The Casque's Lark; or, Victoria, the Mother of the Camps

CHAPTER XI

VICTORIN

The son of Victoria the Great was then in his twenty-third year. I told you, my son, that several medals were struck on which he figured in the guise of the god Mars beside his mother, who wore on her head a casque resembling that of the antique Minerva. Indeed, Victorin could have served as a model for a statue of the god of war. Tall, supple, robust, with a shape at once elegant and martial, he pleased all eyes. His features, imprinted with the rare beauty of his mother's, differed from them by an expression of mirthfulness and daring. The openness and generosity of his character was clearly visible on his face. On seeing him, one forgot, despite himself, the defects that marred that manly being, too vivacious and too fiery to curb the impulses of his age. Victorin doubtlessly came from a night of pleasure; yet his face looked as fresh as if he had just left his bed. A felt coif, ornamented with a little brooch, half covered his black hair, that fell in luxuriant ringlets around his virile and browned face. His Gallic blouse, made of silken fabric striped white and purple, was held around his waist by a silver-embroidered leather belt, from which hung his curiously chiseled gold hilted sword – a veritable masterpiece of Autun goldsmithing. Upon entering his mother's room followed by Captain Marion, Victorin proceeded straight to her with a mixture of tenderness and respect. He dropped upon one knee, took and kissed one of her hands, removed his head-cover, and, reaching up his forehead for her to kiss, said:

"Greeting to my mother!"

There was so touching a charm in the young general's features and posture, there on his knee before his mother, that I noticed her hesitate for a second between the desire to embrace the son whom she adored and the inclination to express her dissatisfaction with him. She gently pushed Victorin's head back with her hand, and said in a grave voice while pointing at the cradle that stood near:

"Embrace your son – you have not seen him since yesterday."

The young general understood the indirect reproach; he rose sadly, approached the cradle, took up the child in his arms, and embraced him effusively while his eyes wandered over to his mother, as if to tell her that he was indemnifying himself for her maternal severity.

Captain Marion had drawn close to me and said in a low voice:

"After all, Victorin has a good heart. How he does love his mother! How he cherishes his child! He surely is as much attached to them as I am to my friend Eustace, who constitutes my whole family. What a pity that that pest of profligacy" (the good captain hardly ever spoke without throwing in those words) "so frequently has the young man fast in its claws!"

"It is a misfortune! But do you believe Victorin capable of the infamous act that he is charged with in camp?" I inquired from the captain loud enough to be heard by Tetrik, who, speaking with Victoria in a low voice, seemed to be reproaching her for her severity towards her son.

"No, by the devil!" was Marion's quick answer. "I do not believe Victorin capable of such indignities – least way when I see him there between his mother and child."

After carefully placing his child back into the cradle and kissing its outstretched hands, the young general said affectionately to the Governor of Gascony:

"Greeting to Tetrik! I always love to see among us my mother's wise and faithful friend."

And turning towards me:

"I knew that you had returned, Schanvoch. When I heard the news my heart filled with joy – with as much joy as I felt apprehension during your absence. These Frankish bandits have often shown us how little they respect truces and parliamentarians."

But doubtlessly noticing the sadness that still marked the visage of Victoria, her son approached her and said with as much frankness as tender deference:

"Listen, mother – before you broach the matter of Captain Marion's and Schanvoch's messages, let me tell you what I have upon my heart; it might unwrinkle your brow, and I might no longer read on it the displeasure that afflicts me. Tetrik is a kind relative, Captain Marion is our friend, Schanvoch your brother – I can here speak freely. Admit it, mother, you are annoyed that I spent the night out of the house, are you not?"

"Your disorderly conduct grieves me, Victorin – and it grieves me still more to see that my voice is no longer heard by you."

"Mother, I shall make a full confession to you; but I swear that I have upbraided myself more severely for my weakness than you could have done yourself. Last evening, faithful to my promise of discussing fully with you the grave matters that we have in hand, I went home betimes; I had declined – Oh! heroically declined an invitation to take supper with three of the captains of the legions that recently arrived at Mayence from Beziers. Vain were all their praises of the kegs of fine old wines, of that country of wine

par excellence

, that they brought with them carefully stowed away in their war chariots to celebrate their safe arrival. I remained unmoved. They then tried to win me over by speaking of two strolling Bohemian songstresses, Kidda and Flora – pardon me, mother, for pronouncing the names of such women before you, but truthfulness compels me to do so. These Bohemian girls, my tempters said to me, had recently arrived in Mayence; they described them as wondrously beautiful, frisky as demons, magnificent dancers, and singers like nightingales! Certes, there was enough to tempt me in such a description."

"Ah! I see it – I see it clearly approaching, that pest of profligacy – I see it creeping towards him on its velvet feet, like a wily and hungry tigress!" Marion cried. "How I would like to make those brazen Bohemian she-devils dance on sheets of red-hot iron! It is only then they would sing tunes to suit my ears – "

"I was even wiser than you, brave Marion," Victorin proceeded to say; "I did not wish to see and hear them dance and sing in any way; I ran precipitately away from my tempters to come here – "

"It is easy to say that; run away? – that pest of profligacy has legs as long as its arms and teeth!" the captain said. "It surely overtook you, Victorin!"

"Deign to listen to me, mother," Victorin resumed, seeing my foster-sister make a gesture of disgust and impatience. "I was only two hundred paces from the house – the night was dark – a woman wrapped in a hooded cloak accosted me."

"Now they are three!" cried the good captain clasping his hands. "We now have the two Bohemian girls reinforced by a hooded woman. Oh, unfortunate Victorin! You have no idea what diabolical snares lie hidden under those hoods – my friend Eustace would surely succumb and wind up by being hooded himself – but I would flee!"

"'My father is an old soldier,' the woman said to me," proceeded Victorin with his narrative. "'One of his old wounds opened, he is dying; he knew you as a child, Victorin; he does not wish to die without once more pressing the hand of his young general; you will not refuse such a favor to my dying father, will you?' Such was the tale of the unknown woman; she spoke in accents that went straight to my heart. What would you have done, mother?"

"Despite my dread of women's hoods, I would have gone and seen the poor old soldier," answered the captain. "Certes, I would have gone, seeing that my presence would render death sweeter to him."

"Well, I did what you would have done, Marion. I followed the unknown woman; we arrived at a rickety house; it was dark; the door opened; my female guide seized my hand; led by her, I took a few steps in the darkness. Suddenly the glare of lights fell upon my eyes and dazed me. The three captains of the Beziers legions and other officers surrounded me. The veiled woman dropped her wraps, and I recognized – "

"One of the cursed Bohemian girls!" cried the captain. "Ha! I told you so, Victorin! Women's hoods hide frightful things!"

"Frightful? Alas, no, Marion! I had not the courage to shut my eyes. I was immediately surrounded from all sides; the other Bohemian girl ran out of a room and joined my captors. The doors were locked. I was dragged to a seat of honor at a banquet table. Kidda placed herself at my right, Flora at my left; and before me, upon a table loaded with eatables, rose one of the kegs of old and divine nectar, as the accursed fellows informed me; and – "

"And day surprised you in that fresh orgy," said Victoria interrupting her son. "You thus forgot amidst the pleasures of the table and debauchery the hour that summoned you to me! Is that an excuse?"

"No, dear mother, it is a confession – I was weak – but as truly as Gaul is free, I would have come dutifully home to you, but for the ruse by which I was misled and kept away. Will you not be indulgent towards me, mother, this once? I pray you!" saying which Victorin again knelt down before my foster-sister. "Be not so severe! I know my faults! Age will cure me! I am still too young, and my blood is still too warm. The ardor of pleasure often carries me away, despite myself – and yet, you know, mother, I would give my life for you – "

"I believe you – but yet you will not sacrifice to me your insensate and evil passions – "

"When one sees Victorin so respectful and repentant at his mother's feet," I whispered to Marion, "would one think he is the celebrated general, so dreaded by the enemies of Gaul – the general, who, at the age of twenty-two already has won five great battles?"

"Victoria," said Tetrik in his kind and insinuating voice, "I also am a father and inclined to indulgence. Besides, in my hours of recreation, I am a poet, and I wrote an ode to Youth. How could I be severe? I love Victorin's brilliant qualities so much, that I find it hard to censure him! Could you be insensible to the tender words of your son? His only crime is his youth. As he said, years will cure that – and his affection for you, his deference to your wishes will hasten the cure – "

As the Governor of Gascony was saying these words, a great noise was heard outside of the house, and the cry was soon heard:

"To arms! To arms!"

Victoria, who was seated, quickly rose to her feet, together with Victorin.

"They cry to arms!" repeated Captain Marion anxiously, and listened.

"The Franks must have broken the truce!" I cried in turn. "Yesterday one of their chiefs threatened me with a speedy attack upon our camp; I did not believe they would put their threat so quickly into action."

"A truce is never broken before its expiration, without notice is given in advance," observed Tetrik.

"The Franks are barbarians; they are capable of any act of treachery," cried Victoria rushing to the door.

It opened before an officer covered with dust, and so breathless that he could not at first utter a word.

"Do you not belong to the post of the camp's vanguard, four leagues from here?" the young general asked the officer; he knew personally all the officers of the army. "What has happened?"

"A large number of rafts, loaded with troops and towed by barks, hove in sight towards the middle of the Rhine, when, upon orders of the commander of the post, I rode hither at full speed to bring the news to you, Victorin. By this hour the Frankish hordes must have disembarked. The post that I left is too weak to resist a whole army, and must have fallen back upon the camp. While crossing the camp I cried to arms! The legions and cohorts are forming in all haste."

"It is the barbarians' answer to the message that Schanvoch took to them," said the Mother of the Camps to Victorin.

"What answer did the Franks give you?" the young general asked me.

"Neroweg, one of the principal kings of their army, rejected all idea of peace," I said to Victorin. "The barbarians are set upon invading Gaul and subjugating us. I threatened their chief with a war of extermination. He answered me insolently that the sun would not rise six times before he would fall upon our camp, set fire to our tents, pillage our baggage and carry off Victoria the Great – "

"If they are on the march upon us, we have not a minute to spare!" cried Tetrik in a fright addressing the young general, who, calm and collected, with his arms crossed over his chest, was reflecting in silence. "We must act, and act quickly!"

"Before acting," answered Victorin, "we must reflect."

"But," replied the governor, "suppose the Franks move with forced marches upon the camp?"

"So much the better!" Victorin said impatiently. "So much the better! We shall let them draw near to us!"

Victorin's answer astonished Tetrik, and I must admit, I would myself have been astonished and even alarmed at hearing the young general speak of temporizing in the presence of an imminent attack, had I not had innumerable proofs of his unerring judgment. His mother made a sign to the governor not to disturb her son in his meditation upon the plan of battle, which, undoubtedly, he was revolving in his mind, and said to Marion:

"You arrived this morning from your trip to the inhabitants on the other side of the Rhine, who are so often pillaged by these barbarians. What is the plan of those tribes?"

"Too weak to act single-handed, they are ready to join us at the first call. Fires, that we are to light either by day or night on the hill of Berak, will give them the signal. There will be men on the watch for them. The moment the signal is given they will start on the march. One of our best captains shall head a troop of picked soldiers across the river and effect a junction with them, while the bulk of our army shall simultaneously operate upon this side."

"The plan is excellent, Captain Marion," observed Victoria approvingly. "Especially at this juncture, such an alliance is of great service to us. Your eyes have, as usual, seen rightly."

"If one has good eyes, he must seek to put them to the best use possible," the captain answered with his wonted affability. "That is what I said to my friend Eustace."

"What friend is that?" asked Victoria. "Whom do you refer to?"

"I refer to a soldier – my old companion at the anvil. I took him with me on the journey that I am now back from. Thus, instead of ruminating over my little projects all to myself, I uttered them aloud to my friend Eustace. He is discreet; by no means a fool; true enough, he is as peevish as the devil, and he often grumbles at me, whereat I profit not a little."

"I am aware of your friendship for that soldier," replied Victoria. "Your affection does you honor."

"To love an old friend is a simple and natural matter. I said to him: 'Do you see, Eustace, one day or other those Frankish skinners will undertake a decisive attack upon us. In order to protect their retreat, they will leave a body of reserve to protect their camp and wagons. That reserve will not be too large a morsel for our allied tribes to swallow, especially if they are reinforced by a picked legion in command of one of our own captains. So that if those skinners are beaten on this side of the Rhine, their retreat will be cut off on the other side of the river.' What I then foresaw is coming about to-day. The Franks are attacking us; I think we should forthwith send word to the allied tribes, and follow that with some picked troops, commanded by a captain of energy, prudence and skill – "

"That captain will be yourself, Marion," Victoria quickly put in interrupting the captain.

"I? Very well! I know the country. My plan is quite simple. While the Franks are marching upon us, I shall cross the Rhine, and there burn their wagons and cut the reserve to pieces. Let Victorin deliver battle on our side of the river; the Franks will then try to re-cross the Rhine; there they will find me and my friend Eustace ready to meet them with something else than a glad hand to help them disembark. And their hopes will be dashed when they learn that camp, reserves and wagons have all gone up in flames."

"Marion," replied my foster-sister after having carefully listened to the captain, "victory is certain if you carry out the plan with your customary bravery and coolness."

"I have great good hopes. My friend Eustace said to me in a more than usually querulous voice: 'Your plan is not so very stupid; it is not so very stupid.' I know from experience that the approval of Eustace has always brought me good luck."

"Victoria," Tetrik approached saying in a low voice and no longer able to control his uneasiness, "I am not a man of war. I repose complete confidence in the military genius of your son. But an enemy twice as strong as ourselves is drawing nearer by the minute – and Victorin, still absorbed in his meditations, decides nothing, orders nothing!"

"He told you rightly that before acting, one must think," answered Victoria. "The power of calm reflection, at the moment of danger, is the sign of a wise and prudent captain. Would it not be folly to run blindly ahead of danger?"

Suddenly Victorin clapped his hands, leaped to his mother's neck, embraced her and cried:

"Mother – Hesus inspires me. Not one of the barbarians who crossed the river will escape, and the peace of Gaul will be assured for many years. Your project is excellent, Captain Marion; it fits in with my own plan of battle, as if we had jointly conceived it!"

"What! Did you hear me?" asked the astonished captain. "I thought you were wrapped up in your own thoughts!"

"However absorbed a lover may seem to be, he always overhears what is said of his sweetheart, my brave Marion," was Victorin's mirthful answer. "My sovereign mistress is war!"

"Again that pest of profligacy!" Captain Marion whispered to me. "Alack! It pursues him even in his thoughts of battle!"

"Marion," remarked Victorin, "we have on this side of the Rhine two hundred and ten barks of war propelled by six oars – have we?"

"About that number, and well equipped!"

"Fifty of them will suffice for you to transport the reinforcement of picked troops that you are to take to our allies. The remaining hundred and sixty, manned by ten soldier oarsmen provided with axes, besides twenty picked archers, will hold themselves ready to descend the Rhine as far as the promontory of Herfel, where they will wait for further instructions. Issue this order to the captain of the flotilla before you embark."

"It shall be done – rely upon me!"

"Carry out your plan, brave Marion, from point to point. Cut the Frankish reserve to pieces, burn their camp and wagons. Ours is the day if I succeed in forcing the barbarians to retreat," said Victorin.

"And you will, Victorin! I shall run for my friend, Eustace, and carry out your orders."

Before leaving the room Captain Marion drew his sword, presented the hilt to the Mother of the Camps and making the military salute, said:

"Touch this sword with your hand if you please, Victoria – it will be a good augury for the day."

"Go, brave and good Marion," answered the Mother of the Camps returning the weapon after she had clasped the hilt with a virile hand; "go, Hesus is with Gaul!"

"Our battle cry shall be, 'Victoria!' and it will resound from one bank of the river to the other," Marion exclaimed with exaltation; and leaving precipitately he added: "I shall run for my friend Eustace, and then to our barks! to our barks!"

As Marion was rushing out of the room, several chiefs of legions and cohorts, having learned of the landing of the Franks from the officer who brought the tidings to the camp – tidings that rapidly spread among the soldiers – hastened to Victorin in order to receive the orders of their general.

"Place yourselves at the head of your detachments," he said to them, "and march to the parade ground. I shall join you there and assign you your posts in battle. I wish first to confer with my mother."

"We well know your valor and military genius," answered the oldest of the chiefs of the cohorts, a robust old man with a white beard. "Your mother, the angel of Gaul, watches by your side; we shall await your orders confident of victory."

"Mother," said the young general in touching accents, "your pardon, here before all, and a kiss from you will give me the needed courage for this day of bloody battle!"

"The excesses of my son have often saddened my heart, as they have the hearts of you all who have known him since his earliest days," said Victoria to the chiefs of the cohorts; "I hope you will forgive him as I do."

Saying this she clasped her son passionately to her heart.

"Infamous calumnies against Victorin have floated about the camp," the old captain proceeded to say. "We gave them no credence; but, less enlightened than ourselves, the soldier is ever hasty in censure as he is in praise. Follow the instructions of your august mother, Victorin, and no longer offer a handle to calumny. We shall wait for your orders on the parade ground; rely upon us, as we do upon you."

"You speak to me like a father," answered Victorin deeply moved by the simple and dignified words of the old captain. "I shall hearken to your words as a son; your old experience guided me on the field of battle when I was still a child; your example made me the soldier that I am; to-day and always I shall strive to approve myself worthy of you and of my mother – worthy of Gaul – "

"It is your duty, seeing that we glory in you and her," rejoined the old captain; and addressing Victoria: "Will the army not see you before we march to battle? To the soldiers and to us your presence always is a good omen – and your good words fire our courage."

"I shall accompany my son as far as the parade ground – let the battle and triumph follow! Once the Roman eagles circled over our enslaved nation! The Gallic cock drove them away! And it will again drive away this cloud of birds of prey that seek to swoop down upon our Gaul!" cried the Mother of the Camps in so proud and superb a transport that, at the moment, I believed I saw before me the goddess of our land and of liberty. "By Hesus, shall the barbarous Franks conquer us? Before that happens neither a lance, nor a sword, nor a scythe, nor a club, nor a stone can have been left in Gaul! By Hesus! We shall triumph over the barbarian Franks!"

At these brave words, the chiefs of the legions, sharing the enthusiasm of Victoria, spontaneously drew their swords, struck them against one another, and cried in chorus the war cry that they had more than once intoned:

"By the iron of our swords, Victoria, we swear to you that Gaul shall remain free! – or you will never see us again!"

"Yes, by your beloved and august name, Victoria, we shall fight to the last drop of our blood."

And all left the room crying:

"To arms, our legions!"

"To arms, our cohorts!"

During the whole scene, in which the military genius of Victorin, his tender deference for his mother, the controlling influence that both she and he exercised over the chiefs of the army were displayed, I more than once cast a covert look at the Governor of Gascony, who had withdrawn into a corner of the room. Was it fear at the approach of the Franks? Was it secret rage at witnessing how idle were his calumnies against Victorin? – because, despite the blandness and skilfulness of his defense, my suspicions were not lulled to sleep – I know not; but his livid and disturbed face grew by degrees more horrid to behold. Doubtlessly, evil thoughts and impulses, that he meant