CHAPTER VIII.

SONG ON THE BURNING OF CARCASSONNE.

They march upon Carcassonne, The Cath'lic Crusaders! Ill fortified is the town, Into the town, Roger, the young Viscount of Beziers, Too late back from Aragon to defend the capital of his domain, Has thrown himself. The young man is bold and generous, beloved by all. A heretic, like most the seigneurs of Languedoc, This land of freedom. The young viscount bows before the popular magistrates, And to the city's franchise. The viscount and councilmen re-kindle the town's folks' enthusiasm, Chilled for a moment by the massacres of Chasseneuil and Beziers. Deep ditches are dug, high palisades raised To strengthen the ramparts of Carcassonne. The old and the young, the rich and the poor, men, women and children-- All labor with zeal for the defense of the city, and they say: "No! We shall not let ourselves be slaughtered as The people of Chasseneuil and Beziers-- No!"

"No! We shall not let ourselves be slaughtered as The people of Chasseneuil and Beziers--No!" But the line of the horizon is soon darkened by dust, From afar the earth trembles Under the tread of steeds caparisoned in iron, And mounted by warriors cased in iron themselves. The iron points of a forest of lances glisten, They glisten like the armors In the rays of the rising sun. The hill, the valley and the plain Soon are covered with cohorts innumerable. The multitude in arms has steadily, steadily swollen. It reaches from East to West, it overlaps the horizon. It approaches from the North and the South, And Carcassonne is from all sides surrounded. The wagons and baggage follow the trains, And behind them larger and still larger crowds. Early in the morning th' invader descends the distant hills. The Cath'lic Crusaders encamp towards evening.

Early in the morning th' invader descends the distant hills. The Cath'lic Crusaders arrive and encamp towards evening. Montfort, the prelates and knights raise their tents; The multitude sleeps on the ground under the vault of the heavens. They are so delightful; oh! so delightful, the nights of Languedoc! Other Crusaders invade and they pillage the suburbs, Whose inhabitants fled within Carcassonne. At dawn the next morning, the trumpets sound in the Crusaders' camp; "To the assault! Death to the heretics of Carcassonne! Kill--kill as you did at Chasseneuil and Beziers! To the assault!" The men of Carcassonne are on the ramparts. The struggle begins; it is bloody, it is furious. The young viscount and consuls by example and courage redouble The strength of the besieged. Women and children fetch stones for the engines of war; The ditches are heaped full with corpses.

"Victory for the heretics! This time they triumph!" The assailants are all driven back. But dearly they paid for this vict'ry, the heretics! Helas! They paid for it dearly, The heretics of Carcassonne. Of their men there are killed, or are wounded Full twelve thousand heroes, the flow'r of the brave. Still greater is the loss of the Crusaders. But still their forces number near two hundred thousand.

A messenger from Montfort arrives in Carcassonne, and he says: "Sir viscount, Sirs consuls! The Pope's blessed legate and also Seigneur Montfort the count offer a truce unto you, And they swear on their faith of Cath'lic priests and of knights That if you, viscount and consuls, will come to the camp of the crusaders You shall all be respected, and allowed to return to your city Should you decline to accept the terms that the legate and count will propose." Reposing their faith in the oaths of the priest and the knight, "Let's to the camp!" say the consuls in the hope their city to save. And they appear in the tent of Montfort.

They appear in the tent of Montfort. The viscount says to the count: "Spare the unhappy town, Mention the ransom; it shall be paid unto you. If you refuse, to Carcassonne we shall ride back And bury ourselves under its ruins!" "Brave Sire!" answers Montfort, "The whole of your domain now belongs unto me: The Holy Father to the soldiers of Christ has given the goods of the heretics. Write on the spot to your townsmen to renounce Their damnable heresy, else we'll assault them again on the morrow. By the God who died and again resurrected, I swear, Unless they renounce, your townsmen will be put to the sword, As we did with those of Chasseneuil and Beziers."

The viscount makes answer: "Montfort, adieu! We've a horror for the Church of the Pope; we reject your proposal; We shall know how to die!" And Montfort replies: "No 'adieus' here will pass, Sir Viscount of Beziers! Yourself and your councilmen now are my prisoners, The prisoners of me, Montfort, the chief of this holy Crusade." "Your prisoners we? We, whom a truce now protects? We, who are here relying on the word of a priest, of the papal legate? We, who are here under your pledge as a knight? No, not we; we're no pris'ners of thine." Abbot Reynier of Citeaux then replies: "These are the Pope's own words: 'None is bound to keep his pledge to him who keeps not his pledge to God.' "You shall remain our prisoners, Viscount of Beziers! To-morrow, to the assault! Fall to, Montfort! The Holy Father has ordered: 'Kill, burn, pillage! Let not a heretic of Carcassonne Escape the sword, the rope, or the flames!'"

"Let not a heretic of Carcassonne Escape the sword, the rope, or the flames!" The young viscount and consuls are pinioned-- The viscount soon dies by poison, the consuls on the gibbet. At dawn th' assault is sounded; The Crusaders march against the walls; The walls, they are unguarded, they are not now defended. The Crusaders knock down the palisades, Fill up the ditches, beat in the gates. None guard the city; none defend it. Without striking a blow the Crusaders rush into the streets, They rush into the houses. Not a soul is seen on the street, not a soul is found in the houses. The silence of the tomb reigns in Carcassonne, What has become of its people?

The silence of the tomb reigns in Carcassonne, What has become of its people? The Crusaders invade every nook, every corner. They find, at last, in hidden corners Some people gravely wounded, some ill and some old, Or some women lying-in. The Crusaders thus find some wives, some daughters or mothers Who refused to abandon some husband, some father, some son, Too seriously wounded or old to take flight, To take flight through the woods and the mountains, And there to keep in concealment For days, for months, perhaps. They fled! Did all the inhabitants of Carcassonne flee?

They fled! Did all the inhabitants of Carcassonne flee? Yes, notified during the night of the fate of their viscount and consuls, Afraid of the extermination threatened to their town, All fled, the wounded dragging behind, The mothers carrying their children on backs and on arms, The men taking charge of the provisions. Aye, leaving behind their hearths and their goods, All have fled by a secret subterranean passage-- They fled, the people of Carcassonne fled.

They fled, the people of Carcassonne fled, The thickets of the forests, The caverns of the mountains will be their place of refuge, For days to come and months. If ever they see their town again, How many will return from the woods, the caverns and the rocks? How many will have survived exhaustion?

They left, twenty thousand and more; A few thousand, perhaps, may return. "Oh! the heretics of Carcassonne have slipped through our fingers!" Thus cries the papal legate: "Those who were unable to follow them shall bear the punishment for all. Pillage the town, and after the pillage the pyre, the gibbet For the miscreants who fell into our hands!" Carcassonne is ravaged from cellar to garret. After the pillage the gibbets are raised, And the wood is piled for the pyres. Death! Torture! Rape! Slaughter!

Carcassonne is ravaged from cellar to garret. After the pillage the gibbets are raised, And the wood is piled for the pyres. The Crusaders carry the wounded, Mutilated some of these are, others expiring; The weak, the old, the lying-in women, The daughters, the wives and the mothers of those who were unable to flee-- All are hanged, quartered, or burned. Flare up, ye flames of the pyres! Ye ropes of the gibbets, straighten yourselves Under the weight of your loads! All are hanged, quartered or burned-- All the Carcassonne heretics left in the town;

All are hanged, quartered or burned, And then the wagons are filled with the booty. "To Lavaur!" now cries the papal legate. "Fall to, Montfort! On the march! Kill, pillage, burn the heretics! Our Holy Father thus has issued the order!" "To Lavaur! To Lavaur!" Montfort makes answer. And behold, the Cath'lic Crusaders now march upon Lavaur. Priests lead the way, The red cross on their breasts, The name of Jesus on their lips, The sword in one hand, The torch in the other! What wrong have we done to these priests? Oh, what wrong have we done unto them!