CHAPTER THE NINTH.
Between the foaming jaws of the white torrent, The skilful artist draws a sudden mound; By level long he subdivides their strength, Stealing the waters from their rocky bed, First to diminish what he means to conquer; Then, for the residue he forms a road, Easy to keep, and painful to desert, And guiding to the end the planner aim'd at. THE ENGINEER
It would have been easy for Alexius, by a course of avowed suspicion,or any false step in the manner of receiving this tumultuary invasionof the European nations, to have blown into a flame the numerous butsmothered grievances under which they laboured; and a similarcatastrophe would not have been less certain, had he at once abandonedall thoughts of resistance, and placed his hope of safety insurrendering to the multitudes of the west whatsoever they accountedworth taking. The Emperor chose a middle course; and, unquestionably,in the weakness of the Greek empire, it was the only one which wouldhave given him at once safety, and a great degree of consequence in theeyes of the Frank invaders and those of his own subjects. The meanswith, which he acted were of various kinds, and, rather from policythan inclination, were often stained with falsehood or meanness;therefore it follows that the measures of the Emperor resembled thoseof the snake, who twines himself through the grass, with the purpose ofstinging insidiously those whom he fears to approach with the step ofthe bold and generous lion. We are not, however, writing the History ofthe Crusades, and what we have already said of the Emperor'sprecautions on the first appearance of Godfrey of Bouillon, and hisassociates, may suffice for the elucidation of our story.
About four weeks had now passed over, marked by quarrels andreconcilements between the crusaders and the Grecians of the empire.The former were, as Alexius's policy dictated, occasionally andindividually, received with extreme honour, and their leaders loadedwith respect and favour; while, from time to time, such bodies of themas sought distant or circuitous routes to the capital, were interceptedand cut to pieces by light-armed troops, who easily passed upon theirignorant opponents for Turks, Scythians, or other infidels, andsometimes were actually such, but in the service of the Grecianmonarch. Often, too, it happened, that while the more powerful chiefsof the crusade were feasted by the Emperor and his ministers with therichest delicacies, and their thirst slaked with iced wines, theirfollowers were left at a distance, where, intentionally supplied withadulterated flour, tainted provisions, and bad water, they contracteddiseases, and died in great numbers, without having once seen a foot ofthe Holy Land, for the recovery of which they had abandoned theirpeace, their competence, and their native country. These aggressionsdid not pass without complaint. Many of the crusading chiefs impugnedthe fidelity of their allies, exposed the losses sustained by theirarmies as evils voluntarily inflicted on them by the Greeks, and onmore than one occasion, the two nations stood opposed to each other onsuch terms that a general war seemed to be inevitable.
Alexius, however, though obliged to have recourse to every finesse,still kept his ground, and made peace with the most powerful chiefs,under one pretence or other. The actual losses of the crusaders by thesword he imputed to their own aggressions--their misguidance, toaccident and to wilfulness--the effects produced on them by theadulterated provisions, to the vehemence of their own appetite for rawfruits and unripened wines. In short, there was no disaster of any kindwhatsoever which could possibly befall the unhappy pilgrims, but theEmperor stood prepared to prove that it was the natural consequence oftheir own violence, wilfulness of conduct, or hostile precipitancy.
The chiefs, who were not ignorant of their strength, would not, it waslikely, have tamely suffered injuries from a power so inferior to theirown, were it not that they had formed extravagant ideas of the wealthof the Eastern empire, which Alexius seemed willing to share with themwith an excess of bounty as new to the leaders as the rich productionsof the East were tempting to their followers.
The French nobles would perhaps have been the most difficult to bebrought into order when differences arose; but an accident, which theEmperor might have termed providential, reduced the high-spirited Countof Vermandois to the situation, of a suppliant, when he expected tohold that of a dictator. A fierce tempest surprised his fleet after heset sail from Italy, and he was finally driven on the coast of Greece.Many ships were destroyed, and those troops who got ashore were so muchdistressed, that they were obliged to surrender themselves to thelieutenants of Alexius. So that the Count of Vermandois, so haughty inhis bearing when he first embarked, was sent to the court ofConstantinople, not as a prince, but as a prisoner. In this case, theEmperor instantly set the soldiers at liberty, and loaded them withpresents. [Footnote: See Mills' History of the Crusades, vol. i, p. 96]
Grateful, therefore, for attentions in which Alexius was unremitting,Count Hugh was by gratitude as well as interest, inclined to join theopinion of those who, for other reasons, desired the subsistence ofpeace betwixt the crusaders and the empire of Greece. A betterprinciple determined the celebrated Godfrey, Raymond of Thoulouse, andsome others, in whom devotion was something more than a mere burst offanaticism. These princes considered with what scandal their wholejourney must be stained, if the first of their exploits should be a warupon the Grecian empire, which might justly be called the barrier ofChristendom. If it was weak, and at the same time rich--if at the sametime it invited rapine, and was unable to protect itself against it--itwas the more their interest and duty, as Christian soldiers, to protecta Christian state, whose existence was of so much consequence to thecommon cause, even when it could not defend itself. It was the wish ofthese frank-hearted men to receive the Emperor's professions offriendship with such sincere returns of amity--to return his kindnesswith so much usury, as to convince him that their purpose towards himwas in every respect fair and honourable, and that it would be hisinterest to abstain from every injurious treatment which might induceor compel them to alter their measures towards him.
It was with this accommodating spirit towards Alexius, which, for manydifferent and complicated reasons, had now animated most of thecrusaders, that the chiefs consented to a measure which, in othercircumstances, they would probably have refused, as undue to theGreeks, and dishonourable to themselves. This was the famousresolution, that, before crossing the Bosphorus to go in quest of thatPalestine which they had vowed to regain, each chief of crusaders wouldacknowledge individually the Grecian Emperor, originally lord paramountof all these regions, as their liege lord and suzerain.
The Emperor Alexius, with trembling joy, beheld the crusaders approacha conclusion to which he had hoped to bribe them rather by interestedmeans than by reasoning, although much might be said why provincesreconquered from the Turks or Saracens should, if recovered from theinfidel, become again a part of the Grecian empire, from which they hadbeen rent without any pretence, save that of violence.
Though fearful, and almost despairing of being able to manage the rudeand discordant army of haughty chiefs, who were wholly independent ofeach other, Alexius failed not, with eagerness and dexterity, to seizeupon the admission of Godfrey and his compeers, that the Emperor wasentitled to the allegiance of all who should war on Palestine, andnatural lord paramount of all the conquests which should be made in thecourse of the expedition. He was resolved to make this ceremony sopublic, and to interest men's minds in it by such a display of theimperial pomp and munificence, that it should not either pass unknown,or be readily forgotten.
An extensive terrace, one of the numerous spaces which extend along thecoast of the Propontis, was chosen for the site of the magnificentceremony. Here was placed an elevated and august throne, calculated forthe use of the Emperor alone. On this occasion, by suffering no otherseats within view of the pageant, the Greeks endeavoured to secure apoint of ceremony peculiarly dear to their vanity, namely, that none ofthat presence, save the Emperor himself, should be seated. Around thethrone of Alexius Comnenus were placed in order, but standing, thevarious dignitaries of his splendid court, in thei
r different ranks,from the Protosebastos and the Caesar, to the Patriarch, splendid inhis ecclesiastical robes, and to Agelastes, who, in his simple habit,gave also the necessary attendance. Behind and around the splendiddisplay of the Emperor's court, were drawn many dark circles of theexiled Anglo-Saxons. These, by their own desire, were not, on thatmemorable day, accoutred in the silver corslets which were the fashionof an idle court, but sheathed in mail and plate. They desired, theysaid, to be known as warriors to warriors. This was the more readilygranted, as there was no knowing what trifle might infringe a trucebetween parties so inflammable as were now assembled.
Beyond the Varangians, in much greater numbers, were drawn up the bandsof Grecians, or Romans, then known by the title of Immortals, which hadbeen borrowed by the Romans originally from the empire of Persia. Thestately forms, lofty crests, and splendid apparel of these guards,would have given the foreign princes present a higher idea of theirmilitary prowess, had there not occurred in their ranks a frequentindication of loquacity and of motion, forming a strong contrast to thesteady composure and death-like silence with which the well-trainedVarangians stood in the parade, like statues made of iron.
The reader must then conceive this throne in all the pomp of Orientalgreatness, surrounded by the foreign and Roman troops of the empire,and closed on the rear by clouds of light-horse, who shifted theirplaces repeatedly, so as to convey an idea of their multitude, withoutaffording the exact means of estimating it. Through the dust which theyraised by these evolutions, might be seen banners and standards, amongwhich could be discovered by glances, the celebrated LABARUM,[Footnote: Ducange fills half a column of his huge page with the merenames of the authors who have written at length on the _Labarum_, orprincipal standard of the empire for the time of Constantine. Itconsisted of a spear of silver, or plated with that metal, havingsuspended from, a cross beam below the spoke a small square silkenbanner, adorned with portraits of the reigning family, and over thesethe famous Monogram which expresses at once the figure of the cross andthe initial letters of the name of Christ. The bearer of the _Labarum_was an officer of high rank down to the last days of the Byzantinegovernment.--See Gibbon, chap. 20.
Ducange seems to have proved, from the evidence of coins and triumphialmonuments, that a standard of the form of the _Labarum_ was used byvarious barbarous nations long before it was adopted by their Romanconquerors, and he is of opinion that its name also was borrowed fromeither Teutonic Germany, or Celtic Gaul, or Sclavonic Illyria. It iscertain that either the German language or the Welsh may afford at thisday a perfectly satisfactory etymon: _Lap-heer_ in the former and_Lab-hair_ in the latter, having precisely the same meaning--_the clothof the host_.
The form of the _Labarum_ may still be recognised in the bannerscarried in ecclesiastical processions in all Roman Catholic countries.]the pledge of conquest to the imperial banners, but whose sacredefficacy had somewhat failed of late days. The rude soldiers of theWest, who viewed the Grecian army, maintained that the standards whichwere exhibited in front of their line, were at least sufficient for thearray of ten times the number of soldiers.
Far on the right, the appearance of a very large body of Europeancavalry drawn up on the sea-shore, intimated the presence of thecrusaders. So great was the desire to follow the example of the chiefPrinces, Dukes, and Counts, in making the proposed fealty, that thenumber of independent knights and nobles who were to perform thisservice, seemed very great when collected together for that purpose;for every crusader who possessed a tower, and led six lances, wouldhave thought himself abridged of his dignity if he had not been calledto acknowledge the Grecian Emperor, and hold the lands he shouldconquer of his throne, as well as Godfrey of Bouillon, or Hugh theGreat, Count of Vermandois. And yet, with strange inconsistency, thoughthey pressed to fulfil the homage, as that which was paid by greaterpersons than themselves, they seemed, at the very same time, desirousto find some mode of intimating that the homage which they renderedthey felt as an idle degradation, and in fact held the whole show as amere piece of mockery.
The order of the procession had been thus settled:--The Crusaders, or,as the Grecians called them, the _Counts_,--that being the most commontitle among them,--were to advance from the left of their body, andpassing the Emperor one by one, were apprized, that, in passing, eachwas to render to him, in as few words as possible, the homage which hadbeen previously agreed on. Godfrey of Bouillon, his brother Baldwin,Bohemond of Antioch, and several other crusaders of eminence, were thefirst to perform the ceremony, alighting when their own part wasperformed, and remaining in attendance by the Emperor's chair, toprevent, by the awe of their presence, any of their numerous associatesfrom being guilty of petulance or presumption during the solemnity.Other crusaders of less degree retained their station near the Emperor,when they had once gained it, out of mere curiosity, or to show thatthey were as much at liberty to do so as the greater commanders whoassumed that privilege.
Thus two great bodies of troops, Grecian and European, paused at somedistance from each other on the banks of the Bosphorus canal, differingin language, arms, and appearance. The small troops of horse which fromtime to time issued forth from these bodies, resembled the flashes oflightning passing from one thunder-cloud to another, which communicateto each other by such emissaries their overcharged contents. After somehalt on the margin of the Bosphorus, the Franks who had performedhomage, straggled irregularly forward to a quay on the shore, whereinnumerable galleys and smaller vessels, provided for the purpose, laywith sails and oars prepared to waft the warlike pilgrims across thepassage, and place them on that Asia which they longed so passionatelyto visit, and from which but few of them were likely to return. The gayappearance of the vessels which were to receive them, the readinesswith which they were supplied with refreshments, the narrowness of thestrait they had to cross, the near approach of that active servicewhich they had vowed and longed to discharge, put the warriors into gayspirits, and songs and music bore chorus to the departing oars.
While such was the temper of the crusaders, the Grecian Emperor did hisbest through the whole ceremonial to impress on the armed multitude thehighest ideas of his own grandeur, and the importance of the occasionwhich had brought them together. This was readily admitted by thehigher chiefs; some because their vanity had been propitiated,--somebecause their avarice had been gratified,--some because their ambitionhad been inflamed,--and a few, a very few, because to remain friendswith Alexius was the most probable means of advancing the purposes oftheir expedition. Accordingly the great lords, from these variousmotives, practised a humility which perhaps they were far from feeling,and carefully abstained from all which might seem like irreverence atthe solemn festival of the Grecians. But there were very many of adifferent temper.
Of the great number of counts, lords, and knights, under whose varietyof banners the crusaders were led to the walls of Constantinople, manywere too insignificant to be bribed to this distasteful measure ofhomage; and these, though they felt it dangerous to oppose resistance,yet mixed their submission with taunts, ridicule, and suchcontraventions of decorum, as plainly intimated that they entertainedresentment and scorn at the step they were about to take, and esteemedit as proclaiming themselves vassals to a prince, heretic in his faith,limited in the exercise of his boasted power, their enemy when he daredto show himself such, and the friend of those only among their number,who were able to compel him to be so; and who, though to them anobsequious ally, was to the others, when occasion offered, an insidiousand murderous enemy.
The nobles of Frankish origin and descent were chiefly remarkable fortheir presumptuous contempt of every other nation engaged in thecrusade, as well as for their dauntless bravery, and for the scorn withwhich they regarded the power and authority of the Greek empire. It wasa common saying among them, that if the skies should fall, the Frenchcrusaders alone were able to hold them up with their lances. The samebold and arrogant disposition showed itself in occasional quarrels withtheir unwilling hosts, in which the Greek
s, notwithstanding all theirart, were often worsted; so that Alexius was determined, at all events,to get rid of these intractable and fiery allies, by ferrying them overthe Bosphorus with all manner of diligence. To do this with safety, heavailed himself of the presence of the Count of Vermandois, Godfrey ofBouillon, and other chiefs of great influence, to keep in order thelesser Frankish knights, who were so numerous and unruly. [Footnote:See Mills, vol. i. chap. 3.]
Struggling with his feelings of offended pride, tempered by a prudentdegree of apprehension, the Emperor endeavoured to receive withcomplacence a homage tendered in mockery. An incident shortly tookplace of a character highly descriptive of the nations brought togetherin so extraordinary a manner, and with such different feelings andsentiments. Several bands of French had passed, in a sort ofprocession, the throne of the Emperor, and rendered, with someappearance of gravity, the usual homage. On this occasion they benttheir knees to Alexius, placed their hands within his, and in thatposture paid the ceremonies of feudal fealty. But when it came to theturn of Bohemond of Antioch, already mentioned, to render this fealty,the Emperor, desirous to show every species of honour to this wilyperson, his former enemy, and now apparently his ally, advanced two orthree paces towards the sea-side, where the boats lay as if inreadiness for his use.
The distance to which the Emperor moved was very small, and it wasassumed as a piece of deference to Bohemond; but it became the means ofexposing Alexius himself to a cutting affront, which his guards andsubjects felt deeply, as an intentional humiliation. A half score ofhorsemen, attendants of the Frankish Count who was next to perform thehomage, with their lord at their head, set off at full gallop from theright flank of the French squadrons, and arriving before the throne,which was yet empty, they at once halted. The rider at the head of theband was a strong herculean figure, with a decided and sterncountenance, though extremely handsome, looking out from thick blackcurls. His head was surmounted with a barret cap, while his hands,limbs, and feet were covered with garments of chamois leather, overwhich he in general wore the ponderous and complete armour of hiscountry. This, however, he had laid aside for personal convenience,though in doing so he evinced a total neglect of the ceremonial whichmarked so important a meeting. He waited not a moment for the Emperor'sreturn, nor regarded the impropriety of obliging Alexius to hurry hissteps back to his throne, but sprung from his gigantic horse, and threwthe reins loose, which were instantly seized by one of the attendantpages. Without a moment's hesitation the Frank seated himself in thevacant throne of the Emperor, and extending his half-armed and robustfigure on the golden cushions which were destined for Alexius, heindolently began to caress a large wolf-hound which had followed him,and which, feeling itself as much at ease as its master, reposed itsgrim form on the carpets of silk and gold damask, which tapestried theimperial foot-stool. The very hound stretched itself with a bold,ferocious insolence, and seemed to regard no one with respect, save thestern knight whom it called master.
The Emperor, turning back from the short space which, as a special markof favour, he had accompanied Bohemond, beheld with astonishment hisseat occupied by this insolent Frank. The bands of the half-savageVarangians who were stationed around, would not have hesitated aninstant in avenging the insult, by prostrating the violator of theirmaster's throne even in this act of his contempt, had they not beenrestrained by Achilles Tatius and other officers, who were uncertainwhat the Emperor would do, and somewhat timorous of taking a resolutionfor themselves.
Meanwhile, the unceremonious knight spoke aloud, in a speech which,though provincial, might be understood by all to whom the Frenchlanguage was known, while even those who understood it not, gatheredits interpretation from his tone and manner. "What churl is this," hesaid, "who has remained sitting stationary like a block of wood, or thefragment of a rock, when so many noble knights, the flower of chivalryand muster of gallantry, stand uncovered around, among the thriceconquered Varangians?"
A deep, clear accent replied, as if from the bottom of the earth, solike it was to the accents of some being from the other world,--"If theNormans desire battle of the Varangians, they will meet them in thelists man to man, without the poor boast of insulting the Emperor ofGreece, who is well known to fight only by the battle-axes of hisguard."
The astonishment was so great when this answer was heard, as to affecteven the knight, whose insult upon the Emperor had occasioned it; andamid the efforts of Achilles to retain his soldiers within the boundsof subordination and silence, a loud murmur seemed to intimate thatthey would not long remain so. Bohemond returned through the press witha celerity which did not so well suit the dignity of Alexius, andcatching the crusader by the arm, he, something between fair means anda gentle degree of force, obliged him to leave the chair of theEmperor, in which he had placed himself so boldly.
"How is it," said Bohemond, "noble Count of Paris? Is there one of thisgreat assembly who can see with patience, that your name, so widelyrenowned for valour, is now to be quoted in an idle brawl withhirelings, whose utmost boast it is to bear a mercenary battle-axe inthe ranks of the Emperor's guards? For shame--for shame--do not, forthe discredit of Norman chivalry, let it be so!"
"I know not," said the crusader, rising reluctantly--"I am not nice inchoosing the degree of my adversary, when he bears himself like one whois willing and forward in battle. I am good-natured, I tell thee, CountBohemond; and Turk or Tartar, or wandering Anglo-Saxon, who onlyescapes from the chain of the Normans to become the slave of the Greek,is equally welcome to whet his blade clean against my armour, if hedesires to achieve such an honourable office."
The Emperor had heard what passed--had heard it with indignation, mixedwith fear; for he imagined the whole scheme of his policy was about tobe overturned at once by a premeditated plan of personal affront, andprobably an assault upon his person. He was about to call to arms,when, casting his eyes on the right flank of the crusaders, he saw thatall remained quiet after the Frank Baron had transferred himself fromthence. He therefore instantly resolved to let the insult pass, as oneof the rough pleasantries of the Franks, since the advance of moretroops did not give any symptom of an actual onset.
Resolving on his line of conduct with the quickness of thought, heglided back to his canopy, and stood beside his throne, of which,however, he chose not instantly to take possession, lest he should givethe insolent stranger some ground for renewing and persisting in acompetition for it.
"What bold Vavasour is this," said he to Count Baldwin, "whom, as isapparent from his dignity, I ought to have received seated upon mythrone, and who thinks proper thus to vindicate his rank?"
"He is reckoned one of the bravest men in our host," answered Baldwin,"though the brave are as numerous there as the sands of the sea. Hewill himself tell you his name and rank."
Alexius looked at the Vavasour. He saw nothing in his large,well-formed features, lighted by a wild touch of enthusiasm which spokein his quick eye, that intimated premeditated insult, and was inducedto suppose that what had occurred, so contrary to the form andceremonial of the Grecian court, was neither an intentional affront,nor designed as the means of introducing a quarrel. He therefore spokewith comparative ease, when he addressed the stranger thus:--"We knownot by what dignified name to salute you: but we are aware, from CountBaldwin's information, that we are honoured in having in our presenceone of the bravest knights whom a sense of the wrongs done to the HolyLand has brought thus far on his way to Palestine, to free it from itsbondage."
"If you mean to ask my name," answered the European knight, "any one ofthese pilgrims can readily satisfy you, and more gracefully than I canmyself; since we use to say in our country, that many a fierce quarrelis prevented from being fought out by an untimely disclosure of names,when men, who might have fought with the fear of God before their eyes,must, when their names are manifested, recognise each other asspiritual allies, by baptism, gossipred, or some such irresistible bondof friendship; whereas, had they fought first and told their namesafterwards, they co
uld have had some assurance of each other's valour,and have been able to view their relationship as an honour to both."
"Still," said the Emperor, "methinks I would know if you, who, in thisextraordinary press of knights, seem to assert a precedence toyourself, claim the dignity due to a king or prince?"
"How speak you that?" said the Frank, with a brow somewhatover-clouded; "do you feel that I have not left you unjostled by myadvance to these squadrons of yours?"
Alexius hastened to answer, that he felt no particular desire toconnect the Count with an affront or offence; observing, that in theextreme necessity of the Empire, it was no time for him, who was at thehelm, to engage in idle or unnecessary quarrels.
The Frankish knight heard him, and answered drily--"Since such are yoursentiments, I wonder that you have ever resided long enough within thehearing of the French language to learn to speak it as you do. I wouldhave thought some of the sentiments of the chivalry of the nation,since you are neither a monk nor a woman, would, at the same time withthe words of the dialect, have found their way into your heart." "Hush,Sir Count," said Bohemond, who remained by the Emperor to avert thethreatening quarrel. "It is surely requisite to answer the Emperor withcivility; and those who are impatient for warfare, will have infidelsenough to wage it with. He only demanded your name and lineage, whichyou of all men can have the least objection to disclose."
"I know not if it will interest this prince, or Emperor as you termhim," answered the Frank Count; "but all the account I can give ofmyself is this:--In the midst of one of the vast forests which, occupythe centre of France, my native country, there stands a chapel, sunk solow into the ground, that it seems as if it were become decrepid by itsown great age. The image of the Holy Virgin who presides over itsaltar, is called by all men our Lady of the Broken Lances, and isaccounted through the whole kingdom the most celebrated for militaryadventures. Four beaten roads, each leading from an opposite point inthe compass, meet before the principal door of the chapel; and ever andanon, as a good knight arrives at this place, he passes in to theperformance of his devotions in the chapel, having first sounded hishorn three times, till ash and oak-tree quiver and ring. Having thenkneeled down to his devotions, he seldom arises from the mass of Her ofthe Broken Lances, but there is attending on his leisure someadventurous knight ready to satisfy the new comer's desire of battle.This station have I held for a month and more against all comers, andall gave me fair thanks for the knightly manner of quitting myselftowards them, except one, who had the evil hap to fall from his horse,and did break his neck; and another, who was struck through the body,so that the lance came out behind his back about a cloth-yard, alldripping with blood. Allowing for such accidents, which cannot easilybe avoided, my opponents parted with me with fair acknowledgment of thegrace I had done them."
"I conceive, Sir Knight," said the Emperor, "that a form like yours,animated by the courage you display, is likely to find few equals evenamong your adventurous countrymen; far less among men who are taughtthat to cast away their lives in a senseless quarrel among themselves,is to throw away, like a boy, the gift of Providence."
"You are welcome to your opinion," said the Frank, somewhatcontemptuously; "yet I assure you, if you doubt that our gallant strifewas unmixed with sullenness and anger, and that we hunt not the hart orthe boar with merrier hearts in the evening, than we discharge our taskof chivalry by the morn had arisen, before the portal of the oldchapel, you do us foul injustice."
"With the Turks you will not enjoy this amiable exchange ofcourtesies," answered Alexius. "Wherefore I would advise you neither tostray far into the van nor into the rear, but to abide by the standardwhere the best infidels make their efforts, and the best knights arerequired to repel them."
"By our Lady of the Broken Lances," said the Crusader, "I would notthat the Turks were more courteous than they are Christian, and am wellpleased that unbeliever and heathen hound are a proper description forthe best of them, as being traitor alike to their God and to the lawsof chivalry; and devoutly do I trust that I shall meet with them in thefront rank of our army, beside our standard, or elsewhere, and have anopen field to my devoir against them, both as the enemies of our Ladyand the holy saints, and as, by their evil customs, more expressly myown. Meanwhile you have time to seat yourself and receive my homage,and I will be bound to you for despatching this foolish ceremony withas little waste and delay of time as the occasion will permit."
The Emperor hastily seated himself, and received into his the sinewyhands of the Crusader, who made the acknowledgment of his homage, andwas then guided off by Count Baldwin, who walked with the stranger tothe ships, and then, apparently well pleased at seeing him in thecourse of going on board, returned back to the side of the Emperor.
"What is the name," said the Emperor, "of that singular and assumingman?"
"It is Robert, Count of Paris," answered Baldwin, "accounted one of thebravest peers who stand around the throne of France."
After a moment's recollection, Alexius Comnenus issued orders, that theceremonial of the day should be discontinued, afraid, perhaps, lest therough and careless humour of the strangers should produce some newquarrel. The crusaders were led, nothing loth, back to palaces in whichthey had been hospitably received, and readily resumed the interruptedfeast, from which they had been called to pay their homage. Thetrumpets of the various leaders blew the recall of the few troops of anordinary character who were attendant, together with the host ofknights and leaders, who, pleased with the indulgences provided forthem, and obscurely foreseeing that the passage of the Bosphorus wouldbe the commencement of their actual suffering, rejoiced in being calledto the hither side.
It was not probably intended; but the hero, as he might be styled, ofthe tumultuous day, Count Robert of Paris, who was already on his roadto embarkation on the strait, was disturbed in his purpose by the soundof recall which was echoed around; nor could Bohemond, Godfrey, or anyone who took upon him to explain the signal, alter his resolution ofreturning to Constantinople. He laughed to scorn the threateneddispleasure of the Emperor, and seemed to think there would be apeculiar pleasure in braving Alexius at his own board, or, at least,that nothing could be more indifferent than whether he gave offence ornot.
To Godfrey of Bouillon, to whom he showed some respect, he was stillfar from paying deference; and that sagacious prince, having used everyargument which might shake his purpose of returning to the imperialcity, to the very point of making it a quarrel with him in person, atlength abandoned him to his own discretion, and pointed him out to theCount of Thoulouse, as he passed, as a wild knight-errant, incapable ofbeing influenced by any thing save his own wayward fancy. "He bringsnot five hundred men to the crusade," said Godfrey; "and I dare besworn, that even in this, the very outset of the undertaking, he knowsnot where these five hundred men are, and how their wants are providedfor. There is an eternal trumpet in his ear sounding to assault, norhas he room or time to hear a milder or more rational signal. See howhe strolls along yonder, the very emblem of an idle schoolboy, brokeout of the school-bounds upon a holyday, half animated by curiosity andhalf by love of mischief."
"And," said Raymond, Count of Thoulouse, "with resolution sufficient tosupport the desperate purpose of the whole army of devoted crusaders.And yet so passionate a Rodomont is Count Robert, that he would ratherrisk the success of the whole expedition, that omit an opportunity ofmeeting a worthy antagonist _en champ-clos_, or lose, as he terms it, achance of worshipping our Lady of the Broken Lances. Who are yon withwhom he has now met, and who are apparently walking, or ratherstrolling in the same way with him, back to Constantinople?"
"An armed knight, brilliantly equipped--yet of something less thanknightly stature," answered Godfrey. "It is, I suppose, the celebratedlady who won Robert's heart in the lists of battle, by bravery andvalour equal to his own; and the pilgrim form in the long vestments maybe their daughter or niece."
"A singular spectacle, worthy Knight," said the Count of Thoulouse, "doour d
ays present to us, to which we have had nothing similar, sinceGaita, [Footnote: This Amazon makes a conspicuous figure in AnnaComnena's account of her father's campaigns against Robert Guiscard. Onone occasion (Alexiad, lib. iv. p. 93) she represents her as thusrecalling the fugitive soldiery of her husband to their duty,--[Greek:Hae de ge Taita Aeallas allae, kan mae Athaenae kat auton megisaenapheisa phonaen, monon ou to Homaerikon epos tae idia dialektio legeineokei. Mechri posou pheuxesthou; ataete aneres ese. Hos de etipheugontas toutous eora, dory makron enagkalisamenae, holous rhytaerasendousa kata ton pheugonton ietai].--That is, exhorting them, in allbut Homeric language, at the top of her voice; and when this failed,brandishing a long spear, and rushing upon the fugitives at the utmostspeed of her horse.
This heroic lady, according to the _Chronigue Scandaleuse_, of thosedays, was afterwards deluded by some cunning overtures of the GreekEmperor, and poisoned her husband in expectation of gaining a place onthe throne of Constantinople. Ducange, however, rejects the story, andso does Gibbon.] wife of Robert Guiscard, first took upon her todistinguish herself by manly deeds of emprise, and rival her husband,as well in the front of battle as at the dancing-room or banquet."
"Such is the custom of this pair, most noble knight," answered anotherCrusader, who had joined them, "and Heaven pity the poor man who has nopower to keep domestic peace by an appeal to the stronger hand!"
"Well!" replied Raymond, "if it be rather a mortifying reflection, thatthe lady of our love is far past the bloom of youth, it is aconsolation that she is too old-fashioned to beat us, when we returnback with no more of youth or manhood than a long crusade has left. Butcome, follow on the road to Constantinople, and in the rear of thismost doughty knight."