Book: Theobald, The Iron Hearted
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[Illustration: MEETING OF THEOBALD AND ARNOLD.--SEE CHAPTER
III.]
THEOBALD, THE IRON-HEARTED;
OR,
LOVE TO ENEMIES.
FROM THE FRENCH OF REV. CESAR MALAN.
1808
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
GOTTFRIED AND ERARD--PURSUIT OF A HORSEMAN--RESCUE OF THE WOUNDED
CHEVALIER
CHAPTER II
TRAPPINGS OF THE HORSE--MIDNIGHT ARRIVAL--CHARACTER OF THE WOUNDED MAN
DISCOVERED--HIS NARRATIVE--FAMILY WORSHIP
CHAPTER III
THEOBALD'S ACCOUNT OF HIS CONFLICT WITH ARNOLD THE LION--HATRED OF
ENEMIES--DISTRESS OF THE FAMILY
CHAPTER IV.
KINDNESS TO AN ENEMY--ARNOLD ARRIVES ALIVE, BUT WOUNDED--THEOBALD'S
AMAZEMENT AT THE KINDNESS HE RECEIVES
CHAPTER V.
ARNOLD'S NARRATIVE OF THE BATTLE AND WHAT FOLLOWED--HILDEGARDE AND
THEOBALD'S CHILDREN
CHAPTER VI.
ANXIETIES OF THEOBALD--WORSHIP OF MARY--THEOBALD INFORMED WHERE HE IS
CHAPTER VII.
ARNOLD INFORMED OF WHAT HAS TAKEN PLACE--HIS JOYFUL SURPRISE--ABSENCE OF
GOTTFRIED
CHAPTER VIII.
FRIENDLY MEETING OF THE WARRIORS--MUTUAL FORGIVENESS--THEOBALD'S DESIRE
FOR INSTRUCTION--RETURN OF GOTTFRIED--THE BIBLE--LESSON OF LOVE TO
ENEMIES
THEOBALD, THE IRON-HEARTED.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
GOTTFRIED AND ERARD--PURSUIT OF A HORSEMAN--RESCUE OF THE WOUNDED
CHEVALIER
In the long and bloody war which followed the martyrdom of John Huss and
Jerome of Prague,[1] two hostile armies met, in 1423, in one of the most
beautiful valleys of Bohemia.
The battle commenced towards the close of day, and continued until after
sunset.
It was then that old Gottfried, accompanied by Erard, his grandson,
climbed to the summit of a steep hill, from the edge of which might be
perceived, in the depth of the valley, behind a wood, some troops still
fighting.
The old man and the child, (Erard was scarcely nine years of age,) were
sad and silent. They both looked towards the plain, and it was with a
profound sigh that Erard at last said, "O, how good is the Lord, if he
has preserved my father!"
"The Lord can preserve him!" said Gottfried, with solemnity, "Arnold
belongs to him; yes, my son, your father is one of his dear children!"
"But, grandpapa," resumed Erard, looking at the old man, "do not
Christians also die in battle? God does not preserve them all."
"If my son has laid down his life for the Lord," continued Gottfried,
"he is not dead: his soul has gone from this world to be with his
Saviour."
"To be with my good mamma!" said the child. "In heaven with the angels,
is it not, dear grandpapa?"
"To be with thy mother, my son," replied the old man, drawing the child
towards him. "Yes, in the heaven of the blessed! It is there that all
those who love Jesus go, and your mother was his faithful servant."
Erard sighed, and exclaimed, "O, how good will God be if he has
preserved my father, my good father! O, grandpapa, why did you let him
go?"
"Erard," replied the old Christian, "your father would rather not have
fought, he has so much patience and in his heart; but then he also has
courage: he has been surnamed----"
"Grandpapa," interrupted the child, with agitation, and pointing with
his hand towards the plain, under the declivity of the hill, and in a
narrow passage between the rocks and woods, "do you see those three
horsemen?"
In fact, three armed warriors were hastening, at the utmost speed of
their horses, towards a thick coppice, which they entered, and
disappeared. The first seemed to be flying before the two others, who
appeared to be in furious pursuit.
Gottfried listened, but no sound was heard; and, a few moments
afterwards, he distinctly saw two of the warriors come out of the wood
and hasten towards the plain, repassing the defile.
"Alas!" said the old man, groaning, "they have killed him! They have
dipped their hands in the blood of their brother!"
"They have killed him! Do you say so, grandpapa? Whom have they killed?
Is it my father?"
"No, my son; the first warrior was not Arnold. But it was a man, and
those are men who have killed him! O Lord, when wilt thou teach them to
love one another? But let us go to him," added the old man.
"To the dead man!" exclaimed Erard with affright. "Grandpapa, see! it is
already night."
"Come, my child," said Gottfried, "and fear not. Perhaps he is not yet
dead; and if God sends us to his assistance, will you not be happy?"
"But, grandpapa, the wood is so dark, that I don't see how we shall
find our way."
"Well, Erard, I will wait here. Run to the house, and return immediately
with Ethbert and Matthew. Tell them that I have sent for them, and let
them bring a torch and the long hand-barrow. Make haste!"
Erard was soon out of sight, and only a short time had elapsed before he
returned with the two domestics, who held each a flambeaux and brought
the litter.
The child trembled while they descended, over the rocks and through the
woods. It seemed to him that he was about to step in the blood or fall
over the body of the dead man. The flame of the torches, which wavered
in the evening breeze, now struck a projection of the rock, which seemed
to assume the form of a man, now penetrated behind the trunks of the
pines, which appeared like ranks of soldiers. The imagination of Erard
was excited: he scarcely breathed, and felt his heart sink when Ethbert,
who was walking before, exclaimed, "Here he is! He is dead!"
It was a chevalier and a nobleman; whom Gottfried immediately recognized
by the form of his casque and the golden scarf to which was suspended
the scabbard of his sword.
The visor of the casque was closed. Gottfried raised it, and saw the
pale and bloody countenance of a man, still young, whose features
expressed courage and valor.
He had fallen under his horse, in whose side was found the point of a
lance which had killed him; and the whole body of his steed had covered
and crushed one of his limbs. The right hand of the chevalier still
grasped the handle of a sword of which the blade was broken.
Gottfried and his servants looked on some moments. The light of the
torches shone on the rich armor of the chevalier and on the
gold-embroidered housing of his horse, and it seemed as if its
brilliancy must open his closed eyes and re-animate his motionless
limbs.
Erard kept close to his grandfather and a little behind him. He wept
gently, but not with fear--it was with grief and sorrow,--and he
repeated, in a low voice, "They have killed him! The wicked men!"
"Perhaps he still lives," said Gottfried, kneeling and placing his ear
to the chevalier's mouth. "Raise him! Loose him!" exclaimed he, rising
hastily. "He is not dead!"
"He is not dead! he is not dead!" repeated Erard; and he began with all
his little force to push the body of the dead horse, which the three men
raised, and from beneath which they at last disengaged the leg of the
chevalier. It was bruised against a stone which had torn the flesh, and
the blood was flowing from it copiously.
"Water!" cried Gottfried, unlacing the armor of the chevalier and taking
off his casque, which one of the domestics took that he might fill it
with water from the foot of the rocks.
Meanwhile the benevolent old man had laid the chevalier on the ground,
upon the housing of his horse and his own garment, which he had taken
off; he supported his head with one hand, and with the other lightly
rubbed his breast, to revive the beating of his heart.
At last the servant brought water. Gottfried bathed and cooled with it
the face and head of the chevalier, who, after a few moments, sighed,
and half-opened his eyes.
"Almighty God," exclaimed Gottfried, "thou hast revived him! O, may it
be for thy glory!" "Amen!" said his servants.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Both were burned alive at Constance, by order of the
council held in that city: the first on the 6th of July, 1415; the
second on the 30th of May, 1416.]
CHAPTER II.
TRAPPINGS OF THE HORSE--MIDNIGHT ARRIVAL--CHARACTER OF THE WOUNDED MAN
DISCOVERED--HIS NARRATIVE--FAMILY WORSHIP.
The dear and sensible Erard was delighted. He laughed, he wept, he
looked at the chevalier, whose cheeks had recovered some color, and
asked him, softly, whether he lived, and whether he heard and saw them.
"Where am I?" asked the chevalier, faintly, turning his eyes towards one
of the torches.
"With God and with your brethren!" replied Gottfried, taking one of his
hands. "But say no more now, and may God aid us!"
It was necessary to transport the warrior to the dwelling of Gottfried,
and the passage was long and difficult.
Gottfried first spread upon the litter some light pine-branches, over
which he placed the housing of the horse and his own outer garments,
those of his servants, and even that of Erard, who begged him to take
this also; then, after the old man had bound up the bruised limb between
strong splinters of pine, which he had cut with the blade of the
chevalier's sword, and which he tied with his scarf, he laid the warrior
on the branches, while two robust servants carefully raised and bore the
litter towards the summit of the hill.
"And the poor horse!" said Erard, at the moment when his grandpapa, who
bore the flambeaux and the sword of the Chevalier, began his march.
"You will return to-morrow morning," said Gottfried to his servants,
"and take off the trappings. As to the body, the eagles and the crows
must devour it. Come, and may God guard and strengthen us!"
The chevalier had recovered his senses. He saw himself in the hands of
friends, and doubted not that the old man was a supporter of the cause
he had himself defended.
It was not until midnight that the convoy reached the house of
Gottfried. The journey was made slowly, and more than once the master
had desired his servants to rest.
The bed of the old man himself received the wounded knight, on whom
Gottfried, who was no stranger to the art of healing wounds and
fractures, bestowed the most judicious cares, and beside whom this
devoted Christian passed the remainder of the night.
"Go and take some rest," said he to Erard and the domestics, "and may
our God and Saviour keep your souls while his goodness gives you sleep!"
Erard embraced his grandfather, Ethbert and Matthew bent before him
respectfully, and Gottfried remained alone, in silence, near the bed,
which was lighted by a little lamp, through a curtain which concealed
it.
"You have saved me!" said the chevalier to the old man, when all was
quiet in the house. "May the Holy Virgin recompense you."
"It is then one of our enemies!" said Gottfried to himself, as he heard
this prayer. "O God!" said he in his heart, "make thy charity to abound
in me!"
"I am your friend," replied the old man, affectionately, "and God
himself has granted me the blessing of being useful to you. But, I pray
you, remain silent, and, if possible, sleep a few moments."
Gottfried needed to collect his thoughts, and to ask God for his Spirit
of peace and love. He had already supposed, at sight of the chevalier's
shield, that he belonged to the army of the enemy; but he had just
received the certainty of it, and "perhaps, perhaps," said he to
himself, "I have before me one who may have killed my son!"
The old man therefore spent the moments not employed beside the
chevalier in praying to God and in reading his gospel of grace.
The knight slept peacefully towards morning, and on awaking showed that
he was refreshed. "If it were not," said he, "for my bruised limb, I
would ask for my arms. O, why am I not at the head of my men?"
Gottfried sighed, and as he gave the warrior some drink, said, in a low
voice, "Why do men hate and kill each other, invoking the name of Him
who died to save them?"
"But," exclaimed the warrior, in a deep voice, "are those who despise
and fight against the holy Church Christians?"
At this moment Erard half opened the door, and showed his pretty curly
head, saying, "Grandpapa, has the wounded man been able to sleep? I have
prayed God for him."
"Much obliged, my child," said the chevalier, extending his hand to him.
"Come! do not fear; approach. O, how you resemble my second son! What is
your age and name?"
"I am called Erard," replied the child, giving his hand to the
chevalier, "and I shall soon be nine years old."
"That is also the age of my Rodolph," pursued the chevalier. "Alas!
they will think me dead! Those villains! those cowards! Did they not see
that I had no lance, and that my sword was broken?"
"Go, my child," said Gottfried. "Let the table and the books be
prepared, I will soon come and pray to God with you. Call all the
servants."
"Will you also pray for me?" asked the chevalier, "If you will, pray
also for my dear Hildegarde and our five children. O, when shall my eyes
see them again?"
"Is it long since you left them?" asked Gottfried.
"It is a week," replied the chevalier, with firmness. "I learned that
the intrepid Arnold----"
"What Arnold?" asked Gottfried, with anxiety.
"Arnold the Lion, as he is called," said the warrior, "and one of the
chiefs of these rebels." (_Gottfried turned pale and raised his eyes to
heaven_.) "I learned that this audacious Arnold had joined his camp, and
I felt that my duty called me immediately to the field. I therefore left
my family and my house, and have shown the rebels that my arm and my
heart are as strong as ever,"
"Have you encountered this Arnold?" asked Gottfried, hardly daring to
ask this question.
"Have I encountered him!" cried the chevalier. "And who but myself could
have----?"
"They are waiting for prayers," said Erard, opening the door. "Dear
grandpapa, will you come?"
The old man followed the child, and his tearful eyes soon rested on the
Book of God.
"Grandpapa, you are weeping!" said Erard, approaching the old man. "What
is the matter? Are you suffering?"
"Listen to the word of consolation," said Gottfried, making the child
sit down; "and may the Spirit of Jesus himself address it to our
hearts."
He read then from the book of Psalms, and said a few words on
resignation to the will of God, and in his humble prayer supplicated God
to remember the chevalier and his family, and to bless him in the house
whither he had been brought in his mercy. "Amen! Amen!" repeated all the
servants.
CHAPTER III.
THEOBALD'S ACCOUNT OF HIS CONFLICT WITH ARNOLD THE LION--HATRED OP
ENEMIES--DISTRESS OF THE FAMILY.
"You are pious people," said the chevalier to Gottfried, in the
afternoon of the same day, and while Erard was present. "Religion is a
good thing."
"One who loves Jesus is always happy," said the child.
"Let them love Jesus!" replied the warrior. "But this is what I heard
last evening, when I was about to fight the Lion."
"I pray you," said Gottfried, do not talk any more now; it will increase
your sufferings."
"I do not suffer," replied the chevalier, "This leg is very painful, it
is true; but it is only a leg," added he, smiling. "Ought I to make
myself uneasy about it?"
"You fought with a lion, then, last evening?" asked Erard, with
curiosity, "Was he very large and strong?"
Gottfried would have sent Erard away, for he feared for him the story of
the chevalier; but the latter asked that he might be allowed to remain.
"Erard must become a man," added he. "My children know what a battle is.
Let Erard then not be afraid at what I am about to say.
"My name is Theobald," continued the chevalier, "and from my earliest
youth I was surnamed _the iron-hearted_, because I never cried at pain,
and never knew what it was to be afraid. My father, one of the powerful
noblemen of Bohemia, accustomed me, from my earliest years, to despise
cold, hunger, thirst and fatigue; and I was scarcely Erard's age when I
seized by the throat and strangled a furious dog that was springing upon
one of my sisters.
"War has always been my life. This has now lasted nearly four years, and
my sword has not been idle. The Hussites and the Calixtans[2] have felt
it."
At these words Erard, who was sitting beside the bed of the chevalier,
rose and went to a window, at the farther end of the room.
"I had spent some weeks with my family, when I learned that the enemy
was approaching, and that one of their principal chiefs had just joined
them. This chief was the Lion."
_Erard, rising_. Grandpapa, perhaps it was----.
"Be silent, my son," said Gottfried.
"Our camps had been in sight of each other two days," continued
Theobald, "when we decided at last to attack them; and last evening the
combat took place.
"It had lasted more than three hours, when I caused a retreat to be
sounded, in order to suspend, if possible, the conflict, and myself to
terminate the day by a single combat with the most valiant of the
enemy's chieftains.
"Our troops stopped, retired, and I challenged the Lion, who, without
delay, left the ranks and advanced alone to meet me." (_Gottfried leans
against a table, and rests his head on his hand_.)
He was a man younger than myself, and of noble appearance. His sword
was attached to a scarf of silver and azure, and from beneath his
casque, the visor of which was raised, escaped curls of light hair.
"Grandpapa!" exclaimed Erard, running towards Gottfried, "was it not--?"
"Be quiet, Erard," said his grandfather, ordering him to sit down.
"Should a child interrupt an older person who is speaking?"
"This chevalier," resumed Theobald, "advanced towards me, who had also
left the ranks, and when all was ready, stopped his horse, and said to
me, mildly, but with a deep and manly voice, 'Jesus has shed his blood
for us: why would you shed mine? I will defend myself,' added he,
pulling down his visor and holding out his shield, 'but I will not
strike.'"
"These words affected me, I confess, and I was on the point of
withdrawing, when, fixing my eyes on the shield which he presented, I
saw that golden chalice."
"It was he! yes, it was he!" exclaimed Erard, sobbing and flying from
the room.
"This boy," said Theobald, "is still a child, and the idea of bloodshed
inspires him with fear."
"Ah!" said Gottfried, "his father is also in the army, and this
narrative gives him anxiety on his account. You did not then spare this
warrior?"
"I have told you: the sight of the chalice awoke my fury, and
exclaiming, Defend thyself, I took my sword with both hands, and with a
single blow dashed aside his shield and cleft his helmet.
"But my sword broke; and at the moment when the Lion fell----"
_Gottfried, with terror_. Did Arnold then fall? Was Arnold killed?
"So perish all who hate the Holy Church! (_Gottfried conceals his face
in his hands_.) But as soon as I had struck him, his soldiers
precipitated themselves upon ours, and five of their chevaliers threw
themselves upon me and surrounded me. I had no arms: I had laid down my
lance to combat with the Lion, and my sword was broken. I could yet,
with the fragment that remained, repulse and strike down three men; but
I was alone, my people were themselves surrounded, and I saw that I must
perish. It was then that I fled. (O, how I regret it! But the cowards!
they did not give me even a sword!) Yes, I fled towards the forest,
hoping to find there a branch with which I could arm and defend myself;
but my horse stumbled over the roots, in consequence of which I fell
and fainted.
"The rest you know. I owe my life to you; and you have taken care of me
like a father."
"Arnold is then dead!" cried Gottfried, without perceiving that the
chevalier had finished his narrative.
"Do not regret it," replied Theobald. "He was an enemy of our faith; one
of those ferocious Taborites,[3] who deny the Holy Father and demolish
sacred places."
"And it was you," continued Gottfried, "it was you yourself who struck
him, when he refused to draw his sword against you!"
"It was not I, it was the Holy Virgin, who overthrew him! It was she to
whom I had devoted my sword, and it was in her service that it was
broken. It is thus she consecrated it. May she bless you also,--you who,
for love of her, receive me as a son!"
Gottfried had nothing to say in reply. He wished to pour out his tears
before the Lord, and left the chevalier, to whom he sent the faithful
and prudent Ethbert.
"Sit down," said Theobald to the domestic, and tell me who is this
Prince of peace, of whom you spoke to me, last night. "Was it not you
who bore me hither with another servant, and who, leaning towards me,
when we passed the threshold of this house, said to me: May the Prince
of peace himself receive you? Who is this Prince? Is it thy master, this
venerable and mild old man?"
"Jesus is the Prince of peace," replied Ethbert; "for he is love, and
love does not war against any one."
"Jesus! did you say, is the Prince of peace! But is he not with us who
support his cause, and who yet fight valiantly?"
_Ethbert_. The cause of Jesus is the gospel of his grace. His cause is
not supported by the sword and lance; but is defended by truth and love.
_Theobald, surprised_. Your words, Ethbert, are sermons. Where do they
come from?
_Ethbert_. He who is acquainted with God speaks the word of God; and God
is love. God will not revenge and kill with hatred. God pardons and
bestows grace.
_Theobald, agitated_. You would say, perhaps, that God is not with me,
because I avenge myself of my enemies. Have they not deserved my
hatred?
_Ethbert_. "Love your enemies," saith God to those who know him. "Avenge
not yourselves," he says again to his beloved.
_Theobald, still more astonished_. Your words trouble me. Is it then a
crime to destroy an adversary?
_Ethbert_. Cain rose up against his brother Abel; and it was because the
works of his brother were good, but his own were evil. The Christian
does not hate. The Christian does not avenge himself.
_Theobald_. Am I then not a Christian?
_Ethbert, mildly and respectfully_. He who is of Christ, walks as Christ
himself walked. Christ went from place to place doing good; and it is
Christ himself, who says to his Church: "Love one another. He who
loveth is of God."
Theobald was silent. These words: "He who loveth is of God," had touched
his heart, and he was affected and humbled. Ethbert was also silent,
secretly asking of God to enlighten and soften the heart of the
chevalier, for which Matthew and himself had already prayed more than
once.
At last Theobald said, slowly, "It is not, then, like Christians, for
men to hate and war with each other? And yet these impious men deserve
to be burned; and are not those who imitate them the enemies of God and
of the Church?"
"It is no Christian," replied Ethbert, "who kindles the fire that
consumes a friend of Jesus; and this Huss and Jerome, who were delivered
to the flames, loved Jesus."
_Theobald_. But did they not blaspheme the Holy Church?
_Ethbert_. He who loves Jesus does not blaspheme his name; and the name
of Jesus is written on the Church of Jesus. No, no: the Christian does
not hate or revenge himself; and he blasphemes neither his God nor the
Church of God!
"It is enough!" said Theobald to the servant. "Leave me--I have need of
repose and silence:" and the servant went out.
Meanwhile Gottfried had retired into his room, and, like David, wept and
sobbed before the Lord, repeating, with bitterness, "Arnold! my son
Arnold! Thou art no more! thy father will never more see thee on earth!"
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 2: Those who followed the doctrine of John Huss against the
Church of Rome. The Calixtans, in particular, maintained that in the
sacrament the cup or _chalice_ should be given to the people.]
[Footnote 3: A name assumed by the Hussites, under the command of John
Ziska, after having built a fortress which they called Tabor, near the
city of Bechin, in Bohemia.]
CHAPTER IV.
KINDNESS TO AN ENEMY--ARNOLD ARRIVES ALIVE, BUT WOUNDED--THEOBALD'S
AMAZEMENT AT THE KINDNESS HE RECEIVES.
Erard heard the voice of his grandfather, and ran to throw himself in
his arms, exclaiming, "The wicked man! the wicked man!--he has killed my
father! God has not preserved him, grandpapa! My father is dead!"
"Adore God, my son!" said Gottfried, overcoming his grief, "and do not
murmur! Especially, my son, do not grow angry, and do not hate!"
"But, grandpapa," replied Erard, with anguish, "it was he who was
struck! It was my father whom he killed!"
"No, my son; the warrior killed one whom he fancied an enemy, Erard!
Theobald believed himself serving God, and doing a holy work, in
killing a Calixtan."
"He then does not love Jesus--this poor chevalier!" exclaimed the pious
child. "O, grandpapa, how unhappy he must be!"
"Yes, my son--very unhappy!" replied Gottfried. "Do not hate him,
therefore, but pray to God for him. Was it not God who conducted him
hither--and was it not that we might speak to him of Jesus, and that we
might love him--yes, Erard, that we might love him, for the sake of our
Saviour?"
"But," exclaimed the old man, rising and advancing towards the window of
his room, "what is this? What do I see in the distance, toward the
rocks, at the entrance to the wood?" Erard looked also, and was sure
that he saw men. "Yes--soldiers!" exclaimed he; "for I see their
helmets glisten. There are many of them, grandpapa! Are they coming to
kill us also, because we love Jesus?"