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Rienzi, Last of the Roman Tribunes, a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton |
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Book 5. The Crisis - Chapter 5.3. The Battle |
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_ "I have dreamed a dream," cried Rienzi, leaping from his bed. "The lion-hearted Boniface, foe and victim of the Colonna, hath appeared to me, and promised victory. ("In questa notte mi e apparito Santo Bonifacio Papa," &c.--;"Vita di Cola di Rienzi" cap. 32.) Nina, prepare the laurel-wreath: this day victory shall be ours!" "O, Rienzi! today?" "Yes! hearken to the bell--hearken to the trumpet. Nay, I hear even now the impatient hoofs of my white warsteed! One kiss, Nina, ere I arm for victory,--stay--comfort poor Irene; let me not see her--she weeps that my foes are akin to her betrothed; I cannot brook her tears; I watched her in her cradle. Today, I must have no weakness on my soul! Knaves, twice perjured!--wolves, never to be tamed!--shall I meet ye at last sword to sword? Away, sweet Nina, to Irene, quick! Adrian is at Naples, and were he in Rome, her lover is sacred, though fifty times a Colonna." With that, the Tribune passed into his wardrobe, where his pages and gentlemen attended with his armour. "I hear, by our spies," said he, "that they will be at our gates ere noon--four thousand foot, seven hundred horsemen. We will give them a hearty welcome, my masters. How, Angelo Villani, my pretty page, what do you out of your lady's service?" "I would fain see a warrior arm for Rome," said the boy, with a boy's energy. "Bless thee, my child; there spoke one of Rome's true sons!" "And the Signora has promised me that I shall go with her guard to the gates, to hear the news--" "And report the victory?--thou shalt. But they must not let thee come within shaft-shot. What! my Pandulfo, thou in mail?" "Rome requires every man," said the citizen, whose weak nerves were strung by the contagion of the general enthusiasm. "She doth--and once more I am proud to be a Roman. Now, gentles, the Dalmaticum: (A robe or mantle of white, borne by Rienzi; at one time belonging to the sacerdotal office, afterwards an emblem of empire.) I would that every foe should know Rienzi; and, by the Lord of Hosts, fighting at the head of the imperial people, I have a right to the imperial robe. Are the friars prepared? Our march to the gates shall be preceded by a solemn hymn--so fought our sires." "Tribune, John di Vico is arrived with a hundred horse to support the Good Estate." "He hath!--The Lord has delivered us then of a foe, and given our dungeons a traitor!--Bring hither yon casket, Angelo.--So--Hark thee! Pandulfo, read this letter." The citizens read, with surprise and consternation, the answer of the wily Prefect to the Colonna's epistle. "He promises the Baron to desert to him in the battle, with the Prefect's banner," said Pandulfo. "What is to be done?" "What!--take my signet--here--see him lodged forthwith in the prison of the Capitol. Bid his train leave Rome, and if found acting with the Barons, warn them that their Lord dies. Go--see to it without a moment's delay. Meanwhile, to the chapel--we will hear mass." Within an hour the Roman army--vast, miscellaneous--old men and boys, mingled with the vigour of life, were on their march to the Gate of San Lorenzo; of their number, which amounted to twenty thousand foot, not one-sixth could be deemed men-at-arms; but the cavalry were well equipped, and consisted of the lesser Barons and the more opulent citizens. At the head of these rode the Tribune in complete armour, and wearing on his casque a wreath of oak and olive leaves, wrought in silver. Before him waved the great gonfalon of Rome, while in front of this multitudinous array marched a procession of monks, of the order of St. Francis, (for the ecclesiastical body of Rome went chiefly with the popular spirit, and its enthusiastic leader,)--slowly chanting the following hymn, which was made inexpressibly startling and imposing at the close of each stanza, by the clash of arms, the blast of trumpets, and the deep roll of the drum; which formed, as it were, a martial chorus to the song:-- 1. March, march for your hearths and your altars! (Rienzi's word of battle was "Spirito Santo Cavaliere", i.e. Blow, trumpets, blow, 2. March, march for your Freedom and Laws! 3. March, march! ye are sons of the Roman,
"Throw open the gates, and admit the foe!" cried Rienzi, with a loud voice; as the trumpets of the Barons, announced their approach. Meanwhile the insurgent Patricians, who had marched that morning from a place called the Monument, four miles distant, came gallantly and boldly on. With old Stephen, whose great height, gaunt frame, and lordly air, shewed well in his gorgeous mail, rode his sons,--the Frangipani and the Savelli, and Giordano Orsini, brother to Rinaldo. "Today the tyrant shall perish!" said the proud Baron; "and the flag of the Colonna shall wave from the Capitol." "The flag of the Bear," said Giordano Orsini, angrily.--"The victory will not be yours alone, my Lord!" "Our house ever took precedence in Rome," replied the Colonna, haughtily. "Never, while one stone of the palaces of the Orsini stands upon another." "Hush!" said Luca di Savelli; "are ye dividing the skin while the lion lives? We shall have fierce work today." "Not so," said the old Colonna; "John di Vico will turn, with his Romans, at the first onset, and some of the malcontents within have promised to open the gates.--How, knave?" as a scout rode up breathless to the Baron. "What tidings?" "The gates are opened--not a spear gleams from the walls!" "Did I not tell ye, Lords?" said the Colonna, turning round triumphantly. "Methinks we shall win Rome without a single blow.--Grandson, where now are thy silly forebodings?" This was said to Pietro, one of his grandsons--the first-born of Gianni--a comely youth, not two weeks wedded, who made no reply. "My little Pietro here," continued the Baron, speaking to his comrades, "is so new a bridegroom, that last night he dreamed of his bride; and deems it, poor lad, a portent." "She was in deep mourning, and glided from my arms, uttering, 'Woe, woe, to the Colonna!" said the young man, solemnly. "I have lived nearly ninety years," replied the old man, "and I may have dreamed, therefore, some forty thousand dreams; of which, two came true, and the rest were false. Judge, then, what chances are in favour of the science!" Thus conversing, they approached within bow-shot of the gates, which were still open. All was silent as death. The army, which was composed chiefly of foreign mercenaries, halted in deliberation--when, lo!--a torch was suddenly cast on high over the walls; it gleamed a moment--and then hissed in the miry pool below. "It is the signal of our friends within, as agreed on," cried old Colonna. "Pietro, advance with your company!" The young nobleman closed his visor, put himself at the head of the band under his command; and, with his lance in his rest, rode in a half gallop to the gates. The morning had been clouded and overcast, and the sun, appearing only at intervals, now broke out in a bright stream of light--as it glittered on the waving plume and shining mail of the young horseman, disappearing under the gloomy arch, several paces in advance of his troop. On swept his followers--forward went the cavalry headed by Gianni Colonna, Pietro's father.--there was a minute's silence, broken only by the clatter of the arms, and tramp of hoofs,--when from within the walls rose the abrupt cry--"Rome, the Tribune, and the People! Spirito Santo, Cavaliers!" The main body halted aghast. Suddenly Gianni Colonna was seen flying backward from the gate at full speed. "My son, my son!" he cried, "they have murdered him;"--he halted abrupt and irresolute, then adding, "But I will avenge!" wheeled round, and spurred again through the arch,--when a huge machine of iron, shaped as a portcullis, suddenly descended upon the unhappy father, and crushed man and horse to the ground--one blent, mangled, bloody mass. The old Colonna saw, and scarce believed his eyes; and ere his troop recovered its stupor, the machine rose, and over the corpse dashed the Popular Armament. Thousands upon thousands, they came on; a wild, clamorous, roaring stream. They poured on all sides upon their enemies, who drawn up in steady discipline, and clad in complete mail, received and broke their charge. "Revenge, and the Colonna!"--"The Bear and the Orsini!"--"Charity and the Frangipani!" (Who had taken their motto from some fabled ancestor who had broke bread with a beggar in a time of famine.) "Strike for the Snake (The Lion was, however, the animal usually arrogated by the heraldic vanity of the Savelli.) and the Savelli!" were then heard on high, mingled with the German and hoarse shout, "Full purses, and the Three Kings of Cologne." The Romans, rather ferocious than disciplined, fell butchered in crowds round the ranks of the mercenaries: but as one fell, another succeeded; and still burst with undiminished fervour the countercry of "Rome, the Tribune, and the People!--Spirito Santo, Cavaliers!" Exposed to every shaft and every sword by his emblematic diadem and his imperial robe, the fierce Rienzi led on each assault, wielding an enormous battle-axe, for the use of which the Italians were celebrated, and which he regarded as a national weapon. Inspired by every darker and sterner instinct of his nature, his blood heated, his passions aroused, fighting as a citizen for liberty, as a monarch for his crown, his daring seemed to the astonished foe as that of one frantic; his preservation that of one inspired: now here, now there; wherever flagged his own, or failed the opposing, force, glittered his white robe, and rose his bloody battle-axe; but his fury seemed rather directed against the chiefs than the herd; and still where his charger wheeled was heard his voice, "Where is a Colonna?"--"Defiance to the Orsini!"--"Spirito Santo, Cavaliers!" Three times was the sally led from the gate; three times were the Romans beaten back; and on the third, the gonfalon, borne before the Tribune, was cloven to the ground. Then, for the first time, he seemed amazed and alarmed, and, raising his eyes to heaven, he exclaimed, "O Lord, hast thou then forsaken me?" With that, taking heart, once more he waved his arm, and again led forward his wild array. At eve the battle ceased. Of the Barons who had been the main object of the Tribune's assault, the pride and boast was broken. Of the princely line of the Colonna, three lay dead. Giordano Orsini was mortally wounded; the fierce Rinaldo had not shared the conflict. Of the Frangipani, the haughtiest signors were no more; and Luca, the dastard head of the Savelli, had long since saved himself by flight. On the other hand, the slaughter of the citizens had been prodigious;--the ground was swamped with blood--and over heaps of slain, (steeds and riders,) the twilight star beheld Rienzi and the Romans returning victors from the pursuit. Shouts of rejoicing followed the Tribune's panting steed through the arch; and just as he entered the space within, crowds of those whose infirmities, sex, or years, had not allowed them to share the conflict,--women, and children, and drivelling age, mingled with the bare feet and dark robes of monks and friars, apprised of the victory, were prepared to hail his triumph. Rienzi reined his steed by the corpse of the boy Colonna, which lay half immersed in a pool of water, and close by it, removed from the arch where he had fallen, lay that of Gianni Colonna,--(that Gianni Colonna whose spear had dismissed his brother's gentle spirit.) He glanced over the slain, as the melancholy Hesperus played upon the bloody pool and the gory corselet, with a breast heaved with many emotions; and turning, he saw the young Angelo, who, with some of Nina's guard, had repaired to the spot, and had now approached the Tribune. "Child," said Rienzi, pointing to the dead, "blessed art thou who hast no blood of kindred to avenge!--to him who hath, sooner or later comes the hour; and an awful hour it is!" The words sank deep into Angelo's heart, and in after life became words of fate to the speaker and the listener. Ere Rienzi had well recovered himself, and as were heard around him the shrieks of the widows and mothers of the slain--the groans of the dying--the exhortations of the friars--mingled with sounds of joy and triumph--a cry was raised by the women and stragglers on the battle-field without, of "The foe!--the foe!" "To your swords," cried the Tribune; "fall back in order;--yet they cannot be so bold!" The tramp of horses, the blast of a trumpet, were heard; and presently, at full speed, some thirty horsemen dashed through the gate. "Your bows," exclaimed the Tribune, advancing;--"yet hold--the leader is unarmed--it is our own banner. By our Lady, it is our ambassador of Naples, the Lord Adrian di Castello!" Panting--breathless--covered with dust--Adrian halted at the pool red with the blood of his kindred--and their pale faces, set in death, glared upon him. "Too late--alas! alas!--dread fate!--unhappy Rome!" "They fell into the pit they themselves had digged," said the Tribune, in a firm but hollow voice.--"Noble Adrian, would thy counsels had prevented this!" "Away, proud man--away!" said Adrian, impatiently waving his hand,--"thou shouldst protect the lives of Romans, and--oh, Gianni!--Pietro!--could not birth, renown, and thy green years, poor boy--could not these save ye?" "Pardon him, my friends," said the Tribune to the crowd,--"his grief is natural, and he knows not all their guilt.--Back, I pray ye--leave him to our ministering." It might have fared ill for Adrian, but for the Tribune's brief speech. And as the young Lord, dismounting, now bent over his kinsmen--the Tribune also surrendering his charger to his squires, approached, and, despite Adrian's reluctance and aversion, drew him aside,-- "Young friend," said he, mournfully, "my heart bleeds for you; yet bethink thee, the wrath of the crowd is fresh upon them: be prudent." "Prudent!" "Hush--by my honour, these men were not worthy of your name. Twice perjured--once assassins--twice rebels--listen to me!" "Tribune, I ask no other construing of what I see--they might have died justly, or been butchered foully. But there is no peace between the executioner of my race and me." "Will you, too, be forsworn? Thine oath!--Come, come, I hear not these words. Be composed--retire--and if, three days hence, you impute any other blame to me than that of unwise lenity, I absolve you from your oath, and you are free to be my foe. The crowd gape and gaze upon us--a minute more, and I may not avail to save you." The feelings of the young patrician were such as utterly baffle description. He had never been much amongst his house, nor ever received more than common courtesy at their hands. But lineage is lineage still! And there, in the fatal hazard of war, lay the tree and sapling, the prime and hope of his race. He felt there was no answer to the Tribune, the very place of their death proved they had fallen in an assault upon their countrymen. He sympathised not with their cause, but their fate. And rage, revenge alike forbidden--his heart was the more softened to the shock and paralysis of grief. He did not therefore speak, but continued to gaze upon the dead, while large and unheeded tears flowed down his cheeks, and his attitude of dejection and sorrow was so moving, that the crowd, at first indignant, now felt for his affliction. At length his mind seemed made up. He turned to Rienzi, and said, falteringly, "Tribune, I blame you not, nor accuse. If you have been rash in this, God will have blood for blood. I wage no war with you--you say right, my oath prevents me; and if you govern well, I can still remember that I am Roman. But--but--look to that bleeding clay--we meet no more!--your sister--God be with her!--between her and me flows a dark gulf!" The young noble paused some moments, choked by his emotions, and then continued, "These papers discharge me of my mission. Standard-bearers, lay down the banner of the Republic. Tribune, speak not--I would be calm--calm. And so farewell to Rome." With a hurried glance towards the dead, he sprung upon his steed, and, followed by his train, vanished through the arch. The Tribune had not attempted to detain him--had not interrupted him. He felt that the young noble had thought--acted as became him best. He followed him with his eyes. "And thus," said he gloomily, "Fate plucks from me my noblest friend and my justest counsellor--better man Rome never lost!" Such is the eternal doom of disordered states. The mediator between rank and rank,--the kindly noble--the dispassionate patriot--the first to act--the most hailed in action--darkly vanishes from the scene. Fiercer and more unscrupulous spirits alone stalk the field; and no neutral and harmonizing link remains between hate and hate,--until exhaustion, sick with horrors, succeeds to frenzy, and despotism is welcomed as repose! _ |
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