Agincourt Part 15

Vengeance is the drink by which the dire thirst of hate is often a.s.suaged; but if that cannot by any possibility be obtained, the burning of the heart goes on increasing till it becomes the unquenchable drought of fever.

The monarch answered calmly, however, and without further reproach.

"Your tale, Sir Simeon," he said, "is somewhat different from that which previously reached my ears. I trust it can be substantiated in all its parts; for this matter must be investigated fully. The crown officer will, of course, do his duty by inquest upon the body. It will be well for you to be present; and the law will then take its due effect. Retire for a time, sir, into another chamber, and I will cause inquiry to be made, as to when a jury will be ready to investigate the case."

Sir Simeon of Roydon bowed with a sad and respectful countenance, and turned towards the door; but when he reached it, the expression of his face, now averted from the King, was very different from that which it had been a moment before. A mocking smile sat upon his lip--the sneering, bitter expression of a bad spirit, which has gained some advantage over a n.o.bler one; but it was gone again the moment he opened the door and stood in presence of two or three attendants, who were waiting in the ante-room. At the same instant, the voice of Henry called the page, and Sir Simeon, pausing and seating himself, could hear the King give orders for making the inquiries which he had mentioned. In less than twenty minutes, the page returned and entered the monarch's closet, after which the knight was recalled.

"I find, sir," said Henry, when he appeared again before him, "that uncommonly quick proceedings have been taken in this case. The inquest has sat already; and the good men have p.r.o.nounced the death accidental. So far the finding is satisfactory; but as it is clear that the accident occurred by your furious riding of a horse which you yourself acknowledge to be vicious and dangerous, I have to require that you make the only compensation that can be made to the person who I am told is this old man's grandchild. You will, therefore, go at once to the hospital of St. James, and there, or elsewhere, when you have found her, will pay to this poor girl the sum of fifty half n.o.bles, expressing your sorrow--which, doubtless, you feel sincerely--for the evil you have occasioned."

Sir Simeon of Roydon bowed, with every appearance of respect; but there was a scowl upon his brow; and he could not refrain from asking, "May I inquire, Sire, whether this fine is imposed by the inquest, or whether it be the award of your Highness; for if--"

Henry's cheek flushed, and the impetuous spirit which had made him in early years strike the judge upon the bench, roused itself for a moment in his heart. It was conquered speedily, however; and he murmured to himself, "No, I will not act the tyrant. Sir Simeon," he continued, aloud, waving his hand, "the award is mine, as you say. It is my desire that this should be done. You will do it or not, as you think fit, for I will not strain the laws; but if it be not done, never present yourself before me again. That at the least I may require, sir, though the verdict of the jury can but affect the horse you rode."

"Your Highness did not hear me out," replied Roydon, who had now recovered the mastery of himself; "I did but presume to ask; because if such a fine had been imposed by the jury, I should have resisted it, as contrary to law; but at the command of your Highness, I pay it, not only with submission but with pleasure, as the only means I have of showing both my regret at what has taken place, and my eager desire to conform myself in all things to your will. Not an hour shall pa.s.s before you are certified that I have not only obeyed, but gone beyond your orders; and so I humbly take my leave."

The words were well and gracefully spoken; and Henry found no occasion to complain of the knight's demeanour; but still he was not satisfied that his obedience was the submission of the heart; for he knew right well that fair words, ay, and fair actions, too, are often but the cloaks of sly and subtle knavery; and the character of Sir Simeon of Roydon was not new to him. He replied merely, "So you shall do well, sir;" and bowed his head as a signal that he might depart.

The knight quitted his presence in no happy mood, perceiving right well that the monarch's favour, on which he had counted much, had been lost and not regained. He hated him for the clear sighted penetration which had seen through his art; and he only doubted whether there was or was not a chance of still deceiving his sovereign, and recovering his good graces, by an appearance of zeal and devotion in obeying his commands.

"It is worth the trial," he thought; "and it shall be tried; but I shall soon find whether he continues to nourish such ill-will towards me; and if he do, my course must be shaped accordingly. Curses upon these beggarly vagrants! Who ever heard of King before who troubled his n.o.bility about minstrels and tomblesteres? This smacks of the early tastes of our magnanimous monarch, whose sole delight, within these two months, was in pot-house tipplers, and losel gamesters. He may a.s.sume a royal port and solemn manner, if he will; but the habit of years is not so easily conquered; and if he trip now, he is lost.

Men were tired enough of his usurping father. A new prince carries the ever-changing mult.i.tude at his heels; but time will bring weariness, and weariness is soon changed into disgust. We shall see; we shall see; and the day of vengeance may come. In the meantime, of one, at least, I have had retribution; and this other shall not long escape--a rude, ballad-singing peasant, only fit for the brute sports of the bull-baiting, or the fair--a very franklin in spirit, and a yeoman in heart."

With thoughts,--which, as the reader may have perceived, had deviated from the King to Richard of Woodville,--with thoughts wavering with a strong inclination to bold evil, but chained down to mere knavery, for the time, by some remaining chances of success--for strange as it may seem, as many men are rendered cowards by hope as by fear--Sir Simeon of Roydon pursued his way to the hospital of St. James, on foot, having hastened to the presence of the King without waiting for his horses. As, still in deep and angry thought, he approached the gate and the old lodge, he raised his eyes somewhat suddenly at an advancing step, and beheld the form of a young girl, with her long dark eyelashes bent down till they rested on her cheek. He caught but a momentary glance as she hurried by; but Simeon of Roydon was quick and eager in his examination of all that is beautiful in mere form; and that glance was sufficient to rouse no very holy feelings. The rounded limbs, the small and delicate foot and ankle, the fine chiseled features, the graceful easy movements, the exquisite neck and bosom half hidden by the folds of the grey hood, were all marked in an instant; and as she seemed alone, without defence or protection, he hesitated for a moment whether to stop and speak to her; but while he paused, she was gone with a quick step; the gate of the convent was near, and, resisting the pa.s.sing temptation, he walked on and rang the bell.

The porter slowly opened the gate; and, with the tone of careless and haughty indifference which has always marked the inferior personages of a court--I mean the inferior in mind, more than the inferior in rank or station--the knight said, "There was an old man killed near this spot last night, I think?"

"There was, n.o.ble sir," answered the porter, with a low reverence to his air of superiority; "the body has been moved to the chapel."

"I care nought about the body," rejoined Roydon. "He had a daughter or grand-daughter or something with him; where is she?"

"She has just gone forth, n.o.ble sir," replied the porter; "you must have pa.s.sed her at the gate."

"Ha! what! a girl with a grey hood and a white coat, with some gold at the edge?" asked the knight.

"The same, n.o.ble sir," said the old man; "poor thing, she is sadly afflicted."

"Send her to me when she comes back, and I will comfort her," answered the visitor in a light tone.

"Nay, sir, she is none of those, I'll warrant," replied the porter, very little edified; "and I give no such messages here."

"Thou art a fool, old man," said Sir Simeon of Roydon. "Will she come back hither?"

"Doubtless she will," answered the other, "for better comfort than you can give."

"Pshaw! art thou a preacher?", demanded the knight, with a sneer. "The comfort that I have to give is gold, by the King's command. So tell her to come to Burwash House, close by the Temple gate, up the lane to the left, and ask for Simeon of Roydon. If I be not within, I will leave the money with a servant; but bid her come quickly, for I must tell the King as soon as his bounty is bestowed. When will she be here?"

"That I know not," answered the old man; "the prioress bade me give her admission to the parlour whenever she came, for the ladies the sisters have taken her case much to heart. But the young woman did not say when she would return. Perhaps it would be better for you to leave the money with the lady prioress herself, who would render it to her when she sees her."

"Give advice to those who ask it, my friend," replied Roydon. "I know best what are the King's commands and my duty; so tell her what I say on the part of his Highness, and let her come as speedily as may be."

The knight then turned, and, with a haughty step, took his way back to Burwash House, the London mansion of a distant kinsman, who, in reverence of his newly acquired wealth, permitted the heir of poor Catherine Beauchamp to inhabit it during his own absence from the capital.

Sir Simeon of Roydon was now enjoying to the full that which he had long earnestly desired--the prosperity of riches, which he had never before known; for his own estate had originally been small, and had soon been enc.u.mbered, under the influence of expensive tastes and vain ostentation. Unchastened by adversity, unreclaimed by experience, he was now living as much beyond his present, as he had previously lived beyond his former, fortune; and grooms and attendants of all kinds waited him at his dwelling, chosen from the sc.u.m of a great city, which always affords a mult.i.tude of serviceable knaves, ready to aid an heir to spend his inheritance, and, by obsequious compliance with all rash or vicious desires, to secure themselves a partic.i.p.ation in the plunder, during the term of its existence. To some of these worthies, whom he found in the court, he gave orders for the immediate admission of poor Ella Brune as soon as she appeared; and then, betaking himself to a chamber on the first floor, he occupied himself for somewhat more than an hour in thinking over future plans, no inconsiderable portion of which referred to the gratification of many of the pleasant little pa.s.sions, that, like strong drink, by turns stimulate and allay the thirst of a depraved mind. Revenge--or, rather, the gratification of hate, for revenge presupposes injury--was predominant, though ambition had a goodly share also.

To become that for which he thought himself well fitted, but towards which he had never hitherto been able to take one step--a great and prominent man--was one princ.i.p.al object:--to take a share in the mightier deeds of life, to rule and influence others, to command, to be looked up to, to receive authority and wield it at will. Oh, how often does that desire _to become a great man_ render one a little man!--how often is it the source of littleness in those who might otherwise be great indeed! When the greatest philosopher that modern ages has produced declared, that "to rise to dignities we must submit to indignities," how powerful, to debase the mightiest mind, did that longing _to become a great man_ show itself! How constantly, through his whole career, do we see it producing all that made him other than great! It was, and is ever, the result of the one grand fundamental error, the misappreciation of real greatness. And thus we desire to become great in the eyes of other men, not in our own--to win the applause of worms, not merit the approbation of G.o.d.

Such pitiful elevation was the only greatness coveted by him of whom we speak; but that was not the only desire which moved him--he longed for indulgence of every kind, from which straitened circ.u.mstances had long debarred him--he thought of pleasures with the eagerness of a Tantalus, who had for years beheld them close to his lip, without the power of bringing them within his taste; and, like a famished beast, he was ready to fall upon the food of appet.i.te wherever it could be found. But still cunning--both natural and that acquired from the ready teacher of all evil to inferior minds, poverty--was at hand to bring certain restraints, which wisdom and virtue were not there to enforce. There was a consciousness in his breast, that too great eagerness often disappoints its own desires, and that he was too eager; and, therefore, he resolved that he would be cautious too. But such resolutions usually fail somewhere; for cautiousness is a guardian who does not always watch, when she is without the companions.h.i.+p of rect.i.tude.

Such reflections were still busily occupying his mind; and he had arrived at sincere regret for the rash and brutal act which he had committed the night before--not because it was evil, but because it was imprudent--when a page opened the door, and ushered Ella Brune into the room.

The poor girl knew not whom she was coming to see--she had taken no note of the face or form of him whose cruel carelessness had deprived her of the only support she had--she had not listened to the words that pa.s.sed between him and Richard of Woodville--she stood before him unconscious that he was the slayer of her old companion. Let the reader mark that fact well. Nevertheless, as soon as she saw him she turned deadly pale, and her limbs trembled.

But Sir Simeon of Roydon took a smooth and pleasant tone; and as soon as the page was gone, and had closed the door, he asked, "They gave you my message, then, pretty maid?" At the same time he placed a stool for her, and motioned her to be seated.

"They told me, sir," she answered in a low tone, "that you had commands for me from the King."

"And so I have, fair maiden," replied Simeon of Roydon; "but, I pray you, sit. This has been a sad event--I grieve for it much. I was not aware, till this morning, that my runaway charger had done such damage."

"And were you the man?" demanded Ella Brune, suddenly raising her eyes to his face. As she did so, she found him gazing at her from head to foot, taking in all the beauties of her face and form, as an experienced judge remarks the points of a fine horse; and she drew her hood farther over her brow, not well satisfied with the eager and pa.s.sionate look of admiration which his countenance displayed.

"I was unfortunate enough to be so," answered Roydon, perceiving her gesture, and thinking it as well to put some little restraint upon himself, though he never dreamed that a poor minstrel's girl could seriously resist the solicitation of a man of wealth and station. "I regret it deeply," he continued, "but the brute overpowered me. By the King's commands, I bear you fifty half-n.o.bles; here they are. And, for my own satisfaction, I will give you the same."

As he spoke, he held out a purse to her, but Ella Brune drew back.

"The King's bounty," she said, "I will receive with grat.i.tude; but, from you, I will take nothing."

"And, pray, why not, sweet girl?" asked Simeon of Roydon; "the King cannot grieve for what has happened half as much as I do, or be half as eager to comfort and console you. Nay, sit down, and speak to me;"

and, taking her hand, he led her back to the stool much against her will. "I would fain hear what can be done for you," he added; "I fear you may be friendless and unprotected; and I long to make up to you, as far as possible, for the loss you have sustained."

"I am, indeed, alone in the world," replied the fair girl; "but not friendless, and unprotected, while I trust in G.o.d."

"Yes, but G.o.d uses human means," answered Roydon, who was every moment growing more eager in the pursuit, which at first had been but as the chase of a b.u.t.terfly; "and you must let me be his instrument, as I have caused, unwillingly, this evil to befal you. I have a beautiful small cottage on my lands, where the trees fall round and shade it in the winter from the wind--in the summer from the sun. The woodbine and rose gather round the door, and a sparkling stream dances within sight. There, if you will accept such a refuge, you can live in peace and tranquillity, protected from all the harm and wrong that might happen to you in great cities; for you are too young and too lovely to escape wiles, and perhaps violence, if you are left without good ward, in such resorts of men as these."

A smile came upon the lip of Ella Brune, but it was of a very mingled and changeful expression. Perhaps the wakening of some old remembered dream of happy days might render it at first soft and gentle; and, the next instant, the recollection of how that dream had faded might sadden; and then again, the transparency of his baseness mixed a touch of scorn with it, and she answered, "That can never be, sir. I seek no protection but that I have, and cannot accept of yours. I am able, as I am accustomed, to guard myself, and will do so still. I think you have mistaken me--but it matters not. I seek neither gold nor favour from you; and, if you would make atonement for bad deeds, it must be to G.o.d, not me."

As she spoke, she rose, and turned to quit the room; and Simeon of Roydon hesitated for a moment whether he should not detain her by force--for those were days of violence; and her very coldness had rendered the pa.s.sion he began to feel towards her but the more impetuous. He remembered, however, that there might be those who expected her return; that the place whither she had gone was known at the monastery; and that the King's eye might be upon his conduct towards her. These calculations pa.s.sed like lightning through his mind, and he chose his course in an instant.

"Stay!" he cried, "stay one minute more, sweet girl. I have not mistaken you at all. I would not even force my protection on you: but, at least, receive this; for I must tell the King that it is paid."

"His bounty," replied Ella, "I will not refuse, as I before said, and offer him my deepest thanks; but, from you, I will receive nothing."

"Well, then, take these fifty pieces," said her companion; "they are given by the King's command. We shall meet again, fair maid; and then, perhaps, you will know me better."

"I seek to know no more," she answered, taking the gold he gave: "I have known enough," and, turning to the door, she left him, murmuring to herself, "Would that the King had sent it by other hands."

Simeon of Roydon followed her to the gates, beckoning up two of his servants as he went. "Quick," he whispered; "you see that girl?--follow her wherever she goes: find out her name--her dwelling--every particular you can gather, and bring me your tidings with all speed."

CHAPTER XII.