A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War

by Evelyn Everett-Green

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  _THE NEW CHANCELLOR._

  "Leofric, Leofric! hast thou heard the news?

  "I have heard the bell of St. Martin's," answered Leofric, scarceraising his head from his task; "I trow the new Chancellor will havecause for displeasure and stern judgment. This is the third time therehas been a disturbance since he arrived within the city."

  "But listen, Leofric, there is worse than that. They say that our goodfriend Hugh has been dragged off to prison for the murder of a citizen,and the whole place is clamouring for his blood--all the citizens, thatis!"

  Leofric was aroused now, and started up in excitement.

  "What--what!--Hugh charged with such a crime? Impossible! It must besome mistake."

  "Or some foul play," said Jack significantly. "I could not get at himfor the press, but I got near enough to hear them say he declared themurder had been done by a man in a monkish habit, lurking in a doorway,who had vanished the moment the crime was committed, leaving themurdered man lying at Hugh's feet with the stiletto in his heart. Butnot one word of this story will the crowd believe, and Hugh has beenhaled off to the Bocardo prison!"

  Hardly had Jack finished these words before Gilbert, together with HalSeaton, hurried in full of the same news.

  "It is some vile plot against Hugh!" cried Gilbert. "Have we notsuspected for long that his enemies have returned, and are plotting evilagainst him? For my part, I have long believed that Tito Balzani hasreturned, and is masquerading beneath the cowl of a monk; and that yonevil-faced, bearded braggart whom men are beginning to know and note inthe streets, is none other than our old friend Roger de Horn--muchchanged by his three years' absence, and by staining his face andgrowing his beard. If those two are in league together again, be surethey are after no good."

  "And it behoves us to do something, and that something quickly," saidHal, "if Hugh is to be saved from disgrace, if not from imprisonment orworse. For upon the day after to-morrow the new Chancellor is to hold acourt, and all turbulent citizens and clerks are to be brought beforehim. I trow if Hugh is charged before him with murder in the openstreets--and there be some ready to swear to seeing him strike theblow--it may go hard with him. For all men say that the Chancellor is anupright and just man, and will not favour the clerks more than those ofthe city; that he has spoken stern things as to the riots so frequenthere, and has resolved to put them down with a strong hand."

  Leofric stood lost in thought, revolving many things in his mind. Theoriginal cause of jealousy between Hugh and Roger had been LindaBalzani. So long as she played no part in Hugh's life it had beenundisturbed; but directly he recommenced his wooing, he began to feelhimself watched and spied upon, and now this evil thing, carefully andcraftily plotted, had happened to him. Did it not all point to somejealousy with regard to the beautiful Linda? They had contrived that herlover should be helpless to fly to her aid; did not that show that someevil was purposed against the maid herself?

  Quickly and anxiously did he communicate these thoughts to hiscompanions, and as he spoke Jack smote his hand against his brow andcried excitedly,--

  "Now I think of it, I heard somewhat but just now which goes tosubstantiate thy suspicions, Leofric. I was wedged into the crowd, andseeking to press up towards Hugh, when that black-browed fellow whom weall believe to be Roger de Horn came elbowing his way out, and went upto the side of some tall fellow, whose face I did not see in the press,albeit we were close together; and to him he spoke in a hissing sort ofwhisper, every word of which I heard. 'I have the signet-ring,' he said;'now we can get her into our power easily. She will go anywhere at sightof that!'"

  Leofric and the others uttered in low tones exclamations of wrath,whilst Jack continued quickly,--

  "I did not heed the words at the time--I did not think they concernedour friend Hugh; but verily I believe that it was his ring theyplundered, and that they mean to use it for some evil scheme of theirown."

  "Which we must frustrate!" cried Leofric excitedly; "we must to the boatas soon as the day dies, and we must be at Eynsham with the first lightof dawn. They will not appear there before daylight to-morrow. They willnot desire to raise suspicion by appearing at untoward hours. We shallbe before them, and I trust we may circumvent them yet; but we shallhave a pair of wily foes to deal with."

  * * * * *

  Oxford was in a ferment of excitement. It was known all over the placethat Hugh le Barbier had escaped from the Bocardo prison, but hadsurrendered himself to the Constable of the Castle, claiming hisprotection against false imprisonment, and desiring to be brought beforethe new Chancellor to tell his tale and be confronted with those whodared to accuse him of the murder of an unoffending citizen.

  It was also said that the Constable was determined to make the mostsearching inquiry into the matter, in which the Chancellor would aidhim. Both were greatly disturbed by the state of chronic feud that wasgrowing up betwixt citizens and clerks, and were resolved to put downwith a high hand this perpetual rioting. The court was to sit in thelargest building which could be found in all Oxford, and the citizensand clerks were to attend in a mass, and hear what the Chancellor andthe Constable had to say to them. All the ringleaders in the recentriots would receive some sort of trial and punishment, and the case ofHugh le Barbier would be thoroughly investigated.

  There was a feeling of considerable excitement throughout the town, andthe ways to the place of judgment were thronged to suffocation upon theappointed day.

  Of course it was impossible for all the city to throng into onebuilding; but a very large concourse was admitted there, whilst thestreets and open places in the vicinity of the Castle were thronged witheager faces, and the space within the Castle walls was one sea of heads.

  Within the great hall were seats for Chancellor and Constable, and in aplace set apart stood a number of citizens and clerks who had beenspecially called upon to attend. These were stationed somewhat apartfrom the rest of the crowd, and upon the faces of some could be read acertain anxiety and apprehension.

  For the most turbulent spirits within the city had been gatheredtogether and summoned to answer for their conduct. It had been whisperedthat the new Chancellor intended to make a protest against the habit ofcarrying arms which prevailed almost universally at that time amidstpersons of all classes. It was this habit which led to such constantbloody quarrels. Men in the heat of argument would suddenly break intoabuse and invective, and then it was but a short step to blows, which iffrom fists would matter little, but when struck with sharp, shiningblades became quite another matter. Peaceable citizens declared thatthey were forced to carry arms for self-defence amid the hordes ofsavage youths who infested their streets, calling themselves clerks andscholars. But if the more turbulent of these could be denied the use ofarms, then they would willingly consider laying down theirs.

  These and such like things were passing from mouth to mouth whilst theexpectant crowd waited for the judges to appear, and gazed curiouslyupon Hugh le Barbier, who occupied a seat by himself near to the dais ofthe Chancellor and the Constable. His face looked somewhat anxious, andhe kept searching the crowd with his eyes, as though looking for faceswhich he had expected to see, but had missed. It was only upon the pastnight that he had escaped from the Bocardo prison, and speculation wasrife as to how the matter had been managed.

  A stir and a rustle and a surging movement through the crowd showed thatthe judges were coming at last, and every face was turned towards them,and every eye fastened upon them as they took their appointed placesamid a deep silence.

  The aspect of Sir Humphrey was familiar enough to all; but many hadscarcely set eyes as yet upon the new Chancellor, and these fixed theirregards steadfastly upon him, the guilty and rebellious clerks inparticular being full of anxiety to learn what they could of the temperof this new dignitary, in whose hands so much power lay.

  He was attended by the Proctors and a number of the Doctors and Mastersin their robes, and he wore his own state
robes of office. Sir Humphreywas accompanied by some knights and gentlemen of his household, and theface of Amalric de Montfort could be distinguished amongst these,though the young man detached himself from the group round the chairs ofstate and placed himself near to Hugh le Barbier, who greeted him with asmile.

  The Constable spoke first. He addressed himself mainly to the citizens,who were regarded as being under his control. He rebuked them for theirreadiness to fight--for their impatience and irritability with theclerks and scholars, who, when all was said and done, were a source ofprofit to them and of prosperity to their town. Instead of setting thema good example, they fell into all the wild ways of raw lads who mightnot have had opportunity to learn better. He chid them severely forthis, and warned them that they were seriously in danger of the royaldispleasure, and of infringements of their charter, if they continued inthis turbulent manner to disturb the peace of the realm. They had feltthis sort of displeasure many times before. Why could they not learnwisdom and discretion, and strive to put down these disgraceful scenes,instead of taking an eager share in them, and being no better than theyouths to whom they ought to set an example?

  After the Constable had spoken in this key, the new Chancellor arose. Hehad a dignified mien, a tall and commanding figure, and a face which atonce inspired confidence and affection. He could look stern and kindlyat the same time, and his sonorous voice, which penetrated right throughthe hall and into the open space without, was full of fire andearnestness; yet there was withal something so winning in his addressthat all eyes were riveted upon the speaker, and men held their breathto catch his every word.

  He first spoke of the pleasure he had in this return to a city he hadalways loved, and of his promotion to a position in which he hoped hewould prove of service to it. He spoke of changes for the better whichhe had noted, but quickly passed on to his deep regret at findingmatters in nowise better betwixt the citizens and scholars, and betwixtthe clerks themselves. He had been shocked and grieved to note theviolence with which quarrels raged and blows were struck upon thesmallest provocation, or upon no provocation at all. That was a thingwhich must and should be stopped. Valuable lives must not be sacrificed,nor lifelong injury inflicted, just to satisfy the wanton passions ofthe moment. Two men had been killed, and quite a dozen more injured, instreet brawls during the brief space in which he had resided amongstthem. Against such a state of things as this strong measures must betaken, and any delinquent convicted of deliberate crime must be punishedwith impartial justice, be he citizen or be he clerk. Their goodConstable was of one mind with himself on that point.

  Of the two men who had lost their lives, one had been killed in openfight in the streets, rather by accident of the riot than by deliberateintention. With that matter he would presently deal, as no person inparticular was charged with the crime. But the other was altogetherdifferent. A peaceable citizen had been stabbed to the heart by an actof deliberate murderous intent. Hugh le Barbier had been found besidethe murdered man, and had been charged with the deed, and evenimprisoned somewhat informally in the Bocardo. But he was not only agentleman and bachelor of good repute in the University; he alsosolemnly declared that he had seen the blow struck by another hand, andhe had proved his fearlessness of inquiry in having refused to fly fromthe city (on being released in a romantic fashion by some maiden, whosename he asked not to divulge), and in having placed himself underprotection of the Constable, demanding that he might be heard in his owndefence, and that the whole matter might be diligently investigated.This inquiry was forthwith to be made, and any person who had anyknowledge of the matter was to stand forth and bear witness.

  A slight commotion now stirred through the crowd, and certain personspressed forward to give their evidence. Several bore witness to havingfound Hugh standing beside the murdered citizen, but none would swear tohaving seen him strike the blow, though several declared that there wasa man who had seen the act, though he had not been seen in Oxford since.His name was Robert Holker, and little was known about him. He attendedlectures, but had put himself under no tutor. He was known to be a goodfighter, and had been mixed up in every riot in the place since hisarrival there. Somebody testified to the fact that he had boastedhimself able to hold his own against twenty adversaries.

  The face of the Chancellor darkened slightly as this fact was elicitedby questions from the Constable. Then a slight sensation was caused inthe hall by the sudden stepping forward of Lord Amalric de Montfort, whoasked leave to bear a certain testimony about this very man. He declaredthat he was very decidedly of opinion that this man's name was notRobert Holker, but Roger de Horn, a famous braggart and bully in Oxfordduring past years, who had been forced to fly the place on account of amurderous outrage upon the person of Hugh le Barbier; and he believedthat his evidence against him now was all part and parcel of some freshplot against the life and liberty of a good man and a faithful comrade.

  Amalric as he spoke laid his hand affectionately upon the shoulder ofHugh, and immediately public opinion began to turn in favour of thesupposed criminal.

  A buzz of talk instantly arose. The former episode, long sinceforgotten, of the Magician's Tower and Hugh's imprisonment there byRoger de Horn and Tito Balzani was at once on all lips. The Chancellordesired to learn some details of that occurrence, and Hugh stood up andtold the tale, carrying the sympathy of all hearts with him. When hewent on to speak of the occurrence of two days back, and of the stealthycowled figure in the doorway who had struck the murderous blow, hiswords, instead of being heard with scorn and disbelief, carried theconvictions of all, and a voice in the crowd called out,--

  "If thine accuser is indeed Roger de Horn, then mark my word, theaccomplice-monk is Tito Balzani!"

  A strange, strangled cry went up from the crowd. Sudden conviction ofthe truth of these words seemed to come home to many hearts. Voices wereheard declaring that Tito had been seen in the streets of late--or onesingularly like him. Others declared that they had certainly seen Rogerde Horn, only they had not remembered whose the familiar face was underits beard and bronze. Excitement rose high; there was a call for thesetwo men. Constable and Chancellor alike desired that if in the city theyshould be brought before them, and there was hurrying to and fro of manypersons.

  Then suddenly and unexpectedly a cry arose,--

  "They come, they come! they are being brought bound and fettered beforethe Court. That is Tito Balzani in the habit of the monk, and there isRoger's sullen face glowering upon all! Who are these that be bringingthem in? Leofric the bachelor, and honest Jack Dugdale, together withHal Seaton, our good citizen's son, and his future brother-in-law,Gilbert Barbeck. Now this is a marvellous strange hap; and there beothers of the company too. Who are they? and whence come they? Marry,but it is a happy chance that brings them here to-day!"

  The crowd, uttering these and many like words, gave way right and leftbefore the group of persons who had solicited the right of entrance tothe Chancellor's presence, as they had a matter to lay before him thatbrooked no delay.

  The leader of the band was a fine-looking old countryman, and justbehind him walked a buxom dame, probably his wife, who led by the hand amaiden with veiled face, whose form could not be distinguished throughthe folds of the habit she wore. Behind these, again, walked the twobound prisoners, whose faces expressed the extreme of terror. One of thepair was guarded by Leofric and Jack, the other by Hal and Gilbert. Asthis strange procession made its way into the hall the crowd set up agreat cheering, and Hugh le Barbier gave a violent start and fixed hiseyes eagerly upon the veiled figure of the girl. For although he hadspoken nothing of this matter, being unwilling to speak Linda's name inthe audience of the Court, he had been suffering a terrible anxiety allthis while on her account, wondering what had befallen her, and if,indeed, some evil plot menaced her. Amalric had vowed to ride across toEynsham and make inquiries there directly the Court rose, but he knewthat it was of the first importance for him to stand forth as Hugh'sfriend and champion here; for as a son of the
great Earl his popularityin Oxford was immense, and the Chancellor himself had a great friendshipand reverence for De Montfort.

  Chancellor and Constable alike looked with surprise upon the group nowstanding before them. The weather-beaten countryman had bared his head,and having made a clumsy reverence, he began to speak in short, abruptsentences, as though unaccustomed to the task, yet stirred by unwontedindignation and stress of feeling to make the effort.

  "My noble lords and masters," he said, "I have come hither to-day,hearing of the court to sit in judgment on the misdeeds of certainpersons in this town, to bring before your worshipful notice the tale Ihave to tell. I am a man of Eynsham. I carry water for the monks, andkeep the gate. My wife dwells with me hard by; and we have a nieceentrusted to our care. This maid is virtuous and beauteous. She is thelight of our eyes. In her youth, when little more than a child, she wasloved by and she loved a student of this city called Hugh le Barbier. Isee him standing yonder. They were separated by the machinations of evilmen, and the maid went nigh to lose her life. We cared for her, and shegrew sound again. A short while since her lover came back. He wooed heropenly before our eyes. We loved him, and the maid loved him, and theyplighted their troth anew. Some happy months fled by. Nothing disturbedher mind save a fancy, once whispered to my wife, that one of the monkswas ever watching her. We chid her for this, knowing the monks to begodly men, and she spoke of the fancy no more. Yester morn there came inhaste to us these four youths you see here, all of whom have been knownto us from coming sometimes to Eynsham with Hugh le Barbier. They toldus that a plot was on foot against him, and they feared against the maidlikewise. They told us that they believed some men would come ere theday was over, and seek by a well-contrived plan to get possession of themaid, by showing the signet-ring of her lover. Not to make my tale toolong, I will only tell what, with much debate, we decided on. Theseyouths I concealed in the house, taking their boat well out of sight.The maiden kept close to the side of her aunt; and things went on asusual in the house.

  "Shortly after noon come yon two miscreants, the one wearing the cowland habit of the monk, even as you see him. They bring with them apitiful tale. The maiden's lover is ill. He desires to be soothed bysight of her. He sends his ring by a faithful messenger and a holyfather confessor, who will bring her to him. My wife appears tohesitate, and asks if she may not accompany her niece. Plainly they areprepared for this, and reply readily that she may do so. I know wellwhat is meant by that complacency. They would wait until they hadreached some place where the river runs smooth and swift, and then theywould wind her clothes about her and throw her into the depths, andnever a sign would be seen again of my good wife Bridget Marlow!"

  A groan went round the crowd; the Chancellor's face grew stern, those ofthe criminals were blanched with terror. The man went rapidly on withhis story.

  "We had planned what to do. We gave them patient hearing. We showed nosign of distrust, and the maid and her aunt went to their room as thoughto prepare for the journey. I set food and wine before our guests, andthey refreshed themselves, talking in low voices between themselves thewhile. Methought the man in the habit was strangely little like a monk;and, moreover, I saw in his girdle, from time to time, the glint as ofsome long, sharp weapon, such as certes no monk ever carries. Nor have Iever seen monk eat and drink as yon fellow did, albeit the ungodly arefond of jibing at them as gluttonous men and wine-bibbers.

  "After they had refreshed themselves they desired to be going. They hadcome by boat, and would return the same way. I asked the monk if hewould not like to visit his brethren of the abbey; but he replied ratheruneasily that he had not the time to do so to-day. He was anxious aboveall things to return to the bedside of the sick man, and bring back withhim the medicine which he knew would be the best cure--meaning thepresence of the maid.

  "Whereupon a great wrath seized upon me, and I suddenly rushed at himand pulled back his cowl, and then, seeing well his dark face anduntonsured head--which ye can see well for yourselves--I cried out,'Thou art no more monk than I. Thou art Tito Balzani, my sister'sstepson, a dog of an Italian, who has been hooted out of Oxford beforenow!' Well, in a moment he had whipped out a long stiletto--I have ithere to show you--and was at my throat like a tiger. But I had given thesignal already, and yon four doughty lads were at my side in an instant.Even then, albeit we were five to two, we had no small trouble withthem: for we did not desire their hurt, but only to take them prisoners;whereas they would have done to death the whole of us to gain theirliberty, had we not been too quick for them. But at last we overcameand bound them, and they have been bound ever since. I bring them herebefore your worshipful presences, that ye may do with them even as yelist."

  And here the narrative of honest Marlow came to a sudden end. Hetendered to the Constable the long, sharp stiletto he had wrested fromTito, and retired to the background.