The Knights of the Cross, or, Krzyzacy: Historical Romance
At that moment Danusia interrupted him; she came crying and said from the
threshold:
"Zbyszku! Do you know about it already! I pity _tatus_, but I pity you
also, poor boy!"
When she approached, Zbyszko encircled his love with his well arm, and
began to speak:
"How can I live without you, my dearest? I did not travel through rivers
and forest, I did not make the vow to serve you, that I might lose you.
Hej! sorrow will not help, crying will not help, bah! even death itself,
because even if the grass grow over me, my soul will not forget you, even
if I am in the presence of the Lord Jesus or of God the Father--I say,
there must be a remedy! I feel a terrible pain in my bones, but you must
fall at the lady's feet, I cannot--and ask her to have mercy upon us."
Danusia hearing this, ran quickly to the princess' feet, and having
seized them in her arms, she hid her face in the folds of the heavy
dress; the lady turned her compassionate but also astonished eyes to
Zbyszko, and said:
"How can I show you mercy? If I do not let the child go to her sick
father, I will draw God's anger on myself."
Zbyszko who had been sitting on the bed, slipped down on the pillows and
did not answer for a time because he was exhausted. Slowly, however, he
began to move one hand toward the other on his breast until he joined
them as in prayer.
"Rest," said the princess; "then you may tell me what you wish; and you,
Danusia, arise and release my knees."
"Relax, but do not rise; beg with me," said Zbyszko.
Then he began to speak in a feeble and broken voice:
"Gracious lady--Jurand was against me in Krakow--he will be here also,
but if the _ksiondz_ Wyszoniek married me to Danusia, then--afterward she
may go to Spychow because there is no human power that could take her
away from me----"
These words were so unexpected to the princess, that she jumped from the
bench; then she sat down again and as if she had not thoroughly
understood about what he was talking, she said:
"For heaven's sake! the _ksiondz_ Wyszoniek."
"Gracious lady! Gracious lady!" begged Zbyszko.
"Gracious lady!" repeated Danusia, embracing the princess' knees.
"How could it be done without her father's permission?"
"God's law is the stronger!" answered Zbyszko.
"For heaven's sake!"
"Who is the father, if not the prince? Who is the mother, if not you,
gracious lady?"
And Danusia added:
"Dearest _matuchna_!"[104]
"It is true, that I have been and am still like a mother to her," said
the princess, "and Jurand received his wife from my hand. It is true! And
if you are once married--everything is ended. Perhaps Jurand will be
angry, but he must be obedient to the commands of the prince, his lord.
Then, no one need tell him immediately, only if he wanted to give the
girl to another, or to make her a nun; and if he has made some vow, it
will not be his fault that he cannot fulfill it. Nobody can act against
God's will--perhaps it is God's will!"
"It cannot be otherwise!" exclaimed Zbyszko.
But the princess, still very much excited, said:
"Wait, I must collect my thoughts. If the prince were here, I would go to
him immediately and would ask him: 'May I give Danusia to Zbyszko or
not?' But I am afraid without him, and there is not much time to spare,
because the girl must go to-morrow! Oh, sweet Jesus, let her go
married--then there will be peace. But I cannot recover my senses
again--and then I am afraid of something. And you Danusia, are you not
afraid?--Speak!"
"I will die without that!" interrupted Zbyszko.
Danusia arose from the princess' knees; she was not only really on
confidential terms with the good lady, but also much spoiled by her;
therefore she seized her around the neck, and began to hug her.
But the princess said:
"I will not promise you anything without Father Wyszoniek. Run for him
immediately!"
Danusia went after Father Wyszoniek; Zbyszko turned his pale face toward
the princess, and said:
"What the Lord Jesus has destined for me will happen; but for this
consolation, may God reward you, gracious lady."
"Do not bless me yet," answered the princess, "because we do not know
what will happen. You must swear to me upon you honor, that if you are
married, you will not prevent the girl from going to her father, or else
you will draw his curse upon her and yourself.
"Upon my honor!" said Zbyszko.
"Remember then! And the girl must not tell Jurand immediately. We will
send for him from Ciechanow, and make him come with Danusia, and then I
will tell him myself, or I will ask the prince to do it. When he sees
that there is no remedy, he will consent. He did not dislike you?"
"No," said Zbyszko, "he did not dislike me; perhaps he will be pleased
when Danusia is mine. If he made a vow, it will not be his fault that he
could not keep it."
The conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Danusia and the
_ksiondz_ Wyszoniek. The princess immediately asked his advice and began
to tell him with great enthusiasm about Zbyszko's plan; but as soon as he
heard about it, he made the sign of the cross from astonishment and said:
"In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost! How can
I do it? It is advent!"
"For God's sake! That is true!" exclaimed the princess.
Then there was silence; only their sorrowful faces showed what a blow
those words of the _ksiondz_ Wyszoniek were to all of them.
Then he said after a while:
"If you had a dispensation, then I would not oppose it, because I pity
you. I would not ask for Jurand's permission, because our gracious lady
consents and, vouches for the prince's consent--well! they are the mother
and the father for the whole of Mazowsze. But without a bishop's
dispensation, I cannot. Bah! if the _ksiondz_ bishop of Kurdwanow were
with us, he would not refuse a dispensation, although he is a severe
priest, not like his predecessor, Bishop Mamphiolus, who used always to
answer: _Bene! Bene!_"
"Bishop Jacob of Kurdwanow loves the prince and myself very much," said
the lady.
"Therefore I say he would not refuse a dispensation, more so because
there are some reasons for one: the girl must go to her father and that
young man is ill and may die--Hm! _in articulo mortis!_ But without a
dispensation I cannot."
"I could obtain it afterward from Bishop Jacob; no matter how severe he
may be, he will not refuse me this favor. I guarantee, he will not
refuse," said the princess.
To this the _ksiondz_ Wjszoniek who was a good and easy man, replied:
"A word of the Lord's anointed is a great word. I am afraid of the
_ksiondz_ bishop, but that great word! Then the youth could promise
something to the cathedral in Plock. Well, as long as the dispensation
will not come, there will be a sin--and nobody's but mine. Hm! It is
true that the Lord Jesus is merciful and if any one sin not for his own
benefit, but on account of mercy for human misery, he forgives more
easily! But there will be a sin, and suppose the bishop should refuse,
who will grant me pardon?"
"The bishop will not refuse!" exclaimed Princess Anna.
And Zbyszko said:
"That man Sanderus, who came with me, has pardons ready for everything."
The _ksiondz_ Wyszoniek probably did not believe entirely in Sanderus'
pardons; but he was glad to have even a pretext so that he could help
Danusia and Zbyszko, because he loved the girl, whom he had known from
childhood. Then he remembered that at the worst, he would be punished
with church penitence, therefore turning toward the princess he said:
"It is true, I am a priest, but I am also the prince's servant. What do
you command, gracious lady?"
"I do not wish to command but to beg," answered the lady. "If that
Sanderus has pardons----"
"Sanderus has. But there is the question about the bishop. He is very
severe with the canons in Plock."
"Do not be afraid of the bishop. I have heard that he has forbidden the
priest to carry swords and crossbows and has forbidden different
licenses, but he has not forbidden them to do good."
The _ksiondz_ Wyszoniek raised his eyes and his hands, and said:
"Let it be according to your wish!"
At this word, joy filled their hearts. Zbyszko again sat on the bed and
the princess, Danusia and Father Wyszoniek sat round it and began to plan
how they should act.
They decided to keep it secret so that not a soul in the house should
know anything about it; they also decided that Jurand must not know until
the princess herself told him in Ciechanow about everything.
In the meanwhile, the _ksiondz_ Wyszoniek was to write a letter from the
princess to Jurand and ask him to come to Ciechanow, where he could find
better medicine and where he will not weary. Finally, they decided, that
Zbyszko and Danusia will go to confession, that the wedding ceremony will
be performed during the night, when everybody will retire.
The thought came to Zbyszko to have his shield-bearer, the Czech, as a
witness of the wedding; but he gave up the idea when he remembered that
he had received him from Jagienka. For a moment she stood in his memory
as though present, so that it seemed to him that he saw her blushing face
and her eyes full of tears, and heard her pleading voice say: "Do not do
that! Do not repay me with evil for good, nor with misery for love!" Then
at once great compassion for her seized him, because he felt that a great
wrong would be done her, after which she would find no consolation under
the roof of Zgorzelice, nor in the depths of the forest, nor in the
fields, nor in the abbot's gifts, nor in Cztan and Wilk's courtship.
Therefore he said inwardly: "Girl, may God give you the best of
everything, for although I am willing to bend the sky for you, I cannot."
In fact, the thought that he could not help it, immediately brought him
relief, and tranquillity returned, so that immediately he began to think
only about Danusia and the wedding.
But he was obliged to call the Czech to help him; therefore although he
determined not to say a word to him about what was going to happen, he
summoned him and said:
"To-day I am going to confession as well as to the Lord's table;
therefore you must dress me in my best clothing as if I were going to the
king's palace."
The Czech was a little afraid and began to look into his face; Zbyszko
having noticed this, said:
"Do not be alarmed, people do not go to confession only when they expect
to die; the holy days are coming, Father Wyszoniek and the princess are
going to Ciechanow, and then there will be no priest nearer than in
Przasnysz."
"And are you not going?" asked the shield-bearer.
"If I recover my health, then I will go; but that is in God's hands."
Therefore the Czech was quieted; he hurried to the chests, and brought
that white _jaka_ embroidered with gold, in which the knight used to
dress for great occasions, and also a beautiful rug to cover the bed;
then having lifted Zbyszko, with the help of the two Turks, he washed
him, and combed his long hair on which he put a scarlet zone; finally he
placed him on red cushions, and satisfied with his own work, said:
"If Your Grace were able to dance, you could celebrate even a wedding!"
"It will be necessary to celebrate it without dancing," answered Zbyszko,
smiling.
In the meanwhile the princess was also thinking how to dress Danusia,
because for her womanly nature it was a question of great importance, and
under no consideration would she consent to have her beloved foster child
married in her everyday dress. The servants who were also told that the
girl must dress in the color of innocence for confession, very easily
found a white dress, but there was great trouble about the wreath for the
head. While thinking of it, the lady became so sad that she began to
complain: