CHAPTER XLI.
NOBILITY IN CONTRAST.
"Shall show us how divine a thing A woman may be made."
Wordsworth.
After the stirring episode which ended in the removal from the scene ofthe brothers Vigneau, and their henchman Pierre, the relationshipbetween the outlawed Saxons and the Normans,--as it related to thedomains owned by De Montfort and those contiguous,--became much moreamicable and peaceful. The Saxon colony on the mountains boldly advancedto the valley, and took up without molestation the tilling of the soil.The sturdy outlaws whose home had been the greenwood, and theirsustenance the chase and plunder, now many of them returned to thepeaceful calling they had pursued before the Normans drave them fromtheir homes, and the plots of ground they lived upon. Intercoursebetween the races became regular and uninterrupted; intermarrying beingof frequent occurrence. The Norman lost in great measure his haughty andoverbearing manner, and the Saxon hatred of the Norman accordinglyabated. The language also began to be a compound of Saxon and Norman,for each nation was driven by the exigencies of combined intercourse tolearn a little of the other's language; and before my eyes daily did Iwitness the interblending of peoples. This was a joy to me, to Oswald,and to Alice; and indeed no one who thoroughly grasped the situationcould ever again look for the overthrow of the Normans; and whilst therewere wild, untamed, and irreconcilable Saxons, who fomented strife andrebellion, and on the other hand Normans proud, overbearing and cruel,yet there were to me palpable signs that the two races would eventuallybecome one people, to their mutual advantage.
Happy am I also to relate that, through the interposition of Alice, andthe kindness and confidence of De Montfort, I was once more restored tothe rule of this monastery, and with its privileges and emoluments butlittle curtailed. Thus was I able to do much towards the reconciling ofthese two peoples. Thankful also I am to relate that, amid the multitudeof claims upon me, I yet had strength and leisure sufficient to writethese chronicles.
The kind reader I hope will pardon me this digression, and the littleegotism I have indulged in, and I will proceed once more with thishistory.
De Montfort made no attempt to ignore the deep obligations that Oswaldhad laid him under; nor did he attempt to interfere with the plightedtroth of these two lovers. Still many misgivings arose in his mind, withregard to the attitude his sovereign would assume towards this union. Heknew well that if William disapproved of it, his will would have to belaw. He debated long with himself the question, whether it would be bestto first obtain William's consent to the marriage, or boldly solve thedifficulty by uniting the pair and then presenting them to the king. Thebolder course was finally adopted, and the day of the nuptials fixed. Bythe unanimous wish of all concerned, it was determined that the marriageshould be celebrated without pomp and wholesale merriment, as was sooften the case; but that there should be the rustic games and ruralsports so dear to the common people.
So accordingly on the eventful morning the bridal party wended their waythrough the forest to this sanctuary, which we had decorated for theoccasion. As the party passed through the forest with light hearts andjoyous, there were others to whom these nuptials had most tragicresults. Secreted in the thicket and watching the party go by was one,to whom every note of the joyous bells rang out a knell. Secreted alsoin another part was one to whom this nuptial act was infamous, andbasest treachery; and like a wild beast he waited for an opportunity tospring upon the pair, and with one more wild deed of revenge toaccentuate his undying hatred towards the Norman usurper. Soon after theparty passed on their way and came near to the Abbey gates, Ethel,muffled and disguised as a peasant woman, stepped from the thicket fromwhich she had watched the party go by, and slowly followed them. But shehad not proceeded very far, ere some movement in the thicket attractedher attention, and turning more attentively to observe, she espiedSigurd's stealthy figure gliding amongst the trees with his naked swordin his hand, and evidently dogging the footsteps of the bridal party. Afew fleet footsteps brought her abreast of him.
"My lord!" she said, addressing him, "what does this mean?"
"Ethel, is that you? I little thought to see you here," said he,ignoring altogether the question addressed to him.
"I am here, and opportunely my lord, too, if your attitude does notdeceive me. What means that naked sword when there are no enemiespresent?"
"Do you not know," he said in low fierce tones, "what deed is to be doneto-day? Oswald completes his infamy by wedding this Norman woman, and Iwill kill him before this day is done, or henceforth ye shall brand me acoward."
"My lord," said Ethel placing herself before him, "what madness is thisthat you purpose? Put up that sword, and mark me well! if any evilbefall him, and if you dare to injure him or his bride, either now orhenceforth, you make of me a mortal enemy, and I will not rest untilyour crime be punished."
"Ethel, 'tis ye are mad! or else your love at sight of this would beturned to mortal hatred! Would I had not met you this day, then would Ihave wiped out this stain from the Saxon race."
The power wielded by this beautiful Saxon woman over this untamedwarrior was unbounded, and bore eloquent testimony to the depth andpurity of his love for her; for without another word of remonstrance hesheathed his sword, and strode away into the depths of the forest.
Then Ethel pursued her journey, following the bridal party into thechapel, and sitting down, quite unnoticed, amid a motley throng ofpeasant women and Saxon churls, who had gathered to witness thenuptials. The marriage ceremony was designed to be carried out withgreat privacy, nevertheless there were a few Normans of note gatheredthere to witness it. There were also some Saxons, who had claim tohonoured names and substantial estates, were it not for the greed ofthese usurpers; but most of these were now at best but fief-holders oftheir conquerors, and with cowed and brow-beaten looks, they werecontent to herd with their still more degraded countrymen.
It was manifest to any careful observer also that, amid the few Normansgathered, there was great disapprobation of the rite about to becelebrated; and as the tall muscular Saxon, who had maintained hisindependence and defied them all, advanced to the altar, they could notforget that the glamour of this man's name had given heart to theSaxons, and that, on innumerable occasions, he had vigorously interposedhimself between these tyrants and the objects of their tyranny. To seehim now standing side by side with one of the noblest, and one of themost beautiful of their race, was to them bitter as gall. And I couldhear distinctly ominous muttering, and the handling of weapons. This, Imust confess, was what I had dreaded, and others also, I found, hadforeseen it; for at that moment Wulfhere and a sturdy band of Saxons,armed to the teeth, entered the chapel, and boldly took their stand nearto the bridal party. At this the exasperation of the Normans wasincreased, but nevertheless they were distinctly overawed by it, and nofurther demonstrations of disapproval were made.
Ere the marriage ceremony was completed, and as the monks chaunted theBenedicite, Ethel glided noiselessly from her place in the chapel, andhurried from the grounds. As soon as she was clear of them she turnedinto an unfrequented path, which led to the heart of the forest. Sigurdhad been secreted near, watching for her return, and immediately she wasobscured from the gaze of others he joined her.
"Has this Saxon traitor completed his dishonour, by wedding a daughterof the Norman tyrant?" said he.
"Oswald has wedded the fair Norman, and I bestow my blessing on them,for 'tis the herald of peace to our downtrodden race, and an augury ofthe coming union of our people and the Norman."
"My curses on him and the coward brood of Saxons, who have betrayedtheir country and, by their submission to the tyrant usurper, havehelped to rivet the fetters of bondage upon our race for generations tocome!"
"My lord, this is most distasteful to me. I will hear no more of it. Youare utterly incapable of understanding them or their motives, it isplain; so desist, once for all, from your unreasoning hatred."
"Whither go ye now, Ethel? and may I go
with ye?" said Sigurd humbly.
"I am bound for the Monastery of Crowland, my lord."
"_Monastery of Crowland! Never say it, girl!_ What do ye mean? Ye cannotgo _there_, Ethel! _Say ye will not go there, Ethel!_" he shrieked, inagonised tones.
"It is quite true, my lord," said Ethel firmly.
"It cannot be, Ethel! Ye' cannot leave us thus! We are undone if yeleave us! Say ye will not go to Crowland! _anywhere but there!_ Ithought ye would now forget my fierce and boorish habits, and be mywife. Oswald is wedded, and ye cannot be his. What hinders ye from beingmy wife? I will be anything ye ask of me, Ethel! I am quite broken now;my spirit is broken. I will make my peace with the Normans, and wear aserf's collar, and let them _whip me, cuff me--anything_! only say yewill not leave me," he pleaded piteously.
"Alas! my lord, that can never be! My love is dead, and will never morehave resurrection in this world. I have no capacity for a new affection.A maiden's heart can be won but once. Do not importune me, my lord,further. The end has come; 'tis a new epoch, and in it there is no placefor you and me, and 'tis best we should quietly vanish from the scene."
"Is there no _hope_, Ethel, that ye will be my bride? Ye'll maybe changesome day. I can wait twenty years, if ye bid me."
"There is no hope, my lord. There can be but one other change for me,and that will be when I don the cerements of the tomb."
"_No hope, Ethel? No hope?_" he slowly and painfully ejaculated, asthough each word was a dagger thrust at his heart. "Then I am lost!"
Slowly he drew himself up, expanded his broad chest, and threw abroadhis brawny arms, as though about to grapple with an enemy.
"Then," said he, "I'll have a sweet revenge on the Norman foe. I'll givemy blood again to the soil I love so well, and get me a warrior's grave.Then, welcome Valhalla! Odin! Odin! Norseman's god!" he cried; "I amcoming soon to join the hero spirits, awaiting me in the land beyond thedark and troubled sea."
His head drooped upon his chest, and he covered his face with his hands,whilst his whole frame quivered with emotion. It was the cry of a blindfaith, but it was the cry of the soul, and it grappled him to the lovingheart of infinite mercy.
Ethel trembled violently at the bitterness of soul displayed by thisnoble Viking, and the unbidden tears coursed down her cheeks in sympathywith his sorrow.
"Adieu, my lord! May God have mercy upon you," she said in broken andtender accents.
"Nay, Ethel! I'll go with you, I would like to see the door close uponyou safe, if it must be. 'Tis not fitting ye should take this journeyalone. These Norman dogs are abroad everywhere, and 'tis full of perilfor ye to journey alone; they will not respect ye as I do. These Normanshave no respect for such as you."
"I am sorry to say I cannot permit this, my lord. It would be both atyour peril and my own. Do you not know what a heavy price these Normanshave put upon your head?"
"Ah! they have made me a wolfshead truly, but they have not done with meyet, Ethel; not done with me, they will find! Broken in spirit, as I am,I do not fear them; nor do I care what price they have put upon my head.I have nothing to live for, but I will _die like a Viking_. If it willbe a peril to you if I go with you, well, let it be so; but 'tis bitterparting, Ethel."
"Do not fear on my account, my lord. The Abbot Adhelm has madearrangement for two of the monks to bear me company; and their sacredoffice and my vow will protect both them and myself from the violence ofthe Normans."
"Shall I never see ye more, Ethel? _Never more?_ Won't ye come_sometimes_ just to have a look at the _old hills_ again? and I'll meetye, and we'll see how the world fares with you and me. Promise me ye'llcome sometimes, Ethel, and let me look upon your sweet face. I've noughtto live for but you!"
Ethel was deeply moved at Sigurd's importunity, but she said,--
"My lord, I cannot hope to meet you any more on earth; but I willventure to hope and pray that, when our God, who is a God infinite inmercy and compassion, shall strike the balance betwixt right and wrong,between high ideals and a grovelling ambition--in short, when He shall'judge the world in righteousness,' He will find that the recordingangel has made many an entry to your account, and blurred out many afault with his tears; and that after all it will be found that yourerring but sturdy virtues outweigh by far your many faults, and thelimitations of your life. Then we shall meet again beyond the grave,where we shall see eye to eye, and 'where the wicked cease fromtroubling and the weary are at rest.' Once more adieu, my lord!" Sosaying, she sped on her way.
Sigurd stood silently watching her retreating form until she disappearedfrom view, and for several minutes he still stood gazing after her likeone bereft, whilst his massive frame was shaken with powerful emotions.Then slowly he muttered to himself: "The sun is set upon all my hopes;my day is done, and all is lost, save love of country and revenge. Icannot, like this Oswald, bend and crouch. A Viking once a Viking forever." Then, turning round, he crashed into the forest.