h he had small control were against him; when he committed himself to an unjust war of aggression against an unoffending peop

s worst deeds lay behind him, and the whole course of his reign was a progress from evil t

tood in his day, before the invasion of England--he was, says a contemporary author, "a

ay; his Norman followers clamoured for their promised rewards, and he yielded to this temptation, and spoiled Englishmen, thane after thane, to s

cry for redress on the part of the poor English, scorned their complaints, and repulsed them with severity, as if they wished by provoking rebellion to justify further confiscations and exactions; in short, they made it impossible for th

tle of "robbers" or "outlaws." Such, as we have seen, was the case at Aescendune; and after the supposed death of Wilfred, no bounds were set to the cruelties and opp

d in the barns, the orchards were laden with fruit, the woods had put on those brilliant hues wit

h scenes of violence; the burning of the abbey and the fiery fate of its inmates had been but a nine days' wonder. Etienne and his fellow pages spoke

e had perished or taken refuge in the greenwoods, which lay, like a sea of verdure, to the north of the domain of Aescendune

s cast their huge limbs abroad, and entwined in matrimonial love with the silver beech; timid deer with their fawns wantoned in the shade beneath, or wild swine munched the acorns. Here were slow sedgy streams, now illumined, as by a ray of light, when

long since vanished from England, carried on their aerial business, and now and

any a bushel, not to say waggon load, of nuts rotted for want of modern schoolboys t

ounds, then the rush and clamour of the chase swept by, and all was quiet again, even as

where the sound of the hunter's horn only pene

er of former days, or by the hunted outlaw of the present. Streams had overflown their banks,

and found bogs of bottomless depth, quagmires which would suck one out of sight in a few minutes, and at nightfall legions of evil spirits, a

escendune, as it stood in Anglo-Saxon days; it was then

ding a regular siege. And well he might have such feelings, when he remembered that he lived in th

raising of castles and such like, who knew how to dig the dungeon and embattle th

ed to fiery arrows; the moat was deepened and water let in from the river; towers were placed at each angle, furnished with loopholes for archers; and over the entr

e cruel baron might laugh to scorn any attempts of the unhappy En

e. It was to be dedicated to St. Denys--for the Normans did not believe in any English saints

ad made some inconvenient inquiries into the circumstances conne

ght; if there had been any foul play, t

ened about this time c

ow properly so called) were assembled at supper in the

in manner, as if some extraordinary event had upset the balance of his mind. It was not without a very apparent effort that, remem

ked his discomposure, and w

miss, Pierr

ere was nothing amiss, only that he believed he h

ief in ghosts was universal in that a

hath converted some white cow into a spec

aw him to

w w

lfr

e baron changed colour and appeared to atte

chaplain, "such things are s

en alive, standing on the summit, gazing upon the castle. He was between me and the evening light, so, although it was getting dark, I

idst tho

e hair of my head arose--fearfulnes

bably he would not have behaved better

id he di

ought he retreated into t

seem to

d not

or him tomorrow, to quiet his disturbed spirit,

encounter, and questioned him very closely. The former vowed he would have cha

emons, witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and such-like; and about t

bishop of that diocese, already known to our readers, had reached Aescendune to perform the ceremony, by permission of the Bishop of Wor

English Prayer Book for that day should have been read in the ears of the

are the p

be called the c

are the

shall obt

manner peculiar to their nation. Well, perhaps there are not wa

with gorgeous vestments, lighted tapers, and cloud

de by the menials of the kitchen, the guests had a grand tournament on the open me

elf in every trial of skill or courage, unhorsed three youths successively who opposed him, bore off the suspended ring--while riding at full speed--on the top of his lance, and received the garland f

success; his gallant demeanour and bright eyes--albeit he was somewhat olive in complexion--did great execution amongst the ladies, and they congratulat

r the evening banquet at the hall, served with all the magnificence for which the Normans were so

an the writer to describe it; all the colours of the rainbow were there, and the men had their share of the gaudy hues as well as the

ar: peacocks--feathers and all, the feathers not roasted but stuck in their proper places after the poor bird left the

from the inland streams. Pike had not yet appeared in our waters--they we

h fruity warriors to man their battlements--ho

od this fish!" "How tender this fowl!" Wines of Gascony and Burgundy were circulating freely

se, then the gleemen tuned their harps to sing the praises of Norman warrio

montier, the third of our trio of pages. He had distinguished himself that day in the lists, following closely in the steps of Etienne, and now he seemed likely t

e was fixed on the singer, a startling interrupt

e and ghastly, and who seemed scarcely able to support his fainting

p! my lord; they are burning Yew Tree Fa

was gone, his tale half untold. An arrow had pierced his breast, and h

ad hap

heard from the battlements

of his prowess, then crie

followed by such as could keep pace with him--there were not many--rode

ake, or copse, or quagmire. Onward, till the clearing is re

spot, Hugo and his Norman

in flames. It was plain, at first sight, that they must have been set on fire in many plac

were the i

d the intense heat of the flam

the remembrance of the burning of the Monastery came to many

the hand

xplored the neighbourhood, hoping to find, lighted by the lurid flame of the fire, that Rog

attend to their duties but early next morning the

verpowered all the sweet odours of the forest; blackened beams

e fire? Could it h

cided that i

tbreak in all parts of the buildings; the second, the fact that no one had

ad they been shut in the buildings, and s

similarity of the circumstances with those under which the Monastery had been burnt would n

ll puzzled concerning the latter conflagration, for they knew of no gathering of their conquered foes, and

of beasts, the more exciting one of men was now substituted--the "murderers"

he was taking counsel the following morning how best to track the outlaws, who had dared to commit this insolent deed, when Etienne appeared to announce th

e they yet linger there. Bid

one there. Then they separated in all directions, two

let them go forth less strongly attended--were eager in the search,

lear of undergrowth. A brook ran close by--a stream of sweet sparkling water--and Etienne rode thither to give the hors

he had already anticipated: his young companion was dead: an arrow, evidently shot close at hand, had pier

ly afterwards dragged himself to the brook, in the ag

remembrance of his activity and gaiety on the previous day, and of his sweet minstrelsy on the very e

h the arro

it him, bloodstained as it w

that which killed Gislebert; it is of Engl

tapering arrows of Norman workmanship, adapted for a long fl

y will rue it ere long; a short shrift

f the young thrall Eadwin," said Pierre--"he

sion, but pursued in silence t

to receive Christian burial at the priory, all killed by arrows, and those arrows--which the slayers ha