by Walter Scott
NO. II
CONCLUSION OF MR. STRUTT'S ROMANCE OF QUEENHOO-HALL
BY THE AUTHOR OF WAVERLEY
CHAPTER IV
A HUNTING PARTY--AN ADVENTURE--A DELIVERANCE
THE next morning the bugles were sounded by daybreak in the courtof Lord Boteler's mansion, to call the inhabitants from theirslumbers to assist in a splendid chase with which the Baron hadresolved to entertain his neighbour Fitzallen and his noblevisitor St. Clare. Peter Lanaret, the falconer, was in attendance,with falcons for the knights and teircelets for the ladies, ifthey should choose to vary their sport from hunting to hawking.Five stout yeomen keepers, with their attendants, called RaggedRobins, all meetly arrayed in Kendal green, with bugles and shorthangers by their sides, and quarter-staffs in their hands, led theslow-hounds or brachets by which the deer were to be put up. Tenbrace of gallant greyhounds, each of which was fit to pluck down,singly, the tallest red deer, were led in leashes, by as many ofLord Boteler's foresters. The pages, squires, and other attendantsof feudal splendour well attired, in their best hunting-gear, uponhorseback or foot, according to their rank, with their boar-spears, long bows, and cross-bows, were in seemly waiting.
A numerous train of yeomen, called in the language of the timesretainers, who yearly received a livery coat and a small pensionfor their attendance on such solemn occasions, appeared incassocks of blue, bearing upon their arms the cognisance of thehouse of Boteler, as a badge of their adherence. They were thetallest men of their hands that the neighbouring villages couldsupply, with every man his good buckler on his shoulder, and abright burnished broadsword dangling from his leathern belt. Onthis occasion they acted as rangers for beating up the thicketsand rousing the game. These attendants filled up the court of thecastle, spacious as it was.
On the green without you might have seen the motley assemblage ofpeasantry convened by report of the splendid hunting, includingmost of our old acquaintances from Tewin, as well as the jollypartakers of good cheer at Hob Filcher's. Gregory the jester, itmay well be guessed, had no great mind to exhibit himself inpublic after his recent disaster; but Oswald the steward, a greatformalist in whatever concerned the public exhibition of hismaster's household state, had positively enjoined his attendance.'What,' quoth he,'shall the house of the brave Lord Boteler, onsuch a brave day as this, be without a fool? Certes, the good LordSaint Clere and his fair lady sister might think our housekeepingas niggardly as that of their churlish kinsman at Gay Bowers, whosent his father's jester to the hospital, sold the poor sot'sbells for hawk-jesses, and made a nightcap of his long-earedbonnet. And, sirrah, let me see thee fool handsomely--speak squibsand crackers, instead of that dry, barren, musty gibing which thouhast used of late; or, by the bones! the porter shall have thee tohis lodge, and cob thee with thine own wooden sword till thy skinis as motley as thy doublet.'
To this stern injunction Gregory made no reply, any more than tothe courteous offer of old Albert Drawslot, the chief parkkeeper,who proposed to blow vinegar in his nose to sharpen his wit, as hehad done that blessed morning to Bragger, the old hound, whosescent was failing. There was, indeed, little time for reply, forthe bugles, after a lively flourish, were now silent, and Peretto,with his two attendant minstrels, stepping beneath the windows ofthe strangers' apartments, joined in the following roundelay, thedeep voices of the rangers and falconers making up a chorus thatcaused the very battlements to ring again:--
Waken, lords and ladies gay, On the mountain dawns the day; All the jolly chase is here, With hawk and horse, and hunting spear; Hounds are in their couples yelling, Hawks are whistling, horns are knelling, Merrily, merrily, mingle they, 'Waken, lords and ladies gay.'
Waken, lords and ladies gay, The mist has left the mountain grey; Springlets in the dawn are streaming, Diamonds on the brake are gleaming,
And foresters have busy been, To track the buck in thicket green; Now we come to chant our lay, 'Waken, lords and ladies gay.'
Waken, lords and ladies gay, To the green-wood haste away; We can show you where he lies, Fleet of foot and tall of size; We can show the marks he made, When 'gamst the oak his antlers frayed; You shall see him brought to bay, 'Waken, lords and ladies gay.'
Louder, louder chant the lay, Waken, lords and ladies gay; Tell them youth, and mirth, and glee Run a course as well as we; Time, stern huntsman! who can baulk, Stanch as hound and fleet as hawk? Think of this and rise with day, Gentle lords and ladies gay.
By the time this lay was finished, Lord Boteler, with his daughterand kinsman, Fitzallen of Harden, and other noble guests, hadmounted their palfreys, and the hunt set forward in due order. Thehuntsmen, having carefully observed the traces of a large stag onthe preceding evening, were able, without loss of time, to conductthe company, by the marks which they had made upon the trees, tothe side of the thicket in which, by the report of Drawslot, hehad harboured all night. The horsemen, spreading themselves alongthe side of the cover, waited until the keeper entered, leadinghis ban-dog, a large blood-hound tied in a learn or band, fromwhich he takes his name.
But it befell thus. A hart of the second year, which was in thesame cover with the proper object of their pursuit, chanced to beunharboured first, and broke cover very near where the Lady Emmaand her brother were stationed. An inexperienced varlet, who wasnearer to them, instantly unloosed two tall greyhounds, who sprungafter the fugitive with all the fleetness of the north wind.Gregory, restored a little to spirits by the enlivening scenearound him, followed, encouraging the hounds with a loud layout,for which he had the hearty curses of the huntsman, as well as ofthe Baron, who entered into the spirit of the chase with all thejuvenile ardour of twenty. 'May the foul fiend, booted andspurred, ride down his bawling throat with a scythe at hisgirdle,' quoth Albert Drawslot; 'here have I been telling him thatall the marks were those of a buck of the first head, and he hashallooed the hounds upon a velvet-headed knobbler! By SaintHubert, if I break not his pate with my cross-bow, may I nevercast off hound more! But to it, my lords and masters! the noblebeast is here yet, and, thank the saints, we have enough ofhounds.'
The cover being now thoroughly beat by the attendants, the stagwas compelled to abandon it and trust to his speed for his safety.Three greyhounds were slipped upon him, whom he threw out, afterrunning a couple of miles, by entering an extensive furzy brake,which extended along the side of a hill. The horsemen soon cameup, and casting off a sufficient number of slow-hounds, sent themwith the prickers into the cover, in order to drive the game fromhis strength. This object being accomplished, afforded anothersevere chase of several miles, in a direction almost circular,during which the poor animal tried every wile to get rid of hispersecutors. He crossed and traversed all such dusty paths as werelikely to retain the least scent of his footsteps; he laid himselfclose to the ground, drawing his feet under his belly, andclapping his nose close to the earth, lest he should be betrayedto the hounds by his breath and hoofs. When all was in vain, andhe found the hounds coming fast in upon him, his own strengthfailing, his mouth embossed with foam, and the tears dropping fromhis eyes, he turned in despair upon his pursuers, who then stoodat gaze, making an hideous clamour, and awaiting their two-footedauxiliaries. Of these, it chanced that the Lady Eleanor, takingmore pleasure in the sport than Matilda, and being a less burdento her palfrey than the Lord Boteler, was the first who arrived atthe spot, and taking a cross-bow from an attendant, discharged abolt at the stag. When the infuriated animal felt himself wounded,he pushed frantically towards her from whom he had received theshaft, and Lady Eleanor might have had occasion to repent of herenterprise, had not young Fitzallen, who had kept near her duringthe whole day, at that instant galloped briskly in, and, ere thestag could change his object of assault, despatched him with hisshort hunting-sword.
Albert Drawslot, who had just come up in terror for the younglady's safety, broke out into loud encomiums upon Fitzallen'sstrength and gallantry. 'By 'r L
ady,' said he, taking off his capand wiping his sun-burnt face with his sleeve, 'well struck, andin good time! But now, boys, doff your bonnets and sound themort.'
The sportsmen then sounded a treble mort, and set up a generalwhoop, which, mingled with the yelping of the dogs, made thewelkin ring again. The huntsman then offered his knife to LordBoteler, that he might take the say of the deer, but the Baroncourteously insisted upon Fitzallen going through that ceremony.The Lady Matilda was now come up, with most of the attendants; andthe interest of the chase being ended, it excited some surprisethat neither Saint Clere nor his sister made their appearance. TheLord Boteler commanded the horns again to sound the recheat, inhopes to call in the stragglers, and said to Fitzallen, 'MethinksSaint Clere so distinguished for service in war, should have beenmore forward in the chase.'
'I trow,' said Peter Lanaret, 'I know the reason of the noblelord's absence; for, when that mooncalf Gregory hallooed the dogsupon the knobbler, and galloped like a green hilding, as he is,after them, I saw the Lady Emma's palfrey follow apace after thatvarlet, who should be thrashed for overrunning, and I think hernoble brother has followed her, lest she should come to harm. Buthere, by the rood, is Gregory to answer for himself.'
At this moment Gregory entered the circle which had been formedround the deer, out of breath, and his face covered with blood. Hekept for some time uttering inarticulate cries of 'Harrow!' and'Wellaway!' and other exclamations of distress and terror,pointing all the while to a thicket at some distance from the spotwhere the deer had been killed.
'By my honour,' said the Baron, 'I would gladly know who has daredto array the poor knave thus; and I trust he should dearly abyehis outrecuidance, were he the best, save one, in England.'
Gregory, who had now found more breath, cried, 'Help, an ye bemen! Save Lady Emma and her brother, whom they are murdering inBrokenhurst thicket.'
This put all in motion. Lord Boteler hastily commanded a smallparty of his men to abide for the defence of the ladies, while hehimself, Fitzallen, and the rest made what speed they couldtowards the thicket, guided by Gregory, who for that purpose wasmounted behind Fabian. Pushing through a narrow path, the firstobject they encountered was a man of small stature lying on theground, mastered and almost strangled by two dogs, which wereinstantly recognised to be those that had accompanied Gregory. Alittle farther was an open space, where lay three bodies of deador wounded men; beside these was Lady Emma, apparently lifeless,her brother and a young forester bending over and endeavouring torecover her. By employing the usual remedies, this was soonaccomplished; while Lord Boteler, astonished at such a scene,anxiously inquired at Saint Clere the meaning of what he saw, andwhether more danger was to be expected.
'For the present I trust not,' said the young warrior, who theynow observed was slightly wounded; 'but I pray you, of yournobleness, let the woods here be searched; for we were assaultedby four of these base assassins, and I see three only on thesward.'
The attendants now brought forwaid the person whom they hadrescued from the dogs, and Henry, with disgust, shame, andastonishment, recognised his kinsman, Gaston Saint Clere. Thisdiscovery he communicated in a whisper to Lord Boteler, whocommanded the prisoner to be conveyed to Queenhoo-Hall, andclosely guarded; meanwhile he anxiously inquired of young SaintClere about his wound.
'A scratch, a trifle!' cried Henry. 'I am in less haste to bind itthan to introduce to you one without whose aid that of the leechwould have come too late. Where is he? where is my bravedeliverer?'
'Here, most noble lord,' said Gregory, sliding from his palfreyand stepping forward, 'ready to receive the guerdon which yourbounty would heap on him.'
'Truly, friend Gregory,' answered the young warrior,'thou shaltnot be forgotten, for thou didst run speedily, and roar manfullyfor aid, without which, I think verily, we had not received it.But the brave forester, who came to my rescue when these threeruffians had nigh overpowered me, where is he?'
Every one looked around, but though all had seen him on enteringthe thicket, he was not now to be found. They could onlyconjecture that he had retired during the confusion occasioned bythe detention of Gaston.
'Seek not for him,' said the Lady Emma, who had now in some degreerecovered her composure, 'he will not be found of mortal, unlessat his own season.'
The Baron, convinced from this answer that her terror had for thetime somewhat disturbed her reason, forbore to question her; andMatilda and Eleanor, to whom a message had been despatched withthe result of this strange adventure, arriving, they took the LadyEmma between them, and all in a body returned to the castle.
The distance was, however, considerable, and before reaching itthey had another alarm. The prickers, who rode foremost in thetroop, halted and announced to the Lord Boteler, that theyperceived advancing towards them a body of armed men. Thefollowers of the Baron were numerous, but they were arrayed forthe chase, not for battle, and it was with great pleasure that hediscerned, on the pennon of the advancing body of men-at-arms,instead of the cognisance of Gaston, as he had some reason toexpect, the friendly bearings of Fitzosborne of Diggswell, thesame young lord who was present at the May-games with Fitzallen ofHarden. The knight himself advanced, sheathed in armour, and,without raising his visor, informed Lord Boteler that, havingheard of a base attempt made upon a part of his train by ruffianlyassassins, he had mounted and armed a small party of his retainersto escort them to Queenhoo-Hall. Having received and accepted aninvitation to attend them thither, they prosecuted their journeyin confidence and security, and arrived safe at home without anyfurther accident.
CHAPTER V
INVESTIGATION OF THE ADVENTURE OF THE HUNTING--A DISCOVERY--GREGORY'S MANHOOD--PATE OF GASTON SAINT CLERE--CONCLUSION
So soon as they arrived at the princely mansion of Boteler, theLady Emma craved permission to retire to her chamber, that shemight compose her spirits after the terror she had undergone.Henry Saint Clere, in a few words, proceeded to explain theadventure to the curious audience. 'I had no sooner seen mysister's palfrey, in spite of her endeavours to the contrary,entering with spirit into the chase set on foot by the worshipfulGregory, than I rode after to give her assistance. So long was thechase that, when the greyhounds pulled down the knobbler, we wereout of hearing of your bugles; and having rewarded and coupled thedogs, I gave them to be led by the jester, and we wandered inquest of our company, whom it would seem the sport had led in adifferent direction. At length, passing through the thicket whereyou found us, I was surprised by a cross-bow bolt whizzing pastmine head. I drew my sword and rushed into the thicket, but wasinstantly assailed by two ruffians, while other two made towardsmy sister and Gregory. The poor knave fled, crying for help,pursued by my false kinsman, now your prisoner; and the designs ofthe other on my poor Emma (murderous no doubt) were prevented bythe sudden apparition of a brave woodsman, who, after a shortencounter, stretched the miscreant at his feet and came to myassistance. I was already slightly wounded, and nearly overlaidwith odds. The combat lasted some time, for the caitiffs were bothwell armed, strong, and desperate; at length, however, we had eachmastered our antagonist, when your retinue, my Lord Boteler,arrived to my relief. So ends my story; but, by my knighthood, Iwould give an earl's ransom for an opportunity of thanking thegallant forester by whose aid I live to tell it.'
'Fear not,' said Lord Boteler, 'he shall be found, if this or thefour adjacent counties hold him. And now Lord Fitzosborne will bepleased to doff the armour he has so kindly assumed for our sakes,and we will all bowne ourselves for the banquet.'
When the hour of dinner approached, the Lady Matilda and hercousin visited the chamber of the fair Darcy. They found her in acomposed but melancholy postmire. She turned the discourse uponthe misfortunes of her life, and hinted, that having recovered herbrother, and seeing him look forward to the society of one whowould amply repay to him the loss of hers, she had thoughts ofdedicating her remaining life to Heaven, by whose providentialinterference it had been so often preserved.
Matilda coloure
d deeply at something in this speech, and hercousin inveighed loudly against Emma's resolution. 'Ah, my dearlady Eleanor,' replied she, 'I have to-day witnessed what I cannotbut judge a supernatural visitation, and to what end can it callme but to give myself to the altar? That peasant who guided me toBaddow through the Park of Danbury, the same who appeared beforeme at different times and in different forms during that eventfuljourney--that youth, whose features are imprinted on my memory, isthe very individual forester who this day rescued us in theforest. I cannot be mistaken; and, connecting these marvellousappearances with the spectre which I saw while at Gay Bowers, Icannot resist the conviction that Heaven has permitted my guardianangel to assume mortal shape for my relief and protection.'
The fair cousins, after exchanging looks which implied a fear thather mind was wandering, answered her in soothing terms, andfinally prevailed upon her to accompany them to the banqueting-hall. Here the first person they encountered was the BaronFitzosborne of Diggswell, now divested of his armour, at the sightof whom the Lady Emma changed colour, and exclaiming, 'It is thesame!' sunk senseless into the arms of Matilda.
'She is bewildered by the terrors of the day,' said Eleanor;' andwe have done ill in obliging her to descend.'
'And I,'said Fitzosborne, 'have done madly in presenting beforeher one whose presence must recall moments the most alarming inher life.'
While the ladies supported Emma from the hall, Lord Boteler andSaint Clere requested an explanation from Fitzosborne of the wordshe had used.
'Trust me, gentle lords,' said the Baron of Diggswell, 'ye shallhave what ye demand when I learn that Lady Emma Darcy has notsuffered from my imprudence.'
At this moment Lady Matilda, returning, said that her fair friend,on her recovery, had calmly and deliberately insisted that she hadseen Fitzosborne before, in the most dangerous crisis of her life.
'I dread,' said she, 'her disordered mind connects all that hereye beholds with the terrible passages that she has witnessed.'
'Nay,' said Fitzosborne, 'if noble Saint Clere can pardon theunauthorized interest which, with the purest and most honourableintentions, I have taken in his sister's fate, it is easy for meto explain this mysterious impression.'
He proceeded to say that, happening to be in the hostelry calledthe Griffin, near Baddow, while upon a journey in that country, hehad met with the old nurse of the Lady Emma Darcy, who, being justexpelled from Gay Bowers, was in the height of her grief andindignation, and made loud and public proclamation of Lady Emma'swrongs. From the description she gave of the beauty of her foster-child, as well as from the spirit of chivalry, Fitzosborne becameinterested in her fate. This interest was deeply enhanced when, bya bribe to old Gaunt the Reve, he procured a view of the Lady Emmaas she walked near the castle of Gay Bowers. The aged churlrefused to give him access to the castle; yet dropped some hintsas if he thought the lady in danger, and wished she were well outof it. His master, he said, had heard she had a brother in life,and since that deprived him of all chance of gaining her domainsby purchase, he--in short, Gaunt wished they were safelyseparated. 'If any injury,' quoth he, 'should happen to the damselhere, it were ill for us all. I tried by an innocent stratagem tofrighten her from the castle, by introducing a figure through atrap-door, and warning her, as if by a voice from the dead, toretreat from thence; but the giglet is wilful, and is running uponher fate.'
Finding Gaunt, although covetous and communicative, too faithful aservant to his wicked master to take any active steps against hiscommands, Fitzosborne applied himself to old Ursely, whom he foundmore tractable. Through her he learned the dreadful plot Gastonhad laid to rid himself of his kinswoman, and resolved to effecther deliverance. But aware of the delicacy of Emma's situation, hecharged Ursely to conceal from her the interest he took in herdistress, resolving to watch over her in disguise until he saw herin a place of safety. Hence the appearance he made before her invarious dresses during her journey, in the course of which he wasnever far distant; and he had always four stout yeomen withinhearing of his bugle, had assistance been necessary. When she wasplaced in safety at the lodge, it was Fitzosborne's intention tohave prevailed upon his sisters to visit and take her under theirprotection; but he found them absent from Diggswell, having goneto attend an aged relation who lay dangerously ill in a distantcounty. They did not return until the day before the May-games;and the other events followed too rapidly to permit Fitzosborne tolay any plan for introducing them to Lady Emma Darcy. On the dayof the chase he resolved to preserve his romantic disguise, andattend the Lady Emma as a forester, partly to have the pleasure ofbeing near her and partly to judge whether, according to an idlereport in the country, she favoured his friend and comradeFitzallen of Marden. This last motive, it may easily be believed,he did not declare to the company. After the skirmish with theruffians, he waited till the Baron and the hunters arrived, andthen, still doubting the farther designs of Gaston, hastened tohis castle to arm the band which had escorted them to Queenhoo-Hall.
Fitzosborne's story being finished, he received the thanks of allthe company, particularly of Saint Clere, who felt deeply therespectful delicacy with which he had conducted himself towardshis sister. The lady was carefully informed of her obligations tohim; and it is left to the well-judging reader whether even theraillery of Lady Eleanor made her regret that Heaven had onlyemployed natural means for her security, and that the guardianangel was converted into a handsome, gallant, and enamouredknight.
The joy of the company in the hall extended itself to the buttery,where Gregory the jester narrated such feats of arms done byhimself in the fray of the morning as might have shamed Bevis andGuy of Warwick. He was, according to his narrative, singled outfor destruction by the gigantic Baron himself, while he abandonedto meaner hands the destruction of Saint Clere and Fitzosborne.
'But certes,' said he, 'the foul paynim met his match; for, everas he foined at me with his brand, I parried his blows with mybauble, and, closing with him upon the third veny, threw him tothe ground, and made him cry recreant to an unarmed man.'
'Tush, man,' said Drawslot, 'thou forgettest thy best auxiliaries,the good greyhounds, Help and Holdfast! I warrant thee, that whenthe hump-backed Baron caught thee by the cowl, which he hathalmost torn off, thou hadst been in a fair plight had they notremembered an old friend, and come in to the rescue. Why, man, Ifound them fastened on him myself; and there was odd staving andstickling to make them "ware haunch!" Their mouths were full ofthe flex, for I pulled a piece of the garment from their jaws. Iwarrant thee, that when they brought him to ground thou fledstlike a frighted pricket.'
'And as for Gregory's gigantic paynim,' said Fabian, 'why, he liesyonder in the guard-room, the very size, shape, and colour of aspider in a yew-hedge.'
'It is false!' said Gregory. 'Colbrand the Dane was a dwarf tohim.'
'It is as true,' returned Fabian, 'as that the Tasker is to bemarried on Tuesday to pretty Margery. Gregory, thy sheet hathbrought them between a pair of blankets.'
'I care no more for such a gillflirt,' said the jester,' than I dofor thy leasings. Marry, thou hop-o'-my-thumb, happy wouldst thoube could thy head reach the captive Baron's girdle.'
'By the mass,' said Peter Lanaret, 'I will have one peep at thisburly gallant'; and, leaving the buttery, he went to the guard-room where Gaston Saint Clere was confined. A man-at-arms, whokept sentinel on the strong studded door of the apartment, said hebelieved he slept; for that, after raging, stamping, and utteringthe most horrid imprecations, he had been of late perfectly still.The falconer gently drew back a sliding board of a foot squaretowards the top of the door, which covered a hole of the samesize, strongly latticed, through which the warder, without openingthe door, could look in upon his prisoner. From this aperture hebeheld the wretched Gaston suspended by the neck by his own girdleto an iron ring in the side of his prison. He had clambered to itby means of the table on which his food had been placed; and, inthe agonies of shame and disappointed malice, had adopted thismode of ridding himself
of a wretched life. He was found yet warm,but totally lifeless. A proper account of the manner of his deathwas drawn up and certified. He was buried that evening in thechapel of the castle, out of respect to his high birth; and thechaplain of Fitzallen of Marden, who said the service upon theoccasion, preached the next Sunday an excellent sermon upon thetext, 'Radix malorum est cupiditas,' which we have heretranscribed.
Here the manuscript, from which we have painfully transcribed, andfrequently, as it were, translated, this tale for the reader'sedification, is so indistinct and defaced, that, excepting certainhowbeits, nathlesses, lo ye's! etc., we can pick out little thatis intelligible, saving that avarice is defined 'a likourishnessof heart after earthly things.' A little farther there seems tohave been a gay account of Margery's wedding with Ralph theTasker, the running at the quintain, and other rural gamespractised on the occasion. There are also fragments of a mocksermon preached by Gregory upon that occasion, as for example:--
'My dear cursed caitiffs, there was once a king, and he wedded ayoung old queen, and she had a child; and this child was sent toSolomon the Sage, praying he would give it the same blessing whichhe got from the witch of Endor when she bit him by the heel.Hereof speaks the worthy Doctor Radigundus Potator; why should notmass be said for all the roasted shoe souls served up in theking's dish on Saturday; for true it is, that Saint Peter askedFather Adam, as they journeyed to Camelot, an high, great, anddoubtful question, "Adam, Adam, why eated'st thou the applewithout paring?"
[Footnote: This tirade of gibberish is literally taken or selectedfrom a mock discourse pronounced by a professed jester, whichoccurs in an ancient manuscript in the Advocates' Library, thesame from which the late ingenious Mr. Weber published the curiouscomic romance of the Hunting of the Hare. It was introduced incompliance with Mr Strutt's plan of rendering his tale anillustration of ancient manners A similar burlesque sermon ispronounced by the fool in Sir David Lindesay's satire of the ThreeEstates. The nonsense and vulgar burlesque of that compositionillustrate the ground of Sir Andrew Aguecheek's eulogy on theexploits of the jester in Twelfth Night, who, reserving hissharper jests for Sir Toby, had doubtless enough of the jargon ofhis calling to captivate the imbecility of his brother knight, whois made to exclaim--'In sooth, thou wast in very gracious foolinglast night, when thou spokest of Pigrogremitus, and of the vapourspassing the equinoctials of Quenbus; 't was very good, i' faith!'It is entertaining to find commentators seeking to discover somemeaning in the professional jargon of such a passage as this.]
With much goodly gibberish to the same effect; which display ofGregory's ready wit not only threw the whole company intoconvulsions of laughter, but made such an impression on Rose, thePotter's daughter, that it was thought it would be the Jester'sown fault if Jack was long without his Jill. Much pithy matter,concerning the bringing the bride to bed, the loosing thebridegroom's points, the scramble which ensued for them, and thecasting of the stocking, is also omitted from its obscurity.
The following song which has been since borrowed by the worshipfulauthor of the famous History of Fryar Bacon, has been withdifficulty deciphered. It seems to have been sung on occasion ofcarrying home the bride
Bridal Song
To the tune of--'I have been a Fiddler,' etc,
And did you not hear of a mirth befell The morrow after a wedding day, And carrying a bride at home to dwell? And away to Tewin, away, away!
The quintain was set, and the garlands were made, 'T is pity old customs should ever decay; And woe be to him that was horsed on a jade, For he carried no credit away, away.
We met a consort of fiddle-de-dees; We set them a cockhorse, and made them play The winning of Bullen and Upsey-frees, And away to Tewin, away, away!
There was ne'er a lad in all the parish That would go to the plough that day; But on his fore-horse his wench he carries. And away to Tewin, away, away!
The butler was quick, and the ale he did tap, The maidens did make the chamber full gay; The servants did give me a fuddling cup, And I did carry't away, away.
The smith of the town his liquor so took, That he was persuaded that the ground look'd blue; And I dare boldly be sworn on a book, Such smiths as he there's but a few.
A posset was made, and the women did sip, And simpering said, they could eat no more; Full many a maiden was laid on the lip,-- I'll say no more, but give o'er (give o'er).
But what our fair readers will chiefly regret is the loss of threedeclarations of love; the first by Saint Clere to Matilda; which,with the lady's answer, occupies fifteen closely written pages ofmanuscript. That of Fitzosborne to Emma is not much shorter; butthe amours of Fitzallen and Eleanor, being of a less romanticcast, are closed in three pages only. The three noble couples weremarried in Queenhoo-Hall upon the same day, being the twentiethSunday after Easter. There is a prolix account of the marriage-feast, of which we can pick out the names of a few dishes, such aspeterel, crane, sturgeon, swan, etc. etc., with a profusion ofwild-fowl and venison. We also see that a suitable song wasproduced by Peretto on the occasion; and that the bishop whoblessed the bridal beds which received the happy couples was noniggard of his holy water, bestowing half a gallon upon each ofthe couches. We regret we cannot give these curiosities to thereader in detail, but we hope to expose the manuscript to ablerantiquaries so soon as it shall be framed and glazed by theingenious artist who rendered that service to Mr. Ireland'sShakspeare MSS. And so (being unable to lay aside the style towhich our pen is habituated), gentle reader, we bid thee heartilyfarewell.
