Page:Sienkiewicz - The knights of the cross.djvu/57

 filled Zbyshko's soul thoroughly. He was almost certain now that he would be heard, that war would come soon, and even should it not come he would get his own in every case. He felt in his hands and feet a strength so great that he would at that moment have attacked a whole company. He thought, even, that when he had made the promises to God he might have added two more Germans to Danusia. The young man's impulsiveness urged him to this, but prudence gained the victory, for he feared to weary God's patience by excessive demand.

His confidence, however, increased when, after mass and a long repose, to which the whole court gave itself, he heard a conversation which the abbot held with Anna Danuta at breakfast.

The wives of princes and kings in that age, through devotion, and because of lordly gifts, which the Order did not spare on them, showed the Knights of the Cross great friendship. Even the saintly Yadviga restrained, while her life lasted, the hand of her powerful husband raised above them. Anna Danuta alone, having experienced the Order's cruel injustice in her family, hated the Knights from her whole soul. So when the abbot inquired about Mazovia and its affairs she fell to accusing the Knights of the Cross bitterly.

"What is to be done in a principality which has such neighbors? There is peace, as it were; embassies and messages pass, but still we cannot be sure of the day or the hour. The man at the border who lies down to sleep in the evening never knows but he may wake up in bonds, or with a sword-edge at his throat, or a burning roof above his head. Oaths, seals, and parchments give no security against betrayal. It was not otherwise at Zlotoria, when in time of profound peace the prince was snatched away into captivity. The Knights of the Cross declared that his castle might become a threat to them. But castles are made for defence, not attack; and what prince is there who has not the right to build castles on his own land, or repair them? Neither weak nor strong are respected by the Knights of the Cross; the weak they despise, and they strive to bring the strong down to ruin. To him who does them good they return evil. Is there in the world an Order which has received in other kingdoms such benefactions as they have received from Polish princes? And how have they paid for them? With hatred, with ravaging of lands, with war and betrayal. As to complaint, it is useless. It is useless to complain to the

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