
"Wherefore," said the baron to himself, "it is in no sense impossiblethat this El Hakim, with this his cure, or seeming cure, wrought on thebody of the Scottish squire, may mean nothing but a trick, to which heof the Leopard may be accessory, and wherein the Bishop of Tyre, prelateas he is, may have some share."
This hypothesis, indeed, could not be so easily reconciled with thealarm manifested by the bishop on learning that, contrary to hisexpectation, the Scottish knight had suddenly returned to the Crusaders'camp. But De Vaux was influenced only by his general prejudices,which dictated to him the assured belief that a wily Italian priest,a false-hearted Scot, and an infidel physician, formed a set ofingredients from which all evil, and no good, was likely to beextracted. He resolved, however, to lay his scruples bluntly beforethe King, of whose judgment he had nearly as high an opinion as of hisvalour.
Meantime, events had taken place very contrary to the suppositions whichThomas de Vaux had entertained. Scarce had he left the royal pavilion,when, betwixt the impatience of the fever, and that which was naturalto his disposition, Richard began to murmur at his delay, and expressan earnest desire for his return. He had seen enough to try to reasonhimself out of this irritation, which greatly increased his bodilymalady. He wearied his attendants by demanding from them amusements, andthe breviary of the priest, the romance of the clerk, even the harp ofhis favourite minstrel, were had recourse to in vain. At length, sometwo hours before sundown, and long, therefore, ere he could expecta satisfactory account of the process of the cure which the Moor orArabian had undertaken, he sent, as we have already heard, a messengercommanding the attendance of the Knight of the Leopard, determined tosoothe his impatience by obtaining from Sir Kenneth a more particularaccount of the cause of his absence from the camp, and the circumstancesof his meeting with this celebrated physician.
The Scottish knight, thus summoned, entered the royal presence as onewho was no stranger to such scenes. He was scarcely known to the Kingof England, even by sight, although, tenacious of his rank, as devout inthe adoration of the lady of his secret heart, he had never been absenton those occasions when the munificence and hospitality of Englandopened the Court of its monarch to all who held a certain rank inchivalry. The King gazed fixedly on Sir Kenneth approaching his bedside,while the knight bent his knee for a moment, then arose, and stoodbefore him in a posture of deference, but not of subservience orhumility, as became an officer in the presence of his sovereign.
"Thy name," said the King, "is Kenneth of the Leopard--from whom hadstthou degree of knighthood?"
"I took it from the sword of William the Lion, King of Scotland,"replied the Scot.
"A weapon," said the King, "well worthy to confer honour; nor has itbeen laid on an undeserving shoulder. We have seen thee bear thyselfknightly and valiantly in press of battle, when most need there was; andthou hadst not been yet to learn that thy deserts were known to us, butthat thy presumption in other points has been such that thy services canchallenge no better reward than that of pardon for thy transgression.What sayest thou--ha?"
Kenneth attempted to speak, but was unable to express himselfdistinctly; the consciousness of his too ambitious love, and the keen,falcon glance with which Coeur de Lion seemed to penetrate his inmostsoul, combining to disconcert him.
"And yet," said the King, "although soldiers should obey command, andvassals be respectful towards their superiors, we might forgive a braveknight greater offence than the keeping a simple hound, though it werecontrary to our express public ordinance."
Richard kept his eye fixed on the Scot's face, beheld and beholding,smiling inwardly at the relief produced by the turn he had given to hisgeneral accusation.
"So please you, my lord," said the Scot, "your majesty must be goodto us poor gentlemen of Scotland in this matter. We are far from home,scant of revenues, and cannot support ourselves as your wealthy nobles,who have credit of the Lombards. The Saracens shall feel our blows theharder that we eat a piece of dried venison from time to time with ourherbs and barley-cakes."
"It skills not asking my leave," said Richard, "since Thomas de Vaux,who doth, like all around me, that which is fittest in his own eyes,hath already given thee permission for hunting and hawking."
"For hunting only, and please you," said the Scot. "But if it pleaseyour Majesty to indulge me with the privilege of hawking also, and youlist to trust me with a falcon on fist, I trust I could supply yourroyal mess with some choice waterfowl."
"I dread me, if thou hadst but the falcon," said the King, "thou wouldstscarce wait for the permission. I wot well it is said abroad that we ofthe line of Anjou resent offence against our forest-laws as highly as wewould do treason against our crown. To brave and worthy men, however, wecould pardon either misdemeanour.--But enough of this. I desire to knowof you, Sir Knight, wherefore, and by whose authority, you took thisrecent journey to the wilderness of the Dead Sea and Engaddi?"
"By order," replied the knight, "of the Council of Princes of the HolyCrusade."
"And how dared any one to give such an order, when I--not the least,surely, in the league--was unacquainted with it?"
"It was not my part, please your highness," said the Scot, "to inquireinto such particulars. I am a soldier of the Cross--serving, doubtless,for the present, under your highness's banner, and proud of thepermission to do so, but still one who hath taken on him the holy symbolfor the rights of Christianity and the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre,and bound, therefore, to obey without question the orders of theprinces and chiefs by whom the blessed enterprise is directed. Thatindisposition should seclude, I trust for but a short time, yourhighness from their councils, in which you hold so potential a voice, Imust lament with all Christendom; but, as a soldier, I must obey thoseon whom the lawful right of command devolves, or set but an evil examplein the Christian camp."
"Thou sayest well," said King Richard; "and the blame rests not withthee, but with those with whom, when it shall please Heaven to raise mefrom this accursed bed of pain and inactivity, I hop
e to reckon roundly.What was the purport of thy message?"
"Methinks, and please your highness," replied Sir Kenneth, "that werebest asked of those who sent me, and who can render the reasons of mineerrand; whereas I can only tell its outward form and purport."
"Palter not with me, Sir Scot--it were ill for thy safety," said theirritable monarch.
"My safety, my lord," replied the knight firmly, "I cast behind me as aregardless thing when I vowed myself to this enterprise, looking ratherto my immortal welfare than to that which concerns my earthly body."
"By the mass," said King Richard, "thou art a brave fellow! Hark thee,Sir Knight, I love the Scottish people; they are hardy, though doggedand stubborn, and, I think, true men in the main, though the necessityof state has sometimes constrained them to be dissemblers. I deservesome love at their hand, for I have voluntarily done what they could notby arms have extorted from me any more than from my predecessors, Ihave re-established the fortresses of Roxburgh and Berwick, which layin pledge to England; I have restored your ancient boundaries; and,finally, I have renounced a claim to homage upon the crown of England,which I thought unjustly forced on you. I have endeavoured to makehonourable and independent friends, where former kings of Englandattempted only to compel unwilling and rebellious vassals."
"All this you have done, my Lord King," said Sir Kenneth, bowing--"allthis you have done, by your royal treaty with our sovereign atCanterbury. Therefore have you me, and many better Scottish men, makingwar against the infidels, under your banners, who would else have beenravaging your frontiers in England. If their numbers are now few, it isbecause their lives have been freely waged and wasted."
"I grant it true," said the King; "and for the good offices I have doneyour land I require you to remember that, as a principal member ofthe Christian league, I have a right to know the negotiations of myconfederates. Do me, therefore, the justice to tell me what I have atitle to be acquainted with, and which I am certain to know more trulyfrom you than from others."
"My lord," said the Scot, "thus conjured, I will speak the truth; forI well believe that your purposes towards the principal object of ourexpedition are single-hearted and honest, and it is more than I darewarrant for others of the Holy League. Be pleased, therefore, to knowmy charge was to propose, through the medium of the hermit of Engaddi--aholy man, respected and protected by Saladin himself--"
"A continuation of the truce, I doubt not," said Richard, hastilyinterrupting him.
"No, by Saint Andrew, my liege," said the Scottish knight; "but theestablishment of a lasting peace, and the withdrawing our armies fromPalestine."
"Saint George!" said Richard, in astonishment. "Ill as I have justlythought of them, I could not have dreamed they would have humbledthemselves to such dishonour. Speak, Sir Kenneth, with what will did youcarry such a message?"
"With right good will, my lord," said Kenneth; "because, when we hadlost our noble leader, under whose guidance alone I hoped for victory,I saw none who could succeed him likely to lead us to conquest, and Iaccounted it well in such circumstances to avoid defeat."
"And on what conditions was this hopeful peace to be contracted?" saidKing Richard, painfully suppressing the passion with which his heart wasalmost bursting.
"These were not entrusted to me, my lord," answered the Knight of theCouchant Leopard. "I delivered them sealed to the hermit."
"And for what hold you this reverend hermit--for fool, madman, traitor,or saint?" said Richard.
"His folly, sire," replied the shrewd Scottish man, "I hold to beassumed to win favour and reverence from the Paynimrie, who regardmadmen as the inspired of Heaven--at least it seemed to me as exhibitedonly occasionally, and not as mixing, like natural folly, with thegeneral tenor of his mind."
"Shrewdly replied," said the monarch, throwing himself back on hiscouch, from which he had half-raised himself. "Now of his penitence?"
"His penitence," continued Kenneth, "appears to me sincere, and thefruits of remorse for some dreadful crime, for which he seems, in hisown opinion, condemned to reprobation."
"And for his policy?" said King Richard.
"Methinks, my lord," said the Scottish knight, "he despairs of thesecurity of Palestine, as of his own salvation, by any means short ofa miracle--at least, since the arm of Richard of England hath ceased tostrike for it."
"And, therefore, the coward policy of this hermit is like that of thesemiserable princes, who, forgetful of their knighthood and their faith,are only resolved and determined when the question is retreat, andrather than go forward against an armed Saracen, would trample in theirflight over a dying ally!"
"Might I so far presume, my Lord King," said the Scottish knight, "thisdiscourse but heats your disease, the enemy from which Christendomdreads more evil than from armed hosts of infidels."
The countenance of King Richard was, indeed, more flushed, and hisaction became more feverishly vehement, as, with clenched hand, extendedarm, and flashing eyes, he seemed at once to suffer under bodily pain,and at the same time under vexation of mind, while his high spirit ledhim to speak on, as if in contempt of both.
"You can flatter, Sir Knight," he said, "but you escape me not. I mustknow more from you than you have yet told me. Saw you my royal consortwhen at Engaddi?"
"To my knowledge--no, my lord," replied Sir Kenneth, with considerableperturbation, for he remembered the midnight procession in the chapel ofthe rocks.
"I ask you," said the King, in a sterner voice, "whether you were not inthe chapel of the Carmelite nuns at Engaddi, and there saw Berengaria,Queen of England, and the ladies of her Court, who went thither onpilgrimage?"
"My lord," said Sir Kenneth, "I will speak the truth as in theconfessional. In a subterranean chapel, to which the anchorite conductedme, I beheld a choir of ladies do homage to a relic of the highestsanctity; but as I saw not their faces, nor heard their voices, unlessin the hymns which they chanted, I cannot tell whether the Queen ofEngland was of the bevy."
"And was there no one of these ladies known to you?"
Sir Kenneth stood silent.
"I ask you," said Richard, raising himself on his elbow, "as a knightand a gentleman--and I shall know by your answer how you value eithercharacter--did you, or did you not, know any lady amongst that band ofworshippers?"
"My lord," said Kenneth, not without much hesitation, "I might guess."
"And I also may guess," said the King, frowning sternly; "but it isenough. Leopard as you are, Sir Knight, beware tempting the lion's paw.Hark ye--to become enamoured of the moon would be but an act of folly;but to leap from the battlements of a lofty tower, in the wild hope ofcoming within her sphere, were self-destructive madness."
At this moment some bustling was heard in the outer apartment, andthe King, hastily changing to his more natural manner, said,"Enough--begone--speed to De Vaux, and send him hither with the Arabianphysician. My life for the faith of the Soldan! Would he but abjure hisfalse law, I would aid him with my sword to drive this scum of Frenchand Austrians from his dominions, and think Palestine as well ruled byhim as when her kings were anointed by the decree of Heaven itself."
The Knight of the Leopard retired, and presently afterwards thechamberlain announced a deputation from the Council, who had come towait on the Majesty of England.
"It is well they allow that I am living yet," was his reply. "Who arethe reverend ambassadors?"
"The Grand Master of the Templars and the Marquis of Montserrat."
"Our brother of France loves not sick-beds," said Richard; "yet, hadPhilip been ill, I had stood by his couch long since.--Jocelyn, lay methe couch more fairly--it is tumbled like a stormy sea. Reach me yondersteel mirror--pass a comb through my hair and beard. They look, indeed,liker a lion's mane than a Christian man's locks. Bring water."
"My lord," said the trembling chamberlain, "the leeches say that coldwater may be fatal."
"To the foul fiend with the leeches!" replied the monarch; "if theycannot cure me, think you I will
allow them to torment me?--There,then," he said, after having made his ablutions, "admit the worshipfulenvoys; they will now, I think, scarcely see that disease has madeRichard negligent of his person."
The celebrated Master of the Templars was a tall, thin, war-worn man,with a slow yet penetrating eye, and a brow on which a thousand darkintrigues had stamped a portion of their obscurity. At the head ofthat singular body, to whom their order was everything, and theirindividuality nothing--seeking the advancement of its power, even atthe hazard of that very religion which the fraternity were originallyassociated to protect--accused of heresy and witchcraft, although bytheir character Christian priests--suspected of secret league with theSoldan, though by oath devoted to the protection of the Holy Temple, orits recovery--the whole order, and the whole personal character of itscommander, or Grand Master, was a riddle, at the exposition of whichmost men shuddered. The Grand Master was dressed in his white robesof solemnity, and he bore the ABACUS, a mystic staff of office, thepeculiar form of which has given rise to such singular conjectures andcommentaries, leading to suspicions that this celebrated fraternity ofChristian knights were embodied under the foulest symbols of paganism.
Conrade of Montserrat had a much more pleasing exterior than the darkand mysterious priest-soldier by whom he was accompanied. He was ahandsome man, of middle age, or something past that term, bold in thefield, sagacious in council, gay and gallant in times of festivity; but,on the other hand, he was generally accused of versatility, of a narrowand selfish ambition, of a desire to extend his own principality,without regard to the weal of the Latin kingdom of Palestine, and ofseeking his own interest, by private negotiations with Saladin, to theprejudice of the Christian leaguers.
When the usual salutations had been made by these dignitaries, andcourteously returned by King Richard, the Marquis of Montserratcommenced an explanation of the motives of their visit, sent, as he saidthey were, by the anxious kings and princes who composed the Council ofthe Crusaders, "to inquire into the health of their magnanimous ally,the valiant King of England."
"We know the importance in which the princes of the Council hold ourhealth," replied the English King; "and are well aware how much theymust have suffered by suppressing all curiosity concerning it forfourteen days, for fear, doubtless, of aggravating our disorder, byshowing their anxiety regarding the event."
The flow of the Marquis's eloquence being checked, and he himself throwninto some confusion by this reply, his more austere companion took upthe thread of the conversation, and with as much dry and brief gravityas was consistent with the presence which he addressed, informedthe King that they came from the Council, to pray, in the name ofChristendom, "that he would not suffer his health to be tampered withby an infidel physician, said to be dispatched by Saladin, until theCouncil had taken measures to remove or confirm the suspicion which theyat present conceived did attach itself to the mission of such a person."
"Grand Master of the Holy and Valiant Order of Knights Templars, andyou, most noble Marquis of Montserrat," replied Richard, "if it pleaseyou to retire into the adjoining pavilion, you shall presently see whataccount we make of the tender remonstrances of our royal and princelycolleagues in this religious warfare."
The Marquis and Grand Master retired accordingly; nor had they beenmany minutes in the outward pavilion when the Eastern physician arrived,accompanied by the Baron of Gilsland and Kenneth of Scotland. The baron,however, was a little later of entering the tent than the other two,stopping, perchance, to issue some orders to the warders without.
As the Arabian physician entered, he made his obeisance, after theOriental fashion, to the Marquis and Grand Master, whose dignity wasapparent, both from their appearance and their bearing. The Grand Masterreturned the salutation with an expression of disdainful coldness, theMarquis with the popular courtesy which he habitually practised to menof every rank and nation. There was a pause, for the Scottish knight,waiting for the arrival of De Vaux, presumed not, of his own authority,to enter the tent of the King of England; and during this interval theGrand Master sternly demanded of the Moslem, "Infidel, hast thou thecourage to practise thine art upon the person of an anointed sovereignof the Christian host?"
"The sun of Allah," answered the sage, "shines on the Nazarene aswell as on the true believer, and His servant dare make no distinctionbetwixt them when called on to exercise the art of healing."
"Misbelieving Hakim," said the Grand Master, "or whatsoever they callthee for an unbaptized slave of darkness, dost thou well know that thoushalt be torn asunder by wild horses should King Richard die under thycharge?"
"That were hard justice," answered the physician, "seeing that I can butuse human means, and that the issue is written in the book of light."
"Nay, reverend and valiant Grand Master," said the Marquis ofMontserrat, "consider that this learned man is not acquainted with ourChristian order, adopted in the fear of God, and for the safety of Hisanointed.--Be it known to thee, grave physician, whose skill we doubtnot, that your wisest course is to repair to the presence of theillustrious Council of our Holy League, and there to give account andreckoning to such wise and learned leeches as they shall nominate,concerning your means of process and cure of this illustrious patient;so shall you escape all the danger which, rashly taking such a highmatter upon your sole answer, you may else most likely incur."
"My lords," said El Hakim, "I understand you well. But knowledge hathits champions as well as your military art--nay, hath sometimes had itsmartyrs as well as religion. I have the command of my sovereign, theSoldan Saladin, to heal this Nazarene King, and, with the blessingof the Prophet, I will obey his commands. If I fail, ye wear swordsthirsting for the blood of the faithful, and I proffer my body to yourweapons. But I will not reason with one uncircumcised upon the virtueof the medicines of which I have obtained knowledge through the graceof the Prophet, and I pray you interpose no delay between me and myoffice."
"Who talks of delay?" said the Baron de Vaux, hastily entering the tent;"we have had but too much already. I salute you, my Lord of Montserrat,and you, valiant Grand Master. But I must presently pass with thislearned physician to the bedside of my master."
"My lord," said the Marquis, in Norman-French, or the language ofOuie, as it was then called, "are you well advised that we came toexpostulate, on the part of the Council of the Monarchs and Princesof the Crusade, against the risk of permitting an infidel and Easternphysician to tamper with a health so valuable as that of your master,King Richard?"
"Noble Lord Marquis," replied the Englishman bluntly, "I can neither usemany words, nor do I delight in listening to them; moreover, I am muchmore ready to believe what my eyes have seen than what my ears haveheard. I am satisfied that this heathen can cure the sickness of KingRichard, and I believe and trust he will labour to do so. Time isprecious. If Mohammed--may God's curse be on him! stood at the door ofthe tent, with such fair purpose as this Adonbec el Hakim entertains,I would hold it sin to delay him for a minute. So, give ye God'en, mylords."
"Nay, but," said Conrade of Montserrat, "the King himself said we shouldbe present when this same physician dealt upon him."
The baron whispered the chamberlain, probably to know whether theMarquis spoke truly, and then replied, "My lords, if you will hold yourpatience, you are welcome to enter with us; but if you interrupt, byaction or threat, this accomplished physician in his duty, be it knownthat, without respect to your high quality, I will enforce your absencefrom Richard's tent; for know, I am so well satisfied of the virtue ofthis man's medicines, that were Richard himself to refuse them, by ourLady of Lanercost, I think I could find in my heart to force him to takethe means of his cure whether he would or no.--Move onward, El Hakim."
The last word was spoken in the lingua franca, and instantly obeyed bythe physician. The Grand Master looked grimly on the unceremonious oldsoldier, but, on exchanging a glance with the Marquis, smoothed hisfrowning brow as well as he could, and both followed De Vaux and theArabian into the inne
r tent, where Richard lay expecting them, with thatimpatience with which the sick man watches the step of his physician.Sir Kenneth, whose attendance seemed neither asked nor prohibited, felthimself, by the circumstances in which he stood, entitled to followthese high dignitaries; but, conscious of his inferior power and rank,remained aloof during the scene which took place.
Richard, when they entered his apartment, immediately exclaimed, "So ho!a goodly fellowship come to see Richard take his leap in the dark.My noble allies, I greet you as the representatives of our assembledleague; Richard will again be amongst you in his former fashion, or yeshall bear to the grave what is left of him.--De Vaux, lives he or dieshe, thou hast the thanks of thy prince. There is yet another--but thisfever hath wasted my eyesight. What, the bold Scot, who would climbheaven without a ladder! He is welcome too.--Come, Sir Hakim, to thework, to the work!"
The physician, who had already informed himself of the various symptomsof the King's illness, now felt his pulse for a long time, and with deepattention, while all around stood silent, and in breathless expectation.The sage next filled a cup with spring water, and dipped into it thesmall red purse, which, as formerly, he took from his bosom. When heseemed to think it sufficiently medicated, he was about to offer it tothe sovereign, who prevented him by saying, "Hold an instant. Thou hastfelt my pulse--let me lay my finger on thine. I too, as becomes a goodknight, know something of thine art."
The Arabian yielded his hand without hesitation, and his long, slenderdark fingers were for an instant enclosed, and almost buried, in thelarge enfoldment of King Richard's hand.
"His blood beats calm as an infant's," said the King; "so throbs nottheirs who poison princes. De Vaux, whether we live or die, dismiss thisHakim with honour and safety.--Commend us, friend, to the noble Saladin.Should I die, it is without doubt of his faith; should I live, it willbe to thank him as a warrior would desire to be thanked."
He then raised himself in bed, took the cup in his hand, and turningto the Marquis and the Grand Master--"Mark what I say, and let my royalbrethren pledge me in Cyprus wine, 'To the immortal honour of the firstCrusader who shall strike lance or sword on the gate of Jerusalem; andto the shame and eternal infamy of whomsoever shall turn back from theplough on which he hath laid his hand!'"
He drained the cup to the bottom, resigned it to the Arabian, and sunkback, as if exhausted, upon the cushions which were arranged to receivehim. The physician then, with silent but expressive signs, directedthat all should leave the tent excepting himself and De Vaux, whomno remonstrance could induce to withdraw. The apartment was clearedaccordingly.