King Matthias and the Beggar Boy Part 1

King Matthias and the Beggar Boy.

by Nicholas Josika.

CHAPTER I.

MR. SAMSON'S CASTLE.

Towards the close of a gloomy day in autumn, a very dusty traveller was riding quietly up to a castle which stood perched on a height in one of the northern counties of Hungary. A very extraordinary-looking castle it was, if it was a castle at all, which one might be inclined to doubt; for it looked more like a square block hewn by giants out of the ribs of the mountain, and left to itself for centuries, until its walls had become mouldy and moss-grown. One thing which gave it an odd appearance was that, as far as could be seen, it had no roof; the fact being that it was built round a quadrangle, and that the roof, or rather half-roof, sloped downwards and inwards from the top of the outer walls.

But what was even more remarkable still was that the building had neither door nor window in any one of its four sides; so that how the inhabitants, if there were any, ever went in or out, was quite a mystery.

People had had a good deal to say about the owner of this extraordinary stronghold for many a year past, and all sorts of wild stories were told of him. But no one but his own hired servants and men-at-arms had ever set eyes upon him--so far as they knew, that is to say.

Neither he nor his servants were ever to be seen coming or going, and how they managed was quite unknown; but for all that they made their presence felt, and very unpleasantly felt too.

The man on horseback had drawn nearer by this time, and was gazing up at the huge pile, scanning it carefully, but quite unable to discover so much as a c.h.i.n.k or cranny in the grey, weather-beaten walls.

At last he shook his head and said with a smile, "Why, the castle is in such a strong position and so well fortified that it must be almost impregnable! But of course it is inhabited, and the inhabitants are human beings, not demons; and wherever human beings can dwell, human beings must also be able to enter.

"Well, I am here at last! and little enough Mr. Samson guesses what manner of visitor has come so close to his hiding-place. I am glad I came, for it is always best to see with one's own eyes. And now that I am here, the next thing is how to get in. Let us look and consider. No use," he continued, after a moment or two; "I can't think of any way. If I could only see some one, a living creature of some sort, to make inquiries of! Nonsense! I'll wager I know more about the nest than any one hereabouts.

"But still, I have been six hours on horseback, and as far as the eye can see there is no wayside inn or public-house or even farm-house in sight, and a man can't help being tired even if he be a vice-count--or more! Well, let's be going on," he went on, putting his horse once more in motion.

The young man before us was of middle height and strongly built, with fiery dark eyes, and curly chestnut hair; he was very plainly clad, and his horse was no better caparisoned than if it had belonged to some son of the _puszta_, or steppes.

Quietly, and with eyes and ears both on the alert, he rode round the height on which the fortress stood.

"If I don't see anything," he said to himself with a laugh, "they don't see me; let's be off!

"Eh, and yet I should be glad if I could come across a human being of some sort, if he were no bigger than the rowel of my spur.--Hi! hi there, _foldi_ [countryman]," cried the horseman all at once, as he caught sight of some one trudging along the road round the shoulder of the hill.

The wayfarer thus addressed turned and came up to him, and as soon as he was within speaking distance he said in humble tones, "_Uram_ [sir], I am hungry; I have not eaten a morsel to-day. Have pity on me, _kegyelmed_[1] [your grace]."

[Footnote 1: A common form of polite address in Hungarian.]

Then he cast a glance, not altogether devoid of envy, at the dainty horseman, who was so comfortably clad, and who looked, to judge by his countenance, as if his hunger had been well satisfied.

"Here," said the rider, giving the beggar a small coin; for the boy attracted him, and he thought to himself that he could hardly ever remember to have seen a face with such a peculiarly taking expression.

Moreover, in spite of the mud and dirt with which his skin was incrusted, it was impossible not to be struck by his fine features, which were of a purely Oriental type, and lighted up by a pair of large dark eyes as black as the raven's wing.

The man on horseback had given the lad a trifle on the spur of the moment, because he looked so poverty-stricken; but a second glance made him fancy, rightly or wrongly, that he was not a beggar of the common sort, to whom people give careless alms because he stirs their pity for the moment. This beggar excited something more and better than mere pity--at least in the man before us. Some people, it is true, might not have noticed the expression of the lad's face; but to those who had eyes it told of something more than poverty and distress. It was not the look of the beggar who is content to be a beggar, who would rather beg than work, rather live upon others than labour for himself. One might almost fancy, indeed, that the lad was ashamed of his present plight, and rather indignant with things in general for not providing him with some better employment.

The horseman was one well accustomed to reading character, and rarely mistaken in his judgment; and being touched as well as favourably impressed by the boy, it suddenly occurred to him that he might be turned to account.

"Just answer me a few questions, my boy, will you?" said he. "Can you write?"

"No, I can't; I have never had any teaching."

And, indeed, writing was a by no means general accomplishment in the reign of the good King Matthias, when many of the first n.o.bles in the land could not even sign their own names. But still there seem to have been elementary schools not only in the towns but in other places as well, so that the question was not altogether unreasonable.

"Then you can't read either?"

"Of course not; as if it were likely!"

"Have you ever been in service?"

"Never, sir, thank Heaven; but I have worked as a day-labourer."

"Why don't you turn soldier?"

"Because my head is worth more than my arms," said the beggar: "besides, they wouldn't take such a ragged chap as I."

"Are you to be trusted, I wonder?"

The boy looked up at the speaker at this, and then answered with an air of wounded pride, "I have not had a good meal for a fortnight, yet I have not stolen so much as a plum from a tree. You may trust me with a purse full of money."

"Well, _ocsem_[2] [little brother], it is possible you may be a regular rascal, for anything I know to the contrary at present; but you have a good face, and I should like to see such a head as yours on many a pair of shoulders which are covered with gold and marten-fur. Well, I don't care! I am going to trust a good pair of eyes and a clear forehead.

Listen, boy. I like you. Stand here before me, and let me see what you have got in you, gossip! for if you hold good measure, you have been born under a lucky star, I can tell you."

[Footnote 2: A common way of addressing younger persons.]

"You can amuse yourself in return for the money you have given me," said the boy, looking repeatedly at his gift; "you may take my measure as much as you like, and I will be looking at the horse meantime. Ah! you are a lucky man to have such a horse as that. How he snorts! and his eyes flash as if he were Jatos[3] himself."

[Footnote 3: A magic horse.]

"Boy!" said the horseman, who looked as if he were at least a vice-count--"boy, you are up to the mark so far; there is room for good measure in you, and a few pints over! But, _koma_ [gossip], I have often seen a good-looking cask full of nothing but bad, sour wine. Let us see whether you hold one full measure."

"One measure?" said the beggar, offended. "I shouldn't be my father's son if my wretched skin did not cover a man of a hundred measures, especially when I have had a good dinner. It's a couple of weeks now since I have had a stomachful when I lay down at night."

"My little brother," said the horseman, "a fellow who is ruled by his stomach is not worth a farthing. You have lost three measures out of your cask by that foolish speech."

"Ha," said the beggar boldly, "my stomach grumbles badly, and it is no joke when it goes on for long. However, it's no wonder you can't guess what it feels like to be hungry, for I daresay you are a hall-porter, or even maybe a poultry-dealer, and such people as those are always well fed."

The horseman laughed. "You have got the cow's udder between its horns now, koma; but whatever and whoever I may be, I am a great man while my purse is full, and so listen to me. Do you see that castle there?"

"To be sure."

"Have you ever been inside?"

"Well, to be sure, I am well off, I am! but may the Tatars catch me, if I would take my teeth in there!"

"Hm!--and why?"

"Why?" asked the beggar, considering; "I really can't tell you. But what should take me there? Besides--well, they say it is inhabited by demons, and that they live on Jews' flesh. The Jews are constantly going there, just as if they had been invited to dinner; but they get eaten up."

"Simple Stevie of Debreczin!"[4] cried the horseman. "Do you believe such nonsense?"