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But it may be we shall meet hereafter with less of concealment on either

side. --Meanwhile we part friends, do we not? "

" There is my hand upon it, " said Locksley; " and I will call it the hand

of a true Englishman, though an outlaw for the present. "

" And there is mine in return, " said the Knight, " and I hold it honoured

by being clasped with yours. For he that does good, having the unlimited

power to do evil, deserves praise not only for the good which he

performs, but for the evil which he forbears. Fare thee well, gallant

Outlaw! " Thus parted that fair fellowship; and He of the Fetterlock,

mounting upon his strong war-horse, rode off through the forest.

CHAPTER XXXIV

KING JOHN. --I'll tell thee what, my friend,

He is a very serpent in my way;

And wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread,

He lies before me. --Dost thou understand me?

--King John

There was brave feasting in the Castle of York, to which Prince John

had invited those nobles, prelates, and leaders, by whose assistance he

hoped to carry through his ambitious projects upon his brother's throne.

Waldemar Fitzurse, his able and politic agent, was at secret work among

them, tempering all to that pitch of courage which was necessary in

making an open declaration of their purpose. But their enterprise was

delayed by the absence of more than one main limb of the confederacy.

The stubborn and daring, though brutal courage of Front-de-Boeuf; the

buoyant spirits and bold bearing of De Bracy; the sagacity, martial

experience, and renowned valour of Brian de Bois-Guilbert, were

important to the success of their conspiracy; and, while cursing in

secret their unnecessary and unmeaning absence, neither John nor his

adviser dared to proceed without them. Isaac the Jew also seemed to have

vanished, and with him the hope of certain sums of money, making up the

subsidy for which Prince John had contracted with that Israelite and his

brethren. This deficiency was likely to prove perilous in an emergency

so critical.

It was on the morning after the fall of Torquilstone, that a confused

report began to spread abroad in the city of York, that De Bracy and

Bois-Guilbert, with their confederate Front-de-Boeuf, had been taken or

slain. Waldemar brought the rumour to Prince John, announcing, that he

feared its truth the more that they had set out with a small attendance,

for the purpose of committing an assault on the Saxon Cedric and his

attendants. At another time the Prince would have treated this deed of

violence as a good jest; but now, that it interfered with and impeded

his own plans, he exclaimed against the perpetrators, and spoke of

the broken laws, and the infringement of public order and of private

property, in a tone which might have become King Alfred.

" The unprincipled marauders, " he said--" were I ever to become monarch of

England, I would hang such transgressors over the drawbridges of their

own castles. "

" But to become monarch of England, " said his Ahithophel coolly, " it is

necessary not only that your Grace should endure the transgressions

of these unprincipled marauders, but that you should afford them your

protection, notwithstanding your laudable zeal for the laws they are in

the habit of infringing. We shall be finely helped, if the churl

Saxons should have realized your Grace's vision, of converting feudal

drawbridges into gibbets; and yonder bold-spirited Cedric seemeth one to

whom such an imagination might occur. Your Grace is well aware, it will

be dangerous to stir without Front-de-Boeuf, De Bracy, and the Templar;

and yet we have gone too far to recede with safety. "

Prince John struck his forehead with impatience, and then began to

stride up and down the apartment.

" The villains, " he said, " the base treacherous villains, to desert me at

this pinch! "

" Nay, say rather the feather-pated giddy madmen, " said Waldemar, " who

must be toying with follies when such business was in hand. "

" What is to be done? " said the Prince, stopping short before Waldemar.

" I know nothing which can be done, " answered his counsellor, " save that

which I have already taken order for. --I came not to bewail this evil

chance with your Grace, until I had done my best to remedy it. "

" Thou art ever my better angel, Waldemar, " said the Prince; " and when

I have such a chancellor to advise withal, the reign of John will be

renowned in our annals. --What hast thou commanded? "

" I have ordered Louis Winkelbrand, De Bracy's lieutenant, to cause his

trumpet sound to horse, and to display his banner, and to set presently

forth towards the castle of Front-de-Boeuf, to do what yet may be done

for the succour of our friends. "

Prince John's face flushed with the pride of a spoilt child, who has

undergone what it conceives to be an insult. " By the face of God! "

he said, " Waldemar Fitzurse, much hast thou taken upon thee! and over

malapert thou wert to cause trumpet to blow, or banner to be raised, in

a town where ourselves were in presence, without our express command. "

" I crave your Grace's pardon, " said Fitzurse, internally cursing the

idle vanity of his patron; " but when time pressed, and even the loss of

minutes might be fatal, I judged it best to take this much burden upon

me, in a matter of such importance to your Grace's interest. "

" Thou art pardoned, Fitzurse, " said the prince, gravely; " thy purpose

hath atoned for thy hasty rashness. --But whom have we here? --De Bracy

himself, by the rood! --and in strange guise doth he come before us. "

It was indeed De Bracy--" bloody with spurring, fiery red with speed. "

His armour bore all the marks of the late obstinate fray, being broken,

defaced, and stained with blood in many places, and covered with clay

and dust from the crest to the spur. Undoing his helmet, he placed it

on the table, and stood a moment as if to collect himself before he told

his news.

" De Bracy, " said Prince John, " what means this? --Speak, I charge

thee! --Are the Saxons in rebellion? "

" Speak, De Bracy, " said Fitzurse, almost in the same moment with his

master, " thou wert wont to be a man--Where is the Templar? --where

Front-de-Boeuf? "

" The Templar is fled, " said De Bracy; " Front-de-Boeuf you will never

see more. He has found a red grave among the blazing rafters of his own

castle and I alone am escaped to tell you. "

" Cold news, " said Waldemar, " to us, though you speak of fire and

conflagration. "

" The worst news is not yet said, " answered De Bracy; and, coming up

to Prince John, he uttered in a low and emphatic tone--" Richard is in

England--I have seen and spoken with him. "

Prince John turned pale, tottered, and caught at the back of an oaken

bench to support himself--much like to a man who receives an arrow in

his bosom.

" Thou ravest, De Bracy, " said Fitzurse, " it cannot be. "

" It is as true as truth itself, " said De Bracy; " I was his prisoner, and

spoke with him. "

" With Richard Plantagenet, sayest thou? " continued Fitzurse.

" With Richard Plantagenet, " replied De Bracy, " with Richard

Coeur-de-Lion--with Richard of England. "

" And thou wert his prisoner? " said Waldemar; " he is then at the head of

a power? "

" No--only a few outlawed yeomen were around him, and to these his person

is unknown. I heard him say he was about to depart from them. He joined

them only to assist at the storming of Torquilstone. "

" Ay, " said Fitzurse, " such is indeed the fashion of Richard--a true

knight-errant he, and will wander in wild adventure, trusting the

prowess of his single arm, like any Sir Guy or Sir Bevis, while

the weighty affairs of his kingdom slumber, and his own safety is

endangered. --What dost thou propose to do De Bracy? "

" I? --I offered Richard the service of my Free Lances, and he refused

them--I will lead them to Hull, seize on shipping, and embark for

Flanders; thanks to the bustling times, a man of action will always find

employment. And thou, Waldemar, wilt thou take lance and shield, and lay

down thy policies, and wend along with me, and share the fate which God

sends us? "

" I am too old, Maurice, and I have a daughter, " answered Waldemar.

" Give her to me, Fitzurse, and I will maintain her as fits her rank,

with the help of lance and stirrup, " said De Bracy.

" Not so, " answered Fitzurse; " I will take sanctuary in this church of

Saint Peter--the Archbishop is my sworn brother. "

During this discourse, Prince John had gradually awakened from the

stupor into which he had been thrown by the unexpected intelligence,

and had been attentive to the conversation which passed betwixt his

followers. " They fall off from me, " he said to himself, " they hold no

more by me than a withered leaf by the bough when a breeze blows on

it! --Hell and fiends! can I shape no means for myself when I am deserted

by these cravens? " --He paused, and there was an expression of diabolical

passion in the constrained laugh with which he at length broke in on

their conversation.

" Ha, ha, ha! my good lords, by the light of Our Lady's brow, I held ye

sage men, bold men, ready-witted men; yet ye throw down wealth, honour,

pleasure, all that our noble game promised you, at the moment it might

be won by one bold cast! "

" I understand you not, " said De Bracy. " As soon as Richard's return is

blown abroad, he will be at the head of an army, and all is then over

with us. I would counsel you, my lord, either to fly to France or take

the protection of the Queen Mother. "

" I seek no safety for myself, " said Prince John, haughtily; " that I

could secure by a word spoken to my brother. But although you, De Bracy,

and you, Waldemar Fitzurse, are so ready to abandon me, I should not

greatly delight to see your heads blackening on Clifford's gate yonder.

Thinkest thou, Waldemar, that the wily Archbishop will not suffer thee

to be taken from the very horns of the altar, would it make his

peace with King Richard? And forgettest thou, De Bracy, that Robert

Estoteville lies betwixt thee and Hull with all his forces, and that the

Earl of Essex is gathering his followers? If we had reason to fear these

levies even before Richard's return, trowest thou there is any doubt

now which party their leaders will take? Trust me, Estoteville alone has

strength enough to drive all thy Free Lances into the Humber. " --Waldemar

Fitzurse and De Bracy looked in each other's faces with blank

dismay. --" There is but one road to safety, " continued the Prince, and

his brow grew black as midnight; " this object of our terror journeys

alone--He must be met withal. "

" Not by me, " said De Bracy, hastily; " I was his prisoner, and he took me

to mercy. I will not harm a feather in his crest. "

" Who spoke of harming him? " said Prince John, with a hardened laugh;

" the knave will say next that I meant he should slay him! --No--a prison

were better; and whether in Britain or Austria, what matters it? --Things

will be but as they were when we commenced our enterprise--It was

founded on the hope that Richard would remain a captive in Germany--Our

uncle Robert lived and died in the castle of Cardiffe. "

" Ay, but, " said Waldemar, " your sire Henry sate more firm in his seat

than your Grace can. I say the best prison is that which is made by the

sexton--no dungeon like a church-vault! I have said my say. "

" Prison or tomb, " said De Bracy, " I wash my hands of the whole matter. "

" Villain! " said Prince John, " thou wouldst not bewray our counsel? "

" Counsel was never bewrayed by me, " said De Bracy, haughtily, " nor must

the name of villain be coupled with mine! "

" Peace, Sir Knight! " said Waldemar; " and you, good my lord, forgive the

scruples of valiant De Bracy; I trust I shall soon remove them. "

" That passes your eloquence, Fitzurse, " replied the Knight.

" Why, good Sir Maurice, " rejoined the wily politician, " start not aside

like a scared steed, without, at least, considering the object of your

terror. --This Richard--but a day since, and it would have been thy

dearest wish to have met him hand to hand in the ranks of battle--a

hundred times I have heard thee wish it. "

" Ay, " said De Bracy, " but that was as thou sayest, hand to hand, and

in the ranks of battle! Thou never heardest me breathe a thought of

assaulting him alone, and in a forest. "

" Thou art no good knight if thou dost scruple at it, " said Waldemar.

" Was it in battle that Lancelot de Lac and Sir Tristram won renown? or

was it not by encountering gigantic knights under the shade of deep and

unknown forests? "

" Ay, but I promise you, " said De Bracy, " that neither Tristram nor

Lancelot would have been match, hand to hand, for Richard Plantagenet,

and I think it was not their wont to take odds against a single man. "

" Thou art mad, De Bracy--what is it we propose to thee, a hired and

retained captain of Free Companions, whose swords are purchased for

Prince John's service? Thou art apprized of our enemy, and then thou

scruplest, though thy patron's fortunes, those of thy comrades, thine

own, and the life and honour of every one amongst us, be at stake! "

" I tell you, " said De Bracy, sullenly, " that he gave me my life. True,

he sent me from his presence, and refused my homage--so far I owe him

neither favour nor allegiance--but I will not lift hand against him. "

" It needs not--send Louis Winkelbrand and a score of thy lances. "

" Ye have sufficient ruffians of your own, " said De Bracy; " not one of

mine shall budge on such an errand. "

" Art thou so obstinate, De Bracy? " said Prince John; " and wilt thou

forsake me, after so many protestations of zeal for my service? "

" I mean it not, " said De Bracy; " I will abide by you in aught that

becomes a knight, whether in the lists or in the camp; but this highway

practice comes not within my vow. "

" Come hither, Waldemar, " said Prince John. " An unhappy prince am I. My

father, King Henry, had faithful servants--He had but to say that he was

plagued with a factious priest, and the blood of Thomas-a-Becket, saint

though he was, stained the steps of his own altar. --Tracy, Morville,

Brito [47] loyal and daring subjects, your names, your spirit, are

extinct! and although Reginald Fitzurse hath left a son, he hath fallen

off from his father's fidelity and courage. "

" He has fallen off from neither, " said Waldemar Fitzurse; " and since

it may not better be, I will take on me the conduct of this perilous

enterprise. Dearly, however, did my father purchase the praise of a

zealous friend; and yet did his proof of loyalty to Henry fall far short

of what I am about to afford; for rather would I assail a whole calendar

of saints, than put spear in rest against Coeur-de-Lion. --De Bracy, to

thee I must trust to keep up the spirits of the doubtful, and to guard

Prince John's person. If you receive such news as I trust to send you,

our enterprise will no longer wear a doubtful aspect. --Page, " he said,

" hie to my lodgings, and tell my armourer to be there in readiness; and

bid Stephen Wetheral, Broad Thoresby, and the Three Spears of Spyinghow,

come to me instantly; and let the scout-master, Hugh Bardon, attend me

also. --Adieu, my Prince, till better times. " Thus speaking, he left the

apartment. " He goes to make my brother prisoner, " said Prince John to De

Bracy, " with as little touch of compunction, as if it but concerned the

liberty of a Saxon franklin. I trust he will observe our orders, and use

our dear Richard's person with all due respect. "

De Bracy only answered by a smile.

" By the light of Our Lady's brow, " said Prince John, " our orders to

him were most precise--though it may be you heard them not, as we stood

together in the oriel window--Most clear and positive was our charge

that Richard's safety should be cared for, and woe to Waldemar's head if

he transgress it! "

" I had better pass to his lodgings, " said De Bracy, " and make him fully

aware of your Grace's pleasure; for, as it quite escaped my ear, it may

not perchance have reached that of Waldemar. "

" Nay, nay, " said Prince John, impatiently, " I promise thee he heard me;

and, besides, I have farther occupation for thee. Maurice, come hither;

let me lean on thy shoulder. "

They walked a turn through the hall in this familiar posture, and Prince

John, with an air of the most confidential intimacy, proceeded to say,

" What thinkest thou of this Waldemar Fitzurse, my De Bracy? --He trusts

to be our Chancellor. Surely we will pause ere we give an office so high

to one who shows evidently how little he reverences our blood, by his so

readily undertaking this enterprise against Richard. Thou dost think,

I warrant, that thou hast lost somewhat of our regard, by thy boldly

declining this unpleasing task--But no, Maurice! I rather honour thee

for thy virtuous constancy. There are things most necessary to be done,

the perpetrator of which we neither love nor honour; and there may be

refusals to serve us, which shall rather exalt in our estimation those

who deny our request. The arrest of my unfortunate brother forms no

such good title to the high office of Chancellor, as thy chivalrous and

courageous denial establishes in thee to the truncheon of High Marshal.

Think of this, De Bracy, and begone to thy charge. "

" Fickle tyrant! " muttered De Bracy, as he left the presence of the

Prince; " evil luck have they who trust thee. Thy Chancellor, indeed! --He

who hath the keeping of thy conscience shall have an easy charge, I

trow. But High Marshal of England! that, " he said, extending his arm, as

if to grasp the baton of office, and assuming a loftier stride along the

antechamber, " that is indeed a prize worth playing for! "

De Bracy had no sooner left the apartment than Prince John summoned an

attendant.

" Bid Hugh Bardon, our scout-master, come hither, as soon as he shall

have spoken with Waldemar Fitzurse. "

The scout-master arrived after a brief delay, during which John

traversed the apartment with, unequal and disordered steps.

" Bardon, " said he, " what did Waldemar desire of thee? "

" Two resolute men, well acquainted with these northern wilds, and

skilful in tracking the tread of man and horse. "

" And thou hast fitted him? "

" Let your grace never trust me else, " answered the master of the spies.

" One is from Hexamshire; he is wont to trace the Tynedale and Teviotdale

thieves, as a bloodhound follows the slot of a hurt deer. The other

is Yorkshire bred, and has twanged his bowstring right oft in merry

Sherwood; he knows each glade and dingle, copse and high-wood, betwixt

this and Richmond. "

" 'Tis well, " said the Prince. --" Goes Waldemar forth with them? "

" Instantly, " said Bardon.

" With what attendance? " asked John, carelessly.

" Broad Thoresby goes with him, and Wetheral, whom they call, for his

cruelty, Stephen Steel-heart; and three northern men-at-arms that

belonged to Ralph Middleton's gang--they are called the Spears of

Spyinghow. "

" 'Tis well, " said Prince John; then added, after a moment's pause,

" Bardon, it imports our service that thou keep a strict watch on Maurice

De Bracy--so that he shall not observe it, however--And let us know

of his motions from time to time--with whom he converses, what he

proposeth. Fail not in this, as thou wilt be answerable. "

Hugh Bardon bowed, and retired.

" If Maurice betrays me, " said Prince John--" if he betrays me, as his

bearing leads me to fear, I will have his head, were Richard thundering

at the gates of York. "

CHAPTER XXXV

Arouse the tiger of Hyrcanian deserts,

Strive with the half-starved lion for his prey;

Lesser the risk, than rouse the slumbering fire

Of wild Fanaticism.

--Anonymus

Our tale now returns to Isaac of York. --Mounted upon a mule, the gift of

the Outlaw, with two tall yeomen to act as his guard and guides, the

Jew had set out for the Preceptory of Templestowe, for the purpose of

negotiating his daughter's redemption. The Preceptory was but a day's

journey from the demolished castle of Torquilstone, and the Jew had

hoped to reach it before nightfall; accordingly, having dismissed his

guides at the verge of the forest, and rewarded them with a piece of

silver, he began to press on with such speed as his weariness permitted

him to exert. But his strength failed him totally ere he had reached

within four miles of the Temple-Court; racking pains shot along his back

and through his limbs, and the excessive anguish which he felt at heart

being now augmented by bodily suffering, he was rendered altogether

incapable of proceeding farther than a small market-town, were dwelt

a Jewish Rabbi of his tribe, eminent in the medical profession, and

to whom Isaac was well known. Nathan Ben Israel received his suffering

countryman with that kindness which the law prescribed, and which the

Jews practised to each other. He insisted on his betaking himself to

repose, and used such remedies as were then in most repute to check the

progress of the fever, which terror, fatigue, ill usage, and sorrow, had

brought upon the poor old Jew.

On the morrow, when Isaac proposed to arise and pursue his journey,

Nathan remonstrated against his purpose, both as his host and as his

physician. It might cost him, he said, his life. But Isaac replied,

that more than life and death depended upon his going that morning to

Templestowe.

" To Templestowe! " said his host with surprise again felt his pulse,

and then muttered to himself, " His fever is abated, yet seems his mind

somewhat alienated and disturbed. "

" And why not to Templestowe? " answered his patient. " I grant thee,

Nathan, that it is a dwelling of those to whom the despised Children of

the Promise are a stumbling-block and an abomination; yet thou knowest

that pressing affairs of traffic sometimes carry us among these

bloodthirsty Nazarene soldiers, and that we visit the Preceptories of

the Templars, as well as the Commanderies of the Knights Hospitallers,

as they are called. " [48]

" I know it well, " said Nathan; " but wottest thou that Lucas de

Beaumanoir, the chief of their Order, and whom they term Grand Master,

is now himself at Templestowe? "

" I know it not, " said Isaac; " our last letters from our brethren at

Paris advised us that he was at that city, beseeching Philip for aid

against the Sultan Saladine. "

" He hath since come to England, unexpected by his brethren, " said Ben

Israel; " and he cometh among them with a strong and outstretched arm to

correct and to punish. His countenance is kindled in anger against those

who have departed from the vow which they have made, and great is the

fear of those sons of Belial. Thou must have heard of his name? "

" It is well known unto me, " said Isaac; " the Gentiles deliver this Lucas

Beaumanoir as a man zealous to slaying for every point of the Nazarene

law; and our brethren have termed him a fierce destroyer of the

Saracens, and a cruel tyrant to the Children of the Promise. "

" And truly have they termed him, " said Nathan the physician. " Other

Templars may be moved from the purpose of their heart by pleasure, or

bribed by promise of gold and silver; but Beaumanoir is of a different

stamp--hating sensuality, despising treasure, and pressing forward to

that which they call the crown of martyrdom--The God of Jacob speedily

send it unto him, and unto them all! Specially hath this proud man

extended his glove over the children of Judah, as holy David over Edom,

holding the murder of a Jew to be an offering of as sweet savour as the

death of a Saracen. Impious and false things has he said even of the

virtues of our medicines, as if they were the devices of Satan--The Lord

rebuke him! "

" Nevertheless, " said Isaac, " I must present myself at Templestowe,

though he hath made his face like unto a fiery furnace seven times

heated. "

He then explained to Nathan the pressing cause of his journey. The Rabbi

listened with interest, and testified his sympathy after the fashion of

his people, rending his clothes, and saying, " Ah, my daughter! --ah, my

daughter! --Alas! for the beauty of Zion! --Alas! for the captivity of

Israel! "

" Thou seest, " said Isaac, " how it stands with me, and that I may not

tarry. Peradventure, the presence of this Lucas Beaumanoir, being the

chief man over them, may turn Brian de Bois-Guilbert from the ill which

he doth meditate, and that he may deliver to me my beloved daughter

Rebecca. "

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