Renatus was a Prince of Saxony
that was but newly come to his princedom; his father
had died while he was a boy, and the realm had been
administered by his father’s brother, a Duke
of high courage and prudence. The Duke was deeply
anxious for the fate of the princedom and his nephew’s
fortunes, for they lived in troubled times; the barons
of the province were strong and haughty men, with little
care for the Prince, and no thought of obedience;
each of them lived in his castle, upon a small realm
of his own; the people were much discontented with
the rule of the barons, and the Duke saw plainly enough
that if a prince could arise who could win the confidence
of the people, the barons would have but little power
left. Thus his care was so to bring up the Prince
Renatus that he should understand how hard a
task was before him; but the boy, though quick of apprehension,
was fond of pleasure and amusement, and soon wearied
of grave instructions; so the Duke did not persist
overmuch, but strove to make the little Prince love
him and confide in him, hoping that, when the day
of trial came, he might be apt to ask advice rather
than act hastily and perhaps foolishly; but yet in
this the Duke had not perfectly succeeded, as he was
by nature grave and austere, and even his face seemed
to have in it a sort of rebuke for lively and light-minded
persons. Still the Prince, though he was not at
ease with the Duke, trusted him exceedingly, and thought
him wise and good, even more than the Duke imagined.
The days had been full of feasting
and pageants, and Renatus was greatly excited
and eager at finding himself in so great a place.
He had borne himself with much courtesy and dignity
in his receiving of embassies and such compliments;
he had, too, besides the sweet gifts of youth and
beauty, a natural affectionateness, which led him to
wish to please those about him; and the Duke’s
heart was full of love and admiration for the graceful
boy, though there lay in the back of his mind a shadow
of fear; and this grew very dark when he saw two of
the most turbulent barons speaking together in a corner,
with sidelong glances at the Prince, at one of the
Court assemblies, and divined that they thought the
boy would be but a pretty puppet in their hands.
The custom was that the Prince, on
the eve of his enthroning, should watch for two hours
alone in the chapel of the castle, from eleven to
one at night, and should there consecrate himself to
God; the guests of the evening were departed; and
a few minutes before eleven the Duke sate with the
Prince in a little room off the chapel, waiting till
it was time for the Prince to enter the building.
Renatus was in armour, as the custom was, with
a white robe over all. He sate restlessly in a
chair, and there was a mischievous and dancing light
of pleasure in his eye, that made the Duke doubly
grave. The Duke, after some discourse of other
matters, made a pause; and then, saying that it was
the last time that he should take the privilege of
guardianship to offer advice unless it
were sought said: “And now, Renatus,
you know that I love you as a dear son; and I would
have you remember that all these things are but shows,
and that there sits behind them a grave and holy presence
of duty; these pomps are but the signs that you are
truly the Prince of this land; and you must use your
power well, and to God’s glory; for it is He
that makes us to be what we are, and truly calls us
thereto.” Renatus heard him with a
sort of courteous impatience, and then, with a smile,
said: “Yes, dear uncle, I know it; but
the shows are very brave; and you will forgive me if
my head is full of them just now. Presently,
when the pageants are all over, I shall settle down
to be a sober prince enough. I think you do not
trust me wholly in the matter but I would
not seem ungrateful,” he added rather hastily,
seeing the gravity in the Duke’s face “for
indeed you have been as a true father to me.”
The Duke said no more at that time,
for he cared not to give untimely advice, and a moment
after, a bell began to toll in the silence, and the
chaplain came habited to conduct the Prince to his
chapel. So they went the three of them together.
It was dark and still within the church;
in front of the altar-steps were set a faldstool and
a chair, where the Duke might pray, or sit if he were
weary; two tall wax lights stood beside, and lit up
the crimson cloth and the gold fringes, so that it
seemed like a rare flower blossoming in the dark.
A single light, in a silver lamp hung by a silver
chain, burnt before the altar; all else was dim; but
they could see the dark stalls of the choir, with
their carven canopies, over which hung the banners
of old knights, that moved softly to and fro; beyond
were the pillars of the aisles, glimmering faintly
in a row. The roof and windows were dark, save
where here and there a rib of stone or a tracery stood
out very rich and dim. All about there was a
kind of holy smell, of wood and carven stone and incense-smoke.
The chaplain knelt beneath the altar;
and the Prince knelt down at the faldstool, the Duke
beside him on the floor. And just as the old bell
of the castle tolled the hour, and died away in a soft
hum of sound, as sweet as honey, the chaplain said
an ancient prayer, the purport of which was that the
Christian must watch and pray; that only the pure
heart might see God; and asking that the Prince might
be blest with wisdom, as the Emperor Solomon was,
to do according to the will of the Father.
Then the chaplain and the Duke withdrew;
but as the Duke rose up, he laid his hand on the Prince’s
head and said, “God be with you, dear son, and
open your eyes.” And Renatus looked
up at him and smiled.
Then the Duke went back to the little
room, and prayed abundantly. It was arranged
that he should wait there until the Prince’s
vigil was over, when he would go to attend him forth;
and so the Prince was left by himself.
For a time Renatus prayed, gathering
up the strength of his mind to pray earnestly; but
other thoughts kept creeping in, like children peeping
and beckoning from a door. So he rose up after
a little, and looked about him; and something of the
solemnity of the night and the place came into his
mind.
Then, after a while, he sate, his
armour clinking lightly as he moved; and wrapping
his robe about him for it grew chill in
the church he thought of what had been
and what should be. The time flew fast; and presently
Renatus heard the great bell ring the hour of
midnight; so he knelt and prayed again, with all his
might, that God would bless him and open his eyes.
Then he rose again to his feet; and
now the moon was risen and made a very pure and tender
radiance through one of the high windows; and Renatus,
looking about him, was conscious of a thrill of fear
that passed through him, as though there were some
great presence near him in the gloom; then his eyes
fell on a little door on his right, opposite to the
door by which they had entered, which he knew led out
into the castle court; but underneath the door, between
it and the sill, there gleamed a line of very golden
light, such as might come from a fire without.
The Prince had no foolish terrors, as he was by nature
courageous, and the holy place that he was in made
him feel secure. But the light, which now began
to grow in clearness, and to stream, like a rippling
flow of brightness, into the church, surprised him
exceedingly. So he rose up and went to the little
door, expecting that he would find it closed; but
it opened to his hand.
He had thought to see the dark court
of the castle as he had often seen it, with its tall
chimneys and battlements, and with lights in the windows.
But to his amazement he saw that he was on the edge
of a vast and dizzy space, so vast that he had not
thought there could be anything in the world so great.
The church and he seemed to float together in the
space, for the solid earth was all gone and
it came into his head that the great building in which
he stood, so fair and high, was no larger than a mote
that swims in the strong beams of the sun. The
space was all misty and dim at first, but over it hung
a light like the light of dawn, that seemed to gush
from a place in the cloud, near at hand and yet leagues
away. Then as his sight became more used to the
place, he saw that it was all sloping upwards and
downwards, and built up of great steps or stairs, that
ran across the space and were lost at last in cloud;
and that the light came from the head of the steps.
Then with a sudden shock of surprise he saw that there
were persons kneeling on the steps; and every moment
his sight became clearer and clearer, so that he could
see the persons nearest to him, their robes and hands,
and even the very linéaments of their faces.
Very near him there were three figures
kneeling, not together in a group, but with some space
between them. And, in some way that he could
not explain, he felt that all the three were unconscious
both of each other and of himself.
Looking intently upon them, he saw
that they were kings, in royal robes. The nearest
to him was an ancient man, with white hair; he knelt
very upright and strong; his face was like parchment,
with heavy lines, but his eyes glowed like a fire.
Renatus thought he had never seen so proud a
look. He had an air of command, and Renatus
seemed to know that he had been a warrior in his youth.
In his hands he held a crown of fine golden work,
filled with jewels of great rarity and price; and
the king held the crown as though he knew its worth;
he seemed, as it were, to be proffering it, but as
a gift of mighty value, the worthiest thing that he
had to offer.
On a step below him at a little distance
knelt the second; he was a younger man, in the prime
of life; he had the look more of a student than a
warrior, of one who was busied in many affairs, and
who pondered earnestly over high matters of policy
and state. He had a wiser face than the older
man, but his brow was drawn by lines, as though he
had often doubted of himself and others; and he had
a crown in one hand, which he held a little irresolutely,
as though he half loved it, and were yet half wearied
of it; as though he was fain to lay it down, and yet
not wholly glad to part with it.
Then Renatus turned a little
to the third; and he was more richly apparelled than
the others; his hands were clasped in prayer; and by
his knee there lay a splendid diadem, an Emperor’s
crown, with few jewels, but each the price of a kingdom.
And Renatus saw that he was very young, scarce
older than himself; and that he had the most beautiful
face he had ever seen, with large soft eyes, clear-cut
features, and a mouth that looked both pure and strong;
but in his face there was such a passion of holiness
and surrender, that Renatus fell to wondering
what it was that a man could so adore. He was
the only one of the three who looked, as it were,
rapt out of himself; and the crown lay beside him
as if he had forgotten its very existence.
Then there came upon the air a great
sound of jubilant and tender music like the voice
of silver trumpets and the cloud began to
lift and draw up on every side, and revealed at last,
very far off and very high, yet strangely near and
clear, a Throne at the head of the steps. But
Renatus dared not look thereon, for he felt that
the time was not come; but he saw, as it were reflected
in the eyes of the kings, that they looked upon a
sight of awful splendour and mystery. Then he
saw that the two that still held their crowns laid
them down upon the ground with a sort of fearful haste,
as though they were constrained; but the youngest
of the kings smiled, as though he were satisfied beyond
his dearest wish.
Then Renatus felt that somewhat
was to be done too bright and holy for a mortal eye
to behold, and so he drew back and softly closed the
door; and it was a pain to find himself within the
dark church again; it was as though he had lost the
sight of something that a man might desire above all
things to see but he dared look no longer;
and the music came again, but this time more urgently,
in a storm of sound.
Then Renatus went back to his
place, that seemed to him very small and humble beside
what he had seen outside. And all the pride was
emptied out of his heart, for he knew that he had
looked upon the truth, and that it was wider than
he had dreamed; and then he knelt and prayed that
God would keep him humble and diligent and brave; but
then he grew ashamed of his prayer, for he remembered
that, after all, he was but still praying for himself;
and he had a thought of the young Emperor’s
face, and he knew that there was something deeper and
better still than humility and diligence and courage;
what it was he knew not; but he thought that he had
been, as it were, asking God for those fair things,
like flower-blooms or jewels, which a man may wear
for his own pride; but that they must rather rise
and blossom, like plants out of a rich soil.
So he ended by praying that God would empty him of
all unworthy thoughts, and fill him full of that good
and great thing, which, in the Gospel story, Martha
went near to miss, but Mary certainly divined.
That was a blessed hour, to the thought
of which Renatus afterwards often turned in darker
and more weary days. But it drew swiftly to an
end, and as he knelt, the bell beat one, and his vigil
was over.
Presently the Duke came to attend
him back; and Renatus could not speak of the
vision, but only told the Duke that he had seen a
wonderful thing, and he added a few words of grateful
love, holding the Duke’s hand close in his own.
On the next day, before Renatus
came to be enthroned, the barons came to do him homage;
and Renatus, asking God to give him words that
he might say what was in his heart, spoke to them,
the Duke standing by; he said that he well knew that
it appeared strange that one so young as himself should
receive the homage of those who were older and wiser
and more strong, adding: “But I believe
that I am truly called, under God, to rule this land
for the welfare of all that dwell therein, and I will
rule it with diligence. Nay for it
is not well that a land should have many masters I
purpose that none shall rule it but myself, under
God.” And at that the barons looked upon
one another, but Renatus, leaning a little forward,
with his hand upon his sword-hilt, said: “I
think, my Lords, that there be some here that are
saying to themselves, He hath learnt his lesson
well, and I hope that it may be seen that it is
so but it is God and not man who hath put
it into my heart to say this; it is from Him that I
receive this throne. Counsel will I ask, and
that gladly; but remembering the account that I must
one day make, I will rule this realm for the welfare
of the people thereof, and I will have all men do their
parts; so see that your homage be of the heart and
not of the lips, for it is to God that you make it,
and not to me, who am indeed unworthy; but He that
hath set me in this place will strengthen my hands.
I have spoken this,” he said, “not willingly;
but I would have no one mistake my purpose in the
matter.”
Then the barons came silently to do
obeisance; and so Renatus came to his own; but
more of him I must not here say, save that he ruled
his realm wisely and well, and ever gave God the glory.