The Knights of England, France, and Scotland
Henry William Herbert
Paperback
(Forgotten Books, April 19, 2018)
Excerpt from The Knights of England, France, and ScotlandHarold, he said, after a long pause of deliberation - 4 Har Old, my son, since you have made me this request, and that your noble heart seems set on its accomplishment, it shall not be my part to do constraint or violence to your affectionate and patriotic wishes. Go, then, if such be your resolve, but go without my leave, and contrary to my advice. It is not that I would not have your brother and your kinsman home, but that Ido distrust the means of their deliverance; and sure I am, that should you go in person, some terrible disaster shall befall ourselves and this our country. Well do I know Duke Wil liam; well do I know his spirit - brave, crafty, daring, deep, ambitious, and designing. You, too, he hates especially, nor willbe grant you anything, save at a price that shall draw down an overwhelming ruin on you who pay it, and on the throne Of which you are the glory and the stay. If we would have these hostages delivered at a less ransom than the downfall of our Saxon dynasty - the misery of merry England - another ines senger than thou must seek the wily Norman. Be it, however, as thou wilt, my friend, my kinsman, and my son. 0h, sage advice, and admirable counsel! Advice how fatally neglected - counsel how sadly frustrated! Gallant, and brave, and young; fraught with a noble sense of his own powers, a full reliance on his own honorable purposes; untaught as yet in that, the hardest lesson Of the world's hardest school, distrust Of others, suspicion Of all men - Harold set forth Upon his jour ney, as it were, on an excursion in pursuit of pleasure. Sur rounded by a'traiu of blithe companions, gallantly mounted, gorgeously attired, with falcon upon fist, and greyhounds bound ing by his side, gayly and merrily he started, on a serene au tumnal morning, for the coast of Sussex. There he took ship; and scarcely was~he out of sight of land, when, as it were at Once to justify the words of Edward, the wind, which had been on his embarkation the fairest that could blow from heaven.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.