by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XIII.
HAROLD, THE KING.
The day before the great Witenagemot was to assemble, Wulf, as he came outfrom the house where Harold had taken up his abode, was approached by aman, who by his attire appeared to be a retainer of a thane; his faceseemed familiar to him, as he placed a letter in his hand. Wulf was nowvery much in the confidence of Harold. It was a relief to the earl in themidst of his trials and heavy responsibilities to open his mind freely toone of whose faith and loyalty he was well assured, and he therefore wasfar more communicative to the young thane than to the older councillors bywhom he was surrounded. Wulf opened the letter. It contained only thewords: "I am here; the bearer of this will lead you to me. Edith."
Looking more closely at the man he recognized him at once as one of theservitors at Hampton, though his dress bore no signs of any cognizance.Greatly surprised to hear of Edith's presence in Oxford unknown to Harold,he at once followed the servant, who conducted him to a house on theoutskirts of the town. Wulf was ushered into a room, and the servant thenleft him. A moment later Edith entered.
"My message must have surprised you, Wulf," she said, as he knelt on oneknee to kiss the hand she held out to him.
"It did indeed, lady, for it was but yesterday that the earl received aletter from you written at Hampton. He said to me as he opened it, 'Would Iwere in peace at Hampton, free from all these troubles and intrigues.'"
"I have come down in a horse-litter," she said, "and save the two retainerswho accompanied me none knew of my intentions. I know, Wulf, that you havethe confidence of the earl and that you love him and would do your best forhim."
"I would lay down my life for him, lady. Even did I not love and honour himas I do, I would die for him, for he is the hope of England, and he alonecan guide the country through its troubles, both from within and without.The life of a single man is as nought in the scale."
"Nor the happiness of a single woman," she added. "Now, Wulf, I want toknow from you exactly how matters stand here. My lord, when he writes to mealways does so cheerfully, ever making the best of things; but it is mostimportant that I should know his real mind. It is for that that I havetravelled here. This Witenagemot that assembles to-morrow--what will comeof it?"
"The earl thinks it will doubtless pass the resolution reconciling theNorth and South, and declaring that there shall be oblivion for the past,and that all things shall go back to their former footing save as to thechange of earls."
"It is easy to vote that," she said quietly; "but will it be held to? Itdepends not upon Northumbrians nor Saxons, but upon Edwin and Morcar. Theyhave made a great step forward towards their end; they have united undertheir government the northern half of England, and have wrested Northumbriafrom Godwin's family. After making this great step, will they rest andabstain from taking the next? Northumbria and Mercia united are as strongas Wessex and East Anglia. Will they be content to remain under a WestSaxon king? Above all, will they submit to the rule of one of Godwin'ssons? I feel sure that they will not. What thinks the earl?"
"He thinks as you do, lady, although he considers that for the time thedanger is averted. He himself said to me yesterday, 'If these Mercian earlsare ready to defy the head of the royal line of England, think you thatthey will ever recognize the sway of a member of my father's house?'"
"And what said you, Wulf?"
"I said that I did not doubt the ill-will of the Mercian earls, but that Idoubted whether Mercia would follow them if they strove to break up thekingdom. 'Mercia is following them now,' he said; 'and has with Northumbriastood in arms for some weeks past. There has ever been jealousy of thesupremacy of the West Saxons since the days when the kingdom was united inone. These brothers will intrigue as their father did before them. Theywill bring down the Welsh from their hills to aid them, for though thesepeople will not for generations try their strength alone against us, theywould gladly take advantage of it should such an opportunity for revengeoccur. Even now, when the blood is scarce dry on their hearthstones, thereis a large force of them under Edwin's banner.'"
"It is a grievous look-out for England," Edith said. "It would seem thatnothing can bring about peace and unity save the end of this terrible feudbetween the families of Godwin and Leofric."
"That would indeed be a blessing for the country," Wulf agreed; "but of allthings that seems to me most hopeless."
"They must be reconciled!" Edith said, rising from her seat. "What is awoman's love or a woman's life that they should stand in the way of thepeace of England? See you not, Wulf, there is but one way in which the feudcan be healed? Were it not for me Harold could marry the sister of theseearls, and if she were Queen of England the feud would be at an end. Adaughter of the house of Leofric, and a son of the house of Godwin, wouldcommand the support of Mercia and Wessex alike, and as brothers of thequeen, Edwin and Morcar might well be content to be friends with herhusband and his brothers. I only stand in the way of this. I have alreadyurged this upon Harold, but he will not hear of it. Until now the Mercianbrothers might be a trouble, but they were not strong enough to be a dangerto the kingdom. Now that they hold half of it in their hands this marriagehas become a necessity. I must stand aside. What is my happiness and mylife that I should be an obstacle alike to my lord's glory and the peace ofEngland? Go to Harold; tell him that I am here, and pray that he will cometo me. Give your message to him briefly; say naught of what I have said toyou, though his heart will tell him at once what has brought me here."
Silent, and confounded by the immensity of the sacrifice she proposed, forhe knew how deep and tender was her love for Harold, Wulf knelt on bothknees and reverently placed her hand to his lips, and then without a wordleft the house, half blinded with tears, signing to the servant, who waswaiting without, to follow him. When he reached Harold's house he foundthat the earl was with his brother Gurth and several of his councillors. Hedid not hesitate, however, but entering the room, said, "My Lord Harold, Ipray to have speech of you for a minute upon an affair of urgentimportance."
Somewhat surprised the earl followed him out.
"What is it, Wulf?" he asked as they entered Harold's private closet. "Youlook pale and strange, lad."
"I have a message to give you, my lord. The Lady Edith is here, and praysthat you will go to her at once."
The earl started as if struck with a blow. "Edith here!" he exclaimed, andthen with a troubled face he took several short turns up and down the room.
"Where is she?" he said at last in a low voice.
"Her servant is without, my lord, and will conduct you to her."
"Tell Gurth and the others I am called away for an hour on urgentbusiness," he said. "Say nothing of Edith being here." Then he went out.
The man who was waiting doffed his hat, and at once led the way to thehouse where Edith was staying. She moved swiftly towards him as he enteredthe room and fell on his neck. Not a word was spoken for a minute or two,then he said:
"Why have you come, Edith? But I need not ask, I know. I will not have it,I will not have it! I have told you so before. Why is our happiness to besacrificed? I have given my work and my life to England, but I will notgive my happiness too, nor will I sacrifice yours."
"You would not be worthy of the trust England reposes in you, Harold," shesaid quietly, "were you not ready to give all. As to my happiness, it is atan end, for I should deem myself as a guilty wretch, as the cause ofcountless woes to Englishmen, did I remain as I am. I have been happy,dear, most happy, many long years. To my last day it will be a joy and apride, that nothing can take away, that I have been loved by the greatestof Englishmen, and my sacrifice will seem light to me under the feelingthat it has purchased the happiness of England."
"But is my happiness to go for nothing?" Harold exclaimed passionately.
"You too, Harold, will have the knowledge that you have sacrificedyourself, that as you have often risked your life, so have you forEngland's sake given up your love. I have seen that it must be so foryears. As Earl o
f Wessex I might always have stood by your side, but assoon as I saw that the people of England looked to you as their futuremonarch, I knew that I could not share your throne. A king's heart is nothis own, as is that of a private man. As he must lead his people in battle,and if needs be give his life for them, so must he give his hand where itwill most advantage them."
"I cannot do it," Harold said. "I will not sacrifice you even for England.I will remain Earl of Wessex, and Edwin may reign as king if he sochooses."
"That cannot be, Harold. If the people of England call you to the throne,it is your duty to accept the summons. You know that none other could guidethem as you can, for already for years you have been their ruler. They loveyou, they trust in you, and it were a shame indeed if the love we bear eachother should stand in the way of what is above all things needful for thegood of England. You know well enough that when the national council meetsto choose a king the South will declare for you. But if Edwin and Morcarinfluence Mercia and the North to declare for another, what remains but abreaking up of the kingdom, with perhaps a great war?"
"I cannot do it, and I will not," Harold said, stopping in his walk andstanding before her. "My life, my work, all save you I will give up forEngland--but you I will not."
Edith turned even paler than before. "You will not give me up, Harold, butyou cannot hold me. I can bear my life in seclusion and retirement, and caneven be happy in the thought of our past love, of your greatness, and inthe peace of England, which, I should have the consolation of knowing, wasdue to the sacrifice that we had both made, but I could not live happy,even with your love and your companionship, knowing that I have broughtwoes upon England. Nor will I live so. Death will break the knot if youwill not do so, and I could die with a smile on my lips, knowing that I wasdying for your good and England's. If you will not break the bond deathshall do so, and ere to-morrow's sun rises, either by your sacrifice or bymy own hand, you will be free. Marry for the good of England. Here is thering by which you pledged your troth to me," and she took it from herfinger and dropped it in the fire that blazed on the hearth. "There is theend of it, but not the end of our love. I shall think of you, and pray foryou always, Harold. Oh, my dear lord and master, do not make it too hardfor me!" and she threw herself on his neck in a passion of tears. For twoor three minutes they stood locked in each other's close embrace, then shewithdrew herself from his arms.
"Farewell," she said. "You have left my side many a time for battle, and weparted bravely though we knew we might never meet again. Let us part sonow. We have each our battles to fight, but God will comfort us both, forour sacrifice will have brought peace to England. Farewell, my dear lord,farewell!" She touched his hand lightly and then tottered from the room,falling senseless as soon as she had closed the door behind her.
Harold sank into a chair and covered his face with his hands, while hisbreast heaved with short sobs. So he sat for some time; then he stood up.
"She is stronger and braver than I," he murmured; "but she is right. Onlyby this sacrifice can England be saved, but even so I could not have madeit; but I know her so well that I feel she would carry out her threatwithout hesitation." Then he went out of the house, but instead ofreturning to the town took his way to the lonely path by the river, andthere for hours paced up and down. At last his mind was made up, thesacrifice must be accepted. As she had said, their happiness must not standin the way of that of all England. He walked with a firm step back toOxford, and went straight to the house where Edwin and Morcar had taken uptheir quarters.
"Tell Earl Edwin that Harold would speak with him," he said to the retainerat the door. The man returned in a minute, and led the way to the roomwhere Edwin and his brother were standing awaiting him. They had hadseveral interviews since they arrived at Oxford, and supposed that he hadcome to arrange some detail as to the assembly on the following day.
"Edwin," Harold said abruptly, "methinks that for the good of our countryit would be well that our houses should be united. Why should the sons ofLeofric and Godwin regard each other as rivals? We are earls of the Englishpeople, and we cannot deny that the unfriendly feeling between us hasbrought trouble on the country. Why should there not be an end of this?"
Greatly surprised at this frank address, Edwin and Morcar both hastened tosay that for their part they had no quarrel whatever with any of the houseof Godwin, save with Tostig.
"Tostig will soon be beyond the sea, and will no longer be a source oftrouble. There is, it seems to me, but one way by which we can unite andbind our interests into one. I have come to you to ask for the hand of yoursister Ealdgyth in marriage."
The two earls looked at each other in surprise. The proposition wasaltogether unexpected, but they at once saw its advantages. They knew aswell as others that the choice of the nation at Edward's death was likelyto fall upon Harold, and it would add both to their dignity and securitythat they should be brothers-in-law of the king. Such an alliance would doaway with the danger, that once seated on the throne Harold might becomereconciled with Tostig, and endeavour to replace him in the earldom ofNorthumbria. This danger would be dissipated by the marriage.
"You would perhaps like to consult together before giving an answer,"Harold said courteously.
"By no means," Edwin said warmly. "Such an alliance is, as you say, in allrespects to be desired. Ealdgyth could wish for no nobler husband. Weshould rejoice in obtaining such a spouse for her, and the union wouldassuredly unite our families, do away with the unfriendly feeling of whichyou spoke, and be of vast advantage to the realm in general. We need noword of consultation, but accept your offer, and will with pleasure giveEaldgyth in marriage to you. But is there not an obstacle?"
"The obstacle is at an end," Harold said gravely. "Of her own free will andwish, and in order that there should be peace and union in England, theLady Edith has broken the tie that bound us."
The brothers, seeing that the subject was a painful one, wisely said nomore, but turned the conversation to the meeting on the following day, andassured Harold that they hoped the decision would now be unanimous, andthen after a short time skilfully brought it round again to the subject ofthe marriage. By nightfall the news was known throughout the city, and wasreceived with universal joy. The union seemed to all men a guarantee forpeace in England. The two great rival houses would now be bound by commoninterests, and the feud that had several times been near breaking out intocivil war was extinguished.
The moment he returned to his house Harold called Wulf.
"Wulf, go at once to the Lady Edith. Tell her that though it has taken allthe brightness out of my life, and has made all my future dark, I have doneher bidding, and have sacrificed myself for England. Tell her that I willwrite to her to-night, and send the letter to Hampton, where, I trust, itwill find her."
Wulf at once carried the message. He found Edith sitting with eyes swollenwith weeping, and yet with a calm and composed expression on her face.
"I knew that my lord would do as I prayed him," she said; "he has everthought first of England and then of himself. Tell him that I start in anhour for Hampton, and shall there stay till I get his letter; there I willanswer it. Tell him I thank him from my heart, and that, much as I lovedand honoured him before, I shall to the end of my life love and honour himyet more for having thus sacrificed himself for England. Tell him that youfound me calm and confident that he would grant my prayer, and that withall my heart I wish him happiness."
Her lips quivered and her voice broke, and Wulf hurried away without sayinganother word, for he felt that he himself was at the point of bursting intotears. Harold was anxiously awaiting his return, and after listening to themessage turned abruptly and entered his private closet, with a wave of thehand signifying that Wulf would not be further required.
The next day the Witenagemot met. It was solemnly decreed that all oldscores should be wiped out; that Northern and Southern England were againto be reconciled, as they had been forty-seven years before in an assemblyheld by Canute in Oxford
. It was decreed unanimously that the laws ofCanute should be renewed, and should have force in all parts of thekingdom.
Until this decision was arrived at by the assembly Tostig had remained withthe king, but he now went into exile, and crossed the sea to Flanders,where he had at an earlier period of his life, when Godwin's whole familywere in disgrace, taken refuge. He was accompanied by his wife and manypersonal adherents. He left filled with rage and bitterness, especiallyagainst Harold, who ought, he considered, to have supported him to theutmost, and who should have been ready to put the whole forces of Wessex inthe field to replace him in the earldom.
By the time that Harold returned to London Edith had left his abode atHampton. He would have gladly handed it over to her and maintained it asbefore, but she would not hear of this, though she had accepted from him anincome which would enable her to live comfortably in seclusion.
"I only do this," she said in her letter to him, "because I know that itwould grieve you if I refused; but I entreat you, Harold, make no inquirieswhither I have gone. I do not say that we can never meet again, but yearsmust pass over before we do so. You must not think of me as alwaysgrieving. I have done what I am sure is right, and this will give mecomfort, and enable me to bear your absence; but you know that, even if Inever see you again, you will dwell in my heart as long as I live, its solelord and master. I have so many happy memories to look back upon that Ishould be sorely to blame did I repine, and although I may not share thethrone that will ere long be yours, nor the love which Englishmen will givetheir king, I shall be none the less proud of you, and shall be sure thatthere will be always in your heart a kind thought of me. Forbear, I prayyou earnestly, to cause any search to be made for me. Doubtless you mightdiscover me if you chose, but it would only renew my pain. In time we maybe able to meet calmly and affectionately, as two old friends, but tillthen it were best that we stood altogether apart."
Harold put down the letter with a sigh. But he had little time to lamentover private troubles. The king was ill; he had not rallied from the stateof prostration that succeeded his outburst of passion when he found himselfpowerless to put down the Northern insurrection by force, and to restorehis favourite Tostig to his earldom. Day succeeded day, but he did notrally. In vain the monks most famous for their skill in medicine came fromCanterbury and Glastonbury; in vain prayers were offered up in all thecathedrals, and especially in his own Abbey of Westminster, and soon thereport spread among the people that Edward, the king, was sick unto death,and all felt that it was a misfortune for England.
Edward was in no sense of the word a great king. He was a monk rather thana monarch. The greatest object of his life had been to rear an abbey thatin point of magnificence should rival the stateliest fane in England. Tothat his chief care was devoted, and for many years he was well content toleave the care of government to Harold. But after the monarchs who hadimmediately preceded him, his merits, if of a passive kind, were warmlyappreciated by his subjects. His rule had been free from oppression, and hehad always desired that justice should be done to all. In the earlier partof his reign he was Norman in tongue, in heart, and in education; but inthe latter years of his life he had become far more English in hisleanings, and there can be no doubt that he bitterly regretted the promisehe had rashly given to William of Normandy that he should succeed him.
It was not only because the people respected and even loved the king thatthey were grieved to hear that his days were numbered, but because they sawthat his death would bring trouble on the land. With him the line of theOethelings would become extinct, save for the boy Edgar and his sisters.The boy had been born beyond the sea, and was as much a foreigner as Edwardhimself had been, and Edward's partiality for the Normans in the earlyyears of his reign had so angered the English that Edgar's claims would onthis account alone have been dismissed. Moreover, boys' hands were unfit tohold the sceptre of England in such troubled times. It was to Harold thatall eyes turned. He had for years exercised at least joint authority withEdward; he was the foremost and most noble of Englishmen. He was skilled inwar, and wise in counsel, and the charm of his manner, the strength andstateliness of his figure, and the singular beauty of his face rendered himthe popular idol. And yet men felt that it was a new departure in Englishlife and customs for one who had in his veins no drop of royal blood to bechosen as king. His sister was Edward's wife, he was Edward's friend andcounsellor, but although the men of the South felt that he was in all waysfitted to be king, they saw too that Northumbria would assuredly standaloof, and that the Mercian earls, brothers-in-law as they were to be toHarold, would yet feel jealous that one of their own rank was to be theirsovereign.
The Witan, as the representative of the nation, had alone the right ofchoosing the sovereign; but though they had often passed over those who bybirth stood nearest to the throne, they had never yet chosen one altogetheroutside the royal family. It was a necessary step--for young Edgar was notto be thought of--and yet men felt uneasy, now that the time had come, atso complete a departure from custom.
Rapidly the king grew worse, and prayers were uttered up for him in everychurch in England. The Christmas Witan met at Westminster, but little wasdone. The great minster was consecrated on December 18th, and the absenceof its founder and builder was keenly missed at the ceremony.
The members of the Witan remained in attendance near the palace, hoping forsome guidance from the dying king. He had no power to leave the throne towhom he wished, and yet his words could not but have great weight; but helay almost unconscious, and for two days remained speechless. But on the5th of January, the year being 1066, he suddenly awoke from sleep, in thefull possession of his senses. Harold was standing on one side of his bed,Archbishop Stigand at the other. His wife sat at the foot of the bed,chaffing her husband's feet; Robert Wymarc, his personal attendant, stoodby his head. The king on awakening prayed aloud, that if a vision he hadhad was truly from heaven he might have strength to declare it; if it werebut the offspring of a disordered brain he prayed that he might not be ableto tell it.
Then he sat up in bed, supported by Robert; some of his chosen friends werecalled in, and to them, with a strangely clear voice and with much energy,he told the vision. It was that some monks he had known in his youth hadappeared to him, and told him that God had sent them to tell him that onaccount of the sins of the earls, the bishops, and the men in holy ordersof every rank, God had put a curse upon England, and that within a year anda day of his death fiends should stalk through the whole land, and shouldharry it from one end to another with fire and sword.
The king's words filled his hearers with awe, Stigand alone deeming thestory but the dream of a dying man. Then Edward gave orders as to hisburial. He bade his friends not to grieve for him, but to rejoice in hisapproaching deliverance, and he asked for the prayers of all his people forhis soul. At last those standing round called his mind to the greatsubject which was for the moment first in the heart of every Englishman.Who, when he was gone, they asked, would he wish to wear the royal crown ofEngland? The king stretched out his hand to Harold and said, "To thee,Harold, my brother, I commit my kingdom." Then, after commending his wifeand his Norman favourites to Harold's care and protection, he turned histhoughts from all earthly matters, received the last rites of the church,and soon afterwards passed away tranquilly.
Rapidly the news spread through London that the king was dead. The membersof the Witan were still there, for the assembly had not separated, butknowing that the king was dying had waited for the event. The earls andgreat thanes of the South and West, of East Anglia and Wessex, were allthere together, probably with many from Mercia. There was no time lost. Inthe afternoon they assembled. All knew on whom the choice would fall, forHarold had been for long regarded as the only possible successor to thethrone, and the news that the dying king had, as far as he could, chosenhim as his successor, doubtless went for much in the minds of many who hadhitherto felt that it was a strange and unknown thing to accept as monarchof England one who was no
t a member of the royal house. There was nohesitation, no debate. By acclamation Harold was chosen king of the land,and two great nobles were selected to inform him that the choice of theWitan had fallen upon him.
They bore with them the two symbols of royalty, the crown and the axe, andbade him accept them as being chosen both by the voice of the Witan and bythe king, whom he had so well and faithfully served. There was nohesitation on the part of Harold. He had already counted the cost and takenhis resolution. He knew that he alone could hope to receive the generalsupport of the great earls. Leofric and Gurth were his brothers, the Earlsof Mercia and Northumbria had been mollified by the alliance arranged withtheir sister. The last male of the royal line was a lad of feeblecharacter, and would be unable either to preserve peace at home or to unitethe nation against a foreign invader. The oath he had sworn to William,although obtained partly by force partly by fraud, weighed upon him, but hewas powerless to keep it. Did he decline the crown it would fall upon someother Englishman, and not upon the Norman. The vote of England had chosenhim, and it was clearly his duty to accept. The die had been cast whenEdith had bade him sacrifice her and himself for the good of England, andit was too late to turn back now. Gravely he accepted the dignity offeredhim.
Throughout London first, and then throughout the country, the news that theWitan had unanimously chosen him, and that he had accepted, was receivedwith deep satisfaction. There was no time to be lost. The next day wasEpiphany, the termination of the Christian festival, the last upon whichthe Witan could legally sit, and had the ceremony not taken place then itmust have been delayed until another great feast of the church--anothercalling together of the Witan. All night the preparations for the two greatceremonials were carried on. At daybreak the body of the dead king wasborne to the noble minster, that had been the chief object of his life toraise and beautify, and there before the great altar it was laid to restwith all the solemn pomp of the church. A few hours passed away and thesymbols of mourning were removed. Then the great prelates of the church,the earls and the thanes of England, gathered for the coronation of thesuccessor of the king whom they had just laid in his last resting-place.Eldred the primate of Northumberland performed the rites ofconsecration--for Stigand, primate of England, had been irregularlyappointed, and was therefore deemed unfit for the high function. Beforeinvesting him with the royal robes Eldred, according to custom, demanded ina loud voice of the English people whether they were willing that Haroldshould be crowned their king, and a mighty shout of assent rang through theabbey. Then the earl swore first to preserve peace to the church and allChristian people; secondly, to prevent wrong and robbery to men of everyrank; thirdly, to enforce justice and mercy in all his judgments as hewould that God should have mercy on him. Then after a solemn prayer theprelate poured the oil of consecration upon Harold's head; he was vested inroyal robes, and with symbols appertaining to the priesthood. A sword wasgirded to his side, that he might defend his realm, and smite his enemiesand those of the church of God. Then the crown was placed on his head, thesceptre surmounted with the cross and the rod with the holy dove placed inhis hands, and Harold stood before the people as the king chosen bythemselves, named by his predecessor, and consecrated by the church. Agreat banquet followed the coronation, and then this day memorable in thehistory of England came to its close.
Wulf had been present at the two great events at the abbey and at thebanquet, and knew, better than most of those present, that the gravity onHarold's face was not caused solely by the mighty responsibility that hehad assumed, but by sad thoughts in his heart. Wulf on his return from theabbey had handed to Harold a small roll of parchment that had been slippedinto his hand by a man, who at once disappeared in the crowd after handingit to him, with the words, "For the king". In the interval before thebanquet he handed this to Harold, who had opened and glanced at it, and hadthen abruptly turned away. It contained but the words: "_That God maybless my dear lord and king is the prayer of Edith._"
"Do you know where she is?" Harold asked abruptly, turning upon Wulf.
"No, my lord."
"I have respected her wishes and made no inquiry," the king said. "Othersthink, doubtless, that I am rejoicing at having gained the object of myambition, but as God knows, I would far rather have remained Earl of theWest Saxons with her by my side than rule over England."
"I know it, my lord," Wulf said. "But who beside yourself could rule here?"
"No one," Harold answered; "and it is for England's sake and not my ownthat I have this day accepted the crown. If you can find out where she hasbetaken herself without making public inquiry I charge you to do so, and totell her that on this day I have thought mostly of her. Tell me not whereshe is. What is done cannot be undone, but I would fain that, in the timethat is to come, I may at least know where to send her a message should itbe needful."