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 the saddle, like a man
in a fit of the colic; 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, Kirjath 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 hurly-burly—–I
speak not for endangering the steed, and coat of armour,
but for the sake of thine own life and limbs.”
“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.”
They parted, and took different roads for the town
of Sheffield.
Knights, with a long retinue of their squires,
In gaudy liveries march and quaint attires;
One laced the helm, another held the lance,
A third the shining buckler did advance.
The courser paw’d the ground with restless feet,
And snorting foam’d and champ’d the golden
bit.
The smiths and armourers on palfreys ride,
Files in their hands, and hammers at their side;
And nails for loosen’d spears, and thongs for
shields provide.
The yeomen guard the streets in seemly bands;
And clowns come crowding on, with cudgels in their
hands.
Palamon and Arcite
The condition of the English nation was at this time
sufficiently miserable. King Richard was absent
a prisoner, and in the power of the perfidious and
cruel Duke of Austria. Even the very place of
his captivity was uncertain, and his fate but very
imperfectly known to the generality of his subjects,
who were, in the meantime, a prey to every species
of subaltern oppression.
Prince John, in league with Philip of France, Coeur-de-Lion’s
mortal enemy, was using every species of influence
with the Duke of Austria, to prolong the captivity
of his brother Richard, to whom he stood indebted
for so many favours. In the meantime, he was
strengthening his own faction in the kingdom, of which
he proposed to dispute the succession, in case of
the King’s death, with the legitimate heir,
Arthur Duke of Brittany, son of Geoffrey Plantagenet,
the elder brother of John. This usurpation, it
