CHAPTER IX. THE GREAT ACTOR RETURNS TO FILL THE STAGE.
And now in various groups these summer foresters were at rest in theirafternoon banquet,--some lying on the smooth sward around the lake, somein the tents, some again in the arbours; here and there the forms ofdame and cavalier might be seen, stealing apart from the rest, andgliding down the alleys till lost in the shade, for under that reigngallantry was universal. Before the king's pavilion a band of thosemerry jongleurs, into whom the ancient and honoured minstrels were fastdegenerating, stood waiting for the signal to commence their sports,and listening to the laughter that came in frequent peals from the royaltent. Within feasted Edward, the Count de la Roche, the Lord Rivers;while in a larger and more splendid pavilion at some little distance,the queen, her mother, and the great dames of the court held their ownslighter and less noisy repast.
"And here, then," said Edward, as he put his lips to a gold goblet,wrought with gems, and passed it to Anthony the Bastard,--"here, count,we take the first wassail to the loves of Charolois and Margaret!"
The count drained the goblet, and the wine gave him new fire.
"And with those loves, king," said he, "we bind forever Burgundy andEngland. Woe to France!"
"Ay, woe to France!" exclaimed Edward, his face lighting up with thatmartial joy which it ever took at the thoughts of war,--"for we willwrench her lands from this huckster Louis. By Heaven! I shall not restin peace till York hath regained what Lancaster hath lost! and out ofthe parings of the realm which I will add to England thy brother ofBurgundy shall have eno' to change his duke's diadem for a king's. Hownow, Rivers? Thou gloomest, father mine."
"My liege," said Rivers, wakening himself, "I did but think that if theEarl of Warwick--"
"Ah, I had forgotten," interrupted Edward; "and, sooth to say, CountAnthony, I think if the earl were by, he would not much mend ourboon-fellowship!"
"Yet a good subject," said De la Roche, sneeringly, "usually dresses hisface by that of his king."
"A subject! Ay, but Warwick is much such a subject to England as Williamof Normandy or Duke Rollo was to France. Howbeit, let him come,--ourrealm is at peace, we want no more his battle-axe; and in our newdesigns on France, thy brother, bold count, is an ally that mightcompensate for a greater loss than a sullen minister. Let him come!"
As the king spoke, there was heard gently upon the smooth turf the soundof the hoofs of steeds. A moment more, and from the outskirts of thescene of revel, where the king's guards were stationed, there arose along, loud shout. Nearer and nearer came the hoofs of the steeds; theypaused. Doubtless Richard of Gloucester by that shout! "The soldierslove that brave boy," said the king.
Marmaduke Nevile, as gentleman in waiting, drew aside the curtain ofthe pavilion; and as he uttered a name that paled the cheeks of all whoheard, the Earl of Warwick entered the royal presence.
The earl's dress was disordered and soiled by travel; the black plume onhis cap was broken, and hung darkly over his face; his horseman's boots,coming half way up the thigh, were sullied with the dust of the journey;and yet as he entered, before the majesty of his mien, the grandeurof his stature, suddenly De Roche, Rivers, even the gorgeous Edwardhimself, seemed dwarfed into common men! About the man--his air, hiseye, his form, his attitude--there was THAT which, in the earliertimes, made kings by the acclamation of the crowd,--an unmistakablesovereignty, as of one whom Nature herself had shaped and stamped forpower and for rule. All three had risen as he entered; and to a deepsilence succeeded an exclamation from Edward, and then again all wasstill.
The earl stood a second or two calmly gazing on the effect he hadproduced; and turning his dark eye from one to the other, till it restedfull upon De la Roche, who, after vainly striving not to quail beneaththe gaze, finally smiled with affected disdain, and, resting his hand onhis dagger, sank back into his seat.
"My liege," then said Warwick, doffing his cap, and approaching the kingwith slow and grave respect, "I crave pardon for presenting myself toyour Highness thus travel-worn and disordered; but I announce that newswhich insures my welcome. The solemn embassy of trust committed to meby your Grace has prospered with God's blessing; and the Fils de Bourbonand the Archbishop of Narbonne are on their way to your metropolis.Alliance between the two great monarchies of Europe is concluded onterms that insure the weal of England and augment the lustre of yourcrown. Your claims on Normandy and Guienne King Louis consents to submitto the arbitrement of the Roman Pontiff, [The Pope, moreover, was tobe engaged to decide the question within four years. A more brillianttreaty for England, Edward's ambassador could not have effected.] and topay to your treasury annual tribute; these advantages, greater than yourHighness even empowered me to demand, thus obtained, the royal brotherof your new ally joyfully awaits the hand of the Lady Margaret."
"Cousin," said Edward, who had thoroughly recovered himself, motioningthe earl to a seat, "you are ever welcome, no matter what your news; butI marvel much that so deft a statesman should broach these mattersof council in the unseasonable hour and before the gay comrades of arevel."
"I speak, sire," said Warwick, calmly, though the veins in his foreheadswelled, and his dark countenance was much flushed--"I speak openly ofthat which hath been done nobly; and this truth has ceased to be matterof council, since the meanest citizen who has ears and eyes ere thismust know for what purpose the ambassadors of King Louis arrive inEngland with your Highness's representative."
Edward, more embarrassed at this tone than he could have foreseen,remained silent; but De la Roche, impatient to humble his brother's foe,and judging it also discreet to arouse the king, said carelessly,--
"It were a pity, Sir Earl, that the citizens, whom you thus deem privyto the thoughts of kings, had not prevised the Archbishop of Narbonnethat if he desire to see a fairer show than even the palaces ofWestminster and the Tower, he will hasten back to behold the banners ofBurgundy and England waving from the spires of Notre Dame."
Ere the Bastard had concluded, Rivers, leaning back, whispered the king,"For Christ's sake, sire, select some fitter scene for what must follow!Silence your guest!"
But Edward, on the contrary, pleased to think that De la Roche wasbreaking the ice, and hopeful that some burst from Warwick would givehim more excuse than he felt at present for a rupture, said sternly,"Hush, my lord, and meddle not!"
"Unless I mistake," said Warwick, coldly, "he who now accosts me is theCount de la Roche,--a foreigner."
"And the brother of the heir of Burgundy," interrupted De laRoche,--"brother to the betrothed and princely spouse of Margaret ofEngland."
"Doth this man lie, sire?" said Warwick, who had seated himself amoment, and who now rose again.
The Bastard sprung also to his feet; but Edward, waving him back, andreassuming the external dignity which rarely forsook him, replied,"Cousin, thy question lacketh courtesy to our noble guest: since thydeparture, reasons of state, which we will impart to thee at a meeterseason, have changed our purpose, and we will now that our sisterMargaret shall wed with the Count of Charolois."
"And this to me, king!" exclaimed the earl; all his passions at oncereleased--"this to me! Nay, frown not, Edward,--I am of the race ofthose who, greater than kings, have built thrones and toppled them! Itell thee, thou hast misused mine honour, and belied thine own; thouhast debased thyself in juggling me, delegated as the representative ofthy royalty!--Lord Rivers, stand back,--there are barriers eno' betweentruth and a king!"
"By Saint George and my father's head!" cried Edward, with a rage noless fierce than Warwick's,--"thou abusest, false lord, my mercy andour kindred blood. Another word, and thou leavest this pavilion for theTower!"
"King," replied Warwick, scornfully, and folding his arms on his broadbreast, "there is not a hair on this head which thy whole house, thyguards, and thine armies could dare to touch. ME to the Tower! Sendme,--and when the third sun reddens the roof of prison-house and palace,look round broad England, and miss a throne!"
"What, ho there!" exclaimed
Edward, stamping his foot; and at thatinstant the curtain of the pavilion was hastily torn aside, and Richardof Gloucester entered, followed by Lord Hastings, the Duke of Clarence,and Anthony Woodville.
"Ah," continued the king, "ye come in time. George of Clarence, LordHigh Constable of England, arrest yon haughty man, who dares to menacehis liege and suzerain!"
Gliding between Clarence, who stood dumb and thunder-stricken, and theEarl of Warwick, Prince Richard said, in a voice which, though evensofter than usual, had in it more command over those who heard than whenit rolled in thunder along the ranks of Barnet or of Bosworth, "Edward,my brother, remember Towton, and forbear! Warwick, my cousin, forget notthy king nor his dead father!"
At these last words the earl's face fell, for to that father he hadsworn to succour and defend the sons; his sense, recovering from hispride, showed him how much his intemperate anger had thrown away hisadvantages in the foul wrong he had sustained from Edward. Meanwhile theking himself, with flashing eyes and a crest as high as Warwick's, wasabout perhaps to overthrow his throne by the attempt to enforce histhreat, when Anthony Woodville, who followed Clarence, whispered to him,"Beware, sire! a countless crowd that seem to have followed the earl'ssteps have already pierced the chase, and can scarcely be kept from thespot, so great is their desire to behold him. Beware!"--and Richard'squick ear catching these whispered words, the duke suddenly backed themby again drawing aside the curtain of the tent. Along the sward, theguard of the king, summoned from their unseen but neighbouringpost within the wood, were drawn up as if to keep back an immensemultitude,--men, women, children, who swayed and rustled and murmuredin the rear. But no sooner was the curtain drawn aside, and the guardsthemselves caught sight of the royal princes and the great earl toweringamidst them, than supposing in their ignorance the scene thus given tothem was intended for their gratification, from that old soldiery orTowton rose a loud and long "Hurrah! Warwick and the king!"--"The kingand the stout earl!" The multitude behind caught the cry; they rushedforward, mingling with the soldiery, who no longer sought to keep themback.
"A Warwick! a Warwick!" they shouted. "God bless the people's friend!"
Edward, startled and aghast, drew sullenly into the rear of the tent.
De la Roche grew pale; but with the promptness of a practised statesman,he hastily advanced, and drew the curtain. "Shall varlets," he said toRichard, in French, "gloat over the quarrels of their lords?"
"You are right, Sir Count," murmured Richard, meekly; his purpose waseffected, and leaning on his riding staff, he awaited what was to ensue.
A softer shade had fallen over the earl's face, at the proof of the lovein which his name was held; it almost seemed to his noble though haughtyand impatient nature, as if the affection of the people had reconciledhim to the ingratitude of the king. A tear started to his proud eye;but he twinkled it away, and approaching Edward (who remained erect, andwith all a sovereign's wrath, though silent on his lip, lowering on hisbrow), he said, in a tone of suppressed emotion,--
"Sire, it is not for me to crave pardon of living man, but the grievousaffront put upon my state and mine honour hath led my words to an excesswhich my heart repents. I grieve that your Grace's highness hath chosenthis alliance; hereafter you may find at need what faith is to be placedin Burgundy."
"Darest thou gainsay it?" exclaimed De la Roche.
"Interrupt me not, sir!" continued Warwick, with a disdainful gesture."My liege, I lay down mine offices, and I leave it to your Grace toaccount as it lists you to the ambassadors of France,--I shall vindicatemyself to their king. And now, ere I depart for my hall of Middleham, Ialone here, unarmed and unattended, save at least by a single squire,I, Richard Nevile, say, that if any man, peer or knight, can be foundto execute your Grace's threat, and arrest me, I will obey your royalpleasure, and attend him to the Tower." Haughtily he bowed his headas he spoke, and raising it again, gazed around--"I await your Grace'spleasure."
"Begone where thou wilt, earl. From this day Edward IV. reigns alone,"said the king. Warwick turned.
"My Lord Scales," said he, "lift the curtain; nay, sir, it misdemeansyou not. You are still the son of the Woodville, I still the descendantof John of Gaunt."
"Not for the dead ancestor, but for the living warrior," said the LordScales, lifting the curtain, and bowing with knightly grace as the earlpassed. And scarcely was Warwick in the open space than the crowd fairlybroke through all restraint, and the clamour of their joy filled withits hateful thunders the royal tent.
"Edward," said Richard, whisperingly, and laying his finger on hisbrother's arm, "forgive me if I offended; but had you at such a timeresolved on violence--"
"I see it all,--you were right. But is this to be endured forever?"
"Sire," returned Richard, with his dark smile, "rest calm; for the ageis your best ally, and the age is outgrowing the steel and hauberk. Alittle while, and--"
"And what--"
"And--ah, sire, I will answer that question when our brother George(mark him!) either refrains from listening, or is married to IsabelNevile, and hath quarrel with her father about the dowry. What, he,there!--let the jongleurs perform."
"The jongleurs!" exclaimed the king; "why, Richard, thou hast morelevity than myself!"
"Pardon me! Let the jongleurs perform, and bid the crowd stay. It is bylaughing at the mountebanks that your Grace can best lead the people toforget their Warwick!"