Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice

by James Branch Cabell

  11.

  Appearance of the Duke of Logreus

  So Jurgen brushed from the table the chessmen that were set there inreadiness for a game, and he emptied the silver flagons upon theground. His reasons for not meddling with the horn he explained tothe Princess: she shivered, and said that, such being the case, hewas certainly very sensible. Then they mounted, and departed fromthe black and silver pavilion. They came thus without furtheradventure to Gogyrvan Gawr's city of Cameliard.

  Now there was shouting and the bells all rang when the people knewtheir Princess was returned to them: the houses were hung withpainted cloths and banners, and trumpets sounded, as Guenevere andJurgen came to the King in his Hall of Judgment. And this Gogyrvan,that was King of Glathion and Lord of Enisgarth and Camwy andSargyll, came down from his wide throne, and he embraced firstGuenevere, then Jurgen.

  "And demand of me what you will, Duke of Logreus," said Gogyrvan,when he had heard the champion's name, "and it is yours for theasking. For you have restored to me the best loved daughter thatever was the pride of a high king."

  "Sir," replied Jurgen, reasonably, "a service rendered so gladlyshould be its own reward. So I am asking that you do in turn restoreto me the Princess Guenevere, in honorable marriage, do youunderstand, because I am a poor lorn widower, I am tolerablycertain, but I am quite certain I love your daughter with my wholeheart."

  Thus Jurgen, whose periods were confused by emotion.

  "I do not see what the condition of your heart has to do with anysuch unreasonable request. And you have no good sense to be askingthis thing of me when here are the servants of Arthur, that is nowKing of the Britons, come to ask for my daughter as his wife. Thatyou are Duke of Logreus you tell me, and I concede a duke is allvery well: but I expect you in return to concede a king takesprecedence, with any man whose daughter is marriageable. Butto-morrow or the next day it may be, you and I will talk overyour reward more privately. Meanwhile it is very queer and veryfrightened you are looking, to be the champion who conqueredThragnar."

  For Jurgen was staring at the great mirror behind the King's throne.In this mirror Jurgen saw the back of Gogyrvan's crowned head, andbeyond this, Jurgen saw a queer and frightened looking young fellow,with sleek black hair, and an impudent nose, and wide-open brightbrown eyes which were staring hard at Jurgen: and the lad's very redand very heavy lips were parted, so that you saw what fine strongteeth he had: and he wore a glittering shirt with curious figures onit

  "I was thinking," says Jurgen, and he saw the lad in the mirror wasspeaking too, "I was thinking that is a remarkable mirror you havethere."

  "It is like any other mirror," replies the King, "in that it showsthings as they are. But if you fancy it as your reward, why, take itand welcome."

  "And are you still talking of rewards!" cries Jurgen. "Why, if thatmirror shows things as they are, I have come out of my borrowedWednesday still twenty-one. Oh, but it was the clever fellow I was,to flatter Mother Sereda so cunningly, and to fool her into suchgenerosity! And I wonder that you who are only a king, with blearedeyes under your crown, and with a drooping belly under all yourroyal robes, should be talking of rewarding a fine young fellow oftwenty-one, for there is nothing you have which I need be wantingnow."

  "Then you will not be plaguing me any more with your nonsense aboutmy daughter: and that is excellent news."

  "But I have no requirement to be asking your good graces now," saidJurgen, "nor the good will of any man alive that has a handsomedaughter or a handsome wife. For now I have the aid of a lad thatwas very recently made Duke of Logreus: and with his countenance Ican look out for myself, and I can get justice done me everywhere,in all the bedchambers of the world."

  And Jurgen snapped his fingers, and was about to turn away from theKing. There was much sunlight in the hall, so that Jurgen in thishalf-turn confronted his shadow as it lay plain upon the flagstones.And Jurgen looked at it very intently.

  "Of course," said Jurgen presently, "I only meant in a manner ofspeaking, sir: and was paraphrasing the splendid if hackneyedpassage from Sornatius, with which you are doubtless familiar, inwhich he goes on to say, so much more beautifully than I couldpossibly express without quoting him word for word, that all thiswas spoken jestingly, and without the least intention of offendinganybody, oh, anybody whatever, I can assure you, sir."

  "Very well," said Gogyrvan Gawr: and he smiled, for no reason thatwas apparent to Jurgen, who was still watching his shadow sidewise."To-morrow, I repeat, I must talk with you more privately. To-day Iam giving a banquet such as was never known in these parts, becausemy daughter is restored to me, and because my daughter is going tobe queen over all the Britons."

  So said Gogyrvan, that was King of Glathion and Lord of Enisgarthand Camwy and Sargyll: and this was done. And everywhere at thebanquet Jurgen heard talk of this King Arthur who was to marry DameGuenevere, and of the prophecy which Merlin Ambrosius had made as tothe young monarch. For Merlin had predicted:

  "He shall afford succor, and shall tread upon the necks of hisenemies: the isles of the ocean shall be subdued by him, and heshall possess the forests of Gaul: the house of Romulus shall fearhis rage, and his acts shall be food for the narrators."

  "Why, then," says Jurgen, to himself, "this monarch reminds me inall things of David of Israel, who was so splendid and famous, andso greedy, in the ancient ages. For to these forests and islands andnecks and other possessions, this Arthur Pendragon must be adding myone ewe lamb; and I lack a Nathan to convert him to repentance. Now,but this, to be sure, is a very unfair thing."

  Then Jurgen looked again into a mirror: and presently the eyes ofthe lad he found therein began to twinkle.

  "Have at you, David!" said Jurgen, valorously; "since after all, Isee no reason to despair."