CHAPTER THE THIRTY-THIRD.
"What, leave the combat out!" exclaimed the knight. "Yea! or we must renounce the Stagyrite. So large a crowd the stage will ne'er contain." --"Then build a new, or act it on a plain." POPE.
The sounds of the gratulating shout had expanded over the distantshores of the Bosphorus by mountain and forest, and died at length inthe farthest echoes, when the people, in the silence which ensued,appeared to ask each other what next scene was about to adorn a pauseso solemn and a stage so august. The pause would probably have soongiven place to some new clamour, for a multitude, from whatever causeassembled, seldom remains long silent, had not a new signal from theVarangian trumpet given notice of a fresh purpose to solicit theirattention. The blast had something in its tone spirit-stirring and yetmelancholy, partaking both of the character of a point of war, and ofthe doleful sounds which might be chosen to announce an execution ofpeculiar solemnity. Its notes were high and widely extended, andprolonged and long dwelt upon, as if the brazen clamour had been wakedby something more tremendous than the lungs of mere mortals.
The multitude appeared to acknowledge these awful sounds, which wereindeed such as habitually solicited their attention to Imperial edicts,of melancholy import, by which rebellions were announced, dooms oftreason discharged, and other tidings of a great and affecting importintimated to the people of Constantinople. When the trumpet had in itsturn ceased, with its thrilling and doleful notes, to agitate theimmense assembly, the voice of the herald again addressed them.
It announced in a grave and affecting strain, that it sometimes chancedhow the people failed in their duty to a sovereign, who was unto themas a father, and how it became the painful duty of the prince to usethe rod of correction rather than the olive sceptre of mercy.
"Fortunate," continued the herald, "it is, when the supreme Deityhaving taken on himself the preservation of a throne, in beneficenceand justice resembling his own, has also assumed the most painful taskof his earthly delegate, by punishing those whom his unerring judgmentacknowledges as most guilty, and leaving to his substitute the moreagreeable task of pardoning such of those as art has misled, andtreachery hath involved in its snares.
"Such being the case, Greece and its accompanying Themes are calledupon to listen and learn that a villain, namely Agelastes, who hadinsinuated himself into the favour of the Emperor, by affection of deepknowledge and severe virtue, had formed a treacherous plan for themurder of the Emperor Alexius Comnenus, and a revolution in the state.This person, who, under pretended wisdom, hid the doctrines of aheretic and the vices of a sensualist, had found proselytes to hisdoctrines even among the Emperor's household, and those persons whowere most bound to him, and down to the lower order, to excite the lastof whom were dispersed a multitude of forged rumours, similar to thoseconcerning Ursol's death and blindness, of which your own eyes havewitnessed the falsehood."
The people, who had hitherto listened in silence, upon this appealbroke forth in a clamorous assent. They had scarcely been again silent,ere the iron-voiced herald continued his proclamation.
"Not Korah, Dathan, and Abiram," he said, "had more justly, or moredirectly fallen under the doom of an offended Deity, than this villain,Agelastes. The steadfast earth gaped to devour the apostate sons ofIsrael, but the termination of this wretched man's existence has been,as far as can now be known, by the direct means of an evil spirit, whomhis own arts had evoked into the upper air. By the spirit, as wouldappear by the testimony of a noble lady, and other females, whowitnessed the termination of his life, Agelastes was strangled, a fatewell-becoming his odious crimes. Such a death, even of a guilty man,must, indeed, be most painful to the humane feelings of the Emperor,because it involves suffering beyond this world. But the awfulcatastrophe carries with it this comfort, that it absolves the Emperorfrom the necessity of carrying any farther a vengeance which Heavenitself seems to have limited to the exemplary punishment of theprincipal conspirator. Some changes of offices and situations shall bemade, for the sake of safety and good order; but the secret who had orwho had not, been concerned in this awful crime, shall sleep in thebosoms of the persons themselves implicated, since the Emperor isdetermined to dismiss their offence from his memory, as the effect of atransient delusion. Let all, therefore, who now hear me, whateverconsciousness they may possess of a knowledge of what was this dayintended, return to their houses, assured that their own thoughts willbe their only punishment. Let them rejoice that Almighty goodness hassaved them from the meditations of their own hearts, and, according tothe affecting language of Scripture,--'Let them repent and sin no more,lest a worse thing befall them.'"
The voice of the herald then ceased, and was again answered by theshouts of the audience. These were unanimous; for circumstancescontributed to convince the malecontent party that they stood at theSovereign's mercy, and the edict that they heard having shown hisacquaintance with their guilt, it lay at his pleasure to let loose uponthem the strength of the Varangians, while, from the terms on which ithad pleased him to receive Tancred, it was probable that the Apuleianforces were also at his disposal.
The voices, therefore, of the bulky Stephanos, of Harpax the centurion,and other rebels, both of the camp and city, were the first to thunderforth their gratitude for the clemency of the Emperor, and their thanksto Heaven for his preservation.
The audience, reconciled to the thoughts of the discovered andfrustrated conspiracy, began meantime, according to their custom, toturn themselves to the consideration of the matter which had moreavowedly called them together, and private whispers, swelling bydegrees into murmurs, began to express the dissatisfaction of thecitizens at being thus long assembled, without receiving anycommunication respecting the announced purpose of their meeting.
Alexius was not slow to perceive the tendency of their thoughts; and,on a signal from his hand, the trumpets blew a point of war, in soundsfar more lively than those which had prefaced the Imperial edict."Robert, Count of Paris," then said a herald, "art thou here in thyplace, or by knightly proxy, to answer the challenge brought againstthee by his Imperial Highness Nicephorus Briennius, Caesar of thisempire?"
The Emperor conceived himself to have equally provided against theactual appearance at this call of either of the parties named, and hadprepared an exhibition of another kind, namely, certain cages, tenantedby wild animals, which being now loosened should do their pleasure witheach other in the eyes of the assembly. His astonishment and confusion,therefore, were great, when, as the last note of the proclamation diedin the echo, Count Robert of Paris stood forth, armed cap-a-pie, hismailed charger led behind him from within the curtained enclosure, atone end of the lists, as if ready to mount at the signal of the marshal.
The alarm and the shame that were visible in every countenance near theImperial presence when no Caesar came forth in like fashion to confrontthe formidable Frank, were not of long duration. Hardly had the styleand title of the Count of Paris been duly announced by the heralds, andtheir second summons of his antagonist uttered in due form, when aperson, dressed like one of the Varangian Guards, sprung into thelists, and announced himself as ready to do battle in the name andplace of the Caesar Nicephorus Briennius, and for the honour of theempire.
Alexius, with the utmost joy, beheld this unexpected assistance, andreadily gave his consent to the bold soldier who stood thus forward inthe hour of utmost need, to take upon himself the dangerous office ofchampion. He the more readily acquiesced, as, from the size andappearance of the soldier, and the gallant bearing he displayed, he hadno doubt of his individual person, and fully confided in his valour.But Prince Tancred interposed his opposition.
"The lists," he said, "were only open to knights and nobles; or, at anyrate, men were not permitted to meet therein who were not of someequality of birth and blood; nor could he remain a silent witness wherethe laws of chivalry are in such respects forgotten."
"Let Count Robert of Paris," said the Vara
ngian, "look upon mycountenance, and say whether he has not, by promise, removed allobjection to our contest which might be founded upon an inequality ofcondition, and let him be judge himself, whether, by meeting me in thisfield, he will do more than comply with a compact which he has longsince become bound by."
Count Robert, upon this appeal, advanced and acknowledged, withoutfurther debate, that, notwithstanding their difference of rank, he heldhimself bound by his solemn word to give this valiant soldier a meetingin the field. That he regretted, on account of this gallant man'seminent virtues, and the high services he had received at his hands,that they should now stand upon terms of such bloody arbitration; butsince nothing was more common, than that the fate of war called onfriends to meet each other in mortal combat, he would not shrink fromthe engagement he had pledged himself to; nor did he think his qualityin the slightest degree infringed or diminished, by meeting in battle awarrior so well known and of such good account as Hereward, the braveVarangian. He added, that "he willingly admitted that the combat shouldtake place on foot, and with the battle-axe, which was the ordinaryweapon of the Varangian guard."
Hereward had stood still, almost like a statue, while this discoursepassed; but when the Count of Paris had made this speech, he inclinedhimself towards him with a grateful obeisance, and expressed himselfhonoured and gratified by the manly manner in which the Count acquittedhimself, according to his promise, with complete honour and fidelity.
"What we are to do," said Count Robert, with a sigh of regret, whicheven his love of battle could not prevent, "let us do quickly; theheart may be affected, but the hand must do its duty."
Hereward assented, with the additional remark, "Let us then lose nomore time, which is already flying fast." And, grasping his axe, hestood prepared for combat.
"I also am ready," said Count Robert of Paris, taking the same weaponfrom a Varangian soldier, who stood by the lists. Both were immediatelyupon the alert, nor did further forms or circumstances put off theintended duel.
The first blows were given and parried with great caution, and PrinceTancred and others thought that on the part of Count Robert the cautionwas much greater than usual; but, in combat as in food, the appetiteincreases with the exercise. The fiercer passions began, as usual, toawaken with the clash of arms and the sense of deadly blows, some ofwhich were made with great fury on either side, and parried withconsiderable difficulty, and not so completely but that blood flowed onboth their parts. The Greeks looked with astonishment on a singlecombat, such as they had seldom witnessed, and held their breath asthey beheld the furious blows dealt by either warrior, and expectedwith each stroke the annihilation of one or other of the combatants. Asyet their strength and agility seemed somewhat equally matched,although those who judged with more pretension to knowledge, were ofopinion, that Count Robert spared putting forth some part of themilitary skill for which he was celebrated; and the remark wasgenerally made and allowed that he had surrendered a great advantage bynot insisting upon his right to fight upon horseback. On the otherhand, it was the general opinion that the gallant Varangian omitted totake advantage of one or two opportunities afforded him by the heat ofCount Robert's temper, who obviously was incensed at the duration ofthe combat.
Accident at length seemed about to decide what had been hitherto anequal contest. Count Robert, making a feint on one side of hisantagonist, struck him on the other, which was uncovered, with the edgeof his weapon, so that the Varangian reeled, and seemed in the act offalling to the earth. The usual sound made by spectators at the sightof any painful or unpleasant circumstance, by drawing the breathbetween the teeth, was suddenly heard to pass through the assembly,while a female voice loud and eagerly exclaimed,--"Count Robert ofParis!--forget not this day that thou owest a life to Heaven and me."The Count was in the act of again seconding his blow, with what effectcould hardly be judged, when this cry reached his ears, and apparentlytook away his disposition for farther combat.
"I acknowledge the debt," he said, sinking his battle-axe, andretreating two steps from his antagonist, who stood in astonishment,scarcely recovered from the stunning effect of the blow by which he wasso nearly prostrated. He sank the blade of his battle-axe in imitationof his antagonist, and seemed to wait in suspense what was to be thenext process of the combat. "I acknowledge my debt," said the valiantCount of Paris, "alike to Bertha of Britain and to the Almighty, whohas preserved me from the crime of ungrateful blood-guiltiness.--Youhave seen the fight, gentlemen," turning to Tancred and his chivalry,"and can testify, on your honour, that it has been maintained fairly onboth sides, and without advantage on either. I presume my honourableantagonist has by this time satisfied the desire which brought me underhis challenge, and which certainly had no taste in it of personal orprivate quarrel. On my part, I retain towards him such a sense ofpersonal obligation as would render my continuing this combat, unlesscompelled to it by self-defence, a shameful and sinful action."
Alexius gladly embraced the terms of truce, which he was far fromexpecting, and threw down his warder, in signal that the duel wasended. Tancred, though somewhat surprised, and perhaps evenscandalized, that a private soldier of the Emperor's guard should haveso long resisted the utmost efforts of so approved a knight, could notbut own that the combat had been fought with perfect fairness andequality, and decided upon terms dishonourable to neither party. TheCount's character being well known and established amongst thecrusaders, they were compelled to believe that some motive of a mostpotent nature formed the principle upon which, very contrary to hisgeneral practice, he had proposed a cessation of the combat before itwas brought to a deadly, or at least to a decisive conclusion. Theedict of the Emperor upon the occasion, therefore, passed into a law,acknowledged by the assent of the chiefs present, and especiallyaffirmed and gratulated by the shouts of the assembled spectators.
But perhaps the most interesting figure in the assembly was that of thebold Varangian, arrived so suddenly at a promotion of military renown,which the extreme difficulty he had experienced in keeping his groundagainst Count Robert had prevented him from anticipating, although hismodesty had not diminished the indomitable courage with which hemaintained the contest. He stood in the middle of the lists, his faceruddy with the exertion of the combat, and not less so from the modestconsciousness proper to the plainness and simplicity of his character,which was disconcerted by finding himself the central point of the gazeof the multitude.
"Speak to me, my soldier," said Alexius, strongly affected by thegratitude which he felt was due to Hereward upon so singular anoccasion, "speak to thine Emperor as his superior, for such thou art atthis moment, and tell him if there is any manner, even at the expenseof half his kingdom, to atone for his own life saved, and, what is yetdearer, for the honour of his country, which thou hast so manfullydefended and preserved?"
"My Lord," answered Hereward, "your Imperial Highness values my poorservices over highly, and ought to attribute them to the noble Count ofParis, first, for his condescending to accept of an antagonist so meanin quality as myself; and next, in generously relinquishing victorywhen he might have achieved it by an additional blow; for I hereconfess before your Majesty, my brethren, and the assembled Grecians,that my power of protracting the combat was ended, when the gallantCount, by his generosity, put a stop to it."
"Do not thyself that wrong, brave man," said Count Robert; "for I vowto our Lady of the Broken Lances, that the combat was yet within theundetermined doom of Providence, when the pressure of my own feelingsrendered me incapable of continuing it, to the necessary harm, perhapsto the mortal damage, of an antagonist to whom I owe so much kindness.Choose, therefore, the recompense which the generosity of thy Emperoroffers in a manner so just and grateful, and fear not lest mortal voicepronounces that reward unmerited which Robert of Paris shall avouchwith his sword to have been gallantly won upon his own crest."
"You are too great, my lord, and too noble," answered the Anglo-Saxon,"to be gainsaid by such as I am, and I must not awaken new str
ifebetween us by contesting the circumstances under which our combat sosuddenly closed, nor would it be wise or prudent in me further tocontradict you. My noble Emperor generously offers me the right ofnaming what he calls my recompense; but let not his generosity bedispraised, although it is from you, my lord, and not from his ImperialHighness, that I am to ask a boon, to me the dearest to which my voicecan give utterance."
"And that," said the Count, "has reference to Bertha, the faithfulattendant of my wife?"
"Even so," said Hereward; "it is my proposal to request my dischargefrom the Varangian guard, and permission to share in your lordship'spious and honourable vow for the recovery of Palestine, with liberty tofight under your honoured banner, and permission from time to time torecommend my love-suit to Bertha, the attendant of the Countess ofParis, and the hope that it may find favour in the eyes of her noblelord and lady. I may thus finally hope to be restored to a country,which I have never ceased to love over the rest of the world."
"Thy service, noble soldier," said the Count, "shall be as acceptableto me as that of a born earl; nor is there an opportunity of acquiringhonour which I can shape for thee, to which, as it occurs, I will notgladly prefer thee. I will not boast of what interest I have with theKing of England, but something I can do with him, and it shall bestrained to the uttermost to settle thee in thine own beloved nativecountry."
The Emperor then spoke. "Bear witness, heaven and earth, and you myfaithful subjects, and you my gallant allies; above all, you my boldand true Varangian Guard, that we would rather have lost the brightestjewel from our Imperial crown, than have relinquished the service ofthis true and faithful Anglo-Saxon. But since go he must and will, itshall be my study to distinguish him by such marks of beneficence asmay make it known through his future life, that he is the person towhom the Emperor Alexius Comnenus acknowledged a debt larger than hisempire could discharge. You, my Lord Tancred, and your principalleaders, will sup with us this evening, and to-morrow resume yourhonourable and religious purpose of pilgrimage. We trust both thecombatants will also oblige us by their presence.--Trumpets, give thesignal for dismission."
The trumpets sounded accordingly, and the different classes ofspectators, armed and unarmed, broke up into various parties, or formedinto their military ranks, for the purpose of their return to the city.
The screams of women suddenly and strangely raised, was the first thingthat arrested the departure of the multitude, when those who glancedtheir eyes back, saw Sylvan, the great ourang-outang, produce himselfin the lists, to their surprise and astonishment. The women, and manyof the men who were present, unaccustomed to the ghastly look andsavage appearance of a creature so extraordinary, raised a yell ofterror so loud, that it discomposed the animal who was the occasion ofits being raised. Sylvan, in the course of the night, having escapedover the garden-wall of Agelastes, and clambered over the rampart ofthe city, found no difficulty in hiding himself in the lists which werein the act of being raised, having found a lurking-place in some darkcorner under the seats of the spectators. From this he was probablydislodged by the tumult of the dispersing multitude, and had beencompelled, therefore, to make an appearance in public when he leastdesired it, not unlike that of the celebrated Puliccinello, at theconclusion of his own drama, when he enters in mortal strife with thefoul fiend himself, a scene which scarcely excites more terror amongthe juvenile audience, than did the unexpected apparition of Sylvanamong the spectators of the duel. Bows were bent, and javelins pointedby the braver part of the soldiery, against an animal of an appearanceso ambiguous, and whom his uncommon size and grizzly look caused mostwho beheld him to suppose either the devil himself, or the apparitionof some fiendish deity of ancient days, whom the heathens worshipped.Sylvan had so far improved such opportunities as had been afforded him,as to become sufficiently aware that the attitudes assumed by so manymilitary men, inferred immediate danger to his person, from which hehastened to shelter himself by flying to the protection of Hereward,with whom he had been in some degree familiarized. He seized him,accordingly, by the cloak, and, by the absurd and alarmed look of hisfantastic features, and a certain wild and gibbering chatter,endeavoured to express his fear and to ask protection. Herewardunderstood the terrified creature, and turning to the Emperor's throne,said aloud,--"Poor frightened being, turn thy petition, and gestures,and tones, to a quarter which, having to-day pardoned so many offenceswhich were wilfully and maliciously schemed, will not be, I am sure,obdurate to such as thou, in thy half-reasoning capacity, may have beencapable of committing."
The creature, as is the nature of its tribe, caught from Herewardhimself the mode of applying with most effect his gestures and pitiablesupplication, while the Emperor, notwithstanding the serious scenewhich had just past, could not help laughing at the touch of comedyflung into it by this last incident.
"My trusty Hereward,"--he said aside, ("I will not again call himEdward if I can help it)--thou art the refuge of the distressed,whether it be man or beast, and nothing that sues through thyintercession, while thou remainest in our service, shall find itssupplication in vain. Do thou, good Hereward," for the name was nowpretty well established in his Imperial memory, "and such of thycompanions as know the habits of the creature, lead him back to his oldquarters in the Blacquernal; and that done, my friend, observe that werequest thy company, and that of thy faithful mate Bertha, to partakesupper at our court, with our wife and daughter, and such of ourservants and allies as we shall request to share the same honour. Beassured, that while thou remainest with us, there is no point ofdignity which shall not be willingly paid to thee.--And do thouapproach, Achilles Tatius, as much favoured by thine Emperor as beforethis day dawned. What charges are against thee have been only whisperedin a friendly ear, which remembers them not, unless (which Heavenforefend!) their remembrance is renewed by fresh offences."
Achilles Tatius bowed till the plume of his helmet mingled with themane of his fiery horse, but held it wisest to forbear any answer inwords, leaving his crime and his pardon to stand upon those generalterms in which the Emperor had expressed them.
Once more the multitude of all ranks returned on their way to the city,nor did any second interruption arrest their march. Sylvan, accompaniedby one or two Varangians, who led him in a sort of captivity, took hisway to the vaults of the Blacquernal, which were in fact his properhabitation.
Upon the road to the city, Harpax, the notorious corporal of theImmortal Guards, held a discourse with one or two of his own soldiers,and of the citizens who had been members of the late conspiracy.
"So," said Stephanos, the prize-fighter, "a fine affair we have made ofit, to suffer ourselves to be all anticipated and betrayed by athick-sculled Varangian; every chance turning against us as they wouldagainst Corydon, the shoemaker, if he were to defy me to the circus.Ursel, whose death made so much work, turns out not to be dead afterall; and what is worse, he lives not to our advantage. This fellowHereward, who was yesterday no better than myself--What do Isay?--better!--he was a great deal worse--an insignificant nobody inevery respect!--is now crammed with honours, praises, and gifts, tillhe wellnigh returns what they have given him, and the Caesar and theAcolyte, our associates, have lost the Emperor's love and confidence,and if they are suffered to survive, it must be like the tame domesticpoultry, whom we pamper with food, one day, that upon the next theirnecks may be twisted for spit or spot."
"Stephanos," replied the centurion, "thy form of body fits thee wellfor the Palaestra, but thy mind is not so acutely formed as to detectthat which is real from that which is only probable, in the politicalworld, of which thou art now judging. Considering the risk incurred bylending a man's ear to a conspiracy, thou oughtest to reckon it asaving in every particular, where he escapes with his life andcharacter safe. This has been the case with Achilles Tatius, and withthe Caesar. They have remained also in their high places of trust andpower, and maybe confident that the Emperor will hardly dare to removethem at a future period, since the possession of the full knowled
ge oftheir guilt has not emboldened him to do so. Their power, thus leftwith them, is in fact ours; nor is there a circumstance to be supposed,which can induce them to betray their confederates to the government.It is much more likely that they will remember them with theprobability of renewing, at a finer time, the alliance which binds themtogether. Cheer up thy noble resolution, therefore, my Prince of theCircus, and think that thou shalt still retain that predominantinfluence which the favourites of the amphitheatre are sure to possessover the citizens of Constantinople."
"I cannot tell," answered Stephanos; "but it gnaws at my heart like theworm that dieth not, to see this beggarly foreigner betray the noblestblood in the land, not to mention the best athlete in the Palaestra,and move off not only without punishment for his treachery, but withpraise, honour, and preferment."
"True," said Harpax; "but observe, my friend, that he does move off topurpose. He leaves the land, quits the corps in which he might claimpreferment and a few vain honours, being valued at what such triflesamount to. Hereward, in the course of one or two days, shall be littlebetter than a disbanded soldier, subsisting by the poor bread which hecan obtain as a follower of this beggarly Count, or which he is ratherbound to dispute with the infidel, by encountering with his battle-axethe Turkish sabres. What will it avail him amidst the disasters, theslaughter, and the famine of Palestine, that he once upon a time wasadmitted to supper with the Emperor? We know Alexius Comnenus---he iswilling to discharge, at the highest cost, such obligations as areincurred to men like this Hereward; and, believe me, I think that I seethe wily despot shrug his shoulders in derision, when one morning he issaluted with the news of a battle in Palestine lost by the crusaders inwhich his old acquaintance has fallen a dead man. I will not insultthee, by telling thee how easy it might be to acquire the favour of agentlewoman in waiting upon a lady of quality; nor do I think it wouldbe difficult, should that be the object of the prize-fighter, toacquire the property of a large baboon like Sylvan, which no doubtwould set up as a juggler any Frank who had meanness of spirit topropose to gain his bread in such a capacity, from the alms of thestarving chivalry of Europe. But he who can stoop to envy the lot ofsuch a person, ought not to be one whose chief personal distinctionsare sufficient to place him first in rank over all the favourites ofthe amphitheatre."
There was something in this sophistical kind of reasoning, which wasbut half satisfactory to the obtuse intellect of the prize-fighter, towhom it was addressed, although the only answer which he attempted wascouched in this observation:--
"Ay, but, noble centurion, you forget that, besides empty honours, thisVarangian Hereward, or Edward, whichever is his name, is promised amighty donative of gold."
"Marry, you touch me there," said the centurion; "and when you tell methat the promise is fulfilled, I will willingly agree that theAnglo-Saxon hath gained something to be envied for; but while itremains in the shape of a naked promise, you shall pardon me, my worthyStephanos, if I hold it of no more account than the mere pledges whichare distributed among ourselves as well as to the Varangians, promisingupon future occasions mints of money, which we are likely to receive atthe same time with the last year's snow. Keep up your heart, therefore,noble Stephanos, and believe not that your affairs are worse for themiscarriage of this day; and let not thy gallant courage sink, butremembering those principles upon which it was called into action,believe that thy objects are not the less secure because fate hasremoved their acquisition to a more distant day." The veteran andunbending conspirator, Harpax, thus strengthened for some futurerenewal of their enterprise the failing spirits of Stephanos.
After this, such leaders as were included in the invitation given bythe Emperor, repaired to the evening meal, and, from the generalcontent and complaisance expressed by Alexius and his guests of everydescription, it could little have been supposed that the day justpassed over was one which had inferred a purpose so dangerous andtreacherous.
The absence of the Countess Brenhilda, during this eventful day,created no small surprise to the Emperor and those in his immediateconfidence, who knew her enterprising spirit, and the interest she musthave felt in the issue of the combat. Bertha had made an earlycommunication to the Count, that his lady, agitated with the manyanxieties of the few preceding days, was unable to leave her apartment.The valiant knight, therefore, lost no time in acquainting his faithfulCountess of his safety; and afterwards joining those who partook of thebanquet at the palace, he bore himself as if the least recollection didnot remain on his mind of the perfidious conduct of the Emperor at theconclusion of the last entertainment. He knew, in truth, that theknights of Prince Tancred not only maintained a strict watch round thehouse where Brenhilda remained, but also that they preserved a severeward in the neighbourhood of the Blacquernal, as well for the safety oftheir heroic leader, as for that of Count Robert, the respectedcompanion of their military pilgrimage.
It was the general principle of the European chivalry, that distrustwas rarely permitted to survive open quarrels, and that whatever wasforgiven, was dismissed from their recollection, as unlikely to recur;but on the present occasion there was a more than usual assemblage oftroops, which the occurrences of the day had drawn together, so thatthe crusaders were called upon to be particularly watchful.
It may be believed that the evening passed over without any attempt torenew the ceremonial in the council chamber of the Lions, which hadbeen upon a former occasion terminated in such misunderstanding. Indeedit would have been lucky if the explanation between the mighty Emperorof Greece and the chivalrous Knight of Paris had taken place earlier;for reflection on what had passed, had convinced the Emperor that theFranks were not a people to be imposed upon by pieces of clockwork, andsimilar trifles, and that what they did not understand, was sure,instead of procuring their awe or admiration, to excite their anger anddefiance. Nor had it altogether escaped Count Robert, that the mannersof the Eastern people were upon a different scale from those to whichhe had been accustomed; that they neither were so deeply affected bythe spirit of chivalry, nor, in his own language, was the worship ofthe Lady of the Broken Lances so congenial a subject of adoration. Thisnotwithstanding, Count Robert observed, that Alexius Comnenus was awise and politic prince; his wisdom perhaps too much allied to cunning,but yet aiding him to maintain with great address that empire over theminds of his subjects, which was necessary for their good, and formaintaining his own authority. He therefore resolved to receive withequanimity whatever should be offered by the Emperor, either incivility or in the way of jest, and not again to disturb anunderstanding which might be of advantage to Christendom, by a quarrelfounded upon misconception of terms or misapprehension of manners. Tothis prudent resolution the Count of Paris adhered during the wholeevening; with some difficulty, however, since it was somewhatinconsistent with his own fiery and inquisitive temper, which wasequally desirous to know the precise amount of whatever was addressedto him, and to take umbrage at it, should it appear in the least degreeoffensive, whether so intended or not.