Conrad von Bolanden

“ The Count of Champagne leaned with a gloomy air against a tree, and the savage William of Nevers, smiling ironically, approached him.
"The Burgundian," he said, "speaks as though he meant to dispute Barbarossa's claim to the Empire."
"You seem jovial, my lord," replied Henry.
"And why should I not be? The heroic soul of the Duke of Burgundy will inspire the King. Our valiant sovereign will not keep his promise. As Alexander will not come, Barbarossa will be obliged to bring Victor. Ah! there is a worthy man for you; he thinks it no crime to rob a rich convent! ”

“ Frederic gazed contemptuously upon his former partisan. Bonello was a man still in the prime of life, and, though short in stature, well and powerfully built. His visage, though dejected, was calm. Like the majority of the inferior nobility, he had been long one of the warmest adherents of the Emperor, although he had acted as such rather through necessity than from choice. His glance fell before that of his sovereign.
"Are you ready to die the death of a traitor?" asked Frederic.
"I am ready to die," answered Guido; "but I implore you to withdraw the epithet of traitor!" ”

“ The name of schismatic cast in our teeth seems to be looked upon as an excuse for everything.--Because Victor's humility seemed to us more worthy of the Holy See than Roland's pride, we are called the destroyer of Church liberty!"
"Pardon me, Sire, it is my duty to say a few words in reply," remarked Peter. "You speak of Victor's humility, but Victor is, after all, your creature; a plaything which your breath sends whither it will; a puppet which you have chosen to obey all your caprices:--And should Victor be the supreme Head of Christendom?" ”

“ Did I not do so only on the day before yesterday, when the Emperor urged me to pronounce the separation of Henry and Clemence? And did we not, in virtue of our sacred office, refuse the demand?"
"I admired your energy, my lord."
"There are no excuses, no threats which can decide us to annul this marriage!" continued Octavian. "If monarchs could, at their pleasure, divorce their wives, we should have little justice and order. No, by the eternal salvation of my soul, to which may God be merciful, I will never countenance a like enormity!"
As Victor finished, Rinaldo entered the room. ”

“ Clemence wanted to find some one to carry her message, but as there are but three men in the four camps, her choice was necessarily limited."
"Three men only, among so many thousands of gallant soldiers! What a piece of impertinence. You deserve a flogging; but come, let us see who these three men are!"
"The first one, naturally, is myself; the second, is my cousin Barbarossa; and the third shall be you, if you choose," said the jester.
"How is that!" interrupted Erwin. "Am not I a man too?"
"No," replied Lanzo. "To be a man, you must be free; and your heart is in bondage!" ”

“ Barbarossa rode along the front of his little band, which calmly awaited the attack:--
"Valiant friends," said he, "have faith in your good cause! You draw the sword against treachery and rebellion! Trust in God; it is he who chastises the perjurer! Confide in the strength of your good right arms, and show to the world, that you are worthy to bear the name of Germans! Let St. Michael, the patron of our country, be your rallying-cry! Couch your lances! Forward, Charge!"
"Saint Michael, Saint Michael for the Emperor!" rang through their ranks, as they dashed upon the foe. ”

“ And yet the Apostle has said, 'For a bishop must be without crime, not proud, not subject to anger, not given to wine, no striker, nor greedy of filthy lucre; but given to hospitality, gentle, sober, just, holy, continent.' And yet, he would make the bishops nothing but the Emperor's slaves! We feel grievously afflicted at the sight of such grave misconduct. What misfortunes are they not preparing for the Church! The ecclesiastical spirit is less and less valued every day; the liberty of the Church no longer exists except in name, and her property is at the mercy of impious hands. ”

“ What would happen if the offender were a count, a duke, or a king?"
"Silence," cried another voice, whose piercing tone bore a great resemblance to that of the jester Lanzo. "Don't you know that the nobles never steal? they merely indulge their illustrious desires!"
"Whoever shall hold any communication with the Cardinal Roland, falsely styling himself Pope Alexander III., shall be put under the ban of the Emperor; it is permitted to kill him wherever found!"
"Do you hear that? to pillage is not to steal; the Emperor can permit anything." ”

“ The sovereign Pontiff is the rampart of liberty, the only real defence against Imperial despotism. Why is it that Barbarossa has turned all his rage against Alexander? It is because he knows that he can never accomplish his perfidious ends so long as the Christian world shall retain him whom God himself has appointed to be the guardian of right, and morality, and liberty. The Pope suffers and struggles in our cause; let us unite with him, let us bravely flock to freedom's standard. Raise your right hands, and swear allegiance to the Lombard league. ”

“ Stay, ride off immediately towards the German troops, who are on their march, and bid the princes hasten their arrival!"
"May God preserve us!" said Rinaldo, perceiving that the Emperor wished to keep him out of danger. "I am ready to die with my sovereign."
"Your fidelity needs no such act of heroism to prove its value," said Barbarossa. "Besides, I have by no means decided, as yet, to leave this world for another! But a truce to this discussion. Seek the princes, salute them in my name, and bid them march at once upon Milan!" ”

“ I assure your Majesty that I have never seen a city which can be so easily deceived as Rome: all that is necessary is to promise. Everything is false among the brave Romans."
"I know and appreciate them as they deserve," replied Frederic. "All that remains of their ancient glory is an overweening pride, which I mean to humble."
"Hark!" cried Dassel, "what is that noise?"
An extraordinary clamor was heard in the direction of the square of St. Peter, where an immense mob shouted and howled in such confusion that it was impossible to understand their meaning. ”

“ The monarch ascended the throne; every word, every gesture indicated unmistakably that he felt his importance, and that he considered himself the most powerful sovereign of the world. The nobles surrounded him, shining like brilliant planets around the Imperial sun. The Count Palatine Otho and the Counts of Andechs and Bogen, were on guard, before the doors of the hall, where, clad in complete armor, with their hands resting on their sword-hilts, they resembled so many statues of bronze. ”

“ Clemence read his thoughts, and a mingling of love for her husband and pity for his weakness, joined to a faint hope that, even yet, he might be weaned from his determination, decided her to speak.
"Dear Henry," she began, "a wife's duty is to watch and pray, whenever a danger menaces her lord. I can no longer remain silent in the presence of the schemers who seek to beguile you. The sinful projects of the chancellor Rinaldo will destroy your eternal soul. Believe me, no motive can excuse an evil deed; nothing can make innocent that which the laws of God forbid. ”

“ Do you call such a one a holy man, a father?--He is a tyrant, a destroyer!"
Guerrazzi at last had carried his point; the crowd was rampant with sedition.
"Death to Alexander! Down with the tyrant!"
"Forward!" resumed the tailor, violently,--"brave people, rise in your might, break your chains, and go to meet your Augustus!"
He sprang to the ground, for his task was accomplished, and the fire of sedition was spread rapidly through the masses. Rinaldo's emissaries urged on the revolt, and soon nothing was heard but wild panegyrics of Barbarossa, and curses against the Pope. ”

“ Barbarossa, on the contrary, has put about our necks a yoke from which there is no relief. We must build with our own hands the fortresses which threaten us; with our own hands we must construct for these cruel vultures--I mean for the worthy prefects of the Emperor--those nests from which they can swoop down upon us with impunity, to pillage and murder. Will you always submit to slavery? Are you willing to be oppressed until death sets you free? ”

“ Alexander was a helpless fugitive, and Pascal was his creature, his puppet; he himself was the real Pontifex Maximus. Absolute master of Church and State, he was at last at the pinnacle of greatness; success had crowned his efforts; all Christendom was his vassal. He glanced towards the kneeling bishops, and then his eyes turned to the crowd as if he could no longer delay the moment when they too should swear him their allegiance.
But God has not yet given to mortals the power to thwart his designs. ”

“ Barbarossa shook his head with an incredulous and discontented air.
"The Emperor of the East has no Pope," he replied, "and yet he reigns peacefully."
"You are again in error, Sire! Mark attentively what is going on in Byzantium. What do you see there? An exhausted and dying kingdom, a weak and corrupt clergy, a host of ecclesiastics knowing no law but the Imperial will; an effeminate people without morals, and puffed up with vanity and servile ideas. Is this the state to which you would reduce your brilliant Empire?" ”

“ Sire, we may bow in obedience to the monarch, who by his victorious arms has conquered Lombardy. But when tyranny reigns in the place of justice, when our rights are trampled underfoot, when our country is laid waste and her inhabitants held to ransom, when the Emperor's iron heel is placed upon the necks of a kneeling people, then, Sire, obedience becomes a crime! It is better to die free, than live as slaves! If it needs be that Italy obey you against her will, exile her population and replace it with serfs. ”

“ The door of the Pope's chamber was open, and through it might be seen the Head of the Church and two ecclesiastics, all clothed as pilgrims, kneeling before the little altar, on which burned two candles before a large crucifix.
The cardinals and bishops prayed with voices tremulous with emotion.
"Aid thy servants, who have faith in thee, O God! Send us assistance from thy holy place, and from Sion protect us! O Lord, be our strength to resist the enemy, and let him not prevail against us! Praised be the Lord! May he grant us a prosperous journey! Show us thy ways, and direct us in thy paths. ”

“ The brilliant retinue of the Count of Champagne was advancing through the midst of a crowd of admiring spectators. Richenza rode, at the head of the escort, between Rechberg and her father. Pietro glared at the young Count, with a muttered curse. Antonio turned his back, and only resumed his place when the clatter of the horses' hoofs had died away in the distance.
"Malediction on all whom the tyrant protects!" said Pietro, sullenly. "Shame on me, not to have killed him!" and he drank deeply.
"It is a good lesson, friend Pietro! you must profit by your chances, in future." ”

“ The papacy is eternal,--as immovable as the rock on which it is built, and which, God has promised, shall endure forever. But, alas! dear Guido, what fearful disasters must result from the strife which is now preparing!"
"It would be easy to prove," said Galdini Sala, "that the Church has never had an enemy so dangerous to her peace as this same Barbarossa. From the times of Nero until the conversion of Constantine, the bloody tyrants strove only to tear away her members. Frederic does not tear away; he stifles! his deadly work is the more dangerous, that it is wrought in silence. ”

“ If it goes on, all our vassals will soon be false to their oaths of fealty."
"Loyalty and courage are a part of the duties of chivalry," replied Erwin, "and they are as sacred as the others."
"You appear to set great store by them, young man. It is very lucky for Bonello! But do not go too far,--and fear our displeasure."
Erwin-bore with calmness the monarch's angry looks.
"It is strange," resumed the Emperor, still more violently; "it is strange how this girl seems always to glide between us. I tell you, it is high time that you return to reason, and discard these absurd illusions. ”

“ Whilst Rinaldo spoke, Barbarossa seemed lost in thought; every word of the crafty statesman produced its effect, for it answered the ambitious cravings of his own nature, which had long aimed at the subjection of the spiritual to the temporal power. Could his dreams be realized, the Emperor would reign supreme, and the Church, shorn of all her prerogatives, would remain, as she had existed during the dark ages, the source of all faith, but a mere fief of the Empire. ”

“ So long as Milan exists, neither peace nor order is possible. You have conquered the she-wolf; your trusty sword has forced her to grovel in the dust; but that is not enough; she must be destroyed! A few years hence, and Milan, always thirsting for her neighbors' blood, will again extend her tyranny over all Lombardy. We ask for simple justice. Sire, give us justice!"
"You have every right to demand our protection," replied Frederic, "and you shall have it. We will never permit our faithful subjects to be oppressed. ”

“ Many hundreds of Roman citizens are in the hands of the enemy: Frederic has promised their release if we throw open our gates; but he threatens to hang them and treat Rome as he has treated Milan, in case we persevere in our resistance. He will demolish our fortifications, will put us to the sword or send us into exile, and will turn this noble city into a heap of ruins. It is in your power to avert all this and save us from inevitable misery, by resigning the throne and ordering the surrender of the city. ”

“ And it is the more to be regretted that many refuse to see their peril. Genoa, through jealousy of Milan, is wilfully blind and will not reflect that the time may come, when she too will feel the yoke. Barbarossa is skilful in taking advantage of these dissensions between us Lombards. His policy is to destroy, one by one, our cities; so that Italy may count none but insignificant villages, submissive to his Imperial supremacy. ”

“ The vicar of Jesus Christ has scarcely place on earth to rest his feet! Everything has become Imperial: we have Imperial bishops, Imperial convents, Imperial abbots, and, in the schools, Imperial instructions!--If that be just, what need is there for a Pope?"
This striking truth, uttered with perfect calmness, scarcely awakened a memory in Frederic's soul.
"Your reasoning," he replied, "is false and unjust at the same time! The whole earth belongs to the Pope, and he can cast his fisherman's net where it may please him; we, the protector of the Church, will certainly not hinder him." ”

“ Here, you men, tie a new knot, and hang up the traitor at once!"
"Then you will be hung too, cousin," said the jester. "Would you really dare to execute a man without confession? I came here to witness the death of a bandit, but not to see the devil steal his soul! If you have any respect for your own life, cousin, you will put off the business until I bring here a monk, or a bishop, or if needs, the Pope himself!" ”

“ All the camp was astonished at the boldness with which you braved the Emperor's displeasure. No one but you would have risked his sovereign's anger to save a traitor's life. Was it craft on your part, or wisdom?"
"How dare you ask such questions? Is it not our duty to aid all who are unfortunate?"
"Well answered! But the sprite in your helmet is mocking at me again, I fear you have not told me all the truth. When you pleaded Bonello's cause, had you no other motive than pity?" ”