The Talisman

  CHAPTER XIX.

  Must we then sheathe our still victorious sword; Turn back our forward step, which ever trod O'er foemen's necks the onward path of glory; Unclasp the mail, which with a solemn vow, In God's own house, we hung upon our shoulders-- That vow, as unaccomplish'd as the promise Which village nurses make to still their children, And after think no more of? THE CRUSADE, A TRAGEDY.

  The Archbishop of Tyre was an emissary well chosen to communicate toRichard tidings, which from another voice the lion-hearted King wouldnot have brooked to hear without the most unbounded explosions ofresentment. Even this sagacious and reverend prelate found difficulty ininducing him to listen to news which destroyed all his hopes of gainingback the Holy Sepulchre by force of arms, and acquiring the renown whichthe universal all-hail of Christendom was ready to confer upon him asthe Champion of the Cross.

  But, by the Archbishop's report, it appeared that Saladin was assemblingall the force of his hundred tribes, and that the monarchs of Europe,already disgusted from various motives with the expedition, which hadproved so hazardous, and was daily growing more so, had resolved toabandon their purpose. In this they were countenanced by the example ofPhilip of France, who, with many protestations of regard, and assurancesthat he would first see his brother of England in safety, declared hisintention to return to Europe. His great vassal, the Earl of Champagne,had adopted the same resolution; and it could not excite surprise thatLeopold of Austria, affronted as he had been by Richard, was gladto embrace an opportunity of deserting a cause in which his haughtyopponent was to be considered as chief. Others announced the samepurpose; so that it was plain that the King of England was to be left,if he chose to remain, supported only by such volunteers as might, undersuch depressing circumstances, join themselves to the English army, andby the doubtful aid of Conrade of Montserrat and the military orders ofthe Temple and of Saint John, who, though they were sworn to wage battleagainst the Saracens, were at least equally jealous of any Europeanmonarch achieving the conquest of Palestine, where, with shortsightedand selfish policy, they proposed to establish independent dominions oftheir own.

  It needed not many arguments to show Richard the truth of his situation;and indeed, after his first burst of passion, he sat him calmly down,and with gloomy looks, head depressed, and arms folded on his bosom,listened to the Archbishop's reasoning on the impossibility of hiscarrying on the Crusade when deserted by his companions. Nay, he forboreinterruption, even when the prelate ventured, in measured terms, to hintthat Richard's own impetuosity had been one main cause of disgusting theprinces with the expedition.

  "CONFITEOR," answered Richard, with a dejected look, and something ofa melancholy smile--"I confess, reverend father, that I ought on someaccounts to sing CULPA MEA. But is it not hard that my frailties oftemper should be visited with such a penance--that, for a burst or twoof natural passion, I should be doomed to see fade before me ungatheredsuch a rich harvest of glory to God and honour to chivalry? But it shallNOT fade. By the soul of the Conqueror, I will plant the Cross on thetowers of Jerusalem, or it shall be planted over Richard's grave!"

  "Thou mayest do it," said the prelate, "yet not another drop ofChristian blood be shed in the quarrel."

  "Ah, you speak of compromise, Lord Prelate; but the blood of the infidelhounds must also cease to flow," said Richard.

  "There will be glory enough," replied the Archbishop, "in havingextorted from Saladin, by force of arms, and by the respect inspired byyour fame, such conditions as at once restore the Holy Sepulchre, openthe Holy Land to pilgrims, secure their safety by strong fortresses,and, stronger than all, assure the safety of the Holy City, byconferring on Richard the title of King Guardian of Jerusalem."

  "How!" said Richard, his eyes sparkling with unusual light. "I--I--I theKing Guardian of the Holy City! Victory itself, but that it is victory,could not gain more--scarce so much, when won with unwilling anddisunited forces. But Saladin still proposes to retain his interest inthe Holy Land?"

  "As a joint sovereign, the sworn ally," replied the prelate, "of themighty Richard--his relative, if it may be permitted, by marriage."

  "By marriage!" said Richard, surprised, yet less so than the prelate hadexpected. "Ha!--ay--Edith Plantagenet. Did I dream this? or did some onetell me? My head is still weak from this fever, and has been agitated.Was it the Scot, or the Hakim, or yonder holy hermit, that hinted such awild bargain?"

  "The hermit of Engaddi, most likely," said the Archbishop, "for he hathtoiled much in this matter; and since the discontent of the princes hasbecame apparent, and a separation of their forces unavoidable, he hathhad many consultations, both with Christian and pagan, for arrangingsuch a pacification as may give to Christendom, at least in part, theobjects of this holy warfare."

  "My kinswoman to an infidel--ha!" exclaimed Richard, as his eyes beganto sparkle.

  The prelate hastened to avert his wrath.

  "The Pope's consent must doubtless be first attained, and the holyhermit, who is well known at Rome, will treat with the holy Father."

  "How?--without our consent first given?" said the King.

  "Surely no," said the Bishop, in a quieting and insinuating tone ofvoice--"only with and under your especial sanction."

  "My sanction to marry my kinswoman to an infidel!" said Richard; yethe spoke rather in a tone of doubt than as distinctly reprobating themeasure proposed. "Could I have dreamed of such a composition when Ileaped upon the Syrian shore from the prow of my galley, even as a lionsprings on his prey! And now--But proceed--I will hear with patience."

  Equally delighted and surprised to find his task so much easier than hehad apprehended, the Archbishop hastened to pour forth before Richardthe instances of such alliances in Spain--not without countenance fromthe Holy See; the incalculable advantages which all Christendom wouldderive from the union of Richard and Saladin by a bond so sacred; and,above all, he spoke with great vehemence and unction on the probabilitythat Saladin would, in case of the proposed alliance, exchange his falsefaith for the true one.

  "Hath the Soldan shown any disposition to become Christian?" saidRichard. "If so, the king lives not on earth to whom I would grant thehand of a kinswoman, ay, or sister, sooner than to my noble Saladin--ay,though the one came to lay crown and sceptre at her feet, and the otherhad nothing to offer but his good sword and better heart!"

  "Saladin hath heard our Christian teachers," said the Bishop, somewhatevasively--"my unworthy self, and others--and as he listens withpatience, and replies with calmness, it can hardly be but that he besnatched as a brand from the burning. MAGNA EST VERITAS, ET PREVALEBIT!moreover, the hermit of Engaddi, few of whose words have fallenfruitless to the ground, is possessed fully with the belief that thereis a calling of the Saracens and the other heathen approaching, to whichthis marriage shall be matter of induction. He readeth the course ofthe stars; and dwelling, with maceration of the flesh, in those divineplaces which the saints have trodden of old, the spirit of Elijah theTishbite, the founder of his blessed order, hath been with him as it waswith the prophet Elisha, the son of Shaphat, when he spread his mantleover him."

  King Richard listened to the Prelate's reasoning with a downcast browand a troubled look.

  "I cannot tell," he said, "How, it is with me, but methinks these coldcounsels of the Princes of Christendom have infected me too with alethargy of spirit. The time hath been that, had a layman proposed suchalliance to me, I had struck him to earth--if a churchman, I had spit athim as a renegade and priest of Baal; yet now this counsel sounds notso strange in mine ear. For why should I not seek for brotherhood andalliance with a Saracen, brave, just, generous--who loves and honoursa worthy foe, as if he were a friend--whilst the Princes of Christendomshrink from the side of their allies, and forsake the cause of Heavenand good knighthood? But I will possess my patience, and will not thinkof them. Only one attempt will I make to keep this gallant brotherhoodtogether, if it be possible; and if I fail, Lord Archbishop,
we willspeak together of thy counsel, which, as now, I neither accept noraltogether reject. Wend we to the Council, my lord--the hour callsus. Thou sayest Richard is hasty and proud--thou shalt see him humblehimself like the lowly broom-plant from which he derives his surname."

  With the assistance of those of his privy chamber, the King then hastilyrobed himself in a doublet and mantle of a dark and uniform colour; andwithout any mark of regal dignity, excepting a ring of gold upon hishead, he hastened with the Archbishop of Tyre to attend the Council,which waited but his presence to commence its sitting.

  The pavilion of the Council was an ample tent, having before it thelarge Banner of the Cross displayed, and another, on which was portrayeda female kneeling, with dishevelled hair and disordered dress, meant torepresent the desolate and distressed Church of Jerusalem, and bearingthe motto, AFFLICTAE SPONSAE NE OBLIVISCARIS. Warders, carefullyselected, kept every one at a distance from the neighbourhood of thistent, lest the debates, which were sometimes of a loud and stormycharacter, should reach other ears than those they were designed for.

  Here, therefore, the princes of the Crusade were assembled awaitingRichard's arrival. And even the brief delay which was thus interposedwas turned to his disadvantage by his enemies, various instances beingcirculated of his pride and undue assumption of superiority, of whicheven the necessity of the present short pause was quoted as an instance.Men strove to fortify each other in their evil opinion of the King ofEngland, and vindicated the offence which each had taken, by putting themost severe construction upon circumstances the most trifling; and allthis, perhaps, because they were conscious of an instinctive reverencefor the heroic monarch, which it would require more than ordinaryefforts to overcome.

  They had settled, accordingly, that they should receive him on hisentrance with slight notice, and no more respect than was exactlynecessary to keep within the bounds of cold ceremonial. But when theybeheld that noble form, that princely countenance, somewhat pale fromhis late illness--the eye which had been called by minstrels the brightstar of battle and victory--when his feats, almost surpassing humanstrength and valour, rushed on their recollection, the Council ofPrinces simultaneously arose--even the jealous King of France and thesullen and offended Duke of Austria--arose with one consent, and theassembled princes burst forth with one voice in the acclamation, "Godsave King Richard of England! Long life to the valiant Lion's-heart!"

  With a countenance frank and open as the summer sun when it rises,Richard distributed his thanks around, and congratulated himself onbeing once more among his royal brethren of the Crusade.

  "Some brief words he desired to say," such was his address to theassembly, "though on a subject so unworthy as himself, even at therisk of delaying for a few minutes their consultations for the weal ofChristendom and the advancement of their holy enterprise."

  The assembled princes resumed their seats, and there was a profoundsilence.

  "This day," continued the King of England, "is a high festival of thechurch, and it well becomes Christian men, at such a tide, to reconcilethemselves with their brethren, and confess their faults to eachother. Noble princes and fathers of this holy expedition, Richard is asoldier--his hand is ever readier than his tongue--and his tongue isbut too much used to the rough language of his trade. But do not, forPlantagenet's hasty speeches and ill-considered actions, forsake thenoble cause of the redemption of Palestine--do not throw away earthlyrenown and eternal salvation, to be won here if ever they can be won byman, because the act of a soldier may have been hasty, and his speech ashard as the iron which he has worn from childhood. Is Richard indefault to any of you, Richard will make compensation both by word andaction.--Noble brother of France, have I been so unlucky as to offendyou?"

  "The Majesty of France has no atonement to seek from that of England,"answered Philip, with kingly dignity, accepting, at the same time, theoffered hand of Richard; "and whatever opinion I may adopt concerningthe prosecution of this enterprise will depend on reasons arising out ofthe state of my own kingdom--certainly on no jealousy or disgust at myroyal and most valorous brother."

  "Austria," said Richard, walking up to the Archduke, with a mixtureof frankness and dignity, while Leopold arose from his seat, as ifinvoluntarily, and with the action of an automaton, whose motionsdepended upon some external impulse--"Austria thinks he hath reason tobe offended with England; England, that he hath cause to complain ofAustria. Let them exchange forgiveness, that the peace of Europe and theconcord of this host may remain unbroken. We are now joint supporters ofa more glorious banner than ever blazed before an earthly prince, eventhe Banner of Salvation. Let not, therefore, strife be betwixt us forthe symbol of our more worldly dignities; but let Leopold restore thepennon of England, if he has it in his power, and Richard will say,though from no motive save his love for Holy Church, that he repents himof the hasty mood in which he did insult the standard of Austria."

  The Archduke stood still, sullen and discontented, with his eyes fixedon the floor, and his countenance lowering with smothered displeasure,which awe, mingled with awkwardness, prevented his giving vent to inwords.

  The Patriarch of Jerusalem hastened to break the embarrassing silence,and to bear witness for the Archduke of Austria that he had exculpatedhimself, by a solemn oath, from all knowledge, direct or indirect, ofthe aggression done to the Banner of England.

  "Then we have done the noble Archduke the greater wrong," said Richard;"and craving his pardon for imputing to him an outrage so cowardly, weextend our hand to him in token of renewed peace and amity. But how isthis? Austria refuses our uncovered hand, as he formerly refused ourmailed glove? What! are we neither to be his mate in peace nor hisantagonist in war? Well, let it be so. We will take the slight esteem inwhich he holds us as a penance for aught which we may have done againsthim in heat of blood, and will therefore hold the account between uscleared."

  So saying, he turned from the Archduke with an air rather of dignitythan scorn, leaving the Austrian apparently as much relieved by theremoval of his eye as is a sullen and truant schoolboy when the glanceof his severe pedagogue is withdrawn.

  "Noble Earl of Champagne--princely Marquis of Montserrat--valiant GrandMaster of the Templars--I am here a penitent in the confessional. Do anyof you bring a charge or claim amends from me?"

  "I know not on what we could ground any," said the smooth-tonguedConrade, "unless it were that the King of England carries off from hispoor brothers of the war all the fame which they might have hoped togain in the expedition."

  "My charge, if I am called on to make one," said the Master of theTemplars, "is graver and deeper than that of the Marquis of Montserrat.It may be thought ill to beseem a military monk such as I to raise hisvoice where so many noble princes remain silent; but it concerns ourwhole host, and not least this noble King of England, that he shouldhear from some one to his face those charges which there are enow tobring against him in his absence. We laud and honour the courage andhigh achievements of the King of England; but we feel aggrieved that heshould on all occasions seize and maintain a precedence and superiorityover us, which it becomes not independent princes to submit to. Much wemight yield of our free will to his bravery, his zeal, his wealth,and his power; but he who snatches all as matter of right, and leavesnothing to grant out of courtesy and favour, degrades us from alliesinto retainers and vassals, and sullies in the eyes of our soldiers andsubjects the lustre of our authority, which is no longer independentlyexercised. Since the royal Richard has asked the truth from us, he mustneither be surprised nor angry when he hears one, to whom worldly pompis prohibited, and secular authority is nothing, saving so far as itadvances the prosperity of God's Temple, and the prostration of the lionwhich goeth about seeking whom he may devour--when he hears, I say, sucha one as I tell him the truth in reply to his question; which truth,even while I speak it, is, I know, confirmed by the heart of every onewho hears me, however respect may stifle their voices."

  Richard coloured very highly while the Grand Mas
ter was making thisdirect and unvarnished attack upon his conduct, and the murmur ofassent which followed it showed plainly that almost all who were presentacquiesced in the justice of the accusation. Incensed, and at thesame time mortified, he yet foresaw that to give way to his headlongresentment would be to give the cold and wary accuser the advantage overhim which it was the Templar's principal object to obtain. He therefore,with a strong effort, remained silent till he had repeated a paternoster, being the course which his confessor had enjoined him to pursuewhen anger was likely to obtain dominion over him. The King then spokewith composure, though not without an embittered tone, especially at theoutset:--

  "And is it even so? And are our brethren at such pains to note theinfirmities of our natural temper, and the rough precipitance of ourzeal, which may sometimes have urged us to issue commands when therewas little time to hold council? I could not have thought that offences,casual and unpremeditated like mine, could find such deep root in thehearts of my allies in this most holy cause; that for my sake theyshould withdraw their hands from the plough when the furrow was nearthe end--for my sake turn aside from the direct path to Jerusalem, whichtheir swords have opened. I vainly thought that my small servicesmight have outweighed my rash errors--that if it were remembered that Ipressed to the van in an assault, it would not be forgotten that Iwas ever the last in the retreat--that, if I elevated my banner uponconquered fields of battle, it was all the advantage that I sought,while others were dividing the spoil. I may have called the conqueredcity by my name, but it was to others that I yielded the dominion. IfI have been headstrong in urging bold counsels, I have not, methinks,spared my own blood or my people's in carrying them into as boldexecution; or if I have, in the hurry of march or battle, assumed acommand over the soldiers of others, such have been ever treated as myown when my wealth purchased the provisions and medicines which theirown sovereigns could not procure. But it shames me to remind you of whatall but myself seem to have forgotten. Let us rather look forward toour future measures; and believe me, brethren," he continued, his facekindling with eagerness, "you shall not find the pride, or the wrath,or the ambition of Richard a stumbling-block of offence in the path towhich religion and glory summon you as with the trumpet of an archangel.Oh, no, no! never would I survive the thought that my frailties andinfirmities had been the means to sever this goodly fellowship ofassembled princes. I would cut off my left hand with my right, could mydoing so attest my sincerity. I will yield up, voluntarily, all right tocommand in the host--even mine own liege subjects. They shall be led bysuch sovereigns as you may nominate; and their King, ever but too apt toexchange the leader's baton for the adventurer's lance, will serveunder the banner of Beau-Seant among the Templars--ay, or under that ofAustria, if Austria will name a brave man to lead his forces. Or ifye are yourselves a-weary of this war, and feel your armour chafe yourtender bodies, leave but with Richard some ten or fifteen thousand ofyour soldiers to work out the accomplishment of your vow; and whenZion is won," he exclaimed, waving his hand aloft, as if displaying thestandard of the Cross over Jerusalem--"when Zion is won, we will writeupon her gates, NOT the name of Richard Plantagenet, but of thosegenerous princes who entrusted him with the means of conquest!"

  The rough eloquence and determined expression of the military monarchat once roused the drooping spirits of the Crusaders, reanimated theirdevotion, and, fixing their attention on the principal object of theexpedition, made most of them who were present blush for having beenmoved by such petty subjects of complaint as had before engrossed them.Eye caught fire from eye, voice lent courage to voice. They resumed, aswith one accord, the war-cry with which the sermon of Peter the Hermitwas echoed back, and shouted aloud, "Lead us on, gallant Lion's-heart;none so worthy to lead where brave men follow. Lead us on--toJerusalem--to Jerusalem! It is the will of God--it is the will of God!Blessed is he who shall lend an arm to its fulfilment!"

  The shout, so suddenly and generally raised, was heard beyond the ringof sentinels who guarded the pavilion of Council, and spread amongthe soldiers of the host, who, inactive and dispirited by disease andclimate, had begun, like their leaders, to droop in resolution; butthe reappearance of Richard in renewed vigour, and the well-known shoutwhich echoed from the assembly of the princes, at once rekindled theirenthusiasm, and thousands and tens of thousands answered with the sameshout of "Zion, Zion! War, war! Instant battle with the infidels! It isthe will of God--it is the will of God!"

  The acclamations from without increased in their turn the enthusiasmwhich prevailed within the pavilion. Those who did not actually catchthe flame were afraid--at least for the time--to seem colder thanothers. There was no more speech except of a proud advance towardsJerusalem upon the expiry of the truce, and the measures to be taken inthe meantime for supplying and recruiting the army. The Council brokeup, all apparently filled with the same enthusiastic purpose--which,however, soon faded in the bosom of most, and never had an existence inthat of others.

  Of the latter class were the Marquis Conrade and the Grand Master ofthe Templars, who retired together to their quarters ill at ease, andmalcontent with the events of the day.

  "I ever told it to thee," said the latter, with the cold, sardonicexpression peculiar to him, "that Richard would burst through the flimsywiles you spread for him, as would a lion through a spider's web. Thouseest he has but to speak, and his breath agitates these fickle foolsas easily as the whirlwind catcheth scattered straws, and sweeps themtogether, or disperses them at its pleasure."

  "When the blast has passed away," said Conrade, "the straws, which itmade dance to its pipe, will settle to earth again."

  "But knowest thou not besides," said the Templar, "that it seems, ifthis new purpose of conquest shall be abandoned and pass away, and eachmighty prince shall again be left to such guidance as his own scantybrain can supply, Richard may yet probably become King of Jerusalem bycompact, and establish those terms of treaty with the Soldan which thouthyself thought'st him so likely to spurn at?"

  "Now, by Mahound and Termagaunt, for Christian oaths are out offashion," said Conrade, "sayest thou the proud King of Englandwould unite his blood with a heathen Soldan? My policy threw in thatingredient to make the whole treaty an abomination to him. As bad for usthat he become our master by an agreement, as by victory."

  "Thy policy hath ill calculated Richard's digestion," answered theTemplar; "I know his mind by a whisper from the Archbishop. And then thymaster-stroke respecting yonder banner--it has passed off with no morerespect than two cubits of embroidered silk merited. Marquis Conrade,thy wit begins to halt; I will trust thy finespun measures no longer,but will try my own. Knowest thou not the people whom the Saracens callCharegites?"

  "Surely," answered the Marquis; "they are desperate and besottedenthusiasts, who devote their lives to the advancement ofreligion---somewhat like Templars, only they are never known to pause inthe race of their calling."

  "Jest not," answered the scowling monk. "Know that one of these men hasset down in his bloody vow the name of the Island Emperor yonder, to behewn down as the chief enemy of the Moslem faith."

  "A most judicious paynim," said Conrade. "May Mohammed send him hisparadise for a reward!"

  "He was taken in the camp by one of our squires, and in privateexamination frankly avowed his fixed and determined purpose to me," saidthe Grand Master.

  "Now the heavens pardon them who prevented the purpose of this mostjudicious Charegite!" answered Conrade.

  "He is my prisoner," added the Templar, "and secluded from speech withothers, as thou mayest suppose; but prisons have been broken--"

  "Chains left unlocked, and captives have escaped," answered the Marquis."It is an ancient saying, no sure dungeon but the grave."

  "When loose, he resumes his quest," continued the military priest; "forit is the nature of this sort of blood hound never to quit the suit ofthe prey he has once scented."

  "Say no more of it," said the Marquis; "I see thy policy--it isdreadful, but the emergency is
imminent."

  "I only told thee of it," said the Templar, "that thou mayest keepthyself on thy guard; for the uproar will be dreadful, and there isno knowing on whom the English may vent their rage. Ay, and thereis another risk. My page knows the counsels of this Charegite," hecontinued; "and, moreover, he is a peevish, self-willed fool, whom Iwould I were rid of, as he thwarts me by presuming to see with his owneyes, not mine. But our holy order gives me power to put a remedy tosuch inconvenience. Or stay--the Saracen may find a good dagger in hiscell, and I warrant you he uses it as he breaks forth, which will be ofa surety so soon as the page enters with his food."

  "It will give the affair a colour," said Conrade; "and yet--"

  "YET and BUT," said the Templar, "are words for fools; wise men neitherhesitate nor retract--they resolve and they execute."