fight for the honour of the queen. Not a man but would have fought his brother to the death that the survivor might be the champion of the adored lady. At last twelve were chosen and received her oath of innocence; but the battle never took place, for the traducer confessed that he had lied, and was condemned to the ridiculous punishment of crawling on all fours under a bench, barking like a dog, and confessing his meanness.
From this time William of Austria comes no more into the life of Jadwiga. He remained unmarried as long as she lived, and always declared she was his wife. After her death he married a very different woman, who became Queen of Naples as Joanna II. He died in 1406.
Once, Queen Jadwiga, at duty's call, put herself at the head of an army. It was when, in 1390, in her husband's absence, an expedition against the Russians became necessary. So much was she loved, and so great was the general confidence in her judgment, and in the blessing of God on all her undertakings, that the Poles obeyed her as they had never obeyed mortal before, and at her bidding, even acted in concert—a thing Poles never did before or since, so that the campaign was quickly brought to a happy end.
Sienkiewicz says that in her life it was universally believed that she could perform miracles: it was said that she could cure the sick with a touch of her hand. In the provinces of Poland it was firmly believed that anything the saintly lady asked of God would be granted. Some affirmed that they had heard Christ speak to her from the altar. Foreign monarchs worshipped her. Minstrels sang of her in every court. Knights from the remotest countries came to Cracow to see her. Nobles in castles on the frontiers, who had become robbers or waged war among themselves, sheathed their swords at the command of the queen, released their prisoners, restored the herds they had stolen, and clasped hands in friendship.
For thirteen years of her married life Jadwiga had the sorrow of childlessness, which in those days was considered a manifestation of the Divine displeasure. Notwithstanding the purity and self-immolation of her conduct and motives, there was a doubt in some minds, and not improbably in her own, whether, after all, she hod done right.
The contemporary chronicler of Sagon speculates curiously which of the two princes is really her husband. He testifies that, "however this may be, she lives like a saint, caring not for royal splendour or feminine vanities; seeking neither pleasure nor profit for herself; living only for God and her people. She encourages learned and pious men to settle in her dominions, and is the friend of all the good, the mother of the poor and the oppressed,—but childless."
At last, to the universal joy, it was announced that the queen expected to become a mother. The king was beside himself with delight. He invited the Pope, among other sovereigns and magnates, to be godfather, "in order to propitiate God" in the interests of his son. Boniface IX. replied by a congratulatory letter, and appointed a high dignitary of the Church to be his proxy at the christening of the royal child. Ladislaus ordered his wife's rooms to be sumptuously decorated with the most costly materials; silk and gold were to be freely used for the accommodation and service of the heir. Jadwiga was less exultant. She had long renounced all luxury and splendour for herself, and, at her request, the gold and jewels he gave her were used to build a college, and to send newly converted Lithuanian youths to foreign universities. She consented, however, to lay aside her nunlike dress and veil, and said she would humbly await what God might send, be it life or death. Her physician was Wysz, bishop of Cracow, already famous in other lands.
On June 21, 1399, she prematurely gave birth to a daughter, and the christening for which such magnificent preparations had been made was hastily performed during the night. The condition of mother and child continued to be critical. Prayers, processions, votive offerings, were made by all sorts of people of every age and rank. They encouraged each other to believe that a life so
