CHAPTER XLI.
A SUDDEN DISCOVERY.
IT was evening, and shadows were closing over Acre. But the scene thuspresented was fair to behold. The sky was richly coloured, the settingsun painted the landscape in brilliant hues, the wind sighed among thepalms and lofty sycamores, and the waves of the Mediterranean murmuredagainst the white walls and on the Syrian shore.
Walter Espec sat in the lodgings of Bisset, hard by the palace occupiedby the King of France, and he was alone. Bisset had been summoned toattend the king; Guy Muschamp had gone to visit his kinsman, the Lord ofJoinville; and Walter, left with his own thoughts, was reclining on acouch, and resting his head against a window, with his eyes fixed on thecitizens who passed before him, on their way to breathe the air in thegardens outside the walls, when he was aroused by the tramp of cavalry,and the approach of a body of warriors, whose white mantles over theirarmour, and whole appearance, indicated that they were military monks.Walter's curiosity was aroused, and he shouted to make inquiries of aportly citizen who was passing at the moment, and who, as Walter knew,as a confirmed gossip.
'Good citizen,' said he, 'these are warrior monks, and yet they neitherwear the habit of the Templars nor the Hospitallers. Canst tell me whatknights they be who come along so proudly?'
'In faith can I, sir squire,' answered the citizen; 'and blithely will Ido so. These be the knights of St. Katherine, of Mount Sinai; and theyare brave men in hours of danger; albeit, like other Orders, overmuchgiven to amassing wealth, and more intent on keeping it than keeping thevows of their Order.'
'Thanks, good citizen,' said Walter, laughing heartily, as Crusadersgenerally did when reminded of the faults of the military monks. 'And,to requite your courtesy, I admonish you to speak in a whisper when yousay aught in dispraise of Templars or Hospitallers; for you must be abolder man than I pretend to be, if you fear not to provoke theirenmity.'
'Gramercy for your warning, young squire,' replied the citizen, as,apparently much amused, and chuckling to himself, he proceeded on hisway; while Walter, standing up, watched the warrior monks as they passedthe window.
Now, Walter Espec had of course heard of the monks of St. Katherine, andespecially what a stern front they had presented on the day when theSaracens threatened Acre, and carried off Adeline de Brienne. Moreover,he was naturally somewhat interested in an Order instituted in honour ofthe tutelar saint of his House: but he had never before seen them; andhe looked out with no inconsiderable curiosity as, mounted on choicesteeds, they came on and swept along, with bronzed visages, athleticforms, muscular limbs, and the air of men who believed implicitly intheir own superiority over their compeers, and desired nothing so muchas foes to conquer.
Suddenly Walter started in amazement, and uttered a cry;then remained for a moment silent, and quivered with agitation; thenseized his cap, and, rushing from the house, hastened, with excitementon his countenance and wildness in his manner, after the warriormonk.--p. 262.]
But suddenly Walter started in amazement, and uttered a cry; thenremained for a moment silent, and quivered with agitation; then seizedhis cap, and, rushing from the house, hastened, with excitement on hiscountenance and wildness in his manner, after the warrior monks, notlosing sight of them till they disappeared within the gates of thecastle of St. Katherine, which they possessed in Acre, near the gate ofSt. Anthony. Into this building he demanded to be admitted.
Two hours later, Walter Espec returned to his lodgings, and found GuyMuschamp awaiting his return, and impatient to tell him that everythingwas arranged for embarking for France in the king's ship in company withthe Lord of Joinville. But observing that his friend's countenance worea look of extraordinary elation, he, for the time being, quite forgotthe communication he had intended to make, and eyed him with anexpression of keen curiosity.
'Good Walter,' said he, quickly, and with interest, 'you appear soexcited that I cannot but presume that something wonderful has befallenyou since we parted?'
'In truth, brave Guy, you guess aright,' replied Walter, taking hisfriend's hand. 'Rejoice with me, my brother-in-arms, for I have foundhim who was lost.'
'Found your brother!--found Osbert Espec!' exclaimed Guy, in surprise.
'It is true as that I am a living man,' replied Walter, joyfully. 'Whenhe reached Marseilles with the companions of his pilgrimage, instead,like them, of going back to die of hunger in the forests, or listening,like them, to the temptations of the two rascal merchants by whom theywere ensnared, he embarked on board the "Christopher," which was on thepoint of sailing for Acre; and the skipper, having brought him ashore,carried him to the house of a Northern knight, who had long beenfighting for the Cross. And this noble warrior, being about to return toEngland, placed him under the protection of the Grand Master of theOrder of St. Katherine; and, when he was of a fitting age, the grandmaster, to whom the name of Espec was honourably known, made him takethe vows of the Order. And now, thanks to God and Holy Katherine, he isin safety and honour, and rides bravely as the bravest among hisbrethren, with his white mantle over his chain mail.'
'By St. John of Beverley!' exclaimed Guy, in surprise, 'I much rejoiceto hear that he was so graciously protected by the saints in the hour ofdanger, and that his fortune has been such as is worthy of a Normangentleman.'
'And what is more,' said Walter, proudly, 'it was he who unhorsed thetwo Saracens with his lance without breaking it, and who wounded theirleader on that day when they came hither to demand tribute.'
'A most worthy exploit, as it has been related to me,' replied Guy; 'andone that does credit to his strength and courage. But tell me, goodWalter, how rejoiced he was to see you after so long a separation, andall your suffering on his account.'
A shade of disappointment appeared on Walter Espec's handsomecountenance. After a pause, however, he replied--
'In faith, brave Guy, to be frank with you, I must own that my brother,for whom I had so long mourned, manifested less enthusiasm than Iexpected; and when I talked to him of our castellated house ofHeckspeth, on the Wansbeck, and of the tombs of our ancestors in theAbbey of Newminster, and even of my great namesake, the glory of ourline, I perceived right well that he cared for none of these things. Hisheart and soul are in his Order, its renown and influence; and all hishopes are for the restoration of its glory. And nothing would serve himbut attempting to induce me to take the vows of poverty and celibacy andobedience. But I answered readily, that such vows were not to myliking--that I despise not riches; that I rather love noble demoiselles;and that I am by nature more inclined to command than to obey; in short,that I will neither be a warrior monk nor a monk in minster. And so thegreat bell of the castle of St. Katherine tolled, and we parted; and atdaybreak he mounts to ride to the castle of Kakhow, which the knights ofhis Order hold.
'And now, good Walter,' said Guy, 'having fulfilled your mission, forsuch you deemed it, you will return to England with a light heart.'
But Walter Espec only sighed, as his thoughts reverted to Adeline deBrienne and to the great gulf that seemed to interpose between them.
Boy Crusaders: A Story of the Days of Louis IX. Page 42