The Constant Prince Read online

sneer.

  Fernando moved away towards his brother, and, pulling his sleeve toattract his attention, repeated some of the foregoing conversation.

  "Did Enrique think it possible that they might be defeated?"

  "Surely," said Enrique, "it is possible, if it were God's will, but," headded, colouring with enthusiasm, "I think, we are so well prepared, itis not likely."

  "But could it be God's will that the infidels should triumph?"

  "Why, yes," said Enrique; "you do not think what you say. It is Hiswill that we should offer ourselves to his service; but it is not alwaysHis will to give us the victory. Else there would have been nomartyrdoms. But yet," he continued, with the grave ardour peculiar tohim, "there is a blessing on zeal and self-devotion. I, for one, wouldrisk the result!"

  Fernando looked satisfied, and then demanded if Enrique thought that theMoors were really man-eaters.

  No; Enrique did not think so. They were very cruel and treacherous;kept no faith with Christians; but they were not, so far as heunderstood, savages. In fact, he hardly thought that they would treatprisoners of distinction otherwise than well.

  "What else?" he added, smiling, as Fernando still looked thoughtful.

  "It would be better to convert them than to kill them," said the boy,earnestly.

  "That is what I hope for," returned Enrique. "Their crimes havedeserved a just punishment; but Ceuta once in our hands, we can thereshow them what Christian life and Christian worship really is; and fromthence I hope to send out missionaries to the lands beyond, where all isdarkness. The good Franciscans will be willing to go, and who knowsinto what strange worlds they may penetrate?"

  "I don't think," said Fernando, "that your gentlemen here think ofconverting them."

  "Perhaps not. It is the part of princes to show themselves of a moreenlightened spirit than other men. We must take heed that no needlesscruelty stain our arms, and especially that in our own lives we showwhat it is to be Christians."

  "Even a prisoner might do that, if he were very patient," said Fernando.

  "Yes, like the holy martyrs. See, Fernando, I think there is no objectworth living for, but that of winning men to the service of our Lord byconquest, by preaching, by the discovery of distant lands. I long tomake myself worthy of it!"

  Fernando's young heart thrilled within him, and he longed ardently forthe day when he too should be old and strong enough to fight for theholy Cross. For he did not quite follow all that Enrique said, and thestorming of Ceuta was, as was natural, much the distinctest image in hismind.

  The sun sank below the horizon, the purple headland of Turo came intoview, one by one the stars came out in the deep clear sky; while at theprow of each vessel was hung a great lantern, so that in the gatheringdarkness the fleet seemed almost as if composed of ships of fire.Enrique threw himself back on the bench, and lay looking up at the sky.The study of the heavens was familiar to him, and the movements of thestars, both as a means of guiding mariners and as in themselveswonderful, were a favourite source of contemplation both to himself andto his elder brothers. They were indeed among the first to find thetrue science more interesting than the false one, and in their study ofastronomy deliberately to lay astrology on one side. He was pointingout to Fernando the different constellations that were visible, whensuddenly, as they gazed upward, the dark still heaven flashed into luridlight, and the peaceful silence was broken by a loud shout of alarm.The great lantern of their own ship had caught fire.

  "Back! back! Stand still," shouted Enrique, springing to his feet, and,in a moment, he rushed forward, climbed on to the high prow of the ship,and clinging on with one hand, with the other he detached the burninglantern, and flung it into the sea. Another moment and the ship musthave been on fire: as it was, the wind caught a piece of flamingframework and wafted it on to the deck at Fernando's feet. He caught itup--it was too large to trample out, or he thought so--he could not pushthrough the crowd that had rushed to the sides of the vessel, and heheld out the burning mass at arm's length, unflinchingly, tillNorthberry, turning, snatched it out of his hand, and succeeded inthrowing it into the water. At the same moment Enrique sprang down uponthe deck, giving orders, and, allaying the excitement, desiring torchesto be lit, and calling on all to give thanks to God for the saving oftheir lives.

  Morning and evening a solemn service of prayer and praise arose from thewhole fleet, and now on board the ship of _Good Hope_, as Dom Enriquehad named his vessel, the sense of recent danger quickened every heartto thanksgiving.

  Messages came from the King and from the other Infantes, to know whathad caused the sudden extinction of Dom Enrique's lantern, and in theanswering of these no one thought of Fernando till Enrique missed him,and, hastily looking for him, found him on the bench where they had beensitting, half fainting with the pain of his burnt fingers.

  "I did not think of it at first," he said; "and then if I am a soldier Imust bear pain."

  Enrique could not understand how he had been hurt; and when he heard thestory, declared that Fernando's courage had saved the ship, and thenturned on Northberry with one of his rare outbursts of anger. Could henot see that Dom Fernando was burnt when he took the flaming wood fromhim!

  Enrique was habitually gentle; but there was an intensity in hisdispleasure when it was once roused, which was not easily forgotten.

  "I hid my hand behind me; it did not hurt me _much_," said Fernando, whowas reviving. "Senor Northberry could not see."

  "Dom Fernando is as true a soldier as yourself, my lord," saidNorthberry.

  "I know it," returned Enrique; but he said no more, only anxiouslywatching while one of his chaplains, Father Jose, who, like mostpriests, was something of a surgeon, bound up the injured hand, sayingthat it was after all but a trifle.

  He would hardly, for the rest of the voyage, let Fernando out of hissight; though the boy, exceedingly anxious to prove that he was able tobear such trifling casualties of war, resolutely concealed all theill-effects which the adventure caused to his delicate constitution.

  CHAPTER FIVE.

  THE SIEGE OF CEUTA.

  "Upon them with the lance!"

  The Christian host approached the pillars of Hercules amid violent stormand tempest. Separated from each other, and scattered far and wide inthe darkness of the night, there were hours when they feared that alltheir preparations had been in vain, when they dreaded the morning lightthat would reveal to them the gaps in their numbers. But the windssank, and the sun rose, and the dispersed vessels drew together again,after but little damage, and the King prepared to superintend thelanding of the troops. He did not then know what would have greatlyencouraged him, that Zala-ben-Zala, the Governor of Ceuta, trusting toomuch to the effects of the tempest, had allowed the 5,000 allies whom hehad collected to return home, thinking the danger over.

  Joao and Fernando were ordered to remain and watch the assault from avessel, moored at a safe distance from the shore, behind the rest of thefleet; in which were also safely stored all the Church vessels andfurniture, which it was hoped might be used in the conquered city, butwhich must not in the event of a defeat, be allowed to fall into thehands of the Infidels. Here, too, many of the priests and chaplains,after saying mass in the different vessels, retired to watch the event,and here, all day long, the voice of prayer went up for the success ofthe Christian arms.

  The two little boys were taken, before daybreak, on board their father'sship that he might bid them farewell, and here they saw all their threebrothers ready armed for the attack, full of joy at the thought that thelong-wished-for moment had at last come when they were to provethemselves worthy of knighthood. All looked grave, collected, andresolute, and the boys caught the tone of their elders, and borethemselves as like soldiers as they could.

  "If we were _only_ going too!" whispered Joao, as they went down againinto their boat.

  "We will one day," returned Fernando; but as he glanced up at the ship,he saw Enrique looking down at him with the light o
f the dawn on hisshining helmet and clear, solemn eyes. Fernando thought that Enriquewould look like that in heaven, and for the first time it occurred tohim how likely it was that his brothers would be killed in the attack,and he felt that Ceuta might be dearly won. That was a strange day onboard the young princes' ship. They heard, and could dimly see, theattack on the town of Ceuta, led by the Infantes Duarte and Enrique, anddirected by their father from a small boat near the shore. They heardthe shouting, the noise of the cannon, the rush, and the hurly-burly,behind the constant chanting kept up all day by the waiting priests, whobade the young princes pray for their father, since they could nototherwise aid him. The sea was now perfectly calm, the ships, lately sobusy, almost deserted, save this one, where high on the deck an altarhad been raised, and the solemn