"It is in the hand of God," replied the old counsellor, in whose eye glistened a tear. "He, you know, can cause the blind to see."
He resumed his walk with a lively and careless air, and, in a jesting humour, put a few indifferent questions to one of the trabants.
"Unless a miracle happen here," exclaimed Drost Peter, vehemently, as the old counsellor again stood by him, "either you or I must speedily open the eyes of the queen and people."
"Precipitate man! what think you of?" whispered Sir John. "Your zeal will plunge the whole country into misfortune. Be calm, my young friend," he immediately added, as he took his hand and led him aside, "otherwise you will certainly increase our misfortunes. Some of the marsk's friends are here, to defend themselves, it is said. If, therefore, we were even certain of what we may apprehend, we must still be silent, and submit to necessity."
"What! even if, ere the morrow, it could be demonstrated to the queen and the whole people that our new protector is a traitor to the country?"
"Even then. He now holds the fate of the kingdom in his hand. By an open rupture, we might place him at the head of the rebels. At present, he must condemn and punish them, although against his wish. Until Marsk Stig falls, the duke must stand. He must be honoured as the prop of the throne, if even he be its most deadly foe. All that can at present be done is to warn the queen, and guard well the young king. Appear calm, then, as I do--and lively, if you can."
Their conference was suddenly interrupted by the entrance of the court-marshal, who invited them to a supper given by the queen, and intended as a feast of welcome to the duke.
"You perceive," exclaimed Drost Peter, when the court-marshal had retired, "that our wily and eloquent protector is already in high favour."
"'Tis politic, perhaps," replied Sir John. "Our noble mistress is not easily duped. We must, however, seem unconcerned, and in good humour. In this matter let me be your preceptor, my good drost. If you would be a statesman, you must first be master of your own countenance." And, with an expression of good-natured gaiety, the old counsellor, with his grave young friend, entered the royal apartments, after having appointed another trabant captain to take his place.
In a short time all the court officers, the members of the council, and the most considerable noblemen who attended the Dane-court, were assembled in the great riddersal, where the queen's ladies already waited for her. She entered soon after, attired in deep mourning, and accompanied by her brothers and young King Erik. At her left hand walked Duke Waldemar. He, too, wore a magnificent mourning-suit, and his haughty look of triumph betrayed a high degree of self-satisfaction, as he endeavoured to conceal his joy at a success which seemed no longer doubtful, although he saw it yet only in the distance. Sir John saluted him with much politeness and ease, whilst Drost Peter observed merely needful courtesies; the demeanour of the other counsellors being indicative more of fear than of goodwill.
Drost Peter regarded the queen attentively. He thought he perceived in her features a calm contentment, which, with her air of dignity, and a quiet, half-melancholy smile, did not ill contrast with her mourning attire; and as she cast on him a grave look, he fancied he read therein a rebuke for distrusting her sagacity and knowledge of mankind. It seemed to him as if she intended, by her whole conduct, to banish every doubt, which the friends of the royal house might entertain, of the loyalty of the princely personage whom she thought worthy to be distinguished as the most important man in the country.
When the general salutations and the customary formalities of court were over, she led forward the duke, and presented him to the chief men of the kingdom. "Our very princely friend and kinsman," she said, "from regard to the welfare of the country and the royal house, has magnanimously exposed himself to be misjudged, as well by me as by you. He had deferred receiving from this Dane-court his election to the protectorship, on account of a rumour which his enemies have circulated, concerning a grievous want of confidence in him here, and of a party which, therefore, would stir up the people at the Dane-court, and create discord in the kingdom. Having learned, however, that the report is unfounded, he has no longer hesitated to come forward to justify himself. He brings us, moreover, the important and satisfactory intelligence, that the rebellious Marsk Stig has returned to reason, and has submitted his cause and that of his accomplices to the decision of the Dane-court. The duke, by not attacking the rebels, has prudently sought to avoid a devastating civil war; whilst, by collecting a numerous army, he has overawed and restrained them. He has ventured in person within the defences of Marsk Stig, to induce him to submit to the laws of the country; and he brings with him, under his own conduct, to this Dane-court, three of the marsk's friends, that it may not be said that even our most dangerous foes were condemned unheard. I look on this enterprise to be as valorous and upright as it is wise and politic; and it gladdens me that I can reasonably hope for prosperity to the kingdom of Denmark, and at the same time bid the noble Duke Waldemar welcome amongst us."
The latter words she addressed to the duke, who advanced, and bowing profoundly, in easy and elegant terms acknowledged this flattering reception. With apparent animation and sincerity, he avowed his attachment to the queen and the young king, at the same time extolling the loyal adherents of the royal house with a condescension and an insinuating address which were not without effect on the greater part of those who heard him.
The doors of the dining-hall were then thrown open, and the duke led the queen to the table, where the youthful king took his place at her right hand.
This was the first occasion on which any deviation had been made from that mournful silence which, since the death of King Erik Christopherson, had uniformly prevailed at court. And, even now, the feast was in nowise noisy: neither song, nor music, nor loud-voiced joy was heard; and, as soon as the table was removed, the company separated.
The duke retired to the wing of the castle he usually occupied during the Dane-court. Sir John again resumed his station before the royal apartments, as captain of the body-guard; and Drost Peter returned to his own dwelling, his mind filled with painful doubts and fears.
When the grave drost entered, he found Count Gerhard enjoying himself over a goblet of wine; whilst old fostermother Dorothy, who was now her master's housekeeper here, loaded the table with viands of every description. At a signal from the drost, the bustling nurse left the apartment, whilst he greeted his guest not without some uneasy apprehensions.
"Welcome home, my good friend!" cried the count, gaily, as he rose, after having drained his goblet. "I am here, gathering strength from your excellent wine. If your fostermother reared you on this, I wonder not you are so strong and active. She is a capital housewife. You could never be better treated, even had you an angel for a wife. It is lucky she was not hanged or buried alive for her womanly honour's sake. But, what's the matter? Am not I welcome? You look as if you were outlawed by the Dane-court, or cited before the Ribe-Ret."
"You are heartily welcome, noble Count Gerhard," replied the drost, extending his hand; "and if peace and joy are not to be seen in my face, it is certainly no fault of your's. You are true to your word, I see, and no false prophet. The duke arrived this evening. To-morrow he is my master, and that of the royal house. But what have you discovered?"
"A very pretty thing, my good friend. You were as near being buried alive us your nurse was; and Nordborg Tower was to have been your grave. I succeeded in unbinding the highwayman's tongue with the point of a good sword at his throat. He confessed he would have broken your neck if he could not have taken you prisoner, for you had in your pocket important proofs against the regicides."
"And for that reason--ah! I understand," exclaimed Drost Peter. "But what farther?"
"Wait a little, my good friend. A man can't live on talk. Your confounded state affairs have nearly worn me out." So saying, Count Gerhard quietly resumed his seat, and replenished his goblet, whilst the drost impatiently awaited his farther communications.
"The duke is a cunning gentleman," began the count, when he had emptied his goblet, and again praised the wine; "and I am a downright stormer, they say. 'Tis true, indeed, that I mostly cut away right before me, and go straight to my object, without deviation. But now you shall see that I too, at a pinch, can play the fox--"
"I heartily believe it, my dear count; therefore, for Heaven's sake, don't prove it to me now! What know you of the duke? What has he been doing? What could have kept him from the Dane-court? Where has he been?--"
"Softly, softly, my good friend. A man cannot answer everything at once. He has not slept for the last three days--neither have I: you can see it in my appearance. I have ridden three horses to death, and scarcely hang together myself. But listen to all in due order. When we danced with the pretty maidens at Rypen House, the duke lay, you know, on the lazy side, in his camp hard by. But on holy St. Germanus' day--let me see--yes, it was the 28th of May, the first day of the Dane-court here--he was certainly in Sleswick, where, in the presence of his own council and that of the bishop, he issued a trading charter, in favour of the shopkeepers of Lubeck, of the following tenor--"
"Do you jest with me, Count Gerhard? What possible connection has this with the crown and kingdom?"
"More than you dream of, my good friend," replied the count. "The tenor of the charter I will spare you, for I cannot remember it, and it is nothing to the purpose: but mark you--he performed a public, although an insignificant act of government, in Sleswick, on the same day on which he should here have been chosen protector and guardian of the king. There, now, you have a political riddle, which will become a hard nut for posterity to crack; but I can solve it for you. He had, shortly before, been at Helgeness, with Marsk Stig--"
"That we know," interrupted the drost, impatiently: "he has not concealed it; and it has just been explained to his honour, as a proof of his fidelity and zeal for the royal cause."
"I'faith, if you know everything, my sagacious sir drost, then are you wiser than even my Daddy Longlegs, as we shall see--"
"Your jester?"
"Aye--you know him. He is mad enough at times: he fancied he was the dead king, when he knocked my eye out; but when he is not mad, and has a mind to put a wax nose on people, he is a deuce of a carl, and ready to laugh himself to death at--"
"But,min Gud!what has a fool to do with state affairs? Forget not, on account of that good-for-nothing fellow, what you were about to say."
"Respect Longlegs, my good friend. Such a fool can be more sagacious than a whole privy council. For the last eight days he has been clad in iron from top to toe, and has personated the marsk's confidential swain, Mat Jute. He resembled him to a hair, and imitated his Juttish accent in a masterly manner: it was thus he came to know that of which I had already an inkling, and what old Henner had observed during his imprisonment with the marsk. Whilst the duke kept away from the Dane-court, a tumult and an outbreak were to be occasioned here, on the first court-day, by the aid of the marsk and his friends; but I prevented it by causing all the ferries to be closed for three days, so that none of the disturbers could come over."
"My God! what do I hear? What would then have happened?"
"Under pretence of a rising against the duke himself, wherein it was believed the people would take part, the queen and the young king were to be seized during the confusion. We compelled the captive highwayman to report that you were in good keeping at Nordborg, and for that lie he had his freedom yesterday. Whilst the royal prisoners, with the algrev's assistance, were carried to Tönsberg, the duke with his army was to proceed to Viborg, and, in order to save the country, was to suffer himself, from sheer necessity, to be hailed as king. He was, as you have seen, prepared to prove, by a public document, that he was in Sleswick during the tumult on the 28th of May; so that the cunning gentleman could wash his hands of what had then happened. In the meantime, as I expected, he found out the stroke I made in the reckoning; and he must have ridden neck or nothing from Sleswick to be here to-night."
"Come, Count Gerhard," exclaimed Drost Peter, startled, "this is a matter for the closet. I turn giddy at the mere thought of it. If you can adduce me clear proofs of this monstrous treachery, he shall be overthrown, even if it costs me my own life."
Drost Peter hastily withdrew his guest into his closet, where he noted down every word spoken by the count, and every circumstance that could throw light on the truth of his narrative. The jester was also examined, and his statement duly recorded. Count Gerhard set his seal to the depositions, and further bound himself, by his oath and his good sword, to make good what might be deficient in formal testimony. With the utmost gravity of countenance, the jester likewise set his seal to the document with a button of his squire's jacket.
Next morning betimes, before the Dane-court commenced, Drost Peter had a private conversation with Sir John; but almost as early, the duke was with the Margraves of Brandenburg and the queen.
On this last and most important day of the Dane-court, the business, as usual, would be transacted in the open air, in sight of the people, in the area before the palace. It was the third day in Whitsun-week, and the finest spring weather favoured the solemnities with which the young king would, at the same time, be hailed by his Funen subjects. Everything was prepared with the utmost magnificence. On each side of the throne, which the young king would occupy, was a splendid seat, both of nearly the same elevation, provided for the queen and Duke Waldemar. Scarlet cloth was spread on the ground, and two semi-circles of chairs were placed for the princes and knights, as well as for the bishops and prelates; but in the middle of the circle stood a round table, covered with black cloth, with three and thirty chairs around it, which, however, seemed to occupy but a small portion of the large space. This unusual spectacle gave rise to many doubtful observations among the people. From an early hour in the morning, an unusually large number of burghers and peasants were assembled on the site of the Dane-court, and an anxious silence prevailed.
The knights and ecclesiastics afterward assembled, among the latter of whom were the worthy dean, Master Jens Grand, and the Archbishop of Lund, John Dros, together with the bishops of the entire kingdom.
The eyes of all were now directed to the great doors of the palace, from which the royal party was every minute expected to proceed. They were at length thrown open, and two heralds, with lofty plumes in their helmets, and bearing white rods, appeared, heading the procession, as on the occasion of a tournament; although the mourning-dresses imparted to the whole more the appearance of a funeral train. The youthful king walked gravely and firmly by the side of his stately mother, and was followed by Prince Christopher, with the duke and the queen's brothers.
Count Gerhard had unexpectedly placed himself in the princely train. Nor had he come alone; for he was accompanied by his two brothers, the young Counts of Holstein, and the wise and brave Prince Witzlau of Rygen, his private friend, and a loyal vassal of the Danish crown. These noblemen had just been presented to the king; but Count Gerhard, having had no opportunity of approaching the queen, was forced to salute her from a distance.
At the head of the twelve councillors came old Sir John, the Chancellor Martinus, and Drost Peter. No trace of anxiety was visible on the countenance of the aged statesman. Master Martinus also appeared calm; but his head was bowed, and his hands folded within the ample sleeves of his Dominican habit, as if he were engaged in secret prayer. Drost Peter strove in vain entirely to conceal the contest of feelings that divided his soul: his wounded arm rested in a sling; and under his other, concealed beneath his sable knight's mantle, he carried a bundle of documents. When he perceived the proud, triumphant glance of the duke, his eyes flashed indignation; but he had promised Sir John to control his feelings, and he was himself fully alive to the necessity which existed for dissimulation. A bitter smile, however, played for a moment on his lips, as it occurred to him that he might then, perhaps, with a joyous face, be following the freedom and happiness of his country to their grave.
The royal squires, who, after the marsk, under-marsk, and knights, closed the procession, were headed by the favourite of the youthful king, Aagé Jonsen, who, since the catastrophe at the barn of Finnerup, had become singularly quiet and serious. Drost Peter, his own and young Erik's weapon-master, was his model of chivalry, and already he wore, with almost the dignity of a knight, the squire's sword and silver spurs with which his young king had presented him.
When the Dane-court was at length seated, and the people saw the little king upon throne, and beheld the noble bearing of the queen, with so many wise and faithful counsellors by the side of their youthful monarch, the deep, long-held silence was suddenly broken by a deafening shout of joy and loyalty.
As when the homage of the people was received at Scanderborg, Sir John now read aloud the document respecting the election of the king, and the acclamations of the assembly were repeated with redoubled ardour. In the midst of this applause the little king rose, and bowed gracefully around; the childlike pleasure he felt at being thus the object of general homage, adding a grace and simplicity to his natural dignity and early knightly bearing that invested him with an irresistible charm.
When the king rose, the queen likewise stood up, while Duke Waldemar and the other princes, with all the knights and vassals of the kingdom, acknowledged the sovereignty of their youthful monarch, by bending themselves before the throne.
When this act of homage was concluded, Sir John advanced and read that article in the constitution by which the queen and Duke Waldemar were entitled to exercise concurrently the functions of government during the minority of the king. Notwithstanding the discontent visible in many faces, no objection was offered, and the queen and the duke were formally confirmed in this authority. When the document, after being subscribed by the estates of the kingdom, was read to the people, the name of the queen was greeted with loud applause, while that of the duke was received in almost unbroken silence. A few voices only, among which was that of Master Grand, attempted to raise a shout of "Long live Duke Waldemar, the king's guardian, and protector of the kingdom!" And although a considerable number joined in it, it was in a tone indicative more of compulsion and fear than of goodwill.
The duke having bowed with an air of condescension, the young king again arose. A perfect stillness and attention prevailed, while his eye rested on Drost Peter and Master Martinus, in whose encouraging looks he seemed to read what he had to say. Quickly conquering the bashful feeling which for a moment had seized him, he began, with a firm voice, and in a tone so loud that all could hear him:--
"My loyal Danish people, I here promise, before God and Our Holy Lady, that I will be a good and upright king. I acknowledge the constitution, and recognise the will of the people, as just and binding; cheerfully submitting myself to the guardianship of my dear mother and of the duke until I have attained my majority. And as I am, under this legal guardianship, the lawful King of Denmark, and inherit the crown of my father and the great Waldemars, I now, confident of the approval of my guardians and counsellors, order and command, that the cause against the murderers of my late father shall, by this Retter-Ting, be rigidly investigated and decided. Stand forward, Drost Peter Hessel. On my behalf and that of the crown, you are appointed accuser of the regicides."
Drost Peter advanced, and drew forth the documents he carried beneath his mantle.
"With the consent of my dear mother and Duke Waldemar," continued the youthful Erik, whilst, turning his eyes on Sir John, he recited, almost word for word, what that aged statesman had prepared for him, "I propose that my worthy uncle, Margrave Otto of Brandenburg, my trusty vassal, Prince Witzlau of Rygen, the valiant and upright Count Gerhard of Holstein, and his illustrious brothers, together with seven and twenty chief men of the Danish nobility and knighthood, be now constituted a tribunal, to investigate the accusation and the evidence offered by the drost. After which, let them declare who were the men that, on St. Cecilia's night, in the barn of Finnerup, laid violent and regicidal hands on my late father, King Erik Christopherson. With this hand upon his bloody breast, I vowed to his soul and the righteous God that, from the throne of Denmark, this should be my first command, and that the ungodly regicides should receive the punishment due to their crime, according to the strictest justice and the outraged laws of the land."
The warmth and earnestness, no less than the authority, with which this demand was pronounced, excited general surprise and admiration. The latter words, which, to the astonishment of Sir John, had been added by the young monarch himself, had brought the tears into his eyes.
When he had resumed his seat, the queen, who appeared prepared for this announcement, immediately arose, and said--"I approve of the king's proposition. It has already been well considered in the council of the nation, and now requires only the approbation of the illustrious Duke Waldemar."
"I, likewise, approve of it," said the latter, in a tone which showed that he was constrained to acquiesce only by the necessity of his position.
By Sir John's arrangements, seven and twenty noblemen, the eldest and most respected in the assembly, were then chosen, who, with the princes already named, immediately took their seats at the black table within the circle, prepared to hear and examine the accusation and evidence offered by the drost. Whilst thus engaged, the deep silence of expectation pervaded the rest of the assembly. When they had concluded, the three knights, strongly guarded, advanced at the signal of the duke. As defenders of the accused, they had been brought there under his safe conduct. They were completely clad in mail, and wore their visors down.
The princes and the other members of the tribunal now approached the throne. The Margrave Otto of Brandenburg, who, with a parchment in his hand, was at their head, then bowed before the king and the assembly, and read aloud and distinctly, in Danish, though with a foreign accent, as follows:--
"After the charges laid before us, and the witnesses we have heard, we are constrained to name, as proved to have been participators in the murder of King Erik Christopherson, the following persons, knights and Danish noblemen:--The right princely Count Jacob of Halland; Stig Andersen Hvide, marsk of the kingdom of Denmark; High Chamberlain Ové Dyré; Sirs Peder Jacobsen, Peder Porsé, Niels Hallandsfar, Arved Bengtson, Niels Knudson, and Jacob Blaafod; also Chamberlain Rané and Squire Aagé Kaggé. That the abovenamed eleven men, together with a twelfth, who has since appeared before a higher tribunal, were present in disguised dresses, on St. Cecilia's night, at Finnerup barn, near Viborg, and did personally take part in the murder of the king, we do here testify and swear, with our hands upon the holy Gospels, in presence of the all-seeing God, and before the king and people of Denmark."
While the names were read, two of the mailed knights seemed to stagger; but the third, a ponderous and stately figure, remained unmoved, wrapped, with an air of defiance, in his blue mantle, and his clenched hands crossed upon his breast. No sooner had the princes and their fellow-judges sworn to the truth of their verdict, than this haughty personage, advancing a step, struck his visor up, and, turning round, exhibited to the assembly a countenance at once wild and warlike, although somewhat pale.
"Count Jacob!--Count Jacob himself!"--ran from mouth to mouth, in a subdued murmur of astonishment.
"Yes, I am Count Jacob of Holland, kinsman to the royal house, and a general of Denmark," he exclaimed, with an air of pride and defiance; "and here stand my faithful friends, the brave Sirs Arved Bengtson and Jacob Blaafod, who, along with me, are named among the murderers of King Erik Christopherson."
His companions then struck aside the gratings of their helmets, and revealed the accused regicides, who, despite their haughty bearing, were yet deadly pale, and apparently doubtful of their personal security, notwithstanding the safe conduct of the duke.
"We mean not to impugn the decision of so many lords and knights," continued the proud count. "Lying and falsehood we bear not upon our shields. Danish honesty we expect also here. We have been promised, in the name of the king, a safe conduct and just treatment. We demand, therefore, not only the right to withdraw from hence unmolested, but first to be heard in our defence. That which we have done, we feel assured we can defend with our lips as well as with our swords, wherever honesty and justice prevail. To defend the right, in self-vindication, is nowhere forbidden; and that we call right which we have accomplished on a man of violence, who himself had broken every law, before we broke the rod over his guilty head."
The queen had risen, and the young king had sprung up, amazed at this matchless boldness. The rage of the people was great at beholding amongst them the convicted regicide, although his princely rank and his known bravery imposed silence on many. His daring, too, pleased some, and his exordium about Danish honesty was flattering to a considerable portion. The rebels had also secret friends among the people, and a dangerous murmur began to pervade the excited assemblage; while a multitude of the poorer burghers of Nyborg, who were particularly attached to the late king, rushed forward with furious clamour to wreak their vengeance on his murderers. With the greatest difficulty could the rank of knights keep in restraint the infuriated populace, and the uproar threatened to put a stop to the proceedings, when Sir John and Drost Peter restored order by announcing that sentence should immediately be pronounced on the regicides, and their punishment rendered speedy and certain.
"Let them be carried at once to the wheel!" cried Junker Christopherson, as he menaced them with his clenched hand.
The queen's indignation was great; but she remained silent, and sank back, pale and agitated, on her seat. The appearance of the murderers, and the wild faces of the people, painfully reminded her of the audacious visit of Marsk Stig, on the morning after the king's assassination.
"Had I imagined that these gentlemen had personally participated in the deed, they should never have received a safe conduct from me," exclaimed the duke, in some perturbation. "But now, for the sake of my own honour and that of the crown, I must demand that they be suffered freely to depart, whatever judgment may be pronounced upon them."
"You are right, Duke Waldemar," said the young king, suppressing his indignation. "Would we be knights with honour, we must keep faith and promise, even with these most impious murderers; and I have vowed to God and to Our Lady to rule righteously. If, therefore, on behalf of the crown, you have promised them safety, we must suffer them freely to depart. But they shall first hear their doom; and, wherever they may flee to, by the assistance of the righteous God, it will certainly reach them. Read aloud the sentence," he added, hastily, "as it stands in King Waldemar's law-book. If they have forfeited life and honour, so shall we adjudge."
"No punishment seems to me too severe for so heinous a crime," observed the duke, sternly. "But it may assume a different aspect when viewed from another point; and, therefore, before any just and impartial sentence can be pronounced, the Dane-court should hear what the accused have to advance in their defence, and what others, skilled in the laws, can state to guide us. Let the accused advance. The king and the people will hear their defence."
Count Jacob and Arved Bengtson moved not; but Jacob Blaafod, who was celebrated for his eloquence, approached the throne, while the blood again mounted to his sun-burnt cheeks. Having bowed on every side with knightly grace, he began his defence, and immediately quelled the murmurs of the assembly by a short but flattering exordium, in which he extolled the justice of the Danish laws, and the love of freedom and magnanimity of the people. He then frankly admitted the truth of the accusation, but represented the murder of the king as a bold and heroic action, as a great sacrifice to the freedom of the nation, and as altogether a just and lawful deed. He recounted all the violations of his contracts, and of the charters of the kingdom, perpetrated by the late king, by which, he affirmed, he had forfeited his crown, and placed himself on a level with every knight and nobleman in the kingdom, each of whom could defend his own honour and integrity against any of his peers, without being guilty of lese-majesty. He then proceeded to expose, in bitter language, the deep injustice which had been suffered by the chief noblemen in the kingdom; especially depicting, in the strongest colour, the crime perpetrated by King Erik Christopherson against Marsk Stig and his wife, with its heartrending results; and concluded by demanding of the king and the people, in the name of Danish justice, honour, and freedom, that the country's greatest general, the famed Marsk Stig, with his injured friends and kinsmen, should be acquitted of all guilt, and restored to their honours and dignities, which they had never lawfully forfeited.
His words made a deep impression, and no inconsiderable number of voices were raised in favour of the accused.
The queen had veiled her face; and the youthful Erik, in spite of his grief and indignation, could not avoid blushing at the shame of his unhappy father, whilst the tears stood in his eyes.
"Speak, Drost Peter, speak!" he cried: "is it not enough that they have murdered my father? Must I also sit on Denmark's throne, and hear them mock and insult his memory?"
At this heartrending appeal Drost Peter advanced. He exhibited great emotion, and some time elapsed before he could command his voice. "In what our murdered lord and king has here offended," he began, "he has gone to his account before the King of kings. May the Almighty Judge be merciful to him, and all of us! They are not men, but monsters, who demand that his son and his bereaved subjects should justify his actions and defend his fame in the presence of his murderers. It is not as the man Erik Christopherson that he is here in question; but as Denmark's king, as the wearer of Denmark's crown, whose inviolable majesty and sacredness have been profaned by bloody and audacious hands: it is the crime against the anointed ruler of the people and of the kingdom we are here to judge."
Without reference to the king's personality, he then pourtrayed the regicidal crime in language so strong and glowing, that the murderers themselves were abashed, and many of those who most severely censured the deceased king, and who had just been loudest in their applause of Jacob Blaafod's speech, turned away their eyes with horror from the men of blood. The eloquent drost then proceeded to recapitulate some of the most beneficial measures adopted by his late master; and specially pointed out how much that ancient and loyal city owed to his favour and clemency. He further instanced numerous benefits which the rebellious noblemen themselves had received from the late king, whom they had basely and ungratefully murdered, and succeeded in touching the hearts of the whole assembly, and in entirely obliterating the impression produced by the address of the regicide. He availed himself, finally, of this favourable disposition, to unfold the dangerous position of the country, and, with impassioned eloquence, charged them to sustain not only the majesty and sacredness of the throne, but the dignity and freedom of the people, by tearing the mask from the face of every secret traitor who had participated, directly or otherwise, in this rebellions and audacious crime. His eyes sparkling with animation, he then suddenly turned to the duke, as the man bound to the royal house by the holiest ties of consanguinity, and demanded of him, in the name of the people, by virtue of his new dignity, first to pronounce sentence on the guilty, for subsequent confirmation by the estates.
The drost paused; and although the duke had changed colour, he quickly rose at this appeal, and, bowing respectfully to the queen, modestly yielded to her the prerogative of pronouncing whatever sentence she and the council of the kingdom regarded as just and lawful.
"Be it so!" exclaimed the queen, unveiling her face as she rose with an air of calmness and decision. "I shall, then, be the first to declare what the council of the kingdom and myself think just and legal--what must have been already pronounced in the heart of every Dane, if God's holy law dwell there:--According to every law, both human and divine, an ignominious death is due to murderous traitors. Therefore, for the security of the crown and kingdom, let not mercy restrain the arm of justice!"
"Whoever has any legal objections to offer, can do so now," said the duke, as he directed his eyes towards Dean Grand, who apparently was only waiting this summons to step forward.
"In the name of truth and justice, then, I demand to be heard," cried the authoritative dean, as he advanced with an open book in his hand. "Here is the point of law on which alone the accused can be condemned, if, as I maintain they should, they be not with right and justice acquitted of all guilt. If the murder had been perpetrated in God's holy house, or on the property of the victim himself, the sentence of death would be a legal one; but as this was certainly not so in this instance, the accused, at worst, can only be adjudged outlaws, and have their estates forfeited to the king's exchequer. If the law is to prevail here, and not the unrighteous passion of revenge, no severer sentence than this can be pronounced."
On this bold assertion, which had found favour with many, a warm debate arose, in which the duke, with a flattering and not ineffective reference to the great privileges of the people and of the states, and to the violation of charters and engagements, declared himself in favour of this milder interpretation of the law.
Drost Peter opposed him warmly; but Sir John, to his great astonishment and that of the young king, strenuously maintained that, in accordance with the strict letter of the law, they could not come nearer the criminals. Outlawry, however, he continued, was a punishment which could not be regarded as trivial; for it implied no less than civil death, constant peril of life, and exclusion from every social or human privilege within the bounds of Denmark.
The words of the aged counsellor carried great weight with them. Drost Peter, and the other faithful friends of the royal house, quickly perceived that, for some new but sufficient reason, this wise statesman now defended an opinion he had himself opposed in the council a few days before. No further opposition, therefore, was offered to the milder sentence on the criminals; the queen and the young king declaring themselves satisfied with it, since it was considered just and legal by so many able and upright men.
The sentence of outlawry on the regicides was then formally drawn up, and immediately subscribed and sealed by the king and both protectors, as well as by those chosen for that purpose from the estates; after which, it was read aloud by the drost before the assembled Dane-court. Under a strong guard, the three knights were then conducted to the beach, where they were put on board a boat, with some provisions, and thus enabled to escape the enraged populace, against which no convoy could any longer protect them.
This important business being thus concluded, the Margrave Otto of Brandenburg advanced, and, having bowed respectfully to royalty, turned to the assembled knighthood, and said:--"My royal nephew, King Erik Erikson of Denmark, has honoured me by requesting to receive, at this Dane-court, the stroke of knighthood from my hand. A king's son, who has borne the name of king almost from his cradle, may already be regarded as exalted by his birth and position over every meaner dignity. It is commendable, however, in kings and princes, that they do not despise the rank of knighthood, but are generally desirous of being invested with that honour before they are anointed and crowned as sovereigns over their knights and princely vassals. I dispense, therefore, in the case of my royal nephew, with the customary probation which the dignity of the order otherwise requires."
He then turned to the young king, and continued, in a tone of solemnity:--"I now demand, King Erik Erikson of Denmark, before thy loyal people and in presence of the Danish knighthood, in what respect thou desirest to be admitted into our order? Wilt thou promise and swear to defend the holy Christian faith and the honours of knighthood?"
The young king arose and uncovered his head. His cheeks glowed, and his dark blue eyes sparkled with youthful pleasure and animation.
"Yea!" he exclaimed, "I will, so help me all holy men! God and Our Holy Lady know my heart's wish and my intention. I desire the stroke of knighthood from thy hand, my dear uncle, that I may be anointed and crowned King of Denmark with honour, and to show my loving people, and all men, that not only shall I be a good and upright king, but also a knight without reproach, that I may not disgrace the crown of Denmark and of the great Waldemars. That which a squire should understand, before he can wear the golden spurs, my dear weapon-master, Drost Peter Hessel, has already taught me, which I will prove at the first tournament. The laws of chivalry I have learned as the holy text; and I swear, by St. George and the Holy Virgin, that I shall maintain them while I live."
He paused an instant to collect himself; and then continued, with much ardour:--"I will not live careless, but will defend my people, and pour out my blood for the true and holy Church, which I know is the head, whilst the knighthood is the arm, to defend the whole body; and that also shall I strive to do. I will protect the widow, the fatherless, and the needy; I will be the defender of all pure and virtuous ladies; I will be just, valiant, generous, honest, and chaste; I will honour God with all humility, and be truthful and faithful to my word; I will practise the seven virtues of knighthood, and eschew the seven mortal sins, with the assistance of God and the Holy Virgin."
When the youthful king had sworn, as his profession of faith, this epitome of the laws of chivalry, which he seemed to know by heart, he descended from the throne to receive the symbols and accoutrements of knighthood, with which, according to his wish and the usual custom, he was to be invested by the most eminent men of the kingdom, and the most attached friends of the royal house. Drost Peter bound the golden spurs upon his heels, and with tender interest and heartfelt pleasure reminded him of their signification. Old Sir John, with a short and energetic encouragement to manliness and goodness, equipped him in a cuirass of light mail. Count Gerhard, who had requested the charge of binding on his wambraces, did so in his usual gay manner, wishing the son of the noble Queen Agnes success, strength, and victory in every undertaking.
At length the queen herself arose to present him with the glittering gauntlets, and to gird him with the golden sword, which the heralds brought forward. Having first carried the crossed hilt of the weapon reverently to her lips, she girt her son with the gold-embroidered sword-belt, on which was wrought, by her own hands, a lily, a balance, and a heart, as emblems of purity, justice, and Christian charity; and then, kissing him affectionately on the forehead, she exhorted him never to forget its meaning.
The queen having resumed her seat, and the knights their places, the youthful king knelt down, while Margrave Otto, kissing the hilt of his drawn sword, solemnly said--"King Erik Erikson of Denmark, in the name of God, Our Holy Lady, and St. George, I dub you a knight. Be bold, courageous, and true!"
A flourish of trumpets followed, while the margrave, with the flat of his sword, touched the noviciate three times on the shoulder.
Tears stood in the eyes of the newly-created knight, whilst he rose and folded his hands, as if engaged in silent prayer. He then received from the margrave a bright gilded helmet, with a large plume of feathers, which caused his eyes to sparkle with pleasure as he placed it on his golden locks. Finally, the margrave presented him with a golden lance, and hung on the wambrace of his left arm a splendid shield, bearing the same device which he had chosen for his first juvenile buckler.
His friend and playmate, Aagé Jonsen, had meanwhile led forth a proud milk-white tourney-steed, caparisoned in shining armour, with a lofty plume of feathers on his head. The youthful knight instantly vaulted into the saddle, without the aid of the stirrups, and then proceeded to caracol his steed, poise his lance, and exhibit himself in all the pomp of knighthood before the people, who received his graceful and condescending salutations with enthusiastic shouts of rejoicing. Thrice did he thus make the circle of the Dane-court, whilst the air resounded with the braying of trumpets and the loud acclamations of the people.
Even the gravest among the knights seemed pleased at the dexterity and address with which the youthful rider managed his steed; and, although, as old Sir John turned towards Drost Peter, a quiet smile at this exhibition played about his lips, yet the delighted shouts of the people, and the general animation excited by the presence of the youthful monarch, much affected him, and hastily passing his hands across his eyes, he heartily joined in the people's shout--"God bless our young king!"
Without being impeded by his armour and weapons, young Erik now sprang from his steed with as much agility as he had mounted it, and ordering his squire to lead it off, returned calmly and with dignity to the throne.
During these ceremonies the duke remained silent and absorbed in reflection. Drost Peter, however, had closely observed him; and the ill-concealed scorn which he read in his countenance only too strongly reminded him that it was not yet time for rejoicings and gladness in Denmark.
King Erik then arose, somewhat out of breath with his violent exercise, and addressing the duke, said--"As I am now myself a knight, and have a right to confer the stroke of knighthood on whom I choose, my princely kinsman and guardian, Duke Waldemar of South Jutland, shall be the first who receives it from my hand."
The duke rose hastily. He seemed taken by surprise, and his proud mien betrayed that the proposed honour annoyed more than it flattered him. Drost Peter imagined he saw in his constrained smile, an angry feeling of wounded pride, that he should now, in presence of the nation, be obliged to kneel before the youthful king, even to receive a dignity with which he had long anxiously desired to be invested.
The wily duke, however, seemed solicitous to conceal this from himself as well as from the knighthood, and, in a tone of easy dignity, he thanked the king for this gracious mark of distinction. He then knelt before the throne, whilst King Erik pronounced the customary form, and, amidst a nourish of trumpets, let fall three times his golden sword on the shoulder of the duke.
"Be a knight without reproach," he added: "be, as the laws of chivalry command, full of burning zeal for the general good, for the kingdom's weal, for the knighthood's honour, for the people's unity and prosperity, and for the welfare of your lawful king. God, Our Holy Lady, and St. George grant you strength and aid thereto!"
From the lips of the youthful king, this admonition, in which he fancied he could trace the influence of Drost Peter, did not at all please the proud, ambitious duke; although he went through the customary forms with a polite bearing. When he had received his new arms, he leaped upon his tourney-steed, and exhibited himself to the people with much princely dignity and knightly skill. At a prancing gallop he cast his lance aloft and caught it again, at the same time saluting the people gracefully and mildly. The applause he coveted was freely bestowed on him; but he seemed especially gratified when, after he had dismounted, he received the congratulations of the knights and of the royal family.
Thus terminated the Dane-court and its grave affairs, apparently to the general satisfaction. The royal family, with the duke and the other princes present, then returned to the palace, where the king presented rich gifts to the duke, to the Margrave Otto, Count Gerhard, and the Danish knights. Chargers, gold bridles, magnificent mantles, and arms were freely distributed; and all who had participated in the ceremonials received some handsome memorial of the day and of the king's munificence. Neither was Aagé Jonsen forgotten: his royal master presented him with a gilded sword, set with jewels, and bearing as an inscription--"The king's defence." For his fidelity to the murdered king, Erik would fain have given his youthful playmate the stroke of knighthood; but the exception which had been made in his own favour could not, from respect to those of riper years, be extended to any of lower degree, not even to Junker Christopherson, who appeared to consider himself as worthy of being a knight and king as was his brother.
This important election to the regency of the kingdom, and the princely promotion to the knighthood, were celebrated in the palace with magnificent festivities, during which the duke scarcely for a moment lost sight of the royal party, and outshone all present in knightly bearing, and in refined and polished conversation.
The queen's present confidence in him, and her desire to compensate him for the unworthy suspicions she formerly entertained, now led her to agree with him in a conclusion altogether opposed to the wishes of the council. The representations of the duke to herself and her brothers, induced them to consider the juncture too serious for farther festivities; and, to look carefully to the security of the royal house, they unanimously determined that, instead of carrying the young king to Zealand, there to receive the homage of the people, and from thence to be crowned at Lund, they should immediately carry him back to the strong castle of Viborg, and defer the journey to Zealand and Scania, so long as Marsk Stig, with the outlaws and Norse rovers, rendered the Belt and Sound unsafe. This determination the queen, in the presence of the duke, announced to Sir John and Drost Peter during the evening, in a tone so decided as to restrain every objection.
Drost Peter was much alarmed, for he saw in this a new attempt on the part of the duke to draw the royal personages within his own and the outlaws' power, whilst, by his cunning, he would perhaps succeed in deferring the act of homage, and delaying the coronation until he could himself unlawfully seize upon the kingdom. Drost Peter burned with impatience boldly and openly to unmask the mighty traitor, and testify to what he knew of the true reason of his absence from the Dane-court; but on a stern look of warning from Sir John, he restrained himself, and was silent. The journey to Viborg was, therefore, fixed for the next morning, and the company separated.
It was late in the evening. The servants of the palace were busily engaged with the requisite preparations for the journey, the din of which was heard in the castle-court. The duke and his retinue had withdrawn to their own apartments; but it was observed that some of his followers had left the castle, and hastily taken the road to Middelfert. The young king had retired, and the Margraves of Brandenburg had just left the queen in her private apartment. She had taken a farewell of her brothers, who, that very night, were to leave Denmark for the court of the Emperor Rudolph, to induce him to declare the Danish regicides outlaws in Germany. This reason for their sudden journey, they had, however, confided only to the queen.
The beautiful young widow sat, her cheek resting on her hand, at a table of black marble, on which stood two wax-lights. She wore her mourning attire; and, as her dark head-dress was cast aside, her rich brown hair hung in tresses over her arms, and fell upon the marble slab. Her fair white fingers were engaged in turning over the leaves of a beautiful little manuscript volume, the pages of which she frequently crossed and marked with a silver needle. In this book she had, in her lonely hours, poured out her heart with honest self-acknowledgment, and with her own hand had recorded every remarkable circumstance of her life. There stood yet the fair delightful dreams of her childhood, like half-vanished memories of Paradise. They were, however, soon followed by her humiliating espousals. Her early betrothment to King Erik Christopherson had been one of the conditions of his release from Nordborg Castle, after he was taken prisoner in the war with Duke Waldemar's father. The record of this, her alienation to another, was but incoherently set down, and it seemed as if she had not yet understood the proper connection of events; for, in incoherent words, and in traces of tears, she saw the day recorded when, yet little more then a child, she had, in blind duty and obedience, suffered herself to be adorned as a royal bride, and become the unwitting victim of a cold political consideration. Of her wedded state, so void of love and tenderness, there were many records; for at this point she appeared first to become conscious of her dignity, and of the purpose of life. In the midst of the great and glittering world she had often felt herself alone and forsaken, although, with youthful energy, she had availed herself of her lofty position to occupy her thoughts with benevolence, and diffuse peace and joy around her. It was granted her to seem fortunate; and whatever success followed her efforts to suppress the dangerous voice of rebellion, which threatened the king and kingdom with ruin, was due as much to her personal influence as to the exalted splendour of the crown.
The kindly interest she felt in Drost Peter was the first bright spot in this dark portion of her inner life. His brave chivalrous spirit, and the homage he rendered her, had been grateful to her womanly nature; while with prudence and delicacy she had concealed, beneath the imposing cloak of majesty, every feeling of her heart's desolateness.
As she continued turning over the leaves of this her life's-book, the past flitted by her like a dream. At the lively description of the tournament at Helsingborg, she found first mentioned the name of Count Gerhard, with a witty remark on the awkwardness of his homage, but also with expressions of esteem and interest. A few pages farther she saw a bitter memorial of the injurious rumour to which her interest in Drost Peter had given birth, and a memorandum of her determination to avoid for the future every appearance of familiarity with her faithful and attached knight.
As she glanced over the account of the festival at Sir John's, and of her dance with the wounded Count Gerhard, a slight blush crimsoned her cheeks, and she felt that the bold, good-natured dancer had made a greater impression upon her than she was, at that time, willing to believe. The discreet and respectful attachment to her which had that day beamed from his one honest eye, had, in her mind, invested him with greater dignity. Her judgment both of him and of the accomplished Duke Waldemar she now reviewed with much interest. To the duke she had given the preference for his knightly bearing and polished manners; while she had found him deficient in the truthfulness and bold sincerity that enhanced the nobleness of Count Gerhard and rendered him so entirely safe to be relied upon.
Having closed the manuscript, she remained some time in deep thought, and was at length about to summon her ladies and retire to rest, when she heard a gentle knocking at the private door of the apartment which separated her closet from that of the youthful king, and which was accessible to the royal family alone.
"Come in, my son," she said, as she turned towards the door, which was then softly opened, and the trusty favourite squire, Aagé Jonsen, stepped modestly over the threshold.
He remained respectfully at a distance, and, having made his salutation, "Pardon my temerity, most gracious queen," he began, in a low voice: "my master, the king, has commanded me to open this door, to ascertain if your grace was present, and alone. He prays you, for most important reasons, to grant him and the drost an audience here, without witnesses."
"Drost Hessel!" ejaculated the queen, with astonishment--"here, and at this hour? Impossible! What means this?"
"I know not, your grace," replied the grave little squire; "but I conclude that it is on business of emergency and importance. The drost did not pass through the guard-chamber, but entered by the subterranean passage, in company with the tall lord from Kiel."
"Count Gerhard!" exclaimed the queen, as she hastily veiled her face. "Is he, too, here? Has he, also, requested to speak with me?"
"That know I not, your grace. I kept watch by the inner door of the king's chamber, and knew not there was any secret entrance until it was opened, and both the gentlemen stood before me. The drost bade me awake the king immediately. I obeyed, and they were both instantly admitted to his chamber. Shortly afterwards he rung, and, while he attired himself, commanded me to ascertain cautiously whether your grace was alone here, and to deliver the request of which I have just informed you."
"Well," answered the queen, "tell thy king and master that I await him, and whomever else he may think it necessary to bring with him."
Aagé Jonsen bowed and retired; when the queen, who felt some anxiety, arose, and opening a little gilded casket, which stood on the table, concealed therein her journal. She then walked once or twice across the apartment, but at length stopped opposite a large polished steel mirror, in which she hastily arranged her fallen tresses. The secret door was opened a moment after, and King Erik entered, leading Drost Peter by the hand.
"Hear him, my mother!" exclaimed, with excitement, the little king--"hear and read what the good drost and Count Gerhard have discovered. The duke is false! he will entice us to ruin."
"Let not this disquiet you, noble queen," hastily observed Drost Peter, as he saluted her. "The danger is not imminent; although, except on high and important grounds, I should not have dared to approach you at so undue an hour, and in this unusual manner. To-morrow would have been too late. It is necessary, too, for your own and the king's security, that you should thus be secretly apprised of it, as it would be dangerous if the duke conceived the slightest suspicion that we had discovered his daring plans."
"You astonish me, Drost Hessel!" exclaimed the queen, with undisguised solicitude. "Have you certain proof of this, whatever it may be? or is it but another of the learned chancellor's dreams? The duke must either be the wiliest hypocrite under the sun, or he is the true and attached friend of myself and the royal house."
"Read, then, your grace," replied Drost Peter, spreading before her the parchment bearing Count Gerhard's seal: "every word that stands there can be personally attested by the noble Count Gerhard, should you so require his oath. He awaits your commands in the next apartment."
The queen seated herself, and hastily perused the evidence set forth by Drost Peter to account for the duke's absence from the opening of the Dane-Court. As she did so, she became pale, and, rising, exclaimed--"Just Heaven! is, then, the fate of the kingdom and of the royal house in the hands of such a traitor? And this you knew to-day, Drost Hessel, and yet hesitated to tear the mask from the traitor, and exhibit him to the scorn of the whole people!"
"God and my own heart know what it has cost me to be silent, noble queen," replied the drost, laying his hand upon his breast. "But Sir John was right: until Marsk Stig falls, the duke must stand. In his present position he is constrained even to punish the outlaws; but the moment he throws off the mask, he is our open foe--the head of the outlaws, and the leader of the rebels."
"You are right," observed the queen, after a moment's reflection; "and I now understand the complaisance of Sir John to-day. Great God! when has a traitor stood unmolested so near the throne of Denmark? Let Count Gerhard enter."
Drost Peter retired, and in a moment returned with Count Gerhard, who remained by the door, bowing bashfully and awkwardly.
"Approach, noble count," said the queen, as she advanced with blushing cheeks to meet him. "You have probably saved from destruction the kingdom and royal house. But explain how you attained this information. How did you divine the plans of the marsk, or suspect the duke of such base knavishness?"
"I cannot boast my own penetration, most noble queen," replied Count Gerhard, advancing with greater boldness--"that would ill become me. A large portion of my sagacity in this matter I owe to a long-headed old pilgrim whom I met in Rypen, and who seemed to know the world better than the world knew him. I had already noted mischief, and a few hints made me clear-eyed. With the subtle Duke Waldemar I may as little contend in statecraft as in accomplishments and fine manners; but this I dare aver, that when he thought he could reach the throne of Denmark without lifting his hand, or losing the semblance of being a true friend to the people and kingdom, he was willing to let the marsk disturb his election to the regency here, and to bid farewell to the honour and happiness of being the protector of your grace and of the royal house. It may be only my poor opinion, your grace," he added, with some embarrassment, "but that the duke carries a fox on his shield, is certain: indeed, he seems even to entertain the boldest hopes of your grace's sympathy and confidence."
The queen started, while the count continued:--
"I regret that I have no better proofs of this than my own word and sword, and the evidence of my trusty jester. But that many of the marsk's adherents were stopped by me on their way to the Dane-court, is beyond doubt; and that the duke was really in Sleswick on the first day of the Dane-court, he has himself taken care to furnish the best proof. With what view he was there, and whether there really would have been a tumult here, had they not perceived danger, cannot now be further demonstrated. My entire services to your grace and to the royal house, most noble queen, are thus but of small avail; and however beneficial to the crown and country they may appear, I have only given you probable grounds for guarding yourself and the young king against the counsels of the duke."
"For this important warning accept my heartiest thanks, noble count," replied the queen, as she extended her hand, which, while he bent before her, he pressed to his lips with concealed ardour.
Having quickly resumed his former respectful demeanour, he continued:--"I regret that what I and so poor a statesman as my late jester have brought to light, must, for the present, remain a secret, noble queen. At a Retter-Ting, where it can only be fought with words, I am of little service; but I would have willingly proved with my good sword, in honest combat with the duke, before the whole knighthood, that he is a nidding and a traitor, had not your trusty counsellors convinced me that I should thereby only expose your grace and the kingdom to the greatest danger. Indeed, I now see clearly that, for the present, it imports much to be at peace with him; and therefore he shall have peace from me, until a future time. But permit me, noble queen, henceforth to join the ranks of your own and the young king's bodyguard, and grant that the protection of your royal person may also form a portion of my duty."
"I choose you for my knight and protector, brave Count Gerhard," replied the queen, in a cordial tone; "and, as a pledge, accept this remembrance of my bereaved and sorrowful position by the throne of Denmark."
As she spoke, she untied her black veil, which she handed to him; whilst he, kneeling in knightly fashion, pressed the pledge of confidence to his lips, and then concealed it in his bosom.
"My colour was formerly crimson," added the queen, in a sorrowful accent, as she looked mildly towards Drost Peter. "This faithful friend to the royal house once wore it, as you doubtless remember; but no good fortune attended it. It was, moreover, borrowed, and, in truth, did not become me. I then determined that no man should wear it with my consent. The colour of night and disappointment has now become mine, as it has become that of Denmark. If its sight inspires you not with pain, Count Gerhard, as mine and the country's faithful friend wear it until morning again breaks on Denmark."
Count Gerhard, who had again risen, felt more intoxicated with joy than he had ever been before.
"As long as God permits me to live in this fair world," he exclaimed, while a tear glistened in his eye, "so long at least, noble queen, I will think only of showing myself worthy of your confidence, and of being, from my heart's core, a faithful friend to your grace and to the Danish kingdom. For your sake, so I promised long ago to this your brave knight;" adding, as he seized the hand of Drost Peter--"he still wears the rosy red in secret; but now I fight not with him concerning it, for I know it is Lady Ingé's gage and hairband."
A blush suffused the cheeks of Drost Peter, and the queen also seemed perplexed by the indiscreetness of the plain-spoken count.
"True--this is another matter," hastily added the latter, as he observed the embarrassment he had caused: "it was perhaps a secret, respecting which I should have been silent; but this is what I would say, most noble queen, that, next to myself, you have not a more sincere admirer in the world than is Drost Hessel. We two shall now contend in earnest for the privilege of permanently wearing your colour. It imports not to me whether it is black or red, since it is your's; but this I know, that if there exists in the world one who can restore to your mind that joy and happiness you were surely born to possess, I would gladly give my only remaining eye to be that one; and then, although I could never more see your fair face and lovely form, I should still feel happy in knowing that you were pleased with the blind Count Gerhard."
The cordial sincerity with which he uttered these words, caused the queen and Drost Peter to overlook their want of delicacy and propriety. It was evident, however, from the manner of the queen, that she desired to terminate this extraordinary visit, and the direction the conversation had taken. Young Erik, too, who had been listening attentively, seemed to think that the count's speech had nothing to do with the dangerous business that had brought them thither.
"Let this subject be ended, Count Gerhard!" he exclaimed, impatiently. "My mother will be happy enough again when we have taken measures against the faithlessness of the duke, and restored the kingdom to security. We shall not set out to-morrow for Viborg: his traitor-army is there encamped, you say. If I am to be King of Denmark, I will be anointed and crowned forthwith. If it is the will of Providence that I should be betrayed and murdered, as my father and grandfather were, I shall die a lawful king, and it shall not be well for the traitors who dare to lay hands upon the Lord's anointed, young as he may be."
"Thy will shall be done, my son," replied the queen, patting his glowing cheeks. "Thy wish was also Sir John's, and that of the whole council, before, in my blindness, I mistook the smooth words of the duke for sincere attachment. To-morrow we shall set out, not for Viborg, but for Skielskioer; and, when thou art proclaimed in Zealand, we shall proceed to the coronation at Lund. But let me advise. The duke, as my most courteous knight, shall accompany us. He must not perceive the slightest symptom of distrust on our part. To you, gentlemen, I confide our security on the way."
"Yes--let it be so!" cried the young king, joyfully. "The Almighty, and Our dear Holy Lady, will assuredly protect us. Good night, my dear mother. You can now sleep securely, for Sir John is stationed in the guard-chamber, and these trusty gentlemen will remain tonight in the palace."
"God keep his hand over thee, my son!" exclaimed the queen, as she fondly kissed his smooth forehead. "Thank Heaven, with me, for having preserved to us these devoted and faithful friends in our hour of need and danger."
With queenlike dignity she then bowed to the two knights, who, with the young king, retired through the same private door by which they had entered.
At early morning of the following day, the queen's travelling-car, with six milk-white steeds attached, stood before the castle-steps, attended by many smartly dressed outriders and grooms. More than thirty squires were grouped about, with their masters' horses in charge; foremost among whom was conspicuous, by his gray suit, emblazoned with the Sleswick lions, the attendant of the duke, who, with great ostentation, was allowing his master's noble steed, covered with splendid trappings, to prance and gambol about. Near him stood Daddy Longlegs, bearing Count Gerhard's simple shield, in the shape of a nettle-leaf, and holding a strong brown stallion by the bridle. Skirmen, carrying Drost Peter's mantle and shield, stood by his master's horse, apparently lost in contemplating the faces of the ducal lions, which resembled wolves more than the animals they were intended to represent. As he turned with his impatient charger in the direction of the Strand-gate, he was delighted to observe a great bustle among the ferrymen, and to see the royal flag carried from the house of the alderman.
"We are off for Melfert, and then for Jutland," observed Longlegs to him. "I thought, however, your master had a keener nose."
"You might wish your's were half as keen, Longlegs," replied Skirmen; "and then, perhaps, you would not allow your master's horse to turn his tail in the direction he is to ride."
"But I know that people do not ride or drive over the Great Belt in the month of May," returned the old jester. "It might be quite as well, however, while the wind sits in this quarter."
"What mean you, Longlegs? The wind is in the right quarter for the Great Belt."
"Ay, but not for the Little. The boatmen say it is the duke's wind; and when we have that against us, a sagacious nose, like that of your master, should smell the straw from the barn of Finnerup."
"Turn the car and horses!" ordered Drost Peter, who suddenly appeared at the top of the steps: "the royal family ride to the haven."
When the squires had obeyed, Drost Peter re-entered; and in a few moments the queen, leaning on the arm of the duke, and the little king, with his sister Mereté and Junker Christopherson, issued from the palace and entered the car. Notwithstanding the polite behaviour of the duke, an air of displeasure was visible in his smile.
"We dare not offer you a seat in a lady's car, Duke Waldemar," observed the queen; "and, besides, you are too good a horseman to desire it."
The duke replied by a polite bow, and vaulted into his saddle.
When all were mounted, "To the quay!" cried Sir John to the postilions; and, followed by a long train of knights, the royal car rolled across the castle-square, down to the old Strand-gate by the canal, and from thence to the harbour, accompanied by a great crowd of curious spectators, shouting with joy, while the young king saluted them, and the queen cordially returned their greetings.
"They are going to have him proclaimed at Skielskioer, and then crowned in Lund," they cried; and a thousand shouts of homage and blessing ascended from every quarter.
The following day was fixed for the proclamation in Skielskioer; and, by the arrangement of Sir John and Drost Peter, the Archbishop of Lund had departed over night, in a swift vessel, to prepare everything for the king's reception and coronation in Lund.
At Nyborg Haven all was ready for the embarkation, and they were speedily on board. In the royal smack, on which the duke had embarked, were also the drost, the chancellor, and Count Gerhard, together with Sir John and the royal trabants. To the duke's astonishment the royal smack was accompanied by six large galleys, strongly manned with soldiers. His own numerous train of knights and retainers, with Dean Grand, and many ecclesiastics, who had attended the Dane-court, in three smaller vessels, followed the king's smack, which, with a brisk and favourable wind, left the fiord.
Almost at the same time, a light-built sloop ran out from the coast, which Skirmen informed his master he took for a Norse freebooter, and on board which he had observed the duke's squire to spring before they left the haven. Drost Peter strictly scrutinised the suspicious vessel, which, however, was speedily out of sight.
The weather was fine; and as the queen stood at the stern, gazing back on the Funen coast, which was still crowded with people, waving their caps and cheering lustily, the duke approached her with an air of boldness and candour.
"This sudden change in your determination has surprised me, noble queen," he observed, in a tone intended for one of reproach more than of displeasure: "but I must suppose your grace has weightier reasons for it than those you have deigned to communicate to me. I cannot believe that a restless night and a singular dream could have such an influence on our wise and strong-minded mistress. That, as your dutiful knight, I respect and obey as commands even your most inexplicable humours, you now perceive. I must, however, observe that, at this critical juncture, by these frequent gatherings of the people, and by this coronation journey, we expose the kingdom to the greatest danger, and afford the outlaws the opportunity they pant for of revenging themselves--nothing being too daring for them to attempt, in the first flush of their enraged feelings."