The Talisman. Вальтер Скотт

further ransom of one hundred thousand bezants. After this capitulation, the following extraordinary scene took place. We shall give it in the words of the humorous and amiable George Ellis, the collector and the editor of these Romances: —

      “Though the garrison had faithfully performed the other articles of their contract, they were unable to restore the cross, which was not in their possession, and were therefore treated by the Christians with great cruelty. Daily reports of their sufferings were carried to Saladin; and as many of them were persons of the highest distinction, that monarch, at the solicitation of their friends, dispatched an embassy to King Richard with magnificent presents, which he offered for the ransom of the captives. The ambassadors were persons the most respectable from their age, their rank, and their eloquence. They delivered their message in terms of the utmost humility; and without arraigning the justice of the conqueror in his severe treatment of their countrymen, only solicited a period to that severity, laying at his feet the treasures with which they were entrusted, and pledging themselves and their master for the payment of any further sums which he might demand as the price of mercy.

           “King Richard spake with wordes mild.

           ‘The gold to take, God me shield!

           Among you partes [Divide] every charge.

           I brought in shippes and in barge,

           More gold and silver with me,

           Than has your lord, and swilke three.

           To his treasure have I no need!

           But for my love I you bid,

           To meat with me that ye dwell;

           And afterward I shall you tell.

           Thorough counsel I shall you answer,

           What BODE [Message] ye shall to your lord bear.

      “The invitation was gratefully accepted. Richard, in the meantime, gave secret orders to his marshal that he should repair to the prison, select a certain number of the most distinguished captives, and, after carefully noting their names on a roll of parchment, cause their heads to be instantly struck off; that these heads should be delivered to the cook, with instructions to clear away the hair, and, after boiling them in a cauldron, to distribute them on several platters, one to each guest, observing to fasten on the forehead of each the piece of parchment expressing the name and family of the victim.

           “‘An hot head bring me beforn,

           As I were well apayed withall,

           Eat thereof fast I shall;

           As it were a tender chick,

           To see how the others will like.’

      “This horrible order was punctually executed. At noon the guests were summoned to wash by the music of the waits. The king took his seat attended by the principal officers of his court, at the high table, and the rest of the company were marshalled at a long table below him. On the cloth were placed portions of salt at the usual distances, but neither bread, wine, nor water. The ambassadors, rather surprised at this omission, but still free from apprehension, awaited in silence the arrival of the dinner, which was announced by the sound of pipes, trumpets, and tabours; and beheld, with horror and dismay, the unnatural banquet introduced by the steward and his officers. Yet their sentiments of disgust and abhorrence, and even their fears, were for a time suspended by their curiosity. Their eyes were fixed on the king, who, without the slightest change of countenance, swallowed the morsels as fast as they could be supplied by the knight who carved them.

           “Every man then poked other;

           They said, ‘This is the devil’s brother,

           That slays our men, and thus hem eats!’

      “Their attention was then involuntarily fixed on the smoking heads before them. They traced in the swollen and distorted features the resemblance of a friend or near relation, and received from the fatal scroll which accompanied each dish the sad assurance that this resemblance was not imaginary. They sat in torpid silence, anticipating their own fate in that of their countrymen; while their ferocious entertainer, with fury in his eyes, but with courtesy on his lips, insulted them by frequent invitations to merriment. At length this first course was removed, and its place supplied by venison, cranes, and other dainties, accompanied by the richest wines. The king then apologized to them for what had passed, which he attributed to his ignorance of their taste; and assured them of his religious respect for their characters as ambassadors, and of his readiness to grant them a safe-conduct for their return. This boon was all that they now wished to claim; and

           “King Richard spake to an old man,

           ‘Wendes home to your Soudan!

           His melancholy that ye abate;

           And sayes that ye came too late.

           Too slowly was your time y-guessed;

           Ere ye came, the flesh was dressed,

           That men shoulden serve with me,

           Thus at noon, and my meynie.

           Say him, it shall him nought avail,

           Though he for-bar us our vitail,

           Bread, wine, fish, flesh, salmon, and conger;

           Of us none shall die with hunger,

           While we may wenden to fight,

           And slay the Saracens downright,

           Wash the flesh, and roast the head.

           With 0 [One] Saracen I may well feed

           Well a nine or a ten

           Of my good Christian men.

           King Richard shall warrant,

           There is no flesh so nourissant

           Unto an English man,

           Partridge, plover, heron, ne swan,

           Cow ne ox, sheep ne swine,

           As the head of a Sarazyn.

           There he is fat, and thereto tender,

           And my men be lean and slender.

           While any Saracen quick be,

           Livand now in this Syrie,

           For meat will we nothing care.

           Abouten fast we shall rare,

           And every day we shall eat

           All as many as we may get.

           To England will we nought gon,

           Till they be eaten every one.’”

      ELLIS’S SPECIMENS OF EARLY ENGLISH METRICEL ROMANCES.

      The reader may be curious to know owing to what circumstances so extraordinary an invention as that which imputed cannibalism to the King of England should have found its way into his history. Mr. James, to whom we owe so much that is curious, seems to have traced the origin of this extraordinary rumour.

      “With the army of the cross also was a multitude of men,” the same author declares, “who made it a profession to be without money. They walked barefoot, carried no arms, and even preceded the beasts of burden in their march, living upon roots and herbs, and presenting a spectacle both disgusting and pitiable.

      “A Norman, who, according to all accounts, was of noble birth, but who, having lost his horse, continued to follow as a foot soldier, took the strange resolution of putting himself at the head of this race of vagabonds, who willingly received him as their king. Amongst the