CHAPTER XIV.
During the course of the following morning, Albert Maurice was visited, in the sort of honourable imprisonment to which he was subjected, by all the chief citizens of Ghent; and a number of them begged permission of the ex-seneschal of Burgundy to accompany their young townsman to the council-table of the palace. This was immediately granted to Martin Fruse and several others, who, by relationship or connexion, could claim a near interest in the fate of Albert Maurice. At the same time the rumour of what was about to occur spread all over Ghent, and before the arrival of the appointed hour, a large crowd, composed of different classes, surrounded the great gate of the dwelling of the Lord of Neufchatel. At about half-past eleven, one of the young citizen's own horses was brought from his house to the place of his temporary abode; and, shortly after, the old nobleman rode forth, accompanied by his protégé, and followed by half a dozen of the principal burghers; while a party of about twenty of his own armed attendants brought up the rear of the cavalcade. In this order, and amongst deafening shouts from the people, who ran on by the sides of their horses, they proceeded to the palace, where a considerable crowd was also assembled.
In the court-yard, drawn up so as to face the great gate, was a small body of men-at-arms clad in complete steel, with horses furnished with that sort of defensive armour called bard or bardo; while, in a double line from the entrance of the outer enclosure to the steps before the palace, appeared a strong body of harquebussiers with their slow matches lighted, as if prepared for an anticipated struggle: behind these again, appeared the soldiers of the Prevot's guard, who were chosen in general from those lighter and more active troops, which at a former period were called in the English armies hobblers, but which had now generally obtained the name of jennetaires, from the jennets or light Spanish horses on which they were usually mounted.
The Lord of Neufchatel and his companions alighted at the outer gate, and passed on foot through the formidable military array above described. The old nobleman led the way, followed by Albert Maurice, who, with a firm step and an upright carriage, but without the slightest touch of bravado in his demeanour, passed along the whole line, which, he plainly saw, was drawn up to overawe any attempt to rescue him, which the populace might be inclined to make in case of his condemnation. The same demonstrations of military force appeared in the outer hall, and in an ante-room beyond, in which the young citizen and his companions were detained for a few minutes, while his arrival was announced in the chamber of audience with which it communicated.
It were vain to say that no shade of emotion passed through the bosom of Albert Maurice as he stood there waiting for a hearing which was to determine his fate for life or death; but still his feelings were different from those which men of less firm nerve might be supposed to experience on such an occasion. Poor Martin Fruse, who stood behind him, quivered in every limb with anxiety and apprehension; fidgeted here and there, and many a time and oft plucked his nephew by the sleeve, to receive rather than to yield consolation and encouragement. The countenance of the young burgher, however, was in no way troubled: there was in it that expression of deep grave thought, which befitted the time and circumstances; but his brow was unclouded, his cheek had lost not a tint of its natural hue, and his lip quivered not with anything like agitation.
After a brief pause, two soldiers, who stood with their partizans crossed before the entrance of the audience hall, raised their weapons at a signal from within. The doors were thrown open, and in the midst of much hurrying and confusion, for a number of persons had by some means gained admission to the ante-chamber to witness the proceedings, Albert Maurice, and those who accompanied him, were led forward to the end of a long table, at which were seated a body of the noblest men of the land. A wooden bar had been drawn from each side of the council-board to the wall on either hand; and two soldiers with drawn swords were placed within these barriers, to prevent the spectators from advancing beyond them. The space thus left at the end of the hall, being but small, was soon filled up; and the doors were immediately closed by the orders of the Lord of Imbercourt, who was sitting near the head of the table.
In the chair of state, which occupied the principal place at the table, sat the same gentle, beautiful being whom Albert Maurice had seen the day before in the great square. She was dressed as befitted her state and station; and, in a semicircle behind her, stood a bevy of fair girls, whose beauty, however, faded completely before her own. She was somewhat paler than the day before, and perhaps a slight degree of agitation and anxiety might be visible in her looks: but still the predominant expression of her countenance was gentle calmness; and, as she raised the dark fringes of her soft hazel eyes towards the accused, when he took his place at the end of the table, they seemed to say, "I shall be a lenient judge."
His eyes met hers for a moment, and the colour rose slightly in her cheek as they did so; while, at the same time, a thrill of feelings, new and strange, passed through the heart of Albert Maurice. The principal places of the council-table were filled by the Lords of Ravestein, Imbercourt, Hugonet, and Vere; but the Duchess of Burgundy herself, the wife of Charles the Bold, was not present.
A momentary silence succeeded the bustle of their entrance, and the Lord of Neufchatel surrendered in due form the prisoner for whom he had become responsible, and claimed to be delivered from the charge. The business of the council then seemed suspended for a time, from some motive which Albert Maurice did not understand. This was explained, however, the minute after, when a door, which opened into the space within the bar, was thrown back, and Maillotin du Bac, his countenance as pale as ashes, his arm in a sling, and his head wrapped in innumerable bandages, was supported into the hall by two attendants. The eye of the princess fixed upon him with an expression of grief and compassion, and making an eager gesture with her hand, she exclaimed, "Place him a chair, place him a chair!"
This command was immediately obeyed; and after the Prevot had paused for a few minutes to regain strength, he was directed to proceed with his charge against Albert Maurice, qualified simply as a citizen of Ghent. This he instantly did with a loudness of tone and a degree of vindictive vehemence, which no one could have supposed him capable of exerting, from the weak state in which he appeared to be. His present charge was somewhat differently couched from that which he had made against the young citizen at the castle of Hannut: he passed over in complete silence all the circumstances of the prisoner's arrest, merely stating that he had received information of a treasonable communication carried on by this young citizen, between Ghent, Namur, and France; and that he had arrested him accordingly. On his person he said he had found letters, the tendency of which placed the facts beyond doubt; and also showed that the prisoner was criminally connected with those lawless bands of routiers and plunderers called the Green Riders. He then went on to detail his having placed him securely in one of the strongest dungeons of the castle of Hannut, and of his having discovered the next morning that the dungeon was vacant. How it became so he said he could not tell; but certain it was that he had not been received by the Lord of Hannut with that courtesy and willing co-operation which, as an officer of the Duke of Burgundy, he had a right to expect. He next detailed to the council his pursuit of the Green Riders; and related the manner in which he had been attacked and defeated, although he rated the number of the brigands as not less than triple that of his own band. It was evidently their design, he said, and probably their whole design, to deprive him of the papers which proved the guilt of their comrade and ally, who stood there at the end of the table. In this view they had unfortunately been too successful; but he was ready to swear upon his knightly oath, and two or three of his band, to whom he had shown those papers, were prepared to bear witness, that they were of a most treasonable character.
To confirm this statement two of the troopers were accordingly called in, and swore to the Prevot having shown them the papers found upon the prisoner's person, which were full of treason in every line.
During the evidence of one of these persons, the eye of Maillotin du Bac detected the old Lord of Neufchatel in whispering something to the prisoner; and he exclaimed loudly and indecently against that nobleman for conniving with a base mechanical citizen and a traitor.
"Hark ye, Sir Maillotin du Bac," replied the old lord, bursting forth with no small indignation, "you yourself are a grovelling hound; and by the Lord that lives, the first time I meet thee I will drub out of thee the little life that the good Green Riders have left thee, and more--"
"Peace, peace, sirs," interrupted the Lord of Imbercourt; "you forget the presence in which you stand, your own dignity, and the solemnity of the occasion. My Lord of Neufchatel, do you object to tell the council what you whispered but now in the ear of that young man?"
"Not I, in faith," replied the other; "that was just what I was about to tell you when you interrupted me. I was then saying that the fellow there, who has just sworn to having read so much treason, must have learned to read very fast, and somewhat late in the day; for not a year ago he was trumpeter in my train, and could not tell an A from a Z."
"Ha!" cried the Lord of Imbercourt, "this must be looked to. Some one hand him a book. Methinks thou turnest mighty pale," he added, speaking to the trooper as his command was obeyed; and a volume of the archives of Burgundy was placed in the man's hand. "There, read me that sentence!"
With trembling hands the man held the book, gazing with a white face, and lack-lustre eyes, upon the characters which it contained, and which were evidently to him meaningless enough. After a moment's vain effort to perform the impossible task, he lifted his eyes, and rolled them, full of dismay and detected guilt, round the faces of all present; while Maillotin du Bac, in rage and disappointment, set his teeth firm in his pale lip, and stamped his foot heavily upon the ground.
The brow of the Chancellor Hugonet darkened; and, pointing to the man who had so evidently committed a gross and wilful perjury, he exclaimed, "Take him away, and let him be well guarded." The command was immediately obeyed, and the trooper was hurried out of the chamber by two of the attendants.
"Do you not think, my lords," said the low, sweet voice of Mary of Burgundy, "that we may dismiss this cause? If it be supported by such witnesses as these, it will bring more disgrace upon our nation than can be well wiped off."
"We must not forget, madam," replied Imbercourt, "that here is justice to be done to the characters of two persons, the accused and his accuser; and though the nature of the testimony offered as yet may well induce us to view this charge with suspicion, yet we should be doing less than justice to this young citizen of your good town of Ghent, did we not give him the opportunity of clearing his character fully from even a shade of doubt. Sir Maillotin du Bac," he added somewhat sternly, "have you any other testimony to produce in support of your accusation?"
"Methinks," replied the Prevot boldly, "that my own word and testimony should be enough."
"Not here, sir," replied Imbercourt. "You, young gentleman," he added, addressing the young burgher, "you have heard the charge against you; do you desire to speak in your defence?"
"I pray thee, do so, young sir," said the princess, bending slightly forward; "we would fain believe you wholly innocent, for we cannot believe that our noble father, the Duke Charles, can have done anything to turn one true heart against him; and we would fain hear that such a word as treason is unknown in the good land of Flanders, except in the mouths of base calumniators, such as the man who, but now, has been taken hence."
Albert Maurice bent low his head, and then raising his eyes, he replied, "Madam, for your good opinion I would plead long; and, that I felt conscious of my innocence, and able to establish it before you, you may, in some degree, see, by the bold appeal I have made to your justice, rather than trust myself in the hands of one whose character is not famous for equal dealing. It seldom happens, lady, that even in this evil world one man persecutes another without some motive, springing from either avarice, ambition, or revenge; and yon Prevot's bare word, perhaps, might weigh even against the fair character I trust I have hitherto borne, could I not prove that, besides the general hate which he bears towards the citizens of Ghent, he has cause of personal animosity against myself. The tale is soon told, and the proofs of its veracity are in my hand," he added, laying his finger upon the papers which he had collected to prove his innocence. "In the small town of Gembloux, whither I had gone, on business relating to the traffic of my house, I heard a woman's scream, and saw the wife of an honest burgher insulted and ill-treated at her own door by one of the brutal soldiers of that Prevot's band; a band, lady, which, by their insolent contempt of all the ordinary charities and feelings of civil life, have brought more hatred upon the rulers of Flanders than ever your noble father dreamt of, and than ever their services against the brigands can repay. But no more on that score," he continued, as the Lord of Imbercourt held up his hand with a warning gesture. "Suffice it, I saw a woman ill-treated by one of the soldiers of his band, and I struck the miscreant to the earth in the very deed; and where is there a Christian man, be he knight or noble, citizen or peasant, who shall say that I did wrong? Before I was aware, however, I was seized and overpowered by numbers, my arms tied with cords, my horse-boy beaten and driven out of the town, my baggage plundered, and several sealed letters which I was bearing from Namur to Ghent broken open, and read for the purpose of forging accusations against me."
"You hear, lords, you hear!" exclaimed Maillotin du Bac; "he acknowledges the fact of the letters, mark that."
"Ay, do mark it, noble lords! mark it well," continued Albert Maurice, boldly; "I do acknowledge it. Nay, more, I acknowledge that in those letters was the expression of some grief and indignation felt by the people of Namur, on account of infringed rights and violated privileges. But at the same time, I do most strictly deny that I knew one word of the contents of those letters, till they were read by yon bad man in my presence; and still more, I affirm that, even had I known everything that they contained, or had I written them myself, there was no sentence in them which tyranny itself could wrest into such a crime as treason. Lady, and you, Lords of the Council, yon Prevot has called witnesses to tell you what were the contents of those letters, and of the honour and good faith of those witnesses you have had an opportunity of judging. I will now call upon a witness also, with whose character you have equal means of being acquainted. My Lord of Imbercourt, to you I appeal. Those letters were shown to you in my presence; and if you can, upon your knightly honour, declare that they contain treason, do so before the world."
"Your appeal to me, young gentleman," replied the Lord of Imbercourt, "must not be made in vain. I do most solemnly declare, on my honour and oath as a belted knight, that in the letters shown me by the Prevot, as found upon that young citizen's person, though there were some expressions bordering upon turbulent discontent, yet there was nothing, in my poor judgment, which any sane man could construe into treason."
The eyes of Mary of Burgundy had fixed eagerly upon the counsellor as he spoke; and when he uttered the last words, a bright smile of gentle satisfaction lighted up all her features, while a slight glow, spreading over her face, seemed to tell with what anxiety she had listened to the testimony of the Lord of Imbercourt. That smile and that glow were not unmarked by Albert Maurice; and his own cheek flushed, and his own rich voice rather trembled, as he proceeded with the next sentences of his defence.
"On such grounds of accusation, lady," he continued, "was I dragged along, tied hand and foot as a criminal of the worst description, hurried forward in this situation with the rest of the troop, while they attacked a party of routiers in the forest of Hannut, carried on to the castle in that forest, and thrown into a dark dungeon, with a pile of straw for my bed. I thence made my escape----"
"How?" shouted Maillotin du Bac; "how?"
"How matters not," replied Albert Maurice.
"Ay, by my faith, but it does," rejoined the Prevot; "for I accuse you, Sir Citizen, of leaguing with these forest swine that have so long plundered and desolated the land. Every one of my men can bear witness, that for the papers concerning you alone was I attacked near Braine-la-Leud; that they were the first things sought for when we were overpowered by numbers, and that the continual cry of their leaders was, 'Secure the papers.'"
Albert Maurice paused, and the Chancellor Hugonet exclaimed, "You had better explain your escape, young gentleman; this gives a new aspect to the case."
"On the facts that followed I can say something also," observed the Lord of Imbercourt, "having been in the castle of my good brother of Hannut when the absence of the prisoner was first discovered."
"Speak, then, my lord, speak," said Mary of Burgundy, eagerly; "such testimony as yours is beyond all question; and, unaccustomed to such scenes as this, I would fain see this case terminated speedily and well. Speak, then, my lord, and tell us all you know."
"It were better," replied Imbercourt, "and more in the forms of justice, to suffer the accused to tell his own tale in regard to his escape; before I give any evidence that I can upon the subject. If you require it, sir," he added, addressing the young citizen, "I will absent myself from the council-table while you deliver your statement, that my testimony may be considered the more impartial."
"Not in the least, my lord," replied Albert Maurice, "do I desire your absence at all; nor is it my purpose to make any statement in regard to my escape. Escape I did. Of course I could not have done so effectually without some aid, from without or from within; and I do not choose to injure any one, however lowly or however high, by implicating them in an affair like this. Whatever you know upon the subject must be from some other source, and, knowing my own innocence in every respect, I hear you without apprehension."
"I have then but little beyond conjecture to advance," said Imbercourt. "On the morning after our arrival at the castle of Hannut, this Prevot presented himself in great wrath before my noble brother-in-law and myself, informing us of the escape of the prisoner, and insinuated, in somewhat insolent terms, that the Lord of Hannut--as loyal a nobleman as ever lived--had abetted the evasion. An instant investigation was instituted, and we learned that the dungeon in which the prisoner was left the night before had been found locked in the morning. No sign of violence was to be seen when we examined it in person, not a bar was broken, not a stanchion was moved; there lay the straw which had been the prisoner's bed, there stood the flagon and the bread which had been given him for his supper on the previous night. But on inquiry, we found, that this Prevot, after some deep drinking, and in a state, as several persons witnessed, of stupid drunkenness, had visited the prisoner's cell at a late hour the preceding night; and we concluded that he had suffered the young burgher to slip past him unobserved before he closed the door. Whether it was so or not, none but himself can tell."
"My lord, as I before said, I will be silent on that point," replied Albert Maurice; "but the use which I made of my liberty would be quite sufficient, I should conceive, to prove that I had no very evil or dangerous designs. I hastened immediately to Gembloux, where I obtained these papers, which I now lay before the council, to establish fully the fact that I was arrested, in the first instance, solely for striking a soldier, who had insulted the wife of a burgher of the place; I then made all speed to Ghent, where I was sure of encountering my adversary, but where I trusted also to obtain justice."
"And the first thing you did when you were in Ghent," exclaimed Maillotin du Bac, with the angry vehemence of disappointed hatred, "was to stir up the people to tumult, to make seditious speeches in the town-hall, to resist the lawful force sent to arrest you, and to incite the people to murder the officers that were despatched for your apprehension. Pretty proofs of innocence, indeed! Well, well, the princess and the lords of the council will see what will come of it, if they suffer such doings to take place with impunity. Who will serve the state, if the state will not support them in doing their duty? The strong hand, lords, the strong hand is the only way to keep down these turbulent, disaffected burghers."
"It must be the strong hand of justice, then, Prevot," replied Imbercourt; "and let me tell you, that you yourself, by the unjust arrest of this young man, have done more to stir up the people to rebellion than the most seditious traitor that ever harangued from a market cross. Nor, sir, must you scatter such false and malicious accusations without proofs. Before I sat down here, I, with several of the other lords now present, investigated accurately what had been the conduct of this young burgher during the course of yesterday morning; and I find that, so far from his behaviour being turbulent and seditious, he acted only as a loyal subject to our lord the duke, and was one of those good merchants who drew up an address of congratulation on the news of our sovereign's safety. More I found that, had it not been for his influence and strong exertions with the people, your lieutenant and his band, Sir Prevot, would have been sacrificed to their indignation, for imprudently intruding into a privileged place, while the merchants of the good town were assembled in deliberation. Nor can any one doubt the fact, for your own lieutenant was the first to bear witness to this young citizen's generous intercession in his favour."
Maillotin du Bac set his teeth hard, and stretched out his hand upon his knee, with a sort of suppressed groan, which might proceed either from the pain of his bruises, or the disappointment of his malice. After a short pause, during which no one seemed prepared to say anything more, either in accusation or defence, the princess herself spoke, with that sort of timid and doubtful tone which was natural in one so young, so inexperienced, and so gentle on giving a decision upon so important a cause, although it was sufficiently evident to all what her decision must be.
"I think, my lords," she said, "after what we have heard there cannot be any great difference of opinion. The evidence which has been brought forward seems not only to exculpate this young gentleman from all charge whatever, but to cast the highest honour upon his character and conduct. What say you, my lords? do you not acquit him freely from all stain?"
The voices of the council were found unanimous in favour of the accused; and it was announced to him that he stood free and clear from all accusation. The princess bowed to him, as his full acquittal was declared, with a smile of gratification at the result, which sprang from a pure, a noble, and a gentle heart, pleased to see a fellow creature, whose dignified deportment and graceful carriage could not but win upon the weaknesses of human nature, establish clearly a higher and more dignified title to esteem by tried virtue and integrity. There was no other feeling mingled with her smile; nor did Albert Maurice, for a moment, dream that there was; but, at the same time, it wakened a train of thoughts in his own mind both dangerous and painful. More than ever did he feel that he was born out of the station for which nature had formed his spirit; and more than ever did his heart burn to do away those grades in society, which, though the inevitable consequences of the innate differences between different men, he, from mortified pride, termed artificial distinctions, and unjust barriers betwixt man and man. It were to inquire too curiously, perhaps, to investigate how the one sweet smile of that beautiful lip woke in the heart of the young citizen a train of such apparently abstruse thoughts. So, however, it was; and, as the doors of the audience hall were thrown open behind him, allowing those to go forth who had gained admittance to hear his examination before the council, he bowed to the princess and the nobles present, with feelings individually more friendly to all of them, but certainly more hostile to the general system of government, and the existing institutions of society.
Still Albert Maurice entertained no presumptuous dreams in regard to Mary of Burgundy. He thought her certainly the most beautiful creature he had ever beheld. She had smiled upon him sweetly and gently. She had been present at his examination herself, though she might, notwithstanding his appeal, have left it to the decision of her council. She had done him full and impartial justice; and she had seemed to derive a personal pleasure from his acquittal. All this he felt strongly; and he was fond to picture, from that fair face, and those soft hazel eyes, a mind and a spirit within all gentleness and excellence. He thought, too, that had mankind been in its just and natural situation, where no cold rules placed as wide a distance between different classes, as if they were composed of different creatures, he might have striven to win, ay, and he thought he might have won, that fair hand, which had held the scales of justice for him so impartially.
Such feelings, and all the many collateral thoughts to which those feelings gave rise, were busy in his breast, as he followed the good old Lord of Neufchatel towards the door. Just as he was going out, he turned to take one more glance of the princess, the last, perhaps, he was ever to obtain; but Mary of Burgundy, and her ladies, had already quitted the hall, as well as his accuser, Maillotin du Bac, who had hastened away to conceal himself from popular indignation. Nothing was to be seen but one or two of the members of the council, standing together in a group at the farther end of the table, and apparently, by the gay laughter in which they were indulging, conversing over some indifferent subject. Albert Maurice turned, and strode through the ante-chamber, while the Lord of Neufchatel walked on before him, demonstrating, with proud courtesy, various points of feudal law to good Martin Fruse, who listened to his speech with every mark of the most deferential respect. The young citizen was just entering the outer hall, and he already heard the shouts of the people in the square, welcoming with a glad voice, the news of his acquittal, which had preceded his own appearance, when somebody plucked him by the sleeve, and one of the officers of the household informed him, in a low tone, that the Princess Mary required his presence for a moment in private.
The heart of the young burgher beat quick; but without pause he followed the attendant, as he turned away from him, and in a moment had passed through one of the side doors into the private apartments of the palace.