IVANHOE.
certain serfs, their bom bondsmen; also upon acertain Jew , named Isaac of York, together withhis daughter, a Jewess, and certain horses andmules: Which noble persons, with their cnichtsand slaves, and also with the horses and mules,Jew and Jewess beforesaid, were all in peace withhis majesty, and travelling as liege subjects uponthe king’s highway; therefore we require and de-• mand that the said noble persons, namely, Cedricof Rotherwood, Rowena of Ilargottstandstede,
■ Athelstane of Coningsburgh, with their servants,cnichts , and followers, also the horses and mules,Jew and Jewess aforesaid, together with all goods; and chattels to them pertaining, be, within an houri after the delivery hereof, delivered to us, or to; those whom we shall appoint to receive the same,
' and that untouched and unharmed in body and! goods. Failing of which, we do pronounce to you,
: that we hold ye as robbers and traitors, and will; wager our bodies against ye in battle, siege, or: otherwise, and do our utmost to your annoyanceI and destruction. Wherefore may God have youj in his keeping. — Signed by us upon the eve of Stj Withold’s day, under the great trysting oak in the; Hart-hill Walk, the above being written by a holy: man, Clerk to God , Our Lady, and St Dunstan , inj the Chapel of Copmanhurst.”
At the bottom of this document was scrawled, inthe first place, a rude sketch of a cock’s head andcomb, with a legend expressing this hieroglyphic tobe the sign-manual of Wamba,son of Witless. Underthis respectable emblem stood a cross, stated to bethe mark of Gurth, the son of Beowulph. Then! were written, in rough bold characters, the words,j Le JSfoir Faineant. And, to conclude the whole,i an arrow, neatly enough drawn, was described as the: mark of the yeoman Locksley.
The knights heard this uncommon document, read from end to end, and then gazed upon each: other in silent amazement, as being utterly at a1 loss to know what it could portend. De Bracy was; the first to break silence by an uncontrollable fit oflaughter, wherein he was joined, though with moremoderation, by the Templar. Front-de-Bceuf, onthe contrary, seemed impatient of their ill-timed: jocularity.
< I give you plain warning,” he said, " fair sirs,that you had better consult how to bear yourselvesunder these circumstances, than give way to suchmisplaced merriment.”
" Front-de-Boeuf has not recovered his tempersince his late overthrow,” said De Bracy to theTemplar; "he is cowed at the very idea of acartel, though it come hut from a fool and a swine-herd.”
K By St Michael,” answered Front-de-Boeuf, " Iwould thou couldst stand the -whole brunt of thisadventure thyself, De Bracy. These fellows darednot have acted with such inconceivable impudence,had they not been supported by some strong bands.There are enough of outlaws in this forest to resentdy protecting the deer. J did hut tie one fellow,who was taken redhanded and in the fact, to thehorns of a wild stag, which gored him to death infive minutes, and I had as many arrows shot at*ae as there were lanched against yonder targetat Ashby. — Here, fellow,” he added, to one of hisattendants, "hast thou sent out to see by whatforce this precious challenge is to be supported 1”
“ There are at least two hundred men assembled
in the woods,” answered a squire who was in at-tendance. —
" Here is a proper matter !” said Front-de-Boeuf"thiscomes of lending you the use of my castle;that cannot manage your undertaking quietly, butyou must bring tliis nest of hornets about myears I”
"Of hornets?” said De Bracy; "of stinglessdrones rather; a hand of lazy knaves, who taketo the wood, and destroy the venison rather thanlabour for their maintenance.”
" Stingless !” replied Front-de-Bceuf; " fork-headed shafts of a cloth-yard in length, and theseshot within the breadth of a French crown, aresting enough.”
" For shame, Sir Knight !” said the Templar." Let us summon our people, and sally forth uponthem. One knight — ay, one man-at-arms, wereenough for twenty such peasants.”
" Enough, and too much,” said De Bracy; " Ishould only be ashaifted to couch lance againstthem.”
" True,” answered Front-de-Boeuf; "were theyblack Turks or Moors, Sir Templar, or the cravenpeasants of France , most valiant De Bracy; butthese are English yeomen, over whom we shall haveno advantage, save what we may derive from ourarms and horses, which will avail us little in theglades of the forest. Sally, saidst thou % we havescarce men enough to defend the castle. The bestof mine are at York; so is all your band, DeBracy; and we have scarcely twenty, besides thehandful that were engaged in this mad business.”
" Thou dost not fear,” said the Templar, " thatthey can assemble in force sufficient to attempt thecastle ?”
" Not so, Sir Brian,” answered Front-de-Boeuf." These outlaws have indeed a daring captain; butwithout machines, scaling ladders, and experiencedleaders, my castle may defy them.”
" Send to thy neighbours,” said the Templar;" let them assemble their people, and come to therescue of three knights, besieged by a jester anda swineherd in the baronial castle of ReginaldFront-de-Bceuf.”
" You jest, Sir Knight, ” answered the baron;"but to whom should I send? — Malvoisin is bythis time at York with his retainers, and so aremy other allies; and so should I have been, but forthis infernal enterprise.”
" Then send to York, and recall our people,”said De Bracy. " If they abide the shaking of mystandard, or the sight of my Free Companions, Iwill give them credit for the boldest outlaws everbent bow in green-wood.”
" And who shall hear such a message V- saidFront-de-Boeuf; "they will beset every path, andrip the errand out of his bosom. — I have it,” headded, after pausing for a moment — " Sir Templar,thou canst write as well as read, and if we canbut find the writing materials of my chaplain, whodied a twelvemonth since in the midst of his Christ mas carousals-”
“ So please ye,” said the squire, who was stillin attendance, “ I think old Urfried has them somewhere in keeping, for love of the confessor. He wasthe last man, I have heard her tell, who ever saidaught to her, which man ought in courtesy to addressto maid or matron.”
" Go, search them out, Engelred,” said Front‘de-