CHAPTER THE SECOND.
_Othus_. ------------- This superb successor Of the earth's mistress, as thou vainly speakest, Stands midst these ages as, on the wide ocean, The last spared fragment, of a spacious land, That in some grand and awful ministration Of mighty nature has engulfed been, Doth lift aloft its dark and rocky cliffs O'er the wild waste around, and sadly frowns In lonely majesty. CONSTANTINE PALEOLOGUS, _Scene I_.
Our scene in the capital of the Eastern Empire opens at what is termedthe Golden Gate of Constantinople; and it may be said in passing, thatthis splendid epithet is not so lightly bestowed as may be expectedfrom the inflated language of the Greeks, which throws such anappearance of exaggeration about them, their buildings, and monuments.
The massive, and seemingly impregnable walls with which Constantinesurrounded the city, were greatly improved and added to by Theodosius,called the Great. A triumphal arch, decorated with the architecture ofa better, though already a degenerate age, and serving, at the sametime, as a useful entrance, introduced the stranger into the city. Onthe top, a statue of bronze represented Victory, the goddess who hadinclined the scales of battle in favour of Theodosius; and, as theartist determined to be wealthy if he could not be tasteful, the gildedornaments with which the inscriptions were set off, readily led to thepopular name of the gate. Figures carved in a distant and happierperiod of the art, glanced from the walls, without assorting happilywith the taste in which these were built. The more modern ornaments ofthe Golden Gate bore, at the period of our story, an aspect verydifferent from those indicating the "conquest brought back to thecity," and the "eternal peace" which the flattering inscriptionsrecorded as having been extorted by the sword of Theodosius. Four orfive military engines, for throwing darts of the largest size, wereplaced upon the summit of the arch; and what had been originallydesigned as a specimen of architectural embellishment, was now appliedto the purposes of defence.
It was the hour of evening, and the cool and refreshing breeze from thesea inclined each passenger, whose business was not of a very urgentdescription, to loiter on his way, and cast a glance at the romanticgateway, and the various interesting objects of nature and art, whichthe city of Constantinople presented, as well to the inhabitants as tostrangers. [Footnote: The impression which the imperial city wascalculated to make on such visitors as the Crusaders of the West, isgiven by the ancient French chronicler Villehardouin, who was presentat the capture of A. D. 1203. "When we had come," he says, "withinthree leagues, to a certain Abbey, then we could plainly surveyConstantinople. There the ships and the galleys came to anchor; andmuch did they who had never been in that quarter before, gaze upon thecity. That such a city could be in the world they had never conceived,and they were never weary of staring at the high walls and towers withwhich it was entirely encompassed, the rich palaces and lofty churches,of which there were so many that no one could have believed it, if hehad not seen with his own eyes that city, the Queen of all cities. Andknow that there was not so bold a heart there, that it did not feelsome terror at the strength of Constantinople."--Chap. 66.
Again,--"And now many of those of the host went to see Constantinoplewithin, and the rich palaces and stately churches, of which itpossesses so many, and the riches of the place, which are such as noother city ever equalled. I need not speak of the sanctuaries, whichare as many as are in all the world beside."--Chap. 100.]
One individual, however, seemed to indulge more wonder and curiositythan could have been expected from a native of the city, and lookedupon the rarities around with a quick and startled eye, that marked animagination awakened by sights that were new and strange. Theappearance of this person bespoke a foreigner of military habits, whoseemed, from his complexion, to have his birthplace far from theGrecian metropolis, whatever chance had at present brought him to theGolden Gate, or whatever place he filled in the Emperor's service.
This young man was about two-and-twenty years old, remarkablyfinely-formed and athletic--qualities well understood by the citizensof Constantinople, whose habits of frequenting the public games hadtaught them at least an acquaintance with the human person, and where,in the select of their own countrymen, they saw the handsomestspecimens of the human race.
These were, however, not generally so tall as the stranger at theGolden Gate, while his piercing blue eyes, and the fair hair whichdescended from under a light helmet gaily ornamented with silver,bearing on its summit a crest resembling a dragon in the act ofexpanding his terrible jaws, intimated a northern descent, to which theextreme purity of his complexion also bore witness. His beauty,however, though he was eminently distinguished both in features and inperson, was not liable to the charge of effeminacy. From this it wasrescued, both by his strength, and by the air of confidence andself-possession with which the youth seemed to regard the wondersaround him, not indicating the stupid and helpless gaze of a mindequally inexperienced, and incapable of receiving instruction, butexpressing the bold intellect which at once understands the greaterpart of the information which it receives, and commands the spirit totoil in search of the meaning of that which it has not comprehended, ormay fear it has misinterpreted. This look of awakened attention andintelligence gave interest to the young barbarian; and while thebystanders were amazed that a savage from some unknown or remote cornerof the universe should possess a noble countenance bespeaking a mind soelevated, they respected him for the composure with which he witnessedso many things, the fashion, the splendour, nay, the very use of which,must have been recently new to him.
The young man's personal equipments exhibited a singular mixture ofsplendour and effeminacy, and enabled the experienced spectators toascertain his nation, and the capacity in which he served. We havealready mentioned the fanciful and crested helmet, which was adistinction of the foreigner, to which the reader must add in hisimagination a small cuirass, or breastplate of silver, so sparinglyfashioned as obviously to afford little security to the broad chest, onwhich it rather hung like an ornament than covered as a buckler; nor,if a well-thrown dart, or strongly-shod arrow, should alight full onthis rich piece of armour, was there much hope that it could protectthe bosom which it partially shielded.
From betwixt the shoulders hung down over the back what had theappearance of a bearskin; but, when more closely examined, it was onlya very skilful imitation, of the spoils of the chase, being in realitya surcoat composed of strong shaggy silk, so woven as to exhibit, at alittle distance, no inaccurate representation of a bear's hide. A lightcrooked sword, or scimitar, sheathed in a scabbard of gold and ivory,hung by the left side of the stranger, the ornamented hilt of whichappeared much too small for the large-jointed hand of the youngHercules who was thus gaily attired. A dress, purple in colour, andsetting close to the limbs, covered the body of the soldier to a littleabove the knee; from thence the knees and legs were bare to the calf,to which the reticulated strings of the sandals rose from the instep,the ligatures being there fixed by a golden coin of the reigningEmperor, converted into a species of clasp for the purpose.
But a weapon which seemed more particularly adapted to the youngbarbarian's size, and incapable of being used by a man of lessformidable limbs and sinews, was a battle-axe, the firm iron-guardedstaff of which was formed of tough elm, strongly inlaid and defendedwith brass, while many a plate and ring were indented in the handle, tohold the wood and the steel parts together. The axe itself was composedof two blades, turning different ways, with a sharp steel spikeprojecting from between them. The steel part, both spike and blade, wasburnished as bright as a mirror; and though its ponderous size musthave been burdensome to one weaker than himself, yet the young soldiercarried it as carelessly along, as if it were but a feather's weight.It was, indeed, a skilfully constructed weapon, so well balanced, thatit was much lighter in striking and in recovery, than he who saw it inthe hands of another could easily have believed.
The carrying arms of itself showed that the military man was astranger. The native Gre
eks had that mark of a civilized people, thatthey never bore weapons during the time of peace, unless the wearerchanced to be numbered among those whose military profession andemployment required them to be always in arms. Such soldiers byprofession were easily distinguished from the peaceful citizens; and itwas with some evident show of fear as well as dislike, that thepassengers observed to each other, that the stranger was a Varangian,an expression which intimated a barbarian of the imperial body-guard.
To supply the deficiency of valour among his own subjects, and toprocure soldiers who should be personally dependent on the Emperor, theGreek sovereigns had been, for a great many years, in the custom ofmaintaining in their pay, as near their person as they could, thesteady services of a select number of mercenaries in the capacity ofbody-guards, which were numerous enough, when their steady disciplineand inflexible loyalty were taken in conjunction with their personalstrength and indomitable courage, to defeat, not only any traitorousattempt on the imperial person, but to quell open rebellions, unlesssuch were supported by a great proportion of the military force. Theirpay was therefore liberal; their rank and established character forprowess gave them a degree of consideration among the people, whosereputation for valour had not for some ages stood high; and if, asforeigners, and the members of a privileged body, the Varangians weresometimes employed in arbitrary and unpopular services, the nativeswere so apt to fear, while they disliked them, that the hardy strangersdisturbed themselves but little about the light in which they wereregarded by the inhabitants of Constantinople. Their dress andaccoutrements, while within the city, partook of the rich, or rathergaudy costume, which we have described, bearing only a sort of affectedresemblance to that which the Varangians wore in their native forests.But the individuals of this select corps were, when their services wererequired beyond the city, furnished with armour and weapons moreresembling those which they were accustomed to wield in their owncountry, possessing much less of the splendour of war, and a fargreater portion of its effective terrors; and thus they were summonedto take the field.
This body of Varangians (which term is, according to one interpretationmerely a general expression for barbarians) was, in an early age of theempire, formed of the roving and piratical inhabitants of the north,whom a love of adventure, the greatest perhaps that ever was indulged,and a contempt of danger, which never had a parallel in the history ofhuman nature, drove forth upon the pathless ocean. "Piracy," saysGibbon, with his usual spirit, "was the exercise, the trade, the glory,and the virtue of the Scandinavian youth. Impatient of a bleak climateand narrow limits, they started from the banquet, grasped their arms,sounded their horn, ascended their ships, and explored every coast thatpromised either spoil or settlement." [Footnote: Decline and Fall ofthe Roman Empire. Chap. lv. vol. x. p. 221, 8vo edition.]
The conquests made in France and Britain by these wild sea-kings, asthey were called, have obscured the remembrance of other northernchampions, who, long before the time of Comnenus, made excursions asfar as Constantinople, and witnessed with their own eyes the wealth andthe weakness of the Grecian empire itself. Numbers found their waythither through the pathless wastes of Russia; others navigated theMediterranean in their sea-serpents, as they termed their piraticalvessels. The Emperors, terrified at the appearance of these daringinhabitants of the frozen zone, had recourse to the usual policy of arich and unwarlike people, bought with gold the service of theirswords, and thus formed a corps of satellites more distinguished forvalour than the famed Praetorian Bands of Rome, and, perhaps becausefewer in number, unalterably loyal to their new princes.
But, at a later period of the empire, it began to be more difficult forthe Emperors to obtain recruits for their favourite and selected corps,the northern nations having now in a great measure laid aside thepiratical and roving habits, which had driven their ancestors from thestraits of Elsinore to those of Sestos and Abydos. The corps of theVarangians must therefore have died out, or have been filled up withless worthy materials, had not the conquests made by the Normans in thefar distant west, sent to the aid of Comnenus a large body of thedispossessed inhabitants of the islands of Britain, and particularly ofEngland, who furnished recruits to his chosen body-guard. These were,in fact, Anglo-Saxons; but, in the confused idea of geography receivedat the court of Constantinople, they were naturally enough calledAnglo-Danes, as their native country was confounded with the Thule ofthe ancients, by which expression the archipelago of Zetland and Orkneyis properly to be understood, though, according to the notions of theGreeks, it comprised either Denmark or Britain. The emigrants, however,spoke a language not very dissimilar to the original Varangians, andadopted the name more readily, that it seemed to remind them of theirunhappy fate, the appellation being in one sense capable of beinginterpreted as exiles. Excepting one or two chief commanders, whom theEmperor judged worthy of such high trust, the Varangians were officeredby men of their own nation; and with so many privileges, being joinedby many of their countrymen from time to time, as the crusades,pilgrimages, or discontent at home, drove fresh supplies of theAnglo-Saxons, or Anglo-Danes, to the east, the Varangians subsisted instrength to the last days of the Greek empire, retaining their nativelanguage, along with the unblemished loyalty, and unabated martialspirit, which characterised their fathers.
This account of the Varangian Guard is strictly historical, and mightbe proved by reference to the Byzantine historians; most of whom, andalso Villehardouin's account of the taking of the city ofConstantinople by the Franks and Venetians, make repeated mention ofthis celebrated and singular body of Englishmen, forming a mercenaryguard attendant on the person of the Greek Emperors. [Footnote: Ducangehas poured forth a tide of learning on this curious subject, which willbe found in his Notes on Villehardouin's Constantinople under theFrench Emperors.--Paris, 1637, folio, p. 196. Gibbon's History may alsobe consulted, vol. x. p. 231.
Villehardouin, in describing the siege of Constantinople, A. D. 1203,says, "'Li murs fu mult garnis d'Anglois et de Danois,"--hence thedissertation of Ducange here quoted, and several articles besides inhis Glossarium, as _Varangi_, Warengangi, &c. The etymology of the nameis left uncertain, though the German _fort-ganger_, _i. e._ forth-goer,wanderer, _exile_, seems the most probable. The term occurs in variousItalian and Sicilian documents, anterior to the establishment of theVarangian Guards at Constantinople, and collected by Muratori: as, forinstance, in an edict of one of the Lombard kings, "Omnes Warengrangi,qui de extens finibus in regni nostri finibus advenerint seque subscuto potestatis nostrae subdiderint, legibus nostris Longobardorumvivere debeant,"--and in another, "De Warengangis, nobilibus,mediocribus, et rusticis hominibus, qui usque nune in terra vestrafugiti sunt, habeatis eos."--_Muratori_, vol. ii. p. 261.
With regard to the origin of the Varangian Guard, the most distincttestimony is that of Ordericus Vittalis, who says, "When therefore theEnglish had lost their liberty, they turned themselves with zeal todiscover the means of throwing off the unaccustomed yoke. Some fled toSueno, King of the Danes, to excite him to the recovery of theinheritance of his grandfather, Canute. Not a few fled into exile inother regions, either from the mere desire of escaping from under theNorman rule, or in the hope of acquiring wealth, and so being one dayin a condition to renew the struggle at home. Some of these, in thebloom of youth, penetrated into a far distant land, and offeredthemselves to the military service of the ConstantinopolitanEmperor--that wise prince, against whom Robert Guiscard, Duke ofApulia, had then raised all his forces. The English exiles werefavourably received, and opposed in battle to the Normans, for whoseencounter the Greeks themselves were too weak. Alexius began to build atown for the English, a little above Constantinople, at a place called_Chevelot_, but the trouble of the Normans from Sicily stillincreasing, he soon recalled them to the capital, and intrusted theprincial palace with all its treasures to their keeping. This was themethod in which the Saxon English found their way to Ionia, where theystill remain, highly valued by the Emperor and the people."--Book iv.p. 508.]
&
nbsp; Having said enough to explain why an individual Varangian should bestrolling about the Golden Gate, we may proceed in the story which wehave commenced.
Let it not be thought extraordinary, that this soldier of thelife-guard should be looked upon with some degree of curiosity by thepassing citizens. It must be supposed, that, from their peculiarduties, they were not encouraged to hold frequent intercourse orcommunication with the inhabitants; and, besides that they had dutiesof police occasionally to exercise amongst them, which made themgenerally more dreaded than beloved, they were at the same timeconscious, that their high pay, splendid appointments, and immediatedependence on the Emperor, were subjects of envy to the other forces.They, therefore, kept much in the neighbourhood of their own barracks,and were seldom seen straggling remote from them, unless they had acommission of government intrusted to their charge.
This being the case, it was natural that a people so curious as theGreeks should busy themselves in eyeing the stranger as he loitered inone spot, or wandered to and fro, like a man who either could not findsome place which he was seeking, or had failed to meet some person withwhom he had an appointment, for which the ingenuity of the passengersfound a thousand different and inconsistent reasons. "A Varangian,"said one citizen to another, "and upon duty--ahem! Then I presume tosay in your ear"----
"What do you imagine is his object?" enquired the party to whom thisinformation was addressed.
"Gods and goddesses! do you think I can tell you? but suppose that heis lurking here to hear what folk say of the Emperor," answered the_quid-nunc_ of Constantinople.
"That is not likely,"' said the querist; "these Varangians do not speakour language, and are not extremely well fitted for spies, since few ofthem pretend to any intelligible notion of the Grecian tongue. It isnot likely, I think, that the Emperor would employ as a spy a man whodid not understand the language of the country."
"But if there are, as all men fancy," answered the politician, "personsamong these barbarian soldiers who can speak almost all languages, youwill admit that such are excellently qualified for seeing clearlyaround them, since they possess the talent of beholding and reporting,while no one has the slightest idea of suspecting them."
"It may well be," replied his companion; "but since we see so clearlythe fox's foot and paws protruding from beneath the seeming sheep'sfleece, or rather, by your leave, the _bear's_ hide yonder, had we notbetter be jogging homeward, ere it be pretended we have insulted aVarangian Guard?"
This surmise of danger insinuated by the last speaker, who was a mucholder and more experienced politician than his friend, determined bothon a hasty retreat. They adjusted their cloaks, caught hold of eachother's arm, and, speaking fast and thick as they started new subjectsof suspicion, they sped, close coupled together, towards theirhabitations, in a different and distant quarter of the town.
In the meantime, the sunset was nigh over; and the long shadows of thewalls, bulwarks, and arches, were projecting from the westward indeeper and blacker shade. The Varangian seemed tired of the short andlingering circle in which he had now trodden for more than an hour, andin which he still loitered like an unliberated spirit, which cannotleave the haunted spot till licensed by the spell which has brought ithither. Even so the barbarian, casting an impatient glance to the sun,which was setting in a blaze of light behind a rich grove ofcypress-trees, looked for some accommodation on the benches of stonewhich were placed under shadow of the triumphal arch of Theodosius,drew the axe, which was his principal weapon, close to his side,wrapped his cloak about him, and, though his dress was not in otherrespects a fit attire for slumber, any more than the place wellselected for repose, yet in less than three minutes he was fast asleep.The irresistible impulse which induced him to seek for repose in aplace very indifferently fitted for the purpose, might be wearinessconsequent upon the military vigils, which had proved a part of hisduty on the preceding evening. At the same time, his spirit was soalive within him, even while he gave way to this transient fit ofoblivion, that he remained almost awake even with shut eyes, and nohound ever seemed to sleep more lightly than our Anglo-Saxon at theGolden Gate of Constantinople.
And now the slumberer, as the loiterer had been before, was the subjectof observation to the accidental passengers. Two men entered the porchin company. One was a somewhat slight made, but alert-looking man, byname Lysimachus, and by profession a designer. A roll of paper in hishand, with a little satchel containing a few chalks, or pencils,completed his stock in trade; and his acquaintance with the remains ofancient art gave him a power of talking on the subject, whichunfortunately bore more than due proportion to his talents ofexecution. His companion, a magnificent-looking man in form, and so farresembling the young barbarian, but more clownish and peasant-like inthe expression of his features, was Stephanos the wrestler, well knownin the Palestra.
"Stop here, my friend," said the artist, producing his pencils, "till Imake a sketch for my youthful Hercules."
"I thought Hercules had been a Greek," said the wrestler. "Thissleeping animal is a barbarian."
The tone intimated some offence, and the designer hastened to soothethe displeasure which he had thoughtlessly excited. Stephanos, known bythe surname of Castor, who was highly distinguished for gymnasticexercises, was a sort of patron to the little artist, and not unlikelyby his own reputation to bring the talents of his friend into notice.
"Beauty and strength," said the adroit artist, "are of no particularnation; and may our Muse never deign me her prize, but it is mygreatest pleasure to compare them, as existing in the uncultivatedsavage of the north, and when they are found in the darling of anenlightened people, who has added the height of gymnastic skill to themost distinguished natural qualities, such as we can now only see inthe works of Phidias and Praxiteles--or in our living model of thegymnastic champions of antiquity."
"Nay, I acknowledge that the Varangian is a proper man," said theathletic hero, softening his tone; "but the poor savage hath not,perhaps, in his lifetime, had a single drop of oil on his bosom!Hercules instituted the Isthmian Games"---
"But hold! what sleeps he with, wrapt so close in his bear-skin?" saidthe artist. "Is it a club?"
"Away, away, my friend!" cried Stephanos, as they looked closer on thesleeper. "Do you not know that is the instrument of their barbarousoffice? They do not war with swords or lances, as if destined to attackmen of flesh and blood; but with maces and axes, as if they were tohack limbs formed of stone, and sinews of oak. I will wager my crown[of withered parsley] that he lies here to arrest some distinguishedcommander who has offended the government! He would not have been thusformidably armed otherwise--Away, away, good Lysimachus; let us respectthe slumbers of the bear."
So saying, the champion of the Palestra made off with less apparentconfidence than his size and strength might have inspired.
Others, now thinly straggling, passed onward as the evening closed, andthe shadows of the cypress-trees fell darker around. Two females of thelower rank cast their eyes on the sleeper. "Holy Maria!" said one, "ifhe does not put me in mind of the Eastern tale, how the Genie brought agallant young prince from his nuptial chamber in Egypt, and left himsleeping at the gate of Damascus. I will awake the poor lamb, lest hecatch harm from the night dew."
"Harm?" answered the older and crosser looking woman. "Ay, such harm asthe cold water of the Cydnus does to the wild-swan. A lamb?--ay,forsooth! Why he's a wolf or a bear, at least a Varangian, and nomodest matron would exchange a word with such an unmannered barbarian.I'll tell you what one of, these English Danes did to me"----
So saying, she drew on her companion, who followed with somereluctance, seeming to listen to her gabble, while she looked back uponthe sleeper.
The total disappearance of the sun, and nearly at the same time thedeparture of the twilight, which lasts so short time in that tropicalregion--one of the few advantages which a more temperate climatepossesses over it, being the longer continuance of that sweet andplacid light--gave signal to the warders of
the city to shut thefolding leaves of the Golden Gate, leaving a wicket lightly bolted forthe passage of those whom business might have detained too late withoutthe walls, and indeed for all who chose to pay a small coin. Theposition and apparent insensibility of the Varangian did not escapethose who had charge of the gate, of whom there was a strong guard,which belonged to the ordinary Greek forces.
"By Castor and by Pollux," said the centurion--for the Greeks swore bythe ancient deities, although they no longer worshipped them, andpreserved those military distinctions with which "the steady Romansshook the world," although they were altogether degenerated from theiroriginal manners--"By Castor and Pollux, comrades, we cannot gathergold in this gate, according as its legend tells us: yet it will be ourfault if we cannot glean a goodly crop of silver; and though the goldenage be the most ancient and honourable, yet in this degenerate time itis much if we see a glimpse of the inferior metal."
"Unworthy are we to follow the noble centurion Harpax," answered one ofthe soldiers of the watch, who showed the shaven head and the singletuft [Footnote: One tuft is left on the shaven head of the Moslem, forthe angel to grasp by when conveying him to Paradise.] of a Mussulman,"if we do not hold silver a sufficient cause to bestir ourselves, whenthere has been no gold to be had--as, by the faith of an honest man, Ithink we can hardly tell its colour--whether out of the imperialtreasury, or obtained at the expense of individuals, for many longmoons !"
"But this silver," said the centurion, "thou shalt see with thine owneye, and hear it ring a knell in the purse which holds our commonstock." "Which _did_ hold it, as thou wouldst say, most valiantcommander," replied the inferior warder; "but what that purse holdsnow, save a few miserable oboli for purchasing certain pickled potherbsand salt fish, to relish our allowance of stummed wine, I cannot tell,but willingly give my share of the contents to the devil, if eitherpurse or platter exhibits symptom of any age richer than the age ofcopper."
"I will replenish our treasury," said the centurion, "were our stockyet lower than it is. Stand up close by the wicket, my masters. Bethinkyou we are the Imperial Guards, or the guards of the Imperial City, itis all one, and let us have no man rush past us on a sudden;--and nowthat we are on our guard, I will unfold to you--But stop," said thevaliant centurion, "are we all here true brothers? Do all wellunderstand the ancient and laudable customs of our watch--keeping allthings secret which concern the profit and advantage of this our vigil,and aiding and abetting the common cause, without information ortreachery?"
"You are strangely suspicious to-night," answered the sentinel."Methinks we have stood by you without tale-telling in matters whichwere more weighty. Have you forgot the passage of the jeweller--whichwas neither the gold nor silver age; but if there were a diamond one"--
"Peace, good Ismail the Infidel," said the centurion,--"for, I thankHeaven, we are of all religions, so it is to be hoped we must have thetrue one amongst us,--Peace, I say; it is unnecessary to prove thoucanst keep new secrets, by ripping up old ones. Come hither--lookthrough the wicket to the stone bench, on the shady side of the grandporch--tell me, old lad, what dost thou see there?"
"A man asleep," said Ismail. "By Heaven, I think from what I can see bythe moonlight, that it is one of those barbarians, one of those islanddogs, whom the Emperor sets such store by!"
"And can thy fertile brain," said the centurion, "spin nothing out ofhis present situation, tending towards our advantage?"
"Why, ay," said Ismail; "they have large pay, though they are not onlybarbarians, but pagan dogs, in comparison with us Moslems andNazarenes. That fellow hath besotted himself with liquor, and hath notfound his way home to his barracks in good time. He will be severelypunished, unless we consent to admit him; and to prevail on us to doso, he must empty the contents of his girdle."
"That, at least--that, at least," answered the soldiers of the citywatch, but carefully suppressing their voices, though they spoke in aneager tone. "And is that all that you would make of such anopportunity?" said Harpax, scornfully. "No, no, comrades. If thisoutlandish animal indeed escape us, he must at least leave his fleecebehind. See you not the gleams from his headpiece and his cuirass? Ipresume these betoken substantial silver, though it may be of thethinnest. There lies the silver mine I spoke of, ready to enrich thedexterous hands who shall labour it."
"But," said timidly a young Greek, a companion of their watch latelyenlisted in the corps, and unacquainted with their habits, "still thisbarbarian, as you call him, is a soldier of the Emperor; and if we areconvicted of depriving him of his arms, we shall be justly punished fora military crime."
"Hear to a new Lycurgus come to teach us our duty!" said the centurion."Learn first, young man, that the metropolitan cohort never can commita crime; and next, of course, that they can never be convicted of one.Suppose we found a straggling barbarian, a Varangian, like thisslumberer, perhaps a Frank, or some other of these foreigners bearingunpronounceable names, while they dishonour us by putting on the armsand apparel of the real Roman soldier, are we, placed to defend animportant post, to admit a man so suspicious within our postern, whenthe event may probably be to betray both the Golden Gate and the heartsof gold who guard it,--to have the one seized, and the throats of theothers handsomely cut?"
"Keep him without side of the gate, then," replied the novice, "if youthink him so dangerous. For my part, I should not fear him, were hedeprived of that huge double-edged axe, which gleams from under hiscloak, having a more deadly glare than the comet which astrologersprophesy such strange things of."
"Nay, then, we agree together," answered Harpax, "and you speak like ayouth of modesty and sense; and I promise you the state will losenothing in the despoiling of this same barbarian. Each of these savageshath a double set of accoutrements, the one wrought with gold, silver,inlaid work, and ivory, as becomes their duties in the prince'shousehold; the other fashioned of triple steel, strong, weighty, andirresistible. Now, in taking from this suspicious character his silverhelmet and cuirass, you reduce him to his proper weapons, and you willsee him start up in arms fit for duty."
"Yes," said the novice; "but I do not see that this reasoning will domore than warrant our stripping the Varangian of his armour, to beafterwards heedfully returned to him on the morrow, if he prove a trueman. How, I know not, but I had adopted some idea that it was to beconfiscated for our joint behoof."
"Unquestionably," said Harpax; "for such has been the rule of our watchever since the days of the excellent centurion Sisyphus, in whose timeit first was determined, that all contraband commodities or suspiciousweapons, or the like, which were brought into the city during thenightwatch, should be uniformly forfeited to the use of the soldiery ofthe guard; and where the Emperor finds the goods or arms unjustlyseized, I hope he is rich enough to make it up to the sufferer."
"But still--but still," said Sebastes of Mitylene, the young Greekaforesaid, "were the Emperor to discover"--
"Ass!" replied Harpax, "he cannot discover, if he had all the eyes ofArgus's tail.--Here are twelve of us sworn according to the rules ofthe watch, to abide in the same story. Here is a barbarian, who, if heremembers any thing of the matter--which I greatly doubt--his choice ofa lodging arguing his familiarity with the wine-pot--tells but a wildtale of losing his armour, which we, my masters," (looking round to hiscompanions,) "deny stoutly--I hope we have courage enough for that--andwhich party will be believed? The companions of the watch, surely!"
"Quite the contrary," said Sebastes. "I was born at a distance fromhence; yet even in the island of Mitylene, the rumour had reached methat the cavaliers of the city-guard of Constantinople were soaccomplished in falsehood, that the oath of a single barbarian wouldoutweigh the Christian oath of the whole body, if Christians some ofthem are--for example, this dark man with a single tuft on his head."
"And if it were even so," said the centurion, with a gloomy andsinister look, "there is another way of making the transaction a safeone."
Sebastes, fixing his eye on his commander, move
d his hand to the hiltof an Eastern poniard which he wore, as if to penetrate his exactmeaning. The centurion nodded in acquiescence.
"Young as I am," said Sebastes, "I have been already a pirate fiveyears at sea, and a robber three years now in the hills, and it is thefirst time I have seen or heard a man hesitate, in such a case, to takethe only part which is worth a brave man's while to resort to in apressing affair."
Harpax struck his hand into that of the soldier, as sharing hisuncompromising sentiments; but when he spoke, it was in a tremulousvoice.
"How shall we deal with him?" said he to Sebastes, who, from the mostraw recruit in the corps, had now risen to the highest place in hisestimation.
"Any how," returned the islander; "I see bows here and shafts, and ifno other person can use them"--
"They are not," said the centurion, "the regular arms of our corps."
"The fitter you to guard the gates of a city," said the young soldier,with a horse-laugh, which had something insulting in it. "Well--be itso. I can shoot like a Scythian," he proceeded; "nod but with yourhead, one shaft shall crash among the splinters of his skull and hisbrains; the second shall quiver in his heart."
"Bravo, my noble comrade!" said Harpax, in a tone of affected rapture,always lowering his voice, however, as respecting the slumbers of theVarangian. "Such were the robbers of ancient days, the Diomedes,Corvnetes, Synnes, Scyrons, Procrustes, whom it required demigods tobring to what was miscalled justice, and whose compeers and fellowswill remain masters of the continent and isles of Greece, untilHercules and Theseus shall again appear upon earth. Nevertheless, shootnot, my valiant Sebastes--draw not the bow, my invaluable Mitylenian;you may wound and not kill." "I am little wont to do so," saidSebastes, again repeating the hoarse, chuckling, discordant laugh,which grated upon the ears of the centurion, though he could hardlytell the reason why it was so uncommonly unpleasant. "If I look notabout me," was his internal reflection, "we shall have two centurionsof the watch, instead of one. This Mitylenian, or be he who the devilwill, is a bow's length beyond me. I must keep my eye on him." He thenspoke aloud, in a tone of authority. "But, come, young man, it is hardto discourage a young beginner. If you have been such a rover of woodand river as you tell us of, you know how to play the Sicarius: therelies your object, drunk or asleep, we know not which;--you will dealwith him in either case."
"Will you give me no odds to stab a stupefied or drunken man, mostnoble centurion?" answered the Greek. "You would perhaps love thecommission yourself?" he continued, somewhat ironically.
"Do as you are directed, friend," said Harpax, pointing to the turretstaircase which led down from the battlement to the arched entranceunderneath the porch.
"He has the true cat-like stealthy pace," half muttered the centurion,as his sentinel descended to do such a crime as he was posted there toprevent. "This cockerel's comb must be cut, or he will become king ofthe roost. But let us see if his hand be as resolute as his tongue;then we will consider what turn to give to the conclusion."
As Harpax spoke between his teeth, and rather to himself than any ofhis companions, the Mitylenian emerged from under the archway, treadingon tiptoe, yet swiftly, with an admirable mixture of silence andcelerity. His poniard, drawn as he descended, gleamed in his hand,which was held a little behind the rest of his person, so as to concealit. The assassin hovered less than an instant over the sleeper, as ifto mark the interval between the ill-fated silver corslet, and the bodywhich it was designed to protect, when, at the instant the blow wasrushing to its descent, the Varangian started up at once, arrested thearmed hand of the assassin, by striking it upwards with the head of hisbattle-axe; and while he thus parried the intended stab, struck theGreek a blow heavier than Sebastes had ever learned at the Pancration,which left him scarce the power to cry help to his comrades on thebattlements. They saw what had happened, however, and beheld thebarbarian set his foot on their companion, and brandish high hisformidable weapon, the whistling sound of which made the old arch ringominously, while he paused an instant, with his weapon upheaved, ere hegave the finishing blow to his enemy. The warders made a bustle, as ifsome of them would descend to the assistance of Sebastes, without,however, appearing very eager to do so, when Harpax, in a rapidwhisper, commanded them to stand fast.
"Each man to his place," he said, "happen what may. Yonder comes acaptain of the guard--the secret is our own, if the savage has killedthe Mitylenian, as I well trust, for he stirs neither hand nor foot.But if he lives, my comrades, make hard your faces as flints--he is butone man, we are twelve. We know nothing of his purpose, save that hewent to see wherefore the barbarian slept so near the post."
While the centurion thus bruited his purpose in busy insinuation to thecompanions of his watch, the stately figure of a tall soldier, richlyarmed, and presenting a lofty crest, which glistened as he stept fromthe open moonlight into the shade of the vault, became visible beneath.A whisper passed among the warders on the top of the gate.
"Draw bolt, shut gate, come of the Mitylenian what will," said thecenturion; "we are lost men if we own him.--Here comes the chief of theVarangian axes, the Follower himself."
"Well, Hereward," said the officer who came last upon the scene, in asort of _lingua Franca_, generally used by the barbarians of the guard,"hast thou caught a night-hawk?"
"Ay, by Saint George!" answered the soldier; "and yet, in my country,we would call him but a kite."
"What is he?" said the leader.
"He will tell you that himself," replied the Varangian, "when I take mygrasp from his windpipe."
"Let him go, then," said the officer.
The Englishman did as he was commanded; but, escaping as soon as hefelt himself at liberty, with an alertness which could scarce have beenanticipated, the Mitylenian rushed out at the arch, and, availinghimself of the complicated ornaments which had originally graced theexterior of the gateway, he fled around buttress and projection,closely pursued by the Varangian, who, encumbered with his armour, washardly a match in the course for the light-footed Grecian, as he dodgedhis pursuer from one skulking place to another. The officer laughedheartily, as the two figures, like shadows appearing and disappearingas suddenly, held rapid flight and chase around the arch of Theodosius.
"By Hercules! it is Hector pursued round the walls of Ilion byAchilles," said the officer; "but my Pelides will scarce overtake theson of Priam. What, ho! goddess-born--son of the white-footedThetis!--But the allusion is lost on the poor savage--Hollo, Hereward!I say, stop--know thine own most barbarous name." These last words weremuttered; then raising his voice, "Do not out-run thy wind, goodHereward. Thou mayst have more occasion for breath to-night."
"If it had been my leader's will," answered the Varangian, coming backin sulky mood, and breathing like one who had been at the top of hisspeed, "I would have had him as fast as ever grey-hound held hare, ereI left off the chase. Were it not for this foolish armour, whichencumbers without defending one, I would not have made two boundswithout taking him by the throat."
"As well as it is," said the officer, who was, in fact, theAcoulonthos, or _Follower_, so called because it was the duty of thishighly-trusted officer of the Varangian Guards constantly to attend onthe person of the Emperor. "But let us now see by what means we are toregain our entrance through the gate; for if, as I suspect, it was oneof those warders who was willing to have played thee a trick, hiscompanions may not let us enter willingly." "And is it not," said theVarangian, "your Valour's duty to probe this want of discipline to thebottom?"
"Hush thee here, my simple-minded savage! I have often told you, mostignorant Hereward, that the skulls of those who come from your cold andmuddy Boentia of the North, are fitter to bear out twenty blows with asledge-hammer, than turn off one witty or ingenious idea. But followme, Hereward, and although I am aware that showing the fine meshes ofGrecian policy to the coarse eye of an unpractised barbarian like thee,is much like casting pearls before swine, a thing forbidden in theBlessed Gospel, yet, as thou hast so good a
heart, and so trusty, as isscarce to be met with among my Varangians themselves, I care not if,while thou art in attendance on my person, I endeavour to indoctrinatethee in some of that policy by which I myself--the Follower--the chiefof the Varangians, and therefore erected by their axes into the mostvaliant of the valiant, am content to guide myself, although every wayqualified to bear me through the cross currents of the court by mainpull of oar and press of sail--a condescension in me, to do that bypolicy, which no man in this imperial court, the chosen sphere ofsuperior wits, could so well accomplish by open force as myself. Whatthink'st thou, good savage?"
"I know," answered the Varangian, who walked about a step and a halfbehind his leader, like an orderly of the present day behind hisofficer's shoulder, "I should be sorry to trouble my head with what Icould do by my hands at once."
"Did I not say so?" replied the Follower, who had now for some minutesled the way from the Golden Gate, and was seen gliding along theoutside of the moonlight walls, as if seeking an entrance elsewhere."Lo, such is the stuff of what you call your head is made! Your handsand arms are perfect Ahitophels, compared to it. Hearken to me, thoumost ignorant of all animals,--but, for that very reason, thou stoutestof confidants, and bravest of soldiers,--I will tell thee the veryriddle of this night-work, and yet, even then I doubt if thou canstunderstand me."
"It is my present duty to try to comprehend your Valour," said theVarangian--"I would say your policy, since you condescend to expound itto me. As for your valour," he added, "I should be unlucky if I did notthink I understand its length and breadth already."
The Greek General coloured a little, but replied, with unaltered voice,"True, good Hereward. We have seen each other in battle."
Hereward here could not suppress a short cough, which to thosegrammarians of the day who were skilful in applying the use of accents,would have implied no peculiar eulogium on his officer's militarybravery. Indeed, during their whole intercourse, the conversation ofthe General, in spite of his tone of affected importance andsuperiority, displayed an obvious respect for his companion, as onewho, in many points of action, might, if brought to the test, prove amore effective soldier than himself. On the other hand, when thepowerful Northern warrior replied, although it was with all observanceof discipline and duty, yet the discussion might sometimes resemblethat between an ignorant macaroni officer, before the Duke of York'sreformation of the British army, and a steady sergeant of the regimentin which they both served. There was a consciousness of superiority,disguised by external respect, and half admitted by the leader.
"You will grant me, my simple friend," continued the chief, in the sametone as before, "in order to lead thee by a short passage into thedeepest principle of policy which pervades this same court ofConstantinople, that the favour of the Emperor"--(here the officerraised his casque, and the soldier made a semblance of doing soalso)--"who (be the place where he puts his foot sacred!) is thevivifying principle of the sphere in which we live, as the sun itselfis that of humanity"----
"I have heard something like this said by our tribunes," said theVarangian.
"It is their duty so to instruct you," answered the leader; "and Itrust that the priests also, in their sphere, forget not to teach myVarangians their constant service to their Emperor."
"They do not omit it," replied the soldier, "though we of the exilesknow our duty."
"God forbid I should doubt it," said the commander of the battle-axes."All I mean is to make thee understand, my dear Hereward, that as thereare, though perhaps such do not exist in thy dark and gloomy climate, arace of insects which are born in the first rays of the morning, andexpire with those of sunset, (thence called by us ephemeras, asenduring one day only,) such is the case of a favourite at court, whileenjoying the smiles of the most sacred Emperor. And happy is he whosefavour, rising as the person of the sovereign emerges from the levelspace which extends around the throne, displays itself in the firstimperial blaze of glory, and who, keeping his post during the meridiansplendour of the crown, has only the fate to disappear and die with thelast beam of imperial brightness."
"Your Valour," said the islander, "speaks higher language than myNorthern wits are able to comprehend. Only, methinks, rather than partwith life at the sunset, I would, since insect I must needs be, becomea moth for two or three dark hours."
"Such is the sordid desire of the vulgar, Hereward," answered theFollower, with assumed superiority, "who are contented to enjoy life,lacking distinction; whereas we, on the other hand, we of choicerquality, who form the nearest and innermost circle around the ImperialAlexius, in which he himself forms the central point, are watchful, towoman's jealousy, of the distribution of his favours, and omit noopportunity, whether by leaguing with or against each other, torecommend ourselves individually to the peliar light of hiscountenance."
"I think I comprehend what you mean," said the guardsman; "although asfor living such a life of intrigue--but that matters not."
"It does indeed matter not, my good Hereward," said his officer, "andthou art lucky in having no appetite for the life I have described. Yethave I seen barbarians rise high in the empire, and if they have notaltogether the flexibility, the malleability, as it is called--thathappy ductility which can give way to circumstances, I have yet knownthose of barbaric tribes, especially if bred up at court from theiryouth, who joined to a limited portion of this flexile quality enoughof a certain tough durability of temper, which, if it does not excel inavailing itself of opportunity, has no contemptible talent at creatingit. But letting comparisons pass, it follows, from this emulation ofglory, that is, of royal favour, amongst the servants of the imperialand most sacred court, that each is desirous of distinguishing himselfby showing to the Emperor, not only that he fully understands theduties of his own employments, but that he is capable, in case ofnecessity, of discharging those of others."
"I understand," said the Saxon; "and thence it happens that the underministers, soldiers, and assistants of the great crown-officers, areperpetually engaged, not in aiding each other, but in acting as spieson their neighbours' actions?"
"Even so," answered the commander; "it is but few days since I had adisagreeable instance of it. Every one, however dull in the intellect,hath understood thus much, that the great Protospathaire, [Footnote:Literally, the First Swordsman.] which title thou knowest signifies theGeneral-in-chief of the forces of the empire, hath me at hatred,because I am the leader of those redoubtable Varangians, who enjoy andwell deserve, privileges exempting them from the absolute command whichhe possesses over all other corps of the army--an authority whichbecomes Nicanor, notwithstanding the victorious sound of his name,nearly as well as a war-saddle would become a bullock."
"How!" said the Varangian, "does the Protospathaire pretend to anyauthority over the noble exiles?--By the red dragon, under which wewill live and die, we will obey no man alive but Alexius Comnenushimself, and our own officers!"
"Rightly and bravely resolved," said the leader; "but, my goodHereward, let not your just indignation hurry you so far as to name themost sacred Emperor, without raising your hand to your casque, andadding the epithets of his lofty rank."
"I will raise my hand often enough and high enough," said the Norseman,"when the Emperor's service requires it."
"I dare be sworn thou wilt," said Achilles Tatius, the commander of theVarangian Imperial Body Guard, who thought the time was unfavourablefor distinguishing himself by insisting on that exact observance ofetiquette, which was one of his great pretensions to the name of asoldier. "Yet were it not for the constant vigilance of your leader, mychild, the noble Varangians would be trode down, in the common mass ofthe army, with the heathen cohorts of Huns, Scythians, or thoseturban'd infidels the renegade Turks; and even for this is yourcommander here in peril, because he vindicates his axe-men as worthy ofbeing prized above the paltry shafts of the Eastern tribes and thejavelins of the Moors, which are only fit to be playthings forchildren."
"You are exposed to no danger," said the
soldier, closing up toAchilles in a confidential manner, "from which these axes can protectyou."
"Do I not know it?" said Achilles. "But it is to your arms alone thatthe Follower of his most sacred Majesty now intrusts his safety."
"In aught that a soldier may do," answered Hereward; "make your owncomputation, and then reckon this single arm worth two against any manthe Emperor has, not being of our own corps."
"Listen, my brave friend," continued Achilles. "This Nicanor was daringenough to throw a reproach on our noble corps, accusing them--gods andgoddesses!--of plundering in the field, and, yet more sacrilegious, ofdrinking the precious wine which was prepared for his most sacredMajesty's own blessed consumption. I, the sacred person of the Emperorbeing present, proceeded, as thou may'st well believe"--
"To give him the lie in his audacious throat!" burst in theVarangian--"named a place of meeting somewhere in the vicinity, andcalled the attendance of your poor follower, Hereward of Hampton, whois your bond-slave for life long, for such an honour! I wish only youhad told me to get my work-day arms; but, however, I have mybattle-axe, and"--Here his companion seized a moment to break in, forhe was somewhat abashed at the lively tone of the young soldier.
"Hush thee, my son," said Achilles Tatius; "speak low, my excellentHereward. Thou mistakest this thing. With thee by my side, I would not,indeed, hesitate to meet five such as Nicanor; but such is not the lawof this most hallowed empire, nor the sentiments of the three timesillustrious Prince who now rules it. Thou art debauched, my soldier,with the swaggering stories of the Franks, of whom we hear more andmore every day."
"I would not willingly borrow any thing from those whom you callFranks, and we Normans," answered the Varangian, in a disappointed,dogged tone.
"Why, listen, then," said the officer as they proceeded on their walk,"listen to the reason of the thing, and consider whether such a customcan obtain, as that which they term the duello, in any country ofcivilization and common sense, to say nothing of one which is blessedwith the domination of the most rare Alexius Comnenus. Two great lords,or high officers, quarrel in the court, and before the reverend personof the Emperor. They dispute about a point of fact. Now, instead ofeach maintaining his own opinion by argument or evidence, suppose theyhad adopted the custom of these barbarous Franks,--'Why, thou liest inthy throat,' says the one; 'and thou liest in thy very lungs,' saysanother; and they measure forth the lists of battle in the next meadow.Each swears to the truth of his quarrel, though probably neither wellknows precisely how the fact stands. One, perhaps the hardier, truer,and better man of the two, the Follower of the Emperor, and father ofthe Varangians, (for death, my faithful follower, spares no man,) liesdead on the ground, and the other comes back to predominate in thecourt, where, had the matter been enquired into by the rules of commonsense and reason, the victor, as he is termed, would have been sent tothe gallows. And yet this is the law of arms, as your fancy pleases tocall it, friend Hereward!"
"May it please your Valour," answered the barbarian, "there is a showof sense in what you say; but you will sooner convince me that thisblessed moonlight is the blackness of a wolf's mouth, than that I oughtto hear myself called liar, without cramming the epithet down thespeaker's throat with the spike of my battle-axe. The lie is to a manthe same as a blow, and a blow degrades him into a slave and a beast ofburden, if endured without retaliation."
"Ay, there it is!" said Achilles; "could I but get you to lay asidethat inborn barbarism, which leads you, otherwise the most disciplinedsoldiers who serve the sacred Emperor, into such deadly quarrels andfeuds"--
"Sir Captain," said the Varangian, in a sullen tone, "take my advice,and take the Varangians as you have them; for, believe my word, that ifyou could teach them to endure reproaches, bear the lie, or toleratestripes, you would hardly find them, when their discipline iscompleted, worth the single day's salt which they cost to his holiness,if that be his title. I must tell you, moreover, valorous sir, that theVarangians will little thank their leader, who heard them calledmarauders, drunkards, and what not, and repelled not the charge on thespot."
"Now, if I knew not the humours of my barbarians," thought Tatius, inhis own mind, "I should bring on myself a quarrel with these untamedislanders, who the Emperor thinks can be so easily kept in discipline.But I will settle this sport presently." Accordingly, he addressed theSaxon in a soothing tone.
"My faithful soldier," he proceeded aloud, "we Romans, according to thecustom of our ancestors, set as much glory on actually telling thetruth, as you do in resenting the imputation of falsehood; and I couldnot with honour return a charge of falsehood upon Nicanor, since whathe said was substantially true."
"What! that we Varangians were plunderers, drunkards, and the like?"said Hereward, more impatient than before.
"No, surely, not in that broad sense," said Achilles; "but there wastoo much foundation for the legend."
"When and where?" asked the Anglo-Saxon.
"You remember," replied his leader, "the long march near Laodicea,where the Varangians beat off a cloud of Turks, and retook a train ofthe imperial baggage? You know what was done that day--how you quenchedyour thirst, I mean?"
"I have some reason to remember it," said Hereward of Hampton; "for wewere half choked with dust, fatigue, and, which was worst of all,constantly fighting with our faces to the rear, when we found somefirkins of wine in certain carriages which were broken down--down ourthroats it went, as if it had been the best ale in Southampton."
"Ah, unhappy!" said the Follower; "saw you not that the firkins werestamped with the thrice excellent Grand Butler's own inviolable seal,and set apart for the private use of his Imperial Majesty's most sacredlips?"
"By good Saint George of merry England, worth a dozen of your SaintGeorge of Cappadocia, I neither thought nor cared about the matter,"answered Hereward. "And I know your Valour drank a mighty draughtyourself out of my head-piece; not this silver bauble, but mysteel-cap, which is twice as ample. By the same token, that whereasbefore you were giving orders to fall back, you were a changed man whenyou had cleared your throat of the dust, and cried, 'Bide the otherbrunt, my brave and stout boys of Britain!'"
"Ay," said Achilles, "I know I am but too apt to be venturous inaction. But you mistake, good Hereward; the wine I tasted in theextremity of martial fatigue, was not that set apart for his sacredMajesty's own peculiar mouth, but a secondary sort, preserved for theGrand Butler himself, of which, as one of the great officers of thehousehold, I might right lawfully partake--the chance was neverthelesssinfully unhappy."
"On my life," replied Hereward, "I cannot see the infelicity ofdrinking when we are dying of thirst."
"But cheer up, my noble comrade," said Achilles, after he had hurriedover his own exculpation, and without noticing the Varangian's lightestimation of the crime, "his Imperial Majesty, in his ineffablegraciousness, imputes these ill-advised draughts as a crime to no onewho partook of them. He rebuked the Protospathaire for fishing up thisaccusation, and said, when he had recalled the bustle and confusion ofthat toilsome day, 'I thought myself well off amid that seven timesheated furnace, when we obtained a draught of the barley-wine drank bymy poor Varangians; and I drank their health, as well I might, since,had it not been for their services, I had drunk my last; and well faretheir hearts, though they quaffed my wine in return!' And with that heturned off, as one who said, 'I have too much of this, being a findingof matter and ripping up of stories against Achilles Tatius and hisgallant Varangians.'"
"Now, may God bless his honest heart for it!" said Hereward, with moredownright heartiness than formal respect. "I'll drink to his health inwhat I put next to my lips that quenches thirst, whether it may be ale,wine, or ditch-water."
"Why, well said, but speak not above thy breath! and remember to putthy hand to thy forehead, when naming, or even thinking of theEmperor!--Well, thou knowest, Hereward, that having thus obtained theadvantage, I knew that the moment of a repulsed attack is always thatof a successful charge; and so I brought
against the Protospathaire,Nicanor, the robberies which have been committed at the Golden Gate,and other entrances of the city, where a merchant was but of latekidnapped and murdered, having on him certain jewels, the property ofthe Patriarch."
"Ay! indeed?" said the Varangian; "and what said Alex--I mean the mostsacred Emperor, when he heard such things said of the citywarders?--though he had himself given, as we say in our land, the foxthe geese to keep."
"It may be he did," replied Achilles; "but he is a sovereign of deeppolicy, and was resolved not to proceed against these treacherouswarders, or their general, the Protospathaire, without decisive proof.His Sacred Majesty, therefore, charged me to obtain specificcircumstantial proof by thy means."
"And that I would have managed in two minutes, had you not called meoff the chase of yon cut-throat vagabond. But his grace knows the wordof a Varangian, and I can assure him that either lucre of my silvergaberdine, which they nickname a cuirass, or the hatred of my corps,would be sufficient to incite any of these knaves to cut the throat ofa Varangian, who appeared to be asleep.--So we go, I suppose, captain,to bear evidence before the Emperor to this night's work?"
"No, my active soldier, hadst thou taken the runaway villain, my firstact must have been to set him free again; and my present charge to youis, to forget that such an adventure has ever taken place."
"Ha!" said the Varangian; "this is a change of policy indeed!"
"Why, yes, brave Hereward; ere I left the palace this night, thePatriarch made overtures of reconciliation betwixt me and theProtospathaire, which, as our agreement is of much consequence to thestate, I could not very well reject, either as a good soldier or a goodChristian. All offences to my honour are to be in the fullest degreerepaid, for which the Patriarch interposes his warrant. The Emperor,who will rather wink hard than see disagreements, loves better thematter should be slurred over thus."
"And the reproaches upon the Varangians." said Hereward----
"Shall be fully retracted and atoned for," answered Achilles; "and aweighty donative in gold dealt among the corps of the Anglo-Danishaxemen. Thou, my Hereward, mayst be distributor; and thus, ifwell-managed, mayst plate thy battle-axe with gold."
"I love my axe better as it is," said the Varangian. "My father bore itagainst the robber Normans at Hastings. Steel instead of gold for mymoney."
"Thou mayst make thy choice, Hereward," answered his officer; "only, ifthou art poor, say the fault was thine own."
But here, in the course of their circuit round Constantinople, theofficer and his soldier came to a very small wicket or sallyport,opening on the interior of a large and massive advanced work, whichterminated an entrance to the city itself. Here the officer halted, andmade his obedience, as a devotee who is about to enter a chapel ofpeculiar sanctity.