_CHAPTER XLIX_.
_HERMENGARDE'S CONSTANCY_.
Five years had passed since the Council of Besancon. The strugglebetween the Pope and the Emperor still continued, but many things hadturned to Frederic's advantage. In times of discord and civil war, onlythe most virtuous remain faithful to their honest convictions; theothers allow themselves to be influenced and directed by circumstances,or intimidated by eventualities. In both cases, Frederic knew how toact upon the passions; his violence frightened some, his generositygained others.
After the decease of Victor, who died as he had lived, an alien fromthe Church, tormented by remorse and without receiving the HolySacraments, the Chancellor Rinaldo immediately installed a new Pope,Pascal III., and the choice was ratified by the Emperor. The schism hadagain a chief, and Barbarossa used every effort to procure therecognition of his claims.
The bishops were compelled to recite in a loud voice, on Sundays andholydays, the prayer for Pope Pascal. The monks and other ecclesiasticswere ordered, within the space of six weeks, to swear fealty to Pascal,and whoever failed in the performance of this pretended duty wasconsidered an enemy of the Emperor and punished as such.
Frederic even went further, and at the diet of Wuertzburg, in the year1163, caused the adoption of the following resolutions. "The Emperor,princes, and bishops refuse to acknowledge Roland, or any futuresuccessor appointed by his faction; the Germans swear to elect noEmperor, unless he pledges himself to consult the German policy in allthat concerns the Papacy. Any layman acting in opposition to thisdecree, will lose his life and property; any ecclesiastic, in suchcase, will be deprived of his benefice and dignities. All princes andbishops will be held responsible for their subjects, to whom a similaroath will be administered."
In this manner, the German Church was severed from the Roman--the onlyCatholic Church,--since the German doctrines on the Papacy wereentirely opposed to the true teachings of Jesus Christ.
Frederic was on the eve of founding a Western Empire, similar to thatestablished in the East, of which he was to be installed the SupremeChief. Like Victor, Pascal was a mere tool, and the episcopacy declinedeach day; for all its members were mere court prelates.
The death of Eberhard of Saxony deprived Alexander's party of a leaderin Southern Germany, and thus the mitred personages, without direction,and enchained in golden fetters, became each day more careless of theirsacred ministry. They exchanged the pastoral crook for the sword, theepiscopal mitre for a casque, and their sacerdotal robes for thecorselet of the soldier. The lower clergy were little better than theirsuperiors; and the people, whose souls were intrusted to their care,fell more and more into ignorance and degradation.
Still there were some few whose sanctity opposed, with energy, theEmperor's designs. The Archbishop Conrad of Mayence, of the house ofWittelsbach, and the Archbishop Conrad of Salzburg, uncle to theEmperor, protested loudly against this usurpation. They were at oncedeclared enemies of the Empire, deprived of their bishoprics, andforced to seek safety in Italy.
These brutal examples, however, produced the desired results; and theorders of the powerful monarch were henceforward obeyed literally andimplicitly.
The position assumed by Henry of England towards Pope Alexander, alsofavored Frederic's projects. The cruel and despotic English King ruledhis Church according to his own caprices. The cloisters and monasterieswere, in his opinion, mere places whence to draw supplies for hismaterial wants; and many of the bishoprics were left unoccupied, whiletheir revenues were appropriated to the royal treasury. The celebratedSt. Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, resisted, with all hisenergy, the tyranny of the sovereign; but at the royal instigation, hewas slain on the steps of the altar, and all friendly relations betweenAlexander and Henry were suspended.
These circumstances came very opportunely to the aid of Frederic'sprojects. Rinaldo was sent to London to contract an alliance withEngland, and in order to cement it, a daughter of the King wasaffianced to the son of Barbarossa, and Henry the Lion to anotherprincess of the royal family of England. Italy was quiet, although thepeople chafed under the Imperial yoke, and were silently preparing forrevolt. The fire smouldered amid the ashes, but since the terriblechastisement inflicted upon Milan, no city dared to raise the standardof liberty.
In the year 1167, Barbarossa entered Italy with a numerous army andmarched towards Rome, from which he wished to expel Alexander, who hadreturned to the city aided by King William of Naples. The Lombards hadhoped that Frederic's justice would alleviate their distress, and anenormous crowd came with complaints against his Imperial agents. Thecomplaints were listened to, but the grievances were not oftenredressed, and so soon as he was fairly on his way to Rome, the Lombardconfederation was formed. It was at first weak and secret, but still itserved as a happy presage and an encouragement to the oppressedinhabitants.
Guido of Castellamare, faithful to his plighted word, remained at hishome and abstained from any hostile act.
Hermengarde was now nineteen years of age; she seldom left the solitarycastle in the valley, where, since her return from France, she hadlived like a recluse. Her only distraction was an occasional visit toGenoa in search of news of Count Rechberg among the pilgrims returningfrom the Holy Land. At first she was successful, for Erwin's name hadacquired a great reputation in Palestine. Many had seen and spoken tothe young hero, and all related his prodigies of valor. But during thelast two years the tidings had been extremely vague and unsatisfactory.His deeds were still present to the memory of the pilgrims, but nonecould speak positively of his fate, and Hermengarde's mind was torturedwith the most mournful apprehensions.--He must have fallen battlingagainst the infidels, she thought, as the tears coursed down hercheeks.
But hope rarely abandons the human heart, and the sad girl trustedalways in God's mercy. Still each day her steps grew feebler and hercheeks more pale, like a lamp which flashes feebly and then isextinguished forever.
Formerly she frequented a little terrace whence she could overlook thevalley and the distant sea, and each sail that hove in sight she wouldfancy was the one which was bringing home her betrothed husband. But atlast the terrace was deserted; for months Hermengarde had watched nolonger--she had lost all hope. Time cures every wound, Guido thought,as he watched his daughter.
To judge from appearances, Bonello's prognostications were correct. Thegirl became more calm, the journeys to Genoa less frequent, andRechberg's name rarely passed her lips. To please her father, shesometimes visited a noble family of the neighborhood, but it was solelythrough filial obedience, and the visits were rare and of shortduration. Still Bonello, assured that Erwin had shared the untimelyfate of many of the Crusaders, was thinking of proposing anotherhusband to his daughter, one who, if not so distinguished, was at leastworthy of her. Old age looks at matters under a different aspect fromyouth. Experience had taught him the vanity of earthly aspirations, andhe considered everything with cool and calm deliberation, for hethought it a matter urgent and important to secure for Hermengarde ahusband who would watch over her happiness after her father's death.
"I am old," he thought; "I may die at any time, and my daughter mustnot be left defenceless and unprotected."
The idea had long been ripening in his mind, and his choice had fallenupon the only son of this same family of Rapallo, which he hadoccasionally visited with Hermengarde.
Heribert of Rapallo came regularly every week to Castellamare, wherehis visits appeared to gratify the old man, although it frequentlyhappened that Hermengarde refused to see him. Bonello imagined that hisdaughter had forgotten her betrothed, because she never mentioned hisname, and seldom went to Genoa or even to the terrace. But Heribertfelt assured that her calmness was the result of her religioussentiments, and that Erwin's image was always present to her mind. Hewas right; she no longer expected to meet her lover upon earth, but,with resignation to God's will, trusted to be united to him in heaven.
Still he conti
nued his visits, in the vague hope that some day shewould consent to be his bride.
"It is very strange! Rapallo has not been here for a week," said Guido,one day after dinner. "I trust that no accident has happened."
"I was thinking of him also, father. To-day is Friday, and he hadpromised to come on Tuesday. He may be ill."
The interest which Hermengarde appeared to take in his friend pleasedBonello, who, after a short pause, continued,--
"Heribert is an accomplished gentleman--he is unassuming, noble, andbrave."
"He is an agreeable companion, and his piety is unquestionable,"replied the young girl.
"I am glad your opinion of him is so favorable, dear Hermengarde."
"He has been here so often that I have been able to judge his characterthoroughly."
"Very good; but you ought to show yourself a little oftener when hecomes, for I am disposed to think that it is a good deal more on youraccount than mine that he makes this long journey so regularly."
Guido smiled as he spoke. His daughter looked at him with such anexpression of ingenuous simplicity that it was evident she had notpenetrated his meaning. But the opportunity seemed favorable, and hehastened to take advantage of it to speak of his cherished project.
"In fact," he said, "Rapallo suits me exactly. What think you,Hermengarde?"
"I think, father, that you have excellent taste."
The old man was delighted; it seemed as if he was about to gain hispurpose more easily than he had dared to expect.
"You agree with me, then, my child? I am glad of it; for Heribert willmake an excellent husband, and I shall be most happy to call him myson-in-law."
The young girl shuddered, but Guido continued,--
"I am very old now, my dear child; death may come at any moment, andleave you without a protector. The Emperor Barbarossa has again crossedthe Alps, and opened the campaign. What will become of you in a countrywhere robbers and marauders can kill and plunder with impunity? No! Iwould not die in peace unless the walls of Castellamare were defendedby some valiant knight."
"Dear father," she said, with emotion, "do not allude to this painfulsubject. You are strong; your health is excellent; why, then, speak ofwhat may still be far from us, and which can only serve to make usunhappy?"
"You speak, dear child, as all do at twenty; youth lives thus carelessof the future, and with scarcely even a thought for what the morrow maybring forth. Thank God, my health is good, but, at my age, a man shouldalways be prepared for his last journey, and should accustom himself tothe thought of death, which may come when he least expects it. As Ihave said, your isolation troubles me, and you should relieve my heart,Hermengarde, of this anxiety. You have seen and known Rapallointimately; you tell me yourself that he is noble, and generous, andworthy of you--"
The young girl was silent; her lips moved convulsively, and tears fellfrom her eyes.
"Do not weep, my child; doubtless you are thinking of the gallantErwin; he deserves all our sympathy, but why cherish a vain hope? He isdead; he has fallen beneath the weapons of the Saracens, like so manythousands of brave knights, victims of their devotion to the faith. Asyou must resign all thought of him for spouse and protector in thesetroublous times, another must take his place. Your marriage is the mostardent desire which your father now has. If you truly love him, youwill relieve his heart of the burden which oppresses it."
Her tears ceased to flow, and she reflected seriously if it were nother duty to make the sacrifice which her filial love seemed to exact inorder to secure her father's happiness.
At this moment the door opened, and Rapallo entered the room. The youngman was scarcely above the middle height; his face beamed withfrankness and benevolence, though his features were rather agreeablethan positively handsome.
"Here you are at last, my dear Rapallo!" said the old man. "We werejust speaking of you. You are right welcome now, although you have beenneglectful of us lately."
Heribert bowed respectfully to the lady, pressed Bonello's handcordially, and took a seat by his side.
"I was compelled to accept the invitation sent me by the Lombardconfederation, which I am about to join," said he.
Bonello shook his head with a marked expression of disapproval.
"At least, I trust that you have made no positive engagement withoutconsulting me?" he said. "Will you risk your life in an enterprisewhich has no chance of success? Heribert, Heribert, this is not welldone! you have been very imprudent. I augur nothing good from thisattempt."
An animated discussion followed between them; Hermengarde profited byit to leave the apartment unnoticed, and retired to her own room, whereshe could weep at her ease.
"Without doubt, I admit all that," replied Guido, after his guest hadexplained the motives which had induced his acceptance of theinvitation sent to him. "I will even go further. I will suppose thatthe league increases, that the cities and the nobles have given intheir adherence to it, that the necessary funds can be procured, thatits generals are skilful, that it can command everything necessary tosustain the struggle: one thing will still be wanting, and thatis--unity. So long as Pavia, Genoa, Lodi, Pisa, and Florence, that isto say, the most important cities of Northern Italy, support theEmperor's cause, every attempt at independence will only aggravate ourcondition."
"Must we then always wear our chains?" cried the young man, in whoseeyes shone a fire which Guido had never before observed in him.
"As long as Italy deserves her chains, she will wear them, and she doesdeserve them for her intestine divisions," replied Bonello. "Besides,be convinced that, in a military point of view, we are far inferior tothe Germans. We have been taught this again by the late bloody battlefought near the walls of Rome. Forty thousand Romans have been routedby twelve thousand Germans, and of the forty thousand scarcely one halfhave escaped from the field."
"That affair is not so important as was at first supposed," answeredRapallo.
"Naturally the Lombards have tried to depreciate their enemy's success.But it is certain, my lord Rapallo, that, at the siege of Ancona, theGerman advanced guard, even without its usual leader, Frederic, wellnigh annihilated the Roman army. Give the Emperor time to install hisPope on the throne of Saint Peter, and conquer the Sicilian princes,and you will soon see then how easily he will overcome the Lombards."
"But the yoke which we bear is intolerable. The cries and complaintswhich we hear on all sides, are heartrending."
"Yes, our countrymen know very well how to complain. However, I readilyacknowledge that their murmurs are well-grounded; but this newinsurrection will be entirely to the Emperor's advantage; he will findin it an excuse to weigh us down with new extortions. So, my dearRapallo, listen to an old man's advice: have nothing to do with theleague, and do not compromise yourself in a rebellion which will haveno better success than all those which have preceded it."
Heribert changed the subject, and soon after took leave of his host.
"I should have wished to speak to you," said Guido, "upon anotherbusiness, which probably would not have seemed disagreeable; but as youappear in a hurry, we will reserve it for your next visit."
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