CHAPTER XXIV
I'll woo her as the lion woos his bride. --Douglas
While the scenes we have described were passing in other parts of thecastle, the Jewess Rebecca awaited her fate in a distant and sequesteredturret. Hither she had been led by two of her disguised ravishers, andon being thrust into the little cell, she found herself in the presenceof an old sibyl, who kept murmuring to herself a Saxon rhyme, as if tobeat time to the revolving dance which her spindle was performing uponthe floor. The hag raised her head as Rebecca entered, and scowled atthe fair Jewess with the malignant envy with which old age and ugliness,when united with evil conditions, are apt to look upon youth and beauty.
Thou must up and away, old house-cricket, said one of the men; ournoble master commands it--Thou must e'en leave this chamber to a fairerguest.
Ay, grumbled the hag, even thus is service requited. I have knownwhen my bare word would have cast the best man-at-arms among ye out ofsaddle and out of service; and now must I up and away at the command ofevery groom such as thou.
Good Dame Urfried, said the other man, stand not to reason on it,but up and away. Lords' hests must be listened to with a quick ear. Thouhast had thy day, old dame, but thy sun has long been set. Thou art nowthe very emblem of an old war-horse turned out on the barren heath--thouhast had thy paces in thy time, but now a broken amble is the best ofthem--Come, amble off with thee.
Ill omens dog ye both! said the old woman; and a kennel be yourburying-place! May the evil demon Zernebock tear me limb from limb, if Ileave my own cell ere I have spun out the hemp on my distaff!
Answer it to our lord, then, old housefiend, said the man, andretired; leaving Rebecca in company with the old woman, upon whosepresence she had been thus unwillingly forced.
What devil's deed have they now in the wind? said the old hag,murmuring to herself, yet from time to time casting a sidelong andmalignant glance at Rebecca; but it is easy to guess--Bright eyes,black locks, and a skin like paper, ere the priest stains it with hisblack unguent--Ay, it is easy to guess why they send her to this loneturret, whence a shriek could no more be heard than at the depth offive hundred fathoms beneath the earth.--Thou wilt have owls for thyneighbours, fair one; and their screams will be heard as far, and asmuch regarded, as thine own. Outlandish, too, she said, marking thedress and turban of Rebecca--What country art thou of?--a Saracen?or an Egyptian?--Why dost not answer?--thou canst weep, canst thou notspeak?
Be not angry, good mother, said Rebecca.
Thou needst say no more, replied Urfried men know a fox by the train,and a Jewess by her tongue.
For the sake of mercy, said Rebecca, tell me what I am to expect asthe conclusion of the violence which hath dragged me hither! Is itmy life they seek, to atone for my religion? I will lay it downcheerfully.
Thy life, minion? answered the sibyl; what would taking thy lifepleasure them?--Trust me, thy life is in no peril. Such usage shalt thouhave as was once thought good enough for a noble Saxon maiden. And shalla Jewess, like thee, repine because she hath no better? Look at me--Iwas as young and twice as fair as thou, when Front-de-Boeuf, father ofthis Reginald, and his Normans, stormed this castle. My father and hisseven sons defended their inheritance from story to story, from chamberto chamber--There was not a room, not a step of the stair, that was notslippery with their blood. They died--they died every man; and ere theirbodies were cold, and ere their blood was dried, I had become the preyand the scorn of the conqueror!
Is there no help?--Are there no means of escape? saidRebecca--Richly, richly would I requite thine aid.
Think not of it, said the hag; from hence there is no escape butthrough the gates of death; and it is late, late, she added, shakingher grey head, ere these open to us--Yet it is comfort to think that weleave behind us on earth those who shall be wretched as ourselves. Farethee well, Jewess!--Jew or Gentile, thy fate would be the same; for thouhast to do with them that have neither scruple nor pity. Fare thee well,I say. My thread is spun out--thy task is yet to begin.
Stay! stay! for Heaven's sake! said Rebecca; stay, though it be tocurse and to revile me--thy presence is yet some protection.
The presence of the mother of God were no protection, answered the oldwoman. There she stands, pointing to a rude image of the Virgin Mary,see if she can avert the fate that awaits thee.
She left the room as she spoke, her features writhed into a sort ofsneering laugh, which made them seem even more hideous than theirhabitual frown. She locked the door behind her, and Rebecca might hearher curse every step for its steepness, as slowly and with difficultyshe descended the turret-stair.
Rebecca was now to expect a fate even more dreadful than that of Rowena;for what probability was there that either softness or ceremony would beused towards one of her oppressed race, whatever shadow of these mightbe preserved towards a Saxon heiress? Yet had the Jewess this advantage,that she was better prepared by habits of thought, and by naturalstrength of mind, to encounter the dangers to which she was exposed. Ofa strong and observing character, even from her earliest years, the pompand wealth which her father displayed within his walls, or which shewitnessed in the houses of other wealthy Hebrews, had not been able toblind her to the precarious circumstances under which they were enjoyed.Like Damocles at his celebrated banquet, Rebecca perpetually beheld,amid that gorgeous display, the sword which was suspended over the headsof her people by a single hair. These reflections had tamed and broughtdown to a pitch of sounder judgment a temper, which, under othercircumstances, might have waxed haughty, supercilious, and obstinate.
From her father's example and injunctions, Rebecca had learnt to bearherself courteously towards all who approached her. She could not indeedimitate his excess of subservience, because she was a stranger to themeanness of mind, and to the constant state of timid apprehension, bywhich it was dictated; but she bore herself with a proud humility, asif submitting to the evil circumstances in which she was placed asthe daughter of a despised race, while she felt in her mind theconsciousness that she was entitled to hold a higher rank from hermerit, than the arbitrary despotism of religious prejudice permitted herto aspire to.
Thus prepared to expect adverse circumstances, she had acquired thefirmness necessary for acting under them. Her present situation requiredall her presence of mind, and she summoned it up accordingly.
Her first care was to inspect the apartment; but it afforded few hopeseither of escape or protection. It contained neither secret passage nortrap-door, and unless where the door by which she had entered joined themain building, seemed to be circumscribed by the round exterior wall ofthe turret. The door had no inside bolt or bar. The single window openedupon an embattled space surmounting the turret, which gave Rebecca,at first sight, some hopes of escaping; but she soon found it had nocommunication with any other part of the battlements, being an isolatedbartisan, or balcony, secured, as usual, by a parapet, with embrasures,at which a few archers might be stationed for defending the turret, andflanking with their shot the wall of the castle on that side.
There was therefore no hope but in passive fortitude, and in that strongreliance on Heaven natural to great and generous characters. Rebecca,however erroneously taught to interpret the promises of Scripture tothe chosen people of Heaven, did not err in supposing the present to betheir hour of trial, or in trusting that the children of Zion would beone day called in with the fulness of the Gentiles. In the meanwhile,all around her showed that their present state was that of punishmentand probation, and that it was their especial duty to suffer withoutsinning. Thus prepared to consider herself as the victim of misfortune,Rebecca had early reflected upon her own state, and schooled her mind tomeet the dangers which she had probably to encounter.
The prisoner trembled, however, and changed colour, when a step washeard on the stair, and the door of the turret-chamber slowly opened,and a tall man, dressed as one of those banditti to whom they owedtheir misfortune, slowly entered, and shut the door behind him; his cap,pulled down upon his brows, concealed the upper part of his face, and heheld his mantle in such a manner as to muffle the rest. In this guise,as if prepared for the execution of some deed, at the thought of whichhe was himself ashamed, he stood before the affrighted prisoner; yet,ruffian as his dress bespoke him, he seemed at a loss to express whatpurpose had brought him thither, so that Rebecca, making an effortupon herself, had time to anticipate his explanation. She had alreadyunclasped two costly bracelets and a collar, which she hastened toproffer to the supposed outlaw, concluding naturally that to gratify hisavarice was to bespeak his favour.
Take these, she said, good friend, and for God's sake be mercifulto me and my aged father! These ornaments are of value, yet are theytrifling to what he would bestow to obtain our dismissal from thiscastle, free and uninjured.
Fair flower of Palestine, replied the outlaw, these pearls areorient, but they yield in whiteness to your teeth; the diamonds arebrilliant, but they cannot match your eyes; and ever since I have takenup this wild trade, I have made a vow to prefer beauty to wealth.
Do not do yourself such wrong, said Rebecca; take ransom, and havemercy!--Gold will purchase you pleasure,--to misuse us, could only bringthee remorse. My father will willingly satiate thy utmost wishes; andif thou wilt act wisely, thou mayst purchase with our spoils thyrestoration to civil society--mayst obtain pardon for past errors, andbe placed beyond the necessity of committing more.
It is well spoken, replied the outlaw in French, finding it difficultprobably to sustain, in Saxon, a conversation which Rebecca had openedin that language; but know, bright lily of the vale of Baca! that thyfather is already in the hands of a powerful alchemist, who knows how toconvert into gold and silver even the rusty bars of a dungeon grate. Thevenerable Isaac is subjected to an alembic, which will distil fromhim all he holds dear, without any assistance from my requests or thyentreaty. The ransom must be paid by love and beauty, and in no othercoin will I accept it.
Thou art no outlaw, said Rebecca, in the same language in which headdressed her; no outlaw had refused such offers. No outlaw in thisland uses the dialect in which thou hast spoken. Thou art no outlaw, buta Norman--a Norman, noble perhaps in birth--O, be so in thy actions, andcast off this fearful mask of outrage and violence!
And thou, who canst guess so truly, said Brian de Bois-Guilbert,dropping the mantle from his face, art no true daughter of Israel,but in all, save youth and beauty, a very witch of Endor. I am not anoutlaw, then, fair rose of Sharon. And I am one who will be more promptto hang thy neck and arms with pearls and diamonds, which so well becomethem, than to deprive thee of these ornaments.
What wouldst thou have of me, said Rebecca, if not my wealth?--Wecan have nought in common between us--you are a Christian--I am aJewess.--Our union were contrary to the laws, alike of the church andthe synagogue.
It were so, indeed, replied the Templar, laughing; wed with a Jewess?'Despardieux!'--Not if she were the Queen of Sheba! And know, besides,sweet daughter of Zion, that were the most Christian king to offer mehis most Christian daughter, with Languedoc for a dowery, I could notwed her. It is against my vow to love any maiden, otherwise than 'paramours', as I will love thee. I am a Templar. Behold the cross of myHoly Order.
Darest thou appeal to it, said Rebecca, on an occasion like thepresent?
And if I do so, said the Templar, it concerns not thee, who art nobeliever in the blessed sign of our salvation.
I believe as my fathers taught, said Rebecca; and may God forgive mybelief if erroneous! But you, Sir Knight, what is yours, when you appealwithout scruple to that which you deem most holy, even while you areabout to transgress the most solemn of your vows as a knight, and as aman of religion?
It is gravely and well preached, O daughter of Sirach! answered theTemplar; but, gentle Ecclesiastics, thy narrow Jewish prejudices makethee blind to our high privilege. Marriage were an enduring crime onthe part of a Templar; but what lesser folly I may practise, I shallspeedily be absolved from at the next Preceptory of our Order. Not thewisest of monarchs, not his father, whose examples you must needs alloware weighty, claimed wider privileges than we poor soldiers of theTemple of Zion have won by our zeal in its defence. The protectors ofSolomon's Temple may claim license by the example of Solomon.
If thou readest the Scripture, said the Jewess, and the lives of thesaints, only to justify thine own license and profligacy, thy crimeis like that of him who extracts poison from the most healthful andnecessary herbs.
The eyes of the Templar flashed fire at this reproof--Hearken, hesaid, Rebecca; I have hitherto spoken mildly to thee, but now mylanguage shall be that of a conqueror. Thou art the captive of my bowand spear--subject to my will by the laws of all nations; nor will Iabate an inch of my right, or abstain from taking by violence what thourefusest to entreaty or necessity.
Stand back, said Rebecca--stand back, and hear me ere thou offerestto commit a sin so deadly! My strength thou mayst indeed overpower forGod made women weak, and trusted their defence to man's generosity. ButI will proclaim thy villainy, Templar, from one end of Europe tothe other. I will owe to the superstition of thy brethren what theircompassion might refuse me, Each Preceptory--each Chapter of thy Order,shall learn, that, like a heretic, thou hast sinned with a Jewess. Thosewho tremble not at thy crime, will hold thee accursed for having sofar dishonoured the cross thou wearest, as to follow a daughter of mypeople.
Thou art keen-witted, Jewess, replied the Templar, well aware of thetruth of what she spoke, and that the rules of his Order condemned inthe most positive manner, and under high penalties, such intrigues ashe now prosecuted, and that, in some instances, even degradation hadfollowed upon it--thou art sharp-witted, he said; but loud must bethy voice of complaint, if it is heard beyond the iron walls of thiscastle; within these, murmurs, laments, appeals to justice, and screamsfor help, die alike silent away. One thing only can save thee, Rebecca.Submit to thy fate--embrace our religion, and thou shalt go forth insuch state, that many a Norman lady shall yield as well in pomp as inbeauty to the favourite of the best lance among the defenders of theTemple.
Submit to my fate! said Rebecca--and, sacred Heaven! to whatfate?--embrace thy religion! and what religion can it be thatharbours such a villain?--THOU the best lance of the Templars!--Cravenknight!--forsworn priest! I spit at thee, and I defy thee.--The God ofAbraham's promise hath opened an escape to his daughter--even from thisabyss of infamy!
As she spoke, she threw open the latticed window which led to thebartisan, and in an instant after, stood on the very verge of theparapet, with not the slightest screen between her and the tremendousdepth below. Unprepared for such a desperate effort, for she hadhitherto stood perfectly motionless, Bois-Guilbert had neither timeto intercept nor to stop her. As he offered to advance, she exclaimed,Remain where thou art, proud Templar, or at thy choice advance!--onefoot nearer, and I plunge myself from the precipice; my body shallbe crushed out of the very form of humanity upon the stones of thatcourt-yard, ere it become the victim of thy brutality!
As she spoke this, she clasped her hands and extended them towardsheaven, as if imploring mercy on her soul before she made the finalplunge. The Templar hesitated, and a resolution which had never yieldedto pity or distress, gave way to his admiration of her fortitude. Comedown, he said, rash girl!--I swear by earth, and sea, and sky, I willoffer thee no offence.
I will not trust thee, Templar, said Rebecca; thou hast taught mebetter how to estimate the virtues of thine Order. The next Preceptorywould grant thee absolution for an oath, the keeping of which concernednought but the honour or the dishonour of a miserable Jewish maiden.
You do me injustice, exclaimed the Templar fervently; I swear to youby the name which I bear--by the cross on my bosom--by the sword on myside--by the ancient crest of my fathers do I swear, I will do theeno injury whatsoever! If not for thyself, yet for thy father's sakeforbear! I will be his friend, and in this castle he will need apowerful one.
Alas! said Rebecca, I know it but too well--dare I trust thee?
May my arms be reversed, and my name dishonoured, said Brian deBois-Guilbert, if thou shalt have reason to complain of me! Many a law,many a commandment have I broken, but my word never.
I will then trust thee, said Rebecca, thus far; and she descendedfrom the verge of the battlement, but remained standing close by one ofthe embrasures, or machicolles, as they were then called.--Here, shesaid, I take my stand. Remain where thou art, and if thou shalt attemptto diminish by one step the distance now between us, thou shalt see thatthe Jewish maiden will rather trust her soul with God, than her honourto the Templar!
While Rebecca spoke thus, her high and firm resolve, which correspondedso well with the expressive beauty of her countenance, gave to herlooks, air, and manner, a dignity that seemed more than mortal. Herglance quailed not, her cheek blanched not, for the fear of a fate soinstant and so horrible; on the contrary, the thought that she had herfate at her command, and could escape at will from infamy to death,gave a yet deeper colour of carnation to her complexion, and a yetmore brilliant fire to her eye. Bois-Guilbert, proud himself andhigh-spirited, thought he had never beheld beauty so animated and socommanding.
Let there be peace between us, Rebecca, he said.
Peace, if thou wilt, answered Rebecca--Peace--but with this spacebetween.
Thou needst no longer fear me, said Bois-Guilbert.
I fear thee not, replied she; thanks to him that reared this dizzytower so high, that nought could fall from it and live--thanks to him,and to the God of Israel!--I fear thee not.
Thou dost me injustice, said the Templar; by earth, sea, and sky,thou dost me injustice! I am not naturally that which you have seen me,hard, selfish, and relentless. It was woman that taught me cruelty, andon woman therefore I have exercised it; but not upon such as thou. Hearme, Rebecca--Never did knight take lance in his hand with a heart moredevoted to the lady of his love than Brian de Bois-Guilbert. She, thedaughter of a petty baron, who boasted for all his domains but a ruinoustower, and an unproductive vineyard, and some few leagues of the barrenLandes of Bourdeaux, her name was known wherever deeds of arms weredone, known wider than that of many a lady's that had a county for adowery.--Yes, he continued, pacing up and down the little platform,with an animation in which he seemed to lose all consciousness ofRebecca's presence--Yes, my deeds, my danger, my blood, made the nameof Adelaide de Montemare known from the court of Castile to that ofByzantium. And how was I requited?--When I returned with my dear-boughthonours, purchased by toil and blood, I found her wedded to a Gasconsquire, whose name was never heard beyond the limits of his own paltrydomain! Truly did I love her, and bitterly did I revenge me of herbroken faith! But my vengeance has recoiled on myself. Since that dayI have separated myself from life and its ties--My manhood must know nodomestic home--must be soothed by no affectionate wife--My age mustknow no kindly hearth--My grave must be solitary, and no offspring mustoutlive me, to bear the ancient name of Bois-Guilbert. At the feet ofmy Superior I have laid down the right of self-action--the privilegeof independence. The Templar, a serf in all but the name, can possessneither lands nor goods, and lives, moves, and breathes, but at the willand pleasure of another.
Alas! said Rebecca, what advantages could compensate for such anabsolute sacrifice?
The power of vengeance, Rebecca, replied the Templar, and theprospects of ambition.
An evil recompense, said Rebecca, for the surrender of the rightswhich are dearest to humanity.
Say not so, maiden, answered the Templar; revenge is a feast for thegods! And if they have reserved it, as priests tell us, to themselves,it is because they hold it an enjoyment too precious for the possessionof mere mortals.--And ambition? it is a temptation which could disturbeven the bliss of heaven itself.--He paused a moment, and then added,Rebecca! she who could prefer death to dishonour, must have a proud anda powerful soul. Mine thou must be!--Nay, start not, he added, it mustbe with thine own consent, and on thine own terms. Thou must consent toshare with me hopes more extended than can be viewed from the throneof a monarch!--Hear me ere you answer and judge ere you refuse.--TheTemplar loses, as thou hast said, his social rights, his power of freeagency, but he becomes a member and a limb of a mighty body, beforewhich thrones already tremble,--even as the single drop of rain whichmixes with the sea becomes an individual part of that resistless ocean,which undermines rocks and ingulfs royal armadas. Such a swelling floodis that powerful league. Of this mighty Order I am no mean member, butalready one of the Chief Commanders, and may well aspire one day to holdthe batoon of Grand Master. The poor soldiers of the Temple will notalone place their foot upon the necks of kings--a hemp-sandall'd monkcan do that. Our mailed step shall ascend their throne--our gauntletshall wrench the sceptre from their gripe. Not the reign of yourvainly-expected Messiah offers such power to your dispersed tribes as myambition may aim at. I have sought but a kindred spirit to share it, andI have found such in thee.
Sayest thou this to one of my people? answered Rebecca. Bethinkthee--
Answer me not, said the Templar, by urging the difference of ourcreeds; within our secret conclaves we hold these nursery tales inderision. Think not we long remained blind to the idiotical folly of ourfounders, who forswore every delight of life for the pleasure of dyingmartyrs by hunger, by thirst, and by pestilence, and by the swords ofsavages, while they vainly strove to defend a barren desert, valuableonly in the eyes of superstition. Our Order soon adopted bolder andwider views, and found out a better indemnification for our sacrifices.Our immense possessions in every kingdom of Europe, our high militaryfame, which brings within our circle the flower of chivalry from everyChristian clime--these are dedicated to ends of which our pious founderslittle dreamed, and which are equally concealed from such weak spiritsas embrace our Order on the ancient principles, and whose superstitionmakes them our passive tools. But I will not further withdraw the veilof our mysteries. That bugle-sound announces something which may requiremy presence. Think on what I have said.--Farewell!--I do not say forgiveme the violence I have threatened, for it was necessary to the displayof thy character. Gold can be only known by the application of thetouchstone. I will soon return, and hold further conference with thee.
He re-entered the turret-chamber, and descended the stair, leavingRebecca scarcely more terrified at the prospect of the death to whichshe had been so lately exposed, than at the furious ambition of the boldbad man in whose power she found herself so unhappily placed. When sheentered the turret-chamber, her first duty was to return thanks tothe God of Jacob for the protection which he had afforded her, and toimplore its continuance for her and for her father. Another name glidedinto her petition--it was that of the wounded Christian, whom fate hadplaced in the hands of bloodthirsty men, his avowed enemies. Her heartindeed checked her, as if, even in communing with the Deity in prayer,she mingled in her devotions the recollection of one with whose fatehers could have no alliance--a Nazarene, and an enemy to her faith. Butthe petition was already breathed, nor could all the narrow prejudicesof her sect induce Rebecca to wish it recalled.