"What say ye?"
"Down with the Normans!" we replied.
"Right," said he. "Down with the Normans!" Then he gave us sundry directions as to the nearest route to the place of meeting. We found this route to be again somewhat difficult; for such a stern, wild country it is difficult to imagine, much more to describe. We again entered a narrow defile between two frowning and rugged hills, and in a little while this defile opened out into a magnificent, amphitheatre-like vale, enclosed with lofty peaks and rugged hills on every hand, whilst below us there lay a magnificent sheet of water in the centre of the valley, with thick woods running around it; the bald and boulder-strewn hills towering high above all, most imposing in their rugged grandeur and might. Underneath them, the valley was most bewitching in the loveliness of its umbrageous woods. As outlets to this beautiful valley, there were but the pass we had descended, and another narrow defile at the foot of the lake, where the water made its exit. Involuntarily we came to halt. Indeed, the prospect before us was at once so wild, and yet so charming, that we could not but stand and gaze, enchanted with the scene.
"Now, Father," said Oswald, "what think you of Lakesland?"
"Well," said I, "lovely as our beloved Craven is, it pales before this magnificent country."
"Yes; and the strength of it! Had Sigurd but a tithe of moderation and self-restraint, there are no Norman forces in this Northumberland that could drive him out."
Well, we resumed our march by rounding the head of the lake by a difficult and tangled forest path. This done, we continued our journey down the opposite side of the valley and along the side of the lake, until eventually we were taken in hand by one of a group of men, evidently set for the purpose, and by him we were conducted to a yeoman's dwelling, embowered in trees of massive girth on all sides. The habitation was similar to the rough but substantial dwellings we were all familiar with. There were some considerable outbuildings and an enclosure carefully fenced round by a lofty wall, and evidently intended for the protection of the sheep and cattle at night, during the winter months; for the wolves were wont to pack, sometimes in considerable numbers, and become very daring and vicious, when the pinch of hunger was upon them.
As soon as we entered this enclosure, we found there was assembled already a goodly company of men of various grades, all of them armed to the teeth. Many of them were evidently Saxons who had held considerable positions in the land prior to the coming of the Normans, though now evidently much broken. The scared and suspicious looks with which they scrutinised every new-comer, told plainly that they were much used to treachery, and familiar with double-dealing. There were also numbers who were clearly men of war. The look of defiance on their countenances, and the well-stocked quivers over their shoulders, told plainly they were chiefs of the bold outlaws who lived by the might of their trusty swords, and their long bows. No one could misunderstand their fierce and daring attitude.
There were some also who, by their armour, had evidently learned something of the methods of war pursued by the Normans. Indeed, as we have said, before the coming of William, large numbers of the Normans had thronged the court of the pious Edward, and Saxon noblemen in goodly numbers had practised the joust at tournaments, adopting Norman weapons, affecting a budding errantry, and talking Norman French. There was here also a goodly number of the humbler ranks; for, according to old Saxon law, not only freemen, but even villeins and churls had the right of representatives at the witanagemot, or council. Oswald immediately joined himself to a company of these men of knightly appearance, many of whom he knew, having fought side by side with them at York.
Sigurd I quickly espied, standing with another group of the old stock, rude, unlettered, and primitive in habit and dress. I could easily see, without seeming to notice or observe them narrowly, that these men viewed with no favourable eye what they were wont to call the pranking of Norman manners and dress on the part of Oswald and the others I have spoken of. It was plainly to be seen, also, that Sigurd had done something to inflame their minds against Oswald, for they eyed him savagely and suspiciously.