Zigzag Journeys in Europe Part 5

"One pleasant day in May, when the leaves were tender, and the ferny hills were sunny and sprinkled with flowers, another Richard, the son of Robert of Normandy, went to hunt in the New Forest. After a merry time, he was accidentally shot by an arrow. Again a mournful retinue came out of the forest, bearing the body of a prince, stained with blood.

"August came, with its young deer and newly fledged birds. The Red King, with his brother Henry and a great court-party, went to the New Forest, to spend some days in hunting and feasting. The first day sped merrily, and was followed by a banquet. It was held at a place called Malwood-Keep, a famous lodge for royal hunting-parties.

"The next night, a man with a coal-cart was riding in the New Forest, when he discovered a body lying by the way, pierced by an arrow in the breast. He laid it in his dirty cart, and jogged on. It was the Red King.

"Many stories are told of the manner in which the king was killed.

Some say that he was accidentally shot by Sir Walter Tyrrel, a famous hunter in those days.

"It is said that the king and Sir Walter came upon a stag. The king drew his bow, and the string broke.

"'Shoot, Walter!' said the king.

"The arrow flew, struck a tree, glanced, and buried itself in the king's breast. He died where the poor peasants had foretold he would die, in the New Forest.

"We hope to visit Caen, and its cathedral, an edifice that was founded by the Conqueror, and that has grown for nearly a thousand years. The Conqueror's tomb is before the altar, but his bones were scattered by the Huguenots in 1562."

Wyllys Wynn's story was applauded; and Master Lewis, amid the applause, said audibly,--

"Excellent!"

Frank Gray followed:--

"Our President has told you the history of William the Conqueror and of one of his sons, in his story of the New Forest. I will try to tell you

THE STORY OF ROBERT OF NORMANDY.

"Robert of Normandy was the second son of the Conqueror, and succeeded his father in the dukedom. He was unlike the rest of the Conqueror's sons,--an easy, generous, pleasure-loving fellow; honest in heart, and believing with wonderful simplicity that the world was all suns.h.i.+ne, and that all the people in it were much like himself.

"I am sorry to say, however, that he once rebelled against his father, whom he asked to give him the old Norman kingdom. 'I am not apt to undress before I go to bed,' said the Conqueror.

"He began to rule independently, and William besieged him in the old fortress of Gerberoi.

"In the midst of the battle, Robert unseated a tall knight, and was about to despatch him, when he found him to be his father.

"He was greatly touched at the discovery, and kneeling down said, 'I pray you forgive me.' He then raised his father, and they were reconciled.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR REVIEWING HIS ARMY.]

"There is a castle in Normandy, which we hope to visit,--a mountain of towers rising out of the sea. Pagan priests possessed it, holy hermits succeeded them, and the Norman Dukes regarded it as their stronghold. I have brought with me a picture of it, that you may see. It is a fortress built upon a rock; and, when the great tide sweeps in, it stands in the sea, lofty and doubly guarded.

[Ill.u.s.tration: {MONT ST. MICHEL.}]

"The Red King and Robert once were engaged in a war with their brother Henry, who shut himself up in this fortress. At last, the water in the fortress failed. The Red King was happy, but Robert began to pity his famis.h.i.+ng brother. So he sent him some bottles of wine.

"'A fine way to wage war,' said the Red King.

"'What,' said Robert, 'shall we let our brother die of thirst? Where shall we get another, when he is gone?'

"We will see how Henry returned this love and brotherly kindness.

"It was considered very pious, in those rude times, for a person to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, in order to visit the Holy Sepulchre.

The Turks, who held the Holy City, abused the Christian pilgrims. An eloquent and a fiery-minded monk, called Peter the Hermit, believing it to be the duty of the Christian princes to wrest the Holy Sepulchre from the power of the Turks, began to urge his opinions throughout Europe. An intense excitement was created.

"Among his most fervent disciples was Robert of Normandy. In his enthusiasm, the thoughtless, generous-hearted fellow sold his dominions for a certain period to the Red King, and with the money equipped a splendid retinue of knights and soldiers for service in the Holy Land.

"He went to Jerusalem at the head of this glittering train, and, in union with other Christian princes and n.o.bles, besieged the Holy City, subdued its defenders, and obtained possession of the Saviour's tomb.

"Robert was one of the most conspicuous leaders in the first crusade; and, of all the princes who aided in the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre, he sacrificed the most.

"When he returned from the East, he stopped in Italy. He was fond of minstrelsy, and of works of art; and he feasted his eyes on the fading grandeur of the old Italian cities. As he was the rightful claimant to the throne of England, after the death of the Red King, and as his exploits in the Holy Land had added to his fame, the Italians greatly admired him.

"While stopping in Italy among the minstrels, the pictures, and the loveliness of that dreamy and enchanted land, he fell in love with a lady of marvellous beauty.

"Her name was Sibylla. He married her, and in a little time returned to Normandy, to find that his younger brother, Henry, had a.s.sumed the throne of England, and was governing with a high hand.

"It seems that the Red King had died while Robert was tarrying in Italy, enamoured of Sibylla; and Henry, without waiting to see him buried, had seized the royal treasure and the diadem, telling the n.o.bles that Robert had become King of Jerusalem.

"Having established his government, he was prepared to give Robert a hot reception, if he should make any trouble about the matter on his return.

"Robert, of course, a.s.serted his claim to the throne. Some of the n.o.bles sustained Henry in his usurpation, others were for Robert.

"Henry, however, by dint of much fawning and lying, persuaded Robert to relinquish his claim to England, and to be content with the little duchy of Normandy, and with a pension, which he promised to pay.

"So the good-natured Robert governed in Normandy, and a good-natured government he had. He was so weak and good-natured that he used to allow his servants to steal his clothes, while he was lying in bed in the morning.

"Henry, like the Red King before him, thought that Robert's government was rather loose, and that it would be a very benevolent thing to relieve the Normans of his misrule. For this reason, he went over to Normandy with an army, took possession of the country, and established his own hard rule, thus stealing from his brother the fair-skied duchy that the Conqueror had given him. Having accomplished this, he settled it that Robert was a very troublesome fellow, and that the proper place for him was a prison; and he accordingly put him in one.

"He was not satisfied even then.

"One day there appeared in the apartments of the castle where Robert was confined some stone-hearted men, by order from the king. They heated a piece of metal red-hot, and then deliberately burned out poor Robert's eyes.

"Beautiful, loving eyes they were; and what sights they had seen,--the minarets of the East glimmering in the hot sun and shady moon, the cool palm-groves along the Jordan, the splendid streets of Antioch, the City of the Great King, the Holy Sepulchre with its golden lamps, Italy with its deep skies and empurpled hills! Twenty-eight years was poor Robert imprisoned, and then he died."

Frank's contribution was well received.

"I would like to add something to the touching narrative we have just heard," said Master Lewis. "I would like to tell you about the great sorrow that came to King Henry, after he had so wronged his brother.

Allow me to relate to you

THE STORY OF THE WHITE s.h.i.+P.

"Henry had a son--Prince Henry--whom he intensely loved. The prince was wild and dissipated, and as much a despot at heart as his father.

He once boasted that, when he became king, he would yoke the English to the plough, like oxen.