CHAPTER XIV.
All my long arrear of honour lost, Heap'd up in youth, and hoarded up for age. Hath Honour's fountain then suck'd up the stream? He hath--and hooting boys may barefoot pass, And gather pebbles from the naked ford! DON SEBASTIAN.
After a torrent of afflicting sensations, by which he was at firstalmost stunned and confounded, Sir Kenneth's first thought was to lookfor the authors of this violation of the English banner; but in nodirection could he see traces of them. His next, which to some persons,but scarce to any who have made intimate acquaintances among the caninerace, may appear strange, was to examine the condition of his faithfulRoswal, mortally wounded, as it seemed, in discharging the duty whichhis master had been seduced to abandon. He caressed the dying animal,who, faithful to the last, seemed to forget his own pain in thesatisfaction he received from his master's presence, and continuedwagging his tail and licking his hand, even while by low moanings heexpressed that his agony was increased by the attempts which Sir Kennethmade to withdraw from the wound the fragment of the lance or javelinwith which it had been inflicted; then redoubled his feeble endearments,as if fearing he had offended his master by showing a sense of the painto which his interference had subjected him. There was something inthe display of the dying creature's attachment which mixed as a bitteringredient with the sense of disgrace and desolation by which SirKenneth was oppressed. His only friend seemed removed from him, justwhen he had incurred the contempt and hatred of all besides. Theknight's strength of mind gave way to a burst of agonized distress, andhe groaned and wept aloud.
While he thus indulged his grief, a clear and solemn voice, close besidehim, pronounced these words in the sonorous tone of the readers of themosque, and in the lingua franca mutually understood by Christians andSaracens:--
"Adversity is like the period of the former and of the latterrain--cold, comfortless, unfriendly to man and to animal; yet from thatseason have their birth the flower and the fruit, the date, the rose,and the pomegranate."
Sir Kenneth of the Leopard turned towards the speaker, and beheld theArabian physician, who, approaching unheard, had seated himself a littlebehind him cross-legged, and uttered with gravity, yet not without atone of sympathy, the moral sentences of consolation with which theKoran and its commentators supplied him; for, in the East, wisdom isheld to consist less in a display of the sage's own inventive talents,than in his ready memory and happy application of and reference to "thatwhich is written."
Ashamed at being surprised in a womanlike expression of sorrow, SirKenneth dashed his tears indignantly aside, and again busied himselfwith his dying favourite.
"The poet hath said," continued the Arab, without noticing the knight'saverted looks and sullen deportment, "the ox for the field, and thecamel for the desert. Were not the hand of the leech fitter than that ofthe soldier to cure wounds, though less able to inflict them?"
"This patient, Hakim, is beyond thy help," said Sir Kenneth; "and,besides, he is, by thy law, an unclean animal."
"Where Allah hath deigned to bestow life, and a sense of pain andpleasure," said the physician, "it were sinful pride should the sage,whom He has enlightened, refuse to prolong existence or assuage agony.To the sage, the cure of a miserable groom, of a poor dog and of aconquering monarch, are events of little distinction. Let me examinethis wounded animal."
Sir Kenneth acceded in silence, and the physician inspected and handledRoswal's wound with as much care and attention as if he had been a humanbeing. He then took forth a case of instruments, and, by the judiciousand skilful application of pincers, withdrew from the wounded shoulderthe fragment of the weapon, and stopped with styptics and bandages theeffusion of blood which followed; the creature all the while sufferinghim patiently to perform these kind offices, as if he had been aware ofhis kind intentions.
"The animal may be cured," said El Hakim, addressing himself to SirKenneth, "if you will permit me to carry him to my tent, and treat himwith the care which the nobleness of his nature deserves. For know,that thy servant Adonbec is no less skilful in the race and pedigree anddistinctions of good dogs and of noble steeds than in the diseases whichafflict the human race."
"Take him with you," said the knight. "I bestow him on you freely, ifhe recovers. I owe thee a reward for attendance on my squire, and havenothing else to pay it with. For myself, I will never again wind bugleor halloo to hound!"
The Arabian made no reply, but gave a signal with a clapping of hishands, which was instantly answered by the appearance of two blackslaves. He gave them his orders in Arabic, received the answer that "tohear was to obey," when, taking the animal in their arms, they removedhim, without much resistance on his part; for though his eyes turned tohis master, he was too weak to struggle.
"Fare thee well, Roswal, then," said Sir Kenneth--"fare thee well, mylast and only friend--thou art too noble a possession to be retainedby one such as I must in future call myself!--I would," he said, as theslaves retired, "that, dying as he is, I could exchange conditions withthat noble animal!"
"It is written," answered the Arabian, although the exclamation had notbeen addressed to him, "that all creatures are fashioned for theservice of man; and the master of the earth speaketh folly when he wouldexchange, in his impatience, his hopes here and to come for the servilecondition of an inferior being."
"A dog who dies in discharging his duty," said the knight sternly, "isbetter than a man who survives the desertion of it. Leave me, Hakim;thou hast, on this side of miracle, the most wonderful science which manever possessed, but the wounds of the spirit are beyond thy power."
"Not if the patient will explain his calamity, and be guided by thephysician," said Adonbec el Hakim.
"Know, then," said Sir Kenneth, "since thou art so importunate, thatlast night the Banner of England was displayed from this mound--I wasits appointed guardian--morning is now breaking--there lies the brokenbanner-spear, the standard itself is lost, and here sit I a living man!"
"How!" said El Hakim, examining him; "thy armour is whole--there is noblood on thy weapons, and report speaks thee one unlikely to return thusfrom fight. Thou hast been trained from thy post--ay, trained by therosy cheek and black eye of one of those houris, to whom you Nazarenesvow rather such service as is due to Allah, than such love as maylawfully be rendered to forms of clay like our own. It has been thusassuredly; for so hath man ever fallen, even since the days of SultanAdam."
"And if it were so, physician," said Sir Kenneth sullenly, "whatremedy?"
"Knowledge is the parent of power," said El Hakim, "as valour suppliesstrength. Listen to me. Man is not as a tree, bound to one spot ofearth; nor is he framed to cling to one bare rock, like the scarceanimated shell-fish. Thine own Christian writings command thee, whenpersecuted in one city, to flee to another; and we Moslem also knowthat Mohammed, the Prophet of Allah, driven forth from the holy city ofMecca, found his refuge and his helpmates at Medina."
"And what does this concern me?" said the Scot.
"Much," answered the physician. "Even the sage flies the tempest whichhe cannot control. Use thy speed, therefore, and fly from the vengeanceof Richard to the shadow of Saladin's victorious banner."
"I might indeed hide my dishonour," said Sir Kenneth ironically, "in acamp of infidel heathens, where the very phrase is unknown. But had Inot better partake more fully in their reproach? Does not thy advicestretch so far as to recommend me to take the turban? Methinks I wantbut apostasy to consummate my infamy."
"Blaspheme not, Nazarene," said the physician sternly. "Saladin makesno converts to the law of the Prophet, save those on whom its preceptsshall work conviction. Open thine eyes to the light, and the greatSoldan, whose liberality is as boundless as his power, may bestow onthee a kingdom; remain blinded if thou will, and, being one whose secondlife is doomed to misery, Saladin will yet, for this span of presenttime, make thee rich and happy. But fear not that thy brows shall bebound with the turban, save at thine own free choice."
&
nbsp; "My choice were rather," said the knight, "that my writhen featuresshould blacken, as they are like to do, in this evening's setting sun."
"Yet thou art not wise, Nazarene," said El Hakim, "to reject this fairoffer; for I have power with Saladin, and can raise thee high in hisgrace. Look you, my son--this Crusade, as you call your wild enterprise,is like a large dromond [The largest sort of vessels then known weretermed dromond's, or dromedaries.] parting asunder in the waves. Thouthyself hast borne terms of truce from the kings and princes, whoseforce is here assembled, to the mighty Soldan, and knewest not,perchance, the full tenor of thine own errand."
"I knew not, and I care not," said the knight impatiently. "What availsit to me that I have been of late the envoy of princes, when, ere night,I shall be a gibbeted and dishonoured corpse?"
"Nay, I speak that it may not be so with thee," said the physician."Saladin is courted on all sides. The combined princes of this leagueformed against him have made such proposals of composition and peace,as, in other circumstances, it might have become his honour to havegranted to them. Others have made private offers, on their ownseparate account, to disjoin their forces from the camp of the Kings ofFrangistan, and even to lend their arms to the defence of the standardof the Prophet. But Saladin will not be served by such treacherous andinterested defection. The king of kings will treat only with the LionKing. Saladin will hold treaty with none but the Melech Ric, and withhim he will treat like a prince, or fight like a champion. To Richard hewill yield such conditions of his free liberality as the swords of allEurope could never compel from him by force or terror. He will permita free pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and all the places where the Nazareneslist to worship; nay, he will so far share even his empire with hisbrother Richard, that he will allow Christian garrisons in the sixstrongest cities of Palestine, and one in Jerusalem itself, and sufferthem to be under the immediate command of the officers of Richard, who,he consents, shall bear the name of King Guardian of Jerusalem.Yet further, strange and incredible as you may think it, know, SirKnight--for to your honour I can commit even that almost incrediblesecret--know that Saladin will put a sacred seal on this happy unionbetwixt the bravest and noblest of Frangistan and Asia, by raising tothe rank of his royal spouse a Christian damsel, allied in blood to KingRichard, and known by the name of the Lady Edith of Plantagenet." [Thismay appear so extraordinary and improbable a proposition that it isnecessary to say such a one was actually made. The historians, however,substitute the widowed Queen of Naples, sister of Richard, for thebride, and Saladin's brother for the bridegroom. They appear to havebeen ignorant of the existence of Edith of Plantagenet.--See MILL'SHistory of the Crusades, vol. ii., p. 61.]
"Ha!--sayest thou?" exclaimed Sir Kenneth, who, listening withindifference and apathy to the preceding part of El Hakim's speech,was touched by this last communication, as the thrill of a nerve,unexpectedly jarred, will awaken the sensation of agony, even in thetorpor of palsy. Then, moderating his tone, by dint of much effort herestrained his indignation, and, veiling it under the appearance ofcontemptuous doubt, he prosecuted the conversation, in order to get asmuch knowledge as possible of the plot, as he deemed it, against thehonour and happiness of her whom he loved not the less that his passionhad ruined, apparently, his fortunes, at once, and his honour.--"Andwhat Christian," he said, With tolerable calmness, "would sanction aunion so unnatural as that of a Christian maiden with an unbelievingSaracen?"
"Thou art but an ignorant, bigoted Nazarene," said the Hakim. "Seestthou not how the Mohammedan princes daily intermarry with the nobleNazarene maidens in Spain, without scandal either to Moor or Christian?And the noble Soldan will, in his full confidence in the blood ofRichard, permit the English maid the freedom which your Frankish mannershave assigned to women. He will allow her the free exercise of herreligion, seeing that, in very truth, it signifies but little to whichfaith females are addicted; and he will assign her such place and rankover all the women of his zenana, that she shall be in every respect hissole and absolute queen."
"What!" said Sir Kenneth, "darest thou think, Moslem, that Richard wouldgive his kinswoman--a high-born and virtuous princess--to be, at best,the foremost concubine in the haram of a misbeliever? Know, Hakim, themeanest free Christian noble would scorn, on his child's behalf, suchsplendid ignominy."
"Thou errest," said the Hakim. "Philip of France, and Henry ofChampagne, and others of Richard's principal allies, have heard theproposal without starting, and have promised, as far as they may, toforward an alliance that may end these wasteful wars; and the wisearch-priest of Tyre hath undertaken to break the proposal to Richard,not doubting that he shall be able to bring the plan to good issue. TheSoldan's wisdom hath as yet kept his proposition secret from others,such as he of Montserrat, and the Master of the Templars, because heknows they seek to thrive by Richard's death or disgrace, not by hislife or honour. Up, therefore, Sir Knight, and to horse. I will givethee a scroll which shall advance thee highly with the Soldan; and deemnot that you are leaving your country, or her cause, or her religion,since the interest of the two monarchs will speedily be the same. ToSaladin thy counsel will be most acceptable, since thou canst make himaware of much concerning the marriages of the Christians, the treatmentof their wives, and other points of their laws and usages, which, inthe course of such treaty, it much concerns him that he should know. Theright hand of the Soldan grasps the treasures of the East, and it is thefountain or generosity. Or, if thou desirest it, Saladin, when alliedwith England, can have but little difficulty to obtain from Richard, notonly thy pardon and restoration to favour, but an honourable command inthe troops which may be left of the King of England's host, to maintaintheir joint government in Palestine. Up, then, and mount--there lies aplain path before thee."
"Hakim," said the Scottish knight, "thou art a man of peace; also thouhast saved the life of Richard of England--and, moreover, of my own pooresquire, Strauchan. I have, therefore, heard to an end a matter which,being propounded by another Moslem than thyself, I would have cut shortwith a blow of my dagger! Hakim, in return for thy kindness, I advisethee to see that the Saracen who shall propose to Richard a unionbetwixt the blood of Plantagenet and that of his accursed race do put ona helmet which is capable to endure such a blow of a battle-axe as thatwhich struck down the gate of Acre. Certes, he will be otherwise placedbeyond the reach even of thy skill."
"Thou art, then, wilfully determined not to fly to the Saracen host?"said the physician. "Yet, remember, thou stayest to certain destruction;and the writings of thy law, as well as ours, prohibit man from breakinginto the tabernacle of his own life."
"God forbid!" replied the Scot, crossing himself; "but we are alsoforbidden to avoid the punishment which our crimes have deserved. Andsince so poor are thy thoughts of fidelity, Hakim, it grudges me that Ihave bestowed my good hound on thee, for, should he live, he will have amaster ignorant of his value."
"A gift that is begrudged is already recalled," said El Hakim; "onlywe physicians are sworn not to send away a patient uncured. If the dogrecover, he is once more yours."
"Go to, Hakim," answered Sir Kenneth; "men speak not of hawk and houndwhen there is but an hour of day-breaking betwixt them and death. Leaveme to recollect my sins, and reconcile myself to Heaven."
"I leave thee in thine obstinacy," said the physician; "the mist hidesthe precipice from those who are doomed to fall over it."
He withdrew slowly, turning from time to time his head, as if to observewhether the devoted knight might not recall him either by word orsignal. At last his turbaned figure was lost among the labyrinth oftents which lay extended beneath, whitening in the pale light of thedawning, before which the moonbeam had now faded away.
But although the physician Adonbec's words had not made that impressionupon Kenneth which the sage desired, they had inspired the Scot with amotive for desiring life, which, dishonoured as he conceived himselfto be, he was before willing to part from as from a sullied vestment nolonger becoming his wear. Much that had pas
sed betwixt himself and thehermit, besides what he had observed between the anchorite and Sheerkohf(or Ilderim), he now recalled to recollection, and tended to confirmwhat the Hakim had told him of the secret article of the treaty.
"The reverend impostor!" he exclaimed to himself; "the hoary hypocrite!He spoke of the unbelieving husband converted by the believing wife; andwhat do I know but that the traitor exhibited to the Saracen, accursedof God, the beauties of Edith Plantagenet, that the hound might judge ifthe princely Christian lady were fit to be admitted into the haram ofa misbeliever? If I had yonder infidel Ilderim, or whatsoever he iscalled, again in the gripe with which I once held him fast as ever houndheld hare, never again should HE at least come on errand disgracefulto the honour of Christian king or noble and virtuous maiden. ButI--my hours are fast dwindling into minutes--yet, while I have life andbreath, something must be done, and speedily."
He paused for a few minutes, threw from him his helmet, then strode downthe hill, and took the road to King Richard's pavilion.