惊婚记 英文版 Quentin Durward
瓦尔特.司各特 Sir Walter Scott
CHAPTER XXVII: THE EXPLOSION Page 1
'T is listening fear, and dumb amazement all,When to the startled eye, the sudden glanceAppears far south, eruptive through the cloud.
THOMSON'S SUMMER
The preceding chapter, agreeably to its title, was designed as aretrospect which might enable the render fully to understand theterms upon which the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy stoodtogether, when the former, moved partly perhaps by his beliefin astrology, which was represented as favourable to the issue ofsuch a measure, and in a great measure doubtless by the conscioussuperiority of his own powers of mind over those of Charles, hadadopted the extraordinary, and upon any other ground altogetherinexplicable, resolution of committing his person to the faith ofa fierce and exasperated enemy -- a resolution also the more rashand unaccountable, as there were various examples in that stormytime to show that safe conducts, however solemnly plighted, hadproved no assurance for those in whose favour they were conceived;and indeed the murder of the Duke's grandfather at the Bridge ofMontereau, in presence of the father of Louis, and at an interviewsolemnly agreed upon for the establishment of peace and amnesty,was a horrible precedent, should the Duke be disposed to resort toit.
But the temper of Charles, though rough, fierce, headlong, andunyielding, was not, unless in the full tide of passion, faithlessor ungenerous, faults which usually belong to colder dispositions.He was at no pains to show the King more courtesy than the laws ofhospitality positively demanded; but, on the other hand, he evincedno purpose of overleaping their sacred barriers.
On the following morning after the King's arrival, there was ageneral muster of the troops of the Duke of Burgundy, which wereso numerous and so excellently appointed, that, perhaps, he was notsorry to have an opportunity of displaying them before his greatrival. Indeed, while he paid the necessary compliment of a vassalto his Suzerain, in declaring that these troops were the King'sand not his own, the curl of his upper lip and the proud glanceof his eye intimated his consciousness that the words he used werebut empty compliment, and that his fine army at his own unlimiteddisposal, was as ready to march against Paris as in any otherdirection. It must have added to Louis's mortification that herecognised, as forming part of this host, many banners of Frenchnobility, not only of Normandy and Bretagne, but of provinces moreimmediately subjected to his own authority, who, from various causesof discontent, had joined and made common cause with the Duke ofBurgundy.
True to his character, however, Louis seemed to take little noticeof these malcontents, while, in fact, he was revolving in his mindthe various means by which it might be possible to detach themfrom the banners of Burgundy and bring them back to his own, andresolved for that purpose that he would cause those to whom heattached the greatest importance to be secretly sounded by Oliverand other agents.
He himself laboured diligently, but at the same time cautiously,to make interest with the Duke's chief officers and advisers,employing for that purpose the usual means of familiar and frequentnotice, adroit flattery, and liberal presents; not, as he represented,to alienate their faithful services from their noble master, butthat they might lend their aid in preserving peace betwixt Franceand Burgundy -- an end so excellent in itself, and so obviouslytending to the welfare of both countries and of the reigning Princesof either.
The notice of so great and so wise a King was in itself a mightybribe; promises did much, and direct gifts, which the customs of thetime permitted the Burgundian courtiers to accept without scruple,did still more. During a boar hunt in the forest, while theDuke, eager always upon the immediate object, whether businessor pleasure, gave himself entirely up to the ardour of the chase,Louis, unrestrained by his presence, sought and found the means ofspeaking secretly and separately to many of those who were reportedto have most interest with Charles, among whom D'Hymbercourt andComines were not forgotten; nor did he fail to mix up the advanceswhich he made towards those two distinguished persons with praisesof the valour and military skill of the first, and of the profoundsagacity and literary talents of the future historian of the period.
Such an opportunity of personally conciliating, or, if the readerpleases, corrupting the ministers of Charles, was perhaps what theKing had proposed to himself as a principal object of his visit, evenif his art should fail to cajole the Duke himself. The connectionbetwixt France and Burgundy was so close that most of the noblesbelonging to the latter country had hopes or actual interestsconnected with the former, which the favour of Louis could advance,or his personal displeasure destroy. Formed for this and every otherspecies of intrigue, liberal to profusion when it was necessary toadvance his plans, and skilful in putting the most plausible colourupon his proposals and presents, the King contrived to reconcilethe spirit of the proud to their profit, and to hold out to thereal or pretended patriot the good of both France and Burgundy asthe ostensible motive; whilst the party's own private interest, likethe concealed wheel of some machine, worked not the less powerfullythat its operations' were kept out of sight. For each man he had asuitable bait, and a proper mode of presenting it; he poured theguerdon into the sleeve of those who were too proud to extend theirhand, and trusted that his bounty, thought it descended like thedew, without noise and imperceptibly, would not fail to produce,in due season, a plentiful crop of goodwill at least, perhaps ofgood offices, to the donor. In fine, although he had been long pavingthe way by his ministers for an establishment of such an interestin the Court of Burgundy as should be advantageous to the interestsof France, Louis's own personal exertions, directed doubtless bythe information of which he was previously possessed, did more toaccomplish that object in a few hours than his agents had effectedin years of negotiation.
One man alone the King missed, whom he had been particularlydesirous of conciliating, and that was the Count de Crevecoeur,whose firmness, during his conduct as Envoy at Plessis, far fromexciting Louis's resentment, had been viewed as a reason for makinghim his own if possible. He was not particularly gratified when helearnt that the Count, at the head of an hundred lances, was gonetowards the frontiers of Brabant, to assist the Bishop, in caseof necessity, against William de la Marck and his discontentedsubjects; but he consoled himself that the appearance of thisforce, joined with the directions which he had sent by faithfulmessengers, would serve to prevent any premature disturbances inthat country, the breaking out of which might, he foresaw, renderhis present situation very precarious.
The Court upon this occasion dined in the forest when the hourof noon arrived, as was common in those great hunting parties; anarrangement at this time particularly agreeable to the Duke, desirousas he was to abridge that ceremonious and deferential solemnitywith which he was otherwise under the necessity of receiving KingLouis. In fact, the King's knowledge of human nature had in oneparticular misled him on this remarkable occasion. He thought thatthe Duke would have been inexpressibly flattered to have receivedsuch a mark of condescension and confidence from his liege lord;but he forgot that the dependence of this dukedom upon the Crownof France was privately the subject of galling mortification to aPrince so powerful, so wealthy, and so proud as Charles, whose aimit certainly was to establish an independent kingdom. The presenceof the King at the Court of the Duke of Burgundy imposed on thatprince the necessity of exhibiting himself in the subordinatecharacter of a vassal, and of discharging many rites of feudalobservance and deference, which, to one of his haughty disposition,resembled derogation from the character of a Sovereign Prince,which on all occasions he affected as far as possible to sustain.
But although it was possible to avoid much ceremony by having thedinner upon the green turf, with sound of bugles, broaching ofbarrels, and all the freedom of a sylvan meal, it was necessarythat the evening repast should, even for that very reason, be heldwith more than usual solemnity.
Previous orders for this purpose had been given, and, upon returning toPeronne, King Louis found a banquet prepared with such a profusionof splendour and magnificence, as became the wealth of his formidablevassal, possessed as he was of almost all the Low Countries, thenthe richest portion of Europe. At the head of the long board, whichgroaned under plate of gold and silver, filled to profusion withthe most exquisite dainties, sat the Duke, and on his right hand,upon a seat more elevated than his own, was placed his royal guest.Behind him stood on one side the son of the Duke of Gueldres, whoofficiated as his grand carver -- on the other, Le Glorieux, hisjester, without whom he seldom stirred for, like most men of hishasty and coarse character, Charles carried to extremity the generaltaste of that age for court fools and jesters -- experiencing thatpleasure in their display of eccentricity and mental infirmitywhich his more acute but not more benevolent rival loved better toextract from marking the imperfections of humanity in its noblerspecimens, and finding subject for mirth in the "fears of the braveand follies of the wise." And indeed, if the anecdote related byBrantome be true, that a court fool, having overheard Louis, inone of his agonies of repentant devotion, confess his accession tothe poisoning of his brother, Henry, Count of Guyenne, divulged itnext day at dinner before the assembled court, that monarch mightbe supposed rather more than satisfied with the pleasantries ofprofessed jesters for the rest of his life.
But, on the present occasion, Louis neglected not to take noticeof the favourite buffoon of the Duke, and to applaud his repartees,which he did the rather that he thought he saw that the folly ofLe Glorieux, however grossly it was sometimes displayed, coveredmore than the usual quantity of shrewd and caustic observationproper to his class.
In fact, Tiel Wetzweiler, called Le Glorieux, was by no meansa jester of the common stamp. He was a tall, fine looking man,excellent at many exercises, which seemed scarce reconcilable withmental imbecility, because it must have required patience andattention to attain them. He usually followed the Duke to the chaseand to the fight; and at Montl'hery, when Charles was in considerablepersonal danger, wounded in the throat, and likely to be madeprisoner by a French knight who had hold of his horse's rein,Tiel Wetzweiler charged the assailant so forcibly as to overthrowhim and disengage his master. Perhaps he was afraid of this beingthought too serious a service for a person of his condition, andthat it might excite him enemies among those knights and nobleswho had left the care of their master's person to the court fool.At any rate, he chose rather to be laughed at than praised for hisachievement; and made such gasconading boasts of his exploits inthe battle, that most men thought the rescue of Charles was as idealas the rest of his tale; and it was on this occasion he acquiredthe title of Le Glorieux (or the boastful), by which he was everafterwards distinguished.
Le Glorieux was dressed very richly, but with little of theusual distinction of his profession; and that little rather of asymbolical than a very literal character. His head was not shorn;on the contrary, he wore a profusion of long curled hair, whichdescended from under his cap, and joining with a well arranged andhandsomely trimmed beard, set off features, which, but for a wildlightness of eye, might have been termed handsome. A ridge ofscarlet velvet carried across the top of his cap indicated, ratherthan positively represented, the professional cock's comb, whichdistinguished the head gear of a fool in right of office. His bauble,made of ebony, was crested as usual with a fool's head, with ass'sears formed of silver; but so small, and so minutely carved, that,till very closely examined, it might have passed for an officialbaton of a more solemn character. These were the only badges ofhis office which his dress exhibited. In other respects, it wassuch as to match with that of the most courtly nobles. His bonnetdisplayed a medal of gold, he wore a chain of the same metal aroundhis neck, and the fashion of his rich garments was not much morefantastic than those of young gallants who have their clothes madein the extremity of the existing fashion.
To this personage Charles, and Louis, in imitation of his host, oftenaddressed themselves during the entertainment; and both seemed tomanifest, by hearty laughter, their amusement at the answers of LeGlorieux.
"Whose seats be those that are vacant?" said Charles to the jester.
"One of those at least should be mine by right of succession,Charles," replied Le Glorieux.
"Why so, knave?" said Charles.
"Because they belong to the Sieur D'Hymbercourt and De Comines, whoare gone so far to fly their falcons, that they have forgot theirsupper. They who would rather look at a kite on the wing than apheasant on the board, are of kin to the fool, and he should succeedto the stools, as a part of their movable estate."
"That is but a stale jest, my friend Tiel," said the Duke; "but,fools or wise men, here come the defaulters."
As he spoke, Comines and D'Hymbercourt entered the room, and, afterhaving made their reverence to the two Princes, assumed in silencethe seats which were left vacant for them.
"What ho! sirs," exclaimed the Duke, addressing them, "your sporthas been either very good or very bad, to lead you so far and solate. Sir Philip de Comines, you are dejected -- hath D'Hymbercourtwon so heavy a wager on you? -- You are a philosopher, and shouldnot grieve at bad fortune. -- By Saint George D'Hymbercourt looksas sad as thou dost. -- How now, sirs? Have you found no game? orhave you lost your falcons? or has a witch crossed your way? orhas the Wild Huntsman (the famous apparition, sometimes called leGrand Veneur. Sully gives some account of this hunting spectre. S.)met you in the forest? By my honour, you seem as if you were cometo a funeral, not a festival."
While the Duke spoke, the eyes of the company were all directedtowards D'Hymbercourt and De Comines; and the embarrassment anddejection of their countenances, neither being of that class ofpersons to whom such expression of anxious melancholy was natural,became so remarkable, that the mirth and laughter of the company,which the rapid circulation of goblets of excellent wine had raisedto a considerable height, was gradually hushed; and, without beingable to assign any reason for such a change in their spirits, menspoke in whispers to each other, as on the eve of expecting somestrange and important tidings.
"What means this silence, Messires?" said the Duke, elevating hisvoice, which was naturally harsh. "If you bring these strange looks,and this stranger silence, into festivity, we shall wish you hadabode in the marshes seeking for herons, or rather for woodcocksand howlets."
"My gracious lord," said De Comines, "as we were about to returnhither from the forest, we met the Count of Crevecoeur --"
"How!" said the Duke, "already returned from Brabant? -- but hefound all well there, doubtless?"
"Body of me, where is the Count?" said the Duke.
"He changes his dress, to wait upon your Highness," answeredD'Hymbercourt.
"His dress? Saint Bleu!" exclaimed the impatient Prince, "what careI for his dress! I think you have conspired with him to drive memad."
"Or rather, to be plain," said De Comines, "he wishes to communicatethese news at a private audience."
"Teste dieu! my Lord King," said Charles, "this is ever the wayour counsellors serve us. -- If they have got hold of aught whichthey consider as important for our ear, they look as grave upon thematter and are as proud of their burden as an ass of a new packsaddle. -- Some one bid Crevecoeur come to us directly! -- Hecomes from the frontiers of Liege, and we, at least" (he laid someemphasis on the pronoun), "have no secrets in that quarter whichwe would shun to have proclaimed before the assembled world."
All perceived that the Duke had drunk so much wine as to increasethe native obstinacy of his disposition; and though many wouldwillingly have suggested that the present was neither a time forhearing news nor for taking counsel, yet all knew the impetuosityof his temper too well to venture on farther interference, and satin anxious expectation of the tidings which the Count might haveto communicate.
A brief interval intervened, during which the Duke remained lookingeagerly to the door, as if in a transport of impatience; whilstthe guests sat with their eyes bent on the table, as if to concealtheir curiosity and anxiety. Louis, alone maintaining perfectcomposure, continued his conversation alternately with the grandcarver and with the jester.
At length Crevecoeur entered, and was presently saluted by thehurried question of his master, "What news from Liege and Brabant,Sir Count? -- the report of your arrival has chased mirth from ourtable -- we hope your actual presence will bring it back to us."
"My Liege and master," answered the Count in a firm but melancholytone, "the news which I bring you are fitter for the council boardthan the feasting table."
"Out with them, man, if they were tidings from Antichrist!" saidthe Duke; "but I can guess them -- the Liegeois are again in mutiny."
Crevecoeur very gravely., the farther tidings are heavy for me to tell, and willbe afflicting to you to hear. -- No aid of mine, or!
"They are, my lord," said Crevecoeur very gravely.
"Look there," said the Duke, "I have hit at once on what you hadbeen so much afraid to mention to me: the hare brained burghersare again in arms. It could not be in better time, for we may atpresent have the advice of our own Suzerain," bowing to King Louis,with eyes which spoke the most bitter though suppressed resentment,"to teach us how such mutineers should be dealt with. -- Hast thoumore news in thy packet? Out with them, and then answer for yourselfwhy you went not forward to assist the Bishop."
"My lord, the farther tidings are heavy for me to tell, and willbe afflicting to you to hear. -- No aid of mine, or of livingchivalry, could have availed the excellent Prelate. William de laMarck, united with the insurgent Liegeois, has taken his Castle ofSchonwaldt, and murdered him in his own hall."
"Murdered him!" repeated the Duke in a deep and low tone, whichnevertheless was heard from the one end of the hall in which theywere assembled to the other, "thou hast been imposed upon, Crevecoeur,by some wild report -- it is impossible!"