The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-01-17

4
| The captains and knights now returned 60
the camp, and thronged ronnd the golden
| knight, to express to him their feryent graft
tude; but, fearful Of betraying himself, he
answered not o word. Guy, who wss standing
| at his side. turned to the knights and said:
Measures, the knight who has SO wondrously
delivered us and al the land Of Flanders, IL q
crusader, and wishes to remain unknown. The
| uobleat son of Flanders bears his name"
The knights were silent immediatAx, and
every one waEendesvoring to guess who this
could be who was at once 30 brave, 30 noble,
and so lofty Of stature. Those Of them who
remembered the meeting at the wood in the
valley were not long in recognizing him but
| remembering their pledge they kept profound
| silence. Others there were who had no doubt
that the unknown was the Count of Flanders
himself; but the wish of the golden knight to
remain unknown imposed on them also the OBJ
legation of secrecy.
After Robert had conversed awhile with Guy
| in q low voice, he cast his eye over the sur
rounding group of knights, and then turning
| to Guy, with trouble depicted on his features,
| he said: 81 do not see Adolf van Nieu Wand !;
an sgonizing donbt troubles me- Can it be
that my young friend has fallen beneath the
| me an intolerable and an enduring grief: and
| my poor Matilda! how will she mourn her
| good brotherw
"He cannot be dead, Robert; am sure that
| I saw his green plume waving just now among
| tho trees Of the Neerlander wood. He must
be in close pursuit of the foe you saw with
what irrepressible fury he threw himself upon
| the French in the battle. Fear nothing for
i 4
| slain"
20 Guy, are you speaking the truth 7 My
| heart is wrung that my hapless child cannot
taste the joy of this day without an alloy of
bitterness. pray you, my brother, let the
men of Messire Borluut search the field, and
see whether Adolf is among the slain. will
60 to console my anxious Matilda the pres
ence of her father will be at least momentary
consolation" .J.e'.aE
He then greeted the knights courteously, and
fastened to the Abbey of Groeningen. Guy
gave orders to John Borluut to dispense his
men over the field, and to bring the wounded
and dead knights into the tents. As they be-
gan their search, they were seen suddenly to
stand still, as though arrested by some sight
of horror. Now that the heat and rage of the
conflict had subsidized, their eyes ranged over
the broad plain, where lay in hideous confu-
sion the mangled bodies of men and horses
standards and broken armor. Here and there
o wounded man stretched his hands towards
! them with piteous cry, and low wailing,
more dismal than the dreariest solitude, filed
tho air it was the voice of the wounded, ory-
| ing Water wateri For Gods sake, water p
The sun poured his glowing rays upon the
miserable men, and tortured them with unap-
1 TlI-
dark wings over them; their hoarse cries were
blended with tho means of the wounded they
fixed their salons in the yet quivering limbs of
the dying, while troops of dogs, allured by the
smeil of blood, had poured forth from the city
to deepen the horrors of tho sosne.
As the men of Client roamed over the field,
they sought those in whose bosonas wore yet
some pulses of life, and brought them with
care into the camp. One band was employed
to fetch water from the Gaver brook; and it
was piteous sight to watch the esgerness
with which the wounded seized it, and with
whaS gratitude, with what glisteuing eyes,
the welcomed the refreshing draught. I
The soldiers had received orders to bling
every knight they found, killed or wounded.
into the camp. They had ALREADY recovered
moro than half Of the slain, and had traversed
o considerable extent of the/feld of battle.
As they drew near the place where the strife
had been most deadly ,/they found the dead
more numerous. They were busily removing
the helmet of Messire van Machelen, when
they heard close at hand low moan, which
seemed to issue from Che ground They listen
i ed, bat Is1l was still again not ono Of the
bodiesAround gave the slightest token OF life.
Suddenly the moan was repeated it came
from little distance, from between two pros
4 trate horses. Aftor many efforts, they succeed
i cd in drawing one of the horses aside, and found
the knight from whom the sound proceeded.
He was lying stretched out across the bodies,
and drenched ir the blood of many of the foe.
| His armor was indented and broken by the
tread of horses; his right hand still convul-
Rively grasped his sword, while in the left was
. green veil. His palld features bore the i'm
press of approaching death, and he gszed on
his deliverers with restless, wandering looks.
| TnhT1 -,