The Hollow Land | Page 6

fell in heavy folds about his
horse and all about him. Then, as he passed our house, some one
pointed it out to him, rising there with its carving and its barred marble,
but stronger than many a castle on the hill-tops, and its great
overhanging battlement cast a mighty shadow down the wall and across
the street; and above all rose the great tower, or banner floating proudly
from the top, whereon was emblazoned on a white ground a blue cross,
and on a blue ground four white lilies. And now faces were gazing
from all the windows, and all the battlements were thronged; so Harald
turned, and rising in his stirrups, shook his clenched fist at our house;
natheless, as he did so, the east wind, coming down the street, caught
up the corner of that scarlet cloth and drove it over his face, and
therewithal disordering his long black hair, well nigh choked him, so
that he bit both his hair and that cloth.
So from base to cope rose a mighty shout of triumph and defiance, and
he passed on.
Then Arnald caused it to be cried, that all those who loved the good
House of the Lilies should go to mass that morning in Saint Mary's
Church, hard by our house. Now this church belonged to us, and the
abbey that served it, and always we appointed the abbot of it on
condition that our trumpets should sound all together when on high
masses they sing the "Gloria in Excelsis." It was the largest and most
beautiful of all the churches in the town, and had two exceeding high

towers, which you could see from far off, even when you saw not the
town or any of its other towers: and in one of these towers were twelve
great bells, named after the twelve Apostles, one name being written on
each one of them; as Peter, Matthew, and so on; and in the other tower
was one great bell only, much larger than any of the others, and which
was called Mary. Now this bell was never rung but when our house was
in great danger, and it had this legend on it, "When Mary rings the earth
shakes;" and indeed from this we took our war cry, which was, "Mary
rings;" somewhat justifiable indeed, for the last time that Mary rang, on
that day before nightfall there were four thousand bodies to be buried,
which bodies wore neither cross nor lily.
So Arnald gave me in charge to tell the abbot to cause Mary to be
tolled for an hour before mass that day.
The abbot leaned on my shoulder as I stood within the tower and
looked at the twelve monks laying their hands to the ropes. Far up in
the dimness I saw the wheel before it began to swing round about; then
it moved a little; the twelve men bent down to the earth and a roar rose
that shook the tower from base to spirevane: backwards and forwards
swept the wheel, as Mary now looked downwards towards earth, now
looked up at the shadowy cone of the spire, shot across by bars of light
from the dormers.
And the thunder of Mary was caught up by the wind and carried
through all the country; and when the good man heard it, he said
goodbye to wife and child, slung his shield behind his back, and set
forward with his spear sloped over his shoulder, and many a time, as he
walked toward the good town, he tightened the belt that went about his
waist, that he might stride the faster, so long and furiously did Mary
toll.
And before the great bell, Mary, had ceased ringing, all the ways were
full of armed men.
But at each door of the church of Saint Mary stood a row of men armed
with axes, and when any came, meaning to go into the church, the two
first of these would hold their axes (whose helves were about four feet
long) over his head, and would ask him, "Who went over the moon last
night?" then if he answered nothing or at random they would bid him
turn back, which he for the more part would be ready enough to do; but
some, striving to get through that row of men, were slain outright; but

if he were one of those that were friends to the House of the Lilies he
would answer to that question, "Mary and John."
By the time the mass began the whole church was full, and in the nave
and transept thereof were three thousand men, all of our house and all
armed. But Arnald and myself, and Squire Hugh, and some others sat
under a gold-fringed canopy near the