Légende d'Ulenspiegel. English

by Charles de Coster

  When he heard the sentence that had been passed upon him, Claes turnedto the Dean of the Fishmongers.

  "You will come to a bad end," he said, "you wicked man that for apaltry sum of money have turned a happy wife into a widow, and ajoyous son into a grieving orphan."

  The judges suffered Claes to speak in this way for they also,all except Titelman, could not help despising from the bottom oftheir hearts the Dean of the Fishmongers for the information he hadgiven. Grypstuiver himself went pale with shame and anger.

  And Claes was led back to his prison.

  XLI

  On the morrow (which was the day before the execution of Claes) thedecision of the court was made known to Nele, to Ulenspiegel, andSoetkin. They asked the judges for leave to visit Claes in prison,which permission was granted in the case of the wife and the son only.

  On entering the prison cell they found Claes tied to the wall bya long chain. A small fire was burning in the grate because of thedamp. For it is custom and law in Flanders that they who are condemnedto death shall be gently treated and be given bread and meat to eat,or cheese and wine. Still gaolers are a greedy race, and oftentimesthe law is broken, there being many prison guards who themselves eatup the greater part of the nourishment provided for the poor prisoners,or keep the best morsels for themselves.

  Claes embraced Ulenspiegel and Soetkin, crying the while. But he wasthe first to dry his eyes, for he put control upon himself, beinga man and the head of the family. Soetkin, however, went on crying,and Ulenspiegel kept muttering under his breath:

  "I must break these wicked chains!"

  And Soetkin said through her tears:

  "I shall go to King Philip. He surely will have mercy!"

  But Claes answered that this would be no use since the King was wontto possess himself of the property of those who died as martyrs.... Hesaid also:

  "My wife and child, my best beloved, it is with sadness and sorrow thatI am about to leave this world. If I have some natural apprehensionfor my own bodily sufferings, I am no less concerned when I think ofyou and of how poor and wretched you will be when I am gone, for theKing will certainly seize for himself all your goods."

  Ulenspiegel made answer, speaking in a low voice for fear of beingoverheard:

  "Yesterday Nele and I hid all the money."

  "I am glad," Claes answered; "the informer will not laugh when hecomes to count his plunder."

  "I had rather he died than had a penny of it," said Soetkin with alook of hate in her eyes now dry of tears. But Claes, who was stillthinking about the caroluses, said to Ulenspiegel:

  "That was clever of you, Tyl, my lad; now Soetkin need not be afraidof going hungry in the old age of her widowhood."

  And Claes embraced her, pressing her close to his breast, and shewept all the more bitterly as she thought how soon she was to losehis tender protection.

  Claes looked at Ulenspiegel and said:

  "My son, it was wrong of you to go running off along the high roads ofthe world like any ruffian. You must not do that any more, my boy. Youmust not leave her alone at home, my widow in her sorrow. For now itis your duty to protect her and take care of her--you, a man."

  "I will, father," said Ulenspiegel.

  "O my poor husband!" cried Soetkin embracing him again. "What crimecan we have committed? Nay, we lived our life peaceably together,lowly and humbly, loving each other well--how well Thou, Lord,knowest! Early in the morning we rose for work, and at eventide,rendering our thanks to Thee, we ate our daily bread. Oh, would thatI could come at this King, and tear him with my nails! For in nothing,O Lord God, have we offended!"

  But here the gaoler entered and said that it was time for themto depart.

  Soetkin begged to be allowed to stay, and Claes felt her poor faceburning hot as it touched his, and her tears falling in floods andwetting all his cheek, and her poor body shaking and trembling inhis arms. He, too, entreated the gaoler that she might be sufferedto remain with him. But the gaoler was obdurate, and removed Soetkinby force from the arms of Claes.

  "Take care of her," Claes said to Ulenspiegel.

  He promised, and son and mother left the room together, she supportedin his arms.

  XLII

  The next day, which was the day of the execution, the neighbours,out of pity for their suffering, came and shut up Soetkin and Neleand Ulenspiegel in Katheline's cottage. For they could not bear thatthey should see the terrible sight of the burning. Yet it had beenforgotten that the far-off cries of the tormented one would reachthe cottage, and that those within would be able to see through thewindows the flames of the fire.

  Katheline, meanwhile, went wandering through the town, wagging herhead and crying out continually:

  "Make a hole! Make a hole! My soul wants to get out!"

  At nine of the clock Claes was led out of his prison. He was dressed ina shirt only, and his hands were tied behind his back. In accordancewith the sentence that had been passed upon him, the pile was set upin the rue Notre Dame, with a stake in the midst, just in front of thehoarding of the Town Hall. When they arrived there the executionerand his assistants had not yet completed the work of stacking thewood. Claes stood patiently in the midst of his tormentors watchingwhile the work was finished, and all the time the provost on his horse,with the officers of the tribunal and the nine foot-soldiers that hadbeen summoned from Bruges, had the greatest difficulty in keepingorder among the people. For they murmured one to another, sayingthat it was cruelty thus to do to death unjustly a man like Claes,a poor man and already old in years, and one that was so gentle,so forgiving, and such a good and steady workman.

  Suddenly they all fell upon their knees and began to pray, for thebells of Notre Dame were heard tolling for the dead.

  Katheline also was among the crowd, right in the front, mad as shewas. Fixing her eye on Claes and the pile of wood, she wagged herhead and cried continually:

  "Fire! Fire! Dig a hole! My soul wants to get out!"

  When Nele and Soetkin heard the sound of the tolling they crossedthemselves. But Ulenspiegel did not cross himself, saying that hewould never pray to God after the same fashion as those hangmen. Buthe ran about the cottage, trying to force open the doors or jump fromthe windows. But they were shut and fastened well.

  Suddenly Soetkin hid her face in her apron.

  "The smoke!" she cried.

  And in very fact, the three mourners could see, mounting high toheaven, a great eddy of smoke; all black it was, the smoke of thefuneral pile whereon was Claes, tied to a stake, the smoke of thatfire which the executioner had just set burning in the name of theFather and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

  Claes looked around for Soetkin or Ulenspiegel. But not seeing themanywhere in the crowd he felt happier and more at ease, thinking thatthey would not know how he suffered. And all the time there was asilence like death, except for the sound of Claes' voice praying, andthe crackling of the wood, the murmuring of men, the weeping of thewomen, the voice of Katheline as she cried: "Put out the fire! Makea hole! My soul wants to get out!" and over all, the bells of NotreDame tolling for the dead.

  Suddenly Soetkin's face went as white as snow, and her body trembledall over. She did not utter a sound, but pointed to the sky with herfinger. For there a long, straight flame of fire had risen above thepyre, and now was leaping high above the roofs of the lower houses. Itwas a flame of pain and cruelty to Claes, for following the capriceof the breeze, it preyed upon his legs, or touched his head so thatit smoked, licking and singeing his hair.

  Ulenspiegel took Soetkin in his arms and tried to tear her away fromthe window. Then they heard a sharp cry, the cry which came from Claeswhen one side of his body was burnt by the dancing flames. But thenhe was silent again, weeping to himself. And his breast was all wetwith his tears.

  Thereafter Soetkin and Ulenspiegel heard a great noise as of manyvoices. This was the townsfolk, their wives and their children,who now began to cry and shout out all together:

  "He was not
sentenced to be burnt by a slow fire, but by a quickfire! Executioner, stir up the faggots!"

  The executioner did so. But the fire did not flame up quick enoughto please the mob.

  "Kill him!" they shouted. "Put him out of his misery!" And they beganto throw missiles at the provost.

  Soetkin cried aloud: "The flame! The great flame!"

  And in very truth they saw now a great red flame, mounting heavenwards,in the midst of the smoke.

  "He is about to die," said the widow. "O Lord, of your mercy receivethe soul of this innocent. Where is the King, that I may go and tearout his heart with my nails?"

  And all the while the bells of Notre Dame kept tolling for thedead. Yet again did Soetkin hear a great cry from her husband; butmercifully she was spared the sight of his body writhing in the agonyof the fire, and his twisted face, and his head that he turned fromside to side and beat upon the wood of the stake. Meanwhile the crowdcontinued to shout and to hiss, and the boys threw stones, until allof a sudden the whole pile of wood caught alight, and the voice ofClaes was heard crying out from the midst of the flame and smoke:

  "Soetkin! Tyl!"

  And then his head fell down upon his breast as though it were madeof lead.

  And there came a cry, most piteous and piercing, from the cottage ofKatheline; and after that there was silence, except for the poor madwoman wagging her head and saying:

  "My soul wants to get out!"

  Claes was dead. The fire burned itself away, smouldering at the footof the stake whereon the poor body still hung by its neck.

  And the bells of Notre Dame tolled for the dead.

  XLIII

  In Katheline's cottage Soetkin stood leaning against the wall,with her head hanging down and her hands clasped together. She heldUlenspiegel in her arms, speechless and without a tear. Neither didUlenspiegel say anything. It made him afraid to feel the burningfever that raged in the body of his mother.

  The neighbours, returning from the place of execution, came to thecottage and told how Claes had made an end of his sufferings.

  "He is in glory," said the widow.

  "Pray for him," said Nele, putting her rosary into the hands ofUlenspiegel. But he would make no use of it, giving as his reasonthat the beads had been blessed by the Pope.

  At last night came, and Ulenspiegel urged his mother to go to bed,telling her that he himself would sit up and keep watch in theroom. But Soetkin said that there was no need for him to do that. Lethim sleep also, for the young have need of a good night's rest. SoNele prepared two beds for them in the kitchen, and after that sheleft them.

  Mother and son stayed up together while what remained of the woodfire burned itself out in the grate. Then Soetkin retired to her bed,and Ulenspiegel did likewise, listening to his mother sobbing toherself under the bedclothes.

  Outside in the silence of the night the wind made a murmuring soundin the trees by the canal. It was like the far-off sound of waves,and it meant that autumn was coming soon. Also, there were greateddies of dust that beat against the cottage windows.

  Now it seemed to Ulenspiegel that he saw the figure of a man going toand fro in the room, and he thought he heard the sound of footstepscoming and going in the kitchen. But when he looked he no longersaw the man, and listening he no longer heard those footsteps, butonly the sound of the wind as it whistled in the chimney and Soetkincrying under the bedclothes.

  Then once again he heard those footsteps, and just behind him, nearhis head, a soft sigh.

  "Who is it?" he said.

  No one answered, but quite distinctly came the sound of three tapson the table. Ulenspiegel was afraid, and began to tremble. "Who isit?" he said again. No one answered, but once more there came thethree taps upon the table, and after that he felt two arms hugging himround, and over him there leant a man's body with skin all wrinkledand a great hole in its breast that gave forth a smell of burning.

  "Father," said Ulenspiegel, "is it you, and is this your poor bodythat weighs thus upon me?"

  He received no answer to his question, and although the shadow seemedstill quite close, it was from outside the cottage that he heard avoice crying out to him by name, "Tyl! Tyl!"

  Suddenly Soetkin got out of bed and came over to where Ulenspiegelwas lying.

  "Do you hear something?" she said.

  "Yes," he answered, "it is father calling to me."

  "I too," said Soetkin, "I have felt a cold body beside me in my bed,and the mattress has moved, and the curtains. And I heard a voice thatspoke my name: 'Soetkin!' it said, a voice soft as a whisper. And Iheard a step near by, light as the sound of a gnat's wings." Thenshe addressed herself to the spirit of Claes: "If there is aughtthat you desire in that heaven where God guards you in his glory,you must tell me, my man, that we may know what you would have us do."

  All of a sudden a mighty gust of wind came blowing upon the door,and it burst wide open and straightway the room was filled with dust;and from afar, Soetkin and Ulenspiegel could hear the sound of thecawing of many ravens.

  They went out of the cottage, and came together to the place oftorture....

  It was a black night, save where the clouds--coursing in the sky likestags before the keen north wind--were parted here and there so asto disclose the glittering face of some star.

  By the remnants of the pile strode a sergeant of the commune, up anddown, keeping guard. Soetkin and Ulenspiegel heard his steps as theyresounded on the hardened ground, and together with that sound therecame the cry of a raven, calling his fellows, doubtless; for fromfar away there came the sound of other caws in answer.

  As Soetkin and Ulenspiegel approached the pile the raven swooped downupon the shoulder of Claes, and they could hear its beak pecking uponthe body. And soon the other ravens followed. Ulenspiegel would havethrown himself upon the pile and beaten them off had not the sergeantcome up and prevented him.

  "Are you a sorcerer," cried the man, "that comes hither for the handsof the dead as a talisman, and yet do you not know that the hands ofa man that has been burnt to death possess no power of invisibility,but only hands of one who has been hanged--such as you yourself willbe one of these days?"

  "Sir," Ulenspiegel replied, "I am no sorcerer, but the orphaned sonof the man tied to this stake here. And this woman is the dead man'swidow. We only wish to kiss him once again, and to take away a fewof his ashes in his memory. Give us leave, sir, pray, for you arecertainly no foreign soldier, but a son of this land."

  "Very well," said the sergeant.

  So the orphan and the widow made their way over the charred wood andapproached the body. Weeping, they both kissed the face of Claes.

  Then Ulenspiegel found the place where the heart had been, a great holehollowed out by the flames, and therefrom he took a few ashes. ThenSoetkin and he knelt down and said a prayer, and when the sky began toturn pale in the dawn they were still kneeling there together. But thesergeant drove them off, for he was afraid that he would be punishedfor his kindness.

  When they were home again Soetkin took a piece of red silk, and a pieceof black silk, and she made a little bag to contain the ashes. Andon the little bag she sewed two ribbons so that Ulenspiegel couldalways carry it suspended round his neck. And she gave it to him withthese words:

  "These ashes are the heart of my husband. This red ribbon is hisblood. This black one is our sorrow. Always upon your breast let themlie, and call down thereby the fire of vengeance upon his torturers."

  "Amen," said Ulenspiegel.

  And the widow embraced her orphan, and the sun rose.

  XLIV

  In that year, being the fifty-eighth year of the century, Kathelinecame into Soetkin's house and spake as follows:

  "Last night, being anointed with balm, I was transported to thetower of Notre Dame, and I beheld the elemental spirits that carry theprayers of men to the angels, and they in their turn, flying up towardsthe highest heaven, bring them to the Throne of God. And everywherethe sky was strewn with glittering stars. Suddenly I saw
the figureof a man that seemed all blackened and charred, rising from a funeralpile. Mounting up towards me, this figure took its place beside me onthe tower. I saw that it was Claes, just as he was in life, dressed inhis charcoal-burner's clothes. He asked me what I was doing there onthe tower of Notre Dame. 'And you,' I asked in my turn, 'whither areyou off to, flying in the air like a bird?' 'I am going,' he answered,'to judgment. Hear you not the angel's trump that summons me?' I wasquite close to him, and could feel the very substance of his spiritualbody--not hard and resisting to the touch like the bodies of thosethat are alive, but so rarefied that to come up against it was likeadvancing into a kind of warm mist. And at my feet stretched out onevery side the land of Flanders, with a few lights shining here andthere, and I said to myself: 'They that rise early and work late,surely they are the blessed of God!' And all the time I could hearthe angel's trumpet calling through the night. And presently I sawanother shade mounting up towards me from the land of Spain. Thiswas an old man and decrepit, with a protruding chin, and quince jamall oozing from the corners of his lips.

  "On its back it wore a cloak of crimson velvet lined with ermine,and on its head an imperial crown, and it kept nibbling a piece ofanchovy which it carried in one hand, while in the other hand itclutched a tankard of beer. I could see that this spirit was tiredout and had come to the tower of Notre Dame to rest itself. Kneelingdown, I addressed it in these words: 'Most Imperial Majesty, of atruth I revere you, yet I know not who you are. Whence come you? Andwhat was your position in the world?' 'I come,' answered the shade,'from Saint Juste in the country of Estramadoure. I was the EmperorCharles the Fifth.' 'But,' said I, 'whither, pray, are you going onsuch a cold night as this, and over these clouds that are all heavyand charged with hail?' 'I go,' answered the shade, 'to judgment.'