Waverley Novels — Volume 12

by Walter Scott

  CHAPTER THE EIGHTH.

  Through the vain webs which puzzle sophists' skill, Plain sense and honest meaning work their way; So sink the varying clouds upon the hill, When the clear dawning--brightens into day. DR. WATTS.

  The old man rose from the ground with alacrity, as Hereward approached."My bold Varangian" he said, "thou who valuest men and things notaccording to the false estimate ascribed to them in this world, but totheir real importance and actual value, thou art welcome, whatever hasbrought thee hither--thou art welcome to a place, where it is held thebest business of philosophy to strip man of his borrowed ornaments, andreduce him to the just value of his own attributes of body and mind,singly considered."

  "You are a courtier, sir," said the Saxon, "and as a permittedcompanion of the Emperor's Highness, you must be aware, that there aretwenty times more ceremonies than such a man as I can be acquaintedwith, for regulating the different ranks in society; while a plain manlike myself may be well excused from pushing himself into the companyof those above him, where he does not exactly know how he shouldcomport himself."

  "True," said the philosopher; "but a man like yourself, noble Hereward,merits more consideration in the eyes of a real philosopher, than athousand of those mere insects, whom the smiles of a court call intolife, and whom its frowns reduce to annihilation."

  "You are yourself, grave sir, a follower of the court," said Hereward.

  "And a most punctilious one," said Agelastes. "There is not, I trust, asubject in the empire who knows better the ten thousand punctiliosexigible from those of different ranks, and clue to differentauthorities. The man is yet to be born who has seen me take advantageof any more commodious posture than that of standing in presence of theroyal family. But though I use those false scales in society, and sofar conform to its errors, my real judgment is of a more gravecharacter, and more worthy of man, as said to be formed in the image ofhis Creator."

  "There can be small occasion," said the Varangian, "to exercise yourjudgment in any respect upon me, nor am I desirous that any one shouldthink of me otherwise than I am; a poor exile, namely, who endeavoursto fix his faith upon Heaven, and to perform his duty to the world helives in, and to the prince in whose service he is engaged. And now,grave sir, permit me to ask, whether this meeting is by your desire,and for what is its purpose? An African slave, whom I met in the publicwalks, and who calls himself Diogenes, tells me that you desired tospeak with me; he hath somewhat the humour of the old scoffer, and sohe may have lied. If so, I will even forgive him the beating which Iowe his assurance, and make my excuse at the same time for havingbroken in upon your retirement, which I am totally unfit to share."

  "Diogenes has not played you false," answered Agelastes; "he has hishumours, as you remarked even now, and with these some qualities alsothat put him upon a level with those of fairer complexion and betterfeatures."

  "And for what," said the Varangian, "have you so employed him? Can yourwisdom possibly entertain a wish to converse with me?"

  "I am an observer of nature and of humanity," answered the philosopher;"is it not natural that I should tire of those beings who are formedentirely upon artifice, and long to see something more fresh from thehand of nature?"

  "You see not that in me," said the Varangian; "the rigour of militarydiscipline, the camp--the centurion--the armour--frame a man'ssentiments and limbs to them, as the sea-crab is framed to its shell.See one of us, and you see us all."

  "Permit me to doubt that," said Agelastes; "and to suppose that inHereward, the son of Waltheoff, I see an extraordinary man, although hehimself may be ignorant, owing to his modesty, of the rarity of his owngood qualities."

  "The son of Waltheoff!" answered the Varangian, somewhat startled.--"Doyou know my father's name?"

  "Be not surprised," answered the philosopher, "at my possessing sosimple a piece of information. It has cost me but little trouble toattain it, yet I would gladly hope that the labour I have taken in thatmatter may convince you of my real desire to call you friend."

  "It was indeed an unusual compliment," said Hereward, "that a man ofyour knowledge and station should be at the trouble to enquire, amongthe Varangian cohorts, concerning the descent of one of theirconstables. I scarcely think that my commander, the Acolyte himself,would think such knowledge worthy of being collected or preserved."

  "Greater men than he," said Agelastes, "certainly would not-----Youknow one in high office, who thinks the names of his most faithfulsoldiers of less moment than those of his hunting dogs or his hawks,and would willingly save himself the trouble of calling them otherwisethan by a whistle."

  "I may not hear this," answered the Varangian.

  "I would not offend you," said the philosopher, "I would not even shakeyour good opinion of the person I allude to; yet it surprises me thatsuch should be entertained by one of your great qualities."

  "A truce with this, grave sir, which is in fact trifling in a person ofyour character and appearance," answered the Anglo-Saxon. "I am likethe rocks of my country; the fierce winds cannot shake me, the softrains cannot melt me; flattery and loud words are alike lost upon me."

  "And it is even for that inflexibility of mind," replied Agelastes,"that steady contempt of every thing that approaches thee, save in thelight of a duty, that I demand, almost like a beggar, that personalacquaintance, which thou refusest like a churl."

  "Pardon me," said Hereward, "if I doubt this. Whatever stories you mayhave picked up concerning me, not unexaggerated probably--since theGreeks do not keep the privilege of boasting so entirely to themselvesbut the Varangians have learned a little of it--you can have heardnothing of me which can authorise your using your present language,excepting in jest."

  "You mistake, my son," said Agelastes; "believe me not a person to mixin the idle talk respecting you, with your comrades at the ale-cup.Such as I am, I can strike on this broken image of Anubis"--(here hetouched a gigantic fragment of a statue by his side)--"and bid thespirit who long prompted the oracle, descend, and once more reanimatethe trembling mass. We that are initiated enjoy high privileges--westamp upon those ruined vaults, and the echo which dwells there answersto our demand. Do not think, that although I crave thy friendship, IHeed therefore supplicate thee for information either respectingthyself or others."

  "Your words are wonderful," said the Anglo-Saxon; "but by suchpromising words I have heard that many souls have been seduced from thepath of heaven. My grandsire, Kenelm, was wont to say, that the fairwords of the heathen philosophy were more hurtful to the Christianfaith than the menaces of the heathen tyrants."

  "I know him," said Agelastes. "What avails it whether it was in thebody or in the spirit?--He was converted from the faith of Woden by anoble monk, and died a priest at the shrine of saint Augustin."[Footnote: At Canterbury.]

  "True"--said Hereward; "all this is certain--and I am the rather boundto remember his words now that he is dead and gone. When I hardly knewhis meaning, he bid me beware of the doctrine which causeth to err,which is taught by false prophets, who attest their doctrine by unrealmiracles."

  "This," said Agelastes, "is mere superstition. Thy grandsire was a goodand excellent man, but narrow-minded, like other priests; and, deceivedby their example, he wished but to open a small wicket in the gate oftruth, and admit the world only on that limited scale. Seest thou,Hereward, thy grandsire and most men of religion would fain narrow ourintellect to the consideration of such parts of the Immaterial world asare essential to our moral guidance here, and our final salvationhereafter; but it is not the less true, that man has liberty, providedhe has wisdom and courage, to form intimacies with beings more powerfulthan himself, who can defy the bounds of space by which he iscircumscribed, and overcome, by their metaphysical powers, difficultieswhich, to the timid and unlearned, may appear wild and impossible."

  "You talk of a folly," answered Hereward, "at which childhood gapes andmanhood smiles."

  "On the contrary," said th
e sage, "I talk of a longing wish which everyman feels at the bottom of his heart, to hold communication with beingsmore powerful than himself, and who are not naturally accessible to ourorgans. Believe me, Hereward, so ardent and universal an aspiration hadnot existed in our bosoms, had there not also been means, if steadilyand wisely sought, of attaining its accomplishment. I will appeal tothine own heart, and prove to thee even by a single word, that what Isay is truth. Thy thoughts are even now upon a being long absent ordead, and with the name of BERTHA, a thousand emotions rush to thyheart, which in thy ignorance thou hadst esteemed furled up for ever,like spoils of the dead hung above a tombstone!--Thou startest andchangest thy colour--I joy to see by these signs, that the firmness andindomitable courage which men ascribe to thee, have left the avenues ofthe heart as free as ever to kindly and to generous affections, whilethey have barred them against those of fear, uncertainty, and all thecaitiff tribe of meatier sensations. I have proffered to esteem thee,and I have no hesitation in proving it. I will tell thee, If thoudesirest to know it, the fate of that very Bertha, whose memory thouhast cherished in thy breast in spite of thee, amidst the toil of theday and the repose of the night, in the battle and in the truce, whensporting with thy companions in fields of exercise, or attempting toprosecute the study of Greek learning, in which if thou wouldstadvance, I can teach it by a short road."

  While Agelastes thus spoke, the Varangian in some degree recovered hiscomposure, and made answer, though his voice was somewhattremulous,--"Who thou art, I know not--what thou wouldst with me, Icannot tell--by what means thou hast gathered intelligence of suchconsequence to me, and of so little to another, I have noconception--But this I know, that by intention or accident, thou hastpronounced a name which agitates my heart to its deepest recesses; yetam I a Christian and Varangian, and neither to my God nor to my adoptedprince will I willingly stagger in my faith. What is to be wrought byidols or by false deities, must be a treason to the real divinity. Noris it less certain that thou hast let glance some arrows, though therules of thy allegiance strictly forbid it, at the Emperor himself.Henceforward, therefore, I refuse to communicate with thee, be it forweal or woe. I am the Emperor's waged soldier, and although I affectnot the nice precisions of respect and obedience, which are exacted inso many various cases, and by so many various rules, yet I am hisdefence, and my battle-axe is his body-guard."

  "No one doubts it," said the philosopher. "But art not thou also boundto a nearer dependence upon' the great Acolyte, Achilles Tatius?"

  "No. He is my general, according to the rules of our service," answeredthe Varangian; "to me he has always shown himself a kind andgood-natured man, and, his dues of rank apart, I may say has deportedhimself as a friend rather than a commander. He is, however, mymaster's servant as well as I am; nor do I hold the difference of greatamount, which the word of a man can give or take away at pleasure."

  "It is nobly spoken," said Agelastes; "and you yourself are surelyentitled to stand erect before one whom you supersede in courage and inthe art of war."

  "Pardon me," returned the Briton, "if I decline the attributedcompliment, as what in no respect belongs to me. The Emperor chooseshis own officers, in respect of their power of serving him as hedesires to be served. In this it is likely I might fail; I have saidalready, I owe my Emperor my obedience, my duty, and my service, nordoes it seem to me necessary to carry our explanation farther."

  "Singular man!" said Agelastes; "is there nothing than can move theebut things that are foreign to thyself? The name of thy Emperor and thycommander are no spell upon thee, and even that of the object thou hasloved"--

  Here the Varangian interrupted him.

  "I have thought," he said, "upon the words thou hast spoken--thou hastfound the means to shake my heart-strings, but not to unsettle myprinciples. I will hold no converse with thee on a matter in which thoucanst not have interest.--Necromancers, it is said, perform theirspells by means of the epithets of the Holiest; no marvel, then, shouldthey use the names of the purest of his creation to serve theirunhallowed purposes. I will none of such truckling, disgraceful to thedead perhaps as to the living. Whatever has been thy purpose, oldman--for, think not thy strange words have passed unnoticed--be thouassured I bear that in my heart which defies alike the seduction of menand of fiends."

  With this the soldier turned, and left the ruined temple, after aslight inclination of his head to the philosopher.

  Agelastes, after the departure of the soldier, remained alone,apparently absorbed in meditation, until he was suddenly disturbed bythe entrance, into the ruins, of Achilles Tatius. The leader of theVarangians spoke not until he had time to form some result from thephilosopher's features. He then said, "Thou remainest, sage Agelastes,confident in the purpose of which we have lately spoke together?"

  "I do," said Agelastes, with gravity and firmness.

  "But," replied Achilles Tatius, "thou hast not gained to our side thatproselyte, whose coolness and courage would serve us better in our hourof need than the service of a thousand cold-hearted slaves?"

  "I have not succeeded," answered the philosopher.

  "And thou dost not blush to own it?" said the imperial officer in reply.

  "Thou, the wisest of those who yet pretend to Grecian wisdom, the mostpowerful of those who still assert the skill by words, signs, names,periapts, and spells, to exceed the sphere to which thy facultiesbelong, hast been foiled in thy trade of persuasion, like an infantworsted in debate with its domestic tutor? Out upon thee, that thoucanst not sustain in argument the character which thou wouldst so fain,assume to thyself!"

  "Peace!" said the Grecian. "I have as yet gained nothing, it is true,over this obstinate and inflexible man; but, Achilles Tatius, neitherhave I lost. We both stand where yesterday we did, with this advantageon my side, that I have suggested to him such an object of interest ashe shall never be able to expel from his mind, until he hath hadrecourse to me to obtain farther knowledge concerning it.--And now letthis singular person remain for a time unmentioned; yet, trust me,though flattery, avarice, and ambition may fail to gain him, a baitnevertheless remains, that shall make him as completely our own as anythat is bound within our mystic and inviolable contract. Tell me then,how go on the affairs of the empire? Does this tide of Xiatin warriors,so strangely set aflowing, still rush on to the banks of the Bosphorus?and does Alexius still entertain hopes to diminish and divide thestrength of numbers, which he could in vain hope to defy?"

  "Something further of intelligence has been gained, even within a veryfew hours," answered Achilles Tatius. "Bohemond came to the city withsome six or eight light horse, and in a species of disguise.Considering how often he had been the Emperor's enemy, his project wasa perilous one. But when is it that these Franks draw back on accountof danger? The Emperor perceived at once that the Count was come to seewhat he might obtain, by presenting himself as the very first object ofhis liberality, and by offering his assistance as mediator with Godfreyof Bouillon and the other princes of the crusade."

  "It is a species of policy," answered the sage, "for which he wouldreceive full credit from the Emperor."

  Achilles Tatius proceeded:--"Count Bohemond was discovered to theimperial court as if it were by mere accident, and he was welcomed withmarks of favour and splendour which had never been even mentioned asbeing fit for any one of the Frankish race. There was no word ofancient enmity or of former wars, no mention of Bohemond as the ancientusurper of Antioch, and the encroacher upon the empire. But thanks toHeaven were returned on all sides, which had sent a faithful ally tothe imperial assistance at a moment of such imminent peril."

  "And what said Bohemond?" enquired the philosopher.

  "Little or nothing," said the captain of the Varangians, "until, as Ilearned from the domestic slave Narses, a large sum of gold had beenabandoned to him. Considerable districts were afterwards agreed to beceded to him, and other advantages granted, on condition he shouldstand on this occasion the steady friend of the empire and its master.Such was t
he Emperor's munificence towards the greedy barbarian, that achamber in the palace was, by chance, as it were, left exposed to hisview, containing large quantities of manufactured silks, of jewellers'work, of gold and silver, and other articles of great value. When therapacious Frank could not forbear some expressions of admiration, hewas assured, that the contents of the treasure-chamber were his own,provided he valued them as showing forth the warmth and sincerity ofhis imperial ally towards his friends; and these precious articles wereaccordingly conveyed to the tent of the Norman leader. By suchmeasures, the Emperor must make himself master of Bohemond, both bodyand soul, for the Franks themselves say it is strange to see a man ofundaunted bravery, and towering ambition, so infected, nevertheless,with avarice, which they term a mean and unnatural vice."

  "Bohemond," said Agelastes, "is then the Emperor's for life anddeath--always, that is, till the recollection of the royal munificencebe effaced by a greater gratuity. Alexius, proud as he naturally is ofhis management with this important chieftain, will no doubt expect toprevail by his counsels, on most of the other crusaders, and even onGodfrey of Bouillon himself, to take an oath of submission and fidelityto the Emperor, which, were it not for the sacred nature of theirwarfare, the meanest gentleman among them would not submit to, were itto be lord of a province. There, then, we rest. A few days mustdetermine what we have to do. An earlier discovery would bedestruction."

  "We meet not then to-night?" said the Acolyte.

  "No," replied the sage; "unless we are summoned to that foolishstage-play or recitation; and then we meet as playthings in the hand ofa silly woman, the spoiled child of a weak-minded parent."

  Tatius then took his leave of the philosopher, and, as if fearful ofbeing seen in each other's company, they left their solitary place ofmeeting by different routes. The Varangian, Hereward, received, shortlyafter, a summons from his superior, who acquainted him, that he shouldnot, as formerly intimated, require his attendance that evening.

  Achilles then paused, and added,--"Thou hast something on thy lips thouwouldst say to me, which, nevertheless hesitates to break forth."

  "It is only this," answered the soldier: "I have had an interview withthe man called Agelastes, and he seems something so different from whathe appeared when we last spoke of him, that I cannot forbear mentioningto you what I have seen. He is not an insignificant trifler, whoseobject it is to raise a laugh at his own expense, or that of any other.He is a deep-thinking and far-reaching man, who, for some reason orother, is desirous of forming friends, and drawing a party to himself.Your own wisdom will teach you to beware of him."

  "Thou art an honest fellow, my poor Hereward," said Achilles Tatius,with an affectation of good-natured contempt. "Such men as Agelastes dooften frame their severest jests in the shape of formal gravity--theywill pretend to possess the most unbounded power over elements andelemental spirits--they will make themselves masters of the names andanecdotes best known to those whom they make their sport; and any onewho shall listen to them, shall, in the words of the Divine Homer, onlyexpose himself to a flood of inextinguishable laughter. I have oftenknown him select one of the rawest and most ignorant persons inpresence, and to him for the amusement of the rest, he has pretended tocause the absent to appear, the distant to draw near, and the deadthemselves to burst the cerements of the grave. Take care, Hereward,that his arts make not a stain on the credit of one of my bravestVarangians."

  "There is no danger," answered Hereward. "I shall not be fond of beingoften with this man. If he jests upon one subject which he hathmentioned to me, I shall be but too likely to teach him seriousnessafter a rough manner. And if he is serious in his pretensions in suchmystical matters, we should, according to the faith of my grandfather,Kenelm, do insult to the deceased, whose name is taken in the mouth ofa soothsayer, or impious enchanter. I will not, therefore, again gonear this Agelastes, be he wizard, or be he impostor."

  "You apprehend me not," said the Acolyte, hastily; "you mistake mymeaning. He is a man from whom, if he pleases to converse with such asyou, you may derive much knowledge; keeping out of the reach of thosepretended secret arts, which he will only use to turn thee intoridicule." With these words, which he himself would perhaps have feltit difficult to reconcile, the leader and his follower parted.