FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1]: One of those rare but pleasant little towns which are fortunate enough to stand upon no high-road, but which, on looking into Cary's Itinerary, will be found to have a way of their own. It is near Ashford.
[Footnote 2]: This sentence, I am inclined to think, deserves another inverted comma to denote that it is borrowed from some of the writers of that day. I forget from whom.
[Footnote 3]: A maker of arrows was so called when the good strong bow was the weapon of the English yeoman.
[Footnote 4]: A maker of arrows.
[Footnote 5]: Armour and trappings of his horse.
[Footnote 6]: It will be found in the description of Britain by Holingshed, that even in his days it was held that any man possessing land producing an annual rent of forty pounds (called a knight's fee) could be called upon to undergo the honour of knighthood, or to submit to a fine. This was sometimes enforced, and the consequence was often what Lady Katrine insinuated, as few of the more powerful nobles of the day did not entertain more than one poor knight in their service. These, however, were looked upon in a very different light from those whose knighthood had been obtained by military service.
[Footnote 7]: The road from the Temple Bar to the City of Westminster was flanked on one side by noblemen's houses and gardens, producing an effect not unlike that of Kensington Gore; as far, at least, as we can judge from description.
[Footnote 8]: Every knight of that day had his soubriquet, or nickname; thus the famous Bayard was generally called Piquet.
[Footnote 9]: Since writing the above, I have seen a beautiful sketch by Sir Walter Scott, of a scene very similar. The coincidence of even the minute points is striking; but I know that Sir Walter, and I trust the public also, will believe me, when I pledge my word that the whole of this book was written before I ever saw "My Aunt Margaret's Mirror," and, I believe, before it was published.
[Footnote 10]: Alluding to the vision of Fair Geraldine, called up in a mirror at the request of Lord Surrey.
[Footnote 11]: I have not been able to discover at what precise period the custom of exacting a ransom from each prisoner taken in battle was dropped in Europe. It certainly still existed in the reign of Elizabeth, and perhaps still later, for Shakspere (writing in the days of James I.) makes repeated mention of it. Some centuries before the period of this tale, Edward the Black Prince fixed the ransom of Du Guesclin at one hundred francs, which the constable considered degrading, and rated himself at the sum of seventy thousand florins of gold.
[Footnote 12]: A suit of horse armour and housings.
[Footnote 13]: We have every reason to believe that this adventure is by no means the invention of Vonderbrugius, but a simple historical fact.
[Footnote 14]: Hall gives an account of this event, with very little variation in the circumstances, stating that only a footman was with the king, one Moody; but, of course, Vonderbrugius may be relied on as the most correct.
[Footnote 15]:: It stood nearly where Westminster Bridge stands at present.
[Footnote 16]: This circumstance is generally placed by the French anecdotarians some ten days later; but weconceive that the precision of a Dutchman is to be relied on in preference.
[Footnote 17]: We cannot help calling attention to the scrupulous accuracy of Vonderbrugius. Supposing that he might, in some fit of unwonted imaginativeness have invented this circumstance, we searched through many tomes for confirmation, when we at last found the whole story alluded to in the exact Montluc; which, though it leaves the Dutchman no other merit than that of a compiler, justifies implicit belief in every part of this surprising history.
[Footnote 18]: The original words of Francis were, Ma lance contre un écu d'Espagne; écu meaning either a shield or a crown-piece.