The Storyteller

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 37, 30 September 1925, Page 3

The Storyteller

® (By Georg* Henrt Milki.)

CHAPTER X—(Continued.) The gloomy aspect of the future was also capable of furnishing the youth with sufficient food for reflection. The death of Rodolph spread consternation over Saxony and Suabia: both circles were crippled by internal dissensions, and unable to profit by their victory. Inspired by this, and by his rival’s death, and encouraged by the attitude and successes of the Lombards, Henry meditated an invasion of Italy, and the conquest of Rome itself. He reorganised a powerful army, and penetrated Lombardy, .'caving Frederick of Hohenstaufen to hold Suabia in check, while Saxony was convulxid by the rival schemes of Otto and Herman. Never before had the Holy See seemed in such imminent danger. England and France LEWISHAM HOSPITAL ART UNION—£2OOO. Book of nine (9) tickets for £l. looked coldly oil, and the empear of the East sympathised with his brother of Austria. Gregory alone awaited the storm calm and fearless, relying upon the sacredness and justice of his cause, neither dismayed nor discouraged by the fickle course of human events. He deplored the’ spirit which arrayed itself against truth, but he found in the recollection of the trials of the Apostles and their successors abundant consolation for himself and . his friends. Florence, Padua, Cremona, Milan had fallen before the Austrian invader. Lucca swelled the triumphs of the tyrant. Fortress after fortress was wrested from Matilda ; Henry sat down before the gates of Rome at last, in the plains of Nero and opposite the fortress of St. Peter. Yet the sublime Pontiff displayed no symptom of uneasiness, though half of Europe was against him, Gilbert’s first impulse was to fly to Rome, but the approaches to the city were all in possession of the enemy. The noble Matilda could ill spare a good lance, and the Romans then displayed so much resolution and gallantry, that the German army was repulsed in every assault. To the young knight’s heart, wounded by the siege of Rome and misfortunes of Matilda, the tidings of the reconciliation at home were like a' sweet balsam. And though the blessed' intelligence was blended with the account of the Lady Margaret’s death, it was not the less welcome. Gilbert had long sine© ceased to regard the Lady Margaret with human love. He fevered her as one sacred to heaven, upon whom death had already set the seal .of eternity, and, far from weeping over her early grave, he exulted at her triumphant flight to the judgment-seat of God. 1 Two long years crept by, and the imperialists were still before Rome. ’’ Gilbert looked anxiously for succor to Suabia and Saxony,

but the sudden death of Otto of Nordheim ~~ laid his hopes in the dust, and Henry, for the third time, invested the eternal city. ; Hitherto, the Romans, encouraged by the Pope, had made an heroic resistance, and thei besiegers had suffered incredibly from their desperate sallies, as well as from the diseases that decimated them. But the fidelity of the citizens was beginning to totter beneath % the protracted warfare, and njany sighed fox* a period to their calamities. Henry failed not .1; to profit by these dispositions, and poured in thirty thousand golden florins to inflame I them. .... : -. . The horizon grew darker and darker—the -i Pope more winning, more eloquent, more determined. Matilda did ‘ not fail him in this crisis. The knight of the azure cross £ had already won the confidence of the princess by his valor, his prudence, and his piety, and she now selected him as the instrument . of her generosity. She pointed to a large amount of silver, saying that she intrusted him with the dangerous and difficult duty of conveying it to Gregory. Gilbert gladly ac- U cepted the perilous commission. He loaded a number of mules with the treasure, concealed beneath vegetables, and disguising himself as a peasant, took a guide and set out for Rome. During a dark and stormy night he contrived to pierce the hostile lines and enter the city by the Lateran gate. Gilbert found the Pope seated in the midst of an assembly. He could at last feast his 4 eyes upon the wonderful and sainted man 3 whom he had all his life loved and venerated. When the Pontiff rose and spoke of the virtue and fortitude that ought to sustain them in this crisis, he seemed endowed will supernatural power, and moved all present to tears. It seemed as though his soul foreknew it was the last time his voice should be raised in defence of his grand and holy cause. ,4' Another year passed by; the festival of Easter was approaching. Henry was medi- :? tating a return to Germany, when a deputation of the citizens arrived in his camp, offering to surrender the capital. The Lateran gate was opened, and the imperial ai*mv began to enter the city. The Roman soldiers, | finding themselves betrayed, flew to arms, and Gilbert de Hers .was once more contend- ’ ing with the warriors he had met at Fladenheira and the Elster. Godfrey de Bouillon ' fell wounded before the desperate resolution of the besieged, and as he was brought to Ms knee, vowed a pilgrimage to the 'Holy - Land, But, outnumbered and confused, the: defenders were driven into the citadel, and Henry, with his queen at his side,” entered : in triumph. The next day Guibert of ' Ravenna was installed in the Lateran palace' in the See of St..Peter, and consecrated on the twenty-fourth of March, by the bishops of Modena and Arezzo. His first act was ■to crown King Henry in the Vatican. Gregory retired to the castle of San Angelo, and the 1 giddy populace greeted the anti-none with

shouts of joy. A severe chastisement awaited , perfidy and inconstancy. Robert Guis“.caM was advancing with thirty thousand in- ’ fantry and six thousand cavalry, and Henry fled before the redoubtable prince, whom he had provoked by an alliance Avith.“Alexius, the Emperor of the East. Abandoned by Henry, who had returned to Austria, - the treacherous Romans barred their gates. Robert asked admission, but in vain; and his irritated soldiers forced their way at mid- | night through the Flamiiiian gate. The city was crimsoned with flame and : sword. A body of Saracens formed part of the Norman s army, and their fury knew no bounds. From three points of the city the flames were streaming. Scarce could the Papal guards .preserve a portion of the churches from pillage and destruction. St. Sylvester’s and St.

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Lawrence were wrapped in fire, and the basilicas, from the quarter of Lateran to the Coliseum, were involved in the red ruin. For three days the conqueror raged like a lion in the capital of the Christian world. The frenzied people again attempted resistance, and again the streets ran with their blood. When, gorged with slaughter and booty, the ferocious conquerors had evacuated the city, Gregory and his attendants re-entered Rome and occupied the Lateran palace. He lingered in the venal city only long enough to convoke a council and renew his anathemas against Henry and Guibert, and then retired to Monte Cassino. y L Gilbert was not permitted to accompany the Pontiff to his retreat, but was dispatched to Matilda with an account of all that had occurred. He found the magnanimous princess threatened by an army more than treble her own. But she was undismayed and full of hope, meditating a bold enterprise that was crowned with success. In the dead of the night, when the imperialists, secure in their numerical superiority, were plunged in sleep, she led the remnants of her troops into the hostile camp. The sleepers awoke to the cry of “St. Peter! St. Peter!” and perished ere they could grasp their arms. The chivalry and nobility of Lombardy were well-nigh exterminated. In a few hours, corpses and tents alone remained of the hostile array. • Why should not Sorbara be as magical a word as Thermopylae? It would be, if the Christian chroniclers had shared the pride or shown the polish of Grecian historians, and if modern Christians felt a Grecian enthus- • iasm for the deeds of their Christian ancestors. Matilda differed from Leonidas but in one respect—in surviving the . action and remaining victor on the field. '.Some days after the battle, Gilbert was summoned into Matilda’s presence. ) “I owe you more,” she said, “than I can ever repay. Your former voluntary services and fidelity are enhanced by your brilliant exploits in this last victory. Be pleased to 1 style yourself Governor of Modena.” s .Gilbert advanced a step, and sinking upon ate knee, -replied: ; * “Madam, I came to share in your generous , devotion to our common Father, and to as-

sist you as best I could. . You are now — thanks to your own valorvictorious and secure. I must decline your bounty, for from this moment I renounce the soldier. Here is my sword, madam; since Rome and you no longer require it, I, shall not need it; nowhere would I more willingly resign it than thus at your feet.” As the morning dawned, Gilbert de Hers, accompanied by a troop of horse, set out for Monte Cassino. Gregory had retired to Salerno, where he passed his days in the contemplation of heavenly things, and in reading the lives of the Saints and ecclesiastical history. Gilbert soon heard of his increasing weakness. The sun that had poured its light over the world, despite the mists and clouds of error and vice, was setting at last. How his dying words bespeak the Saint; “My best-loved friends, I count my labors nothing. That which gives me confidence is the consciousness of having loved justice and hated iniquity When his assistants, groaning in anguish, adverted to their desolate condition after his death, he raised his arms to heaven, exclaiming, “I will ascend there, and plead your cause before a God supremely, good !” On the twenty-fifth of May, 1085, were uttered those memorable Avoids that smote the forehead of guilty Europe as if with a burning hand: “I have loved justice and hated iniquity—therefore I die in exile.” 5 ears passed by. Peace smiled once more in the lordships of Hers and Stramen. A new dwelling had arisen from the ashes of Stramen Castle. The Church of the Nativity was repaired, and again rose in beauty over the faithful who flocked there to worship. Yet there was a stranger priest at the altar, and often after Mass the people would gather around a marble slab just before the altar, on which was written : “C redo quod Ttedemptor turns rivif .” This was the tomb of Father Omehr ; his epitaph was written and treasured in the hearts of all who knew him, and, transmitted from sire to son, required no foreign chisel to deepen the impression upon the living tablet. The Lords of Stramen and Hers were often together, and were beloved by Lieir vassals •for their uniform courtesy and charity. Their hairs were whitening, and when Sir Sandrit walked to the churchyard he leaned upon Henry’s arm.

Years passed by. Henry IV, worn down by misfortune and the rebellion of his eldest son, for his own offspring held up the poisoned chalice to his lips, had followed his sainted, antagonist to the eternal tribunal, and his body had been cast out as excommunicated from its sepulchre. The male line of the Franconian emperors had expired in Henry V; Lothaire of Saxony, a zealous champion of Rome, had been raised to the throne, lime was revealing that Gregory VII was triumphant even in death, for -the' right of investiture was conceded to the Pope, and the celibacy of the clergy strictly enforced.

The Lords of Stramen and Hers were sleeping with their fathers. The hill on which the Pilgrim's "Chapel stood was no longer crowned with a castle, but with a monastery occupied by Benedictine monks. The whole lordship of Hers was blooming under their munificent administration. Humbert, whose long locks had now seen eighty winters, still lived at the foot of the hill, surrounded by a. goodly number of stalwart sons and fairhaired daughters. And sometimes in the long winter evenings, when the fire sparkled brightly and the old man was garrulous with joy, he would tell how he once entered a hostile castle as a minnesinger with a noble lover, and how the knight defied the angry father. Yet he never revealed that this knight was the generous abbot who nowsupplied them with the means of innocent

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mirth, who ministered to all their wants, and whose life was so meek and blameless. For Gilbert de Hers was abbot in the cells that had once been the halls of bis sires. And one wo’rd, reader. It was not after the Lady Margaret’s death that he embraced the resolution of dedicating himself to God, but on the battle-field of the Lister, and over the corpse of Rodolph of Suabia. He had proved his sincerity in the Avars of Matilda, and when he, quitted the princess for Monte Cassino. it was to assume the habit of the novice. One bright afternoon in the fall of 1126, two aged men were walking arm-in-arm toward the Church of the Nativity. One was attired as a Benedictine, the other as a knight. They stopped at the church and before a cluster of tombs. On one of the. slabs was carved a Greek cross with a single tear under it. and beneath the tear the words : “0 i'ru.r mucfa odium nos." It was the resting-place of the Lady Margaret, between the graves of her father and mother. The monk and the knight knelt down and prayed. As they rose, the bells of the church announced the close of day, and ushered in the Truce of God. With their bosoms heaving with recollections of the past, Gilbert of Hers and Henry of Stramen went into the church where fifty years before they had met in youth and enmity, and they knelt together beside the grave of Father Omehr, with their hearts full of tenderness and hope and love, while the sun of ancient Suabia was setting, and the bells poured forth their silvery peal.

The Exi).

MOTOR CAR OWNERS. . , A professional man in Wellington who cleans his own Motor says that since he started to use Q-tol he dispenses with gloves and is able to keep the dirt from getting ingrained. His hands are now smoother than ever they were. A large 2/- bottle of Q-tol lasts two months. ■ - -