Barbarossa; An Historical Novel Of The XII Century Part 62

"Aid thy servants, who have faith in thee, O G.o.d! Send us a.s.sistance from thy holy place, and from Sion protect us! O Lord, be our strength to resist the enemy, and let him not prevail against us! Praised be the Lord! May he grant us a prosperous journey! Show us thy ways, and direct us in thy paths. The crooked road shall be made straight, for G.o.d has commanded his angels to protect thee on thy way. Lord, listen to my prayer, and let the voice of my supplication come unto thee."

"The Lord be with you," said the Pope at the altar.

"And with thy Spirit," answered the cardinals.

"Let us pray," added the Pope. "O G.o.d! thou who hast caused the sea to be crossed as the dry land, thou who hast guided the magi by thy holy star, grant to us a prosperous journey; and may we, under thy gracious protection, arrive in safety at the goal to which we direct our steps.

"_Amen_!" answered the cardinals.

There was a profound silence, which was broken by the entrance of Frangipani, who in full armor stood motionless before the door. The bishops and cardinals remained seated, but the tears were coursing down their cheeks, for as they looked upon the Pope, they trembled for his safety.

Without, was heard the measured tramp of the sentinels, then soon all again was still.

Alexander knelt once more at the foot of the altar, and raising his eyes to the crucifix,

"O my G.o.d! my Saviour!" said he with emotion, "protect the flock which I am compelled to abandon! Be merciful to thy deluded people, for they know not what they do."

He paused and bent his head; then suddenly looking up, he exclaimed in a loud voice:

"O Almighty G.o.d of justice, look upon thy Church: turn thine eyes towards thy spouse. See her misery, her forlorn condition, her persecution, her danger! How far wilt thou allow this wickedness to triumph, O Lord? O Lord, if thou hast pity on our misfortunes and our griefs, come to the aid of thy Church! Awake, O Almighty G.o.d, bare thy avenging arm! O Sweet Jesus, deign to save thy holy Church."

Alexander's voice became stronger, and his features more animated, as though he had seen a vision. His words also had a supernatural expression, and the Pontiff seemed to have received, directly from the Almighty, the power to bless and curse.

At this critical moment, the representative of G.o.d upon earth had repa.s.sed in his mind all the circ.u.mstances by the aid of which he had struggled so long for the holy cause which had just been overthrown.

The giant grasp of the Emperor had clutched on the Church, and G.o.d alone could compel him to leave his prey. The Pope felt all this, and consequently it was to G.o.d that he looked for a.s.sistance, to him that he addressed his prayers.

The cardinals and bishops remained kneeling in deep emotion, as the Pope, rising with the air of one who had confided everything to faithful hands, bestowed upon them his solemn benediction. Then he took his pilgrim's hat and staff, and, followed by his companions, descended the steps of the altar.

Frangipani had got all his men under arms in order to cover the Pope's flight by a vigorous sortie, in case it was noticed by the besiegers.

Goswin had just lain down upon the ground and had begun to doze.

The sentinel stood upon the bridge, his head bent forward upon his breast, scarcely awake. A heavy cloud veiled the moon and threw long shadows upon the city; a few doubtful rays glided upon the surface of the stream and played here and there upon the armors. Suddenly a small postern was cautiously opened and three persons came out from the castle.

Goswin was seated upon the ground, his face towards the river, his back against a stone. The fatigues of the day forced Rinaldo's spy to struggle against sleep, and he was scarcely conscious of what he saw, everything was dim and indistinct before him. But the sense of hearing had become more acute in proportion as the other faculties of the tailor had diminished.

An almost imperceptible noise came from the tower, and in a moment Guerrazzi was on his feet peering eagerly into the night. He fancied that he perceived human forms moving away under cover of the darkness, and he hastily gave the alarm.

"Halloa! up! look yonder; they are escaping from the castle."

The drowsy soldiers heard a fall, a shout, and then a splashing in the water.

"What is the matter with you? what are you shouting about?" asked Goswin. "Halloa! there he is again; ah! he has sunk a second time,"

said the soldier, pointing with his lance towards the water. "The idiot! why did he jump into the river if he did not know how to swim?"

"Who has jumped into the river?" asked the sentinel.

"The Italian; I don't know what was the matter; he suddenly cried out that some one was leaving the castle, and then sprang into the Tiber.

Did you see anything?"

"Nothing at all; everything was quiet; the idiot was dreaming, I suppose."

"All this comes because of his want of respect for St. Michael," said Goswin. "The devil has blinded him so that he took the water to be the solid ground. I should have liked to save him, but it is not possible to fish in the dark."

The soldiers crowded around the bridge and gazed at the water, which was carrying the villain's body away.

_CHAPTER LIII_.

_BARBAROSSA IN ROME_.

Alexander was in safety at Gaeta before his flight was discovered by the Romans. Frederic's anger knew no bounds.

"He has succeeded, after all, in eluding your guards and your Brabancons," he said to Rinaldo, who communicated the fact to him.

"If we were unable to seize the Pope in Rome, we shall be more successful at Beneventon or Naples," replied the Chancellor. "It is probably a piece of good luck by which not only Alexander but also his champion, King William, will together swell the triumph of the Roman Emperor."

The news spread rapidly through the city, and a thousand details were added, all in favor of the Pope's sanct.i.ty. Some even a.s.serted that he had penetrated unseen the line of sentinels, and that Guerrazzi had perceived and tried to seize him, but had been thrown by invisible hands into the Tiber. As he was going, added the crowd, the Holy Father had fulminated the anathema against Barbarossa, and had called down the vengeance of Heaven upon the head of the wicked Emperor, while a flash of lightning had pierced the clouds, announcing the most dire misfortunes.

These marvels were related everywhere, and acquired additional credit from their very circulation.

Frederic determined to make his triumphal entry into Rome on the 3d of August, when he and Beatrice would be crowned in the Church of St Peter, and receive the allegiance of the inhabitants. It was necessary that Frederic should enter Rome with becoming pomp, and immense preparations were being made for the reception. St. Peter's Square and its vicinity was profusely decked with flags, and flowers, and laurel crowns; and tall poles, hung with streamers and appropriate emblems, were set up in all the streets through which the procession was to pa.s.s. Frederic had announced three days of popular festivity, during which he was to appear in public, robed in the Imperial purple, and dispense his bounties in person. The Romans were favorably disposed; all the avenues were alive with crowds of citizens in their holiday attire, and in each house everything was being made ready for the banquet.

In the army, too, every one was busy; the squires and men-at-arms brightened up their armor and polished their lances and bucklers; in the ecclesiastical quarter, the chaplains were preparing the sumptuous vestments of the prelates, while the n.o.bles were a.s.sembled in Council near their sovereign, deeply intent upon the organization of the cavalcade.

Heaven alone appeared unwilling to take part in the festival. Until then the burning sky had diffused a stifling heat, but on the eve of the ceremony heavy clouds began to collect upon the distant horizon, and pile up in dark ma.s.ses, whence flashed lurid sheets of fire, while the thunder rolled menacingly. Still the air was calm, and scarcely a puff of wind fluttered the gay pennons of the knights. All nature seemed hushed in dread expectancy.

Goswin was seated at his door, watching the darkening sky, and as the weather became more overcast and the lightning blazed more fiercely, he shook his head uneasily.

"Tighten the tent-cords, Bruno," he said, turning to his squire; "we shall have a storm soon."

Hardly was the order given before the tempest burst forth in all its fury. The tents were prostrated or else whirled away by the wind; and on all sides were heard the shouts and cries of the soldiers struggling amidst a deluge of rain to repair the wild confusion.

Fortunately the hurricane was of short duration, and subsided as rapidly as it had arisen; but it seemed as though a threat from Heaven weighed down the army and the city. The lightning had ceased, and the thunder rolled no longer, but the clouds, which had been chasing rapidly through the air, suddenly stopped, as though they had reached their destination, and hung over Rome, gloomy and mournful as a funeral-pall.

Knights and pages looked with apprehension upon this ominous calm. To most it seemed as though the storm was only ma.s.sing its strength in order the better to destroy all within its reach.

"What a singular tempest!" exclaimed Frederic, who had been driven from his tent by the violence of the gale; "it is as though chaos had come again."

As if in answer to the Emperor, a dazzling flash furrowed the sky, and extended from above the camp to the Eternal City, as though to presage its destruction, and then the lightning again blazed forth, and crash succeeded crash, while the rain poured down in torrents. Then there was a pause, followed by three deafening peals, at regular intervals, and all was still.

The statue of the Archangel no longer guarded the summit of Saint Angelo; the tempest had hurled it from its pedestal. All was wild uproar; and the affrightened soldiers sought shelter where they could from the violence of the storm.

"Woe to us!" they cried; "our last day is at hand; we must all perish in this deluge!"

But although the environs of the city were laid waste, no one was fatally injured, and soon the clouds rolled away, and the stars shone out brightly in the dark azure of the cloudless sky.