The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-11-23

those entertained by the majority of his caste
a gentleman, sensitive courteous, kindly, the
very mirror of faith and honor--should have
distorted devotion so noble faith so disinterest-
ed, sense of honor so high, piety so pure, as
| that displayed by Kenric the Dark, in his re-
fusal of the bright jewel liberty, in his eloquent
assertion of his rights, his sympathies, his spr-
| itual essence as a man. into an act of oRtrecui-
| dance. almost into personal affront to his own
| dignity. YETI so is was, and alas [! naturally
so-for so little was he, or any of his fellows,
| used to consider his serf in the light of an
arguing, thinking, responsible being, that prob
ably Balaam was but little more astonished
when his ass turned round on him and spoke.
| than was Yvo de Taillebois, when the serf of
the soil stood mp in his simple dignity as man,
| and refused to be free, unless those he loved,
whom it was his duty TO support, cherish, shield,
| and comfort, might be free together with him.
Certain it is, that he left the cottage, which he
| had entered full of gratitude, and eager to be
| the bearer of good tidings, disappointed, exas-
perated against Kenrie, vexed that his endeav-
| ors to prove his gratitude had been frustrated,
| and equally uncertain how he should disclose
| the unwecome tidings to his daughter, and how
| reconcile to his host the conduct of the Saxon,
which he had remained in the hope of fathom-
ing and explaining to his satisfaction.
| In truth, he felt himself indignant and
wounded at the unreasonable perduracy of the
man, in refusing an inestimable boon, for what
he chose to consider a cause so trivial and
| this, too, though, had ne himself been in the
donjon of the infdel, expecting momentary
| death by the fagot or the rack, and been offer
ed liberty, life, empire, Immortality, on condi-
ton of leaving the least-valued Christian woman
to the harem of the Moslemin, he would have
| spurned the offer with his most arrogant def.
| ance.
This seemed to him much as it would seem
to the butcher, if the OK with the knife at his
throat were to speak up and refuse to live, un.
less his favorite heifer might be allowed to
share his fortunes. 1t appeared to him won
drous, indeed but wondrously annoying, and
almost absurd. In no respect did it strike him
as one Of the noblest and most generous deeds
| of sef-abandonment, of which the human SOU
is capable though, had the selfsame offer been
| spurned, as the slave spurned it, and in the
very words which he had found in the rude elo
quence of Indignation, by belted knight or
crowned king, he had unhesitatingly styled il
All action of the highest glory, and worthy o.
immortal record in herald's tale or MINISTRIES
story. Such is the weight of circumstance upor
the noblest minds of men.
With his brow bent and his arms folded Oh
his breast, modify, almost sorrowfully, did the
|
| toward the towers of Wnltheofstow, making nc
effort to overtake his brother-in-arms and en-
tertainer, whom he could clearly see stalking
along before him, in no more placable MOOD
than himself but burying himself on his re
| turn i'll his own chamber, whence he made hi:
| appearance no more that evening; though he
might hear Sir Philip storming through the
castle, till the vaulted halls and passages re
sounded from barbacan battement
Meantime, in the lowly cottage of the scrf
for the lord, though angry and indignant
had not failed of his plighted word, the late
wake of the dead boy went on-for that was {
| Saxon no less than Celtic custom, though
celebrated by the former with sort of stolit
decorum, as different as night is from day
from the loud and barbarous orgies of then
| wilder neighbors
The consecrated tapcrs blazed around the
swathed and shroudcd corpse, and sent Ions
streams of light through the open door ant
lattices of the humble dwelling, as though i
had been Illuminated for high rejoicing. The
death hymn was chanted, and the masses sung
by the gray brothers from the near Saxon clois
ter. The dole to the poor had been given
largely, out of the lords abundance and the
voices of the revealing slaves, emancipated from
oil servitude and sorrow, for the nonce, by the
humming ale and strong methegn, were loud
in praises of their bounteous master, until
drenched and stupefed with liquor, and drunk
with maudlin sorrow, they staggered off to Their
respective dens, to snore away the fumes o
their unusual debauch, until aroused at dawr
by the harsh cry of the task-master.
BY degrees, the quiet of the calm summer
night sank down over the dwelling and garden
of Kenrc, as guest after guest departed, until nc
one remained save one old Saxon brother, who
sat by the simple coffin, telling his beads in 81
lence, or muttering masses for the soul OF the
dead, apparently unconscious OF anything pass
ing around him.
The aged woman had been removed, half by
7 persuasion half by gentle force, from the dwell
ing-room, and had soon sunk into the heavy
and lethargic slumber which oftentimes sue
ceeds to overwhelming sorrow. The peaceful
moonlight streamed in through the open doo
of the cherries home, like the grace of HEAVIER
into disturbed and sinful heart, as one by one
the tapers fickered in their sockets and expired
the shrill cry of the cricket, and the peculiar
Earring note of the night-hawk, replaced the
droning of the monkish chaunts, and the sup
pressed tumult of vulgar revelry; but, though
there was solitude and silence without, there
was neither peace nor heart-repose within.
Sorely shaken and cruelty gored by tbs
stag in trunk and limbs and yet more sorel,
shaken in his mind, by the agitation and ex
element of the angry scene with his master
and by the internal conflict of natural selfish
ness with strong, conscientious will, kenric lay
| with his eyes wide open, gazing on his dead
nephew, although his mind was far away, will
his head throbbing and his every nerve jerking
and tense with the hot fever.
But by his side, soothing his restless hanC
with her caressing touch, bathing his burning
temples with cold lotions, holding the soft medi
caments to his parched lips, beguiling his wild
wandering thoughts with gentle lovers chi
dngs, and whispering of better days to come
sat the fair slave girl, Edith, his promised wife
for whose dear sake he had cast liberty to the
four winds, and braved the deadly tcrrors of the
unforgiving Norman frown.
She had heard enough, as she entered the
house at that decisive moment, to comprehend
the whole; and, if the proud and high-borr
knights were at loss to understand, much less
appreciate, the noble virtue of the serf, the
poor uneducated slave girl had seen and felt
it all-felt - thrill to her hearts core, and in
spire her weakness witn equal strength, equa
devotion.
She had argued, she had prayed, she hat
implored, clinging to his knees, that for the
love of Heaven, for the love of herself, he
would accept the boon of freedom, and leave
her to her fate, which would be sweeter fal
to her, she swore, from the knowledge of hi
prosperity, than it could be rendered by the frui
ton of the greatest worldly bliss. And then
when she found prayer and supplication fruit
less she, too, waxed strong and glorious. She
lifted her hand to heaven, and swore before the
blessed Virgin and her everything Son, that
would he yield to her entreaties and be free
she would be true to him, and to him alone, for
ever; but would he still persist in his wicked
and mad refusal of Gods own most especla