CHAPTER XXXI.
Oh, the dull silent hours of the night, when not a sound stirs upon the heavy air to steal one thought from man's communion with his own dark heart!--when the stern silence renders the sleep that covers all the world more like one universal death, and everything around us bids our conscience scan the brief records of our past existence, and prejudge us for the long eternity! The days had been, when, on a clear spring-tide night, like that--while all the countless stars seemed living diamonds in the heaven--Albert Maurice, full of fine soul and noble aspirations, would have gazed forth enchanted; and, without one heavy tie between his heart and the low earth, would have bade his spirit soar up in grand, calm dreams to heaven--when, between him and the multitude of bright orbs that sparkled before his eyes, there would have been felt a communion and a sympathy; and when the knowledge that each wondrous frame was the creation of the same Almighty hand, would have awakened in his bosom a feeling of kindred with the living lights of the sky. But now, how heavy was the night! how dark! how hopeless! how reproachful! There was a voice even in the solemn stillness; and the blood, which yet reeked upon the scaffold beneath the very windows of the apartment where he sat, seemed crying up, through the silence of the universe, to the Judge enthroned above those eternal stars.
He was left, too, entirely alone, and had been so during the greater part of the day; for such was the awful sensation produced in Ghent by the events of the morning, that all the shops were shut, and every kind of business was very generally suspended. Even the affairs of the city seemed to be neglected by general consent. Neither the council of the town, nor the deputies of the states, returned to consult over the future. Nor was it the higher functionaries alone that seemed to feel this sort of bewildered apathy. The clerks and secretaries were absent; not above one or two of the many couriers usually in attendance were now found in readiness; and Albert Maurice, after having endeavoured, in vain, to occupy his mind with business during the day, found himself, at night, left in utter solitude, to revolve the tragedy of the morning, without any other thing to distract his thoughts, or any voice to plead his cause against the accusation of his own conscience.
He strove, however, to convince himself that he had acted justly. He read over the evidence against the dead. He read over the sentence of the judges. He thought over all the many specious reasons that had before seemed to afford a thousand clear and patriotic excuses for sweeping away those whose views were likely to thwart his own: but the reasons had lost their force; the sentence was manifestly unjust; the evidence was broken and inconclusive.
"At all events," he thought, "the act is not mine; the award has been pronounced by the lawful magistrates of the land; and I have taken no part either in the judgment or its execution."
But that pretext would not avail a moment before the stern inquisitor within; and he felt that he, in whom the real power lay, if he did not interpose to shield the innocent, made himself responsible for their blood.
The heart of man cannot long endure such racking self-examination; and the most dangerous resource, but the only refuge from present pain, is flight from thought. As sad an hour's commune with himself as ever sinful human being passed, ended with Albert Maurice, in a resolution to think no more of the unchangeable hours of the past, and to fix his mind upon the present. After pausing for a moment, during which his ideas wandered confusedly over a number of objects, without finding any subject of contemplation of sufficient importance to withdraw his thoughts, for an instant, from the engrossing theme that ever called them back with painful importunity, some sudden memory seemed to come across him; and, taking up one of the lamps, he proceeded into the ante-chamber, in which waited several of his attendants. Giving the light to a page, with orders to go on before, the young citizen paced slowly through several of the halls and corridors of the town-house, his footfall, ever firm and proud, taking now a more heavy and determined step, from the feeling of the dark, stern deeds which he had done. Descending one of the staircases, he came to that portion of the building which was set apart as the municipal prison; and, proceeding to a small chamber or lodge, he demanded the keys of the gaoler, who was dozing by the fire.
The man immediately delivered them; and, passing onwards, the President of the States entered the gloomy dwelling, and descended the staircase which led to the lowest chambers of the prison. He was surprised, however, to perceive a light; and the moment after, in the low passage which ran between six or seven small heavy archways leading to the cells, his eye fell upon a trooper of the Prevot's guard, seated upon a stone bench at the end, employed in furbishing the steel of his partisan by the light of a lamp above his head.
The man instantly started on his feet; and, challenging the party that approached, advanced his weapon, till it nearly touched the bosom of the page. But Albert Maurice, stepping past the boy, put the pike aside, and demanded, sternly, what the soldier did there, in the municipal prison.
He was there, the man replied, by order of his captain, and was commanded to give admission to none, but the gaoler with food for the prisoner.
"Your officer is somewhat too bold!" replied the young burgher, "and must answer for having dared to place a sentry where he himself has no authority. Get thee gone, good fellow--you know me--get thee gone; and let me not see your face within these walls again."
The man at first hesitated; and at length refused to obey, alleging, civilly, the commands of his own captain, which he was bound to follow. Well knowing the station and power of the person whom he addressed, he spoke with courtesy and respect; but Albert Maurice was in that state of dissatisfied irritation, which the first reproaches of conscience leave upon a fine and energetic mind; and, returning to the upper chambers, he instantly summoned a guard, and caused the soldier to be disarmed, and confined him in one of the very dungeons he had been placed to watch.
There was a stern fierceness in the whole proceeding, unlike his usual decisive but mild demeanour; and those who watched him well, remarked, that upon his mind and character, such as they had appeared throughout the whole course of his life, that day had left a trace which no after-events could obliterate. When he had seen his orders obeyed, he dismissed the guard, and bidding the page wait him on the stairs, he advanced alone to one of the cells and applied the various keys he carried to the lock. It was some time before he found the right one; and he thought he heard more than one low groan, while employed in opening the door. At length, however, he succeeded, and entered the dungeon, which was dark and dismal enough.
Stripped of arms, both offensive and defensive, and stretched upon a pile of straw, lay the gallant and enterprising Hugh de Mortmar, as we have generally called him, with every limb powerless and rigid, in consequence of the trampling and blows he had received while trodden under foot in the market-place. His fine head leaned languidly upon his arm, while, with a motion which, however slight, seemed full of anguish, he turned a little as he lay, to see who it was that visited his prison. The light, for a moment, dazzled his eyes; but when he perceived the face of Albert Maurice, a slight smile of pleasure played on his lip. It was a face he knew; it was a being on whom he had some claim, that came to visit him; and it is only necessary to think over his situation--friendless, a prisoner, and alone, with every mental power oppressed, and every corporeal faculty rigid and benumbed--to comprehend what joy such a sight must have given, however criminal he might hold some of his visitor's deeds to be.
The young citizen set down the lamp, and seated himself on a rude wooden settle, which was the only article of furniture that the place contained. Bending down his head over the prisoner, he said, in a kind and gentle tone, "Do you remember me?"
"Well, very well," replied the young cavalier, faintly; "we have changed stations since we met."
"You will find me ready," answered Albert Maurice, "to follow the good example you then set me, and to give you back freedom, for the freedom you then gave me."
Hugh de Mortmar shook his head mournfully, and cast his eyes on his stiff and rigid limbs, as if to express the impossibility of his accepting the proffered liberation.
"Fear not, fear not!" said Albert Maurice, in reply to this mute language. "Fear not; in two or three days you will be able to use your limbs as freely as ever, and I will find means to remove from them all other thraldom."
"But my father," exclaimed Hugh de Mortmar. "Tell me, I beseech you, tell me! Is he safe? Is he unhurt?"
"Your father!" repeated Albert Maurice in some surprise--"your father?"
"Yes, yes!" cried the prisoner, raising himself as well as he could upon his arm, "my father, the Duke of Gueldres! Is he safe? Is he unhurt? I struck him down before I knew him; but I do not think he was injured."
"No, no," replied the young citizen, "the duke is safe and well. But this, indeed, is a strange tale. I do not comprehend you well, I fear," he added; somewhat inclined to believe that the injuries the prisoner had received had rendered him delirious. "Can the Duke of Gueldres be your father? I never heard that he had more than one child, who was slain, they say, by some of the cruel soldiers of the late Duke of Burgundy's father, when Adolphus of Gueldres himself was taken near Namur. I remember all the circumstances; for there was many an event occurred about that time which impressed the whole story more deeply on my memory than other things that have happened since. I was then a boy, travelling with my uncle through the forest of Hannut, and we had been at Namur not three days before."
"Ha! and were you that boy?" demanded the young cavalier. "I remember you well. You fell into the hands of the free companions with whom I then was, and were sent on safely by them, and by my father's noble cousin, the Lord of Hannut. Mind you the boy who joined you, with good Matthew Gournay, when you were sitting round the freebooter's fire in the forest?"
"Well, perfectly well," replied Albert Maurice.
"Then, that was the son of Adolphus of Gueldres," rejoined the prisoner, "escaped from the hands of the sworders of the Duke of Burgundy, and flying to seek and find protection and concealment with his father's cousin, the Lord of Hannut. Such was the boy, and I am he."
"These things are very strange," said Albert Maurice; "and if you knew all that I know, you would say so. Most strange, indeed!" he muttered to himself, "that the bereaved father should become a second parent to the son of him who made him childless. But let your heart rest satisfied," he added aloud; "your father is well and safe; and you have not even an unconscious crime to reproach yourself with."
He spoke mournfully, and then fell into a deep, long fit of thought, from which he was only roused by the young cavalier demanding, whether the noble Lord of Imbercourt had been saved, after all?
What were the thoughts at that moment in the bosom of Albert Maurice--whether his mind rested painfully on the consciousness that he could no longer boast of a guiltless heart, and pondered, with all the bitter, wringing agony of crime, upon the blessed sweetness of innocence--can only be guessed; but an involuntary groan burst from the lips of the young citizen at the question of the prisoner, and he clasped his hands upon his eyes.
Removing them an instant after, he answered, gazing somewhat sternly upon his companion, "He died as he deserved."
Hugh of Gueldres replied not; but, feeble as he was, returned the stern glance of Albert Maurice with one still more severe and reproachful. The young citizen recovered himself, however, at once, banished the frown from his brow, and, for the moment, even stifled the regret within his bosom. "Let us not speak, my lord," he said, "on matters of painful discussion. The man you asked for, was tried and condemned by lawful judges, upon what they considered sufficient evidence. He suffered this morning according to his sentence. Suffice it, that I had no personal hand either in his doom or execution."
"Thank God for that!" said Hugh de Mortmar; "for I do believe that I should look upon even liberty as stained, if received from the hands of one who, for envy or ambition, could do two such noble men to death as died this day in Ghent."
The blood rushed violently up to the face and temples of Albert Maurice; and, for a moment, he felt so giddy, that he started up and leaned against the wall for support. What he had said was true, indeed, to the letter; but conscience told him, that he was not only an accessory, but a principal in the death of Imbercourt; and, though he had spoken truth, he nevertheless felt that he had deceived. There was again a bitter struggle in his bosom; but it was soon over, for the presence of another person shamed him into conquering the upbraidings of his own heart.
"Let us say no more on that subject, my lord," he rejoined, as soon as he had somewhat recovered his calmness. "It is a matter on which you and I cannot, I fear, agree. I am bound, in justice to the States of Flanders and the magistrates of Ghent, to say boldly, that I think they have done nobly, firmly, and well; and though I took no part in the act itself, yet the opinion of no man on earth will make me shrink from avowing, that I would have done the same. But all this has nothing to do with the feelings between you and me. Suffice it, that I owe you a deep debt of gratitude, which I am ready and willing to pay. You shall be instantly removed from this dungeon to a more convenient chamber, where you shall be tended with all care, till such time as you have recovered strength. If you will, your existence and your situation shall be immediately communicated to the Duke of Gueldres. But still, I think----"
"No, no," answered the prisoner, quickly; "no, no; if there be any other means whatever of obtaining my freedom, without revealing who I am, let me still remain concealed for a certain space. I know not well whether the news of my existence might, or might not, be well received. There are new plans and views abroad, I find, with which my appearance might interfere. My father, I hear, aims at the hand of the heiress of Burgundy."
A scornful smile curled the lip of Albert Maurice, while the other proceeded:--"And I know not how he might love to hear, that a son he has believed to be dead for twenty years, had now arisen to cumber his inheritance. Let us pause for a time and see. Nor, indeed, would I willingly be found a prisoner."
"I think you judge rightly, my lord," replied the young citizen; "though the Duke of Gueldres will never marry Mary of Burgundy. But, as to your freedom," he added, cutting short something that the prisoner was about to reply, "for that I will pledge my life; and, when once more beyond the walls of Ghent, you can act as you will in regard to discovering yourself."
The motives of Hugh of Gueldres for wishing to conceal his existence from his father for some time longer, were certainly those which he had stated; but perhaps he might also be influenced by another feeling. In mingling with men who knew him not for what he was, the name of his father had never reached his ears, but coupled with some opprobrious epithet, or in conjunction with some evil deed; and perhaps a lingering disinclination to claim kindred with such a man, might make him still glad to leave his station unacknowledged to the world.
Some farther conversation then ensued between the President of Ghent and the son of the Duke of Gueldres; and though Albert Maurice became often thoughtful and abstracted, though there was a varying and uncertain tone in everything he said, unlike his usual calm and dignified manner; yet, from the nature of the subjects to which they now both restricted themselves, there was something sweet and pleasing in the commune which they indulged. They spoke of the early days in which they had first met, of the times, and the scenes, and the pleasures, and the hopes of other years; and a kindly sympathy breathing from the past, made for them, even in the prison, and separate as they were by state, by station, by education, and by prejudices, a peculiar atmosphere in which they seemed to live alone. Hugh de Mortmar felt it strongly, and seemed to revive under its influence. His voice became firmer, and his eye regained its light.
"And what," said Albert Maurice, after they had conversed some time on the scenes in the forest of Hannut--"and what has become of that good stout soldier, Matthew Gournay, who was, in some sort, a friend of my worthy uncle Martin Fruse."
"He was with me, this day, in Ghent," replied the prisoner; "and I trust in God has escaped beyond the gates. Many a time also has he been the means by which I have communicated to you, through your uncle, those proceedings which I thought it necessary that you should know. Once, not a month since, he was within the walls of Ghent; but could not obtain a private interview with you. Thus it was that you received tidings of the march of the base King of France. Thus, of the coming of his barber ambassador. Thus, too, did I send you a copy of that degraded slave's instructions."
"Then I owe you far more than I ever dreamed of," replied the young citizen, "and I will peril my life but I will repay it. Nevertheless," he added, after a moment's thought, in which suspicions, vague indeed, but strong, of the motives and designs of the druggist Ganay, rose up before his mind; "nevertheless, although for the time I am powerful in the city, yet several days must elapse ere you can mount a horse. I have many enemies, too--many false friends--many dangerous rivals; and I would fain place your security beyond the chance of anything that may happen to myself. Think you," he added, musing, "that Matthew Gournay, with twenty of his picked companions, would venture once more within the gates of Ghent, and, habited like followers of my own, be ready to aid in your deliverance, whether I be alive or dead."
"If he have escaped," replied the prisoner, "he would come at my bidding, were it into the jaws of hell. But you must make me certain of his safety, Sir Citizen."
"That he has escaped, rest assured," replied Albert Maurice; "for no one but yourself was taken: and as for his future security," he added, with a smile, "what object think you I could have in shortening an old man's days?"
A bitter reply rose in the heart of the young cavalier, as he thought of the unhappy Lord of Imbercourt; but he felt it would be ungenerous to give it utterance, and he refrained.
"I trust you, sir!" he replied; "I saved you at a moment when you were an oppressed and injured man; and to doubt you now in such a case, would be a kind of blasphemy against the God who made the human heart. Take this ring, and send it by some sure messenger--a young boy, perchance, were best, though I do not think they would maltreat any one but an open enemy--but send it by some page in a small skiff down the Scheldt at two hours after dusk. The boat will undoubtedly be stopped; and let the page give the ring to Matthew Gournay, whom he will find in the woods between this and Heusden, if he escaped unhurt from Ghent. Let the boy add a message, bidding him, in my name, render himself, with twenty of his comrades, to the house of good Martin Fruse, at any hour that you may appoint. Fear not that he will meet you, and then take counsel with him as you may think fit."
Some more explanations ensued; but as Albert Maurice perceived that the prisoner was exhausted with so long a conversation, he soon after bade him farewell, and left him. "For two days," he said, as he turned to depart, "in all probability, I shall not visit you; for it may be well not to excite any suspicion of my design. But you shall be watched carefully night and day, that no foul practice be employed against you; and at the end of the third day I trust to find you well enough to bear at least a short walk to the river side. In the meantime, as they have deprived you of your arms, for greater security take this;" and he placed in his hands a broad double-edged Venetian poniard, adding, "fear not to use it, should any one attempt to injure you; for if they do, the means they employ must be of that kind which does not court examination; and now, once more, farewell!"
The young citizen then retired; and though the more kindly and noble feelings which his conversation with Hugh of Gueldres had awakened--feelings untainted by the world's ambition or its policy--could not; it is true, stifle entirely the cry of remorse; yet there had been a balm in it all, that sent him forth soothed and softened. He retired not to his chamber till he had given orders that care and attendance should be shown to the prisoner, and that he should be removed to a better chamber; but when, at length, he cast himself upon his bed, fatigue, and the feeling that his heart was not all bitterness, brought sleep, though it was disturbed; and he woke not till the dawn looked in, and roused him from slumber.
Already, when he rose, the first poignancy of regret was gone; and the wound in his heart had grown stiff and numb. The voice of self-love was more ready to plead extenuation; and hope, always far more potent than memory, told him that mighty things might yet be derived for love and for his country, from the very deeds he so deeply regretted. At all events, policy whispered that he must not let the moments slip; and, though the immortal worm, remorse, was still slowly preying on his heart, he rose prepared to forget the pang, in all the active energy of watchful policy and great ambition.
Even while he was dressing, messenger after messenger, from different parts of the country, bearing news, not alone of the movements of friends and enemies, but also of the preparations which he himself had been labouring to complete, was admitted to his presence. After collecting the tidings that each one bore him, with a minute memory that never failed, and arranging every particular in his own mind with that methodical accuracy which rendered the whole available at a moment's notice, he descended early to the hall, where he expected soon to meet many envious and suspicious visitors, feeling that he possessed a store of ready information on every subject, which he knew must confound and overbear them all.
Strange to say--or, perhaps, not strange at all--the state of painful irritation which he now suffered, appeared to render all the faculties of his mind more acute and powerful. Naturally energetic, he had acquired a new degree of energy, from the necessity of withdrawing all his thoughts from the past, and fixing them on the present or the future; and his comprehension of the most confused narrative seemed more clear, his orders to the most stupid messenger more precise, than ever they had been in the whole course of his public career.
An assembly of all the deputies from Flanders and Brabant had been appointed for that day; but during the morning a number of persons crowded the great hall in a desultory manner, long before any general meeting of the states took place; and amongst the first that appeared was Maillotin du Bac, with an air which expressed both a knowledge that he had overstepped his authority, and a determination to resist every effort to curb his nearly gratified revenge.
At another moment, Albert Maurice might have alone despised him, and crushed him beneath his feet as a mere worm; but he well knew that great power often trips at a small obstacle. He felt, too, that the height he had reached was a giddy one; and that it might require to stand some time on the dizzy pinnacle of power, in order to acquire that firmness of footing which alone could justify him in despising inferior enemies. His very elevation offended many; and, seeing that the contention must soon commence between himself and the Duke of Gueldres on the one hand, and the Duke of Cleves on the other, he determined to leave the way unencumbered by any minor difficulties. Not that he proposed for a moment to abandon his purpose towards the prisoner he had left the night before: but he resolved to free him by quiet policy, more than by bold and sweeping power.
"Sir Prevot," he said, as soon as their first salutation had passed, "you did wrong, last night, in placing a sentry within the walls of the municipal prison; and also somewhat harshly, in confining an untried prisoner in one of the lower dungeons. Hear me, sir, to an end," he added, seeing the other about to make some dogged reply: "I have no intention of bringing the matter of your boldness before the council, as I might have done; but the thing must not be repeated. Should any like event arise again, I will take care the magistracy of Ghent shall examine strictly what punishment is to be inflicted on those who have frequently dared to infringe their privileges! Mark me, and remember! for I will not pass it over a second time. Now, then, before the states assemble, take one of my officers and visit the prisoner. See whether he is able to undergo examination to-day, and make me your report."
The Prevot was very glad to avoid any collision with the eschevins of Ghent, and at the same time to see a fair prospect of his revenge being accomplished; but, as it was far from the wish of Maillotin du Bac that his prisoner should be examined before the states at all, he instantly determined to report him as much too ill to meet the proposed investigation.
At the same time, there was something in the demeanour of the young citizen that surprised him. As men of shrewd but mean minds sometimes are, in their estimation of nobler characters, he was generally right in his appreciation of Albert Maurice, and usually perceived the great object that the President was likely to seek in any particular contingency, without, however, at all comprehending the inferior means he would employ to accomplish his purpose. So much the contrary, indeed, that after having judged correctly of the ultimate design, he would often become puzzled and doubtful in regard to the accuracy of his judgment even on that point, because the course pursued by the young citizen was almost always totally different from the method which he himself would have followed in order to arrive at the same object, and totally opposed to all the axioms of his own meaner policy.
Thus, in the present instance, he had sought the town-hall so early, under the perfect conviction that the President of Ghent would attempt to liberate the man who had before given him his freedom; believing, at the same time, that the consciousness of such a purpose would cause the aspiring citizen to avoid the subject, or to speak darkly upon his own views. But the bold and proud manner in which Albert Maurice rebuked his assumption of power in the town prison, and spoke of the immediate examination of the prisoner, shook his conviction, and almost made him believe that the same stern and uncompromising policy, which had been pursued towards Hugonet and Imbercourt would be followed throughout, without regard to any other feeling than selfish ambition.
The scenes which he soon witnessed tended to confirm this opinion; and led him, however falsely, to believe that Albert Maurice forgot every gentler and nobler feeling, every generous tie and private affection, in the overpowering impulse of an aspiring heart. Scarcely had the order proceeded from the lips of the young citizen to inspect the condition of the prisoner, ere two or three members of the states entered the hall. Several others followed within a very short interval; and as soon as Albert Maurice perceived that a sufficient number were assembled to justify the discussion of important matters, he declared the appointed hour fully arrived, called them to consultation, and at once boldly proposed that a decree of banishment--drawn up in the name of the states general of Flanders, though not ten members of that body were present, and those wholly devoted to his own views--should be issued against the Lord of Ravestein and the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy, as parties to the plot for subjecting the country to the sway of France.
So bold a measure was not, of course, without an object of deep moment to him who proposed it; but, when it is remembered, that Ravestein and Margaret of York were the only influential members of what was called in Ghent the French party, who now remained with the princess, his motives will be clear enough; for it was that party only which Albert Maurice feared. The Duke of Gueldres, though dangerous from the popularity he had suddenly acquired, the young citizen thought himself strong enough to overthrow when he pleased, supported, as he was sure of being in such a case, by the Duke of Cleves, and by the manifest abhorrence which the princess displayed towards the brutal aspirant to her hand; and the Duke of Cleves himself, the President felt sure, was too weak to succeed without his aid. Thus the French party was the only obstacle to his views that he really dreaded; but still, the measure he counselled was too bold to pass without some debate.
It was carried, however, at length, before any one arrived who had sufficient influence to oppose it with vigour; and the order for the instant removal of the Dowager Duchess and the Lord of Ravestein was sent at once to the palace, enforced by a large body of the burgher guard.
Gradually the assembly increased, till about forty persons were gathered round the council table, while a number of others, unentitled to a seat amongst the deliberative body, filled the vacant places of the hall, by the favour of the President's adherents. He himself was, perhaps, not unaware that a multitude of voices, ready to applaud his words, were collected around him; for the noblest, ay, and the proudest heart will bend servilely to the senseless shout it despises, when once it has bound itself as a serf in the golden collar of ambition. At length, after casting his eye around, to see who were the members of the states assembled, Albert Maurice rose to speak; but as he did so, the trampling of horse coming at a rapid rate, and loud shouts of "Long live the Duke of Gueldres! Health to the noble Duke and the fair princess! Long life to Ghent and the Duke of Gueldres!" were heard rising from the square below; and the young citizen again sat down, with a contracted brow and quivering lip.
In a few moments the Duke of Gueldres entered the hall, and took his seat on the right of the President, who knew the informal constitution of their whole assembly too well, to object to that noble's intrusion on their councils. But the young citizen rose again immediately himself, and at once addressed the states, as they termed themselves, in a speech full of fire and energy. He pointed out that the time was now come, when active and combined exertion throughout the whole land was necessary to save it from the usurpation of France, when not only the safety, but the very existence of the country required the energy of every individual to be employed, without a moment's delay, for the benefit of the whole; and he touched eloquently upon the necessity of laying aside all private jealousies, disputes, and feuds, in order to concentrate all efforts to check the rapid progress of the French monarch. Of many dangers, he said, it was of course necessary to meet that which was most imminent, and no one would doubt for a moment that the usurping and successful arms of France presented the peril they had most to dread. Severe measures had been pursued, he said, to show the timid and the traitor that they could not betray their country with impunity; and it became the states of Flanders and Brabant, even as a consequence of many of their late acts, to prove to their countrymen that they could and would protect the honest and the patriotic, as well as punish the guilty and the disloyal. It was time, he added to lay aside all differences of opinion, to forget individual interests and passions, to cast away every thought but patriotism, and calling forth the whole intelligence and the whole strength of the state, to join heart and hand, and mind and energy, in defence of their violated rights and their insulted country.
He spoke with the most powerful oratory, and he spoke true; but he did not remember that the oil of smooth words will never allay the raging waves of faction, even though the storm of anarchy threaten to wreck the state itself. Had he looked into his own heart, indeed, and seen that, though he was now anxious to repel the common enemy, yet it was but in order to seize one quiet moment to overthrow his rivals, he would have learned the secret of every bosom around him, and found that selfish ambition was the whole.
In the midst of his speech, however, while, in the very vehemence of declamation, he was inveighing against France, and was about to proceed, from the general terms which he had been using, to a clear and minute view of the state of the land, and the measures immediately necessary for its defence, one of the deputies from some inferior town, who believed the moment for distinguishing his own small knowledge and talents was arrived, rose, and boldly cut across the President's speech, exclaiming, "Perhaps the noble President does not know the unhappy news----"
"I know all!" thundered Albert Maurice, his eyes lightening with indignation at the interruption. "God of Heaven! wherefore do I hold the station that I do, if it be not to learn, and know, and investigate all that may concern the interest of the state? Do I not know that Arras has fallen? that Tournay is now in the hands of the enemy?--that Hesdin, and Boulogne, and Bethune are taken?--that Oudard has been murdered?--that Descordes is false?--that Vergy lies in chains? Do I not know that the duchy of Burgundy is invaded; that Franche-Compte is overrun; and that the troops of Louis are advancing to the gates of Ghent? What is it that I do not know, that any one should dare to interrupt me? Let me tell the deputy who has just sat down, that, if he had all the miserable catalogue of the woes and dangers of his country, from the first infraction of her frontiers, to the last base, or mean, or murderous act of her great enemy, so much by heart as I have, he would turn every thought of his mind to find means of meeting the perils that menace us, rather than break through the order of this assembly by speaking before he has heard."
The vehemence with which the young citizen spoke, the picture of overwhelming misfortunes which he displayed, and the deep tone of patriotic anxiety which his words breathed forth, combined to make his hearers forget the angry bitterness with which he rebuked one of their members, and each turned and gazed, with an expression of terror, in the faces of the others, as the President counted over the rapid losses and misfortunes of their country.
Albert Maurice paused, and Ganay, who was present, remarked, without rising, "Something must be immediately done to remedy all this. Or, doubtless," he added, not unwilling to bring about some imputation of blame upon Albert Maurice for neglect, though unwilling to utter one word of blame himself, "or, doubtless, our noble President has already, with his usual activity, prepared some means of meeting all these difficulties."
"I have!" replied Albert Maurice, sternly; and as he did so, a slight curl of the lip conveyed to the druggist a suspicion that his purpose had been understood. "I have! The difficulty can only be met, the enemy can only be opposed in arms, and the means have been prepared. Seven thousand men have been raised and trained in Ghent, as you all know. Three thousand men are ready to march in the villages round about. Before noon, five thousand more will be in the city from Ypres, and, ere night, five thousand more will have arrived from Bruges; while Brabant and the other provinces are preparing an army of forty thousand men besides. Our power is thus already sufficient to keep the towns of Flanders against the King of France, while forces are marching up to our aid, which will soon enable us to expel him from our land for ever. Provisions for forty days have been prepared, and a magazine of arms is already established at Oudenarde, which is garrisoned by a sufficient force to ensure it from capture. We have still a line of fortified places, which we can soon render secure; and having done so, we can bid the tyrant either retire from our borders, or let his soldiers rot in the field till we reap them with the sword, instead of that harvest which they have mowed ere it was ripe."
A loud and long burst of applause followed this recapitulation of the means which, by the most extraordinary activity, he had collected in so short a space of time to repel the arms of France; and, satisfied with the impression that he had made, Albert Maurice sat down, in order to allow one of the deputies from Ypres to propose a plan of action, which had been previously laid out between them, for the employment of the forces thus raised to the general advantage of Flanders. The worthy burgher, however, though a man of sense, and some military skill, having served during a considerable time with the people of his commune under the Duke Philip, was always an unwilling speaker, and paused for a moment to collect his ideas after the President had sat down.
The Duke of Gueldres instantly seized the occasion, and, anxious to gain the command of the army, proposed to lead it himself against the suburbs of Tournay, together with five hundred men-at-arms which he had raised since his liberation. "The very appearance of such a force in the field," he said, "and led on to some rapid and brilliant expedition, would make Louis XI., who had been well called Le Roi Couard, pause and hesitate, while fresh reinforcements might come up to swell the army of Flanders, and enable it either to risk a general battle, or attempt the re-capture of the towns which had been taken."
To this proposal Albert Maurice strongly objected, and declared that, instead of encountering any further risk than that inevitable in leading a raw and unexperienced army through a difficult country, they ought to make it their chief object to strengthen the garrisons of all the many fortified towns they still possessed, but more especially to throw a considerable force into Lille and Douai, which still held out for the princess, and were plentifully supplied with provisions, but whose respective garrisons were too small to retard the progress of Louis for three days, whenever he should lead his armies against them. In support of this opinion, he showed that troops hastily levied, and unaccustomed to warfare, were much more likely to serve well when defended by stone walls, and commanded by experienced officers, than in the open field against a veteran army. He showed, also, that Tournay itself was not likely long to hold out for France, if Lille and Douai were properly garrisoned with numbers sufficient to sweep the whole neighbouring country of provisions; and he ended by calling upon the states not to be dazzled by the apparent ease of the enterprise proposed by the Duke of Gueldres, for he could assure them that it was the best maxim, both in tactics and policy, never to believe anything impossible, but never to fancy anything easy.
The countenance of the Duke of Gueldres flushed with wrath, to hear himself so boldly opposed by a simple citizen of Ghent, and he was about to reply with hasty vehemence, which would infallibly have ruined all his own designs, had not Ganay started up, and, with all the smooth and plausible art of which he was master, sketched out a plan, which, while it seemed to coincide with that of Albert Maurice, rendered it nearly nugatory, and, at the same time, coincided exactly with that of the Duke of Gueldres.
"The infinite wisdom and skill," he said, "which have been displayed, under all circumstances, by our noble President, should make us receive his opinion with reverence and respect, even were it not evidently founded in knowledge and experience. There can be no doubt, however, in the minds of any one here present, that the preservation of Lille and Douai is absolutely necessary for the security of Flanders, and may also greatly tend to facilitate the very objects proposed by the noble Duke of Gueldres. But the two plans are by no means incompatible. Neither Lille nor Douai can admit of a garrison of more than two thousand men in addition to that with which they are at present furnished. Twelve or thirteen thousand men will be quite sufficient to enable the noble Duke to make his attempt upon Tournay. Let then the President himself, whose military skill we all witnessed, when he served with the men of Ghent under the late Duke Charles, some five or six years ago; let him then lead five thousand men to the aid of Lille and Douai; and, having thrown what force into those places he may find necessary, return with the rest to Ghent; while, in the meantime, the Duke marches forth against Tournay with the rest of the troops which we can spare from the defence of this city."
The feelings which this speech excited in the mind of Albert Maurice were of a very mixed and intricate nature. By this time, from many of those slight and accidental indications by which a skilful observer may read the changes of the human heart, the young burgher had learned that Ganay was no longer the zealous friend he had been, and he felt, rather than remarked, that, with that dark and subtle being there could be no medium between active support and deadly opposition, circumstanced as they were and had been. With this conviction impressed upon his mind, perhaps he might see, or at least suspect, that one object in the proposal of the druggist was to obtain his absence from the city. He might see, too, that the command of a large portion of the army given to the Duke of Gueldres, whose military abilities were well known, would throw immense power into the hands of that prince, becoming already too powerful; and he likewise knew the general dangers attendant upon the absence of a political leader too well, not to dread the consequences of his own departure from Ghent at a moment so critical.
Nevertheless, one of his chief weaknesses was the ambition of military renown; and that ambition had received an impulse which it had never known before, since he had dared to raise his hopes to a princess descended from a race of heroes. He felt, too, within himself, great powers of the kind immediately required, and he trusted that, by the exertion of that energetic activity which characterized all his movements, he should be enabled to accomplish his enterprise--to add, perhaps, some brilliant exploits to all that he had already performed, and to return to Ghent before any great advantage could be taken of his absence by his enemies.
An immediate reply, however, was necessary, and long discussions ensued, in the course of which Albert Maurice did not absolutely oppose the scheme of Ganay; yet there were in the details so many nice and delicate points to be determined, that much angry and vehement dispute took place, in which the violent and overbearing temper of the Duke of Gueldres more than once broke forth, and was repressed by the young citizen, in his capacity of President of the states, with a stern severity, that left them both, with flushed cheeks and frowning brows, gazing upon each other when the meeting of the states broke up.
By this time all was determined. Albert Maurice had accepted the command, with the understanding that it was totally distinct and independent of the one conferred upon the Duke of Gueldres, that the troops were solely under his own orders, and that the moment he had performed the specific task he undertook, he was at liberty to return to Ghent. All this had been conceded. The populace quitted the hall, and the deputies, one by one, took their leave and retired.
The Duke of Gueldres was among the last that left the apartment, and it was with a slow step he descended the stairs nearly to the bottom, biting his lip with ill-repressed passion at the contradiction he had met with, and at the little reverence that the President of Ghent had shown either to his opinions or to his rank. His meditations did not serve to cool him; on the contrary, at every step the words which had been addressed to him, and the scene in which they had been spoken, recurred with more and more bitterness to his mind; and when he had reached the last step but two, passion, as it often did with him, got the better of all command, and stamping on the ground with his foot, as he remembered the contemptuous curl of the young citizen's lip, he turned, and mounting the stairs with wide strides, once more entered the hall. Albert Maurice was standing alone at the head of the table, with a countenance of deep melancholy, from which every expression of anger and scorn was now totally banished. He raised his eyes as the Duke entered, and gazed upon him with surprise, as advancing close to him, with flashing eyes and a burning cheek, that rude prince exclaimed, "You have dared, sir--villain and slave as you are, base mechanical hind, bred and born amongst looms and shuttles--you have dared to treat with disrespect a noble of the land, and, by Heaven! you shall some day pay for it. Were you not as the dirt beneath my feet, and would not your vile blood sully my sword to shed it, I would save the hangman the pains he may some day have, and punish you where you stand."
"Know, Duke of Gueldres," replied Albert Maurice, with calm sternness, though in other days he might have laughed at the intemperate insolence of his adversary--"Know, Duke of Gueldres, that were there anything in the empty assumption of blood, mine is descended from as pure a stock as your own, though one of my ancestors wisely and nobly chose to embrace an honourable trade, rather than follow the example of such as you and yours, and live by rapine, plunder, oppression, and wrong. Advance not your hand towards me, Sir Duke, for remember that insult levels all distinctions; and that I, too, wear a sword, which I should not scruple to dye in nobler blood than that of the Duke of Gueldres, if he laid but a finger upon me."
"Out, slave!" cried the Duke; "I will take thy boasted descent on credit, were it but to punish thine insolence!" and striking the young citizen a violent blow on the breast, he threw back his mantle and drew his sword.
Albert Maurice was not slack to meet him, and his sword was also in his hand, when a number of citizens who had heard, through the open doors, the high words which had lately passed, ran in and beat up their weapons. The Duke of Gueldres glared round him for a moment in vain fury, then thrust back his sword into its scabbard, and shaking his clenched hand towards the young citizen, exclaimed, "When next we meet!" and, turning on his heel, left the apartment.
Albert Maurice sheathed his weapon also, and only commenting on what had passed by a contemptuous smile, resumed his look of grave thought, and proceeded calmly to transact the business of his station.