CHAPTER XXI
--and wither'd Murder, Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf, Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace, With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design Moves like a ghost. MACBETH.
For the space of a quarter of an hour, or longer, after the incidentrelated, all remained perfectly quiet in the front of the royalhabitation. The King read and mused in the entrance of his pavilion;behind, and with his back turned to the same entrance, the Nubian slavestill burnished the ample pavesse; in front of all, at a hundred pacesdistant, the yeomen of the guard stood, sat, or lay extended on thegrass, attentive to their own sports, but pursuing them in silence,while on the esplanade betwixt them and the front of the tent lay,scarcely to be distinguished from a bundle of rags, the senseless formof the marabout.
But the Nubian had the advantage of a mirror from the brilliantreflection which the surface of the highly-polished shield now afforded,by means of which he beheld, to his alarm and surprise, that themarabout raised his head gently from the ground, so as to survey allaround him, moving with a well-adjusted precaution which seemed entirelyinconsistent with a state of ebriety. He couched his head instantly, asif satisfied he was unobserved, and began, with the slightest possibleappearance of voluntary effort, to drag himself, as if by chance, evernearer and nearer to the King, but stopping and remaining fixed atintervals, like the spider, which, moving towards her object, collapsesinto apparent lifelessness when she thinks she is the subject ofobservation. This species of movement appeared suspicious to theEthiopian, who, on his part, prepared himself, as quietly as possible,to interfere, the instant that interference should seem to be necessary.
The marabout, meanwhile, glided on gradually and imperceptibly,serpent-like, or rather snail-like, till he was about ten yards distantfrom Richard's person, when, starting on his feet, he sprung forwardwith the bound of a tiger, stood at the King's back in less than aninstant, and brandished aloft the cangiar, or poniard, which he hadhidden in his sleeve. Not the presence of his whole army could havesaved their heroic Monarch; but the motions of the Nubian had been aswell calculated as those of the enthusiast, and ere the latter couldstrike, the former caught his uplifted arm. Turning his fanatical wrathupon what thus unexpectedly interposed betwixt him and his object, theCharegite, for such was the seeming marabout, dealt the Nubian a blowwith the dagger, which, however, only grazed his arm, while the farsuperior strength of the Ethiopian easily dashed him to the ground.Aware of what had passed, Richard had now arisen, and with little moreof surprise, anger, or interest of any kind in his countenance than anordinary man would show in brushing off and crushing an intrusive wasp,caught up the stool on which he had been sitting, and exclaiming only,"Ha, dog!" dashed almost to pieces the skull of the assassin, whouttered twice, once in a loud, and once in a broken tone, the wordsALLAH ACKBAR!--God is victorious--and expired at the King's feet.
"Ye are careful warders," said Richard to his archers, in a tone ofscornful reproach, as, aroused by the bustle of what had passed, interror and tumult they now rushed into his tent; "watchful sentinels yeare, to leave me to do such hangman's work with my own hand. Be silent,all of you, and cease your senseless clamour!--saw ye never a dead Turkbefore? Here, cast that carrion out of the camp, strike the head fromthe trunk, and stick it on a lance, taking care to turn the faceto Mecca, that he may the easier tell the foul impostor on whoseinspiration he came hither how he has sped on his errand.--For thee, myswart and silent friend," he added, turning to the Ethiopian--"but how'sthis? Thou art wounded--and with a poisoned weapon, I warrant me, forby force of stab so weak an animal as that could scarce hope to domore than raze the lion's hide.--Suck the poison from his wound one ofyou--the venom is harmless on the lips, though fatal when it mingleswith the blood."
The yeomen looked on each other confusedly and with hesitation, theapprehension of so strange a danger prevailing with those who feared noother.
"How now, sirrahs," continued the King, "are you dainty-lipped, or doyou fear death, that you daily thus?"
"Not the death of a man," said Long Allen, to whom the King looked as hespoke; "but methinks I would not die like a poisoned rat for the sakeof a black chattel there, that is bought and sold in a market like aMartlemas ox."
"His Grace speaks to men of sucking poison," muttered another yeoman,"as if he said, 'Go to, swallow a gooseberry!'"
"Nay," said Richard, "I never bade man do that which I would not domyself."
And without further ceremony, and in spite of the general expostulationsof those around, and the respectful opposition of the Nubian himself,the King of England applied his lips to the wound of the blackslave, treating with ridicule all remonstrances, and overpowering allresistance. He had no sooner intermitted his singular occupation, thanthe Nubian started from him, and casting a scarf over his arm, intimatedby gestures, as firm in purpose as they were respectful in manner,his determination not to permit the Monarch to renew so degradingan employment. Long Allen also interposed, saying that, if it werenecessary to prevent the King engaging again in a treatment of thiskind, his own lips, tongue, and teeth were at the service of the negro(as he called the Ethiopian), and that he would eat him up bodily,rather than King Richard's mouth should again approach him.
Neville, who entered with other officers, added his remonstrances.
"Nay, nay, make not a needless halloo about a hart that the hounds havelost, or a danger when it is over," said the King. "The wound will be atrifle, for the blood is scarce drawn--an angry cat had dealt a deeperscratch. And for me, I have but to take a drachm of orvietan by way ofprecaution, though it is needless."
Thus spoke Richard, a little ashamed, perhaps, of his owncondescension, though sanctioned both by humanity and gratitude. Butwhen Neville continued to make remonstrances on the peril to his royalperson, the King imposed silence on him.
"Peace, I prithee--make no more of it. I did it but to show theseignorant, prejudiced knaves how they might help each other when thesecowardly caitiffs come against us with sarbacanes and poisoned shafts.But," he added, "take thee this Nubian to thy quarters, Neville--I havechanged my mind touching him--let him be well cared for. But hark inthine ear; see that he escapes thee not--there is more in him thanseems. Let him have all liberty, so that he leave not the camp.--Andyou, ye beef-devouring, wine-swilling English mastiffs, get ye to yourguard again, and be sure you keep it more warily. Think not you are nowin your own land of fair play, where men speak before they strike, andshake hands ere they cut throats. Danger in our land walks openly, andwith his blade drawn, and defies the foe whom he means to assault; buthere he challenges you with a silk glove instead of a steel gauntlet,cuts your throat with the feather of a turtle-dove, stabs you with thetongue of a priest's brooch, or throttles you with the lace of my lady'sboddice. Go to--keep your eyes open and your mouths shut--drink less,and look sharper about you; or I will place your huge stomachs on suchshort allowance as would pinch the stomach of a patient Scottish man."
The yeomen, abashed and mortified, withdrew to their post, and Nevillewas beginning to remonstrate with his master upon the risk of passingover thus slightly their negligence upon their duty, and the proprietyof an example in a case so peculiarly aggravated as the permitting oneso suspicious as the marabout to approach within dagger's length ofhis person, when Richard interrupted him with, "Speak not of it,Neville--wouldst thou have me avenge a petty risk to myself moreseverely than the loss of England's banner? It has been stolen--stolenby a thief, or delivered up by a traitor, and no blood has been shedfor it.--My sable friend, thou art an expounder of mysteries, saith theillustrious Soldan--now would I give thee thine own weight in gold, if,by raising one still blacker than thyself or by what other means thouwilt, thou couldst show me the thief who did mine honour that wrong.What sayest thou, ha?"
The mute seemed desirous to speak, but uttered only that imperfect soundproper to his melancholy condition; then folded his arms, looked on theKing with an eye of
intelligence, and nodded in answer to his question.
"How!" said Richard, with joyful impatience. "Wilt thou undertake tomake discovery in this matter?"
The Nubian slave repeated the same motion.
"But how shall we understand each other?" said the King. "Canst thouwrite, good fellow?"
The slave again nodded in assent.
"Give him writing-tools," said the King. "They were readier in myfather's tent than mine; but they be somewhere about, if this scorchingclimate have not dried up the ink.--Why, this fellow is a jewel--a blackdiamond, Neville."
"So please you, my liege," said Neville, "if I might speak my poor mind,it were ill dealing in this ware. This man must be a wizard, and wizardsdeal with the Enemy, who hath most interest to sow tares among thewheat, and bring dissension into our councils, and--"
"Peace, Neville," said Richard. "Hello to your northern hound when he isclose on the haunch of the deer, and hope to recall him, but seek not tostop Plantagenet when he hath hope to retrieve his honour."
The slave, who during this discussion had been writing, in which art heseemed skilful, now arose, and pressing what he had written to his brow,prostrated himself as usual, ere he delivered it into the King's hands.The scroll was in French, although their intercourse had hitherto beenconducted by Richard in the lingua franca.
"To Richard, the conquering and invincible King of England, this fromthe humblest of his slaves. Mysteries are the sealed caskets of Heaven,but wisdom may devise means to open the lock. Were your slave stationedwhere the leaders of the Christian host were made to pass before himin order, doubt nothing that if he who did the injury whereof my Kingcomplains shall be among the number, he may be made manifest in hisiniquity, though it be hidden under seven veils."
"Now, by Saint George!" said King Richard, "thou hast spoken mostopportunely.--Neville, thou knowest that when we muster our troopsto-morrow the princes have agreed that, to expiate the affront offeredto England in the theft of her banner, the leaders should pass our newstandard as it floats on Saint George's Mount, and salute it with formalregard. Believe me, the secret traitor will not dare to absent himselffrom an expurgation so solemn, lest his very absence should be matter ofsuspicion. There will we place our sable man of counsel, and if his artcan detect the villain, leave me to deal with him."
"My liege," said Neville, with the frankness of an English baron,"beware what work you begin. Here is the concord of our holy leagueunexpectedly renewed--will you, upon such suspicion as a negro slave caninstil, tear open wounds so lately closed? Or will you use the solemnprocession, adopted for the reparation of your honour and establishmentof unanimity amongst the discording princes, as the means of againfinding out new cause of offence, or reviving ancient quarrels? It werescarce too strong to say this were a breach of the declaration yourGrace made to the assembled Council of the Crusade."
"Neville," said the King, sternly interrupting him, "thy zeal makes theepresumptuous and unmannerly. Never did I promise to abstain from takingwhatever means were most promising to discover the infamous author ofthe attack on my honour. Ere I had done so, I would have renounced mykingdom, my life. All my declarations were under this necessary andabsolute qualification;--only, if Austria had stepped forth and ownedthe injury like a man, I proffered, for the sake of Christendom, to haveforgiven HIM."
"But," continued the baron anxiously, "what hope that this jugglingslave of Saladin will not palter with your Grace?"
"Peace, Neville," said the King; "thou thinkest thyself mighty wise, andart but a fool. Mind thou my charge touching this fellow; there ismore in him than thy Westmoreland wit can fathom.--And thou, smart andsilent, prepare to perform the feat thou hast promised, and, by theword of a King, thou shalt choose thine own recompense.--Lo, he writesagain."
The mute accordingly wrote and delivered to the King, with the same formas before, another slip of paper, containing these words, "The will ofthe King is the law to his slave; nor doth it become him to ask guerdonfor discharge of his devoir."
"GUERDON and DEVOIR!" said the King, interrupting himself as he read,and speaking to Neville in the English tongue with some emphasis onthe words. "These Eastern people will profit by the Crusaders--they areacquiring the language of chivalry! And see, Neville, how discomposedthat fellow looks! were it not for his colour he would blush. I shouldnot think it strange if he understood what I say--they are perilouslinguists."
"The poor slave cannot endure your Grace's eye," said Neville; "it isnothing more."
"Well, but," continued the King, striking the paper with his finger ashe proceeded, "this bold scroll proceeds to say that our trusty mute ischarged with a message from Saladin to the Lady Edith Plantagenet, andcraves means and opportunity to deliver it. What thinkest thou of arequest so modest--ha, Neville?"
"I cannot say," said Neville, "how such freedom may relish with yourGrace; but the lease of the messenger's neck would be a short one, whoshould carry such a request to the Soldan on the part of your Majesty."
"Nay, I thank Heaven that I covet none of his sunburnt beauties," saidRichard; "and for punishing this fellow for discharging his master'serrand, and that when he has just saved my life--methinks it weresomething too summary. I'll tell thee, Neville, a secret; for althoughour sable and mute minister be present, he cannot, thou knowest, tell itover again, even if he should chance to understand us. I tell thee that,for this fortnight past, I have been under a strange spell, and I wouldI were disenchanted. There has no sooner any one done me good service,but, lo you, he cancels his interest in me by some deep injury; and,on the other hand, he who hath deserved death at my hands for sometreachery or some insult, is sure to be the very person of all otherswho confers upon me some obligation that overbalances his demerits, andrenders respite of his sentence a debt due from my honour. Thus, thouseest, I am deprived of the best part of my royal function, since Ican neither punish men nor reward them. Until the influence of thisdisqualifying planet be passed away, I will say nothing concerning therequest of this our sable attendant, save that it is an unusually boldone, and that his best chance of finding grace in our eyes will be toendeavour to make the discovery which he proposes to achieve in ourbehalf. Meanwhile, Neville, do thou look well to him, and let himbe honourably cared for. And hark thee once more," he said, in alow whisper, "seek out yonder hermit of Engaddi, and bring him tome forthwith, be he saint or savage, madman or sane. Let me see himprivately."
Neville retired from the royal tent, signing to the Nubian to followhim, and much surprised at what he had seen and heard, and especially atthe unusual demeanour of the King. In general, no task was so easy as todiscover Richard's immediate course of sentiment and feeling, thoughit might, in some cases, be difficult to calculate its duration; forno weathercock obeyed the changing wind more readily than the Kinghis gusts of passion. But on the present occasion his manner seemedunusually constrained and mysterious; nor was it easy to guess whetherdispleasure or kindness predominated in his conduct towards his newdependant, or in the looks with which, from time to time, he regardedhim. The ready service which the King had rendered to counteract thebad effects of the Nubian's wound might seem to balance the obligationconferred on him by the slave when he intercepted the blow of theassassin; but it seemed, as a much longer account remained to bearranged between them, that the Monarch was doubtful whether thesettlement might leave him, upon the whole, debtor or creditor, andthat, therefore, he assumed in the meantime a neutral demeanour, whichmight suit with either character. As for the Nubian, by whatever meanshe had acquired the art of writing the European languages, the Kingremained convinced that the English tongue at least was unknown to him,since, having watched him closely during the last part of the interview,he conceived it impossible for any one understanding a conversation,of which he was himself the subject, to have so completely avoided theappearance of taking an interest in it.