monarch and his guests. The visitors afterwards dined at the royal table, at which they exhibited the most marked hostility towards Pudens. He was indeed insulted by its being hinted by young Frothall, the chieftain's son, that he was a Roman spy; and it would have been difficult to restrain him from inflicting summary punishment for this insult, as he had drawn his sword for the purpose; had not Brennus insisted upon Frothall's public retractation, and had not Arviragus extorted a promise from Pudens that he would be satisfied with the apology. But this unheeded charge irritated our hero still less than the young chieftain's attentions to Roscrana. He felt that he had no right to complain of this part of his conduct, and he was surprized to find himself so sensibly affected by it; but he resented it not the less, and revenged himself by wreaking all his powers of sarcasm upon his rival, to render him contemptible in the eyes of the fair one. It was not, of course, difficult for him to outshine a half civilized person like Frothall in conversation; but he was piqued to extraordinary exertions, and he was so far successful, that the rest of the company were delighted with his anecdotes and wit. It was, indeed, a triumphant evening for Pudens;-but it was the last that he ever spent at the White House ! CHAPTER V. God prosper long our noble king, . A woefull hunting once there did The gallant greyhounds swiftly ran, And long before high noone, they had The hounds ran swiftly through the woods, The nimble deere to take, That with their cryes the hills and dales, An echo shrill did make. CHEVY CHASR. As soon as it was light on the following morning, the whole party, with the exception of the widow's accuser, whom other business summoned away, and Arviragus and his daughter, who remained at home, set forward on a deer-chace, accompanied by a muster of the chiefs and nobles. It was a clear morning in October; the streams reflected a cloudless sky, and the rich tints of autumn gave additional beauty to a boundless forest of oaks. It was as though they had folded around those venerable forms, which had defied the lightnings of a hundred summers, and the frosts of a hundred winters, of their most magnificent mantles, to await in becoming dignity the stroke of their gloomy foe. * The cool, delicious, breath of morning had awakened in Pudens all that ecstatic ardour which constitutes the buoyancy of youth; revelling in its own happiness, and diffusing it to all around. Nor was this feeling likely to be at all deadened by the excitement of the occasion. The impatient pawing of the horses, and the voices of the deep baying * A similar scene has suggested the following beautiful idea to Professor Keeble : How quiet shows the woodland scene, Reposing in decay serene, Like weary men when age is won ; HYMN FOR ALL-SAINTS' DAY. hounds; the stirring sounds of preparation, and, above all, the cheers and menaces of the indefatigable young chief, encouraging or upbraiding the attendants, gave an indescribable animation to the scene. Brennus's own charger, a beautiful creature, whose long flowing mane was poetically compared, by old Morgan, to the fringe of a sunset cloud, was assigned to Pudens. The superannuated hound, old Luath, which had for many years past been the constant companion of Sulin Sifadda, (for so the steed was named), to the field, seemed almost heart-broken at being left behind; especially as he enviously beheld the white-breasted Bran snuffing up her nose in ecstacy, as though already scenting her prey. As for Bran, though her expressive countenance exhibited so much felicity, yet her situation seemed fraught with perplexity; for Brennus and his steed having formed but one idea in her limited intellect, she did not know how to separate them in her regards, but ran from one to the other, kissing her master's hand and Sulin's face, as though she felt it her duty to watch over the weal of both, until given to understand that she was to attend upon Pudens. |