Here, however, the envoy hesitated; and, after a moment's thought, replied in a low, soft voice, that he was directed by his master, Louis, the most Christian king, to explain his views and wishes to his beloved cousin and god-daughter, the Princess Mary, in private, and to her alone. He therefore, he said, craved a private audience, in which his communication should be more full and complete.
The Bishop of Liege--whose territories lay too close to the French frontier, and whose interests were too nearly connected with those of France to suffer him to feel any great personal interest in the distinct rights of the House of Burgundy--had hitherto been the person who spoke on the part of the princess. He of course had evinced every sort of respect for the ambassador of the French King; but at this point the Duke of Cleves broke in; and with a haughty and contemptuous tone, informed the Count de Meulan, that what he demanded was not consistent with the customs of the court of Burgundy. He must, therefore, he said, declare openly his errand to the princess surrounded by her council, for no other course of proceeding could be permitted.
Again the ambassador hesitated: uttering several sentences, from which, though loaded with fine and sounding words, and gilded with a show of argument, all that could be gathered was, that the open communication required by the council was contrary to his monarch's commands. He then seemed about to retire; but at that moment Albert Maurice advanced a little before the rest, and craved leave to explain the object and views of the ambassador, which that functionary seemed to have so much difficulty in doing for himself. The assembled court, and the ambassador likewise, gazed on him with some surprise; but the young citizen proceeded.
"In the first place," he said, "your Grace will be glad to hear, who is the noble envoy whom that mighty monarch, Louis, King of France, thinks fit to send to the court of Burgundy: to the daughter of that great prince who overthrew him in the field by valour and skill, and who foiled him in the cabinet by decision and boldness. Allow me, in the man who calls himself Count de Meulan, to introduce to your notice Olivier le Dain, or by some called Le Mechant, barber to the most Christian King, born at Thielt, and serving as a barber's boy at Saarvelt, near this city."
A roar of laughter burst from the nobles of Burgundy; and Albert Maurice proceeded, waving his hand to the doorkeepers to prevent the barber from making his exit too rapidly. "Do not let the worthy ambassador depart till he has heard me explain the object of his coming. I hold here in my hand, by the favour of some unknown friend who sent these papers to me, a copy of the private instructions of the King of France to the Barber Ambassador, which direct him, strictly, to keep the princess and the court of Burgundy engaged in long and tedious negotiations, while he strives in private to persuade the people of Ghent to invite the King of France to enter their territory. He is further ordered to spare no means, neither money nor promises, to make the good men of this city declare for the King of France, and throw off the authority of their lawful sovereign. To this, by your Grace's permission, I, as the only individual of the burgher class in this presence, will take upon me to reply, that Louis, King of France, mistakes entirely the character and disposition of the men of Ghent; for, though they may be anxious to preserve their own liberties and privileges, they are no less anxious to preserve the legitimate authority of their sovereign; and, though they are never disposed to submit to tyranny from their own princes, they are no less determined to resist all foreign domination. Let him learn that he can neither buy us with his gold, nor fool us with his promises; and that his intrigues and offers will be equally in vain with the men of Ghent. It is for you, my lords," he continued, turning to the members of the council present, "as older men, and more experienced in the ways of courts than myself, it is for you to judge what course ought to be pursued towards a man who comes as ambassador to a sovereign prince, and, at the same time, undertakes to seduce the subjects of that prince from their allegiance; who approaches the presence of an oppressed princess, from the man who is robbing her of her territories and massacring her subjects, affecting in words and in style to negotiate with her as the messenger of a friend and a relation, while his real errand is to excite treason amongst her people, and to bribe her citizens to revolt. It is for you, my lords, I say, to judge what is to be done with the caitiff who undertakes such a commission for such a man!"
"Nail his ears to the door-post!" cried the Lord of Vere, an impetuous noble of North Zealand.
"Throw him into the river!" cried the Duke of Cleves; "such treatment does he well deserve."
Various other pleasant modes of disposing of the person of the barber ambassador were suggested by different members of the council, probably without any intention of carrying them into effect. They were not, however, without producing some impression, and that of no very agreeable nature, upon the mind of Olivier le Dain himself. That worthy personage had listened to the speech of Albert Maurice in downcast silence. No flush betrayed his agitation or shame, though his lip quivered a little, and at one time he took two or three steps towards the door. But when he heard the many unceremonious methods of treatment proposed, he gradually crept back till he was within a step of the entrance of the chamber. His face was still turned towards the council; and he still seemed listening attentively to the somewhat bitter strictures which were passing upon his own conduct; but he showed no inclination to retreat farther than was absolutely necessary to keep himself out of the reach of violent hands, so that the doorkeepers were off their guard. As the Duke of Cleves spoke, the barber paused and listened, gave a furtive glance over his shoulder; and then, without any effort towards taking leave, he darted out of the presence at once, reached the court-yard, mounted his horse, and galloped away to the inn where he had lodged.
Before he arrived at that building, however, he began to feel that his apprehensions of personal violence had probably been a little too hasty; and a loud laugh, which he remembered to have heard, as he quitted the audience-hall, confirmed him in that opinion. The calm reflection of a few hours, during which he seemed totally forgotten by the whole town, refreshed his courage and re-animated his hopes; and, therefore, not to abandon his purpose without another effort, he ventured to ride out in the evening; but the moment that he presented himself in the streets, he was greeted with so much mockery and laughter, that he soon found the attempt would be vain. A full account of his birth and situation had been industriously circulated amongst the people during the day; and as nothing excites the hatred and contempt of the populace more than to see a person sprung from amongst themselves, affecting the airs and splendour of a class above them, they were all prepared to shower upon his head every sort of ridicule and abuse. No sooner did he appear than this determination to insult and annoy him in every different way, began to manifest itself among the people. One held a pewter basin before his horse's head; another lifted up his rugged chin, and begged that his highness would shave him, just to keep his hand in; and a third exclaimed, that he must not think to lead the people of Ghent by the nose, though he might often have taken the King of France by that organ.
Just while he was turning away from these unpleasant salutations, in order to return as fast as possible to his hotel, some shouts met his ear, which seemed rapidly coming nearer, and in a moment after he perceived half a dozen horsemen cantering easily down the street, with a number of men and boys running by the sides of the horses, shouting loudly, "Long live the Duke of Gueldres! long live the noble Duke of Gueldres!" The horseman at their head was a powerful handsome man, of about fifty, with a coarse and bold expression of countenance, but still possessing that easy air of dignity and command, which is a part of the education of princes. Some one, as the cavalcade approached, recognising the person of the French ambassador by his splendid dress and gaudy train, shouted out the name and various opposite occupations of Master Olivier le Dain; and the Duke of Gueldres, dashing on, drove his horse rudely against that of the unfortunate barber, which reared with the stroke, and almost plunged him into the canal, near which they were riding.