Saint George for England

e had evidently come from a distance, for her dress was travel-stained and muddy. She tottered rather than walked, and when, upon her arrival at the gateway on the southern

ver, house rent was dear within the walls of the crowded city, and many, whose business brought them to town, found it cheaper to take up their abode in the quiet hostels of Southwark rather than to stay in the more expensive inns within the wal

as opened by a pleasant-faced

s it?"

nswered feebly. "Canst take me

inn. Further up the road there are plenty of places

ent. I can pay thee, good fellow, and I pray you as a Christian to let me come in and sleep before your fire for the nig

lf as good fellow, at once convinced the man t

r room and lend her some dry clothing; then make her a cup of warm posset, which she needs sorely. I will fetch an armful of fresh rushes from the shed and strew them here: I will sleep in the smithy. Quick, girl," he said sharply; "she is fainting with cold and fatigue." And as he spoke he caught the woman as she was about to fall, and laid her gently on the ground.

ve the drenched garments and to rub the cold hands of the guest until she recovered consciousness. When Geoffrey Ward

htly now. The woman drank the steaming beverage which her host

your door, for indeed I could go no further; and though I hold not to life, yet would I fain live until I

eed if one could not give a corner of one's fireside to a fellow-creature on such a night as this, especially when that fellow cre

ooking at the powerful figure of her host, "that he will grow up as straight and as stalwart as yourself." The child, who was about three years old, was indeed an exceedingly fine little fellow, as he sat, in one scanty garment, in his mother's lap, gazing with round eyes at the

hy I keep a fire so long after the curfew. Should you be a stranger in the city, I will gladly act as your guide in the morning

with her baby, lay down on the rushes in front of the fire, for in those days none of the working or a

that his guest desired to find on

e loved it, and finishes and polishes each with his own hand. Therefore he doeth not so much trade as those who are less particular with their wares, for he hath to charge a high price to be able to live. But none who have ever bought his bows have regretted the silver which they cost. Many and many a gross of ar

fer of money, the lady contented herself with thanking Madge warmly, and saying that she hoped to come across the bridge one day with Dame Fletcher; then, under the guidance of Geoffrey, who insisted on carrying the boy, she set out from the smith's cottage. They pass

country, just as Harold and our ancestors against the Normans under William, and I think it a foul shame that men who have done no other harm should be beheaded, still less that their heads and limbs should be stuck up there gibbering at all passers-by. There are over a score of them, and every fresh

my own thoughts and troubles which drew tear

ded, each story advancing beyond that below it until the occupiers of the attics could well-nigh shake hands across. They soon left th

ll of one of his bows. Here I will leave you, and will one of these days return to inquire

e of the hand took his leave, not waiting to listen to the

od by the wall. A powerful man of some forty years old was standing in the middle of the shop with a bent bow in his arm, taking aim at a spot in the wall. Through an open door three me

; "it is I, but name no names; it

nto the inner room. "My Lady Alice," he exclaime

am well-nigh inclined to ask myself whether it be truly

t was executed the air has been full of rumours. Then came news of the killing of Mortimer and of the imprisonment of the king's mo

was killed, and I was cast out with my child. Afterwards they repented that they had let me go, and searched far and wide for me; but I was hidden in the cottage of a woodcutter. They were too busy in hunting down others whom they proclaimed to be enemies of the king, as they had wrongfully said of Roland, who had but done his duty faithfully to

you come if not to her? But will it please you to mount the stairs, for Bertha will not

ream of surprise and joy from his wife, and then Giles quietly with

rey Ward entered the s

They have been longer in hand than is usual with me, but I have been pres

her boy would never inherit the lands of his father; and although she knows well enough that she would be always welcome here, and that Bertha would serve her as gladly and faithfully as ever she did when she was her nurse, yet she could not but greatly feel the change. She was tenderly brought up, being, as I told you last week, the only daughter of Sir Harold Broome. Her brother, who but a year ago became lord of Broomecastle at the death of his father, was one of the queen's men, and it was he, I believe, who brought Sir Roland Somers to that side. He was slain on the same night as Mortimer, and his lands, like those of Sir Roland, have been seized by the crown. The child upstairs is by right heir to both estates, seeing that his uncle died unmarried. They will doubtless be conferred upon those who have aided the young king in freeing himself from his mother's domination, for which, indeed, although I lament that Lady Alice should have suffered so sorely in

better master, seeing that I have for three years carried away the prize for the best sword-player at the sports. Methinks the boy will grow up into a strong and stalwart man, for he is truly a splendid lad. As to archery, he need not go far to learn it, since your apprentice, Will Parker, last year won the prize as the best marksman in the city bounds. Trust me, if his tastes lie that way we will between us turn him out a rare man-at-arms. But I must stand gossiping no longer; the rumours that we are likely ere long to have war

. The fever abated, but left her prostrate in strength. For a few weeks she lingered; but she seemed

may grow discontented with his lot; but this I leave with you, and you must speak or keep silent according as you see his disposition and mind. If he is content to settle down to a peaceful life here, say nought to him which would unsettle his mind; but if Walter turn out to have an adventurous disposition, then tel

s buried quietly and without pomp, as if she had been a child of the bow

ds rare among the warlike barons. The greater part of his time, however, was spent in sports with lads of his own age in Moorfields beyond the walls. The war with France was now raging, and, as was natural, the boys in their games imitated the doings of their elders, an

nd although not able to wield the heavy sledge Walter was able to do much of the finer work. Geoffrey encouraged him in this, as, in the first place, the use of the tools greatly strengthened the boy's muscles, and gave him an acquaintance with arms. Moreover, Geoffrey was still a bachelor, and he thought that the boy, whom he as well as Giles had come to love as a son, might, should he not take up the trade of war, prefer the

h he had acquired in wielding the hammer, and by practice with the sword rendered him a formidable opponent with the sticks, which formed the we

g into trouble, and are becoming the terror of other boys. Why do you not play more quietly? The feuds between the boys of different wards are becoming a serious nuisance, and many injuries have been inflicted. I hear that the

ill defy us, what are we to do? I don't hit harder than I can help, and if

ng too masterful altogether, and have none of the quiet demeanour and peaceful air which becomes an honest c

eaching me says that I show rare promise; but it would never be to my taste to stand all day sawing, and smoothing, and polishing. One bow is to me much like another, though my father holds that there are rare differences between them; but it is a nobler craft to work on iron, and next to using arms the most pleasant thing

The armourer smiled; he knew well enough what was in Walter's mind. It had cost Geoffrey himself a hard struggle to settle down to a craft, and deemed it but natural that with the knightly blood flowing in Walter's veins he should long to di