A KING'S LESSON

Maoriland Worker, Volume 13, Issue 1, 3 January 1923, Page 3

A KING'S LESSON

By Wflfem Morris

It is told of* Mptthias Cor.vinuß. king (of Hungary-—t2ie,Alf red. t>n Great of his:.time and ipcople—that he enee -heard (once only?) thai;-, some (only:some,.my lad?} of.lT's peasants were over-worked and under-fed. So he sent for his Counci.l, and bade come thereto also some of •the mayors of the good towns, iviid.:Sonie of the lords of land and their tailiffs, . and asked them of the truth,: thereof; and in diverse ways they all told ono and the same tale, how the paasaucarles were stout &nd well able to work and had enough .and to spare of meat .and drmkj sec-ing that they were but churl;;; and ho w ii they Worked not at the least as hard .us. they did; it would be.lll for them and ill for Liter lords; for that the, mors the churl bath the rnoro lie asketh; and that when he kiibweth wealth,, he knoweth the lack of it also, r as it fared witli our . first' parents in the Garden, of God. The King sat ard said but lit.le while they spake, but ho misdoubted them that they were' liars. So tlu: Council brake up. with <■' nothing done: lut the K'ng took the | matter t.o heart, being, .v.s kings go, a just man, besides being more valiant ;haii. they mostly were, even in , the old feudal time. - So within, two j or three days, says tho iule, he call-ed-together' such lords and councillors as ho deemed fittest, and bade busk' thorn for a ride; and when they were ready he and they set out, over ! rough and smooth, decked cut in all! the glory of attire wh <eh was the i wont of those days. Thus, they rode till, they carae to some village or thorpe of the peasant folk, and through it to ihe vineyards where' men were working on the sunny | southern slopes that went up from the river; ray tale does not say who-1 ther that were Theiss, or Donau, or j whHt river. "Well. I judge it w &s late spring or early summer, and the vines but just beginning ;o show the'r grapes; for the vintage is late in j (hose lands, and some of the grapes j are not gathered till the first frosts ' have touched ■them,- whereby th,e wine mart?, from them is the stronger .and sweeter. Anyhow there wc-re the peasants men and women, boys and young maidens, toiling .and swink'ng; ; some hoeing between the vine-rows, Gorao bearing baskets of dung up the steep slopes, some in otve way, £cni3. in another, labour]rig for the fruit , they should never cat, and the wins they should never "drink.. Thereto ' turned ihe K'xig ?sd got off his horso; and began to climb up the stony i fidgos. of the vineyard, and his Icrds In like manner followed .him, wonder- j ing in their hearts what was toward; j but to thq .pro who was following; v >:t after him-he turned about Siicij said w'ih a smile. "Yea, lords ,this; is a new game we ;;ro playing to- j day, and a new knowledge will come • of it." And -he lord smiled, tut somewhat souriy. As for the peasants, v;as their fear of those gr-y and golden lords. I ►I judge .that they "did not know Ine • King since it was little likely that any one of them had seen h's face; and they knew of him but as . ;he Great Father, the mighty warrior v.'/io kept the. Turk from harrying their ihorpe. Though/ forsooth, ttttle matter was' it to «iTiy man there whether Turk or Magyar was their over-lord, since to one master or another thiry had to pay the due tale of labouring days in the yesr, and hard was the livelihood that they earned for themselves on the days when they worked, for themselves and then , wives and children. Well, belike they knew hot (.he King; but those rich lords they saw and knew their own lord, and of him they were sore afraid. But nought it availed them to flee away from those -strong men and strong horses —they wi'ho had been toiling from before the ris'ng of the sun and now it wanted little more than an hour of noon: besides, .witlt the King and lords was a guard o£ erossbowruen, who were left the other side of the vineyard wall,—keen-eyed Italians of the -mountains,' straight shooters- of the bolt So the poor folk fled not; nay they made an- if all this wore none of their business, and went -0 11 with their work. For Indeed each man said to himself, "If t be the one that is riot : slain, tomorrow I ishall lack bread if I do not work my hardest to-day; and maybe I shall be headman it some of' these be slain and I I've." Now comes the king "amongst them and says: "Good fellows, which of you is the headman?" Spake a man, sturdy and sunburnl, well on in years and grizzled: ' "I am the headman, lord." "Give, tnc thy hoe, then,"..says the King; "ioi*. now shall I order tWs matter myself, since these, lords desire a new. game, and are fain to work under mc at vine-dressing* But do l hou g&BA-ter m« and set mc riglit it

I ordor Lftem WT'-n** hnt the rest of v aa go pla> f " The kosu vvhat t o think, i nd let the { \*ng w am s hand out Vh)le he loO\t«l ris» karce at hi° owa lord and ' who vat,gcd 3U6 Leail at bill ny < fe oae who Do t log , ' Th a the i irlt, ki , tlip J!f>o c »mc ito <hj King's hard and the King $ l-o via ordOiS lin lo^c , , l r 1 mc fi e-s iig to c« i hs due of th" v,o > and the < til* I ' n fi"d if- Ua , .> h L old i/i;. \nd then ye should ha , c c c%i -\el\ot cloaks cost off. antl mantles of fine Flemish scarlet go to the dusty oarth; as the t.prds and knights busked them to the work. So they bucked to; and <o nso.u of them it teemed good jrame to x» lay a*-, vine-dressing. But one there vras .who, when iv'-s ccarlet clcak was off, stood up in a doublet of glorious Persian web of. gold and silk, sucli .is men make not now;. .. worth a hundred florins tha Bremen ell. Unto him' the King with no snr'ie on his face gave the job of tohig ahd.frbing up and down the hill vrith the biggest•land..tho frailest (iung-l>asker. that there was; sniii "thereat tiie silken lord screwed up a fi l^l -: that was a sport to see, and all,tho Icrds lauglii'ed; and -as "lie turned «,way he s?A-3, yet so that none heard him. "Do • I i ;;erve tb.is son's sen of i\ whore that I h3 should bid mc carry dung?" For i yon. must know that the King's father,j I John Hunyad, one c£ tho great warriors of the world, the Hammer of the Turks, was not gotten in. wedlock, though he a king's son. Well, they sped, the work bravely Tor a while, aryl loud was the laugh-' J ter as. the hoes smote tho earth and J the flint stones tinkled and the cloud i of dust rose, up; the brocaded dungbearer went up and down, cursing and swearing by the White God and the Black; and one would say to anI other, "See ye how g'utse blor.d outgoes churl's blood, even when the gentle does the churl's work; these lazy loons smote bu; one stroke to our throe." But the Kinjs, who worked no worse than any, laughed not at all; :tr,d meanwhile the poor folk i:;tocd by, not daring to speak a word jan J! to the other; for they were still ' f;o-'s afraid, not now of being slain on iho spot, tut this rather was :in !hc : r hcv.ris: "Thes: great and ir-trerg lords {>jid kn'ghis have come io free what work ?. man mi , ./ do wittii out dyi:ip:: if v.-r> arc. m tiave' yet .more uzys y.dded to cm , yecr's talc •if jov/is , 'labour. than -nxc we lost ; wllliou'-. remedy." Arid their hearts ' sa:;k v;ith ; 3i thorn. So !-:]>«l the work; and the sun ■ ro>:c yei higher in tho hoaveiis, and it i was noon and more. 'Anil iio\v there J vr,iy, vj> more laughter ;uaong those I toiling lords, and the strokes of the j hoe f-'id mattock' caino far slower, i Vt'hfie the s-at flown a: i the bottom of the li'll and .looked iout on tbe river; bur, the King yet i worked on doggedly, ::o for shame I the o;:her lords yet kept at it. Till at la&t the next man to the King let his- hoe -drop with a ciaUcr, and swore ii groat o-ath. Kov," lio was a, strong- black-bccirdeil mr.ii" in, the j {jiir.ie of MCo, a valient captaui of ! that famous Black Biraa tltat hfid so often renL the Tut kill array; &nd the K ! isjj loved him for liis sturJy valour; so .lie f-t;ys to hin:, '"Is cught Captain?" "Nay, lord," acys he. "ask -the henutiVrtii carle yonder wlia.L a-Is us." "-l'lf-:iciui?jji," says ike King, "what ;lHh il-«se strong fcnights? Have. I ordered them v. r roi}gly?'' "Nay, but shivkin;;< ails them, lord," j says he, "for are weray; and no! svonder. f<:x* they I'.uve beta playing hard, and 'ai'o of gentle blood." "Is that so, lord," says tho King, "tlia: ye are weary alresiciy?" Theii tjis rest hunt; their heads and said nought, ail setvo that ca.ptai» of war; and he said, l>f.-ifi.s? a bold mai* unci no liar: "King, T sco what thou Houldst be &t; thou ha'-t brought us here to preach us a strir-ou from that Pla,to of thine; and to say sooth, so that I may swhik no more, ar.d gc eat ray dinner, new pre-sicn thy worst! Nay. if thou wilt bo priost I will be thy deacon. Wilt then that I ask thiw labouring carle a thing or two?" "Yea," said the K.i-fig. A*d there came, as it were, a cloud of thought over his Xncc.v ■' • : Then tho captain straddled his legs and looked big, and Haiti t o the carle: "Good follow, how long ..have We been working here?" "Tvto hours or thereabout, juug'ng by the-sun.above-us," says he.'. "And how much of thy work have we. done in that while?" says- the __captain, , and winks his eye him withal. "Lord," s.ays the carle, grinning a little despite himself, "be not wroth with my word. In: the first hall-hour ye did minutes' work q£ diu'Bi and in the next half-hour scant fi thirty •■minutes' work, and the third half-hour a' .fifteen minutes' , work, and. in the fourth half-hour tyvo minutes , work." j The grin .now had-iad.ed from: his , fac*/ but a gleam came into his eyes as he !?aid:' "And now, as I supi?6:se, your day'a worl

|?8 £&'.Xags6,ur: : vied, and cat the swerat aticT drirk tlie strong;' mid we shrall .oat .'_.': I'UIo ryebrcari, .and 1 then-be workiiig hero till •afteiv -the ''sun has. set and the moon „&s 'c'-epun Now for .you, I -woi...■ ndt- ; ''tfoi7 ■• ye -snail nor •f/heic-,-no? wh;: v v;hiio,'lody. ye shall lipid.. jQ: your ai-his while the night flits .and tlie e-ii-rs' shine; but for us, vyiiii,o shot t&rs " y<it ; shine, shall . Yv-e to it it-. agco_t ; a.;d bethink ye for •rhat! I know eg? what game and ?- : 'ny ye shall--be for tomorrov/ -iis •;■_•: Jfld-e beck home; but far us v-lvc-Ti w-s come back here tomorrow, -i-;-'-fci(-5.;.l- to as if there had been j:o yesterday and nothing done therein, and that work of that to-day shall l-o nought to us mlso, fcr wa shall -win- _# "respite from our toil thcroly, and the Borrow, of to-mor- >€■■'. will all be to beg ii again once trior;', and' no on and on till no touiorro\ir abideth us. 'Therefore, if ye R'.*o . .•thin'k.iiTS" to lay seme new tax ■or tale lipou us, think twice of it, for \vi! 3nay not it. And all this I .£■;;;•/ with the less fear, because I perceive this 'nvan here bes'ckj mc, in the black yeiY«t perk'n and the gold' chain on his'neck, is the King; "nor do I think he will slay mc for ray word since he hath no many a Turk before'him and his mighty sword!" Then said tlie q'-i-ptan: "Shall I snni3 the man, O King? or hath he preached-thy'sermon tor thee?" 'Smile hot. for he hath preached it," .saul/the King. "Heaiken to the carle's sermon, lords and councillors of mine-! Yet when another hath fpoken our thought, other thoughts are hern therefrom, and now have I- another- sermon to preach; but I vvill refrain mc as now. Let us down and to our dinner." So they went, -tho King and his gentles, and sat down by the r'ver under the rustle of the poplars, and they ilte and drank and were merry. And ihe King bade bear up -the broken me-V.s to the vine-dressers, aiad a 'good draught of the archer's wine, and to the headman lie gave a broad gold piece and to each man. three silver 'pennies. But when the poor folk had all that under their hands, it was to them as though the kingdom of heaven had coihe down to earth. N In the cool of the evening home rode the King and his lords. The King was distraught and s-leni; but , t last the captain, who rode beside him, ?aid to hint: ''Preach mc now thine after-sermon, O King!" , "I. think thou knowest it already," f-aij the King, "else hadst thou not -spekea in such wise to the carle; but tell mo what is thy craft an d the craft of all these, whereby ye live, es the potter by making pots, and so forth?" Said the captain: . "As ihe poller rives by making pots, so we live by robbing the poor." Again said the King: "And my trade?" Said he. "Thy trade is to he a king of such yet no worker than the rest." - Tho King laughed. "Bear that in mind," said he, "and then shall I tell then my thought while yonder carl ;--mike. 'Carle,' I thought, 'wer?. I thou or such as thou, then would 1 take In my and a sword or >a spear or were it only is hedge-stake,, and bid others do the like, and forth would wo go; and : mcc we would ho so many, and with nought to lose save a miserable lfe, we would do hahle and prevo.il, and make an. end. 01! the craft of kings and cf lords and of usurers, and thero should be but one craft in the world, to wit, to -work merrily for ouvsclv*?s and to live merrily thereby.' " Said the captain: "This then is thy sermon. Who will heed it if thou preach it?" Said the King: "They who will take, the mad king and put him in a king's madhouse, theretora do I forbear to preach it. Yet it SHALL be preached." "And not heeded," said the captain, "save by those who he-ad. and hang the settlers'forth of new things that are good for the world. Our trade is safe for many and many a generation." And therewith they came io the King's palace, and they ate and drank and slept and the world went on its ways. ■>.-..'