  THE TALISMAN was pronounced by James Ballantyne to be so decided a masterpiece that "The Betrothed" might venture abroad under its wing. It relates to that period of the Crusades in which Richard Cour de Lion evinces his heroism and his cruelty in opposition to the noble qualities of the brave and generous Saladin. The accompanying illustration represents the scene in which the Knight of the Leopard reluctantly introduces the Baron of Gilsland into his hut. There lay extended his squire under the influence of an Asiatic fever. Having apologised for the homely appearance of the Scottish quarter, he proceeded to inquire after the state of the patient. The person seated beside the sick bed is a Moorish physician whom Saladin had sent to minister to the malady of King Richard, but whom the English distrusted, and first made trial of his sincerity and skill by committing to his care the Squire of Sir Kenneth. As the visitors entered, the invalid had fallen into a refreshing sleep, from which El-Hakim assured them he would awake invigorated.
The chapel scene of Sir Kenneth and the dwarf is admirably hit by Mr Cruikshank. As the knight stood alone in the chapel a shrill whistle rung sharply. It was a sound ill suited to the place, and reminded Sir Kenneth that he should be upon his guard. A creaking sound as of a screw or pulley succeeded, and a light streaming upwards showed that a trap-door had been raised or depressed. In less than a minute a long skinny arm, partly naked, partly clothed in a sleeve of red samite, arose out of the aperture, holding a lamp as high as it could stretch upwards, and the figure to which the arm belonged ascended step by step to the level of the floor. The form and face of the being who thus presented himself were those of a frightful dwarf with a large head, a cap fantastically adorned with three peacock's feathers, a dress of red samite, the richness of which rendered his ugliness more conspicuous, distinguished by gold bracelets and armlets, and a white silk sash, in which he wore a gold-hilted dagger. The figure held a broom in his left hand, and with his right moved the lamp over his face and person, illuminating his wild features and misshapen limbs. The dwarf whistled, and a second figure ascended in the same manner as the first. It was a female. Her dress, also of red samite, was fantastically cut and flounced. She also passed the lamp over her face and person, which seemed to rival the male in ugliness. Approaching the knight, they turned the gleam of their lamps upon him, and raised a yelling laugh. Upon his demanding who they were, he was answered—"I am the dwarf Nectabanus;" "and I Guenevra, his lady and his love." "Hush, fools, and begone!" said a voice from the side on which the knight had entered. The dwarfs heard the command, blew out their lights, and left the knight in darkness.
115
|
|
