maid marian-第19章
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own adventures to the lady as having happened to the lord in question。 This preparation enabled him to be so minute and circumstantial in his detail; and so coherent in his replies to her questions; that the lady fell implicitly into the delusion; and was delighted to find that her lord was alive and in health; and in high favour with the king; and performing prodigies of valour in the name of his lady; whose miniature he always wore in his bosom。 The baron guessed at this circumstance from the customs of that age; and happened to be in the right。
〃This miniature;〃 added the baron; 〃I have had the felicity to see; and should have known you by it among a million。〃 The baron was a little embarrassed by some questions of the lady concerning her lord's personal appearance; but Robin came to his aid; observing a picture suspended opposite to him on the wall; which he made a bold conjecture to be that of the lord in question; and making a calculation of the influences of time and war; which he weighed with a comparison of the lady's age; he gave a description of her lord sufficiently like the picture in its groundwork to be a true resemblance; and sufficiently differing from it in circumstances to be more an original than a copy。 The lady was completely deceived; and entreated them to partake her hospitality for the night; but this they deemed it prudent to decline; and with many humble thanks for her kindness; and representations of the necessity of not delaying their homeward course; they proceeded on their way。
As they passed over the drawbridge; they met Sir Ralph Montfaucon and his squire; who were wandering in quest of Marian; and were entering to claim that hospitality which the pilgrims had declined。 Their countenances struck Sir Ralph with a kind of imperfect recognition; which would never have been matured; but that the eyes of Marian; as she passed him; encountered his; and the images of those stars of beauty continued involuntarily twinkling in his sensorium to the exclusion of all other ideas; till memory; love; and hope concurred with imagination to furnish a probable reason for their haunting him so pertinaciously。 Those eyes; he thought; were certainly the eyes of Matilda Fitzwater; and if the eyes were hers; it was extremely probable; if not logically consecutive; that the rest of the body they belonged to was hers also。 Now; if it were really Matilda Fitzwater; who were her two companions? The baron? Aye; and the elder pilgrim was something like him。 And the earl of Huntingdon? Very probably。 The earl and the baron might be good friends again; now that they were both in disgrace together。 While he was revolving these cogitations; he was introduced to the lady; and after claiming and receiving the promise of hospitality; he inquired what she knew of the pilgrims who had just departed? The lady told him they were newly returned from Palestine; having been long in the Holy Land。 The knight expressed some scepticism on this point。 The lady replied; that they had given her so minute a detail of her lord's proceedings; and so accurate a description of his person; that she could not be deceived in them。 This staggered the knight's confidence in his own penetration; and if it had not been a heresy in knighthood to suppose for a moment that there could be in rerum natura such another pair of eyes as those of his mistress; he would have acquiesced implicitly in the lady's judgment。 But while the lady and the knight were conversing; the warder blew his bugle…horn; and presently entered a confidential messenger from Palestine; who gave her to understand that her lord was well; but entered into a detail of his adventures most completely at variance with the baron's narrative; to which not the correspondence of a single incident gave the remotest colouring of similarity。 It now became manifest that the pilgrims were not true men; and Sir Ralph Montfaucon sate down to supper with his head full of cogitations; which we shall leave him to chew and digest with his pheasant and canary。
Meanwhile our three pilgrims proceeded on their way。 The evening set in black and lowering; when Robin turned aside from the main track; to seek an asylum for the night; along a narrow way that led between rocky and woody hills。 A peasant observed the pilgrims as they entered that narrow pass; and called after them: 〃Whither go you; my masters? there are rogues in that direction。〃
〃Can you show us a direction;〃 said Robin; 〃in which there are none? If so we will take it in preference。〃 The peasant grinned; and walked away whistling。
The pass widened as they advanced; and the woods grew thicker and darker around them。 Their path wound along the slope of a woody declivity; which rose high above them in a thick rampart of foliage; and descended almost precipitously to the bed of a small river; which they heard dashing in its rocky channel; and saw its white foam gleaming at intervals in the last faint glimmerings of twilight。 In a short time all was dark; and the rising voice of the wind foretold a coming storm。 They turned a point of the valley; and saw a light below them in the depth of the hollow; shining through a cottage…casement and dancing in its reflection on the restless stream。 Robin blew his horn; which was answered from below。 The cottage door opened: a boy came forth with a torch; ascended the steep; showed tokens of great delight at meeting with Robin; and lighted them down a flight of steps rudely cut in the rock; and over a series of rugged stepping…stones; that crossed the channel of the river。 They entered the cottage; which exhibited neatness; comfort; and plenty; being amply enriched with pots; pans; and pipkins; and adorned with flitches of bacon and sundry similar ornaments; that gave goodly promise in the firelight that gleamed upon the rafters。 A woman; who seemed just old enough to be the boy's mother; had thrown down her spinning wheel in her joy at the sound of Robin's horn; and was bustling with singular alacrity to set forth her festal ware and prepare an abundant supper。 Her features; though not beautiful; were agreeable and expressive; and were now lighted up with such manifest joy at the sight of Robin; that Marian could not help feeling a momentary touch of jealousy; and a half…formed suspicion that Robin had broken his forest law; and had occasionally gone out of bounds; as other great men have done upon occasion; in order to reconcile the breach of the spirit; with the preservation of the letter; of their own legislation。 However; this suspicion; if it could be said to exist in a mind so generous as Marian's; was very soon dissipated by the entrance of the woman's husband; who testified as much joy as his wife had done at the sight of Robin; and in a short time the whole of the party were amicably seated round a smoking supper of river…fish and wild wood fowl; on which the baron fell with as much alacrity as if he had been a true pilgrim from Palestine。
The husband produced some recondite flasks of wine; which were laid by in a binn consecrated to Robin; whose occasional visits to them in his wanderings were the festal days of these warm…hearted cottagers; whose manners showed that they had not been born to this low estate。 Their story had no mystery; and Marian easily collected it from the tenour of their conversation。 The young man had been; like Robin; the victim of an usurious abbot; and had been outlawed for debt; and his nut…brown maid had accompanied him to the depths of Sherwood; where they lived an unholy and illegitimate life; killing the king's deer; and never hearing mass。 In this state; Robin; then earl of Huntingdon; discovered them in one of his huntings; and gave them aid and protection。 When Robin himself became an outlaw; the necessary qualification or gift of continency was too hard a law for our lovers to subscribe to; and as they were thus disqualified for foresters; Robin had found them a retreat in this romantic and secluded spot。 He had done similar service to other lovers similarly circumstanced; and had disposed them in various wild scenes which he and his men had discovered in their flittings from place to place; supplying them with all necessaries and comforts from the