these entrances under the protection of projecting angles, by which they might be flanked in case of need by archers or slingers.

Before this entrance the Templar wound his horn loudly, for the rain which had long threatened began now to descend with great violence.

CHAPTER III.

Na hall, the height of which was greatly disproportioned to

IN

its extreme length and width, a long oaken table, formed of planks rough-hewn from the forest, and which had scarcely received any polish, stood ready prepared for the evening meal of Cedric the Saxon. The roof, composed of beams and rafters, had nothing to divide the apartment from the sky excepting the planking and thatch. There was a huge fireplace at either end of the hall, but, as the chimneys were constructed in a very clumsy manner, at least as much of the smoke found its way into the apartment as escaped by the proper vent. The constant vapor which this occasioned had polished the rafters and beams of the low-browed hall by incrusting them with a black varnish of soot. On the sides of the apartment hung implements of war and of the chase, and there were at each corner folding-doors which gave access to other parts of the extensive building.

The other appointments of the mansion1 partook of the rude simplicity of the Saxon period, which Cedric piqued himself upon maintaining. The floor was composed of earth mixed with lime, trodden into a hard substance, such as is often employed in flooring our modern barns. For about one quarter of the length of the apartment the floor was raised by a step; and this space, which was called the dais, was occupied only by the principal

1 For a further exposition of the homes and the life of the Saxons, see Homes of Other Days, by T. Wright,

members of the family, and visitors of distinction. For this purpose a table richly covered with scarlet cloth was placed transversely across the platform, from the middle of which ran the longer and lower board, at which the domestics and inferior persons fed, down towards the bottom of the hall. The whole resembled the form of the letter T, or some of those ancient dinner-tables, which, arranged on the same principles, may be still seen in the antique colleges of Oxford or Cambridge. Massive chairs and settles of carved oak were placed upon the dais, and over these seats and the more elevated table was fastened a canopy of cloth, which served in some degree to protect the dignitaries who occupied that distinguished station from the weather, and especially from the rain, which in some places found its way through the ill-constructed roof.

The walls of this upper end of the hall, as far as the dais extended, were covered with hangings or curtains, and upon the floor there was a carpet, both of which were adorned with some attempts at tapestry, or embroidery, executed with brilliant or rather gaudy coloring. Over the lower range of table, the roof, as we have noticed, had no covering; the rough-plastered walls were left bare, and the rude earthen floor was uncarpeted; the board was uncovered by a cloth, and rude massive benches supplied the place of chairs.

In the center of the upper table were placed two chairs more elevated than the rest, for the master and mistress of the family, who presided over the scene of hospitality, and from doing so derived their Saxon title of honor,1 which signifies "the dividers of bread."

To each of these chairs was added a footstool, curiously carved and inlaid with ivory, which mark of distinction was peculiar to them. One of these seats was at present occupied by Cedric the

1 Their Anglo-Saxon names were hlaford ("lord") and hlaefdige ("lady"). The author brings out the latent metaphor of the original words, showing that it was to the hlaford (hlaf in the Anglo-Saxon meaning “bread") that his dependants looked for their literal sustenance.

Saxon, who, though but in rank a thane,1 or, as the Normans called him, a franklin, felt, at the delay of his evening meal, an irritable impatience which might have become an alderman, whether of ancient or of modern times.

It appeared, from the countenance of this proprietor, that he was of a frank but hasty and choleric temper. He was not above the middle stature, but broad-shouldered, long-armed, and powerfully made, like one accustomed to endure the fatigue of war or of the chase. His face was broad, with large blue eyes, open and frank features, fine teeth, and a well-formed head, altogether expressive of that sort of good-humor which often lodges with a sudden and hasty temper. Pride and jealousy there were

in his eye, for his life had been spent in asserting rights which were constantly liable to invasion; and the prompt, fiery, and resolute disposition of the man had been kept constantly upon the alert by the circumstances of his situation. His long yellow hair was equally divided on the top of his head and upon his brow, and combed down on each side to the length of his shoulders: it had but little tendency to gray, although Cedric was approaching to his sixtieth year.

His dress was a tunic of forest green, furred at the throat and cuffs with what was called minever, a kind of fur inferior in quality to ermine, and formed, it is believed, of the skin of the gray squirrel. This doublet hung unbuttoned over a close dress of scarlet, which sate tight to his body; he had breeches of the same, but they did not reach below the lower part of the thigh, leaving the knee exposed. His feet had sandals of the same fashion with the peasants, but of finer materials, and secured in the front with golden clasps. He had bracelets of gold upon his

1 A military tenant and freeholder in the sovereign's service. A freeman not noble was raised to the rank of thane by obtaining five hides of land, making three sea voyages, or receiving holy orders. The thane had the right to vote in the Witenagemot of the shire and of the kingdom. After the Norman Conquest, barons and thanes were classed together. The title fell into disuse in the reign of Henry II.

arms, and a broad collar of the same precious metal around his neck. 5 About his waist he wore a richly studded belt, in which was stuck a short, straight, two-edged sword, with a sharp point, so disposed as to hang almost perpendicularly by his side. Behind his seat was hung a scarlet cloth cloak lined with fur, and a cap of the same materials richly embroidered, which completed the dress of the opulent landholder when he chose to go forth. 35 A short boar-spear, with a broad and bright steel head, also reclined against the back of his chair, which served him, when he walked abroad, for the purposes of a staff or of a weapon, as chance might require.

Several domestics, whose dress held various proportions be twixt the richness of their master's and the coarse and simple attire of Gurth the swineherd, watched the looks and waited the commands of the Saxon dignitary. Two or three servants of a superior order stood behind their master upon the dais: the rest occupied the lower part of the hall.1 Other attendants there were of a different description,-two or three large and shaggy greyhounds, such as were then employed in hunting the stag and wolf; as many slowhounds of a large, bony breed, with thick necks, large heads, and long ears; and one or two of the smaller dogs now called terriers, which waited with impatience the arrival of the supper, but, with the sagacious knowledge of physiognomy peculiar to their race, forbore to intrude upon the moody silence of their master, apprehensive probably of a small white truncheon which lay by Cedric's trencher for the purpose of repelling the advances of his four-legged dependants. One grisly old wolf-dog alone, with the liberty of an indulged favorite, had planted himself close by the chair of state, and occasionally ventured to solicit notice by putting his large, hairy head upon his master's knee, or pushing his nose into his hand. Even he

1 The Anglo-Saxon hall recalls the Megaron of the Greek household. Sleuthhounds or bloodhounds.

A baton; a short staff.

4 A wooden plate or platter used for the table.

was repelled by the stern command, "Down, Balder,1 down! I am not in the humor for foolery."

In fact, Cedric, as we have observed, was in no very placid state of mind. The Lady Rowena, who had been absent to attend an evening mass at a distant church, had but just returned, and was changing her garments, which had been wetted by the storm. There was as yet no tidings of Gurth and his charge, which should long since have been driven home from the forest; and such was the insecurity of the period as to render it probable that the delay might be explained by some depredation of the outlaws, with whom the adjacent forest abounded, or by the violence of some neighboring baron, whose consciousness of strength made him equally negligent of the laws of property. The matter was of consequence, for great part of the domestic wealth of the Saxon proprietors consisted in numerous herds of swine, especially in forest-land, where those animals easily found their food.

a

Besides these subjects of anxiety, the Saxon thane was impatient for the presence of his favorite clown Wamba, whose jests, such as they were, served for a sort of seasoning to his evening meal, and to the deep draughts of ale and wine with which he was in the habit of accompanying it. Add to all this, Cedric had fasted since noon, and his usual supper-hour was long past, cause of irritation common to country squires, both in ancient and modern times. His displeasure was expressed in broken sentences, partly muttered to himself, partly addressed to the domestics who stood around, and particularly to his cupbearer,2 who offered him from time to time, as a sedative, a silver goblet filled with wine. "Why tarries the Lady Rowena?"

"She is but changing her headgear," replied a female attendant, with as much confidence as the favorite lady's-maid usually answers the master of a modern family. "You would not wish

1 Cedric, it seems, had named his dog from the Scandinavian mythological god Balder, the god of light.

2 An attendant at a feast.