would have done, but Fangs, happening to bound
up at the very moment, received a scratch, which I will be bound to heal with a
penny's breadth of tar.«
    »If I thought so,« said Gurth - »if I could but think so - but no - I saw
the javelin was well aimed - I heard it whizz through the air with all the
wrathful malevolence of him who cast it, and it quivered after it had pitched in
the ground, as if with regret for having missed its mark. By the hog dear to
Saint Anthony, I renounce him!«
    And the indignant swineherd resumed his sullen silence, which no efforts of
the Jester could again induce him to break.
    Meanwhile Cedric and Athelstane, the leaders of the troop, conversed
together on the state of the land, on the dissensions of the royal family, on
the feuds and quarrels among the Norman nobles, and on the chance which there
was that the oppressed Saxons might be able to free themselves from the yoke of
the Normans, or at least to elevate themselves into national consequence and
independence, during the civil convulsions which were likely to ensue. On this
subject Cedric was all animation. The restoration of the independence of his
race was the idol of his heart, to which he had willingly sacrificed domestic
happiness and the interests of his son. But, in order to achieve this great
revolution in favour of the native English, it was necessary that they should be
united among themselves, and act under an acknowledged head. The necessity of
choosing their chief from the Saxon blood-royal was not only evident in itself,
but had been made a solemn condition by those whom Cedric had intrusted with his
secret plans and hopes. Athelstane had this quality at least; and though he had
few mental accomplishments or talents to recommend him as a leader, he had still
a goodly person, was no coward, had been accustomed to martial exercises, and
seemed willing to defer to the advice of counsellors more wise than himself.
Above all, he was known to be liberal and hospitable, and believed to be
good-natured. But whatever pretensions Athelstane had to be considered as head
of the Saxon confederacy, many of that nation were disposed to prefer to his the
title of the Lady Rowena, who drew her descent from Alfred, and whose father
having been a chief renowned for wisdom, courage, and generosity, his memory was
highly honoured by his oppressed countrymen.
    It would have been no difficult thing for Cedric, had he been so disposed,
to have placed himself at the head of