CHAPTER IV.
FUNERAL PYRES.
Left all alone to ourselves, we no longer repressed our tears. In silentand pious meditation we clad Ellen in her wedding gown, while you, mychild, still slept peacefully.
In order to attend to the supreme interests of Gaul, Victoria hadheroically curbed her grief. After the departure of Tetrik and Marionshe gave way to the overpowering sorrow that heaved her bosom. Shewished to wash the wounds of her son and grandson with her own hands;with her maternal hands she wrapped them in the same winding cloth. Twofuneral pyres were raised on the border of the Rhine, one destined forVictorin and his son, the other for my wife Ellen.
Towards noon, two war chariots covered with green and accompanied byseveral of our venerated female druids proceeded to my house. The bodyof my wife Ellen was deposited on one of the two chariots, on the otherthe remains of Victorin and his son.
"Schanvoch," said Victoria to me, "I shall follow on foot the chariot onwhich your beloved wife lies. Be merciful, brother, follow on foot thechariot on which lie the remains of my son and grandson. Before the eyesof all, you, the outraged husband, will thus be giving a token of pardonto the memory of Victorin. And I also, will, before the eyes of all,give token, as a mother, of pardon for the death that, alas! my son buttoo fully merited!"
I understood the touching appeal that lay in that thought of mutualmercy and pardon. It was so done. A deputation of the cohorts andlegions preceded the funeral procession. I followed the hearsesaccompanied by Victoria, Sampso, Tetrik and Marion. The chief officersof the camp joined us. We marched amidst lugubrious silence. The firstoutburst of rage against Victorin having spent itself, the army now onlyremembered his bravery, his kindness, his openheartedness. The crowdssaw me, the victim of an outrage that cost Ellen's life, give publictoken of pardon to Victorin by my following the hearse that carried hisremains; they also saw his mother following the hearse on which Ellenreposed, and none had any but words of forgiveness and pity for thememory of the young general.
The funeral convoy was approaching the river bank where the two pyreswere raised, when Douarnek, who marched at the head of one of thedeputations of cohorts, profited by a halt in the procession to approachme. He said with pronounced sadness:
"Schanvoch, you have my sympathy. Assure Victoria, your sister, that we,the soldiers, remember only the valor of her glorious son. He has solong been our beloved son as well. Why did he disregard the frank andwise words that I carried to him in the name of our whole army, on theevening after our great battle of the Rhine! Had Victorin taken ouradvice and mended his ways, had he reformed, none of these misfortuneswould have happened--"
"Your words, comrade, will be a consolation to Victoria in her grief," Ianswered Douarnek. "But do you know whatever became of the hoodedsoldier who committed the barbarity of killing Victorin's child?"
"Neither I, nor any of those near me at the time when the abominablecrime was committed, was able to catch the felon. He slipped from us inthe tumult and darkness. He fled towards the outposts of the camp, butthere, thanks to the gods, he met with condign punishment."
"He is dead?"
"Perhaps you know Eustace, the old blacksmith and friend of our braveCaptain Marion? He was mounting guard last night at the outposts. Itseems that Eustace has a sweetheart in town. Excuse me, Schanvoch, if Imention to you such matters on so sad an occasion, but you asked me, andI am answering--"
"Proceed, friend Douarnek."
"Well, instead of remaining at his post, and despite the watchword,Eustace spent a part of the night in Mayence. He was returning at aboutan hour before dawn, hoping, as he said to me, that his absence wouldhave passed unnoticed, when he saw a hooded man running breathlesslynear the posts on the river bank. 'Whither are you running so fast?' hecried out. 'Those brutes are pursuing me!' was the answer, 'because Ibroke the head of Victoria's grandson by dashing it against thecobble-stones; they want to kill me.' 'And they are right! You deservedeath!' replied Eustace indignantly. Saying this he overtook theinfamous murderer and ran his sword through him. The corpse was foundthis morning on the beach with his cloak and hood."
The soldier's death destroyed my last hope of unraveling the mysterythat hung over that fatal night.
The remains of Ellen, Victorin and his son were placed upon the pyres,amidst the chants of the bards and druids. A sheet of flame roseskyward. When the chants ceased only two heaps of ashes remained.
The ashes of the pyre of Victorin and his son were piously gathered byVictoria into a bronze urn, that she placed under a mural tablet bearingthe simple and touching inscription:
HERE REST THE TWO
That same evening the two Bohemian girls left Mayence. Tetrick also tookhis departure after having exchanged the most touching adieus withVictoria. Captain Marion was presented to the troops by the Mother ofthe Camps and was acclaimed Chief of Gaul and general of the army. Thechoice evoked no surprise; moreover, being presented by Victoria, whoseinfluence had in a manner increased with the death of her son andgrandson, there was no question of his being accepted. The bravery, thegood judgment, the wisdom of Captain Marion were long known andappreciated by the soldiers. After his acclamation, the new generalpronounced the following words, which I later found reproduced by acontemporary historian:
"Comrades, I know that the trade of my youth may be objected to in me.Let him blame me who wills. Yes, people may twit me all they please withhaving been a blacksmith, provided the enemy admits that I have forgedtheir ruin. But, as to you, my good comrades, never forget that thechief whom you have just chosen never knew and never will know how tohold anything but the sword."