mule. When he had finished, he delivered the scroll, which was in the Hebrew character, to the Pilgrim, saying, "In the town of Leicester all men know the rich Jew, Kirgath Jairam of Lombardy; give him this scroll-he hath on sale six Milan harnesses, the worst would suit a crowned head-ten goodly steeds, the worst might mount a king, were he to do battle for his throne. Of these he will give thee thy choice, with every thing else that can furnish thee forth for the tournament: when it is over, thou wilt return them safely-unless thou shouldst have wherewith to pay their value to the owner. ""But, Isaac," said the Pilgrim, smiling, "dost thou know that in these sports, the arms and steed of the knight who is unhorsed are forfeit to his victor? Now, I may be unfortunate, and so lose what I cannot replace or repay. The Jew looked somewhat astounded at this possibility; but collecting his courage, he replied hastily, "No-no-no- -It is impossible-I will not think so. The blessing of our Father will be upon thee. Thy lance will be powerful as the rod of Moses. So saying, he was turning his mule's head away, when the Palmer, in his turn, took hold of his gaberdine. Nay, but Isaac, thou knowest not all the risk. The steed may be slain, the armour injured-for I will spare neither horse nor man. Besides, those of thy tribe give nothing for nothing; something there must be paid for their use." The Jew twisted himself in his saddle, like a man in a fit of the cholic; but his better feelings predominated over those which were most familiar to him. "I care not," he said, "I care not let me go. If there is damage, it will cost you nothing-if there is usage money, Kirgath Jairam will forgive it for the sake of his kinsman Isaac. Fare thee well!-Yet hark thee, good youth," said he, turning about, "thrust thyself not too forward into this vain hurley burley-I speak not for endangering the steed, and coat of armour, but for the sake of thine own life and limbs.""Gramercy Gramercy for thy caution," said the Palmer, again smiling ; I will use thy courtesy frankly, and it will go hard with me but I will requite it. I.. 125-129.

We come now to the tournament, or Passage of Arms of Ashby, in the description of which the author has made use of all his resources, and presented us at once with a more learned and a more lively picture of that stately and chivalrous divertisement, than is to be found in any other writer. We must treat our readers to a little corner of this splendid exhibition.

6 The scene, he observes, was singularly romantic. On the verge of a wood, which approached to within a mile of the town of Ashby, was an extensive meadow of the finest and most beautiful green turf, surrounded on one side by the forest, and fringed on the other by straggling oak trees, some of which had grown to an immense size. The ground, as if fashioned on purpose for the martial display which was intended, sloped gradually down on all sides to a level bottom, which was enclosed for the lists with strong palisades, VOL. XXXIII. No. 65. B

forming a space of a quarter of a mile in length, and about half as broad. The form was square, save that the corners were considerably rounded off, in order to afford more convenience for the spectators. The openings for the entry of the combatants were at the northern and southern extremities of the lists, accessible by strong wooden gates, each wide enough to admit two horsemen riding abreast. At each of these portals were stationed two heralds, attended by six trumpets, as many pursuivants, and a strong body of menat-arms for maintaining order, and ascertaining the quality of the knights who proposed to engage in this martial game. On a platform beyond the southern entrance, formed by a natural elevation of the ground, were pitched five magnificent pavilions, adorned with pennons of russet and black, the chosen colour of the five knights challengers. The cords of the tents were of the same colour. Before each pavilion was suspended the shield of the knight by whom it was occupied, and beside it stood his squire, quaintly disguised as a savage or sylvan man, or in some other fantastic dress, according to the taste of his master, and the character which he was pleased to assume during the game. The central pavilion, as the place of honour, had been assigned to Brian de Bois-Guilbert, whose renown, in all games of chivalry, no less than his connexion with the knights who had undertaken this Passage of Arms, had occasioned him to be cagerly received into the company of the challengers, and even adopted as a chief. On one side of his tent were pitched those of Reginald Front-de-Bœuf and Richard de Malvoisin, and on the other was the pavilion of Hugh de Gentmesnil, &c.

The exterior of the lists was in part occupied by temporary galleries spread with tapestry and carpets, and accommodated with cushions for the convenience of those ladies and nobles who were expected to attend upon the tournament. A narrow space, betwixt、 these galleries and the lists, gave accommodation for yeomanry and spectators of a better degree than the mere vulgar, and might be compared to the pit of a theatre. The promiscuous multitude arranged themselves upon large banks of turf prepared for the purpose, which, aided by the natural elevation of the ground, enabled them to look over the galleries, and obtain a fair view into the lists. Besides the accommodation which these stations afforded, many hundreds had perched themselves on the branches of the trees which surrounded the meadow; and even the steeple of a country church, at some distance, was crowded with spectators. I. 133-167.

Prince John, who was then engaged with Philip of France in his base and treasonable plots against the life and liberty of his heroic brother, and had appointed this festival, partly to muster and display the force of his faction, and partly to court popular favour, was conspicuous in the midst of the splendid assemblage, and caracoled within the lists at the head of a jovial and laughing party, eyeing with bold and lascivious glances the beauties who adorned the lofty galleries. Among the most

conspicuous of those was the lovely Rowena, under the protection of Cedric and his sluggish kinsman of Coningsburgh; and not the least distinguished in the throng, was the fair Rebecca, the daughter of the insulted Jew, who having got over his perils and terrors, appeared here in sumptuous raiment, with this beautiful creature on his arm. Several occurrences, partly of a ludicrous, and all of a characteristic nature, are described with infinite spirit and felicity. But we must go on to the material business of the scene.

The lists now presented a most splendid spectacle. The sloping galleries were crowded with all that was noble, great, wealthy, and beautiful in the northern and midland parts of England; and the contrast of the various dresses of these dignified spectators, rendered the view as gay as it was rich, while the interior and lower space, filled with the substantial burgesses and yeomen of merry England, formed, in their more plain attire, a dark fringe, or border, around this circle of brilliant embroidery, relieving, and at the same time setting off, its splendour.

The enclosed space at the northern extremity of the lists, large as it was, was now completely crowded with knights desirous to prove their skill against the challengers, and, when viewed from the galleries, presented the appearance of a sea of waving plumage, intermixed with glistening helmets and tall lances, to the extremities of which were, in many cases, attached small pennons of about a span's-breadth, which, fluttering in the air as the breeze caught them, joined with the restless motion of the feathers to add liveliness to the scene. The champions now advanced through the lists, restraining their fiery steeds, and compelling them to move slowly, while, at the same time, they exhibited their paces, together with the grace and dexterity of the riders. As the procession entered, the sound of a wild Barbaric music was heard from behind the tents of the challengers, where the performers were concealed. It was of eastern origin, having been brought from the Holy Land; and the mixture of the cymbals and bells seemed to bid welcome at once, and defiance, to the knights as they advanced. With the eyes of an immense concourse of spectators fixed upon them, the five knights advanced up to the platform upon which the tents of the challengers stood; and there separating themselves, each touched slightly, and with the reverse of his lance, the shield of the antagonist to whom he wished to oppose himself. The lower orders of spectators in general-nay, many of the higher, and it is even said several of the ladies, were rather disappointed at the champions choosing the arms of courtesy. For the same sort of persons, who, in the present day, applaud most highly the deepest tragedies, were then interested in a tournament exactly in proportion to the danger incurred by the champions engaged.' I. 154-158.

The fortune of the day is at first decidedly in favour of the challengers; and after several courses had been run, no fresh champion appearing to oppose them, there was a pause, and apparent cessation in the game of war.

At length, as the Saracenic music of the challengers concluded one of those long and high flourishes with which they had broken the silence of the lists, it was answered by a solitary trumpet, which breathed a note of defiance from the northern extremity. All eyes were turned to see the new champion which these sounds announced; and no sooner were the barriers opened than he paced into the lists. As far as could be judged of a man sheathed in armour, the new adventurer did not greatly exceed the middle size, and seemed to be rather slender than strongly made. His suit of armour was, formed of steel, richly inlaid with gold, and the device on his shield was a young oak-tree pulled up by the roots, with the Spanish word Desdichado, signifying Disinherited. He was mounted on a gallant black horse; and as he passed through the lists he gracefully saluted the Prince and the ladies by lowering his lance. The dexterity with which he managed his horse, and something of youthful grace which he displayed in his manner, won him the favour of the multitude, which some of the lower classes expressed by crying, "Touch Ralph de Vipont's shield-touch the Hospitaller's shield; he has the least sure seat, he is your cheapest bargain.

The champion, moving onward amid these well-meant hints, ascended the platform by the sloping alley which led to it from the lists, and, to the astonishment of all present, riding straight up to the central pavilion, struck with the sharp end of his spear the shield of Brian de Bois-Guilbert until it rung again. All stood astonished at his presumption, but none more than the redoubted Knight whom he had thus defied to mortal combat. "Have you confessed yourself, brother," said the Templar," and have you heard mass this morning, that you peril your life so frankly?""I am fitter to meet death than thou art, answered the Disinherited Knight, for by this name the stranger had recorded himself in the books of the tourney. "Then take your place in the lists," said De Bois-Guilbert," and look your last upon the sun; for this night thou shalt sleep in paradise. Gramercy for thy courtesy," replied the Disinherited Knight; "and to requite it, I advise thee to take a fresh horse and a new lance, for by my honour you will need both. Having expressed himself thus confidently, he reined his horse backwards down the slope which he had ascended, and compelled him in the same manner to move backwards through the lists, till he reached the northern extremity, where he remained stationary, in expectation of his antagonist. This feat of horsemanship again attracted the applause of the multitude. When the two champions stood opposed to each other at the two extremities of the lists, the public expectation was strained to the highest pitch. Few augured the posBibility that the encounter could terminate well for the Disinherited

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Knight; yet his courage and gallantry secured the general good wishes of the spectators. The trumpets had no sooner given the signal, than the champions vanished from their posts with the speed of lightning, and closed in the centre of the lists with the shock of a thunderbolt. The lances burst into shivers up to the very grasp, and it seemed at the moment that both knights had fallen, for the shock had made each horse recoil backwards upon its hams. The address of the riders recovered their steeds by use of the bridle and spur, and having glared on each other for an instant with eyes which seemed to flash fire through the bars of their visors, each made a demi-volte, and retiring to the extremity of the lists, received a fresh kance from the attendants. A loud shout from the spectators, waving of scarfs and handkerchiefs, and general acclamations, attested the interest taken by the spectators in this encounter; the most equal, as well as the best performed, which had graced the day. But no sooner had the knights resumed their station, than the clamour of applause was hushed into a silence, so deep and so dead, that it seemed the multitude were afraid even to breathe. A few minutes' pause having been allowed, that the combatants and their horses might recover breath, Prince John with his truncheon signed to the trumpets to sound the onset. The champions a second time sprung from their stations, and closed in the centre of the lists, with the same speed, the same dexterity, the same violence, but not the same equal fortune as before.

In this second encounter, the Templar aimed at the centre of his antagonist's shield, and struck it so fair and forcibly that his spear went to shivers, and the Disinherited Knight reeled in his saddle. On the other hand, that champion had, in the beginning of his career, directed the point of his lance towards Bois Guilbert's shield, but, changing his aim almost in the moment of encounter, he addressed it to the helmet, a mark more difficult to hit, but which, if attained, rendered the shock more irresistible. Yet, even at this disadvantage, the Templar sustained his high reputation; and had not the girths of his saddle burst, he might not have been unhorsed. As it chanced, however, saddle, horse, and man, rolled on the ground under a cloud of dust. To extricate himself from the stirrups and fallen steed, was to the Templar scarce the work of a moment; and stung with madness, both at his disgrace and at the acclamations with which it was hailed by the spectators, he drew his sword and waved it in defiance of his conqueror. The Disinherited Knight sprung from his steed, and also unsheathed his sword. The marshals of the field, however, spurred their horses between them, and reminded them, that the laws of the tournament did not, on the present occasion, permit this species of encounter. “We shall meet again, I trust," said the Templar, casting a resentful glance at his antagonist; " and where there are none to separate us. "If we

do not, said the Disinherited Knight, " the fault shall not be mine. On foot or horseback, with spear, with axe, or with sword, I am alike ready to encounter thee." I. 164–170.