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
their courage and activity.
They, however, continued the pursuit, but without result, and the
falling of night favored the fugitives in their escape from the
soldiers of Charlemagne. Thus, happily escaping, they proceeded on
their homeward journey with all the haste their horses could bear them.
The duchess received them and listened with sorrow to an account of
the danger which had encompassed them, and after allowing time for a
sufficient rest, she gave them some gold, advising them to leave as
soon as possible, for the good reason that their father, bound by his
oath of fidelity to Charlemagne, would be obliged to give them up, if
it should be demanded by the emperor.
Maugis accepted the advice of his mother. During the night he, followed
by his brothers, quietly left the château and disappeared in the
forests of the Ardennes, arriving after a time at the banks of the
river Meuse. They on the following day carefully examined the country
round about in order to find a favorable place in which to establish
works of defense, for they knew that Charlemagne would not rest content
until he had wreaked dire vengeance upon them, and that it would not be
long before their location would become known to him. They therefore
sought some inaccessible place of defense, and having made a selection
they proceeded to fortify it with all possible activity. They builded
a château fortress in a high and impregnable position, upon the summit
of a rock, and when complete, called it the “Château de Montfort.” The
river Meuse ran around the foot of the rock, forming a natural moat,
and rendering the place unassailable.
During this time, while the four sons of Aymon were thus preparing
themselves to escape the rage of Charlemagne, he, without caring for
the sorrow of their father, the Duke d’Aymon, for the crime his son
had committed, ordered the duke arrested; but when the duke condemned
his sons and expressed a willingness to make a new oath of fidelity,
agreeing to preserve a strict neutrality in the conflict between the
king and his sons, Charlemagne, who recognized he could get nothing
from him, sent him to his home, when upon his arrival the duchess
informed him that his sons were safe.
He also learned with pleasure of the strong position they had secured
to escape the rage of the emperor, but to baffle the suspicions of
Charlemagne, and to prevent himself from knowing what was passing, he
returned to the court under pretense that he wished to be near the
emperor that he might not be held responsible for the action of his
sons.
CHAPTER V.
The news of the construction of a redoubtable fortress was not long
in reaching the ears of the emperor. He was also advised that there
were others concerned in the construction besides Maugis and his four
brothers. This made Charlemagne all the more angry and vindictive. He
resolved to attack him on his own ground. He would combine the forces
of all the lords there were there present, besides all the knights
he could find, directing them in all haste to secure vengeance. He
promised to subdue Maugis, raze his fortress, and give up all the
surrounding country to fire and pillage.
Not all the lords present at the time were agreeable to this plan, but
having given their oaths of fidelity, had to submit to the consequences
of their promises. Ganelon finally proposed to pursue a middle course
in order to terminate the war without striking a blow, for Ganelon
liked not to fight. He proposed to negotiate an offer to Maugis to
yield up his three brothers and his cousin Renaud to the emperor,
hoping in his secret heart that would pave the way to the destruction
of Maugis afterward. This strange proposition seemed agreeable to
Charlemagne and he consented it should be made, charging the matter to
the Duke de Naimes, his confidant, and Oger.
These two knights, in due time, presented themselves to Maugis and
rendered their duty, though certain beforehand he would not consider
the subject a moment. They were not deceived.
Maugis received the message, but could not restrain his indignation at
the infamy of the proposal.
“What, my noble lords!” he cried, “wouldst have me deliver my brothers
and my cousin Renaud, because, however unwillingly, they have aided me.
No, a thousand times no,” he exclaimed. “It were far better to die,
sword in hand, than to purchase peace by such an act of cowardice.”
Maugis was furious, but later becoming calm, he invited the two to
visit his arsenal and view his means of defense. Said he to them
earnestly: “There is not a knight among my followers, nor an inhabitant
of this citadel, but who would prefer the most bloody death and to find
a grave under its ruins, rather than surrender Montfort to Charlemagne.”
De Naimes and Oger returned to Paris and repeated the words of Maugis
to the king, making no attempt to conceal their admiration for the
brave young man.
Charlemagne, on the contrary, flew into a violent rage and gave
orders to his army to prepare immediately for an assault on the
Château Montfort. And thus was commenced a lifetime of the most bitter
struggles, for the brave Maugis and his intrepid brothers. A doubly
bitter struggle for Maugis, from the importunity of his friends to
use his occult powers to relieve them when sore beset, but which he
conscientiously resisted because he feared it was an offense to God.
And bitterest of all was his love and longing for Yolande, from whom
such cruel fate separated him.
It was only a short time after this when the scouts of Maugis reported
the advance of the army, led by the emperor in person, and so he was
not taken off his guard when early one morning he watched from his high
position on the battlements of his fortress the glint of the sun on the
accouterments and arms of the besieging army surrounding his position
on the plain below.
He observed with interest, that to invest his château, Charlemagne
was obliged to very much spread out his forces, and resolved to take
advantage of it. Accordingly, when the time was most favorable, he
made a sortie with his soldiers from a gate invisible to the enemy and
threw himself on them with such great impetuosity that before they had
even time to resist the ground was strewn with the dead. He had become
master of the king’s camp and forthwith fired the tents, burning alike,
in the general conflagration, men and horses and all the supplies of
the king’s army.
After this great success, Maugis rallied his troops and was about to
attack the army of the king, when at that very moment he came face to
face with a detachment headed by his father, the old Duke d’Aymon. To
fight his own father was impossible, therefore Maugis arrested his
movements.
On his part the duke prudently retired before the forces of his son,
but if his own life was safe, not so his soldiers. Maugis threw his
troops upon those of his father and those of the king accompanying him,
attacking them on all sides, successfully blocking all means of their
escape.
At this juncture Foulques de Morillon appeared. His presence in the
middle of the royal army reanimated the troops and they attacked
Maugis in their turn. Surprised at this sudden movement, Maugis rested
a moment in indecision. His soldiers had become massed together in
confusion. To retire was impossible. Alard, his brother, seeing the
dangerous position of Maugis from the château, took all the men that
could be spared and went to his assistance, rallied the fugitives and
joined the battalions of Maugis. These two then, at the head of their
army, attacked shoulder to shoulder, striking down all who resisted,
killing and wounding. Even before this unexpected succor came, Maugis
had charged into the _mêlée_ uttering his cry of war, which resounded
over the battlefield. Every stroke of his gigantic arm told. It was
death to be before him. Nothing could withstand the mad onward rush of
his great form.
It was but a few moments before Maugis stood behind a rampart of men
whom he had slain. In their endeavors to capture him alive the enemy
vainly tried to crush Maugis down with sheer force of numbers, but with
a rare courage and prudence he at last cut through them and rejoined
his brother, and then the two, supported by their soldiers, turned upon
the forces of the king with a renewed frenzy and wrought upon them a
fearful carnage.
The royal army becoming panic-stricken, fled through their burning
camp, and Richard, who pursued them, took a number of prisoners—the
rout was complete.
If the victory was a glorious one the pursuit must not be carried too
far, or in forgetting discretion, a few moments might lose all that had
been so dearly gained. This is why Maugis deemed it wise to stop and
rally his troops. He re-entered the château, his rear being guarded by
his three brothers.
The battle did not, however, pass without an extraordinary episode.
Of the army of the king only the old Duke d’Aymon was followed and
disturbed in his retreat. The four brothers, respecting his oath
of fidelity, followed him and sought to take him prisoner. Maugis,
finally becoming impatient at the barren result of the pursuit, placed
himself and his brother in front of the duke and sought to arrest his
progress by striking his horse over the head. But this did not stop the
escort, which came up and attacked the four brothers. They in their
turn returned the attack, and they would have been inevitably cut to
pieces had not Charlemagne, who had in the meantime come up and saw the
situation and lost in admiration of the bravery of Maugis, and with
that rare chivalry so characteristic of that great monarch, he raised
his voice and ordered the conflict to cease. Maugis stopped immediately
at the command of the king, and followed by his men and the prisoners
they had taken, retired into the fortress.
This notable victory made Maugis the master of an immense territory
over which he could roam at will and follow the chase. But Charlemagne,
infuriated by his defeat at the hands of this brave young warrior,
would not quit the place he had chosen for his camp. Maugis, who had
from time to time only a few skirmishes during the ensuing thirteen
months, spent a period, not altogether devoid of pleasure, except for
the haunting thought of the lovely face and sweet eyes of Yolande, and
chafed bitterly at the fate that kept him from her side. And what of
her? Did she ever think of him?
In the privacy of her chamber in the great palace at Paris, she shed
many bitter tears when she witnessed the departure of the army that was
going to destroy the man whom she loved above all else on earth. The
only comfort she knew was the absence of Ganelon, whose suit to her had
become persecution.
Since the day of the escape of Maugis by her aid, his attitude had
changed from odious fawning to sternness and threats. He alone knew of
the part she had played on that memorable day. He had read her secret
aright and had taunted her with it, and when goaded by his ceaseless
importunity, she had said, standing with flashing eyes, her glorious
figure drawn up: “Go, sirrah! Never darken my gaze again. I detest
thee as much as I love the man thou hatest, and I care not that thou
shouldst know it.”
“Foolish maiden! That sorcerer hath bewitched thee,” hissed Ganelon,
“but did all hell assemble to aid him, his fate is sealed. His doom is
sure. Then, obdurate maid, perchance thou wilt look upon me, who truly
loves thee.”
“Never!” cried Yolande as the villain’s form disappeared through the
door. She was yet to feel the evil that an evil man evilly disposed can
do.
As the days passed and no news came from the camp of the emperor, her