De Lacy

“ The churchyard of Inistubber is as lonely a one as you would wish to see on a summer's day, or avoid on a winter's night. Under the east window of the church is a mouldering vault of the De Lacys,—a branch of a family descended from one of the conquerors of Ireland; and there they are buried, when the allotted time calls them to the tomb. Sir Theodore De Lacy had lived a jolly, thoughtless life, rising early for the hunt, and retiring late from the bottle. ”

“ I felt that I could never love any one but De Lacy—that I should be miserable when he was gone—that I could only be happy as his wife. We found means to see each other. Our first object was only to say farewell, but in a moment of rash passion, he asked me to fly with him, and I fled. In every thing, he behaved with the utmost tenderness, delicacy, and honor. We reached Paris—unpursued, as I afterward found—and were immediately married by good Father Bonneville, who had been the chaplain to the embassy, and then by a Protestant clergyman. ”

“ Necessarily, the time I spent with de Lacy on such matters, Wrexler was alone. He had changed a great deal since we had come to Rougemont. He had come alive, and he threw himself into everything with a curious intensity. He was like a person who has been very ill, who suddenly finding himself better and fearing it is only temporary, clutches life with both hands. ”

“ As Wrexler looked up at the portrait, an inward light illumined his countenance. "I am not afraid," he repeated.
"There are many deaths. There is the death of the spirit as well as that of the body. I beg you to go while there is time, friend of my lord." There was real feeling in de Lacy's voice.
I too felt afraid for Wrexler. The strange, unworldly feeling he had always had, the pulling toward something he knew not what, made me doubly fearful. Had the fair Helene been calling him all this time, across the world? For myself I had no fear. ”

“ Come, when shall it be, De Lacy?”
“To-night, if you will,” I answered; “we are certain of being uninterrupted.”
“But the old man,” he said. “Young men can never talk with open hearts before old ones. There is a power in age which controls us even when there is no real authority.”
“O, he goes to bed always at nine,” I said; and so we arranged it should be, and so it was.
When we returned after our ride, Father Bonneville informed me that there were some persons in the neighborhood, upon whom he wished me to call with him on the Monday following ”

“ LACY, WALTER de, sixth Baron Lacy by tenure and second Lord of Meath (d. 1241) , was elder son of Hugh de Lacy (d. 1186) [q. v.] , by Roysya de Monemue (Monmouth) , and was elder brother of Hugh de Lacy, earl of Ulster (d. 1242?) [q. v.] On his father's death he became entitled to the ancestral estates in Normandy and England, and to his father's conquest of Meath in Ireland, but the last was taken into the king's hands, and he did not obtain seisin of the English or Norman lands till 1189 (Eyton, v. 256–7) ; it is, of course, possible that he may have been a minor at his father's death. ”

“ Then he became aware of excitement within, the sound of voices, the tramp of feet on the floor, the sudden opening of a door. A gleam of light shot out, revealing the figures of men. With one spring he was across the shapeless form on the ground, and had vanished into the darkness beyond.
Lacy was first to reach the unconscious body, stumbling over it in the black shadow, as he rushed forward, revolver in hand. He cursed, rising to his knees, and staring about in the silent darkness.
"There's a man lying here—dead likely. Bring a light. No, the fellow is alive. ”

“ Thy machinations and thy counsel were the cause. By thine accursed arts Robert de Lacy hath left his patrimony to a stranger!"
"True, I counselled him thus. What then?"
"I and mine are barred from the inheritance!"
"Shall the word of the Hermit of the Rock fall to the ground? Have I not promised that thy blood shall be with those that inherit these domains?"
"Promises are slender food for an hungry stomach," cried the unbeliever.
"If the promise fail, blame thy dastardly fears, and not my power. Thou shalt see the promised land thou shalt not inherit. Thy son shall receive the blessing." ”

“ An awkward silence followed—that was not broken until Sir Aymer came galloping back. With a familiarly courteous salute he swung Selim around; and Lord Darby, seizing the opportunity, bowed low to the Countess, and with a menacing glare at De Lacy—who met it with a careless smile—he spurred away.
The Countess had observed Darby's look and she followed him with a frown ... and De Lacy wisely kept silent.
"I am glad you came," she said presently—then pulled Wilda to a walk. "Let us loiter; since we are late it is small matter when we reach the rendezvous." ”

“ De Lacy answered, "so long as he fight fair."
She gave him a quick glance of interrogation.
"Would you trust him to fight fair?" she asked.
"I usually trust every man of noble birth until experience prove him undeserving."
"And you have had no experience with Darby?"
"No—not yet."
A sly smile crossed her lips and she was about to comment further, when Lord Ware's barge suddenly swung out from behind a large vessel and met them.
"We are going to the Tower," the Countess called. "Will you not meet us there?" ”

“ The interview between De Lacy and Baldwin shows the great power of the Church in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. He was compelled to leave Eveline before wedlock had united them indissolubly, and the first line of the couplet: “Widowed wife and married maid,” seemed already in the course of fulfillment. Hugo de Lacy sets sail for Palestine with these good-by words: “If I appear not when three years are elapsed let the Lady Eveline conclude that the grave holds De Lacy, and seek out for her mate some happier man. ”

“ Lacy replied.
"You know, then, that you speak to a man who has destroyed, by a series of iniquitous persecutions, a woman whom he so devotedly loved that even now—"
"Mr. Lovell, I am not come here to listen to the avowal of an unholy passion; I am come to bring you that forgiveness which you so much need, and to claim from you a confession—"
"Stop, Mr. Lacy; you must listen to me, or you will drive me mad," said Henry, with a terrible laugh, "and then what confession will you get? Listen to me. ”

“ But see, Darby still waves. What in Heaven's name ails the man? Can it be the mare has bolted?"
De Lacy shook his head. "The Countess is making no effort to control her; the reins are hanging loose."
Then they heard the first faint beat of the hoofs, growing louder and louder, and presently with it Darby's cry:
"Stop her! Stop her!"
"Maybe, my lord," said De Lacy, leaning forward, his eyes intent upon the Countess; "if the lady wish it she will signal."
Two hundred yards away now came Wilda running at terrific speed, but straight and true. Suddenly De Lacy swung Selim around. ”

“ The sun was now high, and the whole plain presented the appearance of a bustle, equally different from the solitude of the early morning, and from the roar and fury of the subsequent engagement. The news of Hugo de Lacy's victory every where spread abroad with all alacrity of triumph, and had induced many of the inhabitants of the country, who had fled before the fury of the Wolf of Plinlimmon, to return to their desolate habitations. ”

“ De Lacy replied scornfully.
"My name is Sir Philebert de Shaunde and my escutcheon quite as ancient as your own," with another bow.
"It is a pity, then, it has fallen upon one who needs more than his own word to sustain the claim."
De Shaunde's face went red again and his voice trembled and was very soft. "His Grace of Buckingham will be my voucher, though it will misdemean him much as against one who has a tymbestere for mistress and is a coward, as well." ”

“ The shorter route to London was by Sheffield, but De Lacy chose to go by way of Pontefract. It would, of course, bring him upon the main highway between York and London further North than by the Sheffield road; yet he took the chance of the Duke being delayed an extra day at York, in which event he would be able to await him at Doncaster, and join him at that place instead of at Nottingham. ”

“ A STRIFE IN MAGNANIMITY
"Well, Sempland," said Lacy, with astonishing courtesy and forbearance under all the circumstances, as he overtook the other man plodding along the shaded street, "you don't seem to be in much greater favor with the young lady than I."
"Lacy," returned the other, "you did well this evening. You are not good enough for Miss Glen, I still think. Nobody is, for that matter, but you less than others. ”

“ Edmund de Lacy, son of John and Margaret, married Alesia daughter of the marquis of Saluzzo, but died in 1258 [13] before his mother. His son and heir, Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln, was lord of Ingoldmells when the earliest court rolls we have were written, and had been [14] found to have free warren in Ingoldmells on his own lands and other people’s twenty years in 1276. ”

“ The De Lacys held Pontefract until 1193, when Robert died without issue, the castle and lands passing by marriage to Richard Fitz-Eustace; and the male line again became extinct in 1310, when Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, married Alice, the heiress of Henry de Lacy. Henry’s great-grandfather was the Roger de Lacy, Justiciar and Constable of Chester, who is famous for his heroic defence of{170} Château Gaillard, in Normandy, for nearly a year, when John weakly allowed Philip Augustus to continue the siege, making only one feeble attempt at relief. ”

“ Nor is it clear that Hugh is the ‘son of Hugo de Lacy’ who in 1195 joined John de Courci in his warfare with the English of Leinster and Munster, and afterwards in assisting Cathal Crobhderg, king of Connaught, against Cathal Macdermot (Loch Cé, i. 191; Four Masters, iii. 101–103; see under Lacy, Walter de, (d. 1241) ) . But a little later, when Walter de Lacy was absent in France, Hugh acted for him in Meath, and in 1199 accompanied John de Courci to assist Cathal Crobhderg at Kilmacduagh. ”

“ But the delay lost him the favor; for De Lacy, seeing the opportunity, instantly presented his own palm, and the Countess accepted it, and he swung her to his saddle.
Then she looked at Darby. "If you are very good," she said, with a little laugh, "you may put me down at the castle."
And Darby laughed, too. "But you must give me time," he replied. "I am not so nimble as Selim's master."
And so they made their way back to Pontefract, De Lacy walking beside the Countess, and Lord Darby and Sir James Dacre following on horseback just behind. Wilda had evidently got down the hill unhurt ”

“ The one was an inscription for the tomb of my poor Louise, drawn up by his fellow executor, in which she was styled Countess de Lacy; and the other was a letter from London, which had been received by one of the principal authorities of Hamburgh, informing him that a rumor had reached persons in England, interested in the welfare of a young gentleman named Louis Count de Lacy, to the effect that he and his tutor Father Bonneville, having emigrated from France, and been driven out of Switzerland, were directing their steps toward the North of Germany, or to Russia ”

“ Master Lacy was a merchant of Aisi, an owner of vessels. Like most of his fellows, when war came so close home, he was almost obliged to join the king's levy. Had he not done so it would have been recorded against him as a lack of loyalty. His privileges would have been taken from him, possibly the wealth he had accumulated seized, and himself reduced to slavery. Lacy, therefore, put on armour, and accompanied the king to the camp. Thus Felix, after all his aspirations, found himself serving as the knave of a mere citizen. ”

“ Giraldus describes Lacy as a swarthy man, with small black sunken eyes, a flat nose, and an ugly scar on his cheek; muscular in body, but small and ill-made. He was a man of resolute character; for temperance a very Frenchman, careful in private affairs, and vigilant in public business. Despite his experience in military matters he sustained many reverses in his campaigns. He was lax in his morality, and avaricious, but eager beyond measure for honour and renown (Opera, v. 354) . Hugh was a benefactor of Lanthony Abbey, and also of many churches in Ireland, including the abbey of Trim. ”

“ LASKI, or À LASCO, JOHN (1499–1560) , reformer, was born at the castle of Lask in Poland in 1499. His father, Jaroslaw, baron of Lask, who seems to have claimed descent from Henry de Lacy, third earl of Lincoln [q. v.] ”

“ Many a heart quailed with apprehension, many a bosom was oppressed with doubtful and anxious forebodings. Robert de Lacy, the last of this illustrious race, fourth in descent from Ilbert de Lacy, on whom the Conqueror bestowed the great fee of Pontefract, the owner of twenty-eight manors and lord of the honour of Clitheroe, was no longer numbered with the living ”

“ After Marshal had compelled Hugh, king of Connaught, and the other Irish chiefs to lend him their aid, Hugh de Lacy was compelled to make terms, and surrendered in October. The earl himself went back to England for a time in November (Sweetman, i. 1224) , but he must have soon gone back to Ireland, where he remained as justiciar till 22 June 1226, when he surrendered his office to the king at Winchester (ib. i. 1380) . ”

“ Lacy, still ill in temper, abused the poet for the nonsense he had put into the part of Captain Otter, which was the cause of all the mischief. Lacy further told Howard he was "more a fool than a poet." Thereat the honourable Edward, raising his glove, smote Lacy smartly with it over the face. Jack Lacy retaliated by lifting his cane and letting it descend quite as smartly on the pate of a man who was cousin to an earl. Ordinary men marvelled that the honourable Edward did not run Jack through the body. ”

“ What did you say, Miss Glen?" continued Lacy, turning to that young woman.
"I told him it wasn't true!" burst out the girl, impetuously.
"Ah, but it is," said Lacy, softly. "I am all that he says, and more, too."
"But look at what you have done."
"But little, after all. I heard you reproaching Sempland for what he had not done when I came in. That isn't fair. No braver man lives than Rhett Sempland. Why, did it not take courage to defy me, to tell me to my face that I was a scoundrel, a blackguard? ”