The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-12-01


uous kick, the Norman groom turned away,
with his antlered burthen, muttering ribaid
Jest on tie death-grunt of the Saxon boar "
and drawing his keen woodknife, was soon
deep in the mysteries of The curee and deeper
yet in blood and grease prating Of "nOmbles,
| brisketo, flankards, and ravenbonesr then the
usual terms of the art of hunting or butcbery,
| whichever the reader chooses to call IT, which
are now probably ANTICIPATED The head was
| cabbaged, as it was called and with the en-
| trails, given as a reward 20 the fierce hounds
| which glared with ravenOus eyes on the CORY
csrcase. Even Its peculiar mOrsel was chucked
| to the attendant raven, the black bird of St
| Hubert, which-free from any apprehension Of
the gentle hunters, who affected him with re-
| spectful and reverential awe--sste on the stag
| horned peak of an aged oak tree, awaiting his
accustomed portion, with an observant eye and
an occasional croak. By and by, when the
sumpter mule came up, with kegs of ale and
bottians of mead and hypocras and wine Of
| Gascony and Anjou, before even the riders'
throats were slaked by the generous liquor, the
bride bits and caveSsOns nose bags and mar
| tingales Of the cOursers were removed, and lib
eral drenches were bestowed Oh them, partly
in guerdon of past services, partly in order to
renew their strength and stimulate their val
| liant ardor.
Long ere this, however famed by two or
three pages with fans Of fern wreaths, and
| sprinkled with cold spring water by the hands
of her solcitous kinsman, the young girl had
| given symptoms of returning life, and brighter
| expression returned to the dark, melancholy
visage of her father.
Two or three long, faint, fluttering signs
came from her parted lips and then, regular,
Il. G. Il
| itself heard and her girlish bosom rose and fell
responsive.
Her father. who had been chafng her hands
assiduously, pressed one of them caressngly at
this show Of returning animation and raised it
to his lips; when, awakening at the accustomed
tenderness, her languid eyes opened, faint
| light of intelligence shOne forth from them, a
pale glow of hectic color played over her face
and smile glittered for "a second on her quiv
ering lits.
Dear father" she whispered, family but,
| the next moment an expression of fear was
visible in al her features, and palpable SILVER
shook all her frame. The stag she muir
| INJURED "tne stag save me- save and be-
| fore the words, uttered simultaneously by the
| two lords" He ID dead dear one He will
| harm no one any more had reached her ears,
she again relapsed into nsensiblity, while with
equal care, but renewed hope they tended and
| caressed
! But Leofenoth no one tended no one caress-
ed, save faithful still, where all were faithless
found the brind,ed staghound, "killbuck,"
who licked his face assiduously, with his grim,
| CORY tongue and lips. and besmearing his face
with blood and foam, rendered his aspect yet
more terrible and deathlike.
But now the returning messengers began to
ride in, fast and frequent; first, old Raoul the
huntsman, surest, although not fleetest; and
with him. shaking in his saddle, between the
sense Of peril and the perplexity occasioned
him by the high, hard trot of the Norman war
horse pressed into such unwonted service, like
a boar's head in aspick jelly" the brother
mediciner from the neighboring convent with
his wallet of simples and instruments of Chi
| rurgery.
By his ADVICE, the plentiful application of
cold water, with essences and stimulants in
abundance u generous dranght of rich wine of
Burgundy, and, when animation seemed thor
Oughly revived the gentle breaking of vein,
soon restored the young lady to her perfect
senses and complete sefpOssession, though she
was sorely bruised, and 80 severely shaken that
it was enjoned on her to remain perfectly
quiet, where she lay, with a lincoln green fur
|
of the litter should furnish means of return to
the castle of her fathers host and kinsman.
And. in good season. down the hill, slowly
and toilsomely came the horse litter, poor sub
stitute for wheeled vehicles but even thus the
| best if not only, conveyance yet adopted for
the transport Of the wounded, the feeble, or the
luxurious, and, as such, used only by the
wealthy and the noble.
| With the litter, came three or four women ;
one or two, Norman maidene, tho immediate
attendants of Lady Adeieis and the others
| Saxon slave girls of the household of Sir AL
| beric de Mortemar, who hurried down, eager
to gam favor by show OF Jealous duty, or actu-
ated by wonan's feeling Tor woman's suffering
even in different grade and station.
The foremost of them all, bounding along
with all the wild agility and free natural grace
fulness Of wood nymph or bacohante, was a
girl of seventeen or eighteen, not above the
middle height of her sex, but plump as a par
fridge with limbs exquisitely formed and
rounded, profusion OF fiaxen tresses floating
unrestraincd on the air, large, dark blue eyes,
and complexion all Of milk and roses the
very type of rural Saxon youth and beauty.
AS she outstripped all the rest in speed, she
was the first to tender gentle service to the
Lady Adelais, who received her with smile,
calling her Alsfgc, the fair" and thanking
her for her ready aid.
But, Gre long, as the ccurtlier maidens ar
rived on the ground, poor Alsifge was set aside,
AZ is too often the case with humble merit,
while the others lifted the lady into the horse
lister, covered her with light and perfumed
garlands, aud soon had all ready for her de-
parturc.
But, in the mean time, Alsifge had turned a
haat Al -.
animate body Of the Saxon Serf lying alone
and INTENDED, moved by the gentle sympathy
of woman for the humblest unknown sufferer,
she fastened to assist, if assistance were s-ill
possible But, as she recognised the limbs,
stately, though cold and still ind the features
still noble through gore and defement, n swift
horror smoe Der, that she shook like q leaf
and fell, with wild, thrilling shrek, 90, Le-
olenoth LeOfenoth ~ on tho body Of the
! wounded man.
Z" Ha what il this y cried Sir Alberto. who
now first saw or remembered what had passed
How is thisi Knaves, is there q man hurt
herei"
"a Saxon churl, Beausire" replied one Of the
pages, hippantly, who has gotten his briskct
unseamed by his brother Saxon yonderlp And
he pointed to the dead carcasc o, the stag
"Our lady save Us" murmured the gentle
Adelais, who seemed about to relapse into in
sensbility; "hc saved my life, aud have ye let
him perish 2"
Nov, by the splendor of our adys eyes"
cried EnQuerrand de Senlis, the father Of the
fair young lady, "this is the gallant lad We saw
afar in such bold hand-to-hand encounter with
yon mad brute We have been ingrately,
shamefuly remiss. This must be amended
Alberto dc Mortemar."
at shall--it shall, my noble friend" cried
Alberto "and yc, dogs that have let the man
perish INTENDED thus for doing Of his devoir
better than all the best Of We bestir yourselves
II the man die, as it seems like enow, We shall
learn are va a., onc dsv older uhnt rlea ant