The Life And Death Of Richard Yea And Nay Volume 91, Maurice Hewlett [beautiful books to read .TXT] 📗

Mouth What I Am Sure

He Will Tell You, Come Back To Me, My Pleasant Joy, And Rest Upon My

Heart.'

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 15 (Oeconomic Reflections Of The Old Man Of Musse) Pg 189

 

Jehane Sighed, And Wrought With Her Fingers In Her Lap. 'If It Must Be,

Sire--'

 

'Why, Of Course It Must Be,' Said The Old Man Briskly.

 

He Sent Her Away To The Harem With A Kiss On Her Mouth, And Had In

Cogia, And Bohadin Son Of Falmy Of Balsora. To These Two Rapt Assassins

He Gave Careful Instructions, Which There Was No Mistaking. The Golden

Rose, Properly Attended, Would Accompany Them As Far As Marseilles. She

Would Journey On To Pampluna And Abide In The Court Of The King Of

Navarre (Who Loved Arabians, As His Father Before Him) Until Such Time

As Word Was Brought Her By One Of Them, The Survivor, That They Had

Found King Richard, And That He Would See Her. Then She Would Set Out,

Attended By The Vizier, The Chief Of The Eunuchs, And The Mother Of

Flowers, And Act As She Saw Proper.

 

Very Soon After This The Galley Left The Marble Quay Of Tortosa Upon A

Prosperous Voyage Through Blue Water. Jehane, Her Son Fulke Of Anjou,

And The Other Persons Named, Were In A Great Green Pavilion On The

Poop. But She Saw Nothing, And Knew Nothing, Of Cogia Ibn Hassan Ibn

Alnouk Or Of Bohadin Son Of Falmy Of Balsora.

 

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 16 (The Chapter Called Chaluz) Pg 190

 When King Richard Said, Without Any Confirmatory Oath, That He Should

Hang Adhémar Of Limoges And The Count Of Saint-Pol, All Who Heard Him

Believed It. The Abbot Milo Believed It For One. Figuratively, You Can

See His Hands Up As You Read Him. 'To Hang Two Knights Of Such Eminent

Degree And Parts,' He Writes, 'Were Surely A Great Scandal In Any

Christian King. Not That The Punishment Were Undeserved Or The

Executioner Insufficient, God Knoweth! But Very Often True Policy Points

Out The Wisdom Of The Mean; And This Is Its Deliberative, That To Hang A

Bad Man When Another Vengeance Is Open--Such As Burning In His Castle,

Killing On His Walls, Or Stabbing By Apparent Mistake For A Common

Person--To Hang Him, I Say, Suggests To The Yet Unhanged A Way Of

Treating His Betters. There Are More Ways Of Killing A Dog Than Choking

Him With Butter; And So It Is With Lords And Other Rebels Against Kings.

In This Particular Case King Richard Only Thought To Follow His Great

Father (Whom At This Time He Much Resembled): What In The End He Did Was

Very Different From Any Act Of That Monarch's That I Ever Heard Tell Of,

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 16 (The Chapter Called Chaluz) Pg 192

Laughed At The Summons To Surrender So Long As There Was A Horse To Eat,

Man To Shoot, Or Arrow For The Shooting. As For Fire, He Believed

Himself Impregnable By That Arm; And Any Day Succour Might Come From The

South. Surely His Queen Would Not Throw Him To The Dogs! Where Was Count

John If Not Hastening To Win A Realm; Where King Philip If Not Hopeful

To Chastise A Vassal? Daily King Richard, In No Hurry, But Desperately

Reckless, Rode Close To The Tower And Met The Hardy Eyes Of Saint-Pol

Watching Him From The Top. Richard Was A Galliard Fighter, As He Had

Always Been.

 

'Come Down, Saint-Pol,' He Would Say, 'And Dance With Limoges.'

 

'When I Come Down, Sire,' The Answer Would Be, 'There Will Be No Dancing

In Your Host.'

 

Richard Took His Time, And Also Intolerable Liberties With His Life.

Milo Lost His Hair With Anxiety, Not Daring To Speak; Gaston Of Béarn

Did Dare, But Was Shaken Off By His Mad Master. Des Barres, Who Loved

Him, Perhaps, As Well As Any, Never Left Him For Long Together, And Wore

His Brain Out Devising Shifts Which Might Keep Him Away From The Walls.

But Richard, For This Present Whim Of His, Chose Out A Companion Devil

As Heedless As Himself, Mercadet Namely, His Brown Gascon Captain, Of

Like Proportions, Like Mettle, Like Foolhardiness; And With Him Made The

Daily Round, Never Omitting An Exchange Of Grim Banter With Saint-Pol.

It Was Terrible To See Him, Without Helm On His Head, Or Reason In It,

Canter Within Range Of The Bow.

 

'Oh, Saint-Pol,' He Said One Day, 'If Thou Wert Worth My Pains, I Would

Have Thee Down And Serve Thee As I Did Thy Brother Eudo. But No; Thou

Must Be Hanged, It Seems.' And Saint-Pol, Grinning Cheerfully, Answered,

'Have No Fear, King, Thou Wilt Never Hang Me.'

 

'By My Soul,' Said Richard Back Again, 'A Little More Of This Bold Gut

Of Thine, My Man, And I Let Thee Go Free.'

 

'Sire,' Said Saint-Pol Soberly, 'That Were The Worst Of All.'

 

'How So, Boy?'

 

'Because, If You Forgave Me, I Should Be Required By My Knighthood To

Forgive You; And That I Will Never Do If I Can Help It. So I Should Live

And Be Damned.'

 

'Have It Then As It Must Be,' Said Richard Laughing, And Turned His

Back. Saint-Pol Could Have Shot Him Dead, But Would Not. 'Look, De

Gurdun,' He Says, 'There Goes The King Unmailed. Wilt Thou Shoot Him In

The Back, And So End All?'

 

'By God, Eustace,' Says Gilles, 'That I Will Not.'

 

'Why Not, Then?'

 

Gurdun Said, 'Because I Dare Not. I Am More Afraid Of Him When He Scorns

Me Thus Than When His Face Is Upon Me. Let Him Lead An Assault Upon The

Walls, And I Will Split His Headpiece If I May; But I Will Never Again

Try Him Unarmed.'

 

'Pouf!' Said Saint-Pol; But He Was Of The Same Mind.

 

Then Came A Day When Des Barres Was Out Upon The Neighbouring Hills With

A Company Of Knights, Scouting. There Had Been Rumours Of Hostile

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 16 (The Chapter Called Chaluz) Pg 193

Movement From The South, From Provence And Roussillon; Of A Juncture Of

Prince John, Known To Be In Gascony, With The Queen's Brother Of

Navarre. Nothing Was Known Certainly, But Richard Judged That John Might

Be Tempted Out. It Was A Bright Cold Day, Cloudless, With A Most Bitter

North-East Wind Singing In The Bents. Des Barres, Sitting His Horse On

The Hill, Blew Upon His Ungauntleted Hand, Then Flacked It Against His

Side To Drive The Blood Back. Surveying The Field With A Hunter's Eye,

He Saw King Richard Ride Out Of The Lines On His Chestnut Horse,

Mercadet With Him, And (In A Green Cloak) Gaston Of Béarn. Richard Had A

Red Surcoat And A Blown Red Plume In His Cap. He Carried No Shield, And

By The Ease With Which He Turned His Body To Look Behind Him, One Hand

On The Crupper, Des Barres Was Sure That He Was Not In Mail.

 

'Folly Of A Fool!' He Snorted To His Neighbour, Savaric De Dreux: 'There

Pricks Our Lord The King, As If To A Party Of Hawks.'

 

'Wait,' Said Savaric. 'Where Away Now?

 

'To Bandy Gibes With Saint-Pol, Pardieu. Where Else Should He Go At This

Hour?'

 

'Saint-Pol Will Never Do Him A Villainy,' Said Savaric.

 

'No, No. But De Gurdun Is There.'

 

'Wait Now,' Says Savaric Again. 'Look, Look! Who Comes Out Of The

Smoke?'

 

They Could See The Beleaguered Tower Perfectly, Brown And Warm-Looking

In The Sun; Below It, Still Smoking, The Village Of Chaluz, A Heap Of

Charred Brickwork. They Saw A Man In Clean White Come Creeping Out Of

The Smoke, Stooping At A Run. He Hid Wherever He Could Behind The Broken

Wall, But Always Ran Nearer, Stooped And Ran With Bent Body Over His

Bent Knees. He Worked His Way Thus, Gradually Nearer And Nearer To The

Tower; And Des Barres Watched Him Anxiously.

 

'Some Camp-Thief Making Off--'

 

'Look, Look!' Cried Savaric. The White Man Had Come Out By The Tower,

Was Now Kneeling In The Open; At The Same Moment A Man Slipped Down A

Rope From The Tower-Top. Before He Had Touched Earth They Saw The

Kneeling Man Pull A Bowstring To His Ear And Let Fly. Next The Fellow On

The Rope, Touching Ground, Ran Fleetly Forward And, Springing On The

White-Robed Man, Drove Him To The Earth. They Saw The Flash Of A Blade.

 

'That Is Strange Warfare,' Said Des Barres, Greatly Interested.

 

'There Is Warfare In Heaven Also,' Said Savaric. 'See Those Two Eagles.'

Two Great Birds Were Battling In The Cold Blue. Feathers Fell Idly, Like

Black Snow-Flakes; Then One Of The Eagles Heeled Over, And Down He

Came.

 

But When They Looked Towards The Tower Again They Saw A Great Commotion.

Men Running, Horses Huddled Together, One In Red Held Up By One In

Green. Then A Riderless Chestnut Horse Looked About Him And Neighed. Des

Barres Gave A Short Cry. 'O God! They Have Shot King Richard Between

Them. Come, Savaric, We Must Go Down.'

 

'Stop Again,' Said That Other. 'Let Us Sweep Up Those Assassins As We

Go. There I See Another Thief In White.' Des Barres Saw Him Too. 'Spur,

Spur!' He Called To His Knights; 'Follow Me.' He Got His Line In Motion,

They All Galloped Across The Sunny Slopes Like A Light Cloud. But As

They Drove Forward The Play Was In Progress; They Saw It Done, As It