Forest Days: A Romance of Old Times
in a minute in the court below. There are guests coming to the palace
to-day, and perchance we may meet them."
There was no slight delight to Hugh de Monthermer, as the reader may
very well imagine, in the thought of using his limbs in wholesome
exercise, and tasting again the free outward air; and dressing himself
hastily for the expedition, he was soon by the Prince's side. It often
happens, however, that when we have looked forward with bright
anticipations towards enjoyments from which we have been long debarred,
and have thought that nothing but pleasure and refreshment can await us
therein, a degree of melancholy falls upon us even in the very fruition
of our wishes--a memory, a regret, is poured out from the heart to
dilute the inebriating cup of joy.
It was so with Hugh de Monthermer. The first breath of the free air
felt to him like new life and the promises of hope; but, almost
instantly, the thought of the many high and noble, good and wise
companions, with whom not long before he had enjoyed the same gentle
breeze, the same warm sunshine, and who could now taste them no
more--the thought of his just and chivalrous uncle, wandering wounded
and alone, an exile or an outlaw--the thought of the gallant and the
brave who strewed the field of Evesham, came across his mind, and
dimmed all the happiness of the hour.
He was gloomy, then, as he rode forth from the palace gates, and the
merriment of many a young knight and gay esquire, who followed in
Edward's train, sounded harsh and unpleasant to his ear. They were
absent for some two hours; but, as they returned, the look of Hugh de
Monthermer was brightened, and his smile as cheerful as the rest.
If the reader would know why, it is easy to tell. Riding beside Prince
Edward, were the Earls of Gloucester and Ashby, and not far distant, a
train of fair ladies and attendants, amongst whom was one whose soft
dark eyes seemed ready to run over with bright drops whenever they
turned towards the young knight, who, for his part, was by her side as
often as the movements of the cavalcade would permit.
It is true, that more than one of the gentlemen around, proud of being
of the court party, and vain of any share they had taken in the late
struggle, deemed it almost an act of insolence on the part of a captive
and a rebel, as they chose to term him, to claim the attention of one
of the fair guests of their sovereign, Hugh de Monthermer's renown as a
knight, however, kept their saucy anger within due bounds; and, though
they so contrived that no private word could pass between Lucy de Ashby
and her lover, they could not cut him off from the enjoyment of her
society.
On arriving at the palace, more than one prepared himself to aid the
lady in dismounting from her horse; but Hugh de Monthermer, feeling a
title in her regard advanced as of right, and lifted the fair form of
Lucy from the saddle. In so doing, the only opportunity occurred of
uttering a word to each other, unheard by those around. But it was Lucy
herself who took advantage of it.
"I have something to say to you, Hugh," she, whispered; "something that
must be said."
Ere he could answer, however, the Earl of Ashby was by their side. He
had hitherto taken no notice of his former friend and confederate, and
perhaps might not have done so even now, had not his conversation with
the Prince been of a kind to show him that, in Edward's eyes, Hugh de
Monthermer was anything but a captive enemy. He held out his hand to
him, then, with kindly greeting, and asked him after his health,
adding--"Now that these contentions are happily at an end, my young
friend, let us forget any disputes in the past."
Hugh, as may be supposed, was not backward to accept his proferred
hand, and good care did he take, not even by a look, to shew that he
knew himself to be rather the injured than the injurer, in the
dissensions which had taken place. A few brief questions and replies
followed, while Edward spoke in a low tone with the Earl of Gloucester,
whose eyes, Hugh de Monthermer remarked, were fixed earnestly and
somewhat sternly upon himself. At length the Prince turned, and bending
gracefully to Lucy de Ashby, and another lady who was with the party,
told them that, though the Queen was still absent in France, the
Princess Eleanor waited for them in the hall.
"She is a cousin of yours, you know, fair lady," he added, addressing
Lucy, and then turning to his prisoner, he said "We have a grand
banquet to-night, Monthermer, at which you must find strength to be
present.--I have my father's commands to invite you."
Hugh bowed low, and as the guests passed on, he retired thoughtfully to
his own chamber.
It was still early in the day; the hour appointed for the banquet was
late, and his first reveries were full of joy and love, but a
discomfort of a trifling, yet annoying kind, crossed the young knight's
thoughts from time to time. Separated from all his attendants, kept a
close prisoner up to that period, both by his wounds, and by his
situation--he was totally without the means of appearing at the table
of the King with that splendour which the customs of the day
required.--The only suit he had was that which he then wore, the
pourpoint, namely, over which at Evesham he had borne his armour. Some
other necessaries had been supplied to him, as a kindness, by one of
Edward's attendants; but still--though resolved, at all events, not to
be absent from the banquet--how could he appear in garments soiled and
rent, where all the pomp and pageantry of England were sure to be
displayed!
"I will send to the Prince," he thought, "and let him know the
situation in which I am placed; but still, though doubtless, he will
now give me means of sending to my own friends, both for money and
apparel, the supply will come too late, for this day's necessities at
least, and even if he himself furnishes me with gold for present need,
where can I buy, in this lonely situation, any thing that I want?"
While he was thus thinking, the sound of steps in his ante-room showed
him that some one was approaching; and in a moment after, two of the
inferior attendants of the court entered, bringing in between them, one
of the long heavy cases of leather stretched upon a frame of wood,
which were then used for carrying arms and clothing in the train of an
army.
"This was brought here last night, my lord, and left for you," said one
of the servants. "The chief sewer opened it by mistake, and finding
that it contained apparel, sent us with it."
Hugh smiled, thinking that it was a kindly stratagem of the Prince to
furnish him with what he needed; but ere the two men had quitted the
ante-room, Edward himself re-entered it, coming to offer the assistance
of his purse or wardrobe, and taking blame to himself for not having
thought before of his friend's need.
Hugh laughed, and pointing to the coffer, thanked him for what he had
already sent; but the Prince denied all knowledge of it, and on opening
the case, which Edward insisted on his doing before his eyes, he found
that it was filled with apparel of his own, nearly new, which had been
left behind him in Yorkshire, in the early part of the year.
"This must be the doings of the fairies, my lord," he said; "but as I
cannot always count upon these nimble gentry thus attending to my
wants, I will beseech your Grace to let me send a messenger to enquire
after my own poor friends and attendants who were scattered at Evesham,
and to bring me such a number of men and horses as I may be permitted
to maintain while a prisoner, as well as some small supply of money."
"If you will write," said Edward, in reply, "I will send immediately.
But let us understand each other completely, Monthermer. I think on
many accounts that it may be better for you to reside some few months
at the Court of England, and I believe, at all events, that you
yourself will not be eager to quit it, while a certain bright lady
remains with the Princess. Your being my captive is the only excuse
that can be given for your prolonging your stay, where it is very
needful you should remain; and this is the reason why I do not publicly
set you free. But as in this changeful world," he continued, in a
marked and significant manner, "one never can tell what the next day
may bring forth, and as it may be necessary, either for your happiness
or your safety, under some circumstances, to fly at a moment's
notice--for I can neither trust the fierce Mortimer, nor the cruel
Pembroke--I promise to fix your ransom whenever you require it; and,
should need be, you may act upon this promise as if I had already given
you liberty--I will justify you whenever it takes place. In the
meantime, however, you must play the part of captive demurely, and make
the best of your opportunities, my young friend; for I have learned
from one of your enemies the state of your affections, and I doubt not
that your lady love will willingly listen to your tale if you choose a
fair hour for telling it.--Nay, no thanks, Monthermer! Take what money
you want from my purse till your own arrives; and now, adieu."
Hugh conducted the Prince to the door of his ante-room, and then
returned, proposing to examine more fully the wardrobe which had been
so unexpectedly sent to him, thinking that perhaps he might find
something to indicate from what hand it came. But before he did so, he
sat down thoughtfully, and gazed out of the small casement of his
chamber, while, strange to say, his spirit seemed oppressed. In every
point his situation was happier and better than it had been a few hours
previous; the storm cloud which had obscured his hopes was clearing
away; his mind had been made more easy in regard to his uncle's safety;
liberty appeared before him, and he was near to her he loved; but,
nevertheless, he felt a sadness that he could not account for. As the
first impression of the fresh air upon a person going out after a long
sickness will give them a sensation of faintness, even while it revives
them, so will the return to hope and happiness, after a long period of
despair and sorrow, bring with it a touch of melancholy even on the
wings of joy.
CHAPTER XXIV.
It was in the great hall at Eltham--that splendid hall which still
remains, attesting, like many other monuments, the magnificent ideas of
an age which we, perhaps justly, term barbarous, but which displayed,
amongst many rude and uncivilized things, a grasp of conception and a
power of execution in some of the arts, that we seldom if ever can
attain even in these more generally cultivated times.
In the great hall at Eltham, about an hour after sunset, was laid out a
banquet, which in profuse luxury and splendour as far exceeded any,
even of our state repasts, in the present day as the hall that overhung
it excelled the lumbering architecture of the eighteenth century. The
table actually groaned under masses of quaint and curious plate,--many
of the cups and dishes blazing with jewels, and an immense emerald, in
the shape of a cross surrounded by wax tapers, surmounting and
ornamenting the centre of the board. The dresses of the guests were of
all those bright and glittering colours so universally affected by rich
and poor in those days; and gold and precious stones were seen
sparkling all around, not alone ornamenting the persons of the fairer
sex, but decorating also the garments of the men.
Though the guests themselves only amounted to seventy, and the broad
table at which they sat looked small in the centre of the hall, yet the
number of attendants, carvers, cup-bearers, butlers, and sewers, was
not less than two hundred, without including the harps, the trumpets,
the minstrels and the spectators, who were admitted within certain
limits.