The Casque's Lark Part 34

"Your first impression is, accordingly, unfavorable," cried Tetrik in an accent of anguish. "Oh! It would be a misfortune, a great misfortune!"

"Speak, then, if it is your desire to avert the misfortune."

"Be it as you desire, Victoria, although such singular conduct on your part disturbs me. You desire it? I shall satisfy you--our last night's interview did not take place--I see you now for the first time after a rather long absence, although a frequent exchange of correspondence kept us in close touch with each other, and I say to you: It is now five years ago since, struck at my very heart by the death of Victorin--a fatal event, that carried away the hopes I entertained for the glory of Gaul--I lay almost dying in Italy, at Rome, whither my son accompanied me. According to the opinion of the physicians, the trip was to restore my health. They erred. My ailments increased. It pleased G.o.d that a Christian priest, whom a recently converted friend secretly introduced into my house, succeeded in reaching my bedside. The faith enlightened me--and, while enlightening me, performed a miracle--it saved me from death. I returned, so to speak, to a new life with a new religion. My son abjured, as I did, only in secret, the false G.o.ds that we had until then adored. At that stage I received a letter from you, Victoria. You informed me of the a.s.sa.s.sination of Marion. Guided by you, and as I had expected, he had governed Gaul wisely. I remained overwhelmed by such tidings; they were as distressing as they were unexpected. You conjured me in the name of the most sacred interests of our country to return to Gaul. None, you said to me, was capable of replacing Marion except myself. You even went further. I alone, in the new and peaceful era that opened to our country, could promote her prosperity by taking the reins of government. You made a vehement appeal to my old friends.h.i.+p for you, to my devotion for our country. I left Rome with my son. A month later I was near you at Mayence. You pledged me your far-reaching influence with the army--you were what you still are, the Mother of the Camps.

Presented by you to the army I was acclaimed by it. Yes, thanks to you alone, I, a civil governor, who in my life had never touched a sword, I was acclaimed the sole Chief of Gaul, and you boldly and proudly declared on that day to the Emperor that Gaul, strong and feared, and henceforth independent, would render obedience only to a Gallic chief, freely elected. Engaged at the time in his disastrous war in the Orient against Queen Zen.o.bia, your heroic peer, the Emperor yielded. I alone governed our country. Ruper, an old and tried general in the wars of the Rhine, was placed in command of the troops. In its undying idolatry for you, the army wished to keep you in its midst. I was engaged in developing in Gaul the blessings of peace. Always faithful to the Christian faith, I did not consider it politic to make a public confession of my belief, and I concealed from even you, Victoria, my conversion to a religion whose Pope is in Rome. Since the last five years Gaul has been prospering at home, and is respected abroad. I established the seat of my government and of the senate at Bordeaux, while you remained with the army, which covers our frontier, and is ever ready to repel either new invasions attempted by the Franks, or any attack undertaken by the Romans, should the latter attempt to curtail the complete independence that we enjoy and conquered so dearly. As you know, Victoria, I always sought inspiration from your eminent wisdom, either by visiting you in Treves, after you left Mayence, or through correspondence with you upon the affairs of the country. But I indulge in no delusions, Victoria; I am proud to admit the truth; it was only your powerful hand that raised me to heads.h.i.+p; it is only your hand that keeps me there. Yes, from the seclusion of her modest retreat in Treves, the Mother of the Camps is in fact the Empress of Gaul--despite the power that I enjoy, I am only your first subject. That rapid glance over the past was necessary in order to clearly formulate the present--"

"Proceed, Tetrik, I am listening attentively."

"The deplorable death of Victorin and his son, the a.s.sa.s.sination of Marion, all these catastrophes tell you upon how slender a thread elective sovereignty hangs. Gaul is at peace; her brave army is more devoted to you than it has ever been to any of its generals; it overawes our enemies; all that our beautiful country now stands in need of, in order to reach the highest pinnacle of prosperity, is stability. The country needs an authority that will not be dependent upon the caprice of an election, which, however intelligent to-day, may be stupid to-morrow. We need a government that is not personified in a man, ever at the mercy of those who elected him, or of the dagger of an a.s.sa.s.sin.

The monarchic inst.i.tution, based as it is, not upon a man, but upon a principle, existed in Gaul centuries ago. It alone could to-day impart to the nation the vigor and prosperity that it lacks. Victoria, you dispose of the army, I govern the country. Let us join our strength for a common aim--the insurance of our glorious country's future; let us join, not our bodies--I am old, while you are still handsome and young, Victoria--but our souls before a priest of the new religion. Embrace Christianity, become my wife before G.o.d--and proclaim us, yourself Empress, me Emperor of the Gauls. The army will have but one voice in favor of elevating you upon a throne--you will reign alone and without sharing your power with anyone. As to me, you know it, I have no ambition to subserve. Despite my idle t.i.tle of Emperor, I shall continue to be your first va.s.sal. As to my son, we shall adopt him for our successor to the throne. He is of marriageable age; we shall choose for him some sovereign alliance--and the monarchy of Gaul will be established for all time. That, Victoria, was the proposal that I made to you last night--I repeat it to-day. I have again laid my projects bare before you and in the interest of our country. Adopt the plan; it is the fruit of long years of meditation--and Gaul will march at the head of the nations of the world."

A long silence on the part of my foster-sister followed these words of her relative. She then replied with the calmness that marked her words since the entrance of Tetrik into the room:

"It was a wise inspiration that caused me to wish to hear you a second time, Tetrik. You abjured in favor of the new religion the ancient religion of our fathers; but almost all Gaul is still loyal to the druid faith."

"Hence it is that I considered it politic to keep my abjuration a secret, and in this I have acted in accord with the views of the Pope of Rome. But if you should accept my offer, and should yourself abjure your idolatry at our marriage, I shall then loudly proclaim my new belief, and, according to the opinion of the bishops, our conversion will draw in its wake the conversion of our people. Moreover I have the promise of the bishops that they will glorify you as a saint with all the magnificent pomp of the new Church. And, believe me, Victoria, a power that is consecrated in the name of G.o.d by the Gallic prelates and by the Pope of Rome, will be clothed in the eyes of the people with almost divine authority."

"Tell me, Tetrik; you abjured the belief of our fathers in favor of the new, in favor of the gospel preached by the young man of Nazareth who was crucified two centuries ago. I have read that gospel. An ancestress of Schanvoch's witnessed the last days of Jesus, the friend of the slave and the afflicted. Now, then, nowhere have I found in the gentle and divine words of the young master of Nazareth aught but exhortations to renounce wealth, to meekness, to equality among men--and here are you, a fervent and recent convert, dreaming of royalty! The young man of Nazareth, so sweet, so tender of the sufferers, the sinners and the oppressed as he was, nevertheless broke out at times into terrible threats against the rich, the powerful, the worldly happy--above all and always he thundered against the princes of the church whom he branded as infamous hypocrites--and, here are you, a fervent and recent convert, seeking to place the royalty that you are striving after under the consecration of just such princes of the church, the bishops! The young man of Nazareth said to his disciples: 'When you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret, and your Father which sees in secret will reward you openly'--and here are you, a fervent and recent convert, proposing to me to render our abjuration and prayers in public, pompously and solemnly, seeing that the bishops are to glorify my conversion in the face of the world. Truly, my feeble intellect, still closed to the light of the new faith, is unable to reconcile such shocking contradictions."

"Nothing more simple. The gospel of our Lord--"

"Of what 'Lord' do you speak, Tetrik?"

"Of our Lord Jesus Christ, the son of G.o.d, or rather the incarnate G.o.d."

"How the times have changed! During his life the young man of Nazareth did not call himself 'Lord'--far from it; he called himself the son of G.o.d, in the sense that our druid faith teaches us that we are all children of the same G.o.d. And in line with the teachings of our druids he declared that our spirit, emanc.i.p.ated of its terrestrial bonds, proceeds to unknown worlds where it animates rejuvenated bodies."

"The times have changed--you are right, Victoria. Taken in an absolute sense, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ would be but a weapon of eternal rebellion in the hands of the poor against the rich, the servant against his lord, the people against their chiefs--it would be the negation of all authority. Creeds on the contrary have the mission to strengthen authority."

"I am aware of that. In the days of their primitive barbarism, and before they became the sublimest of men, our druids rendered themselves redoubtable to the ignorant, struck them with terror, and crushed them under their yoke. But the young man of Nazareth smote the atrocious knavery when he indignantly denounced the princes of the church saying: 'They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.' All the more, if he is G.o.d, should his words be held sacred.

You speak, Tetrik, very much after the fas.h.i.+on of the Pharisees of old, who caused the young man of Nazareth to be crucified."

"Those are only sentimental views. Cultured minds, like yours, will understand the true meaning of those bitter criticisms, and the violent attacks of our Lord against the rich, the powerful and the priests of his days. His sermons in favor of community of property, his exaggerated mercifulness towards women of ill fame, the debauched, the prodigals, the vagabonds--in short, his preference for the dregs of the population with which he surrounded himself are not the means of government and authority. The priests and bishops of the new faith alone are able, by means of their sermons, skilfully to turn off the dangerous current of the thought of equality among men, of hatred against the mighty, of dispossessment against the rich, of liberty, of fraternity, of community of goods, of tolerance for the guilty--a fatal current that takes its source in certain pa.s.sages of the gospel, which vulgar minds wrongfully interpret."

"And yet it is in the name of those generous thoughts that so many martyrs have died in the past, and are still sacrificing their lives!"

"Alas, yes! Jesus our Lord has remained for them the carpenter of Nazareth, who was put to death for having defended the poor, the slaves, the oppressed, the sinners, against those who then enjoyed power; he promised the former the goods of the latter saying that the day would come when 'the first would be the last.' It is for that reason that these martyrs preach with unconquerable heroism the doctrines of Jesus, the friend of the poor, the enemy of the mighty. The interests of both the present and the future, accordingly, dictate to you that you accept my offer. I resume: Take me for your husband; embrace the new faith, as I did; have yourself and me proclaimed Emperor and Empress; adopt my son and his posterity. All Gaul will follow our example and become Christians; we shall heap privileges and wealth upon the bishops, and they will consecrate in us the most sovereign and absolute authority ever vested in any emperor or empress!"

At this point, Victoria's voice, that until then was calm and collected, broke out indignant and threatening:

"Tetrik! The compact that you are proposing to me is sacrilegious--infamous! Yesterday I thought you were demented--to-day, when you repeat your proposition and expose to my gaze, even clearer than you did before, the abysmal depths of your infernal soul, I see in you a monster of ambition and of felony! At this hour the past lights up the present before me, and the present lights the future! Blessed be you, Hesus! I was not alone when this plot was unrolled to my ears! You inspired me, Oh, Hesus! I wished to have a witness, who, in case of need, could verify the reality of this monstrous proposal--Victoria herself would not be believed upon her unsupported testimony when she uncovers such dark designs! Come, brother--come, Schanvoch!"

At Victoria's call I presented myself, crying:

"Sister, I no longer say as I once did: 'I suspect this man!' To-day I accuse the criminal!"

"Schanvoch!" answered Tetrik disdainfully, "your accusations are stale.

This is not the first time that such silly words have dropped before my contempt--"

"I formerly only suspected you, Tetrik," I said determinedly, "of having by your machinations brought on the death of Victorin and his son, who was still in his cradle. To-day I accuse you of that horrible plot. I prefer against you the charge of murder!"

"Take care!" Tetrik answered pale, somber and with a threatening gesture. "Take care! My power is great--I can annihilate you--"

"Brother," Victoria said to me, "your thought is mine--speak without fear--I also have power."

"Tetrik," I proceeded, "I once only suspected you of being at the bottom of Marion's a.s.sa.s.sination--to-day I accuse you of that crime also!"

"Crazy wretch! Where are the proofs of the charges that you have the audacity to hurl at me?"

"Oh! You are prudent and skilful as well as patient. You break your tools in the dark after having used them--"

"Those are idle words," answered Tetrik with icy coolness. "Your proofs, where are they! I laugh at your impotent threats."

"The proofs!" cried Victoria. "They are embodied in your sacrilegious propositions. You conceived the project of being the hereditary emperor of Gaul long before Victorin's death; your proposition of having my grandson acclaimed the heir of his father's office was a lure meant at once to lead me off the scent of your designs and to furnish the first step of the ladder that you meant to climb."

"Victoria, anger is blinding you! What a bungler would I have been--if, indeed, the ambitious object that I pursued was a hereditary throne for myself--to advise you to vest the power in your own stock--"

"Aye! For one thing, the principle would have been accepted by the army.

For another, once hereditary power was established for the future, you would have rid yourself of my son and grandson, in the manner that you did--by a.s.sa.s.sination. It is all now clear before me. That cursed Bohemian girl was your instrument; she was sent to Mayence in order to seduce my son, in order to drive him with her refusals to the infamous act that the creature demanded as the price of her favors. The crime once committed, my son would either be killed by Schanvoch, who was hastily called back to Mayence that very night, or he would be slain by the army, which received timely notice and was lashed to fury by your emissaries--"

"Proofs--proofs--Victoria! Proofs!"

"I have none, yet I state the facts! You managed to have my grandson killed the same night--torn from my arms. My stock is extinguished. Your first step towards empire was marked in blood. You thereupon declined power, and proposed the elevation of Marion. Oh! I admit it! Before that prodigy of infernal cunning, my suspicions, which were for a moment aroused, melted away. Two months after his acclamation as Chief of Gaul, Marion fell under the sword of an execrable a.s.sa.s.sin, your instrument again--"

"Proofs!" broke in Tetrik impa.s.sibly. "Furnish the proofs!"

"I have none, yet I state the facts. You remained the only available candidate for the office--Victorin, his son and Marion were killed.

Thereupon, I unwittingly became your accomplice. I urged you to accept the government of the country. You triumphed, but only in part; you governed; but, you said it, you were but the first subject of the Mother of the Camps. Oh! I perceive it clearly! The hour has come when my power stands in your way. The army, Gaul, accepted Tetrik for their chief upon my request. It was not they who chose you. With one word I can break you, the same as I raised you to the place that you now are in. Blinded by ambition you judged my heart after your own; you thought me capable of wis.h.i.+ng to exchange my influence over the army for the crown of an empress, and of enthroning my stock. You have entered into a dark compact with the Pope and bishops, looking to the eventual brutification and enslavement of this proud Gallic people which freely chooses its chiefs, and remains faithful to the religion of our fathers. Why, centuries ago this people broke the yoke of kings.h.i.+p through the sacred hands of Ritha-Gaur, and yet you now scheme to impose upon it a hated domination by allying your self with the new Church! Very well, I, Victoria, the Mother of the Camps, accuse you before the people in arms of intriguing for the subjugation of Gaul! I accuse you of having denied the faith of our fathers! I accuse you of entering into a secret alliance with the bishops! I accuse you of wis.h.i.+ng to usurp the imperial crown and to render it hereditary in your family! I shall bring these charges against you before the people in arms, and shall p.r.o.nounce you a traitor, a renegade, a murderer, a usurper! I shall demand on the spot that you be tried by the senate, and punished with death for your crimes!"

The vehemence of the accusations of my foster-sister notwithstanding, Tetrik maintained his habitual composure. For a moment he had dropped the mask and flown at me with threats. Now he was himself again. Raising his hands heavenward, he answered with the most unctuous voice that he could summon:

"Victoria, I considered the project that I submitted to you advantageous to Gaul--let us drop it. You accuse me; I am ready to answer for my acts before the senate and the army. Should my death, decreed at your instigation, be of any service to my country, I shall not refuse to you the few days of life that are still left to me. I shall await the decision of the senate. Adieu, Victoria. The future will tell which of us two, you or I, understood the country's interests better, and loved Gaul with the wiser love."

Saying this he took a step toward the door. I dashed forward ahead of him, barred his pa.s.sage and said:

"You shall not go out! You mean to flee from the punishment that is due to your crimes--"

Tetrik looked me from head to feet with icy haughtiness, and half turning towards Victoria, said:

"What! In your house, violence is attempted upon an old man! Upon a relative who comes to you unsuspecting--"

"I shall respect that which is considered sacred in all countries--hospitality," answered the Mother of the Camps. "You came to me freely, you shall go out freely."

"Sister!" I cried. "Be careful! Your confidence has proved fatal once before--"

Victoria interrupted me with a gesture, and said bitterly:

"You are right--my confidence has been fatal to the country; it weighs upon my heart with remorse--but fear not this time."