The Legend of Ulenspiegel, Volume 2 (of 2)

by Charles de Coster

  "Now," said the Admiral, addressing himself first of all toUlenspiegel, "the Prince is minded to recognize thy good devoirsand trusty services, and names thee as captain of the ship LaBriele. Herewith I hand thee the commission engrossed upon parchment."

  "All thanks to you, Messire Admiral," replied Ulenspiegel: "I shallbe captain with all my little power, and thus captaining I have greathope, if God help me, to uncaptain Spain from the lands of Flandersand Holland: I mean from the Zuid and the Noord-Neerlande."

  "That is well," said the admiral. "And now," he added, speaking tothem all, "I will tell you that the folk of Catholic Amsterdam aregoing to besiege Enckhuyse. They have not yet come out from the Ycanal; let us cruise about in front that they may stay inside thereand fall on each and all of their ships that may show their tyrannicalcarcases in the Zuyderzee."

  They made answer:

  "We will knock holes in them. Long live the Beggar!"

  Ulenspiegel, returned to his ship, called his soldiers and his sailorstogether on the deck, and told them what the admiral had decided.

  They replied:

  "We have wings, the which are our sails; skates, which are the keels ofour ships; and giant hands, which are the grapples for boarding. Longlive the Beggar!"

  The fleet set forth and cruised in front of Amsterdam a sea leagueaway, in such a sort that none could enter or come out againsttheir will.

  On the fifth day the rain ceased; the wind blew sharper in the clearsky; the Amsterdam folk made no stir.

  Suddenly Ulenspiegel saw Lamme come up on deck, driving before himwith great blows of his wooden ladle the ship's truxman, a young manskilful in the French and Flemish tongues, but more skilful still inthe science of the teeth.

  "Good-for-naught," said Lamme, beating him, "didst thou deem thoucouldst scatheless eat my fricassees before their due time? Go up tothe masthead and see if aught budges on the ships of Amsterdam. Doingthis thou wilt do well."

  But the truxman answered:

  "What will you give me?"

  "Dost thou think," said Lamme, "to be paid without doing thework? Thieves' spawn, if thou dost not climb, I shall have theeflogged. And thy French shall not save thee."

  "'Tis a beauteous tongue," said the truxman, "a tongue for loveand war."

  And he climbed the mast.

  "Well! lazybones?" asked Lamme.

  The truxman answered:

  "I see naught in the town nor on the ships." And descending:

  "Now pay me," said he.

  "Keep what thou hast stolen," replied Lamme; "but such gains are noprofit; thou wilt doubtless vomit it up."

  The truxman, climbing again to the masthead, cried out suddenly:

  "Lamme! Lamme! there is a thief going into the galley."

  "I have the key in my pouch," rejoined Lamme.

  Ulenspiegel then, taking Lamme apart, said to him:

  "My son, this great tranquillity of Amsterdam affrights me. They havesome hidden project."

  "I thought of that," said Lamme. "The water is freezing in the jugs inthe cupboard; the fowl are like wood; hoar frost whitens the sausages;the butter is a stone, the oil is all white, the salt is dry as sandin the sun."

  "'Tis a frost at hand," said Ulenspiegel. "They will come in greatnumbers to attack us with artillery."

  Going on board the admiral's ship, he told his fear to the admiral,who answered him:

  "The wind blows from England: there will be snow, but it will notfreeze: go back to your ship."

  And Ulenspiegel went away.

  That night heavy snow fell; but soon, the wind blowing out of Norway,the sea froze and was like a floor. The admiral beheld the sight.

  Then fearing lest the Amsterdam folk might come over the ice to burnthe ships, he bade the soldiers make ready their skates, in case theymight have to fight around and away from the ships, and the gunnersof the iron guns and the brass to pile up heaps of cannon-balls bythe gun carriages, to load the pieces, and to keep the portfiresalways well lighted.

  But the Amsterdam folk never came.

  And so it was for seven days.

  Towards evening on the eighth day Ulenspiegel gave orders that a goodfeast should be served to the sailors and men at arms, to make thema cuirass against the sharp wind that was blowing.

  But Lamme said:

  "There is nothing at all left now but biscuit and small beer."

  "Long live the Beggar!" said they. "'Twill be Lenten revelry untilthe hour of battle."

  "Which will not strike soon," said Lamme. "The Amsterdammers willcome to burn us our ships, but not on this night. First they mustneeds assemble themselves together around fires, and there drinkmany a measure of wine mulled with Madeira sugar--may God give usthereof--then having talked till midnight with patience, logic, andfull stoups, they will decide that there are grounds for coming to adecision to-morrow as to whether they shall attack or not attack nextweek. To-morrow, again drinking wine mulled with Madeira sugar--mayGod give you thereof--they will decide anew with calm, patience,and full stoups, that they must assemble together another day, tothe end that they may know if the ice can or cannot bear a great bandof men. And they will have it proved and essayed by men of learning,who will lay down their conclusions upon parchment. Having receivedwhich, they will know that the ice is half an ell in thickness,and that it is solid enough to bear some hundreds of men with fieldguns and artillery. Then assembling themselves together once moreto deliberate with calm, patience, and many stoups of mulled wine,they will debate whether, by reason of the treasure seized by usfrom the men of Lisbon, it is more suitable to assault or to burnour ships. And being thus perplexed, but temporizers, they willnone the less decide that they must capture and not burn our ships,notwithstanding the great wrong and hurt they would do us by that."

  "You say well," replied Ulenspiegel; "but see you not those fireskindle up within the town, and folk bearing lanterns running busilyabout there?"

  "'Tis because they are cold," said Lamme.

  And he added, sighing:

  "Everything is eaten. No more beef, pork, nor poultry; no more wine,alas! nor good dobbel-bier, nothing but biscuit and small beer. Letwho loves me follow me!"

  "Whither goest thou?" said Ulenspiegel. "No man may go from the ship."

  "My son," said Lamme, "thou art captain and master as now. I willnever go from the ship if thou dost forbid it. Yet deign to considerthat we ate the last of our sausage on the day before yesterday:and that in this stern weather the fire of the kitchen is the sun ofgood companions. Who would not fain smell here the odour of sauces;sniff up the fragrant bouquet of the divine drink made of thosejoyous blossoms that are gaiety, laughter, and good will to everyman? And so, captain and trusty friend, I dare say this: I devourmy very soul, since I eat naught, I who, though loving but repose,never slaying by my will, save it were a tender goose, a fat chicken,a succulent turkey, follow thee amid fatigue and battles. See fromhere the lights in that rich farm well furnished of big and littlecattle. Knowest thou who it is that dwelleth there? It is the boatmanof Frisia, that betrayed Messire Dandelot and furthermore brought toEnckhuyse, while it was still in D'Alba's hand, eighteen poor lordsour friends, the which, of his doing, were beheaded on the HorseMarket at Brussels. This traitor, who hath to name Slosse, got fromthe duke two thousand florins for his treachery. With the price ofthat blood, a very Judas, he purchased the farm thou seest there,and his great cattle and the fields around about, which bearing fruitand increasing, I mean land and herds, make him rich as now."

  Ulenspiegel replied:

  "The ashes beat upon my heart. Thou makest the hour of God to strike."

  "And," said Lamme, "the hour of food in like wise. Give me twenty lads,valiant soldiers and sailors; I will go and seek out the traitor."

  "I will be their leader," said Ulenspiegel. "Who loves justicelet him follow me. Not all of you, dear friends and trusty; theremust be twenty only, else who would keep the ship? Draw lots by thedice. Ye are twenty, come. The dice speak well. P
ut your skates onyour feet and glide towards the star of Venus burning bright abovethe treachour's farm.

  "Guiding yourselves by the clear beam, come, ye twenty, skating andsliding, axe on shoulder.

  "The wind whistles and drives white whirls of snow before it on theice. Come, brave men!

  "Ye sing not, nor speak; ye go straight on, in silence, towards thestar; your skates make the ice complain.

  "He that falls picks himself up at once. We touch the shore; nohuman shape on the white snow, not a bird in the icy air. Take offthe skates from your feet.

  "Here we are on land; here are the meadows; put on your skatesagain. We are round about the farm, holding our breath."

  Ulenspiegel knocks on the door; dogs bark. He knocks again, a windowopens and the baes says, sticking out his head:

  "Who art thou?"

  He sees but Ulenspiegel only: the others are concealed behind the keet,which is the washhouse.

  Ulenspiegel makes answer:

  "Messire de Boussu bids thee betake thee to him at Amsterdam uponthe instant."

  "Where is thy safe-conduct?" said the man, coming down and openingthe door to him.

  "Here," replied Ulenspiegel, showing him the twenty Beggars who hurlthemselves behind him into the opening.

  Ulenspiegel then says to him:

  "Thou art Slosse, the traitor boatman that brought into an ambuscadeMessires Dandelot, de Battenberg, and other lords. Where is the priceof their blood?"

  The farmer replies, trembling:

  "Ye are the Beggars; grant me a pardon; I knew not what I did. I haveno money here within; I will give all I have."

  Lamme said:

  "It is black dark; give us candles of tallow or of wax."

  The baes replies:

  "The tallow candles are hanging there."

  A candle being lit, said one of the Beggars, in the hearthplace:

  "It is cold; let us kindle a fire. Here are proper faggots."

  And he pointed out upon a shelf flower pots in which withered anddried plants might be seen.

  He took one by the stalk and shaking it with the pot, the pot fell,scattering over the ground ducats, florins, and reals.

  "There is the treasure," said he, pointing to the other flower pots.

  In very deed, having emptied them, they found ten thousand florins.

  Seeing which, the baes cried out and wept.

  The farm servants, both men and maids, came to the cries, in shirtsand smocks. The men wishing to avenge their master, were bound. Soonthe shamefaced women, and especially the younger, hid behind the men.

  Then Lamme went forward and said:

  "Traitor farmer, where are the keys of the cellar, the stables,the cowshed, and the sheep-pens?"

  "Infamous pillagers," said the baes, "ye shall be hanged until yeare dead."

  Ulenspiegel replied:

  "It is the hour of God; give up the keys!"

  "God will avenge me," said the baes, handing them over to him.

  Having emptied the farm, the Beggars departed skating towards theships, those light dwelling places of freedom.

  "Master cook am I," said Lamme, guiding them; "Master cook am I. Pushalong the gallant sledges laden with wines and beer; drive on beforeyou, by their horns, or by anything, horses, oxen, swine, sheep, andflocks singing their native songs. The pigeons coo in the baskets;the capons, stuffed with crumb, are astonied in their wooden cageswherein they cannot budge. I am master cook. The ice cries out beneaththe steel of the skates. We are at the ships. To-morrow there will bekitchen music. Let down the pulleys; put girths on the horses, cows,and oxen. 'Tis a noble sight to see them thus pendent by their bellies;to-morrow we shall be hanging by the tongue to fat fricassees. Thecrane hoists them up into the ship. These be carbonadoes. Throw methem pell mell into the hold, hens, geese, ducks, capons. Who willwring their necks? The master cook. The door is locked, I have the keyin my satchel. Praised be God in the kitchen! Long live the Beggar!"

  Then Ulenspiegel went on board the admiral's ship taking with himDierick Slosse and the other prisoners, moaning and weeping for terrorof the rope.

  Messire Worst came at the noise: perceiving Ulenspiegel--his companionslit up by the red glare of the torches:

  "What would you of us?" said he.

  Ulenspiegel replied:

  "This night we took, in his farm, the traitor Dierick Slosse, thatbrought the eighteen into an ambuscade. This is the man. The othersare innocent menservants and maidservants. Then handing him a satchel:

  "These florins," said he, "were flourishing in flower pots in thetraitor's house: there are ten thousand."

  Messire Worst said to them:

  "Ye did ill to leave your ship; but because of your good successpardon shall be granted to you. Welcome be the prisoners and thesatchel of florins, and ye, gallant men, to whom I assign, afterthe laws and customs of the sea, a third of the prize: the secondwill be for the fleet, and another third for Monseigneur d'Orange;string me up the traitor incontinent."

  The Beggars having obeyed, they opened afterward a hole in the iceand threw the body of Dierick Slosse into it.

  Messire Worst then said:

  "Has grass sprung up around the ships that I hear hens cackling,sheep bleating, cows and oxen lowing?"

  "These are the prisoners of our teeth," answered Ulenspiegel;"they will pay ransom of fricassees. Messire Admiral shall havethe choicest."

  "As for these folk, the knaves and the maidservants, among whom aresprightly and pretty women, I will fetch them back aboard my ship."

  Having done so, he addressed them as follows:

  "Goodfellows and goodwives, ye are here upon the best ship in theworld. Here we pass our time in jollity, feast, and revel withoutend. If it please you to depart herefrom, pay ransom; if it please youto stay here, ye shall live like us, toiling hard and eating well. Asfor these dear women, I accord them, with the admiral's sanction,full freedom of their persons, giving them to know that it is all oneto me whether they are fain to keep to their lovers that came uponthe ship with them or to make their choice of some stout Beggar herepresent in order to bear him conjugal company."

  But the fair women were all faithful to their lovers, save only one,who, smiling and looking upon Lamme, asked him if he would have her.

  "All thanks, dear one," said he, "but I am otherwise bound."

  "He is married, poor fellow," said the Beggars, seeing the girl vexed.

  But she, turning her back on Lamme, chose another who like him hada good round belly and a good round face.

  That day and the following days there were great revels and feastingson board with wines, fowl, and meats. And Ulenspiegel said:

  "Long live the Beggar! Blow, sharp wintry winds, we will warm the airwith our hot breath. Our heart is afire for freedom of conscience;our stomachs on fire for the enemy's meats. Drink we wine, the milkof men. Long live the Beggar!"

  Nele, too, drank from a great golden tankard, and ruddy in the breathof the wind, played the shrill fife. And for all the cold, the Beggarsate and drank rejoicing on the deck.

  XVIII

  Suddenly the whole fleet perceived upon the bank a black troop amongwhich torches shone and the gleaming of arms; then the torches wereput out, and a great darkness reigned.

  The admiral's orders being sent round, the alarm was given on theships, and all fires were quenched; sailors and soldiers lay flat onthe decks, armed with axes. The gallant gunners, linstock in hand,watched by the guns loaded with bags of bullets and with chainshot. As soon as the admiral and the captains should call out "Ahundred paces!"--which denoted the enemy's distance, they were tofire from the bows, the poop, or the broadside, according to theirposition in the ice.

  And Messire Worst's voice was heard saying:

  "Death to whoever speaks aloud!"

  And the captains said after him:

  "Death to whoever speaks aloud!"

  The night was moonless, filled with stars.

  "Dost thou hear?" said Ulenspiegel
to Lamme, in a voice like awhispering ghost. "Hearest thou the voices of the Amsterdammers, andthe steel of their skates ringing over the ice? They come swiftly. Wecan hear them speak. They are saying 'The lazy Beggars are asleep. Oursis the Lisbon treasure!' They are lighting torches. Seest thou theirladders for the assault, their ugly faces, and the long line of theirband deployed for the attack? There are a thousand of them, and more."

  "A hundred paces!" cried Messire Worst.

  "A hundred paces!" cried the captains all.

  And there was a great noise like thunder, and lamentable outcriesupon the ice.

  "Eighty guns are thundering all together!" said Ulenspiegel. "Theyare fleeing! Seest thou the torches vanishing away?"

  "Pursue them!" said Admiral Worst.

  "Pursue them!" said the captains.

  But the pursuit did not last long, the fugitives having a start ofa hundred paces, and the legs of frightened hares.

  And on the men that were crying out and dying on the ice were foundgold, jewels, and ropes for the Beggars.

  And after this victory the Beggars said one to another: "Als Godmet ons is, wie tegen ons zal zijn. If God is with us, who shall beagainst us? Long live the Beggar!"

  Now on the morning of the third day thereafter Messire Worst wasuneasy, and looked for a fresh attack. Lamme leaped upon the deckand said to Ulenspiegel: