DE FOIX. CHAPTER I. THE FOREST. A knight there was, and that a worthy man, Trouthe and honour, fredom and courtesie. CHAUCER. It was towards the close of an unusually sultry day, during a summer of the latter part of the fourteenth century, when the clouds gathering thick and portentous, obscured the glowing brilliancy of a setting sun, that illumined the richly wooded hills of the fertile province of Bearn. The birds fast scudded to their covert, whilst, eager on the wing, their little throats chirped forth a cheerless and a warning note. The rustling of the leaves, agitated by the rising of the tempest, broke upon the silence of evening in low sounds. The winds suddenly arose; and now swept along in one continued rush, now paused, and again burst in loud and lengthened cadence above the surrounding woods, bending their lofty tops with an undulating motion, like a flood of mighty waters.' These warnings were not unheeded by two persons, who rode along a solitary path, in the direction towards the castle of Gaston Phoebus, Count de Foix, lord of the provinces of Foix and Bearn. So intricate was the path, and so circuitous in its course, that none but those well acquainted with the track, could with any degree of certainty venture upon it. The foremost horseman was mounted upon a young and beautiful courser, which, though somewhat jaded with travel, seemed yet to bear his rider with a stately and erect air, as if conscious of the proud burden that bestrode his sleek and pampered sides. The Knight (for such he was), who rode thus gallantly along, appeared, from his well turned limbs, his ample chest, and graceful carriage, to be of gentle degree and in the very flower of his youth: while the easy manage of his steed shewed him an accomplished horseman; a character which the youth of the period eagerly aspired to bear, as it was held honourable and necessary in the military qualifications for a knight. He was clad in polished steel, his head guarded by a glittering basinet, from the pointed crown of which arose a heron's plume. The visor was raised, and displayed a countenance of manly beauty, characterized by the lofty brow and the proud glance of an eye, that spoke a mind of haughty bearing. His mustachios fell on each side his upper lip, over the mail that closely enveloped his face. His habergeon (or coat of mail) was covered by a surcoat of red velvet, upon which was wrought, purfled with pearls, on a field azure, six white martlets. In his strong and gauntleted hand he held a lance, attached to the end of which was a small red pennon. His sword, emblazoned like his surcoat, was slung by a strap round his neck, supported by his bridle arm, and secured at the pummel by a chain of silver, which was attached to the right of his breast, just below the camail (a piece of chain-mail armour), worn about the neck dependent from the basinet to the shoulders. His feet, guarded by the soleret, or pointed shoe, rested in stirrups of enameled steel. The horse that bore this comely knight was covered with housings of silk, which hung from each side the animal, embroidered with the arms of his rider upon a ground of blue and silver. On the forehead of the courser appeared a small plate, called the chanfrain, formed of metal, and covered with velvet, having the six white martlets worked upon it in pearls. The Esquire of the Knight followed his master's steps, well mounted upon a handsome chestnut-coloured horse. His head was encompassed by a steel cap, and his body clothed in a thick quilted coat of leather, closely set with gilt nails; little armour, either plate, or mail, being at this time worn by an esquire. He was armed with a sword; and from the saddlebow hung an axe. There also depended the helmet of his master; as that ponderous guard for the head was alone worn by the knight, over the basinet, in tournament or battle. For some time the travellers journeyed on in silence, which was at length broken by the foremost rider, who, turning to his Esquire, exclaimed, "Agos, yonder clouds look black and threatening. If we reach not this castle ere nightfall, I see little else than the prospect of losing our way in the dark, or of passing the time till morning dawns under the shelter of these forest trees." "They will afford but a sorry shelter against the pelting of such a storm as seems coming up yonder," replied the Esquire, "and craving your pardon, Sir Equitan, we have other mishaps to fear, besides thunderbolts and showers. For it seems not to live in your knightly remembrance, that we have this day ridden seven good leagues since we washed our throats with the stirrup cup or tasted the comfort of a pottage. For my own part, although I fear not the value of a rusty dagger a night's lodging in the open air, while the lightning plays like a will-o'-the-wisp upon my steel cap, yet I would have wherewithal to keep my spirits up; but mayhap you think not of these things, but rather of that new surcoat and those gay housings you are dight withal. And sooth to say, they suit but ill with such a night as we are like to have of it. For myself, who care not the spoiling of the best new jerkin that ever squire wore, there is no mischance or foe I heed to meet so much as hunger. A well-conditioned soldier has but one foe to wrestle with, the enemy of his master; but a starving man hath another, and a stronger, in the danger of his own necessity. By the holy bones of St. Anthony, though this were the eve of his day, were it as strict a fast as ever priest enjoined, I would eat the first slice of a roasted kid that came in my way, and give ten marks to-morrow morning to a Romish pardoner to sell me an absolution for my sin, rather than endure this craving of the body's citadel." "If thy hunger be so importunate, Agos," said the Knight, "the nearest way to satisfy that, and my desire to clear this storm, lies not in vain prating, but in some effort to find the right road through these intricate turnings. Prithee ride forward, and see if thou canst light on either traveller or hind who may counsel us the way to our destination." "That will I, truly," replied the Esquire. "Tarry you here, Sir Equitan, and if I find not the way through these brakes and wild paths, it will be the worse for thy bright armour, that shall make thee glitter like a sunbeam, and rank first amongst the gay knights who throng the court of the gallant Count de Foix. But fear not, my master; in pity to thy bravery, and my own stomach, I promise a speedy return." So saying, the hungry Esquire spurred his horse, and set off in quest of some intelligence to guide them through the wood. Agos de Guisfort (for such is the name by which our Esquire was known) for some time wandered on through paths that seemed rather to increase in intricacy than to offer any chance of termination. Here and there the way was impeded by the large and spreading boughs of some oak tree, whose venerable trunk was encircled with tendrils of green ivy, stealing on from branch to branch, as they twined about its antique limbs. The evening drew on apace, whilst Agos yet searched about in vain; now turning to the right, now to the left, then back again; sometimes pausing to catch a low and distant sound, in the faint hope that it might proceed from the habitation of a human being. At length the dim shade of twilight gradually obscured the surrounding objects, and the thick clouds that gathered in the west, rising, as it were, towards the centre of the heavens, rolled on slowly, till they settled into one dense, black mass, which seemed every moment about to burst upon the woods beneath. Agos looked again through their intricacies, yet nothing appeared but the deep red light that tinged the horizon, and was here and there discovered through the boughs of the trees. The Esquire, tired of a hopeless search, and despairing to find the path, now first remembered that, should he longer tarry, his difficulties might be increased by a second vain attempt, that of finding the way back to his master, guided only by the dim light of evening, and his own imperfect recollection of the track. Thus was he doubly doubtful; and as many persons, who, while two threatening evils lie before them, when they should seize on the readiest mode to escape from that which is most certain, suffer the time for action to elapse in deliberation, till all hope is past; so it is most likely would Agos now have done, had not the case decided for itself, by the appearance of Sir Equitan: for the knight, tired of waiting for his tardy esquire, had followed him by the tract of his horse's feet in the ground, and joined him at the moment the first distant peal of thunder muttered in a low and continued sound. “Agos,” said Sir Equitan, “it is in vain to seek for human direction in such a place as this wild forest, and at such a time. We have assuredly lost our road; let us guide our horses to yonder knoll where the trees are thickest, and there rest, till morning shall relieve us from our present strait." Agos paused, and ere he made a reply, seemed to be pondering if there were any scheme or invention within the compass of his own brain, that could supply a remedy against a "I have seen much, supperless lodging in a lonely wood. and endured much," at length exclaimed the Esquire; "but never till this hour did I look to satisfy my hunger by the air, my thirst by the rain-drops, to find rest in a hurricane, and to say matins with the thunder for a chorus. But such is the life of those who think to gain heaven and good fortune by the way of arms. Nevertheless, Sir Equitan, when no help can be found, we must even take up a friar's trade, and with something more of honesty; for what they preach we need practise, and shew to these trees, for these are likely to be our only witnesses, a true and holy patience. I have eaten with thee, my master, I have pledged thee in the wine-cup, and this night will I fast with thee; but such a fast as the devil shall make account of, for it is sore against the will." The travellers now proceeded as fast as the path, overgrown with brambles and almost choked with long grass and weeds, would admit. They had nearly gained the knoll, when suddenly a slight rustling of the leaves was heard near them; and immediately a quick and light step, as if of some one who hastily passed on, struck upon their ear. 66 "Stop! whoever thou art, for the love of heaven and all the saints," exclaimed Agos; stop, and guide two starving travellers through these dismal paths." No answer was returned; and Agos, springing from his horse, gave the reins to Sir Equitan to hold the animal, and made immediately towards the spot whence the steps were heard, with the quick and eager effort which men use when rushing upon an enterprise they are determined to accomplish. The path through which he ran directly crossed a second path that led from another part of the forest. The Esquire paused not a moment, and in his haste to meet the unknown person, the sound of whose steps had alone been his guide, he came so suddenly in contact with him, that, like two vessels carried on, the one by a fresh gale, and the other by a rapid current, they met, and struck with such force, that the weaker was nearly borne down by the stronger. Agos, who had thus caused the stranger almost to measure his length upon the ground, and fearing lest upon his rising he should lose the only opportunity that seemed likely to offer itself to free them from their perplexity, scarcely knowing what he did, suddenly and without explanation seized upon the other, and bade him for the love of St. Mary to give some direction, or to guide him through the forest. "And who are you," replied the stranger, "who thus rudely |