julian’s father and mother dwelt in a castle built on the slope of a hill, in the heart of the woods.
the towers at its four corners had pointed roofs covered with leaden tiles, and the foundation rested upon solid rocks, which descended abruptly to the bottom of the moat.
in the courtyard, the stone flagging was as immaculate as the floor of a church. long rain-spouts, representing dragons with yawning jaws, directed the water towards the cistern, and on each window-sill of the castle a basil or a heliotrope bush bloomed, in painted flower-pots.
a second enclosure, surrounded by a fence, comprised a fruit-orchard, a garden decorated with figures wrought in bright-hued flowers, an arbour with several bowers, and a mall for the diversion of the pages. on the other side were the kennel, the stables, the bakery, the wine-press and the barns. around these spread a pasture, also enclosed by a strong hedge.
peace had reigned so long that the portcullis was never lowered; the moats were filled with water; swallows built their nests in the cracks of the battlements, and as soon as the sun shone too strongly, the archer who all day long paced to and fro on the curtain, withdrew to the watch-tower and slept soundly.
inside the castle, the locks on the doors shone brightly; costly tapestries hung in the apartments to keep out the cold; the closets overflowed with linen, the cellar was filled with casks of wine, and the oak chests fairly groaned under the weight of money-bags.
in the armoury could be seen, between banners and the heads of wild beasts, weapons of all nations and of all ages, from the slings of the amalekites and the javelins of the garamantes, to the broad-swords of the saracens and the coats of mail of the normans.
the largest spit in the kitchen could hold an ox; the chapel was as gorgeous as a king’s oratory. there was even a roman bath in a secluded part of the castle, though the good lord of the manor refrained from using it, as he deemed it a heathenish practice.
wrapped always in a cape made of fox-skins, he wandered about the castle, rendered justice among his vassals and settled his neighbours’ quarrels. in the winter, he gazed dreamily at the falling snow, or had stories read aloud to him. but as soon as the fine weather returned, he would mount his mule and sally forth into the country roads, edged with ripening wheat, to talk with the peasants, to whom he distributed advice. after a number of adventures he took unto himself a wife of high lineage.
she was pale and serious, and a trifle haughty. the horns of her head-dress touched the top of the doors and the hem of her gown trailed far behind her. she conducted her household like a cloister. every morning she distributed work to the maids, supervised the making of preserves and unguents, and afterwards passed her time in spinning, or in embroidering altar-cloths. in response to her fervent prayers, god granted her a son!
then there was great rejoicing; and they gave a feast which lasted three days and four nights, with illuminations and soft music. chickens as large as sheep, and the rarest spices were served; for the entertainment of the guests, a dwarf crept out of a pie; and when the bowls were too few, for the crowd swelled continuously, the wine was drunk from helmets and hunting-horns.
the young mother did not appear at the feast. she was quietly resting in bed. one night she awoke, and beheld in a moonbeam that crept through the window something that looked like a moving shadow. it was an old man clad in sackcloth, who resembled a hermit. a rosary dangled at his side and he carried a beggar’s sack on his shoulder. he approached the foot of the bed, and without opening his lips said: “rejoice, o mother! thy son shall be a saint.”
she would have cried out, but the old man, gliding along the moonbeam, rose through the air and disappeared. the songs of the banqueters grew louder. she could hear angels’ voices, and her head sank back on the pillow, which was surmounted by the bone of a martyr, framed in precious stones.
the following day, the servants, upon being questioned, declared, to a man, that they had seen no hermit. then, whether dream or fact, this must certainly have been a communication from heaven; but she took care not to speak of it, lest she should be accused of presumption.
the guests departed at daybreak, and julian’s father stood at the castle gate, where he had just bidden farewell to the last one, when a beggar suddenly emerged from the mist and confronted him. he was a gipsy—for he had a braided beard and wore silver bracelets on each arm. his eyes burned and, in an inspired way, he muttered some disconnected words: “ah! ah! thy son!—great bloodshed—great glory—happy always—an emperor’s family.”
then he stooped to pick up the alms thrown to him, and disappeared in the tall grass.
the lord of the manor looked up and down the road and called as loudly as he could. but no one answered him! the wind only howled and the morning mists were fast dissolving.
he attributed his vision to a dullness of the brain resulting from too much sleep. “if i should speak of it,” quoth he, “people would laugh at me.” still, the glory that was to be his son’s dazzled him, albeit the meaning of the prophecy was not clear to him, and he even doubted that he had heard it.
the parents kept their secret from each other. but both cherished the child with equal devotion, and as they considered him marked by god, they had great regard for his person. his cradle was lined with the softest feathers, and lamp representing a dove burned continually over it; three nurses rocked him night and day, and with his pink cheeks and blue eyes, brocaded cloak and embroidered cap he looked like a little jesus. he cut all his teeth without even a whimper.
when he was seven years old his mother taught him to sing, and his father lifted him upon a tall horse, to inspire him with courage. the child smiled with delight, and soon became familiar with everything pertaining to chargers. an old and very learned monk taught him the gospel, the arabic numerals, the latin letters, and the art of painting delicate designs on vellum. they worked in the top of a tower, away from all noise and disturbance.
when the lesson was over, they would go down into the garden and study the flowers.
sometimes a herd of cattle passed through the valley below, in charge of a man in oriental dress. the lord of the manor, recognising him as a merchant, would despatch a servant after him. the stranger, becoming confident, would stop on his way and after being ushered into the castle-hall, would display pieces of velvet and silk, trinkets and strange objects whose use was unknown in those parts. then, in due time, he would take leave, without having been molested and with a handsome profit.
at other times, a band of pilgrims would knock at the door. their wet garments would be hung in front of the hearth and after they had been refreshed by food they would relate their travels, and discuss the uncertainty of vessels on the high seas, their long journeys across burning sands, the ferocity of the infidels, the caves of syria, the manger and the holy sepulchre. they made presents to the young heir of beautiful shells, which they carried in their cloaks.
the lord of the manor very often feasted his brothers-at-arms, and over the wine the old warriors would talk of battles and attacks, of war-machines and of the frightful wounds they had received, so that julian, who was a listener, would scream with excitement; then his father felt convinced that some day he would be a conqueror. but in the evening, after the angelus, when he passed through the crowd of beggars who clustered about the church-door, he distributed his alms with so much modesty and nobility that his mother fully expected to see him become an archbishop in time.
his seat in the chapel was next to his parents, and no matter how long the services lasted, he remained kneeling on his prie-dieu, with folded hands and his velvet cap lying close beside him on the floor.
one day, during mass, he raised his head and beheld a little white mouse crawling out of a hole in the wall. it scrambled to the first altar-step and then, after a few gambols, ran back in the same direction. on the following sunday, the idea of seeing the mouse again worried him. it returned; and every sunday after that he watched for it; and it annoyed him so much that he grew to hate it and resolved to do away with it.
so, having closed the door and strewn some crumbs on the steps of the altar, he placed himself in front of the hole with a stick. after a long while a pink snout appeared, and then whole mouse crept out. he struck it lightly with his stick and stood stunned at the sight of the little, lifeless body. a drop of blood stained the floor. he wiped it away hastily with his sleeve, and picking up the mouse, threw it away, without saying a word about it to anyone.
all sorts of birds pecked at the seeds in the garden. he put some peas in a hollow reed, and when he heard birds chirping in a tree, he would approach cautiously, lift the tube and swell his cheeks; then, when the little creatures dropped about him in multitudes, he could not refrain from laughing and being delighted with his own cleverness.
one morning, as he was returning by way of the curtain, he beheld a fat pigeon sunning itself on the top of the wall. he paused to gaze at it; where he stood the rampart was cracked and a piece of stone was near at hand; he gave his arm a jerk and the well-aimed missile struck the bird squarely, sending it straight into the moat below.
he sprang after it, unmindful of the brambles, and ferreted around the bushes with the litheness of a young dog.
the pigeon hung with broken wings in the branches of a privet hedge.
the persistence of its life irritated the boy. he began to strangle it, and its convulsions made his heart beat quicker, and filled him with a wild, tumultuous voluptuousness, the last throb of its heart making him feel like fainting.
at supper that night, his father declared that at his age a boy should begin to hunt; and he arose and brought forth an old writing-book which contained, in questions and answers, everything pertaining to the pastime. in it, a master showed a supposed pupil how to train dogs and falcons, lay traps, recognise a stag by its fumets, and a fox or a wolf by footprints. he also taught the best way of discovering their tracks, how to start them, where their refuges are usually to be found, what winds are the most favourable, and further enumerated the various cries, and the rules of the quarry.
when julian was able to recite all these things by heart, his father made up a pack of hounds for him. there were twenty-four greyhounds of barbary, speedier than gazelles, but liable to get out of temper; seventeen couples of breton dogs, great barkers, with broad chests and russet coats flecked with white. for wild-boar hunting and perilous doublings, there were forty boarhounds as hairy as bears.
the red mastiffs of tartary, almost as large as donkeys, with broad backs and straight legs, were destined for the pursuit of the wild bull. the black coats of the spaniels shone like satin; the barking of the setters equalled that of the beagles. in a special enclosure were eight growling bloodhounds that tugged at their chains and rolled their eyes, and these dogs leaped at men’s throats and were not afraid even of lions.
all ate wheat bread, drank from marble troughs, and had high-sounding names.
perhaps the falconry surpassed the pack; for the master of the castle, by paying great sums of money, had secured caucasian hawks, babylonian sakers, german gerfalcons, and pilgrim falcons captured on the cliffs edging the cold seas, in distant lands. they were housed in a thatched shed and were chained to the perch in the order of size. in front of them was a little grass-plot where, from time to time, they were allowed to disport themselves.
bag-nets, baits, traps and all sorts of snares were manufactured.
often they would take out pointers who would set almost immediately; then the whippers-in, advancing step by step, would cautiously spread a huge net over their motionless bodies. at the command, the dogs would bark and arouse the quails; and the ladies of the neighbourhood, with their husbands, children and hand-maids, would fall upon them and capture them with ease.
at other times they used a drum to start hares; and frequently foxes fell into the ditches prepared for them, while wolves caught their paws in the traps.
but julian scorned these convenient contrivances; he preferred to hunt away from the crowd, alone with his steed and his falcon. it was almost always a large, snow-white, scythian bird. his leather hood was ornamented with a plume, and on his blue feet were bells; and he perched firmly on his master’s arm while they galloped across the plains. then julian would suddenly untie his tether and let him fly, and the bold bird would dart through the air like an arrow, one might perceive two spots circle around, unite, and then disappear in the blue heights. presently the falcon would return with a mutilated bird, and perch again on his master’s gauntlet with trembling wings.
julian loved to sound his trumpet and follow his dogs over hills and streams, into the woods; and when the stag began to moan under their teeth, he would kill it deftly, and delight in the fury of the brutes, which would devour the pieces spread out on the warm hide.
on foggy days, he would hide in the marshes to watch for wild geese, otters and wild ducks.
at daybreak, three equerries waited for him at the foot of the steps; and though the old monk leaned out of the dormer-window and made signs to him to return, julian would not look around.
he heeded neither the broiling sun, the rain nor the storm; he drank spring water and ate wild berries, and when he was tired, he lay down under a tree; and he would come home at night covered with earth and blood, with thistles in his hair and smelling of wild beasts. he grew to be like them. and when his mother kissed him, he responded coldly to her caress and seemed to be thinking of deep and serious things.
he killed bears with a knife, bulls with a hatchet, and wild boars with a spear; and once, with nothing but a stick, he defended himself against some wolves, which were gnawing corpses at the foot of a gibbet.
one winter morning he set out before daybreak, with a bow slung across his shoulder and a quiver of arrows attached to the pummel of his saddle. the hoofs of his steed beat the ground with regularity and his two beagles trotted close behind. the wind was blowing hard and icicles clung to his cloak. a part of the horizon cleared, and he beheld some rabbits playing around their burrows. in an instant, the two dogs were upon them, and seizing as many as they could, they broke their backs in the twinkling of an eye.
soon he came to a forest. a woodcock, paralysed by the cold, perched on a branch, with its head hidden under its wing. julian, with a lunge of his sword, cut off its feet, and without stopping to pick it up, rode away.
three hours later he found himself on the top of a mountain so high that the sky seemed almost black. in front of him, a long, flat rock hung over a precipice, and at the end two wild goats stood gazing down into the abyss. as he had no arrows (for he had left his steed behind), he thought he would climb down to where they stood; and with bare feet and bent back he at last reached the first goat and thrust his dagger below its ribs. but the second animal, in its terror, leaped into the precipice. julian threw himself forward to strike it, but his right foot slipped, and he fell, face downward and with outstretched arms, over the body of the first goat.
after he returned to the plains, he followed a stream bordered by willows. from time to time, some cranes, flying low, passed over his head. he killed them with his whip, never missing a bird. he beheld in the distance the gleam of a lake which appeared to be of lead, and in the middle of it was an animal he had never seen before, a beaver with a black muzzle. notwithstanding the distance that separated them, an arrow ended its life and julian only regretted that he was not able to carry the skin home with him.
then he entered an avenue of tall trees, the tops of which formed a triumphal arch to the entrance of a forest. a deer sprang out of the thicket and a badger crawled out of its hole, a stag appeared in the road, and a peacock spread its fan-shaped tail on the grass—and after he had slain them all, other deer, other stags, other badgers, other peacocks, and jays, blackbirds, foxes, porcupines, polecats, and lynxes, appeared; in fact, a host of beasts that grew more and more numerous with every step he took. trembling, and with a look of appeal in their eyes, they gathered around julian, but he did not stop slaying them; and so intent was he on stretching his bow, drawing his sword and whipping out his knife, that he had little thought for aught else. he knew that he was hunting in some country since an indefinite time, through the very fact of his existence, as everything seemed to occur with the ease one experiences in dreams. but presently an extraordinary sight made him pause.
he beheld a valley shaped like a circus and filled with stags which, huddled together, were warming one another with the vapour of their breaths that mingled with the early mist.
for a few minutes, he almost choked with pleasure at the prospect of so great a carnage. then he sprang from his horse, rolled up his sleeves, and began to aim.
when the first arrow whizzed through the air, the stags turned their heads simultaneously. they huddled closer, uttered plaintive cries, and a great agitation seized the whole herd. the edge of the valley was too high to admit of flight; and the animals ran around the enclosure in their efforts to escape. julian aimed, stretched his bow and his arrows fell as fast and thick as raindrops in a shower.
maddened with terror, the stags fought and reared and climbed on top of one another; their antlers and bodies formed a moving mountain which tumbled to pieces whenever it displaced itself. finally the last one expired. their bodies lay stretched out on the sand with foam gushing from the nostrils and the bowels protruding. the heaving of their bellies grew less and less noticeable, and presently all was still.
night came, and behind the trees, through the branches, the sky appeared like a sheet of blood.
julian leaned against a tree and gazed with dilated eyes at the enormous slaughter. he was now unable to comprehend how he had accomplished it.
on the opposite side of the valley, he suddenly beheld a large stag, with a doe and their fawn. the buck was black and of enormous size; he had a white beard and carried sixteen antlers. his mate was the color of dead leaves, and she browsed upon the grass, while the fawn, clinging to her udder, followed her step by step.
again the bow was stretched, and instantly the fawn dropped dead, and seeing this, its mother raised her head and uttered a poignant, almost human wail of agony. exasperated, julian thrust his knife into her chest, and felled her to the ground.
the great stag had watched everything and suddenly he sprang forward. julian aimed his last arrow at the beast. it struck him between his antlers and stuck there.
the stag did not appear to notice it; leaping over the bodies, he was coming nearer and nearer with the intention, julian thought, of charging at him and ripping him open, and he recoiled with inexpressible horror. but presently the huge animal halted, and, with eyes aflame and the solemn air of a patriarch and a judge, repeated thrice, while a bell tolled in the distance: “accursed! accursed! accursed! some day, ferocious soul, thou wilt murder thy father and thy mother!”
then he sank on his knees, gently closed his lids and expired.
at first julian was stunned, and then a sudden lassitude and an immense sadness came over him. holding his head between his hands, he wept for a long time.
his steed had wandered away; his dogs had forsaken him; the solitude seemed to threaten him with unknown perils. impelled by a sense of sickening terror, he ran across the fields, and choosing a path at random, found himself almost immediately at the gates of the castle.
that night he could not rest, for, by the flickering light of the hanging lamp, he beheld again the huge black stag. he fought against the obsession of the prediction and kept repeating: “no! no! no! i cannot slay them!” and then he thought: “still, supposing i desired to?—” and he feared that the devil might inspire him with this desire.
during three months, his distracted mother prayed at his bedside, and his father paced the halls of the castle in anguish. he consulted the most celebrated physicians, who prescribed quantities of medicine. julian’s illness, they declared, was due to some injurious wind or to amorous desire. but in reply to their questions, the young man only shook his head. after a time, his strength returned, and he was able to take a walk in the courtyard, supported by his father and the old monk.
but after he had completely recovered, he refused to hunt.
his father, hoping to please him, presented him with a large saracen sabre. it was placed on a panoply that hung on a pillar, and a ladder was required to reach it. julian climbed up to it one day, but the heavy weapon slipped from his grasp, and in falling grazed his father and tore his cloak. julian, believing he had killed him, fell in a swoon.
after that, he carefully avoided weapons. the sight of a naked sword made him grow pale, and this weakness caused great distress to his family.
in the end, the old monk ordered him in the name of god, and of his forefathers, once more to indulge in the sports of a nobleman.
the equerries diverted themselves every day with javelins and julian soon excelled in the practice.
he was able to send a javelin into bottles, to break the teeth of the weather-cocks on the castle and to strike door-nails at a distance of one hundred feet.
one summer evening, at the hour when dusk renders objects indistinct, he was in the arbour in the garden, and thought he saw two white wings in the background hovering around the espalier. not for a moment did he doubt that it was a stork, and so he threw his javelin at it.
a heart-rending scream pierced the air.
he had struck his mother, whose cap and long streams remained nailed to the wall.
julian fled from home and never returned.
