CHAPTER III.
THE MORTUARY CHAMBER.
Victoria entered the house amidst the religious silence of the soldierswho stood grouped without. Captain Marion and Tetrik followed her in.She motioned to them to remain outside of the death room, where shewished to be left alone with me and Sampso.
At the sight of my wife, lying dead upon the floor, I fell upon my kneessobbing beside her. I raised her beautiful head, now pale and cold;closed her eyes; and taking the beloved body in my arms I laid it on mybed. Again I knelt down, and with my head resting upon the pillow onwhich hers reclined, I could no longer restrain my grief. I sobbed andmoaned. I remained there long weeping and disconsolate; I could hear thesuppressed sobs of Victoria.
Finally her voice recalled me to myself; I thought of what she must besuffering; I looked around. She was seated on the floor near the corpseof Victorin, whose head rested on her maternal knees.
"Schanvoch," said my foster-sister as she gently brushed back with herhands the hair that fell over Victorin's forehead, "my son is no more; Imay weep over him, despite his crime. Here he lies dead--dead--dead andnot yet twenty-three years old!"
"Dead--and killed by me--who loved him as my son!"
"Brother, you avenged your honor--you have my pardon and pity--"
"Alas! I struck Victorin in the dark--I struck him in a fit of blindrage--I struck him without knowing that it was he! Hesus is my witness!Had I recognized your son, Oh, sister! I would have cursed him, but mysword would have dropped at my feet--"
Victoria gazed at me in silence. My words seemed to lift a heavy weightfrom her heart. She looked relieved at learning that I had killed herson without knowing him. She reached out her hand to me feelingly, and Icarried it respectfully to my lips. For several minutes we remainedsilent. She then said to Ellen's sister:
"Sampso, were you here this fatal night? Speak, I pray you. Whathappened?"
"It was midnight," Sampso answered in a voice broken with sobs."Schanvoch had left the house two hours before on his journey. I waslying here beside my sister--I heard a rap at the house door--I threw acloak over my shoulders and went to the door to ask who it was. Awoman's voice with a foreign accent answered--"
"A woman's voice?" I asked in a tone of surprise shared by Victoria."Are you sure it was a woman's voice that answered you, Sampso?"
"Yes; that was the snare. The voice said to me: 'I come from Victoriawith a very important message for Ellen, the wife of Schanvoch, who lefton a journey two hours ago.'"
At these words of Sampso's, Victoria and I exchanged looks of increasingastonishment. Sampso proceeded:
"As I could in no way suspect a messenger from Victoria, I opened thedoor. Immediately, instead of a woman, a man rushed at me; he violentlypushed me back--and immediately bolted the street door. By the light ofthe lamp, which I had placed on the floor, I recognized Victorin. He waspale--frightful to behold--he seemed to be intoxicated, and could hardlystand on his feet--"
"Oh! The unhappy boy! The unhappy boy!" I cried. "He was not in hissenses! Only so! Oh, only so! He never could otherwise have attemptedsuch a crime!"
"Proceed, Sampso," said Victoria with a profound sigh; "proceed withyour account--"
"Without saying a word to me, Victorin pointed to the door of my ownroom, the room I always occupied when I did not share my sister's roomduring the absence of Schanvoch. In my terror I guessed all. I cried toEllen: 'Sister, lock your door!' and I began to call for help as loud asI could. My cries exasperated Victorin. He seized and threw me into myroom. Just as he was about to lock me in I saw Ellen hurrying out of herroom. She looked pale and frightened; she was almost naked. I afterwardsheard the distressing cries of my sister calling for help--I heard themstruggle--I fainted away. I know not how long I remained in that state.I regained consciousness when someone knocked at my door and called meby name. It was Schanvoch. I answered him. He must have opened it forme--I saw him--"
"And you," Victoria said, turning to me. "How was it that you returnedso suddenly?"
"At about four leagues from Mayence, I was notified that a crime wasbeing committed in my house."
"And who could have notified you?"
"A soldier; my escort."
"And who was that soldier?" asked Victoria with heightening intensity."How did he know of the crime?"
"I know not--he vanished across the forest the instant that he gave methe sinister information. That soldier got back to town before me--hewas the same man who tore your grandchild from your arms and killed itat your feet--"
"Schanvoch," resumed Victoria with a shudder and carrying both her handsto her forehead, "my son is dead--I shall neither accuse nor excusehim--but a horrible mystery underlies this crime--"
"Listen," I replied, as several circumstances that had slipped my memoryat the first pangs of my grief now came back to my mind. "When I arrivedbefore the door of my house, I knocked; only the distant sound ofSampso's cries answered me. A moment later the lower window of my wife'sroom was opened. I ran thither. The shutters were being pushed aside togive passage to a man, while Ellen cried for help. I pushed the man backinto the room, which was dark as a tomb--in the darkness I struck andkilled your son. Almost immediately after I felt two arms thrown aroundmy neck--I imagined myself attacked by a new assailant--I made anotherthrust in the dark--it was Ellen, my beloved wife, whom I killed--"
And my sobs choked me.
"Brother--brother," said Victoria to me, "this has been a fatal night tous all--"
"Listen further--above all to this," I said to my foster-sister,controlling my emotion: "At the very moment when I recognized the voiceof my expiring wife, I saw by the light of the moon a woman perched onthe casement of the window--"
"A woman!" cried Victoria.
"It is she probably whose voice deceived me," observed Sampso, "byannouncing to me a message from Victoria."
"I think so too," I replied; "and that woman, doubtlessly the accompliceof Victorin's crime, called to him, saying it was time to flee, and thatshe now was his, seeing he had kept the promise that he made to her."
"A promise?" Again Victoria pondered. "What promise could he have madeto her?"
"To dishonor Ellen--"
My foster-sister shuddered and said:
"I repeat it, Schanvoch, this crime is wrapped in some horrible mystery.But who may that woman have been?"
"One of the two Bohemian dancers who recently arrived at Mayence.Listen. Seeing that she received no answer from Victorin, and hearingthe distant but approaching clamors of the soldiers who were angrilyhastening to my house, she leaped down and vanished. A second after therumbling of her cart informed me of her flight. In my despair it neveroccurred to me to pursue her. I knew I had just killed Ellen near thecradle of our son--Ellen, my dearly beloved wife!"
I could not continue. Tears and sobs deprived me of speech. Sampso andVictoria remained silent.
"This is a veritable abyss!" resumed the Mother of the Camps. "An abyssthat my mind can not fathom. My son's crime is great--his intoxication,so far from excusing, only serves to render the deed all the moreshameful. And yet, Schanvoch, you know not what love this poor child hadfor you--"
"Say not so, Victoria," I murmured, hiding my face in my hands. "Say notso--my despair becomes only more distressing!"
"It is not a reproach that I make, brother," replied Victoria. "Had Ibeen a witness of my son's crime, I would have killed him with my ownhands, to the end that he cease to dishonor his mother, and Gaul, thatchose him chief. I refer to Victorin's love for you because I believethat, without his being in a state of inebriety and without some darkmachination, he never would have committed such a misdeed--"
"As for me, sister, I believe I see through this infernal plot--"
"You do? Speak!"
"Before the great battle of the Rhine an infamous calumny was spreadover the camp against Victorin. The army's affection for him was beingwithdrawn. Your son's victory regained for him the soldiers' affection.See how that old ca
lumny becomes to-day a frightful reality. Victorin'scrime cost him his life--and also his son's. His stock is extinct. A newchief must now be chosen for Gaul. Is this not so?"
"Yes, brother, all that is true."
"Did not that unknown soldier, my traveling companion, know when herevealed to me that a crime was being committed in my house--did he notknow that unless I arrived in time to kill Victorin myself in the firstaccess of my rage, your son would certainly be slaughtered by the troopswho would undoubtedly rise in revolt at the first tidings of thefelony?"
"But how," put in Sampso, "was the army apprised so soon of the felony,seeing that no one left the house?"
Struck by Sampso's observation the Mother of the Camps started andlooked at me. I proceeded:
"Who is the man, Victoria, who tore your grandson from your arms anddashed his life against the ground? The same unknown soldier! Did heyield to an impulse of blind rage against the child? Not at all!Accordingly, he was but the instrument of some ambition that is asconcealed as it is ferocious. Only one man had an interest in the doublemurder that has just extinguished your stock--because, once your stockis extinguished Gaul must choose a new chief--and the man whom Isuspect, the man whom I accuse has long wished to govern Gaul!"
"His name!" cried Victoria, fixing upon me a look of intense agony. "Thename of the man whom you suspect--"
"His name is Tetrik, your relative, the Governor of Gascony."
For the first time since I first expressed my suspicions of herrelative, did Victoria seem to share them. She cast her eyes upon thecorpse of her son with an expression of pitiful sorrow, kissed his icyforehead several times, and after a moment of profound reflection sheseemed to take a supreme resolution. She rose and said to me in a firmvoice:
"Where is Tetrik?"
"He awaits your orders in the next room, I presume, with Captain Marion.What are your orders?"
"I wish them both to come in, immediately."
"In this chamber of death?"
"Yes, in this chamber of death. Yes, here, Schanvoch, before theinanimate remains of your wife, my son and his child. If it was that manwho wove this dark and horrible plot, then, even if he were a demon ofhypocrisy and bloodthirstiness, he can not choose but betray himself atthe sight of his victims--at the sight of a mother between the corpsesof her son and grandson; at the sight of a husband beside the corpse ofhis wife. Go, brother. Order them in! Order them in! Then also, we mustat all cost find that unknown soldier, your traveling companion!"
"I have thought of that--" and struck with a sudden thought, I added:"It was Captain Marion who chose the rider that was to escort me."
"We shall question the captain. Go, brother. Order them in! Order themin!"
I obeyed Victoria and called in Tetrik and Marion. Both hastened toanswer to the summons.
Despite the grief that rent my heart I had the fortitude to watchattentively the face of the Governor of Gascony. The moment he steppedinto the room, the first object he seemed to notice was the corpse ofVictorin. Tetrik's features immediately assumed the appearance ofunspeakable anguish; tears flowed copiously down his cheeks; claspinghis hands he dropped on his knees near the body and cried in a voicethat seemed rent with grief:
"Dead at the prime of his age--dead--he, so brave--so generous! Thehope, the strong sword of Gaul. Ah! I forget the foibles of this unhappyyouth before the frightful misfortune that has befallen my country!"
Tetrik could not proceed. Sobs smothered his voice. On his knees andcowering in a heap, his face hidden in his hands and dropping scaldingtears he remained as if crushed with pain near Victorin's body.
Standing motionless at the door, Captain Marion was the prey of profoundinternal sorrow. He indulged in no outbursts of moans; he shed no tears;but he ceased not to contemplate the corpse of Victoria's grandson witha pathetic expression, as the little body lay in my son's cradle; andpresently I heard him say in a low voice looking from Victoria to theinnocent victim:
"What a calamity! Ah! poor child! Poor mother!"
Captain Marion then took a few steps forward and said in short andbroken words:
"Victoria--you are to be pitied--I pity you. Victorin loved you--he wasa worthy son--I also loved him. My beard has turned grey, and yet Ifound a delight in serving under that young man. He was the firstcaptain of our age. None of us can replace him. He had but twovices--the taste for wine and, above all, the pest of profligacy. Ioften quarreled with him on that. I was right, you see it! Well, we mustnot quarrel with him now. He had a brave heart. I can say no more toyou, Victoria. And what would it boot? A mother can not be consoled. Donot think me unfeeling because I do not weep. One weeps only when hecan; but I assure you that you have my sympathy from the bottom of myheart. I could not be sadder or more cast down had I lost my friendEustace--"
And taking a few steps, Marion again looked from Victoria to her littlegrandson, repeating as his eyes wandered from the one to the other:
"Oh! the poor child! Oh! the poor mother!"
Still upon his knees beside Victorin, Tetrik did not cease sobbing andmoaning. While his grief was as demonstrative as Captain Marion's wasreserved, it seemed sincere. Nevertheless, my suspicions still resistedthe test, and I saw that my foster-sister shared my doubts. Again shemade a violent effort over herself and said:
"Tetrik, listen to me!"
The Governor of Gascony did not seem to hear the voice of his relative.
"Tetrik," Victoria repeated, leaning over to touch the man's shoulder,"I am speaking to you; answer me."
"Who speaks?" cried the governor as if his mind wandered. "What do theywant? Where am I?"
A moment later he raised his eyes to my foster-sister and criedsurprised:
"You here--here, Victoria? Oh, yes! I was with you shortly ago--I hadforgotten. Excuse me. My head swims. Alas! I am a father--I have a sonalmost of the age of this unfortunate boy. More than anyone else, I pityyou!"
"Time presses and the occasion is grave," replied my foster-sistersolemnly while she fastened a penetrating look upon Tetrik in order tofathom the man's most hidden thoughts. "Private sorrow is hushed beforethe public interest. I have my whole life left to weep my son andgrandson; but we have only a few hours to consider the succession of theChief of Gaul and of the general of the army--"
"What!" exclaimed Tetrik. "At such a moment as this--"
"I wish that before daylight breaks upon us, I, Captain Marion and you,Tetrik, my relative, one of my most faithful friends, you, who are sodevoted to Gaul, you, who grieve so bitterly over Victorin--I wish thatwe three revolve in our wisdom what man we shall to-morrow propose tothe army as my son's successor."
"Victoria, you are a heroic woman!" cried Tetrik clasping his hands inadmiration. "You match with your courage and patriotism the most augustwomen who have honored the world!"
"What is your opinion, Tetrik, as to the successor of Victorin? CaptainMarion and myself will speak after you," the Mother of the Campsproceeded to say without noticing the praises of the Governor ofGascony. "Yes, whom do you think capable of replacing my son--to theglory and advantage of Gaul?"
"How can I give you my opinion?" Tetrik replied dejectedly. "How can Igive you advice upon a matter of such gravity, when my heart is rackedwith pain--it is impossible!"
"It is possible, since you see me here--between the corpses of my sonand my grandson--ready to give my opinion--"
"If you insist, Victoria, I shall speak, provided I can collect mythoughts. I am of the opinion that Gaul needs for her chief a wise, firmand enlightened man, a man who inclines to peace rather than towar--especially now when we no longer have the neighborhood of theFranks to fear, thanks to the sword of this young hero, whom I loved andwill eternally mourn--"
At this moment the governor interrupted himself to give renewed vent tohis grief.
"We shall weep later," said Victoria. "Life is long enough, but thenight is short. It will soon be morning."
Tetrik wiped his eyes and proceeded:
"As I w
as saying, the successor of our Victorin should, above all, be aman of good judgment, and of long and approved devotion in the serviceof our beloved Gaul. Now, then, if I am not mistaken, the only one whomI can think of who unites these virtues, is Captain Marion, whom we seehere."
"I!" cried the captain raising his two enormous hands heavenward. "I,the Chief of Gaul! Grief makes you talk like a fool! I, Chief of Gaul!"
"Captain Marion," Tetrik resumed in a dismal accent, "I know that theshocking death of Victorin and his innocent child has thrown my mindinto disorder and desolation. And yet I believe that at this moment Ispeak not like a fool but like a sage--and Victoria will herself be ofmy opinion. Although you do not enjoy the brilliant military reputationof our Victorin, whom we shall never be able to mourn sufficiently, youhave deserved, Captain Marion, the confidence and affection of ourtroops by your good and numerous services. Once a blacksmith, youexchanged the hammer for the sword; the soldiers will see in you one oftheir own rank rise to the dignity of chief through his valor and theirown free choice. They will esteem you all the more knowing, above all,that, although you reached distinction, you never lost your friendshipfor your old comrade of the anvil."
"Forget my friend Eustace!" said Marion. "Oh! Never!"
"The austerity of your morals is known," Tetrik proceeded to say; "yourexcellent judgment, your straightforwardness, your calmness, are,according to my poor judgment, a guarantee for the future. You have putinto practice Victoria's wise thought that now the days of barren warare ended, and the hour has come to think of fruitful peace. The task isarduous, I admit; it can not choose but startle your modesty. But thisheroic woman, who, even at this terrible moment, forgets her maternaldespair in order to turn her thoughts upon our beloved country,Victoria, I feel certain, in presenting you to the soldiers as her son'ssuccessor, will pledge herself to assist you with her precious counsel.And now, Captain Marion, if you will hearken to my feeble voice, Iimplore you, I beg you in the name of Gaul to accept the reins ofoffice. Victoria joins me in demanding of you this fresh proof ofself-sacrificing devotion to our common country!"
"Tetrik," answered Marion in a grave voice, "you have ably described theman who is needed to govern Gaul. There is only one thing to change inthe picture that you have drawn, and that is its name. In the place ofmy name, insert your own--it will then be complete--"
"I!" cried Tetrik. "I, Chief of Gaul! I, who in all my life never haveheld a sword in my hand!"
"Victoria said it," replied Marion. "The season for war is over, theseason for peace has come. In times of war we need warriors--in times ofpeace we need men of peace. You belong to the latter category, Tetrik;it is your place to govern--do you not think so, Victoria?"
"By the manner in which he has governed Gascony, Tetrik has shown how hewould govern Gaul," answered my foster-sister; "I join you, captain, inrequesting--my relative--to replace my son--"
"What did I tell you?" broke in Captain Marion, addressing Tetrik."Would you still refuse?"
"Listen to me, Victoria; listen to me, Captain Marion; listen to me,Schanvoch," replied the governor turning towards me. "Yes, you also,Schanvoch, listen to me, you who are as stricken as Victoria. You, who,in your nervous friendship for this august woman, suspected mysincerity; I wish you all to believe me. I have received an incurablewound here, in my heart, by the occurrences of this fatal night; theyhave bereft us at once, in the person of our unfortunate Victorin and inthat of his innocent son, of the present and the future support of Gaul.It was for the purpose of securing and rendering the future certain thatI sought to induce Victoria to propose her grandson to the army as theheir of Victorin, and that I have made this journey to Mayence. My hopesare dashed--an eternal sorrow takes their place--"
After stopping for a moment in order to allow his inexhaustible tears toflow, the governor proceeded:
"My resolution is formed. Not only do I decline the power that isoffered me, but I shall also give up the government of Gascony. The fewyears of life left to me shall henceforth be spent with my son inseclusion and sorrow. At another time I might have been able to rendersome service to our country, but that is now past with me. I shall carryinto my retirement a grief that will be rendered less unbearable by theknowledge that my country's future is in such worthy hands as yours,Captain Marion, and that Victoria, the divine genius of Gaul, willcontinue to watch over our land. And now, Schanvoch," added the Governorof Gascony turning once more towards me, "have I put an end to yoursuspicions? Do you still think me ambitious? Is my language, are myactions those of a perfidious or treacherous man? Alas! Alas! I neverthought that the frightful misfortunes of this night would so soonafford me the opportunity to justify myself--"
"Tetrik," said Victoria extending her hand to her relative, "if ever Icould have doubted the loyalty of your heart, I would at this hourperceive my error--"
"And I admit it freely, my suspicions were groundless," I added in turn.After all that I had seen and heard, I was, as Victoria, convinced ofher relative's innocence. And still, as my mind ever returned to themysterious circumstances that surrounded the events of that night, Isaid to Marion, who, silent and pensive, seemed overwhelmed with thetender that was made to him:
"Captain, yesterday I asked you for a discreet and safe man to serve meas escort."
"You did."
"Do you know the name of the soldier whom you picked out for me?"
"It was not I who chose him--I do not know his name."
"And who chose him?" asked Victoria.
"My friend Eustace is better acquainted with the soldiers than I am. Icommissioned him to find me a safe man, and to order him to repair afterdark to the town gate, where he was to wait for the rider whom he was toaccompany on the journey."
"And after that," I asked the captain, "did you see your friend Eustaceagain?"
"No; he has been mounting guard at the outposts of the camp since lastevening, and he was not to be relieved until this morning."
"But at any rate we could learn from him the name of the rider whoescorted Schanvoch," observed Victoria. "I shall let you know later,Tetrik, the importance that I attach to that information, and you willbe able to counsel me."
"You must excuse me, Victoria, if I do not acceed to your wishes," thegovernor replied with a sigh. "Within an hour, at earliest dawn, I shallleave Mayence--the sight of this place is too harrowing to me. I have ahumble retreat in Gascony; I shall bury my life there in the company ofmy son; he is to-day the only consolation left to me."
"My friend," said Victoria reproachfully, "do you leave me at such amoment as this? The sight of this place is harrowing to you, yousay--and what about myself? Does not this place recall at every turnmemories that must distress me? And yet I shall leave Mayence only whenCaptain Marion will no longer stand in need of whatever counsel he maythink that he may be in need of from me at the start of his government."
"Victoria," put in Captain Marion in a resolute tone, "I have saidnothing during this conversation in which you and Tetrik have disposedof me. I am not fluent in words, moreover, my heart is too heavyto-night. I have said little, but I have reflected a good deal. Theseare my thoughts: I love the profession of arms; I know how to execute ageneral's orders, and I am not altogether unskilful in the management oftroops confided to me. At a pinch I can plan an attack like the onewhich completed Victorin's great victory by the destruction of the campand reserve forces of the Franks. This is to say, Victoria, that I donot consider myself more of a fool than others--wherefore I have senseenough to understand that I am not fit for the government of Gaul--"
"Nevertheless, Captain Marion," Tetrik broke in, "Victoria will agreewith me that the task is not beyond your strength."
"Oh! As to my strength, that is well known," replied Captain Marionsoberly. "Fetch me an ox, and I'll carry him on my back, or fell himwith a blow of my fist. But square shoulders are not all that is wantedfor the chief of a great people. No--no. I am robust--granted. But theburden of state is too heavy. Therefore, Victoria
, do not put such aweight upon me. I would break down under it--and Gaul will, in turn,break down under the weight of my weakness. And, moreover, it might aswell be said, I love, after service hours, to go home and empty a potof beer in the company of my friend Eustace, and chat with him over ourold blacksmith's trade, or entertain ourselves with furbishing our armslike skilful armorers. Such am I, Victoria--such have I ever been--andsuch I wish to remain."
"And these call themselves men! Oh, Hesus!" cried the Mother of theCamps indignantly. "I, a woman--I, a mother--I saw my son and grandsondie this very night--and yet I have the necessary fortitude to repressmy grief--and this soldier, to whom the most glorious post that can shedluster upon a man is offered, dares to answer with a refusal, giving hislove for beer and the polishing of armor as an excuse! Oh! Woe is Gaul,if the very ones whom she regards as her bravest sons thus cowardlyforsake her!"
The reproach of the Mother of the Camps impressed Captain Marion. Hedropped his head in confusion, remained silent for a moment, and thenspoke:
"Victoria, there is but one strong soul here--it is yours. You make meashamed of myself. Well, then," he added with a sigh, "be it as youwill--I accept. But the gods are my witnesses--I accept as a duty andunder protest. If I should commit any asininities as Chief of Gaul, nonewill have a right to reproach me. Very well, I accept, Victoria, butunder two imperative conditions."
"What are they?" asked Tetrik.
"This is the first," replied Marion: "The Mother of the Camps shallremain in Mayence to help me with her advice. I am as new a hand at mynew work as a blacksmith's apprentice who for the first time dips theiron into the brasier."
"I promised you that I would, Marion," answered my foster-sister. "Ishall remain here as long as you may need my services."
"Victoria, if your spirit should withdraw from me, I would be like abody without a soul--accordingly, I thank you from the bottom of myheart. I know that that promise must cost you a good deal, poor woman.And yet," added the captain with his habitual good nature, "do not runaway with the idea that I am so foolishly vainglorious as to imaginethat it is to the strong bull of a warrior, named Marion, that Victoriathe Great makes the sacrifice of burying her grief in order to guidehim. No--no. It is to our old Gaul that she renders the sacrifice. As agood son of my country, I am as thankful for the kind act done to mymother, as if it were done to myself."
"Nobly thought and nobly said, Marion," replied Victoria deeply touchedby these words of the captain. "Nevertheless, your straightforwardnessand sound judgment will soon enable you to dispense with my advice;then," added she with an expression of profound pain that she strove torepress, "I shall be able, like you, Tetrik, to retire and bury myselfin some secluded spot with my sorrows."
"Alas," replied the governor, "to weep in peace is the only consolationfor irreparable losses." "But," he proceeded, addressing the captain,"you referred to two conditions. Victoria has accepted the first; whichis the second?"
"Oh! As to the second, it is as important to me as the first," and thecaptain shook his head. "Aye, it is as important as the first--"
"And what is it?" asked my foster-sister. "Explain yourself, Marion."
"I know not," replied the good captain with a naive and embarrassedmien, "I know not whether I ever spoke to you of my friend Eustace."
"Yes, and more than once," replied Tetrik. "But what has your friendEustace to do with your new functions?"
"What!" cried Captain Marion, "you ask me what my friend Eustace has todo with me--you might as well ask what has the sheath of the sword to dowith the blade, the hammer with the handle, the bellows with the forge."
"You are, in short, bound together by an old and close friendship; weknow it," said Victoria. "Would you desire, captain, to accord somefavor to your friend?"
"I shall never consent to be separated from him. True enough, he is notof a gay disposition; he is habitually sullen, often peevish. Still, heloves me as I do him, and we can not do without each other. Now, then,it may be considered surprising that the Chief of Gaul should have acommon soldier, a former blacksmith, for his intimate friend and chum.But as I said to you, Victoria, if I must be separated from my friendEustace, the plan falls through--I decline. Only his friendship canrender the burden supportable to me."
"Is not Schanvoch, my foster-brother, who remained a simple horseman inthe army, a close friend of mine?" observed Victoria. "No one isastonished at a friendship that does honor to us both. It will be so,Captain Marion, with you and your old blacksmith friend."
"And your elevation, Captain Marion, will redouble your mutualaffection," put in Tetrik. "In his tender affection your friend willrejoice over your elevation perhaps more than yourself."
"I doubt whether my friend Eustace will greatly rejoice over myelevation," replied Marion. "Eustace is not ambitious after glory. Farfrom it. He loves me, his old companion at the anvil, and not thecaptain. But, Victoria, always keep this in mind: The same as to-day yousay to me: 'Marion, you are needed,' never be backward in saying:'Marion, be gone; you are of no further use; someone else will fill theplace better than you.' I shall understand the slightest hint, and shallgladly return arm in arm with my friend Eustace to our pot of beer andour armor. So long, however, as you will say to me: 'Marion, you areneeded,' I shall remain Chief of Gaul"--and smothering a last sigh,"seeing that you insist that I fill the place."
"And chief you will long remain to the glory of Gaul," put in Tetrik."Believe me, captain, you do not know yourself; your modesty blinds you.But a few hours hence, when Victoria will propose you to the soldiers astheir general, the acclamation of the whole army will inform you of thehigh opinion that is entertained for your merits."
"The one who will be most astonished at my merits will be myself,"replied the good captain naively. "Well, I have made the promise; it ispromised; count with me, Victoria, you have my word. I shall withdraw--Ishall go to my lodging and wait for my good friend Eustace. It is nowdawn; he is due from the advanced posts, where he has been on guardsince yesterday. He will be uneasy if he does not find me in."
"Forget not, captain," I said to him, "to ask your friend for the nameof the soldier whom he chose to escort me."
"I shall remember."
"And now, adieu," said the Governor of Gascony with a smothered voice toVictoria. "Adieu; the sun will soon be up. Every minute that I spendhere is torture to me--"
"Would you not stay in Mayence at least until the ashes of my twochildren are returned to the earth?" Victoria asked the governor. "Willyou not accord that religious homage to the memory of those who havejust preceded us to those unknown worlds, where we shall one day meetthem again? Oh! May it please Hesus that that day be soon!"
"Oh! Our druid faith will always be the consolation of strong souls andthe support of the weak!" answered Tetrik. "Alas! But for the certaintyof meeting again the beings whom we have loved in this world, how muchmore dreadful would not their departure in death be to us! Believe me,Victoria, I shall see long before you, these dear beings whom to-day weweep. Agreeable to your wishes, I shall render to them to-day, before mydeparture, the last homage that is due to them."
Tetrik and Captain Marion withdrew, leaving Victoria, Sampso and myselfalone.