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"Old thou mayst be," replied the knight; "more shame to their folly who have suffered thee to grow gray in usury and knavery-Feeble thou mayst be, for when had a Jew either heart or hand-But rich it is well known thou art."

Front-de-Bœuf, a tail and strong man, whose lite Isaac; "I am old, and poor and helpless had been spent in publie war or in private feuds and unworthy to triumph over me-It is a poor deed to broils, and who had hesitated at no means of extend-crush a worm.' ing his feudal power. had features corresponding to nis character, and which strongly expressed the fiercer and more malignant passions of the mind. The scars with which his visage was seamed, would, on features of a different cast, have excited the sympathy and veneration due to the marks of honourable valour; but, in the peculiar case of Front-de-Boeuf, they only added to the ferocity of his countenance, and to the dread which his presence inspired. This formidable baron was clad in a leathern doublet, fitted close to his body, which was frayed and soiled with the stains of his armour. He had no weapon, excepting a poniard at his belt, which served to counterbalance the weight of the bunch of rusty keys that hung at his right side.

The black slaves who attended Front-de-Boeuf were stripped of their gorgeous apparel, and attired in jerkins and trowsers of coarse linen, their sleeves being tucked up above the elbow, like those of butchers when about to exercise their function in the slaughternouse. Each had in his hand a small pannier; and, when they entered the dungeon, they stopt at the door until Front-de-Boeuf himself carefully locked and double-locked it. Having taken this precaution, he advanced slowly up the apartment towards the Jew, upon whom he kept his eye fixed, as if he wished to paralyze him with his glance, as some animals are said to fascinate their prey. It seemed indeed as if the sullen and malignant eye of Front-de-Boeuf possessed some portion of that supposed power over his unfortunate prisoner. The Jew sate with his mouth a-gape, and his eyes fixed on the savage baron with such earnestness of terror, that his frame seemed literally to shrink together, and to diminish in size while encountering the fierce Norman's fixed and baleful gaze. The unhappy Isaac was deprived not only of the power of rising to make the obeisance which his terror dictated, but he could not even doff his cap, or utter any word of supplication; so strongly was he agitated by the conviction that tortures and death were impending over him.

"I swear to you, noble knight," said the Jew, "by all which I believe, and by all which we believe in common"

"Perjure not thyself," said the Norman, interrupting him, "and let not thine obstinacy seal thy doom, until thou hast seen and well considered the fate that awaits thee. Think not I speak to thee only to excite thy terror, and practise on the base cowardice thou hast derived from thy tribe. I swear to thee by that which thou dost NOT believe, by the gospel which our church teaches, and by the keys which are given her to bind and to loose, that my purpose is deep and pe remptory. This dungeon is no place for trifling Prisoners ten thousand times more distinguished than thou have died within these walls, and their fate hath never been known! But for thee is reserved a long and lingering death, to which theirs were luxury." He again made a signal for the slaves to approach and spoke to them apart, in their own language; for he also had been in Palestine, where, perhaps, he had learnt his lesson of cruelty. The Saracens produced from their baskets a quantity of charcoal, a pair of bellows, and a flask of oil. While the one struck a light with a flint and steel, the other disposed the charcoal in the large rusty grate which we have already mentioned, and exercised the bellows until the fuel came to a red glow.

"Seest thou, Isaac," said Front-de-Bœuf," the range of iron bars above that glowing charcoal?-on that warm couch thou shalt lie, stripped of thy clothes as if thou wert to rest on a bed or down. One of these

• This horrid species of torture may remind the reader of that to which the Spaniards subjected Guatimozin, in order to ex

tort a discovery of his concealed wealth. But, in fact, an instance of similar barbarity is to be found nearer home, and oe curs in the annals of Queen Mary's time, containing so many other examples of atrocity. Every reader must recollect, that after the fall of the Catholic Church, and the Presbyterian Church Government had been established by law, the rank, and especially the wealth, of the Bishops, Abbots, Priors, and so forth, were no longer vested in ecclesiastics, but in lay improcelled them, titulars of the temporalities of the benefice, though priators of the church revenues, or, as the Scottish lawyers having no claim to the spiritual character of their predecessors Of these laymen, who were thus invested with ecclesiastical mous Lord James Stewart, the Prior of St. Andrews, who did

On the other hand, the stately form of the Norman appeared to dilate in magnitude, like that of the eagle, which ruffles up its plumage when about to pounce on its defenceless prey. He paused within three steps of the corner in which the unfortunate Jew had now, as it were, coiled himself up into the smallest possible space, and made a sign for one of th laves to ap-in office. proach. The black satellite came forward accordingly, and, producing from his basket a large pair of scales and several weights, he laid them at the feet of Front-de-Boeuf, and again retired to the respectful distance, at which his companion had already taken his station.

The motions of these men were slow and solemn as if there impended over their souls some precon ception of horror and of cruelty. Front-de-Boeuf nimseif opened the scene by thus addressing his ill-fated captive.

Most accursed dog of an accursed race." he sai awaking with nis deep and sullen voice e sullen echoes of his dungeon vault, "seest thou these scais?" The unhappy Jew returned a feeble affirmative. "In these very scales shalt thou weigh me out," said the relentless Baron, "a thousand silver pounds, after the just measure and weight of the Tower of London." Holy Abraham!" returned the Jew, finding voice through the very extremity of his danger, heard man ever such a demand?-Who ever heard, even in a minstrel's tale, of such a sum as a thousand pounds of silver?-What human sight was ever blessed with the vision of such a mass of treasure?-Not within the walls of York, ransack my house and that of all my tribe, wilt thou find the tithe of that huge sum of silver that thou speakest of."

"I am reasonable," answered Front-de-Boeuf, "and if silver be scant, I refuse not gold. At the rate of a mark of gold for each six pounds of silver, thou shalt free thy unbelieving carcass from such punishment as thy heart has never even conceived."

Have mercy on me. noble knight!" exclaimed

revenues, some were men of high birth and rank, like the fanot fail to keep for their own use the rents, lands, and revenues of the church. But if, on the other hand, the titulars were mes of inferior importance, who had been inducted into the office by the interest of some powerful person, it was generally ander stood that the new Abbot should grant for his patron's benedit such leases and conveyances of the church lands and tithes ar might afford their protector the lion's share of the booty. This was the origin of those who were wittily termed Tulchan'

Bishops, being a sort of imaginary prelate, whose image was set up to enable his patron and principal to p'under the benefice

under his name.

There were other cases, however, in which men who had got g.ants of these secularized benefices, were desirous of retaining

them for their own use, without having the influence sufficient to establish their purpose; and these becaine frequently unable to protect themselves, however unwilling to submit to the exactions of the feudal tyrant of the district.

of oppression practised on one of those titular abbots, by the Bannatyne, secretary to Jolin Knox, recounts a singular course Earl of Cassilis in Ayrshire, whose extent of feudal influenos was so wide that he was usually termed the King of Carrick. We give the fact as it occurs in Bannatyne's Journal, only pre respect to the Earl of Cassilis as an opposer of the king's party. mising that the Journalist held his master's opinions, both with and as being a detester of the practice of granting church reve nues to titulars, instead of their being devoted to pious uses. such as the support of the clergy, expense of schools, and the fore, a well deserved feeling of execration against the tyrant relief of the national poor. He mingles in the narrative, there who employed the torture, with a tone of ridicule towards the

patient, as if, after all, it had not been all bestowed on such an titles his narrative,

equivocal and amphibious character as a titular abbot. He ea

A Tulchan is a calf's skin stuffed, and placed before a cow who has lost its calf, to induce the animal to part with her milk. The resemblance between such a Tulchan and u Bishop named to transmit the temporalities of a benefice to some pow eriul patron, is easily understood.

slaves shall maintain the fire beneath thee, while the, other shall anoint thy wretched limbs with oil, lest the roast should burn.-Now, choose betwixt such a THE EARL OF CASSILIS' TYRANNY AGAINST A QUICK (i. e.)

LIVING MAN.

"Master Allan Stewart, friend to Captain James Stewart of Cardonall, by means of the Queen's corrupted court, obtained the Abbey of Crossraguel. The said Earl thinking himself greater than any king in those quarters, determined to have that whole benefice (as he hath divers others) to pay at his plea sure; and because he could not find sic security as his insatia ble appetite required, this shift was devised. The said Mr. Allan being in company with the Laird of Bargany, (also a Kennedy,) was, by the Earl and his friends, enticed to leave the safeguard which he had with the Laird, and come to make good cheer with the said Earl. The simplicity of the impru dent man was suddenly abused; and so he passed his time with them certain days, which he did in Mayble with Thomas Kennedie, uncle to the said Earl: after which the said Mr. Allan passed, with quiet company, to visit the place and bounds of Crossraguel, [his abbacy, of which the said Earl being surely ndvertised, determined to put in practice the tyranny which long before he had conceaved. And so, as king of the country, ap prehended the said Mr. Allan, and carried him to the house of Denure, where for a season he was honourably treated, (gif a prisoner can think any entertainment pleasing) but after that certain days were spent, and that the Earl could not obtain the feus of Crossraguel according to his awin appetite, he deter mined to prove gif a collation could work that which neither dinner nor supper could do for a long time. And so the said Mr. Allan was carried to a secret chamber; with him passed the honourable Earl, his worshipful brother, and such as were appointed to be servants at that banquet. In the chamber there was a grit iron chimlay, under it a fire; other grit provision was not seen. The first course was,- My Lord Abbot,' (said the Earl,) it will please you confess here. that with your own consent you remain in my company, because ye durst not commit yourself to the hands of others.' The Abbot answered, Would you, my lord, that I should make a manifest lie for your pleasure? The truth is, my lord, it is against my will that I am here; neither yet have I any pleasure in your company.'- But ye shall remain with me, nevertheless, at this time,' said the Earl. I am not able to resist your will and pleasure,' said the Abbot, in this place.'-'Ye must then obey me,' said the Earl,-and with that were presented unto him certain letters to subscribe, amongst which there was a five years' tack, and a nineteen years' tack, and a charter of feu of all the lands of Crossraguel, with all the clauses necessary for the Earl to haste him to hell, For gif adultery, sacrilege, oppression, barbarous cruelty, and theft heaped upon theft, deserve hell, the great King of Cartick can no more escape hell for ever, than the imprudent Abbot escaped the fire for a season as follows.

"After that the Earl spied repugnance, and saw that he could not come to his purpose by fair means, he commanded his cooks to prepare the banquet: and so first they flayed the sheep, that is, they took off the Abbot's cloathes even to his skin, and next they bound him to the chimney-his legs to the one end, and his arms to the other; and so they began to beet [i. e. feed] the fire sometimes to his buttocks, sometimes to his legs, sometimes to his shoulders and arms; and that the roast might not burn, but that it might rest in soppe, they spared not flambing with oil, (basting as a cook bastes roasted meat); Lord, look thou to sic cruelty! and that the crying of the miserable man should not be heard, they closed his mouth that the voice might be stopped. It may be suspected that some partisan of the King's (Darnley's) murder was there. In that torment they held the poor man, till that often he cried for God's sake to despatch him; for he had as meikle gold in his awin purse as would buy powder enough to shorten his pain. The famous King of Carrick and his cooks perceiving the roast to be aneuch, commanded it to be tane fra the fire, and the Earl himself began the grace in this manner: Benedicite, Jesus Maria, you are the most obstinate man that ever I saw ; gif I had known that ye had been so stubborn, I would not for a thousand crowns have handled you so; I never did so to man before you.' And yet he returned to the same practice within two days, and ceased not till that he had obtained his foremost purpose, that s, that he had got all his pieces subseryvit alsweill as ane half roasted hand could do it. The Earl thinking himself sure enough so long as he had the half-roasted Abbot in his awin keeping, and yet being ashamed of his presence by reason of his former cruelty, left the place of Denure in the hands of certain of his servants, and the half-roasted Abbot to be kept there as prisoner. The Laird of Bargany, out of whose company the said Abbot had been enticed, understanding, (not the extremity,) but the retaining of the man, sent to the court, and raised letters of deliverance of the person of the man according to the order, which being disobeyed, the said Earl for his contempt was denounced rebel, and put to the horne. But yet hope was there none, neither to the afflicted to be delivered, neither yet to the purchaser (i. e. procurer) of the letters to obtain any comfort thereby; for in that time God was despised, and the lawful authority was contemned in Scotland, in hope the sudden return and regiment of that cruel murderer of her awin husband, of whose lords the said Earl was called one and yet, oftener than once, he was solemnly sworn to the King and to his Regent." The Journalist then recites the complaint of the injured Allan Stewart, Commendator of Crossraguel, to the Regent and Privy Council, averring his having been carried, partly by flattery, partly by force, to the black vauit of Denure, a strong fortalice, built on a rock overhanging the Irish channel, where its ruins are still visible. Here he stated he had been required to execute leases and convevances of the whole churches and parsonages

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scorching bed and the payment of a thousand pounds of silver: for, by the head of my father, thou hast no other option."

belonging to the Abbey of Crossraguel, which he utterly refused as an unreasonable demand, and the more so that he had already conveyed them to John Stewart of Cardonall, by whose interest he had been made Commendator. The complainant proceeda to state, that he was, after many menaces, stript, bound, and his limbs exposed to fire in the manner already described, till, compelled by excess of agony, he subscribed the charter and leases presented to him, of the contents of which he was totally ignorant. A few days afterwards, being again required to exe cute a ratification of these deeds before a notary and witnesses and refusing to do so, he was once more subjected to the same torture, until his agony was so excessive that he exclaimed, "Fye on you, why do you not strike your whingers into me, or blow me up with a barrel of powder, rather than torture me thus unmercifully upon which the Earl commanded Alexander Richard, one of his attendants, to stop the patient's mouth with a napkin, which was done accordingly. Thus he was once more compelled to submit to their tyranny. The petition con cluded with stating, that the Earl, under pretence of the deeds thus iniquitously obtained, had taken possession of the whole place and living of Crossraguel, and enjoyed the profits thereof for three years. The doom of the Regent and Council shows singularly the totai interruption of justice at this calamitous period, even in the most clamant cases of oppression. The Council declined interference with the course of the ordinary justice of the county, (which was completely under the said Earl of Cassilis' control and only enacted, that he should forbear molestation of the unfortunate commendator, under the surety of two thousand pounds Scots. The Earl was appointed also to keep the peaca towards the celebrated George Buchanan, who had a pension out of the same Abbacy, to a similar extent, and under the like penalty. The consequences are thus described by the Journalist already quoted.

The said Laird of Bargany perceiving that the ordiner jus tice could neither help the oppressed, nor yet the afflicted, ap plied his mind to the next remedy, and in the end, by his Herv. ants, took the house of Denure, where the poor Abbot was kept prisoner. The bruit flew fra Carrick to Galloway, and so sud. denly assembled herd and hyre man that pertained to the band of the Kennedies; and so within a few hours was the house of Denure environed again. The master of Cassilis was the frackast i. e. the readiest or boldest] and would not stay, but in his heat would lay fire to the dungeon, with no small boasting that all enemies within the house should die.

"He was required and admonished by those that were within to be more moderate, and not to hazard himself so foolishly. But no admonition would help, till that the wind of an hacquebute blasted his shoulder, and then ceased he from further pursuit in fury. The Laird of Bargany had before purchest (obtained) of the authorities, letters, charging all faithful subjects to the King's Majesty, to assist him against that cruel tyrant and mansworn traitor, the Earl of Cassilis; which letters, with his private writings, he published, and shortly found sic concurrence of Kyle and Cunynghame with his other friends, that the Carrick company drew back fra the house and so the other approached, furnished the house with more men, delivered the said Mr. Allan, and carried him to Ayr, where, publicly at the market cross of the said town, he declared how cruelly he was entreated, and how the murdered King suffered not sic torment as he did, excepting only he escaped the death: and, therefore, publicly did revoke all things that were done in that extremity, and especially he revoked the subscription of the three writings, to wit, of a fyve yeir tack and nineteen year tack, and of a charter of feu. And so the house remained, and remains (till this day, the 7th of February, 1571.) in the custody of the said Laird of Bargany and of his servants. And so cruelty was disappointed of proffeit present, and shall be eternallie punished, unless he earnestly repent. And this far for the cruelty committed, to give occasion unto others, and to such as hate the monstrous dealing of degenerate nobility, to look more diligently upon their behaviours, and to paint them forth unto the world, that they themselves may be ashamed of their own beastliness, and that the world may be advertised and admonished to abhor, detest, and avoid the company of all sic tyrants, who are not worthy of the society of men, but ought to be sent suddenly to the devil, with whom they must burn without end, for their contempt of God, and cruelty committed against his creatures. Let Cassilis and his brother be the first to be the example unto others. Amen. Amen. "*

This extract has been somewhat amended or modernized in orthography, to render it more intelligible to the general reader. I have to add, that the Kennedies of Bargany, who interfered in behalf of the oppressed Abbot, were themselves a younger branch of the Cassilis family, but held different politis, and were powerful enough in this, and other instances, to bid them defiance.

The ultimate issue of this affair does not appear: but as the house of Cassilis are still in possession of the greater part of the feus and leases which belonged to Crossraguel Abbey, it is pro bable the talons of the King of Carrick were strong enough in those disorderly times, to retain the prey which they had so mercilessly fixed upon.

I may also add, that it appears by some papers in my posses sion, that the officers or Country Keepers on the border, were accustomed to torment their prisoners by binding them to be iron bars of their chimneys, to extort confession

* Bannatyne's Journal,

"It is impossible," exclained the miserable Jew"it is impossible that your purpose can be real! The good God of nature never made a heart capable of exercising such cruelty!"

"Trust not to that, Isaac," said Front-de-Boeuf, "it were a fatal error. Dost thou think that I, who have seen a town sacked, in which thousands of my Christian countrymen perished by sword, by flood, and by fire, will blench from my purpose for the outcries or screams of one single wretched Jew?-or thinkest thou that these swarthy slaves, who have neither law, country, nor conscience, but their master's will-who use the poison, or the stake, or the poniard, or the cord, at his slightest wink-thinkest thou that they will have mercy, who do not even understand the language in which it is asked ?-Be wise, old man; discharge thyself of a portion of thy superfluous wealth; repay to the hands of a Christian a part of what thou hast acquired by the usury thou hast practised on those of his religion. Thy cunning may soon swell out once more thy shrivelled purse, but neither leech nor medicine can restore thy scorched hide and flesh wert thou once stretched on these bars. Tell down thy ransom, I say, and rejoice that at such rate thou canst redeem thee from a dungeon, the secrets of which few have returned to tell. I waste no more words with thee-choose between thy dross and thy flesh and blood, and as thou choosest, so shall it be.' "So may Abraham, Jacob, and all the fathers of my people assist me," said Isaac, "I cannot make the choice, because I have not the means of satisfying your exorbitant demand!"

"Seize him and strip him slaves," said the knight, "and let the fathers of his race assist him if they

can.

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The assistants, taking their directions more from the Baron's eye and his hand than his tongue, once more stepped forward, laid hands on the unfortunate Isaac, plucked him up from the ground, and, holding him between them, waited the hard-hearted Baron's farther signal. The unhappy Jew eyed their countenances and that of Front-de-Boeuf, in hope of discovering some symptoms of relenting; but that of the Baron exhibited the same cold, half-sullen, half-sarcastic smile which had been the prelude to his cruelty; and the savage eyes of the Saracens, rolling gloomily under their dark brows, acquiring a yet more sinister expression by the whiteness of the circle which surrounds the pupil, evinced rather the secret pleasure which they expected from the approaching scene, than any reluctance to be its directors or agents. The Jew then looked at the glowing furnace, over which he was presently to be stretched, and seeing no chance of his tormentor's relenting, his resolution gave way.

"I will pay," he said, "the thousand pounds of silver-That is," he added after a moment's pause, "I will pay it with the help of my brethren; for 1 must beg as a mendicant at the door of our synagogue ere I make up so unheard-of a sum.-When and where must it be delivered?"

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"Here," replied Front-de-Boeuf, "here it must be denvered-weighed it must be-weighed and told down on this very dungeon floor.-Thinkest thou I will part with thee until thy ransom is secure?"

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"And what is to be my surety," said the Jew, that I shall be at liberty after this ransom is paid?" "The word of a Norman noble, thou pawn-broking slave," answered Front-de-Bouf; "the faith of a Norman nobleman, more pure than the gold and silver of thee and all thy tribe."

"I crave pardon, noble lord," said Isaac timidly, but wherefore should I rely wholly on the word of one who will trust nothing to mine?"

"Because thou canst not help it, Jew," said the night, sternly. "Wert thou now in thy treasurechamber at York, and were I craving a loan of thy shekels, it would be thine to dictate the time of pay ment, and the pledge of security. This is my treasure-chamber. Here I have thee at advantage, nor will I again deign to repeat the terms on which I grant thee liberty."

The Jew groaned deeply. "Grant me," he said, 'a: least with my own liberty, that of the compa

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"If thou meanest yonder Saxon churls," said Front-de-Boeuf," their ransom will depend upon other terms than thine. Mind thine own concerns, Jew, I warn thee, and meddle not with those of others." "I am, then," said Isaac, only to be set at liberty together with mine wounded friend?"

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Shall I twice recommend it." said Front-deBœuf, "to a son of Israel, to meddle with his own concerns, and leave those of others alone?-Since thou hast made thy choice, it remains but that thou payest down thy ransom, and that at a short day." 'Yet hear me," said the Jew-"for the sake of that very wealth which thou wouldst obtain at the expense of thy"- -Here he stopt short, afraid of irri tating the savage Norman. But Front-de-Boeuf only laughed, and himself filled up the blank at which the Jew had hesitated. "At the expense of my conscience, thou wouldst say, Isane; speak it out-I tell thee, I am reasonable. I can bear the reproaches of a loser, even when that loser is a Jew. Thou wert not so patient, Isaac, when thou didst invoke justice against Jacques Fitzdotterel, for calling thee a usurious blood-sucker, when thy exactions had devoured his patrimony."

"I swear by the Talmud," said the Jew, "that your valour has been misled in that matter. Fitzdotierel drew his poniard upon me in mine own chamber, because I craved him for mine own silver. The term of payment was due at the Passover."

"I care not what he did," said Front-de-Boeuf; "the question is, when shall I have mine own?— when shall I have the shekels, Isaac?"

"Let my daughter Rebecca go forth to York," answered Isaac, "with your safe conduct, noble knight, and so soon as man and horse can return, the treasure"- -Here he groaned deeply, but added, after the pause of a few seconds,-The treasure shall be told down on this very floor."

"Thy daughter!" said Front-de-Boeuf, as if surprised,-"By heavens, Isaac, I would I had known of this. I deemed that yonder black-browed girl had been thy concubine, and I gave her to be a handmaiden to Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, after the fashion of patriarchs and heroes of the days of old, who set us in these matters a wholesome example."

The yell which Isaac raised at this unfeeling communication made the very vault to ring, and as tounded the two Saracens so much that they let go. their hold of the Jew. He availed himself of his enlargement to throw himself on the pavement, and clasp the knees of Front-de-Bouf.

"Take all that you have asked," said he, "Sir Knight-take ten times more-reduce me to ruin ana to beggary, if thou wilt,-nay, pierce me with thy pon iard, broil me on that furnace, but spare my daughter, deliver her in safety and honour-As thou art born of woman, spare the honour of a helpless maidenShe is the image of my deceased Rachael, she is the last of six pledges of her love-Will you deprive & widowed husband of his sole remaining comfort?Will you reduce a father to wish that his only living child were laid beside her dead mother, in the tomb of our fathers?"

"I would," said the Norman, somewhat relenting, "that I had known of this before. I thought your race had loved nothing save their money-bags."

"Think not so vilely of us. Jews though we be," said Isaac, eager to improve the moment of apparent sympathy; "the hunted fox, the tortured wildeat loves its young-the despised and persecuted race of Abraham love their children!"

"Be it so," said Front-de-Bauf; "I will believe it in future, Isaac, for thy very sake-but it aids us not now, I cannot help what has happened, or what is to follow; my word is passed to my comrade in arms, nor would I break it for ten Jews and Jewesses to boot. Besides, why shouldst thou think evil is to come to the girl, even if she became Bois-Guilbert's booty ?"

There will, there must !" exclaimed Isaac, wringing nis hands in agony; when did Templars breathe aught but cruelty to men, and dishonour to women!"

"Dog of an infidel," said Front-de-Bœuf, with sparkling eyes, and not sorry, perhaps, to seize a pretext for working himself into a passion, "blaspheme not the Holy Order of the Temple of Zion, but take thought instead to pay me the ransom thou hast promised, or wo betide thy Jewish throat!"

"Robber and villain!" said the Jew, retorting the insults of his oppressor with passion, which, however impotent, he now found it impossible to bridle, "I will pay thee nothing-not one silver penny will I Day thee, unless my daughter is delivered to me in safety and honour?"

"Art thou in thy senses, Israelite?" said the Norman, sternly" has thy flesh and blood a charm against heated iron and scalding oil?"

"I care not!" said the Jew, rendered desperate by paternal affection; "do thy worst. My daughter is my flesh and blood, dearer to me a thousand times than those limbs which thy cruelty threatens. No silver will I give thee, unless I were to pour it molten down thy avaricious throat-no, not a silver penny will I give thee, Nazarene, were it to save thee from the deep damnation thy whole life has merited! Take my life if thou wilt, and say, the Jew, amidst his tortures, knew how to disappoint the Christian."

"We shall see that," said Front-de-Bouf; "for by the blessed rood, which is the abomination of thy accursed tribe, thou shalt feel the extremities of fire and steel!-Strip him, slaves, and chain him down upon the bars."

In spite of the feeble struggles of the old man, the Saracens had already torn from him his upper garment, and were proceeding totally to disrobe him, when the sound of a bugle, twice winded without the castle, penetrated even to the recesses of the dungeon, and immediately after loud voices were heard calling for Sir Reginald Front-de-Bœuf. Unwilling to be found engaged in his hellish occupation, the savage Baron gave the slaves a signal to restore Isaac's garment, and, quitting the dungeon with his attendants, he left the Jew to thank God for his own deliverance, or to lament over his daughter's captivity, and probable fate, as his personal or parental feelings might prove strongest.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Nay, if the gentle spirit of moving words
Can no way change you to a milder form,
I'll woo you, like a soldier, at arms' end,
And love you 'gainst the nature of love, force you.
Two Gentlemen of Verona.

THE apartment to which the Lady Rowena had been introduced was fitted up with some rude attempts at ornament and magnificence, and her being placed there might be considered as a peculiar mark of respect not offered to the other prisoners. But the wife of Front-de-Boeuf, for whom it had been originally furnished, was long dead, and decay and neglect had impaired the few ornaments with which her taste had adorned it. The tapestry hung down from the walls in many places, and in others was tarnished and faded under the effects of the sun, or tattered and decayed by age. Desolate, however, as it was, this was the apartment of the castle which had been judged most fitting for the accommodation of the Saxon heiress; and here she was left to meditate upon her fate, until the actors in this nefarious drama had arranged the several parts which each of them was to perform. This had been settled in a council held by Front-de-Bœuf, De Bracy, and the Templar, in which, after a long and warm debate concerning the several advantages which each insisted upon deriving from his peculiar share in this audacious enterprise, they had at length determined the fate of their unhappy prisoners.

It was about the hour of noon, therefore, when De Bracy for whose advantage the expedition had been first planned, appeared to prosecute his views upon the hand and possessions of the Lady Rowena.

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The interval had not entirely been bestowed in holding council with his confederates, for De Bracy had found leisure to decorate his person with all the foppery of the times. His green cassock and vizard were now flung aside. His long luxuriant hair was trained to flow in quaint tresses down his richly furred cloak. His beard was closely shaved, his doublet reached to the middle of his leg, and the girdle which secured it, and at the same time supported his ponderous sword, was embroidered and embossed with gold work. We have already noticed the extravagant fashion of the shoes at this period, and the points of Maurice de Bracy's might have challenged the prize of extravagance with the gayest, being turned up and twisted like the horns of a ram. Such was the dress of a gallant of the period; and, in the present instance that effect was aided by the handsome person and good demeanour of the wearer, whose manners partook alike of the grace of a courtier, and the frankness of a soldier.

He saluted Rowena by doffing his velvet bonnet, garnished with a golden brooch, representing St Michael trampling down the Prince of Evil. With this, he gently motioned the lady to a seat; and, as she still retained her standing posture, the knight ungloved his right hand, and motioned to conduct her thither. But Rowena declined, by her gesture, the proffered compliment, and replied, "If I be in the presence of my jailor, Sir Knight-nor will circumstances allow me to think otherwise-it best becomes his prisoner to remain standing till she learns her doom."

Alas! fair Rowena," returned De Bracy, "you are in presence of your captive, not your jailor; and it is from your fair eyes that De Bracy must receive that doom which you fondly expect from him."

"I know you not, sir," said the lady, drawing herself up with all the pride of offended rank and beauty; "I know you not-and the insolent familiarity with which you apply to me the jargon of a troubadour, forms no apology for the violence of a robber."

"To thyself, fair maid," answered De Bracy, in his former tone "to thine own charms be ascribed whate'er I have done which passed the respect due to her whom I have chosen queen of my heart, and loadstar of my eyes.'

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"I repeat to you, Sir Knight, that I know you not, and that no man wearing chain and spurs ought thus to intrude himself upon the presence of an unprotected lady."

"That I am unknown to you," said De Bracy, "18 indeed my misfortune; yet let me hope that De Bracy's name has not yet been always unspoken, when minstrels or heralds have praised deeds of chivalry, whether in the lists or in the battle-field."

To heralds and to minstrels, then, leave thy praise, Sir Knight," replied Rowena, more suiting for their mouths than for thine own; and tell me which of them shall record in song, or in book of tourney, the memorable conquest of this night, a conquest obtained over an old man, followed by a few timid hinds, and its booty, an unfortunate maiden, transported against her will to the castle of a robber?"

"You are unjust, Lady Rowena," said the knight, biting his lips in some confusion, and speaking in a tone more natural to him than that of affected gallantry, which he had at first adopted; "yourself free from passion, you can allow no excuse for the frenzy of another, although caused by your own beauty.'

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"I pray you, Sir Knight," said Rowena, a language so commonly used by strolling minstrels, that it becomes not the mouth of knights or nobles. Certes, you constrain me to sit down, since you enter upon such commonplace terms, of which each vile crowder hath a stock that might last from hence to Christmas."

"Proud damsel," said De Bracy, incensed at finding his gallant style procured him nothing but con tempt-"proud damsel, thou shalt be as proudly encountered. Know then, that I have supported my pretensions to your hand in the way that best suited, thy character. It is meeter for thy humour to be wooed with bow and bill, than in set terms, and in courtly language."

"Courtesy of tongu," said Rowens When it S

used to veil churlishness of deed, is but a knight's girdle around the breast of a lase clown. I wonder not that the restraint appears to gall you-more it were for your honour to have reta ned the dress and language of an outlaw, than to veil the deeds of one under an affectation of gentle language and demeanour."

"You counsel well, lady," said the Norman; "and in the bold language which best justifies bold action, I tell thee, thou shalt never leave this castle, or thou shalt leave it as Maurice de Bracy's wife. I am not wont to be baffled in my enterprises, nor needs a Norman noble scrupulously to vindicate his conduct to the Saxon maiden whom he distinguishes by the offer of his hand. Thou art proud, Rowena, and thou art the fitter to be my wife. By what other means couldst thou be raised to high honour and to princely place, saving by my alliance? How else wouldst thou escape from the mean precincts of a country grange, where Saxons herd with the swine which form their wealth, to take thy seat, honoured as thou shouldst be, and shalt be, amid all in England that is distinguished by beauty, or dignified by power?"

"Sir Knight," replied Rowena, the grange which you contemn hath been my shelter from infancy; and, trust me, when I leave it should that day ever arrive-it shall be with one who has not learnt to despise the dwelling and manners in which I have been brought up."

"I guess your meaning, lady," said De Bracy, "though you may think it lies too obscure for my apprehension. But dream not, that Richard Cœur de Lion will ever resume his throne, far less that Wilfred of Ivanhoe, his minion, will ever lead thee to his footstool, to be there welcomed as the bride of a favourite. Another suitor might feel jealousy while he touched this string; but my firm purpose cannot be changed by a passion so childish and so hopeless. Know, lady, that this rival is in my power, and that it rests but with me to betray the secret of his being within the castle to Front-de-Bœuf, whose jealousy will be more fatal than mine."

"Wilfred here?" said Rowena, in disdain; "that is as true as that Front-de-Bœuf is his rival."

De Bracy looked at her steadily for an instant. "Wert thou really ignorant of this?" said he; "didst thou not know that Wilfred of Ivanhoe travelled in the litter of the Jew?-a meet conveyance for the crusader, whose doughty arm was to reconquer the Holy Sepulchre!" And he laughed scornfully.

And if he is here," said Rowena, compelling herself to a tone of indifference, though trembling with an agony of apprehension which she could not suppress, in what is he the rival of Front-de-Bœuf? or what has he to fear beyond a short imprisonment, and an honourable ransom, according to the use of chivalry ?"

"Thy language," answered Rowena," hath in its indifferent bluntness something which cannot be reconciled with the horrors it seems to express. I believe not that thy purpose is so wicked, or thy power so great."

Flatter thyself, then, with that belief," said De Bracy, "until time shall prove it false. Thy lover lies wounded in this castle-thy preferred lover. He is a bar betwixt Front-de Boeuf and that which Front-deBoeuf loves better than either ambition or beauty. What will it cost beyond the blow of a poniard, or the thrust of a javelin, to silence his opposition for ever? Nay, were Front-de-Boeuf afraid to justify a deed so open, let the leech but give his patient a wrongdraught let the chamberlain, or the nurse who tends him, but pluck the pillow from his head, and Wilfred, in his present condition, is sped without the effusion of blood. Cedric also"

"And Cedric also," said Rowena, repeating his words; "my noble-my generous guardian! I de served the evil I have encountered, for forgetting his fate even in that of his son !"

"Cedric's fate also depends upon thy determi nation," said De Bracy; "and I leave thee to form it." Hitherto Rowena had sustained her part in this try. ing scene with undismayed courage, but it was be cause she had not considered the danger as serious and imminent. Her disposition was naturally that which physiognomists consider as proper to fair complexions, mild, timid, and gentle; but it had been tempered, and, as it were, hardened, by the circumstances. of her education. Accustomed to see the will of all. even of Cedric himself, (sufficiently arbitrary with others,) give way before her wishes, she had acquired that sort of courage and self-confidence which arises from the habitual and constant deference of the circle in which we move. She could scarce conceive the possibility of her will being opposed, far less that of its being treated with total disregard.

Herhaughtiness and habit of domination was, there fore, a fictitious character, induced over that which was natural to her, and it deserted her when her eyes were opened to the extent of her own danger, as well as that of her love and her guardian; and when she found her will, the slightest expression of which was wont to command respect and attention, now placed in opposition to that of a man of a strong, fierce, and determined mind, who possessed the advantage over her, and was resolved to use it, she quailed before him.

After casting her eyes around, as if to look for the aid which was nowhere to be found, and after a few broken interjections, she raised her hands to heaven. and burst into a passor of vacontrolled vexation and sorrow. It was impossible to see so beautiful a creature in such extreraitv without feeling for her, and De Bracy was no urmoved, though he was yet more embarrassed than touched. He had, in truth, gone too far to serde; and yet, in Rowena's present condition. she could not be acted on either by argument or threats. He paced the apartment to and fro, now vain exhorting the terrified maiden to compose neself, now hesitating concerning his own line of

"Rowena," said De Bracy, "art thou, too, deceived by the common error of thy sex, who think there can be no rivalry but that respecting their own charms? Knowest thou not there is a jealousy of ambition and of wealth, as well as of love; and that this our host Front-de-Bœuf, will push from his road him who op-onduct. poses his claim to the fair barony of Ivanhoe, as readily, eagerly, and unscrupulously, as if he were pre ferred to him by some blue-eyed damsel? But sile on my suit, lady, and the wounded champion shall have nothing to fear from Front-de-Bœuf, whom else thou mayst mourn for, as in the hands of one who has never shown compassion."

"Save him, for the love of Heaven!" said Rowena, her firmness giving way under terror for her lover's impending fate.

"I can-I will-it is my purpose," said De Bracy; "for, when Rowena consents to be the bride of De Bracy, who is it shall dare to put forth a violent hand upon her kinsman-the son of her guardian-the companion of her youth? But it is thy love must buy his protection. I am not romantic fool enough to further the fortune, or avert the fate, of one who is likely to be a successful obstacle between me and my wishes. Use nine influence with me in his behalf, and he is safe, efuse to employ it. Wilfred dies, and thou thyself art got the nearer to freedom."

If, thought he, I should be moved by the tears and sorrow of this disconsolate damsel, what should I reap but the loss of those fair hopes for which I have encountered so much risk, and the ridicule of Prince John and his jovial comrades. "And yet," he said to himself, feel myself ill-framed for the part which I am playing. I cannot look on so fair a face while it is disturbed with agony, or on those eyes when they are drowned in tears. I would she had retained her original haughtiness of disposition, or that I had a larger share of Front-de-Bouf's thricetempered hardness of heart!"

Agitated by these thoughts, he could only bid the unfortunate Rowena be comforted, and assure her, that as yet she had no reason for the excess of despair to which she was now giving way. But in this task of consolation De Bracy was interrupted by the horn, "hoarse-winded blowing far and keen," which had at the same time alarmed the other inmates of the castle, and interrupted their several plans of avarice and of license. Of them all, perhaps De

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