mistress
and herself, by recurring to the overthrow of Athelstane in the lists, the most
disagreeable subject which could greet the ears of Cedric. To this sturdy Saxon,
therefore, the day's journey was fraught with all manner of displeasure and
discomfort; so that he more than once internally cursed the tournament, and him
who had proclaimed it, together with his own folly in ever thinking of going
thither.
    At noon, upon the motion of Athelstane, the travellers paused in a woodland
shade by a fountain, to repose their horses and partake of some provisions, with
which the hospitable Abbot had loaded a sumpter mule. Their repast was a pretty
long one; and these several interruptions rendered it impossible for them to
hope to reach Rotherwood without travelling all night, a conviction which
induced them to proceed on their way at a more hasty pace than they had hitherto
used.
 

                               Chapter Nineteenth

 A train of armed men, some noble dame
 Escorting (so their scatter'd words discover'd,
 As unperceived I hung upon their rear),
 Are close at hand, and mean to pass the night
 Within the castle.
                                                                Orra, a Tragedy.
 
The travellers had now reached the verge of the wooded country, and were about
to plunge into its recesses, held dangerous at that time from the number of
outlaws whom oppression and poverty had driven to despair, and who occupied the
forests in such large bands as could easily bid defiance to the feeble police of
the period. From these rovers, however, notwithstanding the lateness of the
hour, Cedric and Athelstane accounted themselves secure, as they had in
attendance ten servants, besides Wamba and Gurth, whose aid could not be counted
upon, the one being a jester and the other a captive. It may be added, that in
travelling thus late through the forest, Cedric and Athelstane relied on their
descent and character, as well as their courage. The outlaws, whom the severity
of the forest laws had reduced to this roving and desperate mode of life, were
chiefly peasants and yeomen of Saxon descent, and were generally supposed to
respect the persons and property of their countrymen.
    As the travellers journeyed on their way, they were alarmed by repeated
cries for assistance; and when they rode up to the place from whence they came,
they were surprised to find a horse-litter placed upon the ground, beside which
sat a young woman, richly dressed in the Jewish fashion, while an old man, whose
yellow cap proclaimed him to belong to the same nation, walked up and down with
gestures of the deepest despair, and wrung his hands, as