Valperga (20 page)

"The second day we will give up to our friends, the Uomini
di Corte: they shall do their best to please us, and to deserve the
rewards in store for them; certainly none will censure my choice,
when I name William Borsiere king of that day. Let him direct the
exertions of the rest, so that their tales, their songs, and their
feats may succeed one another in agreeable variety.

"On the third day the lists shall be set, and the knights
will tilt for the honour of their ladies' beauty; the conqueror
shall receive as the reward of his prowess the liberty of choosing
the queen for the following day, who will direct the sports of the
ladies, and close with their games the gaieties of my
court."

A shout of applause followed the enunciation of these laws; and
it was declared by all, that no better could be devised for the
promotion of amusement among their joyful assembly.

On the first of May the sun arose in cloudless splendour. The
steeds richly caparisoned were led from the stable, the ladies were
mounted on gentle palfreys, and were followed by the esquires,
holding the hawks, or with the dogs in leash; others sounding the
awakening horn, while the air resounded with voices which called
the idlers from their rooms, and said that the hunter deserved no
game, who was not with the first a-field to brush the morning dew
from the grass. Euthanasia headed a chosen band supreme in beauty;
her soft and enthusiastic eyes now sparkled with joy, which the
fair expanse of her smooth brow shewed to be yet uninvaded by the
fang of a bitter sorrow; a smile hovered on her beautiful lips,
like Love playing among the leaves of a rose; her golden hair shone
under the sunbeams, and clustered round her neck white as marble,
and, like that enriched by many a wandering vein, eclipsing the
jewels of her dress; her motions, free as the winds, and graceful
as an antelope of the south, appeared more than human in their
loveliness; and, when she awoke the air with her silver voice,
silence seemed on the watch to drink in the sound.

And now away!--They rode down the steep on which the castle
stood, to a chestnut wood, and thence along a plain covered with
brushwood: all was alive and gay; the huntsmen called to their
dogs;--the knights reined in their restless steeds;--and the ladies
with animated gestures, laughing looks, and upturned eyes, watched
the flight of their birds, and betted upon their speed.

When noon approached, they became heated and tired, and looked
around for a shady spot where they might repose. Castruccio rode
forward, and said:--"I should ill deserve the honour of being
king of this day, if I suffered my fair subjects to wander as in a
desert without refreshment or repose--follow me!"

They entered a chestnut wood; and, after riding about half a
mile, they came to a small plot of ground, encircled by trees, and
protected from the heat by canopies which were fastened to the
boughs: a magnificent repast was prepared in this retreat; a
profusion of wines glittered in glass vessels; the tables were
piled with every delicate sweetmeat, as well as with the more
substantial fare of flesh and fowl. The esquires having fastened
their falcons to the branches of the trees, and covered their eyes
with the hood, seized the large carving knives, and began their
ministry; while the joyous band seated themselves on the cushions
that had been provided for their accommodation.

After the repast was ended, they reposed under this delicious
shade, watching the changeful shadows of the trees, and listening
to the songs of the birds--"How delightful it would be,"
cried Calista di Malespino, "if Ildone or Guarino were here,
whose songs rival the sweetest birds!"

"To-morrow these men will display their talents," said
Castruccio; "to-day we must amuse ourselves." Then
clapping his hands, several servants brought forward musical
instruments, such as were then in fashion, unlike in form those now
used, but which in sound and construction might be compared to the
lute, the harp, the guitar, and the flute. Many of the company had
sweet voices; some who came from Genoa, sang the romances of the
Provençal minstrels; the Florentines sang the canzones of Dante, or
chosen passages from the Teroretto of his master, Ser Brunetto
Latini, or indeed stanzas of their own composing, for the
Florentines were an ingenious race, and few among the nobles had
passed the boundary between youth and age, without having indited
more than one sonnet to his mistress's eyebrow: the inhabitants
of each separate town had a favourite poet, whose verses they now
rehearsed.

Thus the time passed, till the sun descended, and the
lengthening shadows told them that the heat was gone, and the light
of day well nigh spent; when they mounted their horses, and rode
towards the castle along the skirts of the chestnut wood. The high
Apennines were still white with snow; and, as evening came on, a
refreshing breeze blew across the plain, and sang among the
branches of the trees,--at a distance was heard the murmuring of
the Serchio, as it travelled along in its unwearied course; the air
was perfumed by a thousand scents, for the grass was mowing, and
bathed the element in sweetness. From out one copse a nightingale
poured forth its melodious notes, singing as it were to one lone
star that peered through the glowing sunset; Arrigo taking his
flute drew a responsive strain which the sweet bird strove to
imitate, while the cavalcade passed silently along. Darkness closed
around, and the first fire-flies of summer issued from their deep
green bowers among the bushes, and darted forth their gentle,
ineffectual flame, skimming over the fields, which, as a phosphoric
sea, or as a green heaven of ever shifting planets, now was dark,
and again thickly studded by these stars. The glow-worm on the
ground slowly trailed his steady light; a few bats flew from the
rocks; and the regular moan of the Agiolo wheeled about the trees,
and spoke of fine days to come. As the home-ward hunters ascended
the mountain, the breeze died away, and a breathless stillness
pervaded the atmosphere; Euthanasia rode near Castruccio; her sweet
countenance bespoke a deeper joy than mere gaiety, and her wild
eyes shone with her emotion. She had thrown her capuchin over her
head; and her face, fair as the moon encircled by the night, shone
from beneath the sable cowl, while her golden locks twined
themselves round her neck: Castruccio gazed on her, and would have
given worlds to have embraced her, and to print on her glowing
cheek a kiss of love; he dared not,--but his heart swelled with
joy, when she turned to him with an affectionate smile, and he
whispered his heart--"She is mine."

The second day William Borsiere was prepared to amuse the guests
by his own and his companions' talents. His task was more
difficult to perform than that of Castruccio, for his materials
were not so easy to be controlled as hawks and hounds. Guarino was
mortally offended by the choice of Euthanasia with regard to the
king of the day, and declared that he had a cold, and could not
sing. Nothing but his intolerable vanity vanquished his sullenness;
for, when he found that, upon his refusal, Borsiere passed him by,
and that his ill humour would only punish himself by consigning him
to obscurity, he consented to be numbered among the recruits of the
day. Andreuccio was less tractable, for he was less vain; and it
was sheer avarice that caused his anger, when he imagined that
Borsiere would be the best paid of the company; he absolutely
refused to perform his part in story- telling, but reserved his wit
for endeavours to turn to ridicule the amusements and exertions of
his favoured rival.

In the morning at break of day, each fair lady was awakened by a
song, bidding her arise and eclipse the sun; and, as he awoke, and
gave life to the flowers and fruits of the earth, so must she
spread her benign influence over the hearts of men. The guests
assembled in the hall of the castle, which was hung with festoons
of evergreens and flowers; and, as they sat, an invisible concert
was played, and, between the pauses of the music, a strain of rich
melody broke upon the air, that by its unrivalled sweetness
betrayed that the singer was Ildone, who, thus concealed, could
wrap the soul in Elysium, while his presence must have destroyed
the enchantment.

After the music, they were conducted to a small amphitheatre,
constructed on the little green platform before the castle, where
they were amused by the tricks of the jugglers, sleight of hand,
fire- eating, rope-dancing, and every prank that has been known
from the shores of the Ganges to those of the Thames, from the most
distant periods, even down to our own times. After these had
displayed their arts, a number of the peasantry of Valperga
presented themselves to run at the ring. Three pieces of cloth, and
two of silk, the prizes for the various games, streamed from the
props that supported the amphitheatre. Two poles were erected, and
string was attached to these, on which were strung three rings. A
peasant on horseback, with his lance in rest, galloped past in a
line parallel to the string, endeavouring to catch the three rings
on the point of his lance; the first, second and third failed,--the
fourth was more successful; he caught the three rings, and bore off
the piece of scarlet-cloth as his prize. A wrestling match
succeeded, a foot-race, and then a horse- race; the prizes were
distributed by Borsiere; and then, it being noon, the company
adjourned to their mid-day meal.

It were needless to enumerate the dainties that made their
appearance; Borsiere resolved that the feast neither of the
preceding, nor of the two following days, should exceed his; and,
having been often regaled at the tables of the most luxurious
princes of Europe, he now displayed the skill that he had there
acquired, in the directions he gave to the ruder cooks of
Euthanasia. When every one had satisfied his appetite, the
conversation flagged, and the eyes of the ladies wandered round in
search of new amusement. Borsiere appeared at the head of his
party; Bergamino, Guarino, Ildone and a score others of less fame
came forward; while Andreuccio edged in sideways, neither choosing
to join, nor be left out of the company. Advancing in a courteous
manner, Borsiere intreated the company to follow him: they all
rose, each lady attended by her cavalier. Borsiere had been bred at
courts, and knew how to marshal them with the science of a
seneschal; as they quitted the hall, they, as by magic, fell each
into his proper place, and every noble dame felt that neither could
she have preceded the person before her, nor would she have gone
behind the one who followed her. Thus, in courtly guise, they
proceeded through several passages of the castle, till they quitted
it by a small postern; the rocky face of the mountain rose, as I
have already said, immediately behind the castle, and almost
overhung the battlements; but this postern opened on the little
winding staircase I have before mentioned, that, cut in the rock,
enabled them to scale the precipice; they ascended therefore, and
before they could feel fatigued, they came to a small platform of
turf-covered rock, which Borsiere had prepared for their
accommodation. The fountain, that gushed from a cleft, trickled
down with a gentle murmur, and filled the basin prepared to receive
it with its clear and sparkling liquid. This fountain had, like
many other springs of those mountains, peculiar qualities: in
summer it was icy cold, and in winter it became warmer and warmer
as the temperature of the air decreased, until on the frosty
mornings of December it smoked in its passage down the rock. To
preserve the waters of this basin from the rains, Euthanasia had,
as already mentioned, built an alcove over it, supported by small
columns; this was a favourite retreat of our young mountain--nymph;
and Borsiere had adorned it for the occasion with a master's
hand. The boughs of the trees were bent down, and fastened to the
rock, or to the roof of the alcove, and then, being interlaced with
other boughs, formed a web on which he wove a sky of flowers, which
shut out the sun's rays, and, agitated by the gentlest airs,
cast forth the most delicate scents: the artificer of the bower had
despoiled an hundred gardens to decorate only the floor of the
platform, forming a thousand antic device with the petals of
various flowers. Anemones, narcissi, daffodils, hyacinths, lilies
of the valley, and the earliest roses, had all lent their hues,
making a brief mosaic of these lovely and fragile materials; and
the white columns of the alcove shone in the midst of this splendid
shew in elegant simplicity. Seats were placed round in a semicircle
for the company; from hence they could behold the whole country;
the platform was so high, that it surmounted the battlements of the
castle, and they viewed the entire plain of Lucca, its defiles and
woody hills, and the clear Serchio that loitered on its way across
it. An exclamation of delight burst from all lips, as they entered
this flowery paradise, where every gay colour of nature was heaped
about in rich and lovely profusion, while the deep green of the
ilex trees, the soft and fan-like foliage of the acacia, mingled
with the shining foliage of the laurel, bay and myrtle, relieved
the eye from any glare of colours. The joyous company sat down; and
Borsiere, coming forward, announced, that he and his companions
were ready to present the assembly with their songs and tales;
Euthanasia accepted the offer in the name of her guests; and
Guarino first shewed himself: that he should be the first to
attract the attention of the noble guests had been the bribe which
won him to forget his hoarseness, and, having entered upon his
task, there was no doubt that his vanity would induce him to exert
his utmost powers to surpass his companions.

He sang extempore verses on the event of the late war with
Florence, changing his notes, from the hurry of battle, to the
wailing for the dead, and then to the song of triumph, whose
thrilling melody transported the hearers with admiration. Then,
leaving this high theme, he described himself as Dante descending
to hell; but, as he had ventured thither without a guide, rude
Charon had refused him a passage, and he only saw the wandering
ghosts of those recently dead, and some few who bewailed their
unburied bones, as they flitted about the dreary coast. Here he
found Manfred, who, addressing him, told him that he was now
paying, and hereafter would more painfully pay, the deadly penalty
for his many crimes--"Well did they for me, and
benignly," he cried, "who cast my bones from their
unhallowed sepulchre; for now I wander here untormented; but, when
the cycle of an hundred years is fulfilled, and I pass that dark
river, fire and torture await me, dire punishment for my resistance
to the Holy Father." And then continuing, he sent a message to
his friends on earth, bidding them repent; and Guarino introduced
into this the bitter gall of his sharp and cruel satire against his
enemies. He ended; and small applause followed, for he had offended
many who were present by his strictures, and few could sympathize
in the deep malignity of his anathemas.