Maugis, ye sorcerer from ye ancient French : a wonderful tale from ye writings of ye mad savant of ye Maison Maugis in ye olde citie of Mouzon, France
a terrible stroke upon the head, which for an instant caused him to
totter on his horse. Oger was about to renew the attack, when Alard
and Guichard came up with some soldiers, and attacked the escort of
Oger with great fury, putting them to flight, and massacring all who
resisted; afterward they sought the wounded Richard and bore him to a
place of safety.
CHAPTER XII.
For a time Richard was thought to be dying; they tenderly put him upon
a hastily constructed litter, enveloped in the remains of their cloaks,
and then returned to Montaubon, where they were received with the
rejoicings of the people. The meeting between Maugis and Yolande was
most affecting; she shed tears of happiness upon his breast, overjoyed
to see again him whom she thought was lost forever.
After a few days of rest, Maugis resolved to punish King Yon, and was
actively making his preparations to do so when a messenger arrived at
the court from his brother-in-law. He was immediately shown into the
presence of Maugis.
“How now!” sternly demanded Maugis of the envoy; “what wouldst thou?”
“My lord,” replied the messenger, “I come to thee from thy sorrowing
and repentant brother-in-law, King Yon. He doth most humbly crave thy
forgiveness and pardon and doth relate to thee his most sorrowful and
unhappy condition. Roland doth hold him captive, and he craves thee to
lay aside thy just resentment and to deliver him from his hands.”
Maugis was silent for a moment and could not resist a sigh at thus
perceiving how the treachery of the King of Acquitaine had served to
punish and degrade him.
“’Tis well,” said Maugis, “the baseness of thy master hath brought to
him its own reward, yet great as my resentment is, I do not recognize
the right of Roland to hold King Yon his prisoner, even though he be my
worthless relative, I shall wrest him from his bonds. Get thee gone!”
Maugis then called a council of his brothers and acquainted them with
his plans. The troops were ordered under arms, and all preparations
were made to go out and attack the enemy at once.
The expedition, headed by Maugis, had proceeded but a short distance
when they came upon Roland, face to face, at the head of a considerable
number of troops. A halt was ordered and Maugis rode forward, lowered
his lance, and said to Roland:
“Brave knight, we have been shedding each other’s blood in a bitter
quarrel, which it is now time to terminate, once for all. Thou art a
relative of Charlemagne, and of mine; I pray thee use thy influence to
pacify the emperor, and on my part I will do all in my power to second
your efforts. We are willing to undertake, as a penance, war against
the infidels, in the name of the Emperor of France, my brothers and I;
I pray thee, then, in behalf of all, to accept my offer.”
Roland, much affected by the frank and manly words of Maugis, replied:
“Brave knight, for myself, I gladly tell thee I would only be too
willing to accede to these requests, but alas! Charlemagne refuses to
hear of peace under any conditions, except that thee and thy brothers
are delivered into his hands.”
“Then it is useless,” responded Maugis; “we will fight until death
before we will ever lower ourselves to commit such a great act of
cowardice.”
Saying this, Maugis lowered his visor, set his lance at rest, and
spurring his horse quickly forward, charged upon Roland. Roland in turn
drew his famous sword and aimed a terrible blow at Maugis, which the
latter received upon his shield, but such was its force the shield flew
to pieces, and Roland stopping, said, smiling at his adversary:
“Good, my cousin, I have taken my revenge on thee for thy rashness; thy
shield is gone, we will now quit.”
“No,” replied Maugis, “if thou hast destroyed my shield for vengeance,
I will punish thee for thy pride.”
This singular combat would have been continued, and with their
followers included, all would have become engaged in a duel to
extermination, if Renaud had not restrained his cousin. On his side
Olivier, the friend of Roland, likewise detained the nephew of
Charlemagne, who, however, had become enraged at the taunt of Maugis
and would listen to nothing, but would throw himself with all his force
upon him.
Things were at this delicate point when in the distance a body of
troops were seen approaching with a slow and measured tread. They
surrounded a man habited in the garb of a monk; the doleful strains of
the _Miserere_ came floating to them borne on the breeze. The nearer
approach of this melancholy procession revealed the fact that the man
in the garb of a monk was no other than King Yon; they were conducting
him to execution. This sight caused Maugis to forget all his resentment
against his brother-in-law. He drew his troops across the road, barring
the progress of the guard, and thundered out the order to them:
“Halt!”
“Stand aside!” responded the commandant of the guard.
“Again I command thee to halt,” cried Maugis; “yield thy prisoner!”
At these words Maugis commanded his troops to charge, and they
threw themselves upon the guard with such fury that they were all
either killed or dispersed, and finally the unfortunate King Yon was
delivered from their hands. He then threw himself at the feet of his
brother-in-law, saying:
“I am not worthy to live in thy presence; the sole grace I can implore
of thee is that I may meet death at thy hands.”
At the sight of Maugis fighting the guardians of King Yon, the troops
on each side all along the line became engaged in a murderous conflict,
and intermingling formed a vast struggling mass, in the midst of which
could be seen the swords rising and falling, at each stroke meeting a
victim. Roland, in the meantime, was not inactive; he wrought upon his
enemy injury equal to that of Maugis.
Richard, who was still weak from his wounds, and fought but little,
became surrounded, and Roland perceiving it, rode toward him, and not
deeming it chivalrous to accept his defiance, ordered him to be taken
alive. Richard defended himself like a lion at bay, but was very soon
buried under a mass of the enemy, hurled from his horse and compelled
to yield. He refused to give his sword to any one but Roland, whom he
considered only worthy to receive it.
It was in the midst of the fight that the sorrowful news of the capture
of Richard was borne to Maugis; it made him furious; he declared he
would at any price secure the liberty of Richard, and he was about to
appoint Alard and Guichard to act in his place, while he proceeded
against the camp of Charlemagne to deliver his brother, but his cousin
Renaud arrested him.
“Thy project is foolish,” said he; “if you take such a step you will
certainly be yourself captured, then what can you do? Listen, I have
myself an account to settle with the emperor, and if Richard has
not already been executed, I will enter the camp of Charlemagne in
disguise, will learn what they intend doing with him, and we can then
know better what steps to take for his rescue.”
“Thy plan is wise,” said Maugis, “and knowing thy discretion, am
assured thou wilt return from thy perilous mission in safety.”
Accordingly, Renaud at once retired, and hastily disguising himself
as a pilgrim, leaning wearily upon a stick, proceeded to the camp
of Charlemagne, whither Richard had been borne. On nearing the camp
he walked very feebly, and assumed such a miserable aspect that all
gates were opened before him; such was the reverence for holiness and
sanctity, that pilgrims from the holy land were held in those days, and
when, at last, he had arrived before the tent of the emperor, and was
ushered into his presence, he said to Charlemagne:
“Pax Vobiscum, great ruler, I have just returned from Jerusalem,
where I prostrated myself before the tomb of our Divine Master,” and
reverently crossing himself he bowed his hooded head upon his breast
and stood silent.
“Most holy man, I give thee greeting,” replied the emperor; “what
commands hast thou for me? Speak, and they are granted thee.”
“Sire,” continued the false monk, “while on my way yesterday by
Balancon, with other pilgrims, traveling the same road, we were set
upon by brigands; all my companions were slain, and I alone, by the
mercy of God, escaped death, and that only because they thought I was
so near death already. At the nearest village I could gain I learned
that the country was being ravaged by the four sons of Aymon, aided
by a certain Renaud, and, from a picture, I am sure it was the latter
who was our assailant, and it was he who brought me to this miserable
state.” Here the pilgrim made another sign of the cross, saluted the
emperor with humility, and begged him for food, as it had been a long
time since he had had what he required.
Renaud acted his part so well that Charlemagne was taken completely off
his guard, and suspicious of nothing, gave orders that the holy father
be well treated as one deserved who possessed such precious information.
Renaud added to the good impression he had produced by a liberal
quantity of prayers and blessings. At this point the camp was aroused
by a blare of trumpets from without; it was Roland who had arrived with
Richard surrounded by a strong guard.
Charlemagne, who had already been warned by Ganelon of the result of
his nephew’s expedition, received him joyfully, and, upon hearing his
story, embraced him. Said he:
“Thou hast done well; let the rebel be delivered to punishment at once.”
At the first sight of the pilgrim, Richard recognized his cousin
Renaud, which had the effect of reassuring him as to his safety.
Renaud, on his part, succeeded in learning the plans of the execution,
and where it was to take place, then he quietly withdrew, hastened
to Montaubon and gave the order summoning all to arms as quickly as
possible. This being accomplished, he prepared to lead them to the
place of execution, and took the troops around by a circuitous route
to the appointed place, hiding them in the woods nearby, and enjoining
every one to preserve the utmost silence.
On the arrival of Richard at the camp, Charlemagne immediately
assembled his council. Said he:
“At last one of the rebellious sons of Aymon has been delivered into my
hands; it has been at a fearful cost of blood and treasure. They have
defied and insulted me. I should be illy fitted to be a ruler did I not
make a most forcible example of this rebellious subject, therefore do
I decide to hang him as near the château on the mountain as possible,
that it may give the execution an imposing effect. Let the affair
proceed at once.”
Now arose a difficulty to find an executioner. There was a secret
admiration for the brave sons of Aymon throughout the camp. This was
revealed when no one would volunteer to fill the office. At last a
person of the court of bad reputation, one Des Rives by name, who
had already made himself conspicuous by his questionable exploits,
presented himself for the task, hoping by means of this low action to
gain favor in the eyes of the emperor, and Charlemagne at once accepted
him.
Faithful to his past, and at the cost of his honor, Des Rives then
approached Richard and read him the sentence of death. Then he mounted
Richard upon a mule, and brought him before the tent of Charlemagne,
further humiliating him by taunts and jeers.
At all times in France men have fought solely for the desire to
conquer, and rarely for the hate of their enemies, therefore the
conduct of the cowardly and villainous Des Rives so much affected the
assembled knights and soldiers that many a stern eye shed tears to
see the treatment suffered by a man so renowned for his bravery and
nobility of character.
The troops of the escort now surrounded him and conducted him away to