CHAPTER XXXVI.
Never had the town of Ghent witnessed so magnificent a sight as on the night after the return of Albert Maurice. The whole marketplace before the Stadt Huys, illuminated by a thousand torches, was crowded with people regaling at long tables, which groaned beneath the burden of good cheer. The young President had spared no means to satisfy all; and, by the magic influence of gold, had, in the short time which had elapsed since his return, conjured up a festival more like some of those fairy banquets depicted in an Eastern tale, than anything in real life. Thousands and thousands, too, of the wealthier classes, whose circumstances raised them above those who came to partake of his bounty, moved through the open spaces, enjoying the scene. The Perron of the Hotel de Ville was crowded with guards, officers, and attendants, looking over the gay and happy sight which the square afforded; and above all, rose the dark mass of the town-house, with a broad blaze flashing forth from all the open windows, while the sound of music from within, and the glancing of figures moving rapidly across the lights, offered links of interest between the feelings of the crowd without and the transactions that were passing in the building. A knot of the more curious citizens had stationed themselves on the little rise by the fountain, and watched eagerly the windows of the hall, where the banquet was just about to take place; and at length, when a loud flourish of trumpets echoed out upon the air, some of them were heard to exclaim, "Now! now they are coming to the tables!--See, see! they are passing along!--There is the Duke of Cleves; I know him by the limp in his gait; and there is the President--there is the noble President! See how he overtops them all, and how his plumes dance above the highest in the hall! Hurrah for the noble President!" and the multitude catching the sound, burst forth with a loud and universal cheer, that made the buildings around echo and re-echo with the shout.
Although, at that distance, it was difficult to distinguish the persons within, yet the shout was appropriate, for it was, indeed, Albert Maurice who--received as a guest by the states of Flanders, and the nobles and prime burghers of Ghent--was advancing to the seat prepared for him. Long consultations had been previously held in regard to where that seat was to be placed; for feudal states in general required that a marked distinction should be observed between nobles and citizens; but the druggist counselled the nobles to indulge the young citizen's pride to the utmost for that one night. The example of Artevelde--a common tradesman of that very town, who had sat and treated with the highest princes of Europe--was cited, and prevailed; and the president of Ghent took his chair by the Duke of Cleves, with Ganay, by a previous arrangement, seated beside him.
The face of the druggist was uncommonly pale. He had marked the immense concourse of people in the square; he had marked the multitude of guards and attendants that crowded the terrace and thronged the halls of the town-house; and he knew the infinite perils that attended the deed he had undertaken to perform. Whatever course events might take, he felt that fate brooded heavily over the whole splendid scene; and his small, clear dark eye wandered somewhat wildly round the hall, especially as, in following Albert Maurice towards the seat it had been arranged he was to occupy, the thundering shout of the multitude without burst upon his ear. All, however, apparently passed in tranquil ease; the whole party were seated; and the attendants of the Duke of Cleves--somewhat more numerous than necessary--drew round the upper end of the table. But as they did so, they perceived that they enclosed amongst themselves two or three strange men, against whose intrusion they remonstrated rather roughly. What the others answered was not heard, but they kept their place, and the banquet proceeded. Everything was rich and splendid, according to the custom of that time; and many a fish and many a fowl appeared upon the table, which have either lost their palatable flavour in latter days, or have been discarded by some depravity of human taste. Albert Maurice ate sparingly, and drank little; but he was more gay and cheerful than, perhaps, any one had ever seen him before; and, with the whole, there was an air of easy dignity, which left any outward difference that might be observed between himself and any of the nobles around, entirely to his advantage.
Ganay drank deep; and, as the banquet proceeded, his cheek grew flushed, and his eye sparkled more; but he was silent, absent, and thoughtful, and shrunk when the eye of Albert Maurice rested on him, even for a moment, in conversation. At length the Duke of Cleves rose, and addressed the druggist briefly, saying, "Master Ganay, you are an orator, and I am none; and besides, as one of the consuls of the good town of Ghent, the task I am going to put upon you falls more naturally to you than to me. Fill, then, yon golden chalice to the brim, and express, if you can find language to do so, the gratitude and admiration which the states of Flanders--nobles and commons alike--feel for him who has won the first successes in arms for his native country against her base invaders--successes which I trust may be but the earnest of many more."
Ganay took the large golden cup, and held it to an officer who filled it with wine: but, as the druggist again brought it back, ha leaned his hand upon the edge for a moment, and something seemed, to the eyes of more persons than one, to fall into the chalice. He rose, however, with greater composure than he had hitherto displayed through the evening; and with a happy flow of words, the very choiceness and selection of which made his speech appear far more vigorous and enthusiastic than it really was, he commented on the talents and successes of the young citizen, and thanked him, in the name of the town of Ghent and the States of Flanders, for the services he had rendered to his country. It is scarcely necessary, perhaps, to state that it was the common custom of the day for a person publicly drinking to another in such a manner, to taste the wine himself, and then to send the cup to him whom he addressed. Ganay, accordingly, at the end of his oration, raised the bowl to his lips, and held it there for a moment; and then, according to form, gave it to the cupbearer, who presented it to the young burgher. Albert Maurice, after taking the chalice, rose at once, while the eye of the druggist fixed upon him with a gaze, that had something almost fearful in its very intensity.
"Noble lords," he said, in a clear, mellow, steady voice; "noble lords! dear fellow citizens! worthy men of Flanders! you have been pleased this day to show me honours, far higher than my poor merits gave me any title to expect. The duty of a citizen to his country is one, which, however zealously executed, affords him no claim to thanks; for being an obligation imposed on him by his birth, it binds him strictly through his life; and even at his death, he that has done all within his scope to uphold his native land, has still done nothing but that which he was bound to do. Nevertheless, it is hard to say, how much I rejoice that the men of Ghent and the states of Flanders have thought fit, by such distinguished honours, to reward such poor services as mine. Nor, however grateful to my heart may be your generous applause, are my feelings personal alone. I rejoice more that you have so honoured and rewarded the first man who has been enabled to render service in arms to the state, since her restoration to freedom, than that the first was Albert Maurice. I rejoice chiefly, because I am sure that the distinction shown to me this night, unworthy as I am, will be the means of calling others forth in the service of the country, whom diffidence of their own powers, or doubts of the state's willingness to accept what they may believe inefficient service, has hitherto kept back from the path of fame. When an individual serves his country to the utmost of his power, as I have before said, he does but his duty to that country, and no more; but when the state recompenses its individual servants even beyond their deserts, it does its duty to itself, and ensures the most zealous services of all its children: for the men who will serve a niggard master well, will serve a liberal one with their whole heart and soul; and let me say, there is a mighty difference. Men of Ghent," continued the young President, "and you, noble barons and burghers of Flanders, I give you all deep and heartfelt thanks; and I drink unto you all!"
Albert Maurice had spoken calmly and collectedly, and not a word betrayed that there was one feeling in his heart but tranquil confidence. As he paused and lifted the cup in his hand, the gaze of Ganay grew more and more intense; his pale lip quivered, and a bright red spot glowed on his ashy cheek, while the young citizen continued to raise the cup slowly towards his lip. Suddenly, however, Albert Maurice paused, and turned his glance with a movement as quick as lightning upon the druggist, into whose face the blood rushed with fearful violence as their eyes met. Sternly and steadfastly the young President gazed on him, while one might count fifty, and then tossing the cup into the midst of the hall, he exclaimed, with a scornful laugh, "No, no! No, no! Did you dream that I did not know you, murderer?"
"Know me now then!" cried Ganay, starting up; "know me now!" and he sprang towards Albert Maurice like a famished tiger. But, at that moment, the man who stood behind his chair strode forward; something bright waved above the druggist as he rose, descended at once upon his head, and cleft its way through to the very eyes. Ganay fell back from his place, dead upon the floor of the hall; but even as he fell, his hand, armed with a short poniard, aimed an impotent blow at the young President, which struck ringing against the pavement.
"Ho! Close the doors!" cried Albert Maurice, rapidly. "Matthew Gournay, you have done well! Let no one dare to approach the corpse! Look at him as he lies, lords and free citizens! Look at him as he lies, with the weapon of destruction in his hand! And you, my friends, whom I stationed round about, did you not see him drop the poison in the cup as clearly as I did?"
"We did! we did! we did!" cried a dozen voices round the table; and those who were at first inclined to look somewhat fiercely upon these witnesses, soon perceived that the testimony came from all the most honourable citizens of Ghent, who, forewarned, had watched the proceedings of the druggist.
"These are bold and terrible deeds, Sir President!" said the Duke of Cleves.
"Not so bold as some I could name, Duke of Cleves!" replied Albert Maurice, bending his brows sternly upon him. "The man who lies before you has already more than one murder on his head. There are the proofs of his participation in the death of the good old Lord of Neufchatel, who died by poison while recovering from his wounds. For these proofs I have to thank yon worthy and fearless magistrate, Maitre Pierre. These, however, would have been produced before the judges of this city, had I not discovered the purpose of this base assassin to poison me this night, and taken proper means to counteract his design. There are others here present, leagued in the same evil conspiracy; and did I so please, I could name them one by one. Look not to your attendants, Duke of Cleves; for know, that in this building and around it I have enough faithful friends, to bind every traitor present hand and foot, and give them over to the common hangman, did I so will it. But fear not; I neither accuse you nor absolve you, my lord. You came here, a guest to the city of Ghent, and you depart unopposed, uninjured, with this warning only: beware how you entertain a thought against the liberties of the people. To the rest--within whose bosoms dwells the fearful consciousness of their own treachery--I say only, I do not dread them; and from my confidence in myself and in the people of Ghent, they find safety. Those who were moved to seek my overthrow by fears and doubts, instilled into them by yon arch traitor who now lies dead, will learn from my conduct this night, that I am not the man that I have been represented; and those who, from baser motives, would have compassed my death, may also learn, that such designs fall ever, sooner or later, on the heads of those that framed them. Those who love me not, therefore, may depart in peace; those who love me and Ghent, remain; and let us finish our festivities, for the death of that base man is no more to be noted than the shooting of a wolf, or any other wild beast that would destroy us. Take away the corpse!"
The guests looked upon each other with inquiring glances, as they stood around the table in the same attitudes into which they had started, on the sudden catastrophe they had just witnessed; but few present were willing, by quitting the hall, to brand themselves as enemies to Albert Maurice and to Ghent.
Good Martin Fruse was the first to resume his seat, which he did, murmuring, "He was an unworthy man, that Ganay, and a disgrace to the city. He nearly caused my death some twenty years ago."
Those who heard this new charge against the unhappy druggist started, and many looked wise, and shook the sagacious head, exclaiming, "Ah! we always knew he was a wicked man!" but Albert Maurice, who understood that the mode of death to which his uncle alluded was not quite deserving of such serious comment, again called upon those who were friends to Ghent, and to himself, to resume their seats at once.
One after another, all the citizens, and almost all the nobles, followed the example of good Martin Fruse. The Duke of Cleves, however, together with a few of his immediate partisans, remained standing, and, after a brief pause, moved a step towards the door.
"It is not my custom," he said, "to sit and drink in halls where blood has just been shed; and without being an enemy to Ghent, or any of her true and faithful sons, I may be pardoned for quitting a place, where I know not what is to happen next."
"Fortunately for myself, my lord," replied Albert Maurice, "I did know what was intended to happen next; though, perhaps, my having spoiled the design may be matter of offence to some here present. But not to bandy words with so high a prince, I have only further to say, that the citizens of Ghent have been honoured by your presence while it has lasted; and you have, in return, been treated with a goodly and instructive, though somewhat fearful, spectacle, showing how the men of this city punish those who attempt to poison them at their solemn feasts. Make way for the Duke of Cleves, there!" And with an air in which courtesy and grace gave additional point to the keen scorn that curled his lip and bent his brow, Albert Maurice led the Duke towards the door, and bowed low as he passed out.
The young President then resumed his seat; his lip softened, his brow unbent, and, gazing round the guests with one of those bland smiles which often win approbation for the past, by seeming certain of applause, he exclaimed--"Friends, have I done well?"
The man who rose to reply was one of the most zealous of that violent party on whose support Ganay had founded his authority; and Albert Maurice prepared for bold opposition; for he knew him to be fierce and fearless, though honest and upright in purpose. By one of those sudden revolutions of feeling, however, which are common in scenes of great excitement, the whole sentiments of the partisan had become changed by the frank and determined demeanour of the young citizen; and he answered at once--"So well have you done, Sir President, that, in my opinion, if Ghent owed you gratitude before, that gratitude ought now to be increased a hundred-fold; and if she suspected you of any baseness, those suspicions should be done away for ever. To many of us you have been represented as courting the nobility for your own purposes, and seeking alone, in all you have done, your own aggrandizement. Some of us, too--I for one," he added, boldly--"consented to your arrest this night. I acknowledge it; and frankly I acknowledge I was wrong. But believe me, Sir President, when with the same voice I declare, that, had I ever dreamed of the scheme for murdering you here, my own knife should first have drunk the blood of the assassin. Justly has he been done to death; and wisely have you treated yon proud prince, who courts us now, only, that he may first rise by us, and then crush us hereafter; and who, as no one that saw his countenance can doubt, was leagued with the dead assassin. It is the policy of those that hate us, to set us at variance amongst ourselves, and remove from us all the men whose talents and whose firmness will enable us to triumph still. Let us then, all pledge ourselves to union; and, in order to preserve him who alone possesses genius and power sufficient to lead us properly, let us give him a guard of five hundred men, and intrust him with greater authority than he has hitherto enjoyed."
The proposal was received with acclamation; and the citizens, some eager to show that they had no participation in the plot which had just been frustrated, some carried away by the general enthusiasm, and some from the first devoted to the young President, vied with each other in voting him new powers and new dignities. At that moment he might have commanded anything in the power of the states of Flanders to bestow; and much more was spontaneously offered than he thought prudent to accept. "No, no!" he said; "limit the power you grant me to that which your fathers formerly conferred, in this very hall, on Jacob Von Artevelde, with this further restriction, that I shall submit, every month, the revenues intrusted to my disposal to the inspection of three persons chosen from your own body. Thus shall I be enabled to serve you as much as man can do; and thus will you guard against those abuses to which the unlimited confidence of your ancestors gave rise. Nothing more will I accept."
The will of the young citizen for the time was law, and the whole arrangement was speedily completed. One more deep cup of red wine each man present quaffed to the health of Albert Maurice, and then took leave, one by one. Martin Fruse was the last that left him, and, as he did so, the good old man wrung his hand hard. "Farewell, Albert," he said; "I have seen you a little child, and I have seen you a stately man, and I have loved you better than anything else on earth. You have now reached a dizzy height, my dear boy; and, oh! take care that your head do not turn giddy. For my sake, if not for your own, take care; for it would slay me to see your fall."