Part 40 (1/2)
[Footnote 45: By a charter of 1103, churches allowed an asylum within a s.p.a.ce of thirty paces in circ.u.mference. _Ecclesiae salvitatem habeant triginta pa.s.suum circ.u.mcirca.--Marca._]
A great struggle now ensues, the Bearnais resolving to oppose the Cagot's entrance to the sanctuary, and the knight and his followers maintaining his attempt. The young Marie of Lignac at length forces her way through the crowd, and laying her hand on the Cagot, demands, by virtue of the _fors et coutumes_, that he be given up to the protection of a n.o.ble lady who claims her right to shelter the guilty.
This appeal was not to be treated with contempt; and the mob, perhaps tired of the conflict, gave way with a sudden feeling of respect; while Marie led the persecuted Cagot, surrounded by the knight's men-at-arms, to the door of the church, where he entered, and was in safety.
The next scene of the story introduces the reader to the old knight of Artiguelouve, and the interior of his castle,[46] where the late events are recounted to him by his wife and son, with great bitterness; and envy and offended pride excite the mother and son to resolutions of vengeance, which the father, a man apparently soured with misfortune, and saddened by some concealed sin, can only oppose by expressions of contempt, which irritate the more.
[Footnote 46: The castle of Artiguelouve is still standing--a curious monument of ancient grandeur; it is situated near Sauveterre.]
The demoiselle de Lignac, meantime, is arrived at the Castle of Orthez, and received, as well as her uncle, with great honour by Gaston de Foix, who proposes inst.i.tuting his beautiful guest the queen of the approaching tournament.
The unknown knight, having left the Cagot with the monks of Aubertin, and acted the part of the good Samaritan by his charge, is next seen pursuing his way southward; where, in the mountains, an interview takes place between him and his father, who is, it seems, a proscribed man.
They meet after many years of absence, during which the young knight has won all kinds of honour, having gone to the wars under the care and adoption of a brave champion, Messire Augerot de Domezain; who, dying of his wounds, had recommended his young friend to the King of Castile, from whom he receives knighthood. He learns from his father that the holy hermit, brother of Augerot, under whoso care he was brought up, is dead; and he further learns, that the time is nearly come when the secret of his father's misfortunes will be revealed to him. All that the knight, in fact, knows about himself is, that a cloud hangs over the n.o.ble family to which he belongs, and that his father is obliged to conceal himself to escape persecution.
The father and son separate: the one retiring to his retreat in the Vallee d'Aspe, the other journeying onwards to the court of Gaston Phoebus.
He has arrived at Orthez, and has just reached the famous _Hotel de la Lune_, described by Froissart, when he falls into an ambush, and is carried off by unknown enemies, and thrown into a dungeon in the ruins of an abandoned castle, situated on a hill to the south of the Valley of Geu, between Lagor and Sauvelade--a spot which may still be seen. Here the unfortunate knight is left to lament and mourn, that all his hopes of distinguis.h.i.+ng himself in the tournament, and of again seeing the beautiful Marie, are destroyed at once.
The _fetes_ go on, and every thing at Orthez breathes of gaiety and splendour; the people have their games; the Pyrrhic dances, called _sauts Basques_, are in full force, performed by the Escualdunacs in their parti-coloured dresses, and red sashes; the Bearnais execute their spiral dances,[47] and sing their mountain-songs and ballads; some cast great stones and iron bars, in which exercises is distinguished Ernauton d'Espagne, the strong knight mentioned in Froissart as being able to bring into the hall of Gaston an a.s.s fully laden with fuel, and to throw the whole on the hearth, to the great delight of all present. These scenes give occasion to the author to introduce many of the proverbial sayings of the people, which are curious and characteristic. Their strictures on the dress and appearance of the knights and n.o.bles, are in keeping with the freedom of the habits of the day, when the commonalty, however oppressed in some particulars, were allowed a singular lat.i.tude of speech.
[Footnote 47: _i.e._ lifting their partners into the air.]
Amongst their homely sayings, occur the following:--
”Habillat u bastou qu', aura l'air d'u baron.”
Dress up a stick, and you can give it the air of a baron.
”Nout basques mey gran hech que non pouchques lheba:”
Do not make a larger f.a.got than you can lift.
”Quabau mey eslurras dap l'esclop que dap la lengue.”
It is better to slide with _sabots_ than with the tongue.
”Yamey nou fondes maysou aupres d'aigue ni de seignou.”
Never build a house near a torrent nor a great lord.
”Las sourcieros et lous loup-garous Aus cures han minya capons.”
Witches and loup-garoux make priests eat fat capons, _i.e. are to their advantage_--an adage which would seem to infer that the search for sorcery was known to be a _job_ in all ages.
The tournament goes on: and, to the great disappointment of the lady of the lists, no stranger-knight appears; and her admirer, Odon, is the victor over all others; when, just at the last moment, the trumpet of the Unknown sounds, and he comes into the arena, and challenges the envious knight, after defeating all the others, Dame Ga.r.s.ende has recourse to a stratagem to overcome him, which fails in regard to him, but overwhelms her son in confusion, and causes his defeat: she cuts the cord of a canopy under which the knight has to pa.s.s, in the hope that it will fall in his way, and enc.u.mber his advance; but he adroitly catches it on the end of his spear, and Odon, in falling from his horse after the knight's attack, gets entangled in the garlands and drapery, and makes a very ridiculous figure. Of course the stranger-knight is made happy in the chaplet placed on his brow by Marie, and the kiss of custom by which the gift is accompanied. His rival retires, vowing vengeance.
A grand feast then takes place; and as the guests arrive they are severally recognised by the people. The stranger-knight, whose device is _a branch of vine clinging to an aged tree_, is hailed with acclamation, and a tumult of enthusiasm, consequent on his successes and his honourable reception by Gaston Phoebus; to whom, when questioned as to his name and family, he replies that he is called Raymond, the adopted son of Messire Augerot de Domezain. Gaston instantly recognises in him a knight whose valorous deeds are on record, and who saved the life of Marie de Lignac's father, at the battle of Aljubarotta.
Raymond produces a chain of gold, which the dying knight had charged him to deliver to Gaston, to be sent to his daughter; and the tears and thanks of the young lady are the reward of his accomplished mission.