Forest Days: A Romance of Old Times
upon his skill in arms, wisdom in council, and judgment in matters of
taste, as by no means inferior to the first in the land; and, to say
the truth, when once upon his horse's back, and armed at all points, he
would bide a blow, or lead a charge, with any man, although his knees
bent somewhat under him when on foot, and he was glad enough to be
freed from the weight of his armour as soon as possible. His judgment,
too, was a sound one when not biassed by passion, though there was a
certain degree of wavering unsteadiness in his character, proceeding
more from temper than from weakness of mind, which rendered him an
insecure ally in trying circumstances. He piqued himself much upon
being just, too, but like many other people who do so, his justice had
almost always a tinge of prejudice in it, and was in fact but a
perception of specious arguments in favour of the side that he
espoused.
His son, Alured de Ashby, resembled his father in many points; but many
of his mother's qualities entered into his character likewise. The old
Earl had married a foreigner, a sister of the King of Minorca--kingdoms
being, in those days, very often but small things. Her dowry had been
in proportion to her brother's territory; but to her husband she
brought an accession of dignity, and increased his pride by her own.
That pride was, perhaps, her only bad quality, for a strong and
pertinacious determination of character, which she also possessed, was,
of course, good or bad according to the direction in which it was
guided. She, herself, being of a fine mind, and a high-spirited though
tender heart, had employed the resolute firmness of which we speak to
struggle against the misfortunes that beset her father and her brother
during her early years, and to give them support and strength in
resisting a torrent which seemed destined to sweep them away.
Her son, however, nurtured in prosperity, and pampered by praises and
indulgence, possessed her pride in its full force, without the
mitigating influence of her kindness and tenderness of heart; and,
neither having so good a judgment, nor such high motives, as herself,
what was firmness in her became obstinacy in him--an obstinacy of a
harsh and unpleasant kind. He was by no means without talents,
indeed,--was as stout a man-at-arms as ever sat in the saddle, had a
natural taste and genius for war, and had distinguished himself in many
of the expeditions, or _chevauchées_, of the time. He was a high and
honourable man, too, kept his word strictly, wronged no one but through
pride, and was generous and liberal of his purse. Thus he was esteemed
and respected more than liked, and was more popular with his inferiors
than with his equals.
One knightly quality, it is true, he wanted. He cared little for love,
there being only one person in the world, after his mother's death, for
whom he ever felt anything like real tenderness. That person was his
sister. She was nine years younger than himself; he had held her on his
knee when she was an infant; she had been a plaything to him in her
childhood, and an object of interest during her whole life. Perhaps the
reason that he so loved her was, that she was the very reverse of
himself in all respects: gentle, yet gay, and lively almost to
wildness; tenderhearted, clinging, and affectionate, yet with a spice
of saucy independence withal, which often set rules and regulations at
defiance, and laughed at anger which she knew would fall but lightly on
her head.
As we shall have to speak more of her hereafter, however, we will now
turn to another of our group, and talk of the good Earl, whose trusty
man, Blawket, we have already introduced to the reader's notice. Hugh,
Lord of Monthermer, or Mo'thermer, as it was generally pronounced--and
whom, as his name is not a very musical one, we shall more frequently
call "the Earl"--was in the fifty-ninth or sixtieth year of his age;
and--as he had seen many perils by land and sea, had been in wars
against the heathen, both in Spain and Palestine, and had spent the
greater part of his life in the tented field, and on the battle
plain--his frame was somewhat worn and shaken, though he had once well
merited the name which had been bestowed upon him in early years, when
people, from the hardships which he endured unshrinkingly, had
called him _Iron Monthermer_. He was still strong and powerful,
however--though gaunt and meagre; a brown tint of health was upon his
face, and the light of clear and strong intelligence was in his eye.
His features were aquiline, and somewhat harsh, his chin prominent, his
brow strongly marked, and his forehead high and capacious, with his
white hair lying lightly upon it, like snow upon a mountain.
Notwithstanding several defects in point of beauty, and a sternness of
outline in almost every feature, there was something uncommonly
pleasing, as well as striking, in the whole expression of his
countenance, and one read there kindness of heart, as well as firmness
and decision of character. He was habited richly enough, but not
gorgeously so; and, though not what was considered armed in those days,
he carried more weapons, but of a different sort, about his person than
is required for any modern trooper.
The fourth person, of whose appearance we shall now give some account,
was the young man who had ridden forward to speak with Ralph Harland,
Hugh de Monthermer by name, but commonly called by all who knew him,
"The Lord Hugh." He was the only nephew of the Earl, and presumptive
heir to his title and estates. At the same time, however, he was
altogether independent of his uncle, being the son of that James de
Monthermer, who was summoned to parliament in the first year of the
reign of Henry the Third, as Baron Amesbury, having married the heiress
of that ancient house. His father had long been dead; and as he had
received his military education under his uncle, he still attached
himself to that nobleman--respecting him as a parent, and treated by
him as a son. He was some four or five years younger than Alured de
Ashby, but had nevertheless gained considerable renown in arms, both
under his uncle, and in service, which he had taken for a time with the
King of Castile, in order to win his knightly spurs with honour. In
person, he somewhat resembled the Earl, though he was taller, and his
features were both softened by youth, and were smaller in themselves.
His complexion was of a dark, warm brown, his hair short and curling,
his hazel eyes full of light and fire, and a frank, but somewhat
sarcastic smile, playing frequently about his well-cut lip. On the
whole, it is seldom that a handsomer face meets the eye, and his
countenance well expressed the spirit within, which was gay and
cheerful, but none the less thoughtful and imaginative. There might be
a slight touch of satirical sharpness in his disposition, which often
prompted a laugh or a jest at any of the many follies that an observing
eye, in all ages, and all states of society, must meet at every turn.
But a kind heart and a well regulated mind taught him to repress,
rather than to encourage such a disposition, and it seldom broke forth
unless the absurdity was very gross.
In those ages it was rare to find a man in his station who possessed
even a very low degree of learning. To read and write was an
accomplishment, and anything like elegance of composition, or a
knowledge of classical lore, was hardly, if ever, dreamt of. In these
respects, however, circumstances had given Hugh de Monthermer an
advantage over many of his contemporaries. Various foreign languages he
had acquired in following his uncle; and having been crushed and nearly
killed, by his horse falling in one of the passes of the Taurus, he had
been left for several months in a convent amongst the mountains, while
broken bones were set, and health restored, by the skill of the monks.
There, some of the friars, more learned than the rest, had taken a
pleasure in solacing his weary hours, by communicating to him what was
then considered a rich store of knowledge. With a quick and intelligent
mind, he had thus gained, not only much information at the time, but a
taste for reading, which in after years excited some envy, and called
forth many a scoff from others, who had themselves no inclination for
any exercises but those of the body.
Amongst these was Alured de Ashby, who affected to hold his military
talents cheap, and called him a book-worm; but, nevertheless, Hugh de
Monthermer quietly pursued his course, although, to say the truth, for
reasons of his own, he was not a little anxious to gain the friendship
of the house of Ashby, which during many years had been separated from
his own by one of those fierce and bloody feuds that so often existed
in those days between the noble families of the land. The
reconciliation of the two houses had been but lately effected, and
could scarcely yet be called cordial, though the bond of party feeling
brought them frequently into long and intimate communication with each
other.
The dress of the young Lord was not so homely as that of his uncle;
there might, indeed, be a little foppery in it; for though the colours
were dark, yet the embroidery which appeared in every part was rich and
costly, and the long and hanging sleeves of the loose coat he wore, was
in itself one of the distinguishing marks of a petit maître of that
day. Into the extreme, however, he did not go: there was no long and
braided hair, there were no devils, and angels, and cupids, hanging
over his head on a fanciful hood; but instead of that most ugly part of
our ancient garments, he wore a cap or hat, a mode then common in
Flanders and in Italy, with a long feather crossing from right to left,
and nearly touching his shoulder. With the exception of the loose
tunic, or gown, all the rest of his dress fitted as closely as
possible, leaving nothing to embarrass the free action of his limbs,
except, indeed, the long points of his shoes, which, though very
moderate for that period, were certainly not less than twenty inches
longer than necessary.
The rest of the party was composed of several noblemen, wealthy and
powerful, but of less distinction than the two Earls we have mentioned,
and evidently looking up to them as to their leaders; and besides
these, was a distant cousin of the Earl of Monthermer, brought, as it
were, to balance the presence of Richard de Ashby, though, to say the
truth, if he more than outweighed that gentleman in wealth and
respectability, he was very much his inferior in cunning and talents.
As a matter of course, the events which had just taken place upon the
green formed the first subject of conversation with the personages
assembled in the inn. The younger men only laughed over the occurrence.
"You must get some fair lady to darn the hole in your hood, Richard,"
said the Lord Alured.
"I wonder," added another of the young noblemen, "that the arrow did
not carry away one of those soft tresses."
"It might well have been called Scathelock, then," observed a third.
"It only disturbed a little of the perfume," rejoined Alured. The elder
gentleman, however, treated the matter more seriously. The Earl of
Ashby rated his kinsman with an angry brow for his licentiousness, and
represented to him with great justice the evil of nobles bringing
themselves into bad repute with the people.
"Do you not know," he said, "that at the present moment, between the
king and his foreign minions on the one hand, and the people on the
other, the English noblemen have to make their choice?--and, of course,
it is by the people that we must stand. They are our support, and our
strength, and we must avoid in all things giving them just cause of
complaint. Scathelock?--Scathelock?--I have heard that name."