“No, Sir, indeed I am not,” said I; “but I am very much obliged to you for your kindness in telling me all that you have.”
“You are a very intelligent young man, Sir,” said he; “most young fellows of your age would have been bored to death half-an-hour ago, even if they hadn’t managed to run off altogether, and so they would have lost a good lesson in English history—not that they would have cared much for that though. But now, I dare say you are getting hungry. Let us go up and see what they are doing in the Castle, and I shall be very glad if you will do me the honour of lunching with me.”
“Well,” thought I, as we got up from the turf, “there are not many better things for getting a man on than being a good listener. Here is a very learned old gentleman who doesn’t know my name, and I have got the length of his foot, and he has asked me to luncheon, just because I have been listening to his old stories. I wonder where the lunch is to be though? he spoke of a Castle, perhaps he lives in it—who knows?”
So we strolled away together up over the brow of the hill.
[3] See Simeon, A.D. 870.
[4] See Chronicle of St. Neot, A.D. 878.
[5] See Saxon Chron. and Asser, A.D. 866.
[6] See Asser, A.D. 867.
[7] See Saxon Chron. and Huntingdon, A.D. 874.
[8] See Simeon, A.D. 870.