A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War
CHAPTER XIV.
_THE GREAT EARL._
"My father is coming! my father is coming! the watchman has sighted hisapproach! Come and see him arrive with his train! it will be a rightgoodly sight, methinks."
So spoke the Demoiselle, rushing in hot haste into a great hall, whichmight perhaps be termed the library of the Castle, where certain booksand manuscripts were stored in carved oaken presses against the wall,and where Leofric spent a portion of each day in transcribing for thelittle Eleanora the breviary which she was so eager to possess.
The Countess, at a hint from her son, had offered this task to the youngscholar, and Leofric had gratefully undertaken it. The Demoiselle tookkeen interest in the work, and had already established very friendlyrelations with her brothers friend. A child at heart, despite hergraceful and self-possessed manners and queenly little ways, shedelighted in listening to stories of Oxford student life, and inwatching the skilful pen and brush of the young bachelor as he copiedthe text or the illuminations from the scrolls in the library. LittleEleanora was greatly delighted at being able to choose her favouritedesigns for reproduction in her own breviary, and she danced in and outthe library like a veritable sprite, directing and admiring, chatteringfreely to the scribe as she grew intimate with him, and letting him intoa great deal of the family history of the De Montforts during the yearsof Amalric's absence.
Amalric himself was often present, and then brother and sister wouldconverse freely and eagerly together. Leofric was treated as a friendand equal by both, and greatly enjoyed this experience of life in anobleman's castle. It was like stepping forth into a new world orlearning a new language.
The arrival of the Earl of Leicester had been for some time expected.His wife knew that he was in England upon a flying visit for politicalreasons, and daily was he looked for at Kenilworth; but so far nodefinite tidings of his movements had reached her, and the householdlived in a state of expectancy and impatience.
It was no wonder that, when the Demoiselle rushed into the library withthis piece of intelligence on her lips, Amalric and Leofric should startat once to their feet, and hasten with all speed to the great courtyard,where already the men-at-arms and the retainers were mustering.
It was a beautiful and picturesque sight. The Countess, with her littledaughter and her handsome son beside her, stood at the top of the greatflight of steps which led into the banqueting-hall, opposite the greatgateway. All round the spacious courtyard were grouped the armedretainers and servants of the household. The sentinels and men-at-armsmounted the battlements, or drew up in martial array about the gateway,and the herald rode forth to meet and greet his master and bring him inin triumph.
The sense of expectancy deepened as the minutes passed by; then a greatshout was raised as the trampling of horses' feet was heard within theouter courtyard. The next minute the great Earl, bare-headed, as heresponded to the enthusiastic greetings showered upon him, rode throughthe gateway and across the court; and a cry went up that seemed wellnighto shake the walls, as Kenilworth welcomed back its long-absent lord.
The eagle face of the Earl had grown thinner and browner since Leofrichad seen it last. There were lines there which had been traced rather byanxiety and sorrow than by the hand of time. But the light in the eyeswas unquenched, and the carriage of the haughty head betrayed theundaunted and resolute spirit of this leader of men.
His glance softened at the sight of his wife and daughter, and with aquick and skilful turn of the reins he drew up his charger at the footof the steps, and leaped lightly to the ground. The next minute he hadembraced his wife before the eyes of the assembled crowd, who weremaking the welkin ring with their plaudits; and little Eleanora wasclinging to his hand, half shy, yet intensely eager for the notice ofher sire, of whom she had seen but little, and that only on briefvisits, paid as occasion served, and he could be spared to enjoy thepleasures of home life.
Leofric's eyes wandered over the goodly company filing into thecourtyard after its lord. Immediately behind their father rode Henry andSimon, his eldest sons, now knights, and youths of handsome person,albeit lacking their father's nobility of aspect and charm of manner.Behind these again rode Guy, the third son, and side by side with himwas a young man of noble aspect, very richly dressed, and plainly of nosmall importance in the eyes of the great De Montfort himself; for evenbefore his own sons had had time to embrace their mother, he beckoned upthis youth to the top of the steps, and presented him with much ceremonyto his wife.
Leofric noted that quite a number of the men who followed wore the badgeand the livery of this person. For a moment it crossed his mind that itmight be one of the King's sons; but upon putting the question to onewho stood by, he was answered in the negative.
"Nay, it is not the Prince. The Prince is a kinglier youth than that.That is Gilbert, the young Duke of Gloucester, and a right royal welcomewill be accorded him at Kenilworth; for if he had followed his father'sfootsteps, and taken the side of the King, great hurt and loss to ourparty must have ensued. We cannot afford to lose the support ofGloucester."
This enlightened Leofric considerably as to the situation, and he addedhis voice to those raised in lusty cheering for the young Earl Gilbert.He had heard much about the father of this young man, recently deceased,and how, after joining in the cause which the Barons had at heart, hehad quarrelled again and again with the Earl of Leicester, and hadfinally gone over to the King's side. Up to the present moment it hadbeen feared that this young son, a youth of nineteen, now Earl in hisfather's stead, might follow that father's example and join the King'sparty; but his appearance at Kenilworth to-day, in company with DeMontfort and his sons, showed plainly that he had thrown over the oldEarl's policy, and had cast in his lot with the Barons: so the hearts ofall were made glad, and cheer upon cheer rent the air as Leicesterpresented his youthful compeer to his loyal retainers here.
Preparations were instantly set on foot for a banquet of more thanordinary splendour. The Countess had been prepared for some suchemergency as this, and the vast kitchens of the Castle could be dependedupon for an ample supply of those substantial dainties under which thetables of our forefathers were wont to groan. The waters of the moatsupplied fresh-water fish and wild fowl in abundance. Kids and goats andcalves, oxen and sheep and swine, had only to be fetched in from thestores in the Castle. Venison from the forests around, as well as smallgame of all sorts, was supplied by the huntsmen; and in the householdroll of the Countess are to be found abundant entries concerning spices,saffron, rice, figs, ginger, cinnamon, and raisins, showing that thevariety afforded in those days was considerable.
But Leofric still stood watching the entry of the gay company which camewith the Earl in martial array. It seemed as though there was no end tothe following of knights and esquires who attended these two greatnobles. They filed in one after another in endless array, till the youthwondered how even the walls of Kenilworth could accommodate them all.
Suddenly he gave a great start of surprise, and pressed a few stepsforward. A small group had just come into the courtyard, seemingly inthe rear of the followers of the Earls, and Leofric recognized the faceand form of Sir Humphrey de Kynaston, Constable of Oxford Castle; whilstriding at his side, upon a pretty little barb, was fair Mistress Alys,his daughter, now grown to be a most beauteous maiden, the light of herfather's eyes; and these two were accompanied by four stout serving-men,who wore the livery of their master.
What could Sir Humphrey be doing here? asked Leofric of himself in nosmall wonder; and pushing a way through the moving crowd of horsemen,who were filing off towards the stables and quarters allotted to them,he made his way to this little group just within the great gateway, anddoffed his cap respectfully before them.
A little cry of delight from Alys told him he was recognized.
"Father, it is Leofric--our good Leofric!" she cried. "I remember nowthat Amalric was to bring him to Kenilworth. Now this is a good hapindeed; for we feel like fish taken from the water in this strang
ecompany.--Prithee, good youth, be our friend and counsellor, formethinks our noble host has forgotten that he has made us his guests forthe nonce."
A few words from Sir Humphrey explained what had happened. He had beentaking his daughter on a little riding expedition through the country,some business of his own having obliged him to quit Oxford for the spaceof a few weeks. They were journeying back, when they had fallen in withthe Earl of Leicester, who had cordially invited them to be his guestsfor a few days. Then he had only had a small company with him; but thatvery day he had been joined by the Earl of Gloucester and his following,and so many knights and gentlemen had added themselves to his train uponhis approach to Kenilworth, that he and his daughter had betakenthemselves to the rear, and were disposed to think themselves forgotten;so that the sight of a familiar face amid all that strange throng washailed with pleasure and relief.
But the Earl had a better memory than Sir Humphrey had supposed, and atthis moment Amalric came hastening up to give a hearty welcome to theKynastons, and to escort them to his mother's apartments, where Alys wasto be lodged during her stay. She was eagerly received by theDemoiselle, who was always delighted to have a girl friend to stay withher; and before an hour had passed away the two maidens were fastfriends, and little Eleanora had promised Alys to take her into thegallery overlooking the banqueting-hall, to see the fine company sit attable, and hear the address which her father was certain to give them.
"And Leofric shall come with us," said Eleanora, with one of herimperious little gestures; "Amalric cannot. He must sit at table as oneof my father's sons. But Leofric can stay with us, and I trow he willlike it better than sitting for hours stuffing himself with all thosestrange dishes that the cooks send up at feast-times. I will send andtell him that we desire his attendance. Thou dost know him--he is thybrother's friend; I have heard tell of thee from him. He is my brother'sfriend likewise, and I trow he is a very goodly youth, and a good onetoo. I care not if his birth be humble; we might have been born peasantsourselves!" and the niece of the King tossed her dainty head, ailing thedemocratic fancies of youth with a petulant grace characteristic of hervarying moods.
"My father loves the people, and fights for their rights," she addedmore seriously, after a moment's pause. "He loves the King, and wouldwell like to be his faithful vassal; but if he does wrong, my fatherwithstands him. Sometimes he says it may cost him his life one day; buthe never shrinks back from what is his duty."
Leofric obeyed the behest of the Demoiselle with alacrity.
There was, in addition to the minstrel's gallery overlooking the greathall, a smaller private gallery, leading from the quarters occupied bythe Earl and Countess and their personal guests. Sometimes when the Earlentertained a company of nobles, the Countess sat here and looked onwithout taking part in the feasting; but to-day she would sit at tablewith her lord, and he would fain have had his daughter too, had notEleanora pleaded the weariness she always felt at these lengthyfunctions, and obtained grace for herself and Alys to have their ownsupper privately served, and to look on as spectators only at thebanquet.
It was in truth a goodly sight. The great hall was filled from end toend with nobles, knights, and squires of varying degree, who occupiedtables arranged according to their rank, and made a proud and gaydisplay with their costly dresses and flashing jewels. The Earls ofLeicester and Gloucester, with the Countess between them, occupied theplaces of honour at the highest table raised on a dais, and Leofriclooked with admiration upon the noble face and grand figure of the greatDe Montfort. Without doubt his was the kingliest figure of all thosepresent to-day; and his voice when he spoke was clear and sonorous, andmight be heard from end to end of the hall.
The tables shone with massive silver plate; serving-men hurried to andfro, bearing huge silver dishes containing viands of every description.Huge barons of beef were borne in between two stalwart attendants;boars' heads with gleaming white tusks, and peacocks with spreadingtails, formed dishes more ornamental than edible, though some favouredthem, and laughing plucked out the peacocks' plumes and stuck them intheir belts. Huge pasties, both savoury and sweet, found ready custom;and as for the hogsheads of beer and wine that must have been consumed,the household roll speaks eloquently of the capacity of our ancestors inthe matter of strong drink. The watchers in the gallery laughed merrilyat the sight, and wondered how long the stores of Kenilworth would standthe strain.
Towards the end of the banquet the Earl of Leicester rose to his feet,flagon in hand, and in clear loud tones, which dominated the clamour ofvoices around him, gave the toast,--
"His Majesty the King!"
In a moment the whole company was on its feet, and the loyal toast wasdrunk with acclamation.
When the hubbub had subsided, the Earl motioned to his guests to beseated, and himself remaining standing, made a long and eloquent speech.
He spoke of his own affection for the King--his desire for the peace andwelfare of the realm--his hatred of bloodshed and confusion. Men hadsaid of him, he exclaimed, with a flash in his eagle eyes, that hedesired himself to be monarch of the realm, and the King to be a meretool in his hands. That charge he utterly and fiercely denied. He wasthe loyal servant of the King, so long as his Majesty would abide by hisplighted word, and would regard the liberties of his subjects and theterms of the Great Charter. The Provisions of Oxford were in themselvesnothing new; they were but the means by which the Great Charter could beupheld. The King was not the only person in the realm who had rights tobe cherished and guarded. The liberties of all classes must beconsidered; and if a monarch, through weakness or lack of judgment,surrounded himself with false and scheming men, who persuaded him toacts of tyranny and rapacity, it then behoved his loyal subjects, whowished to do him true service, to remove from his side these falsesycophants, and to furnish him instead with true and able counsellors,who could advise him for his own good and for the good of the realm.
This was in effect what the Barons' party (as it had come to be called)were doing. They would not stand by passive and idle whilst England'swealth and England's honour were being handed over to foreign powers,whilst the country was being bled to death to fill the papal coffers,and every lucrative place, as it fell vacant, was heaped upon someforeign adventurer, whose handsome face had attracted the King'sadmiration, or whose relationship to the Queen gave him a supposed claimupon his royal kinsman.
The Prince knew all this as well as any man in the kingdom. He hadremonstrated with his feeble father times without number. He had swornto the Provisions of Oxford, and had refused to cancel his oath evenwhen the King repudiated his own, and had bribed the Roman Pontiff togrant him absolution therefrom. The Prince was the true friend to hiscountry, and when he should sit upon the throne all would be well.Meantime the most true and loyal servants of the King were those whosought the true welfare of the realm, and would withhold him fromspoliation at the hands of foreign hirelings.
Then holding his head very high, De Montfort spoke of the tauntsometimes levelled at himself of being a foreigner. He admitted freelyhis foreign birth, and pointed out how he had been the first to deliverup his castles of Kenilworth and Odiham after the Provisions of Oxfordhad been agreed upon. He had even retired altogether to Gascony after astormy quarrel with the Earl of Gloucester; and were it for the good ofthe realm, whose welfare he had so deeply at heart, he would returnthither willingly, and never again set foot on these shores. But overand over again he had discovered that he was necessary to the welfare ofthe party. At this moment he had been summoned across the seas to helpin their deliberations. No one had the true welfare of the Englishnation more at heart than he; and alien though he might be by birth, heloved the land of his adoption with a changeless and passionate love,and would live for her or die for her whichever might be for her good.He had put his hand to the plough; he had pledged his honour and hisreputation to save her from papal thraldom and the spoliation ofself-seeking men; she should have her Great Charter, for which men hadbled and died before, or h
e himself would leave his dead body upon ablood-stained battlefield!
Roars of applause followed this masterly speech, spoken with all thatcharm of manner and lofty dignity of which De Montfort was master. Notone word did the great Earl speak of the personal wrongs inflicted uponhim by the capricious monarch. Every one present knew how greatly he hadsuffered from the injustice of Henry--how he had spent money like waterin his service in Gascony, only to be reviled and abused upon his returnby a master who gave greedy and credulous heed to every word spokenagainst one whom he ofttimes feared and hated.
True, there were moments when the old affection would break forth, whenthe love for his sister was in the ascendant, and a temporary peace waspatched up. But far more often was the Earl the butt for the King'sinjustice and extortion, and the troubles over the payment of theCountess's dowry added to the chronic friction between them.
But of this the Earl made no mention. He spoke always of the King interms of loyal affection, only deploring and denouncing a state ofthings which made him the prey of foreign extortion, and the tool ofthose who would have him grind his people to the very dust to supplytheir endless demands. From this condition of affairs the kingdom mustbe rescued at all cost; and even if force alone would do it, that lastand fearful remedy would be better than the curse of slavery and foreigntyranny.
His hearers were with him to a man. Cheer after cheer went up, makingthe great rafters of the hall ring again. Even the youthful Demoiselleclapped her hands and joined her voice with that of others, and Alys'sfair face flushed and paled with varying emotions as she listened; andshe turned impulsively upon Leofric and asked,--
"Oh, surely it will never come to that! The King will not suffer himselfto be so led astray!"
"The King is a puppet in the hands of his Queen and her relations!"cried the Demoiselle, with the assurance of extreme youth. "I have beento Court; I have seen it all. And there are all the De Lusignans, hishalf-brothers--they are more to him than his true kindred. He has themever about him--them and the Queen's relations, who are legion. Theystuff his head with all sorts of falsehood. They foster his pride andfolly, and they prey upon him like vultures. Only when my father and hisfriends can get speech of him and take him away from these harpies doeshe ever behave himself as a monarch should. As soon as he makes his wayback to them, they make of him their tool and their slave. And then heseeks to sink England into slavery like his own!"
It was amusing to hear the child speaking thus, with sparkling eyes anda mien oddly like that of her noble father. She had all the spirit ofher sire and her royal mother, and her companions regarded her withadmiration.
"If his Majesty the King had but half the spirit of my lady mother,"cried the child once more, "all this trouble would speedily be at anend. Methinks Providence made a blunder in fashioning him the man andher the woman. Had it been the other way, things in this realm would bevastly different now."
The stir within the hall had drowned the sound of another kind of tumultwithout; but had the revellers been less excited by the great Earl'sspeech and their own enthusiastic reception of it, they might have beenaware of some unwonted stir going on in the courtyard. The stonepavement had been ringing to the clang of horses' hoofs; voices had beenraised in eager challenge and greeting.
At this moment a servant quickly entered the banqueting-hall, and madehis way up to the Earl, to whom he spoke in a rapid undertone. Leicesterrose instantly and spoke to his wife, who also rose to her feet, a lookof surprise upon her face, though none of displeasure.
"What can have chanced?" questioned the Demoiselle eagerly; "it is notrifle that would cause my father to rise and stride from the hall atsuch a moment as this. And see! all at the high table have risen, andare looking towards the door; and now the whole company is afoot. Somestrange thing is about to happen; what can it be?"
They were not kept long in suspense. The great doors at the bottom ofthe hall were flung wide open. A trumpet note rang through the building,till the rafters themselves echoed to it; and it was answered by theshout from hundreds of voices as the company saw whose was the statelyfigure that the Earl had gone forward to meet.
The Demoiselle suddenly clapped her hands, and waved her scarf in tokenof joyous greeting.
"It is my noble cousin, my well-loved cousin!" she cried, in tones ofchildish rapture; "it is Prince Edward himself!"