Breton Legends Part 6

The place to which he was conducted was a very large shed, divided in two parts for the use both of the cows and horses; but now all was empty from one end to the other, and the cobwebs hung in thick festoons from the racks.

Mao kindled a fire of broom upon the broad paving-stones, and began to pray.

The first quarter of an hour he heard nothing but the crackling of the flame; the second quarter of an hour he heard nothing but the wind that whistled mournfully through the broken door; the third quarter of an hour he heard nothing but the little death-watch tapping in the rafters overhead; but the fourth quarter of an hour, a dull sound rumbled beneath the pavement; and at the further end of the building, in the darkest corner, he saw the largest stone rise slowly up, and the head of a dragon coming from below. It was huge as a baker's kneading-trough, flattened like a viper's, and all round the forehead shone a row of eyes of different colours.

The beast raised his two great fore-feet armed with scarlet claws upon the edge of the pavement, glared upon Mao, and then crept hissing from his hole. As he came on, his scaly body could be seen unrolling from beneath the stone like a mighty cable from a ship's hold.

Courageous as was the youth, at this spectacle his blood ran cold; and just as he began to feel the dragon's breath, he cried aloud,

"Dead beggar, make haste, make haste to me; For I am sorely in need of thee."

In an instant the shining form he had invoked was at his side.

"Fear nothing," said the saint; "those who are protected by the Mother of G.o.d are always victorious over the monsters of the earth. Raise your club and lay the dragon dead at your feet;" and with these words he raised his hand, p.r.o.nouncing some words that can only be heard in heaven. Mao aimed a fearful blow at the dragon's head, and that very moment the huge monster sank dead upon its side.

The next morning, when the sun rose, Mao went to awaken all the people at the manor, and led them to the stables; but at sight of the dead monster even the most courageous started back at least ten paces.

"Do not be afraid," said the young man; "the Blessed Mother came to my a.s.sistance, and the beast that fed on cattle and their guardians is nothing now but lifeless clay. Only fetch some ropes, and let us drag it from this place to some lonely waste."

So they did as he desired; and when the dragon was drawn forth from his den, the whole length of his body was so great that it extended twice round the black-wheat barn-floor. [9]

The old man, happy in his deliverance from so dangerous an enemy, fulfilled the promise he had made to Mao, and gave to him Liczenn in marriage. She was led to church at Camfront, her left arm circled, after the custom of the country, by as many rows of silver-lace as there were thousands of francs in her dowry; and the story goes that she had eighteen.

As soon as he was married, Mao bought cattle, hired servants, and soon brought the land about the manor to a more flourishing condition than it had ever known before.

Then went the grandfather to seek his recompense from G.o.d, and left all that he possessed to the young couple.

So happy were they in each other and themselves, that no baptised creature ever felt the like,--so happy, that when they knelt in prayer, they could think of nothing to request from G.o.d that He had not already blest them with; so they had nothing to do but to thank Him. But one day, as they were sitting down to supper with their servants, one of their attendants introduced a soldier, so tall that his head reached the rafters; and Liczenn knew him for her cousin Matelinn. He had come back from the French war to marry his cousin; and learning what had come to pa.s.s during his absence, he had felt the bitterest rage. Nevertheless, he betrayed nothing of his thoughts to Mao and his wife; for his was a deceitful heart.

Mao, who suspected nothing, received him with affectionate kindness; set before him the best of every thing in the house; had the handsomest room prepared for his reception; and went out to show him all the fields, now ripe for harvest.

But the higher Matelinn saw the flax, and the heavier the ears of corn, the more he was enraged at not being the possessor of all this; to say nothing of his cousin Liczenn, who had grown more charming than ever. So one day he proposed to Mao that they should hunt together on the downs of Logoma, and thus contrived to lead him towards a distant heath, where he had an old deserted windmill, against which bundles of furze for the baker's oven at Daoulas had been heaped up in great piles. When they reached this place, he turned his face towards Camfront, and said suddenly to his young companion,

"Ah! I can see the manor all this way off, with its great courtyard."

"Which way?" asked Mao.

"Behind that little beech-wood. Don't you see the great hall-windows?"

"I am too short," said Mao.

"Ah, you are right, so you are; and it is a pity too, for I can see my cousin Liczenn in the little yard beside the garden."

"Is she alone?"

"No; there are some gentlemen with her whispering in her ear."

"And what is Liczenn doing?"

"Liczenn is listening to them, whilst she twists her ap.r.o.n-string."

Mao raised himself upon the tips of his toes. "Ah, I wish I could see,"

said he.

"Oh, it is easy enough," replied Matelinn "you have only to climb up to the top of the mill, and you will be higher than I am."

Mao approved of this advice, and climbed up the old ladder. When he reached the top, his cousin asked him what he saw?

"I see nothing but the trees, which seem as near the ground as wheat of two months' growth," said Mao, "and houses looking in the distance small as the sea-sh.e.l.ls stranded on the sh.o.r.e."

"Look nearer," returned Matelinn.

"Nearer, I can only see the ocean, with its boats skimming the water like seagulls."

"Look nearer yet," said the soldier.

"Still nearer is the common, bright with rose-blossoms and the purple heath."

"Look down beneath you."

"Beneath me!" cried Mao, in terror. "Instead of the ladder to descend by, I see flames rushing upwards to devour me."

And he saw rightly; for Matelinn had drawn away the ladder, and set fire to the surrounding f.a.gots, so that the old mill stood as in a furnace.

Mao in vain besought the giant not to leave him there to perish in so horrible a manner. He only turned his back, and went off whistling down the moor.

Then the young man, feeling himself nearly suffocated, invoked the saint once more:

"Dead beggar, make haste, make haste to me; For I am sorely in need of thee."

Instantly the saint appeared, holding in his right hand a glittering rainbow, one end of which was resting on the sea, and in his left Jacob's mysterious ladder, that once led from heaven to earth. With the rainbow he put out the fire, and by the ladder's aid poor Mao reached the ground, and went safely home.

On beholding him, Matelinn was seized with surprise and consternation, sure that his cousin would hasten to denounce him before the magistrates; and rushing to fetch his arms and war-horse, was hurrying from the courtyard, when Mao came to him, and said,

"Fear nothing, cousin; for no man saw what pa.s.sed upon Daoulas common. Your heart was hurt that G.o.d had given me more good things than yourself; I wish to heal its wounds. From this day forward, so long as I live, you shall share with me half of all that I possess, save and except my darling Liczenn. So come, my cousin, harbour no more evil thoughts against me."

The deed of this convention was drawn up by the notary in the usual form; and Matelinn received henceforward, every month, the half of all the produce of the fields, the courtyard, and the stables.

But this n.o.ble generosity of Mao served only to increase the spite and venom of his heart; for undeserved benefits are like wine drank when one is not thirsty,--they bring us neither joy nor profit. He did not wish Mao dead, because then he would have lost his share in Mao's wealth; but he hated him, even as a caged wolf hates the hand that feeds him.

What made him still more angry was, to see how every thing prospered with his cousin. To crown his felicity, he had a son born to him, both strong and beautiful, and one that wept not at his birth, the nurses said. Mao sent the news out to the first people of the neighbourhood, entreating them to come to the baptismal feast. And they came from more than six leagues round,--from Braspars, Kimerc'h, Loperek, Logoma, Faou, Irvillac, and Saint Eloi,--all mounted on handsomely-equipped horses, with their wives or daughters behind them. The baptism of a prince of Cornouaille himself could not have brought together a more goodly a.s.sembly.

When all were drawn up ready in the front of the manor-house, and Mao came to Liczenn's chamber for the new-born babe, with those who were to hold it at the font, and his nearest friends, Matelinn presented himself also, with a traitor's joy depicted on his countenance. On seeing him, the mother uttered a cry; but he, approaching, bent over her with specious words, and thanked her for the present she had made him.

"What present?" asked the poor woman, in surprise.