The Last of the Barons โ Complete by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton (books to read for self improvement TXT) ๐
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โA tall fellow this!โ said Montagu; โand one I wot from the North,โ as the young gallant fitted the shaft to the bow. And graceful and artistic was the attitude he assumed,โthe head slightly inclined, the feet firmly planted, the left a little in advance, and the stretched sinews of the bow-hand alone evincing that into that grasp was pressed the whole strength of the easy and careless frame. The public expectation was not disappointed,โthe youth performed the feat considered of all the most dexterous; his arrow, disdaining the white mark, struck the small peg which fastened it to the butts, and which seemed literally invisible to the bystanders.
โHoly Saint Dunstan! thereโs but one man who can beat me in that sort that I know of,โ muttered Nicholas, โand I little expected to see him take a bite out of his own hip.โ With that he approached his successful rival.
โWell, Master Marmaduke,โ said he, โit is many a year since you showed me that trick at your father, Sir GuyโsโGod rest him! But I scarce take it kind in you to beat your own countryman!โ
โBeshrew me!โ cried the youth, and his cheerful features brightened into hearty and cordial pleasure, โbut if I see in thee, as it seems to me, my old friend and foster-brother, Nick Alwyn, this is the happiest hour I have known for many a day. But stand back and let me look at thee, man. Thou! thou a tame London trader! Ha! ha! is it possible?โ
โHout, Master Marmaduke,โ answered Nicholas, โevery crow thinks his own baird bonniest, as they say in the North. We will talk of this anon anโ thou wilt honour me. I suspect the archery is over now. Few will think to mend that shot.โ
And here, indeed, the umpires advanced, and their chiefโan old mercer, who had once borne arms, and indeed been a volunteer at the battle of Towtonโdeclared that the contest was over,โโunless,โ he added, in the spirit of a lingering fellow-feeling with the Londoner, โthis young fellow, whom I hope to see an alderman one of these days, will demand another shot, for as yet there hath been but one prick each at the butts.โ
โNay, master,โ returned Alwyn, โI have met with my betters,โand, after all,โ he added indifferently, โthe silver arrow, though a pretty bauble enough, is over light in its weight.โ
โWorshipful sir,โ said the young Nevile, with equal generosity, โI cannot accept the prize for a mere trick of the craft,โthe blanc was already disposed of by Master Alwynโs arrow. Moreover; the contest was intended for the Londoners, and I am but an interloper, beholden to their courtesy for a practice of skill, and even the loan of a bow; wherefore the silver arrow be given to Nicholas Alwyn.โ
โThat may not be, gentle sir,โ said the umpire, extending the prize. โSith Alwyn vails of himself, it is thine, by might and by right.โ
The Lord Montagu had not been inattentive to this dialogue, and he now said, in a loud tone that silenced the crowd, โYoung Badgeman, thy gallantry pleases me no less than thy skill. Take the arrow, for thou hast won it; but as thou seemest a new comer, it is right thou shouldst pay thy tax upon entry,โthis be my task. Come hither, I pray thee, good sir,โ and the nobleman graciously beckoned to the mercer; โbe these five nobles the prize of whatever Londoner shall acquit himself best in the bold English combat of quarter-staff, and the prize be given in this young archerโs name. Thy name, youth?โ
โMarmaduke Nevile, good my lord.โ
Montagu smiled, and the umpire withdrew to make the announcement to the bystanders. The proclamation was received with a shout that traversed from group to group and line to line, more hearty from the love and honour attached to the name of Nevile than even from a sense of the gracious generosity of Earl Warwickโs brother. One man alone, a sturdy, well-knit fellow, in a franklinโs Lincoln broadcloth, and with a hood half-drawn over his features, did not join the popular applause. โThese Yorkists,โ he muttered, โknow well how to fool the people.โ
Meanwhile the young Nevile still stood by the gilded stirrup of the great noble who had thus honoured him, and contemplated him with that respect and interest which a youthโs ambition ever feels for those who have won a name.
The Lord Montagu bore a very different character from his puissant brother. Though so skilful a captain that he had never been known to lose a battle, his fame as a warrior was, strange to say, below that of the great earl, whose prodigious strength had accomplished those personal feats that dazzled the populace, and revived the legendary renown of the earlier Norman knighthood. The caution and wariness, indeed, which Montagu displayed in battle probably caused his success as a general, and the injustice done to him (at least by the vulgar) as a soldier. Rarely had Lord Montagu, though his courage was indisputable, been known to mix personally in the affray. Like the captains of modern times, he contented himself with directing the manoeuvres of his men, and hence preserved that inestimable advantage of coolness and calculation, which was not always characteristic of the eager hardihood of his brother. The character of Montagu differed yet more from that of the earl in peace than in war. He was supposed to excel in all those supple arts of the courtier which Warwick neglected or despised; and if the last was on great occasions the adviser, the other in ordinary life was the companion of his sovereign. Warwick owed his popularity to his own large, open, daring, and lavish nature. The subtler Montagu sought to win, by care and pains, what the other obtained without an effort. He attended the various holiday meetings of the citizens, where Warwick was rarely seen. He was smooth-spoken and courteous to his equals, and generally affable, though with constraint, to his inferiors. He was a close observer, and not without that genius for intrigue, which in rude ages passes for the talent of a statesman. And yet in that thorough knowledge of the habits and tastes of the great mass, which gives wisdom to a ruler, he was far inferior to the earl. In common with his brother, he was gifted with the majesty of mien which imposes on
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