by Walter Scott
CHAPTER THE TWENTH-FOURTH.
All is prepared--the chambers of the mine Are cramm'd with the combustible, which, harmless While yet unkindled, as the sable sand, Needs but a spark to change its nature so, That he who wakes it from its slumbrous mood, Dreads scarce the explosion less than he who knows That 'tis his towers which meet its fury. ANONYMOUS.
When the sky is darkened suddenly, and the atmosphere grows thick andstifling, the lower ranks of creation entertain the ominous sense of acoming tempest. The birds fly to the thickets, the wild creaturesretreat to the closest covers which their instinct gives them the habitof frequenting, and domestic animals show their apprehension of theapproaching thunderstorm by singular actions and movements inferringfear and disturbance.
It seems that human nature, when its original habits are cultivated andattended to, possesses, on similar occasions, something of thatprescient foreboding, which announces the approaching tempest to theinferior ranks of creation. The cultivation of our intellectual powersgoes perhaps too far, when it teaches us entirely to suppress anddisregard those natural feelings, which were originally designed assentinels by which nature warned us of impending danger.
Something of the kind, however, still remains, and that species offeeling which announces to us sorrowful or alarming tidings, may besaid, like the prophecies of the weird sisters, to come over us like asudden cloud.
During the fatal day which was to precede the combat of the Caesar withthe Count of Paris, there were current through the city ofConstantinople the most contradictory, and at the same time the mostterrific reports. Privy conspiracy, it was alleged, was on the very eveof breaking out; open war, it was reported by others, was about toshake her banners over the devoted city; the precise cause was notagreed upon, any more than the nature of the enemy. Some said that thebarbarians from the borders of Thracia, the Hungarians, as they weretermed, and the Comani, were on their march from the frontiers tosurprise the city; another report stated that the Turks, who, duringthis period, were established in Asia, had resolved to prevent thethreatened attack of the crusaders upon Palestine, by surprising notonly the Western Pilgrims, but the Christians of the East, by one oftheir innumerable invasions, executed with their characteristicrapidity.
Another report, approaching more near to the truth, declared that thecrusaders themselves, having discovered their various causes ofcomplaint against Alexius Comnenus, had resolved to march back theirunited forces to the capital, with a view of dethroning or chastisinghim; and the citizens were dreadfully alarmed for the consequences ofthe resentment of men so fierce in their habits and so strange in theirmanners. In short, although they did not all agree on the precise causeof danger, it was yet generally allowed that something of a dreadfulkind was impending, which appeared to be in a certain degree confirmedby the motions that were taking place among the troops. The Varangians,as well as the Immortals, were gradually assembled, and placed inoccupation of the strongest parts of the city, until at length thefleet of galleys, row-boats, and transports, occupied by Tancred andhis party, were observed to put themselves in motion from Scutari, andattempt to gain such a height in the narrow sea, as upon the turn ofthe tide should transport them to the port of the capital.
Alexius Comnenus was himself struck at this unexpected movement on thepart of the crusaders. Yet, after some conversation with Hereward, onwhom he had determined to repose his confidence, and had now gone toofar to retreat, he became reassured, the more especially by the limitedsize of the detachment which seemed to meditate so bold a measure as anattack upon his capital. To those around him he said with carelessness,that it was hardly to be supposed that a trumpet could blow to thecharge, within hearing of the crusaders' camp, without some out of somany knights coming forth to see the cause and the issue of theconflict.
The conspirators also had their secret fears when the little armamentof Tancred had been seen on the straits. Agelastes mounted a mule, andwent to the shore of the sea, at the place now called Galata. He metBertha's old ferryman, whom Godfrey had set at liberty, partly incontempt, and partly that the report he was likely to make, might serveto amuse the conspirators in the city. Closely examined by Agelastes,he confessed that the present detachment, so far as he understood, wasdespatched at the instance of Bohemond, and was under the command ofhis kinsman Tancred, whose well-known banner was floating from theheadmost vessel. This gave courage to Agelastes, who, in the course ofhis intrigues, had opened a private communication with the wily andever mercenary Prince of Antioch. The object of the philosopher hadbeen to obtain from Bohemond a body of his followers to co-operate inthe intended conspiracy, and fortify the party of insurgents. It istrue, that Bohemond had returned no answer, but the account now givenby the ferryman, and the sight of Tancred the kinsman of Bohemond'sbanner displayed on the straits, satisfied the philosopher that hisoffers, his presents, and his promises, had gained to his side theavaricious Italian, and that this band had been selected by Bohemond,and were coming to act in his favour.
As Agelastes turned to go off, he almost jostled a person, as muchmuffled up, and apparently as unwilling to be known, as the philosopherhimself. Alexius Comnenus, however--for it was the Emperorhimself--knew Agelastes, though rather from his stature and gestures,than his countenance; and could not forbear whispering in his ear, ashe passed, the well-known lines, to which the pretended sage's variousacquisitions gave some degree of point:--
"Grammaticus, rhetor, geometres, pictor, aliptes, Augur, schoenobates, medicus, magus; omnia novit. Graeculus esuriens in caelum, jusseris, ibit." [Footnote: Thelines of Juvenal imitated by Johnson in his _London_-- "All sciences a fasting Monsieur knows, And bid him go to hell--to hell he goes."]
Agelastes first started at the unexpected sound of the Emperor's voice,yet immediately recovered presence of mind, the want of which had madehim suspect himself betrayed; and without taking notice of the rank ofthe person to whom he spoke, he answered by a quotation which shouldreturn the alarm he had received. The speech that suggested itself wassaid to be that which the Phantom of Cleonice dinned into the ears ofthe tyrant who murdered her:--
"Tu cole justitiam; toque atque alios manet ultor." [Footnote: "Dothou cultivate justice: for thee and for others there remains anavenger."--_Ovid. Met._]
The sentence, and the recollections which accompanied it, thrilledthrough the heart of the Emperor, who walked on, however, without anynotice or reply.
"The vile conspirator," he said, "had his associates around him,otherwise he had not hazarded that threat. Or it may have beenworse--Agelastes himself, on the very brink of this world, may haveobtained that singular glance into futurity proper to that situation,and perhaps speaks less from his own reflection than from a strangespirit of prescience, which dictates his words. Have I then in earnestsinned so far in my imperial duty, as to make it just to apply to methe warning used by the injured Cleonice to her ravisher and murderer?Methinks I have not. Methinks that at less expense than that of a justseverity, I could ill have kept my seat in the high place where Heavenhas been pleased to seat me, and where, as a ruler, I am bound tomaintain my station. Methinks the sum of those who have experienced myclemency may be well numbered with that of such as have sustained thedeserved punishments of their guilt--But has that vengeance, howeverdeserved in itself, been always taken in a legal or justifiable manner?My conscience, I doubt, will hardly answer so home a question; andwhere is the man, had he the virtues of Antoninus himself, that canhold so high and responsible a place, yet sustain such an interrogationas is implied in that sort of warning which I have received from thistraitor? _Tu cole justitiam_--we all need to use justice toothers--_Teque atque alios manet ultor_--we are all amenable to anavenging being--I will see the Patriarch--instantly will I see him; andby confessing my transgressions to the Church, I will, by her plenaryindulgence, acquire the right of spending the last day of my reign in aconsciousness of innocence, or at least of
pardon--a state of mindrarely the lot of those whose lines have fallen in lofty places."
So saying, he passed to the palace of Zosimus the Patriarch, to whom hecould unbosom himself with more safety, because he had long consideredAgelastes as a private enemy to the Church, and a man attached to theancient doctrines of heathenism. In the councils of the state they werealso opposed to each other, nor did the Emperor doubt, that incommunicating the secret of the conspiracy to the Patriarch, he wassure to attain a loyal and firm supporter in the defence which heproposed to himself. He therefore gave a signal by a low whistle, and aconfidential officer, well mounted, approached him, who attended him inhis ride, though unostentatiously, and at some distance.
In this manner, therefore, Alexius Comnenus proceeded to the palace ofthe Patriarch, with as much speed as was consistent with his purpose ofavoiding to attract any particular notice as he passed through thestreet. During the whole ride, the warning of Agelastes repeatedlyoccurred to him, and his conscience reminded him of too many actions ofhis reign which could only be justified by necessity, emphatically saidto be the tyrant's plea, and which were of themselves deserving thedire vengeance so long delayed.
When he came in sight of the splendid towers which adorned the front ofthe patriarchal palace, he turned aside from the lofty gates, repairedto a narrow court, and again giving his mule to his attendant, he stoptbefore a postern, whose low arch and humble architrave seemed toexclude the possibility of its leading to any place of importance. Onknocking, however, a priest of an inferior order opened the door, who,with a deep reverence, received the Emperor so soon as he had madehimself known, and conducted him into the interior of the palace.Demanding a secret interview with the Patriarch, Alexius was thenushered into his private library, where he was received by the agedpriest with the deepest respect, which the nature of his communicationsoon changed into horror and astonishment.
Although Alexius was supposed by many of his own court, andparticularly by some members of his own family, to be little betterthan a hypocrite in his religious professions, yet such severeobservers were unjust in branding him with a name so odious. He wasindeed aware of the great support which he received from the goodopinion of the clergy, and to them he was willing to make sacrificesfor the advantage of the Church, or of individual prelates whomanifested fidelity to the crown; but though, on the one hand, suchsacrifices were rarely made by Alexius, without a view to temporalpolicy, yet, on the other, he regarded them as recommended by hisdevotional feelings, and took credit to himself for various grants andactions, as dictated by sincere piety, which, in another aspect, werethe fruits of temporal policy. His mode of looking on these measureswas that of a person with oblique vision, who sees an object in adifferent manner, according to the point from which he chances tocontemplate it.
The Emperor placed his own errors of government before the Patriarch inhis confession, giving due weight to every branch of morality as itoccurred, and stripping from them the lineaments and palliativecircumstances which had in his own imagination lessened their guilt.The Patriarch heard, to his astonishment, the real thread of many acourt intrigue, which had borne a very different appearance, till theEmperor's narrative either justified his conduct upon the occasion, orleft it totally unjustifiable. Upon the whole, the balance wascertainly more in favour of Alexius than the Patriarch had supposedlikely in that more distant view he had taken of the intrigues of thecourt, when, as usual, the ministers and the courtiers endeavoured tomake up for the applause which they had given in council in the mostblameable actions of the absolute monarch, by elsewhere imputing to hismotives greater guilt than really belonged to them. Many men who hadfallen sacrifices, it was supposed to the personal spleen or jealousyof the Emperor, appeared to have been in fact removed from life, orfrom liberty, because their enjoying either was inconsistent with thequiet of the state and the safety of the monarch.
Zosimus also learned, what he perhaps already suspected, that amidstthe profound silence of despotism which seemed to pervade the Grecianempire, it heaved frequently with convulsive throes, which ever andanon made obvious the existence of a volcano under the surface. Thus,while smaller delinquencies, or avowed discontent with the Imperialgovernment, seldom occurred, and were severely punished when they did,the deepest and most mortal conspiracies against the life and theauthority of the Emperor were cherished by those nearest to his person;and he was often himself aware of them, though it was not until theyapproached an explosion that he dared act upon his knowledge, andpunish the conspirators.
The whole treason of the Caesar, with his associates, Agelastes andAchilles Tatius, was heard by the Patriarch with wonder andastonishment, and he was particularly surprised at the dexterity withwhich the Emperor, knowing the existence of so dangerous a conspiracyat home, had been able to parry the danger from the crusaders occurringat the same moment.
"In that respect," said the Emperor, to whom indeed the churchmanhinted his surprise, "I have been singularly unfortunate. Had I beensecure of the forces of my own empire, I might have taken one out oftwo manly and open courses with these frantic warriors of the west--Imight, my reverend father, have devoted the sums paid to Bohemond andother of the more selfish among the crusaders, to the honest and opensupport of the army of western Christians, and safely transported themto Palestine, without exposing them to the great loss which they arelikely to sustain by the opposition of the Infidels; their successwould have been in fact my own, and a Latin kingdom in Palestine,defended by its steel-clad warriors, would have been a safe andunexpugnable barrier of the empire against the Saracens, Or, if it wasthought more expedient for the protection of the empire and the holyChurch, over which you are ruler, we might at once, and by open force,have defended the frontiers of our states, against a host commanded byso many different and discording chiefs, and advancing upon us withsuch equivocal intentions. If the first swarm of these locusts, underhim whom they called Walter the Penniless, was thinned by theHungarians, and totally destroyed by the Turks, as the pyramids ofbones on the frontiers of the country still keep in memory, surely theunited forces of the Grecian empire would have had little difficulty inscattering this second flight, though commanded by these Godfreys,Bohemonds, and Tancreds."
The Patriarch was silent, for though he disliked, or rather detestedthe crusaders, as members of the Latin Church, he yet thought it highlydoubtful that in feats of battle they could have been met and overcomeby the Grecian forces.
"At any rate," said Alexius, rightly interpreting his silence, "ifvanquished, I had fallen under my shield as a Greek emperor should, norhad I been forced into these mean measures of attacking men by stealth,and with forces disguised as infidels; while the lives of the faithfulsoldiers of the empire, who have fallen in obscure skirmishes, hadbetter, both for them and me, been lost bravely in their ranks,avowedly fighting for their native emperor and their native country.Now, and as the matter stands, I shall be handed down to posterity as awily tyrant, who engaged his subjects in fatal feuds for the safety ofhis own obscure life. Patriarch! these crimes rest not with me, butwith the rebels whose intrigues compelled me into such courses--What,reverend father, will be my fate hereafter?--and in what light shall Idescend to posterity, the author of so many disasters?"
"For futurity," said the Patriarch, "your grace hath referred yourselfto the holy Church, which hath power to bind and loose; your means ofpropitiating her are ample, and I have already indicated such as shemay reasonably expect, in consequence of your repentance andforgiveness."
"They shall be granted," replied the Emperor, "in their fullest extent;nor will I injure you in doubting their effect in the next world. Inthis present state of existence, however, the favourable opinion of theChurch may do much for me during this important crisis. If weunderstand each other, good Zosimus, her doctors and bishops are tothunder in my behalf, nor is my benefit from her pardon, to be deferredtill the funeral monument closes upon me?"
"Certainly not," said Zosimus; "the conditions which I have alre
adystipulated being strictly attended to."
"And my memory in history," said Alexius, "in what manner is that to bepreserved?"
"For that," answered the Patriarch, "your Imperial Majesty must trustto the filial piety and literary talents of your accomplished daughter,Anna Comnena."
The Emperor shook his head. "This unhappy Caesar," he said, "is like tomake a quarrel between us; for I shall scarce pardon so ungrateful arebel as he is, because my daughter clings to him with a woman'sfondness. Besides, good Zosimus, it is not, I believe, the page of ahistorian such as my daughter that is most likely to be receivedwithout challenge by posterity. Some Procopius, some philosophicalslave, starving in a garret, aspires to write the life of an Emperorwhom he durst not approach; and although the principal merit of hisproduction be, that it contains particulars upon the subject which noman durst have promulgated while the prince was living, yet no manhesitates to admit such as true when he has passed from the scene."
"On that subject," said Zosimus, "I can neither afford your ImperialMajesty relief or protection. If, however, your memory is unjustlyslandered upon earth, it will be a matter of indifference to yourHighness, who will be then, I trust, enjoying a state of beatitudewhich idle slander cannot assail. The only way, indeed, to avoid itwhile on this side of time, would be to write your Majesty's ownmemoirs while you are yet in the body; so convinced am I that it is inyour power to assign legitimate excuses for those actions of your life,which, without your doing so, would seem most worthy of censure."
"Change we the subject," said the Emperor; "and since the danger isimminent, let us take care for the present, and leave future ages tojudge for themselves.--What circumstance is it, reverend father, inyour opinion, which encourages these conspirators to make so audaciousan appeal to the populace and the Grecian soldiers?"
"Certainly," answered the Patriarch, "the most irritating incident ofyour highness's reign was the fate of Ursel, who, submitting, it issaid, upon capitulation, for life, limb, and liberty, was starved todeath by your orders, in the dungeons of the Blacquernal, and whosecourage, liberality, and other popular virtues, are still fondlyremembered by the citizens of this metropolis, and by the soldiers ofthe guard, called Immortal."
"And this," said the Emperor, fixing his eye upon his confessor, "yourreverence esteems actually the most dangerous point of the populartumult?"
"I cannot doubt," said the Patriarch, "that his very name, boldlypronounced, and artfully repeated, will be the watchword, as has beenplotted, of a horrible tumult."
"I thank Heaven!" said the Emperor; "on that particular I will be on myguard. Good-night to your reverence! and, believe me, that all in thisscroll, to which I have set my hand, shall be with the utmost fidelityaccomplished. Be not, however, over-impatient in this business;--such ashower of benefits falling at once upon the Church, would make mensuspicious that the prelates and ministers proceeded rather as actingupon a bargain between the Emperor and Patriarch, than as paying orreceiving an atonement offered by a sinner in excuse of his crimes.This would be injurious, father, both to yourself and me."
"All regular delay," said the Patriarch, "shall be interposed at yourhighness's pleasure; and we shall trust to you for recollection thatthe bargain, if it could be termed one, was of your own seeking, andthat the benefit to the Church was contingent upon the pardon and thesupport which she has afforded to your majesty."
"True," said the Emperor--"most true--nor shall I forget it. Once moreadieu, and forget not what I have told thee. This is a night, Zosimus,in which the Emperor must toil like a slave, if he means not to returnto the humble Alexius Comnenus, and even then there were noresting-place."
So saying, he took leave of the Patriarch, who was highly gratifiedwith the advantages he had obtained for the Church, which many of hispredecessors had struggled for in vain. He resolved, therefore, tosupport the staggering Alexius.