“What, fellow!” cried Sang, jocularly, putting him by; “what, wouldst thou bribe the hand of justice? Wouldst thou soil that which should be pure? Avoid, I tell thee, avoid;” and, putting spurs to his horse, he rode off towards the lists, followed by the cheers of those who had witnessed the scene.
CHAPTER XLVI.
The English Ambassador and the gallant Lindsay.
BY the time Mortimer Sang returned to the lists, he was disappointed to find that he had no chance left of establishing his reputation that night against a worthier antagonist. The Earl of Fife had already dropped his white wand, and orders had been issued for the clearance of the enclosure and shutting the barriers. The heralds had commanded the banners to be furled, and all were now on the move.
The gay groups of chevaliers and ladies returned from the lists in independent parties, some to the Castle, and others to their pavilions on the field, to prepare for joining the general assemblage at the banquet in the Hall of Randolph. The number of guests who met there at the usual hour was much greater than on any of the former occasions, many knights having arrived during the previous evening, or during that day, that they might have their heraldic blazons and trophies put up in the chapel of St. John the Baptist, to give them a right to tilt at the tournament. The Countess of Moray resumed her place beside her lord, at the head of the board. Sir Patrick Hepborne attended the party of the Lady of Dirleton, who, with her lord, showed him an increase of kindness each successive time they met; but when he addressed the Lady Jane de Vaux, she seemed to have put on that frosty and chilling air which had given him so much vexation in the Countess of Moray.
The conversation naturally turned on the exhibition of the day, and was for some time confined to the various private dialogues in which it had sprung up. Praise fell on some few names—Sang’s conduct, and his amusing chase were talked of [[322]]with commendation of him, and ridicule of his opponent, the impostor Knight of Cheviot, of whose robbery of the old woman’s purse all were now made aware. Some young knights were mentioned with approbation, but the general feeling was, that the exhibition had been poor, and much more was hoped for from to-morrow.
By degrees the hum of voices that prevailed around the festive board began to subside beneath the interest that was gradually excited by a conversation now arising between the Lord of Welles and some of his English knights, on the one hand, and several of the Scottish chevaliers on the other; and, at last, so deep was the silent attention it produced, that every word of it was heard by all present.
“My Lord Earl of Moray,” said the Lord Welles, “I feel much beholden to thee for having persuaded me hither from Scone; for, however tedious and tiresome mought have been the journey, it hath given me an opportunity of satisfying myself and my friends of the unbounded liberality and magnificence of thy hospitality, the which can be surpassed by nothing south of Tweed. But I hope thou wilt take no offence at the plainness of speech and honesty which I use, when I tell thee that had thy Scottish tilting been all the inducement thou hadst to offer me, I mought have as well staid where I was, as I should most assuredly have been but meagrely recompensed for the hardships and deprivations of my long and wearisome pilgrimage through so large a portion of your trackless Scottish forests and wastes.”
“Nay, my Lord Welles,” replied the Earl of Moray, “I care not what may have occasioned me the honour of thy presence at Tarnawa, enow for me is the satisfaction of its enjoyment, enhanced as it is by the gracious reception of what hospitality I may offer thee. Yet of a truth it erketh me to find that thou hast lacked that pleasure in the survey of the exercises of this day’s jousting the which I had hoped to afford thee. Thou knowest that such meetings of arms are but rare with us in Scotland, and we may not look for that expertness the which doth distinguish the tourneys of more southern climes; yet had I hoped that thou mightest have been in some sort amused.”